End of Blog
Sister Lorielle Record has served an honorable full-time mission for 18 months for the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints in the Oklahoma Oklahoma City Mission (OOCM).
Monday, September 23, 2013
Talk on Personal Revelation
Lorielle gave a great talk yesterday on personal revelation, testimony and conversion. This is her final official talk relating to missionary work since she had come home. She is saving and planning to go to college soon. A great life awaits.
Labels:
Homecoming
Where is Lorielle now?
Spanish Fork, UT, USA
Sunday, September 8, 2013
Talk Today!
Lorielle spoke in the YSA Ward today on gospel centered plans. It was great! She will be speaking in the Spanish Highlands ward on 9/22 at 11:00am.
Labels:
Homecoming,
Talk
Where is Lorielle now?
Spanish Fork, UT, USA
Monday, August 26, 2013
Talk
Lorielle spoke with her brother, Jason on Sunday. They both did an outstanding job. The Spirit was so strong and the testimony they bore was wonderful to hear. Lorielle will be speaking again sometime in September in the Spanish Highlands ward, probably on 9/22.
Lorielle plans on working and preparing to go to college in January.
Lorielle plans on working and preparing to go to college in January.
Labels:
Homecoming
Where is Lorielle now?
Spanish Fork, UT, USA
Thursday, August 22, 2013
Welcome Home, Sister Record!
Sister Record is home, and we are so glad to see her again. We have a great ride home and talked about lots of experiences. Here are some homecoming pictures. Sister Record's flight was about 30 minutes early, so we go to see her all the sooner.
Sheri, Jason, Sister Record, Jason, Annelise, Chris, Eric and Poppy |
Sister Record was the only missionary on her plane. |
Sheri going to greet Sister Record |
Sheri and Sister Record |
Sister Record and Sheri |
Sister Record was surprised how tall Chris is. |
The Family saying hello. |
Sister Record giving her youngest brother (Eric) a hug. |
Labels:
Homecoming,
Photos
Where is Lorielle now?
Spanish Fork, UT, USA
Tuesday, August 20, 2013
Coming Home!
Sister Record will arrive at the Salt Lake City airport Thursday, Aug 22 at 8:00am. We will meet in terminal 2 by the baggage claim area near the escalators. Feel free to meet us there to greet Sister Record with a warm welcome home.
Labels:
Homecoming
Where is Lorielle now?
Stillwater, OK, USA
Speaking Assignment
Sister Record will be speaking this Sunday, Aug 25 at 1:00pm at the Canyon Ridge Ward building at 2162 East Canyon Road, Spanish Fork, Utah. She will be speaking with her brother, Jason Record, who was recently released as a missionary from the Alaska Anchorage Mission.
Speaking Topics
Sister Record: Recognizing and Acting on Promptings from the Spirit
Jason Record: Faith in and Use of the Priesthood
I am told you need to get there really early if you want a seat.
Speaking Topics
Sister Record: Recognizing and Acting on Promptings from the Spirit
Jason Record: Faith in and Use of the Priesthood
I am told you need to get there really early if you want a seat.
Labels:
Speaking
Where is Lorielle now?
Stillwater, OK, USA
A Fabulous Week!
It has been a fabulous week! We have
taught a lot of people and seen miracles!
One that stands out is we finally found
all the information we needed to do the temple work for one of our
member's grandparents. (this is the same story from last week). We
were able to print the things needed to take those names to the
temple. I am so excited to go to the temple for these people!
The second miracle involves somebody
we've been teaching for a couple weeks now. We invited him to be
baptized a few weeks ago and he said yes, but wouldn't commit to a
date. Then this week Sister Zaleski felt inspired to invite him
again. He was a lot more willing to think about the date we had set
for him to get baptized. He came to church on Sunday and after
sacrament meeting told us he was ready to get baptized! wahoo! I'm so
excited for him!
I have absolutely loved my mission! It
has, by far, been the best decision I've ever made up to this point
in my life! I am thankful that Heavenly Father knows me better than I
know myself and helped me get on a mission. It wasn't what I wanted
to do 2 years ago.
I am thankful for what I've learned
about myself on my mission. Growing up I always heard that I was a
"daughter of a Heavenly Father who loved me." I don't think
I ever disbelieved it... but I never felt it deep inside. My mission
has helped me know, not only in my mind but in my heart, that this is
true.
I have had experiences where God has
taught me that by the Spirit. It is amazing! Do you know who you
really are? Because it is incredible!
I am so grateful that God has given me
the opportunity to see His other children the way he sees them. I am
grateful for the opportunity I've had to help my Heavenly Father with
his great and marvelous work.
To be honest, most of the time I feel
like a child in the kitchen helping mom make cookies. Mom could make
the cookies perfectly fine without my help. She doesn't need my help
at 3 years old, but she lets me. She lets me help because she knows I
will learn a valuable lesson. She lets me help because she loves me.
She lets me help because she knows our relationship will be better
because of it.
I love the people of Oklahoma. They are
wonderful! I am going to miss it here. However, I know that God has
more for me to do in my life. I'm ready to see what he has in store
for me. It will be an awfully big adventure! :D
Well, I love y'all! See you soon!
Love, Sister Record
Labels:
Letters,
Stillwater
Where is Lorielle now?
Stillwater, OK, USA
Monday, August 12, 2013
Family History Miracle
Hello everybody!!
Its been a good week! We have so many
amazing people in the ward here. One of them we didn't know about a
few months ago. We found her tracting. She had joined the church in
the last place she lived and when she moved to Stillwater last summer
she didn't know anybody from the church so she had not gone.
Elder Zerkle, Elder Lott, Elder Hendersen, Elder Burr, Elder Fee, Elder Salmon, Elder Kennedy, Elder Moore, Me |
Anyway, we've been working a lot with
her over the past couple months. She is WONDERFUL! We've been taking
her out teaching with us. She has such a powerful testimony of her
Savior and Heavenly Father. She has a strong testimony of the Book of
Mormon. She has connected with so many of the people we've
taken her to go see. Its been amazing!
We had an experience with her on
Wednesday and Thursday We taught her on Wednesday about family
history work and temple work. She is so excited to search out her
family names and one day wants to be able to go to the temple to do
that work for them.
As soon as we started to teach the
Spirit in that room was so strong! I had this impression from the
Spirit to ask her a question. After about 15 minutes I
asked her. I said, "I am going back to Utah in a couple
weeks and I will be doing a lot of temple work. Would you like me to
take a couple of your family names to the temple in Utah and do their
temple work for them?" She started to cry (and I
got a little teary eyed) and said she would really love that.
So on Thursday we went to the family
history center and found her grandparents information. IT WAS SO
EXCITING!!! (she literally had no information other than names
of her grandparents.) We also found her great grandparents and their
children! She asked if I would do the temple work for her
grandparents on her mom's side! We are so excited! If
everything works out, we're going to have the names ready this
Thursday to take to the temple when I get home.
Well, I love y'all so very much! Thank
you for ALL your support and encouragement! :)
Love, Sister Record
Labels:
Letters,
Photos,
Stillwater
Where is Lorielle now?
Stillwater, OK, USA
Monday, August 5, 2013
A Good Week
Hello everyone!
Its been a good week! We got to go to
the temple, which was awesome! Love that place!
We watched general conference with a
woman we are teaching. It was too perfect! She had questions about
prophets, but so many of her questions were answered. The Spirit was
so strong! I loved it!
I have to apologize, the closer I get
to coming home.... the less I have to say. I do love you though! Life
is good! Being a missionary is great! I'm going to miss it. Have a
great day!
Love, Sister Record
Labels:
Letters,
Stillwater
Where is Lorielle now?
Stillwater, OK, USA
Monday, July 29, 2013
Hello Again!
Hello again!
I can't believe it is Monday again...
time flies so fast. On Friday as I was sitting in a meeting and the
thought, "don't idle away your time, you have eternities to
prepare for." came to mind. I know a lot of missionaries getting
ready to come home say they realize they spent a lot of time before
their mission doing things that were not important.
Well... it is true for me as well. I
wasted so much precious time that could have been used for much
better things.
