Great New Companion & Angel Moroni's Back Scratcher!!

Hey kids,

 

Well, a new chapter of Cooperstown living has begun. I am officially in charge of all that happens here. Can you say stressful? I have a deep rooted fear that I am going to completely fail the area... like seriously, why has anyone given me any authority? But its been good! Change is stressful and hard, but without it we would never be able to grow and learn, so I truly am thankful for this opportunity! Wednesday was the day of big changes! But before we get to that, let me fill you in on the last legs of Sister Smith and My race!

 

-Sister Smith packed.

-We ate at a restaraunt that was too expensive and not even good #cooperstownproblems.

-We helped a family in the branch move down the street (tons of fun plus we got chocolate and pizza out of the deal).

-A less active member told us she once was a true cat lady with 29 cats.... we laughed. love her.

- We said goodbye to one of our favorite people, the ice cream lady (she in turn calls us "the Ice-cream girls") who we visited all the time at the ice cream shop she owned. She moved back to Arizona, but we got to give her a Book of Mormon, and she promised us she would go to church when she got home. You're welcome missionaries in Arizona.

- We drove to Utica, with Sister Smith's baggage tied to the top of a rusty mini van.  Sweet!!

Then the change happened and I got the lovely Sister Hansen! I have loved having her here! Sister Hansen and I have something in common, long hair. Within the first 8 hours of us being companions we were dubbed the "long-hair sisters", the "rapunzels" and asked if "mormons can't cut their hair".... only more fun to come I'm sure :)

 

Well we had some good, spiritual instances. I know that Heavenly Father has been helping me out this past week. Here's what happened...

 

1. Trish told us a story about when we first taught her about tithing. She said she had prayed about it that night to know if it was something she could do. The next day we went to a soup kitchen together. While we were at the soup kitchen, Trish was working next to this random guy. They were talking about life and eventually got on the subject of money. Well the man she was talking to told her that what had helped him more than anything else was paying his tithing. She then asked what church he belonged to, since she had never heard of anyone else paying tithing. He began to explain that he hadn't been active in the mormon church for a while, but still payed his tithing, because he knew he couldn't go with out the blessings. Trish said she knew right then that she could, and had to, pay her tithing! That this was an answer to her prayers! Such a blessing to know that Heavenly  Father  is looking out for us and always answer our prayers :)

 

2. I have learned a lot about patience and faith. I know that I can't be in charge of this area, or make anything happen without my Heavenly Father's help. It all comes down to his timing. I found a quote this morning in PMG (Preach my Gospel),  that I loved...

" Life is full of difficulties, some minor and others of a more serious nature. There seems to be an unending supply of challenges for one and all. Our problem is that we often expect instantaneous solutions to such challenges, forgetting that frequently the heavenly virtue of patience is required" - Thomas S. Monson

I know the Lord is helping me, and that things will happen in his time-table, if we have faith and are dilligent!

 

Now for some humor...

 

1. One of Trish's boys asked me why the angel on temples has a back scratcher.

 

....and that's all I've got for you this week! Anyway, love you all, thanks for the support!  Keep on keeping on :)

 

XOXO,

Sister Langford

 

PS: Apparently I hit my 100 day mark! Who knew?

Autumn, Awesome Trish, Rain & Great Tasting Gospel!!

Hey,

Well, it has been another wonderful week of Cooperstown living. The leaves are starting to change around here, the baseball tourists are starting to be sparse.... I guess you could say autumn is upon us. Along with the leaves changing, there have been some big changes for us too! Get this. Sister Smith is out of  here. That's right. I'm taking over the area with the dear Sister Hansen! It should be great, but it will be an interesting adjustment. It's very strange when you spend 24/7 with a person and then.... you never see them.   Weird!! Also, nerve racking, and exciting.... and well, I'm gonna need the Lord's help for sure! I know the Lord supports his missionaries, so here's praying I don't destroy Cooperstown!

 

Well, here are the things of this week.

The joys:

I'm sorry but I just have to rant about our investigator, Trish, again. I really should just rename this blog "stories about how Trish is the greatest". But seriously. Here is why I love her....

1. She came to church. By herself. She is seriously just part of the branch now.

2. She is getting baptized and I love it.

3. She told us that she has been working on being a missionary

Let's  just say I love her. Why can't everyone be like her?

Went on another joyous exchange with my girl Sister Lloyd. Love her. I should probably remind everyone that Sister Lloyd is 4'10. We walk around together and it is great.... Well....its one way to start a conversation.

Sister Bruneau cooked us Mexican food. First time since I've been in New York. Oh how I have missed it.

