This is Missionary Work :)

First of all: Today is the last day of the transfer! I got a call this morning, and I will begin my next transfer tomorrow in the Ventura 2nd Ward!

 

Sister Anderson and I really felt like the pay off for this transfer has been this past week. This transfer has been tough. We haven't seen a lot of steady progress and it takes it's toll, but this week has just been one of those weeks when it all becomes worth it!

Monday, we were walking to an area we were going to knock and this lady at a bus stop we were walking past said hi to us and asked us to come over to her. This doesn't normally happen. Usually we initiate conversation. She told us that she was baptized about a year ago and had just moved to another city and had been praying to run into missionaries. She said that after that prayer, she ran into a member who gave her the number for the missionaries and today she found us! God is so aware of each of us and really sends what we need. She hugged us multiple times.

 

Tuesday, we were visiting a few potential investigators and got 3 big rejections in a row. We were walking toward an apartment of a referral when we passed a man. Sister Anderson said Hi just to be friendly. He turned, took one look at us, said I'm not interested, turned, and walked away. Sister Anderson was like, "Oh, we just wanted to say hi and see how your day was going." No response. We knocked on the apartment of the lady we were trying to contact. We heard a voice come through the open window. She asked who it was and said she was busy. Sister Anderson then asked when we could come back. Silence. Sister Anderson stared at each other for a minute trying not to laugh. Finally Sister Anderson said, "Well, have a good day!" People are so funny. It's like the equivalent of someone knocking and the door and you saying "No one's home!" Oh well. Finally, we were walking back to the car from this apartment, and offered just a card of a website to this man. He looked at it and gave it back and walked away. We decided at this point it was time to try somewhere else. Later, we went to contact a referral from a lady who visited our ward on Sunday. She wanted us to visit her mother-in-law. So we went to the address she had given to us  and it was this old lady who is from the Ukraine. She thought we were Ukrainian as well. We talked to her for 45 minutes and I cannot tell you what was said. The whole time we were trying to figure out if she was really the person we were sent to contact or if it was the wrong address. We couldn't tell! We figured it had to be. She couldn't hear very well and was all over the place, so that didn't help us figure that out. We ended up leaving her with a Plan of Salvation pamphlet. We walked away very confused and managed to barely hold our laughter in until we reached the car. We called the lady who gave us the referral back to tell her about the visit. We said that she thought we were from Ukraine as well. She said, "Ukraine? She's from Canada!" Obviously she'd given us the wrong address. At least we had a good story come out of it. We turned the car around to contact the real mother-in-law who was super nice and a lot easier to understand.

 

Wednesday we had the best District Meeting ever. I think it really changed the course of my mission. Elder Bostrom told us to picture each person as our dad, mom, sister or brother. That's what they are. They need this. They need what they have. That goes for everyone, not just missionaries. The people around you need this. They are just as much children of God as you are and mean just as much to Him. Share what you know! Anyway, we walked to our dinner appointment and knocked and no one was there. We sat on a bench swing they have in front. We sat there and contemplated what to do. Sister Anderson finally said, "Well, we got stood up for dinner. Luckily they have this swing though." They showed up 15 minutes later. We had our Book of Mormon class with Sandy. I will miss her!

 

Thursday, we visited with Linda in the nursing home. She is the sweetest. I remember meeting her my first week in the ICU. She's really improved since then. She is such an example to me. She always recognizes the Lord and is quick to remember that whatever trial she is going through, is part of God's plan for her and things will be made right soon. I will really miss her as well. After we visited her, we visited another member of the ward who has pets, pets, and more pets. I made the mistake of petting one of the cats and had cat hair all over my hand. Completely. Sister Anderson sat there trying not to laugh as she saw my facial expressions and somewhat discreet effort to wipe the hair off me. I hope I'm only that obvious (my dislike of pets) to Sister Anderson since she knows me so well by now. I got a package from the Merrell's :) It completely made my day and added to the feelings of joy.

