This gospel is true, and truth makes sense!

Hey Family!

This week has been an awesome one! Lots of experiences that I will definitely have to write down (if I ever get time for that)

So since we are in a new area, we are kind of starting from scratch again. We've been trying to find more people to teach in the new area, but instead we've found like 5 more people in the old one! I guess our work in the West Side isn't complete yet :) Also we still don't have an apartment in our new area, so we're still kind of floating around. 

The Sisters we live with also had a baptism on Sunday so we got to go and watch! I was on exchanges with them a month or so ago during this lady's first meeting with the missionaries, so I knew who she was too! It was so cool to see the difference in her, see how much happiness and peace this gospel has brought into her life. 

Interesting things that happened this week... We knocked on the front door of a house, and a cop answered the door with his gun in his hand. Good thing Sister Campbell and I aren't too intimidating, because he holstered it pretty quickly. Haha at least it was a cop, and not just some random person! These West Virginians do love their firearms...

This week we also had a zone conference, which was so amazing! We talked about Alma 32 a lot, and how faith truly comes from action. You can say what you believe all you want, but that faith won't stand against the winds of life unless you have acted upon it as well. As a missionary, I am really starting to understand that! Our investigators who choose to act upon this gospel message-those who read the Book of Mormon, pray, and keep their appointments with us- progress so quickly! It's amazing to see how their faith in Jesus Christ just mushrooms! But those who don't take action either don't progress, or they progress SO slowly. If you want to know if something is true, you gotta try it out!

So we just started teaching an older couple, and they are awesome! We taught them about God's plan of happiness, and they ate it up! They said it made so much sense, and that they believed it immediately! I love seeing people get it, and understand the message, and say it makes sense. This gospel is true, and truth makes sense! 

I love you all, thank you so much for your support!

Love,

Sister Ward

You can only be as happy as you have been sad.

Dear Family & Friends,

I hope you all have been having an awesome week, because I sure have been having one! It's been challenging one, too, but I've come to realize that in life you can only be as happy as you have been sad, as excited as you have been discouraged. Opposition in all things, and whatnot. So the challenges and hard things aren't bad, it just means that super awesome things are happening, or about to happen, too! And awesome things are happening!

Now that Sister Campbell and I are opening an area, for the second time in two transfers, life has been pretty crazy. We've been trying to tie up all our loose ends in the ____ Side and start moving our focus (and finding an apartment. Maybe one of these transfers we'll get one of those) to _________. On Saturday, we got to go to lunch and then drive around the area with President and Sister Salisbury. It was such a cool experience-they truly are called of God, and given the inspiration they need to keep this work moving. I learned a lot just in those few hours we spent with them.

One huge downside of being moved is having to give some of our investigators to other missionaries! Lee the Man is continuing to make phenomenal progress-we were even thinking about moving his baptism to a closer date-but we realized he wouldn't be ours anymore! The Elders get him now. I'm still going to count him as one of my baptisms, he only has like one more thing to learn, and he probably already knows and believes it. Before he even referred himself to the missionaries, he had already read "Mormonism for Dummies" and done extensive research, so he's known pretty much everything we've shared so far. He even already has his tithing budgeted into his finances for the year, so yeah. I know that he and our other investigators will be in good hands, but it just tears my heart a little bit.

This week, I have gained a stronger testimony of the importance of prayer. It truly is an incredible opportunity that we have to speak directly to the Almighty God, the Creator of everything, a being whose glory is beyond our comprehension. And as Richard G. Scott put it, "we need no appointment." We can turn to Him in any time or place, for any problem. And he responds! It is not just a one way communication, just a expression of praise to satisfy an egotistical god. He loves us, wants to hear about our lives, and will always answer the honest seeker.

I love you all dearly, have a great week!

Sister Ward

God Still Provided a Way for Us

Dear Family,

Transfers were this week, so life has been crazy around here! We also still haven't found an apartment, so we had to slide our suitcases over and make room for the incoming missionaries in the basement. It was fun to see them, all brand, spankin' new. I can't believe I was there just 6 weeks ago. It feels like it's been forever. And I'm already a ninth the way through this whole mission thing, so that's weird. 

