Week #76, Mission Accomplished!

For I am now ready to be offered, and the time of my departure is at hand.
I have fought a good fight, I have finished my course, I have kept the faith.

2 Timothy 4:6-7

See you all soon!

Love Always,
Sister Weyandt

Week #75,Time is a'tickin

I feel like here is not much to report this week. And I would not hold your breath for a novel next week, seeing as it will be my last full day in NYC. So, here goes potentially my last email to you all on my mission. 

On Sunday the MSA branch surprised me through a going away party after church! They all gathered in the gym and sang "God be with you till we meet again" to me. I folded my arms, bowed my head, and let the quiet tears of gratitude run down my cheeks. I occasionally looked up into the eyes of my fellow branch members. They were all smiling at me. I saw my friends. I saw gratitude in some of their eyes. Compassion for my tears in others. Some brought me to laughter. Others made me cry harder. I mouthed "I love you" to my dear friend Ros. Each one has touched me so much. They have been such wonderful examples of the Saviors love to me. I will greatly miss them! 

On Monday we did another chalk drawing APF, this time in Washington Square park(which I found out this week was an old cemetery...and still has the remains buried underground)! My district was in charge of chalk drawing up the whole park in efforts to lead people to the center where they could learn more about General Conference. It was so amazing to see how many people were eager to learn more! 

I had my exit interview with President Morgan yesterday! He is one smart guy! I sure do like him!  He gave me council on work, dating, and life! 

Today we got to go to the temple with him and Sister Morgan! All of us departing missionaries were able to attend together. It was a special moment to be in the Celestial room, sitting next to my former companion, Sister Bolton. She was a wreck. I shared with her 2 Timothy 4:6-7 "For I am now ready to be offered, and the time of my departure is at hand. I have fought a good fight, I have finished my course, I have kept the faith." I told her what a great job she did! She looked at me with tears in her eyes and expressed what an impact I had made on her and the mission. She really touched me as she said "I love you." I held onto her as I tried to comfort her. She is such a sweetheart. 

My journey is almost complete. It seems unreal. But I KNOW I am going home. My brain knows it is true, but seems like it still has a hard time registering the fact. I have begun to feel the spirit work within me again more like it use to before the mission...a feeling I was terrified had left me permanently. God has shown me how much he has blessed me on my mission by beginning to unveil things to me. Like at the beginning of my mission I use to be exhausted and constantly fall asleep in my studies. I overcame that and the Lord blessed me with strength and energy to sustain me in the work. This past week I have found myself tired again in a way I haven't felt in well over a year! It is an interesting thing to see how God has worked within my life the past 18 months. He has taught me things I never anticipated learning. I am so grateful I have learned the lessons I have, despite them not being traditional in many cases. God has tailored my experience to me. He has taught me in my language and understanding. It has been precious and priceless :) How grateful I am to him!

Hurrah for Israel!

Love Always,

Sister Weyandt

PS. To those of you who are interested in receiving a copy of my mission experience, please let me know, and I will email a copy of it to you. I must warn you though, it is long! 

PHOTOS

#1- The Morgan's with all of us departing missionaries at the Manhattan temple today!

#2- Me and Sister Boseman yesterday at the temple!

#3- Me with Dwight, one of our super awesome investigators!

#4- Chalk drawing joys with the zone!

#5- Me and Ned, the 2nd counselor in our branch presidency! Super cool guy!

 

Week #74, Last weeks...

 This week we set back Golan's baptism date to October 11th to allow
him time to come to church 3 times before he is baptized. He is so
excited for that day! Sadly I will be home by then. Maybe I can Skype
in and see it that way! Golan came to our stake service project on
Saturday. We told him to wear grubby clothes that he could get dirty.
When we saw him we were surprised he dressed up nice in all black. We
laughed. He assured us he would be fine. When he saw we were doing
yard work in a park he suddenly realized what we meant by being able
to get your clothes dirty. So funny! So he found ways to still help
out so that he could remain clean. After awhile he forsook the idea of
staying clean and grabbed a shovel to dig holes with. Good ol' Golan!

We got to meet up with Bill, one of our less actives. This time when
we met with him, he was very comfortable in talking with us and
carrying on a conversation! We were so glad to see progress from our
strained conversation last time!

We finally got to meet with Marcel, one of our sudo investigators. He
told us he knew that Mormonism was true and that we were
representatives of God who only spoke truth. He said he prays and asks
God to help us help him! Wow! He is awesome! Right now he is in the
process of asking God if he should be baptized! So solid! We love it!

Also on Saturday we got to see Sister Elaine Dalton come to speak! Her
and her husband are wonderful and brought the spirit in so quickly.
The next day we hopped in an elevator after another conference at the
church. The man next to me introduced himself as Brother Dalton! As we
got downstairs we met up with his wife, Sister Dalton! She gave me a
hug and told me to "go and change the world!" Aw! So sweet! She was in
the General Young Women's presidency for the church when I was a young
woman!

Because of the YSA conference that was going on, our branch was
cancelled for the day. So, we got to decide what Ward we went to
instead. Of course I chose to go visit the Union Square 1st Ward, the
first ward I served in. It was great to see several of my amazing ward
members again, despite many of them having moved already. This ward is
sooooo transient!

Today is Pday, and i got to use my gift certificate our ward member
gave us for a free haircut. Haha...despite it being free, I still had
to pay $30 for the product and individual tips to my stylist and my
hair washer...strange. Anyway! It looks great!  My stylist actually
knew Mormons well since her dads side of the family is LDS! Lol, she
was even wearing a CTR ring! I was so surprised! She did not look the
part or live the part but she respected the faith! Awesome!

This week has been a bit emotional as I have come to realize my time
dwindling and things are beginning to surface again that I have tried
to suppress for a long time. I felt coming home would be the best
thing ever, but now I'm realizing how much I really do love it here
and how sad I will be to leave the life and friends I have come to
know. I feel like I have been here for soooo long and that my life is
now here. It will be an interesting transition that I'm not sure how
to approach anymore. I feel my tears will be all over the place! Haha!
But such is life :) So much to look forward to! I am very excited for
life to resume but sad to leave what I have and the missionary I have
become behind. God will help me through. I have no doubt of that!

Love Always,
Sister Weyandt

Week #73, Wonder Week

Last p-day we traveled down to Chinatown and secured some T-shirts for
me to use on a quilt I want to make when I get home. Hoping it turns
out how I envision it! I spent a lot more money down there than I had
planned, but I got some GOOD deals! :)

That night we met up for the first time with one of our new members.
He took us to the fanciest restaurant I have been to here in the city.
I felt underdressed. The prices were sky high. But man was it good! He
was so eager to help us find new investigators. It seemed strange that
he was so excited about it. But hey, we didn't mind! We also mentioned
we were reading the Book of Mormon as a mission in 120 days.
Immediately he volunteered to join us and said he would read to where
we are in 2 Nephi that night. Wow! Harvard taught him dedication and
Wall streets taught him to be competitive and driven. We were
surprised, but grateful for his enthusiasm for the work.

On September 11th we woke up to a strange orange tint from the sky
filling our rooms. We knew it was 9/11 and the unusual color puzzled
us. But it was just an extra vibrant sunrise. We traveled down to the
base of the island to do some work near the 9/11 memorial. There were
helicopters circling about and handfuls of cops ready if anything
happened! It was interesting to note that no one mentioned that it was
9/11. Nothing was different about that day or how people acted. I too
found that it did not stand out to me like it has in years past. I
wanted to start singing the song "Have you forgotten?" regarding 9/11.
I can now understand how the Lamanites and Nephites seemed to so
quickly forget the miracles they had seen. At least we have the media
to remind us. They didn't. I wondered how they could so quickly return
back to their wicked ways. But it was because they forgot. We must
never allow ourselves to forget our Savior and what he has done for
us. It will prove our destruction just as it did theirs!

We were able to meet with our new investigator, Maron, that day! He is
from Israel. He came into our lesson with some skepticism. He chuckled
a bit as we told him about prayer and prophets. When he saw our
seriousness, he quickly listened. We bore testimony of the prophet and
apostles and how God WILL answer his heartfelt prayers. It was amazing
to see his demeanor change as he really listened with fascination at
the conviction behind our words. What an awesome experience to see him
filled with hope instead of skepticism!

