4/29/14

6 weeks has come to an end. Sad. 

transfer calls week, and my wonderful Twin sister will be leaving me. I will be staying here in Sycamore- which i am so excited about. sister Oliphant is being transferred back to Joliet. Not the same area but the same zone she was previously in. I have truly enjoyed serving with her. We have become so unified and have had such a fun time teaching the gospel together. She is an amazing person to work with.  i will miss our time together.

Sister Oliveira is going to be my new companion. She and sister Oliphant have been out the same amount of time.  and she is from Brazil! i am so excited! maybe she will teach me some of her portuguese. exciting stuff ahead!!  

Yesterday was amazing!!  Church was so good! and we had three investigators at church!! WOOT!!  Chris Cain came to Church. She loved it! she shared with us how she loved the spirit and the people and plans on coming back! she is awesome! we are so excited for her!! 

Then our other investigator Kylie Ryder came to church. she is 11 and is the daughter of a less active. she is awesome and her mom and her were fellowshipped so well!  exciting! 

We had an awesome meeting with our ward mission leader yesterday and the other missionaries and a miracle happened! 

so there has been this man coming to church, his name is Tom and everyone thought he was a less-active. so the Elders have been working with him and teaching him off and on even though he is in our area. As Tom met with the bishop we came to discover that Tom was Baptized when he was 18 but NEVER confirmed.  so he is not an official member of the church.  so Bishop talked to him and told him about the situation and how he would need to be rebaptized. do you know what that means?  We just got a new investigator who is already on date to be baptized and we havent even taught him! haha we actually just taught him a lesson and it was amaazing. he has such a desire to follow Christ and is so ready! it is awesome! so we just put him on date for the 17th. :)  thank you Elders for doing all the work for us! I love it when investigators are just handed to us. haha He is awesome.! :) the more and more i think about it i cant fully take in how amazing this miracle really is. its awesome. i love being a missionary.

Sue is doing amazing! we made her dinner this week- it was delish. thanks for the recipe mom. and then we watched the testaments with her. It was an enjoyable evening. then later this week we taught her of tithing and she was so impressed with the programs of the church. obviously the church is true. it is amazing what Gods church does! 

I don't know if i told you or not, but sister Oliphant and I have been singin in our lessons. She is very talented musically, so she is Excellent at harmonizing and just making every song sound beautiful. so we sang "god be with you till we meet again" for a couple of people this week who are very special to us. and we cant wait until we will be reunited with them at special occasions in their lives. (baptism, endowment etc.)  

ok.. our car was in the shop ALL week today - for a tiny dent that someone put in our car- hit and run.  so we were with out a car.. and let me tell ya. Cars provide SO MUCH FREEDOM! its not even funny. we had some funny/ interesting experiences trying to find rides. But it all worked out. :) and it was amazing. and we felt free after having a car again. Thank you parentals for providing that freedom for me, and encouraging me to get my licence etc. i am grateful for you. I LOVE FREEDOM! 

thank you for all your love and support. 

Cant believe it is may this week. CRAZY!! 

mothers day is soon! cant wait to talk to all of you! love love love

sister O'Neil

4/21/14

SUCCESSFUL MISSIONARIES

If you have ever studied Preach My Gospel, at the end of the first chapter the last section says "A Successful Missionary." There are a list of bullet points that help us to identify when we have been a successful missionary. i love those bullet points but my very favorite part is " when you have done your very best... you will not be disappointed in yourself. you can feel certain that The Lord is pleased when you feel the Spirit working through you."  

This week I felt like a successful missionary. This week I worked with members, and watched as they felt like successful missionaries. (even some of you and your experiences this week! :) )This week we had miracles and were so busy, we didn't even have time to recognize that time was passing. just one appointment to the next. I loved it! and this week is looking to be the same. The WINTER IS over! and everyone loves it! it was rough for everyone, and took a toll everywhere. spring is here and everything is moving forward!  :) 

We invited 4 people to be baptized this week!  and all of them said yes! (well they didnt say no, which means they said yes :) ) haha - when they know it is true! There is such a special spirit that enters as we invite people to follow Christ. It is amazing. hard to describe. 

