Mauri! I tangiriko!!!!

Mauri Everyone!!!!

Such a good, crazy, busy week. But here are the highlights!

1. I have my new companion!!! Her name is Sister Ioane (Yo-aw-nay) and she's from Kiribati! (You pronounce that Kirabus) So that's so cool!!!! It's a country made of islands in the middle of the Pacific Ocean, and her island is name Christmas Island! The big cities are London, Paris, Poland, and Banana. That's so sweet. She's from London. She's seriously the nicest person ever, I love her so much. I can already tell that I'm not going to be the trainer these next couple transfers. She started learning English in the MTC and was there for 10 weeks, but her English is phenomenal. They have their own language in their country that has the same name as the country, and it's not on Google Translate. So that's a little interesting. But the subject says "Hello, I love you!" in her language. I have the first vision basically solid in German, now I just have to learn it in Kirabati. Good thing I have 12 weeks hahaha

2. Elder Cook from the Quorum of the 12 Apostles came to our Sacrament Meeting yesterday! He said he was just going to sneak in and sit in the back, but it didn't really work out super well. It was cool, it was a surprise visit and he addressed us after the other speakers had spoken. They were a little nervous haha. We didn't get to shake his hand, but he waved at me so I feel like that counts. Apparently he "sneaks" into our sacrament meeting pretty often according to the other Sisters. So that's fun, especially for my companions first Sunday here!

3. Overall it was just a really good week, my companion has such a sweet testimony and a spirit about her. We took a Spanish tour on Sunday after I announced the tour in Spanish, and we had 4 nonmembers with us, they all took a Book of Mormon and referred. I honestly think it's because of my companions sweet spirit. Even though they couldn't understand her and I was translating, she's fantastic. Today we gave another English tour, we had 5 nonmembers, and 3 of them took the Book of Mormon. She is so sweet, and I love her so much. 

4. Our mission president's wife told us in our trainers meeting something that I really love and try to remember often. She said that as trainers, we are not the boss. We are the servant. And I love that, because I think of Jesus Christ, and how He was the ultimate trainer. He showed us the way, He helps us when we fall, He gives us strength when we're weak and He has made it possible for us to do all things and return to our Heavenly Father. And then I remember how He told His apostles that "he who is great among you, let him be your servant" and He didn't excuse Himself. He was the ultimate example of a great servant. And now as the trainer, I get the opportunity to just love and serve someone more than I ever have. It's a cool thing, and I love training. It's definitely hard, but I love it. And I love Sister Ioane. :) 

That was our week! We took a few pictures, I'll attach them. Sorry there aren't more haha. Love you all!

I'm Having a Baby!!

Hello Everyone!!

 Don't be alarmed by the subject line, I'm not actually having a baby. However, President called me into his office this week to ask me to train a new missionary!! So I'm going to be a trainer!!! In mission slang she'll be my baby and I'll be her mom, but she's really just going to be my companion fresh out of the MTC. I'm really excited to meet her..and just in case anyone is wondering, I'm having a girl ;)

1. This week I did MTC contacting! So when I was in the MTC, we came and spent a day on Temple Square before we actually left the MTC. So this week, I was the Temple Square sister that adopted an MTC missionary for the day while they did their Temple Square experience. It was fun! And even more fun for me, because it was the Sisters that will be serving here! I was assigned to a Sister from Honduras, her name is Sister Alvarado. She's so cute - I really hope that I get to keep her come Wednesday. I loved her enthusiasm for talking to people, she was a little shy, but every person we saw she would look at me and ask if we could go talk to them. It was so inspiring. I think often I pass people on my way to an assignment or to a lesson, but when we pass people we pass experiences. So I really learned the value of talking to everyone from her that day. We talked to one member, who really just opened up to us about her feelings of being a bad member, and said that she knew God sent us to her that day. It's a lot of fun to fulfill the nickname given to us as the Angels on Temple Square. 

2. Mario was confirmed yesterday! He sent us a message afterwards telling us that while he was being confirmed, he couldn't stop himself from weeping as he received the gift of the Holy Ghost. He has changed so much about himself and his life since we first talked to him a couple months ago. It's amazing to see the healing effect that the gospel of Jesus Christ has on people, and how much learning simple truths found in the Bible and the Book of Mormon can shape someones whole outlook on life.

3. Not a whole lot else happened this week, but I love seeing all the people that come here and teaching our investigators online. It's a special thing to have the restored gospel of Jesus Christ and know that no matter what happens, our families are eternal. I love the sweet spirit that surrounds Temple Square, and I love the Book of Mormon. I'm so grateful for a living prophet, and for the Atonement of Jesus Christ in my life that strengthens me every day. It's a good life. :) 

I hope you all have a wonderful week! With transfers on Wednesday, my Pday will stay the same but my assignment is changing to West Gate. More on that next week when I actually know what it is... until next Monday!

Best. Week. Ever.

Hello Everyone!!

