Home Again!

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

There and Back Again: a Hobbit's Tale

Well, here we are - the last weekly email of my mission...how has the end come so quickly?? It feels like just yesterday I was getting off the bus in Laramie, Wyoming, but when I think about all the experiences and miracles that I've seen throughout my mission, I realize that it really has been about 18 months!!

First off - transfer news(!!): Hermana Tippets is TRAINING next transfer!! She's only been out for 1 transfer, but we have 4 new Hermanas coming into the mission, and basically all of the Hermanas who aren't finishing their missions (like me hehe) are training!! It's so wild, but it's definitely what the Lord wants to happen! Hermana Tippets is going to be a great trainer!

We still had a lot of cancelled lessons this week, which is always hard, but we did have a really good lesson with Daniel! We talked about baptism, and asked him how he felt about it - he told us that he wants to get baptized, but he also wants to make sure that he has a strong testimony of the Prophet Joseph Smith and the living prophets before he makes such a big promise to God! He talked about how important church attendance is to him and how sad it makes him to see members of the Branch not go to church - he was like "I'm not even a baptized member, but I go to church more than they do!"

We sent him some study resources on Gospel Library in Gospel Topics so he can study about Joseph Smith, and he seemed really excited to study some General Conference talks too! I'm so excited to keep in touch with him and someday get the news that he's on-date to be baptized

Personal Study excerpt for the week:

(context: Christ administering the Sacrament and teaching the Nephites how to pray)

3 Nephi 18:16 - "And as I have prayed among you even so shall ye pray in my church, qmong my people who do repent and are baptized in my name. Behold, I am the light; I have set an example for you."

--example --> a representative form or pattern / a task performed or problem solved in order to develop skill or understanding

---what skill or understanding do I develop as I take the Sacrament weekly and pray daily?

--skill --> submitting to God's will

--understanding --> how I can improve

My mission has been an amazing experience and I've seen the Lord's hand countless times throughout these past 18 months. There were people that I met and taught that I know the Lord needed me to talk to -  I'm really going to miss all of the people that I've met and served with! Luckily, Colorado/Wyoming aren't too far away, so I'll make sure and visit sometime

I'm also super grateful for all of my companions (@Hermanas Shumway, Passey, and Young, who are on this email list!!) Thank you for everything that the Lord taught me through you! Love you guys so much!! (Also, Hermana Passey and Hermana Young are training this next transfer too, and they're gonna be amazing!!!)

Thank you for all the wonderful love and support that you've all given me throughout this journey - I'm excited to see all of you again, and to keep learning and growing once I'm home! My Homecoming talk will be September 18th, if any of you want to come!!

Love you all and see you soon!!

- Hermana DeWitt

Bella Rosa District

Bella Rosa District

Bella Rosa District

Me!

Me and Hermana Tippets

Good Lessons and a Temple Trip!!

Sorry for the late weekly email - our P-day got moved to today since the Longmont zone got to go to the temple today!! It was amazing (as usual!)

We had a lot of cancelled lessons this week, but we did have a couple of good ones!

Victorino - we met him a few weeks ago while trying to contact his neighbor, Alejandro! He said that Alejandro is super busy all the time, but that we could stop by and visit him (Victorino) instead! This week, we got to sit down with him and talk about the Restoration! The Spirit was so strong as we talked about the First Vision and the Book of Mormon, and he said he would read the Introduction! We're excited for him!

Carina - she was a referral from some of the Elders in our District! After a few weeks of trying to get in contact with her, we were finally able to talk with her about the Gospel! Unfortunately, we had woken her up from a nap, but she didn't want to cancel our appointment, so she pinched herself awake (not actually, haha!) and we had a great lesson! Also, their huge white dog (one of the bear-sized ones!) was looking at us through the window the whole time (so cute!) and we found out his name is "oso", which is just Spanish for "bear"!! I thought that was adorable!

Personal Study excerpt for the week:

3Nephi 12:16 - "Therefore let your light so shine before this people, that they may see your good works and glorify your Father who is in heaven."

--we don't shine our light so others will glorify us - we shine our light so others will glorify God

--always give the Lord ALL of the credit!!

--but don't hide your light in an attempt to seem more humble! SHARE the light!!

Love you all and have a great week!!

- Hermana DeWitt

 

 

At the Temple

Bienvenidos (my house is your house)

Cafe Rio with a birthday gift card (thanks mom!)

Me and Hermana Tippets!

Me and Hermana Tippets!

Not Much News, but Still Much Reason to Praise the Lord!

Hello everyone!

Well, the trio was short lived - we dropped off Hermana Passey to be with her new companion, Sister Johnson, in Fort Collins! Sister Johnson speaks very little Spanish, but she's going to be an Hermana for the rest of this transfer with Hermana Passey! So, it's back to just Hermana Tippets and me in Longmont.

Not a whole bunch of exciting things happened this week - a lot of people have been ghosting us, which is always sad, but we know that the Lord has some cool miracles in store for the last couple weeks of this transfer!

