Morning everybody!
Well, I got a brand new companion this week - Sister Gunther from
Orem, Utah! Yep, we were practically neighbors and never knew each
other and we both went to Timpanogos High School! I am super excited
to get to serve with her and I think we shall have a great transfer
together and see some good things happen! Even though she has only
been out for 4 months she is SO confident as a missionary, she teaches
very well and simply, she has a good vision and goals. We have had
lots of fun and laughs already just this week and it is refreshing to
be companions with her and I think we'll really be able to strengthen
each other here.
This week was LONG - all we had to do was finding. The nearest
neighborhood is at least a 10 min drive so we ended up really trying
to work the boardwalk. We did get in with a couple, Ryan and Laura,
who are Seventh Day Adventists and we taught them the Restoration.
Ryan said he has been very impressed by the church's view and value
placed on families and had heard about FHE and he appreciated our
approach as missionaries. Turns out he and Laura met at a Seventh Day
Adventist college and they just last couple of years had served a
mission for their church in Thailand and they have three daughters.
Although they agreed to read the Book of Mormon and pray about it,
right after Ryan asked us if we would read Exodus 20 and pray about
that (says the Sabbath is on the seventh day or Saturday). We are
excited to go back and teach them more and hopefully they will have
actually kept their commitment. :)
This week I am starting Jesus The Christ, I have been wanting to read
it since I got out but haven't started it. Sister Kramer (recent
convert) is reading it right now though and keeps saying so many great
things about it that I finally opened the book so I can discuss it
better with her and to satisfy my own curiosity. She is a stellar
member though with a fire testimony! She has a lot of time on her
hands currently so she reads and reads and reads church materials. She
is reading Jesus The Christ, her 3rd time through the entire Book of
Mormon, Doctrine and Covenants, and now the Teachings of the President
manual because she just got called to be a Relief society instructor
(so fitting for her!). And yet she is always asking us to read with
her and teach her more because she wants to be just like us, but I
want to be like her! She just has a spiritual hunger for knowledge
like very few and she is so different from her previous nonmember
self, it really is miraculous when the gospel truly becomes something
dear to someone's heart. That very real and literal change of heart
feels me with gladness and inspiration that I don't think I could
adequately describe other than it is feelings that go along with the
Holy Ghost and it is beautiful.
I am excited to watch the Women's Broadcast this Saturday - another
historical moment and we get to see it unfold! Also excited for
General Conference coming up shortly too, it is too bad people don't
understand how wonderful it is to hear from God's living prophet today
or they would be running to the church doors for Conference.
Well, I am doing well and loving life. God is good and the church is
true, I do know that. :)
I love you!
Sister Amelia Rust
Oh and I almost forgot to mention the mouse in our apartment this
weekend! We tried catching it with towels but that was ineffective so
we called management and they got us some traps. Eventually we got it
and I felt bad killing the mouse but it probably would have come back
if we just caught it and took it outside. I am not really scared of
mice but I freaked out when there was a black spider crawling up my
arm that same night! Good thing I didn't see it and freak out until
after we left the people we were teaching. :)
Monday, August 4, 2014
Charity and Love March 17
While I was in the MTC, we watched this amazing devotional from Elder
Bednar in which he spoke of the character of Christ. Charity, being
the pure love of Christ, involves what Elder Bednar describes as
turning outward like Christ where the natural man would have us
turning inward and self-centered. Charity could also be described as
true friendship. In the June 2006 Ensign, Elder Lynn A. Mickelsen
tells the Old Testament story of David, Jonathan, and King Saul.
It is interesting because David was going to receive the throne next
even though Jonathan was the son of King Saul and so you would think
that would place some sort of wedge between David and Jonathan but
instead they were very loyal friends. In fact, Saul actually began
getting jealous of David being the hero after Goliath was slain and
tried to have him killed. But Jonathan and David were so loyal and had
such a true friendship that Jonathan defended David and helped him get
away out of danger. This charity and true friendship is a selfless
love that we should strive to develop with Christ and others.
Also, Elder Uchtdorf talks about the pure love of Christ as being a
language that reaches every soul because we are all native speakers-
we learned this language in the presence of our Father in heaven and
we get to become fluent while here on Earth. I think he mentions this
in last year's YW broadcast or in the May 2013 Ensign.
Anyways lots of good things to read about and ponder.
