Westchester #20

Hello my most wonderful family!!

Wow! I got all your pictures from the hike and it looks like you all had a blast!! Enoch, It looks like you have grown! You're getting to be so big :) It looks so beautiful there! How amazing. We're so lucky to have such a great outdoors-men for a dad :) 

Well we had a really fabulous week! The branch is getting smaller and smaller though. I am pretty sure we are not even technically a branch anymore. We helped the Herricks move this week. And Vasu (our recent convert) moved to another ward close by. Natasha (another recent convert) also moved back to her home and will be attending a singles ward there. I hope that both of them enjoy their new wards and are taken care of!! Because the Branch is so small we stay very involved as missionaries. Sister M plays the piano in sacrament. We've bother given talks. We teach gospel principles every week for second hour. Last week I taught Relief Society. We have been asked to give 2 minutes talks and sharing time in Primary and we have visiting teaching assignments. Hahha, so yeah, we stay very involve in the branch. But I LOVE it! I really, really enjoy teaching. I love sharing what I know with other people. I love watching it click for them. And there is nothing better then people telling you that your lesson really helped them understand a principle or answered a question. It makes me feel so wonderful :) 

And although a few people (ok a lot of people) have left the branch, we are bringing more in. We have had one or more investigators at church almost every single week for the last 5 weeks. So that has been awesome. 

We have found and brought back to church Angela DeSpirito. We like to call her our Jamaican Mama because she feed us every Saturday and walks us out to our car and gives us food to take home. We love her.

And also Michelle McCarthy has come the last two weeks she's been in town and she told us that she wants to start going to church when she is in Georgia as well! 

We found the Jada Family (Husband and wife from India) and they have started coming back to church as well every other week or so. We hope to help them to come every week. 

There is a girl named Leah who stopped the Elders on the street and told them that she is a member. Her records had been lost and no one would have found her if she didn't approach them. We have been over a few times and are reteaching the lessons. She wants to come back to church. 

Sandra I have been meeting with ever since I got to New York. She has been through so much. I learn something new from that lady every single time I go over to her house. She is currently trying to overcome her smoking habits and she wants to go to the temple so badly. Her work schedule will finally allow her to come to church in Sept. Her progression has been slow which has been discouraging at times. But teaching her over these last 4 months has taught me patience. Not only patience for others and their progression, but patience for myself. Looking back over these last 4 months I have seen amazing growth and progression in her. She is so much happier! You can see it in her eyes and in her smile. I am so thankful that we didn't give up on her because now she understands what she has covenanted to do at baptism. And she wants to live her covenants! She wants to be at church because she finally understands the significance of it and of partaking of the sacrament. 

Nothing makes my heart swell more than thinking about all these less actives and how they have come to remember and feel again the significance of the covenant they made at baptism. When I see them come and partake of the sacrament at church and I know that they are truly repenting and trying to improve--wow. Nothing makes me happier then that. 

I hope that each of us remembers the significance of the sacrament in our lives. 

Well we had a crazy thing happen to us this week. While we were driving there was a big dump truck in front of us. And I don't really know what happened but something fell loose and it was dragging behind the truck. Sparks were flying and rubber and other pieces of rubble started flying up and hitting our windshield. We were screaming and freaking out!! haha but we were fine. 

Oh and Zack, I had a dream last night that you and I had these massive black curly beards. Like a straight up pirate beard. it was legit. 

Well family, my time is up here. I miss you all so much and I hope that you have a wonderful week!

Love Sister Lounsbury 

Westchester #19

Hello family!

We have transfer meeting today so I am once again cut short on time. I am going to be staying here in Yonkers again for this cycle and will finish training sister Matthews. I am so happy to stay! We are working so hard and we are seeing a lot of opportunities because of it! 

Recently we have been trying to use the Book of Mormon more while street contacting. We share a verse or two about Jesus Christ and His divine role and mission as the Savior and Redeemer of the world. We bare our testimonies and we ask if they want to learn more. This has helped us to find more people to teach. It is so amazing because we know that all of us lived with God before we came to earth. We knew and loved Him. We knew that in coming to earth that we would go through difficult times and that our fallen nature would separate us from Him for a time. But we knew that God had a plan and a solution to all of this. He would send His Son Jesus Christ to atone for our sins so that Christ could save us from our sins as we  followed him by exercising our faith in Christ, repenting, be baptized, receiving the Holy Ghost and enduring to the end. It is only through Jesus Christ that we can come to live with our Father in Heaven again. It is the only way we can live again and be made clean from our sins. And because of Christ, we can live with our families again in complete happiness and joy. This is God's plan for us. And when people hear this plan presented to them again here on earth, it rings true to them. It is familiar to them. Why? Because they have already heard it before they came to earth! Each and everyone of us have already fought for this plan and overcome satan through the blood of the Lamb (Rev 12:7-11) And so when we as missionaries read the testimonies of the prophets from the scriptures and then bare our testimonies of Christ to them, it rings true. For those who are prepared to hear the gospel and have a soft heart, it rings true. And it is amazing to see the change in their countenance. They go from saying "no thanks" to asking us to come back. I am still trying to get over my fear and to present this Gospel boldly to all that I come in contact with. As a companionship, sister Matthews and I have really worked hard to do that this week. And you know it's a funny thing, when the Lord knows that you will talk to everyone that you meet, he starts placing those who are prepared to hear the gospel in your path. We have meet a lot of potentials investigators this week. 2 of which are families. They may or may not continue to let us come back, but I will let you know how the rest of this week goes!

