Heyo! (April 14, 2014)

Heyo!

 

So first I'm super glad Hope had a fun Birthday!! :) I LOVE her so stinkin much! This next week sounds like a super fun one. Party it up for Spring Break! Remember who you are. :) AND THANKS SO MUCH FOR THE EASTER PACKAGE!!! I loved it and so did Sis. Ockerman. :) I Love the dress too!! It's so nice to have something new to wear!!

 

So this week I got to go to the TEMPLE!!!! I LOVE the temple!! After a super good session, that night I got a call from the wife of one of the temple presidency in our ward.... She had found my patriarchal blessing in a pocket, that had gone through the wash. :( It's unreadable now, I was pretty bummed... so I was wondering if you could pretty please with many cherries on top, print me a new copy, maybe even shrink it so it fits in my scriptures, and if you are extra bored, laminate it. :) I would Love having a patriarchal blessing on my mission!

 

It's pretty warm here now! 70's Baby! I officially am no longer wearing tights, which is so nice! 

 

I had a donut burger this week after zone meeting... It was SOOO YUMMY! Yep some Chinese genius' make them, A cheeseburger with Donuts as the buns :) I figured it was ok, since we walk so much now.

 

Also I just got my hair cut, it's a lot shorter... It was SO Long! I'm hoping it grows out long in the next 9 months.

 

It was spring break here, so all of our investigators went out of town.. It was kind of slow.. We did meet a man named Joe who had a million-bagillion questions and we've started to teach :) We also met a man named Russ. We knocked on his door and started talking with him. He listened for a while, but it made me so sad! He told us how he has no hope now or in the future. So many things have happened and he just can't see anything getting any better. I KNOW there was a part of him that felt something good about us, he felt the spirit! He talked and listened forever! He even started to cry, when I shared thoughts that Elder Nelson said in Conference! Our Gospel brings HOPE and Happiness! We can be calm and find peace in this life because we have hope in our Savior Jesus Christ! With Easter coming this week I've been studying a lot about Jesus Christ! He truly is our rock! He is how we keep going, he is our strength! He helps us find joy :) Unfortunately we all have agency.... just kidding I know Agency is a blessing! But when people turn down something so great I just can't believe it! It's like someone offering me the most delicious ice cream ever and saying, "No I'd much rather eat this dirt..." Uh, No! How can they turn it down!! But we just have to keep inviting, no matter how many times they say no, no matter how many doors get shut in our faces, no matter who they are. We have to invite, because they need this, and they wanted this!

 

We had Stake Conference this week and boy was that exciting! In our Saturday night session, there was a huge storm. (It rains a lot here which I LOVE!!!) As the first speaker gave their talk, the power went out. We opened the side doors for some light (that is until the wind blew them shut) and just kept going on with the program! The speakers were Amazing! The first was a recent convert who is a junior in high school, he shared his conversion story. Some random, popula,r football player invited him to stay the night at his house when he knew he had no where to stay. They weren't really friends and this boy decided to go over anyways. This football player was a member of our church and had reached out to someone he didn't even know, he told him about our church and he came to church with him that Sunday! Now they're best friends and both Awesome members! Reaching out to others and showing them Love is the first step! Then just invite! The next girl ironically talked about shining our light, haha it was funny since we had no power :) The spirit was so strong in this chapel as we sat in the dark and everyone shared testimonies of missionary work! It was the coolest meeting I've ever been to! Although the power was out, the room was filled with LIGHT! Matthew 14- 16 talks about how we are the Light of the World! We have to let our light shine, and when we let it, it does! I can testify that when we are living righteously other see our light! I've heard people witness that they can feel our light, they don't know what it is, but they feel it! Always remember that, Let your Light shine!!!! :)

 

ALSO...... Elder Holland is coming to our mission May 20th!!!!!!!!!!! I'm SOOOO EXCITED!!!! :)

 

Have An Awesome Week!! LOVE you as much as a bunny loves his carrot :)