This week has been amazing! We had
somebody we've been teaching get baptized this week! She went to
girls camp in June and felt the spirit there. She came to us and told
us she wanted to get baptized. We've been teaching her for the last
month or so. It was a beautiful baptism and the spirit there was
strong!! All the young women sang I
Know That My Redeemer Lives. Wow! It was powerful! :D
Its been a great week! We have temple
conference tomorrow and then right after temple conference I'm going
on exchanges on of the campus's in our region. I'm excited! Its going
to be a busy day! I'm excited to go
to the temple, it's been nearly 9 months since I went last. So
this will be good.
I'm really going to miss serving in
this area! I never thought I would spend half my mission in one area,
but I feel so blessed to have had this opportunity. I don't think a
lot of missionaries get the chance to see an area grow and develop
like I have.
I was here when we only had 3 sets of
full-time missionaries and one senior couple. Now we have one senior
couple and 5 sets of full-time missionaries.
I have seen people's hearts softened by
the truth of the gospel. I have seen more miracles than I could
possibly tell.
I have seen the Lord's work hasten in
each of the wards here. What a blessing! God is good! I am so
thankful for the opportunity I have had to serve a mission in the
great state of Oklahoma! I love this place!
I know the Book of Mormon is a new and
additional witness that Jesus
Christ is the Savior and Redeemer of the world. I know this book
is true. I know the message in this book CHANGES hearts. I have seen
it a countless number of times, not only in my life, but in the life
of others.
If you haven't read the
Book of Mormon recently I would invite you to do so. If you have
never read it before, I would invite you to do so. If you read it
daily, I would invite you to study it even more. This is the best
book! I love the message about my Savior, Jesus Christ, in it.
I love y'all so much!!!
Love Sister Record
Labels:
Letters,
Stillwater
Where is Lorielle now?
Stillwater, OK, USA
Monday, July 22, 2013
Picture Post
I'm just sending pictures this week :D I love you
all! I love being a missionary! It has been the biggest blessing of my
life up to this point.
Hermana Loveland and I |
The OU/OSU blanket Sister Pfister and Sister Allen made for me. (Sister Record and Sister Allen) |
Sister Zaleski and I |
I love you!
Love, Sister Record
Labels:
Letters,
Photos,
Stillwater
Where is Lorielle now?
Stillwater, OK, USA
Monday, July 15, 2013
Miracles Abound!
It's been a pretty amazing week! Sister
Loveland and I wanted to start doing this thing we call "power
hour". We got the idea from President Walkenhorst. We weren't
able to start it until Sister Zaleski came to Stillwater though. So
what is power hour? We go to a member's home and teach them about
faith and miracles. We then ask them to pray for and with us for the
people we will be talking to for the next hour. We ask them to expect
miracles to happen in the next hour.
Then my companion and I go out and talk
to everybody we see. We are bold in testifying of the restored
gospel. After power hour is over, we go back to the member's home and
share with them the miracle that happened.
On Saturday we had 3 hours of tracting
time. We decided to go do our power hour for the first time. We chose
to go to one family that we eat a lot with and who come out with us a
lot. I just felt strongly that we needed to go over there.
Anyway, we introduced them to "power
hour" and both of them were awesome! As we left we started
walking one way. Sister Zaleski felt she should grab another Book of
Mormon from the car. After that I saw a woman on the other end of the
street watering her yard. We went to talk to her..... and she
completely rejected us. She wouldn't even accept a pass along card.
So we turned around and walked the way we came.
Both Sister Zaleski and I felt prompted
to knock on a door on this street. We did and the woman we talked to
had just talked to her husband the day before saying that they needed
to find a church. They wanted to have a strong family with Christ at
the center of their family. It was amazing! We are going back on
Tuesday to teach them more! MIRACLE! We had other miracles but that
was the biggest one.
After the hour was up, we went back to
Brother and Sister K to tell them about the miracles. They were so
excited to hear about their neighbor who is interested in learning
more. It was a faith building experience for them as well as for us.
It was POWERFUL! I feel so blessed that God used Sister Zaleski and I
to do his work. The Spirit was so strong as we knelt with brother and
sister K in their living room before we left.
The Spirit of God is what changes
hearts. When we open our mouths and act in faith, God provides
miracles. He allows us to be a part of His great work! It is
incredible!
We have an amazing person getting
baptized this Friday! wooo! I'm so excited! The only thing we have
not taught her is tithing. Our Relief Society lesson was on tithing.
After the lesson she told us that as she grew up her mom would pay
tithing but she was never "sold" on the idea. She told us
that now she realizes that she owes God for everything she has. After
relief society she went and paid her tithing. :) It was such a tender
moment. Her and her daughter had been saving and collecting money for
a few weeks so they could pay tithing to the best of their knowledge
of what tithing was. The spirit is really working with her. I can't
wait for her to get baptized!
I am so thankful for this opportunity I
have to represent the Lord, Jesus Christ, in this amazing place! I
love Oklahoma! I feel so blessed that I get to serve my mission here.
:D I love you all!
I read something that I absolutely
love! If you are struggling, I would ask you to remember this: "In
the gospel of Jesus Christ, you have help from both sides of the
veil, and you must never forget that. When disappointment and
discouragement strike... you remember and never forget that
if our eyes could be opened we would see horses and chariots of fire
as far as the eye can see riding at reckless speed to come to our
protection." Elder Jeffrey R Holland, Apostle of the Lord, Jesus
Christ.
Love, Sister Record
Labels:
Letters,
Stillwater
Where is Lorielle now?
Stillwater, OK, USA
Tuesday, July 9, 2013
New Companion
We got transfer calls this week! I am
staying in Stillwater! That is 7.5 months. By the time I come home
that will make a grand total of 9 months! I absolutely love this
area! I love the people, I love the city, I love the ward and it's
members! My new companion is Sister Zaleski. I am really excited to
work with her for the next 6 weeks.
I have loved being companions with
Sister Loveland! She is an amazing missionary and she has taught me
so much! Seriously, she is great! I'm really going to miss her, but
it's time for her to go back to a Spanish area. :)
I know the Book of Mormon is true! I
have seen it change people's hearts! It has changed my heart. I have
a stronger desire to follow Christ. I have seen that those who
sincerely read it have an increased desire to follow Christ as well.
It is amazing!
I love you all! Check out this talk. It
helped me A LOT! http://speeches.byu.edu/?act=viewitem&id=1022
Have a fabulous week!
Love, Sister Record
Labels:
Letters,
Stillwater,
Transfers
Where is Lorielle now?
Stillwater, OK, USA
Tuesday, July 2, 2013
Sister Record's Intinerary
We received word from the mission office that Sister Record will arrive at Salt Lake City International on Thursday, 22 Aug 2013 at 7:54am. We are so excited. I have added the count down to the blog.
Labels:
Mission Home,
Stillwater
Where is Lorielle now?
Stillwater, OK, USA
Monday, July 1, 2013
Sister Record: Roach Slayer!
Hey hey!
So I am a professional roach slayer!
Maybe that isn't something to be proud of, but here I am telling you
about it. We were at the LDS institute yesterday. I went into the
bathroom and there was a cockroach on the ground.... a VERY BIG
cockroach. It looked dead... so I got a paper towel to flush him. HE
WASN'T DEAD! The second I started to pick him up he freaked out.
Anyway.... I finally got him by is antenna and flushed him. It was
yucky! Enough of my roach slaying adventures and on to my gospel
preaching adventures.
[Name withheld 1] is getting baptized on Saturday!!
wooo! Sister Loveland and I and [Name withheld 1] and so many others are so
excited! She is so ready and prepared! We are teaching her about
fasting today. I have such a testimony of prayer and fasting. The
first fast Sunday in May Sister Loveland and I decided we were going
to fast and pray that we would find somebody in our area who was
ready to accept the gospel and get baptized. Well... two weeks later
we met [Name withheld 1]! She has been such an answer to prayers! I have been
here in this area for 7 months and all the hard work to finally be
able to teach [Name withheld 1] has been worth it! I don't even remember all the
sad things that have happened because they are all "swallowed up
in the Joy of Christ".
