"Mormics" - Letter, April 28, 2014

Ok, this is going to be short. Sorry. But I do have some funny moments for you.

We have a part member family here, and the dad is a Latter Day Saint, the wife is Catholic, and the daughter, is confused because her mom is Baptist, and with all three very strong in their religions, it makes it confusing. But we are encouraging to get them to have family prayer and scripture study. And we were talking about the differences in prayers. We decided that if the two were to be combined, this family would be members of the Church of Jesus Christ of Catholic Saints, or Mormic for short. hahahahahaha

The second moment was when we were talking about the Word of Wisdom with some members. The wife said that if everyone lived it like they were supposed to, then no one would be too unhealthy. Her husband responded that the most perfect man you ever knew died. Sister Colton and I were expecting him to say something about Christ. And then he said, "Gordon B. Hinkley died." hahahahahahahahahahahaha

Enjoy.

Love, Sister Worthen

Pictures - April 21, 2014

 For my dad--a Goldwing rider.

We helped paint a member's mother's house this week.  We were all covered in paint.  It was a lot of fun.  Smelly fun, but fun.

The house is a house in our area that burned down.  There are 2 burned cars in the drive.  It's really bad.  I don't know what happened, but it's kinda awesome.

"Limbo" - Letter, April 21, 2014

Hey, I am now in Limbo for the next year of my life. Why? Because I am now 20 years old!!! That's right, today is my birthday and I am no longer a teenager. Yay. Hahahahaha. Ok, but seriously, I couldn't want to spend my birthday doing anything more. I am here serving the Lord and being a witness of His Love and His Gospel. I know that I am doing what Heavenly Father wants me to do and that I am where I need to be. And I realized that I am really on the downhill slope of my mission and that there isn't enough time left. It feels like I just got here and am just getting things really figured out.

This week has been kinda slow. In fact, it's been really slow. Not much has happened. However, we did get to teach a new investigator. Her name is Bailie, and she is a young mom of two kids. She has a lot of confusion about Christianity in general, questions that she wants some answers to but has never been able to find. And we only got to meet with her once, but it seems like they are the kind of answers we teach to primary kids. Not to bag on her, but that's something I love about the Gospel. We teach the basics to our little ones, and so when they grow up, they already have those answers rooted deep in their memory and hearts. I love that. I also love when I am teaching a lesson and I remember the words to a primary hymn running through my head. I never realized how completely I was taught as a child. Now that I am here, I realize I do know a lot of the answers, and they were things I was taught as a child.

Hey, did any of you get to watch the Because of Him video? If you haven't, watch it!!!! It's soooooooooooooo...good. It's 2 minutes and 45 seconds, and in that short time frame, there is so much packed in about what the Savior did for us. And then I got to watch the Bible Videos that are specifically about Easter. You should look them up.

Damon is still doing good. He's truly one of the Elect that we have been sent to find. He is such an amazing person, and his wife is just as amazing. Stormee is still working toward baptism. I am so excited for her. We don't have a date yet, but hopefully it will be soon.

Ok, well, I am going to go. I love you all, and I hope you have a wonderful life, where ever you are. I know this Gospel is true, and that only through Faith, Repentance, Baptism by Immersion by someone holding the correct authority, and Receiving the Gift of the Holy Ghost by the Laying on of Hands are we able to return to our Heavenly Father. I say that in the Name of Jesus Christ, Amen

Love, Sister Worthen

"I have no cool subject line today" - Letter, April 14, 2014

Ok, so this week has been crazy, awesome, long, short, and great!

1. Damon Friend, and yes that is his last name. He got baptized this Saturday!!!! It was such a cool experience. He had about 15 non-member family members there. So, while he was getting dressed, we took the opportunity to give the Restoration lesson. It was really powerful. And I had an aha moment while I was teaching. I was standing in front of all these people, and I was a little nervous. And then it clicked in my brain. "You are called to teach, and set apart to gather the lost sheep. You shouldn't be nervous. Just teach, and the Spirit will come." Now, those aren't the exact words, but that's how I felt. At that moment, I realized that I can do this and that I am a powerful teacher. Nerves have nothing to do with it. And I quit being afraid. After Damon came back in, when we finished the presentation, we asked him to bear his testimony. It was so powerful!!! I cannot express you wonderful it was. Damon is truly one of the elect. His wife is too.

