If I ever become one of those missionaries who talks out of the side of their mouth...just slap me. (6-15-2015)

Hello people! I hope you're all having a great day! 

Oh my goodness, so many adventures this week! On Wednesday we went on exchanges, so I went to Boulder City with Sister DeFrietas. It was awesome! We talked to a shirtless man who looked like Buddha, and he just wanted to challenge us. But I found him really amusing. It's a good thing I'm not easily flustered. 

Ivan's baptism was this week! Sister Unsted and I went to fill the font and get everything prepared. Ivan has both legs amputated just a little below his knees, so he was going to have to sit on the bottom of the baptismal font for his baptism. Sis Unsted sat down while it was still dry so we could put a marker on the wall to determine how deep the water needed to be (about 3 feet). Well, we got it filled to that point, then I reached in and felt it, and it was so cold! We still had some time so we decided to empty it a bit so we could fill it with more hot water. So I hiked up my skirt and reached down to unplug the font, then plug it again after a minute. We filled it up the rest of the way and everything was fine! The baptism began beautifully, and we waited until Ivan was in the water before opening the font doors. When the doors were opened we could see there was only about a foot of water!  Oh crud! Apparently the plug hadn't sealed. They tried doing it anyway, but there wasn't enough water. So we had to shut the doors and Ivan just sat there for about 10 minutes while we filled it up more. Then it took 3 more times to get his whole body under because his legs kept floating to the top since there wasn't enough counter weight. Good thing all of us had a good sense of humor and Ivan is the most patient, Christ-like man alive! Then, at the close of the baptism, I was leading the closing hymn, "Onward, Christian Soldiers," ...and it just was dead. It felt more like a funeral than a baptism! Some people weren't even singing, and others were just mumbling the words. So before the last verse I stopped and said, "Let's sing like the gospel is true!" Everyone lit up! People sat up straight in their chairs and smiled as they sang, 

"Onward, then, ye people; Join our happy throng. Blend with ours your voices in the triumph song: Glory, laud, and honor unto Christ the King. This through countless ages, men and angels sing. Onward Christian soldiers, marching as to war, with the cross of Jesus, going on before."

It was wonderful. Then in Sacrament meeting the next day, the brother conducting said as he announced the hymn, "And as we were reminded yesterday, lets sing like the church is true!" It was pretty funny. I really love this area! I'm already dreading the day I'll have to leave! 

In the same Sacrament meeting, a young man was speaking in preparation to leave for his mission this week, and he parents also spoke. It was a very touching meeting. They are from American Samoa, and they had a LOT of family there! Everyone in the family, and in the bishopric, was wearing leis around their necks, and part of the father's talk he gave in Samoan. But the end of the meeting I just wanted to stand up with both fists in the air shouting, "Hurrah for Israel!" Just like Elder Kolipoki on "The Other Side of Heaven." It was awesome. 

Some of our investigators are having a hard time keeping their commitments and progressing, even thought they know it's true. Keep them in your prayers. 

Please don't forget what a privilege it is to be a member in the Lord's kingdom and a missionary at all times! I'm so grateful for my dad in being an awesome example of missionary work to me all of my life. He has never hesitated to talk to someone about the gospel or leave a pass along card. As Father's Day approaches, I am filled with gratitude for not only an amazing earthy father, but also my Heavenly Father. I want to honor Him with all that I am. I am so grateful to know that I am a daughter of a King, and that I have infinite potential in his kingdom! And for as much as I believe in Him, He believes in me so much more. He is yearning to bless us, comfort us, and guide us by the hand as we humble ourselves and recognize our place in this marvelous work. Don't give up! Just look up :) 

I love you all! Have a splendid week!

Love, Sister Porter

QUOTE: 

"I sought my soul, but my soul I could not see. 

I sought my God, but my God eluded me.

I sough my brother, and I found all three."

(6-08-2015)

Hi everyone! 

Wow. What a week! The Lord is building up His kingdom here in Henderson, NV, and I get to be a part of it! 