I feel like Heavenly Father has blessed
me with a unique experience, being in one area for 7 months. I have
been able to see how the area has grown and developed. We have an
amazing ward who are all so willing to come out with us.
Sister missionaries in front of the Oklahoma City Temple. Sister Record on the far right. |
We have been focusing a lot on the
Book of Mormon over the last few weeks. We have been using the
Book of Mormon more in our teaching, proselyting, everything! I have
such a strong testimony of the converting power of the Book of
Mormon. The message in it is all centered on Jesus Christ. Because
Christ and his Atonement are central in the Book of Mormon, the
Spirit is powerful. I have seen the spiritual power in the Book of
Mormon over the last couple weeks! I am seeing it transform lives!
Two weeks ago one of our investigators stared reading the Book of
Mormon. She is almost half way done. The other day she told us that
she has felt so much healing and love over the past couple weeks. I
know it is because the Book of Mormon is the word of God. I know the
word of God "HEALS THE WOUNDED SOUL". -Jacob
2:8
Our theme for a specialized training
meeting a couple weeks ago was flooding the earth with the Book of
Mormon. I would strongly encourage each of you to flood your own life
with the Book of Mormon. As you do so, I promise you'll find healing
where healing is needed. You will feel closer to your Savior, Jesus
Christ. You will feel a greater desire to follow in Christ and do
what he would want you to do. I LOVE the Book of Mormon! I know it is
the word of God. I love you all! Have a great week.... and don't
forget to flood your life with the Book of Mormon. :)
Love, Sister Record
Labels:
Letters,
Photos,
Stillwater
Where is Lorielle now?
Stillwater, OK, USA
Monday, June 24, 2013
A Peaceful Sleep
Helllllloooooo!
I don't really have anything to write
in this email for the blog. After last weeks email, I feel like I
just don't have a lot. I told my companion that I felt like we rose
up to our potential but this week we have faced quite a bit of
opposition. I won't go into detail, it isn't important what the
opposition was/is. Just know it was very real. We are determined to
get back on our feet and have another amazing week! Despite the
challenges we've faced I know that God had been helping us. He has
sent divine help for Sister Loveland and I. Miracles did happen this
last week... but it was more on a personal level than in our
proselyting efforts.
I know that when we have hard times,
God will ALWAYS be there to bear us up. I have no doubt of that.
There was one night this week I was trying to sleep. I was extremely
worried about something and getting pretty anxious about it. Sleep
would not come. Finally I rolled over onto my side and started to
focus on Jesus Christ. I started to pray earnestly for relief. I told
Heavenly Father that if things were going to work out I needed to
feel peace. Immediately I felt peace come into my heart about the
situation. I was able to fall asleep within 5-10 minutes. I was
reminded of the scripture in the Doctrine & Covenants section 6
22 Verily, verily,
I say unto you, if you desire a further witness, cast your mind upon
the night that you cried unto me in your heart, that you might know
concerning the truth of these things.
23 Did I not
speak peace to your mind concerning the matter? What greater witness
can you have than from God?
(D&C 6:22-23)
Just as a side note, here is additional
video that was filmed in the Stillwater stake. President Bowman is an
amazing man! He spoke in our ward yesterday and gave a powerful talk
about service. He has this incredible talent to get up and quote
scripture. 80% of his talk was scriptures and quoted them... not once
did he open up his scriptures or look down at notes. It was
inspiring. I hope to develop that talent one day. :)
President Taylor is amazing! I am so
thankful for the opportunity I've had to serve with him. He and
Sister Taylor have changed my life now and forever. I am sad they are
going home this week. I will really really miss them. Well, I love
you! I will have more to write next week! :D
Love, Sister Record
Labels:
Letters,
Stillwater
Where is Lorielle now?
Stillwater, OK, USA
Monday, June 17, 2013
Miraculous Week!
I decided to share my letter to President Taylor with you. It is everything I wanted to share with y'all. I love you!
President Taylor,
This has probably been the best week of my mission in at least a year. The last time I remember being this enthusiastic and excited was a year ago when Jeff got baptized in Norman. Sister Loveland and I have been working hard this week and trying very hard to be consecrated missionaries. The result has been miraculous! I don't even know where to start. I want to tell you about all the miracles that have happened... we have seriously seen miracles EVERY DAY. One miracle that I have seen is that I am happier. I feel like I have more light in me.
During my whole mission I have felt like I have struggled with being loving and patient. As I have tried to be consecrated this week, I have realized I never once struggled with it. I felt like my heart was FULL of love and I was patient with those around me. It has been incredible. I wondered why that happened. As I was eating dinner one day, the scripture in Helaman 3:35 came to me. "Nevertheless they did fast and pray oft, and did wax stronger and stronger in their humility, and firmer and firmer in the faith of Christ, unto the filling their souls with joy and consolation, yea, even to the purifying and the sanctification of their hearts, which sanctification cometh because of their yielding their hearts unto God." I realized that as I have the Holy Ghost more in my life then he purifies and sanctifies my heart. This comes my giving up our will to God's will. Sister Loveland and I are pretty excited for this upcoming week. Last week was amazing, but we have to be even more consecrated this week to continually see miracles. I know God will provide as we put forth the work. I want to give you an idea of some of the miracles we've seen this week. We've seen a significant miracle at least every day. I'll start with last Monday.
OPERATION CONSECRATION:
Monday: Sister Loveland and I had an AMAZING comp study where the importance of sharing the gospel was taught to us by the Spirit. We were ready and fired up to be consecrated. My younger brother had a life changing experience at scout camp. He wants to change his life! That was amazing!
Tuesday: We started the day off by getting out of the house right at 10:00am. Even in the day that we had been trying to be consecrated we felt happier. We had more faith to go out and find people to teach. We taught our investigator, [Name withheld 1], and she told us she has been praying about her baptism on July 6th. She said she feels God is telling her to do it. She also told us that she feels once she has the Gift of the Holy Ghost she feels life will somehow be better. She feels like the Gift of the Holy Ghost is what she is missing in her life. (She loves the Gospel! She can't get enough of it!)
Wednesday: We had been wanting to teach [Name withheld 1] about the Restoration and the Priesthood for a while. We knew today was the day.. however during comp study while we were preparing and real playing for her we felt totally unguided and uninspired. Seriously, it was like running into a brick wall. When 10am came we still felt super jumbled and like we had no direction. We prayed that God would give us the words to say to help [Name withheld 1]. After the prayer, I felt a peace come into my heart that everything would be ok. We took Elder Jensen, the new CES missionary on OSU campus. We got into the lesson and Elder J. taught ended up teaching the whole Restoration and the priesthood. We would give comments here and there, but he was on fire! He explained it in a way that Sister Loveland and I never could have done. However, [Name withheld 1] understood when Elder J. explained it. I wish you could have seen this moment. [Name withheld 1] was on the edge of her seat the WHOLE time Elder J. was talking. It was truly miraculous!
[Name withheld 1] is a wonderful woman! She is one of the prepared, one of the elect. She is a former investigator. She told us that she is more open this time because we came back. She told us she had felt like she had been forgotten. The exact moment we knocked on her door she was praying for peace in her life. She told us that in the last two weeks since she's been meeting with us she feels so much more peace in her life. She is amazing! I don't have words to say how much I love her. She has been an answer to our prayers and fasting.
We had more miracles on Wednesday. We were out knocking on doors and we weren't sure if we should be at this place. We didn't feel super guided by the Spirit. So we left... THEN we felt the Spirit distinctly tell us to go back. So we turned the car around and went back. We went and knocked on more doors. The third door we knocked on a guy answered and he wasn't interested. He shut the door and we went to go on to the next door. Then a woman ran out of the house. [Name withheld 2] told us she wanted us to pray for her. We talked about the Atonement and that she could be cleansed from sin before we prayed. She was in tears. We learned that she had been baptized in the city over a year ago. She stopped going to church but really wanted to come back. She just hadn't come back because she didn't know anybody here. It was an 8:50pm miracle!