  

The Laughs:

So one night Sister Smith and I were out tracting, when all of a sudden it started POURING RAIN.  In the way it only can in upstate New York. Well we were umbrella-less and drenched. We decided to seek refuge at a members house... but they didn't answer.... so we ran back to the car. Only to be unable to find the keys. Sister Smith was digging in her bag for like, 15 mins.... in the pouring rain.... and still, no keys. At this point I am just dying laughing. It was so ridiculous, there was no other option. We finally found the keys,  (outside the member's house), and were  on our way. Looking and smelling like wet little puppies.

Grandma Dorothy told us she was "allergic to New York". I died. I can't say I disagree.

Sometimes we bring candy to keep Trish's boys in line. Last time we went to teach, her youngest son, (who is 5),  just kept asking "do you have candy, do you have candy?" I finally asked him, "What, do you only like us for our candy" Then he looked me straight in the eye and said "Well... yeah. duh." I just laughed. Ah. You gotta love kids.

We also learned how to cook and eat eggplant.... Hey, you take what you can get :)

The testimony builders:

This week we were teaching one of our investigators and he asked us a lot of questions about why people have weird perceptions about Mormons. Anyway, it got me thinking about how hard Satan is trying to pull down the church and how sad and how mislead so much of the world is. How people try and convince me that I have been deceived. I'm like this, yes. Somehow I have been "brain-washed" to believe in something. To strive for faith, hope, charity, and love. To live morally and clean. To be an honest, true, virtuous person. I have been deceived to serve and contribute to society. To trust in God and believe in Christ. I have been tricked into having peace, love, joy and a focus on family. And well, I could go on and on. I guess the point I'm trying to make is that how blind do you have to be to see this is good. Regardless of what you have heard. How can you deny the fruits of the church? You don't have to be an expert on trees, roots, and soil to know if a peach tastes good! How is that different from the gospel? Christ himself said "Ye shall know them by their fruits" I know I have seen my faith in the gospel bring me nothing but peace and joy. I know it has done nothing but make  me better. I know that. I wish everyone in the world could know that! I truly love being able to share this message with people. To uplift them and help them know that there is so much peace, joy, and love in this world, if we come to Christ!

well, to end, I wanted to share a quote that I found from a talk given by Marvin J. Ashton called "The Tongue can be a sharp Sword" This quote means a lot to me, and hope to allow it to pattern my life. Ok here it is....

"Be one who nurtures and who builds. Be one who has an understanding and forgiving heart, who looks for the best in people. Leave people better than you found them."

I may not be able to convert everyone (or anyone), but we can all strive to leave everyone better than we found them!

Love you all!

XOXO

Sister Langford

 Au

My Height gives me away, Transfers, & Helaman 5:12!!

 Hello hello!

Well, it was another crazy and exciting week in Cooperstown! Honestly quite a few things happened this week so I really don't even know where to start!

I guess its going to have to go to a bullet point list!

1. My awesome Investigator:

     -Oh my goodness!  I have the greatest story about our amazing investigator. So our dearest investigator has been having a really hard time quitting smoking. Honestly that is the only reason she hasn't already been baptized. So we have been praying for her and trying to help her the best we can. Well last Sunday she received a priesthood blessing that she would be able to quit. 3  days after that we received a text from her that said she had been completely cigarette free since the blessing!  Since then she still hasn't smoked! We even overheard her telling a less-active with a smoking problem that "you should get a priesthood blessing because they really help you if you put your faith in Christ!". I'm sorry she is just too amazing! So now we just have to wait a month for her to be baptized!

   - We went over to teach her and her fam and the children made Sister Smith and I hold a tree frog they found. So please enjoy the picture of me holding a tree frog. (On the blog)!  Lets just keep adding to the list of weird animals I have been forced to hold since being on my mission. You may also throw on there that I held a day old baby kitten this week as well.

2. Grandma Dorothy came up with the plan to clean her daughter's (Sister Bruneau's) kitchen while she was out of town. So Sister Smith and I got it looking really great! We told Grandma Dorothy to keep it on the DL who did it. Well I guess when Sister Bruneau  walked in she said "Oh, Sister Langford is the only person who could have cleaned that high up!" Curse my height for giving us away! But Sister Bruneau got us these lovely flowers, so I'm not complaining! She is the greatest!