We got to meet with one of my favorite people this week- Heather
Andrews! She is wonderful! She has a lot of doubts and questions in
life, especially when it comes to the church. I can completely relate,
because my personality is naturally a doubting one. Many of her doubts
are ones that I had myself growing up! It was amazing to have her open
up to us...to be honest about how she feels. It is so refreshing when
people do not put on a show to please others. I loved being able to
tell her I knew how it felt, and to testify of Gods ability to change
our hearts and enlighten our understanding as we consistently choose
to follow him. She listened. Not sure if it made an actual difference,
but she listened intently, wanting to believe but only slightly.

She made me feel like my true self again. I loved that feeling! I feel
like I am being myself as a missionary, but them I realize there is a
part of me missing...a part of me that I can't seem to show to those
out here since it would be deemed "unconsecrated". It would include
telling others about my life back home, my friends, my relationships,
and the events that have molded me into the person that I have become.
At times I feel it's ok to share those things with others, but at
other times I realize it may not be wise as a missionary to share
those things. So when I was able to be completely myself with Heather
and have her understand me, I felt like the true me again. It was
feeing to day the least!

Sunday was our miracle day! God showered us...drenched us really, with
blessings! We had 3 less actives come to church, 2 people come check
out the branch for the first time upon our invitation, and Golan was
finally able to make it to church after months of trying! He loved it!
We were soooooo excited! I was grinning ear to ear much of the
meeting! Miracles, miracles! Oh, so Rob, one of the men I contacted on
the street last year who was baptized a few months ago has tried
several times to reach out to me. Last year he informed me he liked
me, so I have avoided a lot of contact with him since. I had posted on
Facebook what time we meet for church and invited all to come and join
us. He took that invitation to heart and came. Blah. During our gospel
principle class I was reading a scripture passage when I realized he
was taking pictures of me! His flash kept going off and I was shocked!
I am so creeped out (Shudder)... Captain obvious- take the flash off
before you snap creepy stalker pics of people in church!

After Relief Society, Lauri Bishop approached me and told me how
grateful she was for our "I love you text" to her this week. She said
we were great missionaries and said how she usually does not like
sister missionaries, despite her having been one. She said we have
helped her to change her perspective regarding missionaries and have
renewed her hope in them. Wow! That was awesome to hear! Heather had
told us that too, as well as another member of ours named Ros! I am so
grateful that we are making a positive impact in the lives of the
members here ;) I sure do love them!

After church we traveled up to our dinner appt, just to find the
trains were not running their full length, and the busses only took us
part way. We ended up fast walking much of the way. We were 25 minutes
late. Oops! We had scheduled he appt later so we could give him time
to prepare the meal after church. But when we arrived, dinner was
still in the making. And we realized the downtown trains to get back
home were not working. I started to get anxious, wondering how we were
ever going to get home on time. Luckily a friend of our members was
there and she offered to give us a ride home! Whew! What a tender
mercy! Plus, it was awesome to be in a car again in NYC..it's a rare
treat!

Monday was a good day! As we headed to district meeting with our
roommates, I spotted a little Chinese woman who had stopped in the
middle of the sidewalk to place down her heavy bags. I asked her if
she needed help in carrying them. It was clear she did not speak
English. So I motioned to her hat we could carry them. Her eyes lit
up! We each grabbed one of her heavy bags and followed her a few
blocks to her place! She was so grateful for our help! Despite her not
being able to speak to us, we could see her immense gratitude! That
felt good :)

While at our meeting, our branch president called us and asked if we
could come over that night to teach his son the gospel. We were so
excited! He had mentioned this to us last week and just the day before
we had set an appt with him the following Monday to teach his son. He
said he did not want such a wonderful opportunity to pass by, so he
asked us to come by both nights! Wow! We were so honored! We met up
with them and answered Willie's questions. He is a bright young man
who knows the gospel, but is searching for a testimony of it. He asked
some hard questions, but it was an incredible experience to try to
answer them! I just kept thinking how grateful I was that President
Comstock trusted us enough to teach his non-member son! Incredible!

Since time was running short, Pres. Comstock said he would catch us a
taxi so we could get home on time! I was giddy! I have wanted to ride
in a taxi my entire mission and even had it on a written bucket list
to do before I left! We made sure to document our time as we traveled
through the NYC streets! :) #tendermercy

Yesterday we met with Alex, an awkward Jewish man who is no longer
religious. We had passed him on the streets a time or two and he
agreed to meet up with us. He showed up early to meet with us. We were
still chowing down our pizza dinner. That made for a casual meeting.
We answered his questions and taught according to them. As he left he
praised us for not being pushy, but for simply sharing. That touched
me! I am grateful that others recognize that we are here to teach and
invite, not forcefully insert our beliefs.

The Union Square 1st ward sisters (my first area) called us and asked
if we could come to a handoff lesson with them in an hour or two. Yes!
We met with them and Dwight, their investigator! Dwight is golden and
we are tickled pink to have him as our new investigator. He is sincere
about learning the gospel. We are simply being spoiled with wonderful
people to teach! I am so grateful to have all these gems in my life! I
left our meeting with him feeling refreshed and fulfilled as a
missionary. And how did he find the church? Friends! Acquaintances
actually! That is how most of our super solid investigators are found.
Members, share the gospel with your friends! They need it, perhaps
more than you do right now! Pray for inspiration on who you could
invite to learn more about the church and then DO IT!

I love this gospel! I love The Lord! And I love this work!

Love Always,
Sister Weyandt

PS. My companion tells me all the time that I am not trunky :) I'm sad
to leave...so I'm working hard to the end! Don't worry about me!

Week #72, Its weeks like this...

We got 5 new investigators within the last week! Awesome! Bona is a doorman we met 3 months ago! We had seen him once and tried to set up an appt via phone ever since. No luck, despite him being so nice to us. We decided to drop in on him again while at work. We shared a scripture with him out of the Book of a or on and explained what the book was to him. He seemed very intrigued suddenly, and allowed us to set up a time to meet with him this past week! He had some great questions and appears to be golden, but he is super busy. So, we will see where at goes.

After 3 months we were also able to meet our referral, Allison! She
was a sweetheart who also had a lot of great questions about the
gospel. As we testified of prophets, apostles, and the Book of Mormon
to her, she said it made sense! We are so excited for her eagerness to
learn! We will see her again tonight and invite her to be baptized! :)

Earlier this week we went outside the temple doors and did some family
history contacting. A man named Maron saw me talking to people and
approached me from the opposite side of the sidewalk. He seemed
interested in learning more. To my surprise, he showed up at church on
Sunday. I recognized him, but did not remember how I knew him. When I
made the connection I was stunned! We had invited him to come to
church, but had not anticipated he would come! He stayed for our
gospel principles class on charity and even participated! It was
awesome! We have a return appt with him for later his week! Awesome!


Jose was a doorman sitting in for so one on their dinner break. I asked him a few questions and we got to talking about the restoration of the gospel. He is open to learning more about our faith! Awesome!

We had a Skype lesson with our pass-off eternigator, Joe. He isChinese and seems to come to church because there are people there. Our Skype video kept cutting out, so we just did the audio option.Haha...I realized I am a lot more bold over the phone than in person or via Skype. Trust me, I am pretty bold in general, but I laid down the law with him this week. I asked him why he met with missionaries. He said to learn more about the Book of Mormon. I asked him why he thought missionaries met with him. He said to lead him to baptism. I asked if that was his goal. He said not yet, but that he needs to know more people and create good relationships with them before he was baptized because if he gets baptized he thinks his current church will disown him. I informed him that as missionaries we are to help people progress towards baptism, so if that was not his goal, we could not meet up with him. We told him he was welcome to come and worship any time, but that he needed to act to gain a testimony. So, we gave him a homework assignment that requires his action. We will see if this new approach will help him to gain a testimony more of the gospel and not the social benefits it brings. Eternigators.... They are tricky.

