Week #14

(Picture taken with Rachael Judd from Granite Bay)

April 9, 2012

Hi family! 

Thank you so much for the updates on everything! I love hearing about your lives and what you are all up to. And holy cow!! Is little Genevieve really due in a few weeks??!! I can't believe that... crazy! Cute little Eva will be a big sister like me! :) 

Wow, this week was absolutely incredible. I have been so blessed in SO many ways!! This week was one of the most incredible weeks of my mission. Sister Wilson and I truly saw the fruit of our labors, and my goodness... How sweet is that fruit!! I have literally been able to feel my faith and strength increase in this work. It has been incredible. I have a testimony of General Conference and missionary work that comes out of it-- HOLY COW!! The spirit is SO strong on Temple Square during Conference weekend. These members truly were inspired to refer the friends that they did. What a blessing to be a missionary here. I literally wouldn't change this experience for the world! Heavenly Father truly loves me and is taking care of me. I'm so incredibly lucky that the Lord trusts me enough to preach His gospel. 

In mom and dad's email, it helped me think about how much the Lord has blessed me intellectually. It's a miracle that I'm able to talk to people, and it is not a problem! I really can't remember saying those things that Grandma Orchard sent me -- but I can feel it. I know that I did have that experience, not because I still remember it, but because the Spirit testified to me that the Lord did help me out during those hard times. 

We had the opportunity to go to the temple this morning! (Since we went as a zone last week before Conference, we were able to go again today. Hooray!) We did initiatories which was absolutely incredible. I had forgotten so much. It was the perfect reminder to me of the blessings the Lord has promised to us that keep his commandments. I LOVE the temple so much!! We also got to do sealings!!! Sister Wilson and I were the children for the sealing ordinance. :) It was SO cool. Sister Wilson and I talked about it a little bit afterward and realized how much the gospel really works line upon line, precept upon precept. 

2 Nephi 28:30 explains this so perfectly: "For behold, thus saith the Lord God: I will give unto the children of men line upon line, precept upon precept, here a little and there a little; and blessed are those who hearken unto my precepts, and lend an ear unto my counsel, for they shall learn wisdom; for unto him that receiveth I will give more..." 

D&C 50:24 talks about this too: "That which is of God is light; and he that receiveth light, and continueth in God, receiveth more light; and that light groweth brighter and brighter until the perfect day." 

Isn't it cool that the Lord uses the word light to describe this? It makes absolute sense-- the more light you have, the more knowledge you have. I have really come to see this on Temple Square from people that aren't members of the church. Half the time they ask questions about things that they don't understand-- that they CANT understand-- because they do not have the basic light and knowledge the Gospel brings. I'm so thankful to my Heavenly Father that I know these things to be true. I'm so thankful to have the opportunity now to help others come to know the same! 

We had a fun mission meeting last Monday. We watched Kung Fu Panda 2 and had mexican catering. YUM. So, so good! And we also got gelato Sunday night from President for reaching our conference mission goal. :) I seriously have the best mission ever! (We're actually watching Megamind today, totally reminding me of Brad! "Olo! I mean, Hello?" :) ha ha!) 

I had a super funny experience on the phone on Wednesday. At Conference, I started talking to a member who wanted me to call her inactive sister from California. (Whoo whoo! Saving my people, one Californian at a time!) So I called this girl (I always call twice in a row because people answer the 2nd time) and this is what her voicemail said: "You've reached Summer from Social Night Club. Leave a message!" HA HA!!! I literally laughed SO hard, probably the hardest I've laughed my whole mission. It was the funniest thing ever. Don't you worry family and friends-- I will convert this apostate child of God! :) 

Despite this phone call, Wednesday was seriously a MIRACLE day. We had 4 people refer in the same day. 4 PEOPLE!!!!!!!!!!! I didn't even know this was possible, HA HA! We took a woman on a tour who referred from West Virginia (Sister Wilson is super excited about that--she's saving her people now too! :) Then my friend Kat who referred 5 of her friends--one of them referred to meet with missionaries! Awesome! And then we had a girl named Megan and a guy named Chris from Hawaii refer as well. Megan is an AWESOME girl-- she's so solid. There is no doubt in my mind that she will join this church! Three of these referrals were from General Conference. Do you see now how POWERFUL General Conference is?!! It uplifts the members of the church. But it's not just for us-- it's for these children of God who have not yet received the Gospel of Jesus Christ. They feel this power. They feel the Spirit. I know they feel it! I don't know of any other circumstance where 4 non members would agree to meet with missionaries in one day. Absolutely amazing! General Conference is TRUE! :) I really do have a completely different outlook on General Conference now that I have been a missionary during it. I love being tired in the Lord. It is literally the greatest feeling ever!! We all are still talking about our miracles from Conference-- we wish it were every weekend! My District Leader reminded us that we would all die of exhaustion though... ha ha. :)

