Hello Everyone!
This week was pretty great. We had some more funny contacting experiences. We were trying to get a hold of a lady that's recently started avoiding us (President Holland says to be more persistent than an AVON lady and let me tell you, AVON's got nothing on us! We're the definition of persistence! Anywho..) I love children because they're so honest and open to us! Parents probably hate that about them when we come around. So we went to this lady's house and her daughter was like, "Who are you looking for?" We told her her mom and she said, "She's in the back". We walk to the back and this man is there and asks who we are. We tell him, and we walks into the house and says, "We've got some holy rollers on our hands". Another lady comes outside and says, "Sorry, she's not home." As we walk away, we hear her daughter say, "Mom, why don't you want to talk to them?" hahah So funny! As a missionary, we have to find the humor or we'd just be super sad!
Some other fun things from this week was we got to pick more wildflowers! We've had a ton of rain, so things have been muddy, but the plus side is there's more flowers! Yeah for wildflowers! I love seeing them wherever we go. Heavenly Father is just so great to bless us with so much beauty!
I learned an important lesson about the power of service. We went to see an investigator that's kind of been avoiding us lately. When we walked in, it was obvious she wasn't exactly thrilled. She was busy trying to move her furniture. We just jumped in and started helping her and asking her what else we could do to help, and her entire attitude changed! Instead of being a burden, we became a blessing, and she was more willing to sit down and have a lesson. We were able to start meeting regularly with her again. We also had another opportunity to help a different investigator fix up her back yard. It was just amazing to me to see how service truly softens hearts. I read in the New Testament this week in 1 James 1:27 about how true religion is really service. My testimony of that was strengthened. If someone is hard hearted towards you, serve them! The Savior really knew what He was saying when He counseled us to serve others.
We didn't have any investigators at church this week sadly. We did have some less actives that we visited come! Yahoo! It's great to help people renew their covenants. We're just trying to help strengthen the branch any ways we can.
We started teaching a mother and her daughter this week! So exciting! They don't have much of a religious foundation, so hopefully we'll be able to teach them. The hard part is our investigators get fed antimormon stuff. We can usually calm their concerns, it's just hard when they won't tell us what they are so we CAN help them. It's all good though :) It's truly the Lord's work! Not ours!
Something that I'm learning on my mission is that I learn the most right after I have a hard experience. The Lord truly uses my struggles to teach me a lesson. It's awesome! He's right there to help and lift me up when I stumble. It's interesting because I have to take the first step and read my scriptures and study Preach my Gospel. It's usually as I act that receive the help and direction I need. Sometimes I think we think that "God will just help us". While that's true, we usually have to take the first step. The Stake President came in spoke in church and he said that the Lord can't magnify our works if we're not doing anything. We have to do something for him to magnify it. I love that! So true for missionary work. We have to open our mouths, and work hard, and then the Lord can use what we can do to bring forth His work. So true!
I hope life is well for all of you wherever you are! The Lord knows you and cares about you! Have a wonderful day!
Sister Edgel
Thursday, August 14, 2014
So Many Blessings
SO MANY BLESSINGS! IT's CRAZY! Heavenly Father is watching out for us :]
This week was good. I had a hard time Wednesday night because one of our investigators told me that Sister Barret was a better teacher than me (well, she was just trying to compliment Sister Barret, not offend me). It was interesting though because the Lord truly used this as an opportunity to teach me not to compare myself with others. He is making me into who I need to be! He has a plan for me, so I just need to do my best and it'll all be okay!
Humility is more than just thinking God is greater than you; it's knowing that He is the source of your strength, He is the one you should rely on, and He will help us!
It's interesting to me because my greatest moments of learning on my mission have come right after my greatest moments of trial. I definitely think that's the Lord's way. He tries us, we do our best to be faithful, and He blesses us and helps us even more. It's great!
Yesterday's Sunday School lesson was along these lines for me. It was about Elijah and the widow. Saturday I was actually thinking about this story and about how really, Elijah didn't need the widow to feed him. The Lord could've provided another way. BUT, the Lord knew that the widow was going to run out of food and die, so SHE needed the opportunity to feed Elijah. I think that's how my mission is. Yeah, maybe Sister Barret could teach better without me, BUT I need to learn how to become a better teacher so I can be who God needs me to be. I definitely think the Lord uses us because WE are the ones that need the blessings of sacrifice.
This just reminds me of last summer when we were painting my bedroom. You and Dad are master painters to me! You didn't need my "help" at all! BUT because you love me and want to help me become better at painting, you let me help paint the desk area (that thankfully no one will really see and see my numerous mistakes). That's just how the Lord works. He knows our growth is more important than a perfectly done job. Isn't He great?
I love you and pray for you! Whenever I start to worry about you, it's like Heavenly Father tells me, "HEY! Stop worrying! She's my daughter! I love her too! I will make things work out. No worries!" Sister Edgel :]
This week was good. I had a hard time Wednesday night because one of our investigators told me that Sister Barret was a better teacher than me (well, she was just trying to compliment Sister Barret, not offend me). It was interesting though because the Lord truly used this as an opportunity to teach me not to compare myself with others. He is making me into who I need to be! He has a plan for me, so I just need to do my best and it'll all be okay!
Humility is more than just thinking God is greater than you; it's knowing that He is the source of your strength, He is the one you should rely on, and He will help us!
It's interesting to me because my greatest moments of learning on my mission have come right after my greatest moments of trial. I definitely think that's the Lord's way. He tries us, we do our best to be faithful, and He blesses us and helps us even more. It's great!
Yesterday's Sunday School lesson was along these lines for me. It was about Elijah and the widow. Saturday I was actually thinking about this story and about how really, Elijah didn't need the widow to feed him. The Lord could've provided another way. BUT, the Lord knew that the widow was going to run out of food and die, so SHE needed the opportunity to feed Elijah. I think that's how my mission is. Yeah, maybe Sister Barret could teach better without me, BUT I need to learn how to become a better teacher so I can be who God needs me to be. I definitely think the Lord uses us because WE are the ones that need the blessings of sacrifice.
This just reminds me of last summer when we were painting my bedroom. You and Dad are master painters to me! You didn't need my "help" at all! BUT because you love me and want to help me become better at painting, you let me help paint the desk area (that thankfully no one will really see and see my numerous mistakes). That's just how the Lord works. He knows our growth is more important than a perfectly done job. Isn't He great?
I love you and pray for you! Whenever I start to worry about you, it's like Heavenly Father tells me, "HEY! Stop worrying! She's my daughter! I love her too! I will make things work out. No worries!" Sister Edgel :]
Tuesday, August 5, 2014
Charity makes everything work better
Why Hello there Everyone!
First off, I hope you're doing great! Life in Paris is great. This week I had my first Zone Conference! It was awesome! Sister Morgan (the president's wife) was so cute when she saw me. That was kinda nice since I was nervous. The Batchelors (from Las Vegas area) are going home soon. Sister Batchelor took a pic of me. Look out for them Momma in the Temple! They're great!
During Zone Conference we were trained about some of the things the Savior told people to be missionaries. I loved the scripture that said, "Said all you have and come follow me". That was so comforting to me because for some reason I always thought it was like, "Sell X amount of things and come follow me". It was nice to realize that He simply asks for all we can give, not more than we can. Some days it seems like I have less to give than others, but the Lord simply asks for all I can do. Such a comfort :)
So we were tracting the other day, and I heard the funniest excuse for not letting us in thus far. "Sorry, we have to get ready for the rain" [just so you know it only sprinkles like 10 drops after that]. We had a good chuckle about that. It made me wonder what excuse I give sometimes for not changing. "I'm the Junior Companion. I'm just too tired. These people will probably glare at us like others have". But really, the Lord knows best, so I just need to trust Him!
