February 3, 2014

Hope everyone had a great superbowl sunday - I never thought that I'd forget to think about the superbowl. We didnt even realize it was yesterday until late last night at an old lady's home. Its such a blessing to not care - people sometimes tell us these psycho things that happen in the news, crazy weather reports, or end results of the superbowl....It's interesting to think how much our lives are wrapped up in things we consider to be of major importance that aren't and then we wonder why we don't have enough time to do all we need to or want to.

The lesson with Ali went great! He mentioned again and again over dinner and in the lesson that he felt God's presence there. He has a gift of recognizing the spirit - we talked about what that was and God's pattern of how he speaks to us and shows us his love. When we asked how he got involved with the church he said he was given a book of mormon in 1984 and loved it. since then he's had members of the church weave in and out of his life. late last year he was over a project with another company. When he talked to the 2 men from the group he said "the moment i looked into their eyes, the thought came to mind 'they're mormon'." He said he didnt want to say anything at first but after working with them, discovered they were infact members of the church! They planned a business trip to SLC around general conference last fall and he LOVED IT. He personally met Elder Nelson..I think even went in his office! When he returned home, Elder Nelson wrote him a personal letter. He talked about it like no big deal and I told him that I would probably never get to experience that and almost all of the members of the church will probably never get to experience that. So cool!  It was a great discussion - we tried to teach the restoration in terms of asking questions and asking experiences of how God works and again about his patterns. We didnt even talk about Joseph Smith and yet he brought it up saying he knew that he was a prophet..that he would have had to receive that revelation from God. He has a desire to get baptized and we invited him to ask God when he should and what his answer would feel like. He said his wife is supportive of him taking the lessons but not interested herself, and since its such a sudden change of direction for him, he wants to be cautious of her feelings - He said that patience in that timing is the only thing holding him back. At the end we asked HIM to teach US the plan of salvation for tonights lesson. He readily agreed. We assigned up 2 nephi 2 with a question to think about and in return he gave US a question to think about for it too :) Tonights lesson will be another fun one where we wont know what the heak we're doing.

THE CRAZY STUFF:

first, go ahead and look up February's edition of national geographic. NOW. Ok, youve briefed the article that's shown on the front cover? You probably didnt understand half of it...all about the crazy new research on the brain? dont worry i think thats a normal feeling. they talk about the main researcher Van in the article and his upcoming findings.

I TAUGHT THAT GUY THIS WEEK.

A member (considered an "intellectual") called us and said this man had questions about science and religion. After talking about the subject for a very long time, Van said he had no idea mormons thought about science and religion. Brother Sivers, the member, called us and said he invited Van and another intellectual science person from the ward who knew Van to have a meeting in their home and he felt impressed to invite us. We already had another 1st lesson member referral  that night so we went on splits so we could do both. I went with Brother Romney and his daughter to the lesson with Van. We got the man who is so smart he doesn't know how to speak socially, 2 science mormons who talk about science faster than the speed of light, and Brother Romney who....enough said, oh and dont forget me all in one room!

I knew i would do mostly listening but made it a goal not to be a wallflower...at the same time respecting i dont know anything theyre talking about. I prayed so hard that day for courage. I can never explain things out of my mouth clearly and so i prayed that something would come out clear and id know what to say. It was a discussion about how we are all seeking truth and still striving to know how God works and operates and how science is involved in that process as well. Brother Sivers mention how we needed his help to continue on this process of learning together. Thank goodness brother romney was there - he was our main connector of bringing it all back to gospel principles with all the madness in the room. He explained experiences from his mission of the process of finding and defining truth and how no one can teach it to you but we can provide resources so that people can discover the truth themselves. Im so glad he was there because it provided me the opportunity not to be a wallflower - much easier to bounce off of than the other scientific talk. I talked a little bit about truth and how we come to know how God communicates back to us. I talked about how we know that's evidence he's there and how we cant seek truth for selfish gain but so that we can know how to ACT -  and when we're willing to do that, God trusts us with giving us more knowledge.

Watching this guy's body language and reaction to what we were talking about was almost HILARIOUS. I had brought a Book of Mormon and i decided to pull it out. I told him we brought him a gift that was very important to us and that it contained all the knowledge we talked about tonight. I told him that through out all the research he had done, reading this book with real intent of seeking truth not for selfish gain would be the most intellectually and spiritually exhausting experience he would ever have. I told him that only he could discover it for himself and that i knew it was true.

