March 24

HI!!!!!!!!!! so I love it here. even though it is the middle of no where. Since the moment that I got here I have felt so much love and support. This ward is great. They are a little different than any other ward I have ever been to but it's wonderful. So I didn't write last week about it but Huron has a ton of people who are refugee's from Burma, they are Karen. Many of them don't speak English but some do. It's been really cool to get to know these people. We have three girls two investigators and one recent convert that we meet with who are Karen. Thankfully they speak English pretty well so they can understand us. The miracles it that 6 weeks ago there was an Elder who arrived to our mission who is Karen and speaks the language fluently. So he and his companion have been teaching these people. Such a miracle. He had no idea when he decided to serve a mission that this would happen. He is from Utah and there are many Karen refugee's in Salt Lake. His name is Elder Zaw and Mom he totally worked and beehive clothing and knows you. It was funny I was showing the elders my pictures of my family and he was like hey I know her. I was like that's my mom? He was like ya she is a supervisor at Beehive Clothing. Super funny. I am just running into people you work with everywhere! :)

So Sister Dennison is my new companion. Oh my goodness I love her! she is awesome. She's from Kaysville I do believe and went to Davis high school. She graduated a year after me but has a summer birthday so she actually just turned 19 last July. We have a very similar sense of humor so we can totally laugh and crack jokes to each other all the time. She is a super cute girl. Oh and the woman who texted you is Sister Gose :) she is awesome. Her son is in a mission right now in Brazil but he had to wait for his visa for a while here in the States. She was having a super hard time with it when a woman in his ward took a picture of him and sent it to her. It helped her out so now she makes sure to take pictures of the missionaries and send them to their parents :)

So we have these cute little Karen investigators. One is named Ma-aye-aye, she is 11. We connected really fast. She has been meeting with the missionaries for a really long time but her mom won't let her get baptized until she is 15. Sister Dennison told me that our two lessons with her have been super good compared to before and she came to church on Sunday and really liked it! (which I guess recently she has really not been wanting to go to church so that was awesome!) I taught her a little bit of sign language which was fun for her and so now we can sign little things to each other. She was one of those people that I just feel really close to instantly. I love her! We also have a 15 year old investigator named Kin Ma who can't get baptized til she is 18. She came to young womans with us on Wed. though and really liked it. So this ward is really like the size of a branch they only have 4 young woman 1 active 1 less active and 2 Karen girls who are shy and so they don't come. So they have asked the Sister's to come to activities  with them. Our goal this week is to get everyone there that we can!!! and to make sure that it is fun. (which is like my specialty. still a firm believer that life is too short to not be silly sometimes!!) so that has been good.

We also have a woman named Amanda that the Elder's referred us to. She is super interested in learning about our faith. Super prepared. So we are excited for that. She is easily distracted though so we have to work to keep it simple and help her to stay on track :) but it should be good to teach her.

Being here and talking with Sister Dennison has showed me that I really have learned so much from my mission. As we talk I find myself telling stories of things and seeing how far I really have come. She is an amazing missionary and I am super excited to serve with her. She has a desire to work hard and I know that as we do we are going to get to see miracles here. This area at times has seen some disobedient missionaries and so it is going to take a lot of strength to keep working hard and stay true to all the rules I know to be right. But there have also been some really great missionaries who have worked hard to build up the kingdom here. So it's will be great!!!!! super duper excited!! :)

I don't know what else to write about. Life is good! I am excited. I feel like I have said that like 17 times. but I am! When I first got here I went and met our ward mission leader, Brother Taylor and he asked me to share my testimony with him. as I shared it I realized how much I really have grown and changed as a missionary. I knew the gospel was true when I came on a mission but now I understand it so much better than I ever did before. It's simple and yet so amazing. Everything connects. My true testimony is that my Savior, Jesus Christ lives. That this church, The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-Day Saints, is His church here on the earth. That His authority is found here. There are many wonderful people out there who serve their Savior to the best of their knowledge. They can see miracles through their faith. But they can't have the fullness of joy that is promised to each of us as sons and daughters of God until they hear the restored gospel. I know that to be true with all of my heart. It's the reason that I am still here. It's the reason I get out of my bed every morning at 6:30. It's the reason I go tracting. It's the reason I study. It's' the reason that I have a smile on my face every single day. It's the reason I am happy. It's the reason that I want to be with my family forever. I know that it is true.

I love you all so much. Thank you for the prayers of support and love. They mean the world to me. I feel them. I love you!!!!!!!!!!!

