Week 13- MERRY CHRISTMAS!

Friends!

Merry Christmas! I am so happy and grateful for this holiday and all that it brings. As all missionaries know, when you are here on a mission the focus is very different. I have learned that when you take away the Christmas shopping, presents, cookies, good old Christmas music (besides the hymns) you really get the raw feeling and reason for Christmas - Christ. Right when he came on this earth he was the Savior! The Savior for all of us individually! I am grateful for his matchless life and love. He came on the earth because he loved us and our Father in Heaven so much that he wanted all of us to be together again. I am truly grateful for that selfless act He did. 

This week was all about getting people to church for invitation Sunday. Sunday came and no one we invited came which was really hard but we tried to not let it affect us. The Sunday service was so beautiful, my ward it's the best!! 

Sadly, teaching has been slow but we keep on keeping on! 

We saw Crystal last week and shared, "The Christ Child" video and got to talk to her finally since she has been so sick. We then asked what she wanted to get out of these meetings. She said that she likes the Book of Mormon but has a hard time understanding it. So we will be coming back and helping her understand :)

We talked to Floranna yesterday and she has gotten over being sick so we will be talking to her more!

Other then that we are pressing forward with a positive mindset to find others searching for truth.

Zone Conference!

Zone conference was this Wednesday and it was so much fun! We had a talent show so alot of the missionaries shared their talents with us. We have some awesome talent in my zone!! I also got to sing which was fun! 

At the end, President and his wife presented a gift for all of us. All the apartments get a picture of Christ! It was the best gift!

Service Day

We had a zone service day! We all went up to Vernonia and helped with cleaning out a ward members house.  It is a really old house and they want to renovate the whole thing so we helped! It was a ton of fun to see all the missionaries and helping Gods children!After, we stopped at Dairy Queen and got Blizzards! Driving back to Forest Grove was a beautiful moment! I felt like I was in a movie it was the best! Later we made Gingerbread houses with members which was fun!

Christmas Eve was awesome! 

We did studies, talked to a friend and got to know a little bit more about her opinion on the church. We shared our testimonies and that was that. I was kind of hard because all of her problems with the church was secular things and she couldn't get past it. But I showed her my love for her and Heavenly Father in the best way possible. The rest of the night was so much fun. We met with Floranna and told her we would be visiting with her more soon. Then we shared a message with a member family! It was a good way to end the day! So grateful that the Harris family let us in for Christmas eve!  After we got home we opened  our Christmas PJ's presents!

Today on Christmas Day has been a fun day hanging out with the family upstairs and talking to my family! I love them with all my heart and their cute faces!

Ps: HAPPY BIRTHDAY (on the 23rd) TO MY OLDER SISTER MADDIE! 22 YEARS OLD!! I love you 

Merry Christmas to every one! Remember what this day is really about. Christ loves all of us individually, so does our Father in Heaven! 

Love you guys!

We love this beautiful picture of Christ  from the Mission President!

My Tillamook bus called Marzipan!

Our ward members love to give us LOTS of sweet treats!

Gingerbread house making.

Fresh cookies from home made me cry - Great Granny's Swiss Cookies!

Our new companion called Piper! ;)

I love our Zone!!

Week 11...12-The one where Sister Fillmore isn't sure what week she is on ;)

Hello Friends! 

Ok first off I think I messed up my weeks....hehehe so I am actually on week 12...or 11 I am not 100% sure. These weeks get mushed together so bare with me. This week was a good week. Heavenly Father has given me so many experiences to strengthen my relationship and testimony of Him and my Savior Jesus Christ! 

A lot of this week was spending time making cookies and hand crafted gifts for the family that live above us! The Watsons have been so kind to us! Each day since December 1st they have done an advent calendar. The first day we got fabric softener, second day was grapes, third day was more lights for our Christmas tree....it has been so special and exciting to see what they thoughtfully give us.  We wanted to show them our love and appreciation so we decide to do kind of the same thing! We are poor missionaries but we got creative with some glitter glue, good old dollar store ornaments, copies of the Book of Mormon and food!! I can't wait to deliver them each night this coming week before Christmas!

