LETTER 13: The one where Tessa meets a fire dancer

Ok, this week was too good. Loving it, doing work, seeing miracle after miracle!

STORIES

--Alright so Monday night, we had visited everyone and had nothing else to do, but still had 30 minutes left of the day! So I'm just driving along and Sister Rhoades says, "Soo...where are we going?"

Me: "Where God wants us to go of course!"
Sister Rhoades: "And where is that?"
Me: "Ask Him, not me!" haha

So I just pull into a parking lot, we get out and walk straight to this guy we see... long story short, he has an LDS friend and wants to learn more, wants to come to church, etc. Holy miracle!!! Did that just happen? God's timing is incredible!! I can't get over it. Best thing ever. His name is Ignacio, or Nacho for short. Still in the process of meeting up with him (:

--We had an appointment fall through, but the Marlows were already planning on coming with us. So instead, since they are amazing, they came out knocking with us! We headed up their street knocking, and are walking up the driveway to one house and Brother Marlow just says, "This is it." Uhh wow...ok! 

Haha so we knock on the door, and start talking through the window to a guy in bed. He invites us in, and we go to his bedroom and find him. His name is Paul! Paul has multiple sclerosis, but also has the most incredible faith. We shared the Restoration with him, and have gone back again since to talk more about the Book of Mormon with him! Yayy miracle!!

--Another time driving, wondering where to go street contacting, we see a girl dressed in blue medical scrubs. Sister Rhoades just says, "Let's go get her!" haha so we creep on her, pull up in a parking spot by her and jump out super quick and start talking to her! Her name is Mary, and she just moved here from Syria. She is the sweetest girl ever, she's 21 and has a love for Jesus Christ that truly inspires me. We met the next day and taught her the Restoration. She lovesit. Taught her again, the Plan of Salvation! Again, she loved it. She feels it's true already and says she will pray about it and do whatever God tells her to do. Ahh! Well, we had to hand her over to the Singles Ward Sisters, but they are doing great with her. Miracle!!! Love it!

--We had Zone Conference on Thursday, and for weeks they have been stressing how important it is to be on time. Well, if you know me at all, you know I am always very diligent about being on time, it's important to me! Haha so we go to leave with a large buffer time so we would for sure get there on time. And....we had a flat tire!! Seriously?? The ONE time it really matters. I was a stressed mess haha. We had ran over a nail! So the Elders came to the rescue, and we made them late too. But it worked out, and Sister Hall even used us getting a nail in our tire as an analogy during the conference! It worked out, but was very bad timing. (:

--Speaking of Zone Conference, it was the best thing ever! A member of the 70 came, Elder Kopishke. He is inspiring. I felt the spirit so strong, and he truly changed my life. I was on a spiritual high for the rest of the week, and still am! I love it! How blessed are we to have an apostle of God come minister to us. Also, at lunch, he and President Hall came to sit, eat, and chat with us. We chose the right table! (: I had the opportunity of saying a prayer after lunch in front of everyone, and I don't think I've ever been so nervous for a prayer haha

--We went to visit a potential investigator that missionaries had found a couple years ago. We've tried many times before, and she was always busy. But we were persistent! Haha so we finally got to go in and talk with her, and we had a member with us, Sister Pena! Her husband is 40 years older than her...pretty crazy. He's 93 and going strong. Their name's are Regina and Glenn! (Glenn's are good luck (: ). So as she's talking, she starts asking what happens after we die, because she doesn't know how much longer her husband has. We taught her a powerful Plan of Salvation lesson, and she totally felt the spirit, committed to read the Book of Mormon, and wants to learn more. WOW! Sadly we had to hand her over as well, this time to the Spanish missionaries! They'll do well with her (: Miracle!!

--At Pep-boys while getting our tire fixed, we started talking to this lady named Kim. She's a fire dancer! Haha she was so awesome though, after talking for a bit she's like, "Can I take a picture with you guys?? Hold up the Book too! I want to show my friends!" So I held the Book of Mormon proudly and we got a picture with her (: She wants to meet up and bring a friend to talk with us more! Can't wait! It's in the works (:

--We went to visit a lady who lives next door to Rosie, and Ursula, and Josh! 3 of our investigators live right on the same street! We call it our golden street haha. So we visit Esperanza, and I invited ourselves in (it's worked 3 times now this week--three for three!) so she let us in and gathered all her kids and her nieces and nephews who live there. We taught the whole family the Restoration and they committed to read the Book of Mormon and pray as a family. They loved it and we have a return appointment next Friday! I can't even describe how happy I was. Biggest miracle! Lots of new investigators! 

FUNNIES

--Well...I don't have anything specific to share. Sorry! But the Elders here crack me up, every week. I can't handle it. They're too great! Love it. So that will count as the "funny" for this week. (:

LESSONS LEARNED

--Elder Kopishke taught me SOO much! Some highlights:

·  Setting goals is an act of faith. We need to take our dreams and kneel down. Take them seriously! Get your dreams and then get behind them. Make them happen.

