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Hello hello hello.
October is almost over... and so is this transfer. Hello what just happened? Was I not just beginning this transfer? I am not happy about this speeding up of time. It is really just not working out for me. But anyway, my final transfer as a missionary starts this week. Oh wow. That just kind of sank in. My final transfer. bah. So here's the news on the transfer.... SISTER MASON AND I ARE STAYING IN 'TOGA! So not a very eventful transfer call, but I am excited to finish here. So many good things are happening. In a small twist to the plot, I am no longer a Sister Training Leader. What?? I know. It's weird for all of us. President actually told me all this on Friday when we were in Utica for Return and Report. He proceeded to announce to the whole meeting that I had been an STL for over a year, the longest of anyone in the mission, and then afterwards he called me over and told me that my service was done! haha. At first I was a little bummed, (hello no more MLC car trips!), but after considering it, I am grateful to be able to JUST focus on normal missionary duties my last transfer. Oh also, our zone split. So now we are in the Albany North Zone. (Although we are pushing for it to be called the Saratoga Zone) and the Zone Leaders will be in our unit. So that's kind of fun.
Now onto the good stuff.
1. GLENNNNNNN IS GETTING DUNKED THIS WEEK. Very excited about it all. On Saturday he had his baptism interview. He just kept telling us how much more ready he was for baptism this time. And how he is grateful for the extra time he has had to prepare. It's so true. There is an enormous difference in him this time. Plus he has been reading the Book of Mormon like mad. He is almost done with Helaman. We are so so excited for this Saturday!
2. Also, the Less-Actives that we are working with are doing SO GREAT. One of our favorite Sisters came to church this week. It was such an amazing blessing! Another Sister also made an appearance AND Sister M came last week. Just, so many good things happening in that respect.
3. AND we found an investigator on Facebook! I think we are the first to do it in the mission, so that was very exciting! Props to Jeff for giving us the idea to message people who like "the Bible." We messaged about 10 people, and we got a response back! We are now teaching this lady over Facebook. Hurray for modern technology!
4. To be honest, a lot of our investigators and recent converts have really been struggling this week. Those who were really progressing and doing well are now avoiding us. It's kind of frustrating. We continue to work hard and have been fasting and praying for a miracle in their behalf. It's really a bummer to see. But as we were fasting for our investigators, we got back in contact with one of our Recent Converts, and we found a new investigator who seems really solid... So prayers are answered. Sometimes in different ways than we expect.
Anyway, I am just grateful for all that my mission has been. Yesterday we got to teach Young Men and Young Women's. It was cool to share my experience of choosing to come on a mission and then what my mission has meant to me with them. I would never change my mission for anything! SO GRATEFUL for this month and a half I have left to serve!
Well... its probably time I go...
OH WAIT!
One quick President Wirthlin Quote....
"Music sooths the soul... and so does ice cream. Everyone eat ice cream."
XOXO,
Sister Langford
Monday, October 27, 2014
Monday, October 20, 2014
"Pumpkin carving, B of M inspired verses, investigator miracles, & never let go of the rope & endure to the end."
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Hello everyone. Welcome to the blog. I think this week will go down on record as the fastest week of my life. I feel like I just woke up and it was like "oh hey. You just experienced a week. A lot of really cool stuff happened! Oh.... you don't remember it?" I feel like that was me this week. Yesterday I sat down and reflected on the week and I was like "WOW so much happened." It's nice to actually have basically a full week of working. Ok let me give you some of the basic deets.
Random stuff....
1. We carved pumpkins on Monday as a district. I was pretty proud of my pumpkin if I do say so myself. I mean, this pumpkin party had nothing on the classic Langford gathering that takes place around this time of year, but it was still pretty fun. You may now enjoy this photo of me with my pumpkin. Sad news about New York though is that my pumpkin has already molded beyond saving. What do you do?
2. ZONE TRAINING MEETING WAS SOOOOO COOL. It was a pretty cliché idea I suppose. We did the activity where you are blind folded and then led to hold onto a rope. We had like a 20 minute course all around the church parking lot. It was weird though because along the way there were other missionaries, ones that I'm pretty good friends with, directing us. Of course there were many of them who were trying to deceive us and get us to let go of the rope. But, President Wirthlin told me to never let go of the rope, so I clung on. There were a few times that I was almost tricked.... but I never let go. At the end of the rope they had set up this room with Christmas lights and a ton of pictures of Christ. It was really awesome. As I was sitting there and reflecting on the experience I just thought that, you know, even though I clung on, and never let go, it was still kind of tricky. There were times when I ALMOST let go. But it made me feel even better when I got to the room and saw all the pictures of Christ and knew that I made it. Afterwards I was talking to the other missionaries and it seemed like almost all of them let go at one point or another. But eventually they all made it back to the room. I guess I just realized that even the very elect (missionaries :) ) could be deceived and confused. BUT, because of their strength, they all made it back. Anyway. it was a really cool Zone Training, probably the best I ever went to. It was all focused on the Book of Mormon. Plus, we got to watch Meet the Mormon's again. So that was fun.
Onto the cool stuff.