This gospel brings me such great joy! I love learning all that I am. I am being changed each and every day and I am so thankful for it. I know that my Lord and Redeemer Jesus Christ lives. I know that he not only lived His whole life for me but he gave his life for me. I am trying my best to give my life up to Him and to preach His gospel to all who are willing to hear it. I know it can bring them greater happiness then they have every experienced. 

I love you all so much! Thank you to everyone who keeps up on my blog, who emails me and writes me. I don't always have time to write you all back too much, but know that I am so thankful for you!! 

Love Sister Lounsbury

Westchester #18

Hello family!

It know I say it every email, but it sure sounds like you are having a lot of fun camping and vacationing! Happy Birthday Caleb!!!!! There is a letter on it's way to you!!! And also....14 just sounded way too old...so I may or may not have  wished you a happy 13th birthday....I can't believe you're 14!!! You're gonna be driving soon and stuff! wow... Well, I hope you had a blast for your birthday! 

Well I sent a bunch of pictures so I hope that it makes up for my super short email last week.  This week was really great as well. I know you are hoping for some super long email but I can't really think of what happened this week. We went to the city and it was so much fun! Sister Awerkamp met up with us at the apple store and we emailed. and then we realized it was really late and we had to get going! We went to grab some and ate it at central park. It was a blast to catch up with sister Awerkamp.I love that girl :) Then we had to say goodbye and we literally ran to the temple to get there in time haha it was an amazing experience! I love the temple so much! It was a wonderful day :) 

Well Brenda was coming to church every single week and she was progressing so well and then we got a text that she was leaving for the city but that she would get in contact with us again soon. We aren't entirely sure what happened or when she'll be back. So  that was sad news. She was our only investigator who was consistently coming to church.

We had an APF (Area Proselyting Focus) in Dobbs Ferry. So everyone in our zone came out and helped us in our area. The first door we knocked on was an older gentleman who opened the door in his underwear. haha He invited us in and gave us water. We had a good conversation with him and he knew quite a bit about our church. He said he really admired missionaries for what they do. This kind of thing has happened so much that I am afraid that I have become rather immune to it all. I'll try to be better with remembering funny stories to write home to you all. But the APF was great. We met a guy named Tom who asked us to come back. And other missionaries found some people that we will go check up on. so that was exciting! 

We have an investigator that we've been meeting with regularly and who LOVES the book of mormon and keeps all the commitments that we give. But we found out that she is gay. She says she really wants to be a member of our church. We told her she would have to keep the law of Chasity to be baptized. So she says she doesn't think she wants to be baptized then but she wants us to keep teaching her. She said she has learned so much about Christ and about God and His plan and that she is so happy and feels good inside whenever we come over and whenever she reads the Book of Mormon. She was so relieved when we told her that of course we can keep teaching her. We will continue to teach her the doctrine and we hope she will develop a strong testimony of the Book of Mormon and of Joseph Smith. Eventually she will have to make a decision about either continuing her lifestyle or to be baptized. 

We met with a lady named Michelle McCarthy for the first time this week. She is a lady from Jamacia that sister Awerkamp and I have been trying to contact her for MONTHS. We have called and tried to set up appointments but she travels and lot and is always gone. We have tried to stop by but no one is ever home. And then one day this week sister Matthews and I were doing look ups and Michelle was actually home!! She was busy at the time but she invited us to comeback that evening. She was so awesome! We got to know her and then we taught her about the importance of coming to church and partaking of the sacrament. After we were done she said "that is why I have been feeling this way. this is what I have been missing. I need to go to church!" It was so great! We also committed her to start praying and reading her scriptures every day. She came to church this sunday and she loved it! On sunday when she introduced herself she said "thanks to these young ladies who have tried to hunt me down for so long, I am finally here at church!"  She met the senior missionaries in our ward and she told us that she would enjoy serving a mission! She was so sweet! She is going to be out of town once again for two more weeks but after we will be meeting with her again. We are also going to encourage her to go to church when she goes to see her family. She is the only member in her family so that makes it hard on her. But Angela DeSpirito (another Less active that Sister Awerkamp and I found through writing her a letter) is also from Jamacia. They hit it off at church and I think that they will be great friends. It was just so wonderful to see!!! 

Well I'll end with a less spiritual story... 

Right before the lesson with Mary we were parked by Diane Velosco's house which is on a real sketch street. And this guy comes up to sis M's window and just looks at us and gestures for us to roll down the window and she did!! (I don't know what she was thinking. I guess she didn't know what else to do!!) hahah  and he says "girl, you is sexy. You got a boyfriend?" She's like "yeah..." (which is a lie) and then he turns to me and is like "you is sexy, you got a boyfriend?" I was like "yep, and we've got to go" (also a lie) and I drive up the street, but it's a dead end. So we have to turn around and pass him a again. He is calling for us to slow down and we drive past him. And then he starts running down the street after our car!!! haha and we get stuck behind a car at the stop sign and he is catching up! We finally drive off as he is coming right behind us. We drive up the next street and he starts rounding the corner! hahah oh man... it was kinda funny but we were also kinda scared. We parked right outside of Mary's house and called her she told us that we could come in. so Mary saved us!! 

Welp that is all for now family! I love you all so much! It is always so great to hear from you!! 

Love Sister Lounsbury

Westchester #17

Hey fam I only have like 5 minutes. I am in NYC right now. I am emailing from the apple store! We are going to grab some food to eat and then go to central park and then go to the temple! I get to hangout with sister Awerkamp so that is AWESOME! 

So I don't have time to write about this week. But things are going so great! We went to the new missionary training meeting and learned more about teaching with the pamphlets. it was so great! Well I got to go! I love you so much!

Love sister Lounsbury

here is the letter to my mission president

Hello President! 

So this week has been great! We taught a Less Active with pictures and it was amazing. Normally she is not very engaged in our lessons and she struggles to comprehend what we are saying. We have tried teaching her very simply but it just doesn't seem to go through. Then the day after the new missionary training, using pictures was fresh in our mind. We ended up teaching her an entire lesson with only one picture of Christ. It was amazing. She was totally being taught by the spirit what we had tried to explain to her time and time again. She told us it looked like Christ was looking right at her. We asked her "What do you think he would say if he was here with us right now?" She paused and then said she didn't know. We told her that Christ would tell her how much he loved her. She was captivated by the picture.  We asked her "what do you think would make Jesus happy?" She said after a pause she said "going to church." I asked her "why would going to church make him happy?" She didn't know why. We explained how going to church would make Jesus happy because he knows that going to church would help her to learn how to return to be with Him again. And nothing would make him happier than to see her again. It was a really amazing lesson. In previous lessons all she would respond to our questions was "yes" "no" or "i don't know". This lesson was entirely different. She was so engaged. She was not irritated by our questions. She was responding to our questions and she was truly learning. She was even asking us questions. Using the picture made all the difference in our lesson. And she finally prayed out loud for the first time in our last lesson! So that is just a little bit from our week but it was really great week. 

Love Sister Lounsbury

Westchester #16

Hello my lovely Family! I so enjoyed the email this week!! It was so funny! I laughed out loud at the story about Noah and the buck! It sounds like you all are having so much fun at soccer camp, scout camp, going on hikes, camping, canoeing, kyaking, rafting etc. It sounds like you all are just having a most wonderful summer vacation. :) 

Well this week was great! We have been meeting with 2 sisters named Brenda and Janette who are investigating the church. Brenda has been to church 2 weeks in a row now and is eager to learn more. Her sister who has previously investigated the church is also interested in learning more. And when we stopped by to see them this week, both were not home but their roommate was home. We asked her if she would be interested in learning more and she said she would! And we found out that Janette's husband is interested in learning more as well. There is so much potential in that apartment and so that has been really exciting for us. We will meet with them tomorrow. We take the Senior Missionaries with us to help us teach their three little boys. We hope that they continue to progress! 

We also finally had our first lesson with a referral that was given to us. Her name is Channel and she is solid! She is maybe 24 years old or so. We taught her the Restoration. She is already religious and she really related to Joesph Smith and the confusion that he felt. We told her that she could come to know truth if she read the Book of Mormon and prayed about it. She said that she would. At the end we asked her "Channel will you be baptized by someone holding the priesthood authority?" She said "Yes! I would be honored to be baptized!" So she is preparing to be baptized on August 17th!! We are so excited for her. She is so positive and happy!! we hope to meet with her at least 2 times a week to help her to be ready to make the covenant of baptism. So that was way exciting!! 