Earlier this week we were interviewed and recorded for some cool video
being made about the Book of Mormon...just some local guy making it.
Awesome to have real nice pictures
of us as missionaries! We never have picture of us doing what we do
all day long...it's nice to have an actual representation of what my
life has been like for the last year and a half! We are in Columbus
Circle in the first one, with Central Park in the background of the
bottom one. Actually, that wall the man is sitting on is the same one
we were sitting on when the bottom picture was taken! I saw a man
(Rafael) pull out his Bible as we were here, so we started talking
with him. Then his friend, Christopher, saw us walking away and asked
us to tell him more about the Book of Mormon. He is the one in the
picture. I'm positive he was just trying to hit in us, but maybe
something will come of it...

Scott Taylor came to church this week for the first time since we met
him! He is super less active and wanted to have us stop hounding him!
Lol. After Sacrament Meeting ended, we welcomed all those who were
visiting by letting them stand up and introduce themselves. He stood
up from his spot right next to me and said "I ran into the sisters in
the train awhile ago and they have not stopped harassing me to come to
church ever since, so I came!" Lol! It worked! :) We love Scott! The
spirit was so strong at church this fast Sunday! I loved it!

Lastly, this week I have realized more and more how short my time here
is left. I have spent several hours already typing up my "mission
experience." This is a paper culminates our experience here on our
mission! I have loved thinking back on the experiences, the people,
and the knowledge I have gained in the last 17 months! What a
wonderful thing to have for my journal too years down the road! Maybe
I will even send it out to you all before I come home...it's a novel,
so be prepared!

I got two extremely special letters this week! I have not gotten more
than 4 or 5 handwritten letters in the past 6 months, so these were
already special. But what made them even more special was how
heartfelt they were. One was from a woman I adore named Kim Clifton!
She told me how my mission experiences has helped inspire her to share
the gospel with others. I was so surprised to see how she applied the
things from my mission to her own life! It touched me and helped me
realize my mission experience has far reaching affects that I never
imagined. Then my best friend Teddy wrote me a tear jerker letter!
Gosh, God has blessed me with some gems in my life!

It's weeks like this that I love! We saw the fruit of our labors all
at once, and it was a beautiful thing! The weather was great... I had
a smile on my face and a silly accent addressing my companion before I
even got out of bed...I noticed the beauty in the the sunrise over the
East River during our runs...I realized my precious time here is
dwindling and I become even more grateful for my beautiful life here!
I love my mission! I will miss it like crazy when it's over. But until
then, I am living it up and working my heart out :) I love you all!
Have a gret week and serve The Lord by serving his children!

Love Always,
Sister Weyandt

Week #71, So grateful!

Transfers were great today! My dying dream has totally been realized! My whole mission I have been hoping to have someone I know enter our mission. Today was the day! One of my old EFY girls, Brynne, is in my mission now! Yay! We caught up and I welcomed her and the newbies in :) I totally cried as I sang "Each life that touches ours for good" in farewell to my friends. It's tradition to sing that together as a mission. The sisters that went home today were the Spanish speaking sisters I came in with. So crazy that time is dwindling down! Strange to think that in 5 short weeks I will be the one up front crying my little eyes out as I look over my group of fellow missionaries who have become my family out here!

Today I loved feeling the unison of our mission as we came together at transfers. We are  all reading from the Book of Mormon and PMG together, and it has brought an increased happiness and peace to our work and our personal selves! It has been a great experience, and I am so grateful for the things I have learned in reading the Book of Mormon this time around!

I must admit, I was not super motivated one day this week. I felt bad and hoped I was not getting "trunky". It was the first day I can remember on my mission not having the desire to go out and work. But it was great to take the time to make posters for future contacting events and to serve others instead. I am wanting to move forward with faith and motivation! I really don't have any worries though. That was just one day :) I know my time here is dwindling, so I am trying to savor each moment.

This week I have had two men proclaim their love for me- and it is unnerving! In the last few weeks I have had too many similar encounters to these ones of men I know trying to be more friendly with me or asking me probing, targeted questions about what I plan to do when I go home and when I will be coming back. I find I want to just cut off all ties to them cause they are creeping me out! Haha...I will just lay low until I have to face them all!

One of our members, Maria Watkins, organized a dinner for us to meet
her non Mormon friend! We had given her Elder Ballards challenge to
invite a friend to meet with the missionaries four times a year, and
within one month of the challenge she had set it up, she is the FIRST
person out of dozens we have challenged to specifically do this. Not
sure why it is so hard for us to share the gospel with those we love,
but it is! We talk about doing it ALL the time, but rarely do we
invite them to come to church or to meet with the missionaries. I was
so impressed with Maria! Maria was shocked that her friend, Joelyn
even agreed to it, and even more shocked to see that Joelyn invited us
up to see her apt after our dinner! The work is hastening :)

Golan met with President Comstock is past week and he was so touched
by the encounter!
Golan fasted on his own and asked for work off on Sunday, he is coming
to church!!! Yayyyyy! We are elated! Haha, he blushes so bad when we
praise him for his self prescribed reading and for his motivation to
progress in the gospel before we even invite him to. What a gem he is!
I wish I were more believing like he is.

The work is plugging along and I am so grateful to be apart of it! The
weather has been hot this week for the first week this summer, but it
has not stopped our excitement to go forth and serve! I love these
people! I LOVE my branch and my amazing area of Manhattan! I love our
amazing member missionaries and how eager they are to help this branch
succeed. I am so impressed by them all every day! I want that drive
more. I want to be as involved as they are! Ah- I love when members
are truly converted! It's such a blessing :). This work is real. It is
moving forward! The doors are opening! It is all just so exciting! I
am so grateful to be apart of Gods army!  I love you all and hope you
find peace and happiness this week! Xoxo!

Love Always,
Sister Weyandt

Week #70, Miracles, miracles, MIRACLES!

We met up with one of our members for dinner this week and followed up on her "Ballard Challenge" invitation we left with her last time (basically to invite someone to meet with the missionaries once a quarter or four times a year). She seemed as if she did not know anyone she could share the gospel with. So, we decided to try something new, something bold. We promised her that as we prayed with her, that the spirit would inspire her mind with a name of someone she could reach out to. After the prayer, she seemed really nervous. She got up quickly and thanked us for coming over for dinner. We asked her if a name had come to mind. "Yes." She said quickly and simply. She was so anxious. I was curious to know, so I asked her who it was."Umm...a man at work." She was clearly uncomfortable, and we left it at that. We were so excited though to know that the spirit really did touch her mind with that persons name. The spirit told her, not us! She must have been uncomfortable because she knew she could not deny that feeling and now has to do something about it...which probably terrifies her. I totally understand that feeling! She is great! So glad the Holy Ghost backed us up there :)

We were doing our favorite pastime (not really) of less active
lookups, we do that with a good majority of our free time. We seem to
have an endless supply of less actives to look up here in the city.
So, we randomly hopped off the train at our pleasure and picked a
nearby less active. We rang her buzzer. No answer. Sister Boseman
pressed the door, and the lock gave way! We looked at each other and
decided to go leave a note on her door. We heard noise inside of her
apt, so we knocked. "Who is it?" A voice asked. "The sister
missionaries!" I replied in a song like way. She opened up the door
and said "Are you two stalking me? I am never home on a Friday
afternoon, but somehow you caught me within minutes of me coming home.
Would you like to come in?" I can count on my hands how many times I
have been asked that question on my mission. Haha...maybe I can count
on my HAND (singular) how many times I have heard that. Lol, so we
definitely went in!

She was a sweetheart and was once a missionary herself. After she
returned home from her mission, she said she wanted to do what she had
always been told she couldn't do. She went less active for 10 years,
and in the last year has started coming back and attending her family
ward. She said she knew God must have orchestrated our meeting that
day and that we must have something to learn from each other then or
in the future! Wow! She was so eager to help us in anything that we
needed and offered to sit in on any lesson that we needed a member at!
What a sweet lady! She came to church on Sunday too, and she said it
was the first time she has stayed for the full three hours in a long
time! Yay!

