Joy is Contagious!

Hello everyone!! 

So this week has been another good one! We met with the Crafts and Kyle and it was so much fun! They are a super chill group and we get along great! When we first got to their home, they were all playing ping pong so we joined in!  Sister Bonn and I were a little hesitant since we haven't played for a while, but we ended up schooling Kyle and Brother Craft. Haha. Just building our companionship unity :) Then we had dinner and shared our lesson about the Plan of Salvation.  It went great and the Spirit was definitely there!  He just loves everything we teach! And we invited him to come to church on Sunday and he came!!  He sat with us at church and he calls us "the angels".   After church was over, he told us how he felt the Spirit throughout the meetings and that he "felt truth being spoken".  He loves the ward and everyone was so kind and welcoming!  He plans on coming back next Sunday and bringing the Crafts with him :) 

Haha they call themselves "the awkward elders". They are hilarious!

We had another wonderful lesson with Ed, Jamie, and Cameron! They had us over for dinner and then we taught the Restoration!  We covered so much because Cameron had some great questions! It was just awesome! Cameron is going to pray about baptism this week and we will follow up with him to see how it went! They all come to church every Sunday and I just love them so much! They are awesome people and they just want to do what's right and follow Christ :) 

Sister Hoag! Love her! It was transfers last week so these are goodbye pics.

Well, I am running out of time. We have to drive up to Billings today for a Mission Leadership Council Seminar. It's going to be 2 days long....super legit! Oh! And I found out yesterday that I will be able to go to the Temple in Montana next week! That was my wish for Outbound!  I miss the Temple so much! It's such a sacred and beautiful place. I love the peace that I feel inside and how all my worries seem to fade away. It truly is the House of the Lord and a little piece of heaven on earth :) 

Quick hospital trip but all is well! Made sure to still rep the name tag. Haha

I'm so grateful for this Gospel in my life and that I'm able to share it as a full-time missionary. It is true joy being able to see the change and the light in people! Antara and Katelyn just glow and have a greater happiness about them.  And I love seeing, when we teach, how it all just clicks with Kyle and how excited about the Gospel he gets! That joy is so contagious! Can't help but have a smile on my face :) 

I love you all!! Have a fabulous day!!

Sister Asay :)

Baptisms!!

Hi everyone!!

Wow, one year down! I can't believe that it's been a full year of being a missionary already! Time sure flies!

This week has just been amazing!! We had 2 baptisms this weekend!  First, Katelyn on Friday night and Antara on Saturday night.  Katelyn's has been a long time coming and she has had a testimony for years, but her mom would only let her be baptized after she graduated college.  It was such a tender baptism!   Katelyn has been dating this member guy Michael for years and he choked up while he was saying the baptismal prayer. His family was there too and the mom was crying...So much joy!

Katelyn!!

 

And Antara's baptism was just awesome too! We have been teaching her for about 2 months now and it was so wonderful to be able to help someone I care so much about make that step.  The Roger's (the bishop and family) have been awesome fellowshippers and Jacob, the son, baptized Antara. It was cool because they have known each other throughout high school and he was the one who first invited her to church. Ah, it was just such a happy night and weekend!!

The girls :)

Antara and Jacob!

 

Also, we put someone on date this week! We were visiting with the Crafts, who are less active, and their friend Kyle came over while we were teaching the Restoration. It was our second time meeting Kyle at
their home, but this was the first time he sat down and joined us...and he was so receptive to it! He has a ton of energy and when we shared the First Vision he said he felt "something...something good" during it and we explained that it was the Spirit. We finished up our lesson and invited him to be baptized and he gave an exuberant yes!  He's awesome. We are meeting with him at the Craft's home tonight!  It was great to watch Brother Craft jump in the lesson and help teach his friend.

Yesterday I gave a talk in church about the Book of Mormon and so this past week that topic has been on my mind a lot.  I just want to share with everyone how much I love the Book of Mormon!  It is promised to
each of us in the back of the book that if we read and pray about it we can receive a witness of its truthfulness. Then, once we receive that witness, we know 3 things- that Jesus is the Christ, that Joseph
Smith was a prophet of God, and that The Church of Jesus Christ is His Church once again established on the earth. How cool, right??  That's a lot we can know!  And as I have personally read and prayed about this book, I have come to truly know and gain a testimony of those three things for myself. There is power in the Book of Mormon and it can answer many questions we have throughout our lives! I invite everyone to read it!  It changed my life for the better, as it has for millions of others, and I know it can for your life too. And if you don't have a copy, you can go onto lds.org or mormon.org to order a free one!

Looking forward to this week! Love y'all!! :)

Sister Asay

Oh PS! Transfer news came today and I will be staying in Hamilton with Sister Bonn!! I'm so happy I'm staying here for my last 4 weeks before going back to Temple Square! :)

Hikin' and Teachin'

Hello!!

Early in the week we went on a hike with the Activity Day girls (ages 8-12) and it was SO fun, especially since we know the majority of them now.  There was one girl named Cambry, who held my hand almost the entire time.  She is absolutely adorable.  Once we got to the top, we all had lunch and then Sister Bonn and I taught a short lesson about the 13th Article of Faith.  Afterwards, the girls played in the waterfall for a bit....Sister Bonn and I opted to not get too wet and we just hopped on the rocks!  On Sunday, the Activity Day Leader, talked to us about how parents of the girls were so happy we went and that they were grateful for our example to their daughters.  Ah, my heart!  So tender!  It really was so enjoyable to be with those girls!

