S. Turley, WEM

Dear Family and Friends,

We got a media referral by phone on Friday afternoon and decided to go visit him that evening when we had some extra time. When we arrived, he seemed pleased to see us and said that he couldn't talk then, but would like a Book of Mormon. So we left him with the book and our card. About a half an hour later, he sent us a text message and saying thanks and that he would see us at church on Sunday. We planned to save him a seat in the chapel. He told us that he spent Christmas with a member family and had become curious in the Church from that experience. Sadly, he got called in to work on Sunday morning and could not make it. However, we suggested doing a church tour with him later this week so he could see the building and also so we could share some more about our services and beliefs. He is very excited for Thursday at 2:00. Needless to say, so are we :)

Our investigator still hasn't gone to jail yet, but we had a good talk with him yesterday. He agrees that he needs to just go do his commitment and get it off his shoulders. And he told us that he really does want to be baptized. I have high hopes that he will. Sometimes he is just a little bit lazy. Aka, human. Since he has already received the missionary lessons a few times, we suggested that he write down questions that he has or things that he didn't completely understand from his learning before so that the message we share can be more fully applied to him and that the topics that he is really interested in . He also said that he reads better from the scriptures when it is something that he has a question about, so I am grateful to know now how to better help him come unto Christ and see how the Gospel can bless him.

I planned my personal study this week to finish the book of Mark on the 24th so my personal study on Christmas Day would be Luke chapters 1 and 2. As I read, two ideas really struck me. The first was that we have a VERY similar purpose as missionaries to John the Baptist. His purpose was to turn the hearts of the children to the Lord and prepare the way for the Savior to come. That in essence, is our purpose as missionaries. We too invited others to come unto Christ and prepare the way for the Savior's Second Coming. I also loved reading about Mary. As I learned I thought that it was no wonder other religions worship her. She was amazing. When visited by and angel and told her mission, she simply replied, "be it unto me according to thy word" (Luke 2:38) and throughout the next chapters, she continued to praise the Lord and submit to the will of the Lord. The Savior clearly had a heighten awareness of the all things Spiritual, but he also had a wonderful example of following God from his mother. It was all planned out perfectly.

Thanks for the Christmas wishes! Love you all!
S. Turley

MERRRRRRYYYY CHRISTMAASSSSSSS!!!! From S. Turley in the WEM

Dear Friends and Family,

Sorry this is late, but we just got finished with our Mission Christmas Devotional. It was wonderful and have lots of music. And guess who played the organ? Me! It was terrifying because I think it has been about two years since I have actually played. But it was great to play loud and get in the Christmas Spirit. And I got to see Elder Bloomfield! Yesterday was also our ward's Christmas program and I was enlisted to accompany the choir and play a piano duet. The duet was "O Holy Night," and it brought back fond memories of playing that piece on the violin with Cami on the cello and Grandma Hunt on the piano :)

We are improving slowly, but surely in Mount Vernon. We found two new investigators this week, both of which were former investigators. One of them in named Melissa and she has PTSD, which makes it hard for her to meet new people. During an exchange, Sister Holt met with her and she had told them they were not interested. I think they may have just talked with her through the door, because she informed us that she never invites anyone in--it just stresses her out too much. I didn't know that Sister Holt had talked with her before and when it was my turn to be on exchange in Mount Vernon, we decided to visit her when one of our appointments cancelled. Miraculously, her husband was home (he had a root canal that morning--of all things to keep him home when we knocked...) and answered the door. He invited us in and we were able to chat with Melissa for about a half an hour and share a scripture with her and she invited us to come back. She even gave us a hug afterwards, which is huge for most people with PTSD. Christmas Miracles! I hope that we can introduce her to some more wonderful people in the ward that will help her overcome her challenges, because she has loved everything that she has learned in the past.
We dropped a bunch of investigators that were not progressing this week! Which is more exciting than it probably should be...But we are grateful to have more time to devote to those that are earnest seekers of truth and honestly desiring to change their lives to follow the Savior. Our "Dump 'em or Dunk 'em" list is growing smaller!!!!

