Email 5/26/14

Elder Holland was so Awesome!!!!! and all of my wildest dreams have come true!
I got to shake his hand and he looked into my soul!!!

I got to Hug Sister Holland! (plus she kissed my cheek!!!)

I also got to Shake hands with and hear from Elder Hallstrom from the Quorum of the 70!

He answered all the Questions Sister Scott and I had!!!

The one thing that he said that he still simply doesn't understand and consistently gets him upset is when he sees a Missionary serve a good and faithful Mission then come's home and falls away from the church...!!! "It blows my mind! and makes me go to pieces with endless nights of questions of "How's, Why's?"
He told us to Never fall away from the Gospel! and to think about how heart broken we are when we hear that someone we taught falls away but to turn that around and think of how shocking and distraught the investigators are when down the road they see that the very Missionary that taught them has fallen away...silence...oh man, was there some chills and realizations going on in that moment! and if we are not truly converted then work on you're Conversion! That's why the Preach My Gospel was Born! to Convert the Missionary so intern you have more people that are Truly Converted because the Missionary is.

Oh, yeah there was some eyebrows singed right then! *Few*

He slammed his fist on the pulpit and every time I thought of you Mom! ;)

He's the best pulpit pounder on this side of the Mississippi that's for sure! ;)

He told us that we Have the Best Mission President he has ever known along with a blessed area and he told us that he felt something special when he walked into the chapel with all of us in there!

Sadly we didn't get a Picture with him because he had to leave soon after but it will be imprinted in my mind forever. :)

Sister Scott and I feel so edified and renewed with the Visit From Elder Holland! Our Questions were answered and we have a new fire for talking to people! We challenged ourselves to give out more cards and not just give up at and say "I'm all Set". The Springfield Elders and us stopped at a Wendy's and gave out 4 cards! :)

We even got 3 new investigators just yesterday evening! They are a Mom and her 2 kids, a Girl (12) and a Boy (9). They are living with a family member that is less active and we finally got in their home, formally asked if we could teach them the lessons and...... They said yes!!!
We gave them 2 Book of Mormons and the kids immediately had their noses in them flipping to random pages and reading! Their Dad is in the hospital right now and has some major health problems. As we talked about the atonement and how their family can be together forever they all smiled and we could tell that that is what they want more then anything. We have been truly blessed to have had our appt. cancel that we were going to go to yesterday and another that we had for tomorrow along with it. Sister Scott and I felt like we needed to do something but not really sure what... then she had the feeling like we should go stop by that family instead. When we got there and saw they were home we got really excited! They told us that they had just got back from the hospital in Boston only a half hour before we came.


The Lord works in obvious ways I tell ya! ;) Haha!

Our area is prospering and growing as well as My and Sister Scott's Friendship! :)

Love you all a Million Singed Eyebrows! haha! and I promise this Day that I will FOREVER BE A SERVANT OF THE LORD! :)

Love,

Sister Patterson

Email 5/19/14

Here is Presidents letter this week that I wanted to share with you:

Dear Elders and Sisters,

We had a wonderful conference this weekend in Providence with Elder Jeffrey R. Holland! During one of the meetings, Elder Holland mentioned the power of words. When God created the universe, he used words. When we make covenants, we use sacred words. When we invoke the priesthood, we do so with words. Words are the most powerful tool we have.

Yet, words do have their limitations. If someone tries to explain what a morning cup of coffee tastes like, those of us who have never tasted coffee will not really understand. This is because words themselves do not generate understanding in a vacuum. (Even if you have tasted coffee, we have no way of knowing whether we actually experience the same taste. Have you ever wondered about that? We have all been taught that the sky is blue, but do we really know that the “blue” that I see is the same “blue” that you see?) The point is, if we are going to teach or learn anything new, we have to use language, but our language only communicates meaning if it triggers knowledge or experiences that are shared by both the teacher and the learner. For example, we can tell you what it is like to love a child, but you younger missionaries can only process that concept through the lens of a child – not as a parent. You will not truly understand until you have your own children. Each one you will have difficulty using words to explain what happened when you cried out to God for forgiveness and felt His love and acceptance wash over you. Those of us who have lost loved ones in death can’t really use words to communicate the profound comfort that the temple ordinances and our faith in Christ brings to us. Moreover, words don’t adequately explain what “spiritual experiences” feel like or, more importantly, what they mean, and words don’t fully explain God’s love, His acceptance, or His fullness. Doctrine can be explained with language, but true comprehension of spiritual matters comes through experience – personal, individual experience. As Ammon explained: “I say unto you, I cannot say the smallest part which I feel.” (Alma 26: 16). Elder Boyd K. Packer is fond of saying that he cannot teach us most of what he knows. Paul said it this way: “But the natural man receiveth not the things of the Spirit of God: for they are foolishness unto him: neither can he know them, because they are spiritually discerned.” (1 Cor. 2:13–14.) If we are trying to teach someone who does yet understand the things of God, or if we are trying to understand spiritual truth ourselves, words fail us miserably because we are trying to explain something that is learned primarily through experience. When it comes to the deep things of God, we are unable to learn or teach very much on our own. However, we can connect ourselves to the True Vine! (John 15:5). Christ can and does teach people every day in a way that transcends language or even human thought. With His infinite mind and through His Spirit, He speaks directly to our souls and gives us the capacity to comprehend things that we could not naturally comprehend. Christ also gives people what they need to understand – experiences through His Spirit that communicate what words cannot.

We are grateful that all of you are learning the language of the Spirit and the critical role it plays in your spiritual education. We pray that you will teach others how to look for and receive the same Spirit and to rely on Christ to help us learn through Him what we cannot learn on our own.

