Posted by Stephs' Dad 11/28/07
Hello family!
Transfers were today, but seeing as how I’m emailing you, it means I wasn’t transferred. I get to stay in Stow for at least another 6 weeks. I’m really excited about it and I can’t wait to see the work progress even more while I’m here during the holidays. Sister Corbridge is also staying and boy was I glad--I love working with her and learning from her example.
Thanksgiving was really great. We ate at the church and it was actually really fun. We weren’t able to play lightning with the family because we had another house to get to (the Stebel family had invited us over for dessert, converts of about 9 months). Afterwards we went to the big apartment complex where one set of elders lives to play ping pong and pool. It was the first time I’d put jeans on since I got to Ohio…I almost forgot what it was like! We then rushed to a lesson with an investigator that evening. All in all it was a great Thanksgiving!
The only difficult thing about Thanksgiving was that I felt like it really disrupted the work. We weren’t allowed to proselyte or contact that day, so I didn’t know what we were going to do in the evening (we did have one lesson which was nice). Also, most people we talked with didn’t want to meet for most of the week because they felt the stress of the holiday and wanted to get everything in order. Lame. But it was funny because with every cancellation or change in our schedule, the Lord blessed us with another opportunity. Isn’t He just great? I’m so amazed by the involvement of the Lord in our everyday lives, both here in the mission field and also in all our current paths. Even with Nicole being able to stay at the Springville Museum—it’s just so great how the Lord micromanages our lives and blesses us with things we really need rather than what we think we need.
So some of the blessings with this week—we were able to meet a Russian woman who doesn’t speak a lick of English (I understood “Russian” “bye” and “no”) and a few days later take a Russian Book of Mormon to her. She wanted to give us money for it and we told her no it was a gift. She then gave us each an apple in return. We’re searching the ward to see if anyone knows Russian but so far haven’t had luck. I hope that she’ll take the time to read from the Book of Mormon.
The next blessing. Richard finished the Book of Mormon! He talked with me on the phone for about 30 minutes the other day asking questions and discussing the feelings he’s had as he’s read. He’s truly experiencing the power of the Holy Ghost and I hope that soon he’ll be able to receive the gift of the Holy Ghost—it’s now just a matter of meeting Gail’s needs and addressing her concerns. We were able to prayerfully plan a lesson for Gail on Monday where we talked about her concerns—it was awesome because she had been praying too, wanting to know how to go about voicing the concerns that she has. I love the Lord. We were able to get things out in the open and I realized it’s not so much that she disagrees with things (though she does to a certain extent) as much as it is she hasn’t fully understood and feels rushed. I know that it will take time and that it will ultimately be here decision to join the church, but I also couldn’t stop picturing her in all white clothing that night. I continually pray that I will know how to best help her understand the importance of the restored gospel of Jesus Christ and that the Lord will help her recognize the promptings of the Spirit that this is Christ’s church again on the earth.
This week, in addition to being off because of cancellations, has just been tiring. We’ve been working really hard trying to find and teach, teach and find. Sister Corbridge even fell asleep while saying companionship prayer yesterday morning—it made me laugh but it’s just a reflection on what we’re trying to do and how hard we’re working to help bring souls to Christ. And I love it, I really do.
I’m always amazed at how much the Lord wants to bless us. I really think that it’s also amazing just how those blessings come by obedience to the commandments and direction the Lord has given us. Whenever the Lord gives a commandment, he also gives a blessing. And as I’ve been thinking about D&C 130:20, I’ve been thinking about how it says, “there is a law…upon which all blessings are predicated” in relation to the Bible Dictionary definition of prayer where it says that prayer is to “secure for ourselves and for others the blessings that God is already willing to grant, but that are made conditional upon our asking for them. Blessings require some work or effort on our part before we can obtain them. Prayer is a form of work and is an appointed means for obtaining the highest of all blessings.” I don’t know if this makes sense or if this is an accurate interpretation/application, but I definitely think that there is a law of prayer and that by praying, we obtain blessings that are predicated upon our working for them through prayer and obedience. Those are two principles that I am striving to live more fully while here in the OCM and desire to receive those blessings that are predicated upon the laws of God.