·  We see what's in our minds--if we're envisioning finding our dream family or dream person, we will see them everywhere! We can't just envision the 100 people we want to baptize, but picture the ONE then find them. (:

·  Before we leave, we should baptize our replacement. (LOVE THIS. I will bring a girl to the church, and she will be a missionary one day, too. (: )

·  This is ALL about love. Jesus Christ didn't 'overcome the world' through being a tyrant, a ruler, etc. He overcame the world because he LOVED it so much that He was willing to die for it.

 Honestly, I could go on and on with the things I learned. But that will do for now (:

I can't even get over how blessed I am to be seeing all these miracles. This week was beyond amazing. SO MANY MIRACLES. I'm loving the work, loving the people here, just loving everything! Thank you for the support and love, keep it coming (: 

My cluttered but amazing desk, along with my collage of pictures and quotes (: Makes me happy!

We got RAIN! For the first time! Sister Rhoades was beyond happy, it was nice to have a break from the heat. Things have cooled down and I finally have gotten to break out my jacket!

Just a little glimpse of Glenn's dog, Callie! We love her. Parts of her look like a leopard (:

A blurry picture we took at Glenn's. (:

Our ward made the CUTEST stockings for the missionaries in our stake!! The elders have little ties, and the sisters have buttons and bows. All have little nametags. I love it! We got to help stuff them with goodies. (:

Our dear Elders fixing our tire! 

Elder Amadi and I, I was trying not to smile...you can see how well that went. Haha

Everyone here keeps giving us fruit from off their trees! Exotic ones, at least for Utah standards haha. I've got some japanese fruit, guavas, and pomegranates.

Sister Kemp and Elder Larman wearing their colorful clothes. Apparently today everyone was trying to dress ugly haha I didn't catch the memo!

My zone...love them. Today we played "werewolf." They're goofs and crack me up.

Letter 12: The one where Tessa gets good news at general conference

So I don't know about you, but this week was the best. I'm on a spiritual high from conference! I mean, how could you not be? SO GREAT.

STORIES

--My family sent me a box of Books of Mormon!! Happy day! I don't even know what to do with myself if I don't have a Book of Mormon in hand. On top of supplying me with more books, they put a family picture inside each book along with their testimonies! It's the best thing ever to be able to go talk with people and show them my family and how the Book of Mormon has impacted them. Big thanks to my amazing mom!!

--We met with cute grandma Magda this week--or as Sister Rhoades says, "Magma"-- and we have a BAPTISM DATE set!! November 9th!!! Mark it in your calendars (: So happy for her. After over a year of investigating the church...she's finally entering in the gate to return to God! Can hardly wait (:

--Had a lesson with Jamie and Jason, we love them dearly...but unfortunately...they are getting dropped. Breaks my heart ): There's only so much you can do when people refuse to read the Book of Mormon or pray about it. We've tried many approaches with lessons, but it always turns into Bible bashing, and the thing with Bible bashing is--no one wins! So we have one more appointment with them to tell them byeee

--We got a referral from Mormon.org this week, so we go to visit her and no one answers. We knock two of her neighbors, and the first neighbor is totally awesome and wants us to come back! The second house, a guy answered and told us he was just house-sitting for the day and didn't live there.

Soo we go back to the referral the next day, and they aren't interested ): We go back to the "house-sitter" house, and the same guyanswers the door...haha before we even say anything he just blurts out, "Ok! You caught me, I lied, this is my house. I didn't think you would come back!" Haha caught him in the act! He was way funny about it though, and we ended up getting a return appointment! So we taught Pablo yesterday, and now we have a NEW INVESTIGATOR! Yayy! He's the best! The lesson went super well, and he is so ready and prepared.

Even though that referral didn't necessarily work out, it brought us to their neighbors, and they are ready for the gospel! CODE RED-SEA

--Someone chased after US on the street....the tables have turned! Haha he wanted a Book of Mormon...who does that?! It was awesome! But he wants it in another language, so we have to wait a week or so to get it. Way cool though!

--A while ago, I wrote an article for sistermissionaryfashion.com...it should be published on their site soon so go check it out if you so desire (: It's about how I prepared for my mission from a wardrobe perspective. It's an awesome store and has the cutest clothes! I'm honored they chose me to write an article for them. 

--Friday, we went on exchanges!! Sister Kemp came with me to work in good ol' Granada Hills. She is the best ever!!! We had a blast, it was so fun and we worked super hard. Learned tons from her. 

As a district, we went to do a blitz to help out the Granada Hills Elders, so we all went to the food trucks Friday night and went crazy handing out pass along cards and talking about Jesus! Missionaries everywhere! Loved it.

--General Conference....exclamation point! (If you watched conference, you'll get that reference. (: ) So basically, just amazing. I LOVE hearing from our prophet and apostles! They are truly inspired. My love and testimony of the gospel was strengthened and deepened. I just want everyone in the whole world to have this gospel in their lives! 

