Happy Thanksgiving!

Dear everyone, 

This week I have truly learned the importance of gratitude. It sounds cliche, as this week is Thanksgiving and all, but gratitude seriously is so crucial to being happy. I have experienced that as we allow ourselves to become ungrateful, we stop noticing all the wonderful, positive things that are happening in our lives. If we look for the negative in life, we will surely find it, because it is always there. There is always something to complain about, but where does that get you? It just brings sorrow and discouragement. Optimism, hope, and gratitude, however, bring joy, love, and hope for the future. In the Book of Mormon it says, "Behold, this is joy which none receiveth, save it be the truly penitent and humble seeker of happiness" (Alma 27: 18). Happiness does not always just come to us, we have to look for it. As we take the time to notice the blessings that we receive and the things we are thankful for, the things that we do not have or are upset about will seem less important. 

We had a really special lesson this week with a less-active man we've been teaching regularly for the past 2 months. He struggles with a lot of things, including depression and anxiety, and he truly has been growing and changing so much. We had the lesson in a member's home, and it was so powerful. We talked about the gospel of Jesus Christ, or the path that we have been given to follow in order to return to our Heavenly Father. As we were teaching, I felt such inexplicable love for this person. Someone who, if I had seen on the street, would have probably immediately judged and not thought much of. But, I really have been able to learn to see him as a child of God, as someone who is special and needs to feel that Jesus Christ is there for him. His faith is amazing, and I'm grateful for the time I've had to get to see that. During the lesson, the Spirit was very strong and everyone could feel it. God loves us all so much and He wants nothing more than to bless us. But, because He loves us so much, He gives us our freedom to make our own decisions. As we turn to Him, we become happier and understand our purpose. Heavenly Father is loving and simply asks us to do our best to change and become better each day. He is perfectly patient with our frailties and gave us Jesus Christ in order to be able to overcome them. I am grateful for the knowledge that I am a daughter of God, and that He knows me individually and personally. I can talk to Him through prayer whenever and wherever I want and He answers. It may not always be in the ways or at the times I expect, but He does answer. I hope we all can strive to come closer to Him each day and thank Him for all the many blessings we have received. I'm grateful for the continued support of friends and family and hope you are all doing well! 

Love, 

Sister Dieter

We got some Eggnog to kick off the Holidays!

Sheds, Snow, and Sweet Miracles

Oi, minha familia e amigos!

This has been a packed week full of some great things! On Tuesday, we had a member of the seventy (a leader in the church) come and do training for us. He was great, and really helped me to improve! His focus was teaching people with love and the Spirit. Funny experience of that night...so Sister Cowley and the other sister training leader had to stay longer at the meeting for leadership training. The other sister's companion and I rode back to my place with some other people and they were going to drive back once their meeting was over. But, being silly, we totally forgot to get the house keys from them! So Sister Bush and I resorted to waiting in the back shed, since it was about 35 degrees outside and windy. It was exciting to say the least! Luckily, we were only in there for like 45 min until the other sisters came, but it was pretty funny! Also, the next morning we actually got some snow! It was about a sixteenth of an inch, but it was still snow! We had some really great lessons this week! We have been focusing on helping families to come to the gospel together, since the gospel really is all about having happy and eternal families! One of our investigators' older brother is a less-active member of the church. Now that he is seeing his little brother make changes and wanting to be baptized, he decided he would like to be able to baptize his brother! So we're really excited for him to prepare to do that. We also taught a less-active man's two daughters, who are so sweet and have such a strong desire to learn the truth. Another really exciting thing this week: we were biking to visit some less-active members. We stopped at a trailer where one of them lived and they were outside. We were a little nervous, until one of them said "Hi Sisters!! We were just saying how we really want to come back to church!!" and then her son (?) said how he was baptized when he was a child but doesn't remember much, so he wants us to teach him again! We were just like, "Alright!" It was a nice breath of fresh air to have people welcome us like that and really want to meet with us! I know that the message we have to share blesses families so much, and it's exciting to see people recognize that! This week at church I also learned a lot about charity. One thing I really liked is that "charity is being a friend to everyone you meet". So true! If we would only just treat everyone around us like our friends, life would be so much happier and the world would be so much more pleasant! I am definitely striving to develop that Christlike love for everyone, though it is hard! This has been a great week and it is exciting to see such good progress in this area and people who are changing their lives!

Com amor, Sister Dieter

Stuck in a shed!

Snow (sort of)

Matching!

The Jacksonville District

Sisters!

Happy Fall Y'all! :)

That's the saying around here...I promise I'm not becoming too country though. This has been a great week here in North Carolina. Lots of great progress and some exciting things are happening here. We found out Sister Cowley and I are not getting transferred, so we'll probably be together until I get my visa! We found out our district leader and a sister in the district are getting transferred though. Sister Cowley turned 21 this week, so that was exciting. It was also the Marines' birthday, and everyone had to make sure to let her know that. It's really interesting living in a military town, I've learned a lot here.  This week at church was the Primary program, so all the children ran the service. They gave little talks and testimonies and sang songs. It is always so special to see these pure and innocent children talk about Jesus Christ. I love feeling the Spirit that they bring to life. 

