Week 19-The one with the popcorn from Gutwein

Another fast week has past and I have learned so much!

List of things I've learned:

•I am still semi-good at bowling 

•Dead raccoons aren't fun to look at 

•Making friendships are part of the job 

•NO evil speaking! If there is gossip KILL IT!

•Bring joy to the heart, light to the eyes

•The Holy Ghost is the closest companion you can get to God.

•Be the missionary you needed when you were younger. 

•When God trusts us with his sheep he will give us more to find and bring them back into the fold.

•This is the Lords work, Miracles have not ceased.

•Always invite, that's all people need to get started!

•No matter how far you think you are, you can always come back! Christ made it so!

•Family support is so important, when one of Gods children is coming back!

•You CAN always become worthy.

•You need to stand fast in your testimony like Joseph Smith did.

Brothers and Sisters the Book of Mormon isn't there for us to read and use once in a while.  We need it every day to come closer to our Father in Heaven. It has more power then you and I will ever know. I promise that when you read it you will have all of the answers to your questions! You need to have the FAITH and a soft heart and pray. Do the challenge Moroni gave to us this year to read and pray to know if its true.

Love one another! Speaking negatively to people is not ok and is breaking to second commandment. Especially don't do it to those who are coming back to the fold! Christ suffered all of our sins and went even lower so that we ALL can change and become worthy! Love one another as Jesus loves you!

Anyways, this week was great! Some amazing news.....FLORANNA IS ON DATE!!! She will be baptized on April 25th! We couldn't be more excited for here! we had a wonderful lesson about baptism, holy ghost and enduring to the end. We asked her to be baptized and she said she is working on it.  We talked about setting goals and the importance of setting a date to work towards. She said the 25th of April because it's her clean date! Not sure on what that means exactly but she is starting to stop smoking!! We love FLORANNA!

Story behind the title:

We were walking down the street after the amazing lesson we had with Floranna and we see our good friend Ann! She was the one who invited us over to see her paintings last week. We got to talking and she starts talking about her brother and how he "breeds" his own popcorn! He is like 6,0000 acres of land! She asked, "did I give you guys some popcorn?" We said no and then she said "oh my gosh, ok come to my house right now let me give you a bag!" Haha, luckily her house was right around the corner and we were able to get a bag of her brothers popcorn! She was so sweet and asked for our number and said, "you know, you guys are just so nice!" Sister Hair and I was so happy to hear and glad we broke the Mormon stigma some people have here. 

Zone Conference was also this week and half of the list that is the beginning of my email is from ZOCO. We were able to hear from our Stake President here in Forest Grove! He was amazing, we heard from him at stake conference so I am so happy we were able to hear him again. He is so missionary minded and got all of us pump up ready to do missionary work! 

We were able to meet so many new wonderful people but sadly people look up the church or hear certain things and then end up saying no to a second meeting. But we keep on keeping on!! 

Favorite thing I have heard all week: 

Sister Groneman- "Your refrigerator looks like mine....no one lives here." 

I guess we got to get more food! 

I love you guys!

Say your prayers and read your scriptures!

Love,

Sister Fillmore 

I sure love this book!

This is Ann sharing some pretty amazing popcorn that her brother makes!

Love this view!

Good day!!

Zone Conference Sisters!

Week 18-The one where the grass is greener in January

Friends!!

Holy smokes this week has gone by so fast! We have seen so many miracles this week it's been amazing! 

Our friend Floranna is progressing so much and it makes me so excited and happy to see her draw closer to her Heavenly Father! We do have to take it slow but this week she has been been able to see the difference with the Gospel in her life! On Tuesday we had a lesson with her about the Gospel of Jesus Christ and we asked how she has been able to see her faith grow through doing the little things to nourish her faith? She told us that her prayers have been more consistent and that she has been able to feel more peaceful.  Then the coolest thing happened!! She said "now that I think about it, my anxiety hasn't been bad, like at all! My toes still twitch but my fingers haven't twitched at all this week!!"  Floranna has bad anxiety and depression so for her to not feel anxious at all this week was a huge blessing for her! It was cool to see daily prayer working in her life!

We also got to have a lesson with Crystal. We taught about prophets and obeying them. 

This week I was able to sing in Sacrament Meeting so we used that to help invite our friends to church haha! AND.....we got CRYSTAL AND FLORANNA TO CHURCH!! It was so nice to see them there, especially Crystal since she hasn't come for the last few months! 

