Using technology with purpose 2-25-2015

So, this morning was incredible.

 The Salt Lake City Temple Square Mission has officially had Ipad training! Except it really wasn't about Ipads at all. Elder Clark from the Quorum of the Seventy and Brother Donaldson (he's the mission president in "The District 2" - lol) gave us the training. It was 4 hours long but it literally felt like 25 minutes. I was kind of freaking out at the idea that we are getting Ipads I don't really know why...it just felt weird/wrong in a way to have one on my mission? I don't know. 

 But today I realized that this is all apart of God's plan and that incorporating technology into his work has been His plan all along. The church has developed all these ways to help us, while on our missions, use self-control with technology so when we get off our missions we will have developed habits that will help us for the rest of our lives. The skills that we will be learning on our missions are centered on how to use technology time effectively and be purpose-oriented. 

  Something that the church is doing is they're sending general authorities to every single mission that has Ipads to receive this training. I LOVE how they are explaining the "how" to us. They're not just giving us these tools and saying, "Go use these!" They're explaining how we can most effectively use them.

 They talked a lot about how they want Ipads to become something that is just a part of us. Like a pen that we always carry. They said one of the mistakes they made in the past was focusing on the tool as opposed to our purpose as missionaries. Our purpose is the exact same as it has always been, but the rate at which we will be able to accomplish our purpose is simply accelerating. 

  

 A sister commented and it really stood out to me. She was talking about how it had always bothered her when parents tried to shield their children from the world (which I think to a certain extent you obviously should), but she explained how the gospel of Jesus Christ is meant to strengthen us so we can face the world. 

 I love the verse in Matthew when Christ is eating with the publicans and sinners and the Pharisee asks him why he's eating with these people. 

 Christ explains that he came into the world not to call the righteous to repentance but the sinners. Christ's gospel is all about strengthening those who are weak and helping us change everyday and be a little better. 

 I am so excited to use the technology that God has blessed us with! It won't really change our mission a ton, just because we have so many resources to teach with already on Temple Square, but it will enable us to reach even more people. 

 We are going to become a Facebook mission as well. It's soooo cool how onboard Facebook is with helping the church. I guess the creator of FB (I forget his name)  when he first started the company, started it in a little rented garage. 

 Mormons had previously owned the little house they were renting and so at the top of the doorway in the garage there was a sign that said "Return With Honor." Today, that is their little slogan on their doorways all over the company! Just an interesting little fun fact. haha. 

I think God may have played a role in this? 

Oh, also...everyone in my class reallyyyy thought we were going outbound in March but only like 3 of us are. So, sorry for the false alarm! That's what I get for speculating...haha.

 I can't believe the transfer is almost done and next Wednesday I will have a new companion! Don't know what I'll do without Sister Bellais. We're praying we will stay together but even if we don't, we're sisters forever anyways. 

 Love you all so much! The pics this week are just from announcing after Music and the Spoken Word last Sunday. 

xoxo,

Sister Helton

                                         Announcing after "Music and The Spoken Word"

Why I'm a Mormon 2-18-2015

Clothing at the LDS Humanitarian Center - distributed around the world!

This week has been so busy! With President's Day here and the weather being crazy nice, the Square has been so alive. We have been praying so much that we will be able to find people to teach, and this week we had some amazing tours. 

  Sister Bellais took her second tour in French ever and she did amazing! Her first companion spoke Mandarin and even though you wouldn't think there would be tons of Mandarin-speaking tourists on the Square year 'round, there are. So, she hadn't ever really gotten to practice giving tours in French! I decided I need to learn a language when I get home...I think knowing multiple languages makes you more intelligent. 

  Anyway, the temple is finally open again! It has been closed for cleaning the past 2 months. We were so blessed to be able to go this morning. I've just have had a lot on my mind lately and it's so amazing to be able to just feel peace. 

  People always ask us during tours, "Why are you a Mormon?" I've thought a lot about it. I think what it comes down to for me is just a clarity in my life that I can't find anywhere else and peace. There is so much going on around us alllll the time but by living Christ's gospel, you truly can have peace.

