Monday, November 23, 2015

So many miracles!

My dearest, darlingest friends and fam bam, 

Wowwowowowowowowowowowowowow!

This week was fraught with miracles, spiritual power, and loving service.

First, my new companion is the bomb diggity. Sister Hamilton has been out 6 months, is from Pleasant Grove, and has become a incredibly good friend in a matter of days. She has answered all my prayers! She is a bold, powerful, miraculous missionary, and she has helped to be able to have more fun and be more effective. She is really needed in this area, especially for her incredible music talents. We have the Festival of Choirs coming up, and she has been able to compose a cool arrangement for the missionaries in our ward to sing! She is a beautiful singer and a just a wonderful human. And hilarious.....we have soooo much fun!

I promised you miracles! Here they are! Many came in the form of those who have been able to progress in their relationship with Christ. The first being the Segovia-Morse family! Aaron, Morgana, and Anthony came to sacrament meeting! We met with them Saturday and the lesson was incredible. They have been reading the Book of Mormon almost every day, and they said that they know it is true. It is amazing to see how much one week has changed their attitude and how the Book of Mormon and prayer has softened their hearts. They loved church and participated actively in Gospel Principles. Their daughter Alana LOVED primary! As they left they told some ward members that they would see them next week! I love this family, and I am so blessed to help them on their journey. 

Sister Curless, a less active, came to church for the first time since I have been in the area and I have seen her at least once a week. She had a really good time, and she told us her husband (a non member) is coming around and may be interested! We saw similar progression in Sister Noyes, another less active, and we decided to start all over with her She is starting to remember the wonderful blessings the Book of Mormon brings and she said she would strive to read daily.

Lastly, Shane is doing so well! He is even moving out of his home because it is too much of a party house, and he was offered a place to rent at a member's home! The light inside him continues to shine and he grows more and more hungry for the gospel. The bishop even mentioned a mission to him...so that's in his brain too!

Miracles happen every day. The atonement of Christ is what brings about those miracles. As we strive to be better every day, and love the Lord with everything we have, He gives us all we need and more. Any feelings of inadequacy, unworthiness, or really anything negative does not come from our Heavenly Father. I KNOW this gospel is true. Why? Because everything in it testifies of Heavenly Father the Savior's love for all of us. They have reached out in love to us and given us the tools, such as the Book of Mormon and living prophets, to help us be happy in this life and receive crowns of glory in the eternities.Simply put in my favorite children's hymn: I know He lives, I will follow faithfully, my heart I give to Him, I know that my Savior loves me. He loves us all, and we need Him. 

Needless to say this week rocked! Blessings are everywhere as we live the restored gospel! That is a promise heavenly father will never break:)

Love,
Sister Lescarbeau

(Me and my new companion, and I finally had Ben and Jerry's in Vermont, where its made! The real question is...is it Vermont's finest, or am I? 😁)



Monday, November 16, 2015

New, New, New!

Hey there wonderful people!!
This week was fantastic in so many ways!! Everything is changing
through! Sister Bishop is leaving 😞😞😞 But she has taught me so
much, and she is my best friend. But I know she will do incredible
things in this mission!! And my new companion, who I am receiving
tomorrow was actually her companion in the MTC! Crazy right? I am
excited for the new things that I will get to learn from her, and how
much growth we can bring to the area! Look out Vermont, be ready to
feel the love of the Lord!!

SHANE WAS BAPTIZED! It was so spiritual, he is a young guy, so this
will change his whole life! He also received the Aaronic priesthood
and will be going to the temple this Saturday! He has a lot of things
ahead of him, I hope it doesn't overwhelm him! His girlfriend,
Aitanna, has started being active in the church, and we actually got
to go on a mini mission with her! So excited to see the journey they
go on together! The ward has done well in fellowshipping them. Shane
has made great friends with the priest quorum president, and that has
helped him understand the role of the priesthood.

We had a little bit of a slow week, but we did get to see Aaron and
Morgana! We had to kind of real talk with them about their commitment.
They said that they know it is true, but that they need to change a
lot in their lives to be "good Mormons". So we decided to just meet
them where they are at, and build their faith. With them it's not
about whether or not they get baptized right now, it really is just
helping them overcome the challenges in their lives.

