SNOW !

 The weather this week was amazing!! Until Saturday...it got super cold and it’s been snowing ever since. So the nice weather is gone :(     for a while.   This week was interesting. We had so many appointments this week but almost every one of them either cancelled or they were not home. L  So, we have just been knocking on random doors. And it actually works sometimes! That is how we found Kylie who is the 9 yr old that we are teaching! She is so excited to learn. She remembers everything. It makes me so happy to teach her!!!  She has a super hard home life. We went to her house for our appointment and she was waiting for us on the doorstep with her book of Mormon!!! SO CUTE!

   

On another day...we went to this one apartment and there was no answer. So we just knocked on all these different apartments until someone answered…. And no one did!!   After knocking on 6 or 7 more doors, we started walking away … when the last door that we had knocked opened!   It was a middle aged lady and she let us in. Come to find out, she was a less active member of the church, and she had been going through a really hard time. She had been praying and praying for help. And right away she knew that us knocking on the door was an answer to her prays.  We had a really good lesson with her and I KNOW that the Lord sent us there in answer to her prayers. It was a way cool experience! The Lord really does work in mysterious ways!

Like I said, we had a lot of cancellations this week. So we just prayed and knocked on a lot of doors. Many of those who are not members are very bitter and are not interested at all.   Many of the people here have gone through so many hard things!!  We are even teaching a woman who is on probation.  Almost every investigator we are teaching smokes. So I pretty much smell like smoke all the time! 

We are working with a lot of inactive or less active members.

We taught at a Stake Visiting Teaching conference on Saturday. It was fun.   The members are so important in missionary work!  They can help so much!

Julie Rogers, an LDS (Mormon) painter came and talked to the Stake Relief Society. She has the coolest stories. Her paintings are amazing and she had a story about every painting.  My favorite one was of Amanda Smith!! 

  

Well on Sunday...guess what? I had to give ANOTHER talk in sacrament meeting. I just gave one two weeks ago!!!! And me and Sister Pearson were the only two speakers because the other speaker got sick. ..But it is getting easier..I guess.  Ha ha...And since we are over 10 wards...we have to travel around to the different wards on Sunday. So we went to 3 sacrament meetings yesterday.  

We have a lot of exciting things coming up this week! Hopefully find more people to teach.  We have a mission conference on March 4th and I think that is when we will get our I pads!!

 We are still getting fed a ton... ha-ha!!   The other day we were fed buffalo meat… so that was way good!

Great things are happening in Richfield UTAH!!!

LOVE YALL!    

Sister Titensor

A WEDDING AND A BAPTISM 

 Well, people were right... We are treated so well here, I have not had to pay for a meal yet!  PEOPLE LOVE US!  One time, we were eating and someone paid for our meal and then they also gave us a $20 gift card to come back to that restaurant!  Ha-ha SCORE!  . Then I bought a new dress and they told us that the missionaries get 30% off in their store. . Utah is the best!!   Oh and for some reason there are a bunch of Dallas Cowboy fans here...one man we are teaching even has a huge Dallas Cowboys tattoo on his arm!   Sister Pearson, my companion being from England gets so confused when football is the topic of conversation. All she knows is to say "go cowboys" in her British accent. Ha it’s pretty great! 

 Wednesday I got sick. It was a rough morning honestly. But we had an appointment and things to do so I had to get going. It was a hard day because I was feeling terrible and then on top of that we were not having any luck! No one would answer their doors and appointments kept cancelling!!! It was rough. But we kept working.   Then, the last hour of our day we just stopped and prayed to find someone!   Not too long after our prayer, we met this  13 yr old and her mother neither of them were members of a church. It was perfect because we found out that the father was an inactive member of our church.   Immediately we knew we were sent there for a reason!    We were lucky to find someone who is not already a member of our church because almost everyone we meet here is already a member or a less active member!  Most of the people we are teaching right now are youth. Many of their parents are less active in the church, but their children show a lot of interest in the gospel.

 We knocked on one door and the mother was a Mormon, but not attending church, her daughter was 10 and had not baptized. We shared a scripture with them and I said something about God's love. Then the mom said that she had heard those exact words from her friend who was a member of our church just the day before. She thought that was so weird… But I KNOW that it was the spirit. It was not my words. It was the Lords.  It was a way cool experience and we have an appointment with them tomorrow!  I’m so excited to work with them. 

In another lesson, we are teaching a family. And the mom said she has prayed to know which church to go to and for God to show her the light. SOUND FAMILIAR?!?  It was way cool and the lesson went great! The Lord truly sends us to people who are prepared!!!!