We've continued meeting with Ivan, and he is just the best. His baptism will be this Saturday! The ward has been very involved in helping since his baptism will be a little unorthodox (since he is missing his legs). It's been awesome to see everyone pitch right in and be willing to do whatever needs to happen. Ivan has so much faith. I swear, he's the one teaching me every time we go there. He got the Gospel Principles book last week and reads it whenever he's not reading the Book of Mormon. He's almost finished. 

Tiyannah and Al were baptized and confirmed this weekend! They are amazing youth with a determination to serve the Lord. Both of them are already planning on serving missions! 

We met a referral from the mission named Brandy this week. We got to her door and she said, "How did you know to come see me?!" She was pretty excited we were there. He mother just passed away, so we had an amazing lesson on the Plan of Salvation. She is determined to read the Book of Mormon and find out more! We'll see where it goes! Thank you, member missionaries!

On Saturday night we were leaving Si'i's apartment after teaching a new member lesson, and we ran into Sister Bench who lives in the same complex. She said, "Hey, Sisters! You want a missionary opportunity? Follow me!" So, of course, we followed! She introduced us to a young single mom who lives there also. Her boyfriend just went to jail, and she's feeling very alone. Her name is Bre. She said she was raised going to an LDS church, but she was never baptized. She wanted to come to church and meet with us as soon as possible! We played it pretty cool rather than dancing the victory dance we felt like doing! That took place in the car as we drove away :) Once again, thank you, member missionaries!

Yesterday we had an awesome missionary musical testimony meeting all focused on Christ. Our zone had such a good turn out. We had a less active member from our ward go, the Perez family, and Ivan and his daughters. It was so good! I really needed it. I was filled with such reverence and awe for the Lord, my calling, the faith of the members and investigators we have, the life experiences that have made me who I am, the people I hold dear in my life, and eternity as a whole. I am so grateful for an eternity to know that I am a daughter of a King who loves me and will help me succeed! I'm grateful to have an eternity with the ones I love! To grow, to learn, to love, to serve. Having this truth gives me so much confidence in my purpose!

I can't wait to someday take what I'm learning here and implement it in my own family. I want my family to be a full-purpose ward builder family! I want them to know who they are and why they are here. I want them to be like the sons of Mosiah, who could not bare the thought of another soul suffering without the gospel in their lives. I want them to have charity, and the courage to share God's love with everyone. I hope I can cultivate and retain all of these things in my personal life and be who God intended me to be, forever being a missionary. I love this work with all my heart, and I won't ever stop. 

I love you all! Have a blessed week! Look for the miracles. I promise they are there!

Love, Sister Porter

QUOTE: "Our commitment is supposed to be a test, it's supposed to be hard, it's supposed to be impractical in the terms of this world." -Hugh W. Nibley

First week of transfer numero dos! (6-01-2015)

Hello, all you wonderful people! 

So, this week has been good! The Fairview ward is on fire! Since Sister Unsted got here we have found 7 new investigators in that ward and we had a total of 31 lessons this week! Calico Ridge is struggling a bit... It is made up of a lot of gated communities which we are not allowed to proselyte in, so that makes it harder. Our only really way to be successful is through the members. So hopefully our enthusiasm for the work will spread a little bit and we can find more souls to bring unto Christ as the ward helps us out a bit. Our vision as a zone is to be full-purpose ward builders! 

