tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-9084296907571473742024-03-05T14:17:11.526-08:00Sister Preston in TennesseeValerie has chosen to serve Heavenly Father in the Knoxville Tennessee Mission for 18 months. Enjoy following her experiences with us as she shares the gospel with her brothers and sisters there.
She will begin her service May 2012-October 2013Sister Valerie Prestonhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/02275979566796532481noreply@blogger.comBlogger31125tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-908429690757147374.post-43348002728105625792013-11-18T17:03:00.002-08:002013-11-18T17:03:23.185-08:00Love ya'll more than words can express11/18/13<br />
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So this week's miracle story actually comes from the Philippians. The couple that we live with, the Hunts, had served a mission in the Philippians before serving here in Tennessee. They are always telling us stories and how much they love the people there. </div>
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One morning, Sister Hunt asked us to have a special prayer in our hearts for the Philippine people because they had just gone under a huge hurricane that was bigger than hurricane katrina. (I'm sure ya'll may have heard about the hurricane) Their hearts were aching for the people. They told us that only 20 of the 21 missions had been heard from. And their only source of contact was by phone, which were obviously out of service. We began praying.</div>
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Then on Tuesday, we had a mission zone conference. Before it began, President Irion got up to update us on the Philippians. Monday night, all of the missionaries from the 20 missions were safe. However the mission president from the 21st mission had contacted all of his missionaries except for one companionship. In this companionship, there was an elder who was scheduled to return home to Utah in just 4 days. President Irion became emotional as he talked about putting himself in that mission president's shoes, wondering where his two missionaries were. He set out and walked for 3 days to the city where the missionaries were assigned to serve. then President gratefully explained that as of this morning (the morning of our zone conference) the companionship was found and they were safe. </div>
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This story touched all of us as we really began to feel the spirit testifying to us that the Lord truly takes care of his missionaries. There was not one missionary lost in that hurricane. What a marvelous work we are a part of!</div>
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I am so grateful for this wonderful journey I have been on as I have served the Lord in his field of Tennessee. This week has been up and down as it randomly hits me that the mission is coming to a close. It's crazy because this is the life I've become accustomed to: dedicating all my time to the Lord. However, I know for a fact that the Lord is aware of our circumstances and our life. He knows where we need to be and when we need to be there. He needs me here for a few more days and then my call will be returning home to good ol' Rexburg. Returning to all of you, my family, as a newly refined representative of Christ, with a new determination to serve Him to the end. </div>
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I love all of you incrediously. (I hope I used that word correctly..)</div>
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I look forward to seeing ya'll soon! </div>
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Know that I love ya'll and know that I KNOW this Gospel is TRUE. It is the best news that we have been called to share and I am happy to do it. I will forever be grateful that Heavenly Father never gave up on me as I kept rejecting the idea of serving a mission as I was going throughout highschool and into college. He lovingly kept encouraging me until the time was right. This has been the best time of my life, for my life and for the life of others. I'm excited to share who i've become with ya'll. I love this Gospel and I love the Lord.</div>
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love always,</div>
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your daughter,</div>
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Sister Valerie Preston</div>
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Sister Valerie Prestonhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/02275979566796532481noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-908429690757147374.post-87444405103557719602013-11-18T17:01:00.001-08:002013-11-18T17:01:37.390-08:0011/11/13<br />
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This week has been really good. i can't really remember what happened...but it was good! ha. missionary brain at it's finest. i can't remember anything anymore ha. </div>
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alright, so we had the primary program on Sunday! It was very spiritual. Those little kids are so sweet and have the light of Christ radiating from them. They had a theme going on that I thought was powerful. If you've been on <a href="http://mormon.org/" style="color: #0068cf; cursor: pointer; font-weight: inherit;" target="_blank">mormon.org</a> (if you haven't yet, you should!) there are people all over the world talking about things they do and then their belief as a mormon. So at the end they'll say something such as, "I'm a mother, a writer, I love my family, and I'm a mormon." well, the kids in the primary program incorporated that into their program and they'd say something such as, "my name is Natalie, I'm a good story teller. But most important, i am a child of God." </div>