Sister Campbell and I didn't get transferred, but we kind of sort did at same time. President has decided that the reason we can't find an apartment is because we are supposed to be in ______ area, and not the ____, so we are shifting our area of focus over about 20 miles. It's cool, because we are going to be covering parts of 3 different wards, so we get to work with lots of members! Also we will be able to find a nice apartment (finally) and work in our area after dark, so that's good too! The area we are going to also hasn't really had missionaries in the past, because it was too far out of the way for other missionaries to get to regularly, so we have a fresh, new, white field to work in! I'm really excited for the change.

Our investigators are doing so well. I'm such a proud mountain missionary momma. Lee the Man came to church for the first time last Sunday, and he loved it! Also, we decided to test his faith by throwing Word of Wisdom (no drinking, smoking, etc) and the Law of Chastity on him during the same lesson, and he totally accepted it all! He even gave away his full bar to his friends. I'd love to be able to take credit for him being so awesome, but it really is just him. He has such great faith and desire to follow the Savior, he is converting himself. Sister Campbell and I are just the random church girls who come over and check on his progress periodically. The field is white!! There are people out there who 'are kept from the truth because they know not where to find it.' All we have to do is find them.

 We have also been blessed to be led by the Spirit in finding people this week. Remember that guy we helped by carrying his couch in? His girlfriend was there a few days later when we stopped by, waiting in the car and reading a book. At first, we were  hesitant to talk to her because she looked busy, but a minute later, she popped her head out of the car and asked who we were. We told her, and she was like, "Yeah I want to listen to you guys, too"  Looking back, I am so humbled, because we really should have initiated the conversation, even if it was awkward, but God still provided a way for us, imperfect people, to share his message with her. I have a such long way to go to become the missionary I want to be!

I love reading all of your emails! I'm sorry I don't have time to respond to them all, but I really do love reading them. I love you all so much!

Sister Ward

His message is powerful, it changes lives.

Dear Family,

Today starts the last week of my first transfer!! I can't believe that I have been here this long. We've kept so busy that time is just flying by!

The work has also been moving along so great! We found more people this week in an inspired manner. One day, we were out looking for people to talk to, and we walked by a dead end road. Normally, we skip those because there usually aren't very many people on them, but this time we felt like we needed to walk down it. When we got the end of the road, there was a set of stairs that led to a different road, which we descended and found a family trying to carry their couch into their house. We offered to help them, (and they said no at first because we were in dresses, but that's a good lesson we've learned about service: be persistent, and they will let you help eventually) and ended up moving their couch into their front room. When we got in there, we saw a Book of Mormon on the side table!! We asked them about it, and it turns out they were former investigators! And they want to see missionaries again! But we only found them because we followed the Spirit, and walked down a street that looked like it was going nowhere. As our mission president simply put it, "If the Spirit is telling you to turn right, don't turn left!!"

Another exciting event of the week was that Lee is now on date to be baptized!! In September, too, so Sister Campbell and I will almost definitely be here for it! It was funny because we were planning on putting him on date, and then when we showed up at his house for a lesson, and he asked us right away how he could get his baptism scheduled, without us even bringing it up! And so we were like "Oh please, let us help you with that!" :) He's so great.

Last P-Day we went on a hike! It was so beautiful, and so much fun. During the hike I caught a salamander, but we couldn't find any crawdads in the river. Apparently they can get as big as your fist out here though, so I'll have to go get one sometime. Our entire district of missionaries went and several of our investigators, and it was great. One of our investigators might take us to a Harry Potter museum next week, and I'm excited for that too.

This last week, I have gained such a testimony of the power of the gospel message. I am so lucky to have the privilege of sharing it. Every time someone has accepted the invitation to learn more, my initial reaction has been slight surprise. Why would this person be interested in hearing something two young, Mormon girls have to say? I really shouldn't be surprised though.  Even though Sister Campbell and I are the small and simple things of this Earth, even though we don't say things perfectly and we aren't particularly educated about religion or philosophy, our commission is greater than the kings of the earth and our Master is fully capable of doing His work. His message is powerful, and it changes lives. It sheds light into the darkest of corners, and can rescue the most lost of souls. And because of that, why shouldn't people want to know more? They should!!

I love you all dearly, keep in touch!

Sister Ward