Hi everyone! I hope you all had a great Easter weekend and were able to ponder over the Resurrection of our Savior and what that means for you. If you haven't seen it yet, watch this video!! http://easter.mormon.org/ No seriously, watch it right now, don't finish reading this e-mail until you do! :) It is the most powerful video about Jesus Christ that I have ever seen and it gives me so much hope. I love the concept that because of Him, we can always have a clean slate, a new beginning, a fresh start. Through Him, everything that is wrong or unfair about life can be made right again. We can change and start over. Even when it seems like all is lost, Jesus Christ is still there beside us to help us get back up again. I am so grateful for that knowledge.
Though we had a few random things happen this week (such as one of our exchanges getting TWO flat tires on our way home from an appointment...), it was a good week! We met a new investigator who is so sweet and is really trying to find direction in her life. She is going through a divorce and trying to find her way back to God. I am so grateful for her desires to follow Him and that we can be part of helping her to do that! We also had the opportunity to teach the Gospel Principles Sunday School class at church yesterday, and it was so fun! We had a great discussion about why the world needed to have a Savior and how through Jesus Christ, we can be saved and purified.
This upcoming weekend, we have a great event. Gladys Knight is coming to the Raleigh area with her Grammy-award winning gospel choir for a fireside weekend. She will be directing and singing with the choir, as well as sharing her testimony of the Book of Mormon and how she came to join the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints. It will be so great! I hope everyone has a great week! :)
Love,
Sister Dieter
Monday, April 21, 2014
Monday, April 14, 2014
Miracle Week
Oi, tudo mundo? Como vai? :)
Thanks for all the birthday wishes, I am so excited to be 20! :) This has been a good week full of some pretty amazing experiences!! Funny moment of the week: last Monday at Walmart, a random Subway worker called out to us and said he had something for us. It was a Qur'an and he wanted us to have it. We in turn gave him a copy of the Book of Mormon and it was really neat to be able to share our faith with him. Super random, but interesting! We also had an "activity zone conference" this week with other missionaries in the area. We had meetings and presentations, and then we had a few hours of fun and games. It was a beautiful spring day and made me really appreciate the wonderful people I get to serve among here in NC.
We had a few amazing lessons this week too! One in particular was such a miracle! We were talking with some people who told us to go see their friend that was mourning the loss of a child. At first when she answered the door, it was pretty awkward and she was very confused as to why we were there. Slowly, she warmed up a bit to us and let us come in. We told her how much God loves her and shared a scripture from the Book of Mormon about how faith in Jesus Christ enables us to overcome all things. We asked if we could pray for her, and though she doesn't usually let people do that, she did! At the end of the prayer, she was crying, hugged us, and told us she loved us! It was miraculous to see someone go from skeptical and kind of rude, to feeling loved and open to receive help within 5 minutes! I know that it is because she felt the Spirit touch her heart and she was able to feel God's love for her. This Sunday was also amazing because we had an investigator come to church and love it! Also, a few less-active sisters came to church who haven't been for a while! And, a sister that hasn't been to church since the 1980s came with her husband and they loved it!!! I know that God truly works miracles if we will just have faith and do His will. Our efforts to love and support people are never in vain, even if they do not accept, appreciate, or act on them right away. :) Love you all!
Sister Dieter
Thanks for all the birthday wishes, I am so excited to be 20! :) This has been a good week full of some pretty amazing experiences!! Funny moment of the week: last Monday at Walmart, a random Subway worker called out to us and said he had something for us. It was a Qur'an and he wanted us to have it. We in turn gave him a copy of the Book of Mormon and it was really neat to be able to share our faith with him. Super random, but interesting! We also had an "activity zone conference" this week with other missionaries in the area. We had meetings and presentations, and then we had a few hours of fun and games. It was a beautiful spring day and made me really appreciate the wonderful people I get to serve among here in NC.
