I Call Them Miracle Texts

Sharlee's email

The first week of a transfer always seems one of the hardest. Tuesday could have been the worst of this week but of course the Lord is amazing and blessed us with miracle. The week before we were booked to the max. Always had an appointment to go to. This week was totally opposite. Tuesday was on of those days where we didn't have ANY appointments and we didn't have the miles to go to service, so we were at lost on how to fill our open time. Being desperate we put tracting (which is useless in a ysa branch just saying). We weren't looking forward at all for the day. We had a lesson with on of our awesome members and were heading out the door to do our tracting but got a text, a text from RJ.

(Hopefully I've told you a little about him) About twoish weeks ago RJ told us that he was really busy so he wouldn't be meeting with us or going to church. We were really sad because he was like our only solid investigator. The text from him that says, "What do you guys think about me getting baptized?" We were ecstatic! He's picked July 5 for his date. Seriously, I about cried. The day still was kind of crappy. Our only other appointment cancelled. But we just kept thinking about that text and it kept our spirits high. I still don't get why we get texts like that. Our district leader who has been here for the three transfers we've been together said, "I think you sisters just have to wait for your investigators to ask to be baptized!" And its so true!

And the cooler thing is that the Lord truly had a hand in this week though it might have been on the hard side. On Thursday we went contacting a few potentials and less-actives. One of the people we have tried before was Jackson Kasza. Well we felt like we should go try again. We knocked on the door and Jackson answers. It was a great lesson! I think the only sad thing is that he is a return missionary that hasn't been to church... in a LONG time. How does that even happen? But it went really well and he said we could come back. The following day was Friday, also known as weekly planning day. We had this awesome set up at the church: free doughnuts, music, a chalk board to write on. As we were trying to figure out who would be a good fellowshipper for RJ a thought came to my mind, Jackson. Jackson was a perfect person to fellowship RJ and it would also help Jackson become active! So we'll see how that goes. :D Seriously though the Lord totally set that up. RJ on Tuesday, Jackson on Thursday, and weekly planning on Friday.

We had stake conference this weekend. On Saturday we went to the adult session. It was so good, mostly because our mission president spoke at it. He cried which means I cried. It was the last stake conference being a mission president. We were sitting by Brother and Sister Thornton who are in our branch because Brother Thornton is the 1st counselor in the branch presidency. At the end of the meeting Sister Thornton turns to us and says "So icecream?" We are so blessed. And all the missionaries ran to the stand to talk to President and Sister Toombs. They shared with us that if they weren't in front of the whole stake President would hug the sisters and Sister Toombs would hug the elders. However, President has promised us he would come around the last week to hug all his sisters. I'm so excited for that.

Today is going to be fun! We got permission to go to one of the lake activities our branch is having. Though we can't go on the boat but we are totally okay with that(: I'll tell you all about it next week!

Love you guys!
Stay Sweet
Dont do drugs

Hermana Durfee

Picture 1: Washing a member's, Jamie, car.

A week full of emotions

This week has been exhausting, sad, happy, nerve racking, relieving, and pretty much awesome. We started it with this goal. Its our last week we want to get 20 lessons. No matter what it takes. There was a lot of costs. We were exhausted each day when we got home. We weren't able to do any sort of service this week and totally killed our miles. But we did it. We reached 20 lessons... 21 lessons actually! :D Another thing that we focused on was seeking referrals. Any investigator that we've gotten that have become progressing or baptized were all member referrals. Anyone that we've found through our own efforts have disappeared. So we taught 16 members this week. We've given 1-2 weeks to work on someone then we are going to do a follow up lesson to "collect" haha totally kidding! We'll then ask if any of those friends would mind if we visited them. It went really well. We have them write 5-10 names down in front of us. I have a feeling that miracles are about to happen. 

On Wednesday we said goodbye to President and Sister Toombs. That was so hard! President Toombs has done so much for this mission and me. I'm excited/nervous for our new mission president, President Mendenhall (sp?) but I'm still at the point where I don't want President Toombs to go. We had a mission conference where ALL the missionaries got together. It was so great to see faces I haven't seen in awhile. And yes, I totally cried especially during President Toombs' testimony probably because he cried as well. He really is amazing. But I do know that the Lord qualifies who He calls. He's done that for me and He'll do it for the new mission president. So President Toombs brought along 2 of his sons to the mission and one is in our ward. His name is Jordan Toombs. He's so pretty incredible, so is his voice. We usually see him a few times in a transfer to share a lesson and then to sing around the piano. Well, he's leaving a little earlier then his parents, he leaves this week so we wanted to sing with him one last time. He invited us to his house, which means thats President Toombs house, which is also out of our area. Jordan said it was okay for us to come over. We were a little intimidated. haha. It was super cool and super weird. We did the usual except President Toombs listened to us sing for a bit. (That was a little intimidating too).

It also was the last week of the transfer. We were trying to be patient but like Jose says, "Try maybe it will happen." It didn't really work. haha. Sister Anderson was pretty convinced she was leaving and I was in denial (I tried to convince my self she wasn't). And as always we had to wait till Saturday night to find out what happens to us. The first thing they do is announce who is leaving the area. And... Sister Andersons name wasn't on there.... and neither was mine! We would be staying together for another transfer, making 3 transfers together! We were/are so excited! 

But yeah that's whats up with me.(: Hopefully my sisters are keeping the blog updated ;) (Hint Hint) Shoot me a letter or e-mail. Let me know how you are doing!

Love you guys so much

Stay Sweet

Don't Do Drugs

Hermana Durfee 

Here Comes the Sunshine... and Snow! Say what??

Guys! The Gospel, Our Heavenly Father, The Savior, they are all just amazing! This amazing missionary work is just amazing. The greatest love that we could give is to share this wonderful gospel with our friends and family. This is probably the highest and brightest my mission has ever been. Why you may ask? Well let me tell you!

I've have always worked hard. You won't experience the miracles unless you are being obedient, working hard, and relying on the Savior's atonement. There is a scripture in John 4:36 that says, "And he that reapeth receiveth wages, and gathereth fruit unto life eternal: that both he that soweth and he that reapeth may rejoice together." So I've worked hard to be okay with just being the planter of the seed. The only time I have ever harvest was my first transfer and that was Pattie. But this transfer... its totally different then all my others. 

Recently my mission president has been focusing a lot on the Atonement of Jesus Christ and how we as missionaries can access it to its full potential. And as we do so we will be able to help others do so as well. "You cannot convert someone beyond your own conversion." I've taken that to heart. There is the redeeming power of the Atonement but there is the enabling power. "The Atonement makes bad men good and good men better." As I applied that and of course continued to work hard THAT is when the miracles started happening. 

I told you all about Skylar in my last e-mail. Well he has picked April 19th (this Saturday) as his baptism date. Every time we teach him he just seems to accept it at the very beginning. We taught him yesterday and thats what happened. We taught the Word of Wisdom (which is "the mormon health code"). He's had a hard time with it in the past but he said that all of the gospel just comes naturally and he excepted it like that. But the miracles don't end there.

I had court last Monday. It was really interesting. I might have felt like I had murder someone, even though it was just a car accident but Denver Court House was HUGE! The big pillars and everthing. But it went well so no worries. We haven't even left the building when a former, named Abe, we had dropped about 2 weeks ago (meaning we had stopped teaching him) texted us and said, "What do I have to do to get baptized?" SAY WHAT? We asked him if he had prayed about it and he said he had and that he really needed to talk to us. We met with him on Tuesday. A member, Ricardo, took him to Utah to watch conference and Abe felt the spirit so strong during the priesthood session and now he has picked the 26th as his date. 

Then come Thursday we get a text from a member that said, "I talked to Daphny she wants to get baptized as soon as possible." What are up with these texts? They don't happen to Durfee. But they have. All three, (Skylar, Abe, and Daphny) were at church this Sunday. We talked to Daphny and she is sooo excited. We plan on meeting with her in actually 30 minutes and our mission president told us to go for the 26th as well. 

Now, I want to clarify something. I'm not this happy because I can now see the miracles, or that I'm now a harvester and not just a planter. I'm happy because I've been able to access the Atonement more then I have in the past. That is where true happiness comes from. From our wonderful Savior Jesus Christ. Through that amazing gift, the Atonement, the ability to be washed and cleansed from our sins, and to become better. I'm not going to lie its nice to see the fruits of your labors some times but if you are working hard to do what is right and using the Atonement then you'll receive the happiness you seek. 

We had a great week missionary work wise and weather wise. Then of course Colorado has to send the snow. We were reaching 70-75 degrees and now we're back to 20 with snow! YEAH! I thought it was spring. I guess not. -.- hahaha

Alright, I've got to go. I love you guys! It would be great to hear from some of you! And here is a shout out to my older bro. HAPPY BIRTHDAY JEFFREY! You old fart ;).

Stay Sweet

Don't Do Drugs

Hermana Durfee

 

 

 

#BecausofHim

Now I've never really been the kind of person to do hashtags especially since I never been on instagram but #BecauseofHim has become a very important part of our missionary work here. For those who don't know what I am talking about check out this link(: easter.mormon.org. Our Savior has done EVERY THING for us. When you watch it let me know what your favorite part is. Mine is when Mary turns around and she sees Jesus Christ resurrected and the fact that we can have clean slates. Thank goodness for New Beginnings. The fact that even if we make mistakes we can be freed from the guilt and be forgiven IF we use that wonderful Atonement he has given us.

This past two weeks have been full of miracles! Skyler got baptized on the 19th. The baptism service took an 1 hour and a half, which is ridiculous. (The people who gave the talks... talked a lot). But of course thats nothing to complain about. It was great. Even before he was baptized he already expressed the desire to go on a mission which about made me cry of course. This following week we had a lesson with him and gave him Preach My Gospel and a pamphlet and told him to teach us Lesson 1 like we were investigators. He did an amazing job! And is already being a missionary among his peers. He's on fire! 

We also had another baptism on the 26th. His name is Abe Chavez. He is just fantastic as well. When we ask him questions he's not Skyler who would give an amazing answer right away but would ponder a little bit then answer from his heart. Of course it always is a great answer, I just loved how he would think about what he should say before he spoke. He's been investigating the church for a year now, and wanted to keep his baptism on the Down Low because he wanted it very intimate. It was pretty hard because the whole branch loves him. But this service was just fantastic. The Spirit was so strong and the talks were kept simple and sweet. 

We are now teaching a girl named Amber. She's very interesting but again super prepared. Everything that we teach makes sense to her. She struggles with smoking, drinking, and morality. So the commandments, which were super easy to teach to Skyler and Abe, are going to be a bit of a problem for her. But if she going to take this step she'll be able to overcome those things. She is preparing to be baptized on the 31st of May. Its exciting to already have another baptism on the way. Its still a little bit away but we felt like she would need that time to overcome her addictions. 

Transfers happened today but for the first time in 11 months of my mission I get a regular transfer p-day. I don't have to worry about getting a new companion, packing, dropping a companion off. This is also the first transfer I haven't had a new companion. In my 8 transfers out I have had 8 companions. That might be because I have also been in three trios but still. I'm really excited to be Sister Anderson's companion another transfer. We were well together. Not perfect but enough that the Spirit is always with us. Which is all I ask for.(: Now that most of our investigators are members our teaching pool has dissipated. So we are back to the beginning, finding new people to teach. Which is perfect. The beginning of the transfer(:

Thanks for those who write me! Missionaries really need support like that. And to those who dont write... you better! ;) Or else! 

Love you guys so much

Stay Sweet

Don't Do Drugs

Hermana Durfee 

Picture 1: This is Skyler at his baptism. The Elders in the picture taught him before handing him to us(: (We seriously appreciate missionaries who hand off investigators)

Picture 2: Abe's Baptism.