Love, Sister Tracy

I LOVE General Conference (April 7, 2014)

Dear Family,

What an Awesome week you had! Wasn't General Conference AWESOME!! :) First session we watched at our church, there were only like 6 missionaries, and 2 women from our ward, So we had whole benches to ourselves :) Saturday Afternoon we watched at a part-member family's home and they fed us dinner :) Sunday Morning we watched at the church w/ just 1 women from our ward and 1 brother. And then Sunday Afternoon we had invited one of our investigators to the YW president's home to watch it! It was an awesome weekend! Dad, we didn't watch Priesthood session but I'll definitely be studying those talks as well! Mom, I think it's impossible to say I had a favorite talk! Just like I did last conference, I wrote down questions for my investigators, less-actives, members, companionship, and myself! EVERY SINGLE QUESTION WAS ANSWERED!! Every talk contributed to those answers! We are so blessed to have revelation! One talk that's been on my mind this morning was by Gary E. Stevenson. I loved how he talked about our 4 minute performance! Something I always tell myself is I've had an eternity to prepare, an eternity to remember, but I only have a year and a half to serve this mission! That is very true with not just missions but life! We are prepared, we just need to perform to our best ability! But we still have to train, ect. It gives me the motivation to do my best, don't settle for imperfection. Even though we won't reach perfection on this life, we should still strive to improve each day! But also don't be too hard on yourself, because again, you aren't perfect! :)

This week is transfers, both my companion and I are staying together another transfer, We will be getting a new district leader, zone leader, and assistant though! Transfer week is always exciting!!

This week we had some craziness! We found a few new investigators which was awesome!! We've gotten quite a few media referrals! One of our investigators found our website and requested us to come visit her! She is 20, very shy and doesn't have many friends! I'm so grateful for the Love and friendship our church provides! Christ's church is the perfect place for her :) It is so cool to see how prepared God's children really are! Don't forget M. Russell Ballard's talk! He talked about inviting quarterly! I was blown away by his follow-up! It made me wonder if I take the words of the prophets seriously!

Anyways! I LOVE YOU ALL!! Have a good week!

Love, Sister Tracy :)

Trust Yourself!! (March 31, 2014)

HEY!!!

Awesome job on missionary work! Keep it up! Friendship and service and Love are the best ways to start! :) Hope and Kimball both look super cute! I LOVE THEM!!

I Loved the General Women's Meeting! It is so amazing to see so many women all towards the same goal! We know where we came from, we know who we are, what are purpose is, and where we will go!! :) Our church is so unique and special in this way! How Lucky are we!

This week was a little slower, not too many people wanted to talk to us and all but one appointment with our investigators fell through! But I'm determined that we always experience trials before something AMAZING HAPPENS!!!! So just wait this week is going to ROCK! Plus we have GENERAL CONFERENCE!!! Make sure to prepare! Read 3 Nephi 17:2-3 Be prepared to learn! :)

There is one member here who I just LOVE! She takes her 2 kids to church alone and her husband is less-active. Well this week was a miracle!! We started teaching them a lesson and he participated the whole time! After I kept asking him questions about the scriptures and he actually went digging for his scriptures, pulled them out, blew off the dust, and ended up teaching us!! It was so AWESOME! I just kept looking at the wife and her eyes were huge! He hasn't even touched his scriptures in YEARS! I have seen over and over again how important it is to be patient and loving! We can't give up on anyone because their time will come and they will start to get back on the path that brings true HAPPINESS!

