10/27/2014 

Hello Everybody,

This week has made me think of the parable found in Jacob 5 about the Lord likening the House of Israel to a vineyard. I truly can see that the field is white and ready to harvest! This week nine of our investigators accepted the invitation to be baptized! I've never been so happy in my life. It truly is a miracle to see how the Lord has prepared each family and person that we are teaching.    I feel so  blessed that the Lord is allowing me to be apart of helping people come unto him. I know that the Lord could do it all by himself, but what a loving Father we have that he allows us to help. By doing so  allowing us to grow, learn, develop stronger testimonies, meet amazing people and  be apart of helping our brothers and sisters come closer to him.

 I love Cornwall and the people here. This week we meet again with Charles and while we were waiting for the member to arrive for our lesson we talked to Charles and his neighbor, Shane. We invited Shane to join the lesson which he accepted. While teaching about the Restoration we gave Shane a Book of Mormon and his face lit up. He told us that he had always wanted to learn more but didn't know where to find the answers or who to talk to. It truly made us think of the scripture found in D&C, about how people are kept from the truth because they know not where to find it. I love this gospel so much and know that it can truly bless the lives of each and everyone of us! I love you all and wish you the best for the coming week!

Love,
Sister Rawlings

Funny story: We were at a member's house and her grandson (who was about 4) was there showing us what he had been learning about and in his hand he was holding a paper about fire safety... standard stop,drop, and roll instructions. So I asked him a little about it and then asked, "so what happens if you catch on fire"....and in a innocent voice he bluntly said. "You die".

 A service project at Echo Park.

Pancake of my dog Rosie! 

10/20/2014

Hello Everyone,

Can't believe another week has flown by. Where has the time went?

This week I ate my first Poutine! For those who don't know what that is... fries..gravy..cheese curds-kinda diabetes in a dish but really good! I  helped teach a lesson that was taught in about four languages...we were on my first exchange and before we left for Cornwall we taught a family in Montreal, the family was from Croatia and the families members spoke many different languages so the lesson  was part Croatian, part French, English and Spanish!

 This week the work in Cornwall just took off!  We got 7... yes, you heard that right, 7 new investigators! A ​family of four, one from a knocked house and two from one of our other investigators families! Out of that 7, 5 came to church!! The ward, as well as Sister Gonzalez and I were so excited! I felt happier than a kid on Christmas!

Something that I really noticed this week, is how God is constantly leading us to people or places of where we need to be. This was very present in our new investigator, Charlie. We had a lesson with a potential investigator we met on the street and while we were walking there we saw this man sitting in his sun room and we waved and we both got this very strong impression that we should go talk to this man.  He talked to us for a good 15 mins, where we gave him the Book of Mormon and we scheduled a return appointment two days later (Saturday). When Saturday came we got to know him and talked about the Book of Mormon and invited him to come to church. He accepted and he came! It was great! He even had two really good friends who are already members! At the end of Church, he even told our ward mission leader that he wanted to come next week!

Four of our other new investigators were a media referral family, who we called and they set up an appointment with us. They are so golden! They drove all the way to New York just  to see the new movie, Meet the Mormons, and the church historical sites in Palmyra! They are a great family and I feel so grateful that the Lord placed them in our path. Something that I love that they said is " We love how in the church it isn't just something that you do on Sunday, it's a way of life." I loved that! How often should we remember that in our own lives, that we not only live our religion on Sunday but show it in our day to day actions of everyday.

Love

Sister Rawlings

P.S.I got my official Winter Coat! So now you all don't have to worry about me freezing to death :)

My district and Poutine.

Heartattacking!

 

10/13/2014​
Hey everyone,

        It's crazy-busy here. I don't have much time because were leaving for Montreal in about ten minutes so I'll try to be detailed, but fast. This week was great we have come in contact with so many people that are ready for the gospel, it's amazing! The other day we were at a dinner appointment and when we left I turned to Sister Gonzalez and told her that I had a strong impression that we needed to go see a former that was on a long list.  So with about 15 minutes before we turned into pumpkins we got to her house and when she answered the door she was so excited, and without us saying much scheduled a time for us to come back. She told us right before we left that we were going to see much more success with her. As we left we felt almost like we had been an answer to a prayer. It was a great feeling.

         Then, just yesterday, we were street contacting when it was about time to go to our next appointment I had this feeling like we should go knock on this apartment. So we walked up the stairs and knocked...and there was no answer. We waited and walked down. We had expected to talk to someone inside but as we walked down the stairs there was a lady that we ended up talking to and getting her information who is looking for a church right now! It was amazing!
          Then going back to my first week here, we had contacted a woman on the bus and she gave us her information and said she would love the Lamb of God video and so we swung by and she was busy but we were able to make another appointment. When we came back no one answered the door and we were feeling a little discouraged but than while I was backing Sister Gonzalez out, she waved us in! So we were able to teach her our lesson-which was amazing! She is so ready for the gospel! She reads the bible everyday and even has given Bibles and Book of Mormons away before! She told us that she goes to Tims (Tim Hortans- a very popular doughnut shop) and talks about God and Christ to people! Amazing right! We are certainty feeling like the field is white and ready to harvest here! We have really felt like the Holy Ghost has led us to some people that really need help and can be blessed so much by the gospel! Can't wait to see what miracles are in store for the coming week! 

Love you all!

Sister Rawlings








                                                          My District





They gave me and Elder Loyd the green part of the cake because we're the "Greenies "
Cake we made for Elder Rangel(our district leader) for his birthday, our creation is a mix between the Mexico and Canada ​flag!

10/06/2014

      Hello everybody! This week we worked hard. We had some appointments fall though, which was disappointing but nevertheless we had some amazing experiences with people. We had just taught a lesson to a recent convert and on the way back to our car we saw an older man sitting on a bench and we stopped and talked to him for little bit. He first thought we were Jehovah witness and we were like "nope, that's not us," and than he was like "oh, your the people who wear those hats", and we were like "nope were not Jewish", and he was like "your the ones who wear the farmers hats"  and we were like we are not the Amish either.. it was pretty funny. After talking to him for a bit, not only did he accept a Book of Mormon but he scheduled a time with us to come back and talk!
       Later in the week we went to visit a contact that previous missionaries had met. We knocked on the door and it started off.  We weren't thinking it was going to go anywhere, but we bore powerfully testimony that the gospel could bless his life and that we truly believe that. You could see that his heart was softened and he could feel the spirit. It was a powerful experience and we are going later this week to teach him.:)
       On another note, General Conference was this weekend! Being a missionary during general conferences is like having your home team be in the Superbowl. It was great! I took on the challenge of writing down questions that I've had and investigators have had and I received those answers! When they would be talking, I would think, "Oh that's just what this investigator needs to hear or this is perfect for this person. It was great!

On the way home from District meetings we stopped by an old church that had burnt down and it's ruins are still standing.

​This is a sign that is around the community, it's for pet blessings and they allow pets of all faith!

Hope all is well back home with everybody!

Love,

Sister Rawlings