We have had two really excellent lessons with Sue. She really is coming to recognize these things as truth. Last night we met with her and she agreed to live the word of wisdom!  :) she even was thinking about the future and some of her family traditions she will have to change because she wont be drinking Alcohol! so cool! Her son Tim was there and it was just such a wonderful lesson. we have such a good relationship with her. I love her so much! Seriously! during our first lesson of this week with her. she told us she had read all the way to 1 Nephi 21 and she re-read all the pamphlets and watched the restoration DVD! There was so much happiness inside of me. it is weird to explain. it was literally bubbling over. it was an "indescribable moment of perfect joy." - President Fenn. I had to really control my self because i just wanted to jump up and sing and shout and PRAISE THE LORD!! HALLELUJAH!  so wonderful! 

Friday we had an amazing lesson with Mackenzie and brother Bruce Bingham was there, he lives in Utah and comes to visit his father Burton Bingham who is 97! It was an interesting experience because it felt as though the spirit was so much stronger with him there and that we were under a microscope or something, and it was so intense.  After the lesson we came to find out that brother Bingham is a seventy! What?! It was like the equivalent of having president Fenn at a lesson with us. It was so cool! But so intimidating at the same time. I can't believe I didn't know before we went in there. Now I am all worried about if we taught clearly or not or if we were too wordy and what he thought about our teaching job and skills. I just felt like we were being spied on. Haha but not really. It was great and the spirit was strong. Then we set up a time for her to meet us at the church on Saturday for a tour and lesson and she cancelled on us and told us that she was no longer interested in learning.  It hit us like a rock. And came so unexpectedly. I was so sad. She had come so far. She was reading the Book of Mormon everyday and she committed herself to keep the word of wisdom. I know she could feel of the spirit and feel of those blessings in her life and yet. She still has her agency. I just feel like that is the only explanation I can give my self right now. It just doesn't make sense, and it makes me so sad. I have not given up on her. I know she will come around some day because that is who she is, and it's possible that she is caught up in the social norms and lifestyle of someone her age, 22 and going to college. We are going back to see her again on Tuesday. Hopefully we can resolve any concerns and answer questions. I will be praying that the spirit will be with us and we follow the promptings of what to say. I pray her heart will be softened and she will come to understand. She is amazing. She needs this gospel in her life. 

We had 18 lessons this week. An amazing improvement and left with feelings of such success. 

Sunday we had a wonderful lesson with the Grob family. They were the family that texted us and asked us to come and teach their friends on easter sunday. Well they invited all of their friends an none came. But they knew that they had commited to us to have someone there for us to teach and so they kept their commitment. They invited two of their neighbors who are 9 and 11. they were awesome! They have such a desire to learn and are SUPER respectful. The Grob children taught some of the doctrines of the gospel and i was so impressed with them.  It was such a wonderful experience and i couldnt help but think about how amazing this generation really is. These were 7 and 9 year old kids teaching their friends about how the Holy Ghost felt to them. It was amzing! i just thought of Eric and Michael and Maddie, and all the other little ones being our future Army of Helaman. I am so EXCITED for them! they are going to be AMAZING missionaries. 

I really felt like a successful missionary this week. I know i do every week but this week i REALLY did. It was so amazing. and hope we will continue to have great success. I know that we succeed when we invite, no matter how small the invitation, when we extend that hand to help others hear and learn of the gospel and the love from our Heavenly Father, we succeed. Keep up the good work people! i love you! 

Easter Sunday was so wonderful. It was the first year the bunny Easter did not find me, BUT I have never felt the love of the Savior for me in such an abundant way as i did yesterday. There was just such a peace that followed me through out the day and i loved it. 

I hope you had a wonderful Easter. I know the gospel is true. I know our Savior Lives. I know he loves us. I know our Heavenly Father loves us. I know he only wants for our happiness. #becauseofhim I am blessed.

I love you all

Sister O'Neil

ps. this week we were getting into the car and there was a sister with us and she asked " what are you going to do now?" and sister Oliphant said "I think we will go watch some TV."  I just looked at her first with a startled face and then started laughing. I had COMPLETELY forgot that watching TV is an option in the real world. As a missionary i would never, but it was just so funny, because it was just something that had not crossed my mind in over 10 months and i forgot about that being a choice. haha it was so funny. We have had a good laugh about it since. 

pps we just got a text that told us that our zone goal for member present lessons was 122 and our actual was 170!! do you know how amazing that is!!  we are so excited!  the work is moving forward!  THE HARVEST IS THE BEST! 