Don't ever give up hope. There is always hope through our Savior. Always.

Love always your favorite sister missionary,

Sister Boudreaux

MARCH 17

MARCH 17

so here goes!!! I am getting transferred to Huron, South Dakota!!! were we surprised. ya. but I am super excited!!!!! My new companion's name is Sister Dennison, she has been in Huron her whole mission so far (3 transfers) so I am excited to get to go and serve there. Sister Ransom actually went there after she left Grand Forks. So I am just following her around. :) When sister ransom and I  looked to see where Huron was on the map I teased her and told her she was going to the middle of no where south dakota. well I guess now I am heading to the middle of no where south dakota! :)

 

Saying goodbyes has been hard. I love the people here! I have tons of fun pictures to send home from all the goodbyes I have said. There are so amazing people here. I will for sure be coming back to visit someday! I mean Rapid City is in the same time zone as Utah, it's totally close enough to make a road trip to.

 

This week has been good. Hard but good. The last week of the transfer is always a little bit different. We were able to find a new investigator tracting so hopefully they will get to keep teaching him after I am gone. I have been thinking a lot about my time here in Rapid and I may not have seen any of my investigators get baptized but I have been able to watch two wonderful woman return to activity in the church. One after being gone for 9 years and one after 20 years! They are both doing so well! OH!!!!! Sister Haataja officially quit smoking!!!!!!!! I am so excited. we made cupcakes and threw a little party for her :) we were super stoked.

 

We also had our Relief Society birthday party dinner this past week and it was really cool. They had all the woman write a note about another woman who has touched their life, or been an angel to them. They asked everyone to not include their name or the name of the woman they were writing about. They read these experiences at the dinner and the spirit was so incredibly strong! I loved it!!!!! really great.

 ok. Dad's lesson :) So we have an investigator who's name is Linda and her father recently passed away at the age of 95. We went to her home to visit her not long after and it was comforting to know that I could look her in the face and tell her that I knew exactly where her father was. We were able to open up the scriptures to Alma 40:11 and read about how when we pass away we are all taken back home to the God who gave us life. I could look her in the eye and tell her that I knew where her Dad was and that he is learning the exact same gospel right now that she is. I think that this relates to family history because there are innumerable amounts of people in the spirit world who are learning the gospel. Many of them are just waiting for the opportunity to have their name taken to the temple. They long for those ordinances to be performed. I also thought of when Whitney died. I remember how important it was for me to be able to look at all those girls on the team who were not members of the church and tell them that I knew where she was. That I knew she was with God again and that He would help her. Family History work is important because the plan of salvation is important. The knowledge of this great plan brings a lot of comfort to souls who are searching for answers.

 

 oh goodness I don't even know what else to write home about. Life is good. This church is true!!! I love you all so much!!!! your thoughts and prayers are felt and much needed and appreciated. They help me out more than you will ever know. This past week I had the opportunity to feel the redeeming power of the Atonement in my heart and in my life as I was able to repent and change for the better. It took a lot of courage and strength to get on my knees and finally just give it all up to the Lord. To ask Him to forgive me for my selfish and judgemental thoughts. I have come to realize that how we think about other people has a great impact on our own personal happiness. When we have rude or hurtful thoughts about other people the only person that they really hurt is us. I realized the other day that if I ever want to receive mercy in the great and last day of judgement that I had better be more willing to show mercy to others. If I want to be judge fairly then I had better start changing the way that I think about others. The other day I was thinking about someone or something (I don't honestly remember what or who) but they weren't the most uplifting thoughts. not that they were horrible or anything but not the best. and the thought came to me, would you want your Savior to think that way about you? it was a harsh reality check. but one that I am incredibly thankful for. so that is my question for all of you. the next time a hurtful or judgemental thought pops up in your head take a second to ask would I want my Savior to think that about me? and then change the thought! re-think, re-examine. sometime our thoughts come without us wanting them to but we can always re-think them. We can always take a moment to say I don't really know what is happening in that person's life or I don't know why they are the way they are. I don't know what trials they are facing. but I do know that they are a Child of God just like me. I believe that if we can all work a little harder to think this way that we will all be much happier people. and the world would be a little bit better of a place to live in :)

 

well I love you!!! so much!!!