Christie, do you remember a boy named Cooper Leavens? He said he knows you. He gave me 3 referrals. :) He's the cutest boy ever! I'm sure you people from Rocklin know him too. He's getting ready to go on a mission. So awesome! His really good friend Nolan who has actually taken the discussions referred to meet with missionaries again! Not sure why he stopped, so Sis Wilson and I will have to figure that out. He seems like a great kid that just wants to do what's right. I'm really, really excited for him. He referred on Thursday. Literally a week of miracles!! So blessed! 

I also went on exchanges with my ZL on Saturday. WOW. That was absolutely incredible! We gave a Spanish tour (she's from Guatemala) so I didn't understand hardly a word anybody said... like literally 5 words, haha, but it was the best tour I've ever been on. The spirit was so thick, you could feel it so strong!! This man is named Sergio, he is from the area and has a little boy who's the cutest thing you've ever seen. He's going through a divorce right now, but all he wants is to have a good strong family. Did I mention his wife is a member? Not a great example of one though. I got to testify to him a few times and then Sis Astorga (my ZL) would translate for me. She loved when I helped out because I would talk slowly and very simply. She said he actually understood most of what I said to him when I did say something (he only knew a little English), I thought that was cool. At the end of the tour the Elders committed him to baptism, and he said yes! But guess what the date was for? Sunday, the 8TH OF APRIL. They literally committed him for baptism the next day. HAHA!! So, so crazy! What a miracle!! 

Sunday was such a BEAUTIFUL day here on Temple Square. I'm literally taken away by the beauty of it! Sister Wilson was able to announce, so we had a good busy day full of tours. It was really fun. The people that we took around had amazing questions too! It was interesting... there was one couple in our tour (a group of 3 couples) that were silent the whole time. I watched them for a few minutes, and I felt like I needed to go up to the guy myself and start talking to him just one-on-one.  Sure enough, he totally opened up to me, asked me tons of questions about the priesthood, the temple, etc. He had amazing questions! And he agreed with everything I said, too! I learned a great lesson from this. I need to be 1. OBSERVANT when approaching people and 2. sensitive to the SPIRIT'S promptings. It was a really good reminder for me. 

We also had kind of a sad experience on Sunday. We gave a tour to a couple who was from Dubai. They were the nicest people you've ever met in your life! Cute little newly-wed couple too. We were talking about where they were traveling to. (They were on a month-long vacation. Sounds nice huh?) Omar said, "Out of all the cities I have been in the world, which I've been to a lot, Salt Lake City has SOUL. I feel it's soul!"  That was the only way this man knew how to explain the Spirit that he was feeling on Temple Square. Incredible, huh?! It was so sad though.  They wanted to meet with missionaries, but we don't have any in Dubai.  They were non-practicing Muslims, but their families are very strong Muslims. There was literally nothing we could do for them. I wanted to cry!! After he said this, we went to the temple model, and I explained the temple and the importance of it to us.. they LOVED it. We went to the Assembly Hall and told them about how much the pioneers sacrificed for what they knew to be true. They wanted to have that same conviction for their beliefs. The entire tour they couldn't stop talking about the "soul" of SLC and the beauty of Temple Square, the temple, etc. They can't meet with missionaries. We can't give them a Book of Mormon. We can't call and teach them more. We had to let them walk away, knowing that they might not ever come back; knowing that they might forget what they felt here. It was heart-wrenching. I'm so thankful for the circumstances I live in! 

However, I had yet another miracle today. I called a man named Gary back today. He had asked to have missionaries over and teach him more about the Book of Mormon a month ago but no one came. I sent missionaries over again, and asked him why he wanted to meet with missionaries so bad. He has read some of the Book of Mormon. He's prayed about it, and he literally explained to me that the Spirit of God told him it was true. He wasn't even sure what to call it at first, but he "felt different." I committed him to be baptized, and he said yes! :) 

Family and friends, I know that this church is true with all of my heart. There is no other church that has the fullness of the gospel as we do. I am so thankful to God for providing me with this gospel in my life and the opportunity and privilege to share it with others. "Hooray for Israel!" I am so thankful for the Easter season-- that I can remember my Lord and Savior Jesus Christ as a resurrected being. "Oh sweet the joy this sentence gives, I know that my Redeemer Lives." 

Love always, 

Sister Savage