Mitt Romney

My testimony of the Book of Mormon continues to grow every week! The past couple of transfers I've really had the goal to use the Book of Mormon when I teach, especially to answer questions that investigators have. This week our study text for District Meeting was all about using the BoM to resolve concerns so that helped a ton! We did the study text Tuesday morning and then later Tuesday evening we were able to apply what we learned! 

So we were walking around Arlington on Tuesday just trying a bunch of different people and no one was really home. I suggested two different people we could try and Sister Hall and I decided on this one potential. Her name is Ann, I tracted into her a couple of months ago and she said we could come back and share a message with her but that she was going to be gone the whole month of April for her wedding. So we've tried her a couple of times but haven't been able to get in contact with her until Tuesday! We knocked on her door and she let us right in! She told us one of her concerns is that she doesn't understand how people can say they KNOW something is true. We talked a lot about how faith is involved in any religion but we went into the Restoration and at the end we shared Moroni 10:4-5 on how if she reads the Book of Mormon and prays with sincerity, she can KNOW that these things are true by the power of the Holy Ghost. It was really cool for us to be able to use the BoM and our testimonies to back it up. I definitely felt the Spirit and she told us we can come back and share more. It was an awesome lesson and I'm so excited to go back and teach her more! 

We also had an experience this week where we tracted into a guy that was pretty anti. He told us that he's read the Book of Mormon and doesn't agree with what we believe and how we don't believe Christ is our Savior and all of this stuff. We politely told him that of course we believe Christ is our Savior and that the Book of Mormon clearly testifies that He is. We left and I could feel my blood just boiling. The Spirit had left as soon as he opened his door and we could feel the difference without it there. I decided to read a few scriptures as we were walking away because I was really annoyed because he clearly didn't understand the Book of Mormon. So I flip open to a random page and the first scripture I read talked about how Jesus Christ is our Lord and Savior and salvation only comes through Him. I continued to flip through and every scripture I read was on Christ and testified of Him and His Divine mission. We laughed and were happy that we have this knowledge and that the BoM brought the Spirit back with us. I hate being without it. 

Funny quotes of the week:

Sister Hall: "I bet when Christ comes back to the Earth, Mitt Romney's gonna be second in command."

Doug: "Should I drive or walk over to your house?"

next door neighbor: "I want you to pogo stick, Doug"

Katie: *Answers her phone really sad* "hello... I was gonna say something funny but the sisters would think I'm a weirdo"
Us: "No we won't!"

Katie: "Is your refrigerator running? Better go find it" 

Pictures: 

1. Some Less Actives that we go visit breed Jack Russel Terriors and let us hold the puppies!! 

2.  Ice Cream with Vermont maple syrup 

3. Can't remember the last time I saw the sun...

4. Sister Hall: "come here" 

me: "What?"

H: "Come here!" 

Me: *sees creepy handprint on our bedroom wall* literally terrified

Miracles

Okay first off!! This week we found out that Vermont LITERALLY MEANS GREEN MOUNTAINS. 

Ver = verde, as in green

and mont = mountains

SO VERMONT = GREEN MOUNTAINS WHO'DA THUNK?! It literally blew our minds. I'm so lucky to live in such a cool place. Vermont is the best. 

Anyways, we're constantly seeing the Lord's hand in everything but this week Sister Hall and I decided to look back on each day and we were able to pin point a huge miracle from the Lord! I'd love to share one with you.

Thursday: BIGGEST MIRACLE OF MY ENTIRE MISSION. Coolest experience that I will never forget. Our appointments fell through (shocking) and we prayed for help. We needed inspiration. After we prayed, I saw a street sign pop in my head, so we went there and tried a potential that lived on that street. She was busy and didn't want to talk to us. So we get back to the car and some formers came to my head. I was like "it's 8:00 on a Thursday night, I bet they're home" on our way to their house, we hear this crazy thunder and see this crazy lightning. Sister Hall was freaking out and she was like "we need to go home" and i was like "no, it's fine, we'll be fine!" so we park down the street and it starts raining a little and we walk past this couple that's sitting outside on the porch and we talked to them as we were passing by. When we walk up to the formers I see this crazy wind start picking up so I was like "if they don't answer, we'll go home" well the former comes to the door and I'm hoping she'll take pity on us and let us inside but she just looks at us through the door and goes "sorry it's not a good night" and walks away. We walk down the driveway and the storms picking up. I look at Sister Hall and go "It's gonna downpour" and as SOON AS THE WORDS WERE OUT OF MY MOUTH THIS CRAZY RAIN JUST HITS US. We were DRENCHED in a matter of SECONDS. This hard rain and hail and winds like I've never felt before. It was INSANE! We could barley see anything in front of us. We start running back to the car and I was like there's no way we're even gonna make it to the car it's way too dangerous for us to be out here. So we're like "let's go to that porch and see if they'll let us stand there while we wait for the storm to leave" So we get to the porch and knock on the door and they see us and welcome us in and they were SO NICE! The lady recognized me bc she works at Langway, the car dealership in town, and they got us these towels (we each went through 3 haha) and we were SOAKED. From head to toe. We got their tile sooo sooo wet but they were so nice and it was a couple and her son who was our age. They had just finished eating dinner so they gave us leftovers and sat down and kept saying "Everything happens for a reason. Maybe you're here to share a message with us" so we taught them the Restoration and they were like "Wow. I had no idea." "It feels good to have church in my home" Oh my heck. It was INCREDIBLE. They said we can absolutely come back and teach them more. As soon as we finished teaching them, the storm was over and we were able to get home safely. 