 

Love always your favorite sister missionary,

Sister Boudreaux :)  

pictures

using my long limbs for something useful :)

 washing windows on the car!  and rinsing my feet from the foot scrub :) lazyness at it's finest!

so these are SUPER old. like from the grand forks days. as in my first two transfers as a missionary! weird right. but I just got them from another sister. This is us after we went up and did some service. The reason that I look like an idiot is because there was a terrible storm outside and I was super scared! like thunder and lightening really close! so ya :) but this is sister ransom and I sister Gogan and Sister orton and the zone leaders elder cunningham and elder burton. (elder cunningham is one of the elders that I now share my ward with)

2 letters March 3 and 10

March 3, 2014

Hello!

So this past week was crazy but good. We spent about 8 hours in the mission home helping them to re-do the transfer board (a huge white board that has these little cards with all the missionaries on it and who they are serving with) we helped re-do the tape on it so make little squares for all the name cards to fit in. it was fun but took a while! we were there Tuesday Wednesday and Thursday! but it was fun to get to spend time with President and Sister Anderson. Not something that many missionaries get to do!! on Wednesday night they even took us out to frozen yogurt :) so that was fun!

We also saw all our typical people. Kristina came to church! so we were super excited for that! We are having dinner with her and her husband again this week too. So we are continuing to pray that her husbands heart will be softened and he will be okay with her joining the church. We also took a recent return missionary sister Stephanie main out teaching with us to see our investigator Linda. So Linda is this stubborn old woman who we love with ALL of our hearts! We have been about to drop her as an investigator multiple times but every time that we do the spirit has told us to wait a little longer. We have got her to admit that she believes in the Book of Mormon and she believes in Joseph Smith but she struggles to think that only Mormon's are saved. She just feels like there are so many good people in other religions. Which there are! So we explained about why we have the missionary program and the spirit world. We taught about how when Christ was here he established his church. In first Corinthians Paul asks a question, he says is Christ Divided? We asked her if she believed that there could be one true church of Christ on the earth. She said yes. Then we committed her to pray and ask if this church was it. She told us she would. She told us she didn't know why she was fighting this all so hard. (we were thinking ya! we don't know why you are fighting so much either!) she is such a good Christ like person. Everything she talks to us about we are like Linda! we believe that!! long story short we made some really great progress with her! She is so cute. She has told me multiple times that she knows God sent me to her because we have very similar personalities. Both stubborn and bold! :) But I love her so much! She is a retired teacher. So we have some really good conversations about that sometimes too. We have an appointment set for this Wed. with her and our mission president and his wife so we are praying that it holds!

So in other news I got super sick on Saturday. Like sleep all day sick. I felt better Sunday and was able to go to church and teach the lessons we had planned. but today I am again not feeling super great. I have no idea what I have. I would call it being miserable :) but I am sure I will get over it soon! Since it's P-Day we are going to get our emailing and shopping done and then go home and sleep!!! which is what I am looking forward to most!! like sitting here writing this i am just super tired. and I keep spacing out when I try to think what else I should write.

This past week we really just did a lot of service which was awesome! We got to see a lot of people and have some good experiences. Yesterday was a pretty busy day and we were able to get a lot of good plans for this coming week. There is a woman in our ward who's grandson is 9 and just moved in to live with her and wants to get baptized! so we are excited about that. we will start teaching him this week! Oddly enough his name is also Kaydin.... I guess I just find cute 9 year old boys named kaydin to teach! :) I really don't know what else to write about. It was a good week but a pretty typical week. All I know is that time is moving too fast. I don't like it. I have been a missionary for way too long. I am in denial that next month is my year mark. People keep asking how much longer we have and I am like... blah stop asking! I don't want to think about it :) This transfer is already more than half way done too! we have two more weeks til transfer calls. It's weird.

Well I love you all and I know this email is kinda random. I apologize. It's what happens when I am sick and trying to remember what I wanted to write home about. Hope everything keeps going good at home!!

Love always your favorite sister missionary,

Sister Boudreaux

March 10, 2014

Hello!!! oh my goodness I can't believe it's been an entire week! Weird. Time goes way too fast. Expect when you have nothing to do and no appointments. Then time slows down to a crawl.... :) okay so this past week! well let me think. It was good! I got feeling much better! We were able to start teaching a cute 9 year old little boy who really wants to get baptized! so that was nice. We also had dinner with Kristina and her husband again and we can see her husbands heart slowly softening. We keep praying that he will support her and be okay with her getting baptized! She is ready!!! we know someday she will be. but it would be nice if that could be while we are still here :)

So this morning we got to take our mission president and his wife to a lesson with our investigator Linda. Oh my goodness it was amazing!!! He was able to answer a lot of her questions and concerns and the spirit was super strong. it was awesome. something I will remember for the rest of my mission that is for sure! For the first time since we have been teaching her today she admitted that she might get baptized some day. Which is amazing because she once told us that she has NO intentions of becoming a Mormon :) I just love Linda so much! she is the cute investigator that told me that I remind her of herself. That when she first met me she thought it was the 21 year old version of her! She is the one who is a retired school teacher. She makes me smile. She is an amazing Christ-like person. We can just imagine her in white!!!!