Sister Rust
Bednar in which he spoke of the character of Christ. Charity, being
the pure love of Christ, involves what Elder Bednar describes as
turning outward like Christ where the natural man would have us
turning inward and self-centered. Charity could also be described as
true friendship. In the June 2006 Ensign, Elder Lynn A. Mickelsen
tells the Old Testament story of David, Jonathan, and King Saul.
It is interesting because David was going to receive the throne next
even though Jonathan was the son of King Saul and so you would think
that would place some sort of wedge between David and Jonathan but
instead they were very loyal friends. In fact, Saul actually began
getting jealous of David being the hero after Goliath was slain and
tried to have him killed. But Jonathan and David were so loyal and had
such a true friendship that Jonathan defended David and helped him get
away out of danger. This charity and true friendship is a selfless
love that we should strive to develop with Christ and others.
Also, Elder Uchtdorf talks about the pure love of Christ as being a
language that reaches every soul because we are all native speakers-
we learned this language in the presence of our Father in heaven and
we get to become fluent while here on Earth. I think he mentions this
in last year's YW broadcast or in the May 2013 Ensign.
Anyways lots of good things to read about and ponder.
Sister Rust
St. Patrick's Day
Good morning everyone and Happy St. Patty's Day!
I can't believe this but it is time for transfers again already. This
has been the fastest one and it just flew! I am staying in Charlotte
University City ward which I expected, but we were surprised to find
out Sister Nielsen is leaving! I will be getting a new companion
tomorrow and then comes the test to see how much I have really picked
up on getting around in this area in just a little over a month. I am
not worried though and this place has been a little easier to figure
out than Hickory.
This last week went better than the previous in the sense that it
wasn't grand but it wasn't awful and sometimes not having it be awful
is the best thing at the moment. Well, the highlight was the weekend
and my studies were nice as well. We had stake conference along with
the entire southeast and several general authorities joined in and
spoke via broadcast from Salt lake. We had three investigators come
which was nice because we weren't sure any would make it other than
Sherman. The talks were really nice and tied into hastening the work.
Although we are still trying to improve ourselves and our area and it
seems slow going, having interviews with President Craven helped me
feel better emotionally and spiritually. After I expressed my current
concerns he offered some simple counsel that assured me that my faith
is good and how it can grow. I am worthy to be a missionary and as
long as I am worthy of the Holy Ghost guiding me, I don't need to be
so worried about about what I am able to do with the faith that I
have. God keeps His promises when I obey Him - and I try to build my
faith off of that, even if those blessings are not fulfilled in any
near future.
On Saturday we had car fast so we discovered this bike/running trail
called the Greenway and it is great! It keeps us away from the crazy
city roads with crazy drivers trying to get points for hitting us
little bikers. Plus it takes us through forested areas along a little
river and you can hear birds and squirrels all along the way. It's
like countryside within the city and it was a pleasurable bike ride.
:) i am excited to find out how many places we can get to on the
Greenway. Also, it is amusing how many people gawk at someone riding
bikes in skirts, especially on a trail where most everyone is in some
type of athletic clothing.
Well here is what I studied on charity and love the other week......
On second thought, I left my journal in the apt. so I will try to send
my thoughts on charity later today.
I love you! Thank you for the prayers.
Sister Amelia Rust
I can't believe this but it is time for transfers again already. This
has been the fastest one and it just flew! I am staying in Charlotte
University City ward which I expected, but we were surprised to find
out Sister Nielsen is leaving! I will be getting a new companion
tomorrow and then comes the test to see how much I have really picked
up on getting around in this area in just a little over a month. I am
not worried though and this place has been a little easier to figure
out than Hickory.
This last week went better than the previous in the sense that it
wasn't grand but it wasn't awful and sometimes not having it be awful
is the best thing at the moment. Well, the highlight was the weekend
and my studies were nice as well. We had stake conference along with
the entire southeast and several general authorities joined in and
spoke via broadcast from Salt lake. We had three investigators come
which was nice because we weren't sure any would make it other than
Sherman. The talks were really nice and tied into hastening the work.
Although we are still trying to improve ourselves and our area and it
seems slow going, having interviews with President Craven helped me
feel better emotionally and spiritually. After I expressed my current
concerns he offered some simple counsel that assured me that my faith
is good and how it can grow. I am worthy to be a missionary and as
long as I am worthy of the Holy Ghost guiding me, I don't need to be
so worried about about what I am able to do with the faith that I
have. God keeps His promises when I obey Him - and I try to build my
faith off of that, even if those blessings are not fulfilled in any
near future.