4/14/14
This week was amazing! Thank you for the prayers you have sent to heaven for me. I feel of your love.

Ok this week has been amazing! we had so many good lessons with Amy, Mackenzie and Sue. They are all at different points in their conversion BUT they are all progressing! and that is awesome! 

We had the opportunity to attend a baptism this week. It was all in spanish and the spirit was so strong. it was so fun to be there and feel of that. Although i didnt understand the exact words that were said, i knew that what they were saying was true. Truth is truth! the spirit testifies of it. :)

Ok. Friday was amazing! Friday was our mission conference. We met all together as a mission and learned about Joseph Smith and The first vision. It was amazing! we met in a Forrest preserve and the weather was just beautiful and perfect. we were going to do it a week previous to this day but we didnt because of the weather that day. it was rainy and cold.

Sister Fenn told us about Samuel Smith, the very first missionary and all the hard ships he faced. He did not baptize one person on his mission, but he didnt know of the great impact he had on the world. He gave a copy of The Book of Mormon to the Kimball family, Phineas Young (brother to brigham young), and someone else i cant remember now, but just because of his faith and hard work he helped so many. and brought 2 future prophets into the gospel. it was just an amazing story and helped me to feel so hopeful that i am making a difference, even if it is in just one life. 

President Fenn is amazing. Seriously love this man. He is such an amazing scriptorian and such an excellent speaker. He expanded my understanding of the first vision. Before coming on my mission i didnt really understand all of the basic principle we learn from studying the story of the first vision. He took all 10 of the accounts that Joseph wrote and kind of mushed them together and taught us of the principles we learn.

-first that the first vision was not the first revelation that Joseph recieved, it was in fact the prompting to pray after reading James 1:5. 

- the true chruch was not on the earth before this time

- God answers Prayers

- Revelation is real

- the God Head is 3 separate beings

- We are created in his image

- Satan's power is real. he does anything to keep us from praying. and uses the "least obtrusive means to prevent us from accomplishing the purposes of God"- p. fenn

- God speaks and calls prophets

- knows us by name

- knows us personally

- there was a real apostasy on the earth

- and we receive forgiveness of our sins - one of the reasons Joseph went to talk with the lord was to receive a forgiveness of his sins and we learn that the lord did indeed forgive him. 

the list goes on. it was a great discussion. President Fenn shared with us his testimony of the importance of standing up for the Prophet Joseph Smith and the Book of Mormon. He told us that he feels it his responsiblity to ensure that every missionary he is in charge of is true to the prophet. I am so grateful to serve under president Fenn. I promise to be true to the Prophet Joseph Smith and The Book of Mormon when i am faced with adversity and hostility towards these topics. I am excited for that to come and happen so that i can stay true to my promise and desire to stand as a witness. Its exciting to me! :) 

Then sunday we had a lesson about Joseph and Hyrum Smith. It was just a wonderful weekend to pay homage to them. I am exctied. I know that the greatest way we can each honor them and their sacrifices is to become closer to Christ. and the best way to do that is to read the Book of Mormon. -- AH! the church is so true!  

Ok well it was a great week. we are excited for this week and have great lessons set up with many people. We had a member invite us over for Easter Sunday to teach their friend about the gospel. we are super excited! this ward is on fire! 

Have an amazing week. I hope we will each reflect on this momentous time of Christs life and of the deep Deep abiding love he has for each of us. 

I love you!

Love, 

Sister O'Neil

ps. Chris! good luck on your talk! i hope all your friends come that you have been inviting! I am excited for you! I would love to have a copy of your talk. :) 

p.p.s. HAPPY BIRTHDAY GRAHAM!! I love you buddy! eat some cake and do a crazy dance!!  I love you! 

4/7/14

OH THE LOVE

Didn't you just love General Conference?!  I sure did.( i was half expecting President Monson to announce that sisters could serve for 2 years now... oh well. maybe October conference ;) ) And i cried when it ended. I love the spirit and the power that comes into our lives because of the words of living prophets and apostles. I know what they said is true. I know they are Prophets of God.   and now that it is said and done, all i can say is " I FEEL SO LOVED."   I love General Conference.