The guy looked at me like i was a downright idiot. He leaned in and said, "How old are you?"

"I just turned 20." He chuckled a little bit and sat back. I said, "yeah, I get that a lot"

But for some reason, I didn't care. I knew that I didnt know everything about the brain and how to make clones in the future...but I DO know about how the most scientific, knowledgeable, and most supreme creator and inventor of all time talks back to us. I know who he is and I know he is real. I thanked heavenly father so much that night that he provided an opportunity for me to bear testimony hopefully that came our half clear.

It was an awesome experience being able to participate in the lesson but I wasn't counting on him really wanting to know more personally.

We heard of a fireside about science and religion coming up and texted Brother Sivers about it yesterday, thinking van might be interested. He then called us and told us that after the discussion that night, Van called him THAT NIGHT with a load of questions. Then he said he woke up to an email van had sent in the middle of the night..with more questions. THEN he said he called him at work because he couldnt wait to ask him a question. He said he wants to help us figure out this whole science and religion thing. Brother Sivers also said Van said he was mostly touched when I told him about how I knew truth and was astounded that someone of such a young age could be so confident in a knowledge of something like that. It was nice of brother sivers to say that. I really didnt do any of the teaching that night and no way could i have ever explained the gospel in a way he would understand by myself but its good to know that if all we need to be is the innocent ones who say they know its true, we can be there. Van is going on vacation for 2 weeks (we hope he brings his BOM)- but B. Sivers says when he gets back he's going to help Brother Sorensen (the other smartie there who also teaches gospel doctrine) teach in gospel doctrine and add a few comments. He is also willing to talk to them again about what we believe and B. Sivers said of course he'll have us there. Crazy, right??

Oh and the other first lesson taught by amaaazing sister kendall is now a new investigator! Maria! She's awesome! and we hope her husband and kids will have the desire to learn too as she continues. Blessings aflowin!

Love you all! Pray for me as I dont know what the heak im doing over here!

Sister Bell

Keep on keepin on!

1. Fenway park fun!

2. thanks to lindz for the b day cake! :) -fianally you can see what sister kendall looks like too! :)

3. Franklin Park zoo

January 27, 2014

Great News! This man has been coming to church the past couple weeks who knows Clay Christensen. We were trying to figure out who this man was - then we get a phone call from a great member in our ward Bro. Johnson (he's a convert from THE book): "sisters! this guy named Ali has been researching the church for a very long time. He has had a long progression and came to me expressing his desire to be baptized and my advice for him on what he should do! So I told him I would have him over with you sisters this week!" We then connected that it was this man who had come to church last week. This week when we saw him at church I introduced myself, saying that we would be meeting with him on Wednesday at the Johnsons. [He is a literal professional. when i talked to him i felt like i was talking the president of the united states. ive never had to be so careful with my grammer :)] I told him that we usually share a similar message of what we believe with people on the first visit but in a way that answers questions they have about life or what we believe. I asked him if  he had any specific questions he would like us to address for wednesday. he smiled and said "I've read all of that book Preach My Gospel...so I know what's coming for me".
Woa, is this a challenge? Bring it on Ali.  Another member said that after talking to him he told them he was looking into getting baptized and becoming a member. I was like Brother Johnson what do you want us to do? He already knows EVERYTHING! He laughed and said "Yeah thank goodness you guys are set apart - i have no idea...im turning this one over to you."
We are flipping our entire teaching style - we are prayerfully considering questions we can ask him so that he can guide the teaching and teach US.

The Lopez family are similar. they know EVERYTHING and want to get baptized but they want to do it as a family and are waiting for their 14 year old. Again, reverse teaching. Its HARD.