 So we did something new this week! Sister Bellais was chatting with some people in the Tabernacle and I was talking to some different people and she came up to me and was like, "Let's go sing." I was like, "Sorry, what??" She was like, "these people want to hear us sing!" So we went up to the front of the Tabernacle (like where the choir sings) and just sang "I Am a Child of God" with all our hearts haha. The high notes were a tad pitchy, but Sister Bellais sang in French and I just tried to sing as quietly as possible in English. It was a memory I will never forget! But probably will never do again...the choir sings much better so I'll leave it to them ;) 

  I love being a missionary on Temple Square, but I was dreading Valentine's Day. Mainly because Temple Square, I swear, is a magnet for people who are in love/want to be publicly affectionate BUT, we actually had a really great night. The sweetest man named Brother Mason gave us each a box of chocolates and shared his testimony with us which made our night. 

  I just love people. Every person has such a beautiful story and different reasons for their faith. Something I really admire about Sister Bellais is that she really listens to people. She truly listens. It is a gift. 

I miss you all! Love you with all my heart.

Sister Helton

PS. Pics from Humanitarian Center:) and the last one is of Sister Clark from Ukraine on her birthday

Sister Clark (Ukraine) with a birthday sundae

Understanding repentance & Christ 2-11-2015

Aloha fam! 

Picturing you on the island in your swimmies right now makes me a tad jealous, but it's PDay so that's kind of like a vacation...haha 

  Anyways, this week has been so great. After I emailed last Pday, we went to Costco to get some goodies and we ran into Mario and Suzette, my favorite people! They took us to Cheesecake Factory for dinner so that was the best way to end our Pday.  

  Thursday was awesome too because I got to meet with President Poulsen. He's meeting with all the sisters in the mission this week and is such an inspired man. I learned so much in just 15 minutes!

  Friday was Humanitarian Center and we took the sweetest 2 ladies on a tour. Sister Bellais gets really bad headaches and has been wanting to go buy some essential oil and the lady we took on the tour smelled like lavendar DoTerra oil so Sister Bellais asked her where she got her oil and she actually ended up being someone who sells it! She gave some to us for FREE. People are way too nice to missionaries in Utah. That oil is pricey... She gave us a book/her card in case we want any more so that was actually an answer to a prayer. I always feel so bad when she gets headaches and there's really nothing I can do to help her. 

  Saturday I had probably the most spiritual experience of my whole mission. In my interview with President last Thursday, he advised me to spend 20 min in Preach my Gospel (PMG) each day, 20 min in the Book of Mormon, and 20 min in the Bible. I was super determined to finish the New Testament by Easter so I was a little disappointed, but I decided to do what he advised. MIRACLES literally arise when you follow inspired leaders. 

  So, I opened PMG Saturday morning and where I had left off in my last study sesh was in Lesson 4 about the commandments. 

  I wasn't really feeling like studying the commandments because I felt like I already knew them, but I decided to do it.

  So I was reading along and one of the scriptures it asks us to read is Enos 1:1-12. I have also read these verses multiple times on my mission so I didn't really feel like reading them again, but for some reason, I did. 

  I was reading verses 4-8 and something stood out to me in those verses I had never realized before. So, Enos is pouring out his heart to the Lord for forgiveness. He says "his soul hungered" and he prays all day and all night. 

  In verse 5, in the midst of Enos's prayers, a voice says to him, "Enos, thy sins are forgiven."  Right there I realized that when we pour out our hearts to God and want to repent, he instantly forgives us. 

  Verse 6-8, I recognized myself. Enos doubts God. I picturing him thinking, "Can it really be that simple?" Verse 6 Enos says, "I knew God could not lie, therefore, my guilt was swept away." 

  The moment Enos believes in Christ's promises, that he can be healed and cleansed from his sins, the repentance process is complete. 

  The hardest part about repentance is forgiving ourselves. The minute we have the desire to change, God forgives. But, we of course have to do our part and stop sinning. We also, have to believe that Christ's Atonement can heal us. In that moment, our guilt can be swept away. 

  In verse 7, Enos asks God, "How is it done?" God tells him, "According to thy faith." When I first read all these verses, I interpreted it as, God forgives Enos because he has enough faith. No, no! Enos is healed according to his faith because he believes in Jesus's power to cleanse him and to wipe away his guilt. 

  Anyways, the cool part about allll this is that later in the day on Saturday, a less-active member we teach just randomly came to the Square. So, we of course sat and chatted with her for a bit. In the middle of talking to her, I just really felt like I needed to share my personal study with her. So I explained to her what I just explained above.

  It was crazy. She said that the night before she had been reading those exact verses in Enos and had had a friend interpret them for her. She said it was an amazing experience for her, but she struggled with the faith aspect of it because she feels like she never has enough faith to receive Christ's Atonement. 