3. This week we went on an exchange! The beautiful Sister Ashcraft came and partied with me in Cooperstown! Being  in charge this time wasn't as scary and we had a really great time together! Not to mention we found the most golden potential investigator ever! The whole time he was talking all I could think was "wait, are you already a member and you are just messing with us or what?" But he was legit! We taught him the first lesson and he told us that he loved what we had to teach and that he already had a plan to read the Book of Mormon and that he knew he would be able to tell if it was authentic or not by the Holy Ghost. Sister Ashcraft and I were just awestruck. Like... ya so when do you want to get baptized? He even called us afterwards and thanked us and asked where and when church was! like... what? Here's praying he will progress!

4. We helped serve at a soup kitchen in Oneonta called 'Saturday's Bread".  Our awesome investigator drove us there and helped serve as well! It was a great opportunity to help out, even if the lady in charge hates mormons and chewed Sister Smith and I out... What do you do?

5. This week I have really been thinking about the scripture Heleman 5:12, which talks about building our foundation upon Christ. I know and I have seen many hard things come up at me. People constantly telling me I'm wrong to believe what I do. But more than anything, I keep thinking about that scripture. I know that if we build our foundation on Christ, when Satan tries to sway us, when he throws out discouraging thoughts, or trials, or when he tries to shake our faith, we can overcome it if we go back to the basics. If we focus on Christ and his atonement we cannot fall. I want to promise you all that if you put your focus on Christ, every trial or hardship will seem like a small breeze and you will be made strong!

Well, that was the gist of the week. Transfers are coming up soon and I am excited and nervous to see what will happen! We told our investigator and her family that one of us might be leaving soon. To which one of her sons said "No, you can't leave! I'm going to make you move into our house!" and his mom said "Who do I need to talk to to make you stay? The prophet?" and then she also said "You are like nanny mcphee! When we don't want you, but need you, you will stay. But when we want you, but don't need you, you must go!" Another of our investigators told us he would 'duct tape us to a pole so we couldn't leave!" haha There is a strong part of me that wants to stay in Cooperstown! But, I guess the Lord knows best! Who knows what will happen!

I love you all! Thanks so much for everything!

XOXO

Sister Langford

Pressing Flowers and Divine Potential!!

Hello dear friends,

Well, unfortunately it was another week of not much to report. For some reason I can't even remember what we did this week. I'm sure it involved a lot of missionary work.... ok let me think...... oh yeah!

 

1. We had some really great lessons with our awesome investigator and family. We ran through the baptism Q's with her and she is reeeeady! Now we just have to get her to QUIT SMOKING! But I really, really love her and her family with all my heart. I could not be more grateful to have this opportunity to teach them and help them receive the gospel. Also this Sunday, her husband to come to church! I think he had a pretty good time. After church she got a blessing and I think that really touched both of them! Here's hoping he will progress! #lovethegospel

2. Zone training time. Which was fun, and I learned a lot about how to teach better and use the pamphlet! It's true, people like visuals and picture books. These New Yorkers thrive on the pamphlet!

 

3. We finally got back in contact with the sister of one of our previous investigators. We had a really good chat with her, and she said she still wants to learn more and that she didn't believe what her sister was saying! Here's hoping we have a second chance! I know that teaching them with all this anti material floating around will be DIFFICULT. So keep me in your prayers.

4. I have been really into pressing flowers this week. Did you know that if you a press a sweet pea it turns a weird purple color? Neither did I. But now you know :)

5. We had a really funny experience while tracking. We knocked on this apartment, when the guy came to the door her goes "Who the freak are you? *reads name tags* Ugh. ew. No. Get out of here! You came to the wrong house ladies" (said in a loud, yelling voice). then slammed the door. We just laughed. I guess I didn't realized people were that ridiculous!

6. Saw some less-actives, taught some investigators, tracked some doors, etc, etc.

7. This week, I have really been thinking about everyone's divine potential. It was weird because this week we met quite a few people who were atheists. I remember we were talking to one and I just got really, really sad. I was just thinking about how sad Heavenly Father must be to know that there are people who don't even believe he exists. That they are choosing to make their lives harder. I then thought about the people who have accepted the gospel! The people that we have been teaching and the changes they have been making and it just makes me so happy, then I think about how happy Heavenly Father must be for them. We really all do have that potential! Anyone can change. We are all children of God. We all have the divine potential to be like him. There is this cheesy song that Sister Smith and I jam to, but there is a really good line in it that I have been thinking about a lot. It goes like this...

 

"There's so much more to me. He helps me see that I have so much to offer, I am his Daughter. He loves me the way I am. He's my strength when I stand. He is my King and my Father, and I am His Daughter."

I think we all need to focus more on our divine potential. We really are all his sons and daughters! We all have a crazy amount of potential, and the love He feels for us is infinite! Let us all try and live up to that love!