I know we were in the right place at the right time because the Lord put us there. I'm SO thankful for the Lord who sends us promptings through His Spirit. I love this work and I love the gospel. 

Look for the Lords hand in your life this week because I know it's there!

Have a great week! 

P.S. Funny story... At stone soup, we were talking about allergies and a single guy (about 45) in the branch goes "I'm allergic to hot stuff" So i got up and said "Oh sorry!! I'll leave!" everyone laughed and he turned bright red.. hahahah he said he's gonna get me back so we'll see what happens 

xoxo

Sister Rodriguez

Pics: 

1. Picture doesn't even do it justice, I was SOAKED

2. We saw a fox just chillin on someone's front lawn. lol Vermont

3/4 Vermont

Six month sister

That's right, we got transfer calls and ya girls are staying together in Vermont! So weird that I've lived in New York for 6 months and after this transfer I will have lived in Vermont for 6 months! I'm super excited though I know the Lord called me to stay for a reason and I'm excited to find out what that reason is. 

On Wednesday we had District Meeting in Greenwich and it was a really powerful meeting. The Zone Leaders gave an awesome training and the Spirit was so powerful. It was one of those moments that I realized how lucky I am to be a missionary. And to be surrounded by other missionaries and to feel their Spirit. We truly are the Lords servants and have been given His Spirit to further His work. The ZL's asked us why we are here. What made us come out on a mission and I thought really hard about that. Especially now at my halfway mark. Why am I here? Why did I come? And more importantly, why did I stay? I came up with a few answers but the only one that seems to be completely accurate is is Christ. He is the reason for everything. And He is absolutely the reason I'm here. It was a great way to remind me to put my focus on Christ. 

Another highlight of the week is GARTH CAME TO CHURCH!!!! Finally! Last week during weekly planning we were really confused as to how we could help Garth. We didn't know what he needed and the only thing that came to my head was that we needed to drop him. I was really scared because he's one of our only investigators and I didn't know if that was the right thing to do. I told Sister Hall and she said she felt the same way. We decided that we'd go see him one more time and see how the lesson went and then if he didn't come to church that week, we were going to put him back in the Lord's hands and give him some time. Well he cancelled our appointment this week but told us he wanted to come to church and this time he actually did!! It was awesome because he was able to talk to some members in priesthood and told them some of the concerns he had and the branch members were able to help us with that. So hopefully he'll be able to start progressing and commit to a baptism date! 

1. We didn't sticky note the elders car...

2/3. Awkward family photos

4. We bought matching VT pillows

5. MY CUTE FAM 

6. S'mores at the Vaughns: 10/10 

#Blessed

Let me tell you about how blessed Sister Hall and I are. We got 3 new investigators this week!!!! They're super cool. One is like a 70 year old lady that has a British accent but is from the city haha she fed us lunch this week and was just cracking us up. She has started the Book of Mormon and wants us to come teach her more so that's exciting! 

The next one is a young dad who's recently been divorced. He's super funny and blunt about things and has lots of questions about religion but told us he'd read the Book of Mormon. 

The other one is a lady I've been trying since last transfer. It was just never a good time for her when we would go over. She lives just down the street from us and one day we were coming home and about to go inside to weekly plan or something when I stopped and said we should go see her. We're so glad we did because she let us right in! Her husband wasn't home which was kinda sad cause we want to teach families but she listened to the Restoration and said she'd read the Book of Mormon! That's my favorite thing ever, when people say they will read the Book of Mormon. That's where the true conversion comes. We were so pumped this week to finally have some new people to teach. My testimonies of the power of prayer and fasting have been strengthened sooo much since being out here. 

On Tuesday we went and visited a woman in our branch that was in the hospital. Sister O'Brien. My first week in Bennington I saw some sisters in the RS with these beautiful handmade bookmarks. I asked where they got them and they told me Sister O'Brien had made them! I complimented her on how beautiful they were and the next week Sister O'Brien came to church with about 4 different bookmarks for me to choose which color I wanted for myself. That is something that really stuck out to me. It was such a small and simple act of service but it made me feel really special that she would go out of her way to bring me one! About a month ago, she got really sick and had basically what is Mad Cow disease, but for humans. On Tuesday we went to go see her and she was pretty much in a coma state and very unresponsive but it was still good to see her. On Sunday we found out she passed away. It was sooo sudden and showed me how precious life really is. This sister was perfectly healthy a month ago and now has passed on. I'm grateful for the Plan of Salvation that we know she is around and healthy! What a sweet woman who left a wonderful impression on my life. 

