background

February 29, 2012

Good week. Better people. Best gospel!!!

My investigator got baptized, then visited me!!
My companion is a district leader (the Temple Square Mission is unique in that all of the leadership positions are filled by sister missionaries, since there are no guys in the mission) so we go on exchanges every once in a while. On Thursday we were on exchanges with our zone leaders. I was with Sister Lautiki from Fiji! I am so glad that she has been my zone leader this transfer, she is such a good missionary. We had a lot of fun together and I was able to learn so much!

On Saturday we were on exchanges again, this time with Sister Kaberry from Melbourne, Australia. We took a German tour! Then we met a couple and the husband was so funny. He knew a lot of stuff about the Church, some of it very false. For example, he asked all the usual controversial questions, and then asked about polygamy. He was like, "You want to hear my opinion about why polygamy started?" and I said, "Oh yes please, let's hear it."...."I think that polygamy got started because Joseph Smith got caught cheating on his wife so he had to come up with a cover..." And he was so dead serious. Sister Kaberry and I probably shouldn't have but we just started laughing (we had built a pretty good relationship with him so it seemed ok). I said, "Are you serious?"..."Yes"..."Well I just want to let you know that you are wrong, you are not right." hahaha He seemed to understand. It was a good/funny conversation with him.
We got to cover 'announcing' on Sunday after Music and the Spoken Word! It was fun to do that again, I do not miss how cold it is standing out there though. That same night there was the Interfaith Conference going on in the tabernacle. So all these different religions from all over the world came and put on a presentation to showcase their religion. I was on exchanges with Sister Gulzar from Pakistan. She is SUCH an INCREDIBLE missionary. I couldn't even believe it. She just brings the Spirit like that. And there is something about that Pakistani accent that makes it so much better. She is going home this transfer; I am going to miss her. She is hilarious.
I am really excited that we get to take tours to new locations now. We can now go to the Church History Museum, the Church Office Building, and the Joseph Smith Memorial Building! And we got to do that yesterday, it was great. We were about to end a tour and one of the guys asked how to get to the Church Office Building so he could go to the top floor. So we said we could take him there! It was so fun; I hadn't been there since I was a little girl!
Anyways, good week. Better people. Best gospel!
Love love love
Sister Jarvie
CTR
Xoxoxooxox
…and Mom and Dad, you both did such a good job in the singles ward, now work even harder as missionaries with the inactive people in your new calling.  Salvation is on the line.  We’re not allowed to help inactive people on Temple Square but I wish I could!!
I am so happy!! I am doing great!!
OH! Today our preparation day is going to be so fun!
We are going to IN N OUT!!!!!!!!!!! Then Ross. Then Walmart. Then Downeast Basics. THEN at 6 we are going to Pacific Seas. It is a polynesian food place! They have taro there and everything! They feed missionaries for free too! Hahaha
Love you so much BYEEEEEEEEE!!!
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Sister Lauren Jarvie
UT- Salt Lake City Temple Square Mission
50 N. West Temple St. Rm. BSVC
Salt Lake City, UT 84150

February 22, 2012

So, So Awesome To Be a Missionary!

Beehive House Tour with Jill and Margot Money!

Sister Jarvie and new companion Sister Mauga
The Beehive house was going off this week! Seriously, it felt like summer time in there. It was great though because we saw a lot more success because of it. It is an interesting place to serve because generally people just come to see old stuff. We're constantly bridging back to gospel and trying to help them feel the Spirit. It is fun to figure out a way to relate irrelevant things back to Jesus Christ and His gospel.
Well something interesting happened at the Beehive. Sister Mauga and I were talking to the group we would take through the house and in walk Jill and Margot Money! At first I acted like I had no idea who they were but just welcoming them like any other guest. Ha. So that was a really awesome experience to be able to take them around the house. It was so nice that they came!
On Friday night we were chatting and this guy came on who wanted to go to church on Sunday!! Wow! Chat miracle whenever they don't ask about how magnets work. So we helped him find the address and he agreed to let us call him to teach him more. So we talked to him on Sunday and he is so incredible. He already met with the missionaries and they are going to his house again tonight! He has a very serious disease, (I am teaching 2 people with the same illness) and has wanted to find the true church. He has researched so many different religions but on Sunday he said, "I am getting a feeling this is the right church". YES! We are so bold with him and he is so accepting. There are some things we will have to help him with, but I can't see that holding him back once he knows it is true.
We did some more covering at West Gate this week, I love it there. You have to know what you're doing and be very organized, which I love. Hopefully one of these days I can get the opportunity to serve there.
Ester* is still working towards baptism. Her first date was February 1st but she missed it. She has been having a really hard time with her son. He is in jail right now because he and his friends stole a bunch of her stuff and has illegal drugs in the house everywhere when the police came. The worst part is that she had JUST moved in with him a few days before. She has been living at a home care facility and the guy who runs it doesn't treat her well. It's all really sad. I wish I could be there to help her myself. So her attorney told her to move back into that place until the trial is over. We all know how long that can take! But she knows that God has a plan for her and that getting baptized will help her deal with all the stress in a more Christlike way. She is an angel. She is my other investigator that is sick, but she is so happy.
So, so awesome to be a missionary!
Well until next week.
Love you all!
xoxox
Sister Jarvie
CTR
*name may have been changed to protect confidentiality

