Sister Roy: His Work is Ever Hastening

Hey everyone!

March Madness is on fire! Sister Nielson and I set more specific goals the other day for ways we can work more fully with each auxiliary of the branch, and starting with the basics of having auxiliary interviews to see how we can help fulfill each presidency's vision, how we can involve the youth, and more. Our Branch mission leader is also working on a Facebook group for our branch that is focused in on how to hasten the work here. Our sacrament meeting attendance was higher than before yesterday, too.

The Lord is definitely hastening his work. In fact, President Packard said this month has been "March Madness" for the mission, as numbers are higher than they've ever been before in this mission, and continue to grow. I feel so privileged to be part of this mission to work with some of the most hard-working missionaries as we feel more moved to give our all and do our best. :)

Sister Nielson and I are still teaching Beth and Amy. Their baptism day was actually scheduled for yesterday, but there were scheduling conflicts with their fellow shippers, so we sure tried but unfortunately it didn't work out. However, Beth and Amy prayed about it more and April 13th came to mind and they felt very good about it, so we are supporting their decision. :) They are actually moving into our area soon so it will be after their move when everything has calmed down for them. They are truly amazing, as their faith and testimonies are continually growing. At one recent lesson with Beth, I complimented Beth on her testimony that she shared with Amy in the lesson. She responded, "Oh! I guess I do have a testimony!" It's been neat to watch them progress. :)

This week we had a great lesson with them on Faith in Jesus Christ and Repentance. The member who came (and she didn't know them too well) was so gracious enough to offer to buy Amy a vanilla milkshake nearby before we began the lesson since she was having a rough day. They were all able to connect through similar experiences throughout the lesson, too. I seriously love the members here and see how there's that importance of having them help those we teach. :)

This week we also had a great exchange for a day with our Sister Training Leaders, Sister Blair (who I was in the MTC with and am fully convinced will someday become the Relief Society General President or the prophet's wife), and Sister Layton. I had the sweet privilege to serve with Sister Layton! She's always uplifting and is honestly pure sunshine, and I was able to learn a lot from her that day. We brought a member with us to teach Shawn and Raina, who began coming to church, and it went very well. It was mainly a "how to begin teaching" lesson, and we were able to answer a lot of questions that they, (and Shawn's mom who was there as well) ended up having. Shawn actually had to leave for Tennessee for work and they didn't say when he would be back--anywhere from a few days to a few weeks, but we will continue teaching him when he returns.

After our appointment, we headed over to a referral's place. However, we realized we didn't know where we were. Before we knew it, the road we were on overlooked the large outstretched ocean extending from the shoreline.

It was a beautiful day, and we drove along the road, passing coastal shops and found a parking spot. We noticed a large ship to mimic the Mayflower right by the coast,

a few statues,

Immigrant Statue

and a monument in front of us, which we realized was, from what we understood, a burial spot for some of the Pilgrims. It was crazy!

The Pilgrim Gravestone

After we visited our referral (who wasn't home), we had a lady take our picture (she turned down our invite to learn more about the church but was still nice), and then pointed down to a set of columns down a flight of steps, saying that Plymouth rock was right there! Haha we felt oblivious. :) Just picture 2 girls from Utah looking all over, wide-eyed, repeatedly exclaiming, "This is so cool!" Since Sister Layton was there for just that day, we decided to quickly head down and look at it.
Surely enough it looked like a normal rock haha. Who knows if it really was Plymouth rock, but it was neat to see it.

Plymouth Rock

Rock on!!! Get it? ;)

Sister Layton and I felt so blessed to be there at that time, as it was a tender mercy for both of us, and especially for her since it could be one of her only times there. It's really so cool to be here in Plymouth. :) Sister Nielson and I headed to the same area again today to get a better look at it. I'm looking forward to this weather warming up so we can see more here on Mondays!

Anywho, the work is doing very well here. We continued teaching another new investigator last night and are still seeking ways to hasten the Lord's work here. It's great! We have an almost-packed week planned for this week and are still filling it up.

I was recently reading a talk from the last General Conference called "Drawing Closer to God" and there were a couple of quotes that stood out. The first relates to the the neat experience that I shared with a few that I am working on. Although I don't know all the answers of what to do, it most certainly is allowing me to rely on Him.

"Rather than solve the problem Himself, the Lord wants us to develop the faith that will help us rely upon.Him in solving our problems and trust Him. Then we can feel His love more constantly, more powerfully, more clearly, and more personally. We become united with Him, and we can become like Him. For us to be like Him is His goal. In fact, it is His glory as well as His work." – Elder Terence M. Vinson (LDS General Conference Nov 2013)

And as I've been seeking ways to improve how I teach, invite, and abide by the Lord's will, I thought this quote was absolutely perfect:

"That’s exactly how I feel about the Savior. He is always near, especially in sacred places and in
times of need; and sometimes, when I least expect, I feel almost like He taps me on the shoulder to let me know He loves me. I can return that love in my own imperfect way by giving Him my heart."

As we give him all of our Heart, we will feel Him near as we continue to do His work here on the Earth in the ways that we can.

I love you all!

-Sister Roy

P.S. Here are some pictures from the week: