So, this is my last email from Temple Square for a while!
I
am so excited to be in San Diego, California, for the next 3 months. It's actually pretty
funny that I'm going to the Mormon Battalion Visitors' Center for my "Outbound" because they wear the pioneer dresses there.
I've been praying for
humility and Heavenly Father has a great sense of humor.
There was
actually an article in the Ensign this month about it so you can see a
sneak peek of my new wardrobe! Sister Kemple laughed so hard when we
found out I had to wear this "costume" everyday. She knows how much I
love clothes and now I get to wear the exact same dress or skirt/shirt combo for the next 3 months.
I'm so excited, though. Sister Vasi (the other missionary
I'm going to San Diego with) and I had our fitting yesterday with the ladies
who sew all the dresses for the Battalion and they told us a lot about the
visitors' center. You have a shift everyday for 6 hours and then for the rest
of the day, it's regular proselyting.
I cannot wait to be in a ward and get to
work with members! A lot of sisters on Temple Square served their Outbound in
San Diego, but none of them in the actual Visitor's Center. But they know the
sisters there and said it's a great mission.
Here is the mission
address:
7404 Armstrong Place
San Diego, California 92111-4912
Here's the number for the mission office:
858-277-0910
My new mission president's name is President Jonathan S.
Schmitt
Not really sure if you'll need that mom, but I thought I'd
give it to you just in case.
Anyways, this week has been amazing. Sunday we had a
miracle!
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| President and Sister Schmitt |
Thursday we took a man and his friend on a tour. He had just
joined the church last September and was dealing with some similar health
issues as Sister Kemple.
It was an awesome tour and at the end we asked them if
they had anyone they would like to share the gospel with. They couldn't think
of anyone at the moment, and we said 'no worries' and the tour was over.
So back
to Sunday. Sister Kemple and I were walking to the South Visitors' Center and I
saw this guy who looked strangely familiar. IT WAS THE SAME MAN WE TOOK ON THE
TOUR. We stopped and said 'Hi' and he was like, "Sisters! I've been looking
all over for you!" He said as soon as they walked out of the Visitors' Center after our tour on Thursday, he felt really strongly that he needed to
give us his cousin's number. So, when we ran into him on Sunday, he did! His
cousin is from Washington oddly enough. Pretty cool considering how many people
are on Temple Square on Sunday mornings.
This week has been so great though. Have you heard that when people have had 7 different interactions with the church, they are
more open to learning more about it? I'm not actually sure if that's a real
statistic but for the purposes of this email, let's pretend that it is. Anyways, on Monday night we were at Map Desk in the North Visitors' Center and a man
walked in who was carrying a Book of Mormon.
I stopped him and asked if he'd
been here before. He said 'no' and then I just said, "You have your Book of
Mormon with you, that's awesome!"
He said the missionaries in the South VC
had given it to him. I asked if they had given him any specific chapter to read
and he said 'no' so we started talking about what we struggle with when it comes
to God.
We talked about receiving answers to prayer and how to discern what is
from God and what isn't. I gave him Moroni 7 to read and then asked if he had
given his phone number to any of the missionaries on Temple Square.
He said no
and I was like, "Can I have your number?"
He said sure and wrote it
down and we set up an appointment this weekend. It's just so cool because he
had been on Temple Square all day, taken a tour, talked to lots of
missionaries, but wasn't ready to refer yet. Timing is everything. Don't get
discouraged with the missionary work that you are doing or are trying to do.
Not everyone is ready yet, but you are a huge part of them being
prepared!
Yesterday, Elder Mervyn B. Arnold of the 70 came and spoke to us from
7:30am-3pm. It's called a "mission tour." He talked a lot about the Atonement of Jesus Christ and about prayer.
The two things he said that really stood out to me is
that as missionaries, we sometimes use the excuse that "we haven't been
here very long, we don't know enough." He talked about how before we came
to the earth, we lived with God and he prepared us for the challenges and
opportunities that we would have in this life. We have been prepared. Every
single one of us has been taught previously how succeed gloriously in this life
in whatever position we have been placed in.
He also talked about the scripture
that says,
"And whoso receiveth you, there I will be also, for I will go before your face. I will be on your right hand and on your life, and my Spirit shall be in your hearts, and mine angels round about you, to bear you up."
He talked about how every single person, whether they're a
member, less-active, or not a member, have people on the earth and off the
earth who are praying for them and rooting for them to succeed and return to live
with God again. He said that we are never alone when we are testifying to them
about the gospel. Those angels round about us are those people who are praying
for their friend or family member to find Christ.
I have so much more I want to tell you, but this email is
already too long.
Love you so much! Have so much fun at the cabin this weekend,
eat some toll house cookie dough for me while you're there. Love ya, love ya!
I'll send you pictures next week. Not sure when my P-day will be, but know I'm thinking
about you.
Sister Helton
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| My cousins, Vickie and Emily, are both home from missions! They and my grandparents, Charles & Jean Nelson, took me to lunch May 23 |
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