Exchanges were also this week and I was super excited and nervous because I knew I was staying and that meant taking over the area. My training has been a little different then some people might think missionary training is. So I was really nervous that I wouldn't remember or do things correctly. Luckily that's why you have some one there to help you ;) 

Sister Bloxham is the best! She could see that I was worried and stressed. She let me know that I am doing a good job with everything especially since it's been different for me. We went out and did the best we could that night. It definitely paid off! 

We walked to Floranna's house since we haven't seen her in 2 weeks because of her being sick. We caught her right when she sat down to smoke. She was excited to see us and the cookies we gave her ;) then we asked her how she has been doing and she said she's been on and off but she said she has been going back to her church and reading the Bible. Yay about the Bible but not so yay with going to her church. She said she was grateful for us because that's the main reason she started going back. I am glad we helped her get back into coming closer to Christ....we just need her to come even closer to Christ ;) so we will try to visit her this week and see where she is at. 

After our visit with Floranna we were walking back to the church and I got this impression to go knock on a door. This sweet girl answered and was totally open to us sharing a message of Christ! Her name is Erin and she is the cutest! We shared with her the "Why we need a Savior" Christmas video. After I asked her how Christ has helped her in her life. That is when she told us she believes that there could be a higher power but doesn't know one way or another. We then taught her that the truths Christ taught when he was on the earth is back in its fullness. We showed her the Book of Mormon and said that this is the evidence of what we talk about. We invited her to read it and she was totally wiling! She said she never heard anything negative about our church and that is one of the reasons why she has never went to other churches because of the negative connotation. She was excited to meet with us again. She is 18 years old so we have to hand her off to the YSA but I am more then happy to do so since they have been struggling to find people to teach.

With the contact I was so excited because Sister Bloxham kind of let me take over and share with her my testimony of the Book of Mormon. When Erin took it, I was so excited! Before exchanges started that day, I had set 2 goals. They were: 1- give away a copy of the BoM and 2- teach the restoration! I did both! In one contact!! I was so excited and grateful that God helped me achieve those goals that night!!

We have also seen Crystal a few times. She has been really sick with migraines but we caught her yesterday at home. She was sad that we had to cancel our meeting time but was happy that we still came yesterday! It was really funny because we went over to her house to drop off cookies and a Christmas card we made. I guess she had the same thought about the cookies because she gave us a cute tray of cookies! It was a fun little cookie exchange:)

We are meeting with her this week on Tuesday and watching The Christ Child with her! 

SIDE NOTE: If you haven't seen the Christ Child then go watch it right now!! Its amazing and brings the spirit of Christmas instantly into your home! https://www.comeuntochrist.org/light-the-world/the-christ-child

That is pretty much it for this week! Extremely grateful for the Atonement of Jesus Christ and how much it has played a big part in my mission especially this week! I have felt a lot of comfort and love from my Savior. I would ask every one to see how you can improve in your life and ask God for help to change! He will help you! When you do take the action of changing it will be the best feeling EVER! I love you guys keep on keeping on! 

Love, 

Sister Fillmore 

My favorite picture of Christ.

Week 10 - The one with the nativity sheep

Friends!!

Hello again, it's crazy to think that another week went by. It's even crazier that this week has come to an end. Haha, I am not going to lie, it was a pretty long and rough week. God has given me a lot of opportunities to see his hand and trust in him and I am so grateful for it! 

       Due to some health issues this week we've been inside a lot lately.  On the bright side it gave me time to focus on my studies. By the end of dinner I was kind or going crazy being cooped up all day long. When I feel this way I usually go out and run...I couldn't do that so I did the next best thing and did as many jumping jackets, burpee's and other things as I could! The one thing that I kept in mind the whole time was the fact that we would have President interviews the next day!