Heavenly Father loves ME so much. I hope you felt that same love, that he has for each of you. i know he does. He is THE BEST!!!  :) (literally haha) I am just so grateful for all the knowledge he has given us. the reassurances and feelings of peace.  the feelings of camaraderie and support as members of the restored gospel and more enlightenment and understanding about the Atonement.I hope and pray that you listened and heard all of the wonderful blessings promised to us as we are obedient. I felt such a sense of urgency for everyone to hear these things, as i was hearing them. I just wanted everyone in the world to feel of the love i was feeling and of the peace for the future i received. Conference is So Powerful and the spirit leaves a lasting impression on our hearts and minds, because these things are true and they come from our Father.  I love Heavenly Father.

Mckenzie came to the Saturday morning session of conference! it was great! and she brought a friend (who happens to be investigating in the other ward, that also meets in our building) anyways. Very coool. I dont know if i have told you about Mckenzie, but she is care giver to a 97 year old guy in our ward. Brother  Burton Bingham is his name. (pause. please reflect right now on how long 97 years is. all the history! blows me away every time i think about it.) anyways he is a farmer and his son, and grandchildren live in our ward. they are the farmers now. (its cool) anyways.. Brother bingham JR. called us to tell us about Mckenzie and suggested we go and "visit" brother Bingham Sr. and teach Mckenzie. so that is what we have been doing. she is great! and always tells us how she is always so amazed at how sure we are of things, that we know things. In our last lesson with her, i testified to her that she can be just as sure about these things as we are, by reading and praying. so she said she would. :)  I love when people progress! its the best feeling ever. so she came to the morning conference and some of the issues talked about (same-sex marriage) surprised her and got her thinking. so we will see how our next lesson goes. She is very understanding and eager to learn so i have no worries about resoling her concerns :)  I love Mekenzie

Miracles happened!! Sue Dewey, our fabulous investigator, watched EVERY SESSION of conference!! AHHH!! i am so excited!  

It was amazing. so this week she had shoulder surgery- which went 2 hours longer than scheduled. so she has been recuperating. this could not have come at a better time. NOw because of her surgery she is FORCED to sit all day, and what better to do than to read the Book of Mormon! i can already see how this is a blessing in her life- besides the fact that it is healing her brokenness.. anyways she watched the saturday morning session with a member and then Saturday afternoon we went to her home to watch with her and her recent convert son Tim. It was awesome! and then we were discussing with her, and 3 members from the ward came over. completely unplanned, sorta... well one was our ride and the other two were bringing her food because of her shoulder etc. (earlier we told her that we would get some members to bring her food so she didnt have to worry about that. isint His chruch the best?!) Then on sunday she watched the womens conference in the morning, and both sessions. after the sessions we went over to talk with her, and you could just feel the spirit radiating. it was awesome! she was looking forward to the Sunday sessions and was sad that they had to end. we talked about a lot of the talks she heard from, and bore testimony of the truth. and tim opened up to her and it was just great! I testified to her that she could and would come to know that these things are true, and she would do it the same way that every member in the church (including those she saw in the conference center) and she jumped in and said "by reading and praying" I just smiled and said yes!! I JUST WANTED TO JUMP UP AND DANCE! it was so cool. (obviously i didnt... :) )I dont know why this experience of her committing is so special to me and why i feel so excited for her, (its not like this is the first time this has happened for an investigator) but i just see her truly coming to see the light of the gospel. and I feel so happy about it.  The Apostles and Prophet have such a great power in the simplicity of their teaching. Their examples and metaphors touched my heart, and i know they touched hers and others all around the world. I am so SO glad she had the opportunity to watch this conference and to feel of the spirit. this week we are going to do our best to put her on date to be baptized on April 26th. the whole shoulder thing will work out... i know it will. :) I love Sue Dewey. 