I love you all!

mmmmmmmmmmm BYE NOW! (New York slang comin' out yo)

XOXO

Sister Langford

Raw Chicken, Fun on the Farm, and 48 Sisters!!

 Hey Hey Hey,

So another week of missionary life has passed. Still living it up in Cooperstown. Still doing the missionary thing. This week was fairly uneventful, but there were a few interesting moments that I feel it necessary  to comment on...

1. Did I milk a cow this week? Why yes, yes I did. Last Monday we had the joy of visiting one of Cooperstown's finest attractions (not the baseball hall of fame!) We went toooooo..... THE FARMERS MUSEUM.  Oh it was a joy. I petted baby goats, and a lamb or two. I saw an old fashion blacksmithing at work. And of course, I rode  a carousel... and milked a cow. Was it a joyous time?  Yes!

2. Was I fed slightly raw chicken by an even more slightly crazy member? mmmmm yes. Do we love her anyway? OF COURSE!

 

3. Did we find an investigator who just applied to be a professor at the BYU?  Yes.. So so excited about him! I hope he gets the the job (and more importantly, accepts the gospel!)

4. Is my back now crippled from sleeping on the floor because we had a sleep over with some other sisters?  Haha! that is still to be decided! But we did get to have some wonderful sisters stay at our apartment Thursday night so that we could drive to an "All Sister's Conference" in Utica the next morning. The conference was really great! It was so fun to see all 48 of the sisters who call "New York Utica" their mission. Not to mention it was very spiritually uplifting!

5. Was Church great? Well lets see...Our wonderful investigator, Trish, came to church again and brought all 5 of her boys! They all looked very dapper and had a phenomenal time! Trish even told the visiting high council speaker that she was getting baptized in September. So, so excited for her! A less-active we have been teaching for a while came to church as well!  Did she wear a shirt, tie, and dress pants? mmmmm yeah.... But we were just happy to see her!  Love that girl!

Anyway, nothing too exciting, but every week is great when you are in the service of God :)  To finish up the blog, I thought I would share a story that Sister Smith and I have been sharing a lot recently. The story is about the difference of knowing ABOUT Christ, and KNOWING Christ. It goes like this...

There once were two men.

The First was very intelligent. He was a scholar who had spent all his days studying Jesus Christ. This man knew every single fact there was to know about Christ. He could tell you every detail of His birth, life, death, resurrection, and so on. This man really prided himself in this knowledge.

 

The Second man was much more humble in intellect, temperament, and circumstance. Yet the second man did everything he could to follow Christ's teachings. He read his scriptures daily. He prayed. He served. He attended Church weekly.

These two men were called into an interview about their knowledge of Jesus Christ.

The first man went into the interview. The Interviewer asked him "What do you know about Jesus Christ?" The First man went on for hours about his in depth knowledge. he listed every fact he had learned in precise detail. When he had finished, the interviewer asked him "is that all?" The First man confirmed that it was, and left the interview feeling very proud of how well he had done.

The Second man then entered the interview. He took one look at the interviewer, fell to his knees and with tears in his eyes said "Oh my Redeemer!"

I love this story so much because it really testifies to me how much we need to do to know our Savior. He loves us perfectly. He knows us perfectly. We should not be careless about our relationship with him. I have come to see how crucial that relationship is for me every day. We must build our foundation upon Christ, but more than that, we must know and love Christ, and he knows and loves us.

To finish this blog, you should probably watch this video. I love it. We share it with everyone we can!

Well I love you all!

 XOXO,

Sister Langford

(Hey everyone. This is Kristi. I have to download the video and I will put it up on her blog when I return from Spain next week. You can check it out then.  Hope you're all doing well. Thanks!!)!

Sent from my iPhone

Working the Otega County Fair & Highs & Lows!

Hello Friends!

This has been the week of the monster roller coaster. I experienced my highest-highs, and lowest-lows this week. But what I can say.  More than anything, my testimony was strengthened.

The first part of the week was kind of a bust. We had to go to Utica for some meetings, then we spent many a day at the Otego County Fair at the Mormon Booth (not a very successful idea I might add). I thought I would throw down this information because we got some lovely photo's that I thought you may enjoy...

Anyway........

