LOVE IS SPOKEN HERE

March 24, 2014

Howdy fambam! I love being a missionary. (figured I might as well just start off by saying that.)

 

Sue's baptism was simply beautiful. She was glowing and Brother Witt was just so happy. I love seeing all this joy in people's lives. So Thursday was our last lesson with her as an investigator and it was so tender! Brother Witt started CRYING and said we were called to Columbus for Sue. And he KNEW that when sisters came here back in May that it was going to be the start of it all to her conversion. "There were times when it seemed like the longest 5 years of my life but then there are times like today where it seems like I was just baptized and she followed suit." I love that man. He's a big teddy bear :) aka Santa. Then Sue said the closing  prayer and it was so heartfelt. She said she was so excited for her baptism and she was thankful for us and then Brother Witt started crying all over again. All of us missionaries sang and Elder Ferry played the violin! And she was sooo cute all week! Like she straight up didn't leave the couch because she didn't want to fall or anything or have Satan attack (she has a prosthetic  leg) so she called it her "resting week." LOVVVEEE HERRRR.

 

 

 

 

 

We trained at zone training and Sister Vogel  and I came up with this cute thing! PANCAKES. Present All Needed Commitments And Keep Everything Simple. So make sure you have pancakes in every lesson! And teach simply as if teaching a child!

 

OMH THE TEMPLE. It was incredible. And thank you so much for all of y'alls prayers. I know that Heavenly Father answers prayers because I FELT THEM. I was sitting there, waiting for the session to start and the song, "Love is Spoken Here" kept playing in my head and I didn't know whyyyyy so I really thought about the lyrics and then it HIT ME. "Her plea to the father quiets all my fears." I KNEW RIGHT THEN THAT Y'ALL WERE PRAYING FOR ME AND I FELT SO PEACEFUL. I also came out of there knowing that I am a worthy representative of Jesus Christ and that I am a daughter of God. Heavenly Father wants us to be happy and find joy in the journey!

 

 

I love it here. I love this gospel. I love y'all!

Sister Case

EVERY DAY IS THE BEST DAY OF MY LIFFFEEE

March 17, 2014

Howdy fambam! Mom, I got your package! SO CUTE. Thank you soooo much. Sister Vogel and I are obsessed with our journals. And that plan of salvation kit? stop it. We used it for Grandma Eileen and she thought it was neat. (mom. she bought us Arby's and I ate all of it...well except the last bit of course...but MOTHER DEAREST. I ATE ARBY'S. Are you oh so proud of me?)

 

Happy St. Patty's day! Straight up-if you're not wearing green PINCH YOURSELF right now for me. You know who you are.....

 

What is this foxy song everyone speaks of?

 

SUE CAME TO CHURCH FOR ALL 3 HOURS. Yeeeehawwwww. Her baptism will be this Saturday! She. Is. The. Sweetest. I love her SO much. Confession Session: I LOVE when she prays. I love to sneakily open my eyes to watch her. Brother Witt's face is just beaming and it's the most tender thing I've seen since tinder. (hahaha that was a joke...) And Sue moves her hand while she talks and prays. So when she prays it looks like she is straight up having a convo with God. I just want to cry every time she prays b/c it is so heart felt. She can't wait for them to go to the temple and be sealed and they want us to come back for it! Brother Witt is Santa--straight up.

 

Every week I continue to look back at the week in amazement at all that has been accomplished and can only constantly thank my loving Heavenly Father. It's gotten to the point where after some miracle just happens, Sister Vogel and I will look up at the sky and ask, "What are you planning up there?" MIRACLES. HAPPEN--not just once in awhile but EVERY DAY. I have never had more joy in my life before. Yes, Cocoa Bean and Dimples bring me happiness but once my cupcake is gone I'm secretly sad, but the mission--OH MY HEART. THE MISSION BRINGS SO MUCH JOY I CAN'T EVEN HANDLE IT. This week there were a few nights where I realized I hadn't stopped smiling basically the whole day. There were a few times I started to tear up while we were driving because I was SO HAPPY. I've always wanted to serve a mission since I was little but I never realized how incredible it would be. Yes, it is hard at times, but "I can do hard things." WE ALL CAN. "Let go and let God." "Keep calm and pray on." Pick your own little saying, stick it somewhere, and remind yourself that YOU can help people #comeuntochrist just as much as any missionary with a cute little name tag. Right now I am a full-time representative of Jesus Christ, but we need all of the part-timers--YOU--to help. YOU find, we teach. I would encourage each of y'all to sincerely pray for guidance to who needs the gospel of Jesus Christ in their lives. Pray for courage. Pray for boldness. Pray for missionary opportunities and I can PROMISE you that they will come. And this invitation is for EVERYONE. If you are not a member of the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints--it doesn't matter! Everyone needs peace, hope, love...JESUS CHRIST AND HEAVENLY FATHER. Will you commit? 

