Last week, Noelle sent me some great questions. I've decided to put all the answers on my blog, so hopefully this can help people who are preparing to go on missions :) Plus it was just fun to think about all of these questions:
So far, what has been the best part of your mission?
The best part of my mission so far is the privilege to help people learn about the restored gospel of Jesus Christ. My testimony has grown so much, I can't even explain it. I know that this gospel is true with all my heart, and that just makes me so happy. I love the fact that I can just walk around smiling all day, even if people reject our message or are rude to us, because I know that it is true and it makes me happy. I love seeing the change in people as I bear my testimony to them. I can see the light of Christ in their eyes as they hear truths that they have already known before. While not everyone will accept our message, it is just wonderful to have the opportunity to help people change their lives and find joy and a purpose in their life.
What has been the most difficult part of your mission?
The most difficult part of my mission is when people don't keep commitments or decide to reject the gospel. It just breaks my heart. I know that this gospel will help them, if they just make the time and have that desire to learn. Everyone has their agency to choose for themselves, but sometimes I just want to force them to choose the gospel. But I can't. hahaha. It's frustrating. But if someone won't accept the gospel, then we will just go out and find someone who will.
What do you wish you had done to better prepare yourself for your mission?
I wish that I had studied "Preach My Gospel" better before my mission. I also wish that I had read and studied the New Testament and the Book of Mormon better before my mission. It's so worth it to know those things before your mission, because then you can just go straight into studying deeper doctrine once you get onto your mission. You just need to have a solid testimony going into a mission, because people will test you and try to break down your testimony every day.
What advice would you give to my Laurels about preparing to go on a mission or preparing to go to the Temple?
I would tell them to pray to their Heavenly Father every single day and talk to Him about everything. Establish a relationship with Him, and it will help you so much for the rest of your life. I would also tell them to study the Book of Mormon. It is the keystone of our religion, and I want to make it the keystone of my life.
Do you wish that you had done anything different during High School as far as missionary work goes?
I wish I was just more educated about missionary work. I didn't know ANYTHING in High School. I wish I had known how important it was to share the gospel back then, and I would have been talking to everyone about it. I just didn't know. Priests and Laurels, GO OUT WITH THE MISSIONARIES :) Make the time. This will help you SO MUCH to be better prepared to go on a mission.
How did Seminary help to prepare you for your mission? Or did it?
It helped. It was my fault for it not helping me more. I didn't understand the importance of it in high school, and was asleep half of the time. Stay awake in seminary! Study the scriptures that you learned about in seminary at home as well, so that you gain a deeper understanding!
What are the people like?
People are different in every area that I have served in. The trick to working with people is just loving them and serving them. If they are rude, just smile and tell them that God loves them. :)
What is your typical day like?
Typical day: I wake up, work out (I've gotten better at working out in the mornings, it's hard, but working out feels so good and I feel better during the day when I actually work out), shower, eat, start personal study at 8 am, companionship study at 9 am, out of the door by 10 am. We try to schedule appointments in the mornings because it's hard to find people in the morning; people are at work or at school. But, we have found that we can go street contacting in the morning if everything else falls through. Then we eat lunch at 12, I usually eat as fast as I can (for about 10 minutes) and then sleep for the rest of our lunch hour. Then in the afternoon we have more teaching appointments, or stop by members. Then we eat dinner at 4. Then from 5-7pm we have consecrated finding time. We knock on doors, go street contacting, etc. It is our time to find people to teach because it's when people are at home. Then from 7-9 we either have more teaching appointments or try to drop by members; if we didn't find a new investigator then we continue knocking on doors until we find one every day. We have 20 quality gospel conversations every day, which leads to us finding at least one new investigator a day. God is pouring out blessings upon the Canada Vancouver mission!
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| Sister Ding is going home in 8 days! I'M GOING TO MISS HER SO MUCH! (Now I have an excuse to go to China after my mission) |
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| My district! Plus our two Sister Training Leaders :) I love them so much! Sister Shelley is in my district again...in a zebra companionship! Sister Leung speaks Chinese and Sister Shelley speaks English. Ah, it just sounds so fun! She's in White Rock.
We were able to teach adorable little Abi this week. She is progressing so well! Her mom Angie sits in on the lessons, but just wants us to focus on teaching Abi. This week we were able to help Angie a little bit because she said her FIRST PRAYER! In her prayer, she even said that "I am excited for Abi to become a Mormon." It was the cutest thing that I have ever heard. :)
We were also able to go on an exchange with the Sister Training Leaders on Wednesday. I went with Sister Hobbs and Sister Petersen went with Sister VanTienderen. It was fun going out with them! We were able to teach John with Molly. John is doing bad. His depression is really weighing down on him. Please everyone, keep him in your prayers for me! The gospel is helping him, but its hard for him to feel the spirit with his depression. Molly is so strong to be able to help him all the time! She said that she couldn't be doing this without the gospel. The gospel can help everyone!
We also stopped by this ward member who has just recently started coming back to church. She is preparing to go to the temple soon! I can't wait, it's just too exciting! Making sacred covenants with God and keeping them is so important in the process of "enduring to the end" (part of the Doctrine of Christ). I am so grateful to help her become an enduring member of the church!
We also taught this 12 year old named Hiro. His mom is from Malaysia and his dad is from Japan. Only the mom is the member. The elders have been working with him for a long time, but have passed him off to us to teach. We are so excited! Sometimes, people just need sister missionaries to teach them :)
Then on friday, a HUGE miracle happened. We went to the church to go to a return appointment that the Chinese sisters set up for us with a new investigator. We show up 10 minutes early, and she is already there hanging out in the mission office, reading an ensign! hahaha. Then we went into another room to teach her and she's just so prepared. We taught her the entire restoration and invited her to be baptised (mind you, this is the first time we met her) and she said yes! April 26th :) She has decided to go to YSA though, so we passed her off to the YSA missionaries. I'm so grateful that I was able to teach her the first lesson and help her progress towards baptism!!!
On Saturday we were able to go to the General Woman's broadcast. It was such a wonderful, unique experience. Members brought some friends and a lot of recently baptised women were able to come as well. It was so wonderful to be able to unite as sisters! <3
I am so grateful for the Book of Mormon and the doctrine of Christ. This gospel is so true! I love it!
Sister Struempler
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