On Saturday we had car fast so we discovered this bike/running trail
called the Greenway and it is great! It keeps us away from the crazy
city roads with crazy drivers trying to get points for hitting us
little bikers. Plus it takes us through forested areas along a little
river and you can hear birds and squirrels all along the way. It's
like countryside within the city and it was a pleasurable bike ride.
:) i am excited to find out how many places we can get to on the
Greenway. Also, it is amusing how many people gawk at someone riding
bikes in skirts, especially on a trail where most everyone is in some
type of athletic clothing.
Well here is what I studied on charity and love the other week......
On second thought, I left my journal in the apt. so I will try to send
my thoughts on charity later today.
I love you! Thank you for the prayers.
Sister Amelia Rust
March 3
Good afternoon!
So this morning Great Clips was having a sale and we live right next
to it so the four of us in the apartment all went and got our hair
trimmed. I hadn't cut my hair in I think at least 6 months so I was
due for some trimming to get rid of split ends and such, but I am
getting excited for hot weather so I cut my hair short again too. Now
it is nice and light for the spring and summer.
This week was a long crazy week! Sister Nielsen and I have two new
investigators who so far are considered progressing and hopefully
continue to be. It is kind of funny working with these AreaBook apps
because it has specific criteria and commitments extended to determine
what kind of investigator you have (progressing, former, potential,
etc). So where we might have an investigator who needs to take small
steps and work slowly such as just meeting us at the church for a
lesson, it won't show them as progressing because they didn't commit
and come to Sacrament yet. But if the person agreed to meet us at the
church and came for a lesson, I personally would count that as
progressing. I guess the tricky part is that what I would sometimes
consider progressing is subjective but when it comes to AreaBook
calculations it is objective? Anyway I am rambling on. One of our new
investigators is deaf! Yeah, crazy and she actually is just out of our
area but was referred to us because our ward has interpreters and word
got out that I know how to sign. Yikes! I haven't used my sign in over
half a year now and I never did learn any signs related to religion.
Her husband speaks Spanish and I don't know any of that, so this will
be an adventure!
Our other new guy is from New Jersey and Jamaica before that. He is
probably in his 50s and sounds involved I his church but has been very
welcoming and friendly about what we teach so far. His neighbor is one
of our members who referred him so they have been great to bring to
the lessons. The investigator has 25 different Bibles! And now a Book
of Mormon ;)
Oh my goodness and we went to an investigator's Bible study that she
and her husband did in their home. They are born again Christian and
this was the first Bible study I have been to out here but I
definitely like how much we learn and understand about the Bible from
our LDS institutes and seminaries. I didn't realize how much
Latter-day Saints know the Bible. So this was our first visit with
this lady and her husband (we met her at the boardwalk) but they were
very hospitable and even fed us dinner! They had a lot of concerns
about what we believe and are now praying that we'll find he truth.
And the husband was quoting out of the Bible but contradicting himself
and he has only read one random passage from the Book of Mormon. So
that was hard for me when he started talking bad about the Book of
Mormon when he hasn't even taken the time to try it out completely. He
said the Bible has withstood the test of time and made it through
things but the Book of Mormon will never stand on its own. He is wrong
on that point and dos not understand that it has already been around
since 600 BC and all the crazy persecution that it went through in the
1800s when the church was so fragile too. Then the wife asked us how
we know we aren't just reading a false book and being deceived. It was
an interesting night but don't worry neither party once raised voice
or got contentious so we were able to leave on an excellent note. In
fact the lady hugged us, invited us back, and said she felt like we
were friends. The next day we sent them an email to thank them for
having us over and sharing their faith in Christ and invited them to
continue researching our beliefs and the Book of Mormon. We did let
them know that there is a lot of misinformation out there though so to
come to us or check out the church websites. We invited them to start
with the talk "Ask The Missionaries!". And they totally read it! We'll
see how things go with them because they said it raised more questions
for them.
Phew! Oh my goodness this is a long email but it was a long week.
Ok last thing- this last week was studying hope. Hope stems from our
faith and they are very much interconnected. I read some interesting
things from an Ensign article on hope written by a psychologist. He
listed 6 things we can do to cultivate hope in our lives including:
associating with hopeful people/atmospheres, confidence, improving
self-control, rejoicing in life's small victories, and taking care of
ourself and being healthy.