 

I love this gospel. I love being a missionary. I am soooo happy like can you lose calories from smiling so much? Because I would weigh -7 pounds because I AM IN LOVE WITH THIS WORK. I'M IN LOVE- I'M IN LOVE- AND I DON'T CARE WHO KNOWS IT.

 

Share this gospel and smile. Let today and the next day and the next day be the best day of your life.

 

Love Always,

 

Sister Case

 

I was sent to the 2nd most prideful state in America

March 10, 2014

Howdy fambam! So yes, Nebraska is crazy prideful with their Huskers and I love it SO MUCH. It tickles my heart basically. Daylight savings also ruins missionaries' lives. Losing that one hour of sleep nearly killed me...but all is well. I am alive--even if my eyelids weighed 1,000 lbs. And it's warm. My prayers are being answered. The cold straight up is not good for me. I'm so happy. OH. MY. HEART. We taught 30 lessons this week! What to the whattttt? Heavenly Father has BIG plans for Columbus. So buckle up and get readyyyy. Yeeehawww.

 

Funny story that I've been needing to tell you for ages: We were teaching the Leberthons the Ten Commandments and Dominique is 6 (and says she won't get baptized unless we come back her for baptism...what a sweetie). Sister Dumont and I were taking turns talking about each Commandment...and I'm just eyeing her because I can't wait to see how she's going to explain adultery to a kindergartner...and Sister Dumont starts and Dominique asks what adultery is...and Sister Dumont says, "ummm DON'T TALK TO BOYS." FUNNIEST MOMENT EVER. And so now whenever we go over she's like, "can I please talk to boys? Because I am. I talk to all the boys in my class." hahahahaha I love it.

 

You know how I talk in my sleep? Ya, well it has gotten worse. I pray and teach lessons in my sleep all the time. Like I started doing it my 1st week out and it's to the point where sometimes I don't sleep because I feel like I'm being disobedient because I need to teach or something...even though the world is asleep. I'm going insane. Obviously. The other night I woke Sister Vogel  up I guess teaching a lesson or praying and saying "we are all children of Christ." I'm not normal. I shouldn't ever come home I guess haha.

Some info on some of our investigators:

Sue! A requirement for baptism is to attend church 3 times--and one of those times has to be for all 3 hours so you can check out relief society and make sure you're committed.  Her and Brother Witt have reallllllly bad health problems so they weren't able to attend yesterday, so her date will now be for March 22nd. :) But all is well. She's like sprinting to the font and Sister Vogel and I are crawling trying to teach her everything and get her interview all ready and all this stuff so it's better this way! Please pray that her body won't ache next week so that she can attend all 3 hours!  She is soooo cute.  She said,  "So my baptism is like a weekend that revolves all around ME?" MY KIND OF LADY.

  

The Castanovas! I love them! They are a family and are set for April 12. Guadelupe--the mom--really understands it all and loves the plan of salvation! They like us coming over and we're really good buds with them. Saturday night we went over and had tacos and then had a little bonfire for s'mores.

 

Georgette is going to let us start teaching her kids! She wants them to know God and get baptized. What? But we know that it will only be through her help and example that the kids will stay committed. Baby steps!

 

Real quick about Tayna--she's not set for baptism--but it's so sad! She has like zero self worth and it makes me very sad. I was studying and thinking how to help her and I just felt of  her sadness and how it makes Heavenly Father sad when we don't love His beautiful creation. Then I thought about y'all and how y'all are each so beautiful. This world is so brutal when it comes to self worth and then I started thinking of my future children and how I want them to know how wonderful and beautiful they are.

 

My scripture for the week:  Mosiah 14:5 -- "And thus the flesh becoming subject to the Spirit, or the Son to the Father, being one God, ^asuffereth temptation, and yieldeth not to the temptation, but suffereth himself to be mocked, and ^bscourged, and cast out, and disowned by his ^cpeople."

 

Jesus Christ is incredible! Wounded for MY transgressons. Brusied for MY inquites. His chastisement = my peace. His stripes = I am healed. And then I started reading 1 Cor 12 in the Bible. I love how we all have different gifts, but as we use and share them with others, we begin to become like Christ. We're not all the same for a reason. We're different so we can learn and grow from one another! There is this song that I love! One part goes, "Am I more than flesh and bone; am I really something beautiful? I want to believe. Jesus help me believe that I am someone worth dying for." I am worth it. You are worth it. WE ARE ALL WORTH IT. We're all different and special in our own way.