The funny part is, a couple weeks ago I was praying and thought "i cant ask others to set goals or encourage them in their efforts to set a date if i dont." So i set a date for January 31st that we would find a new investigator who is ready to accept the restored gospel. We had no one on our plate that we knew of that people were working with but i knew that didnt matter. Now we have the Lopez family, Ali, and another woman Maria who is so excited about the Book of Mormon - she said shes read it before when she lived in Bolivia! she is hoping her family will want to join in the lessons. Heavenly Father, I didnt ask for a million people...I just asked for 1. But hey, I wont complain.
 In the mean time we've been doing lots of exchanges. I want to send pictures - ill have to get another cord because i think my camera cord is official lost...not just misplaced. :/

Another fun moment was dinner with the Romneys this week. We love their family because theyre house is always normal...as in crazy with a million kids. As soon as we all sit down for dinner bro Romney slices his finger so deep. We hear yelling from the other room "oh my gosh...oh my gosh..oh my gosh. i think i might need stiches." We look at their kids and are like "is he going to be ok?" They shrug and say "yeah - this happens all the time. he burnt his finger this morning and has cut himself like 3 other times before. we're used to this." He came in and sat with us  - it was hilarious. The kids were like dad you really need to learn your lesson. I told him to stop being a baby and to just superglue it back together. Their daughter wants her boyfriend taught the lessons but we connected her with the elders so that he would feel more comfortable. He showed off his finger to us on sunday. Needless to say, we have a great relationship with the romneys :)

Pray for me as there is a lot to do this week and a lot of important decisions to make. Happy as can be - but very busy. Heavenly Father is blessing this area so much - I feel so so lucky that I get to be a small piece in the puzzle and get to watch it all happen.

Every night i feel like i have an empty bucket of requests and not enough time to give thanks for everything i've been given.

Thank you for the wonderful birthday surprises as well. Ive never been so happy!

Love,

Sister Bell

Keepin it real...because it is real.

January 13, 2014

picture: before transfers at the Perry's house. we love the perrys. Id send more but i cant find my camera cord :/ The perrys are having a birthday dinner for me on my b-day and i get to invite all the potential investigators and lonely members i want. itll be fun!

Guess what? I have roomates! It's not a 4 person apartment but the 2 sisters that are temporarily with us (who know what "temporary" means) are the 2 i would have chosen - they're very very easy going and easy to get along with, so it's actually been kind of fun.

This week was great - we definetly have our hands full. We did splits for the first time I've been in Belmont and its already created miracles. Sister Kendall and I are getting along great. I am so so happy. I have so much to learn still but I feel like more and more principles of the gospel and being a missionary are starting to crystalize more.

 

Learning moment for the week: Our mission is reading the book of mormon as a mission and have been asked to finish it by a certain point, using a floppy copy and highlighting in different colors: refrences to Jesus Christ, his words, and his attributes. It's been an amazing experience so far counting the references to Christ. While reading in 1 Nephi this week again when Lehi tells Nephi that him and his brothers have been commanded to go back and get the plates, i learned something new (of course). Nephi had just had a vision hearing the words of the Lord teaching him the principles of obeying commandments and the promised blessings that come as we do so. IMMEDIATELY following this experience he talks with Lehi and Lehi tells him what God wants him to do. I never had thought about how the Lord loved Nephi so much and wanted to give him the promised blessings of obedience so strongly that he prepared Nephi to accept a difficult requirement. I wonder how Nephi would have responded if he hadn't been prepared in the way that he had. He was so excited to obey and didnt think twice and now I can see why. God loves us - he is ready and willing to give us blessings that come from responding to difficult circumstances. It's neat to see how he prepares us in ways we don't even realize. I was prepared with the desire to serve a mission so that when the call came I was excited to obey and didnt think twice. When challenges arise or circumstances change that we havent experienced before, do we remember how much the Lord loves us that he has prepared us? We are promised that he won't give us anything that we wont be able to handle and that he has and will prepare a way. Nephi knew this and so he trusted God enough to move forward even in the unknown circumstances.

The second thing I learned was later on when they are trying to take the records from Laban. We know they try 2 times and fail. Just before the 3rd time it says the Lord will deliver Laban into their hands. I thought this was interesting because so many times we pray that trials and burdens will be OUT of our hands. Laban was definetly a burden and it would have been a lot easier if God would have made it so Laban was OUT of the way. But he didnt do that. He said that he would allow him to get in their hands, but with the promise that it would be ok - they'd know how to work through it. As a result, Nephi was a completely different person for the rest of the book because of what he ended up having to do. Do I pray that I dont have to experience a trial anymore, or do I pray that I will know how to handle the trial?