Thursday: We got weekly planning done in TWO HOURS woohoo! :) In the evening we were tracting and found a less active who is engaged to a nonmember. She really wants to start coming back to church. She is a couple years younger than me, but we went to the SAME elementary school and lived in the same small town at the same time. It was crazy! She has a real desire to come back to church. She recognized something is missing in her life.
Friday: We did exchanges.... it was really hard to have Sister Loveland not be with me. We had been seeing miracles all week and our excitement slowly died as the day went on since we didn't have each other to bounce off of.
Saturday: Saturday was tough! Sister Loveland and I had been on fire all week, but discouragement really set in today. EVERYTHING we had planned had fallen through. We had tried all day to get hold of [Name withheld 2] because she REALLY wanted to come to church on Sunday. Both of us were having a hard time staying positive. We were driving our member home from a teaching appointment when I saw [Name withheld 2] walking on the side of the road. We turned the car around and went to talk to her. She was so excited to see us. We confirmed that she would be coming on Sunday. This happened at 8:45ish. It totally renewed mine and Sister Loveland's faith. We were so happy!! The fact that this renewed our faith and energy to be consecrated was a miracle in and of itself. We really needed it.
Sunday: ALL OUR INVESTIGATORS we were counting on coming to church came to church! So many miracles on Sunday. [Name withheld 1] and [Name withheld 2] met at church and became best friends! [Name withheld 1] really encouraged [Name withheld 2] to be better and do better. After Sacrament meeting [Name withheld 1] told us that she had been praying last night. She had been telling Heavenly Father that she believed all the things she had been taught were true but she wanted to KNOW they were true. She told us that as she was praying she heard and audible voice say, "yes! it is all true!" :D She said she had to turn to see if anybody was there. (there wasn't) She said she not only heard the voice, but she felt it strongly in her heart. She said she was so excited to tell us about it. She also calls us "her sisters". :)
So basically church was amazing! I haven't even shared all the miracles that happened. I have one more miracle I want to share though. One of our members has a granddaughter who, back in April, decided she wanted to go to girls camp. She is not a member but has consistently been coming to church since April. She just went to girls camp and got back on Saturday. After church we went to her grandma's house to visit her. We didn't know [Name withheld 3] was there. We started talking about the Holy Ghost. [Name withheld 3] told us that she WANTED TO GET BAPTIZED! It was amazing! When I saw her at church today I recognized that [Name withheld 3] had more light in her eyes than she ever had before. We talked to [Name withheld 3] about the Holy Ghost and about testimony and about her experience at girls camp. She wasn't sure she had a testimony. We told her to read the Book of Mormon and pray to know it's true. Then she quickly told us that she already knew it was all true. Sister Loveland told her that was a testimony. You should have seen how [Name withheld 3]'s face lit up after that! We are excited to start teaching her this week.
Well President, I finally feel like I'm living up to my potential as a missionary. I feel like I'm being a missionary, not just playing missionary. This is how I want to live the last two months of my mission. I want to live as a consecrated missionary!
Love, Sister Record
President Taylor,
This has probably been the best week of my mission in at least a year. The last time I remember being this enthusiastic and excited was a year ago when Jeff got baptized in Norman. Sister Loveland and I have been working hard this week and trying very hard to be consecrated missionaries. The result has been miraculous! I don't even know where to start. I want to tell you about all the miracles that have happened... we have seriously seen miracles EVERY DAY. One miracle that I have seen is that I am happier. I feel like I have more light in me.
During my whole mission I have felt like I have struggled with being loving and patient. As I have tried to be consecrated this week, I have realized I never once struggled with it. I felt like my heart was FULL of love and I was patient with those around me. It has been incredible. I wondered why that happened. As I was eating dinner one day, the scripture in Helaman 3:35 came to me. "Nevertheless they did fast and pray oft, and did wax stronger and stronger in their humility, and firmer and firmer in the faith of Christ, unto the filling their souls with joy and consolation, yea, even to the purifying and the sanctification of their hearts, which sanctification cometh because of their yielding their hearts unto God." I realized that as I have the Holy Ghost more in my life then he purifies and sanctifies my heart. This comes my giving up our will to God's will. Sister Loveland and I are pretty excited for this upcoming week. Last week was amazing, but we have to be even more consecrated this week to continually see miracles. I know God will provide as we put forth the work. I want to give you an idea of some of the miracles we've seen this week. We've seen a significant miracle at least every day. I'll start with last Monday.
OPERATION CONSECRATION:
Monday: Sister Loveland and I had an AMAZING comp study where the importance of sharing the gospel was taught to us by the Spirit. We were ready and fired up to be consecrated. My younger brother had a life changing experience at scout camp. He wants to change his life! That was amazing!
Tuesday: We started the day off by getting out of the house right at 10:00am. Even in the day that we had been trying to be consecrated we felt happier. We had more faith to go out and find people to teach. We taught our investigator, [Name withheld 1], and she told us she has been praying about her baptism on July 6th. She said she feels God is telling her to do it. She also told us that she feels once she has the Gift of the Holy Ghost she feels life will somehow be better. She feels like the Gift of the Holy Ghost is what she is missing in her life. (She loves the Gospel! She can't get enough of it!)
Wednesday: We had been wanting to teach [Name withheld 1] about the Restoration and the Priesthood for a while. We knew today was the day.. however during comp study while we were preparing and real playing for her we felt totally unguided and uninspired. Seriously, it was like running into a brick wall. When 10am came we still felt super jumbled and like we had no direction. We prayed that God would give us the words to say to help [Name withheld 1]. After the prayer, I felt a peace come into my heart that everything would be ok. We took Elder Jensen, the new CES missionary on OSU campus. We got into the lesson and Elder J. taught ended up teaching the whole Restoration and the priesthood. We would give comments here and there, but he was on fire! He explained it in a way that Sister Loveland and I never could have done. However, [Name withheld 1] understood when Elder J. explained it. I wish you could have seen this moment. [Name withheld 1] was on the edge of her seat the WHOLE time Elder J. was talking. It was truly miraculous!
[Name withheld 1] is a wonderful woman! She is one of the prepared, one of the elect. She is a former investigator. She told us that she is more open this time because we came back. She told us she had felt like she had been forgotten. The exact moment we knocked on her door she was praying for peace in her life. She told us that in the last two weeks since she's been meeting with us she feels so much more peace in her life. She is amazing! I don't have words to say how much I love her. She has been an answer to our prayers and fasting.
We had more miracles on Wednesday. We were out knocking on doors and we weren't sure if we should be at this place. We didn't feel super guided by the Spirit. So we left... THEN we felt the Spirit distinctly tell us to go back. So we turned the car around and went back. We went and knocked on more doors. The third door we knocked on a guy answered and he wasn't interested. He shut the door and we went to go on to the next door. Then a woman ran out of the house. [Name withheld 2] told us she wanted us to pray for her. We talked about the Atonement and that she could be cleansed from sin before we prayed. She was in tears. We learned that she had been baptized in the city over a year ago. She stopped going to church but really wanted to come back. She just hadn't come back because she didn't know anybody here. It was an 8:50pm miracle!
Thursday: We got weekly planning done in TWO HOURS woohoo! :) In the evening we were tracting and found a less active who is engaged to a nonmember. She really wants to start coming back to church. She is a couple years younger than me, but we went to the SAME elementary school and lived in the same small town at the same time. It was crazy! She has a real desire to come back to church. She recognized something is missing in her life.
Friday: We did exchanges.... it was really hard to have Sister Loveland not be with me. We had been seeing miracles all week and our excitement slowly died as the day went on since we didn't have each other to bounce off of.
Saturday: Saturday was tough! Sister Loveland and I had been on fire all week, but discouragement really set in today. EVERYTHING we had planned had fallen through. We had tried all day to get hold of [Name withheld 2] because she REALLY wanted to come to church on Sunday. Both of us were having a hard time staying positive. We were driving our member home from a teaching appointment when I saw [Name withheld 2] walking on the side of the road. We turned the car around and went to talk to her. She was so excited to see us. We confirmed that she would be coming on Sunday. This happened at 8:45ish. It totally renewed mine and Sister Loveland's faith. We were so happy!! The fact that this renewed our faith and energy to be consecrated was a miracle in and of itself. We really needed it.