Another touching experience to see Hectors response to his first experience of General Conference. we communicated with him through facebook and skype after he watched the Sunday morning session and i just want to share with you what he said. " I just want to go out right this very moment and grab every person that I see and place a Book of Mormon in their hands a say, with these tears in my eyes, "PLEASE...HEAVENLY FATHER LOVES YOU...JESUS LOVES YOU...HE IS TELLING ME SO RIGHT NOW. HE WANTS FOR YOU TO KNOW HIM. HE WANTS FOR YOU TO FEEL THIS LOVE THAT I FEEL RIGHT NOW. HE WANTS FOR YOU TO COME ON HOME AND TO BE A MEMBER IN HIS CHURCH BECAUSE YOU BELONG, YOU ARE IMPORTANT, YOU MATTER, YOU ARE PRECIOUS, YOU ARE HIS CHILD!"" I just loved that he felt this way. I really have come to learn that this kind of love that we feel from our Heavenly Father is truly what drives us to share the gospel with others. I know that as we immerse ourselves in the gospel, studying it and understanding it, we feel his love and want to share it. He is a great member missionary and his testimony of the gospel is so inspiring. I know someday he will help so many people come into the gospel and to feel of that love. I love Hector.

on Sunday afternoon we had dinner with the Hermanas and the Elders in our ward at the Evans home. President and President Evans are the best! (he is the stake pres, and she is the ward RS pres.) We shared the message of the restoration with them, and the 6 of us missionaries took turns teaching the different principles. it was the coolest experience. I loved it, the spirit was so strong and we shared some spirit filled moments together. It was one of my favorite moments on my mission so far. I love the Evans family

Just had my teeth cleaned. i love that feeling of a deep cleanse. Sister oliphant and i have a cavity on the same tooth. haha could we be any more similar? not sure.. haha ( it is interesting the similarities we have.) I love Sister Oliphant.

I am going to do my best to follow the counsel of Elder Ballard, and write home to you all the things that i am learning from Preach My Gospel. I hope you will begin to study and tell me of the things you learn. I love the Gospel of Jesus Christ. I love Missionaries.

The love is true love. " love TUWU LOVE, is what brings us togedwwer todaww."- princess bride And true love will always bring us together. Love from our Heavenly Father and love for each other.

I love YOU! 

I Love: Mom,Dad, Chris, Nicole,Isabel,Claire, Emmett, Lisa, Jim, Eric, Michael, Kate, Joshua, Annabeth,Riley, Jill, Harrison, Graham, Eliza, Everett, Megan, Adrian, Maddie, Sara, Abby, HILARY, the ward family, all my friends (there are too many to list - because i love them all.. you know who you are :) 

I am grateful for this week in my life, and hope i can remember it. 

love you!

Sister O'Neil

HAPPY APRIL EVERY ONE! GENERAL CONFERENCE!!! YAY!    3/31/14 

This week has been great. we had some very strange experiences and some great miracles! 

first, THank you Laurie Astle! you are the best thank you for the easter package and letters from JJ. A wonderful surprise!

 On thursday we had some weird things happen. the whole day just didnt feel right and I was struggling and it was weird. anyways we get home about 9:00 and our apartment was unlocked and light was on. and because of everything going on we were spooked. but we checked it out and its all good.  We are pretty sure it is just human error in our lack of attention to details. We had been receiving so many texts and calls from our leaders asking if we were ok, just their following of promptings and so we thought there was something wrong. anyways. the night ended well and we are safe!

On Friday we got up to go and help some less-active members move. they were packing up a uhaul to drive across town to their new place and I just realized how grateful i am for Riley and others in our family that have the ability to pack things so effectively into a truck. (obviously they played a lot of tetris) it was just interesting to see the difference in their family and they way they organize and do things. Made me grateful for ours.

A miralce happened this week. we had a few minutes before an appointment and so we knocked some doors and the 2nd door we knocked on was this girl named Amy. we come to find out that she was a former investigator from a few years ago and she expressed interest. we invited her to come to conference and she said she would. AWESOME! 

then we went to our appointment with Sue. she is amazing! We taught her about recognizing the spirit and how the Holy Ghost works. read a lot of scriptures with her that characterize it so clearly. 

 all i know is the spirit was amazing! I just remember feeling the spirit work through me because i learned SO much in that experience and i felt we taught so clearly. A great lesson and she made us apple pie! my favorite! :) 

Afterwards we got home and we looked through our pile of former investigators. and we couldnt find Amy in there. and then we remembered that we had made another smaller pile of individuals we felt the Lord wanted us to contact in the coming week and Amy was in there. It was amazing. and she is coming to conference! YAY! we are excited. we are praying she will be one of our baptisms this transfer!

