Sister Stephani Rodriguez: Fullness of times...how lucky are we?

I'll start off with a funny story this week:
We were at the Torrence's (a family that got baptized about a month before I got here) and we were saying a prayer before we left. Blaze, the 6 year old, wanted to say it but needed help so he was copying what I said. I said "And please help us to have a good day at church tomorrow" and Blaze said "And please help us to not have to take a bath tonight" hahahaha well, God answers prayers and they didn't have to take a bath that night! Hahaha it was so funny!

Anyways, it's been a great week!!

Last Monday for P-day Sis Jenkins and I went to the Corning Museum of Glass! It was so cool, I'll include some pics. Corning is apparently famous for glass so we got to go see all these cool art pieces made of glass and it was so cool!!

Tuesday we had Zone Conference in Owego which was way fun. (Sis Jenkins and I also won a prize for having a clean car and nothing in our glove box so whoo!) The rest of the day was kinda weird. We sat and talked with this guy who's a preacher at a different church and he was just not making any sense. He was telling us how we believe in a 'different Jesus' (if I had a dollar every time I heard that...) All we did is bear solid testimony of the Book of Mormon. He kept saying "well I'm not sure what you think about this" and we were like "IT'S CAUSE YOU HAVEN'T READ THE BOOK OF MORMON" we literally said it like 12 times. He was like "I know, and I'm going to" so we really hope he reads and prays about it but it's just amazing how the Book of Mormon truly does answer all of our questions. I'm grateful for the knowledge that I have of the Book of Mormon and the testimony that I have of it as well. Then we went to Kens house (the guy that came to Conference) and he dropped us, hardcore. It pretty much sucked and we felt crapped on. The whole night was just a little rough but we decided to try a family that said we could come back, so we went over and they let us right in! We were able to give them a Book of Mormon and explain what it is. We asked if they'd be interested in reading and learning more about it. The dad turns to his daughter and goes "Well yeah I would, wouldn't you?" and the daughter said yes too! Hah it was such a great response!

Wednesday we had exchange in Elmira/Horseheads (a place I've been wanting to see for forever so I was way excited!) I got to work with Sister Moore so that was way fun! We taught some guy the 15 step program to quit smoking and he said "wait one sec" and ran inside. 2 minutes later he came out and handed us his ashtray an lighter!!! We were pumped to throw those suckers away.

The rest of the week was pretty good! We have a lot of cool people to see and teach. This area has so much potential and so many earnest seekers of truth. One of the most frustrating things I've come across on the mission is when people don't see a need for the gospel. Or when they know it's true and won't do anything about it. We've been working with a couple of Part-Member families, meaning at least one person in the family has been baptized but the rest haven't. We saw one of these families last night and they just did not see the need for this gospel and it honestly broke my heart. We asked if they had a desire to know if these things were true and they told us they couldn't answer at this time. We walked to the car and I was just so sad cause they don't know what they're missing! Sister Jenkins and I have been talking a lot about the truthfulness of this gospel. That we are the only true and living church on the earth. We have the Book of Mormon, another Testament of Jesus Christ, we have priesthood keys to do things in God's permission such as blessing/passing the Sacrament, performing baptisms, and being able to seal our families together forever, and we also have a living prophet! Take a second to think about how incredible that is. When I step back and think about it, I am amazed. We are so lucky and so blessed to have this gospel in our lives. It is so sad when people turn us away or don't see the urgency for this gospel because I know how much it can bless and change lives because it has absolutely changed mine! I would not be who I am today if it weren't for this complete gospel and most importantly our Savior, Jesus Christ. Because of Him, we can start over, we can have second chances, we can be anything we want in righteousness. I absolutely love this gospel and am amazed at how much goodness we have. One of my favorite quotes to share with people is "Heavenly Father's generous compensation for living in perilous times is that we also live in the fullness of times."

Side note: This quote is by Elder Stevenson who just so happens to be COMING TO OUR MISSION ON SATURDAY!!!!! We're having a WHOLE MISSION CONFERENCE so that means EVERYONE is going to Utica on Saturday. The whole mission hasn't been together the entire time I've been out, this rarely happens. I mean it kinda stinks cause we have to leave here at 4:45 am that day and drive 3 and a half hours for a two hour meeting and then turn around and drive 3 and a half hours back and then get back to work, but I DON'T EVEN CARE I'M SO PUMPED. THE CHURCH IS TRUE.

HOPE YOU HAVE A GOOD WEEK LOVE YA BYE

XOXO

Sister Rodriguez

P.S. we're teaching an investigator, Jennifer, tonight and we're going over the 15 steps to stop smoking. She's been a chain smoker since she was 12 and has never been able to quit. She wants to be baptized but knows she needs to give up smoking first. So tonight we're going over the program with her and if you could all just say a little prayer that she will be able to overcome this habit to be baptized, we'd really appreciate it! It's gonna take a lot of faith! Thanks!

pics:

1. If you don't recognize me cause I'm 300 pounds when I get home, this is why.