This week we found a good amount of new investigators to teach, so that is really exciting! A few of them are married to members of the church, so we're really excited to help them bring their families closer together. We also have a couple of investigators who really don't have any solid belief in God or Jesus Christ, and are a bit confused about the whole thing. It's been wonderful to be able to teach them the simple truths that I know. Seeing them receive answers to their questions and recognizing the Holy Ghost for the first time in their lives is absolutely wonderful. I know that we have a Heavenly Father who knows and loves each of us individually. He has a plan for us to be happy and to be able to get back to live with Him again. Jesus Christ is central to this plan, without Christ we cannot change and become better. It is through Him that we receive all the blessings of God. I know that we are all children of God, and because of this, we have divine potential. I love being able to share this with people who are starving for knowledge and purpose. They are so eager to learn, and the Spirit really touches their hearts. 

Also, this week I read a scripture I really liked in 1 Peter 3:13-15. It says, "And who is he that will harm you, if ye be followers of that which is good? But and if ye suffer for righteousness' sake, happy are ye: and be not afraid of their terror, neither be troubled; But sanctify the Lord God in your hearts: and be ready always to give an answer to every man that asketh you a reason for the hope that is in you." We had someone ask us this week, "Why are y'all so happy?" I know that we have this lasting happiness because of the gospel. The teachings of Jesus Christ and the truths that were restored through the prophet Joseph Smith and the Book of Mormon bring true happiness and strengthen individuals and families. I am grateful for the time I have to share it with others with no other distractions. 

Love you all!
Sister Dieter

Happy Halloween!

Oi, minha familia e amigos!

This has been a packed week full of some great things! On Tuesday, we had a member of the seventy (a leader in the church) come and do training for us. He was great, and really helped me to improve! His focus was teaching people with love and the Spirit. Funny experience of that night...so Sister Cowley and the other sister training leader had to stay longer at the meeting for leadership training. The other sister's companion and I rode back to my place with some other people and they were going to drive back once their meeting was over. But, being silly, we totally forgot to get the house keys from them! So Sister Bush and I resorted to waiting in the back shed, since it was about 35 degrees outside and windy. It was exciting to say the least! Luckily, we were only in there for like 45 min until the other sisters came, but it was pretty funny! Also, the next morning we actually got some snow! It was about a sixteenth of an inch, but it was still snow!

We had some really great lessons this week! We have been focusing on helping families to come to the gospel together, since the gospel really is all about having happy and eternal families! One of our investigators' older brother is a less-active member of the church. Now that he is seeing his little brother make changes and wanting to be baptized, he decided he would like to be able to baptize his brother! So we're really excited for him to prepare to do that. We also taught a less-active man's two daughters, who are so sweet and have such a strong desire to learn the truth. Another really exciting thing this week: we were biking to visit some less-active members. We stopped at a trailer where one of them lived and they were outside. We were a little nervous, until one of them said "Hi Sisters!! We were just saying how we really want to come back to church!!" and then her son (?) said how he was baptized when he was a child but doesn't remember much, so he wants us to teach him again! We were just like, "Alright!" It was a nice breath of fresh air to have people welcome us like that and really want to meet with us! I know that the message we have to share blesses families so much, and it's exciting to see people recognize that! This week at church I also learned a lot about charity. One thing I really liked is that "charity is being a friend to everyone you meet". So true! If we would only just treat everyone around us like our friends, life would be so much happier and the world would be so much more pleasant! I am definitely striving to develop that Christlike love for everyone, though it is hard! This has been a great week and it is exciting to see such good progress in this area and people who are changing their lives!

Com amor, 

Sister Dieter

North Carolina Sunset

Happy Halloween!

Cotton fields

Ferret's at a members house!

Happiness

Hello everyone!

This has been a crazy week with a lot of unexpected things! One of which is that I finally was able to finish my visa application this week!! As far as I know, I probably won't get it for another month or two still, but it's getting there! As I look back on the past 6 weeks or so in North Carolina, I know that I needed to come here first. There have been so many experiences and things I have learned here that I know the Lord needed me to learn. I have been able to help teach amazing people and have learned a lot about the importance of this work. It is truly helping people to change their lives and come closer to their Savior, Jesus Christ. No matter where that is done or what language you speak, it is important and necessary. I am so privileged to be a missionary and to share this message with others. 