Today while I was running (we run on a high school track by our house in the morning) I was thinking about what more I could do to help people, and it hit me how important Charity (the Love of Christ) is! If we don't do things out of love, we're just doing them for numbers or gain or duty. If we have Charity, if we love people so much that the thought of them living without the Gospel would cause us to tremble for them, then I would be able to keep knocking on doors even if I'm not sure if they'll accept our message. I will have a greater desire to help people come back to church. I would have a greater drive! I would have a greater capacity to do more than I would on my own. What would you be able to do better if you had more charity? Just food for thought :)
GUESS WHAT?! WE had an investigator, Quinten, at church! We have 2 young men in our ward preparing for missions, and 1 of them has been coming to the lessons with Quinten. He went by to give him church clothes (lots of people don't have them) and brought him! It was great. Hopefully he'll want to come back. He seems like he has lots of potential. I was so happy when we saw him! Sister Barret was like, "Tone it down Sister Edgel. Don't scare him away!" hahaha So sometimes I get really excited... haha
Guess what else?! We have a family (a mom and her 2 daughters) that have been investigating the church for a while, and this week the Mom had some serious questions for us about where we came from and where we go after. We helped her the best we could. Her husband has a nerve problem and we're not sure how much longer he'll live, so we've been praying for them a ton. The next time we went back, she told us that she really wants to get baptized because what she wants most in life is to have her family sealed in the temple. We still have to get her to church, and quit smoking, but I'm learning that desire is the first step! It was great. Really, we didn't do anything but listen to her and help answer some of her questions. It's all about the spirit, and the person acting for themselves. She reads the BOM, prays, and understand things deeply. We are just here to act as guides! It's awesome though.
This week while contacting potentials, I got to share about family history! It was awesome. The people didn't seem exactly too excite to talk to us. We usually give people cards anyways, and so as I reached in my purse to give them the normal card, I felt inspired to give them a family history one instead. It turned out that one of the ladies was really interested in family history. I got to bare my testimony about the importance of families and of family history work. It was awesome! Yeah family history! I love this work!
So once upon a time, Heavenly Father takes such good care of His missionaries! One of my concerns has been eating healthy, and this week He totally helped us! We work at a food bank, and this past week very few people came so we had a TON of produce left over. They divided it between some of us workers. We had a food full of produce! It was such a blessing! I know the Lord answered my prayer about that. We also got fed 3 dinners and 1 lunch! That's like a ton for this mission. So many tender mercies :) Heavenly Father truly is watching out for us.
Keep on keeping on! If life is rough, don't forget to turn to the Lord. I am so amazed with how many people have been members of the church for years and have never read the BOM through entirely! If you're reading this and haven't done it, or haven't done it in a while, I challenge you to pick it up and start today! I love the saying, "The best time to plant a tree was 20 years ago, but the next best time is today". SO TRUE! Strengthen your relationship with God by reading His word :) Anywho, I love you all! Keep on keepin on!
Lots of love and support,
Sister Janea Edgel
First off, I hope you're doing great! Life in Paris is great. This week I had my first Zone Conference! It was awesome! Sister Morgan (the president's wife) was so cute when she saw me. That was kinda nice since I was nervous. The Batchelors (from Las Vegas area) are going home soon. Sister Batchelor took a pic of me. Look out for them Momma in the Temple! They're great!
During Zone Conference we were trained about some of the things the Savior told people to be missionaries. I loved the scripture that said, "Said all you have and come follow me". That was so comforting to me because for some reason I always thought it was like, "Sell X amount of things and come follow me". It was nice to realize that He simply asks for all we can give, not more than we can. Some days it seems like I have less to give than others, but the Lord simply asks for all I can do. Such a comfort :)
So we were tracting the other day, and I heard the funniest excuse for not letting us in thus far. "Sorry, we have to get ready for the rain" [just so you know it only sprinkles like 10 drops after that]. We had a good chuckle about that. It made me wonder what excuse I give sometimes for not changing. "I'm the Junior Companion. I'm just too tired. These people will probably glare at us like others have". But really, the Lord knows best, so I just need to trust Him!
