Think Spring!

Spring has finally made it to Maine and I couldn't be happier! 

All our hard work is paying off, and it is an incredible blessing. I love seeing the gospel begin to take root in people's hearts. It changes them, in some way or another. And we could already see that in the people we have found this week. And we have found 5 new people to teach this week! 

We taught a lot of lessons this week, and most were just basic lessons teaching about Christ's role in our lives. In the Book of Mormon it says of Christ:

And he shall go forth, suffering pains and afflictions and temptations of every kind; and this that the word might be fulfilled which saith he will take upon him the pains and the sicknesses of his people.

And he will take upon him death, that he may loose the bands of death which bind his people; and he will take upon him their infirmities, that his bowels may be filled with mercy, according to the flesh, that he may know according to the flesh how to succor his people according to their infirmities. - Alma 7:11-12

I know that is true, because Christ has helped me many times in my life to come  It was amazing to feel the spirit that came into the room as we talked to so many people about Christ this week. Everyone we talked to had different journeys that have built their faith in their Savior. Hearing their stories has strengthened my own testimony this week! 

Linda and Peter were some of those amazing people we talked to this week. Linda gained a strong testimony after her father passed away years ago and she shared her testimony that she knows we have nothing to fear because of Christ, even death. She has a really strong desire to know if our church is Christ's true church, so she has already been reading the Book of Mormon with some members of our congregation! We are seeing her next week, and I am so excited! 

We also got to know Kera this week, who is a member but just recently came back to church this past week. We talked with her about why she decided to turn things around. She said that she wanted to raise her family with a faith in Christ, and that she was willing to do anything to get back to a good relationship with Christ. We also had a fun time talking about anything and everything! She is becoming a great friend also!:)

All around it was a great week, lots of fun times with Sis. Hawes. She is a riot!

Here are some pictures!!

Keep on Keepin' on you wonderful people!  

Lots of Love

Sister L 

All good things happen in threes

This week was absolutely amazing!

We had three amazing miracles that I want to share with you guys.

the  first miracle we saw this week was with a less active , Brother Archer. Everyone did not know where he was living the past year or so, but all of a sudden he calls us and the Elders asking if we can come and do service! We went over and had some fun times trying to move stoves up narrow staircases, and we got to know him pretty well. We met his girlfriend, who told us all about her life and some of the things she has struggled with. Her name is Christina, and she has been really craving a relationship with God, and really needs it right now!  We are going to teach her next week. 

This week I also have to give mad props to Sister Hawes. We knocked on a lot of doors this week. After an hour or two of nobody home and no thank yous,  the very last door we knocked on that day said yes! It was awesome and she seems really interested. When we got into the car, Sister Hawes just said " There is always one that makes it worth it". She is awesome, I am learning so much from her.

Our last miracle was at a book reading! There is a man in the local community, Rob Lively,  who wrote a book called "Mormon Missionaries: Who is that knocking at my door?". He did a presentation and invited us to come and answer questions! it was so cool to be able to help the community better understand us. We even got another person to teach out of it. SO MANY MIRACLES. 

I am so grateful for this work I get to be a part of. Seeing people change through their Savior is an incredible miracle to witness. I am grateful for the opportunity to share with others how Christ has changed me and made me happier than I can express in words. He truly is our Savior and Comforter, He will always be right beside us.It  I know it! 

Here's a scripture for you!

Ether 12:4

 "Wherefore, whoso believeth in God might with surety hope for a better world, yea, even a place at the right hand of God, which hope cometh of faith, maketh an anchor to the souls of men, which would make them sure and steadfast, always abounding in good works, being led to glorify God."

Sure love you all!!

Sis. Lescarbeau

1. Exchange with the Bangor sisters! We really got rained on! 

2. We stole the Elders car....only for a minute!:)

3. Companions!!

4. We moved around our whole apartment. We are so thrilled with spring cleaning. 

Conference Cones

This past weekend was General Conference!!!! WOOOOOO!

 It is always amazing to hear from our modern day prophet and apostles. There were so many messages of hope, guidance and comfort! There is definitely something for everyone! Everything is on lds.org so I would challenge you check it out if you haven't yet!

So, transfers were this past week and I got a new companion! Sister Hawes is from Yuma Arizona and is very cold here. Haha:) We get along very well, and she has an amazing testimony of our Savior, Jesus Christ. It is just so fun getting to know her and serving these wonderful people with her. 

This week was kind of a crazy one, but so much fun! Sister Hawes and I have been looking for people to teach and visiting lots of members. We have been working hard, and I know we will see miracles in the upcoming 6 weeks! 

One miracle we saw this week involves doing service! There is this less active member, Brother Archer, who we have never been able to contact. All of a sudden this some members told us he needed help moving and we were able to set something up with him! It is just amazing to see how the Lord will help you with everything, all you have to do is ask! 

I loved the messages about the Savior that were shared in general conference. One of the major things is that Christ will NEVER desert us. I have learned on my mission that no matter how wayward someone is they can be rescued by Christ. he is standing by each of us just waiting and wanting to help us. He is our older brother, and He is our greatest supporter. I love Him, and I know He loves each of you. 

Have a wonderful week beautiful people! 

Sister L

1. My New companion!

2. Ice Cream after conference (Conference Cones) with the Smiths ❤❤

3. Quote

"Attitude Determines our Altitude"

Quote from Brother Austin Marden right there. Gold. 

This week has been crazy but in the best way.We have been busy, but I learned so much and had a great Easter week! 

We spent a great deal of time with a less active family this week, the Silvers. They are all so sweet and have great testimonies, there are just some extenuating circumstances keeping them from Church. We went and did some service for them earlier in the week and helped them clean and reorganize some stuff. They were so appreciative they invited us over for Easter dinner! We had a great time with them and shared a great meal and lesson. 

We are still teaching Ellen, and she is making a little progress! We taught her about the higher law of Christ, which includes striving to never be angry with people. She thought about it for a little while and repeated everything we taught back to us. She is growing in her faith in Christ and in her desire to be more like Him. 

 On tuesday, we got together with a bunch of missionaries for a conference. It was all the missionaries in Maine, and it was amazing! We taked a lot about the last week of the Christ, as Easter was this past weekend. It is quite incredible to hear the testimonies of a few 18-25 year olds and feel the power. They know He lives as much as they know the sun will rise in the morning. The Holy Ghost testified to me the importance of teaching the gospel, because everyone should feel this way! Everyone needs to feel the love of the Savior, and have Him take their pain away. 

I know He lives today.He is there to give us everything we stand in need of. As it says in Luke 11: 

9 And I say unto you, Ask, and it shall be given you; seek,and ye shall find; knock, and it shall be opened unto you.

 10 For every one that asketh receiveth; and he that seeketh findeth; and to him that knocketh it shall be opened

Ask Him for help and he will give it to you, more then you would ever expect. He loves you! And I do too! Have a great week! 

Sister L

1. Zone conference!

2. Farmington Elders + Sisters = swag

3. Decorated a heavenly easter egg. it says "Follow Him and Find New Life"

From Your Favorite Missionary

Hello all!

This week has most definitely been crazy. But the amazing, exciting kind of crazy! 

Bill and Jill are two newest members of the Farmington ward and they are loving it! But of course there was a couple hiccups in the days leading up to their baptism.

 We went and saw them on Friday, the day before their baptism.Before we even started the lesson, Bill dropped some bad news on us.  Bill told us that Jill was not being baptized because she had changed her mind, but he said that he would still be baptized. We were all very shocked, and left feeling pretty disheartened.

 It just didn't feel right to me.I felt like I could've done so much more. I just felt like a failure. When we got home that night we called some other missionaries to pray for her. I just prayed so hard that she would change her mind, because I knew she was ready. I soon felt a strong sense of peace and comfort, and I knew in that moment, that if I had enough faith, God would give us a miracle! 

And He did, of course!! I Love the Lord so much, and it never ceases to amaze me how much He cares for us. He desires to bless us, and we just have to trust Him. 

This week I was sick for a big part of it, but I had a lot of time to ponder about the upcoming Easter season. I read a lot about the Savior in the scriptures and I became so filled with His love. I know He loves me and wants to take away all the pain I have in this life. He wants me to be happy, and by following Him I am happier than I have ever been. Alma said it best: 

"Now my brethren, we see that God is mindful of every people, whatsoever land they may be in; yea, he numbereth his people, and his bowels of mercy are over all the earth. Now this is my joy, and my great thanksgiving; yea, and I will give thanks unto my God forever"

-Alma 26:37

So two things to remember. Heavenly Father loves you and wants to bless you, he will help you find happiness. Second: Ask for miracles, and they will come! 

LOTSA LOVE!

Sister Lescarbeau

#HALLELUJAH

Wow. We are halfway through March! And as of this week I have been a missionary for 7 months. 

This week has been long, but we got a lot of stuff done! We have been working a lot with Bill and Jill, as their baptism is this Saturday! They are so excited and so ready for baptism. Bill is happy to have found where God wants him to be, and Jill has such a strong desire to follow Christ. Jill is usually very quiet, but she has really opened up this week! She has been talking more about her life, and how she grew up with a strong faith. This gospel has helped her to expand her Faith in Christ, as it does for so many people. It will be a beautiful service. 

We saw Brother Abbott this week, and his whole family! His wife used to be a member a long time ago, and they have started learning from us again. Brother Abbott has a strong desire to know if this gospel is true, but he just feels stuck in a rut right now. We taught another woman this week who felt the same way, that she just keeps repeating mistakes over and over. She thinks God is too tired of her making mistakes and he won't listen to her anymore. We shared this quote with her:

 "I testify that the Savior will never turn away from us when we humbly seek Him in order to repent; will never consider us to be a lost cause; will never say, “Oh no, not you again”; will never reject us because of a failure to understand how hard it is to avoid sin. He understands it all perfectly, including the sense of sorrow, shame, and frustration that is the inevitable consequence of sin.

Repentance is real and it works...Repentance, of necessity, is not easy.Things of eternal significance rarely are. But the result is worth it. As President Boyd K. Packer testified...: “The thought is this: the Atonement leaves no tracks, no traces. What it fixes is fixed. … The Atonement leaves no traces, no tracks. It just heals, and what it heals stays healed.”'

ITS EASTER SEASON!

What a wonderful time of year this is! So many people cherish this time of year and use it to celebrate the resurrection of our Lord Jesus Christ 

I am so excited for this time of year because it reminds us that change IS possible. We can become better because of Jesus Christ. Because He rose on the third day I know all our losses WILL be made up, including the loss of loved ones. We WILL see them again, I know this, and you can learn it too. 

Check out this awesome video about Easter! It is called Hallelujah!! Like it, share it, tweet it, spread it around. Spread the news that no one is lost!

Here are some fun pictures! 

Enjoy your week wonderful people!

Sister E. Lescarbeau

1. Service for Sister Braley 2. My family was sealed! 3. LOVE IT

A Turkey Named Gustav

This week was an adventure! We saw a lot of miracles just from working hard, and trusting in the Lord. 

We saw an awesome miracles with the Silver family. They are less active, but the love having us over. We hadn't been there in over a month, but they invited us over to dinner this week. They have a few barn animals, some chickens, horses, a cow named Bess, and.....a giant turkey. He actually didn't have a name, so I asked him if I could call him Gustav....he gobbled like crazy! Haha:) 

Anyways, they actually invited over a non member friend! We were able to get to know her pretty well, and she said she wanted to have us share a message! MIRACLE. They also said they would like to have us over on a weekly basis! We are so excited for that opportunity, and we know it will help them so much. 

We had a lesson with Ellen this week. She is really gaining a testimony of Christ through the Book Of Mormon. She said she is learning so much about his grace and love in it, and it makes her feel great as she reads it. The Book of Mormon really is like a piece of heaven, as one of my wonderful companions called. It can help us feel the love Christ and Heavenly Father has for us, and it has helped me come to know Christ personally, and how he can help me. 

Sunday this week was extra amazing. So many members bore testimony of Christ not only cleansing us from sin, but taking away our burdens and grief. It reminded me of the scripture in John 15: 

13 Greater love hath no man than this, that a man lay down his life for his friends.

 14 Ye are my friends, if ye do whatsoever I command you.

 15 Henceforth I call you not servants; for the servant knoweth not what his lord doeth: but I have called you friends; for all things that I have heard of my Father I have made known unto you.

Christ is our brother AND our friend. He cares about everything in our lives, big or small. i know that he loves us and wants to make our lives better. We just have to let Him be our friend, as the scripture says, by keeping His commandments. It can be difficult, but He will bless us for it. 

Have a wonderful week you beautiful humans!!!

Sister L

1. Gustav.2. Bess