Hi, I'm Lauren (well, Sister Jarvie)

This is the profile I posted on Mormon.org before my mission--this is a great way to introduce people to the church and it's members!!
Hi, I'm Lauren
I preach the gospel to the four corners of the world, I'm a missionary, and I'm a Mormon.
About Me
I am currently serving a mission for The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-Day Saints in Salt Lake City at Temple Square.
Why I am a Mormon
I was born in the church, but I am still a convert. Each one of us decides to follow the gospel just as a new member does. Following the gospel of Jesus Christ is a choice. A choice that everyone here who hears the message must make. Every day we must be constantly converting ourselves by faithfully trying to live the way Heavenly Father has marked for us. He marks this path through the scriptures and through the words of our modern day prophets, such as Thomas S. Monson. I believe The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-Day Saints is the only true church on this Earth and that is the only way to make it back to our Father in Heaven. By living the gospel, I have faith that I will always be happy and find strength from my trials.
Personal Stories
Please share your feelings/testimony of Joseph Smith.
Joseph Smith was chosen to be the first prophet of the Restored gospel of Jesus Christ. He was only 14 years old and was wondering what religion he should follow, so he asked of God. He went to pray in the woods by his house, God and Jesus Christ appeared to him there. I know that he was chosen to be the first prophet in the fullness of times because I did what he did, I asked of God. Without Joseph Smith, there would not be the priesthood, or, the power and authority of God, on the earth. Through him, we are able to receive the blessings of the Priesthood. By that same power of God, Joseph Smith was able to translate The Book of Mormon from the ancient record.
Please explain the part prayer plays in your life?
Prayer plays a huge role in my life because it is the only way that I can communicate with my Father in Heaven. As we are taught in the Bible Dictionary definition of Prayer, "As soon as we learn the true relationship in which we stand toward God (namely, God is our Father, and we are his children), then at once prayer becomes natural and instinctive on our part (Matt. 7:7–11). Many of the so-called difficulties about prayer arise from forgetting this relationship. Prayer is the act by which the will of the Father and the will of the child are brought into correspondence with each other. The object of prayer is not to change the will of God, but to secure for ourselves and for others blessings that God is already willing to grant, but that are made conditional on our asking for them. Blessings require some work or effort on our part before we can obtain them. Prayer is a form of work, and is an appointed means for obtaining the highest of all blessings."
The first time I ever read this the Spirit of God testified to me that this is true. Our Heavenly Father loves us and He wants us to communicate with Him. If we are following the teachings of His Son, Jesus Christ, and ask Him with real intent to help us, I know that He will bless us.
How I live my faith
I had the best opportunity to be an Especially For Youth counselor. I was able to have groups of young girls aged 13-18, and teach them about the Church. I was also able to help them understand and find clarity about things they struggle with as youth in this day. It is my favorite thing to spend time with the youth and have fun with them.

Now, I am living my faith by inviting others to come unto Christ by helping them receive the Restored gospel of Jesus Christ through faith in his Atonement, repentance, baptism, receiving the gift of the Holy Ghost, and enduring to the end.
  • Why is it important for us to take care of our bodies? Why are our bodies called temples of God in the Bible?
Lauren answered...
Our bodies are a gift from God. My body is the only one I will ever have and so I don't want to do anything that would harm it. As we take good care of our bodies by, eating nutritious food and exercising we show God that we respect and are grateful for His gift. It is a privilege to have a healthy body; that is why we should not "[defile] our bodies with drugs, tobacco, or unwholesome foods".

I believe in the body’s natural capacity to heal itself. If we take care of ourselves and give our bodies the right nutrients it needs, we can help cure and prevent health problems such as, common colds or even depression. That is why I believe it is important for us to take care of our bodies.


