Zone Conference Week!!

Maaam and Dad,                    

We were able to meet with K again this week. We taught her The Plan of Salvation and she was asking us all the random questions she has thought about from reading the pamphlets we left her. She told us that she has been reading the pamphlets to her little niece that she lives with and has been making up stories to the pictures for her. We gave her a children’s Book of Mormon so she could read the stories to her niece and understand the scriptures better as she reads. We hit two birds with one stone there!

We invited her to come to church this week and she was excited and told us “thank you so much, that is so nice of you to invite me!" Haha, that’s our job but I love that she appreciated it! She didn't come to church this Sunday because she said that she isn't ready yet but hopefully she will be there next Sunday! 

This week we were able to meet with SP for the first time! It was such a great meeting. We mostly went over his expectations but we were able to start on The Plan of Salvation. He is just such a great man and has gone through a lot to come closer to Christ throughout his life. We asked him to pray about what we were telling him and he said that throughout all his research, it just makes sense!

He also told us that he wanted to investigate the church for a year and then get baptized after that. He said that he would keep coming to church, meeting with us, reading and praying until then so he could get his answer. We told him that he would absolutely get his answer before then.

He ended up calling us on Sunday morning to tell us her was really sick and could not come to church or make our appointment that day. Before he hung up though he said "you ladies are right.. I think I will get my answer before a year. Maybe I could know and get baptized in 3 or 6 months." That is exactly what we were thinking but we knew he had to come to that conclusion on his own! He is really solid and interested so we are more than excited to see how things go with him!

It's fall!

We also had our usual Saturday morning meetings with one of our investigators D. We were only able to meet with him for a few minutes because he was really busy but he told us about his experience with the Book of Mormon! He said that he has still been reading it! He told us that it is just crazy because it has really been bringing him peace. He said that he likes to read it right before he goes to sleep at night because it just calms him down and gets him ready to sleep for the night.

He also has a wonderful memory of the things that he is reading and shares great insights with us. It was funny because when we were talking to him he was telling us that he really liked how in the beginning of the Book of Mormon it talked about when people start to go astray they just need to remember to hold onto the iron rod. It just made us so happy because we haven't heard terminology like that from an investigator and he has been showing us that he is really taking what the Book of Mormon says to heart! 

Also, M came to church again and she still loves it! The young women in this ward are just so welcoming so she has fit right in! She has been soaking up the gospel lately! We have been having a hard time meeting with all of her family but we can't wait to meet with all of them in about a week! Sadly no one else was at church this week but hopefully we will have a crowd with us next week!

This week Sister Higgins wasn't feeling very well so we stayed in a few hours on Tuesday. I just sat in bed and read my scriptures while she was resting and I had one of the most incredible experiences ever! I just kept reading and couldn't stop. The things I was learning were amazing. I was learning much more about Christ and what His atonement really means. It was a wonderful experience and I know that it really spiritually prepared me for our Zone Conference we had on Wednesday! 

Santa Maria Zone

Zone Conference was an absolutely amazing experience! The theme of most of it was President Hinckley's father's advice to him on his mission "Forget yourself and go to work." It was really great for me because I have been trying to do all I can to forget myself but I realized that I really need to be thinking about our investigators more throughout the day.

We also introduced the new Christ-like attribute OBEDIENCE for the mission! So far we have worked on hope and diligence, which was an incredible experience, but I am so excited to now work on obedience! I never thought I would ever say that but I am really looking forward to see what I can do to be more obedient because I know that obedience is key to seeing miracles!

The sisters in the district!
Me, Sister Higgins, Hermana Brown, and Hermana Eastman

I also loved the Sisters meeting we had on persistence. They talked about how we have a responsibility to bring every person we see throughout the day closer to Christ. Sister Higgins and I have really been trying to talk to every person we see and it has been wonderful! We talk to delivery people and anyone on the streets, and we have talked to some really amazing people. We were able to find a couple of new investigators this week just by talking to everyone!

Sister Higgins and I have also decided that to be more persistent we want to share our testimony with every person we see or meet with. It has been a great experience so far. It has reminded us every time we share a little of our testimony how much we truly love this gospel!

Mission Leadership Council
2 Assistants to the President
8 Sister Training Leaders (English & Spanish)
18 Zone Leaders

I also got to spend tons of time with Hermana Linford and Sister Randall (two of the 8 Sister Training Leaders) at our Zone Conference! We had a few different meetings and some practicing of teaching skills. It was great to finally spend lots of time with them throughout the day!

I have decided that one of the best times with Sister Higgins is our 8pm lessons. We honestly are deliriously exhausted and end up saying the most random things throughout the lesson. We definitely get more cheesy and nerdy by the end of the night. Most of the time I just have to smile and act like nothing is happening while I am dying laughing inside! I wish you were there to experience it. It is just tooo much!

The ASU sisters.
Fear the fork!

This Thursday is Thanksgiving!!! It may be tough for us this week because many of our investigators will be out of town. If worse comes to worst we will just knock on doors and testify! (Which truly isn't bad at all). We are having Thanksgiving dinner with the family we live with and all their family! It is going to be so fun and it will feel like I’m back at home with the loud, crazy Mason family!

Much Love,

Sister Mason