So, our a District Leader and his companion are sweethearts, and got special permission to pass off their golden investigator, Golan, to us! He is wonderful! On his own accord he reads the Book of Mormon and the Doctrine and Covenants. Then he takes notes on what he learned and shares it with us at the lessons. He will text us multiple scriptures throughout the day too! He wants to get baptized, but needs to work out his work schedule first. 6 months ago he started meeting with Elders in Turkey. Then he moved to the United States. He came i to the temple building about a month ago looking for "a pastor." Since then, missionaries have been meeting with him. His parents are not Christian, and it is just in the last few months that he has really learned about Jesus Christ, but he is so solid and loves The Lord! It is incredible to see his progress! He heard about the law of Chastity and the word of wisdom several months ago, and committed himself to live them before they were formally taught to him this past week! What an awesome guy! We are so excited to teach him! We will introduce him tonight to our branch president!

The past month we have been teaching a "gospel principles" class. We
decided to start one when our member said she was bringing an
investigator. We taught him the first two lessons, but then more
people started bringing friends or passing investigators off to us.
Last week we had 3 investigators in our class. Haha...I think we will
have to start teaching from the manual this week! Soooo cool! Our
investigators are from all over the world- Taiwan, West Africa, China,
Azerbaijan, etc.  It seems like I rarely teach a white person! Haha!

On Aug 25th our mission began our 120 day Book of Mormon reading
challenge! It has been amazing the insights I have already received
only 3 days into my reading. I have read this book so many times
before, but it is amazing to see how many new things the spirit is
teaching me this time around. We will finish our challenge by Dec. 24-
Christmas Eve. I have been so touched by how many friends are joining
in on this challenge with us: A neighbor from back home, a less active
from my last area, a good friend and his girlfriend here in NYC, one
of my YW buddies from back home, an investigator or mine in Brazil,
etc! If you too would like to join in, I would highly recommend it!
Not only will it be a fun challenge, but it is a promise from a
prophet of God that there will be an added measure of the spirit of
The Lord in your life. Not only that, but it is promised that every
aspect of your life (spiritually, physically, and mentally) will be
improved. What is there to loose? I can testify that I have already
seen it work within my own heart and mind in the first 15 pages of my
reading so far! Let The Lord change you as you read this wonderful
book! Are you in?

Well, I love you all bunches! I hope you have a great week, and that
you look for opportunities to serve others. Pray for missionary
opportunities. The Lord will give them to you. But just remember, you
need to look for them, and act on them when they come. Yes, it can be
scary...that may never change. For me it is still one of the hardest
things to overcome every single day. But it is worth it! Open up your
mouth and it will be filled! I love you, I love The Lord, and I love
this work!

Love Always,
Sister Weyandt

Week #69, A moment in time...

Not much time, but this week we got to do our Book of Mormon event where we shared our testimonies through a blitz by Central park! A man I had found through contacting last year joined us in our efforts, as a newly baptized member :) YAY!

We got to volunteer at Harlem Days in Sunday at their church sponsored family history booth. It was AMAZING to have someone approach US and ask us what we were doing. Then within seconds of us finishing talking to them, a new person approached us! It was amazing! I wish missionary work was always like at! I talked to maybe 50 people in just an hour
or two and most all of them approached me! The spirit of Elijah is
really working!

We had zone conference yesterday, and it was amazing! We as a mission are going back to focusing on the basics- The Book of Mormon and Preach My Gospel. We have a challenge starting on Aug 25 to read the Book of Mormon in 120 days! Doing it :) I learned a lot from the meeting, and I am so excited to implement what I learned.

Today I got to go see my Broadway play- The Lion King! This is an event that is nightly talked up by returning missionaries, and I have heard The Lion King is the best one to see! I must admit, I was
disappointed that it did not live up to my vision of what it would be. But I enjoyed it :) I loved the thought of how it relates to the gospel actually...how we forget at times who we are, but have those coming to moments that remind us who we are and what we can do. Rafiqui in the play was telling Simba that he needed to face the past. Simba did not want to. So Rafiqui hit him in the head with a pole. "What was that for!?" Simba asked. "It doesn't matter, it's in the past." Rafiqui retorted. Then he explained to Simba that we can face the past and learn from it. He said this to him as he went to hit him again with the pole. The second time Simba ducked. We have that same opportunity to look back at our past, despite the pain, and learn for it. If you are suffering from the past, think about this thought :)

I love you! Have a great week all!

Love Always,
Sister Weyandt

Week #68, Love my life...love my mission!

This week was a miracle week! We had so many wonderful things happen!
I don't have time to go too much into detail, but let's just go
through an abbreviated list:
-lady came into the temple and wanted to learn more after living in Utah
-we were "juked" (stood up) by a man at the beginning of the day, but
ended up getting 2 new investigators, talked to over 20 people that
day, 1/2 of them approaching US, one after another it seemed like (2
on the subway, a smoothie stand man, 2 doormen, 1 in McDonalds, etc)
-a pastor saw us and approached us asking us if he could have a copy
of the Book of Mormon since his friend has the missionaries come visit
her often
-a Muslim hot dog stand man approached us wanting to learn more
-another doorman wanted to learn more. Went to our church in Africa years ago.
-met a man last week in the park and met with him again at the church.
Open to the Book of Mormon and eager to learn more! Solid!
-a member of ours invited a random man on the subway to church. He
came and found out it was the Mormon church. He has been taught by
missionaries last year, but got lost in a move. Came to church again
and we will see him next week! No coincidences.
-etc.

Those are just a few of the many encounters we have had! It has been
amazing! I was able to purchase my tickets to go see The Lion King on
Broadway next week! I heard it is amazing! I am excited to see it!

Jobie, my convert from last September, called me up and asked me to
visit him. It was great to catch up with him. It was an awesome
opportunity I had to tell him I had been able to get almost all of his
parents and grandparents temple ordinances done for him. He was so
happy to hear that! Hopefully he will be able to go through the temple
soon himself! He asked me what I was planning to do after the mission.
"You know Jobie, I don't know really." "Of course you do Sister
Weyandt! You are going to out God first and follow his spirit." "Well
yes, of course. But I mean like details. I don't know exactly what I
am going to do." Jobie hung his head and sighed as he said, "Let's try
this again Sister Weyandt." I laughed SO hard! Then he looked me in
the eye and said seriously, "You are going to put God first and follow
his son, Jesus Christ. Everything else, all those details, will work
themselves out after that." I began to cry! I love this man! He has
taught me so much! I truly believe what he said! I always have. But it
was wonderful to hear that come from his mouth. He called me up later
on this week and asked when I will come visit him and Annia again. I
laughed and told him I could not come visit him like I use to since I
am not the missionary over his ward any more. He was so sweet when he
said he wanted to see me, not them. Haha...but I told him he needs to
love them since they are the ones there to help him. He agreed. I sure
do love my Jobie!

It was fun on Monday night to have dinner with a member on the Hudson
River with Sister Lopez, my MTC companion! They serve in his home
ward, so we were able to see each other when he invited us to come
along too! Yay!

As we had been waiting for our member, Wagens, to show up, we
contacted people on the park benches. These two ladies pretended they
did not know English. Do, I attempted to speak to them in Spanish.
Haha...then they decided their English was better than my Spanish, and
began to talk to us in fluent English. Lol. Some peoples children...

Yesterday was awesome! We met up with three of our active members
throughout the day. The first visit we had was with Ned Gardner, our
2nd counselor in the branch presidency. He took us to his students
Chinese restraunt to introduce us to them and eat! Great member
missionary.

Then we met with Trish, one of my favorite people. She told us she
wanted to be a better missionary. She asked what we do as we teach and
asked for some pass along cards. She text us later that night saying
she had given one of our cards to her cashier at the grocery store and
told him to give us a call and that she would be there for the first
discussion! Wow! So bold! I love that she acted on her desire with no
fear!

After that we met with Braden, our branch secretary. He said he wanted
to live up to Elder Ballards Challenge "

"We are not asking everyone to do everything. We are simply asking all
members to pray, knowing that if every member, young and old, will
reach out to just “one” between now and Christmas, millions will feel
the love of the Lord Jesus Christ. And what a wonderful gift to the
Savior."