2. We also had some really cool lessons with them. On Thursday night, we watched a couple of Mormon Messages that talked about the Atonement. And then we really focused in on how the Book of Mormon allows us to find ways to apply the Atonement. Oh, and that's why the Book of Mormon contains the fullness of the Gospel. It allows us to know exactly how to access the Atonement. Anyway, Stormee, Damon's wife, had had a really hard day and week. Usually, the week before a baptism is really hard on the person being baptized. But Stormee was getting the worst of it. Sad. Anyway, the lesson was exactly what she needed to hear at that moment. It was really powerful. Also, mom is always telling me to use my talent to sing. Sometimes, I like to sing in lessons, but I don't do it too often. But I felt impressed to sing "I Know that My Redeemer Lives," which was really wonderful. I don't get to just SING like I used to. So it was nice to be able to just sing for them. I really felt the Spirit. I hope they did as well.

3. Steve. Steve is trying to find faith. He was raised Catholic, but has kinda become a deist, which means that he believes in God, but that he doesn't really feel like He takes a hand in our lives. He's an interesting case. But, he is trying to find his faith. He told us the other day that he has been praying to Heavenly Father for help to find his faith, which is huge progress to me. His answers are coming soon. Just a little longer.

Well, I am going to go. I love you all. I know this Gospel is true and that God loves each of us. Please, heed the council of the prophets and look for people for the missionaries to teach. That is the best way for us to find new investigators. I know it will make a difference. I know the Gospel is true. I know that we are all children of a Loving Heavenly Father. I know that Jesus Christ died for our sins and our weaknesses. I know these things by the power of the Holy Ghost.

In the Name of Jesus Christ, Amen

Love, Sister Worthen

"Alexandria, Indiana" - Letter, April 7, 2014

Hey y'all!!! How the heck is it going back in the real world? I hope good, spiritual, wonderful, etc. Hahahaha. I am having a wonderful week with my new companion, Sis. Colton, in my new area, Alexandria, IN. Technically, we are in the Elwood branch, but we cover some of the other towns besides Elwood. In fact, we cover a lot of space. But that's ok. It's fun. And, guess what? They have a grid system here for their roads. It's not as well done as Utah, but that's ok. They literally have 200 north or south, and such. It's kinda cool.

Indiana feels very different from Ohio. The people here have more of a southern mentality. They are a little slower and set in their ways. I always felt like people were in a great big hurry in all of my other areas, but here, it's opposite. In Ohio, I felt like a little bit of peace moving through the streets. Here, I feel like a hurricane. Part of that may also be my companion. She's great. She's a lot like me, in that we are both loud, smart, and bold. But, she's a little more bold than me, but I will change that soon enough. I needed to ask President a question about an investigator the other day, and I took the opportunity to mention that we were wondering what was going on in his head when he decided to put us together. He replied that he did have a couple of worries when the prompting came to him. Hahahaha. This is going to be an interesting transfer. But really, we pulled in some numbers this week on our goals that blew my mind. And it's funny. She is Indiana trained, I am Columbus trained, and now we are bringing the two together. I have noticed a lot of differences in our trainings, and thankfully, we are getting along just fine, and not clashing. I have heard that when the mission opened, there were a lot that didn't get along so well when the two were put together. But I had the thought the other day that we are taking the best of both, and we will soon be taking that to other missionaries, so there will no longer be Indiana, or Columbus trained. There will be only Cincinnati trained. And I get to help in that. I think that is pretty cool.

We have a family here that are awesome. The dad, Damon, is getting baptized this Saturday. They are truly elect people. This week, he had is son here, Damon Jr, for spring break. And his daughter was here for the weekend. Damon Jr had decided that the Gospel is right for him, and so we are going to hopefully get things going so he can be baptized next month. But we will see. I am super excited!!!! Oh, and Damon's wife, Stormee, is going to be baptized eventually. She has made some mistakes, and she has to work through them, but she is solid as ever. Damon went from 36 cups of coffee a day, to 1, to nothing in 3 days. And they both quit smoking really fast too. It's great!!! I am so blessed to be here teaching them. We had a lesson at the church and the Spirit was so strong. Sis. Colton and I didn't really know how the other taught, but we were both able to follow the Spirit, and the lesson was great. Man, I love this area. And our apartment is really nice too. So I am happy, all in all.

Ok, well, I know that this is the true Gospel. There is nothing here on earth that can compare. We are blessed to have the Lord take a personal role in our lives, and I know He does so every day. Without Him, we cannot return to live with our Heavenly Father. I know that. I know that we are given situations and trials and experiences for specific reasons. And we are not to ask why, but to submit and to learn. When we do, we are blessed in ways we cannot even imagine. I know this.

In the Name of Jesus Christ, Amen.