Wie Geht Es Dir?

Sometimes German just sneaks in there. I contacted this guy this week in German. It was so funny because as I approached him saying hello he responded with "Que Paso?" So of course I respond in Spanish only to be met with, "I dont speak Spanish." so then I asked if he spoke English where he said yes, but he had an accent. Of course I asked where he was from and viola! Germany! He was kind of laughing because 1. we were both in the dead center of Harlem, 2. as we shuffled through which language we were going to settle on, German was the choice, and 3. he didn't suspect any of the black people around there spoke his language (he told me it was an unusual surprise. I dont know if that was a complement or a not), anyways it was great!

Enough with that, so this Sunday was another miracle Sunday! It was Fast and Testimony Sunday so that doesn't always make for the best meetings, not that they aren't great but they sometimes aren't the greatest. Anyways remember that new investigator that I was speaking about last week, yeah her sweet spirit bore her testimony and it was the best thing I have ever seen and/or heard. I loved it and so did the ward who have to be the greatest ward in New York! They just support all of our investigators and love them!

Anyways life has been great! Its colder than all get out right now but we luckily have had great appointments to keep us somewhat inside and out of the windy cold. We have just been so blessed! Transfers are next week though and Im getting old in the area so we will see if I will stay or go. OH GOODNESS! Until then, I just love you all, love you love you. Thanks for all of your support and love

Slushing Around In The City

This week has definitely been a week of miracles! Sister Fuimaono and myself took on the Alma 32 challenge to see what "fruit" we could grow this week...and yep, definitely didn't have "room enough to receive it!"

Let's talk about it. So late last week we got a phone message from this dear girl who had been coming to Church with a member friend. She exclaimed in the message that she knew it was weird that she was calling but thought she should see about meeting with us to learn more about the Church. Of course being on the receiving end of this message, it was like music to our ears. What an opportunity she was "twisting our arms" to partake. So we set up an appointment for early Sunday morning before church.

Flash forward to that Sunday, we had an amazing first meeting with her where she came equipped with questions that absolutely showed that she had been thinking about meeting with us for a while. It soon became evident that she has been preparing herself to a possible commitment of baptism but was afraid because of the negative feedback she had been experiencing from family and friends. After meeting with her though, she agreed that this was something she really wanted to invest the time in learning about because she just couldn't deny the way she was feeling. It was such a opportunity to teach someone who really was wanting to know if all that was promised in scripture was true.

So we ushered her and her friend to Sacrament meeting where we knew our recent convert Danilda would be speaking. And what an event that was! Hands down the best meeting I have ever attended! Let me explain a bit. So beautiful feisty Danilda gets up to the pulpit swinging her hair and preparing everyone for her conversion story: "Brothers and sisters, please excuse me. This is my first talk in English so if my sentences dont make sense, just wait for the next one and maybe it will." Of course everyone is relaxed and even laughing at this point. She continues: "So, I grew up Catholic and always have been trying to find God. I have had my bouts with other religions searching for a place where I knew God knew me and accepted me for who I was as well as where I knew He would want me to be. About 7 months ago two cute little guys knocked on my door. I guess they were looking for some other guy named Ramon or something but as I told them they had the wrong house they asked if they could teach me about the Gospel. I was flattered and immediately invited them in...two cute little Mormon boys, of course! So as they began to enter they then asked if I was alone, where I of course I said yes. They then exclaimed they needed a 3rd person to be there for them to teach me. I was shocked! Two guys couldn't handle me?! I need three!?"

As she went on she explained: "...they kept inviting people over to my house where I could incorporate myself into their life, but little did I know they were inviting me into theirs." It was such a great talk, where she was so excited that she lost her marker in her scriptures and lost what she wanted to share. No fuss though because the concluding speaker referenced the following. "In Alma 19 a woman named Abish..." where Danilda immediately runs over to where Sister Fuimaono and myself were sitting. She, in amazement exclaimed "That is what I wanted to read to everyone! This is amazing!" As she made her way back to her seat she began telling everyone around her.

What a great experience...but Im not done. As soon as Toby said "and I say these things..." Danilda jumps up in the middle of the congregation and yells raising her hand, "I have something to say!" As Brother Brien from the bishopric encourages her to come forward she resistantly does as she explains herself: "I prayed to God this morning to help me find something to read to you people today, and guess what it was?! Alma 19! And the crazy part is, Toby was not in my bed this morning so it had to be the esSpirit! It this is not the true church than I dont know what is!"