"In the spirit of Peter’s example, may I suggest that we can all be
more consistently involved in missionary work by replacing our fear
with real faith, inviting someone at least once a quarter--or four
times every year--to be taught by the full-time missionaries. They are
prepared to teach by the Spirit, with sincere and heartfelt
inspiration from the Lord. Together we can follow up on our
invitations, take others by the hand, lift them up, and walk with them
on their spiritual journey."

He told us he is searching and praying for someone to introduce us to
and invite to meet up with us! What a wonderful, faithful member! I
was blown away by his eagerness to be a missionary!  Wonderful to see!
He even stopped by the store to pick us up some umbrellas since it was
suppose to rain! Our members are great to look out for us!

Today I am playing tour guide to my former companion, Sister Steele
and her companion! It is awesome to be with her again! We went to the
Highline, 911 memorial, Wall Street, and now the Brooklyn Bridge! So
fun! Anyway, until next time!

Love Always,
Sister Weyandt

Weel #67, D&C 88:73

Last Wednesday night we were able to go and help our member, Nesha, move. She let us in on her life as a Broadway star. She has been in many, many productions and currently teaches celebrity children dance classes. She teaches the children of Mariah Carey, Hugh Jackman, Tom Cruise, and many others. Crazy cool! She said we were the answer to her prayers since she had been stressing about her move. It was great to be able to go and help her!

We went around the city last Tuesday and had many people write KindnessKards. Then throughout our travels on Thursday we were able to take pictures of them around the city. This was my companions idea. She is brilliant! We posted the pictures on Facebook, and many people seemed to like them. A little kindness goes a long way...especially when it has the possibility to be shared via social media :)

On Sunday we had fast and testimony meeting. The spirit was so strong throughout the meeting, despite it being a unique testimony meeting.  The theme revolved around trials of life. It seemed a little gloom and doom with little specks of hope. I was wondering how the meeting was going to end up, when a less active member who has not been to church in a long time got up and said that he had felt the spirit so strongly, and he had found a place now where he feels comfortable coming back to church. That was wonderful to hear. He testified that yes, life is hard, but if it was easy, what would be the point of life? I think his perspective helped our active members to realize that God has given them trials for a good reason and They should learn from it, not suffer through it. I am so glad to see one more person affected the uniqueness of our branch :)

One of our members, Virginia, brought a non member friend of hers to church. She met him on the train 2 weeks ago and invited him to her church. Turns out he had been taught by missionaries for a little but  before he moved here from Africa! Wow! That is awesome! He is eager to learn more! Yay! Sadly, he does not fit within our age range or even area...as many we find do not. But, he is a soul who wants to come unto Christ, and for that I cannot be disappointed :)

After church, a member gave us a ride home in her car- a rare treat here in the city! I think her car was the 3rd or 4th car I have been in since serving in the city! On the 21st of August I hit my one year  here in NYC! Wow! That is crazy to think I have lived here that long!

We went contacting in Union Square on Monday. It was Sister Boseman's first time contacting in "my way"-standing on the side of the sidewalk and passing out cards to hothouse who pass by. She was hit up by some a Born Again Christians. Haha- she brought them over to me and they hit me with a bunch of questions in effort to prove how different we are. I calmly and honestly answered their targeted questions. They said they had never had a Mormon be so honest and direct with them when they have asked the hard questions.

I knew nothing I said would really make a difference to them since they were very devout in their beliefs, so I testified. I told them what I believed. They could not argue. I think they were surprised how calm I was. I did not have the scriptural knowledge to match them. I did not have the lineup of perfect questions to catch them in their words. I did not have anything but my faith. And I think that more than anything was what they left with. I am so grateful The Lord gave me the chance to be questioned here in this great city! I am grateful
for the testimony I do have and for the time I dedicated throughout the years to gain it. I know what I know and it helps me so much each and every day. The gospel of Jesus Christ is such a wonderful blessing!

We were able to have dinner that night with one of our funny members. So first off, she did not tell us what time she wanted to have us over. She would not answer her phone or text us back. We ended up finding out through Facebook the time we were meeting because she made a post about feeding the sister missionaries and asked who wanted to come. Haha...so we showed up at her house at 7:30. She always gives me a good laugh. For dinner we had broccoli, watermelon (another thing I have come to like out here on my mission), noodles with ranch/plain yogurt, peanuts, peanut butter, and chocolate candy bars. Hahaha....so funny! There was no main dish- she said she stopped doing that years ago. She was so sweet to feed us though! As we were leaving, we crossed paths with the "party" that was coming to join us for dinner. On our way home we ran into the AP's on their way home too. We have 3 AP's right now, since one is going home tomorrow, mid cycle, for school. It was great to say goodbye to Elder Kerr before he left! We sure do love our AP's!

We got to go to Washington Square Park with our district to do an APF- it was awesome! We went up to people on the benches and talked to them about the Book of Mormon. I have never used such a bold approach with people about the Book of Mormon before. I actually am not a huge fan of walking up to people to contact them, but it wasn't so bad. That is Sister Boseman's "way" of contacting. It was awesome, and we met a lot of really cool people!

It has been amazing to me to see my growth I. Just the last two days! I have had a hard time opening my mouth to those on the trains and bus ever since I came back to the city. But two days ago a light switched and it was instantly easy again! I have been able to talk to 700% more people than I was just 4 days ago! It has been awesome! God has been answering my many heartfelt prayers! I am loving it!

Oh, last night we were doing less active lookups, and we actually had a lot of success! But one man made my whole night with his 10 second rude encounter. An old, obnoxious man opened the door and we both in  union said "Hi!" Immediately he turned sour and said "What, are you the Bobpsie Twins? What are you, Mormons?" He made fun of us through his gestures and slammed the door on our face. I started to giggle. Who does that?! Some peoples children! Stuff like that use to drive me to tears at the beginning of my mission. Now I am just amused anyone would have the gall to treat someone they don't even know that way.
Just grin, (giggle), and bear it :)

But, all in all it has been a great week! Sister Boseman and I are learning so much from each other! We get along great and are helping each other through our individual hard times. We are working hard, talking to a lot of people, and trying to be as obedient as we can be.  I absolutely love her! I am so grateful every day to have her by my side! The Lord has truly blessed me! The gospel is real! I am so grateful to be a tool right now in Gods hands! I am so grateful for the decision I made to come and serve Him and his children! I will beforever changed :)

Love Always,
Sister Weyandt

Ps. Today we got to go to the Bronx Zoo! It was fun! The animals all look so sad though. :(

Week #66, 2 Gays, A Muslim, a Jehovah's Witnesses, a Mason, and a Chinese man=#justanotherdayinthelife

This week...

So, let it be known that Sister Boseman rocks! I LOVE HER! I have been soooooooo extremely blessed to have her as a companion! She is so sweet, an excellent listener, kind, hard working, sincere, beautiful, and eager to be obedient. Let's just say she is the perfect missionary!

Since she came into the area last week, we have gotten 3 new investigators. Now we have a total of 4!  It took us 6 weeks last cycle to get one, and we got 3 the first three days of our companionship, all from different encounters This girl is a miracle worker!

Her first official day here we had a first lesson with a member and his referral, Long He. Long is an intern from China who is interested in Chrisitianity. We taught him just outside of Madison Square Park by the Flat Iron building. He was so receptive and inquisitive! It was unique teaching someone who did not already have a Christian background, but we took it nice and slow for him. The lesson went great! Sister Boseman was extremely quiet during the lesson. I felt bad I was talking so much. After the lesson I asked her if she was ok. She apologized and told me she was still not use to the city and she was so distracted by the taxi's, scurrying crowds, pigeons, and live band playing nearby that she could not focus. Haha...NYC is full of distractions! She will come to tune it out soon enough :)

The next day we had time to go contacting in my favorite park- Union Square. As we entered the park we saw a man in the center of the street front ground holding up a Bible and preaching. So, we decided to change our route. Three young men saw us and said they had met our friends a few days ago (other sister missionaries). They said they were cool and just wanted to say hi to us. One of them did not want to talk religion since he said he had had a religious argument almost every day with someone that week right there in Union Square. Lol. Well, we don't argue anyway, but we focused on his friends instead. The one I ended up talking with was Ricardo, a young man originally from Jamaica who is a Jehovah Witness. We came to find out through a lengthy conversation how similar our beliefs are in many ways. He seems pretty stuck in his ways, but loved that we shared his beliefs in many ways and wants to meet up to learn more! Awesome!