If Nephi didnt experience what he learned in that crucial moment of decision, I dont think he would have been prepared to make other decisions later in the book of mormon. again, a sign of God's love. The whole book of mormon is just pouring out with evidences of simply how much God loves us!

I know that he does - I feel his love everyday. Some days are still really hard, and some days I dont know why bad things happen to good people, and sometimes i'm not super excited to go and obey...but sometimes I think that's ok. But I do know that days are just filled with opportunities - opportunities to turn those circumstances into feeling God's love, opportunities to remember that we know we have been prepared for this time and we are being prepared now for future decisions and circumstances. We are prepared for this life as well as decisions and circumstances we are going to face in the next life.

I know that God provided a way that our families can be literally sealed together, that this life is not the end, but the beginning. This is a life of choices and no matter where we are at physically or spiritually, we have each been given the light of christ to make those choices that lead us to feeling the love of the Savior. I'm so grateful for the choices i've made, especially the choice to be baptized by the true authority and power of God so that it doesnt just have to be the light of christ anymore where the light switch turns on and off, but a constant ray - a sun that never sets - that allows me to feel God's love more readily and helps me with those circumstances I face. I am grateful that it prepared me to make more promises in the temple so that I get to receive even more blessings!

Aren't we just a blessed people?

 

Love you all and I hope you have a blessed week too.

Love,

Sister Bell

 

 

January 6, 2014

I am sorry I didn't write last week - p day was switched to wednesday because it was transfer week and since it was new years day, the library was closed. I got sick last week but nothing like a whole bag of Doterra drops to seal the deal. We also got red-dotted on thursday. That means you aren't allowed to really leave the apartment. We had "Blizzard Hercules" come in. People were so dramatic - it wasn't even bad.

Sister Crane got transferred - we knew it was her time and that it would be too weird to stay together longer. My new comp is Sister Kendall. Holy cow, I could spend the rest of my letter talking about sister Kendall. She is the most humble hardworking and likeable missionary/person on the planet. Im not just saying that either. I have a feeling this is going to be my favorite transfer of my mission. So much good is happening in Belmont we just have to pick up the pieces and put it together. Sis. Kendall is THE perfect person. I think we'll work really well together. Heavenly Father keeps spoiling me. Im hoping if i just continue to say thank you thank you thank you he'll keep it coming :)

It's almost exhausting how many miracles occur. MIRACLES ARE THE NEW NORM. They happen to each of us every day, I think we could do a better job at recognizing them and realizing the source. People always say they are "coincidences". Think again kids.
Here are just a few:

1. Christmas evening we went to the Baratta's home to share a spiritual thought and turns out they have family in town. As we sit down, their older son said, "Are you from Camarillo?"

"Maybe"

"I think i've been in your house...."

After i'm sure he saw the creeped out look I had on my face he said, "I served there about 2 years ago on my mission." Anyone remember an Elder Baratta december 2011-may 2012?

2. Helped at the mission home for incoming new missionaries last week and guess who i see? ALYSSA WESTOVER. She is doing very well - I told President she will be one of the best missionaries in the mission and he very seriously looked at me and said "oh i know, there is something to her - i was very very impressed in our interview" So tell the westovers shes in good hands :)

Then i see this kid from my BYU ward who's a visa waiter in our mission! Small world!

3. MATT - you know the staples?!?!? Derek Staples? He looked at me in their house and was like wait camarillo? Holy cow i can totally see it! You look like matt bell!

those are just the lame examples too. If i had time i would expound on all the spiritual miracles.
Farah (the Farci woman we are teaching english) came to church! she said she had a dream of the inside of the buildling.....maybe thats miracle #4

I know that i am apart of these miracles not just because I have a name tag on but because I am actively engaged in the Lord's work and I know that as we each become more engaged and more diligently act upon what we feel God is prompting us to do, we will see and be apart of more miracles.

Love you - ill try to send pictures next week!

Love,
sister Bell

"Miracles are expecting certain things to happen and actively seeking to bring them to pass" - roger terry

December 16, 2013

I thought freezing rain was an expression.....evidently, its real. It snowed like crazy over the weekend. I spent over an hour shoveling out our driveway sunday morning before church. if you dont do it right away it gets very wet and rainy/snowy (combined...not just either one). as a result, anything thats snowy and looks like marshmallows are harder than ice. we were getting mounds of snow off of someones car and i decided to be smart and use my elbow to push off the snow because my gloves were in the car. i used my momentum of course.....and almost broke my arm!