I think the most interesting points were the confidence and improving
self-control. Confidence is a breeding ground for hope when we focus
on our effort and progress rather than on complete success and
realizing that failure does not determine our worth.
Also we can cultivate hope as we improve self-control by making
meaningful goals and plans to accomplish them. We might memorize a
quotation or scripture or establish a habit or control time, eating,
exercise or finances. Interesting concept, huh? This is kind of the
idea behind the 40 day fasts that we are doing in our mission.
This week study Charity and Love. If any of you are doing the
challenge too I would love to hear your thoughts on any of the
attributes of Christ!
I love you all and thank you for the prayers and support!
Love,
Sister Rust
So this morning Great Clips was having a sale and we live right next
to it so the four of us in the apartment all went and got our hair
trimmed. I hadn't cut my hair in I think at least 6 months so I was
due for some trimming to get rid of split ends and such, but I am
getting excited for hot weather so I cut my hair short again too. Now
it is nice and light for the spring and summer.
This week was a long crazy week! Sister Nielsen and I have two new
investigators who so far are considered progressing and hopefully
continue to be. It is kind of funny working with these AreaBook apps
because it has specific criteria and commitments extended to determine
what kind of investigator you have (progressing, former, potential,
etc). So where we might have an investigator who needs to take small
steps and work slowly such as just meeting us at the church for a
lesson, it won't show them as progressing because they didn't commit
and come to Sacrament yet. But if the person agreed to meet us at the
church and came for a lesson, I personally would count that as
progressing. I guess the tricky part is that what I would sometimes
consider progressing is subjective but when it comes to AreaBook
calculations it is objective? Anyway I am rambling on. One of our new
investigators is deaf! Yeah, crazy and she actually is just out of our
area but was referred to us because our ward has interpreters and word
got out that I know how to sign. Yikes! I haven't used my sign in over
half a year now and I never did learn any signs related to religion.
Her husband speaks Spanish and I don't know any of that, so this will
be an adventure!
Our other new guy is from New Jersey and Jamaica before that. He is
probably in his 50s and sounds involved I his church but has been very
welcoming and friendly about what we teach so far. His neighbor is one
of our members who referred him so they have been great to bring to
the lessons. The investigator has 25 different Bibles! And now a Book
of Mormon ;)
Oh my goodness and we went to an investigator's Bible study that she
and her husband did in their home. They are born again Christian and
this was the first Bible study I have been to out here but I
definitely like how much we learn and understand about the Bible from
our LDS institutes and seminaries. I didn't realize how much
Latter-day Saints know the Bible. So this was our first visit with
this lady and her husband (we met her at the boardwalk) but they were
very hospitable and even fed us dinner! They had a lot of concerns
about what we believe and are now praying that we'll find he truth.
And the husband was quoting out of the Bible but contradicting himself
and he has only read one random passage from the Book of Mormon. So
that was hard for me when he started talking bad about the Book of
Mormon when he hasn't even taken the time to try it out completely. He
said the Bible has withstood the test of time and made it through
things but the Book of Mormon will never stand on its own. He is wrong
on that point and dos not understand that it has already been around
since 600 BC and all the crazy persecution that it went through in the
1800s when the church was so fragile too. Then the wife asked us how
we know we aren't just reading a false book and being deceived. It was
an interesting night but don't worry neither party once raised voice
or got contentious so we were able to leave on an excellent note. In
fact the lady hugged us, invited us back, and said she felt like we
were friends. The next day we sent them an email to thank them for
having us over and sharing their faith in Christ and invited them to
continue researching our beliefs and the Book of Mormon. We did let
them know that there is a lot of misinformation out there though so to
come to us or check out the church websites. We invited them to start
with the talk "Ask The Missionaries!". And they totally read it! We'll
see how things go with them because they said it raised more questions
for them.
Phew! Oh my goodness this is a long email but it was a long week.
Ok last thing- this last week was studying hope. Hope stems from our
faith and they are very much interconnected. I read some interesting
things from an Ensign article on hope written by a psychologist. He
listed 6 things we can do to cultivate hope in our lives including:
associating with hopeful people/atmospheres, confidence, improving
self-control, rejoicing in life's small victories, and taking care of
ourself and being healthy.
I think the most interesting points were the confidence and improving
self-control. Confidence is a breeding ground for hope when we focus
on our effort and progress rather than on complete success and
realizing that failure does not determine our worth.