I made a goal earlier this week to finish the book of Mark in the New Testament before Christmas. I have really enjoyed this opportunity to more intently reflect on the life of Christ during this Christmas season. I have studied the last few chapters containing an account of the Savior's Atonement during the last few days and I feel like I am continuing to understand more and more how the the Atonement works and what a precious gift it is to us. I was particularly moving to read the account in Mark chapter 14 of the Savior's condemnation by the high priest. After He is given the death sentence, the people began to mock him and spit on him and even "...the servants did strike him with the palms of their hands" (v. 65). It was amazing to me to realize that the Savior truly did descend below ALL. Even the servants struck the Savior. And I am grateful that He was willing to do that for us fallible humans so that we can enjoy all the blessings that He will receive and our Father has to give to us.

I hope that you all have a wonderful Christmas and thanks for all you do!

Love,
Sister Turley

Pictures--We got snow this week! I was on exchange in Arlington with Sister Wayman when the storm hit and our extended exchange (we had a "car fast" on Thursday in the mission so we were going to exchange back on Friday morning) turned into a really extended exchange because the roads were too scary to drive on until the mid-afternoon. The first picture is outside the apartment in Arlington and the second is on our way home at Lake McMurray in Mount Vernon.
Merry Christmas!

S. Turley in the WEM

Dear Family and Friends,

I don't feel like I have much to report this week. Our numbers were kind of sad, we didn't find any new investigators, we got dropped and dropped a few, and our other investigators are still attempting to hurdle the struggles that are in front of them. Here's to a better week and finding lots of new people who are searching for something more and determined to make changes in their lives!

This week, our bishop asked me to start a series of short talks given by the missionaries monthly in Sacrament Meeting to encourage the members to do missionary work. He assigned me to speak about the doctrinal reasons why we share the Gospel and then to offer just a few suggestions on how to put that into practice. I enjoyed studying again the "why" and being reminded of why I am out here. I hate to admit it, but I have been feeling pretty "trunky" this week and almost don't want to call home for Christmas because of it. But the why--I realized that it is part of our baptismal covenant to share the Gospel. And it is a commandment. Pretty straight forward. We just need to do it. I have also enjoyed reviewing "The Power of Everyday Missionaries," and remembering the promises that the Lord gives us. My two favorite promises are (1) That God will forgive our sins as we share the Gospel. I always worry that even though I have repented, I will not be forgiven. This thought is wholly untrue, but I am still always grateful for the reminder that we can be forgiven and sharing the Gospel can help. (2) We will find joy in the Gospel. I have found this already to be true. I love the Gospel now. I always knew it was true before, but it was never REALLY a part of who I was. Now it is, and I am grateful for that tender mercy. I know that God is real, that Joseph Smith was a prophet and that the Book of Mormon and the Church are true.

Thanks for all you do!

Love,
Sister Turley

Bennett, Verna and I at Cottage Meeting!!!!!

 

Adios to Hermana Jaramillo :( She goes back to Tucson this week. Love You, Hermana!

S. Turley--Christmas Miracles in the WEM

Dear Friends and Family,

We found three new investigators this week! It was a true "Christmas Miracle." I attribute it to our faith in letting one of our "Professional Investigators" go. We lose one and get three in return. I would love for that payout to continue, but I don't think Heavenly Father works that way. I am grateful for our findings this week, regardless. One of our new investigators was found by our Zone Leaders tracting. She is baptist and has LOTS of great questions. I am afraid to answer some of them because I know that she will not like the answer, but it is the truth and she needs to know it. I plan to testify and let the Spirit teach her and do the convincing. The other two investigators are a couple that we "former" investigators, but they have not really been taught anything. They are very interested in the message that we have to share with them and asked us to pray for them that their hearts will be open and they will recognize the truth :)

I continue to learn over and over again that actions are everything. I studied this week in 3 Nephi again, and in the very first verse of chapter 15, it reads, "whoso remembereth these sayings of mine and doeth them, him will I raise up at the last day." The key word is "doeth." I am trying to "do" everytning I can to magnify my callings. And I know that it is only when I have "done" something in the past that the Gospel has actually meant something to me.