We had a few amazing lessons this week too! One in particular was such a miracle! We were talking with some people who told us to go see their friend that was mourning the loss of a child. At first when she answered the door, it was pretty awkward and she was very confused as to why we were there. Slowly, she warmed up a bit to us and let us come in. We told her how much God loves her and shared a scripture from the Book of Mormon about how faith in Jesus Christ enables us to overcome all things. We asked if we could pray for her, and though she doesn't usually let people do that, she did! At the end of the prayer, she was crying, hugged us, and told us she loved us! It was miraculous to see someone go from skeptical and kind of rude, to feeling loved and open to receive help within 5 minutes! I know that it is because she felt the Spirit touch her heart and she was able to feel God's love for her. This Sunday was also amazing because we had an investigator come to church and love it! Also, a few less-active sisters came to church who haven't been for a while! And, a sister that hasn't been to church since the 1980s came with her husband and they loved it!!! I know that God truly works miracles if we will just have faith and do His will. Our efforts to love and support people are never in vain, even if they do not accept, appreciate, or act on them right away. :) Love you all!
Sister Dieter
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| Qur'an |
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| 20th B-day! |
Monday, April 7, 2014
Birthdays, Temple, General Conference, Love!!
his has been and will be a pretty fantastic week! It was my companion's birthday last week, my 20th birthday is tomorrow, we went to the temple on Friday, and it was General Conference weekend!! So many blessings. Also, as of today I have officially been on my mission for 8 months. Where does the time go?? Time really does fly when you are having fun and serving God. We met a new investigator this week who is great! She has had a lot of relationship and health problems throughout her life and is looking for peace and consistency. I know that she will be able to find that as she continues to learn about Jesus Christ and the sacrifices He has made for her.
This weekend especially, I have learned so much about love and it's power. Everything that Heavenly Father and Christ do for us is powered by their infinite and perfect love for each one of us. All they want is for us to be able to return to their presence, and they have provided us with the tools to do so! In the Bible, Christ teaches us about how we must love God, love our neighbors, and love ourselves. I think at different points in our lives, we are all guilty of not showing enough love to someone, whether it be a friend, family member, stranger, or even ourselves. This world is full of hatred, negativity, and deceit. But, as President Thomas S. Monson spoke about in General Conference this weekend, an increased measure of love can change the world, change our lives, and change the very nature of who we are as individuals. Sometimes it is really hard to love people, especially when they don't live up to your expectations. We all falter and make mistakes, but we can forgive and move forward. Heavenly Father knows our potential and the kind of people that we can become, and is perfectly patient with us as we strive to grow and change. I am trying to develop that kind of charity for all people. Something I have been learning about lately is the importance of showing other people love, even if they don't reciprocate or are even mean in response. You are never ever in the wrong if what you do and say to someone is truly motivated by love, concern, and a desire to help them. Even if they don't recognize it in the moment, they will be affected by your decision to show them that you care. You never know how much an act of love can really mean to someone. Don't procrastinate those acts of love and kindness either, because you never know when it might be too late! We are all brothers and sisters striving to make it through this crazy thing called life, and as we work together and cheer each other on, we will be able to see miracles! Love you all!
Sister Dieter
This weekend especially, I have learned so much about love and it's power. Everything that Heavenly Father and Christ do for us is powered by their infinite and perfect love for each one of us. All they want is for us to be able to return to their presence, and they have provided us with the tools to do so! In the Bible, Christ teaches us about how we must love God, love our neighbors, and love ourselves. I think at different points in our lives, we are all guilty of not showing enough love to someone, whether it be a friend, family member, stranger, or even ourselves. This world is full of hatred, negativity, and deceit. But, as President Thomas S. Monson spoke about in General Conference this weekend, an increased measure of love can change the world, change our lives, and change the very nature of who we are as individuals. Sometimes it is really hard to love people, especially when they don't live up to your expectations. We all falter and make mistakes, but we can forgive and move forward. Heavenly Father knows our potential and the kind of people that we can become, and is perfectly patient with us as we strive to grow and change. I am trying to develop that kind of charity for all people. Something I have been learning about lately is the importance of showing other people love, even if they don't reciprocate or are even mean in response. You are never ever in the wrong if what you do and say to someone is truly motivated by love, concern, and a desire to help them. Even if they don't recognize it in the moment, they will be affected by your decision to show them that you care. You never know how much an act of love can really mean to someone. Don't procrastinate those acts of love and kindness either, because you never know when it might be too late! We are all brothers and sisters striving to make it through this crazy thing called life, and as we work together and cheer each other on, we will be able to see miracles! Love you all!