It was an awesome to say the least. The Spirit was there, we had comic relief and investigators in the congregation, many of whom are struggling to see that conversion is a real thing that happens everyday, haha! It was great. Brother Brien closed with, "My wife who's pregnant with a baby girl, and I were laying in bed this morning and to my surprise Toby was not in our bed either, but Abish Brien, I dont know that might have to be the name. What a day of miracles, lets close this meeting!"

What a great day Sunday was! What a week of miracles it has been. Our investigator met with us last night in a followup appointment where she left in tears knowing that the Lord has a plan for her that can help her feel the joy that is intended in life! Unfortunately Im out of time now, but I am so greatful for the people we meet each day and also having an influence in their life. I love each and every one of you, sorry for the novel but you know I couldnt let you go without sharing this story! Love you love you! Have a great week!

It has just been a crazy week! I don't know that I have ever been so stressed for no apparent reason than I had this week. It was amazing though to say the least.

Last Sunday Sister Fuimaono and I were asked to teach FHE the following day. I just love being a missionary because of this specific reason; whenever someone forgets to prepare a talk or a lesson the first action of refuge is to ask a missionary, haha! Love it! Nonetheless, we woke up Monday morning and the first thing I told Sister Fui was "I'm prompted to teach the Haka for FHE, aka I'm prompted that YOU should teach the Haka for FHE." She is such a champion, and absolutely one who hates to be put on the spot, but I assured her the lesson that would accompany it would be just right for the occasion. Long story short "putting on the armor of God and preparing ourselves for spiritual battle (Alma 53:20-21, Deut 31:6, 2 Tim 2:3, and the hymn "Onward Christian Soldiers")" is what we taught, super appropriate right?! We ended the lesson with refreshments of "Pineapple Spritzers" (pineapple juice, Sprite and coconut ice cream) to set the island feel and ended with everyone preparing for battle. It was so fun! I wish you could see the video of the ward members pumped and doing as the Maori do...well, maybe in a year or so :)

Anyways the reason for the stress I suppose was the highly anticipated baptism of lovely Danilda. It was such a dream come true helping her prepare for her "pool party" as she like to call it. I don't know that I have witnessed someone as happy as she was for a long time now. It was so great to teach her and prepare her to enter the waters of baptism. What a blessing! The service was awesome, where the program was full of love and support from the missionaries and the ward members. We had a great group who attended and participated in the program; her sister and a couple of her friends were there for support, Sister Fui and Elder Kafu sang a special musical number of "Come Thou Fount", I spoke on Baptism, her new Home Teacher spoke on The Holy Ghost, and she was baptized by Elder Rossell. What a great day, a huge feast was also prepared by her family for after the service. We ate delicious Dominican food in celebration of the wonderful decision that Danilda was making. The next day of course she was set apart as a member of the Church and received the gift of the Holy Ghost. Ugh! I wish everyone could have been there, there was such a great spirit.

It has just been a great week, full of excitement and all the other great emotions that come along with being a missionary in New York City. The more and more I think about it I dont know that I could have served a mission anywhere else. The work here is so specific to me that I almost feel selfish. I guess that is just another testimony that I have that the Lord knows us best. What an opportunity and a blessing it is! Sometimes we just have to let "Jesus Take the Wheel", haha! I never thought I would quote that song but at the same time it is doing this that helps us reach our full potential. The only thing that the Lord doesn't possess is our will, therefore it is up to us to make that happen. When we do finally "give in" to Him we see that we reach so much higher than we could ever on our own. Im trying :) and everyday that I do I see more and more what the Lord has in store for me. I love this work, I love this Gospel! I mostly love all of you... Instead of ending the way I usually do, I'll let Nephi do it for me " But the Lord knoweth all things from the beginning; wherefore, he prepareth a way to accomplish all his works among the children of men; for behold, he hath all power unto the fulfilling of all his words. And thus it is...(1 Nep 9:6)"

Love you love you!

The Work Is There

So I dont know if I have mentioned this yet but the new year has inspired my companion and I to teach the members the discussions, of course beginning with the first: The Restoration. Our thought behind this was so that they could be more prepared to answer any questions they would come across in everyday conversation. We explain that we have between 30 seconds and 3 minutes to teach a lesson while contacting, this is such a short amount of time! But what is so cool is how the Spirit will pull the most productive information for answers from that which we know if we are prepared. It has been such a blessing! In a ward with so many returned missionaries we often see them excited about reviewing Preach My Gospel, and more willing to pray for missionary experiences. I challenge you to do it too, haha!