I HAD to start out my letter talking about the weather because thats all anyone talks about here. not only do we talk about the weather, but we talk about how we talk about the weather so much. its quite ridiculous. but it goes to show that you can bring up anything dumb like the weather to start talking to people and its very readily accepted. "Did you know its snowing? did you also know that there are living prophets on the earth today??" it flows in quite nicely if you think about it.

We are staying very busy despite the fact that our teaching pool is getting SMALLER. We have amazing relationships with our ward leaders and they keep us so busy that we scheduled an interview with president this week to talk to him about getting another set of missionaries here. We cover 2 wards and friends are starting to catch on to the reality of the blessings they receive when they invite their friends to meet with the missionaries. with double the ward counsels, double the meetings and 6 hours of church each week on top of the fact that we do exchanges with sisters....its gettin pretty busy. we really hope we get another set - now is the perfect time to do it while sister crane is still here who has spent the past 6 months developing all these relationships.

I've never been so loved and so hated in my entire life. I know its a life principle but its more directly here because people are so straightforward with their feelings. We got reamed into one minute and then 2 seconds later someone approached us saying theyve never trusted missionaries more. Dont worry - the next minute someone hates again. People are very funny creatures. Moral of the story is you just have to be perfect. When you dont have time for that, you just decide to take everything with a smile.

at the end of a very long day this week, heavenly father gave me a very spiritual experience that i couldnt have been more grateful for at that time. at one of the ward christmas parties they had a small live nativity set up in a classroom. it was very simple - a sheet over the chalkboard, mary (who looks like ashley.(so gorgeous and the perfect mary), joseph and their baby, soft music in the background, and the lights were off with flashlights taped to the wall to create a spotlight. I went in with low expectations thinking it would be very "sweet". I was never so wrong. i was glad the lights were off because we went in there and the spirit was so so strong. I looked at "baby jesus" and was swept over with emotion. It was so real. And I thought, "This is what its all about." In the room next door was santa clause, but the little kids were more attracted to this reverent scene than jolly santa. I felt a strong sense of love for the simplicity of the savior's birth and all that he sacrificed, not only the atonement, but in ever way that he lived his life. What became an even more tender experience was that a nonmember family was there and they had a 6 yr old daughter who wanted to see it. we offered to take her over there. She didn't have a huge background on the true importance of the savior im sure but when she walked in that room she KNEW it was something special. She leaned over and looked at baby jesus and her FIRST response: she turned to us and said, "I have to go show my friend". She darted out of the room and brought in more friends that reverently were in aw as they looked at baby jesus. Sister Crane and I talked about it later how funny it was that her first response was to share the joy with others. She was sharing the gospel! We have a testimony and are in awe at the beauty of the real truth that the gospel provides.  i hope and pray that we follow the example of the 6 year old who isn't even a member and have the same first reaction "to go show our friends".

Get to go to the temple this week for our missionary christmas day! we are so excited!! Love you all! Thanks for all the love youve sent my way!

Sister Bell

December 9, 2013

GOOD LUCK TO MARI!

Last night I had a great idea - "lets go running in the morning before it gets too cold or snows"... bad idea. woke up and looked outside - crazy snowfall! that plan was scratched pretty fast.

I had a great week and got so many surprises from you all! It made my day like no other! thank you for all that you sacrifice to do so - it is more than gratefully appreciated.

This week was not good in terms of teaching investigators. The few we have are out of town. But we are having great member lessons. We went to a member's house last night to watch the Christmas devotional and they had a neighbor over for dinner that we crossed paths with. they are a cute french family who are athiest, grew up catholic. The members talked with her at dinner about questions she's had throughout life that haven't been answered. They said she is going to come back with her husband and they're going to discuss those questions and they said they are going to talk to her about missionaries, what we do, and will invite us to come. The coolest part is...it's one of my teammate's brother! Small world, right?! We talked about that family and they got so excited - they said it's a little different because she's athiest and we said "but not really. think about who and what she thinks god is. she's just been rejecting falsehood her entire life. good for her." they started talking really fast back and forth at eachother: "this is just something we have to do! sharing the gospel is not an option!"..."yeah! i'm convinced it's totally normal to just ask questions and bring up religion like the weather! other religions do it all the time! why the heak are we so nervous?"...."this week im just going to do it...im inviting all my co-workers to come hear the christmas program in church." this continued forever. it was one of the most energetic, exciting member lessons ive ever been in. 