Also we can cultivate hope as we improve self-control by making
meaningful goals and plans to accomplish them. We might memorize a
quotation or scripture or establish a habit or control time, eating,
exercise or finances. Interesting concept, huh? This is kind of the
idea behind the 40 day fasts that we are doing in our mission.
This week study Charity and Love. If any of you are doing the
challenge too I would love to hear your thoughts on any of the
attributes of Christ!
I love you all and thank you for the prayers and support!
Love,
Sister Rust
February 24
Hello everybody!
So I don't have hardly anything to say about this week.... It was
rough. We lost our baptism dates, we have one progressing investigator
who can't be baptized for at least another month if not longer, and no
luck with anything else including new investigators. This is one of
those weeks where I hate that we have to call in and report to our
district leader, and answer the usual question "well, why do you think
so and so is not progressing or coming to church or etc." I don't know
- is it something I am or am not doing? Oh well, that is when I finish
the call, go into the closet and yell out my frustration. And the
Hilliard sisters in our apartment had a venting session with us too
which was nice.
However, my studies in the morning this week and the messages shared
at church were fantastic. I was looking up all sorts of things on
Faith in Christ and thinking about it throughout the week and trying
to exercise my faith.
To start off I came to the conclusion that faith is much more than
simply believing on Jesus' name and that He is. James in the Bible
tells us that even "the devils also believe, and tremble." I thought
that was an interesting point - Satan knows that God and Jesus Christ
are real and he believes so there must be something more to faith.
Faith is a principle of action and power and Satan would try to have
us underestimate what faith can do. But in Moroni 7, we are reminded
that God has not ceased to be a God of miracles, but to those in
unbelief, it would seem that way. Miracles are brought about though
after the trial of faith, or after we prove our trust and confidence
in Christ and Heavenly Father.
We are to walk this life by faith, which is a real challenge at times
because we don't see the fruit that we hope the little seed will
become and there is a lot we just don't know or understand. Yet, faith
can be that daily motivation leading us to repent (change) and
obedience. Would a farmer plant fields if he did not hope for a crop
to harvest? Would we work hard if we did not hope to accomplish
something? -- That is faith. And having faith in the Savior brings
many blessings, not the least of which is eternal salvation. And while
here in our mortal existence it will make us free (Helaman 15: 7-8),
free from worldly sorrow and worry and free from the degrading
destruction we see occurring in societies.
One of my favorite things I found is a talk from Elder Andersen, "You
know Enough". He talks about giving a blessing to a man who was
struggling with faith and of that experience he said,
"Faith is not only a feeling; it is a decision. He would need to choose faith."
I could do everything right- read my scriptures, say my prayers, serve
in a calling, teach a million Restoration lessons- but I might still
need to CHOOSE to have faith and definitely need to choose to exercise
it.
That was some of what I learned from my study on faith last week and
this week is hope. I look forward to hearing some of your thoughts. :)
I sure love this gospel and the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-Day
Saints! Somehow I am going to find someone who will see that and
desire it for themselves and I look forward to that day.
I love y'all!
Sister Rust
So I don't have hardly anything to say about this week.... It was
rough. We lost our baptism dates, we have one progressing investigator
who can't be baptized for at least another month if not longer, and no
luck with anything else including new investigators. This is one of
those weeks where I hate that we have to call in and report to our
district leader, and answer the usual question "well, why do you think
so and so is not progressing or coming to church or etc." I don't know
- is it something I am or am not doing? Oh well, that is when I finish
the call, go into the closet and yell out my frustration. And the
Hilliard sisters in our apartment had a venting session with us too
which was nice.
However, my studies in the morning this week and the messages shared
at church were fantastic. I was looking up all sorts of things on
Faith in Christ and thinking about it throughout the week and trying
to exercise my faith.
To start off I came to the conclusion that faith is much more than
simply believing on Jesus' name and that He is. James in the Bible
tells us that even "the devils also believe, and tremble." I thought
that was an interesting point - Satan knows that God and Jesus Christ
are real and he believes so there must be something more to faith.
Faith is a principle of action and power and Satan would try to have
us underestimate what faith can do. But in Moroni 7, we are reminded
that God has not ceased to be a God of miracles, but to those in
unbelief, it would seem that way. Miracles are brought about though
after the trial of faith, or after we prove our trust and confidence
in Christ and Heavenly Father.