We saw the 99 year old sister again, this week! It was quite an experience. I asked if there was anything I could do for her and she just held my hands and whispered "Take me to the sheriff!" She told us how the people upstairs control her sight and hearing. She said how the government is doing an experiment on her and don't want her to know what's going on. She said she is living Psalms 56! She kept repeating vs. 6 "They gather themselves together, they hide themselves, they mark my steps, when they wait for my soul." I just felt so sad but so much love for her! She turns 100 in less than a month! She is so sweet and I'm so grateful for our Plan of Salvation! She told us how she hasn't seen her mom in over 75 years! I'm grateful she will be able to return to her family and see her mother again! I'm grateful we will receive resurrected bodies that will be perfect! We are so blessed!! :)

We had New Missionary Training this week at the Mission Home. I hadn't been back there since my first day in Michigan... so that was FUN! We got to talk about things the new missionaries struggled with and things they were great at! Sister Ockerman was totally the best sister there :) I Love her a whole lot! President talked to us a lot about faith! We did this object lesson where I had to hold up a small wood block on one side of a giant wood board, and he stood on the other side with a nail gun. I had to measure to see where I was supposed to put the block and then he was supposed to nail it, we couldn't see each other and I Needed to not only trust President Gerber, but I was to trust that I had done my part correctly. The assistant said he would take my place and hold the super small block. Afterwards I said "Thank You, I didn't trust myself!" President looked at me and said "You Need to! You have an Assistant that trusts you, a Prophet that trusts you, and a Heavenly Father who trusts you, you Need to Trust Yourself!" It was a very good lesson for me! Sometimes it's easier to have faith when we are told exactly what to do, but I guess that's not true faith! After I had measured, I kept wondering if I had measured right! It wasn't that I didn't have Faith in President, but I didn't have Faith in Myself. We MUST have Faith in Ourselves in order for the Lord to help us. We have to put forth our effort, the best we know how, and then the Lord will do his part! Trust Yourself! :)

Well I LOVE YOU! Make sure to pull lots of pranks tomorrow :) Hehehe

Love, Sister Tracy

March 24, 2014

Hey!!

I feel like I always say this but this week was a Great week! Let's face it, as a missionary, every week is great! We taught more lessons than I have in a LONG time! I'm still talking to everyone :) And people are a lot friendlier when they remember there is a SUN! :)

 

One man we have been teaching we found out this week has Schizophrenia. He has many government conspiracy theories and told us about all of these "illusions" he has..... We can't keep teaching him, because he is not mentally all there.. I can't wait until he is resurrected! I know he'll be joining the church in the after life!

 

We found this awesome man named Harley! He has been going to his church in Detroit for over 20 years, but he Loves Jesus and was happy to hear our message! We brought a member with us and taught a POWERFUL Restoration lesson! At the end he said "I Can't Wait to read this Book!" He is so awesome! I'll keep you updated on his progress :)

 

We taught Lakshmi and her Mother-in-law, Baby (from India). We had a member come (THE BEST WAY to teach) and it was an AMAZING lesson! The 5 year old boy kept running around, so we decided to all sing "I am a Child of God" The spirit was SOO strong and the boy just sat down and listened as we taught! Primary songs rock! How great it is to know we are children of God! It makes me sad to realize, that was the first time any of them heard they were children of God and that he loves them! They just were in awe as we taught. At the end of the lesson both women told us how great they feel every time we are there and are eager for us to come back! The mother-in-law actually gave us her address to send missionaries to Texas where she will be for a month :) They say we just have this joy about us and about the things we teach. We actually had several people tell us that this week (we also had many ask if we were Nuns this week too) I know that joy they feel is the Holy Ghost working through us to touch them! The Holy Ghost ALWAYS testifies of truth! When we live righteously, everyone will feel our spirit!

 