February 15, 2012

You Never Know What Will Happen With People

Where I spend my days this transfer--The Beehive House
The flowers are starting to bloom!! They look so beautiful and I just can't believe it because it is only February! This has been a very good winter and I am ready for summer time. Except it started snowing like crazy today. There is an apartment building right out our window and three of the apartments have cats! There are a total of four cats. And every morning when we study they are on the window looking out at the world, so cute! Today they were looking at the snow falling, so fun.
   
 Well, I'm not sure if I mentioned this last week but we have so much time on the computers. Because our time is split up between motors, Beehive House, and teeny-tiny-bits of Square time. Not many people come to the Beehive House during the cold weather, so when we are not on desk or giving a tour we are on the computer. We also have more chatting time...apparently it is a really cool thing to "troll" us on mormon.org chat? Hah! It is really sad how many people don't have anything better to do with their time!

I finally got a hold of the sweetest girl in Brazil. She is only 15 years old and she has been studying English for 6 years! She was sorry that she couldn't answer my calls before but she was so happy that she could finally talk to me. She has been waiting for me to call. Brother Shibuta had told her all about the Church already so she referred right there the first time I spoke with her, with parental permission of course. Such a miracle!

We were covering West Gate on Monday and we met two great guys who have just been reactivated in the Church! They are in the same ward up here in Utah and have been such a good support to each other. They had been out of the Church for about 15 years I think... The next night they were going to go to the temple to do baptisms! They were so excited, I am so happy for them. You never know what will happen with people. It is so important that if someone we know has lost interest in the gospel, that we still love them. We can never lose hope in those people that we love so much. God still loves them and cares about them, so why shouldn't we? There is room for the Atonement in everyone’s life! We have to be the first ones to make room for it to work on them and us. It made me think of how difficult addictions are. It affects family and friends. One of my investigators in Brazil told me that his older brother has had an addiction to drugs for about 20 years. He lost hope for a little while. It was hard because his family had to battle all day against the issues brought on by his brother’s addiction. He said that his loss of Hope didn't last for long. He knows that no matter what happens here, God will make a better life for him after. This trial has made his family grow even closer together. He knows that he will be able to be with his family forever and that his brother will be okay.

I read something yesterday that I love so much..."Nothing begins without an individual’s will to make it begin" and "...Freedom begins with a flicker of will". I learned back in high school that if someone doesn't want to do something, don't make them do it. President Holmes said, "We must provide people with the best opportunity to use their agency in a wise way". I started doing this at EFY last year. And it is even more relevant on my mission. If people I talk to aren't willing to learn, they won't learn. It is really that easy. Of course we help them and provide them those opportunities to come unto Christ. As long as I can report in prayer to God every night and honestly tell Him I tried my hardest with every person I talked to, I will have peace.

I saw Elder and Sister Clayton this week! We were walking back from the Beehive House and I looked over and ooooh there they were! It was so good to see them! We only talked for a few minutes because we are all busy people. But I told them how I saw Matt a couple weeks ago and they said they'd been hoping to run into me soon. So fun!
Peace and blessings
xoxox
Sister Jarvie

My
 lil' home away from home!

February 8, 2012

Faith Is the First Thing We Need

Taking a break in the call center
We have access to all the help we need while teaching!

Bom Dia! Ola! Things are going great with the people I’m teaching in Brazil! All of them live in Parana, so not anywhere near where Elder Swinney is. Anyways, they are so great and already have so much faith. Their English isn't that great yet, but now they are all finished with Brother Shibuta's English class! I send them emails that have sections of the Book of Mormon in English and Portuguese so they can read it on their own, and then discuss it with us on the phone. They are all really close with their families and want to be with them forever.

I talked to Ester* on the phone today. We have been teaching her for a long time. She is the best. Every time I call she answers by saying, "Praise God," haha. And her voice mail recording says, "Stop closing the window with Satan’s name on it. Open your window and let the blessing from God pour in. Be blessed." She is awesome. She loves God so much and has an incredible amount of faith. Today I shared Matthew 19:29 with her. She has lost some people in her life, and she told me she might be losing her house too. So I shared with her the story of Job! It was so perfect for her because she has had those trials in her life of losing children and parents, serious health problems and now her 'land'. But through all of this she never gave up her faith that God will deliver her. She said something like "If it's not good, it's not over". And I know that is so true but the best part is that she knows that now. I'm so happy to be teaching her! God bless!