--Saturday we went to visit a former investigator, Clara. She wasn't home, but her daughter Ursula was! So we basically invited ourselves in to share a message...we shared the Restoration with her, and now we have another NEW INVESTIGATOR! She is amazing and searching for truth. We have a return appointment next Sunday and she committed to read the Book of Mormon (: CODE RED-SEA

--Knocked on a door, and a man named Herbert answered. We talked for quite a while about Jesus Christ, and he has the most incredible faith and humility. With tears in his eyes, he told us he wants to be like us one day! I mean, how can you NOT love him?? He is so sweet and we have an appointment set with him.

--Went to visit Edward and FINALLY caught him at home! Just shared a brief message with him, and then his mom pulled up and he had to leave, so we went in and talked with Nancy. I love her to death! We talked about the Book of Mormon and she committed to read it, andwith her cute son Estabon who is going to start coming to scouts! This family is incredible and I so desperately want them to have this gospel in their lives. Love them!!!

FUNNIES

--We walked up to someone on the street...

Me: "Hi, I'm Sister Rhoades!"
Sis Rhoades: "And I'm Sister Bishop!"

...then we just look at each other...

Me: "Wait a second.....switch that..."

hahah so funny. Good way to break the ice! They started laughing too. 

--When we go to teach Pablo for the first time, he's like "Oh yeah, I was just barely watching this 'Mormon's Gone Wild' show where they leave the church or something!" 

Me: "Uh....you mean the Amish show?"
Pablo: "Oh you guys aren't Amish?"

haha nope. Glad we got that cleared up!

--At conference, the Zone leaders brought tons of Dove chocolates...lets just say, too much was consumed. Mostly to read the little fortunes on the inside of the wrapper haha. But then we listen to Russell M. Nelson talk about "self-control"...we just look at each other...dang it!!! Shut that down hahah no more chocolate for us. We're just happy that the talk was given at the end of conference so we got our fair share of chocolate in...(: We all signed a contract now going of sweets for a month. haha Prophet speaks and we follow!

LESSONS

--My motto for this week was: "Find things to enjoy. Rediscover humor, savor the beauty in the world, notice the kindness of others, and delight in the spirit's presence." This was taken from the 'Adjusting to Missionary Life' handbook. Isn't it amazing? Having this perspective and always looking for the good really does change things. Loved it. It takes conscious and concerted effort, but it's worth it.

--Ok, so prayer truly is amazing. We are talking with our creator, our Father in Heaven, God! He is the most all-powerful, all-knowing, amazing person, yet He cares and He listens to each little prayer. He is always there!! How amazing is that? I've been focused this week on having more meaningful heartfelt prayers. I've never prayed so much in my life, and before I knew it I found that I was slipping into repetitious prayers...not ok! So that's been changed, and I really put a lot of thought into what I say. Makes a huge difference. 

--Conference...learned so much. Can't even begin to explain all the things that touched my heart and the things that the spirit taught me! Mainly, I just left conference with the strongest desire to share this with everyone. Good news--I'm a missionary and my whole life is sharing it! Wish granted. haha I love missionary work.

Alrighty, that's about it. About ten times as long as last week...back to normal (;

Love you all...SO MUCH!!!! 

-Sister Bishop

I loved these trees!

A less-active we visited showed us this car he's restoring...it's from 1915! So cool!

The amazing Books of Mormon!

Some gum sent to us from Sister Langford in New York!

Got Beignet's at the Food Trucks on Friday. We finally got permission to eat there! First beignet ever. Mmmm (:

Sister Kemp...love her. Recognize her dress? haha a dog peed on her so we shared clothes (:

Just a few of the chocolate wrappers haha

Me and Sister Rhoades were twinners! Green cardigans and polka dot skirts.

I got a new set of scriptures, the 2013 edition!! I'm so happy, I love them (: it's fun to start over marking up everything. And I have a whole system for color coordinating and you can see all the tabs sticking out the top haha. Love it

Letter 11: The one where Tessa doesn't have time to say much

Hello hello (:

Today's gonna be a short report...sorry mom. Haha we have a million and one things to get done today!

This past week went really well. We found one new investigator, Josh! He's so great. We found him knocking, and he has been such an example to me. He is 21, has 2 young kids, and has overcome so much in his life! He is really changing his life around, and I'm stoked to be able to help him as he moves forward (: 

As for our other investigators, basically all of our appointments fell through...they got rescheduled for this week! So hopefully this coming week we'll get to teach lots.

We had a training meeting Friday for all of the Zone Leaders, District leaders--but not their companions, Sister Training Leaders........and Sister Rhoades and Sister Bishop. Haha it was so random! I really don't know why we were invited to come to a leadership meeting.....people were teasing me that I'm going to be a 12-week Sister Training Leader. No way! But it was an amazing meeting all about serving and helping our companions or the missionaries we work with. It made me so excited to train soon!

Aaaaand basically that's all I have for this week. Lots happened, but no time to share :/ Still learning tons each week. Loving my area, the people, my zone--it's all so incredible! I'm very blessed and I can't imagine not being here. I love it!! Sorry again for the lack of stories and such. Thanks for everything (:

--Sister Bishop

Me with my new planner cover! Thanks to my talented mom, everybody in my zone is covetous. (: