Six Weeks Gone!!!

Hello all you wonderful humans! Well this week was a toughie! We didn't have a ton of lessons this week, everybody was either sick or busy so a lot of our appointments got cancelled. But of course there were still plenty of miracles, because of course they never cease! One investigator we did meet with this week was Lance. Sister Bishop both prayed to know what we should teach him, and we both thought about Ether chapter 12 in the Book of Mormon! So we read that with him and taught him about how we see miracles and answers to our prayers after a "trial of our faith". Which simply means that we need to put full trust in Christ and have full faith that we can be given what we have asked for. As long as we ask humbly of course! He really liked the lesson, and the Holy Ghost was very present. I am so incredibly grateful that the spirit guided us to teach that lesson!! And throughout the lesson he asked some tough questions, but we were able to answer them well. He has a real desire to know, and now we hope he will experiment on that tiny spark, and turn it into a bonfire.

We saw a lot of less active families this week. It is so amazing to see how their faces light up as we help them remember simple wonderful truths of the gospel. For one it was the fact that she is a cherished daughter of God, and he loves and knows us all individually. For another it was knowing that we have so much to look forward to and hope for after this life, including being with our families forever and being able to live with Heavenly Father again.

We went to the DeGeorges for dinner, and the father, Milton, has been less active for a few years. We had a way fun dinner with them! Sister Bishop laughed until she almost cried, and we had fun stories and games all around. Afterwards we did a Family Home Evening on our living prophets that lead and guide us on earth toys. And Milton
participated!! I guess he hasn't even sat in on one for a while, let alone participate in the lesson. It was amazing to see how much he admired the prophets and their inspired words from God! We have a busy week ahead! It's he last week of the transfer (6 week period) and we also have exchanges with the sister training leaders! We have quite a few appointments all week, and I am so excited to teach so many. And to help hem prepare to be baptized, which is that first step on the way to becoming like Heavenly Father one day, and being able to find joy in the savior's atonement. What a blessing it is to be serving our God!!

I love you all!! I hope you are loving everyone and serving as many as you can!!

Seester Lescarbeau

Hey there Cool Cats!
Miracles are a foot in Lyndon Vermont! My companion and I had some wonderful miracle this week, and it just goes to show that miracles come in the hardest of weeks.  The days have been pretty long, and it is hard to find people. But we have come up with creative ways to get referrals, and just continue to build trust with the members!
The miracles we see far outweigh the rough days! Our investigator Mary, who came to church, has such a glow about her now! She really seems like she is accepting the message more, and we are even reading the Book of Mormon with her every night! We are so excited for what her future holds!! We are just continually praying for her heart to be softened, and that she will seek out the wonderful spirit the gospel brings!
I think the Book of Mormon is central to everything I've learned this week. We had Zone Conference at the Joseph Smith memorial in Sharon, Vermont and it was all about the wonderful blessings the Book of Mormon brings. I think it's such a blessing that we have both the Book of Mormon and the bible that work together to guide us back to Jesus Christ, and together they give us a clear path! The magical thing the Book of Mormon brings is that it is so true! It was only translated once, and it was completely done by heavenly inspiration, so we know it's from God. I gave a training on how it can answer " questions of he souls" and others have trained on how it can help us feel the Holy
Ghost, and how it sets us free! All of these trainings ended at the same point: Those who truly desire to know, and will act on the promptings they receive from the Holy Ghost,  will know for themselves this book is true. And not only that, we can find the truth again and again as we continue to read. As long as we read and listen to the Spirit, we can learn something new each day, and it can guide us the good times and the bad times. The Book of Mormon shows how aware Heavenly Father and Jesus Christ are of us, and how they seek to guide us in our lives!
And I find it so comforting to know that Heavenly Father didn't forget about us in these latter days, and he continuously provides us with guidance through prophets!! I am so excite that general conference is coming up!! I have learned so much about prayerfully seeking answers, and I am excited to see them answered!! I attached one of my favorite conference talks, to get everyone pumped up for it as well!:) I hope everyone gets their answers, and a greater testimony of the power of God through His prophets.
I'll end on another wonderful miracle. We met with Morgana, her fiancée Aaron and her beautiful family on Saturday! This was our first time teaching them, and it was amazing to see how the Lord has guided them to the gospel. They both have had powerful ( and I mean INSANELY POWERFUL)  spiritual witnesses of Jesus Christ. And they recognize that God works in every single thing that happens, and they really know that we are there to help them act on those witnesses . We hope to see them continue to grow in faith as they read the Book of Mormon
as a family!
I am so grateful for each of you! My hope is that you will all continue to seek out ways to be more like Christ in as many ways as you can! It's a big task, but I know if I can try to do it, then you all definitely can! Sister Bishop shared a wonderful letter her Grandpa wrote. The message was just that as we just we live the way we should, and try to just emulate Christ by loving those we come in contact with, they will wonder how we are so happy! Then we can share the wonderful blessings of the Gospel, of Jesus Christ, and just that Heavenly Father loves us all!!