Yesterday we had a broadcast from Salt Lake for the NorthEastern part of the US and Canada. Elder Oaks spoke and was very bold, I LOVED it! He flat out said "Tattoos and body piercings are graffiti on your body and not appropriate." he continued and shared how he stands with God's standards. I loved how bold he was. In the beginning of the mission, I was really shy about things like that. As I've been out longer I've become more bold and Elder Oaks makes me want to be even bolder! This is the truth! These are God's laws. We should not be ashamed to live them or declare them to be true. We of course need to be respectful, but not be ashamed when we tell people what is right or wrong. Our God is a God of high expectations. One last thing he said that stuck out to me is "Men are NOT the priesthood. Men HOLD the priesthood" many people get that confused and I loved that great reminder. 

Other funny stories from the week...

"Do you have this pamphlet or did your ex take that when she took the Bom?"

"Probably, she took everything but the truck and the house.." 

"Do you guys get doors slammed in your face?"
"all the time"

"You need to carry around a sign with you that says "Jesus says love your neighbor." And say 'I am your neighbor... so stop throwing dirt at me! Because I will throw it right back at you!'" *picture a 70 year old woman with a British accent acting this out* 

Pics

1. I did this only for Parker and Lacey... 

2. Swingssss

3. We woke up this morning to snow on the mountains... it's literally May, what the heck

Must be the J Dubs

We were at a Less Actives house this week when we thought we heard someone knocking on the door. She goes "Who could that be? The Mormons are already here!! ...It must be the Jehovah Witnesses" HAH! There wasn't anyone at the door but it was still funny.

There's a Recent Convert in the branch that told us she wanted to take a break from meeting with us and coming to church which has been really hard. At my interview with President at Zone Conference, President Rogers told us to give her two weeks and then go see her. Well, two weeks would have been Wednesday but we weren't going to be in that area so we planned to go see her on Thursday. Fast forward to this week on Wednesday, we get a text from her saying she had a dream about us and church and her and her husband were going to come this week! Exactly two weeks from when our mission president told us to go see her. I truly know he is called of God and that he was able to connect to heaven and give us that timeframe. The recent convert came to church on Sunday and is letting us come over again this week! We've been praying sooo much for her lately so we were SO happy when she contacted us this week! Such a blessing. 

So that was the spiritual highlight of my week. The rest of the week was filled with laughter non stop!! I don't think I've ever laughed so much or so hard in my whole life than I have this week with Sister Hall! We've only been together for 3 weeks and yet we already read each others minds. We've finished each others sentences so many times or I'll say something and she'll be like "I was just about to say that!" It's been such a funny week. I

Other funny highlights from the week: 

-Sister Hall fell over backwards in her chair right in front of the Elders

-The Elders got to go to Connecticut for the temple and stopped at Chick Fil A on the way back and brought us some sauce (not really funny, but definitely a highlight)

-Sister Hall saw 3 (mostly) naked people this week HAHAHA she's literally been cursed, it keeps happening, poor girl 

-I had an allergic reaction to something this week and my face blew up, I looked like a high Asian for a good 24 hours 

-At Stone Soup we saran wrapped the Elders car lol

The work has been super slow here lately but we are trying to focus on the joy and good things that come! We're still doing lots of service which is great because service seriously does soften peoples hearts. People are able to recognize us from serving around the community and that has been really cool. Also Novella and Ed (our 2 main progressing investigators) are still doing awesome! Novella has a date in July to be baptized and Ed is sincerely praying to know if this is the right path so for now we are all trusting in the promise in Moroni 10 that he will get his answer. I definitely know he will. One thing I love about that scripture is that is says "by the power of the Holy Ghost ye may KNOW the truth of all things." not "ye may believe" or "ye may think it's true" no. It's a promise that we can all KNOW that these things are true. That's something that I can testify of. About a year ago I turned in my mission papers, and at that time I had a firm testimony, I truly believed these things were true. But now by the power of the Holy Ghost, I KNOW these things are true. I cannot deny them or walk away from them. I am so grateful for an almighty God who answered my prayers by the Holy Ghost and helps me continue to grow my testimony. I'm grateful I get to share these precious truths with my brothers and sisters everyday in such a beautiful place! 

xoxo

Sister Rodriguez

P.S. Spring is FINALLY here! The Green Mountains are BEAUTIFUL. The trees have started to bud and go green at the base of the mountains and work their way up to the top so soon all of the mountain will be green, I'm so excited to see it in full bloom!

Pics

1. Cannoliiiiiiiiiii

2. Lol my swollen eyes lolol

3. The deed

4. Sister Halls mom sent us nightgowns