1. Well, like I just said, Zone Training was on the Book of Mormon. For part of it, we practiced reading the Book of Mormon with an investigator. When we role played it, I pretended to be one of our investigators, and two of the elder's taught me. During it, they invited her to say the opening prayer and ask for a spiritual experience. It was really awesome. We had a lesson planned with an investigator that night and we felt that we should do that very thing in our lesson. So we did. We told her we wanted to help her have a spiritual experience, then invited her to say the opening prayer and ask for one. She prayed, and we read. Afterwards, she told us how the first 3 verses of the chapter we read were EXACTLY what she needed to hear. How she felt like it was more than a coincidence that we read those verses. We could tell these had a deep affect on her and she was really thinking about them. She then told us that she had planned to write the elder's who had taught her before and tell them she was done. That she didn't believe there was a God.... and all that jazz. But she thought she should wait until after our lesson to see how she felt. She then said simply, "I think I am going to have to change that email." It was so simple, but such a powerful moment. It was amazing to see how Heavenly Father was reaching out to her, right at her breaking moment. Such a powerful example of God's love for us.
2. Brother G. Then we taught him, and did the same thing. We invited HIM to have a spiritual experience while reading the Book of Mormon, and then we read. IT WAS SO POWERFUL. For probably the next 3 times that we met with him after that he just kept saying "I still feel like the spirit is stronger with me!" So great. He is VERY excited for his baptism on the 1st!
And seriously, I have so many other things I could write about! Picking up investigators who seem very prepared. Our investigators progressing like bosses! Putting into action a very inspired plan to work better with members. Just... so many great things are happening here in Saratoga. And the thing is, they are a very different kind of great than in other areas I've served in. It's hard to explain how its different, it's just.... what the Lord needs here. This week we find out about transfers. I seriously don't know how it is that time again. There is a strong part of me that hopes I just finish out my mission here. I am so grateful that Heavenly Father has sent me here, and for all the ways that I have learned and grown. There are days when I just hope that growing pains will be over and I can just be happy with where I'm at. I have those days where I just think, man it would be nice if I wasn't aware of my weaknesses and struggles today.... but especially this week as I have made it my focus to get to know my Savior Jesus Christ better, I have seen a difference in my outlook and strength. I know He loves me and helps me.
Ok. I know I know. This blog is already long and boring as it is! Haha!! Well I will said adieu for now. Keep being cool friends.
XOXO,
Sister Langford
Hello everyone. Welcome to the blog. I think this week will go down on record as the fastest week of my life. I feel like I just woke up and it was like "oh hey. You just experienced a week. A lot of really cool stuff happened! Oh.... you don't remember it?" I feel like that was me this week. Yesterday I sat down and reflected on the week and I was like "WOW so much happened." It's nice to actually have basically a full week of working. Ok let me give you some of the basic deets.
Random stuff....
1. We carved pumpkins on Monday as a district. I was pretty proud of my pumpkin if I do say so myself. I mean, this pumpkin party had nothing on the classic Langford gathering that takes place around this time of year, but it was still pretty fun. You may now enjoy this photo of me with my pumpkin. Sad news about New York though is that my pumpkin has already molded beyond saving. What do you do?2. ZONE TRAINING MEETING WAS SOOOOO COOL. It was a pretty cliché idea I suppose. We did the activity where you are blind folded and then led to hold onto a rope. We had like a 20 minute course all around the church parking lot. It was weird though because along the way there were other missionaries, ones that I'm pretty good friends with, directing us. Of course there were many of them who were trying to deceive us and get us to let go of the rope. But, President Wirthlin told me to never let go of the rope, so I clung on. There were a few times that I was almost tricked.... but I never let go. At the end of the rope they had set up this room with Christmas lights and a ton of pictures of Christ. It was really awesome. As I was sitting there and reflecting on the experience I just thought that, you know, even though I clung on, and never let go, it was still kind of tricky. There were times when I ALMOST let go. But it made me feel even better when I got to the room and saw all the pictures of Christ and knew that I made it. Afterwards I was talking to the other missionaries and it seemed like almost all of them let go at one point or another. But eventually they all made it back to the room. I guess I just realized that even the very elect (missionaries :) ) could be deceived and confused. BUT, because of their strength, they all made it back. Anyway. it was a really cool Zone Training, probably the best I ever went to. It was all focused on the Book of Mormon. Plus, we got to watch Meet the Mormon's again. So that was fun.Onto the cool stuff.
1. Well, like I just said, Zone Training was on the Book of Mormon. For part of it, we practiced reading the Book of Mormon with an investigator. When we role played it, I pretended to be one of our investigators, and two of the elder's taught me. During it, they invited her to say the opening prayer and ask for a spiritual experience. It was really awesome. We had a lesson planned with an investigator that night and we felt that we should do that very thing in our lesson. So we did. We told her we wanted to help her have a spiritual experience, then invited her to say the opening prayer and ask for one. She prayed, and we read. Afterwards, she told us how the first 3 verses of the chapter we read were EXACTLY what she needed to hear. How she felt like it was more than a coincidence that we read those verses. We could tell these had a deep affect on her and she was really thinking about them. She then told us that she had planned to write the elder's who had taught her before and tell them she was done. That she didn't believe there was a God.... and all that jazz. But she thought she should wait until after our lesson to see how she felt. She then said simply, "I think I am going to have to change that email." It was so simple, but such a powerful moment. It was amazing to see how Heavenly Father was reaching out to her, right at her breaking moment. Such a powerful example of God's love for us.
And seriously, I have so many other things I could write about! Picking up investigators who seem very prepared. Our investigators progressing like bosses! Putting into action a very inspired plan to work better with members. Just... so many great things are happening here in Saratoga. And the thing is, they are a very different kind of great than in other areas I've served in. It's hard to explain how its different, it's just.... what the Lord needs here. This week we find out about transfers. I seriously don't know how it is that time again. There is a strong part of me that hopes I just finish out my mission here. I am so grateful that Heavenly Father has sent me here, and for all the ways that I have learned and grown. There are days when I just hope that growing pains will be over and I can just be happy with where I'm at. I have those days where I just think, man it would be nice if I wasn't aware of my weaknesses and struggles today.... but especially this week as I have made it my focus to get to know my Savior Jesus Christ better, I have seen a difference in my outlook and strength. I know He loves me and helps me.Ok. I know I know. This blog is already long and boring as it is! Haha!! Well I will said adieu for now. Keep being cool friends.