Love,

President and Sister Packard



I loved presidents letter! This is something that I have used a lot in lessons when I just can't find the words and I have gotten so many reactions of, "I know right!? There are never the right words that I can use to describe!" :)

He who must not be named has been hitting everyone pretty hard lately and considering the amount of good that is happening in this Mission and you all are doing he must be getting really scared. It feels like a crazy angry toddler let loose on everyone. We have been talking a lot on ways we can improve and "Kick satan to the curb" as we said before. ;) (I will never Capitalize his name so don't fix it!)

We got our home blessed by a priesthood holder in our ward. The spirit was so strong and I knew that that was something we needed so badly. Then we changed our prayers to be more specific in praying for each other even when it's a prayer for the food. :)

We have had so many Tender Mercies! The Lord is so sweet to us! :)

One of them is this:

I followed a prompting!!! We went to visit a less active but she wasn't home so as we were about to leave the apt. complex Sister Scott had the urge to play a hymn on a piano that they had in the Lobby so she did. :) There was a kid sitting on the couch and a man sitting at a table. Now you see, I have been working on being more courageous in following promptings to talk to people and that has been what I have been praying for and as you know... Faith without Works is dead! After Sister Scott finished, I had a moment where I could have left with her and not followed the prompting..but.. I told myself, "Stop making this so hard for your self!!!" I turned around and gave the kid a card then as we were walking away the guy at the table asked which one of us was playing the piano and I responded to him that it was Sister Scott as I pointed to her. He was intrigued by the "Sister" and asked us what we did. We told him that we were Missionaries for the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter- Day Saints and gave a brief summary of what we do and then asked him if he would like to hear more...He responded 'Yes" enthusiastically then told us to take a seat with him at the table...'Oh!...Ok!!!" :D
We talked a lot and he is a very spiritual guy but of course he has some things that he believes that are his own. We are really excited to teach him and he even told us to not forget him and call him to make another appointment! We hope that doing our best and helping him to feel the power of the Spirit will fill his heart and that he will want to be Baptized. :)

I'm So excited for this Friday when we will get to see Elder Holland Speak!!! I am still trying to pick out what I will wear! ^^


Love you a Million battles won!!!

Sister Patterson :)



Some of it is from the Zone P-Day we had after Mothers Day! We made t-shirts and now we have Springfield Zone Zion! ;)

The one's with the scarfs on our head are from when we went to Kathy's house (our investigator) and helped her with her yard work. It was unexpected so that's why we used the scarfs to give us shade. haha! Sister Scott looked like she was on Fiddler on the roof and i looked like I was from the Sahara with my turban haha!

                           

The others are from the P-day activities :) haha!    

 

and then the birds nest with the eggs in it hatched!!! they are kind of ugly...haha!

Email 5/12/14

                                      

Quick Note following Mothers Day Skype on Sunday

We are doing a big Zone P-Day today and they are making it a surprise...? We will see I guess :) 

I love all of your beautiful Testimonies.

Love,

Sarah...thats weird...Sister Patterson! ahh that's better! haha! Never thought I would say that! ^^

Email 5/5/14

Us with some really Cute and tinny Kittens!!! 

I had a ton of hair on me after and had to use a ton of hand sanitizer afterwards 

but it was so worth it ^^ haha!

Sister Scott and I are staying together for another Transfer!!!
We had a really fun Zone meeting and then made breakfast for lunch together and waited for Transfer-Texts. So fun! :)

I have been thinking about you all so much in excitement for getting to see you on Mothers Day!!! :)
I am trying to think of all the things I want to talk about and there is far too much! haha!

The weather keeps making me think I'm in CA which isn't good for making me feel trunky...haha! Don't worry, I love being our here and am trying to soak in every minute but boy am I excited to just be home and apply the things I've learned with you so we can all be the Missionaries best friends and then be translated...sound like a good plan? haha!

2 of our Investigators came to church yesterday!!! and we have had so many members out with us these past few weeks! It was 12 members then 12 again and then 8 this last week! :)
So many of them gave similar responses just like you Mom! They said, I just feel so good and I am really glad I came out with you! :) They have been so good to help us with our miles by giving us rides and such. :)

A dream that I have now is to be a Mission Prep. Teacher!!! and guess what? We just started teaching some of the youth that are getting ready to go! It was the best ever! After we gave an intro to what we would be going over, we asked them to bring some things like their scriptures, a note book, and be prepared to do role plays where you will pretend to be a none member and Missionary. Then one of them said, "I can just try bringing my friend that's not a member"...Ok... that works. haha!

Oh, My, Goodness! Sister Scott just told me that her friend is serving in the Ventura CA Mission her name is Sister Clark and she was there right when you moved in and they took Jessie out with them to meet the Korean Guy!!!

Oh man, small world!

Here is Sister Clarks words from the Email she sent Sister Scott...

"Yes, I do know the Pattersons, they just moved into my ward just before I was transferred, they are SO awesome! I love them! Also, they have the best voices, and Sister Patterson is very missed. Her daughter Jessie came out with us to talk to a man who knew Korean, and she told us all about her mission. Sister Patterson told us so much about Sarah, she is very missed and very loved. That is so awesome! Say hi to her for me, and her family!"
-Sister Sara Clark serving in Ventura California

I will save some fun stories for when we talk. :) We are going to go shopping now and clean out our car...it is in great need of it...haha! ;)

Thank you all for your letters and I will see you soon. ;)
Love you a million cute pictures of Cash and Guy! XD

Love,

Sister Patterson :)