~February 27, 2012~

Hello Everyone!!!

 

This week has been chalk full of miracles! You will not believe it... I went to Colombia! Okay, just kidding but one of our investigators that lives in Colombia got baptized on Saturday. She has been waiting to get baptized because she wanted her fiance to baptize her but he lives here in Salt Lake and could not afford to go there. So, my companion and I were talking about a way that he could be there and then I thought well maybe they could Skype it and guess what THEY DID!!!

 

So, Vici is our investigator and her fiance is Carlos. So, Carlos and his family set up Skype in the Chapel in SLC and they invited us to come and watch Vici's baptism and so we did. It was a very neat experience and we are so excited for her and her new journey. In just one short year her and Carlos will be married for time and all eternity in the Temple (hopefully the SLC temple of course.)

 

Well the miracles didn't end there that day. After the baptism we met a wonderful mother and son and had a really spiritual conversation and then we went to call some of our investigators when we had a voicemail from Tamara. Now we haven't been able to get a hold of her for a few weeks and she was struggling with giving up coffee. But, we texted her everyday with a scripture and a little uplifting thought. Well all we could hear from the voicemail is "they are going to baptize me". We were so excited and so even though it was really late were she was we called and found out that she had gotten baptized THAT DAY!!!! Holy cow we had two investigators get baptized in the same day!!!!!

 

What an amazing feeling to know that they have made the first promise towards Eternal Life with our Father in Heaven. And all we did was share with them the things that we know. SO AMAZING! Well, those are the miracles that I wanted to share with you! Know that the Lord is watching out and even if it doesn't feel like it He is listening, He is talking to us, and He does answer our prayers. Oh and I can't forget that we also received a text from our investigator John who has finished his baptismal interview and will be baptized this Saturday! What a great week and I can't wait for what lies ahead. Keep doing the Lord's work it is the best work you could ever do.

 

Love Always,

 

Sister Armstrong

Us today at our Zone activity

Me and my companion Sister Jordan, getting ready to leave the phones and go to the Square

Last week having some Valentine's Day fun

 

~February 21, 2012~

Hello Everyone!!! This has been an amazing week! I have learned so much about the Gospel and about myself. I want to share with the miracle that I had with a man named Frank. So, we have been teaching this man named Eric and we had an appt. to teach him but he didn't answer. So, I tried calling him a few days later to see what happened and what not. Well, someone answered the phone and I asked if it was Eric and it wasn't. The man who answered was Frank and he found Eric's phone on the bus where he left it and has been trying to get it back to him (probably why he did answer when we called for our apt.).

Well, we talked for a minute and then I told Frank why it is that we are calling Eric. I asked if he had ever heard of our church and he hadn't. Then I asked him if he was religious and he said that he was trying to be. So, I told him what we do as missionaries and if he would like to learn more about Jesus Christ and God and he said this, "Well, that is what I have been looking to do and I think you just found me." That literally blew me away.

I knew at that moment that I was supposed to call and find Frank. Otherwise, how in the world would I have found him? I wouldn't. Well, this is just the beginning of the amazing week that I had. The people we find are just so prepared and ready to hear the great message we have for them. Oh and just so you know we have an apt. to teach Frank this week. Hope you all have a great day and an even better week. Know that God loves you and will always be there for you!

Love Always,

Sister Armstrong

~February 13, 2012~

Hello Everyone!

I hope that you are all doing well and that you have had a great week! So, I believe I told you about John and how he is getting baptized on March 3. Well, I want to tell you that I have heard some more great news from my old companion. So, since she speaks Spanish she took all of the Spanish people. But, I loved them all so much that it was hard to not teach them anymore. But, she has been keeping me updated on their progress. There is a couple that I would like to tell you about. Their names are Juana and Pablo, now mind you they are very old - like in their 70's.

Well, we met Juana and some of the other family on Temple Square and we ended up taking them around and sharing more with them about the church. Juana, who has never heard of a prophet or anything before, was so amazing. We walked into the South Visitor Center to show them the model of the Temple and before we could walk over there she sees the picture of Thomas S. Monson and goes right up to it and touches it. She asked us who he was and we told her that he is the Prophet and then she looked right at us and told us, "I know he is a prophet". It was so powerful and she had such an amazing time at Temple Square that eventually Pablo flew from CA to visit us as well and we were able to meet him during Christmas!

Then when they both went back to California we were able to start teaching them. We found out this week that they will both be baptized on Feb 19th. Even though they are older and have lived good, long lives they have finally found the truth together and will be able to be an eternal family. It really is a miracle especially since Juana told us that Pablo doesn't like church (he was the first on to tell us that he was going to get baptized). I love them like they are my own grandparents and am so happy for them. How amazing is it that Heavenly Father loves us all so much that we can all have this happiness in our lives whether we are 8 or 78.

Have a great week and remember that it is never too late to change.