We were teaching a recent convert, Chris Cooper, this week, and he just is so fun to teach! He was very impressed by my talk last week, and he brings it up every time he sees me now. So we were teaching him and something was said about how no one is perfect, and he stopped and said, "Except for Sister Porter! She is as close to perfect as it gets! She's the Mormonest Mormon there ever was!" I was dying laughing! Probably just because of the "Molly Mormon" label I've carried a lot of my life. But I am NOT perfect. At all. I'm just a sinner who keeps on trying (Nelson Mandel). I've created a little reminder for myself... "AAA"... triple A... "Apply the Atonement Always." Anytime I get a little down or frustrated, I remind myself of this. "Triple A, Sister Porter!" It works :) 

Another funny moment from this week... The other night we were on the phone with a man who was a referral for us. We were setting up a time to meet, and he said he just wanted to ask us a quick question. His question was why we now observe the Sabbath on Sundays rather than Saturdays as was the tradition of the Jews when Christ was on the Earth. We explained a bit about it being because of the Resurrection, how Christ was raised from the dead on Sunday, and with his atonement the law of Moses was fulfilled. We told him God has revealed that the Sabbath day is to be on Sunday, and he said, "Does God have the authority to change that day?!" I lost it! My body was shaking in silent fits of laughter as Sister Unsted answered, "Why, yes, he does!" It was pretty great. We will be meeting him in person tomorrow, so we will see how it goes! 

This Saturday Tiyannah and Al (Edwin and Angela's children) will be baptized! I'm so excited! They are so ready. Al (12) can pretty much teach the lessons to us at this point! And Tiy (13) really wants to be a missionary! They are the neatest! 

We have also started teaching Ivan, a double amputee from Belize! He will be baptized next week, June 13! He is probably the most golden investigator I will ever find. He is so convinced that Joseph Smith was a prophet, that the Book of Mormon is true, and that this is the Lord's true church. I'm so grateful for humble people who are so willing to listen to the Spirit!

I'm striving to be more humble in all I do. Satan is sneaky, and pride is how he truly gets us! I've been praying to be more humble, and I know he's helping me! Thank you for all your prayers! I love each of you so much!

Love, Sister Porter

QUOTE: "Humility is not thinking less of yourself. It's thinking of yourself less." C.S. Lewis

Reading Sherlock Holmes prepared me to read Jesus the Christ. (05-25-2015)

In reference to the subject line, I'm sure that Sir Arthur Conan Doyle and James E. Talmage would have been best friends! The complexity of their writing is fantastic!

Ok. I have like no time to write today. We have to get to a hair appointment for Sister Martin. 

BUT! We had such a great week! Not a lot of progress in the work, but we had several meetings and trainings that were very uplifting and inspiring. We had a meeting with Elder Clark of the 70 to prepared us to receive iPads to the mission soon, but the focus was really about our choices and eternity. It was amazing. I wish I had time to type all the notes I took! 

So, Sister Martin is getting transferred tomorrow! Sad, but good. It will be a chance for more growth! My new trainer will be Sister Unstead and I'm excited to get to know her. 

I spoke in church yesterday about missionary work, and it was so encouraging to see the members response! Several came up to me to compliment me and tell me that got them excited to do more missionary work. That was a good feeling. 

One of the members said, "You have to be the happiest person on the face of the planet!" and he told me my smile is contagious. That was also a good feeling :) 

Ok I've got to go. I'm sorry. I love you all! Have a good week!!!! Pray and smile always!

Love, Sister Porter

QUOTE: "It's hard to serve people you don't like, but it's harder not to like the people you serve."

Last week of transfer #1... What?! (05-18-2015)

Hello! 

This transfer has flown by! On Saturday we will be finding out if we are staying or going. Sister Martin has been here about 6 months, so she's feeling ready to move on. It's not super common to have more than one trainer (training lasts for the first 2 transfers/12 weeks), but a lot of people are thinking I will. I really don't know! 

So this week was...... interesting. Some eventful parts include a phone call that came Tuesday night around 10 after we had planned for the next day. A 47 year old investigator of ours sent a text saying, "Sister Porter, can you call me I have to ask you a question." As I was reading the text, the phone started ringing, so I answered it and put it on speaker phone so Sister Martin could hear also. This gentleman was calling to proclaim his love for me and ask if I returned his feelings! I told him I only had the most pure, Christlike attitude toward him and that I had no more feelings than that for him. He said that made him sad because he was really hoping that I loved him too. He went a little crazy after that, so we are no longer teaching him. HOWEVER, through him, we met Keith! Keith is this SUPER awesome 17 year old who absolutely loves the gospel, and we have set a baptismal date for him in June! The Lord works in mysterious ways!

