Listening to the Spirit

After they finally completed

Sis. Monjar's iPad training!

This week we had an extremely normal week. Nothing out of the ordinary. However, we had some great experiences from simply listening to the Spirit and doing what we felt we should at that moment we were in.

My favorite experience of this week happened when we felt like we should go to homes near the beach and contact. After trying to tract a street near the beach we found most people weren't home, so before we went home we felt we should actually go to the beach and contact a bit. So we parked our car and started walking. We originally wanted to go straight onto the sand part of the beach, but while we were walking we felt we should talk to a lady on a bench nearby. We went over and asked her how her day has been and she said "it's been great" to which Sister Monjar asked why it was great. Then she told us she just found out a couple of days ago that she was in remission from cancer! It was just an amazing experience to be able to talk to someone that was on vacation celebrating her remission.

Planting Gospel Seeds

at the Beach

We also got to see someone we are working with who we love dearly. Sadly, her dog passed away recently. It was really hard to hear that because even though I'm not usually a big fan of dogs, I really loved that little guy. We were able to talk with her and cheer up her spirit a bit. We didn't do anything major, but it was really nice to be with her and comfort one another in knowing the Plan of Salvation can comfort us in knowing we will see all those we love again some day.

I'm so grateful for the simple, special experiences we have with the Spirit each week in helping us know where to go and what to say during each moment of the day.

Sincerely, Sister Tyler

The Slurpee Pics continue...

Sis.Tyler took this pic

of Sis. Monjar at the Beach

The Beach is the Best!

Sister Monjar and Sister Tyler

It's a new week in a new transfer with a new companion who is a new missionary! It's a lot to take in at once, but hey, at least I'm not in a new area.

I am now with my awesome new companion, Sister Monjar. She is from Kaysville, UT and she understands so much about the gospel already! She has taught me a lot this past week by showing me it isn't too scary to talk to and invite everyone we see (especially at the beach). Which is where we met someone who is really prepared to learn about the gospel. While beach contacting on Wednesday, we were about to go home to continue loading our area book onto our iPads when Sister Monjar stopped and started talking to a man sitting on a bench nearby. We ended up talking for a while and sat down next to him and discussed a lot about the gospel. He was interested in discussing more with us so we set up a time to meet him again at the beach in a couple of days! We left him with a Book of Mormon and we did see him again a few days later. We shared a lot with him and tried teaching about the Plan of Salvation specifically, but he asked a lot of questions that made it so we mostly taught about the Restoration AND the Plan of Salvation. I don't know exactly how to describe it, but he kept telling us things that he believes that go exactly with the doctrine that we teach. He truly has been prepared to meet with missionaries and before we left again he said he would read from the Book of Mormon and let us know what he thought through email. It was such an amazing experience to find and teach someone who has been so prepared spiritually to receive the gospel into his life. We will continue to pray that he may reach out to us when he reads a bit from the Book of Mormon.

Kennebunk, Maine Beach

We also had the opportunity to go to the beach again and draw the Plan of Salvation in the sand. It was an idea another missionary gave to us to help us talk to and teach everyone we meet. While we were drawing it, Sister Monjar asked a couple walking nearby if she could show them what we were drawing in the sand, they were kind of curious and it gave us a chance to explain the Plan of Salvation to them! It was a really great and fun opportunity.

I'm so grateful to be serving here in Kennebunk a bit longer, this is such a great area and I know the Lord needs me here for a reason.

Sincerely, Sister Tyler

Sharing the Gospel

by teaching our Heavenly Father's

Plan of Happiness

--in the sand!

(I LOVE their creative efforts!)

Slurpees and Candy Land

Missionaries love packages!

(and their boxes too, I guess)

This was my last week as a Sister Training Leader. We got transfer calls on Saturday and I am going to be staying in Sanford and training a new missionary (for most likely my last two transfers of my mission!) and Sister Olsen will be opening a new area for sisters as a Sister Training Leader! We are both so excited for these transfer calls and we will miss each other, but the future has great things in store.

Sister Tyler has been growing

her own basil leaves

(she’s really proud of herself).

We also had our last round of Zone interviews this past Wednesday. As a part of our training during Zone Interviews, we played a life-size version of Candy Land, but instead of a spinner or cards to know how far the companionship moved, we asked a question/concern that an investigator or member may have and the companionship had to answer it using an Article of Faith. It was so fun to ask them questions and see how creative they could get in reciting an Article of Faith and explaining how it applies to the investigator/member personally. Sister Olsen and I were really glad we came up with the idea because we feel it was a huge success in helping everyone understand how the Articles of Faith are so great in simply explaining what it is that we believe as a church.

Then, later that day, we adapted the questions from concerns to trivia questions and played Articles of Faith Candy Land with the Activity Day girls (ages 8-11). We have been able to help with a few of their activities now, and it has been so fun to get to know them better and help put together activities for them.

“Us taking a picture while talking

w/the Georgetown sisters over the phone…

Also, we may have broken a whisk

while I made a cake….” :)

Another fun activity was the big Zone Slurpee Picture Contest. A few weeks ago, the elders in Sanford decided to take a funny picture holding a couple of Slurpees, and since then everyone has tried to take a picture like it with their own spin. Once everyone took a picture, they decided during district meeting (that I wasn't able to attend due to Zone Interviews) that my mom would be the perfect person to judge the photos! There were some really funny pictures that everyone took, and I think it's cool that everyone decided my mom would be perfect for it (because I agree with them). So, my mom chose a winner!

I look forward to the new adventure I will have with my trainee!

Sincerely, Sister Tyler

Here’s some of the

Zone Slurpee Picture Competition.

She said it really helped unify them all.

I like how it shows missionaries

can have fun too :)

I thought the last one was the winner

mainly because it made me laugh

 (and after zooming in I noticed

they photo shopped their name tags

 to say “Sister Tyler” and “Sister Olsen”…)

**[OK, I admit that elders dressed like this

probably isn’t the best…haha…

that’s why it’s at the

very bottom of the blog!] ;)