Saturday was amazing! i loved womens conference and felt so privledged to be there. I felt like i was with all those women in my life who i love. all my sisters, grandma, aunts, best friends AND NIECE! it was so cool! i loved it! I am so grateful for each of you and the example you are to me. and for the righteous desires you have! i love you! 

We gathered at the rockford stake center and heard from President Evans. He is a very inspired man who talked to us for a short few minutes about the difference between a testimony and conversion. and it went so nicely with the rest of the meeting and broadcast. totally inspired. I loved it. he is a great man. President and sister Evans are in the ward I am serving in and so we get to associate with them a lot. a great treat and wonderful example. 

I loved the emphasis on helping younger sisters transition into Relief Society. and was grateful for those who have helped me to transition. I loved womens conference. the video was my favorite! 

I have heard about the earthquakes! Pretty exciting!   are you on water rationing?  how is that going?  are you safe? 

yesterday we had a presentation on emergency preparedness and I just was grateful for the examples i have of that. I just love you all!  how have you seen blessing for being prepared for emergencies? 

Happy April fools everyone! i hope you all get tricked in some way. its the best... :) 

The gospel is true. i love being a missionary! keep doing what you know you should be doing. and blessings will come! 

"obedience brings blessings, exact obedience brings miracles."

Love from the Midwest,

Sister O'Neil 

3/24/14

It’s a Christmas Miracle

ok, so first of all, I bought a recorder at the beginning of my mission when i was serving with Sister Pankretz, and I have been recording President Fenn, and other people and things since then, as well as funny memories etc. THEN i went and lost my recorder. and it was missing for almost 3 1/2 weeks. I prayed and told everyone here to pray and told everyone in the ward to look for it, because i knew i lost in in someones car or getting out of a car.  of course this whole time i was just sure that it was lost in the snow and then a car rolled over it and now it is just gone. So i was sad because all those memories and messages from President Fenn were gone.  On Friday we had exchanges and the sister training leaders came to our apartment to exchange, and I had been telling Sister Oliphant how excited i was for Exchanges because Miracles happen when we are on exchanges. SURE ENOUGH . MIRACLE happened! EXACTLY one minute after the sisters walked in our door, we recieved a text from sister Sharon Neumann in the ward, asking if we lost our recorder. SHE FOUND IT!! it had been in her car for 3 weeks!  and the weirdest part was that she found it in the crack of the seat and the door on the DRIVERS side of the car. I dont even know how i got over there. We always sit on the right side of the car. It was amazing! The Lord truly cares about the little things. and I am just so grateful that it was found and returned! The church is so true! CHRISTMAS MIRACLE! - now i am going to follow the example of my father and find a way to label it with my name. - i learned that lesson the hard way thinking the whole time "if only i had put my name on it... if only..."  

O'NEIL stencil here i come!  :) 

ok this week we dropped the crazy lady we were teaching. i dont remember if i told you about her. Kelly. She was really resistant to being baptized and she felt forced, don't know why, but she did and said "if you really want me to be baptized then, i can just go down to the baptist church and they can baptize me and not force me to give up my coffee or cigarettes."  so we dropped her, and apologized for making her feel forced. and went on our way. it was hard because she was so close, in some aspects, and i really had to have faith that we would find another person to teach and the spirit just prompted me and comforted me that everything will work out and someone great is going to come into our path that needs the gospel and is ready for it. so on to find that person! 

We had two really amazing lessons with Sue.  Sue is SO prepared for the gospel. it is amazing. we shared with her the plan of salvation and then later this week the Restoration DVD and the spirit was so strong in both lessons. her son is a recent convert in this ward and so engaged in sharing the gospel. it is awesome! so he was excited last night when we told him that his mom agreed to be BAPTIZED!! when she comes to know these things are true. WOOT!! so exciting. we are helping her to identify the Holy Ghosts promptings and feelings, telling her that this is true.  she has concerns about temple marriage and the idea that she could not be there when Tim gets married (hes not engaged, but wants to be married someday), BUT when she becomes a member she wont have to worry about all of that! because she can go! and understand! Woot!   it is so wonderful! 

Things are going well. I love this work. and i love being a missionary!  I know the lord is in the details of our lives! 