So cool story (well I think it's cool you might not...) we have some pictures from our vacation we took of us at this place with a bunch of different big story book replica's so the place is called story book island and it's totally down the street from where I live! This past Saturday we went and did service there (we took down the Christmas lights that they put up. We had to wait til March because every Saturday the scheduled it for was sooo cold we couldn't do it) As we got there I was like Hey! I have been here before. I have a picture of myself  when I was 6 and I swear that I was sitting on a donkey. I searched everywhere trying to find it so that I could take a picture with it again but the woman told me it was removed a few years ago because it got broken :( but that's okay I took a picture on a cute little black horse. It was the best I could do! but I just thought it was cool that a place I went as a child is somewhere that I got to visit and do service at as a missionary!

So this week is also the last week in the transfer. which is weird. this one has gone crazy fast! so next Monday I will be able to tell you what is happening! most likely one of us will be going since sister haskell has been here 4 transfers and I have been here 3. It just feels weird that I have been here for so long already! ahh!! it is kinda scary in all honestly. my mission is going too fast! some days I am like we have to get to work! I am running out of time!!!!! I love being a missionary so much!!!! best experience that I have ever had.

So if we are being honest with ourselves then I would have to say that my time here with Sister Haskell has been pretty hard. She is a great girl and I do love her but we have had our fare share of struggles. But we have made it through them. and we still manage to laugh and giggle together every single day. The other day we were talking about things and I told her you know I don't think that Heavenly Father ever expected the two of us to get along perfectly. I think that He meant for the two of us to struggle. This is what I wrote to my mission president today,

 "I realized the other day that Heavenly Father never intended for our companionship to be perfect. He wanted us to struggle and to learn. Which we have! (done both) I guess I have just realized that life is not always supposed to work out perfectly. He will ask us to do a lot of things that we don't want to or that we aren't very good at. But He asks because He is molding us into who He wants us to become and He knows that these experiences will help us get there. I am so thankful that He loves me enough to mold me even when it hurts, even when I don't want it, and especially when I need it"

Heavenly Father has taught me that His way is not usually the easy way, but it's the way that will bring the most growth and in the end the most joy. That doesn't mean that it hasn't been hard. and it doesn't mean that I enjoyed every minute of it. but it has been worth it. I have grown to see sister haskell a little more like God sees here. and I have learned that while the two of us are different we are both loved the same. Things aren't my fault and they aren't her fault. We both have responsibility and we both need to change and learn and grow together. I guess that has been my major epiphany of the week. well the past 3 transfers. I feel like in my life Heavenly Father is going to ask me to do plenty of things that I don't really want to do but they are the things that will help me grow the most. and that I am thankful for.

I feel your prayers!! and I am so thankful for them!!!!! they mean the world to me. Whenever I feel like quitting or giving up I remember how many people back home love me and are praying for me. I remember why I wanted to be here. and that gives me the strength to keep going. to keep trying even when I don't want to. So thank you!!! I love you all with all of my heart!!!!!

well I had better get going!! but again I love you!!

Love always your favorite sister missionary,

Sister Boudreaux

2 letters Feb 17 and 24

Feb. 17, 2014

Hello my dear family!!!!!!!

oh my goodness it sounds like your week has been crazy! with a little bit of good and a little bit of bad all mixed in there together. Something I have realized as a missionary is that the bad days and the bad weeks and maybe even the bad months help us to appreciate the good days, good weeks. and good months! This past week has been one of those reminder weeks for me :) It was kinda like whatever we did things still fell apart. So we just kept trying! and eventually on Saturday night some really great things happened.

