week 6 - end of transfer report #1

Nov. 14, 2016

Hi, all!

Today marks the beginning of a new planner, and almost the beginning of a new transfer. Transfer calls are tomorrow. We will probably be losing Sister Pemberton or Sister Severe, which makes me very sad. They have both been amazing examples and great friends to me. I'm not sure how much I told you about them, so I'll write a little here. Sister Severe is the oldest in the apartment in mission age, meaning she's been out the longest. She'll actually be going home at the end of this transfer (or maybe next--I can't remember). She is a flaming redheaded ray of sunshine--she could say literally anything with a smile on her face ("We have no new investigators and this lesson went horribly and my shoe strap is broken--but it's fine!"). She is also a great-grandmother--the sister she trained became a trainer and her trainee became a trainer. Sister Pemberton is the next oldest in mission age and the only sister I've met so far who is shorter than me. She reminds me a lot of Amanda in her demeanor and dry sense of humor. Sister Severe called being my godmother before I even got in the field. We have decided that Sister Pemberton can be my fairy godmother. :)

This is our district at our last district meeting (last Friday):

Top row, right to left: Elders Samplina (District Leader) and Ackerman, both 1st ward, and Elders Campbell and Nay, 2nd ward

Bottom row: Sisters Severe, Pemberton (1st ward), Harrington, and myself (2nd ward)

And a funny one, just because:

And now...

SISTER PULLAN'S END-OF-TRANSFER STATISTICAL REPORT (10/16-11/16)

• Area: Dickinson, North Dakota--Dickinson 2nd Ward
• Companion: Sister Harrington
• Baptisms/Confirmations: 0
• Lessons taught to investigators: 40
• Lessons taught to LARCS: 27
• Total Lessons: 67
• # of meals with members: 30 (all wonderful--in Sister Harrington's words, the members here feed us like we are starving Russian orphans).
• Average # of prayers prayed personally per day: 11
• Average # of prayers per day total (solo, w/companion, in groups, lessons, etc.): 28
• Miles driven: Around 1,900, give or take. 
• # of Book of Mormons handed out: Heaven only knows.

That sums up the transfer in numbers, but it is hard to truly sum up the experience it has been. There have been so many ups and downs, and I have learned and grown so much. I have laughed and loved and cried. I've made dear friends and had my heart broken. All in all, we have been successful. Our work is to invite and to allow God to work through us through His spirit. We may not have baptized yet, but we have had success even so. We are seed planters here in North Dakota, and we have been planting our hearts out.

A few experiences from this past week I would like to share with you:

- I made Butternut Squash Soup. I was quite proud of myself.

- I have received a lot of love in the mail this week. I got a wonderful fall package from home, a card from Grandma Molen, and this treasure trove from Uncle Dave and Aunt Crystal. WOW!

- Our Spanish speaking investigators dropped us like a bad habit, as Elder Nay would say. It was really upsetting. We worked SO HARD for our Plan of Salvation lesson last Monday. We made a visual labeled in both languages, practiced sentences and questions over and over again for every section, practiced for an hour with Sister Rogers, coordinated with our interpreters... The lesson itself even went pretty smoothly and stayed on topic, which has been a challenge in the past. But Alba, the wife, kept insisting over and over again that we show her where our teachings were in the Bible, and we did our best. The real sting, though, was went she said flat out (in Spanish): "If it isn't in the Bible, you've invented it." That hurt. I was so upset. Then Brother Hall, our interpreter, shared this scripture: "It is by grace that we are saved, after all we can do." That really hit me. We did all that we could do, and the Lord would have to take care of the rest. I cried into Sister Harrington's shoulder for a while when we got to the car, and then I was OK. I know that the Lord will bless us for our efforts and will watch over Zacharias and Alba for us.

- In our weekly planning session we decided to look at our potential investigators list and pray to identify three names we could visit. We both thought of the same name--a woman named Lisa and her husband. When we went to visit Lisa, she was trying to rake leaves out of her small yard near her trailer home and watch her two little boys at the same time. We asked if we could help, and she said she was sure we had better things to do. We insisted that we didn't, and she gratefully accepted our assistance. She told us a while later that she had just been wishing and praying that someone could come by and help her, and at that moment we drove up. We will be teaching her later this week. She was raised in a polygamist family in Mexico (apparently some Mormon polygamist families moved to Mexico and Canada before the Manifesto so they could practice without breaking the law--hers is one of those). We have been praying and studying hard to know how best to teach her and help her gain a testimony of the gospel.

- We went to part of a Lutheran church service this Sunday. We came with the Elders, and they were coming to support a lady they volunteered with (it was a swap deal--we'll go to your church if you'll come to ours). It was interesting, no question. There was a lot of singing--some of it hymns, some Christian pop-type stuff. Very "praise Jesus." There were passages of scripture read, and there was a small puppet show. The puppets sang patriotic songs, since it was recently Veterans Day (Lana, the lady the Elders were there to see, is in charge of the puppet ministry). It was good, but no matter how I tried, I couldn't feel right. It just didn't have the spirit there--a small part of it maybe, but not the real thing. When we walked back into our own meetinghouse half an hour later, the difference was night and day. It was as though I had been thirsty all morning and finally got to drink. The other missionaries sighed with relief along with me. It was a real testimony builder for me. It reminded me that the power and Spirit of God really are in this church. I think I will be able to go out teaching a little more confidently now, remembering that although many people claim to be happy with their faith in Christ, we really do have something to offer.

- One last experience. At the beginning of the week we made a goal that we would have three investigators in sacrament meeting. By the end of the week it seemed that our goal would be impossible. Our teaching pool had slumped horribly with our Bolivian couple dropping us, potentials not opening the door, and another investigator hospitalized. We went to church, hoping to do our best to strengthen the ward but not expecting any new arrivals. To our shock and delight, however, a family we taught some weeks ago and had put down as not progressing walked into sacrament, without our having invited them or even talked to them for days. They said they just wanted to check it out and see what it was all about. Another investigator we hadn't seen in weeks and similarly hadn't invited also attended. It really is true, what the Lord says in Doctrine and Covenants: "I will do mine own work." He really does. We are just along for the ride, to do our best and hopefully be converted ourselves along the way.

- Also, as it turns out, boxed water really is better. :)

And now, in conclusion, a thought:

Please, everyone, invite your friends to church. Pray for missionary opportunities and then act when you get an answer. We need your help. According to church statistical reports, of investigators found and taught by missionaries alone, 1/28 will be baptized and stay faithful. For investigators found and fellowshipped by members and taught in members' homes, the number jumps to 2/3. I can attest from my own experience that lesson always inevitably go better when a member is present. You have no idea the influence you can have. Please, everyone, work with the  missionaries. Pray for those opportunities. Seek those lost sheep one by one. The Lord will bless you and the work will accelerate. As our ward mission leader says, "We can't be two churches--the church of the members and the church of the missionaries." He is right. We have to be one church so the Gospel can reach everyone.

[Preview of upcoming attractions: Speaking of member missionary work, get excited for the Christmas initiative! We got a sneak peek at it at our Zone Training Meeting, and it is going to be awesome. The theme is "Light the World," and there is going to be a big service and member missionary work push with it. It's going to be amazing!]

I love you all so much. Thank you for your love, support, letters, packages, and prayers. The mission is tough, but I know I can do it. I feel so blessed to have so many angels on my side.

More next week!

Love from the NoDak,

Sister Pullan

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