XOXO,
Sister Langford
Monday, October 13, 2014
"Upcoming Baptism, Great Investigators, & you must learn "Hymns Made Easy" before Mozart."
BLOG.
To my dear friends and family,
Hello.
Missionary life is going quite well. This week was kind of an interesting one. We were out of our area for the majority of the week, so I do not have too many interesting stories or incidents to report. Unfortunately it was just kind of a ho hum week. Well... it was actually pretty fun. Ok. seriously though, how many times can I contradict myself within one paragraph.
But I digress. Let me hit you with the updates.
(Remember the girl who I talked about last week who just appeared at General Conference). We have been able to teach her twice since our initial meeting. She is seriously too cool for school. We taught her on Monday, the Restoration a little more officially. It was a really powerful lesson, and she seems really open to learning. After we prayed, we asked her how she felt. She said she felt "Weird. A good weird, like nothing I have ever felt before." It was awesome. We are so blessed to just keep having all these awesome people just fall into our laps.
Glenn: FOUND AN APARTMENT. You guys, this is the real deal. Glenn is moving out. He found a place and will for sure be baptized on Nov 1st! Such a blessing to see these little miracles coming together. He has such a desire to do good and learn and grow. It's awesome.
GA: Still a boss. We weren't able to see her all week, but rest assured that she is the coolest.
Another Fav Investigator: Also doing well. We got in a little bit of a heated discussion regarding the women's position in the church and whatnot. I think the main thing that we just keep helping her understand is that there may be things she doesn't fully understand, YET. It's because she is trying to learn the Mozart before she has mastered "Hymns made easy." You have to know and love and live and breath the basics before you can understand the more in depth parts of the gospel. She is so great though.
Bah! I love everyone we teach.
Sister M: Is someone that I most especially love. She is a returning Less-active. Every time we visit with her I can just feel her strength and her desire to do good. She is amazing.
Like I said, not too many crazy awesome stories or miracles this week, but there were a lot of small and significant tender mercies from heaven. Sometimes I think those are much more important.
We also went on our very long exchanges this week. It was so so fun to work with Sisters Jorgenson and Stewart. I learned a lot about humility and love while I was with those chicas.
...and let me tell you my favorite quote from the exchange...
"If you guys weren't Mormon's I would ask you to get high!" -Their investigator.
ahhhhhh.... gotta love the ghetto.
Unfortunately, I don't have much else to say. I know, I know. My emails are boring these days. But let me tell you, I am learning a lot, and I know that Heavenly Father is helping me everyday. I know that Christ lives! I know he loves me.
Have a blessed fall week home skillets.
XOXO,
Sister Langford
To my dear friends and family,
Hello.
Missionary life is going quite well. This week was kind of an interesting one. We were out of our area for the majority of the week, so I do not have too many interesting stories or incidents to report. Unfortunately it was just kind of a ho hum week. Well... it was actually pretty fun. Ok. seriously though, how many times can I contradict myself within one paragraph.
But I digress. Let me hit you with the updates.
(Remember the girl who I talked about last week who just appeared at General Conference). We have been able to teach her twice since our initial meeting. She is seriously too cool for school. We taught her on Monday, the Restoration a little more officially. It was a really powerful lesson, and she seems really open to learning. After we prayed, we asked her how she felt. She said she felt "Weird. A good weird, like nothing I have ever felt before." It was awesome. We are so blessed to just keep having all these awesome people just fall into our laps.
Glenn: FOUND AN APARTMENT. You guys, this is the real deal. Glenn is moving out. He found a place and will for sure be baptized on Nov 1st! Such a blessing to see these little miracles coming together. He has such a desire to do good and learn and grow. It's awesome.
Another Fav Investigator: Also doing well. We got in a little bit of a heated discussion regarding the women's position in the church and whatnot. I think the main thing that we just keep helping her understand is that there may be things she doesn't fully understand, YET. It's because she is trying to learn the Mozart before she has mastered "Hymns made easy." You have to know and love and live and breath the basics before you can understand the more in depth parts of the gospel. She is so great though.
Bah! I love everyone we teach.
Sister M: Is someone that I most especially love. She is a returning Less-active. Every time we visit with her I can just feel her strength and her desire to do good. She is amazing.
Like I said, not too many crazy awesome stories or miracles this week, but there were a lot of small and significant tender mercies from heaven. Sometimes I think those are much more important.
We also went on our very long exchanges this week. It was so so fun to work with Sisters Jorgenson and Stewart. I learned a lot about humility and love while I was with those chicas.
...and let me tell you my favorite quote from the exchange...
"If you guys weren't Mormon's I would ask you to get high!" -Their investigator.
ahhhhhh.... gotta love the ghetto.
Unfortunately, I don't have much else to say. I know, I know. My emails are boring these days. But let me tell you, I am learning a lot, and I know that Heavenly Father is helping me everyday. I know that Christ lives! I know he loves me.
Have a blessed fall week home skillets.
XOXO,
Sister Langford
Monday, October 6, 2014
"Not winter yet!!, Cool people eat sushi, Watch Meet the Mormons, Loving General Conference & Awesome Investigators!"
