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