Sunday: ALL OUR INVESTIGATORS we were counting on coming to church came to church! So many miracles on Sunday. [Name withheld 1] and [Name withheld 2] met at church and became best friends! [Name withheld 1] really encouraged [Name withheld 2] to be better and do better. After Sacrament meeting [Name withheld 1] told us that she had been praying last night. She had been telling Heavenly Father that she believed all the things she had been taught were true but she wanted to KNOW they were true. She told us that as she was praying she heard and audible voice say, "yes! it is all true!" :D She said she had to turn to see if anybody was there. (there wasn't) She said she not only heard the voice, but she felt it strongly in her heart. She said she was so excited to tell us about it. She also calls us "her sisters". :)
So basically church was amazing! I haven't even shared all the miracles that happened. I have one more miracle I want to share though. One of our members has a granddaughter who, back in April, decided she wanted to go to girls camp. She is not a member but has consistently been coming to church since April. She just went to girls camp and got back on Saturday. After church we went to her grandma's house to visit her. We didn't know [Name withheld 3] was there. We started talking about the Holy Ghost. [Name withheld 3] told us that she WANTED TO GET BAPTIZED! It was amazing! When I saw her at church today I recognized that [Name withheld 3] had more light in her eyes than she ever had before. We talked to [Name withheld 3] about the Holy Ghost and about testimony and about her experience at girls camp. She wasn't sure she had a testimony. We told her to read the Book of Mormon and pray to know it's true. Then she quickly told us that she already knew it was all true. Sister Loveland told her that was a testimony. You should have seen how [Name withheld 3]'s face lit up after that! We are excited to start teaching her this week.
Well President, I finally feel like I'm living up to my potential as a missionary. I feel like I'm being a missionary, not just playing missionary. This is how I want to live the last two months of my mission. I want to live as a consecrated missionary!
Love, Sister Record
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Where is Lorielle now?
Stillwater, OK, USA
Monday, June 10, 2013
Miracles Are on the Far Side of Obedience and Hard Work
This morning if I were to put a theme
song on how I feel it would be "Oh What a Beautiful Morning!"
Actually, that is not the best theme song. I think it would be "On
This Day of Joy and Gladness!" (p64)
Sister Loveland and I had a powerful
companionship study this morning... and yesterday. I'll start with
yesterday. We talked about the
parable of the 10 virgins and how the oil and the lamp are
comparable to the Doctrine of Christ. It is living the Doctrine of
Christ that prepares us to one day meet God again.
I drew a picture on our white board,
but never took a picture. I'll see if I can describe it.
1- the flame of the lamp represents
faith
2- the wick represents repentance. If
we are not constantly trimming our lamp, the wick folds over on
itself and the flame goes out.
3- Our reserve oil that we need to
constantly be pouring into our lamp is baptism. To take that one
further, it is making and keeping covenants with our Heavenly Father.
4- The oil in the lamp is like the Holy
Ghost. As we keep our covenants, we have the Holy Ghost with us which
leads to continually put the oil in our lamps which is enduring to
the end.
Today we were preparing for a lesson with a potential new investigator. (I'll tell you how we found him later.) As I was in my personal study the quote from President Benson came to my mind from Chapter 1. He said, "We are commanded by God to take this gospel to all the world. That is the cause that must unite us today. Only the gospel will save the world from the calamity of its own self-destruction. Only the gospel will unite men of all races and nationalities in peace. Only the gospel will bring joy, happiness, and salvation to the human family.” The Spirit testified to me very strongly that we needed to tell this man we are going to teach this.
We were talking about how important the
How to Begin Teaching Points were from Preach My Gospel. One of the
points is that our message is centered on Jesus
Christ, which make it of great value and importance. Why is it so
important? Because the gospel is the only thing that will unite ALL
men. It is the only thing that will bring joy and happiness. It is
the ONLY thing that will bring salvation to all of God's children.
It was a very powerful moment to have
that really sink deeper into our hearts. Sister Loveland and I made
some goals to be more obedient and more consecrated missionaries. We
are praying and expecting miracles this upcoming week, so it is
important that we do our part.
In ward council yesterday each member
made specific commitments to somehow share the gospel with a friend.
It was AMAZING! Us and the Elders told the ward council that we were
going to be 100% obedient and consecrated because they were putting a
lot of trust in us as missionaries. It's hard to describe the spirit
that was there... but it was exciting and nothing short of
miraculous!
Sister Hunt and Sister Record |
So about this guy we are teaching
today, I was on exchanges with Hermana Hunt on Friday. We were in my
area. We had a lot going on and didn't have a whole lot of time for
tracting. Before we went out we prayed that Heavenly Father would
provide us with a miracle, even though we didn't have a whole lot of
time to be out tracting. We got to the place we had planned to go. I
told Hermana Hunt that we needed to follow the Spirit in finding so
we could use the time we had effectively. The first door and second
doors we knocked on nothing happened.
I asked Hermana Hunt which one we
should go to next. She went into the parking lot and closed her eyes.
She opened them and walked straight to this one door (it was the one
I was hoping she would choose because I felt we needed to go there
too.) The guy answered the door and we told him who we were and what
we were out doing. He let us pray with him. He wanted us to pray that
he would be able to have more love for people and also that people
would have more love for others. He said so many of the world's
problems would be solved if people had more love in their hearts for
other people. (As I thought about what he said, the quote from
President Benson came to my mind during studies this morning.) Sister
Loveland and I are really excited to teach him today.
We taught Sister H this week! She is
still as amazing as ever! She is getting baptized on July 6th! Sister
Loveland and the other sisters set a baptismal date with her on
Wednesday while Sister Pfister and I were in the city for a meeting
with President Taylor and the Zone Leaders. So many miracles have
been happening and we feel like this is just the beginning! I hope I
get to stay here until the end of my mission. This area and this ward
are fabulous! I love each of you! Thank you for all your prayers!
Love, Sister Record
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Where is Lorielle now?
Stillwater, OK, USA
Monday, June 3, 2013
Tornado Shelter in the Backyard is a Good Thing :D
Hello!!
She didn't say yes when we invited
her... she asked a question about the priesthood. She told us it made
sense. Then in her prayer at the end she prayed that she would be
able to get baptized and receive the gift of the Holy Ghost. :D I
wish you could meet this woman. She is so sweet. She has been through
a lot, but has AMAZING faith in Christ. She told us she feels hungry
for the things we have to teach her. Over and over she has told us
that she wants to be humble and learn about all these things. Last
fast Sunday Sister Loveland fasted and prayed that we would find
those who are PREPARED and who are ready to get baptized.
So... we went into the lesson praying
that we'd be able to answer her questions. We read 2 Nephi 12 and the
Spirit was very strong! We got to a verse 10 which says, "O ye
wicked ones, enter into the rock, and hide thee in the dust, for the
fear of the Lord and the glory of his majesty shall smite thee."
Our investigator just started laughing because the verse reminded her
of a parent getting after their child. (I must admit, her enthusiasm
about the verse surprised me.) After we finished the chapter she told
us that the verse made her feel like God was more human than she had
felt before. (She wasn't trying to demean God, but to say he seemed
more personable than He had before.) She told us that as she read
that chapter she really felt that God was close to her. WOW! That was
definitely the Spirit working with her! :D Lesson I learned:
Everything in the Book of Mormon is there for a reason, even the
Isaiah chapters. :)
On Saturday the whole mission went down to Moore to do tornado clean up. Before that Elder Rasband of the 70 came and spoke to us. It was very powerful. He told us that President Monson wanted us to know three things. 1- He loves us 2- He is Praying for us 3- He thanks us for our service over the past couple weeks. It was very inspiring and very touching!
Yesterday we tried to go find an
inactive family. We had an address and vague directions, but they
were not on the map. We took one of our members out with us. Well...
we never found the address. We just ended up in the middle of
nowhere, OK. It was very pretty.... just nothing there. So what do we
do... we took a picture of course. :) The member we had with us was a
trooper!