The big drop of the roller coaster started Friday night. We went to visit one of our dearest investigators along with the many other members of her family who have been coming to church and have been solid investigators. Anyway, we went to teach her and... basically she had gotten into some pretty bad Anti stuff.  Basically every non-true negative thing you can imagine, she threw at us. She told us we were brain washed... She yelled at us and told us Joseph Smith was a false prophet. She called us liars... it was rough. When we left, both Sister Smith and I were bawling. I'm not going to lie, it shook us hard. I honestly felt like my heart was broken. We felt so lost. Our faith had been shaken. We felt terrible that she had allowed Satan to take over, and we felt even more terrible that we couldn't change her mind, that we couldn't answer her questions. I felt inadequate and... lost.

But we kept going. We prayed that we could feel comfort. That we could continue in faith and that we could be strengthened.

The next morning we needed to go to Oneonta to fill up the baptismal font (yay) but we were still feeling pretty down. Our mission leader came to help us. When he came he gave Sister Smith a blessing and talked to us about what had happened. The comfort and peace I felt was overwhelming. I think of the story of Alma the younger where he talks about his serious pain and distress, then he grabs on to the thought of Christ and his joy is full. Is was just like that 180. I really gained a testimony that Heavenly Father gives us trials, not to make things harder or to hurt us, but to give us a chance to grow our faith. Trials are there to strengthen us. I know that because of this experience I will be a better missionary in the future. I also learned that if not for the hard times, we would never appreciate the good.

That night we had the opportunity to see our dearest Grandma Dorothy be baptized. It was the best thing I have ever seen. The spirit was amazing and I really KNEW that this church was true. I KNEW that Grandma Dorothy was following Christ, and that she and her family were being blessed. I can't say I take any credit for her faith and baptism. I still feel inadequate, but I know that through the power of the Holy Ghost and through Christ I can do all things.

I know Heavenly Father is there for us, even in the darkest of times. I know that because of Christ's atonement, because he walked alone and suffered for our sins and pains, we do not have to.

There is so much joy in this gospel. There is so much peace and happiness. I know it.

I love you all!

XOXO

Sister Langford

Obedience=Blessings & The Book of Mormon 2!

So hey there everyone,

It was definitely another week of blessings. Even though Cooperstown is a hard place to preach the gospel, we are seeing the work progress!  We now have three investigators with baptism dates, one for this Saturday!  That's right, Grandma Dorothy is getting baptized on Saturday and we are very, very excited.  On Saturday we were driving upto Oneonta for her interview and we were quizzing her in the car.  I asked her, "So Grandma Dorothy, is the Book of Mormon true?" Well, Grandma Dorothy is 89... and her hearing isn't the greatest.... so she goes "The Book of Mormon 2?  Oh no! I haven't gotten that far!"  Needless to say, Sister Smith and I died. Haha!  Grandma Dorothy is the greatest! Wanna hear another Grandma Dorothy-ism? mmmmm kay. So at church on Sunday, during Sunday School, the Elders had everyone go around the room and introduce themselves.  Well, when it came to Grandma Dorothy she didn't really know what was going on!  So I said "Its your turn!" and she goes "Well... ok!" and then starts saying a prayer!  Oh my. Everyone in the room was holding back laughs.  It was so good. Anyway, I adore Grandma Dorothy! Her baptism is going to be FANTASTIC!

 

We were so blessed to have 5 investigators at church again this Sunday! (too bad they had to listen to me speak in Sacrament meeting... but what can you do? One of our super investigators came again and brought 4 of her 5 sons! They all had a blast and afterwards were asking when they could get baptized and if their family could be sealed in the temple!  Ah!  They are darling. Also, WE SET A BAPTISM DATE FOR THEIR MOM! So excited!

Another investigator came to church as well, she brought her sister. WE SET A BAPTISM DATE FOR THIS INVESTIGATOR AS WELL! AH! love her. She even signed up on the sheet to feed us dinner. How cute are they?  I'm going to tell you all a secret.  I LOVE MY INVESTIGATORS!  They are probably the greatest people on this earth. We have been so so blessed!

Also this week we made a trip out to the faraway town of Edmeston (which is in our area, but like an hour away!  Curse rural New york!) We definitely had some good times there.

1. We saw the amish. (We see amish everywhere, but they were really prevelent in this town!)

2. We met a man who looks EXACTLY like Morgan Freeman. No joke. Also I gave him a Book of Mormon... so who knows? Haha!

3. We found a really smelly pig.

4. We met with a less-active who has made the unfortunate decision to become a J-dub.

5. We found the place where they make Chobani yogurt. yay for yogurt.

Well, that was basically the week. This week I really learned the importance of always being exactly obedient. Even when you aren't a missionary!  When we don't live up to the commandments the only thing we are doing is withholding blessings... and like, who wants that?

Well I love you all!  Mmmmm bye now!

XOXO

Sister Langford