A funny experience we had this week...we tried to contact a less-active man. When we went to the address, a man was taking the trash out. He said that that family had moved a few months ago and he had just moved in. We talked to him a little and set up a time to teach him more. We were so excited, a new investigator! When we get to talking to him later at the appointment, he tells us he had a confession to make. We were a little nervous, but come to find out that he actually was the less-active man! He was scared when he saw us and immediately made up a fake name and story. But, he said he knew there was a reason God put us in his life. We're excited to meet with him again tomorrow. We also taught a lesson at a member's home around the campfire, that was pretty fun!

On Saturday, we had a special mission conference in Fayetteville. Two members of the Seventy (part of the leadership of the Church) came to speak to all the missionaries in our mission. It was great! One of them just came to America from Argentina and so he gave his talk in Spanish, with an elder interpreting to English for him. I understood a lot of it though! Even more importantly, I learned so much from what they said. The biggest take-away message I got is that we often limit ourselves far too much. They told us "don't limit yourself. Instead, allow God to expand your capacities, because He will." I know as we are optimistic, hopeful, and trust in God, He can make our lives much better than we could on our own. Part of this includes ALLOWING yourself to be happy and to enjoy life, even when it is hard. The bad things in life are inevitable, so we might as well enjoy life anyways! An analogy I really like is that we shouldn't be like the people in Charlie and the Chocolate Factory, always stressing out about searching for that mysterious golden ticket, which may never even come. Instead, enjoy all the chocolate you get to eat along the way! I know that life has a purpose, and it is to be happy and to learn from our experiences. Never let discouragement last, it eats your faith faster than anything else. Fique firme na fe!

Sister Dieter

The Little Things

Hi everyone! 
It's been a crazy good/hard week! But a lot has been happening down here in North Carolina! We had zone conference this week, which is where the missionaries in our little region of the mission meet together for training with the mission president. It was fantastic and I learned a lot! We had a lot of great lessons this week as well, and did a ton of biking! That was fun, but hard one day because we came to find out that the back tire on my bike was crooked, so it was rubbing and slowing me down a ton. We got it fixed by someone in the ward though, so it's all good! The ward also had their Fall Festival/Trunk or Treat this week! It was very fun and we had a great turnout. A lot of the people we are working with came, and it was just a great night. A less-active woman who hasn't been to church for a long long time and has been promising us she would come finally came this week! She loved it and was so happy to be back. We've learned a lot this week about patience and understanding that things work in the Lord's time. One of our investigators who really wants to be baptized just found out that her husband won't allow it. That's really hard on her and we are so sad for her. But, it will all work out how and when it is supposed to!! I know that God loves us and He watches over us in our times of hardship and happiness. He wants us to follow Him and do the best we can each day. I love being a missionary and am learning so much! Thank you for all your love and support and I hope you are doing well!

Sister Dieter

Trunk or Treat!

Interesting week for sure!

Oi!
This has been a great week, but also a really interesting one! We rode our bikes for the first time this week! If you've never ridden a bicycle in a skirt before, well, you just don't know what fun is! I was a sight to see, that's for sure. We've also had some great meetings this week with less-active members, and seeing them remember the faith that they have and striving to come back is so inspiring. We also met quite a few new people that we are beginning to teach! It's so amazing to me how God always puts us in the right places at the right time. We will go to try and contact one person, and then meet someone completely random and have it be amazing. Our plans almost inevitably change all the time, and it always seems to work out better than we could have hoped for. Today, for example, we went shopping at Walmart. No big deal, right? We're not even trying to teach people or anything, just shopping. As we are bringing our groceries to the car, this man says "Hello Sisters!". What? Turns out he is a less-active member of the Church. We stopped and talked to him for a bit, and he was great! He told us how much he loves the Church and how it has blessed him in his life. Then, he says, "And you know if you ever want to come by and share the gospel with me, I'd love you to!" We were more than happy to plan on that! :) I guess what I'm saying is it is just the little miracles each day that we have to search for. The little things that go right, the plans that get changed, and how they work out for the better. I have seen God's hand in my life so much, and I am grateful that He is watching over me. Though I feel so incredibly inadequate as a missionary sometimes, I know that God makes up the difference for my weaknesses. In 2 Nephi 25:23 it says, "we know that it is by grace that we are saved, after all we can do". So, after we have done our very best and tried our hardest to be obedient and follow God, the power of Christ and His Atonement allow miracles to happen. We had a wonderful lesson with one of our investigators, and she is so sweet. She is so excited to be baptized and eager to learn more. Her faith inspires me, and her perseverance through the hardest trials I could ever imagine is amazing. She came to church this week, and loved it! In our lesson, she told us that she had come to know for herself that the Book of Mormon is true and that Joseph Smith truly is a prophet of God. I love her and love the effects the gospel is having on her life. I'm so grateful to be here and I know that even though it is hard and I'm certainly not a perfect missionary, God will help me as I am obedient. I love you all and hope to hear from you soon!

Tchau!
Sister Dieter

After a long day of biking!