Today while I was running (we run on a high school track by our house in the morning) I was thinking about what more I could do to help people, and it hit me how important Charity (the Love of Christ) is! If we don't do things out of love, we're just doing them for numbers or gain or duty. If we have Charity, if we love people so much that the thought of them living without the Gospel would cause us to tremble for them, then I would be able to keep knocking on doors even if I'm not sure if they'll accept our message. I will have a greater desire to help people come back to church. I would have a greater drive! I would have a greater capacity to do more than I would on my own. What would you be able to do better if you had more charity? Just food for thought :)
GUESS WHAT?! WE had an investigator, Quinten, at church! We have 2 young men in our ward preparing for missions, and 1 of them has been coming to the lessons with Quinten. He went by to give him church clothes (lots of people don't have them) and brought him! It was great. Hopefully he'll want to come back. He seems like he has lots of potential. I was so happy when we saw him! Sister Barret was like, "Tone it down Sister Edgel. Don't scare him away!" hahaha So sometimes I get really excited... haha
Guess what else?! We have a family (a mom and her 2 daughters) that have been investigating the church for a while, and this week the Mom had some serious questions for us about where we came from and where we go after. We helped her the best we could. Her husband has a nerve problem and we're not sure how much longer he'll live, so we've been praying for them a ton. The next time we went back, she told us that she really wants to get baptized because what she wants most in life is to have her family sealed in the temple. We still have to get her to church, and quit smoking, but I'm learning that desire is the first step! It was great. Really, we didn't do anything but listen to her and help answer some of her questions. It's all about the spirit, and the person acting for themselves. She reads the BOM, prays, and understand things deeply. We are just here to act as guides! It's awesome though.
This week while contacting potentials, I got to share about family history! It was awesome. The people didn't seem exactly too excite to talk to us. We usually give people cards anyways, and so as I reached in my purse to give them the normal card, I felt inspired to give them a family history one instead. It turned out that one of the ladies was really interested in family history. I got to bare my testimony about the importance of families and of family history work. It was awesome! Yeah family history! I love this work!
So once upon a time, Heavenly Father takes such good care of His missionaries! One of my concerns has been eating healthy, and this week He totally helped us! We work at a food bank, and this past week very few people came so we had a TON of produce left over. They divided it between some of us workers. We had a food full of produce! It was such a blessing! I know the Lord answered my prayer about that. We also got fed 3 dinners and 1 lunch! That's like a ton for this mission. So many tender mercies :) Heavenly Father truly is watching out for us.
Keep on keeping on! If life is rough, don't forget to turn to the Lord. I am so amazed with how many people have been members of the church for years and have never read the BOM through entirely! If you're reading this and haven't done it, or haven't done it in a while, I challenge you to pick it up and start today! I love the saying, "The best time to plant a tree was 20 years ago, but the next best time is today". SO TRUE! Strengthen your relationship with God by reading His word :) Anywho, I love you all! Keep on keepin on!
Lots of love and support,
Sister Janea Edgel
Monday, July 28, 2014
The Lord remembers all of His children.
Hello Everyone!
This week was awesome! I feel like I'm learning and growing so much every day! Its like a baby in a mother's tummy. Yup. I'm just a baby missionary. It's great though!
So for our weekly service we got to this community food pantry and help people carry their groceries to the car. It's a great way to meet a variety of people and show that missionaries care about everyone! Also, sometimes we get free food. We got like 5lbs of peaches and a coconut! So fun! Also, I went on my very first exchanges this week. It was fun, and terrifying, but overall a great experience. The Lord is so close to His missionaries! He never abandons us. We had to drive like 2.5 hours though to get to the STL's because we're in the middle of nowhere. BUT GUESS WHAT?! WE DROVE THROUGH AMISH COUNTRY! Alright, so maybe I'm overly excited, but it
really was so cool! We passed some Amish buggies. I creepily tried taking pictures, but you'll see for yourself that they weren't exactly the hightest quality. We're going back on Tuesday to Springfield again for Zone Conference, so hopefully I'll have more success then.