Well folks, that’s probably it for me for this week. I hope that you’re gaining strength from reading PMG, studying your scriptures, and committing to live the gospel to a greater degree in your life. Thanks for all you do and I love love love you!
Love,
Sister Cannariato
Wednesday, November 28, 2007
Wednesday, November 21, 2007
Happy Thanksgibbin'...back
(Posted by Steph's Dad 11/21/07)
Hallo!
I hope all of you are doing well. We're going to have preparation day tomorrow instead of the usual Wednesday but President told us we could email today (since places are open) and then we'll be able to celebrate without interrupting the work. Just fyi, a really nice family in our ward is having us over for dinner--they actually reserve the church building and have all their family eat together and then use the gym and do skits, play basketball, etc. so it should be a blast. I think I may curl up for a nice nap on one of the couches in the foyer or something...we'll probably just go home afterwards and lay in bed. That sounds nice :) I hope you're all prepared for the big day. Dawn, do you have the cards with each item already placed in the serving bowl? Who's in charge of the mashed potatoes? Don't forget to make a sculpture! I hope your meal is wonderful and know that I'm thinking about you all. Jake and Nicole, please travel safely to Boise; Nathan, Monica, Ethan, and Blake, please travel safely to Utah.
This week has been great. We've definitely seen the Lord's hand in the work--even when original plans were altered, it ended up being for the best.
For starters--Wednesday. We normally meet with Brent M/W/F--he wasn't able to meet due to a new job he picked up. We scheduled a meeting for 7pm with Tara at a part member's home--she was late. We started our lesson at about 7:30 and right at the tail end Drew, one of the boys from the part-member family who isn't baptized, got home and sat in on the tail end of the lesson. We're now meeting with him regularly and if the situations with Tara or Brent would have been different, we'd have missed out on Drew. I love that the Lord is orchestrating the affairs of this work--turning what appear to be negatives into great opportunities.
Thursday we found another new investigator who is amazing--her name's Natalie and she just moved here from Cincinnati. She's looking for a church up here, was raised Catholic but is now attending Christian churches, and shares our views about the Godhead. She invited us into her home that day and we taught her again yesterday--my favorite part about it was when she sincerely asked, "How can I know what's true?" towards the end of the lesson. I love seeing people who truly have the desire to know for themselves of truth and are willing to seek it out for themselves.
One thing I love about being a missionary--you have no shame. We were supposed to meet with Tara on Saturday but she called to cancel because she wasn't feeling well. We grabbed a can of soup and took it over to her, then proceeded to read the Book of Mormon with her and teach her a short lesson. We also have been spending a lot of time in the Walmart parking lot at night, because sisters can only knock doors in well lit areas after dark but we cannot knock doors at night in Stow due to a city ordinance. So we contact, meaning we stop people when they're walking to/from the store and talk with them. If that's not awkward, I don't know what is, but I actually love it. It just makes me laugh and we get to talk to a whole lot of people. Usually we offer them a pass-along-card and see if we can meet with them another time. It's not as effective as tracting, but we have met a couple people from it. I think the thing with contacting is not only to get a lesson in but also just to give individuals contact with the church. I heard from someone that it takes the average person multiple contacts with the church before they're interested in taking the lessons/learning more. Though the goal is more investigators, I know that this work will help down the road.