On Valentine’s Day one of our investigators got married!  It was the best...the bishop performed the marriage.  It was way fun. Then, that same night, we had a baptism for Felisia. She was so nervous at first - but she had a huge grin on her face after she was baptized.. It was way cool to see that! 

 We have been taking a lot of our people who have recently joined the church to the Family History Center.   We are teaching them how to find their ancestors.  We are planning to take a group of recent converts to the temple soon.  I’m super excited for that!

Well this week I have decided to start reading the Book of Mormon again with a specific purpose in mind. My goal is to finish it by April 5th...which is General Conference and Easter!!! That only gives me like a month and a half but I know I can do it!!   I would invite anyone who would like to accept the challenge to do it with me!  Think of how amazing you will feel on Easter!  Start reading it with a purpose or a question you want answered.  I know it will be a great experience.

"Those that move forward with a happy spirit will find that things always work out"

-President Gordon B. Hinckley 

Love you all!! Thanks for all the support!

Sister Titensor

WELCOME TO RICHFIELD UTAH 2/9/15

WELCOME TO RICHFIELD, UTAH    

Well I arrived safely in St. George on Wednesday. We flew in a tiny little plane to this tiny little airport! We had training and meetings with our mission president for most of the day. President and Sister Center are awesome! Then, I met my companion Sister Pearson! She is from New Castle, England. This is actually her last transfer so she will be leaving in about 5 weeks. So sad...she is an awesome trainer and I am loving learning about England! So after I met her we drove 3 hours north to Richfield Utah! We drove through Cedar City and Parowan to get here. It’s a relatively small town...(not as some town’s we drove through) There are two stakes in Richfield and Sister Pearson and I are in charge of the entire Richfield East Stake! (a Stake is 10 congregations or wards)  It’s so weird being in charge of a whole stake...we have 10 wards with 10  bishops plus all of the ward mission leaders! We are the only Sisters in our zone. Sister Pearson has been in this area for 4 months so she knows her way around really well! Oh, and we have a car!! We live in the basement of a member family and its way nice!! So lucky! I have not spent a dime of my own money yet...we get fed to death!!!!

The first night I was here we taught a lesson! I was so nervous but the spirit was the guide and it turned out really well!  We even invited him to be baptized on Feb 28.  We are busy teaching a lot!! We have several people interested in learning about our church, with several who have baptismal dates. We also continue to teach a lot of people who have recently joined the church or people who are less active. We have been super busy! In fact this Saturday we have a baptism and we also have a wedding for an investigator! Ha-ha it’s awesome. It’s amazing how prepared people are to hear the gospel. Richfield is the best place!!!  I love it here!!!

The weather has been in the 60s the entire time... best weather ever! The funny thing about Richfield is that everyone that lives here grew up here. I guess people just can’t seem to leave! We taught a family yesterday and it went very well. Oh, and they have 10 brand new puppies so we had puppies sleeping on our laps the entire time!  it was the BEST! 

Oh and I had to give a talk on Sunday!! SERIOUSLY?!?! My first Sunday?!?  Sister Person and I and one youth were the only speakers. We talked about the atonement and missionary work and it actually turned out really well! So, don’t ever complain about giving a talk in church, because I only had 30 min to prepare!  It’s been a great week and I am loving Richfield UTAH! So much to do!!! This church is so true and it can change people’s lives!! Thanks for the support and LOVE YALL!!!

Sister Titensor

BON VOYAGE… FEB 3rd, 2015

Well tomorrow morning at 2:00 AM we will wake up and head to the Salt Lake Airport!  It’s less than an hour flight to St. George. This time at the MTC has flown by I can't even believe that this Sunday I will serving as a missionary. Every time people find out that I am going to St George they get so jealous and say that it’s the best place!  I've only heard good things about it!  My companion and I , and our district have become super close so it will be weird to see them go. All they have to do is drive down the street to the Provo mission home ha-ha.  I have really been blessed with a strong district that has helped me grow so much!  It’s really funny because I'm not a singer at all but , Sister Wilson am I  sing in every lesson we teach to an investigator because it brings the spirit. I am not a good singer at all so it took a lot to get me to sing.:)

 Sister Wilson and I have had a blasé,  we have a problem with laughing too much and at the wrong times...and sometimes can't stop laughing.  Ha-ha its great though..I am going to definitely miss her as my companion!!!!  Oh and MTC devotionals are the best. The spirit is always so strong and you learn so much. So many good things!   We were able to watch the  Meet the Mormons Movie ( I had not seen it before)  so that was way cool!  A lot has happened this week and I can't even remember all of it! …But we had this one investigator that we were teaching and she is awesome this week was full of ups and downs with her. Sister Wilson and I just really let the spirit guide and it turned out really well!  I learned how to completely forget myself and care about someone else and their needs.