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Every time a child would get up and say something like that, the spirit hit the room. I loved it. </div>
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Also, Sister Truax had injured her back and wasn't able to come to church but brother truax still came by himself. It's great to see the depth of their conversion and how much it continues to grow. They'll still come no matter what because they know it's true and it has changed their life. Brother Truax is preparing to receive the priesthood. It's very exciting. </div>
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Austin and his family had a bit of a crisis this week and have been searching for a home. It is so sad to think of the way of life some people have to live; not knowing one day if you'll have a roof over your head the next night. It makes me realize how much I took the necessities of life for granted all of the time. I am so grateful to even have a home to live in. It truly is a blessing. But they found a home and so we'll be continuing to teach him this next week!</div>
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So here's an entertaining story for a look into our every day life. My companions and I were headed to a frozen yogurt shop. As we were walking through the parking lot, we were keeping our eye open for opportunities to talk with people. I spotted an older man taking his groceries to his car. We decided to take the opportunity and talk to him. </div>
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As we approached him, we happily asked him if we could help him. He looked at us with a somewhat shocked expression and then asked, "What are you, the Goodwill people?" (Goodwill is comparable to the D.I. and the people who work there are usually doing volunteer service because they have to or they can't find work elsewhere..) so it was pretty funny. We then introduced ourselves and he was still kind to us and accepted a card for our website. Ha, i just love being a missionary. It's so entertaining.</div>
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Well, the missionary life is still going great. I really just want to milk this week for what it's worth. I want to continue doing all that the Lord asks of me and to continue being anxiously engaged in this work. </div>
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Love ya'll so much!! </div>
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Love your missionary,</div>
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Sister Valerie Preston</div>
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also, this picture is of my last district here in the mission. It's crazy. love them all so much</div>
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Sister Valerie Prestonhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/02275979566796532481noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-908429690757147374.post-64825800316072744822013-11-18T16:59:00.001-08:002013-11-18T16:59:39.618-08:0011/04/13<br />
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This week has once again been full of blessings. The Lord has been keeping us so busy and I am so grateful or it.</div>
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Great news! Charles Truax was baptized! It was such a great day! it was wonderful to see the excitement on his wife's face. I'm not sure who was happier at that moment. They both were beaming. When brother Truax was confirmed on Sunday, the blessing was incredible. It talked about him going hand in hand to the temple with his wife! The great thing is, he has already been talking about it to his wife, so the Lord knows his heart :)</div>
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The day he was getting baptized, we were walking down the church hall and there is a picture of the Nashville temple there. I stopped him and pointed out the temple. We haven't been able to teach them much about it yet, but we told them the temple is where the family unit can be eternal. So I showed him the picture, telling him it was the temple. he said, "i was talking to my wife about that. Is there one here in this building?" So i briefly explained to him the sacredness of a temple and the difference between a church building and a temple. He nodded with a satisfied look. His spirit desires it.</div>
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So they are doing great!</div>
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Austin is also doing wonderfully. We actually moved up his baptismal date for this next Saturday. We felt that his testimony has been growing and that he is ready for baptism. We asked him if he would be ready to be baptized on the 9th of November and he just responded, "I'm ready when ya'll are!" He's been ready since day one really. It's exciting to see the excitement in his eyes. </div>
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Also, sister Benge, sister Weirich, and I were able to do a musical number for the closing song in sacrament meeting. we sang our own arrangement of "All Creatures of our God and King" and then a member reorganized a piano arrangement last minute to accompany for us. It was beautiful. I was glad that we were able to share the spirit with everyone through music. I was also glad that I was able to do that musical number with my companions. Especially for my last fast Sunday here. It was great. </div>
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Well family, i just love ya'll so much!! I will continue to give the Lord my all for the last few weeks i have here. </div>
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Love ya'll!</div>
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the little sister in the south</div>
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Sister Valerie Preston<br />
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Sister Valerie Prestonhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/02275979566796532481noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-908429690757147374.post-22457507662564207802013-11-18T16:54:00.002-08:002013-11-18T16:54:21.419-08:0010/28/13<br />
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Mayetta was baptized on saturday and she has just been on fire. She's really being a great support for her husband as he works towards baptism for this next saturday! We are so excited for him. We called him up on saturday and explained to him that if he wanted to get baptized this next Saturday, he had to throw out all his beer. He simply said, "That shouldn't be a problem."</div>
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Then when we were all at the baptism, he was just beaming as his wife entered the waters. One of our members was talking with him afterwards and said, "you know, this works best in twos." Brother truax was just smiling and agreeing with him and our member was getting all excited as brother truax agreed. Then brother truax told him, "Ya, I'm getting baptized next saturday." :D he was telling everyone that he was getting baptized. It was exciting. Also, there were so many members there to support Mayetta. They are going to be such a strong unit for this ward and for the church. They can work on going to the Temple together! SO excited. </div>
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Our other investigator, Austin, is still doing great. We found that when we use a lot of analogies and relations to football and cars as we teach him the Gospel, it clicks better. So that's been fun as we have been creative with our teaching style. I found that i know noting about football and he thought it was pretty hilarious. But the message still was put across and he understands :) </div>
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Wow. I'm glad that ya'll have an Indian Summer this time around. That's great! We got a cold spell here and everyone started getting sick all over knoxville. But the weather is still great and fall is still coming! it's very subtle and beautiful. </div>
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Are ya'll having any missionary opportunities in Rexburg? There is always missionary work to do, no matter how many Mormons live in one community haha. Even just visiting members who seem to be strong in the ward is a form of missionary work. It's so great. I am so glad that there are so many different aspects to the Lord's work because then it truly means that no one is exempt from it and that we all have something to give, no matter how small it may be. It's still important.</div>
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So I just love the Book of Mormon. As I was studying one day, I began laughing out loud during my personal studies; then my companions joined in. (It could have also been so funny because we were sooo tired) Either way, this passage was great. If you're looking for a laugh, go read Alma 27: 16-20. This is when Ammon meets up with alma after a long time of being away from each other. Ammon gets so excited...that he passes out. then the scriptures ask us, "Was this not exceeding joy?" ha yes it was!! So then i imagined my companions and I meeting up again in the future, and after talking with them, we decided that it would probably be sister benge that would pass out from excitement. They were all excited to see each other, but Ammon was the only one who lost his strength because of it. Pure joy right there. It was fun to read.</div>
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Well, I don't have much else to say, but I hope that everything goes well for ya'll this week!!!! </div>
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Remember, stay safe, happy, and healthy!!!!</div>
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love ya'll!</div>
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Love, Sister Valerie Preston</div>
Sister Valerie Prestonhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/02275979566796532481noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-908429690757147374.post-23560325868436524552013-10-27T16:14:00.000-07:002013-10-27T16:14:22.957-07:0010/22/13<br />
HEY!!<br />
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ALRIGHTY...so this week!</div>
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I want to say Thank you for praying for our investigators by name. Ever since General Conference, we have been asking members to do that and we have felt the difference and seen the difference as people have prayed for specifics. Our investigators are truly progressing and we 5 investigators at church! That doesn't usually happen very often. hopefully it will keep happening in the future. The elders in our ward also had investigators for a total of 8 between all of us. So THAT was great because every companionship had people there. </div>
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This weekend Mayetta is getting baptized! and another person, Jirah, is getting baptized. He has been taking the lessons from the Elders. So it will be a double baptism. We are so excited. Mayetta has been improving so nicely and I'm sure that her husband will follow shortly after; especially as he sees her get baptized. It was so great when we followed up after teaching her the word of wisdom. She likes to drink coffee. We had invited her to throw it away and she hesitated and then said she would. After we taught her of the blessings of this gospel we prayed with her. Right after the prayer, she hopped up and said, "I'll be right back." She walked into the kitchen, came back out with the coffee in her hand, put on her shoes, looked at us with a smile and said, "It's not worth it." Then she proceeded to walk outside. We quickly followed as she walked over to the garbage can and simply tossed it. With a big smile on my face, I hugged her and said, "Mayetta! You tossed it like it was trash!" She smiled and responded, "It is trash!" :D It was incredible to see the spirit work with her on that. On sunday, she also received a blessing to stay strong and prepare herself for the baptism. </div>
<div>
The work is hastening on!</div>
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<br /></div>
<div>
Also, last week we met a new investigator named Austin. I don't know if I told you about him. He's 14 and we met him through a less active. And he is pretty much a 2013 Joseph Smith. The first time we talked with him, he began asking us all the questions that Joseph Smith asked when he was searching for the truth. We came back and taught him the restoration. Afterwards, Austin thinks about it and then asks us, "Did I remind you of Joseph smith?" We told him yes and he smiled. then our less active piped in and said, "Ever since ya'll left the first time, we were both talking about baptism!" haha what? our less active continues to talk, "BAPTISm baptism baptism!" That was so unexpected coming from our less active. So then....we committed him for baptism. Now he's progressing and has come to mutual and he came to church and he loved it! He felt the spirit and couldn't stop smiling. It was so great! </div>
<div>
Once again, The work is hastening on! </div>
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<br /></div>
<div>
Last thing: We had a meeting with Elder Corbridge of the 70 yesterday. It was an all day meeting. Before the meeting began, Elder Corbridge took some time to interview a few missionaries of President's choosing. So he picked a few and he gave me the opportunity to be interviewed! It was an uplifting experience as we talked and he was able to teach me one on one. I was appreciative to be able to have that opportunity. </div>
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<br /></div>
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It's getting really chilly here now. fall is here! </div>
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Well family, I don't know what else to tell ya. This week has just been a great one! and I still just love my companions. I couldn't ask for any better. They are such hard workers and they truly have fun. We laugh a lot :)</div>
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I love ya'll so much! Thank you for all that you do. You mean the world to me. i love you!</div>
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<br /></div>
<div>
your little missionary</div>
<div>
Sister Valerie Preston</div>
Sister Valerie Prestonhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/02275979566796532481noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-908429690757147374.post-9599692547689559042013-10-27T16:10:00.000-07:002013-10-27T16:10:14.550-07:0010/14/13<br />
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hey hey hey!!!<br />
<div>
That's crazy that fall is ending over there. It's just beginning over here. The leaves are just barely turning cIolors. We're so excited for it to really look like autumn soon! I love fall.</div>
<div>
We are still teaching the boys from Haiti. ha yes, they have the jamaican/british accent. They are a lot of fun. THey are moving at a slower progression pace, but one of them came to mutual and seemed to really enjoy it. He had waffles for the first time and carved a pumpkin for the first time. It was fun!</div>
<div>
Mayetta and Charles are doing so good! They are seriously SO prepared. Mayetta is very excited for her baptism and Charles is praying about getting baptized with her. They both came to church yesterday and they really enjoyed it. After the sacrament was passed, I could hear her telling her husband how much she liked that. She also contributed a lot to the relief society lesson. My companions and I were teaching the lesson on missionary work and afterwards, she told her husband that she would like to do a mission one day. :) I feel so humbled to have the opportunity to be a part of this. They are definitely prepared and searching and starving for the truth. The spirit is teaching them so much. We are so excited for them!</div>
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On Saturday we had our sister's conference call. This is a call that all of the sisters throughout the mission get on to talk about changes in the mission since transfers and rules and trainings , stuff like that. Usually the departing sisters (those who are on their last transfer) give their testimonies on this call. We thought they weren't doing that anymore. However, near the end of the call, SIster Irion asked my MTC companions and I to give our testimonies. THat's when it hit me like a brick that this truly is my last transfer. It's really crazy.</div>
<div>
I was telling another missionary the other day that I am excited to see family and really have the opportunity to apply what I have learned out here in life back at home. However, it does scare me to go back to reality where I really have to grow up and go back to school and everything. But when a missionary returns home; that is when they are truly tested in my opinion. We spend 18-24 months our here in the refiner's fire, strengthening our testimonies as we bring others to the knowledge of this truth. Then we return home, with our new conversion and our new perspective on life. The test is this; did our "nature" change or just our "behavior" while we were on our missions?</div>
<div>
When we return home, do we go back to our old lives, or do we take on a new challenge and apply who we have become so our missions can continue to change us throughout our lives. so the Gospel can continue to change us throughout our lives. I feel that the gospel has planted itself deep within me. I know that the world will really hit us hard when we return home, but with our armor of god and who we've become, we return home as disciples of Christ. representing His name wherever we go. It will be a new adventure I'm sure.</div>
<div>
But for now, I will continue working my very best, through the last day that I am here. I love this Gospel and I will forever be grateful for this great opportunity that I have been given to serve. Thank YOU for supporting me. I have literally had times where I have felt the prayers that have been given on behalf of the missionaries everywhere. It's incredible.</div>
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I love ya'll soooo much. Keep the faith and I'll talk to you next week. Love you and stay safe, happy, and healthy.</div>
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love always,</div>
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Sister Preston </div>
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We had dinner at a member's home. It was Sadie's birthday (the little girl in the picture) She wanted the "princess missionaries" to come for her birthday. So we gladly came. Her birthday dinner consisted of grilled cheese, raspberries, and cheetos. love it, ha. Oh and don't forget the REALLY blue mermaid cake for dessert. Ha i love kids</div>
Sister Valerie Prestonhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/02275979566796532481noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-908429690757147374.post-76478557668063749152013-10-27T16:03:00.002-07:002013-10-27T16:03:57.192-07:0010/07/13<br />
Hey family!!!<br />
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Good to hear from you, as always :)</div>
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General Conference was soooo good! I always get so excited; like a child at christmas time. And then it goes by super fast, just like christmas. The Saturday session was amazing! I really like ...well...all of the talks ha. But they talked about missionary work, christ-like attributes, the plan of salvation, commandments, everything! so good. I really liked when Elder Bednar was speaking about blessings from tithing, but i feel that it also aplies to keeping any commandment when he said that "subtle blessings will naturally flow through the windows of heaven as we keep the commandments of God." I also loved when they referred to Christ as the Great Physician. I feel like that title is not mentioned as much and I feel like it is one of the great titles. We are all imperfect and need saving and healing from the great touch His hands.</div>
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Our investigator, Mayetta and her husband, Charles came to watch General Conference! It was a surprise that her husband agreed to come! We have been teaching Mayetta and she called us and said she didn't need a ride to church because her husband was going to come with her. YES! So they oth came and they really enjoyed it. Elder Oaks was laying down the law for chastity and we could hear Mayetta quietly agreeing with everything he said. Her husband really enjoyed when the prophet spoke about his wife. These two people are pre-mormon, :). They are going to get there. THey are so humble and willing to learn. It is so exciting! I pray that they will continue to have that fire and desire for this gospel.</div>
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We are still teaching the boys from Haiti. They were unable to come to general conference, but they said they would watch it online. We still need to follow up on that today. They seem to still be doing good though! </div>
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Transfers are here yet again. It goes by soo fast! My companionship is staying the same though. yay! So I'll be in knoxville still with sister weirich and sister benge. and with the hunts upstairs :) its so fun, I love it.</div>
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<br /></div>
<div>
Oh, also this past week we had MLC (mission leadership council). All of the zone leaders and sister trainer leaders attend that meeting to prepare for the next month. We are preparing to study chapter 6 of preach my gospel this month, which is centered on Christ-like attributes. I'm so excited. I love that chapter. </div>
<div>
One of the Elders, Elder Mills and I were assigned to give a training on diligence through planning in this meeting and then again at our zone conference. Everything we do in missionary work is centered on effective planning, but even going further than that, our lives need to be well planned. So we studied from the scriptures and preach my gospel and listened to some talks and Elder Mills pointed out something that was great. Preach My gospel shows us a formula for effective planning and we find it in the scriptures and it was in a talk we listened to. The reason i'm telling you this is because we applied this training to planning for investigators as well as planning for our personal lives. we need 4 things:</div>
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vision: What do we want to do or become and why?</div>
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goals: what are we going to do to achieve this vision? (a vision or goal not written will remain a wish)</div>
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planning: what are the specific details of things we need to do THIS week to come closer to the vision (specific dates, times, locations)</div>
<div>
accountability: this is the GO and DO. put the plans into your hands and feet and ACT. pray to the Lord for help</div>
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</div>
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The zone leaders helped in their training to transform this formula from our investigators and put it on the missionary. We, as children of God, need to find His vision for us. What is our full potential and what are we doing to get there? God LOVES us so much, it's hard to comprehend. And it really hit me; when we were putting so much time into our investigators over the length of our mission, that the Lord is putting in so much time and effort in US to help us in our conversion and development to become the sons and daughters that he knows we are meant and designed to be. </div>
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It's a wonderful work that we have all been called to be apart of. We all have unique styles and skills and talents that Heavenly Father needs, to reach out to those around us. It's the best thing we can be a part of for life!</div>
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love ya'll so much. Have a great week!!!</div>
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</div>
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love the sister in the south,</div>
<div>
<br /></div>
<div>
Sister Valerie Preston</div>
Sister Valerie Prestonhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/02275979566796532481noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-908429690757147374.post-76936396717005953972013-10-03T09:45:00.004-07:002013-10-03T09:45:51.347-07:009/30/13<br />
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hey family!!!</div>
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</div>
<div>
So
this week was great! and I'm sorry, I just realized that my emails
probably seem really up and down because last week no one came to
church...and this week people came to church....ha so anyway, it's part
of missionary work! We just keep our chins up, count our many blessings,
and keep working! </div>
<div>
</div>
<div>
I had the opportunity to attend the Relief Society
Broadcast this week. I loved that every topic was centered on covenants.
We really are a covenant making and keeping people. I loved when they
said "You go to the Temple to make covenants. You return home to keep
covenants."</div>
<div>
Also, it was really cool because the question I brought to
conference was of course answered. It works every time, no matter what
the question! </div>
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</div>
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we haven't been able to see bradley or elaine again, so hopefully soon!</div>
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</div>
<div>
The great thing that happened this week was that
two of our investigators from Haiti came to church and to a baptism! I
don't know if I have told ya'll about them yet. We found a family who
moved from Haiti a year ago. We are teaching two of the sons, Richy and
Stevenson. They are teenagers and are great!! We love them so much. They
definitely are from a warm country because we were teaching them in
their home, it was probably 80 degrees outside and they had the heater
going on inside. Needless to say, it was a very warm lesson!</div>
<div>
So we invited them to come to a baptism this week. When we
showed up at their house, Steve wanted to come but Richy said he had a
headach and steve was too shy to come by himself. We tried to get richy
to come and he said, "Let me make this clear, I am not coming, but he
wants to go." Well, steve built up the courage to come so he changed his
clothes and then when he was ready, Sister Benge called out to richy
and said, "Come on let's go!" in her super enthusiastic voice. love her.
So finally in response he smiles and quickly says, "Let me go wash my
face!" </div>
<div>
They both came to the baptism and they really enjoyed it. Richy
said that he felt good. So a member leaned over and said , "You should
come to church! It feels good there too."</div>
<div>
Richy was very glad that he came and stevenson enjoyed it too; he's just more shy.</div>
<div>
At the baptism, one of the young men in our ward attends school
with them, so he took initiative and went over to them and after
chatting with them just said, "I'll pick you up for church?" They said
they weren't sure and he smiled and said, "I'll pick you up."</div>
<div>
Sunday rolls around and we weren't sure if the boys were going
to come but we were praying soo hard for them. We were looking at the
doors and right before sacrament meeting began, we saw sterling come
around the corner and following right behind him were our boys! It was
so great! They came and they really enjoyed it.Poor Stevenson was
freezing in the building so a member gave him their babies blanket haha.
It was great. </div>
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</div>
<div>
The second thing that happened, was we were invited to
attend a memorial for Sister Casper at the mission home. They invited
the senior couples and a group of missionaries who really came to know
her. They skyped Elder Casper so he could be a part of it. It was so
great to hear him again. We all miss him dearly. </div>
<div>
President asked me to share some remarks about Sister Casper since
my companions and I lived with her. I was grateful for the opportunity
to talk about her and Elder Casper. It was a little hard to get through,
but I was grateful.</div>
<div>
Then Sister Benge and I performed a musical number. Sister Benge
has the most beautiful voice. I love it. So we did an arrangement of "Be
Still My Soul." I don't know if you remember, but I was beginning to
work on it before my mission. I finished it and played it for sacrament
meeting. Well, Sister Benge helped me to change it so it could be a
vocal piece as well. She helped make it sound so much better because
she's just awesome like that. Anyway, I'm excited to show it to you! If i
remember it...missionary brain gets to ya and i feel like my memory
went bonkers haha.</div>
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ANyway, I love ya'll so much! Have the best week ever!!!</div>
<div>
Love
you to idaho and back to tennessee...then back to idaho....then back to
tennessee....how many miles have i covered? Well I love ya TONS!!</div>
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</div>
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Love your little missionary,</div>
<div>
</div>
<div>
Sister Valerie Preston</div>
Sister Valerie Prestonhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/02275979566796532481noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-908429690757147374.post-12949739643914925332013-10-03T09:44:00.001-07:002013-10-03T09:44:14.588-07:009/23/13<br />
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Hey!</div>
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</div>
<div>
So this week was full of much excitement
as we found and committed 6 investigators to church. we did everything
we thought we could in order to help them attend the church service.
However, after all we an do, they still have their agency. No one came
to church. It was pretty sad. However, I had to keep a smile on my face
because our poor little golden sister was getting so discouraged about
it. I told her not to get discouraged! It would all be okay. </div>
<div>
Agency truly is a beautiful thing and I am so grateful to have it.
Our investigators do have the many opportunities to make their own
decisions, and they learn from them as well. We are required as
missionaries to do all that we can and then leave the rest in the Lord's
hands. So it's all good. :)</div>
<div>
</div>
<div>
We have a new couple living with us now: Elder and
Sister Hunt. They are wonderful! We already love them so much. They made
us breakfast Sunday morning, so we want to make them a meal sometime. I
love living with a senior couple and working in a trio companionship.