Sister Dieter
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| Sisters! :) |
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| I Love to See The Temple... |
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| Sister Slade and I |
Tuesday, April 1, 2014
New Beginnings!
Well, here I am in my second area of North Carolina! I just got transferred to Raleigh, so I went from country/military base to the city! I love it!! My new companion is Sister Slade and she has been out for about 3 months now. The members here are so great and are very focused on sharing their testimonies with others. They love to serve and truly are a strong ward family. We meet in the stake center, with 3 other wards (congregations) using the same building. Because of that, our meetings actually go in backwards order to accommodate everyone in the building! So that was interesting!! We also have a very exciting event coming up in this area...Gladys Knight and her Saints Unified Voices choir will be coming to Chapel Hill next month and doing a fireside tour. The members are doing a great job of getting friends to come so that we can all share together in worship and in testimony of Jesus Christ. I am very excited for it!
We had some crazy miracles this week! Someone that the sisters had talked to about 2 weeks ago randomly on the street named Donna called us this week asking if we could help her with some service! She just fell and broke, well most of her body. She really needed her dog washed and it's hair cut...so guess what we did?? It was wet, messy, and very interesting. Even better though, is that she was able to feel our love for her and she really opened up to learn more about what we have to share. She actually was an Apachi priestess in her youth, and we were able to share with her about Jesus Christ and how He can help her! Ahh it made her so happy and she is so excited to read the Book of Mormon too! We also met a woman named Britney who is going through some really hard times. She is a single mom of three and is questioning whether God even exists. It breaks my heart to see someone so lost and confused, but I know that if she will open her heart up and strive to develop that relationship with God, her life will be so much better! I know that we all have a loving Heavenly Father who is aware of our needs and blesses us daily! I experienced that just today...something that I have been really praying and worrying about was very specifically answered this morning, and I just felt this overwhelming feeling that God knows me and that He is taking care of me. I love Him and know that He loves me too. The gospel of Jesus Christ truly does change lives, and I am so grateful to see that happening not only in my life, but in those around me.
Love,
Sister Dieter
We had some crazy miracles this week! Someone that the sisters had talked to about 2 weeks ago randomly on the street named Donna called us this week asking if we could help her with some service! She just fell and broke, well most of her body. She really needed her dog washed and it's hair cut...so guess what we did?? It was wet, messy, and very interesting. Even better though, is that she was able to feel our love for her and she really opened up to learn more about what we have to share. She actually was an Apachi priestess in her youth, and we were able to share with her about Jesus Christ and how He can help her! Ahh it made her so happy and she is so excited to read the Book of Mormon too! We also met a woman named Britney who is going through some really hard times. She is a single mom of three and is questioning whether God even exists. It breaks my heart to see someone so lost and confused, but I know that if she will open her heart up and strive to develop that relationship with God, her life will be so much better! I know that we all have a loving Heavenly Father who is aware of our needs and blesses us daily! I experienced that just today...something that I have been really praying and worrying about was very specifically answered this morning, and I just felt this overwhelming feeling that God knows me and that He is taking care of me. I love Him and know that He loves me too. The gospel of Jesus Christ truly does change lives, and I am so grateful to see that happening not only in my life, but in those around me.
Love,
Sister Dieter
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