As we were talking with him and his friend, we had our Book of Mormons out, explaining it to them individually. A Mason (like the religion) man came by and asked if he could have a copy of The Book of Mormon.We gladly fave him a copy! He came back a few minutes later and asked if we had another one that he could give to his friend. Of course! We had been prompted that day to bring 2 each instead of our usual one.Amazing that we had the opportunity to give all 4 of them out!

The next day we were walking around Harlem to do a less active look up.I saw an old, frail black woman with a cane and some grocery bags in her hands about to cross the street. I immediately asked if we could help her with her bags. She was so thankful for our help. Bryant was only 63 years old, but seemed more like she was in her mid 80's. It took her a good 5 minutes to walk one block with us. Poor woman. I hailed her a cab (first time I ever had the opportunity to do it) and sent her on her way to the Bronx where she lived.

We had 10 minutes left until our curfew, so we decided to head home for the night. Sister Boseman suggested we each hand out our last Book of Mormons on the way home and get a new investigator out of the encounter-a lofty goal. There were so many people to choose from. We kept getting closer and closer to home and we were unsure who to really talk to. I felt anxious, wanting to have the faith to meet this challenge, but still having the fear of talking to people. We stood on the corner of our apt, unsure what to do or where to go for the last 5 minutes before the night. God gave me just what I needed. Three young adults crossed the road, saw us standing there and one young man asked us playfully "What are you doing here?" "What are you doing here?" I responded back. He laughed and we got into a conversation about the gospel with these three. Roy and Marc are dating each other, and their friend Kythie was with them. Marc was eager to talk. Roy was not. He had seen things about Mormons in TV that turned him off about us. He walked away, but when his boyfriend did not follow him, he stood off to the side and listened. He liked what he heard and became moreinvolved in the discussion. At the end he was asking us if he could meet with us and learn more. He told us that the media portrays us badly, but he likes us. All three of them were so kind and grateful to talk to us. I felt so loved by their sweet comments towards us and for the good work we are doing. Kythie's words were so sweet and tears filled her eyes. I could not help but hug this complete stranger. I am not sure if I have done that before here.

My favorite part about being a missionary would have to be seeing the perspective change of these people I serve around. I love it when I, through my friendship and example can change their views about the church and the work. I am so grateful God is using me to be a tool for good in his hands!

We met up with our returning less active, Alberto this week! He is so eager to go back to the temple! It is amazing to have heard of his progress the last few months and to see his desire to follow God faithfully!

Yesterday we went to Union Square again to do our famous "#KindnessKards" APF activity. I approached a innocent looking old man who when approached let it be known through his tone of voice that I would be in for an interesting next few minutes. Turns out he is Muslim. Muslims are wonderful people. But this man had in mind to start a debate. As he taught me about Alla(?), he tried to catch me in my own words. After a few minutes of politely listening, I boldly informed him I was not interested in a debate, but simply wanted to know if he had something he wanted to write down on the KindnessKard.  He assured me it was simply an intellectual conversation, but I knew better. After calling him out kindly on his defensive tone I excused myself as I thanked him and extended my hand to him to thank him for his time. I guess Muslims don't shake women's hands? Because he refused mine.

Haha. Got to love the diversity within this great city! Yes, I can be a sweet missionary and cause tears of happiness in some strangers eyes. Other times I can be that firm voice that stands up for myself and my faith when others try to push me over. Take it as you may, but I am grateful for the opportunity to have both experiences. :)

It has been a great week! I have been so happy! I have found myself wanting to be even more obedient than  already am, to have the spirit more abundantly in my life, to release my fears of opening my mouth along the way and teaching the gospel with all those I come in contact with. I have strived to be better about not gossiping (I am not a huge gossiper anyway, but sometimes I just want to vent), to call missionaries by their proper name and not their nicknames, and to serve those I serve with more.  I have seen so many changes  within myself and my own heart this week. It has been great to come out of a time of complacency to have the desire again to raise my own bar of success to be a little higher each day. I am learning to have true charity towards those who are unkind, who are homeless, gay, annoying and hard to connect with.  Sometimes it is easy to love them and other times it is hard. But I feel that is where my heart is growing more in wisdom and understanding of who Christ was and how I am to become more like him. How would he treat them? How should I treat them? Of course, some days I am better than others, but if am trying. God is real!  Jesus is the Christ. If this was not true, than how could the things I am doing now bring me this beautiful desire to be better? Simply put, "It's true. It's all true!"

Love Always,
Sister Weyandt

Ps. Sister Boseman and I go running each morning throughout all of Harlem and Central Park. I think we go about 1-2 miles each day. Today we ran 40 blocks :)

P.s.s. Guess what Mom?! I like fish now! But please, keep it to white fish if you ever decide to make it-

P.s.s.s. Michael McLeans son is in our ward #MormonCelebrity!
Talapia won me over.

Week #65, Living the LDS dream

This has been a wonderful week! We have been so blessed with so much love and so many opportunities to share that love with others! I have grown so much this week...so much! I have loved it, even though it has been a rough week.

I was able to go on a split with my sister training leader, Sister Smith. She taught me so much in just 24 hours! I was blown away by how natural she was at being a missionary! She contacted so naturally, taught so beautifully, and she even prayed before every door we knocked on (whether for an appointment or a lookup). She reminded me so much of my sister, Clenece. She is that person everyone just loves naturally...no one could hold a grudge against her. She is the person everyone can go to for a listening ear, knowing that that information will never be passed on. I LOVE Sister Smith! We kept busy ALLLLL day long! It was amazing, I can't wait till our area becomes established like theirs!

I was able to eat dinner with the Ciccotelli's the night of our split. Brian (and Isa) is the brother of one of the members in my last ward(Chris and Maryellen Ciccotelli). They ran into us and invited us to come to dinner with them. Wonderful!

After we unsplit, we had a miracle happen! Sister Richeson was looking at a list for an address while I smiled at a man who was passing by. To my surprise, he stopped and asked if we needed help finding something. He then saw our name badges and asked if we were the ones who would ring his buzzer and share scriptures with him. Lol...nope.  Not us. (Maybe it was he JW's). We got in a great conversation and HE asked if we could meet up sometime! We were stoked! Bill fits into our age range and lives in Manhattan. He holds a job and does not live inthe projects! He is a rare breed and we are excited to meet up with him next week!

God blessed us with another miracle too with a man named Khalil! He is an investigator that Elder Edmunds and Nielsen passed off to us. I was so shocked by how easy it was to teach him. I was able to get back into my "normal missionary" zone so naturally. I have not been able to teach like that in a long time to an investigator since we have no investigators in this area yet. Whitewashing has its pros, but also has its many cons. I was so excited to be able to see I had not lost my way of teaching. It made my whole MONTH to be able to teach aninvestigator like that again and to see him understand. I loved answering his questions to promote real growth, not to just answer his unending questions. I am excited to teach Khalil more!

Oh, guess what? My brother in law, Nick, served in Canada on hismission. His AP, Jamison Manwaring, lives in my branch and took us to dinner the other night, he rocks! Ros Ord took us out to dinner last night too! We walked out to 125th on the West side to look out over the Hudson River and take pictures. She told us that she usually does not like sister missionaries, but she loves us! Said that we were the first missionaries she has ever taken out to dinner or taken a picture with! We were so touched! She is an extremely active member, and she still felt that way towards missionaries before us. We felt so special! Our branch members are so amazing and show us so much love and appreciation!