 

Friday Sister Cusick and Sister Marchant surprised me with a cake to celebrate my birthday early since we didn't know who would still be here on my actual birthday. We lit a candle and I blew it out. They sing to me and everything. It really was so thoughtful of them. I felt so loved! The cake was delicious and super cute too. We had dinner with a family from the Philippines. Honestly some of the nicest people I have met. I think they gave me a taste of what the people in Brazil will be like. We took off our shoes by the door and she gave us slippers to wear! She'd made spaghetti ahead of time, so we warmed it up. The mom and the daughter sat and talked with us and ate a little of some soup thing while we ate our spaghetti. They kept telling us to go back and eat more. We ate a ton. And when we were done, the Sister pulled out legitimate To-Go boxes and packed the rest of the spaghetti, egg rolls, sauce, 2 onions, and some turkey she'd made earlier into a bag for us to take for later. We walked out of there to our next lesson about ready to explode. That night, we taught Alex! He's the Cal Poly student. His roommate John joined into the discussion. We taught about the Plan of Salvation and they had really really really good questions. We walked out feeling so good. We left John with a Book of Mormon. Now all 4 roommates have a copy. 3 of the 4 are agnostic. We invited them to pray. I know this is something they need! I'm so excited for them to continue. I'm sad I can't continue to teach them. They are some of our best lessons. That night, I returned home to find a package from my family! In the box, was 9 wrapped little presents I can't open til the 29th. Thanks for all the birthday thoughts so far! I've still got a week. Ahead of the game :)

 

Saturday, one of the Young Women came out with us for a couple hours. MIRACLES. We had planned to go to another area, but things just worked out that we knocked houses near her apartment. That was the best knocking experience I have ever had. Elizabeth did so well and had a good experience. We found Eric, Michael, and Charles. Charles is elect. Golden. He is from Kenya and is Catholic. He has so much faith and love for Jesus Christ. Our hearts dropped when we found out he is a student at Cal Poly because that means we have to eventually refer him over to the YSA Elders, but then he told us he returned to Kenya last year and got married! Yay! So that means he's our investigator. He was amazed by the amount of faith we have since he doesn't see that as something young people generally have in this culture. We had a beautiful discussion with him and left a Book of Mormon. He said he'd read it. Before we left, he offered an amazing prayer. I cannot wait to hear what happens with him this next transfer. We also met a student named Carson, who has a lot of questions about why we are here! We met so many great people that day. We also had a turn-around lesson with our investigator, Lee. We watched The Restoration video about Joseph Smith that's about an hour. It is so powerful. It completely changed her view of him and made all the difference. The Spirit was so strong. I was able to share my experience of visiting Nauvoo, Independence, and Carthage this summer. Sister Anderson and I were literally on a cloud as we had a kind of last supper with Sisters Cusick and Marchant to celebrate the end of the transfer.

 

Sunday, we talked with Sister Cusick and Sister Marchant after church. SISTER MARCHANT GOT HER VISA! She is actually on a plane right now to LA, then NY, then Sao Paulo, then Ribeirao Preto. The day consisted of mainly a lesson with Lee. We talked about baptism and committed her to live the Word of Wisdom. I can tell she really wants this. It's just getting her there, but I know she can do it. That night, we got a call from the Assistant's. Sister Anderson will be training this transfer. That meant we wouldn't be together. We cried and hugged as soon as we hung up the phone. This morning we got the call telling us our fate. Sister Anderson is staying in the SLO 1st Ward, Sister Cusick is staying in SLO 2nd, I'm going to Ventura 2nd Ward. It will be an adventure. I will miss SLO and the people here. Especially Sister Anderson. I have learned so incredibly much from her and will miss her terribly but I know this will be the new adventure that I need and that Heavenly Father needs for me at this time.

 

Carry on, Carry on, Carry on!

 

I love you! I hope you have an amazing week!

Love,

Sister Shipp

Miracles :)

It's been a week of some miracles! I knew some better times were coming!

 

Monday we took a beautiful hike up Bishop's Peak with the entire zone. Imagine 25 missionaries hiking up a small mountain. When we finally reached the top, some of the Elders loudly proclaimed scriptures from the top of the mountain. We also took lots of pictures! It was incredible. You can see all of SLO from the top. By the end, we were sweaty, sweaty, sweaty and covered with  quite a bit of dirt. It was a wonderful break from the usual schedule and it was amazing to meet some of the other missionaries in this mission!