Be most excellent to each other! (If you get that reference you are my best friend!)


Love ya!!!
Seester Lescarbeau

General Conference Talk by Bishop Cuasse

Miracles Happen

This week has been interesting to say the least! It has been interspersed with wonderful miracles and slightly disheartening things... But the hard days make you appreciate those miracles even more! This week Sister Bishop and I were able to travel back to Manchester from here in Vermont for new missionary and trainers meeting!! We were able to be taught by the Mission President, and the

Assistants to the president. One of my favorite things they talked about is to never get down on yourself and think our mission isn't successful! Our mission is a baptizing and rescuing (less active

members) mission as long as we have a good attitude and expect miracles! So that is one of my goals, to pray for and expect miracles.

My amazing view of an amazing sunset.

And lo and behold, I experienced some awesome miracles. The first was that we were able to get a hold of a potential named Morgana. She actually called us! That really blew my mind because some people will never call back, but we were able to set up an appointment with her whole family! The next miracle came Ina rather sneaky way. We were trying to visit a member in St Johnsbury, but her address was impossible to find. We stopped by an apartment to ask if she knew where it was, and we were able to teach a lesson! Her name is Shannon ( shout out to my Momma!) and she is really looking for the support to change her life and become better. We were able to teach her that through the atonement of Jesus Christ, she can have that support and feel clean. It was an incredible lesson and we should see her soon. And Mary, who has Ben investigating for two years, went to church for the first time! So exciting!!!!!!

We did have a few investigators drop off the map, and one of them actually got a hold of some anti Mormon literature 😢😢 I sometimes just want to scream that you should only look at LDS. Org or Mormon.org! But there's so much anti out there....it's sad and slightly damaging to he work. 

I get to go to my very first Zone Conference this week! It's actually being held at the Joseph Smith Memorial ! I can't wait to see the birthplace, and I'm excited to feel the spirit there. I was actually asked to give a training there! I'm a little nervous... But I'll just pray that the spirit is there because that's the most important thing. But just pray I don't mess it up! 😁

I love this work so so so so so much. It's way spiritually draining, but in the best way. Every day I'm so tired I want to go right to bed,I feel like I've worked hard for the Lord! I love that I have such a supportive companion, and that we can help each other reach our goals! 

I have such a testimony that people can change through Jesus Christ. The spirit that comes into the room as you talk about the atonement is palpable, and I love my savior so much for the sacrifice he made!

 I LOVE YOU ALL SO MUCH!!!! 😘😘😘😘😘😘😘😘

Sister Lescarbeau

Week Two Whoo Hoo!

Week two was actually almost as exciting as week one, but also pretty stressful. Adam and Kim, our awesome investigators, were married Friday and baptized Saturday! It was amazing to see how wonderful their spirits are and I can't wait to see the amazing things they do! They have such strong testimonies, and I know that this step is just the beginning in their journey to becoming more like Christ and Heavenly Father. After all, that is the reason we are here, to be tested on our faith to see if we turn to Christ in love!