We got a call on Tuesday night from a man named Steven Holt. He is a temporary visitor we met a few weeks ago. He use to be an MTC teacherfor 5 years. When we first met him a few weeks ago, asked if he could come teaching with us. We told him we had no investigators, but if we did, we would call him up. So, when he called, he said he had a referral for us! One of his friends he works with has been asking him a lot of questions about the church. He is from China. When he looked up the definition of Mormon on his phone, it told him it was a people who believed in polygamy. Lol. Steven told us he answered a lot of his questions, but Long He is excited to learn more! Amazing!

Yesterday we went to volunteer at the Common Pantry as we usually do. A sweet young woman lit up when she saw us walk in. "Ding ding ding, we have a member!" No one greets us so warmly unless they are a member. To our surprise, she actually is getting baptized this weekend! We were soooo excited for her! Some of our other missionary friends showed up and she was in heaven! She even got to meet Elder Fronk, her interviewer for baptism, before the actual interview. It was beautiful to see her excitement for the gospel and to be apart of it all officially. She was introduced to church by a young man a few years ago, and reconnected with the church when she came to New York! The church is true! :D

So, I have been having a lot of strange, mixed feelings this week. I have had so many feelings that I can't quite put my finger on. I don't know why I have felt many of the feelings I have been experiencing. My companion thought I was angry with her, despite me assuring her I wasn't. She has had very little to do with how I am feeling actually.  I have had feelings of anger, annoyance, gratitude, spiritual growth, unsurety, confusion, humility, hope, and charity.  All of this mixed together this week caused me to be mellow, mostly around my companion.I have internally been trying to discipher why I have been feeling this way, and trying to turn to The Lord for direction. It has been a really sweet experience to feel my heart change so quickly. I have been so grateful this week for the opportunity to be tried through my emotions to come closer to my Savior. It had promoted accelerated growth within myself. I am loving it! It has been really cool for me to see the past few years how I have responded to the trials of my life. I have recognized that I embrace them, rather than praying them away. I love trials, even in the moment :) Our God is good! My God is good :)

Lastly, the best news of all! This week a TRUE miracle took place! Sister Richeson's father, is amazing! Last Wednesday Sister Richeson gave me a list of questions her father had. I spent my studies searching for scriptures that would help answer his questions. I used my iPad "tags" to locate the most powerful scriptures I have foundover the past 9 months to help him. She sent the scriptures to him. The next day or two he met with he sister missionaries in that are and read the scriptures with them. He wanted to answer the question of whether he should get baptized or not. He read the first scripture in 2 Nephi 31:12 "And also, the voice of the Son came unto me, saying: He that is baptized in my name, to him will the Father give the Holy Ghost, like unto me; wherefore, follow me, and do the things which ye have seen me do." He asked himself after reading it, "well, what if this or what if that?" So, the sisters suggested he move on and read the next scripture.

He read: "And it came to pass that he said unto them: Behold, here are the waters of Mormon (for thus were they called) and now, as ye are desirous to come into the fold of God, and to be called his people, and are willing to bear one another’s burdens, that they may be light;

Yea, and are willing to mourn with those that mourn; yea, and comfort those that stand in need of comfort, and to stand as witnesses of God at all times and in all things, and in all places that ye may be in, even until death, that ye may be redeemed of God, and be numbered with those of the first resurrection, that ye may have eternal life--

Now I say unto you, if this be the desire of your hearts, what have you against being baptized in the name of the Lord, as a witness before him that ye have entered into a covenant with him, that ye will serve him and keep his commandments, that he may pour out his Spirit more abundantly upon you?" Mosiah 18:8-10

He was quiet and then said "I just need to do it. I need to stop worrying and just get baptized!" When the St. George sisters called up Sister Richeson to tell her this, she was speechless. after she hung up! she ran through our apartment screaming "My Dad is getting baptized!!!" He is waiting for her to come home this weekend to pick a date!

And to top it all off, he utterly shocked us all on Sunday morning when he went to church all my himself! Hewas not invited to go this week. No one went with him. God had answered his prayer and cleared his morning schedule, so he went. He has been to church twice in his life. Once because he was forced by his mother in law and the second for Sister Richeson's farewell. He has never gone otherwise. This was a miracle! Miracles happen! Believe in them!

Sister Richeson is now gone, along will 30 other friends of mine! I knew and loved almost every missionary who went home today. They are amazing! I am excited to meet my new companion, Sister Boseman, soon!

God is working in the details of ALL of our lives! Be excited! He loves you and is mindful of you! Seek for the spirit this week and do all that you can to try a little harder to be a little better! I love you all!

Love Always,
Sister Weyandt

#content #deeplyhappy #lookingforwardwithfaith
#onthefringeofanothermiracle #livingthedream

Me and Sister Boseman upon meeting 5 minutes ago! She rocks! Love her already!

Week #64, Success=Being led by God

I feel like from week to week I don't have much to share. The work is slow as we try to look up less actives and get to know our members better. So, sorry for not having more spiritual content. We did find success though this week in meeting a less active member who wants to come back to church. She has no concerns or doubts with the church, which is really rare for less actives. She simply fell away from activity. We are excited for her to come back! Emilia is awesome!

This week one of our members, Becky Collier, invited us to dinner at the Whitney Museum to see the Jeff Koons exhibit. So, she brought us food and we ate it in line. We had just barely gotten in line when a lady named Lici stopped us and asked if she could learn more about our church from us. She said her friend was a Mormon and she had passed by our church's randomly the last few weeks and felt a prompting to go in, but never did. We were stoked! This never happens! It was incredible! We are so excited to meet up with her :)

This past Sunday we gave talks in sacrament meeting. I wanted to make sure I was prayerful about it. I think I prayed every day for the full week we had to be led to what to share. It actually turned out pretty well! I was a bit nervous to give it, but God answered my many heartfelt prayers and helped me to give it easily!  What a blessing!

I was touched this week by a story told in our zone training about the difference between Ammon and Abinadi's missionary success. Ammon converted thousands and Abinadi never lived to see a baptism. But both were incredible missionaries! We may not have the success that other missionaries see, but that does not determine our overall impact. I mean, if Abinadi did not serve his "mission" then Alma would not have been converted and he would not have built up the church to allow Ammon later in to convert thousands. I believe in this wholeheartedly.  I have had one or two missionaries comment to me that my mission experience has not been what it should have been. This ate at me for a little bit. But then I realized that they were wrong. Missions are not suppose to be cookie cutter experiences. They are individualized for each person. And as long as we follow the spirit and do our best, we will be guided.

Sadly, Sister Richeson has had a bad migraine the last few days. Yesterday it was so bad hat we stayed inside all day. I made phone calls, sent a bunch of texts with scriptures, watched The Testaments with Richie, cleaned the house, and caught up in my journal! I actually appreciate sick days. I feel like I can catch up on life and not feel guilt and rushed.

Today Sister Richeson went on the infamous going home temple trip. So, my roommate Sister Holdaway and I got to go shopping together ;) We went to some ghetto store in the heart of Harlem. The people there are truly one of a kind! Haha. We got out of the store to see a tiff going on with the cops there. Nothing too new. But what was funny were the firefighters who saw us stopped on the street corner in Harlem. Haha...two well dressed white girls in the middle of that part of the city is a rare sight. They said they had never seen sister missionaries before, only the elders. They asked if we wanted a picture with the hem and the truck. Haha...I politely turned them down. They asked where we were headed. We told them to Target, and they asked if we wanted a ride in their fire truck. I was tempted to, but knew we had our third female rule and these men were being too friendly to pretend to be naive. We thanked them warmly and walked
away. Several minutes later as we were walking down the street we heard "Hello Sisters!" over a loud intercom.  We looked over our shoulders to see the fire truck passing us. Lol. We got a good laugh out of that! Not too many sister missionaries can say they got a shout out from the NYFD! :)

It was awesome! What a wonderful, spirit filled week. I have grown a lot. I have learned a lot. It has been a fantastic week that I am so grateful for. :) I hope you all have a spirit filled week this week yourselves! The gospel is true. God is real. He hears and answers prayers. He loves you! You see his child. I am so happy! :)

Love Always,
Sister Weyandt

Week #63, Only in NYC

Well, not much new to report this week, but I I will share a few cool NYC moments!