        Man, the interview that I had with my President and his wife was exactly what I needed. Right when I got into the room with the President he told me some things that will be changing. For starters I will be acting as the senior companion when we go out and find. He also said that there will be more appointments that we will be going to and to not worry that we won't be doing normal missionary stuff. He then asked me the best question that I have been waiting to hear for a while..."Now, how are you doing?" It was nice for me to finally say what was on my mind. President Wilde is so kind and truly wants to know how he can help.  He helped me see that all the feelings and stresses I was going through was and is healthy but to also keep in mind that this is the best time to really study and know Gods word. 

        The rest of the week didn't stop being hard. I learned that instead of looking at the whole day in a negative way and more in a "Where did I see Gods hand in my life today?" mind set, you go to bed feeling better then you did throughout the whole day. It's easier said then done but I am grateful for every chance I get to be better.

        Anyway!! On a happier note we as a zone are going to do the nativity scene for our next zone conference. I was going to be a sheep but they said they need for shepherds so I gave up my lifelong bucket list desire to be a sheep and said I would.  ;)

        I have also volunteered to be the understudy for Mary if Sister Jun randomly has a mysterious accident...hehe

       The work has been pretty slow but we are working with Floranna and she is so sweet! She will definitely be baptized but not yet.  She has a lot of health issues so we haven't been able to meet with her. So definitely keep her in your prayers! 

       Crystal and her husband Brian is another couple we are teaching and she is a hoot! I love her so much!! Its taken a while to meet with her. She also has alot of medical problems but we are meeting with her this week!

       I hope you all have an amazing week! I know God loves you and all His children. If you're not sure,  "Look into their eyes until you can see the Child of God in them." -Elder Busche 

Love,

Sister Fillmore 

Picture with Santa!

My Mary Costume that I made up in five seconds ;) Sister Jun I am ready don't worry!

Decorating cookies!

We love Christmas goofy picture!

Week 9 Part 2-The one where it snows...kind of.

Hello friends!!! 

It was another amazing 4 days since my last letter! ;)

Thanksgiving was awesome! We had dinner with a lady and her family that we do service for. Later we went over to a members house to have pie! 

 Some awesome things happened this weekend! On Friday we went over to Floranna's house. Two Elders from our ward come and give her a Priesthood blessing because she suffers from a lot of health problems along with anxiety. We were so excited that she said YES when we offered it to her last week! After the blessing she felt so calm. She also said she really wants to come to church and go to the baptism that was happening in our ward Saturday.  It was do fun to see her all excited! Before the Brothers left she asked if we could say a prayer for her friend who is looking and in need of a job. Of course we did and the Spirit was strong. Saturday morning she texted us saying she was planning on coming and also that her friend got a job a few hours after the prayer! Sister Burton and I were so happy and excited for him and Floranna! It definitely strengthen my testimony of faith and prayer. 

When we picked her up for the baptism she said she had a headache but it wasn't going to stop her from going. That made me so happy to know that she is really wanting to progress and learn. It was a beautiful baptism and she said that she loved how they talked about the Holy Ghost being a companion and how baptism is a renewal of our faith. Sadly she didn't come to church on Sunday because she woke up with a bad headache but we will hope for next week! 

We got a REAL tree!! Our sweet members that we live with put a tree in our apartment while we were at District meetings. What a fun surprise to open the door to! She also gave each of us ornaments that had our first name initials on them!! We have the best members EVER! 

We also got SNOW Sunday.  When I mean snow I mean like the thinnest layer possible, haha. Some wards canceled church, luckily we didn't. It is so funny coming from utah where we get way more snow and we still go to church even if it's a blizzard. By the end of the day it was gone though. 

Have such an amazing week! 

Love you all! 

We love our REAL tree!  Let's hope we can keep it alive!

My ornament!

It SNOWED...kind of.  ;)

Scottie's with all the Zone Sisters.