BLOG.Hello everybody! Let me tell you a story about New York... it is getting COLD. I'm trying to understand why winter is already trying to make its way into my life. It's kind of ridiculous. Anyway, this has been a very interesting week... So let's talk about it.
THE RANDOM.
1. Guess what I saw this week? "Meet The Mormon's!" You guys, it was so awesome. I highly recommend everyone go and see it. We were able to watch it at the mission office the night before MLC. It was really fun. The assistants pretended like it was a real movie theater. They were like, "I'm sorry, seating for the movie will not start for another 10 minutes." It was hilarious. But it's an awesome movie, and an even more awesome missionary tool! Everyone! Take advantage of it!
2. Also, I ate sushi this week. I was bullied into it. Surprisingly everyone, it wasn't terrible... but it didn't taste like much. I think everyone only likes it because they think it makes them cool.
3. and OH MY GOSH GENERAL CONFERENCE. General Conference was awesome this time around. Well, I guess it's awesome every time around... but whatever. I noticed a couple of really big themes. First of all, the theme of not getting distracted. Did you notice how many people said that? Don't get distracted by Satan, whether it's through discouragement, media, doubt, whatever. Just keep your eye on the prize. There was also a lot of talk about listening to the prophet and following him. There was a really strong emphasis on that one. As well as finding out the truth for yourself. It was a super awesome conference to have investigators attend. We had quite a few of them show up, as did the elders which was AWESOME!
Speaking of investigators showing up...
Cool Story of the Week...
During the final session of general conference, we didn't have any investigators come... which was kind of disappointing, but whatever. So the session ended and we were supposed to go teach a potential investigator... but he texted us to reschedule. So... our evening was now free. Just then, one of the elders comes up to us and says, "Hey sisters! There is someone here for you to talk to!" What? Well best surprise ever! There is a girl, around our age, who is a college student at the near by school, Skidmore (same school Alina goes to). Well she is in a religious studies class at Skidmore and for an assignment they had to go to a religious service different from their own. She was raised Catholic, but this past summer had gone on a study abroad to London where she met a bunch of students from (guess where?) BYU! So, due to those interactions, she decided to check out the church... on General Conference Sunday! So awesome! Anyway, we gave her a church tour and taught her a bit of the restoration and she was sincerely interested. We invited her to start taking the lessons and she said she would love to! So we are meeting with her again tonight. Coolest blessing of the week by far!
Investigator update:
G: Came to all the Saturday sessions of General Conference and absolutely loved it. He called it his "Mormon day" haha. He is also super stoked about his baptism for Nov 1st. He keeps saying that this time he really thinks it's going to happen and feels super great about it! VERY happy!
GA: This girl is just a champ. She also came to a bunch of conference and she even came and helped us teach. During the lesson with the other investigator we were teaching, I mentioned that she was planning on getting baptized in December and she said "for now..." We are hopefully assuming that means she wants to be baptized sooner. That girl is so solid.
A: Also came to quite a few sessions of conference. During the Saturday evening session it seemed like every talk was perfect for her. At the end, we asked her what she thought and she said it was "interesting." We then asked if that meant "good interesting" or "what you say when your friend gets a bad haircut?" She confirmed that it was good interesting. So... that's always encouraging. We dropped her baptism date, but she has made a goal to finish the Book of Mormon by the end of the year! hurray!
Those are the main people I feel to update on! :)
Anyway, like I said it was an interesting week (probably bad hair cut interesting). Quite a few ups and downs. I think a lot of random stresses are just starting to set in. I must say I am very thankful for the direction and wisdom of modern prophets that we receive through General Conference!
This week we are going on our 3 day exchanges! So I will be in Glens Falls a large portion of the week, (that is Jimmer's home town), so it should be exciting!
Hasta la pasta friends.
XOXO,
Sister Langford
Monday, September 29, 2014
Autumns here, me running???, watch general conference, practically know Jimmer now, investigator miracles & thank godness Kentucky is far away!"
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Hello to all my friends out there.
New York is doing good, in case any of you were wondering. The city of Saratoga is still kickin. Sister Mason and I are doing peachy and keeping the work going strong. We had a very fabulous week this week. Many adventures and blessings. Shall we discuss?
The random tid bits of excitement.
1. We had Zone Conference this week which was super uplifting and inspiring. We talked a lot about faith and also about mastering the natural man. My family will be excited to know that my companion and I now go running every morning. I know I know. We never thought we would see the day. Anyway, it was really fun to see all the other missionaries at Zone Conference. AND best part was we got to watch part of the new movie "Meet the Mormon's" which was pretty sweet. We get to see the entire movie on Thursday night before Mission Leadership Council. I'm stoked.
2. Who watched the Women's Broadcast? I thought it was too sweet. I especially loved Elder Uchtdorf's talk. Remember how powerful his message was about Heavenly Father always loving us? It's so true.
In other news, HOW EXCITED IS EVERYONE FOR GENERAL CONFERENCE?
BEST. DAY. EVER.
3. Autumn is coming in full fledge here in Saratoga. Leaves are constantly crunching under our feet. It's pretty wonderful. that's all I have to say on the matter.
4. Ok so... this actually happened a couple of weeks ago, but I keep forgetting to write about it, and I thought you all would appreciate it. JIMMER'S DAD SPOKE IN CHURCH. Haha. Jimmer is from the ward just north of us (Glens Falls) and his dad must have a stake calling or something because he seems to ALWAYS be visiting Saratoga. It's pretty chill. So yes everyone, I have chatted with Brother Fredette. (pretend like I know how to spell it).
The miracles.