 

We were able to have dinner with our investigator Kristina and her family. Her husband has been completly against her joining the church. She told us that she is ready to get baptized but that he is not so keen on the idea. So dinner was the first time we had actually ever met him. We prayed ALL week that his heart would be softened and that we would be able to say the right things. When we first got there he was still pretty stand off ish but as the night progressed things got better and by the end of the night we are pretty sure that he liked us! We were able to answer a lot of his questions and Kristina's mom and uncles questions too. (they were there for dinner as well) As we were leaving Kristina hugged both of us and told us that she really felt like it helped! so we were super excited about that. Then as we were leaving we got a text message from Sister Haataja, our returning member, telling us that she had gained a testimony that night and she wanted to share it with us. We weren't too far from her apartment so we went over and she shared her testimony with us. The spirit was so strong! It was amazing. The whole time she was talking I couldn't help but smile. She is an amazing person. She is working to quit smoking and her official quit date is March 14th! so we are super stocked for her! She recently finished reading the Book of Mormon and said that after she did she felt like Satan was trying to tempt her more and more and she needed to start reading it again. Because when she was reading it she had felt strength and comfort. So she started to read it again! She decided that 1 Nephi 3:7 is her new mission statement :) she's told us that God made the promise that He would help us if He gave us the commandment. and He gave the word of wisdom so He will be there to help her. She is amazing!!!! I love her so much :)

 

I am trying to think about what else to write home about.... right before Sister Ransom went home I was actually able to get a picture with all 3 of my companions! that was cool. I will have to sent the picture home today. We have zone conference tomorrow and I am super excited for that. We should get to learn a lot of really great things. This week should a really good one. We have some fun exciting things planned.

 

Oh! I don't remember if I wrote home and told you about Brother Thomas? He is this cute little 90 year old man in our ward. oh my goodness I just love him. So his wife is really sick right now with cancer and she is in a nursing home. So we have been visiting her for the past few months. She is not a member of the church. So we have been begging Brother Thomas to let us come and clean his house for him for MONTHS and he finally gave in and let us. So last week and then again this week we were able to go over and clean for him. He is just the sweetest old man. With a lot of really great stories to share. He served in the army in WWII and fought in the battle of the Buldge. (I don't know if I spelled that correctly... hopefully you all understand....) It's crazy to hear the stories he has to tell. He told us that we would only let us clean his house if he could take us out to dinner so he did last wednesday. He kept teasing people and telling them that we were his new girlfriends :) we were laughing pretty good. He's amazing. He has done soooo much family history it's insane!!! He also has a $50,000 organ in his home that he let me play. It was way cool.

 

oh yes I did get your package!!! I love it ;) made me smile on a hard day.  One of the Elders we serve with asked us that the best part of our week was besides Saturday night and I was like, my mom sent me a valentines day package. :) (even though I am sure that dad sent it too. the pillow case does say love mom on it though... so I might have given her the credit for it) It made the elders laugh. On Valentines day we went to visit a woman in our ward who is in a nursing home and someone had sent her a bunch of roses so she told us to each take one home. So we have two cute roses sitting in a thing of water at home :)

 

Well. things are good! I am super excited about this week. I know that it will be amazing! because I am determined to make it a good week regardless of what happens. I am still just learning that Heavenly Father is the one who is in control. I don't know how many times I am going to have to learn this lesson.... Maybe some day it will finally sink into my thick head :) but every time I give up the control and just do what I can do and let the rest be what it is I find that I am happier. Because my success isn't based on the outward results. It's based on how I feel about what I have done. If I have done everything that I can then that is all that they Lord requires. It's not an easy lesson to learn but It gives us a better view on our lives and what it means to be successful.

 

Well I think that is all for this week! I love you all and pray for you always. I know that the Lord is watching over you and that he loves you :) I LOVE YOU!!!!!

 

love always,

Sister Boudreaux

aka your favorite sister missionary :)

Feb. 24, 2014

Hey!! That is exciting to hear about the new bishopric! I am sure that they will do amazing things! Things here are going good. We had a lot of things happen this past week. Which made it go super fast! I feel like it was just P-day and yet here I am writing home again. :)

 