Tuesday we had a lesson with Sarah who has some interesting beliefs. It's incredible how invested you become in lessons. It's kind of like watching a movie; something breaks your focus and you realize an hour has passed. As usual, we've elicited a number of reactions while knocking on doors. One lady answered while on the phone, we asked when we could come back, and she said "You Can't." The person on the phone laughed and she smiled and quickly shut the door. One of her neighbors answered and began to lecture us on her church and how it was the first to accept gay marriage. She was so proud of how liberal it was. Walking away from her house, Sister Anderson leaned over and said how grateful she was for a prophet today. A prophet is so important. He really keeps the church on track. It obviously states marriage is between a man and a woman in the Bible, but look at how much confusion there is about it. A prophet is one of the amazing tools and guides Heavenly Father and Jesus Christ have given us in our lives because He LOVES us. That night, we had dinner with a family in the ward. Their daughter has been bringing her friend to church with her and she wants to be baptized! We are planning to start work with their family soon.

Wednesday. 1 MONTH OUT IN THE FIELD. Crazy. To celebrate, Heavenly Father decided to give me an amazing miracle. Sister Anderson and I were walking back from District Meeting when she decided she needed to go to the bathroom (I think she goes more than you, mom! It's an accomplishment on her part I guess). So we stopped at a shell station. These 2 men walked in and we figured out they were from Brazil. WE RAN INTO A MOTOR-CYCLE GANG OF BRAZILIANS AT A SHELL GAS STATION IN SLO. Tell me that is not a miracle. They are from somewhere near Rio. They flew into Las Vegas for a 22 day motorcycle ride mainly through California. I got to talk a little in Portuguese with them and tell one of them a little about the church. So amazing. It made me excited to go to Brazil again.

Thursday we had a meeting with our Ward Mission Leader and Ward Missionaries. Sister Anderson and I had really been trying to figure out how to best help this area, because as far as numbers go each week, we are struggling because it is difficult to find people to teach. It comes down to the members. Knocking on doors is just not effective here. The Lord tremendously blessed us this week of ideas to help members get more involved. The Ward Missionaries all agreed, so the work should be moving along better soon. I cannot tell you how important members are in missionary work! I am going to be such a better member missionary when I return.

Friday we did some street contacting on our way to an appointment and ran into Brandon and a couple of his friends. Brandon actually started talking to us because he had dated a member of the church for quite a while. We were able to invite him and his friends to church! Just after saying bye to them, we began to talk to a girl named Lexie, who was standing behind us waiting to cross the street. She has a background with the church as well! We invited her to church and she said she would come! She said that this is just what she needed because she'd had a really rough day. We each gave her a big hug and told her how excited we were to see her Sunday! Later that night, we had a lesson with Alex (college student as well) who is agnostic. I think he really is searching to know if there is a God. I want him to know so badly that there is! He is our Heavenly Father! He loves Alex!

Saturday we visited one of our dear member friends in a nursing home. After our sweet visit, we were leaving when 2 women in wheelchairs started talking to us in the hallway. Their old age had kind of taken their memories. One of them even asked us if we were her daughters. We helped them the best we could, then got a nurse to help them find what they were looking for. He took one of them and the other wanted to come too, so he said "come on Levon!" She said, "How did you know it was Levon?" He replied, "I took a guess!" Old people are so cute and funny. Levon turned around and called out a "Thanks girls!" as we walked away. We got Chipotle for dinner. It's probably a little sad how incredible happy it made me. Oh, well :) Sister Anderson and I really enjoyed our burritos and chips after a good week.

Sunday! LEXIE CAME TO CHURCH. It was a miracle. We had invited her to the Single's ward, which the Elders are over. We were waiting outside for her when Brittney arrived to church late and came to say hi to us. Here is the story of Brittney: 2 weeks ago, we were rushing home on foot after failing to find an apartment of a referral, so that I could get home for a full hour of Portuguese study. While walking down the sidewalk, we heard a "Hey Sisters!" We turned around and met Brittney, a member of the Single's Ward. We talked to her for a few minutes before continuing on our way. Now 2 weeks later, we explained we were waiting for an investigator and Brittney asked if we'd want someone to walk in with her. It's amazing how the Lord work. Lexie arrived, we ran to her, introduced her to Brittney (they are like instant friends and had some common friends as well), and prepped her to go into Sacrament Meeting. We heard later that she had a wonderful time and the Elders have an appointment with her Friday with Brittney as well! Miracles. Heavenly Father knew that Lexie would need Brittney far before we knew about either of them. We saw our investigator Lee, later. She is having a really hard time right now. We walked her dog, Tanner. I had only walked a dog twice before my mission... Now I can't count how many times we've walked that dog. Missionary work is walking dogs sometimes, just thought y'all should know. We returned and visited with Lee and sang what we remembered of "Be Still My Soul" and it's amazing how quickly the Spirit came and how immediately Lee calmed down.