1. I'll start with probably our coolest story of the week. Sister Mason and I were walking down the road going to go and try one of our investigators. Well we are kickin along and we see this guy outside his house on the opposite side of the street. Sister Mason wants to work on OYMing so I was like, "Hey, you want to go talk to that guy?" So we awkwardly crossed the street. We started up a conversation with this guy and he turned out to be like the most solid person ever. He totally opened up to us and we taught him the restoration. Long story short he is now investigating and we have taught him one other time since. I love how when we open our mouths, (even when its seemingly awkward), the Lord puts people who are just ready to hear his words.
2. GA: That girl is too solid. Man. She is the best. We haven't convinced her to move her baptism up yet haha, but she is so strong. Sometimes I have absolutely no idea why we are teaching her... and then I remember that she isn't actually a member yet. TOO GOOD.
3. GL: We set him back on a date for baptism. He has been really concerned about some things and that has been holding him back from baptism. But we had a lesson with him on Saturday after a little member girl's baptism and he was really open. Then when we suggested he be baptized on Nov 1 he was kind of shocked. He said that that was the perfect day for his baptism and when things would fall into place. So awesome to see Heavenly Father inspiring us and him.
4. A: She is also making such great progress. That girl is too good. We had a lesson where we watched the patterns of light video's with Elder Bednar. Well the first two she was analyzing all these random things (sometimes I think she is too smart for her own good haha) and we were like "COME ON! Feel the spirit dang it!" and then we watched the third and final video. There was a really tender moment at the end when she said, "I think that's how I feel the spirit. I think it's starting to make more sense." And then I realized... Heavenly Father knows what she needs. He knows how to speak directly to her. It's comforting to know that He will give her her answer. Not me.
Now a couple of giggles.
1.
We volunteer at a soup kitchen every week. Well... there are some
seriously creepy guys at said soup kitchen. Every week they try and find
out if we are married, they ask for our numbers... Etc... Except most
of them don't really speak English, so we just pretend we can't
understand what they are saying and hand them a bowl of soup. Well this
week one of them came up to me to tell me that he was moving to
Kentucky. AND THEN, he goes in for a hug. We then experienced a really
awkward moment where I hard core dodged the hug. It was a solid day.
Hey, at least he's moving to Kentucky!
2. "I really just want to grow up to be one of those ruff and rugged cowboys. You know... the kind who sits out in the woods and cooks beans?" -Elder.
Well that's all for me kids. Please enjoy General Conference. I'm excited to hear everyone's insights. In the meantime I will be trying to let everyone know that a MODERN DAY MOSES WILL BE SPEAKING TO US.
XOXO,
Sister Langford
Hello to all my friends out there.
New York is doing good, in case any of you were wondering. The city of Saratoga is still kickin. Sister Mason and I are doing peachy and keeping the work going strong. We had a very fabulous week this week. Many adventures and blessings. Shall we discuss?
The random tid bits of excitement.
1. We had Zone Conference this week which was super uplifting and inspiring. We talked a lot about faith and also about mastering the natural man. My family will be excited to know that my companion and I now go running every morning. I know I know. We never thought we would see the day. Anyway, it was really fun to see all the other missionaries at Zone Conference. AND best part was we got to watch part of the new movie "Meet the Mormon's" which was pretty sweet. We get to see the entire movie on Thursday night before Mission Leadership Council. I'm stoked.
2. Who watched the Women's Broadcast? I thought it was too sweet. I especially loved Elder Uchtdorf's talk. Remember how powerful his message was about Heavenly Father always loving us? It's so true.
In other news, HOW EXCITED IS EVERYONE FOR GENERAL CONFERENCE?
BEST. DAY. EVER.
3. Autumn is coming in full fledge here in Saratoga. Leaves are constantly crunching under our feet. It's pretty wonderful. that's all I have to say on the matter.
4. Ok so... this actually happened a couple of weeks ago, but I keep forgetting to write about it, and I thought you all would appreciate it. JIMMER'S DAD SPOKE IN CHURCH. Haha. Jimmer is from the ward just north of us (Glens Falls) and his dad must have a stake calling or something because he seems to ALWAYS be visiting Saratoga. It's pretty chill. So yes everyone, I have chatted with Brother Fredette. (pretend like I know how to spell it).
The miracles.
1. I'll start with probably our coolest story of the week. Sister Mason and I were walking down the road going to go and try one of our investigators. Well we are kickin along and we see this guy outside his house on the opposite side of the street. Sister Mason wants to work on OYMing so I was like, "Hey, you want to go talk to that guy?" So we awkwardly crossed the street. We started up a conversation with this guy and he turned out to be like the most solid person ever. He totally opened up to us and we taught him the restoration. Long story short he is now investigating and we have taught him one other time since. I love how when we open our mouths, (even when its seemingly awkward), the Lord puts people who are just ready to hear his words.
2. GA: That girl is too solid. Man. She is the best. We haven't convinced her to move her baptism up yet haha, but she is so strong. Sometimes I have absolutely no idea why we are teaching her... and then I remember that she isn't actually a member yet. TOO GOOD.
3. GL: We set him back on a date for baptism. He has been really concerned about some things and that has been holding him back from baptism. But we had a lesson with him on Saturday after a little member girl's baptism and he was really open. Then when we suggested he be baptized on Nov 1 he was kind of shocked. He said that that was the perfect day for his baptism and when things would fall into place. So awesome to see Heavenly Father inspiring us and him.