When we truly understand the atonement and understand the covenants we have made - it begins to click...and we realize that living the gospel and sharing it with everyone we know is not an option. it's not only a blessing..but a duty. And how hard is it to genuinely care about someone, invite them over for dinner, and ask them what they think about God? Many times people dont believe there could be a God or dont understand what it means to have a relationship with him because they dont even get God in the first place. Of course they hate organized religion, or of course they dont understand why someone would want to be with their family forever, or of course they dont believe religion can bring peace. Because they don't understand the other half - THE TRUTH. As a result, they've just been REJECTING FALSEHOOD. Kudos to them. They're closer to truth than they think!

I've been thinking lately a lot about patience and remembering. We all sometimes feel like we get in a spiritual rutt, or we feel like the heavens are closed, or that maybe God heard our prayer 2 weeks ago, but it doesnt seem like he's hearing the one today. I've been learning that a lot of times that's just simply when God wants us to remember - to remember all the promptings we've received, remember all the revelation and answers, and remember those simple and grand spiritual experiences...then we just get off our knees and go forward, knowing that it's ok..that revelations haven't ceased.

Those are the random thoughts for the week. By the way, hate to say i told you so...but we have a real christmas tree :) all yall said i wouldnt get one....WELL - there were left over branches from ward wreathmaking, so we took home some trash leftovers and wired some branches together. Classily duct taped to a laundry soap container. julie graciously sent lights - so now it looks even better. boo-ya - real christmas tree. On the bright side, the bishop's wife bought us the set for wreathmaking. it was so nice of her. we were able to make a wreath that is hanging on our door like all the classy belmont people. wreathmaking was a joooookke. josh groban was there (ok not him...but his twin) and the gym looked like black friday maddness to the max. if all these hours of set up were given to women tying quilts or putting together soldier carepackages instead of busily grabbing your favorite bow i wonder how the world would change. nonetheless it was a great event - over 75 nonmembers came. busy busy for the next month doing "whats next" lessons with members. couldn't ask to be in better wards! love love love it here!

2 christmas parties this week thanks to covering 2 wards..then we were put in charge of decorating for the missionary christmas conference next week so we will be busy! 

Love you all!

Sister Bell 

Dont forget to take a moment to remember 

December 2, 2103

Hope you had as much of a fantastic thanksgiving as I did!

This Thanksgiving will go down in the books because Sister Crane and I got to teach our first lesson OVER SKYPE. What? Yes. You heard that correctly. President Haight has a friend who moved to California who is going to stanford but is moving to new york soon - its kind of a crazy situation so WE are teaching him. And we get to teach him via skype. At first it was a tad awkard...waving hello..can you hear me? But then..it was magical. Not that this should be a surprise but you could feel the spirit SO strong. He had so many deep but simple questions. "What is the purpose of life?" "Why do bad things happen to both bad people and innocent people?" I dont doubt his traumatizing past that has led him to ask these questions. He is coming on vacation to Belmont in a couple weeks! We are excited to meet him in person. He is from the lowest of classes in India (literally divided) and somehow made it to America and completely changed his life around. Now he's proving himself to be one of the best business men. We feel so lucky to get to teach him. and SO blessed that we have access to technology that make it possible to literally "teach all nations".

Other than that we've been ingrained in the ward so much which is great. Helping with their "50th anniv. wreathmaking" - talk of the town...literally THE TOWN. they expect around 300 people. its over the top insanity - but welcome to belmont. went to the 8 yr old baptism of the cutest little boy who i got to teach when we did exchanges so we already had a fun connection with them. Where else in the world do you print out classy programs and cater california pizza kitchen for the baptism? Oh belmont you can do better than that. jokes.

loving life - loving being with sister crane. and we just bought christmas lights that we're going to hang up. yay! Woa - just occured to me.....get to see ya'll over skype in T - 23 days. Woa. Weird. Weird weird

Love you all - thank you for your prayers, love, support, letters, and packages that brighten a missionary's day.

Sister Bell