Other than that, guess what?!?!? This Saturday we have a baptism!!! Yay! We have been teaching this investigator since about a week after I entered the mission. She has such faith in the Atoning sacrifice of the Lord. She just trusts that the values and lessons we have taught her and by the confirming power of the Spirit, being baptized is the next step for her. I just love this woman! She is proving to be such an example to her family and friends. It is so great to walk into her home and be greeted with "My Mormon girls are here!" as she announces us to her family. They are a great Dominican family that have very traditional values, but agree that the move their sister is making is the best that they have seen. Who knows, maybe one day they will have courage enough to follow her example. I will have to send pics next week.

Anyways, it has been busy out here. The more we work, the more work the Lord has for us. I see these as miracles. When we prove that we can be trusted with the Lord's work, He will be more willing to entrust us with it. I love this Gospel and the light it brings in my life. I am so grateful to be on a mission and witness people's lives change. I am so thankful that I have had great examples in my life that help me make well decisions each week. Thank you everyone! I love you love you!

It's A New Year!!!

Putting up my calendar this past week helped me to realize two things: one, this entire calendar will be on the wall of one of my apartments as a missionary, that's 365 days that will involve nothing but THE work. Second, this calandar represents "once around the sun", aka the time I have left to do THE work is closing in on me fast!

The time is moving quickly and the work is progressing, in fact transfers have just elapsed once again here in NYNYN mission and all I can think of is how grateful I am that Sister Fuimaono is once again my companion. It is obvious we have work to do here in Harlem! Its almost as if the Lord has lit a flame under our bums cause we have been walking around the streets, going the speed of "missionary purpose" like there is no tomorrow. I dont know that there is any real reason for this besides the ball dropping in on our new year and giving us light that we only have this priviledge for so long. Studying the scriptures these past few weeks has also really emphasized this. You cant help but really commend Alma, Ammon and all those guys for the work that they did for YEARS! among friends and foes. They are such champions, haha! They really make the streets of New York look likeDisneyland, and heaven knows how much I love Disneyland, so it got me thinking "What the heck, right?! Its time to really go to work." I have to give credit also to my girl Lindsey Rowe for finishing strong. She really helped me see how amazing the work can be when you are doing it with obedience and charity. Sometimes I wish I could have served with her in Vegas but then I realize, I can be Lindsey Rowe for someone else. She helped me see the work transformed for me to the point that I almost dont want to call it work anymore. It is weird to say that Ash is back in the sense that Im out for making friends, whether in the Gospel or not because I realize the example I set by living the Lords standards is enough that people are going to ask themselves what "makes you different?" The answer is simple and obvious, God. All the work that I am doing here is for and through that purpose. I am simple an instrument in His hands.

Two thousand eleven is definitely going to be a year of miracles, whether small or big I dont think it is unreasonable to think this. I have seen the hand of the Lord thus far in my life preparing me to genuiely count my blessings this year. Such an amazing gift He has granted me this year, to see all that I can be through Him. I would like to take this opportunity to really bare testimony of the things I know. First and foremost God is a loving Heavenly Father who has sent His son, even Jesus Christ, to atone for my sins. The Gospel is real and the power to act in the name of God, even the Priesthood power has been restored to this earth in and through the prophet Joseph Smith. I do have a personal realtionship with my Father in heaven through prayer and he does send His Spirit to be with me. The Book of Mormon is true testimony of Jesus Christ. And lastly to say but definitely not in conclusion I know that I will grow closer to God when I follow His commandments and He will pour His blessings out on me.

I just love being on a mission, its definitely an addition to my life. I love seeing peoples lives changed when the too find out the things I know. I love new beginnings and opportunities to become better. Its just an amazing thing! I love all of you also, you help me so much and I cant thank you enough for your support! Love you love you, and so it is...

Christmas Has Come and Gone

So I cant lie and say that I am glad Christmas is over. That is a huge switch from the usual debate with my roommates over whether we should wait til the new year to take down the Christmas decorations where my answer woiuld always be "No! Take them down". New feelings of Christmas have evolved these last couple of years. I am just thankful for the opportunities I have had to spend Christmas away and say that it genuinely was a Spiritual Christmas this year.

It was amazing getting up early on Christmas and not running to a Christmas tree to retreive presents. As we got ready to head to Scarsdale for the morning holiday activities I couldn't help but wonder how Christmas was suiting everyone in California and Utah. It was the first time I could say that I really missed everything about being home but not to the point that I was sad or wanting to be there. I think it was more missing the opportunity to share with my family and friends that love that I was experiencing as a missionary in this season. It is unlike any other I tell you and it is a feeling I wish I could have everyone feel at least once in their life.