On June 23 2013 there is going to be a worldwide training by Elder Andersen. Elder Andersen sent a film crew to our mission to film a couple missionaries and the work they did in the Edmond 3rd ward in the Stillwater stake. They filmed Elder Byrd and Elder Cutler. Elder Cutler is my current Zone Leader. Elder Andersen was impressed with all the work done in this ward over the last couple years to turn it from a non baptizing area to a baptizing area. It is kind of cool. :)
It has been a week FULL of miracles. I
do not know where to start. I was so excited to write you yesterday
and tell y'all about what has been happening. First off... I am
thankful for my safety and for the safety of all the missionaries in
the mission. Stillwater usually doesn't get much... but Friday
evening we got put on tornado watch and then it went to a tornado
warning. President Taylor told all missionaries in the mission to get
to their underground shelters. That was the first time I got to use a
tornado shelter for reals. We were only in there for about 20
minutes. Nothing touched down in Stillwater. I'm sure you know a lot
more than I do about what has been going on in the weather. I want to
assure you that we are safe though and when the next wave of storms
come we will be safe. :) Here is a video clip of what has been going
on with the tornado clean up. I'm not in it... but missionaries I
know are. They interview Elder Fee. He is the AP and we were in the
MTC at the same time.
We got to teach our amazing
investigator, Sister H, three times this week. SHE IS SO READY FOR
THE GOSPEL! We finished teaching the plan of salvation and when we
asked when we could come back she said "tomorrow". So many
miracles have happened with Sister H and with the members we have
taken to teach her with us. The other day we invited her to be
baptized after teaching about baptism and the gift of the Holy Ghost.
We taught her the difference between the power of the Holy Ghost and
the
gift of the Holy Ghost. You could see that when we described it
to her it made so much sense. When we told her that the power of the
Holy Ghost comes in and out. She said that is how she feels. When we
described the Gift of the Holy Ghost she got really excited.
Picture of clean up in Carney, OK on 5-25-2013 |
Well... Sister H has been an answer to
that prayer! Sister H told us how thankful she was that we came back
(she's been taught by missionaries before) and how much of a burden
has been lifted from her as we taught her the Plan of Salvation. We
have told her how much we love her and how much of an answer to our
prayers she is.
Another miracle that happened this week
is actually kind of funny. We were preparing to go to a lesson with
our investigator from mainland China. She has been taught EVERYTHING
multiple times. She has such a desire to know if all of this is true.
I've been teaching her for 6 months and don't really know what to do
anymore. We feel like we should keep working with her and just
helping her recognize the hand of God in her life.
Now we are reading the Book of Mormon
with her. We are in 2
Nephi 12... an Isaiah chapter. I was telling Sister Loveland (I
regret it now...but the Spirit taught me a good lesson.) that we
should just skip the Isaiah chapters because the person we're
teaching wouldn't understand and I barely understand it. I won't be
able to answer all the questions she had. Sister Loveland (being the
awesome missionary she is) told me that even though the Isaiah
chapters are hard to understand they are in the Book of Mormon for a
reason.
Playing in the rain (don't worry... there was no severe weather warnings when this picture was taken) |
On Saturday the whole mission went down to Moore to do tornado clean up. Before that Elder Rasband of the 70 came and spoke to us. It was very powerful. He told us that President Monson wanted us to know three things. 1- He loves us 2- He is Praying for us 3- He thanks us for our service over the past couple weeks. It was very inspiring and very touching!
Us and our wonderful ward missionary who came looking for a family with us. We ended up not being able to find the address. so we just took a picture. |
On June 23 2013 there is going to be a worldwide training by Elder Andersen. Elder Andersen sent a film crew to our mission to film a couple missionaries and the work they did in the Edmond 3rd ward in the Stillwater stake. They filmed Elder Byrd and Elder Cutler. Elder Cutler is my current Zone Leader. Elder Andersen was impressed with all the work done in this ward over the last couple years to turn it from a non baptizing area to a baptizing area. It is kind of cool. :)
I love you! Have a great week! I will
talk to you next week.
Love, Sister Record
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Where is Lorielle now?
Stillwater, OK, USA
Saturday, June 1, 2013
Mission President Update 6/1/13 11:05am
Dear Parents:
Your sons and daughters are safe. Thursday
and again yesterday we experienced severe storms and additional
tornados in our mission area. Yesterday’s storms were more dangerous
and destructive than Thursday’s storms. Our missionaries
were never in any danger on Thursday
but yesterday caused us more concern because we had missionary relief
crews out working in the morning. As is my practice, I sent the work
crews home well in advance of the approaching storms so they could be
near their
local weather contacts and shelters. My practice is to personally
monitor the storms and alert missionaries directly and through our
mission leadership. Local weather contacts are also very helpful to
us.
Based on preliminary reports, yesterday’s storms
caused substantial new damage and sadly, additional lives were lost.
103,000 homes in the City (including the mission home) are without
power. The damage, downed power lines and traffic
have prevented me from communicating with you earlier this morning.
We also had all our missionaries in South Oklahoma City this morning
for a meeting with Elder Ronald A. Rasband of the Presidency of the
Seventy. Now all of our missionaries are out working
on tornado cleanup projects for the day.
I will generally not communicate with you after
every storm. I will reserve these communications for storms that strike
near where we have missionaries stationed. If power is out and I am
prevented from emailing you I will call the Church
operators and let them know the missionaries are safe. I will also
inform the Missionary Department of the safety of our missionaries. As
you can imagine, we have a lot going on out here right now. The safety
of our missionaries (your daughters and sons)
is our paramount concern and priority. We will tend to them first and
inform you once I have verified their safety and tended to other
priorities related to the missionaries. Thank you for your patience and
prayers.
We are grateful for the Lord’s protection and your
prayers. Many miracles are occurring through these events. The Lord
truly does make all things work together for the good of those who
believe.
Warm Regards, President Taylor
Labels:
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Where is Lorielle now?
Stillwater, OK, USA
Missionaries are Safe
I just spoke with the missionary department, and all missionaries in Oklahoma are safe and accounted for. I have not received an email from President Taylor, but power is out in many parts of Oklahoma City.
Labels:
Weather
Where is Lorielle now?
Stillwater, OK, USA
Tuesday, May 28, 2013
Oklahoma... still the greatest place ever!
Hey!
Hello everybody! Wow! It's been a crazy
week! I know everybody has heard about what's been happening here in
Oklahoma. Thank you for all your prayers! The people of Moore OK and
other parts of the state really need the prayers right now. Ok...
google a map of Oklahoma for this part of my letter. :)
Shawnee Clean up crew. |
Sister Pfister after being in the car appx 5 hours. haha! On our way to Shawnee to do tornado clean up |
On Saturday we did tornado clean up in
Carney. Our whole zone or 20 missionaries came to Carney to help. The
Elders went to one persons house and helped clean up 80 acres of
land. Then the sisters went to another house just up the road. The
family we helped are dog breeders. They had 4 or 5 HUGE Alaskan
Malamutes and we cleaned debris out of the kennels. With 10 of us
working on the kennel, it only took 2 or 3 hours to clean it up. Then
we went and started hauling logs to one pile, debris and trash to
another, and other debris to a burn pile. It was a lot of hard work.
But oh man... the transformation after we were done was amazing. At
about 2 or 3pm the Elders came over because they had finished at
their house. With their help we worked until 6pm and got a lot done.
It was wonderful to work right alongside other missionaries and the
home owners and others from the community who came to help.
Two Bibles and a Book of Mormon |
This morning we taught a wonderful lady
about the Plan of Salvation. We were preparing to teach her this
morning and out of nowhere things got a little contentious. I was
upset about something and my companion was also upset about something
and the Spirit was instantly gone. It was actually really
frustrating. As we left the house we prayed that we would have the
Spirit. I'm thankful that God works with us even when we make
mistakes.
The lesson was so amazing! A lot of her
questions were answered. We read some verses from the Book of Mormon
and told her some things about the plan of Salvation and she started
to cry. She told us she really appreciated learning this because it
helps her know she isn't crazy. She also told us she feels like God
has been revealing things to her and she feels like this is what he
has been telling her. She kept telling us that people can't put God
in a box. We taught her things, but she also taught us a lot.