4. A: She is also making such great progress. That girl is too good. We had a lesson where we watched the patterns of light video's with Elder Bednar. Well the first two she was analyzing all these random things (sometimes I think she is too smart for her own good haha) and we were like "COME ON! Feel the spirit dang it!" and then we watched the third and final video. There was a really tender moment at the end when she said, "I think that's how I feel the spirit. I think it's starting to make more sense." And then I realized... Heavenly Father knows what she needs. He knows how to speak directly to her. It's comforting to know that He will give her her answer. Not me.
Now a couple of giggles.
2. "I really just want to grow up to be one of those ruff and rugged cowboys. You know... the kind who sits out in the woods and cooks beans?" -Elder.
Well that's all for me kids. Please enjoy General Conference. I'm excited to hear everyone's insights. In the meantime I will be trying to let everyone know that a MODERN DAY MOSES WILL BE SPEAKING TO US.
XOXO,
Sister Langford
Monday, September 22, 2014
"New Baby?, thankfully not Slytherin, Heavenly Father knows & Loves us, & B of M vs South Park Challenges!"
Blog!
Hello friends.
My oh my how the weeks fly. Last night we were on the phone with out district leader and he said, "Sister Langford, this transfer is going to go so fast for you... but then next transfer is going to go EVEN faster." My response was "Why do you even have to say that?" and then hanging up the phone. Darn everyone reminding me how old I am.
On the plus side, this week has been very rewarding. It's been interesting, and there has been a bit of a learning curve, but seriously, all is well.
Remember how I got my baby this week?
Well, here's how it went down. Trainers sitting on one side of the room, trainee's filing in, all terrified and whispering in their heads "Not Slytherin, not Slytherin." I'm just chillin on the other side considering the fact that my stomach is currently in my feet and I am freaking out. Am I going to fail this new sister? What is her story. Very nervous. Then, my name is called and next thing I know I am hugging an adorable, eager sister by the name of Sister Mason.
And then much of my stress dissipated.
Anyway, here I am in Saratoga with my brand new companion, Sister Mason. It has been actually really great so far. Much much less stressful than I had originally anticipated. I love how excited she is to do everything. I love all her questions that I once wondered too. I love the newness of everything to her. It's all been great. Of course, there have been moments of stress, but much less than I would have thought. So far... the training and Sister Training Leader life is good.
Now here are the goods of the week.
1. G. is seriously a boss. I have never seen someone with a more solid grasp on the gospel. This week as we were chatting with her she set herself with a new baptism date for beginning of December. We are trying to urge her to be baptized sooner than that... since she is seriously ready now. But we will see what happens. #whyisshesogreat
2. Paul. When we went to teach Paul this week (one of Sister Mason's first lessons) there was just a different feeling in the room. I don't even know how to describe it. All of his questions were real good questions, not the "guess what's in my head" kind of questions he usually asks. We again, invited him to come to church and feel the spirit there. AND HE CAME. He had a really great experience too, so I am very excited to see what happens in our next lesson. Good things happen every day.
All the other 'gators are also doing well. Another strong investigator came to church again, and we had a very powerful lesson with her during our church tour. We found a couple of new investigators who seem very promising. Good work is happening ya'll.
and the last little story...
3. We had just spent a day in the far away land of Corinth. Many good things had happened there, and we were about to head home. Then I thought of this less-active member who we should probably drop by. So we decided to put off dinner for another half hour and visit her. We started talking with her and it was clear that she was in distress. We had a very sweet moment of just testifying of the Plan of Salvation and bringing peace into her heart. The spirit was powerful. As we left we kneeled down in a circle with her and I offered a prayer. As I started to pray my heart was filled with such love and understanding for her. I knew that that love wasn't coming from me. That Heavenly Father's love for her had filled my heart and I was able to say to her what He would have said in that moment. When I finished the prayer, everyone was crying, but at the same time, we all knew that it was going to be alright. That everything she was worried about was in the Lord's hands. The peace was palpable.
As I left that lesson I really pondered on how aware Heavenly Father is of ALL of us. No matter who we are or where we are at He will find a way to reach us. I feel so blessed to have the gospel to guide me. That I know the truths of my Heavenly Father. I feel blessed to have made the covenant with my Father to mourn with those that mourn and to comfort those that stand in need of comfort. What a blessing to know that as we do those things, Heavenly Father works through us and we simple become a vessel.
Now to finish on a lighter note.
Last night we decided to go try a headquarter referral that we hadn't been able to really get in contact with. We knocked on his door... and it was his roommate... who is an Atheist. Well we ended up having a really cool conversation with this guy, and we asked him if he had heard of the Book of Mormon. His response "Well... I've seen the musical. But that's probably not too accurate." We laughed and told him that no it probably wasn't. I then said "well will you read the real Book of Mormon and see what you think?" He then said he would... then challenged me to watch South Park. Oh dear. My response was "You read the Book of Mormon and then we will talk about South Park."
We will see how that one goes! haha.
Well, I'm out. Have a fabulous week everyone!
XOXO,
Sister Langford
Hello friends.
My oh my how the weeks fly. Last night we were on the phone with out district leader and he said, "Sister Langford, this transfer is going to go so fast for you... but then next transfer is going to go EVEN faster." My response was "Why do you even have to say that?" and then hanging up the phone. Darn everyone reminding me how old I am.
On the plus side, this week has been very rewarding. It's been interesting, and there has been a bit of a learning curve, but seriously, all is well.
Remember how I got my baby this week?
Well, here's how it went down. Trainers sitting on one side of the room, trainee's filing in, all terrified and whispering in their heads "Not Slytherin, not Slytherin." I'm just chillin on the other side considering the fact that my stomach is currently in my feet and I am freaking out. Am I going to fail this new sister? What is her story. Very nervous. Then, my name is called and next thing I know I am hugging an adorable, eager sister by the name of Sister Mason.