Heavenly Father really is amazing and there are miracles all around us if we will just look around and see! Especially after hard weeks, the light comes. There's a better day ahead. Always. There is always something to look forward to.

I love you all! Thanks for the prayers. I really feel them. Have a wonderful week!

Love,
Sister Shipp

TWO MONTHS!

hit my 2 month mark on Tuesday! It's crazy it's been so long already! I've been here in SLO for almost a month!

I hoped y'all watched conference. INCREDIBLE. My companion described it, "It's like the Super Bowl for Missionaries. But Better. Like Way Better." Here are some major things I learned this week, both from conference and other experiences:

-Hope, according to Chapter 6 of PMG is an expectation, confidence or assurance something will happen. It's a step up from Faith. Our Hope is based off of our Faith (belief). When we truly believe in Jesus Christ, we will expect the blessings of His Atonement in our lives and the promises He has made to us. Esperar (Portuguese) =to hope, but also to wait and to expect.

-From exchanges with Sister Bennett this week, I learned to not be intimidating to talk to people. They should feel lucky we are talking to them. We have the most important message they will ever hear. If they don't know that, at least we do.

-ALWAYS be strengthening your testimony. Continually cling to the iron rod. This includes going to church and listening to conference. Those are ways we can receive personal revelation and always have the spirit.

-It's not where you serve, but HOW

-Bringing others to Christ blesses their life for eternity, not just the moment

-Blessings do not always come how we expect them. Often we will receive a greater capacity to change our circumstances rather than have our circumstances directly changed.

-PRESIDENT UCHTDORF's TALK was so powerful. Missionary tool! Love it!

-One of the questions I wrote down before conference was how do I get members more excited and involved? Just watch the first session of conference again. S. Gifford Nielson: What if the prophet called you? HE HAS. Pray for the missionaries and their investigators by name each day. The Lord cannot hasten the work in the manner He wants without the help of members.

-Christ's healing begins with Faith

-We chose to live in this fallen and imperfect world with trials and sickness

-If the bitter cup doesn't pass, drink it and hope for (or expect) better days to come

-Conversion comes by FIRST living it

So my week:

Tuesday. Sister Anderson and I ate a whole pizza. No big deal. Walking really racks up a big appetite sometimes. We also got lost in student housing looking for a referral. Just imagining opening lots of doors and peering through windows. It was good. We also met with Linda in her care center and met her roommate Debbie! It touched me how Debbie talked about her husband and family. It literally brought tears to my eyes the relationships she has with her family and also what a wonderful friend she is to Linda who really doesn't have family.

Wednesday was my first exchange! I was with Sister Bennett and learned so much. I really learned how to talk to different kinds of people. After all, you knock on a door and you never know the person who will answer or the response you will get from them. One of these was Bob. Bob is an atheist. He was going to close the door and I stuck out my hand and was like "Hi, I'm Sister Shipp!" Anyways. Long conversation about how he thinks there is no God. He tried to keep up an argument. Favorite moments: Sis Bennett asked how he could prove love. He was like "I feel it!" I said "Well, I feel the presence of God!" Later, he told us we were lost. Sister Bennett said, "Well, I'm usually in Ventura, so I don't really know this area... But we've got a car and a GPS so I think we're okay!"

Thursday we met a Cal Poly student named Alex who is the roommate of a referral we received a couple weeks ago. He is agnostic. We talked to him a lot about the Book of Mormon and God. We have a return appointment this week. I am so excited! We felt the Spirit really strongly.

We started making 72 Hour missionary kits for the families we eat dinner with! It includes a Book of Mormon, Pamphlets, and Mormon.org cards. I am really excited to continue this after all the messages about member missionaries during conference!