I can't imagine not being able to have this opportunity to serve, this time I have will be the most precious time I will ever have! Monday was one of those times where you feel as if your eyes have been open! We had an awesome preparation day, we even had dinner with some members!!!!! We had called a member to follow-up with an assignment he had given us and afterwards he shared some of his thoughts of how important this work is!! I knew it was important but it wasn't until this night that I really felt "how great is my calling". Alma Ch.5 is AMAZING! Alma shares what his calling means, the same calling I have, and the same calling we ALL have! Alma 5:7 really hit me. He talks about how his brethren "were encircled about by the bands of death, and the chains of hell, and an everlasting destruction did await them" How awful is that!? Can you imagine having an everlasting destruction or being encircled by the bands of death and chains of hell!? I know I don't want that!! It reminds me of what spiritual death is like! Spiritual death is being separated from God. There are SOOO many people around us who are or will experience this! These people could be our best friends, our family, our neighbors! Before we came to earth EVERY SINGLE one of us CHOSE to come and WANTED to live with Heavenly Father again! I can't help but think of the people I knew in the pre-mortal life that are lost now! I can picture them saying to me "Please don't give up on me down on earth!" "Please share what you will know with me!" "I want to live with God again!" "I want to have eternal life!" I believe we made promises to our brothers and sisters to SAVE THEM! That is how important missionary work is! Keeping our promises!

 

So this week that's what's been on my mind. When someone at the door says they're busy, if I know I could have promised to not give up on them, I will try harder! I won't just give up on my neighbor or friend.... We do have to remember they still have their agency... but all we CAN do is invite. So that's what I've been doing INVITING everyone in Rochester to hear the true message!!! The ONLY way to have eternal life!

 

Well I LOVE YOU!!!!!!! :) The church is SOOOO TRUE! Don't believe it, pray and God will tell you :)

LOVE, Sister Tracy

Happy St. Patrick's Day!! (March 17, 2014)

Good Morning!!

Happy St. Patrick's Day!! I LOVE HOLIDAYS! They are just sooo fun!!! I'm pretty sure my companion thinks I'm crazy for getting soo excited to wear green, haha It's Ok, I pretty much am crazy! :)

 

Conner looked very handsome! I'm glad he had fun at prom. Wow, Kaleb is going to Peru! That's awesome! He will be a fantastic missionary! We're teaching a woman from Peru, she doesn't speak English very well, but she has an amazing spirit! I'll try to find out what city she's from and get some good info. on Peru :) I'm so happy for Mckayla! Sis. Graham said her pictures are super cute! If you go to her reception, you'll have to take pictures for me and tell her congrats :) And GO Cougars!! Keep me updated on their progress in the tournament!

 

This was yet again another Awesome week! And you'll never believe but it did snow again... I think we are only a few feet away from breaking an 1870 record. I think it's supposed to snow again this week, it's pretty cold, so I wouldn't be surprised. We've gotten this much, we might as well break a record! :) I've really been pushing myself to not let anyone pass me by without testifying! We've been talking to so many more people! We taught some ladies who work at our library, we taught a pizza man, we taught a man before getting into an elevator who just got out of jail, has been crack free since beginning of Feb. and of course Loves Jesus, we talked to a mail lady (who gave my companion ear warmers), we taught a man who helped us get our car unstuck from the snow (We taught Plan of Salvation and then found out his son had just died in Afghanistan), We just keep talking to everyone!! It's been Awesome!! Have you read the Ensign this month? There is a section of people who share their stories of sharing the gospel! When we pray for opportunities to share the gospel, we Will be given them! Then as we are just friendly and talk with everyone, The Lord will give us what we need to say! (D&C 100: 5-8) So this week be friendly! Talk with everyone! That is the first step :)

 

So I've heard so much about the "Son of God". People talk about it all the time. I don't know too much about it, but it's great to know what's most important hasn't been forgotten yet in this world. Because I'm lucky enough to get to wear my Savior's name everyday, It's harder to forget about him! But Jesus Christ should always be the focus of our lives!! We studied in Isaiah this week of how awful his crucifixion really was! The things he felt and suffered not one of us will ever truly understand! But it had to be done!