And then much of my stress dissipated.
Anyway, here I am in Saratoga with my brand new companion, Sister Mason. It has been actually really great so far. Much much less stressful than I had originally anticipated. I love how excited she is to do everything. I love all her questions that I once wondered too. I love the newness of everything to her. It's all been great. Of course, there have been moments of stress, but much less than I would have thought. So far... the training and Sister Training Leader life is good.
Now here are the goods of the week.
1. G. is seriously a boss. I have never seen someone with a more solid grasp on the gospel. This week as we were chatting with her she set herself with a new baptism date for beginning of December. We are trying to urge her to be baptized sooner than that... since she is seriously ready now. But we will see what happens. #whyisshesogreat
2. Paul. When we went to teach Paul this week (one of Sister Mason's first lessons) there was just a different feeling in the room. I don't even know how to describe it. All of his questions were real good questions, not the "guess what's in my head" kind of questions he usually asks. We again, invited him to come to church and feel the spirit there. AND HE CAME. He had a really great experience too, so I am very excited to see what happens in our next lesson. Good things happen every day.
All the other 'gators are also doing well. Another strong investigator came to church again, and we had a very powerful lesson with her during our church tour. We found a couple of new investigators who seem very promising. Good work is happening ya'll.
and the last little story...
3. We had just spent a day in the far away land of Corinth. Many good things had happened there, and we were about to head home. Then I thought of this less-active member who we should probably drop by. So we decided to put off dinner for another half hour and visit her. We started talking with her and it was clear that she was in distress. We had a very sweet moment of just testifying of the Plan of Salvation and bringing peace into her heart. The spirit was powerful. As we left we kneeled down in a circle with her and I offered a prayer. As I started to pray my heart was filled with such love and understanding for her. I knew that that love wasn't coming from me. That Heavenly Father's love for her had filled my heart and I was able to say to her what He would have said in that moment. When I finished the prayer, everyone was crying, but at the same time, we all knew that it was going to be alright. That everything she was worried about was in the Lord's hands. The peace was palpable.
As I left that lesson I really pondered on how aware Heavenly Father is of ALL of us. No matter who we are or where we are at He will find a way to reach us. I feel so blessed to have the gospel to guide me. That I know the truths of my Heavenly Father. I feel blessed to have made the covenant with my Father to mourn with those that mourn and to comfort those that stand in need of comfort. What a blessing to know that as we do those things, Heavenly Father works through us and we simple become a vessel.
Now to finish on a lighter note.
Last night we decided to go try a headquarter referral that we hadn't been able to really get in contact with. We knocked on his door... and it was his roommate... who is an Atheist. Well we ended up having a really cool conversation with this guy, and we asked him if he had heard of the Book of Mormon. His response "Well... I've seen the musical. But that's probably not too accurate." We laughed and told him that no it probably wasn't. I then said "well will you read the real Book of Mormon and see what you think?" He then said he would... then challenged me to watch South Park. Oh dear. My response was "You read the Book of Mormon and then we will talk about South Park."
We will see how that one goes! haha.
Well, I'm out. Have a fabulous week everyone!
XOXO,
Sister Langford
Monday, September 15, 2014
B.L.O.G.
The weeks in Saratoga just fly right on by. How have I already been here a transfer? In some ways I think back on everything that has happened here in Saratoga and I'm like... oh yeah.... we've done a lot. And then I think OH MY GOODNESS I DON'T KNOW ANYONE. It's all good. Let me tell you about the week before I start rambling again.
The little random tidbits.
1. I'm sick. Seriously. Again. I have dodged this whole sickness business for my entire mission.... until I arrived in Saratoga. I keep telling people it's because I'm allergic to Saratoga. Anyway, my point was that this little illness slowed me down a bit this week. I tried to not allow it to influence me too much... but sometimes you shouldn't run faster than you have strength. :)
2. Also, it's fall. This week I wore tights for the first time. Worst day ever. Ok really I do love fall... but winter you guys. Ugh.
Ok, now the stuff you really want to read about.
TRANSFERS.....
Ok. We got the transfer call Friday night. President NEVER calls Friday night. So as you can imagine, we were thrown for a loop. And guess what the word is? I'M TRAINING. After who knows how many transfers I get a brand new missionary. I'm actually really excited. Well... really I'm like Rapunzel on Tangled after she gets out of the tower and she's like "I'm never going back!" "That's it, I have to go back!" "I'm a terrible human being." "BEST. DAY. EVER." Except instead its kind of like this, "Oh my gosh I'm so excited for all I can teach to this new missionary!" "Oh no. I don't know anything. I'm going to be the worst trainer." "I'm going to be such a good trainer! We are going to work so hard." "I can't do this." "BEST. DAY.EVER." So that's been me the past couple of days. Oh yeah... I forgot to mention that on top of training I'm STILL a Sister Training Leader. #eternalSTL Sometimes I'm like, President, what are you thinking? Anyway, I'm excited. A lot of good things coming this transfer :) Also, Sister Lloyd is just going one area over. So I will be her Sister Training Leader next transfer. Very fun :)
BAPTISMZZZ.
Erin got baptized! It was seriously the happiest day. Her testimony is so strong and she is so sweet. So many of the members came out. There wasn't even enough seats for everyone in the Relief Society room. Plus Erin's mom came which was very awesome. (She's not a member) I think my favorite part of her baptism was after it was all over. I said "Erin, how do you feel?" She said "So. so happy. I'm mostly excited for tomorrow when I get the gift of the Holy Ghost. I think it will help me feel all warm and fuzzy." It was seriously adorable. I love that girl to bits and pieces. Very blessed to have been part of her journey.