Personal Study excerpt this week:

3Nephi 10:10 - "...and their mourning was turned into joy, and their lamentations into the praise and thanksgiving unto the Lord Jesus Christ, their Redeemer"

--praise --> offering words of homage/deferance as an act of worship

---deferance --> a disposition or tendency to yield to the will of others

--praising God doesn't just mean that we tell Him 'thank you' - it also means promising Him that we'll show our appreciation for our blessings through obedience

---I want to learn to truly praise God! Yield myself to His will!

Love you all and have a great week!

- Hermana DeWitt

 

The 2-Day Trio

Birthday Cake! (thanks mommy)

Birthday Cake!

The 2-day trio

Lunch with the STL's

E.T. Phone Home

This week was pretty wild - here are some highlights:

We got to go to the temple with Dayana on Wednesday! The neighboring English wards had a planned Youth Temple Trip, and so we got to do proxy baptisms with her - it was so amazing! Watching Dayana get in a temple baptismal font was SO surreal - seeing someone you taught and baptized do temple work is such a cool experience! Roberto wasn't able to make it since he had to work late, so hopefully we can set up another temple trip for both of them to go!

On Sunday, we had an awesome lesson with our friend Deyvin! We talked about the 1st part of the Plan of Salvation, and he was like "Oh my goodness I've always wanted to know where I came from, why I'm here, and where I'm going!" so we read 2 Nephi 2:22-26 with him as we talked about Adam and Eve and the importance of the Fall - he told us, "From these 2 pages of this book, I've learned more than I've ever learned in my entire life!" He was so excited to read Alma 40 and talk about the Spirit World and the Resurrection! We're so excited for him.

We had Zone Conference yesterday, which is why I'm sending this weekly email today instead of yesterday. It was weird to realize that it was my last Zone Conference before I finish my mission...I got to sing "Savior, Redeemer of My Soul" (and managed to not cry until afterwards) and bear my testimony (the moment where I started crying ) - I really love being a missionary! Even though there are so many hard days, I love the opportunity to see so many miracles in the lives of the people here in Longmont, including my own life.

This morning, we had an absolute rollercoaster of emotions! We got a call from our Mission President (Pres. Sandstrom), who told us we needed to head to Windsor and pick up Hermana Passey, since her companion was suddenly going home due to some emotional/family issues - we drove all the way up to Windsor (about 45 minutes north of Longmont) to the Mission Office, where we picked up Hermana Passey and said goodbye to her companion, so, Hermana Tippets and I are in a trio with Hermana Passey for the next little bit! (hence the email title: E.T. [emergency tranfers]) It's weird since Hermana Passey was my companion for my 1st transfer in Longmont, and now she's back! We're not sure how long we'll be in a trio (a day or two? the rest of the transfer?) but the Lord will make it all work out!

Personal Study excerpt for the week:

(context: Samuel the Lamanite talking to the wicked Nephites)

Helaman 13:38 - "But behold, your days of probation are past; ye have procrastinated the day of your salvation"

--day of your repentance --> day of your *salvation*

---the same day that we repent, we begin to experience salvation!

--daily *repentance* ---> daily *salvation*

Love you all and have a great week!

- Hermana DeWitt

 

At the Temple with Dayana!

Me and Hermana Tippets

Me and Hermana Tippets

Me and Hermana Tippets geeking out over this amazingly painted electrical box!

Me and Hermana Tippets geeking out over this amazingly painted electrical box!

Me and Hermana Tippets geeking out over this amazingly painted electrical box!

 

Just Another Week!

We had a good lesson with Filomena this week! She had read part of 3 Nephi 11, but since her first language is Mam (one of the many Guatemalan dialects) she was having a hard time comprehending the language of the scriptures, so we had to explain what was happening in the chapter! She seemed to really like the idea of Christ coming to the Americas - hopefully we can keep teaching her!

Not a bunch of exciting news this week, but I had some cool experiences with daily repentance - The Lord is so good!

Personal Study excerpt for the week:

Helaman 5:24 - "And when [Nephi and Lehi] saw that they were encircled about with a pillar of fire, and that it burned them not, their hearts did take courage."

-courage --> a quality of spirit that enables you to face danger or pain without showing fear

-I love that phrase - quality of spirit - qhen we have courage, the Lord is able to improve the quality of our spirits - He makes us better.

Love you all and have an awesome week!

 

- Hermana DeWitt 

Update on our plants

17 Months!

Trainers' Meeting in Cheyenne

Me and Hermana Tippits

Trainers' Meeting in Cheyenne

A New Hermana

My new greenie's name is Hermana Tippets! She's from North Ogden, Utah (which, I discovered, is different from just Ogden, Utah) she loves music, running, cooking, and drawing! She's super nice.

We had a lot of people cancel appointments this week, which is always sad, but we're going to refocus our efforts on the people that the Lord has prepared, so I'm excited to see what miracles the Lord has in store for us!

Personal Study excerpt for the week:

Alma 60:36 - "...I seek not for honor of the world, but for the glory of God, and the freedom and welfare of my country."

--seek --> try to get or reach/make an effort to accomplish something/go to or towards

--seek the glory of God --> putting in effort towards His work/moving towards His glory

Love you all and have an awesome week!

- Hermana DeWitt

Our Faulty Can of Clam Chowder (took about 20 minutes to create a hole and get said clam chowder out of the can)

Me and Hermana Tippets