This week in district meeting I was asked to give a workshop on the topic, "How can I apply principles of faith in missionary work" and I wanted to share some study ideas with you because the principles apply to all of us. I came up with 5, pulling them from Romans 10:14-17:
1. Believe in Christ yourself (Romans 10:11; Moroni 7:33; Mark 9:19-23; 3 Nephi 27:21) 2. Be Obedient (Mosiah 2:24; 1 Nephi 16:28-29; D&C 112:28; 130: 21) 3. Pray (Mosiah 27:14; Mark 9:17-18, 28-29) 4. Hear through the Spirit and the scriptures (3 Nephi 11:2-6; Alma 37:8-10) 5. Act in your office (D&C 81:1,3-6; 107:99)
I have been able to study faith for several days (both because of the workshop and because of mission-wide study topics that we do every Wednesday) and I continue to be more and more amazed at the magnitude and power of faith. It's amazing and I am working on developing faith as power in missionary work; I hope you all can do the same in the work you're called to do at this time, missionary work included. :)
It was Sister Corbridge's birthday yesterday--I sneaked in phone calls to members while she was in the shower and the bathroom this past week and we were able to have a surprise party for her at a member's home. The members here in the Tallmadge ward are amazing--and so dedicated to helping the missionaries in whatever way possible, even with a birthday! I think she felt pretty special. We were also able to commit someone to live the word of wisdom yesterday, so I think that was an even better birthday present for her :)
Dad, thanks for letting me know about getting another set of missionaries in our stake. It's a little different out here--we have 3 sets just in our ward! I hope that both sets will be able to find people that are prepared to hear the gospel in our stake. I'll be praying for you!
Goodness me. Another week, another novel. Let me know if this is too long/boring/detailed and I'll give you the summarized version in greater summary :)
Again, have a fabulous Thanksgiving and I love love love you!
Sister Cannariato
P.S. Dawn, you had asked in your letter what I wanted for Christmas...a scripture case (probably just a plain black canvas one unless you find something that screams "Sister Cannariato"), a warm, soft, scarf (it can be a color other than black but just not too crazy), some more thermal bottoms, more of those mint chocolate chip cookies the laurels made :) or even the recipe, a cardigan (maybe beige, brown or black?)...and lots of prayers. Dad, thanks for the info. Love you all!
P.P.S. We raked leaves at Richard and Gail's house for over 4 hours on Saturday (we'd planned on taking about 1 1/2 hours, including a lesson); afterwards Gail volunteered to pray and cried because of our willingness to help. It made the exhaustion so worth it.
Hallo!
I hope all of you are doing well. We're going to have preparation day tomorrow instead of the usual Wednesday but President told us we could email today (since places are open) and then we'll be able to celebrate without interrupting the work. Just fyi, a really nice family in our ward is having us over for dinner--they actually reserve the church building and have all their family eat together and then use the gym and do skits, play basketball, etc. so it should be a blast. I think I may curl up for a nice nap on one of the couches in the foyer or something...we'll probably just go home afterwards and lay in bed. That sounds nice :) I hope you're all prepared for the big day. Dawn, do you have the cards with each item already placed in the serving bowl? Who's in charge of the mashed potatoes? Don't forget to make a sculpture! I hope your meal is wonderful and know that I'm thinking about you all. Jake and Nicole, please travel safely to Boise; Nathan, Monica, Ethan, and Blake, please travel safely to Utah.
This week has been great. We've definitely seen the Lord's hand in the work--even when original plans were altered, it ended up being for the best.
For starters--Wednesday. We normally meet with Brent M/W/F--he wasn't able to meet due to a new job he picked up. We scheduled a meeting for 7pm with Tara at a part member's home--she was late. We started our lesson at about 7:30 and right at the tail end Drew, one of the boys from the part-member family who isn't baptized, got home and sat in on the tail end of the lesson. We're now meeting with him regularly and if the situations with Tara or Brent would have been different, we'd have missed out on Drew. I love that the Lord is orchestrating the affairs of this work--turning what appear to be negatives into great opportunities.
Thursday we found another new investigator who is amazing--her name's Natalie and she just moved here from Cincinnati. She's looking for a church up here, was raised Catholic but is now attending Christian churches, and shares our views about the Godhead. She invited us into her home that day and we taught her again yesterday--my favorite part about it was when she sincerely asked, "How can I know what's true?" towards the end of the lesson. I love seeing people who truly have the desire to know for themselves of truth and are willing to seek it out for themselves.