I really learned how to love her and that helped me, especially when we were teaching her because we just really concentrated on her needs and what she needed to hear.  During the last lesson she pulled out a bent nail and told this beautiful story. The said you can't hammer a bent nail on the head because it will just make it worse. But if you hammer the nail on the part where it is bent, you just may be able to make it straight again. She related this to Christ and how he does not hammer at our heads when we are bent, but he helps us by making the bent part straight again. She obviously said it way better than that but you get the general idea. She gave us a bent nail and said thank you because we did not hammer her on the head and try to get though to her by proving our point, but we helped her to feel loved . Then at the end of the lesson she said the most beautiful prayer. Teaching her taught us a lot!!  It was way hard at times, but the spirit is always there to guide!  It’s funny how much you learn to love someone you just met!

This past week has been full of a lot of learning and growing!  My testimony of the Book of Mormon has doubled. It truly brings peace and happiness. I know that I am supposed to be in St George for a reason!  I am full of mixed emotions, but I’m ready to work! Thank you all for the love and support and the letters and packages! 

Proverbs 29:18   where there is no vision, the people perish, but he that keepeth the law, happy is he!

LOVE YALL

Sister Titensor

January 27

WELL HOWDY!! Wow I can't believe it’s almost been a week since I entered the MTC!!! (Mission training center)

It’s been so amazing here!! Right when I walked in the door we got busy and got going. I had the bright orange sticker on my tag (the dork dot! To let everyone know you are a “new missionary”) I didn’t even have time to unpack..Today is the first time I've really had any time to unpack but there is no point because I leave in a week! ha. Anyway, my companion is the BEST! She is from Prosper, Texas and her name is Sister Wilson. We sure do have our Texas pride and we both have the same Texas rings. We are both super excited about serving in St. George! Although the funny thing is that before we got our call we both thought we were going French speaking so maybe we will have a French companion when we get to St George! My district is also the best...its 4 sisters and 4 Elders and me and Sister Wilson are the only ones going to St George. The rest of our district is serving right outside my door in Provo, Utah! ha-ha but they are super excited for it. And half of the district is from Texas …Texas pride!!

The spirit is so strong here at the MTC!  It feels like we spend about 10 hours a day in one classroom with our district so sometimes it gets long. But our teachers are doing a great job and we are constantly learning how to be the best missionaries we can be. The food here is not that great in my opinion...Ha-ha but the Elders love it!  I've surprisingly been really good at waking up here! I wake up around 6 every day so we can be on time to class. I’m tired but somehow I’m functioning really well!  The past few days some of my roommates had to wake up at 2; 00 am to go to the airport so that hasn’t been fun... then Sunday was a great day because we got to hear a lot of cool talks. Oh and I am the Sister Trainer Leader so Sunday consisted of tonsss of meetings as well. We also were able to walk around the Temple on Sunday and it was the most beautiful day outside!!!!   Monday has been my favorite day so far. It started out with a great class. And then in the afternoon we roll played with our teacher and taught him a lesson. It went great until me and sister Wilson started laughing...oops! But we got back on track and it turned around. Monday night was our first time to teach an investigator! I was super nervous and excited for it. She lady we taught was an evangelical Christian. She had gone through so many hard things in her life and me and Sister Wilson  wanted to help her understand what we believe about the atonement. We just simply bore our testimony and our personal love for Christ. It turned the whole lesson around and it was amazing! The spirit was there to guide us and direct us. Then me and Sister Wilson had the same prompting to sing the same song!! Crazy right?! We actually sang a song in our lesson and it turned out perfect! Im so grateful for that wonderful experience, I sure learned a lot from it. Last night the spirit was just so strong and I just can’t explain the happiness that I feel when im here. Im starting to really understand why im on a mission. Its been a great week so far and I’ve grown so much closer to my Heavenly Father. When I remember that I am a representative of Jesus Christ, it gives me chills. It’s so easy to forget about yourself here...like I honestly don’t think about any distractions here. It’s a great place to be and I’m so happy! Thanks for all the love and support and all of the letters!!!