Another interesting thing happened with a referral we had received... We were on our way to find this referral when we saw a woman walking in the apartment complex parking lot, so we started walking with her and talking about what we do, when she stopped walking she was in front of the apartment door we were about to go knock on! She was our referral! She told us she had been waiting for us to come for the past 2 weeks and she would love for us to come back! What a miracle! This woman seemed golden. Then we went back for the appointment and there was no answer. We left a note, texted her the next day (no reply), went back the next day (no answer), went back the next day (no answer even though we knew they were home)... then we went back a few days later and there was a sign taped to the door along with the card we had left her that said, "DO NOT DISTURB! NO THANK YOU!" I wanted to cry.

So, yes, this week has been a little discouraging. We are trying to get the members more involved in our work since we know that is the key! Please, remember the council of Elder Bednar! He said that the missionaries are to be full time teachers, and the members are to be full time finders! It would be amazing if we could just teach all day instead of feeling like we're wasting the Lord's time by going to return appointments where we just get stood up all day. Something that occurred to me this week is that in D&C section 4 when it says, "If ye have desires to serve God ye are called to the work," no where does it say anything about being between the ages of 18 and 26, being single, being a life-long member, or any of that! And then I read in the section heading, and realized that this was a revelation given to Joseph Smith Sr., a member missionary! So cool. This is an admonition to anyone who wants to serve God, and you can do it right where you stand. So do it!

Also, I read a talk this week by President Uchtdorf given in the April 2014 Priesthood session of conference entitled, "Are you sleeping through the restoration?" He talks about how it seems like everyone has the idea that the restoration is already over. The truth is back on the earth, we have the Priesthood back, we have the Book of Mormon, everything is good, right? NO! The restoration is not complete until the Savior comes again! The restoration is a restoration of bringing souls back into God's presence, and that is not complete until EVERYONE has heard the true gospel and the Great Jehovah shall say the work is done! Isn't that what the gospel is for? Giving us access to God?

Something awesome from this week is that Si'i called us wanting us to come over and answer some questions for her about the restoration. We weren't sure what kind of questions she would have, but when we went over she said, "Sisters, how do I tell other people why I believe what I believe? How do I share my testimony about the restoration?" AHHH! So cool. She's the best. We need more people like her! 

Also, Edwin and Angela's kids, Tiyanna and Al, are going to be baptized by their dad in June! They are such an awesome family! I love teaching them. 

I love you and miss you all! Please help the work move forward wherever you stand! God needs us on His side!

Love, Sister Porter

QUOTE: "Today is the oldest you've ever been, and the youngest you will every be again." #deep

You know you're in NV when...(05-11-2015)

You know you're in NV when... you do yard work, and it just consists of moving rocks, and you start to think, "Oh those are some nice looking rocks!", or when you think, "That's a really nice shade of brown!"

Hello friends and family!

So, this week felt kind of dead. We have a LOT of new investigators, but we're struggling with getting them to progress. We are also trying to get in contact with all of the referrals we've received, and that's a chore all in itself! But it means we stay busy!

Saturday was Si'i's baptism! It was absolutely beautiful. As she went down into the water, my companion and I were at the top of the stairs of the font waiting with her towel. I couldn't help crying. She is the most beautiful example of pure faith and love for our Savior, and she truly loves this gospel. 

