1/19/2015

  Hey Everyone!

        So exciting news this week! While at Zone Conference-we were talking to President Patrick and he asked us about Cornwall Island, which is a Native American reservation next to us. To make a long story short he gave us our passports, so that we could go to the island! So we're pretty happy about that! We still have to figure somethings out but we're are excited to be able to go there:)

         We had a lot of tender mercies happen this week, lots of little things that just make us remember that God is in the details of our lives. It's the small things, like going to see a potential, them not being home but being able to contact someone while walking there. Seeing members willing to let us have lessons in  their house and hearing them bare their testimony to investigators. It's calling a family to let them know that a new family is coming to church and asking if they could fellowship them and seeing them the next day. It's the small things in our lives that we sometimes overlook that we see God's hand in our lives. 

       At times we didn't see it, like for instance, when we got stuck in Montreal Traffic for like three hours and we had to call to tell the family that we were going to see that we were going to be late.  However, it turns out that because we were late we were able to meet the whole family! Which was a big blessing. We had dinner with them and were able to really get to know them. We invited them to Church and than to the potluck after and they stayed! It was great! I know that God is very aware of each and everyone one of us and he has a plan for each of us. We may not see the masterpiece he is creating with our lives, but trust in him and have an eternal perspective! Love, Sister Rawlings!

P.S.Great link to a Great Ensign Article!https://www.lds.org/ensign/2014/10/the-jadeite-cabbage?lang=eng

 Valentine's Day scarves!
 

Zone conference- we ate at a local french cuisine bakery! YUM

New frozen yogurt shop opened! So we tried it out on p-day:)



Elder Lloyd (our district leader), Elder Rangel (in the middle, who is leaving), Sister Lindquist and me.

1/12/2015

Bonjour!

These past few weeks it seems like everyone has been getting colds, and the flu!  This week it got me. So, between everyone else getting sick and me, it was a slower week. Luckily,  I was sent with lots of vitamins so that was good.

This week Dan came to church-which was great! It just amazes me at how the Lord has prepared people to receive the gospel. 

This week we have been talking to a lot of people about choices. How we have the ability to choose, but how we can't choose the consequences- whether they be for good or for bad. I feel like I have really seen how just one person of a family can affect generations to come. It's up to us! We have to decide today if our choices are going to effect us and others for bad or for good. As it says in Joshua 24:15, "Choose you this day whom ye will serve; but as for me and my house we will serve the Lord."

Hope you all have a great week!
Sister Rawlings

Us scraping Ice off stairs for a member:)

Sister Lindquist and I.

Happy New Year!
1/5/2015

Well another week has come and gone!

There's so much that's happened. We have two new investigators, each is a miracle.

Yesterday I experienced freezing rain for the second time. The first time I thought this isn't too bad, it's kinda fun to scrape off. Than yesterday we had a solid inch of frozen water that completely covered every part of our car.
 

​It hit the city so bad  that in total we had only 10 of us at church. Even though there was only a small group of us, it makes me think of the scripture that says, " For where two or three are gathered together in my name, there am I in the midst of them" -Matt 18:19-20.

It had to been one of the best fast and testimony meetings that I've been too. The spirit was strong and felt by all.

On Wednesday, we had exchanges. I went to Laselle. It was super fun!  I got to see Rose, who I have seen during the past couple of exchanges. She got baptized last week!! And her son is planned for the coming month:) And we got to teach him the restoration.It was a great lesson. We made it a game that involved stickers- shown below...sorry it's upside down:)

 

On Thursday- We had a breakfast with a mom and two daughters.  It was one of the best lessons of my mission. After breakfast, the daughter who is a member pretty much perfectly explained the Plan of Salvation to her sister who is going to turn 8 this year and her mom, both non members. We asked the 7 year old if she would be baptized when she turned 8 she agreed and than climbed on her mothers lap and asked, "Mommy will you be baptized with me that day?"  The room went very quite and than for the first time her mom said, "Yes, not that day but I will be baptized." The sweetest spirit was in the room, we all had tears in our eyes and when the mom asked her daughter why she was crying, she said it was because, now she has the opportunity to live with them forever. And in that moment I saw why we come out on missions, why we give up time, money, and opportunities. It's because we know that our families can live together forever and we want everyone to be able to have that too. Through the Gospel of Jesus Christ we can unite families together, not only in this life but in the life to come.
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Happy New Year!   Me, Rose, Sister Alvrez

Love Sister Rawlings

12/29/2014

Hey!

Last Monday, Sister Hynes was super sweet and invited us over for lunch and we helped decorate her tree! It was super fun! Really made it feel like Christmas!  On Christmas day we had lunch at the Willards, Skype at the Hynes, and had dinner with Charlie, who made us a giant feast.There were only five of us but he had made so much food, including three pies. I'm pretty much still full! Than we got to go spend time with the Vogel family! It was a green Christmas, besides little patches of snow, a lot different from what I heard everyone back home got. And you thought I would be the one that is frozen. Haha!

Sister Hynes!

Finished Decorating the Tree!

