Christmas

Happy Holidays everyone!! 

People here in Maine are way excited for the Christmas season! They had lights up by thanksgiving day! Not even joking! This week kicks off the season with some awesome parades and holiday festivals! And you better believe we will be there. 

We had a pretty great week! Thanksgiving was really good and we were able to talk to lots of people about what they are grateful for. It is cool to see how talking about those positive things really brings the spirit of God into a conversation. All good things come from God, and it was a great week to recognize that! 

The Kayla' s are doing pretty great! Kayla W is preparing to be baptized and is feeling really good about it all. She is really wanting to have a solid testimony, and she is pleased with the growth she is seeing. She is a great example of how doing small things builds something great! 

Kayla M is also searching really hard for the truth.  We taught her about how action brings about answers to our questions. If we weren't req hired to act before we received answers, how could we develop faith? She w ants to act, but it is all very hard for her. Yet, she still moves forward, and little by little she learning and growing! As long as we are a little better today than we were yesterday, we are doing just fine! 

This past week Mormon.org released its Christmas video! It is called Light the World, and is centered on giving service during this holiday season. We are all the hands of Christ on the earth, and it is our job to look out for our fellow brothers and sisters! Whether it be a small act of kindness or a bigger one, every effort can help this Christmas season change the world. I know as we all do our best to serve others and be the best we can be, we are giving the best gift to our savior! 

So check out this website that has suggestions for every day of December! And be sure to get out and serve on the world wide day of service on The 1st! 

https://www.mormon.org/christmas/in-25-ways-over-25-days

With love from Maine, 

Sister Lescarbeau 

Now Thank We All Our God

Happy Turkey season everybody! 🦃🍂🍁🍗🍽

I think that is all the thanksgiving related emojis :) 

I hope that you all have used this special time of year to count your blessing for all the amazing things our Heavenly Father has given us! 

I am sure grateful to be a missionary at this time of year! So many awesome opportunities to express my gratitude for the gospel message we shared 

We saw many miracles this week! Kayla White is progressing so quickly! When she prayed about the things we have taught her and she says that every time she prays she feels better and better about it. When she reads form the Book of Mormon she says she feel the Holy Spirit and that it feels like her heart is smiling!  She came to church Sunday and really enjoyed it! We asked her to pray during sacrament meeting about being baptized on December 17th so we will follow up with that today. I truly feel like I was meant to teach her! We share a lot of the same perspectives on things. 

Our other investigators are moving along slowly. Dave is showing signs of desire to change. He is discussing all of his hang ups, so that shows he is willing to overcome them! We are hoping just to get back to seeing him regularly. We also want to do that with our other investigator Kayla McCrillis, as she got really sick so it has been over a week since we saw her. She still wants to come to church this Sunday though because of the special sacrament meeting that goes over the basics of the church beliefs. I am sure hoping a lot 
of members invite their friends because it is supposed to be an awesome service. 

Some fun things from the week:

- I got to see my trainer at Zone Conference! She is going home soon, so it is the last time I'll see her. 😭

- we befriended a local cat that looks slightly gremlin-like. But he's a good omen because every time we see him our investigator is at home! 

- we are setting a up a booth for a Christmas festival next week! It should be awesome! Me and Sister Wright are excited for Christmas! 

Well, here is a thanksgiving scripture for you! Alma 7:23 in the Book of Mormon:

23 And now I would that ye should be humble, and be submissive and gentle; easy to be entreated; full of patience and long-suffering; being temperate in all things; being diligent in keeping the commandments of God at all times; asking for whatsoever things ye stand in need, both spiritual and temporal; always returning thanks unto God for whatsoever things ye do receive.

I sometimes find that I am way more ready to ask for everything I need than to give thanks back for all the things I already have. When we give thanks, we show humility. And then, when we are humble, we can feel God's love even more abundantly in our lives. So, what is something you are thankful for? 

Have a great week! 

40 Degrees at the Beach

Beaches are supposed to be warm right? Not in Maine! Can't wait to get
a picture of SNOW on Old Orchard beach! ❄️

Well this week was pretty exciting! We were able to find some great
new people to teach, including Bianca and her family! We rarely get to
teach people right after a door approach, you know where we know and
offer our message, but Bianca let us right in! We taught her and her 4
year old daughter about how the restoration of the gospel  can help
her family be together forever! She was really receptive, and we will
see her agin this week.

I had a cool experience while teaching someone on the beach, well at
least near it! While walking by Old Orchard Beach we met Sean, who was
waxing his car. He saw our name tags and asked what organization we
were from. We talked with him for about 10 minutes about our beliefs,
and mostly all about Christ, because Sean knew very little. As we
discussed the love Christ has for us and the Atonement , he looked
confused and said : " He only lived 33 years right? How could he have
possibly experience all sorrow and pain in that time?" We began to
talk about how He actually suffered it all at one time in the garden
of Gethsemane.  It just hit me as we talked with him how
incomprehensible that is, even to someone who believes. In a small
moment Christ felt all our pains, the very personal ones. I am so
grateful that I have not only come to know that Christ is real, but I
have also felt the power of His sacrifice aid me in my daily life.
Even before I was a missionary. Knowing the Christ loves me that much,
and everyone else that much, really changes your perspective.

Here's a great quote I read this week in our teaching manual Preach My
Gospel. Under the heading God is Our Loving Heavenly Father it says :
He (meaning God) has given this experience on earth so we can learn
and grow. We can show our love for Him through our choices and
obedience to His commandments". I was able to emphasize this in my
teaching this week by asking people if they feel like their trials
bring them closer to God, or farther away from Him. Luckily, we can
all choose to have them draw us nearer to Him and our savior! That's
the happiest way to go anyways!:)

I hope you all have a great week!

Sister Lescarbeau