It was an amazing experience to get to sing in church! Singing is another way that I bare my testimony, so it was pretty special to do that in front of the ward and our two friends who we are teaching! 

We have been able to get into a lot of less active members homes and it has been fun to get to know and teach them. We also got to have breakfast with Cecilia who we helped with the Farmers Market, way back in October!! She invited us over for brunch and it was do nice to talk to her.  We could tell that we have definitely gained her trust but also her love which is something that is even more important to us. Sister Hair and I have talked about that quiet a lot this week. When we develop relationships through love, the lessons and discussions are even more impactful! While being at her house I  invited her to come to church and hear me sing. I was so hoping she'd come but in the end the 9 am time was just too early for her. 

I have felt an overflowing of gratitude this week!

I am so grateful for my Father in Heaven and the Plan that he has for me and his children. The things that I have been taught through the teachings of the Book of Mormon has helped me to be humble and keep working. 

I am so grateful for his plan and what we can receive when we follow his commandments. Dieter F. Uchtdorf said it perfectly, "He loves you not only for who you are this very day but also for the person of glory and light you have the potential and the desire to become.More than you could ever imagine, He wants you to achieve your destiny—to return to your heavenly home in honor.I testify that the way to accomplish this is to place selfish desires and unworthy ambitions on the altar of sacrifice and service. Sisters, trust in the saving power of Jesus Christ; keep His laws and commandments. In other words—live the gospel joyful" 

We have so much potential and we will be able to receive the blessings He wants to give us!

I love you guys so much! Have a wonderful week!

Love,

Sister Fillmore

IT'S SO GREEN FOR JANUARY!

We love Floranna and her cat, Potato!

This is Hazel. :)

First time riding in a Mini-Cooper

Carhartt Girls - Thanks mom & dad!

Waffle Love brunch.

P-Day bowling with our District.

Week 17- The one where prayer works!

Friends!!!

It's been a gooooood week!

We have had many many miracles and I thank my Heavenly Father for them all! We have been working hard and have had some awesome lessons. 

Crystal has been doing great! We had an over the phone lesson with her and what's awesome is that even though she had a migraine she still wanted to talk and hear the lesson. We did the "Come Follow Me" lesson with her on 1 Nephi chapters 1-3 and we talked about ways Christ shows his love to us and the tender mercies of each day. We talked about the importance of going and doing the things that God has asked of us. It was amazing! We made a commitment to have her listen to the youth theme song and later the next day she said the song was amazing! She has been KEEPING HER COMMITMENTS! 

Floranna also had an amazing lesson and it was particularly special for me! The lesson was on prayer and we asked her about her past experiences with praying. She said that she didn't have the best experience while growing up. We told her that prayer is a beautiful thing, it's a communication with our Father and he wants to hear from us. We read in Enos the whole time because he is an amazing example of prayer! It talked about how prayers are heard and it's all by faith. We asked if there was a time that God did answer her prayers and she said he did when her newborn was in a critical condition. We told her that was a testament of God hearing her and that she had faith to ask! We told her that when we have faith we will receive an answer. We talked about what a prayer is and how it is said and then asked if we could write a prayer that she would be comfortable saying. We wrote out a prayer with her and then sent it to her. We both bore testimony of prayer and shared experience where we knew God was listening to us. We then asked her to say the closing prayer and she read the prayer we sent her to help her get started. When she said it, it was so beautiful! We asked how we could helped her remember to say her prayers and I mentioned that we could text her at 8pm and she was so excited and thought it was a awesome! After it I just started crying because God was working through us to teach his daughter how to pray and talk to him. It was an amazing experience!! 

News: TRACTING WORKS!!!

We have seen so many wonderful miracles from it! For example one night this week we were tracting a street and after knocking on doors where no one was answering we knocked on one last door and this lady answered and immediately let us in. After getting to know her she started telling us how her sister recently past away and then she told us some more stuff and then more and more.  She couldn't stop. Because she has been bottling it up all this time it was nice for her to tell someone and she had to let it all out. I am so happy it was to us! After she was done telling us everything I asked if I could give her a hug! Her name is Alanna and she definitely needed a hug after all she has been through. We told her that she will be able to be with her sister again. She got emotional and said that we were sent by God because this was one of her hardest nights. We read our Hope scriptures and gave her a Book of Mormon. We read some of the intro with her and challenged her to read the rest of it herself. She loved everything we had to say. We said prayers with her and she said we can totally come back. She got our number and we invited her to church and she wants to come. Sweetest lady who is ready and needs to hear this message. :) 