There are some really amazing families in our ward. One of which is the Riries which we ate dinner with last night. They reminded me of eating dinner with the Paystrups or Shipps. Miss y'all!

One thing I've learned is that you are a successful missionary when you teach with the Spirit, regardless of whether the person accepts or rejects the message. We had a lesson with a man named Ryan the past week. We both felt the Spirit so strongly talking about Joseph Smith and the Book of Mormon. In the end, he said he didn't see how Joseph Smith could be a prophet and didn't indicate he would read the Book or Mormon. I was disappointed that Ryan couldn't see past his doubts, but I am completely confident that I delivered the message I was called to share.

I hope all is going well with each of you! I invite you to read or listen to conference again and again. There was a specific promise to the youth that as they listen, the Lord will show them the direction He wants them to take in their lives.

 

Love,

Sister Shipp

Week 3! It's a Roller Coaster

This week has been a week of miracles and set backs! Isn't that what missionary work is? It's a roller coaster it seems.

 

Monday we had a good lesson with a family about the enabling power of the Atonement. We know that this will really help the mom with the trials she is struggling with! She committed to study more about the Atonement! I know this will be a blessing in her life.

 

Tuesday was President's interviews. Amazing. I felt the Spirit so strongly. It was a source of spiritual strength and an uplifting time that was needed. Sister Anderson and I also received a lot of revelation for our area as well. I saw Sister Coleman again! It's nice to see her! I was able to tell her about the email she sent to my mom this past week. In my interview with President Castro, he said that as I work hard here, I will be able to keep up with the language, and when I do get to Brazil, it will be as if I've been there for a while already. 

Sister Anderson and I didn't have any letters that night, so we decided to make a feast for dinner. She made french toast with her non-hormone eggs, I made scambled eggs with hormones, cheese, and mushrooms. It was good. I love her. I feel like I've known her forever, and then I realized it's only been 3 weeks. Here are some quotes from the night:

-On a scale of 1 to eating a jar of Nutella, how depressed are you?

-Who came up with French Toast? Well, possible the french...

 

Wednesday we met with our investigator Lee who has a baptismal date of October 19. We sat down with her and made goals. We then broke her goals down into what she was going to do, what Sister Anderson and I were going to do to help her, and then help she needs from the Lord to complete these goals as well. We invited her to pray about these goals and ask Heavenly Father for the help that she needs. Through addressing her concerns, it became evident to me just how incredible it is how Heavenly Father has prepared me in the past for these investigators! As I talked with Lee, some of my own experiences came to mind and I was able to share these with her.

Days we don't have the car are interesting. The couple we ate dinner with offered us a ride to the church, but Sister Anderson refused. We walked like 2 miles. Quickly, with full stomachs and full bladders. I told her next time, we take the ride and walk up and down the street once to get some street contacting in :)

 

Thursday we had a lesson with Carl who seems to be an eternal investigator. I was impressed to share in James 2 that faith without works is dead. We were hoping that this would be the push he needs to take steps and progress, but we are not sure that it worked. We are planning on a commit or drop lesson this week. Later that day, we met Killian! He is a student at Cal Poly, so we referred him to the Elders in the Single's ward, but he seems elect. It was a blessing. We also had a short visit with Lee where we shared Matthew 5: Let your light shine. It really helped her to remember the goals that she set.

 

Friday morning, I was sick. It really set us back in numbers this week, but that's okay! I got rest and felt a lot better the next day. Later, we met a potential investigator, Ryan, who we have a return appointment with this Friday. We also met with Lee. who had had a really rough day and had unfortunately watched a show on TV that was not so nice about the church. We addressed her concerns and then left.

 

Saturday Sister Anderson was sick in the morning. We have both recovered and are doing much better. Lee cancelled our plans to attend the Relief Society broadcast together. This was really disappointing. Sister Anderson and I attended the broadcast and had many of our concerns and disappointments lightened as we listened to the words of the conference. It's incredible the revelation you receive not only for yourself, but also the area and your investigators as you invite the Spirit into your life. We felt much better after the conference and have some new direction to work on this week. I also got 4 letters each on Friday and Saturday which were the hardest days of the week. I know Heavenly Father is watching out for me, and so are you all. Letters mean so much and get me through the hard days, thank you so much!