It rained this week! And thunderstormed! So fun! My first thunder storm :) It's so beautiful and wonderful! It cools things down, but then humidifies things. It just makes my hair extra curly! Counting my blessings :]
Alright, I have more old lady stories for you. Since our ward's not super great at visiting teaching (all of the active members have like 5 callings so they get spread pretty thin) we visit a few old ladies. They are so funny! One of them was telling us how if we were in Arkansas (where she's from) we'd say hello to people by slapping them on the butt! I don't think she's ever read the white handbook... haha she's the one who says most of the inappropriately funny things that only an old lady can get away with saying.
So as a missionary, people feel like they can tell you anything. Like the time they almost killed somebody. It's a blessing and a hardship. We want to help people, so we need to know their struggles so we CAN help them, but still. Mostly the things people tell us are just funny out of context it's great though.
Alright, now for some of the spiritual things I've learning. The main theme of my week is that Lord remembers all of His children. My exchange was honestly pretty rough for me. I'm still learning a TON so it's easy to feel insecure. Plus, being with the STL didn't exactly help because I felt like I was supposed to be some "perfect" missionary. But, the moral of the story, is that if we turn to the Lord, He will show us that He hasn't forgotten us. My personal study the next day was ALL about how the Lord remembers all of His children. 2 Nephi 28:30, 2 Nephi 29:7,8,14 are all about how the Lord remembers everyone, even Sister Missionaries serving in cute little towns in the middle of nowhere. Another thing that the Lord taught me was that maybe I don't know everything, but I know enough. A super great talk about that is by Neil L Anderson in General Conference "You know Enough" (or something like that). The STL had me read it with her. It was such a great reminder that the most important things to know are that God loves us, and that we're His children. If we turn to Him, He will strengthen us. Loved it!
Another talk I read with the STL was about how we each have a cheering section! There are people seen and unseen cheering for all of us to succeed! It was a great reminder of all of those at home that are cheering for me, those in Heaven, and most importantly My Heavenly Father! I'm doing His work helping people come closer to Christ so He will help me :) So thanks to all of you who are my cheering section! You're great! I'm cheering for all of you too! Keep being awesome!
This past week, a member was having some struggles, so we went to her house to try and help her. While there, she asked us to share a spiritual thought. There, in my scriptures, there was a quote that I had gotten my 3rd year of seminary. It was exactly what the member needed in that moment. It was so cool to see that the Lord has been preparing me for this moment, and to help these people for a long time. This extends far beyond just right now and my mission. Whatever we're going through, the Lord is preparing us for our future. Our past has also prepared us for our present. We can do it! He knows what He's doing. He has a great plan for all of us! Also, a shout out to my wonderful seminary teachers and seminary age students to go to seminary! Yeah! [will you post that on my FB page with the link to my blog? Thanks Momma dearest!]
Well, Thanks again for all you do! I love you all and hope things in your life are going well. If they're not, strengthen your relationship with Jesus Christ through prayer and scripture study. The Atonement can help you with every area of your life! I spoke in church this past Sunday all about that. We are asked to do certain things so we can have greater peace and strength in our lives. There are so many blessings the Lord is just WAITING to pour down on us. He can't unless we are obedient and choose to follow Him. :) Make the smart choice and choose to strengthen your relationship with Him! Alright, I love you all. Until next week!
Lots of love and support,
Sister Janea Edgel
This week was awesome! I feel like I'm learning and growing so much every day! Its like a baby in a mother's tummy. Yup. I'm just a baby missionary. It's great though!