We are to walk this life by faith, which is a real challenge at times
because we don't see the fruit that we hope the little seed will
become and there is a lot we just don't know or understand. Yet, faith
can be that daily motivation leading us to repent (change) and
obedience. Would a farmer plant fields if he did not hope for a crop
to harvest? Would we work hard if we did not hope to accomplish
something? -- That is faith. And having faith in the Savior brings
many blessings, not the least of which is eternal salvation. And while
here in our mortal existence it will make us free (Helaman 15: 7-8),
free from worldly sorrow and worry and free from the degrading
destruction we see occurring in societies.
One of my favorite things I found is a talk from Elder Andersen, "You
know Enough". He talks about giving a blessing to a man who was
struggling with faith and of that experience he said,
"Faith is not only a feeling; it is a decision. He would need to choose faith."
I could do everything right- read my scriptures, say my prayers, serve
in a calling, teach a million Restoration lessons- but I might still
need to CHOOSE to have faith and definitely need to choose to exercise
it.
That was some of what I learned from my study on faith last week and
this week is hope. I look forward to hearing some of your thoughts. :)
I sure love this gospel and the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-Day
Saints! Somehow I am going to find someone who will see that and
desire it for themselves and I look forward to that day.
I love y'all!
Sister Rust
Monday, February 17, 2014
February 17
Hi family!
Boy, this week has been a crazy one. First off, I would just like to
say mom, that I miss your cooking at home.
Also, here is my new mailing address: 9721 Grove Crest Ln Charlotte, NC 28262
Ok so I think I jinxed myself by thinking we wouldn't really get any
snow in North Carolina. Literally the day after I said so, it snowed
for a day while I was still in Hickory. And now this week it snowed
for two days! We are talking a good 6 inches at least in Charlotte
here where it definitely doesn't snow or so they say. The crazy thing
is the temperature the day previous and after, got up in the high 50's
felt like spring. Basically, people here really aren't prepared for it
and the whole city just shuts down and everyone stays home. We were
stuck inside for 2 days and ventured out on foot for a couple hours,
just long enough to swing by some less active members who live down
the street from us. Most everyone live too far for foot so we tried to
skype some of our appointments which was nice to be able to do from
our apartment. It was super fun to watch all these college kids in our
complex try to make snowmen and grab anything they could try to sled
on. A lot of them are from across the ocean like India and the Middle
East area so this was magical for them and even the natives to NC
haven't received snow like this in at least 10 years. We saw a couple
of guys driving a remote control hummer around in donuts and they said
better than wrecking an actual car- smart choice. Apparently snow days
are party days here for the college kids- everyone walks out of Food
Lion with a case of beer instead of actual necessities. :P Whatever,
hot chocolate will taste better.
The snow was fun but we were finally excited to get back out and
working but I got sick over the weekend. I was doing so great this
winter and then out of nowhere I got a sore throat, stomach bug, and
possibly a cold all within this week! No bueno, but I am working on
getting better and I will get a blessing from the elders today. At
least it isn't the crazy flu that has been going around NC.
Well, our current progressing investigator has a goal to quit smoking this week and
working on a divorce so that he can marry his girlfriend who is a
member and be baptized. We are just praying that the divorce can go
through within the month or less so we won't have to push his baptism
date back more.
We also got a referral, and she likes the Book of Mormon. She
has a lot of challenges but he most current is a strange anxiety over
churches in general. Not sure what exactly that is all about yet but
if you could pray that we will be able to help her come to church.
So my mission is doing a study of the Christ-like attributes in chp 6
of Preach My Gospel up until Easter. Staring this week with Faith in
Christ we will study each attribute and try to live it as well. I
would like to invite all of you to join as well and we can share what
we have learned and our experiences with each other.
Well, that is my crazy life for you so far. Wish I had more to report
on as far as teaching pool goes but it is kind of small right now and
I am just trying to learn names and faces of investigators and members
just as fast as I can!
I love you!
Sister Amelia Rust
Boy, this week has been a crazy one. First off, I would just like to
say mom, that I miss your cooking at home.