Getting on the subway, dressed and ready to go, singing carols to everyone who had nothing but distress on their faces as they either recovered from a long night of work or were heading out of town to be with their families was the greatest gift of the Spirit we could bring as we too were overly anxious to spend time with each other and get to calling our families later in the night. There was a blend of missionaries who some were spending Christmas number 2 on the mish as well as others like myself who didn't know what to "do with their hands" as we threw them up exclaiming "So this is Christmas!" It was a great time! We had a devotional in the chapel, each zone providing their own musical number; Manhattan North, my zone, sang What Child Is This to the beautiful accompaniment of Sister Babb (love her!) I got to see my mom (trainer) again at lunch and just had a marvelous time playing around with the other missionaries and reflecting on the plethora of emotions that were surrounding all of us as we dwelt immediate-familyless on this day.

Just as short as it began we were back on a train, preparing for more work. We had a dinner appointment we were running late to so there was little time to converse on the streets the joy of the season with those who were around. A gracious member of the ward provided a nice meal for my companion and I as well as for some other members who were stuck in the city, left without a home full of family to celebrate with. It was a lovely time!

I have to say that the day went by fast. It concluded with the anticipated phone calls home. I loved every moment of it and wished I could have savored it a bit longer. Oh well, maybe next year...

I would also love to thank all of those who thought of me this Christmas season. Your greetings were received with a heart full of thanks for including me in your life once again. Thank you for all that you do! I love you all! Happy New Year!

Sooo Cold

Holy heavens it cold out here! And so it is...

No, Im just playing. But it is really cold out here. It began to snow a couple of days ago, eke! My companion from Hawaii has never seen snow before so while she has been skipping and frolicking along I just sit back and remember the winter I got frostbite, haha! The wind cuts like a knife and living so close to the Hudson, the humidity just sits like ice cubes on your exposed skin, wow! I do love it though, as long as I stay bundled up and working hard it doesn't phase me at all...or is that the sign of more frostbite settling in? :) Either way its a blast!

This last week was busy busy as I could imagine it being for everyone this time of year. I feel like I have been all over the island and back and am still running. Of course being in the Young Single Adult ward has a lot to do with it. Most of the members that are not originally from around here are heading back to their various homes this upcoming week which leaves us with little time to visit with them. On top of that we have had a great bout with tender mercies and miracles too, keeping us on our toes. Last week as I explained that one man on the corner who showed up to church, we actually had the same thing happen this last week, but with 2 people! One night contacting I finally invited a girl that works the register at a store I frequent by extending an invitation to our ward Christmas brunch that we were having on Saturday. I gave her our number and details and amazingly she called the morning of wondering if it was still going on. I actually didn't know who I was speaking with when I answered the phone but I confirmed and just figured I would notice who it was once we got there. As we paraded the crowd looking for someone who might be new or lost we spotted no one! We thought "oh well maybe they are late." Wrong, she just blended in with everyone so well that we didn't see her. She brought one of her friends and just found herself comfortable among a group of people she didn't know. Again thanks to the ward members also who were so inviting. She really enjoyed herself and expressed that the people she had met that day she would love to hang out with more, and what better place could there be than church, haha! I just love this work.

Contacting too has been quite a delight. There are people all over the streets, even in the freezing cold who are more open to talk with you. The Christmas weekend coming is a great way to initiate a conversation about our Lord and Savior I have found, unless you get the "I dont celebrate holidays" response, where in that case you still invite them and walk away swiftly before they really start yelling, haha it happens all the time :) But one thing I really started to notice is every one's appreciation for missionaries too. We have had some events on the streets where we are caroling with tables full of information about the Church, ie Book of Mormons, Bibles, pamphlets, DVDs, etc and people both members and nonmembers have come to us and expressed their gratitude that we are out spreading the Christmas cheer and message. It has shocked me many times the people who end up speaking with you, in this season I suppose they are just happy others are in celebration of the true meaning of Christmas.

Man! I am just so excited for next Saturday!!!! I hear Christmas as a missionary is the best :) and so far the rumors have not failed me yet so I can only anticipate good things. We are having a mission wide party up in Scarsdale where we will have a Christmas program full of musical numbers from each zone and testimonies borne, followed by a good meal then shipped back off to the apartments where we then call die Familie...oh! speaking of German get this. So my Spanish has been dwindling away because not being in a Zebra companionship (one Spanish, one English) any longer leaves me with no time to study or speak with many people. I was feeling kinda bad about this last week because contacting up in Inwood is near impossible without it, but to my surprise I ran into 5 Germans in 3 days!!!!! Talk about "all your skills will be used." Oh wow, I just love this city. Nonetheless, I am really excited about the upcoming holiday and a chance to hear your voices. I love you all and am so thankful for all of your support and love. The countdown is on until Christmas, someone go see Tangled for me I hear its great! Love you love you, and so it is...