 

Matching Christmas Jammies!

 

​Another great thing happened this week, Charlie's cousin joined us for dinner and than for two lessons where he expressed questions about what happens to us when we die. In the following lesson we talked about the Anti-Nephi-Lehis, After reading the story, we  thought about what each of us can "bury as a weapon of war" and than we wrote them down and threw them away and "burried" them in the trash. It was a good lesson :) People this week really opened up to us about various issues and what can be done to help them get back to church, which was amazing!

 

I feel like this week I have gained a solid testimony on how important home and visiting teaching is! It's an amazing program that helps the ward take care of everyone and make sure that there needs are getting met! I encourage you, that if your not doing it or have forgotten, to start this following year! When we make sure that those we visit are doing well, whither it be spiritually, emotional or temporal or any aspect of of their life- it helps not only them, but ourselves. They need to know that there is someone to turn to they can express feelings and thoughts too. I know that these programs are inspired and that through them we can lift those who are down and strengthen our brothers and sisters. 

Love you all! 

Sister Rawlings

P.S. Funny moment of the week! So the day after Christmas is called Boxing day..... I had never heard of it, before I came to Canada and neither had Sister Lindquist. So we aske, and our conversation went something like this, "So for boxing day do you guys watch boxing? Do you throw away all the boxes from Christmas? Like what do you do on Boxing Day?"  Member's answer,"It's just another day off, so we don't have to go to work. Some people box their Christmas decorations up, but the reality of it is- that it's where everyone goes to the store and buys everything that's on sale from Christmas, it's your equivalent of black Friday."

12/15/2014
So a picture is worth a thousand words so here's at least 10000.:) Aka my week in pictures.:)

 Charlie took us out for my birthday! It was a really great day:)

 He knew I like chocolate and picked it out for me:)

 ​The whole gang:)

Sister Gonzalez and I at transfers

​Saturday was my birthday! So we (Sister Lindquist and I ) ate cake:)

​Love you all!

Sister Rawlings

12/8/2014

Hey everyone!

This week was just packed.  Super busy with  lots of exciting news to share!!  We went on exchanges in Montreal which was exciting! We got to see the Croation family we had taught last exchange. Than while talking to this guy on the street Sister Alvrez got pick-pocketed! He took the phone but luckily it was just a flip phone, so he chucked it a few streets away and some lady found it and called their ward mission leader, so it all worked out...LOL!

Charlie is doing great! His baptism was moved up to December 20th!!! WOOT WOOT! He has made such progress! It's amazing the changes and the light you can see in him. He's been 12 days smoke free! He said the sweetest thing to us the other day. We were having dinner with him and Sister Gaudet and he said, "I have a new name for you girls.....Charlie's Angels" we were both just like "ahhh". Highlight of my week right there. He's just such an example to us and I would really appreciate it if you could keep him in your prayers:)

This week was just amazing! So excited for what's to come! 

Love Sister Rawlings

P.S. Transfers are this week. I'm staying in Cornwall and Sister Linquist (who was from my mtc district) is going to be my new companion!

Pictures of our district

The Theodores

 The Raymond girls

The Lupiens

and decorating Charlie's tree (he calls us his Charlie's Angels).

12/2/2014

Hello Everyone!

Another busy week. Tuesday we had Zone Training which was amazing! Afterwards we went with four other sisters and sang carols on the streets of Montreal. We sang Christmas songs and did some street contacting, giving out some Book of Mormons and the new "HE is the Gift" pass along cards. It went really well and we were able to talk to a lot of people and gave out many cards and Book of Mormons. The "HE is the gift" video put out by the church is simply amazing, and if you haven't watched it I would highly recommend watching it. It can be found  at christmas.mormon.org . We've been sharing it with everyone. It talks about putting the true meaning of the holiday, Christ back into the holiday and remembering that HE is truly the gift of Christmas. The members here have been great and have taken many cards to give to their family, friends and acquaintances along with sharing it on social media.

But out of the whole week, Saturday had to be the best day of the week. You know the saying it's always darkest before the sun comes up, well that sums up this week in a nutshell. We had some really hard days where people were just really rude, but when Saturday came everything was perfect.

We attended a baptism in Hawksburry, which is about an hour away, with Charlie and Sister Gaudet. It was the sweetest day that was filled with such a sweet spirit. The spirit was very strong. At times I thought there couldn't be a dry eye in the room. When we asked Charlie how he felt, he told us that he's " Got to get it done" :) He's such a great example to me and to us all. He's now been smoke free for 5 days!!!
He's an amazing example of willpower and seeing the path of the gospel and following it.

Than another miracles happened. We saw two  of our investigators who surprised us and showed up! We were so excited we were on cloud 12. It was such a indescribable happiness, and I just feet such a love for the people that we were teaching with deep desire to help them into the Kingdom of God. It was an amazing week!

Love,
 Sister Rawlings

 

Lorie (mom) requested pictures of the two dresses she sent....  Mackenzie didn't mean for them to be put on the blog....but her mom has control of the blog!  Heee-heee (evil laugh)!