One of the biggest downfalls of pride is comparing what we have or who we are to others. Never compare yourself to anyone because Heavenly Father made each of us. President Weston told us, "If you look in the mirror and don't like what you see, the only person you can blame is Heavenly Father because He. made. YOU." Jesus Christ loved each of us so much that He died for every single one of us!

"If you want a friend you have to be a friend." We need to each make Christ our BEST friend, but we must begin and work on that relationship. That's something I really want to work on. I know OF him but I want to KNOW HIM. It's going to take work and consistency, and ya I'm going to mess up at times but that is what is so beautiful about the Atonement. We mess up, we can try again. We fall, He will give us a hand and lift us back up. It's up to each of us if we want to live with Christ again. We are each someone that was worth dying for -- He knows our potential. But we must decide if we will begin to become what He wants us to be. To be the clay that He can mold. 

 

I LOVE THIS GOSPEL AND I LOVE Y'ALL! LET HIM IN. LET HIM MOLD YOU.

 

Love Always,

 

Sister Case

1/3

March 4, 2014

Howdy fambam! Is it freezing down there too? Probably not..since Texas is perfect. Like Jack Frost, stop being so rude! OMH I have so much to tell y'all. Crazy miracles for sure. and AHHHHHHH I only have 1 year left. 365 days. In a year from TODAY I will be on the plane heading home. What? Stop. Not okay. WHY IS MY LIFE FLASHING BEFORE MY EYES? Okay I don't have time to be dramatic anymore....

 

To answer some random questions: Eileen is 92 and my favvvvv. So sassy and future Lindsey White--I kid you not. She's such a gem...but Sylvia and Emily???. They invited us to Em's birthday party last week and that was good but kinda awkward...and then we were supposed to see her yesterday and she bailed so aka sneak attack. Keep them in your prayers please!

 

We had zone conference this week! I was able to see Sister Harris and Sister Dumont! I cried. obviously. (mom--i'm turning into you!) So I had all 3 of my companions with me and it was oh so tender. We learned bunches about prayer and how you need to be yourself and talk to Heavenly Father as if I'm talking to Daddy. THEN we had the zone conference Olympics and I won the gold for my two events! Ladders and push ups! Yeehaw. 111 real deal push ups.

 

 

 

Sister Vogel and I worked our tails off this week and we are already seeing the blessing for it! Last week during weekly planning we both felt that we should put 4 as our # people set with a baptism date and we were a little nervous....going from 0 to 4 in one week?!  But we listened to the spirit and put it down for a goal of 4 and we did it! Well,  the spirit did it. And we had 6 member present lessons. 6. My jaw is still on the floor.

 

SUE WITT. Brother Witt is her husband and we helped get him all active when I first got here and he is just the best! He now passes the sacrament and he just got the Melchizedek priesthood. She's come to church bunches now where before she wouldn't even come out for the lessons!  For some reason the branch had little faith in her because I kept asking  what more could we do, and lets take it up a notch because I kept feeling like she was ready and they would always be like "you're not being grateful for this activity she's doing now"--basically. not those words but prettttyyy much. WELL, our lesson on Monday we committed her to pray about a date that felt right to her and she goes, "I have one already. I would like to be baptized on June 1st." WHAT. THAT IS SO GREATTTTT. Because she's always been scared that her mom--who has passed away--would be upset with her and her decision to become Mormon. She always asked, "can I be catholic and Mormon?" tender...but no. OH BUT WAIT. THERE'S MORE. Our lesson Friday she goes, "I'm ready. When can I get baptized?" Like I think I passed out for a second. And the whole lesson she was just so excited to get baptized. So she is now set for MARCH 15TH. Holy Hannah I'm in love. And she kept asking, "so who's gonna dip me?" She is cute or is she cute? Brother Witt was BEAMING. "I've been praying for this day for the last 5 years when I was baptized." ahhh I'm so happy and freaking out. She said the closing prayer and in it she said, "I know my mother would be proud of me and the decision I have made."

 

The castavnoa story is for next week :)

 

ahhhh I love y'all and have 8 million more things to say but for now just know that this gospel is true and that I am so happy. LIKE PURE JOY. This work is incredible and I am thrilled to be able to work with Heavenly Father's children here in Columbus. It's an honor and a privilege. I LOVE LOVE LOVE IT. I wish everyone would go on a mission. Pray about it! The next 365 days are going to be incredible.

 

I love y'all sooo much. xoxo

 

Sister Case