I hope you're having a good week! It's been an amazing week here on Temple Square, if every week was like this one that would be fantastic. 

1. Mario got baptized yesterday! It was so great, we got to Skype in and watch the whole thing. We even got a picture with him and the Elders! It was great, I'll attach the picture. Mario was an inbound call that I met two transfers ago, he's super sweet and he called looking for direction in his life and a church to raise his kids in. Us and the Elders got to teach him together, and it was really a special thing to get to be a part of his baptism too. His Elders are seriously the best, it makes such a difference when the local missionaries are easy to work with. The new Preach My Gospel will have a chapter all about online teaching and I'm super excited to get it, it really is amazing how much having both sets of missionaries working with the same person really helps them. It's really cool to get to be a part of teaching so many people from so many parts of the world. 

2. Our other investigators are doing great, Patrick is amazing as always, Faith is progressing super well, and we have a couple others that are also just doing wonderful. It's so amazing to get to see all of these people from around the world and help them come unto Christ in whatever way that we can. 

3. We were so privileged to get to attend President Monson's funeral as well as the viewing. It was so uplifting, and really a unique experience to get to attend the funeral of a prophet. It really was something super special to get to go, and also to see the viewing. He looked so peaceful, and if anyone deserves peace it's certainly President Monson. He has been in the service of God his whole life, and I know that now the Lord has called another to take his place. How grateful I am for a living prophet. 

4. The young adult devotional was yesterday as well! It was so cool, we heard that we had over 50,000 people here on Temple Square and I totally believe it. It was so busy, way more people than Christmas. And everyone was our age! So that was cool too! The Conference Center was full, all the theaters were full, the grounds were full of people listening, and President Fisher even started letting some people into the basement to listen! It was awesome, it was such a fun and uplifting environment. 

5. The Fishers! They're great, I can already tell that we're going to love them so much.

6. Yesterday during the devotional, this guy walked up to me and asked if I remembered him. I didn't unfortunately, but asked him to remind me. He said that I had met him a couple weeks ago and had taught him all about Joseph Smith and the Book of Mormon at the Map desk.. then I did remember! He was someone I had contacted on my own and was just talking to him and teaching him the Restoration lesson, he didn't want to refer but I had such high hopes for him. Yesterday I saw him again, and he told me that he had actually started meeting with local missionaries, had been to church twice since then, and was reading the Book of Mormon. He was there to go to the devotional with one of his friends from church. How cool is that!! He told me that I was the first person that had talked to him about the gospel before, and he thanked me for it. I was so excited! I still am!! Seed planting is real. 

So that was this week in a nut shell! It was a really amazing week, and I'm so grateful for all the amazing experiences that I've been able to have. God is certainly good. 

Love you all!!

Sixes and Sevens

Hello!! 

It's January 8th and we still have like 0 snow. So that's sad, but I don't mind it being a little warmer than it should be. This week was really great.

1. President Monson passed away. We have had a lot of people on square this week asking about his death and how the new prophet is picked. We've especially had a lot of people from Latin America asking about it. It's definitely been an interesting week. Our mission president told us about the prophets passing right before our zone conference started, and of course right after he told us I had to get up and give a short message on our purpose as missionaries - man, it was hard. But I know that even though our dear prophet has gone, that we are never really without a prophet. Our mission president explained to us how succession works in the church, and how beautifully Jesus Christ really is at the head of everything. He told us that the moment the prophet exhales his final breath, the next breath into the lungs of the senior apostles transfers the prophetic mantle. We have been promised that we will never again have a time on earth without a prophet, and Jesus Christ really is at the head of this work. With His authority to control life, He is perfectly in control of who the prophet is in every moment. President Monson had finished his work here, and was ready to be brought home. But I am confident that President Nelson, who now presides over the church, is exactly who Jesus Christ wants to be at the head. President Monson's funeral will be this Friday, and the public viewing will be Thursday. We aren't yet sure if we'll be able to go, we all really hope so though. 

2. Mario had his baptismal interview and will be baptized this Sunday! We're really excited, we're going to Skype in and watch. We have it all planned out with his Elders, it's going to be great!

3. Sometimes, our mission receives mail meant for church headquarters. This week one of those things happened, we got a letter addressed to the Church from someone in prison in the US. We gave it to the mission secretary who read it, and then she let us read it. This person had really made some bad choices and won't be out of prison anytime soon, but it was one of the most touching letters of repentance and redemption I've ever read. This person mentioned their shame and desire to come back to the Church, how their choices were not in line with the teachings of Jesus Christ and how they wished they could undo them. This person was so penitent, and was just really expressing their desire to change. They had asked for some materials from the church to read during their incarceration, so Sister Jachens and I decided to adopt this person and we went and got them what they'd asked for. We wrote little notes in everything, and we'll be sending it to the local mission president for him to deliver the prison. The letter was really a reminder for me of how the gospel of Jesus Christ changes lives and can really heal us. I really loved it, and since I adopted this person, I get to keep the letter!