Yeah... she is fantastic and SO open! We are meeting with her again
tomorrow. :)
Well... I love you all! I am thankful
to be a missionary. It is hard and at times discouragement comes, but
God is always going to be there for us. I felt his guiding hand many
many times. I have felt his peace and love in the hardest times. I
have felt the joy that comes from serving and I am so grateful for
this opportunity. Talk to you next week!
Love, Sister Record
Excerpts of a Letter to the
Missionaries from President Taylor
“As you know,
May 19th and 20th were historic days in our mission area. On Sunday
night the 19th, the cities of Edmond, Carney, Shawnee, Little Axe and
Wellston were hit by tornadoes that caused significant damage and the
death of two people. On the afternoon of Monday, May 20th, an EF-5
tornado formed in Newcastle and traveled through Moore causing
massive destruction and the death of 26 people. Hundreds more were
injured and over 1400 homes were destroyed or damaged. The morning of
May 20th I had an impression that all of our missionaries needed to
find underground shelters instead of above ground shelter in
bathrooms and bathtubs. I instructed the assistants to notify the
zone leaders to contact every missionary and get confirmation that
every missionary had access to a below ground shelter. I did not know
that an EF-5 tornado was coming later that day but I knew you all
needed to be in underground shelters if storms came. I was informed
by the zone leaders and assistants that everyone had located an
underground shelter. Now, after a week of tornado cleanup, I realize
that people do not survive an EF-5 tornado with wind speeds over 200
miles per hour, unless they are underground.
”
Last Monday morning cleaning out the storm shelter, just in case we had to use it |
“Your efforts
have been extraordinary. Each of the Stake Presidents and Elder
Southward have repeatedly praised the efforts of our missionaries.
You have brought energy and faith to the clean up effort and the
members greatly appreciate your involvement. We are building greater
trust with our members and softening the hearts of those who are not
of our faith.
”
President and
Sister Taylor
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Where is Lorielle now?
Stillwater, OK, USA
Thursday, May 23, 2013
Mission President Update 05/23/13 2:17pm
Dear Parents:
I know you are following closely the
news from Oklahoma so I thought you would appreciate a quick update.
First, your sons and daughters are safe. They are wonderfully capable
young people who are expanding their capacities through their mission
experiences here in Oklahoma and Texas. They are learning to rely on
the Lord and apply His teachings as they face the challenges and
opportunities of their missions. They are all eager to assist the
people of Oklahoma who are affected by the recent tornadoes and help
them rebuild their lives. All things are spiritual to the Lord. Your
sons and daughters represent Jesus Christ and they minister
powerfully to everyone they meet. They will continue to be a great
blessing here as they lift, encourage, inspire and bless the people
who are put in their path.
Access to the affected areas has been
restricted up to this point so we have been limited in what we could
do to provide assistance to those in need. We have used this time to
make sure our missionaries are prepared with the proper gear to
assist when called upon. They have been instructed to purchase
thick-soled work boots as well as leather gloves, filtering masks and
safety glasses. Those who cannot afford these items will be able to
obtain them through Mission funds or from donors. We have advised our
missionaries to wear jeans, long sleeve shirts , hats and sunscreen
when they are working in the affected areas. We advise them on safety
issues before they can participate in the cleanup. Those with health
restrictions will be given the opportunity to assist in appropriate
ways.
Many of you have asked how you can help
with the relief effort. We are grateful for the outpouring of support
and concern and especially for your prayers. Other than prayer, the
best way to help is to donate to the Humanitarian Aid Fund of the
Church using a tithing slip available from your bishopric. Donated
goods, while appreciated, create more work on this end because we
have to obtain a warehouse to house the goods and staff the warehouse
with volunteers to sort through the goods and distribute them. Cash
contributed to the Humanitarian Aid Fund of the Church is the most
helpful and direct way to assist. Please do not send cash or gift
cards for the relief effort to the Mission or your missionaries.
Please be aware that your missionaries
will be emailing you next Tuesday morning because of the Memorial Day
Holiday on Monday (libraries will be closed).
We are grateful for your prayers and
for the character and faith you have developed in your children. It
is an honor to serve with them.
Warm regards,
President Taylor
Labels:
Stillwater,
Weather
Where is Lorielle now?
Stillwater, OK, USA
Wednesday, May 22, 2013
Clean Up Begins
The storms have passed, and the clean up begins. I read this article in the paper that includes comments from President Taylor, Sister Record's mission president. It sounds like he plans to rotate missionaries throughout the mission in and out of the work area so they have a chance to serve in the clean up efforts and to continue their missionary labors.
Tornado relief spurs LDS Church, Layton's Christian Life Center to action
By Joseph Walker, Deseret News
Published: Tuesday, May 21 2013 10:35 p.m. MDT
Labels:
Weather
Where is Lorielle now?
Stillwater, OK, USA
Monday, May 20, 2013
Severe Weather Update 5/20 7:30pm
Dear Parents: All of our missionaries serving in
the Moore, Oklahoma area are safe. The City of Moore, Oklahoma located
just south of OKC sustained heavy damage and loss of life today as a
very powerful tornado cut its way across the
city during about 3:15 pm CT.
Our hearts and prayers go out to the people who have lost so much
today. Again, all of the missionaries serving in the affected area are
safe. The rest of our missionaries checked in safe earlier today. We
were blessed again
today.
President Taylor
[NOTE: Sister Record is serving about 60 miles away from Shawnee, OK, and 75 miles from Moore, OK.]
View Tornadoes in a larger map
Current tornado reports at http://www.spc.noaa.gov/climo/reports/
Labels:
Stillwater,
Weather
Where is Lorielle now?
Stillwater, OK, USA
I'm Doing Fine
Hello!
First off, I want everybody to know I
am fine. Apparently news of the tornadoes is all over the place. Keep
the people of Oklahoma in your prayers though. Those tornadoes do a
lot of damage.
Sister Crystalyn Hunt |
Last Monday we had a zone p-day and the
sisters from the north part of the zone came down. I found out that
one of them is from Spanish Fork, Sister
Crystalyn Hunt. It gets better though. We were both set apart by
President Angell, she knew me before she came out because of the
blog,
and we went to girls camp together at Koholowo. CRAZY! I actually get
to go on exchanges with her this week. I am pretty excited.
We have had a good week. Both Sister
Loveland and I felt kind of discouraged this week, but we quickly
realized it was the adversary trying to get us down. We knew that
wonderful things were about to happen here in this area. Well,
Saturday and Sunday we met two amazing women who are so ready for the
gospel!
I want to tell the story of how we
found one of these ladies. I was on exchanges with Sister Obena. She
served here in this area at the beginning of her mission. We were
actually companions for 6 weeks. We were planning for the day and she
mentioned somebody that she had met that the sisters before her had
taught. This woman's teaching record did not have an apartment number
or a correct phone number. If it hadn't been for Sister Obena telling
me about her, we never would have found her. Sister Obena and I tried
to go visit her on Tuesday, but she was not home. Sister Loveland and
I have been trying to get a hold of her. Finally, yesterday we were
out with our Relief Society President and we were able to meet her.
We talked on her doorstep for about 30 minutes about how she has seen
God's hand in her life. She is AMAZING! I love her so much! :D We are
going back next week to see her.
Stillwater, OK Zone |
I love my new calling as sister
training leader. I am learning SO MUCH from the Sisters I do
exchanges with. I love exchanges! It is so fun to get to know the
other sisters and to help them with the things they need. I am
learning so much about how to minister to other people. I always
learn from the other sisters how to be a better missionary and how to
improve my area.
Sister Record is 7th from the right, sitting next to President Taylor. |
My companion is fabulous! I also love
the other sisters that live in the house with us. I'm so blessed to
around so many wonderful sisters. Transfers are coming up next week,
I'm hoping since we have only been companions for three weeks we will
get to be together for one more transfer. I also hope I don't get
transfered. I have been here 6 months and I would LOVE to finish my
mission here. If I did, that would put me at 9 months in one area. :D
Well, I love y'all! Keep Oklahoma in your prayers.