 

Yesterday we visited briefly with Lee. She was dealing with a lot of medical pain, but we left her with a quick message. We are not sure where she stands at this point with being baptized on the 19th. We will follow up today.

 

Missionary work is hard, but I know that it is worth it! I know that miracles are coming! I love San Luis Obispo and am striving to increase that love for everyone here. I love Sister Anderson more than I can say! I feel like I've known her forever, and then I remember it's only been 3 weeks. 

 

The Relief Society Broadcast was so good! I am so excited for the rest of conference! I know it is such a blessing in our lives! Watch it! It's on lds.org on Saturday and Sunday. Prophets and Apostles of God are speaking. How incredible is that?

I love each of you. I know Heavenly Father loves you! He knows you perfectly and loves you unceasingly. Find one way you can follow Him and His Son a little better this week :)

Love,

Sister Maryann Shipp

Week 2 - Green Missionary

Sister Anderson and I have had a very busy and very interesting week as well! Sitting next to me on her own computer, she was super excited to hear about the results from the Utah vs BYU game. We don't need to talk about it. She wants to get a picture of us; me in my BYU shirt and her in her U shirt. I guess that one will probably make it to you next week.

 

Last Monday, we played Volleyball as a district! Got to show off a little. It was fun! Lots of dropped balls and lots of laughs. That night, we had dinner with the Huber family in our ward. They have a tradition where the make a green dinner for "green missionaries." Literally. Green soup. Green milk. Asparagus. Mint Chocolate Chip Ice Cream. It was so fun! They are so sweet. For our dinner message, we shared the Restoration lesson and invited them to act like investigators. It was my first time teaching that lesson with Sister Anderson, and my first time teaching it in English as well! The Spirit was so strong. We challenged them to think about people in their lives that they could share the gospel with and invited them to pray about it. Sister Huber came to us yesterday and told us that she took our challenge and prayed about it and a name came to her mind. She sent him a talk by one of the Apostles and it was an answer to his prayers. We are hoping that more stories and referrals will come as we continue to share this message with members. I didn't realize how important members were in missionary work until I became a missionary!

 

On Tuesday, we found a man named Shane who is here in town for a rehabilitation program for mental problems. He seemed interested in how he could obtain forgiveness from his sins and move forward in life. We returned to him on Saturday and taught him about prophets, Heavenly Father, and Jesus Christ. He tried reading a little from the Book of Mormon, but is convinced that he cannot understand what we are saying because of his mental problems. We invited him to pray.

 

Also on Tuesday, we met with Lee. We have been trying to teach Lee tithing for some time now, but something always comes up. We went to her house determined to teach it this time and we were dismayed when we saw her. She had just started a new medication and she was really out of it. We talked to her for a few minutes and then asked if she would be okay for a lesson. It was a miracle. As we began teaching about tithing, she regained her ability to focus. We explained Tithing and Fasting as simply as we could because we knew this principle was what was keeping her from being baptized. After we finished, Lee agreed and said that the principles made complete sense to her. We started talking about baptism. Lee expressed that she felt the need to study more. We explained that you don't need to know everything in order to be baptized, you just have to have faith. Sister Anderson nudged me under the table, and I extended the invitation for her to be baptized on October 12. SHE SAID YES. We met with her again on Wednesday; members of our ward gave her a blessing because of some health problems. She quit smoking that day. On Saturday, Lee had a panic attack and yesterday, she smoked a cigarette. Her family is not very accepting of her decision, which is hard on her and she still is waiting for the results of some medical tasks. We set her with a new baptismal date of October 19 and we are determined to get her there. We know she can do this.

 

Also Tuesday, we met a man named Billy, who is missing a lot of his teeth, but he has a really cute dog. Billy just spent 40 days in jail because he pushed his ex-wife's car off a cliff. We left him with a Restoration pamphlet.

 

For dinner, we ate with the Slusser family. They are like the perfect missionary family! Their daughter's friend, Stella, comes to church with them each week and wants to be baptized. We may have another baptism here soon :) Brother and Sister Slusser told us the story of how they met. They met when they were both missionaries serving in Florida! How crazy! Such a good story! After dinner, we had a lesson with Emily. It was my first drop lesson. I dropped my first investigator. I know it was a good decision though.