The Wedding Friday Night

The Baptism Saturday Night

I learned two stressful things about baptisms:

First, it takes TWO HOURS to fill the font. Crazy town, Right?!

And second, behind the scenes is pretty crazy because you don't want the peeps getting baptized to worry! I am so grateful that I was able to experience that now! Now when I get more baptisms (Hopefully 🙏) then I know how much needs to go into it.

This week was pretty hot and humid! So, of course we spent a lot of it walking outside! Haha I love it though. It is amazing to see the people the Spirit can guide you to! I have two great examples:

First we street contacted a lady named Morgana, who said that she was so glad we came up to her, because her family had all had a "spiritual awakening" and are looking for a church!

Second was what I like to call " inspired tracting". Sister Bishop and I prayed before we knocked on doors, and we were able to find Tony! He was very receptive, and he is very excited to learn more.

Sadly, that's all the action we've been getting out here. Our pool of investigators had kinda dried up. So our goal this week to to find two new investigators! We are praying and we did our fast this week focused on finding the people ready to be taught. I can't wait to find those people that are out looking for the greatest joy in the whole wide world!!

I'm still learning more and more each day. I also find that every time I learn something new, it can help me better teach the people here. Yet another assertion that none of is is about me, it's all about bringing others to the knowledge that Heavenly Father loves them, and that He wants them to come back home eventually! I can't lie though, I have caught myself thinking that I know enough and I can do it all. Then I'm kindly reminded that the only way to be successful in this work is by literally giving my whole life, and giving it to God's will. The only way I can give my whole heart, is by continually allowing the spirit to blow my mind with wonderful new thing to learn.

Being a missionary is definitely the hardest thing I have ever done, but I am always positive, because I know that Heavenly Father and Christ are proud!

Bye homies! Keep doing good!

Sister Lescarbeau

First Week in the Field: IS THIS REAL LIFE?

So my week has been INSANE. I got to the NH airport Monday, stayed overnight in the mission home, then went right to transfer meeting the next morning. At the meeting they announced all the trainers, and I got Sister Bishop! She actually just finished her 12 week training and

had to turn right around and train me! We took the two hour drive to Lyndonville Vermont, and we have become great friends/ companions ever since!

Sister Bishop (my mission mom) me, and Sister Harward (my mission grandma)<because she trained Sister Bishop> I was thrown right into the fray the first day. We put my stuff in the apartment, did a quick planning session, then flew out the door. We started right off the bat with (dun dun a dun) TRACTING. Knocking doors slightly nerve racking, but I was able to become more comfortable. Sister Bishop made me feel better when she talked about how we are representatives of Christ, and he would go to every single door excitedly to save his fellow man. And he suffered way more than just slamming doors. We've tracted almost every day this week, and I've felt a lot better because of this advice and praying to Heavenly Father that I can be more bold. Plus the views we see while outside are insane!

It's crazy that our area is so big that there is such diverse parts!

I LOVE LOVE LOVE the people here. And my first visit with some of the investigators here was absolutely crazy. I met Kim and Adam, and the very first day I met them, ADAM PROPOSED TO KIM RIGHT IN FRONT OF ME! It was so cool! Their wedding is on Friday, then they get baptized on Saturday!! Wow!!! I was so blown away that I was lucky enough to get sent to an area where there will already be two baptisms. I get to help them prepare for baptism with the last of the lessons like missionary work, obedience, and teaching in the church. They have inspired me and built my faith so much through their story. Sister Bishop keeps telling me how much they have changed, and you can see how much the Savior's Atonement has changed their lives. Kim even came with us to teach a lesson to our other investigator, Mary. She is so amazing!

We focus a lot on less active members of the church, because I guess there are several hundred people in membership records, but only about 70 or less that attend church. So we spend a lot of time helping them feel comfortable coming back or even re-teaching lessons. There was two or more less actives that needed to be refreshed on the restoration, and the plan of salvation. It's almost more heartbreaking to see them struggle to come back, after they were able to feel he joy the gospel brings.

The only other investigator I have gotten to teach is Mary. She used to live across the street from an LDS family, and she has been looking at the church for 2 years. She struggles with the social issues, like if she will fit in and what her husband will think. She talks a lot! And this is coming from me! Haha but we have really been trying to help pause for a minute and let the Holy Ghost testify the truth to her.

I've seen that being obedient to the mission rules and putting my whole heart in the work had brought the spirit into my life so much more. Like we were walking back to to our car and we actually walked one street too far and actually met a guy named Robby that was talking about how he wanted to go back to a church. We were able to teach him the restoration, and when we talked about how much Heavenly Father loves each of us individually, and he restored the true gospel through Joseph Smith so we can know exactly how to return to heavenly fathers presence. It's simply having faith in Jesus Christ, being willing to change, baptism by the proper authority, receiving the Holy Ghost, and enduring through it all. I love knowing that! And being able to teach people the gospel has expanded my understanding, and helped me grow.
I've definitely been humbled as well. I have to remind myself that none of this is about me. It's all about others, and by giving it all away to Heavenly Father and Jesus Christ my first hard days of many are made light by the end of the day when I get one my knees! I love the gospel SO very much, and I'm excited for this journey!

---Sister Lescarbeau (or Sister L as I am fondly called)

Sister Bishop (my mission mom) me, and Sister Harward (my mission grandma)<because she trained Sister Bishop>

                                                    The closest nearby city is St Johnsbury

                                                   My beautiful green scenery!

Mission Field

Emily made it safely to New Hampshire and was assigned to serve in Lyndon, VT. Here she is with her new companion.

Missionary Training Center (MTC) Life...

The days here feel like YEARS. Its almost been a week but I feel as if It's been a year because I can already see a great change in myself. I learned to be a little more humble because I realized that we are truly never done being converted, by learning that my heart has been so much more open to learning more. The lessons here have seriously changed my LIFE! The teachers are so inspired and I have been able to learn how to walk right into an appointment and create a learning environment. This has made such a difference, and my lessons have become so effective, and the Holy Ghost is so strong that I really don't need to say much. I have been teaching two women, Angel and Erika. Angel is a role play with my teacher Sister Jones, but it really feels so real. We have been able to teach about how much God loves her, and that through the gospel and atonement she can change and her past sins are washed away. We had a really powerful moment with her when we read Helaman 5;12 (Book of Mormon) and talked about how if we put our trust in god then we will never be able to be pulled down. Erika is way different to teach. She has been learning about the church for about three years, but hasn't be able to commit to be baptized. WHAT A TESTAMENT TO HOW AWARE GOD IS OF ME. My conversion I think would be a really good way to help her know of the importance of baptism, and HEAVENLY FATHER KNEW THAT. The spirit here is THAT strong. It can also be a little intimidating, and crazy stressful here. Thats when I am so grateful for my super amazing district, they are very spiritual, and HILARIOUS. There is 3 companionships of Elders ( Montgomery, Eubanks, Simmons, Logan, Hone, Goodrich) and another 2 sisters (Lee and Monjar). We sit together at every meal, and we have become such good friends, and we have a lot of fun together. For example, Elder Goodrich got a huge package from his family and there was a letter in there from his "special someone" and it included a BRAID OF HER HAIR. I am completely serious, it was nasty and totally hilarious all at once. Then on the flip side, we are able to talk about our lessons openly and we are able to talk about how we can all improve . 

I wish I could tell you everything I've learned, but it is truly too much to even begin to explain. Just know that I already feel myself changing, and I love it. I  also learned that everything goes back to basics. Faith in Jesus Christ, repentance, baptism, the gift of the holy ghost, and enduring to the end. that is the only way we can fully access the atonement, and always be representatives of Christ. 

Until next time...Sister Lescarbeau