Also, Jim Fish got baptized! He is in Corning. But hey, I found and taught him, so I feel like it counts. He was the one who had the huge long beard and then shaved it off to come to church! Anyway, I haven't talked to the sisters there, but it must have been a great day. It's awesome that even though I wasn't there to see it happen I still know I was a part of his journey, and for that, I am blessed.
OTHER 'GATORS
We have a previous investigator back to meeting with us. She kind of took a detour for a while, which was hard to see happen. But this week we were able to meet with her again. It was a really tender experience and it's clear that she loves the gospel and wants to make it a part of her life. We taught her with the member who originally introduced her to the gospel. The member, is also a convert. Her testimony was seriously exactly what she needed, so we are excited to see how things go with her :)
Paul. Have I talked about Paul at all yet? I probably have. He's our investigator who is 91 and can hardly hear anything we say. It's pretty sweet. Anyway, he has been reading the Book of Mormon like crazy. This past week he made it to 2 Nephi 2. He was so excited to tell us about it and the cutest part was at the top of the page he wrote in big letters "Very Best" Ah Paul is very great.
Anyway, that's basically the story of the week. Very excited for what this new transfer will hold. I'm definitely going to miss Sister Lloyd and all her craziness (Like calling fanny packs "hippy sacks", and trying to hide from me where ever we go... and everyone calling her short jokes (like shorty-pants)) But I know great things are to come!
XOXO,
Sister Langford
The weeks in Saratoga just fly right on by. How have I already been here a transfer? In some ways I think back on everything that has happened here in Saratoga and I'm like... oh yeah.... we've done a lot. And then I think OH MY GOODNESS I DON'T KNOW ANYONE. It's all good. Let me tell you about the week before I start rambling again.
The little random tidbits.
1. I'm sick. Seriously. Again. I have dodged this whole sickness business for my entire mission.... until I arrived in Saratoga. I keep telling people it's because I'm allergic to Saratoga. Anyway, my point was that this little illness slowed me down a bit this week. I tried to not allow it to influence me too much... but sometimes you shouldn't run faster than you have strength. :)
2. Also, it's fall. This week I wore tights for the first time. Worst day ever. Ok really I do love fall... but winter you guys. Ugh.
Ok, now the stuff you really want to read about.
TRANSFERS.....
Ok. We got the transfer call Friday night. President NEVER calls Friday night. So as you can imagine, we were thrown for a loop. And guess what the word is? I'M TRAINING. After who knows how many transfers I get a brand new missionary. I'm actually really excited. Well... really I'm like Rapunzel on Tangled after she gets out of the tower and she's like "I'm never going back!" "That's it, I have to go back!" "I'm a terrible human being." "BEST. DAY. EVER." Except instead its kind of like this, "Oh my gosh I'm so excited for all I can teach to this new missionary!" "Oh no. I don't know anything. I'm going to be the worst trainer." "I'm going to be such a good trainer! We are going to work so hard." "I can't do this." "BEST. DAY.EVER." So that's been me the past couple of days. Oh yeah... I forgot to mention that on top of training I'm STILL a Sister Training Leader. #eternalSTL Sometimes I'm like, President, what are you thinking? Anyway, I'm excited. A lot of good things coming this transfer :) Also, Sister Lloyd is just going one area over. So I will be her Sister Training Leader next transfer. Very fun :)
BAPTISMZZZ.
Erin got baptized! It was seriously the happiest day. Her testimony is so strong and she is so sweet. So many of the members came out. There wasn't even enough seats for everyone in the Relief Society room. Plus Erin's mom came which was very awesome. (She's not a member) I think my favorite part of her baptism was after it was all over. I said "Erin, how do you feel?" She said "So. so happy. I'm mostly excited for tomorrow when I get the gift of the Holy Ghost. I think it will help me feel all warm and fuzzy." It was seriously adorable. I love that girl to bits and pieces. Very blessed to have been part of her journey.
Also, Jim Fish got baptized! He is in Corning. But hey, I found and taught him, so I feel like it counts. He was the one who had the huge long beard and then shaved it off to come to church! Anyway, I haven't talked to the sisters there, but it must have been a great day. It's awesome that even though I wasn't there to see it happen I still know I was a part of his journey, and for that, I am blessed.
OTHER 'GATORS
We have a previous investigator back to meeting with us. She kind of took a detour for a while, which was hard to see happen. But this week we were able to meet with her again. It was a really tender experience and it's clear that she loves the gospel and wants to make it a part of her life. We taught her with the member who originally introduced her to the gospel. The member, is also a convert. Her testimony was seriously exactly what she needed, so we are excited to see how things go with her :)
Paul. Have I talked about Paul at all yet? I probably have. He's our investigator who is 91 and can hardly hear anything we say. It's pretty sweet. Anyway, he has been reading the Book of Mormon like crazy. This past week he made it to 2 Nephi 2. He was so excited to tell us about it and the cutest part was at the top of the page he wrote in big letters "Very Best" Ah Paul is very great.
Anyway, that's basically the story of the week. Very excited for what this new transfer will hold. I'm definitely going to miss Sister Lloyd and all her craziness (Like calling fanny packs "hippy sacks", and trying to hide from me where ever we go... and everyone calling her short jokes (like shorty-pants)) But I know great things are to come!
XOXO,
Sister Langford
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