I didn't have much time to email this week because we had to fill out a survey so I'm out of time. But real quick--we had an awesome Zone conference. We learned about what it means to be a consecrated missionary and President asked if we would all commit to being. consecrated. He also said as a mission he thought it was possible for all of us to have one baptism in the month of September. He asked us to reply in our email if we were willing to take on this goal. Here is my letter to him: 

Hello President Morgan!

When I was asked to be a trainer I was truly humbled. I recognized my great need and dependence on my Savior and His divine help. Your scripture D&C 123:17 was my motivator. I truly believed that if I put forth my best efforts and tried daily to be exactly obedient that I would not need to worry and I could have confidence that God would take care of the rest and we would see miracles. And I felt like we have seen miracles these last few weeks. But as I got more comfortable with training I asked less for God's help. Now after Zone Conference I have once again been humbled by the great task ahead of me--to become a consecrated missionary. 

In response to your question to us all--Yes, I will be a consecrated missionary! I know this is what the Lord sees as the next step for our mission. And you heave felt that we should set the goal to be consecrated and to have one baptism in September. I will join you and the rest of the mission in this goal. And I believe I can achieve this goal not due to my own ability but only through the Lord. There is a quote on my planner that says "when the Lord asks you to do something, He prepares a way for you to do it. So, respond to His call. Do not depend upon your own strength but on the strength and might of the gospel" This has helped me with training and now I hope to respond to this call with the same unwavering faith--not trusting in my strength but in the strength of the Almighty God who has all power in heaven and earth. I'm striving to have this kind of faith--the kind of faith that is so powerful that it brings about miracles that otherwise would not happen. I felt the Spirit very strongly as you talked about being a consecrated missionary, particularly as you taught us that to be a consecrated missionary, we must overcome fear of opening our mouths. You asked each of us "Do you believe in God, Jesus Christ and in the Holy Ghost? Do you have a testimony of the Savior of the world who atoned for your sins and weakness? If you truly believe, then you believe that he can put words into your mouth. Exercise your faith to let it happen. Let fear be pushed out by faith. Stand tall and he will help you." I reflected on my own faith and I knew that I needed to exercise more faith. 

I thought of our investigators and how we invite them to read the Book of Mormon, pray and come to church. We give them a mighty promise that they can and will receive and answer by the power of the Holy Ghost to know if the Book of Mormon is true and that Joesph Smith really did restore the fullness of the gospel on the earth again. Many feel that receiving an answer from God is impossible or too miraculous to happen for them. We urge and encourage them to exercise their faith and to pray so that they can come to know truth for themselves! Now I find myself in a similar position. I have been asked to become a consecrated missionary. I have been asked to lay aside everything on the alter of sacrifice and to hold nothing back. I've been asked to give every ounce of energy, every conscious thought, and every drop of passion to this work--to submit my will to God's will, whatever it may be. I've been asked to let go of all fear, pride, laziness, weakness, doubts and disobedience. I've been asked to hold nothing back and to "offer [my] whole soul as an offering unto Him" (Omni 1:26) 

Honestly my first response to this call was "is this really possible? This seems like too giant and miraculous of a task to achieve." But I know that it is possible. God promises that weak things can be made strong. I loved this quote from the talk you gave us: "I do not believe there us one missionary whose weaknesses are greater than the potential strengths within [her]. Why? --because each of us is a son and daughter of God, with his divine nature and divine potential woven in the very fabric of our souls." I have so frequently urged my investigators to exercise their faith in God's promises--and now I get to exercise my faith in God's promise that I can become a consecrated missionary. 

One scripture I have heard several times this week and in zone conference is D&C 6:36 "[Sister Lounsbury], look unto me in every thought; doubt not, fear not" I think that is an amazing scripture. With every obstacle, with every challenge, with every trial, with every difficulty, with every thought of doubt or fear--I can either look unto Christ with a perfect and abiding faith or I can let doubt and fear overcome me. I will strive more and more each day to develop a powerful faith in Jesus Christ and in his Atoning sacrifice that he performed on my behalf. I know that coming to understand Christ's Atonement and love for me is what will drive and motivate me to do my all and be my all. I will strive each and every day to put God's will above my own and to allow Him to shape me into the person I need to become. I will strive evermore to be a consecrated missionary and a consecrated member of the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-Day Saints. 

Thanks for all you do President. This Zone Conference has motivated me to strive for even higher goals for myself. I pray God will give me the strength to accomplish it. 

~Love Sister Lounsbury

Welp family, I love you all so much! I miss you dearly! And I can't wait to hear from you again! I love you lots!

Love Sister Lounsbury