Out of everything I have learned so far, the most important thing for us is to realize the value of having faith. Faith is the first thing we need. We cannot have, give, or receive anything without it. I talk to so many people who are in a lot better positions (worldly) than Ester*, but they don't have faith! They cannot find joy, happiness, peace or anything else that's good. One man I talk to asked me, "Why should I have faith?" I can't tell you how many times we have gone over faith and why it is important that he has faith. He cannot understand. I also talk to another man who served a mission and lost his faith. Why is it that we lose faith? We once had it. Why is it so hard to get it back after it's gone? I cannot tell people to have faith. Only the Spirit can.

I have been reading a talk by Lawrence E. Corbridge called, "The Fourth Missionary". Sister Au-Yeung gave it to me. President Corbridge was a mission president in Peru, and after observing missionaries for a long while, he came up with four basic categories that they could each be placed into. It talks a lot about the differences between actions and thoughts or attitude. He urges us to each try to be "the fourth missionary."  So awesome!

"The purpose and essential blessing of life is to be changed; to become more like the Lord, to realize the full measure of your potential. This process of change, this process of evolving, becoming, is the object of the gospel. Change is the design of faith in Christ, repentance and baptism. Redemptive change happens by the power of the Holy Ghost. But it happens only if and when your heart is right. It happens only if you do not fight against God. It happens only if you unconditionally surrender your will to the Lord"

"If your secret, heartfelt desires are to do what you want to do, rather than what the Lord wants for you, you will not be happy, and you will not profit from even your good works...You can't be in a state of happiness, whether now or in the eternities, if you don't want to do the things that lead to happiness, even if you do those very things. Do you hear this? You can't be happy if you don't want to do the things that lead to happiness, even if you do those very things."

I love this talk so much. It doesn't only apply to missionary work. We can all use this. If you aren't a missionary, you can 'Be the Fourth [Member]'!

Well, I am so happy to be in the Beehive House everyday! I love it so much! I know so much about Brigham Young now, it's ridiculous...in a good way.

XOXO

Sister Jarvie

*-Names may have been changed to ensure confidentiality.

--

Sister Lauren Jarvie

UT- Salt Lake City Temple Square Mission

50 N. West Temple St. Rm. BSVC

Salt Lake City, UT 84150


February 2, 2012

Walk Forward In Faith!



I'll miss Sister Au-Yeung so much!
Well, this has been a really hard past few days. We had transfer conference on Monday so we found out what everyone will be doing this transfer! I am now in a different zone that covers the Beehive House! So I will be at the Beehive House every day, I think. I will get to know it very well. My new companion is Sister Mauga from Samoa! She is so nice and I am really excited for this transfer! The past 6 weeks have gone by so fast, honestly. I feel like Sister Mettra JUST left, and now all the next class of sisters have gone too.

I had a few miracle inbound calls this week. Some people are just so ready to hear the gospel it's awesome! We had a couple good tours this week too. We met with one guy who used to be a 7th Day Adventist but now he's atheist. So sad! Sister Au-Yeung had told me a really good story a couple weeks ago that I was able to share. We were talking about how God is looking out for him and that he came to Temple Square for a reason. Anyways, the story we shared with him goes like this:

There was a guy who lived in his house all by himself. One day, the town he lived in got totally flooded so he had to sit on his roof so he wouldn't drown. He was praying so hard that God would save him. So he kept praying with so much faith. A few minutes later this boat comes by and the guy inside says "Hey, want a ride? We’re going to the shore!". The man says, "No, I am waiting for God to save me". So the boat leaves and he just keeps praying with all his might, knowing that God will save him from drowning in this awful flood! Again, another boat comes by and asks the man if he wants a ride. But he says, "No, I am waiting for God to save me". And so that boat took off. This man died in the flood and when he gets to Heaven he asks God, "Why didn't you save me? I was praying to you and I had so much faith!" God tells this man, "I sent you two boats...And you didn't take either of them".

I love this story because it tells us that God answers our prayers in His own way. Not our way, and not always how we expect them to be answered. Be careful that you are not turning away God's answer to your prayers; walk forward in faith!

I told this guy that God was sending him a boat, the gospel of Jesus Christ of Latter-Day Saints. The best part is that the whole time, he was like "Oh that guy is a fool!” And after we explained the whole story, Sister Au-Yeung said, "We don't want you to be that fool!" hahahaha So so funny!
Anyways, good week. I can’t believe this is my 3rd transfer.

LOVE

Sister Jarvie

xoxoxox
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