  Her friend interpreted these verses like I always had - that it is by our faith that Christ forgives us, when really it is according to our belief in Him that we actually allow his free and infinite Atonement to work in us and change us. Anyways it was so cool. It was just such an affirming experience that this is God's work. He directs everything. He is in everything. Those new thoughts about Enos chapter 1 were in no way my own. God wanted to tell this woman whom we teach that she IS forgiven. She just needs to believe in Christ's atoning power and in his ability to cleanse her. 

  I love being a missionary! Temple Square is such a special place. 

  Yesterday, Sister Bellais and I went to get some Chinese food at the food court in City Creek and these 2 ladies in line in front of us bought our food. They left super fast before we even knew they bought our food and so we didn't get to say thank you. 

So, if either of them ever stumble across my blog: Thank You so much from Sister Helton and Sister Bellais! You made our day!

All my love,

Sister Helton

This is a pic of my zone this transfer!

                            Sister Andrea Andrus visited me Monday and brought me a Valentine                            

                                       A couple of old pictures that Sister Jones just gave me

                 
                            Tawnee Tidd's recent visit

PS. My days are really fun. Too fun. Sister Bellais and I are really starting to understand how one another works and so our tours are getting better and better. She's doing so well on her English. She is seriously the sweetest. She told me last week "Sister Helton, every time you talk during a tour, I pray and pray and pray for you in my head that you will say what God wants you to say. Every time, I feel the spirit so strongly." She is literally AN ANGEL. She's helping me be better and be less focused on myself and use my prayers not only for me, but for my companion since we are together in everything and need to be united. It has worked wonders! I love her. 

Another week down! 2-4-2015

I love being a missionary. 

  This week I have learned a ton. I had one of the most powerful personal studies of my life on Monday. I was reading in Mark chapter 9 about Christ and this man who had a son who was sick. The man took his son to Christ's disciples and asked them to heal him. Christ's disciples tried but could not and so the man went directly to Christ himself and said:

  "If thou canst do any thing, have compassion on us, and help us." 

  Christ then says: 

  "If thou canst believe, all things are possible to him that believeth." 

  Verse 24 is what just really hit home to me. It reads:

  "Straightway the father of the child cried out, and said with tears, Lord, I believe; help thou mine unbelief." 

  When I read that I just realized how Jesus Christ can literally make up for everything about us that isn't complete. Even our lack of faith. 

  So many times I feel like I believe. I really, really believe, but I know I don't have a perfect belief. The thing that had never occurred to me until now is that, even if our faith in God isn't perfect, Christ makes up for the rest. He makes it possible for our little amount of faith to bring about miracles. He has done it all. 

  I can just picture this man crying before Christ and recognizing his lack of faith and dependency on Christ, and pleading with his whole heart to have more faith but not knowing how he can possibly increase it. At that moment, Christ makes up the difference. He heals this man's son. 

  I love Jesus. The more I read about Him, the more I realize that everything I am and will become is because of the hope and light He brings to my life. He has made change possible. 

  On Sunday we had a meeting as a Zone. It was our first meeting together since the new transfer began and it was seriously the best. At the end, our zone leaders had us all walk around in a little circle quietly and then when they told us to stop, we had to look at the sister closest to us. We had to look into their eyes and tell them what we saw in their eyes. 

  It was beautiful. I think sometimes being an all-sisters mission, it's really easy to create these false ideas of who people are based on what we see on the outside. This activity really taught me to look at the person's heart and truly try to see them, like God sees them. Maybe an idea for Young Women's?

 Literally, all of us were crying at the end because every single person is a son or daughter of God. Everyone has a light and everyone has something unique and divine about them. I wish I took the time to truly look into people's eyes and try to see them like God sees them. It is powerful. 

 I love you so, so much! 

-Sister Helton

P.S. The first pic is from "MTC contacting." Sisters come to Temple Square from the MTC for a few hours each Saturday night and get to experience what it's like to serve at a visitors center before they actually go. This sweet Sista is going to the visitor's center in Omaha, Nebraska! 

 This next one is Sister Bellais and me at the Humanitarian Center waiting for tours...

it was a slow day haha
We can do service there in between tours. Last Friday we were there and we only took 2 tours from 10am-4pm. In the meantime, we can call our investigators or take chats so we just did that this time. If we want, we can go up to the second floor and quilt. The HC puts out 25 quilts per week! 

This last one is my cousin Vickie Blake (Corvallis, OR) 

who just got home from her mission to Pennsylvania.