 

 

Snow!? In May?? Come on!

This was my view this morning. Crazy Colorado. Get a clue, its May. I would really enjoy the warm weather. Please and Thank you!

Hahaha so yeah. This week has been one of our slower weeks. We did service picking a TON of weeds... yeah! My favorite...-.- but we also did puppy service, so... puppy service > picking weeds. 

Even though its been slow we did have some miracles. Remember Judith from the last e-mail. Well we went to see her and Christina on Wednesday because that's when Judith said they were both off from work. Judith answered the door and immediately invited us in. I was all like,"whoa!" because she said she wasn't interested at all. We got inside and she just starts pouring out her heart. She had just got fired the day before. We were there a whole hour talking about Heavenly Father's love for us. She cried and told us of all the things that have happened to her. Which is crazy! So crazy I can't even put it in this e-mail. At the end we asked if there was anything we could do for her and she said, "Dont stop coming okay?" We can definitely do that! Poor chica. :( Put her in your prayers she needs them.

Another miracle! RJ (who I believe I also mentioned last e-mail) came to church this Sunday and he's just amazing. He asked great questions during Gospel Principles and we have an appointment with him on Saturday. It should be great! 

I also got to Skype my family! Yeah! I miss them so much! But time goes by so... fast. Not slowly.6 months will go by like that and I'll be back to facing the real world. I love that about a mission. Though its definitely stressful it's a different kind. 

Alright. I love you guys! Maybe pray that it will warm up a bit. That would be lovely. 

Stay Sweet, Dont do Drugs.

Hermana Durfee

​

The Work Continues

I am so sorry again for being such a slacker! I really do love this blog and really enjoy sharing her letters. I hope that you all, (whoever reads this) will not get the wrong idea. Anyway, without further ado!

May 19th,

Hermana Durfee:

This will be pretty short. I want all of you to know that I am doing really great! We don't have a great teaching pool but we are still teaching like crazy. We taught a lot of members and less-actives this week. We were able to get almost 20 lessons but we had some cancellations the last few minutes. It was a bummer but we'll reach it one of these weeks.

A miracle! We found out RJ's last name before he got baptized! I don't know why that is so hard for us haha. His name is Randolph Jackson. He's amazing! He wanted to try out another ward and ended but coming to ours too. 6 hours of church! Dedicated guy for sure! 

It was also zone conference. This is a picture(:

I love you guys, Stay Sweet and Don't Do Drugs

Hermana DUrfee

 

Here is a picture of my sister and her zone! :)

 

 

The Value of the Temple

Josie, here! :)

 

So, today I am going to be talking about the importance of the temple. As a member of the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-Day Saints we consider the temple a way for us to commune and meet with God. It is the portal between Heaven and Earth. It is the place where we go to perform sacred ordinances, or a sacred formal act that is performed by the authority of the priesthood.

 

So, right now I am reading about Haggai. Haggai is telling the people how important the temple is, but they do not take him seriously. They do not value the temple like they should. So, they are cursed. In verse 6 of chapter 1 Haggai is saying that they hunger, thirst, and have no heat because they are being disobedient to the Lord. In verses 9-11 it reads that Haggai asked the Lord to have no rain and to make a drought cover the land because the people did not value the temple like they should. In verse 6 it is talking about a bag with holes in it I think that this means that they are wasting their money on things that do not have any value. In verses 4-6 of chapter 1 it says that the people do not think it is the day of the Lord. They think that it is not here yet. And they spend they time doing idle things.

 

So, the Lord had to remind the people of what they needed to do. He did this by stirring up their hearts in remembrance. The people then went to the house of the Lord which is the temple to do the work of the Lord. I make the temple a symbol of my membership because it determines the way I live. I want to live worthily to be able to enter the temple. I know that when I live worthily that I will be blessed.

 

The Lord blesses His people by having His Spirit remain with them. Also, He will bless the earth to make sure that it yieldeth fruit. They shall know what is clean and what is unclean. The temple provides peace because we are able to commune with God. It is a great concept.