-Love Always

Sister Armstrong

New Mission Companion from Germany :-)

Sister Armstrong and "Valentine's Treat" from Mission President's Wife and Senior Couple Missionaries :-)

~February 6, 2012~

Hello Everyone!!

This has been a wonderful week! I want to tell you all about a few men that we were able to teach over the phone! The first one is a man named John who we met during Christmas time on Temple Square and he referred himself. So, we called him and started teaching him. Then the missionaries in his area got in contact with him and so we haven't called him in a while. Well, we called him this week to see how he is doing and come to find out he is meeting with missionaries two- three times a week and will be baptized on March 3rd!!! He was so excited to tell us that he is getting baptized! I feel so blessed to be able to be apart of his journey to the truth. And he lives in Chicago, by the way.

The next man  is named Austin. Another Sister was teaching him but she finished her mission and so she asked that I call and teach him. Well, go figure, he is from Washington. So, I called him and asked if we could teach him some more and he said yes. We called him the next day and taught him about the Plan of Salvation and told him that he could be with his wife and new born baby girl (3 months old) forever. He was so amazed. He said that the church that he goes to doesn't teach him that. Also, I was able to teach him how to pray because he said that he wasn't sure. Well, then he told us that he prayed with his wife and that they felt so good when they prayed. He said that whenever they talk about this church they feel this very calm feeling. Of course we told him that this was the Holy Ghost and that the Holy Ghost is there to lead us to the truth. 

I am just so grateful to be a missionary and to be able to share with people how they can find the most happiness and the truth. Thank you for letting me share with you every week all the neat things that happen on Temple Square. Not that I am biased or anything but my mission is really the best mission in the world. Hope you all have a great week! Don't forget how much you are loved by your Father in Heaven. Sometimes it takes a while to see results of the things that we are doing but everything will work out all in the Lord's time.  

Love Always,

Sister Armstrong

~January 30, 2012~

Hello Everyone!!

How are you all doing this week? It has been another great week here on Temple Square! I absolutely love serving here and meeting so many wonderful people.

The miracle and person I want to share with you this week is Jennie. She is from Tennessee and she came to Temple Square for the first time. She travels with her job and so she has been here before but this time she said that she just felt she had to come here. We were talking to her for about 5 min. and we were showing her the model of the Temple and shared with her that in Temples we learn about God's Plan for us. We learn where we came from, why we are here and where we are going after this life. When we said that she said, "Yeah that is what I am looking for. I feel lost and I am looking for those answers."

I could not believe it and at that moment she said she wanted missionaries. We ended up spending about an hour with her and she just said the most amazing things. There were many times that she felt the Spirit and she was crying as well. At the end she told us that she was so happy and that she will make an effort to go to church. She also asked us where she could get a copy of the Book of Mormon.

I just felt so much love for her and could not believe how prepared she is. Well I love you all and wish you a great week! Remember to smile because Heavenly Father wants us to be happy and if He is looking down on you then you want to be smiling.

Love Always,

Sister Armstrong

Elizabeth also wrote us...

"Thank you so much for the Valentine's package!! I was so surprised to get it! I loved all the pictures and well just everything! We are going to have to decorate with the window stickies for Valentine's Day!

Thank you so much for finding the ASL books and mailing them to me! That means so much to me and I promise that I will study so that by summer I can pass off and take tours in ASL. There are other sisters that said that would like to borrow them as well since there are no study materials for ASL here on Temple Square.

This morning we had transfer conference and I am getting a new companion. Her name is Sister Jordan and she is from Germany. But, her mom is from Guatemala and her dad is from Germany so she is half and half. So, she knows three languages: Spanish, German, and English!

I am so excited to be her companion. She will also be the district leader of our district so we will have a crazy busy transfer. I am staying in the same zone so I will have the same schedule and I am also really lucky to stay in the same apartment. So, my trainer Sister Astorga-who I have been companions with for 3months- is now going to be my Zone leader! I am so excited to still serve with her. I am very excited for this new transfer! It will start on Wed.

Also, I am in the process of passing of so that I can drive. So, only the American sisters and sisters that have lived in the states before and have a driver's license can actually drive. So, if my new companion and I want to go to the store I need to pass off. I already took the written test and now I just need to take the driving test."

~January 23, 2012~

Hello Everyone!!!!

This has been an amazing week! We have had so many miracles that it was hard to decide which one to share so I chose a couple. The first one is about this man named Salvador (which means Savior in Spanish). We met him on the Square about a month and a half ago.

We took him through the God's Plan for His Family presentation (It is our favorite, so if you come to Temple Square you have to watch it). Afterwards he told us that he wanted to know how he can have this in his life and so he gave us his number and email. But, he was in the middle of moving so he didn't have his address. Well, we have been trying to call him for a month and nothing has happened. So, we emailed him as a last resort and he emailed us back this week!! It was a miracle! He told us that he lost his phone and gave us his new phone number.

