WEEK 31: Apprentice

Hey! Happy Monday!

It's been an awesome week. We've had great experiences with our friends, and I've had some fantastic experiences reading from the Book of Mormon recently! Sister Welch and I are having a lot of fun together, and it's so good to be able to look at where we first started with each other and see the progress we've made. We have definitely become friends, and it's made the whole difference in our work and area! Good things are happening.

We had Zone Conference this week! It was fantastic, as always. We spent the entire time focused on the Book of Mormon and how to implement it into our work more. We did about a thousand roleplays, and it was awesome. I got to see a lot of missionaries from past areas for the first time in a long time, and it was a lot of fun!

We had an INCREDIBLE lesson with Amanda and Donnie on Tuesday this week! We planned a church tour with the hope that it would help Donnie feel less overwhelmed about coming to church. We started in the chapel with a prayer and talked through sacrament meeting--the logistical side as well as the spiritual side. We took them through the church, explaining the different classrooms and the organizations within the Church. We ended in the Relief Society room, and after a few minutes Sister Welch and I were both hesitating to turn the focus to the baptism font. She looked at me for a second and we both knew we were doubting, but she stood up and marched over to the doors. We opened them and started explaining baptism and confirmation, and everything changed instantly. Amanda was drawn to the font almost instinctively--it was almost involuntary, like she was magnetized straight to it! We read verses from 2 Nephi 31 about the doctrine and necessity for everyone to be baptized. Both Donnie and Amanda were very touched, and a special feeling was in the room. After we finished our scriptural schpiel, we left them to have a couple minutes alone to ponder and ask God in prayer if baptism is something He wants for their future. When we came back in a few minutes later, they were both emotional. As we asked how they were feeling, it was clear to see they were being touched by the Spirit. We extended a soft baptismal invite and they immediately both accepted! It was absolutely incredible. I haven't felt the Spirit that strongly in a really long time!

We stopped by Amanda's Thursday night, and Donnie was there so we began reading through 2 Nephi 31 with them. We slowly broke it down verse by verse, and it's sinking into their hearts! They truly are being prepared by the Lord to accept this message. It's amazing to see people be so receptive! And everything has changed so rapidly with Amanda, seriously just within the past three weeks, she is getting it and the Spirit is opening her heart and mind so much! We are hyped for them! They both have Word of Wisdom concerns, and there could be a potential Law of Chastity concern, so it will continue to take time to prepare the both of them to even accept a feasible baptism date, but they truly have made miraculous progress recently. We met at the church again on Friday and talked about the Restoration with them. The Spirit filled the room as Sister Welch read Joseph Smith's account of the First Vision, and it was undeniable. They are doing so well!

We haven't really been able to see Paysen this week, which is sad. We also haven't been able to meet with the Gilberts for a while, but hopefully we can reschedule for this week! We are hoping to set a baptism date for Gavin and Aiden soon! We had two miracle finds this week, and they both came from the ward that struggles a bit. It was so exciting to find the first person, and then on Sunday one of our returning members brought her entire family, and we were able to find one of the people that attended with her! We sat in a little classroom for a couple minutes after sacrament meeting and got to know them, and quickly tried to learn their goals and concerns. We shared about the meaning of the sacrament, and William said it actually made sense, and he's more excited to come to church in the future! We are really excited to see what happens with these two miracles we met this week!

Sister Welch and I celebrated our 7 month missionary anniversary on Friday! We both have very different views and experiences of our missions, but it's a lot of fun to be able to celebrate and support each other. This one means different things to us individually, but it's special being able to acknowledge how far we've come!

I had a couple really powerful moments within the pages of the Book of Mormon this week. All I'm going to say is, read Alma 26! Truly take a minute to let Ammon's words sink in. It's always a good chapter, but for the first time in my life his words truly became my words. It means so much when the words of the scriptures they finally become your words; when you feel as deeply as Ammon did of God's love and mercy and power, "so great that he was full; yea, he was swallowed up in the joy of his God, even to the exhausting of his strength; and he fell again to the earth." (Alma 27:17) (Although, maybe don't go around passing out from all the excitement found within reading the Book of Mormon, I'd leave that part to Ammon). But, DO go around praising God for His goodness! DO go around remembering scriptures throughout your day. DO go around doing what you can to help invite all to come closer to Jesus Christ. By doing so, I promise that Ammon's words will become your words in a way that they never have before! I can promise that because I've seen that happen in my own life, and it's an incredible feeling.

That's my scriptural plug for this week.

 

Highlight from this week: It's snowing today!?! Pictures included below!

Low from this week: I got arguably the worst haircut of my life. I will be living the next 4 months with my hair in a hairclaw and/or a 1700s apprentice boy-style low ponytail until it grows out. Pictures NOT included below.

ANYWAY, I love you all so much!!! I hope you have a beautiful week!!

Love your sister missionary who looks like an 18th century youth entering their first apprenticeship,

Sister Malmstrom

231 W Horizon Ridge Pkwy #2226 Henderson, NV 89012

Pictures!

- We sat on the picnic benches outside our apartment and did our contacts on Wednesday, and it was glorious.

- Our mission is 'hosting' two sisters from the Salt Lake City Temple Square mission! They're here for two transfers and then they'll finish their missions on Temple Square. Sister Volkel is the sweetest person EVER, and she knows my lovely friend, Hermana Cartagena, on Temple Square!

- Waiting outside because all the other elders were late to district council.

- Our good pal, Mark.

- Amanda gave us a beautiful bouquet!! She is literally changing so much and it's incredible!

- Comp picture at Zone Conference!

- Picture with Sister May and Sister Volkel!

- Froyo with Sister Wood and Sister Gariety!

- District Council!

- IT'S SNOWING TODAY?? I never thought I'd live to see the day.