Okay so this past week we had zone conference which is were all the missionaries in the zone (plus they bring all the missionaries from the Pierre zone too so there are two zones) come together with President and Sister Anderson and the Assistants and we have a day long meeting with a ton of trainings and things. This past one was AMAZING. I love it!! The assistants to the president (who are the Elders that we share our ward with, they are pretty awesome.) they did a training on how our insecurities and fears and disobedience prevent our investigators from repenting and changing. They had a super awesome visual lesson. They asked an elder to come and be the "investigator", and another missionary to be his "missionary". the missionary was given a jar of change (because the investigator wants to "change") and they were about 15 feet apart. Then they gave the investigator a back pack to wear. They started to ask us what things might keep us from being a consecrated missionary. Some of the things were fear of rejection, not wanting to give up control, social anxieties to talk with everyone, etc. For ever missionary who said something they asked them to come up and the had 4 of them put weights in the back pack. They asked the "investigator:" how he was feeling and if he felt like he could walk over to his missionary and "change" He said ya he felt like he could it would be hard but he could. Then they asked for more ideas and for the next  four people they took workout stretch band things and put them on his hands and feet and had the missionaries sit on chairs holding them.. Making it impossible for him to move even if he wanted to. They then had his "Missionary" invite him to change. No matter what he did he couldn't move. He couldn't get to his missionary and accept the change he was offering even if he wanted to. They talked about how we as missionaries effect our investigators ability to change. They then had each of the missionaries at the front give a way to overcome whatever they had said kept them from becoming consecrated and slowly took the bands off and the weights out until he was able to easily walk over and accept the "change" offered to him by his missionary. It was super powerful and helped me to see that there are always little things that we can be working on to overcome to be better. That the Lord can't work through us if we are not willing to give EVERYTHING to him. All of our insecurities and fears. If we give them to Him then He can help us overcome them. But if we won't give those things up then He can't help us to change. Our Mission Presidents wife, Sister Anderson, gave us a training about "non-missionary stuff" about how there is not time for the non-missionary stuff. That we promised to leave everything back home and to put our whole hearts into this work. They are simple things like using slang terms, having conversations with other missionaries or members about things that don't pertain to missionary work. Simple things that pull our thoughts away from what we are here to do. President Anderson gave a training about repentance. He talked about how repentance is directly tied with obedience. I really like it. During it I had the thought that God lives a certain lifestyle.If we want to live with God again then we HAVE to live that same lifestyle. It's not optional. The commandments are how we know what that lifestyle is. God lives all of the commandments and if he can live them then so can we.

 

This past week Sister Haataja (our AMAZING returning member whom I love with all my heart!!) she told us that she has a quit date for smoking and she wanted a blessing to help her out. We decided to have it on Sunday after church. We are sitting in sacrament meeting right as it is about to start and we got a text from her telling us that her car battery had died. :( we were super sad but didn't know what to do! then part way through the meeting in she walked with our Relief Society President! She had called her and Sister Auger (the RS President) went and picked her up!!!! we have such a great ward. I love them! After Sunday school we were able to be there when she got her blessing. oh my goodness the spirit was so strong! It was incredible. I know that she will be able to make it over this current trial. She is here to stay this time. and I love to see the amazing changes that she is making in her life. This gospel is true and when we let it it changes us for the better. That is the true beauty of the Atonement.

 

We went on exchanges this past week and it was a lot of fun to spend a day with Sister Johnson. She is one of the sister training leaders and she was sister ransoms last companion. So it was fun to talk with her. She is super funny. :) We got to go to the stake woman's conference on Saturday and it was tons of fun. They had us sing a special musical number with some of the woman in the stake. We did the EFY Medley with As sisters in Zion and Army of Helaman. The RS sisters sang as sisters in Zion and all us sister missionaries sang the armies of helaman part. it was really cool.

 

This past week Sister Haskell and I totally had a girls night that was tons of fun. We took silly pictures I will send some home. We did a face mask and a foot scrub. it was fun. laughter is the key to a happy mission! that and trust in the Lord :) that's what I have learned!! I feel like so much more has happened this past week but I can't think what else to write home about..... I feel like weeks are going too fast! I don't like it. it's getting way too close to my year mark. When Sister Ransom hit her year mark I remember thinking that she still had forever and I couldn't figure out why she was freaking out! but now that I am almost there I am freaking out too!! not super excited about it......

 

Well my dear family I love you all oodles and oodles!! Things are going well here. I love the area and I love the people. Life is good and this church is most defiantly true!!!

 

Love always your favorite sister missionary,

Sister Boudreaux

 

 

 

Feb 10

Hello my dear family. This past week has been good but I don't really feel like it's what I want to write home about this week. I want to send home my testimony. That this church is true. The other day we were talking with a less active and he told us that he doesn't understand how an atheist lives their life. How can you live with out any hope? Every time in my life I have had a hard time I know where I can turn. To the source of true hope and comfort. My Savior Jesus Christ. The Scripture that I put on my missionary plaque (I don't know if that is spell correctly but I hope you understand what I mean) is Matt 16:33. I picked that scripture because to me it's exactly what the gospel is all about.