 

This week we had Zone Conference and we discussed what it means to serve with ALL our heart, might, mind, and strength! It was an incredible meeting, but I just wanted to share with you one of my favorite parts! :) After we discussed our Savior and how incredibly he suffered before he was crucified, we talked about how he had served with ALL of his Might and Strength! Even when Christ was exhausted and had reached that point when he thought he could not go on, he Did go ON! In Matthew Chapter 14, John the Baptist is beheaded. It tells us "he departed... into a desert place" Christ loving his cousin John so much wanted to go and be alone to mourn. Even when he felt weak, he still served! It tells how the people followed him and what did Christ do? He had compassion and served them! Then the disciples say, lets "send the multitude away" they are hungry, you are probably tired, and Christ says "They need not depart; give ye them to eat" And he then feeds the five thousand! Christ has multiple stories of this, where he serves even when, and especially when he feels like he has no more strength or might! How many times do we say? I'm too tired? I'm too hungry? I'm in a hurry? We need to serve beyond our own strength! Then that's when we receive the strength from the Lord! How amazing is our Savior!! I LOVE him! I know he is the Son of God! I know he suffered for ALL of us! He is our Savior! He died on the cross! He was resurrected!I know he gives us strength!

 

I love you all! :)

Love, Sister Tracy

March Forth!!! (March 3, 2014)

Hello Family!!!

 

Wow! I'm a little jealous with your weather! 60 degrees sounds like a dream :) Maybe you could send some 60* weather in a box! It just snowed again here! It's like 8* right now and I'm thinking Michigan will never be warm again....... Haha But I really don't mind it that much, I've gotten very used to the extremely freezing weather. I probably will be lost without a coat, and forget who I am :) The real issue isn't necessarily the weather but the roads, because the roads are plowed so often there are HUGE pot holes! It's nice that I get the roller coaster experience as a missionary :)

 

What is the family going to do without Basketball?!? :) It sounds like their whole lives will be ending.  Haha I'm glad they've had a lot of fun, I'm sure they are pretty much pro now! I'm SOO happy for Kimball making that 3 pointer on a foul! I'm so proud to be his sister :) Oh and thanks for the pictures, I love the one with Dad, Chad, and Chandler in the background, they look Very into the game... haha And Hope's pose is pretty awesome too! She could be a model for basketballs :)

 

Oh and that's pretty scary about that Elder being hit! I'll have to keep his family in my prayers! I'll be careful, I promise :)

 

So my new companion is Sister Ockerman! She is from Pocatello, Idaho and she just turned 19. She's pretty Awesome and we really get a long! This is going to be a sweet transfer :)

 

This week was pretty great! We were able to see quite a few investigators!!! We've been seeing 3 roommates and teaching them all!! We've been teaching an Indian woman! We've been teaching the woman we helped with getting her car stuck out of the snow!!! And we met a woman last night who is just finishing up chemo and has a desire to read the Book of Mormon and come to church! I've really seen that as we focus on LOVE, we are able to have very powerful lessons, where we know the needs of those we are teaching! Miracles are happening :)

 

Thanks for the quote Mom!! I know that the Lord does qualify those that he calls! Trust in the Lord and he gives us the strength we need! I found a scripture that I just LOVE!!! 2 Corinthians 7:16 "I rejoice therefore that I have confidence in you in all things" I often feel under qualified or my confidence that I can accomplish things lacks! It's amazing to me to KNOW the Lord has Confidence in us in ALL things!! If the Lord has confidence in me, I should too! Every morning we should wake up with Confidence that we can Accomplish our goals and Become more like our Savior! And the Best reason we should have Confidence is because we have the best resource EVER... our Savior Jesus Christ! He is ALWAYS there with us, rooting for us, giving us the strength! We CAN do this! We CAN do anything!

 

So since tomorrow is March 4th, March Forth into this week with Confidence, Confidence in yourself, Confidence in this gospel, and Confidence in the Lord!

 

I LOVE you! Have a great week :)

 

Love, Sister Tracy

 

P.S. Sister Williams is home from her mission!!!! :)

 

P.P.S. I have some really not so good news...... I can't find my camera anywhere!! It's been gone a few weeks now, and I've LOOKED everywhere!! I have no idea where it could be! I've been PRAYING SO HARD I will find it, most of all because it has the first 7 months of pictures in it!! So please pray for me to find it!