So, this week we met up with our second counselor in the branch presidency now the the is back from his trip to the Middle East. Dark clouds and approaching thunder warned us to leave. Haha...but we got caught in the downpour without umbrellas. Lol. And when it rains here, it pours! We bid Ned goodbye and ran on the outskirts of Central Park too catch a train. Haha...we were dripping as if we had just come out of a pool! Lol!

We also realized that this same area in Columbus Circle is a terrible place to go contacting.
1) Everyone is tourists
2) And they have all been attacked by at least 5 people selling stuff before we reached them, so they ignore us completely. Mental note made to not go back...

The rain was not our friend this week. It rained out everyone's 4th of July plans. We realized everyone was inside, no one wanted to be bothered, and our plans were no longer ago until the rain settled down. Luckily that night the rain stopped and we were still able to go down to my Chinatown roots by the base of the island to set up a free face painting stand + photo booth. We had tons of success in getting to face paint faces and then take their pictures in front of an American flag. We put the hash tag #facepaintthefourth on a Mormon.org card and told them to put it in on Facebook to locate their pictures.  It was an awesome way to talk to those who we normally would not get a chance to talk to.

While there, my zone leader got my attention and pointed to the street. I squealed when I saw my convert, Jobie Overton, and his wife Annia. I ran to them and threw my arms around them! I was so ecstatic to see them again! When I left the area, I did not expect to see Jobie alive again with all of his medical health problems and looming death scares. It was such a beautiful moment to see him again! He had gone less active, but before he moved to the Bronx had become active again! My heart melted with happiness!

Today I got to go to the temple with my roommate, Sister Holdaway while our companions go see their Broadway plays (Les Miz and Wicked). We got to do initiatories, dealings, and endowments! I got to do work for Jobie's first wife, mother, grandma, and several of my own ancestors. I was crying through some of it. So amazing to do saving ordinances for hose you have come to love. :) The church is true!

My companion and I got to meet up with one of my good friends, the Buckmillers. They were  visitors to the Union Square ward last year, and they came back again this Summer! So wonderful to meet up with them again and feel like I have someone to mommy me while I am here in the city again. They brought their non member friend along too! It was an awesome experience! I love sharing the gospel here! We went contacting for just a few minutes in Union square the other day. I went to hand out a card, and the person ignored my approach. A black Muslim man named Muhammad who was on the other side of this person stopped, turned around and asked what I was giving out. We got into a great conversation about the Restoration. It was amazing to see how my mouth was opened and I was able to clearly explain things to him in a way that has been foreign to me since I left the city. He said everything I said made sense to him! We sure hope he calls us back!

Oh, and funny story about a funny convert we had dinner with this past week. We insisted we did not have time (or space in our stomach) for a dessert. He insisted to buy us a treat along the way to the subway. As we were walking, I saw a Dean and Deluca, a SUPER expensive place. I started to tell my companion a story about this place when our member insisted we go in. I tried to persuade him otherwise, but he would not listen. He again insisted we pick out a treat. So, knowing we were already short on time and he would not let us turn him down, we picked up whatever looked good. To my dismay, he bought 3 of each of the treats we picked out! Why would we need 3 of each!? The bill for 6 items of chocolate was $50-60, twice what all 3 of our dinners cost combined! Goodness! Only in New York!

Anyway, it has been a fantastic week filled with the spirit! I have loved how I have noticed the need to change, repent, and become better. A need to work on strengthening my testimony. A need to open my mouth more and becoming a better missionary. I have noticed how I can improve and I am so grateful for the opportunity God gives me each day to do so. He is such a wonderful father to me. :)

Love Always,
Sister Weyandt

Week #62, Just making history....

Just another week in THE coolest city in America! Seriously, everyday I wake up and realize I am really here...that I live in Manhattan! It is one of the coolest feelings to walk out on the streets of Manhattan everyday with my missionary name tag on and know that I represent my Savior. That I am one of the lucky ones chosen to be here, among millions of people to represent the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints. What a privilege it is!

Last Wednesday night we got to Skype teach Sister Richeson's parents. President and Sister Morgan were in attendance with us in the temple building at 8pm. We invited Brother Richeson to be baptized. HE ACCEPTED! He said he is not sure when, but he said he is sure he will be baptized someday! Later this week in Presidents exit interview with Sister Richeson, he told her that he father will one day get baptized BECAUSE she decided to serve a mission! What a blessing! President gave us a "hall pass" to be home late. Haha...we seem to get a lot of those. The spirit was sooooo strong during the lesson! It was incredible to see Sister Richeson boldly and lovingly (and with a good measure of nerves) invite her father to be baptized! I don't know if I will ever have that privilege again as long as I live!

Because we cover the entire island, we often see many of my missionary friends in our travels or we work directly with them in teaching appt's. I was so grateful to be able to have lunch with Sister Steele this week and a dinner with Sister Jensen and our member we worked closely with (Jeff Berglund). Both were my former companions. I have a lot of contact with all the missionaries throughout the island, so I consider that an extreme blessing.

This week was NYC Pride week...aka Gay Pride week. We got permission from our AP's to go to a gay Mormon picnic to support one of our gay less active members. We hoped to meet other less actives there too. We were a bit unsure what to expect since we have never been a minority in that sense before. In the church having same sex attraction is super taboo. But, we were VERY pleasantly surprised by the warm welcome we received! Everyone there expressed excitement for us being there to show our love and support for them. Most everyone there (about ten people) were all active members of the church, despite being gay. It was an eye opening experience. I got to talk to each one of them. I will always remember that night! A picture of us there reached Facebook. Without the context of what we were doing, it easily could have been mistaken that we were gay missionaries! We had to request 2 people to take it down before it spread like wildfire. Haha...that was a close one! But it was so touching to see these men who did not expect the church to change the doctrine, but to love them for who they were.

We did another Union Square chalk drawing accompanied with a video :) Check out my Facebook to view it! Haha...my creepy stalker found me in Union Square again after me being gone for 5 months. Geez...he is good at stalking! Lol. When he expressed pretended interest in the church, I quickly suggested that the ELDERS would love to tell him more. Haha. He is harmless, but super creepy. Lol.

Lately I have noticed that my testimony has not been tested for awhile. It is dormant. I don't like that. So, I have been praying for the spirit to be with me more, for me to have testimony building opportunities, etc. God gave me just that at church this week! Our branch is so incredible! I learn so much from our super intelligent branch members! During interviews this week I told President Morgan that I want to strengthen mytestimony. In his infinite wisdom, he suggested I spend some time pondering real questions I have and then taking my study time to answer those questions through study. Perfect idea! He said it may shake my testimony during my search, but it will be well worth it. I agree! I am excited to go through this spiritual journey! :)

My companion and I have also recognized we are not living up to our potential in opening our mouths to share the gospel with others. We are not taking every opportunity. We are hardly talking to anyone on the trains and in the streets actually. We both came from upstate, and are having to readjust to a completely new and unique assignment as well as a different way of doing missionary work. We made a goal to change that! Excited am I :) I want to be better. I want to show The Lord my gratitude for all my blessings and not just thank him for them in prayer. So we will see what lies ahead in the coming weeks as we implement our best efforts and try to dismiss our fears. We found our first potential investigator last night! Yay!

This morning I cut my hair again in that fancy studio! Only 4 or 5 inches max. I needed to get rid of some of it since it is too heavy on my head when I lift it up on the hot days...and every day is a hot day these days. Also, our entire mission is at the Yankees game right now! Yes, I am typing this up during the game. I got made fun for doing that last year, but it is 4 hours of my Pday that I can't afford to waste watching a game I do not understand ;) Maybe my cousin Jarrod can explain it to me when I get home! But it has been a fun experience. Yankees are losing. Oh well!

Well, I think that is about it for this week! But we are making history, bit by bit in this incredible city! I love this chance to be a missionary at this time! The work is hastening (D&C 88:73). Have a great week, be good, have fun, and seek the spirit!

Love Always,
Sister Weyandt