 

"These things I have spoken unto you, that in me ye might have peace. In the world ye shall have tribulation: but be of good cheer; I have overcome the world."

 

The world and life has a lot of pain but we are told by our Savior to be of good cheer. He has overcome this world. He has overcome any and all of the trials that we are asked to face. My favorite line from Preach My Gospel is, "all that is unfair about life can be made right through the Atonement of Jesus Christ." I know that to be true. These past few weeks I have been battling depression. At one point in time I remember the distinct impression that my Savior was working to heal me spiritually. In the Book of Mormon it teaches us that Christ can heal us both physically and spiritually. Sometimes we forget that our spirits need that healing. But they do. And Christ and His Atonement can bring that needed assistance. He is always near us. Waiting to reach out and pull us into a warm embrace. I love the Christus statue because of how His arms are reaching out to us. Ever time I see it I can just imagine Him wrapping his arms around me in a warm embrace.

 

I was writing to my mission president this morning before I started this e-mail home. and in it I told him that I had learned about Austin and what had happened. And that the hardest part was that I wanted to be home to be there for Brock and for the family in this hard time. But I also told him that I know I am where I am supposed to be. And that  I knew the family would take care of Brock. Because that is what it means to be a Boudreaux. We take care of one another.

 

Please tell the Coopers that I wish I could be there but that I will keep their family in my prayers. This gospel is set up so beautifully. We not only have our families in our homes but we also have ward families. and the Sunset Hills 2nd ward is one of the strongest ward families that I have ever seen. I often reflect on how blessed I have been to not only have come from such a great family but also to have grown up in such an amazing ward.

 

When things like this happen it makes me think of how important it is for us to share the gospel with others. Because we have a knowledge of where Austin is. And we know that Heavenly Father is taking care of him. That he is again with his Savior. There are so many people who do not have that knowledge. They have no idea where to find hope and comfort. We do. As we share it with others we will gain an even stronger testimony of it ourselves.

 

Yesterday my companion and I were talking about how important it is to read from the Book of Mormon if you want to stay strong in this gospel. The promise of the Book of Mormon is that it's the most true book ever written. That a man can come closer to Christ from reading it than by reading any other book. I know that to be true. No matter how many times I read it I learn something new. I come to know and understand my Savior and his plan a little bit more. I find answers to my questions. I find comfort to my soul. and I come closer to my Savior.

 

I love you all so much. It's my testimony that true comfort and peace come from this gospel. I have a strong testimony of priesthood blessings. I have had many times on my mission when I have been worried about something and prayed about it and cried about it. and who knows what else about it. and then I will ask for a blessing and my Heavenly Father will very clearly answer my questions, and calmed my fears. The second verse of I know that My Redeemer lives is my favorite. "He lives to grand me rich supply, He lives to guide me with his eye. He lives to comfort me when faint. He lives to hear my souls complaint. He lives to silence all my fears. He lives to wipe away my tears. He lives to calm my troubled heart. He lives all blessings to impart."  This is the beautiful message of the gospel. He lives. and He loves us. He lives again, and so will we.

 

Don't worry about me :) everything will be okay. You are all in my thoughts and prayers. I know that Heavenly Father is watching over us. This is His plan and we are His children. I LOVE YOU!!!!!!!!!

 

Love always your favorite sister missionary,

Sister Boudreaux

 

p.s. I am doing so much better! Sister Haskell and I are doing wonderful together!! and I am much happier. I have been able to find a lot of good tools to help me. :)

Feb 3

 to start out I just want you to all know that I love you. With all of
my heart. So don't ever forget it!!!! okay so this past week has been
crazy and amazing and crazy some more!! we taught 17 lessons!!!! which
I have never done on my mission before!!! and we invited our new
investigator to get baptized on March 1st and she said yes! She was
the one who we found last Monday that I wrote about, Raven. We are
super excited. She doesn't have a strong religious background but she
has the desire to be baptized and we can work with that!!! This gospel
changes people and it changes lives. I know that to be true with all
of my heart! So in our mission we do what we call hard invites which
means that you invite the investigator to baptism on the first lesson
and by the second lesson we invited them with a specific date. So we
did this with her and she told us that after we left she thought about
it and just felt like it was what she needed to do! so we are super
excited about that.