Since Sunday was Mother's Day and we cover 2 wards, I heard a LOT about mothers and families! It made me so grateful for such a wonderful mother and such a supportive family! I love you all very much! I can't wait to be a mother and have a family of my own someday. Si'i was sitting with us in sacrament meeting, and her girls were all cuddled up next to me. They love us. Eventually they both fell asleep on my lap, one on each side. As watched them, I started to cry because I thought of how their lives will be different now since their mother has accepted the gospel. These 3 beautiful girls will probably go on to be baptized, live the gospel of Jesus Christ, be married in the temple, have callings, and raise families of their own. I was overcome with such love for these girls and I thought, "Father, I know you loves these girls so much. Thank you for letting me love them too." That's how I feel about each of our investigators, and how I know I will feel about my children someday. I'm just grateful for the love in my life, both that I receive and am able to give! 

The gospel is a gospel of love. Love is the motivator for everything we do, because it's the motivator for all Christ does for us. I have a quote that says, "Love is the great power to influence this world," and it's so true. Do all things with love. Without charity we are truly nothing. 

I love my Savior. I love finding others to share that love with. The Lord said, "If ye love me, keep my commandments." (John 14:15) If we are ever tempted to vary from that which we know the Lord has set for us to do, we just need to ask ourselves how much we love the Lord. Do we love him enough to graciously accept the gift he has given us as he has paid a debt we could never hope to pay? And do we love him enough to accept him as our creditor? And follow the terms he has set? And still be rewarded beyond measure though we stand as helpless servants? It boggles my mind, but I'm ever so grateful!!! The gospel is the atonement, and it is real. I love it so much.

I love you all and hope you have a fantastic week!

Love, Sister Porter

It's windy here, and we wear skirts. (05-04-2015)

Hey friends and family!

Well, it's been another week already! I can't even believe it! Friday was my 1 month mark for being a missionary! What?! Craziness. It's already flying by. We are so busy! We don't even have time to try to find more investigators because of the ones we already have and all of the referrals we get every day! It's great! 

We are also having fun. Last Preparation day our district went to a chocolate factory nearby,

so that was good! I really like my district. Then today a member took Sister Martin, another set of sisters, and I to the Hoover Dam. It's good to get a change of pace every now and then! 

Being myself and still being a missionary!

I've figured out how to be myself and still be a missionary, so that's good. Up to that point was kind of stressful. But I've figured out some new outlets for stress and I've been able to incorporate my sense of humor, which just makes me a much better missionary! 

We got to go to the temple on Friday with President and Sister Snow! We go as new missionaries together, and then we get to go  quarterly. It was so wonderful! The temple is gorgeous here! Afterwards we all had lunch together and took pictures. Then Saturday we had Zone Training Council, and that was so great! I got to know my zone a bit better and we had some really constructive discussions. We want to become a Zion Zone, or a zONE! Clever, huh? 

The Poulo Family!

Edwin and Angela Perez were baptized on Saturday and confirmed yesterday!!! Woohoo!!! They are the coolest couple, and they have an awesome family. The next step is to teach their older kids (11 & 13) so they can be baptized too. They are on fire with the gospel! I hope I continue to find people just like them all through my mission. Peter was drunk again 2 of the times we went to see him this week :( It's so sad. He's been drinking since he was 9, and his body just can't handle the withdrawals if he stops. Si'i Poulo is going to be baptized this Saturday! And her husband, who hasn't been very interested, came to church with her yesterday! They have 3 gorgeous girls who are 5, 4, and 2. They love church. They were running late to the meetings, but we had saved them a spot on the pew next to us. Then another family who was recently baptized came in and took the spot we had saved... we looked around and there was literally no where to sit. The chapel was so full because a couple in the ward was blessing their baby that day and there were tons of people visiting. We didn't know what to do! The baby blessing happened, and the Poulo family still wasn't there. As they came in we looked at them afraid we wouldn't have anywhere for them to sit, and lo and behold the bench behind us had opened up! A family who had been sitting there left as soon as the blessing was over. Miracle! Miracles happen every day. God is pretty awesome like that. 

Well, the work moves on! We are working hard! I love it! I'm bracing myself for the heat. Our car said that it got up to 109 degrees this week, but I'm pretty sure it's off. In any case, it's getting hotter. Pray for me! 

I love you all!!! 

Love, Sister Porter