Also, here is my new mailing address: 9721 Grove Crest Ln Charlotte, NC 28262
Ok so I think I jinxed myself by thinking we wouldn't really get any
snow in North Carolina. Literally the day after I said so, it snowed
for a day while I was still in Hickory. And now this week it snowed
for two days! We are talking a good 6 inches at least in Charlotte
here where it definitely doesn't snow or so they say. The crazy thing
is the temperature the day previous and after, got up in the high 50's
felt like spring. Basically, people here really aren't prepared for it
and the whole city just shuts down and everyone stays home. We were
stuck inside for 2 days and ventured out on foot for a couple hours,
just long enough to swing by some less active members who live down
the street from us. Most everyone live too far for foot so we tried to
skype some of our appointments which was nice to be able to do from
our apartment. It was super fun to watch all these college kids in our
complex try to make snowmen and grab anything they could try to sled
on. A lot of them are from across the ocean like India and the Middle
East area so this was magical for them and even the natives to NC
haven't received snow like this in at least 10 years. We saw a couple
of guys driving a remote control hummer around in donuts and they said
better than wrecking an actual car- smart choice. Apparently snow days
are party days here for the college kids- everyone walks out of Food
Lion with a case of beer instead of actual necessities. :P Whatever,
hot chocolate will taste better.
The snow was fun but we were finally excited to get back out and
working but I got sick over the weekend. I was doing so great this
winter and then out of nowhere I got a sore throat, stomach bug, and
possibly a cold all within this week! No bueno, but I am working on
getting better and I will get a blessing from the elders today. At
least it isn't the crazy flu that has been going around NC.
Well, our current progressing investigator has a goal to quit smoking this week and
working on a divorce so that he can marry his girlfriend who is a
member and be baptized. We are just praying that the divorce can go
through within the month or less so we won't have to push his baptism
date back more.
We also got a referral, and she likes the Book of Mormon. She
has a lot of challenges but he most current is a strange anxiety over
churches in general. Not sure what exactly that is all about yet but
if you could pray that we will be able to help her come to church.
So my mission is doing a study of the Christ-like attributes in chp 6
of Preach My Gospel up until Easter. Staring this week with Faith in
Christ we will study each attribute and try to live it as well. I
would like to invite all of you to join as well and we can share what
we have learned and our experiences with each other.
Well, that is my crazy life for you so far. Wish I had more to report
on as far as teaching pool goes but it is kind of small right now and
I am just trying to learn names and faces of investigators and members
just as fast as I can!
I love you!
Sister Amelia Rust
February 10
Hi Mom, Dad, and family,
So first off I was transferred this week. Yep, I left my beloved
Hickory and Sister Whitmer and now I am in University City part of
Charlotte with Sister Nielsen. Sister Nielsen is like me where we can
be really quiet until we warm up to someone but we aren't chatterboxes
much haha. I like her though. It's strange coming into an area where
there is already a teaching pool and my companion knows the Area
because she was here previously. In Hickory we were basically like
whitewashing the area for sisters at least and I kind of like that
maybe?
I live right next to UNC Charlotte but the other two sisters are in
the singles ward and proselyte on campus and we are In a family ward.
Oh that is the other new thing- there are four sisters in our
apartment but thank goodness two bathrooms. Sharing food and not
sharing food will be interesting though. I have never had a college
experience with several roommates before so this will be.... Exciting?
Oh but our family ward is neat and there is a deaf brother!!!!! So
pretty much I was distracted by the interpreter all of sacrament. :)
Here's my spiritual food for thought that has been on my mind this week:
"God uses your faith to mold your character. Character is woven
patiently from threads of doctrine, principle, and obedience.
Character is the manifestation of what you are becoming. Your
character will be the yardstick that God will use to determine how
well you have used your mortal life." Elder Richard G. Scott (Living a
Life of Peace, Joy, and Purpose)
Basically that is what my mission is doing for me - God is using my
faith to help me become like Him and grow my character. And that is
why the things we learn on a mission are really lifelong things
because throughout our life we never stop changing and we are
constantly becoming something.
Also I had a neat experience this week with Sister Nielsen. It was
like a missionary's dream come true. :) We were street contacting at
the boardwalk (reminds me of San Fransisco a little) and most people
were just passing us by to quickly to say anything but hello but then
this one couple saw our tags and turned around to stop us. I guess
hyphen guy worked with a Mormon
And had some questions about what she was saying and if that was
really how we believed. He asked what set us apart from other
Christians and we told him about modern revelation and prophet today
and how that is the way The Book of Mormon came about. We left him
with a Book of Mormon and our number. I was feeling so great though, I
could not stop smiling the rest of the day! I think every missionary
dreams of being stopped by someone instead of stopping them.
Well thank you for your prayers and support!
Love, Sister Rust
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