One thing I love about being a missionary--you have no shame. We were supposed to meet with Tara on Saturday but she called to cancel because she wasn't feeling well. We grabbed a can of soup and took it over to her, then proceeded to read the Book of Mormon with her and teach her a short lesson. We also have been spending a lot of time in the Walmart parking lot at night, because sisters can only knock doors in well lit areas after dark but we cannot knock doors at night in Stow due to a city ordinance. So we contact, meaning we stop people when they're walking to/from the store and talk with them. If that's not awkward, I don't know what is, but I actually love it. It just makes me laugh and we get to talk to a whole lot of people. Usually we offer them a pass-along-card and see if we can meet with them another time. It's not as effective as tracting, but we have met a couple people from it. I think the thing with contacting is not only to get a lesson in but also just to give individuals contact with the church. I heard from someone that it takes the average person multiple contacts with the church before they're interested in taking the lessons/learning more. Though the goal is more investigators, I know that this work will help down the road.
This week in district meeting I was asked to give a workshop on the topic, "How can I apply principles of faith in missionary work" and I wanted to share some study ideas with you because the principles apply to all of us. I came up with 5, pulling them from Romans 10:14-17:
1. Believe in Christ yourself (Romans 10:11; Moroni 7:33; Mark 9:19-23; 3 Nephi 27:21) 2. Be Obedient (Mosiah 2:24; 1 Nephi 16:28-29; D&C 112:28; 130: 21) 3. Pray (Mosiah 27:14; Mark 9:17-18, 28-29) 4. Hear through the Spirit and the scriptures (3 Nephi 11:2-6; Alma 37:8-10) 5. Act in your office (D&C 81:1,3-6; 107:99)
I have been able to study faith for several days (both because of the workshop and because of mission-wide study topics that we do every Wednesday) and I continue to be more and more amazed at the magnitude and power of faith. It's amazing and I am working on developing faith as power in missionary work; I hope you all can do the same in the work you're called to do at this time, missionary work included. :)
It was Sister Corbridge's birthday yesterday--I sneaked in phone calls to members while she was in the shower and the bathroom this past week and we were able to have a surprise party for her at a member's home. The members here in the Tallmadge ward are amazing--and so dedicated to helping the missionaries in whatever way possible, even with a birthday! I think she felt pretty special. We were also able to commit someone to live the word of wisdom yesterday, so I think that was an even better birthday present for her :)
Dad, thanks for letting me know about getting another set of missionaries in our stake. It's a little different out here--we have 3 sets just in our ward! I hope that both sets will be able to find people that are prepared to hear the gospel in our stake. I'll be praying for you!
Goodness me. Another week, another novel. Let me know if this is too long/boring/detailed and I'll give you the summarized version in greater summary :)
Again, have a fabulous Thanksgiving and I love love love you!
Sister Cannariato
P.S. Dawn, you had asked in your letter what I wanted for Christmas...a scripture case (probably just a plain black canvas one unless you find something that screams "Sister Cannariato"), a warm, soft, scarf (it can be a color other than black but just not too crazy), some more thermal bottoms, more of those mint chocolate chip cookies the laurels made :) or even the recipe, a cardigan (maybe beige, brown or black?)...and lots of prayers. Dad, thanks for the info. Love you all!
P.P.S. We raked leaves at Richard and Gail's house for over 4 hours on Saturday (we'd planned on taking about 1 1/2 hours, including a lesson); afterwards Gail volunteered to pray and cried because of our willingness to help. It made the exhaustion so worth it.
Wednesday, November 14, 2007
4 weeks since throw up
It was so great to hear from so many of you this week. Thanks for your emails, your letters/cards, and your prayers. I feel so blessed to have so much support and it's been needed :0)
It was another good week, one with funny stories and great spiritual insights. We were able to head up to Kirtland with two of our investigators on Saturday. It was such a great experience both for me and for the investigators. We watched "Joseph Smith: Prophet of the Restoration" and took a tour through the saw mill, ashery, Johnson Inn, Whitney home, and the Newel K. Whitney Store. I LOVE the Joseph Smith movie and every time I watch it it strengthens my testimony greatly. Being able to go to the Translation Room above the Newel K. Whitney Store where 17 revelations were received was so powerful; but going into the School of the Prophets had a profound impact upon me and all that were there. I was so amazed by the spirit that could be felt in that small room and to know throught that Spirit that Jesus Christ truly appeared to men there in that room. I was humbled again to know I've been sent to such a special, historic place to teach about and testify of the restored gospel of Jesus Christ.