church yesterday was incredible!!!! We had two investigators come!!!
Kristina came and she LOVED it. She stayed for all 3 hours and later
we had a lesson with her and she told us that this was the friendliest
church she has ever been to before. We came out of our co-ordination
meeting yesterday and the Bishops wife was like "there is someone here
to see you sittting on the back row. but I am taking her" so she did!
Kristina sat with her and then sat with us in sunday school. She even
participated! it was amazing.

oh I forgot to tell you. I am staying here! and so is sister haskell
:) so ya! I guess I am just a 3 transfer companion :) which is good
because our area is doing fantastic! We had like 4 less actives at
church too! basically yesterday was a great day. this past week has
been crazy but amazing all at the same time. I don't even know how to
put it all into words.

so who is the new bishop? do you have one yet? tell Miss Kris that I
say HI back! I miss jr jag preschool sometimes ;) The Porter family in
the ward are amazing and they have this cute little girl Mackenzie and
out of no where she just decided that she wants to be like my best
friend. So we are pretty tight :) It's also Sister haskell's birthday
this Saturday so we are super excited to Party! (missionary style of
course)

So Sister Haataja our less active has been doing so great! She is
working on quitting smoking and she is determined! She told us that
she wants to go to the temple. OH! She finished the Book of Mormon for
the first time! Yesterday in Sunday school they were talking about
conversion and we talked about how it is different than just having a
testimony. Sister Haskell told me that Sister Haataja leaned over to
her during the lesson and asked, "is that what I am doing? (as in
becoming converted)  and Sister Haskell was like ya!!! I just love the
people here. Oh and Sister Arrington got transfered to a ward here in
Rapid too! so for a few minutes on Wed. all 3 of my companions will be
here! I am hoping to get a picture with them.

Ok so in all honesty when we first heard about transfers both Sister
Haskell and I were a little bit upset. Because we are both pretty
different. And we are happy together but getting along takes a lot of
work for both of us. We have decided that as friends we are GREAT! but
as mission companions we work very hard. I was having a pity party for
myself. and then the Lord sent me some special people who gave me a
nice kick in the rear. :) They helped me to know that this is not the
end of the world. Maybe it will be hard but the Lord wants us together
for a reason. and He understands us and the bigger pictures so much
better than we ever will. I feel like someday I will finally just
learn to put my trust in HIm and stop trying to think that I know what
is right all the time :) Over and over again He is teaching me what it
means to be truly humble. If there is anything I want to take out of
my mission it's learning how to have true humility. I have realized
that I just need to let go of the control. and give it to Him. I can
feel Him molding me into what He wants me to be. Sometimes I am just
stubborn and fight it. and then things don't go so great. But when I
turn it over to Him it always works out how it is supposed to. I can
tell you that today I am excited for this transfer and for these
people and especially to be with Sister Haskell.

The youth theme for this year is Come Unto Christ and they have a
music video on LDS.org in the youth section. Oh my goodness you all
need to watch it!! It warms my heart. The other day I was listening to
it here at the library and I just felt like I could feel my Savior
putting His arms around me. He is never far away from us. But we have
to let Him in. We must come to Him. He doesn't take away the trials
but He is there for us. I know that with all of my heart. Sometimes we
have to humble ourselves to be able to see that. I know that our
Heavenly Father lives. and He loves each and everyone of us. And I
know with all of my heart and soul that my Savior lives. Last week in
district meeting our district leader held a mini testimony meeting and
he asked us all two questions. One why did we come on a mission and
two why are we still here. what has kept us on our missions. The
reason I came on a mission was to share the gospel with others,
because it has blessed me and my family so much. And the reason that I
am still here on a mission is because of my Savior. Because He loves
me. And has never left me alone. Missions are hard. Hard in a way I
don't think I could ever imagine. Yet this is the greatest experience
I have had in my life. I know that I am here because of my family,
friends, and ward members who helped me to gain my own testimony of
this gospel. There are so many people who gave me that great example
that I needed to follow. I know that my Savior lives. If you are
having a hard time, Come unto Christ. He is there. and He loves you.

I love you!!! I know that you are at home praying for me!! and I pray
for you too!! every single night I thank my Father in Heaven for my
family and ask HIm to bless you. I can't wait for the day when I will
get to see you all again but I know that my time here is sacred and
that as I serve you will be blessed. Thank you for all your
testimonies and love. I LOVE YOU!!!!! with all of my heart I love you.

Love always,
Sister Boudreaux
Denae :)