So Po

I am loving it here in South Portland(So Po)!

I can see the ocean from my apartment. Huge change! But is is so beautiful here!

My first week here has been pretty exciting! This area is different than any other I have served in thus far. It is definitely a city, and there are a lot of people! Another thing is that the ward and the community is so diverse! There are a lot of refugees living in Portland, so we see people from all over the world. In our congregation, many are from Africa who speak french. So we have a set of French speaking elders that translate the whole service into their native tongue! It is amazing to see how a belief in Christ can bring people that are so different together in love and happiness. 

My new companion, Sister Draper, and I have been working really hard. We teach very well together! We clicked immediately and things are going pretty great. We have been spending a lot of time trying to help me get to know all the members here. There are some very strong members that are very inspiring in their diligence and desire to serve God. 

On Sunday I bore my testimony as the new missionary in the ward and I shared the words of a children's hymn:
"I feel my Saviors love, in all the world around me, His spirit warms my soul, in everything I see.
He knows I will follow Him, give all my life to Him. I feel my Saviors love, the love He freely gives me"

I am so grateful for our Savior. I have seen His love this week as I have served His children. There is so happier feeling in the world than serving our brothers and sisters. 

Have a great week!

Sister Lescarbeau

Farm Girl--City Girl

That's right. This Farmington girl (that has truly spent time on farms) is headed to....

 PORTLAND MAINE. 

One of the biggest cities in the mission. It is right on the coast and home to beautiful lighthouses. It will be an awesome adventure! 

My last week in Farmington was great.It  was kind of slow, but not too bad. Summer is just a busy time for people. We saw some great success with our investigators and other this week! 

We were able to see Ellen more frequently. We saw her 4 times this week. We committed her to come to church one last time, and she came!! It was incredible! The lessons have been going really well, and she really seems to be grasping everything. Each time we go I see her testimony grow a little more, and her light shines a little brighter. We set a date with her for July 30th, and we are hoping she will do all she can to be baptized then. 

We had a great lesson with Sister Donaghy this week. She is hilarious. She told me that her daughter had a dream that I was milking a cow in a wedding dress....so now she said that my wedding invitations in the future better look like that. Anyways we had a great lesson about remembering the times we have felt the spirit very strong, and striving to get back to that. 

The Silvers are doing well. They came to church again this week and we had dinner with them after. They are so much happier now that they are living the gospel and striving to better follow Christ. Their home was more peaceful and everyone was joyful and respectful! I am excited for them! 

There is a quote I have been thinking about a lot lately

"You can have what you want, or you can have something better"

Heavenly Father has such wonderful things is store for us. It is difficult sometimes to give up our own will, desires, and choices to follow Him and Jesus Christ. It is always worth it. In 1 Corinthians 2:9 it says: " Eye hath not seen, nor ear heard, neither have entered into the heart of man, the things which God hath prepared for them that love him." 

The people here exemplify this. they have so many excuses they could use for not following Chris, but they follow Him regardless. they know His plan is better. I know that Christ wants the best for us. he lives so we can find joy.I love Christ and His gospel, and I know He loves us all. 

Love you all much!!

Sister L

Gone with the Wind

And that is a literal title! This past week we had such horrible wind gusts that there were several places where the fallen trees knocked out the powerlines. Or blocked roads! We actually even moved a fallen tree out of the road all on our own! (disclaimer:it was not on a power line):)

We have had a very busy week! Actually this whole six week cycle has been super fast! We get transfer calls on Saturday! It always happens just as the companionship hits its stride!:)

We saw a lot of miracles this week! Actually, we see a lot of miracles every week, because the Lord is just awesome like that!:) But we definitely saw some great growth, and I really felt like we were doing what God wanted us to. And because we followed His counsel, we were blessed! 

A lot of the people we have been working with came to church on Sunday! The most amazing was the Silver family! All 7 of them were there together for the first time in 2 years. Sister Silver came up to me and gave me a hug and said " Oh look at the beautiful sister that brought me and my family back!". In that moment the Holy Ghost helped me to realize that I was able to be the Lord's hands in His marvelous work. 

We spent a lot of time looking for people to teach, like knocking doors or talking to people on the street. It is actually so much fun! After you start to look at it as an opportunity to just get to know the people in the community it becomes more fun! We met so many nice, awesome people.I didn't get one door slammed in my face! Always an accomplishment!

We were able to go to our last Zone Conference with the President Stoker as our mission president! It was a great Zone Conference, it included a lot of talking about how the gospel can comfort us in any place in our lives. The scriptures and the words of modern prophets give us comfort and guidance straight from the Lord. One scripture was shared that really touched my heart: 

"Behold my Spirit is upon you, wherefore all thy words will I justify; and the mountains shall flee before you, and the rivers shall turn from their course; and thou shalt abide in me, and I in you; therefore walk with me" Moses 6:34. 

Christ is truly walking by our side every day. The moment we learn to trust in Him, is the moment we begin to see that He can help us overcome all things. 

Enjoy your week you wonderful people!

And enjoy some pictures!!! And the picture of all the missionaries is all the missionaries in our mission! It is over 200!!

LOVE YA

Sister Lescarbeau

Summary in Fahmington

Yes I spelled that right! In New England all yah 'r' s turn to 'h's. Try it out! It is more fun than you think! 

This week has been wonderful guys! The sun has been shining and the Lord has been blessing us! 

We picked up a new investigator this week! Her name is Jane and she initially just contacted us to do service for her, but we found out she is interested! She really wants to know what is true, so she is really intrigued by the promise at the end of the Book of Mormon, which challenges everyone to ask God if the book is true. So she has a lot of potential.

Penny, our progressing investigator, came to church again, and she stayed the second hour. It was great to see her get some more learning in.

We were also able to teach our investigators Kim and Jessica, and also Ellen this week. Ellen is progressing in essentially every other way other than coming to church. We are working in teaching her that action is important to progression, and she seems to be catching on. We are still in the beginning stages of teaching Kim and Jessica. They had some bad, like horrible , experiences with other churches and it turned them off a little bit. But they are definitely interested in having us come back!

We had some fun adventures this week as well! We milked cows, traveled to Augusta (the capital), and spent a lot of time helping helping people around their houses and such. 

I am just so grateful for this gospel. I know Christ suffered for all of us because he loves us and wants the best for us. His love is unchanging, and so is His gospel. So, come on down and receive more strength and peace from His love. What can you do this week to better come closer to Christ?

He tells us: 

"  Abide in me, and I in you. As the branch cannot bear fruit of itself, except it abide in the vine; no more can ye,except ye abide in me... If ye abide in me, and my words abide in you, ye shall ask what ye will, and it shall be done unto you.' John 15

I have seen time and time again, He can change us if we let Him. He will give us joy, if we let Him.

He is calling out to you today. If you draw near to HIm, He will draw near to you. 

Love you all!

Sister Lescarbeau