We called and he shared with us an amazing story about how he randomly got in contact with the missionaries in his area and has been meeting with them and going to church for the last month! We were so excited and happy for him! Then he told us how he has never forgot the presentation that we showed him and he told us that he prays everyday that he can have an eternal family. What an amazing story.

Then the other one is about a girl named Krista. She wanted to receive a free thing about how to obtain a happier family and so of course I mailed it to her. But, I tried and stayed in contact with her to see if she has received it. It has been a month and a half almost two and she finally calls back to say that she has not received it and just like the first phone call she starts crying and telling me how much she really needs some help. So, I told her that the missionaries will personally bring it over and she accepted. So, I called her this week to find out that she has received it and the missionaries have been over every week and her family is going back to church and that they are so happy and doing so much better.

I want you to know that prayer works. When you are sincere and really have faith the Lord will answer your prayers. We have been praying for these two since we met them and even though it has been a few months our prayers have been answered.

If you have never prayed or haven't prayed in a while I invite you to get on your knees and really pour your heart out to your Father in Heaven and just feel and see the blessings that will come from even just on prayer. Then think about how great they will be if you do it everyday. I love you all! Thank you for all the support!!!

Love,

Sister Armstrong

~Sister Elizabeth Armstrong and The Keys Family!!!~

~January 9, 2012~

Hello Everyone!!! This week has gone by so fast! I can't believe it! I don't have much time so this one will be really short. But, I do have a great miracle to share. So, I can't remember if I have talked about our investigator Pedro but he is amazing. He is so prepared for the gospel in his life and he is ready for a change. So, we called him last night and shared with him about Joseph Smith and the Restoration and he was so touched by the spirit. We invited him to pray about it and know for himself if these things are true and he responded I know they are true.

So what had happened was that he went to church for the third time yesterday and he heard about Joseph Smith but we haven't taught him too much about him because he was going kind of slower with things; which is fine. But they talked about Joseph Smith in church and then right before we called him he was thinking about it again and then we taught him and he said because he was thinking about it and we taught him and we didn't know he was thinking that--that it must be true. How amazing is that?! I have never experienced so much love for someone I have never met but he has such an amazing spirit.

I know that to teach people we have to love them in the way that our Father in Heaven does otherwise they will not feel the spirit.  I know that Heavenly Father loves him and wants him to find truth and he is ready! So, good!!! I love you all and hope you are doing well! Please write because I would love to hear from you!!!!!!

-Love Always,

Sister Armstrong

~January 2, 2012~

Hello Everyone!!!!

I don't have much time this week but I wanted to write you all and let you know that I have been thinking of you and that the Lord's work is still going forward. In the word's of my Mission President "It's all true!"

The one miracle that I want to share with you is we met a girl here from Spain who had come to visit the missionaries that taught her 12 years ago, but she was never baptized. So, we took her to the Christus and she really felt the spirit. So much in fact that she could not stop crying. We read from the Book of Mormon with her and by the end we were all crying and she then pulled the referral card out of my companion's hand and said that she had to fill it out and remember the things she was taught so long ago.

So, we will be able to teach her in a few weeks when she goes back to Spain. She also wants us to call her mom and share this great message with her. That is just one of the amazing stories that have happened this week and this Christmas season. The lights are no longer on and the people are no longer coming in the thousands but this Gospel of Jesus Christ is still true and now we have many, many people to call! I love being a missionary and having the privilege to share this great message with, literally, the world! Thank you all for your support and I hope to hear from you all soon!

Love,

Sister Armstrong

~Sister Elizabeth Runs Into Previous Sister Missionary (at Temple Square) Tina Pogue!!!

~Pictures of Sister Armstrong~

~December 26, 2011~

Hello Everyone!!!!!!

Feliz Navidad!!!!!! (I am learning Spanish from my companion). I hope that you all had a wonderful Christmas filled with joy and peace. I feel so grateful to have this time to reflect on the Savior's birth and how each and every year since that day it continues to be the greatest gift we were ever given. There have been so many amazing miracles this week. So many wonderful people have been coming to Temple Square full of the spirit of giving.

Yesterday we met this wonderful Spanish family from El Salvador, now living in LA. They came and are not members of the Church but the Lord had truly prepared them. They came to the Christus with us and then we took them through our family presentation ( which is our favorite) and they just loved it. They felt the love of their Savior and wanted to feel that always. They want to meet with missionaries and have us call and teach them. I didn't think anything like this would happen on Christmas but I was definitely humbled.

What better day to find someone ready for the Gospel of Jesus Christ then on Christmas day. We also had the privilege to go caroling around Salt Lake last night. I can't think of anything better then serving the Lord and His children on Christmas day. We met some wonderful people. I hope that you all had a wonderful Christmas and that we will all continue to remember the birth, life, death, and Resurrection of our Savior throughout the rest of the year. I love you all and hope to hear from you soon.

Love,

Sister Armstrong