Yesterday I went to my first Cottage Meeting, and guess who spoke?? Bennett and Verna!!!!!!!!!!! Another Christmas Miracle! It was so exciting! I loved being able to see them again and also hear their conversion from their viewpoint! They have such amazing testimonies and the growth was beautiful! I loved hearing them bear testimony of the things they had struggled to grasp or had questions about. I love them and I love the Gospel. :)

Love you all, too!
S. Turley

S. Turley, WEM--The start of the Christmas season.

Dear Family and Friends,

We had a goal last week of getting more member present lessons, and we succeeded! We had four member present lessons (standards!) We are slowly but surely getting our other key indicators up. I want to reach standards at least once before I leave this area and before my time as a Sister Training Leader is over. I have yet to reach standards on my mission and it is going to take all that we have to meet that goal. But it is going to happen once and for all!

We have two investigators that are ALMOST progressing. Dominick and John. Unfortunately, both of them have significant set backs that they will have to overcome in order to fully accept the Atonement and the Gospel to prepare for baptism. Dominick has to go to jail (he was caught a number of times driving without a license--hopefully he will go today, and it is only 15 days, thankfully). John is a double amputee, is waiting on a quadruple bypass heart surgery and has no way to get himself to Church (gratefully, one of our ward missionaries is excited to take him). We are praying hard that each of them will have the courage and the faith to ask God for help and face their challenges with steadfastness.

Sister Holt and I still working on finding more investigators and seeking direction from our Heavenly Father as to ways that will be more effective. Unfortunately we were not able to find any new investigators last week, but we have some promise in picking up some former investigators this coming week.

This week I studied the coming of the Savior to the Americas following His death and resurrection. As I read, it did not seem to be any coincidence that (1) the people flocked to the temple in their time of crisis, and (2) that the Savior appeared at the temple--His Father's house. He came to the location on the earth that was dedicated and sanctified as His own habitation. I also love to read over and over again, the account of the multitudes' interactions with the Savior. Some of my favorite verses in the Book of Mormon are in 3 Nephi 11. Especially verse 15. It reads, "And it came to pass that the multitude went forth, and thrust their hands into his side, and did feel the prints of the nails in his hands and in his feet; and this they did do, going forth one by one until they had all gone forth." It is very poignant to me that they "went forth one by one." Each person had an individual moment with the Savior. And that is how the Atonement is. It was not created to atone for a large group of people as a herd, but for each person as and by themselves. We all have the opportunity to have a personal and meaningful relationship with our Redeemer.

We had a great Thanksgiving. President Bonham made it our Pday so we would not offend our neighbors by knocking on their doors during their feast, and it was our first Pday since transfers, so I was very grateful to have food in my cupboard. We had our Thanksgiving meal with the Collingwood family. They are empty nesters and they invited a ward member, Mark, who lives alone, and one of our investigators, Richard, to dinner in addition to us. Unfortunately, Richard was a no-show. But I loved getting to know our members better. I especially loved Mark. He is a quiet, unassuming man who tries to stay out of the way. But when he was asked his top three things he was grateful for, he bore pure and powerful testimony and the Spirit was clearly evident. That was my favorite part of Thanksgiving. We also found a six-foot Christmas tree in one of our closets and enjoyed decorating it that evening (our President also made it an early-in to avoid those that had too much to drink with the football games).

Love you all lots!
S. Turley

The last of the Harbour Pointe whitewash crew

Mt Baker on the way to the library!