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.

(no subject) Hermana Durfee didn't come up with her amazing title this time...

This week has been full of some amazing, crazy, interesting stories which makes it just amazing! I'm a really happy missionary right now! :D The first story is about Gary that I mentioned in my last e-mail... Turns out he's crazy. We just decided to hand him over to the elders who are suppose to teach him. We saw them on Thursday after Institute and asked them what happened to Gary. The first thing they said was, "You didn't tell us he was crazy!" Apparently he was at the church all Wednesday just wandering around the church. He had no shoes on and was looking for his wife... then mentioned the name of Anderson (my comps name). He also had tally marks all over his arms (For those who have seen Doctor Who that's what I thought of). The bishop that was there finally called the cops. And that's all we know. His car is still parked outside the church. And Sister Anderson is pretty scared. The thing is I know we are protected. I had left my binder there on Monday and all Wednesday I wanted to go back and get it but each time I had that thought the Spirit would tell me that I had better things to do. I'm not very worried. We'll just continue to follow the Spirit and we'll be safe(:


So yeah that was kind of crazy but what I'm about to tell you next is just off the walls amazing! We have an investigator named Skylar. He is super prepared and loves reading and learning about the gospel  When we talked to him about baptism he said that he wanted to read all the Book of Mormon and Bible. Of course we told him that wasn't necessary to come to know oif it was true, but he wanted to think about it. This past Saturday we went back and we asked him what he thought. He told us that he wasn't ready. The Spirit told both Sister Anderson and I that we shouldn't say much. So we just started teaching Lesson #3. When we got to baptism he started to use an analogy on why he wasn't ready. And in mid sentence he said, "What am I talking about!? I am ready for baptism. I'm ready!" The Spirit hit all of us like a wall! I couldn't breath! I'm pretty sure that was the strongest I have ever felt the spirit. I almost cried(: He's now praying about a date either April 19th or the 26th. The Lord truly blesses you after the trail of your faith. I haven't had a baptism since my first transfer. I'm sooo happy! 


There are some pretty amazing people here. One is named Jose Sanchez. I knew him when I was in the Fort Lupton ward. He just started going to the singles branch when I got there. It was my first day in the branch, Sister Anderson's companion Sister Hauet was still there so we were in a trio for about a day. But I felt so left out and I wanted to cry because I missed Hna Trujillo so much. When we walked into FHE I hear, "Durfee?" It turned out to be Jose. I was so happy I wanted to hug him so bad! Don't worry it didn't happen. We just shook hands as hard as we could. We've seen him a lot since then and its been so great! I also mentioned Oscar who is doing great! He came to part of General Conference and even took notes. 

Missionary work is really amazing! I would never trade this even if I could! :D <--- Very Happy Girl! 

I love you guys! Thanks for all the support! I hope to hear from some of you! 

Stay Sweet
Dont Do Drugs 
(as always)

Hermana Durfee

The Majesty of the Lord

This is another look into what I, Josie have been studying in the Old Testament. It is in the book of Habakkuk, King James version of the bible.

 

In the heading of Habukkuk, or the summary it says that the Lord raised up the Chaldeans to overrun Israel. This troubled Habukkuk because he did not want the land to be overrun with the wicked. An exact quote from the summary is this, "...he was troubled that the wicked could be thus employed." This is very self-explanatory.

 

Habakkuk chapter 2:3-15 is comparable to one of the Articles of Faith. We as members of the church believe that Joseph Smith received inspiration from God to know what these were. The comparable Article of Faith is number 9. It is also comparable to Jacob 4:8, and Doctrine Covenants 101:32-34; 121:26-31; 130:18-19. These are all talking about the understanding and obtaining knowledge and glory of the Lord. 

 

In the verses of Habakkuk 2 it is talking about the steadfastness and faithfulness of the members and also the vanity of those who are wicked. It is also talking about the commandments and saying that those who covet are wicked. Verse nine says, "Woe unto him that coveteth and evil covetousness to his house, that he may set his nest on high, that he may be delivered from the power of evil."  This is meaning that those who covet are evil. The Lord is warning them.

 

Article of Faith number 9 reads,  "We believe all that God has ^arevealed, all that He does now reveal, and we believe that He will yet ^breveal many great and important things pertaining to the Kingdom of God." this is relatable to that of Habakkuk 2 because the Lord reveals his secrets to those who are righteous. Habakkuk was righteous, thus the Lord revealed some of His plan and inspiration to him. 

 

In Jacob 4:8 it reads,   " 8 Behold, great and marvelous are the ^aworks of the Lord. How ^bunsearchable are the depths of the ^cmysteries of him; and it is impossible that man should find out all his ways. And no man ^dknoweth of his ^eways save it be revealed unto him; wherefore, brethren, despise not the ^frevelations of God." This is like that of verse nine the Lord only reveals His purpose to those who are righteous and who seek it. 

 

In Doctrine and Covenants 101:32-34, it saying that the Lord will reveal all things to those who are righteous in the end when He comes. In Doctrine and Covenants 121:26-31 it reads,

" 26 God shall give unto you ^aknowledge by his ^bHoly Spirit, yea, by the unspeakable ^cgift of the Holy Ghost, that has not been ^drevealed since the world was until now;

 27 Which our forefathers have awaited with ^aanxious expectation to be revealed in the last times, which their minds were pointed to by the angels, as held in reserve for the fulness of their glory;

 28 A time to come in the which ^anothing shall be withheld, whether there be ^bone God or many ^cgods, they shall be manifest.

 29 All thrones and dominions, principalities and powers, shall be ^arevealed and set forth upon all who have endured ^bvaliantly for the gospel of Jesus Christ.