I am so excited for everything that is to come, especially the
opportunity for me to grow closer to my savior. I know he lives, and
as I draw near to him, he draws near to me. I am so glad that he has
promised us all his love and comfort, all we have to do is ask for it.
I challenge all of you to simply kneel and ask if Heavenly Father and
Jesus Christ love you, and you will receive incredible peace. The
answers I have received are special to me, and I know that Heavenly
Father is looking out for me!!

Love,
Sister Lescarbeau
Pictures!
1. A wonderful quote 2. Fun times after the baptism! 3. Shane and
Aitanna!😍 4. We were struggling when we filled the font haha. 5. The
crew! #lyndonward4life












Friday, November 13, 2015

Week 11....WHAAAT?!

Hola my favorite people in the whole entire world!!

Another week has passed, and I have realized that transfers are in
just 8 short days!!! And I am almost done with training...so I could
get a new companion. I will miss Sister Bishop if she leaves....but I
think transfers are so exciting! I can't wait to see what the rest of
my mission has in store. I know the Lord will put me where he needs
me, and what a wonderful privilege it is to serve him!

Shane is getting baptized this week!!! He is also going to be
receiving the Aaronic Priesthood the next day, and he will be doing
temple work the 21st! It is a little overwhelming, but Shane is taking
it like a champ!! He knows that Satan will do all he can to stop him
from making this great decision, and he will not budge! He is an
amazing person, and I can't wait to see his continual progression in
the gospel. (maybe a mission?πŸ™πŸΌ)
Lance was finally able to make it to church! He even brought his kids
and his mom!! It was the primary program, and it was wonderful! They
seemed to enjoy it, but they didn't stay the whole time. We are seeing
him tonight so we hope to see where he's at.

Mary Strole really isn't progressing that much. But I was able to meet
with her on exchange with sister Tyler. We were able to help her see
how the gospel has blessed her  life as she has met with missionaries,
and attended church. She still seems like she just can't commit, but
we were definitely able to give her some things to ponder. I hope she
can see that he Lord will provide a way for her as she commits to live
the gospel.

Elder Nielson, managing director of the missionary department of the
church, came to a special conference this week!! It was held at the
Joseph Smith Birthplace, where the spirit is always so incredible. He
and his wife both shared their wonderful insights! It was amazing to
have someone who is always dealing with missionaries help us to see
how our missions can improve. He talked a lot about the Atonement, and
how by learning about it ourselves and using it, we can better help
those we teach use it and find joy in this life through Christ. Sister
Nielson talked about loving your companion, and everyone else as well.
Just because we have differences, doesn't mean we can't work together
to bring more happiness to the world. They have fantastic spirits! I
was so privileged to meet and learn from such spiritually grounded
individuals.

This week I have been thinking and studying a lot about humility. I
didn't realize that it can help us in so many ways! It makes us
teachable, kind, willing to serve, and so many other things. For me, I
love that humility can help relieve my stress. I know that I can yield
to Heavenly Father, and He can make so much more out of me than I can.
I know that living the commandments of the church seems to some as a
restriction, but I know it is all for our benefit. I love this gospel,
and I support the teachings therein. The Lord provides and blesses
those who obey. And when we make mistakes, that's what the Atonement
is for! The Savior will make all of our wrongs right. He will always
be there for us.
I love being a missionary! And I love you all!!
Sister Lescarbeau




Monday, November 2, 2015

Attitude of Gratitude!!!

Yellooooooo!

This week was one of those rough missionary weeks, but that's where the title of this email comes from! Having a positive attitude, and of course my ridiculous sense of humor,  really helps you to get through the rain and know the rainbow is coming soon! I am so blessed to have a wonderful companion that also is so positive. I'm not perfect but I'm getting perfect at trying😁

We still saw amazing miracles this week! The first was that we committed Shane to live chastity and pay tithing and he committed to both!! As far as tithing he said "Just tell me when and where!" He is really accepting the atonement into his life, and he sees the positive difference, he is a great example. He is still getting baptized on the 14th , and he is getting the Aaronic Priesthood the same day as his confirmation!!

We got to teach Mary Armstrong for the first time, and she has seen a lot of life changing things happen to her lately, and she ha been looking for more in her life. She was way open to learning about the gospel. She was truly touched by the spirit, and I was as well. She shared with us a story about how she felt that Heavenly Father and her family were looking out for her, and she knows that He guides our lives.

One amazing miracle we saw this week was something that testified to me that Heavenly Father always looks out for us, even when we make mistakes. Like this week, we met a girl on the street that wanted a Book of Mormon, but neither Sister Bishop nor I had one!! I know...WORST MISSIONARIES EVER! But like I said,,even when we misstep the Lord provides. The next day we met a woman who works with the aforementioned woman!! She was totally willing to give her a book, and I seriously almost cried out of gratefulness. The Lord wants us to succeed! He will expend every effort, as long as we do so as well!

Other than that not a ton happened. We had to be in by 5 on Halloween, and we had to clean, but then Sister Bishop and I moved our mattresses into the living room, and had a mini sleepover!! She is becoming my best friend, I'll probably cry when she leaves!

Keep looking for opportunities to serve others! I can promise it will bring you immense joy, and it will lift your soul. I've seen it time and time again.

Love and miss you all! Tell me about all your endeavors!! I have being so selfish in talking about myself haha😜


Sister Lescarbeau




Sunday, November 1, 2015

Faith, Miracles, and Chihuahuas...Oh My!!!

Hey there you sons and daughters of God!

I want to start by apologizing. I type so many words incorrectly and my grammar has been so atrocious wow.  Please forgive me, I promise I'm usually the grammar girl.

Anyways! This week was pretty dang fantastic! First off, let me tell you about the wonderful miracle at the ward Halloween party! First of all it was so over the top and fun! There was a ton of decorations and Sister Bishop even convinced me to dress up, while still keeping the missionary dress of course. The first miracle was that 2 potential
investigators came and had a blast! Then Aaron, Morgana, Anthony, and Alana came. However they came at almost 8 so most everything was cleaned up. Then came the miracle : Members and all the little kids started giving them their own candy, they set up the giant Jenga game for them and a mini ring toss game!! They were so grateful, and the whole display nearly brought me to tears of joy. That's what the gospel is about folks! Serving others and loving them is t core of the ministry of Christ, and it was so beautifully displayed!! We are supposed to be God's hands on earth to bless his children, so let's take that to heart! 😊

So we finally got in to teach Aaron and Morgana, and we shared a quick message about pressing through adversity, and we sang "Where Can I Turn For Peace?". They seemed to really appreciate the visit! They felt bad that they were so busy and were not able to meet with us more often and we set up another appointment with us!! Can't wait to see this family keep progressing!

Shane is still working hard toward his baptism date! He committed to live the word of wisdom, while his roommates were right there! He talks about how they tease him a little, but it goes in one ear out the other because he loves the gospel so much! Wow this kid is crazy cool! He came to church this week with Aitanna, the less active member, and all went really well! He was involved in the Sunday school lesson which was all about faith! He is really prepared, but he is also very diligent.

Funny story for the week, while trying to contact a potential, we met a pen older lady named Sweet-a. I think that is the spelling haha. Anyways she proceeded to tell us to go back west and wash away all the demons that are in the west. In her words " they be smiling and saying that they happy but on the inside they are shooting daggers and bad vibes". We tried to share a quick message, but she kept us for about 15 minutes lecturing us about how wrong we were and that all good is bad, but all bad is good, but not really....to be honest none of it made any sense haha. But we left her with our card and offered service! I was just reminded about how Satan is the author of confusion and if I am lost, I can turn to Heavenly Father and seek the truth. It all comes back to the faith I have that what I am teaching is true!

I always find myself back at the principle of faith! I learned a powerful lesson about faith this week and how it affects the work. Faith gives us hope for the future and helps us to find guidance when we are lost. Whenever I feel like I am lost or I want to know how to progress, I can always turn to my simple faith. I know Heavenly Father
and Christ love me, that the Book of Mormon is true, and that all his children deserve a chance to know how much Heavenly Father desires them to return to him. Next step: Action.. I get up in the morning and pray in faith to be strengthened in Christ atonement to do hard things, and I am strengthened! We are promised if we act on a"particle of faith" the lord will grow it. Try it! I dare ya!😊

I am nearing the end of my training and my second transfer. Sister Bishop thinks I will train a new missionary and she will leave, but I think that she will stay! At least I sure hope so!! We have become best friends!!

I love you all and cherish you so dearly as my friends! Thank you for your support! I feel it so strongly! Keep on keeping on! 

Sister Lescarbeau