 

We dropped another investigator, Jean, this past week. We had a lesson on the Restoration and asked him a lot of questions. The intent just isn't there, so Sister Anderson and I decided that he is not ready yet.

 

Wednesday was my first talk in District Meeting! It went well! My district leader says he might assign me a talk every week. We'll see how that goes. Our whole day was pushed back by some unexpected delays, but because of that, we caught our investigator as he was coming home and also met Lia! Lia does not have a strong religious background and is totally open to learning more. We had a lesson with her Friday and taught the Restoration. She said she would think about what we taught and would read Moroni 10. She is very open minded and we are hoping to teach her more.

 

We met with Carl on Thursday. He has been investigating the church for years and years, but we found out that he has still not prayed about the Book of Mormon for some reason. We are trying to figure out what is best for him. We are planning a lesson for this week on acting because of the faith we do have. We hope this will push him to make changes in his life and to pray about the Book of Mormon. We briefly met Barbara while knocking who thinks we are Polygamists. Some people's ideas are so funny. Later in the day, we knocked a house that had a Confederate flag and all these red-neck signs. We knocked twice, then a sick feeling crept into my stomach. I felt like we shouldn't be there, so we left. I hope one day, I will know why.

 

Friday I got my first letter here! YAY! It was so nice. I've missed mail so much. Sister Anderson also stained part of the table with a wet pink sticky note during weekly planning. My companion. 

 

Saturday there was a baptism! I wish it was one of our investigators. It was a student from Cal Poly. Sister Anderson and her last companion actually found him, but referred him to the elders over the Single's ward. It was a great ceremony :)

 

Yesterday, I spoke in church. I talked about missionary work, trying to inspire the members to be missionaries with us. Everyone loved it. I got so many compliments. The people in this ward are so great :) So many were impressed that I am only 19. As Sister Anderson and I were walking to one of our appointments yesterday, a bird pooped in her hair. We needed the laugh. We stopped, found something to wipe her hands off on, used lots of hand sanitizer, took a picture, and kept going. We also ran into an angry old man. We were walking the same way down the street, so we decided to say hi. He refused to tell us his name and then ignored us as we walked down the street going the same direction. People.

I love being a missionary. Sometimes I think about how it would have been easier to be home or continuing my studies at BYU, but I know this is where I am needed now! I love it here and I love this opportunity I have to serve the Lord! Hope all is well. Love you!

Love,

Sister Shipp

San Luis Obispo, CA - Week 1

So here is my mailing address (it is the address for the mission office, they forward the mail to me):

Sister Maryann Shipp

California Ventura Mission

3301 West Gonzales Road
Oxnard, CA 93036

I have been assigned to San Luis Obispo, CA! I love it. I can definitely tell I'm in Cali though. I'm making a list. You know you're in California when.... (Please don't be offended.. These are just my observations.. Very different from Texas):

-You run into 2 brothers named Forrest and River

-You are taxed when you don't supply your own bags at stores

-Drive Throughs are illegal in your town

-Someone yells out the window of their car while smoking weed and says "Nice Bible!"

-You see a sign pledging allegiance to Earth and life

-You pass a shirtless man carrying his life on his back, hitch-hiking to Long Beach

-The town has a "Thank the Whales" celebration

Kind of a whole other world over here, but I love it. No house looks the same. They are all different colors. And the weather is perfect! I cannot even describe how nice it is.

First week in the field! It has been incredible. I love Sister Anderson so much. She is from Salt Lake City and is a huge Utah fan, but we don't hold it against each other. We have seen so many tender mercies and I have learned so much from her so far. I love San Luis Obispo and am so happy to be here serving the Lord and the people here.

On Tuesday I met our investigator, Lee. Sister Anderson just wanted to share a quick scripture with her so she could get to know me. She asked me to share one of my favorite scriptures and I felt prompted to share D&C 6:20-23. As I read those verses, I substituted Lee's name into the verse. I guess it was exactly what she needed and had addressed some of the things that she had previously been through. It was definitely a tender mercy since I was not fully aware of all the details about Lee.