4. There's a mission statistic that says a person needs 7 different interactions with members or missionaries before they'll refer, or decide to learn more. So that's one of the reasons we talk to everyone we see on Square, even if they already have a Book of Mormon in hand - maybe taking the Book of Mormon was from interaction number 6 and they still need interaction number 7. Well, we've been experiencing a lot of "6th" interactions. My companion has been feeling frustrated recently because it seems like everyone she calls doesn't want to learn more, while everyone I seem to call does. So this week we talked about sixes and sevens. I told her my first transfer I went through a lot of sixes.. no one wanted to refer, or they were interested but not interested enough to stay in contact, or whatever. I didn't see any success there. But this transfer, I've been seeing a lot of 7's. I've been the 7th interaction for a lot of people, and people refer to me a lot. We just have to work through our 6's to find the 7's. To find the one. So I want to invite all of you to reach out to those around you that aren't familiar with the church, or that are and haven't shown interest. Be the 2nd, 3rd, or 4th interaction. Maybe you'll find someone who is just waiting for the 7th. But share the gospel. This message we have changes lives. Mario texts us about every day telling us thank you, he's a different person than he was. We were his 7th interaction. But before 7, you have to have 1-6. So please reach out to those around you. Every time we reach out to someone, we bring them closer to Jesus Christ. Even if they aren't yet at number 7, they're one interaction closer. 

I know our Savior lives and He loves us. I know we're children of God, and that we are of great importance. I love you all, and I hope you have an amazing week.

Love, Sister Black

Happy New Year!

Hello Everyone!!! Happy New Year!!

It's been a while since we were last able to email and quite a bit has happened, but I'll try to keep it short. :)

1. Christmas! Christmas was so fun, the best part was easily getting to Skype my family. Temple Square was closed Christmas morning until 4:00 in the afternoon, and so we got treated to breakfast by the Senior Couples and then were just free to call our families, take a nap, and then open our Christmas stocking - also put together by our sweet Senior Couples with donations from local stakes. We had a Christmas program where many of the Sisters performed, and it was so great. I think that Christmas 2k17 has to be my best Christmas to date. It was such a special thing to spend the day that we use to celebrate the birth of Jesus Christ in the shadow of the temple and surrounded by other Sister missionaries whose full time responsibility right now is to represent our Savior. I'm so glad I have another Christmas to look forward to on the mission.

2. Patrick!!! People talk about golden investigators, but I need a metal more precious to call this guy. Patrick is amazing. We got him from an inbound call on mormon.org, he just had a few questions about the church from a pass along card given to him on a bus and before we knew it I had taught him the Restoration and had set a return appointment to teach him the Plan of Salvation, this time with my companion. (1st time contact is solo, we're starting to do companionship first time contact too more recently) Since that day, the 17th, we have been able to talk to him every day and have been able to teach him the first three lessons, one of the commandments, he went to church on Sunday, and today we called the local missionaries to give them their late Christmas present. And for the record, he's already in Mosiah. He's so golden and we already love him so much, we're really excited about him.

3. This has been overall a really good week with investigators for us. We had Patrick, John, Santiago, Faith, and Mario all at church on Sunday and we've been able to teach all of them at least twice this week. Mario actually had his baptismal interview yesterday, and he and his 8 year old son will be getting baptized on the 14th! We're going to Skype in, we're super excited!! We just have to pray that he'll be okay until the 14th. It seems that once the interview has happened especially is when the adversary really starts to pull out everything on them.

4. I was asked to give a training in Spanish meeting on "recorridos cortos y poderosos"or short and powerful tours. It was fun! On Temple Square with all the different languages that the Sisters speak, we all have a language meeting once a transfer when you go to that meeting and you are able to speak your language. So my training was in Spanish for all the Spanish speaking Sisters. I enjoyed it a lot. 

5. I know that Heavenly Father loves us and He loves our investigators. I can't think of a better thing that I could be doing with my life right now than preaching the gospel to His children. I love how much peace the Book of Mormon brings to my life and how much I'm able to learn from it. One of my Zone Leaders is Sister Cox, and I was talking to her the other day about the Book of Mormon and we started talking about "flips of faith". It's when you don't know what to do or someone asks you something you don't quite know how to answer, so you just look at your companion, look at the Book of Mormon in front of you, say a silent prayer and just open the Book. I was struggling to think of how to help an investigator who hasn't been progressing, and I knew that God wanted to help me and I thought of how I talk to Him through prayer, but more often than not I find my answers in the scriptures. So I just did a flip of faith and landed on Mosiah 1:17. God answers prayers. I knew exactly what I needed to talk to our investigator about. I love my Heavenly Father and my Savior. I know that They know me perfectly, and love me perfectly. I am so grateful for Them, and for the tools they have given me in my life. 

I love you all, and I hope you have a great week!!

--Sister Black