So for our weekly service we got to this community food pantry and help people carry their groceries to the car. It's a great way to meet a variety of people and show that missionaries care about everyone! Also, sometimes we get free food. We got like 5lbs of peaches and a coconut! So fun! Also, I went on my very first exchanges this week. It was fun, and terrifying, but overall a great experience. The Lord is so close to His missionaries! He never abandons us. We had to drive like 2.5 hours though to get to the STL's because we're in the middle of nowhere. BUT GUESS WHAT?! WE DROVE THROUGH AMISH COUNTRY! Alright, so maybe I'm overly excited, but it
really was so cool! We passed some Amish buggies. I creepily tried taking pictures, but you'll see for yourself that they weren't exactly the hightest quality. We're going back on Tuesday to Springfield again for Zone Conference, so hopefully I'll have more success then.
It rained this week! And thunderstormed! So fun! My first thunder storm :) It's so beautiful and wonderful! It cools things down, but then humidifies things. It just makes my hair extra curly! Counting my blessings :]
Alright, I have more old lady stories for you. Since our ward's not super great at visiting teaching (all of the active members have like 5 callings so they get spread pretty thin) we visit a few old ladies. They are so funny! One of them was telling us how if we were in Arkansas (where she's from) we'd say hello to people by slapping them on the butt! I don't think she's ever read the white handbook... haha she's the one who says most of the inappropriately funny things that only an old lady can get away with saying.
So as a missionary, people feel like they can tell you anything. Like the time they almost killed somebody. It's a blessing and a hardship. We want to help people, so we need to know their struggles so we CAN help them, but still. Mostly the things people tell us are just funny out of context it's great though.
Alright, now for some of the spiritual things I've learning. The main theme of my week is that Lord remembers all of His children. My exchange was honestly pretty rough for me. I'm still learning a TON so it's easy to feel insecure. Plus, being with the STL didn't exactly help because I felt like I was supposed to be some "perfect" missionary. But, the moral of the story, is that if we turn to the Lord, He will show us that He hasn't forgotten us. My personal study the next day was ALL about how the Lord remembers all of His children. 2 Nephi 28:30, 2 Nephi 29:7,8,14 are all about how the Lord remembers everyone, even Sister Missionaries serving in cute little towns in the middle of nowhere. Another thing that the Lord taught me was that maybe I don't know everything, but I know enough. A super great talk about that is by Neil L Anderson in General Conference "You know Enough" (or something like that). The STL had me read it with her. It was such a great reminder that the most important things to know are that God loves us, and that we're His children. If we turn to Him, He will strengthen us. Loved it!
Another talk I read with the STL was about how we each have a cheering section! There are people seen and unseen cheering for all of us to succeed! It was a great reminder of all of those at home that are cheering for me, those in Heaven, and most importantly My Heavenly Father! I'm doing His work helping people come closer to Christ so He will help me :) So thanks to all of you who are my cheering section! You're great! I'm cheering for all of you too! Keep being awesome!
This past week, a member was having some struggles, so we went to her house to try and help her. While there, she asked us to share a spiritual thought. There, in my scriptures, there was a quote that I had gotten my 3rd year of seminary. It was exactly what the member needed in that moment. It was so cool to see that the Lord has been preparing me for this moment, and to help these people for a long time. This extends far beyond just right now and my mission. Whatever we're going through, the Lord is preparing us for our future. Our past has also prepared us for our present. We can do it! He knows what He's doing. He has a great plan for all of us! Also, a shout out to my wonderful seminary teachers and seminary age students to go to seminary! Yeah! [will you post that on my FB page with the link to my blog? Thanks Momma dearest!]
Well, Thanks again for all you do! I love you all and hope things in your life are going well. If they're not, strengthen your relationship with Jesus Christ through prayer and scripture study. The Atonement can help you with every area of your life! I spoke in church this past Sunday all about that. We are asked to do certain things so we can have greater peace and strength in our lives. There are so many blessings the Lord is just WAITING to pour down on us. He can't unless we are obedient and choose to follow Him. :) Make the smart choice and choose to strengthen your relationship with Him! Alright, I love you all. Until next week!
Lots of love and support,
Sister Janea Edgel
Monday, July 21, 2014
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