 30 And also, if there be ^abounds set to the heavens or to the seas, or to the dry land, or to the sun, moon, or stars—

 31 All the times of their revolutions, all the appointed days, months, and years, and all the days of their days, months, and years, and all their ^aglories, laws, and set times, shall be revealed in the days of the ^bdispensation of the fulness of times—"

These scriptures are saying the same thing. The Lord will reveal His secrets to those who are righteous, and He will reveal all things when He comes again. In Doctrine and Covenants 130:18-19 reads, "18 Whatever principle of ^aintelligence we attain unto in this life, it will rise with us in the ^bresurrection.

 19 And if a person gains more ^aknowledge and intelligence in this life through his ^bdiligence and obedience than another, he will have so much the ^cadvantage in the world to come." These verses are self-explanatory. They have a very significant meaning.

                          

Hi! I am God's Man, Mike!

Josie, here! This is this week's email! Thanks for being so patient with me!

March 31, 2014

We went to contact a Mormon.org referral named Brandon but thats all we knew. (of course we had an address and number). An old man about 60 opens the door and we asked if Brandon lived there. He said no but I give "Well we're missionaries..." spill. I asked him if he was interested and he says "Actually I am." and comes out on to the porch and says, "I am God's man Mike!"... I was like, "Wha?" of course I didn't say that out loud but it took me awhile to respond. So Sister Anderson said, "...Oh hi Mike. I'm sister Anderson." and then looked at me with a face that said, "I don't know what to say!" but luckily I had finally pulled myself together. I asked him what he meant by God's man. And we had a good conversation and taught part of the Restoration but in the end he wasn't really listening. He told us that he was a seeker of truth and so I asked if he would seek the truth by reading the Book of Mormon and he didn't want it. Which to me didn't make any sense. But in the end I left a Book of Mormon on his porch and with a sticky note with my testimony. I hope he really reads it.

We then went to go contact another Mormon.org referral this man was named Gary. He ended up being in his 50's. But we gave him a Book of Mormon which he requested. Since then he has called us almost everyday. The last one he said he had read the Book of Mormon and knew that it was true and that Joseph Smith is a prophet. So we set up a time with him, Sunday at 5, and told the other missionaries, who are over his area, so that we could pass him over. Since he doesn't fit the age of our teaching pool. We also called President Toombs and asked him to come to the lesson. Well... Gary showed up but like 2 hours early. We weren't able to teach him because we were still at church but we'll set up another appointment. So hopefully that goes well. And even though he isn't our to teach I was happy to be the planter of the seed(:

My last story (since I'm out of time) is about a less-active/recent convert. His name is Oscar. He is so amazing. He's kind of lost some of his testimony. I asked why he was baptized and he said, "I'm not exaclty sure. It felt right but I want to get better and do better and find out the true reason." He's came to church twice in a row since we first saw him. He really is amazing! Pray for him will you?:D

Alright love you guys so much!

Stay Sweet and Don't Do Drugs!

Hermana Durfee.

 

The Sound of Death

March 24, 2014

 

There isn't that much drama and of course there is drama in a Family ward but in a Singles ward we deal with different kind of drama. Dating drama... Yeah thats interesting. We have members that have gone less-active because of a bad dating experience in the ward. And of course we watch the whole process. The beginning dating the engagement them getting married... and then leaving the branch. GREAT! jajajaja

 

Just some miracles this week.(: I came into this area thinking we weren't going to be able to find AT ALL! However, I've changed my attitude. We were contacting a Less-Active and a girl opened the door. We asked for Valarie (the less-active) and she said that she didn't live there. So I switched gears and told her we were missionaries. She said that she would love to hear our message and we were able to get a return appointment. The biggest miracle... She's 19! YSA AGE! jajaja. It was pretty awesome! 

 

Then there was an investigator that the Zone Leaders wanted to pass to us. His name is Skylar. He is so amazing! His "girlfriend" attends the singles branch so the ZL's thought he would do better there. So we went to a lesson with them and seriously Skylar is so ready! He has some semi-different ideas but he is very spiritual. When I asked if there was anything that we could do for him he replied, "Never give up on me." The Spirit was so strong. 

 

One thing that is awesome is teaching people my age. I am to connect with them because they are doing about the same things I am. I know how college is... I know how difficult it is to find someone to marry.... (Dont worry! That is not what I am doing right now! jajajaja) Its also easier to become their friends and gain their trust. Which is super important because we really rely on referrals here. 

 

Another thing that I am enjoying is that I get to eat American food. I was so sick of mexican jajaja not even the mexican most of you are use to. Its the authentic kind. My first meal was at Texas Roadhouse! YES! jajaja It was a good start. We eat out a lot because the single guys can't really have us at their place but they can take us out. I have to really work on not gaining weight. Luckily my companion is pretty big on exercise so I'm covered. jajaja

 

One last crazy story. Last night our appointment fell through and we found ourselves trying to contact less-actives at 8:00 at night. It was pretty depressing. We went up to a door and rang the door bell. We immediately heard a horrible screeching sound. Seriously I thought we had knocked on some sort of cult. Or someone dying. Or a dinosaur. I was so afraid! So was Sister Anderson. She looked like she was going to run for the car any second. I wanted to but I heard someone opening the door so I motioned for her to stay. A young man about our age opened the door but he was tattooed head to toe and with plenty of piercings. But don't worry he was actually really cool. He said his sister had moved (the less-active) and that he wasn't that interested. We asked about the sound and he said it was a giant bird that drove him crazy. Glad we weren't the only ones that don't like the sound. I am never going to have a bird for a pet. ESPECIALLY one that sounds like that!

 

Well I love you guys so much! Stay Sweet and Don't Do Drugs!

 

Hermana Durfee