Cambry from the hike :)

After the hike, we had exchanges and I went in a trio with the sisters in Stevensville.  They are solid sisters so it was a pretty awesome exchange!  They teach well, are unified, and are so fun!  While we were planning, they brought out some raspberries they had picked and also chilled chocolate chips. YUM!!

Stevensville sistas!

We did service this week for one of our investigators. We drilled long sticks together and 

then taped her vacuum to them.  It actually worked pretty well!

Thursday of this week was pretty much our golden day.  We finished exchanges and once we were back in Hamilton we had appointment after appointment.  First, we met with Betty and read the first chapter in the Book of Mormon with her.  It went really well and she seemed to understand it and like it!  Then, we met with Lois. The cool thing with her is that we have met several times and she would never find her Book of Mormon, but she finally searched for it this past week and read 3 chapters before our next visit!  We were so proud of her!!  She seemed pretty happy about it too :)  Then we visited another family and we taught about faith.  The husband even dusted off his old quad this time to be able to find the scriptures we referred to.  We invited them to read Alma 32 together as a family and they were more than happy to!  They even said they would try coming to church next week! Yay!! And lastly, we visited Ed, Jamie, and Cameron.   It was awesome!  We had a dinner appointment with them and after that we had a great lesson!  Cameron is Jamie's non-member son who just barely moved in with her for the school year.  He loves the Gospel and the church so much! We are hoping to keep meeting with them to help Ed and Jamie be married and sealed and also to help Cameron be baptized. I seriously love that family so much! And Sister Bonn and I are so impressed with Jamie. She is just stellar!

Also, EARLY Friday morning we went on a hike with our bishop and other missionaries he works with at Institute (He teaches there in Missoula) and it was a total blast!  His wife and son went too and I just love their family so much!  We had a great time together and I realized I have a slight fear of heights....haha.  Never thought I had one!  And then on the way down the mountain we picked huckleberries! Sooo good.  We filled our empty water bottles with them and now I put them in my fruit smoothies :)

Something I really love about The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-Day Saints is how much we all try to help each other. Yes, some are better at it than others, but it is definitely an overall attitude of the members in the church.  That attitude is something I have really seen here in Hamilton. There are so many families here who are so kind and willing to help those around them!  I really know that that's what the Gospel does for us. It helps us to be our best selves and to serve others.  There's a promise that comes to mind from Elder Christofferson.  He said that if we study the scriptures daily that we will have a greater desire to serve those around us.  Cool, right?  So, as we help ourselves individually by keeping the commandments and "feasting upon the words of Christ" daily, then we are also preparing ourselves to help and serve other children of God.   I've learned that helping others and doing service is the quickest way to true happiness.  Therefore, keeping the commandments equals happiness :)  There many other reasons why keeping the commandments equals happiness, but that is a solid one. 

I'm so grateful to be a missionary, to see how the Gospel changes lives, and how it continues to positively affect those who faithfully live it.  I love my Savior and the beautiful plan God has laid out for us.

I love you all!! :) Have a great week!

Sister Asay

Never have I ever milked a goat... Oh wait!! Yes, I have!

Hello everyone!!

I went on exchanges this week with a sister in our zone and I was able to have some fun experiences! First off, I got to eat huckleberries.  Super yummy! It was my first time ever!  Second, I got to ride BIKES! We don't have them in Hamilton since we were doubled in, but it was seriously so much fun! I love bikes :)  Maybe I wouldn't be saying that if I had to ride them every day, but I think there's a possibility I'd still appreciate them. And lastly, I got to milk a goat!!!  So cool right??  It was a little weird at first, but then I

got the hang of it and it was pretty fun :) goats... They're such funny animals. They were jumping all over our truck and the owner kept shooting them with a BB gun. Haha!

Yep, that's a goat on our truck. Haha.

Check that off my bucket list!

We met with Betty, our 80 year old investigator, and she is doing well.  One of her friends, who isn’t a member, stopped by and he was trying to teach our history but was incorrect in what he was saying, but Betty totally had our backs!  It was never argumentative by any means, mostly him talking, but she would say cute little comments that let us know that she didn’t agree with him.  Love her!!

Antara is doing so great!! We taught her some of the commandments last night at the bishop’s house and it went so well! First of all, I love the Roger's family and then I just love Antara and then we were teaching (probably my favorite thing as a missionary) and it was just perfect! The Rogers all gave wonderful comments that helped enhance the spirit of the lesson. She will be getting baptized on Aug. 15th :)  We are so excited for her!

... and there was also a cat that followed us and hopped onto our car. Animals on our car has become a theme for the week.

Something that has been really cool this week is seeing my prayers answered.  I have been praying that I could be more in tune with the Spirit and truly be a tool in the Lord's hands.  It

has been amazing to see that when I have a prayer and also really strive for that goal that it's able to happen! I felt guidance during lessons and I've had cool thoughts to share come to my mind as I speak that I hadn't thought of before.  After leaving lessons, I say a little prayer in my heart of thanks for the extra Spirit that was able to be there with me and direct me.  I really know that God does answer prayers, especially as we make an effort and do our part :)

We had a wonderful time when our zone when for a hike!  It is gorgeous here!

Well, I am so grateful for this Gospel and for the opportunity I have to serve.  I shared my testimony yesterday in church about the blessing of families and the beautiful plan that God laid out for us.  I really know that as we have faith and remember that we are here for a purpose that every challenge becomes that much easier to handle.  I feel so blessed to have this knowledge and faith that God loves us, that I am His Daughter, that through Christ I can have clean slates and true joy, and, most of all, that I can be with my family forever in heaven.  I know these things are true, and I know that we can all gain this testimony for ourselves through prayer and scripture study. 

I love you all! Have a fabulous week! :)

Sister Asay