So like I said, so many miracles came this week and I am so grateful for Gods trust in us! My district has been really putting an emphasis on getting the Book of Mormon introduced in every contact.  It's been a cool thing to do and see peoples reactions and a lot of them has been positive! I have also been reading conference talks with the topic on the Book of Mormon and man they are amazing! I would definitely recommend reading them. Ezra Taft Benson talks are so amazing and inspiring.  We need to be flooding the earth with this wonderful message of the Book of Mormon!! One thing that I loved that he said was "My beloved brothers and sisters, we hardly fathom the power of the Book of Mormon, nor the divine role it must play, nor the extent to which it must be moved.

“Few men on earth,” said Elder Bruce R. McConkie, “either in or out of the Church, have caught the vision of what the Book of Mormon is all about. Few are they among men who know the part it has played and will yet play in preparing the way for the coming of Him of whom it is a new witness. … The Book of Mormon shall so affect men that the whole earth and all its peoples will have been influenced and governed by it. … There is no greater issue ever to confront mankind in modern times than this: Is the Book of Mormon the mind and will and voice of God to all men?” (Millennial Messiah pp. 159, 170, 179.)"

"Now, my good Saints, we have a great work to perform in a very short time. We must flood the earth with the Book of Mormon—and get out from under God’s condemnation for having treated it lightly"

(Talk: Flooding the earth with the Book of Mormon, by Ezra Taft Benson)

Please please pray for those experiences to share the book and also know for your self the power that the Book has for you and all of human kind! It is so important to listen to the promptings God has given us and act on them. It will be scary, it always is, but if I can do it you can too!  Put a picture of Jesus Christ on your office desk or a background photo of Christ on your phone so when people can see it, it might spark a conversation! You never know!! 

Sister Hair and I also watched the YSA fireside with Elder Christoferson, MAN IT WAS AMAZING! He talks about being committed to God and so many other things.  Please please go watch if!! 

How about this, since I am a missionary and I give out commitments all the time....and many don't keep them, you guys should be the ones who make me OH SO HAPPY and watch the video and email me something you like.  You can do it right now or during the week but I want to hear what you liked and how you are going to use his counsel in your life! 

We have to hold fast on to the iron rode! So WHOS WITH ME?!?! ;)

But please watch it, it's for everyone not just YSA! 

Well that is pretty much it, have a wonderful week!

Love you all!

Sister Fillmore 

We love to cook!

It snowed!

We got a blender! Thank you Watson Family!!

We love you Rusty!

I love my companion!

SUSHI!!

Right after our lesson with Florana!

Mirror Selfies

I don't even know what to say about this picture....it's awesome!

Week 16: The one with Fire & Ice

Friends!!!

Another week has slowly but surely passed - haha!

This week I got my new cutie companion! Her name is Sister Hair and she is my TWIN in every aspect of the word! She arrived Tuesday and we hit the ground running. I have already seen so much progress in this area, I am so excited for these next 5 weeks! 

Floranna came to CHURCH!!!!!!!!! 

Guys I was so happy when we picked her up yesterday morning and she was ready to go with no doubts or feeling anxious, she just came! When we sat in the sacrament meeting she was looking all around. I asked if she had any questions and she was like "nope, just observing" she smiled at all the little kids that walked by and after we sang "I Stand All Amazed" she read over the lyrics again. It made my heart so so happy! I could definitely tell that God was teaching and touching her heart! We had to leave to to to the Young women's class but she went to relief society with two sisters from our ward. When church was over Floranna said that she really liked it! So so happy and grateful for this ward, they are so missionary minded and totally enveloped Floranna! 

We had a lesson with Crystal saturday! It's been a long time since we last had one. We started the first week in Come Follow Me with her and Crystal was socking it all up! We also had Sister Watson come with us and boy oh boy that was the cherry on top! They are two peas in a pod! Sister Watson is already so easy to become friends with but I think Crystal understood a lot more of the lesson because of the things Sister Watson shared. 

I love this GOSPEL!!

We have done a lot of tracking and talking to people on the streets this week. It's been so so fun talking to people and also so scary! I have learned that God doesn't like comfort zones because comfort zones don't mix with learning and growing!