On Wednesday I attended my first district meeting in the field. Incredible. I am so impressed by the revelation that came as we met and strengthened our resolve as a district and worked to improve our teaching skills by learning how to ask inspired questions. It is definitely something I want to implement more strongly in my teaching. Later in the day, we met a woman named Liz who loves the Bible. We gave her a Book of Mormon and invited her to read and pray about it. Hopefully we can catch her this week to follow up. After that, we ran into the mail woman who happens to be LDS! She gave us 6 referrals (some of which were for other wards). What a miracle. I don't know how many referrals we normally get, but apparently 6 in one day is miraculous. The Lord is looking out for us!

Thursday we had 5 lessons planned, but 4 cancelled. It was a little discouraging. We visited a less active Sister in our ward named Linda in the ICU. She was really struggling that day, so I think it was a really good thing the Spirit had led us to visit her. We were able to pray with her, talk about the Atonement, and about the purpose of life. I think those little messages really touched her and the support of a visit that day was especially what she needed. Later, we experienced a miracle as we met Larry when we were on our way to one of our appointments that eventually fell through. Larry is a super optimistic man because he "keeps Jesus in his heart" all day. It was inspiring to see his faith and how he manifests it to others. We left him with a Plan of Salvation pamphlet and have an appointment with him this Wednesday. We also had a lesson with our investigator, Gene. We taught about the Plan of Salvation since his wife died somewhat recently. I don't think he believes he can really know for sure if this plan is God's plan or that there is only one true church. We are trying to figure out the best way to help him understand.

Friday we spent a long time on weekly planning. I loved it. I really felt like we received some good direction on how to best help our investigators and who to focus on this week. I really am so thankful for Sister Anderson. She is so encouraging and is so easy to get along with. We have similar ideas of what we want to accomplish in this area and set goals to make them happen. We are really striving for 2 baptisms this transfer and praying everyday for the help to accomplish it. We visited Lee that day, walked her dog, and shared a scripture with her. She is going through a health scare right now. We don't know what she might be facing, but tests will come back for whatever it is this Friday. We have been planning on teaching her tithing, but with her anxiety and level of faith at the moment, we think we should focus on faith first. She is going to receive a blessing on Wednesday.

Saturday we found a college student named Crystal when we returned her roommate's iphone (we found it on the sidewalk while running that morning). I think it was a miracle. Crystal grew up Catholic, but is looking for a new church. We told her a little about the Single's ward and suggested it for her. We met 2 interesting guys later in the day as well. First was John who is conflicted between science and religion. He really likes the Bible so we left him with a Book of Mormon to read. The other man is Chase. Chase has been through a lot in his life. Part of the time, he was challenging us, especially when we pulled out a Book of Mormon to give to him. It got to the point where he wasn't letting us talk. He was just falsely criticizing this book. Sister Anderson boldly interrupted him and testified of the Book of Mormon. He was silent. I think there were tears in his eyes and he shook our hands and said he would read it. I really hope he does. I don't know what he is going through right now, but there is something and I know the Book of Mormon and the rest of this gospel will help him. It's amazing how strongly I felt the Spirit as Sister Anderson testified.

Sunday I attended the SLO 1st Ward. I love it. The ward members are so nice, welcoming, and excited that we are here. I had the opportunity to introduce myself to Joe, a less active in our ward who is struggling with his testimony, and suggest that he read "Lord I Believe" by Jeffrey R. Holland. We did a lot of tracting and met some nice individuals and invited them to church.

Overall, it was a wonderful week and I am so thankful to be here. I love this area. I love the ward. I love my companion. I love being a missionary. I know the Lord is helping me retain the Portuguese I learned in the MTC. It's incredible how much it has stayed with me and how I am still improving even though I only speak it a little each day.

I am excited and looking forward to many more miracles this week.

The family we ate dinner with last night actually served in Ribeirao Preto. He showed me tons of pictures and told me all about the area. I am excited! Excited to be here. Excited to go to Brazil. It is so nice to speak English. I said the prayed in Portuguese and he said it was really good! Yay! I'm trying to teach Sister Anderson Portuguese. She broke our key to the library this week. In the lock. Good times. Love her.

TUDO BEM (ALL IS WELL)

Love Y'all! Have an amazing week!

Sister Shipp