Love, Sister Record
Love, Sister Record
Labels:
Letters,
Photos,
Stillwater
Where is Lorielle now?
Stillwater, OK, USA
Severe Weather Update 5/20 7:30am
Dear Parents: As you may know, yesterday we
experienced severe storms including several large tornadoes in our
mission area. All of the missionaries are safe. Damage occurred in
localized areas. While two of the larger tornadoes caused
substantial damage in the Carney and North Shawnee communities, we are
grateful that most of the tornadoes touched down in more remote,
unpopulated areas.
While severe storms can occur in any month of the
year in Oklahoma and Texas, May is the month when the most tornadoes have
occurred historically. We have a system of alerting the missionaries
of approaching storms. This system includes
text and telephone warnings well in advance of the storms and updates
as the storms continue. Each companionship is to have a local weather
contact with whom they communicate about local weather conditions in the
event of severe storms. Our missionaries
have been given written materials and periodic zone conference
instruction informing them of what to do in the event of severe
weather. We also have a communication system which we use to confirm
the safety and location of our missionaries in the event of
severe weather.
We are grateful for the Lord’s protection of His
missionaries. We are also grateful for your prayers. You have
wonderful sons and daughters and you should be very proud of them. We
love them and are privileged to serve with them.
When we experience tornado outbreaks in the future
(and we expect more today) we will keep you updated once the storms pass
and we confirm the safety of all our missionaries.
Warm Regards,
President Taylor
[NOTE: I will continue to post mission office updates to Sister Record's blog as I receive them.]
[NOTE: I will continue to post mission office updates to Sister Record's blog as I receive them.]
Labels:
Stillwater,
Weather
Where is Lorielle now?
Stillwater, OK, USA
Monday, May 13, 2013
Howdy, Howdy, Howdy
[NOTE:] We had a great talk with Sister Record on Sunday for Mother's Day. She took some time to talk individually with each sibling as well as her Mom and Dad. We are grateful for her sweet spirit and faithful service.
Hello everybody!
Hello everybody!
It has been a great week! I got to
experience my first wedding as a missionary. Two of my favorite
people got married on Saturday. Here is a picture. :)
This week I'm going on exchanges with
on of the sisters that I was companions with when I first came here.
I'm pretty excited to spend a day with her and see how much she has
grown in the last 5 or 6 months.
Sister Loveland and I are doing great
here in this area. The area is doing fabulous. Funny story.... I lost
my drivers license last Monday. (Go figure. I'm just surprised it
took 15 months to loose it only once.) I haven't been able to drive
all week. The other night Sister Loveland and I were talking about
how she hates driving and how I wish I could drive. I came to the
conclusion that I feel like the grandmother whose children revoked
her drivers license and driving privileges. :D Hopefully I will
figure it out soon.
Another funny story. This may be one
that is just funny if you were there, but I'm going to tell it
anyways. First off, I have gotten to the point were I use "y'all"
without thinking. Second, we were talking about armadillos the other
day. Instead of saying armadillo I said armadilla. I am speaking okie
(people from Oklahoma are called Okies).
Sister Allen and Sister Record |
Love, Sister Record
Labels:
Letters,
Stillwater
Where is Lorielle now?
Stillwater, OK, USA
Monday, May 6, 2013
Tengo Gozo en mi Alma Hoy
Hello everybody!
It is a beautiful day here in Oklahoma!
In a couple hours we are going to Boomer Lake to have a picnic and
play games. I'll send pictures next week. Sorry I didn't write last
week... life has been pretty crazy. I don't have a lot to write this
week. I mean, a lot has happened, but it doesn't feel right to share
everything that has happened just so it can go on my blog. There is
too much to share. With that being said, I do want to share the
lessons I have learned over the last month or so.
1. God ALWAYS knows what is best.
2. When God prompts you to do
something, even when it is a scary thought, just do it.
3. There is no way to truly be LIVING
the gospel of Jesus Christ and be miserable.
Sister Loveland is my new companion.
She has actually lived in the same house as me for the last 8 weeks,
so we already know each other pretty good. She has just switched from
being a Spanish sister to English. That is a little bit of a
transition for her, but she is doing great! So right now I am in a
house with three other sisters who speak Spanish. I am learning quite
a bit of Spanish. (not enough to ever carry on a conversation. But I
understand a lot of what they say) I even said my first prayer in
Spanish today! Okay... I only started and ended the prayer in Spanish
and the middle was in English. One day I will be able to pray in
Spanish. (that is one of my goals before I come home. haha!)
There are a lot of 19 year old sisters
in the mission. I will send you a picture of all the sisters in the
mission about a year ago versus now. It is crazy! There are so many
more! It is wonderful!
All Sisters in July 2012 (22, excluding Sister Taylor) |
All Sisters in April 2013 (39, excluding Sister Taylor, a 44% increase) |
I am still trying to figure out what my
role and responsibilities are as a sister trainer. My role is
different from a regular trainer because me and the other sister I
work with are to minster to the needs of the sisters in our region.
We are going to be doing two exchanges with two sets of sisters this
week and zone conference and then possibly two exchanges next week.
Life is crazy and super busy, but it is good. :) I love you all so
much! Thanks for everything you've done for me!
Love, Sister Record
Where is Lorielle now?
Stillwater, OK, USA
Thursday, May 2, 2013
Minimal Update
We didn't get much of an update this week. Sister Record is very busy as a Sister Trainer. Looking forward to next week.
Labels:
Stillwater
Where is Lorielle now?
Stillwater, OK, USA
Wednesday, April 24, 2013
Doctor Trip, Transfers and an Apostle
Happy Monday!
It has been one crazy week! I have been
to the city (about an hour and a half away) three times this week.
Once was to take a sister to the doctor, the second was for transfers
and the third was to hear an apostle speak! Elder Neil L Andersen
came and spoke to us. All of us missionaries got to go up and shake
his hand. The day before President Taylor called and asked if I knew
I was giving the opening prayer. I had no idea until he called. :)
Elder Andersen is such a nice, happy, loving man. He is hilarious
too!
Elder Andersen said a lot of things to
us. He told us that if it were not for the missionaries in the United
States we wouldn't be able to have missionaries in other countries.
He also said that if he had a son or daughter serving a mission he
would be very pleased to have them serve in this mission. Elder
Andersen talked a lot about miracles and even brought "a miracle
with him" to the meeting. He brought a lady that he had found
and baptized while a mission president in France. It was really neat!
Elder Andersen had made a goal with his missionaries to find and
baptize 50 people in the mission in the month of February. The
average was 20- 25 a month. He even told them that he would find one
of those 50. Long story short, towards the end of the month he found
this woman... or rather she found him. She called him at the mission
office :) She was the 50th person to be baptized that month.
Elder Andersen told us to EXPECT
miracles to happen in our lives. I really liked that. At the very end
he told us (and I swear he was talking directly to the sister
missionaries) "Don't be so hard on yourselves. It's hard to
become a disciple of Jesus Christ." Then he said this, which
really touched my heart. "The Lord loves you and accepts your
sacrifice." I really needed to hear that.
I am going on my first exchange as a
sister trainer tonight. (I've been on two other 24hr exchanges on my
mission) I am going to go with the campus sisters and Sister Pfister
is going to go with Sister Tudman. I am so thankful I get to do this
new assignment with Sister Pfister. I can't imagine anybody better to
do this with. She is amazing and I always learn so much from her.
This morning I was reading "Jesus:
The Perfect Leader" today in preparation for my new assignment.
I have often felt very inadequate but this talk really motivated me.
I know I'm not perfect, but I just chose one of the Christlike
qualities and will work on that until I feel I can take on another
one.
http://www.lds.org/ensign/1979/08/jesus-the-perfect-leader?lang=eng
I know I have changed and become more
than I was in the last 13 months. I know it is because of the
Atonement of Jesus Christ. I am so grateful for the things I am
learning and I look forward to seeing how thing things I have learned
out here will apply when I'm home. I love you all!
Love, Sister Record
Labels:
Letters,
Stillwater
Where is Lorielle now?
Stillwater, OK, USA
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