 

So the title of my email kind of goes with pictures...I was wearing a white shirt and Sister Hair was wearing a red shirt and I said "oh my gosh we are partners in crime, fire and ice!" So now we are fire and ice...watch out ;)

I love this area and I couldn't be more excited to be here in Forest Grove!

Well that's pretty much it for this week. Read your scriptures, do come follow me you won't regret it! Trust in God and his servants!

Love you all!

Sister Fillmore 

I love my new companion, Sister Hair!

FIRE & ICE

I love exchanges with Sister Mecham!

Week 15- The one with the TRIO!

Friends!

My oh my, has it been a CRAZY week! A lot has happened and changed since the last report: 

Some sad but exciting news all at once...my cutie trainer went home this week. BUT good news, she is doing a service mission in Utah sooo she is basically getting transferred to one of the best areas in my opinion. I am going to miss her dearly! This week I have seen the pure love of Christ for Gods children especially for my trainer, Sister Burton. Man saying goodbye was so so so hard but I know its God's plan for her and she is going where God needs her!

Since she left before transfers I've been staying with the Pumpkinridge and David Hill sisters and it's been a BLAST! These sisters are amazing in every way, I am so grateful I got to spend time hearing their testimonies this weekend before we all get transferred. 

Heavenly Father's plan is so personal and full of love. I see this when I read the Book of Mormon and study Come Follow Me. Another way that I have seen his plan for me is by reading my Patriarchal Blessing recently! Sadly I couldn't find my blessing before I left for my mission so when I finally got a copy printed and read read it this week I found it to be such a source of strength! Please please read your Patriarchal Blessings if you have one and if you don't, start praying and preparing to receive one!

They are a wonderful thing to have that will help you through this crazy rollercoaster called LIFE!

Friday night I was in a trio with the Pumpkinridge sisters and got to teach a recently confirmed member lesson and it was so amazing! Man this guy is a stellar new member! Hearing a little bit of his past and the man that he has become was amazing. You could see that God truly worked through him to help him come closer to Christ. 

Saturday I got to be in a trio with the David Hill sisters and that was a PARTY! We studied laughed, worked, laughed, talked to people and...laughed! Gosh I love these sisters! We had 2 member lesson and it was so fun to see how other sisters teach and hearing their testimonies. I have definitely come to know my Savior more closely throughout this weekend and I am so grateful! 

Transfers!!

I will rip the bandaid off fast....I am staying!! Yep I am staying in Forest Grove and I am so happy! I have come to love these people and the ward here. I get my new companion tomorrow (Monday, Jan 7) and I can't wait to meet her! 

Well I love you all! Keep on keeping on!! God loves you and is cheering you on! 

Love,

Sister Fillmore 

I love these Sisters so much!!

My new friend, Rocky.

Saying goodbye to my trainer and dear friend, Sister Burton.

I will miss Sister Jun!

Having a little fun at Walmart! ;)

Love these Sisters!

Getting started on Christmas 2020 a little early!

Week 14 - The one with The Game

Friends!

Another week in Oregon come and gone.

Christmas was awesome! Wednesday was my 3 month mark as a missionary and it's crazy to think how fast it's gone by. On Christmas day we shared the morning with the Watson family that live upstairs. Then we went over to the Wilson's to play some games with the elders and the family.  One game was a game that the elders renamed. It's normally called, "Idiot" but they changed it, its called...The Game.  We didn't know how to play and the elders didn't tell us but once we got the hang of it Sister Burton totally creamed them in their own game! Their faces were priceless!!

We then had dinner with the Steele Family with the Pumpkinridge sisters.  The Steeles gave both of us mini waffle makers for Christmas. We love the Steeles!!

Sister Burton hasn't been well so we've spent a lot of time indoors. One thing that I have been taught through this time has been charity and patience. I am still working on it hehe but I am grateful for this time God has given me to see how I can be more like my Savior!

I have been able to focus a lot on my scripture reading! Guys I love the BOOK OF MORMON! PLEASE GO READ IT!  This is a great week to start with the Come Follow Me for 2020, so do it people! 

The Book of Mormon is a wonderful gift from God that has been given to us so we need to read it. When you read it have a PRAYER in your heart, an OPEN mind a HUMBLE heart and mind, and God will show you the truths of the Book of Mormon. 

I was reading this talk called, "Gods compelling  witness, the Book of Mormon" from Tad R. Callister and it talks a lot about how the Book of Mormon is true and how it's the keystone of our religion. 

Anyways I hope you all have a wonderful week this week! 

Love ya

Sister Fillmore

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.