We had stake conference this past Sunday and the focus was centered around Preach My Gospel. Our Stake President, President Centers, had asked everyone in the stake to read at least 4 sections from PMG before the conference. I was so impressed with the messages that were shared about the importance of relying on the spirit, keeping commitments to the Lord and helping others to do the same, and the importance of the Book fo Mormon for true conversion. President Peterson spoke about PMG and shared a story told by President Monson:
President Monson had been out of town on church business and got back late one evening to find Elder Ballard standing on his doorstep. Elder Ballard was holding the final draft of Preach My Gospel in his hand, as it was going to the printers the next day. Elder Ballard asked if President Monson would look over it just once more and President Monson consented. He told his wife he'd be to bed in a few minutes and began reading. He read all through the night and didn't realize it was morning. I know that the Brethren all contributed to the writing of this book, but to know that even those that helped author it caught the vision of this great resource is such a testimony to me of its power. It's been said numerous times (and I think it's attributed to President Packer) that Preach My Gospel was compsed on the other side of the beil and written/put together on this side. I testify to the truthfulness of that statement. The Lord truly is preparing His people for the Second Coming and this volume can support the scriptures in helping us to strenghten our testimonies of Jesus Christ, find those who are ready to hear and accept the gospel, and deepen our understanding of the teachings of the restored gospel. I love the scritpures, I love the Lord, and I love being able to stand as a witness of His Holy name. It's hard to represent a perfect person, but I am so grateful that the Lord has trusted me to be an instrument in His hands.
I have to go now, but I'll write more next week about the progress of our investigators and the funny stories from Stow. I love you all and please know you're in my prayers.
Love love love you,
Sister Cannariato
It was another good week, one with funny stories and great spiritual insights. We were able to head up to Kirtland with two of our investigators on Saturday. It was such a great experience both for me and for the investigators. We watched "Joseph Smith: Prophet of the Restoration" and took a tour through the saw mill, ashery, Johnson Inn, Whitney home, and the Newel K. Whitney Store. I LOVE the Joseph Smith movie and every time I watch it it strengthens my testimony greatly. Being able to go to the Translation Room above the Newel K. Whitney Store where 17 revelations were received was so powerful; but going into the School of the Prophets had a profound impact upon me and all that were there. I was so amazed by the spirit that could be felt in that small room and to know throught that Spirit that Jesus Christ truly appeared to men there in that room. I was humbled again to know I've been sent to such a special, historic place to teach about and testify of the restored gospel of Jesus Christ.
We had stake conference this past Sunday and the focus was centered around Preach My Gospel. Our Stake President, President Centers, had asked everyone in the stake to read at least 4 sections from PMG before the conference. I was so impressed with the messages that were shared about the importance of relying on the spirit, keeping commitments to the Lord and helping others to do the same, and the importance of the Book fo Mormon for true conversion. President Peterson spoke about PMG and shared a story told by President Monson:
President Monson had been out of town on church business and got back late one evening to find Elder Ballard standing on his doorstep. Elder Ballard was holding the final draft of Preach My Gospel in his hand, as it was going to the printers the next day. Elder Ballard asked if President Monson would look over it just once more and President Monson consented. He told his wife he'd be to bed in a few minutes and began reading. He read all through the night and didn't realize it was morning. I know that the Brethren all contributed to the writing of this book, but to know that even those that helped author it caught the vision of this great resource is such a testimony to me of its power. It's been said numerous times (and I think it's attributed to President Packer) that Preach My Gospel was compsed on the other side of the beil and written/put together on this side. I testify to the truthfulness of that statement. The Lord truly is preparing His people for the Second Coming and this volume can support the scriptures in helping us to strenghten our testimonies of Jesus Christ, find those who are ready to hear and accept the gospel, and deepen our understanding of the teachings of the restored gospel. I love the scritpures, I love the Lord, and I love being able to stand as a witness of His Holy name. It's hard to represent a perfect person, but I am so grateful that the Lord has trusted me to be an instrument in His hands.
I have to go now, but I'll write more next week about the progress of our investigators and the funny stories from Stow. I love you all and please know you're in my prayers.
Love love love you,
Sister Cannariato
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