GENERAL CONFERENCE!! next week!!  so exciting!  you should each invite a non member to come over to your house to watch a session of general conference with you. The spirit will be strong, and they will hear the message they need to hear for this time in their life!  isn't it just amazing that we have prophets and apostles today that give us council specific for the next 6 months, and for our lives. They have been taught by the Lord the things we need to hear to be prepared for the next few months of our lives, and we get to listen to what they have to say. It is amazing! I love the gospel. I love the Lord.  HALLELUJAH!! 

love you lots!  Sister O'Neil 

HAPPY ST. PATRICK'S DAY!                                                3/17/14

What a great week I had! There are so many little things, and big things, that made this week amazing!  

on Tuesday we received a call telling us that we were asked to go to the temple on Saturday. THE BEST NEWS EVER!  we were told earlier this month of the temple policy that we would not be allowed to go to the temple unless we were in a different zone than i am now, and so we didnt think we would be allowed until we were transferred into one of those zones. So we went on saturday! it was SO AMAZING!! we got there SUPER early so we did initiatories for an hour and that was great! my first experience doing those since my own. Great! and then the session! AMAZING!! so grateful for the insights i gained and the amazing experience the temple really is  

Tender mercy happened at the temple. Earlier this week I had a memory come to mind of an experience I had with my MTC companion, and then I thought of how much I missed her because she was transferred into the Chicago mission. The thought left me and I just knew in my heart that it would be fine because I would see here after the mission and we could catch up then. As we came out of the session and were getting ready to leave a sister asked me, " are you sister O'Neil?" I said yes. And then she said " Sister Hone Is looking for you." she was there! My good friend and fellow missionary and first companion, Sister Hone! It truly was such a tender mercy from God and an answer to my prayer, that I almost didn't realize I had offered. The Lord is in the details of our lives. He cares about us and wants us to have those experiences that bless us. It was just so wonderful because the last time I had been to the temple was when I was with her in the MTC and I just feel that everything had come full circle and I felt ready to keep going. I feel refreshed, stimulated and enlivened and ready to keep moving forward.  I love the temple and I am so amazed how much I learned from the new video.  Such a blessing. I am just so grateful and I know the church is soooo true.

Transfers came and are leaving tomorrow. Sister Oliphant and I are staying together another transfer and we are excited! We work well together and have a lot of similarities. We are excited and have set great goals!

Amazing things are going to happen in this mission this year.I am excited to be a part of these miracles and the many MANY baptisms we are going to see. -record breaking!  i am excited. We had a zone training meeting on friday that really uplifted all of us. And i just feel so privileged to be here. i just cant get over that feeling. i love it.  my favorite quote from that meeting: " God didn't send losers to this mission. He sent spiritual giants." - President Fenn.  

The MOON has been so beautiful every evening. and we had the opportunity to see a few sun rises this week - i mean we are up for them every morning we just dont get to see them.  anyways just beautiful.  

Pi day was great! we had pizza and we made a delicious apple pie! it was SO GOOD!! - i love apple pie! 

the Hermanas that we car share with slept over on friday night so we could go to the temple together.  Haha a really funny experience happened I want to share with you. We all were in bed at 10:30. And I feel asleep really fast, I think we all did, we were pretty tired, and had an early morning. Anyways then at about 1:30 I wake up to find Hermana Brown (she is the really funny one that reminds me of Chelsea) sleep talking. She was kneeling on the ground facing me and she was teaching us a lesson. I woke up thinking there was something wrong and i felt worried, but then as I sat and listened she said something like " ok, well we are going to pray now." And then went right into praying in her high pitched prayer voice, thanking Heavenly Father for the wonderful lesson we had.  At that early hour I didn't really realize what was going on so I just went back to sleep.  On the morning when we woke up. Hermana Estrada told us about a dream she had that Hermana brown was teaching and I said, " no! That really happened! I woke up!" Haha it was so funny. Hermana brown is so funny and she was freaked out that she did that. And then she told us about other experiences she has had talking and walking In her sleep. She is so funny! I just love those Hermanas!   

It was a great week! now to press forward and see the miracles begin! I love this work and i am so happy to be a part of this mission!         love you all!    Sister O'Neil    p.s. HILI! happy BIRFTDAY!! love you!! 29 woot woot!!! :)