It truly is so fun! </div>
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</div>
<div>
I know a lot happened this week but I feel like it was a bit of a blur.</div>
<div>
</div>
<div>
we
went tracting one day and a lady named Elaine opened the door. She said
that I looked familiar for so reason. She was busy at the moment so we
decided we would try back another day. Well, another day came and we
decided to go back. We get excited when people say we look familiar. We
take it as a sign that we need to talk to them. :) </div>
<div>
So we go back and a young man, named Bradley opens the door. He
tells us that Elaine is his baby momma's mother. (welcome to
tennessee...where marriage is an option). We asked him if he would be
interested in listening to our message.We soon discovered that he had a
lot on his plate of things that were out of his control and they were
tearing at his heart. He hadn't talked to anyone about God since he was
young and his grandmother died. He turned his anger to God. However,
when we were talking with him, he said it felt good. He really wanted us
to come back and teach him more. He then told us that this was the
second time that latter day saints had knocked on his door in the middle
of a crisis. The first time was when he was young with his mother. He
said that Sister Weirich looked like one of the missionaries and that's
why he decided to talk to us because we looked familiar. God really does
place us in certain areas at certain times because certain people are
ready. It's incredible. So we will be going back to teach him and he has
two little beautiful girls. We're excited to teach another family :)</div>
<div>
</div>
<div>
Well I don't have much else to tell you right now. The
work is moving forward and we are being more assertive and working more
with the members of the ward! It's great!</div>
<div>
</div>
<div>
Everyone
this week (as in returned missionaries from the ward) were talking
about how difficult it was for them to adjust to normal life when they
got home. woot. Ha well I am committed to continue staying strong in the
Gospel! I know it's going to be different but I know that God will be
there with me. I'll be excited to see all of ya'll but the thought of
normal life; It's just crazy to think about, so I'm done thinking about
it haha</div>
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</div>
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I love ya'll so stinkin much!</div>
<div>
</div>
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Have a great week!!</div>
<div>
</div>
<div>
Love, Sister Valerie Preston</div>
Sister Valerie Prestonhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/02275979566796532481noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-908429690757147374.post-73366370108337642912013-09-22T18:31:00.001-07:002013-09-22T18:31:20.752-07:00<div dir="ltr">
9/16/13</div>
<div dir="ltr">
Hello family!!!!<div>
<br /></div>
<div>
So this week was full of highs and lows. I'll
probably start with the low. Our precious Sister Casper who worked in
the mission office with her husband and lived with us here in knoxville
passed away this week. It was a hard time for everyone. Elder Casper was
being so strong, it was incredible to watch him. His mission is now
over, so he left for Utah. We loved them so much. They truly became
family while they were here. </div>
<div>
I was trying to think of the tender mercies that could come from
this situation and the Lord helped me to see them. All of the Caspers
kids were able to come to tennessee and see her before she passed away.
So she was surrounded by her family before she left. She also had always
wanted to serve a mission with her husband, so they were able to do
that for a few months! And passing away while on the mission was in my
opinion, a great place, because the family had all the support of the
missionaries and the great spirit that comes with being set apart as a
missionary themselves. </div>
<div>
I also was able to feel the great power of the Atonement while I
was sitting in sacrament meeting on Sunday. Elder Casper and his
children were sitting behind us and the spirit was so strong during the
sacrament song. I was literally filled with love and peace. It was an
emotional time, but I could feel the love of the Savior and I could feel
of Sister Casper's love. </div>
<div>
Now she will be working on the other side in the great work of the Lord. </div>
<div>
<br /></div>
<div>
We'll
be getting new roommates upstairs in our home. The Hunts are a senior
couple serving in our mission and they will start working in the mission
office. We look forward to working with them. </div>
<div>
<br /></div>
<div>
Miracle of the week. We were praying to have 3
baptismal committments by the end of the week because that was our goal
for the week. It was Sunday and we still didn't have one. We had an
appointment that evening with a young man, named Edson. He is from Haiti
and is 19. We knocked on his door and his younger brother opened,
Stevenson. We went inside the home and their other brother, Ritchie also
joined us. These three boys came from Haiti a year ago with their
father. They have siblings still in Haiti. They joined the Baptist
church when they arrived. We began teaching them the restoration. They
kept raising their hands when they had a question and they would get
excited when we would ask them questions about what we taught. We asked
them how they felt during the lesson and they said they felt amazing. We
helped them recognize that as the spirit. We gave them the book of
mormon to read and testified that Christ's church had been restored on
the earth. They became anxious to know if that were true. It's like
their souls were starving for this. We invited them to be baptized and
they didn't fully accept because they want to pray about it first (good
choice to pray first!) and they are excited for us to come back. </div>
<div>
It was such a tender mercy to see the Lord helping us. We didn't
get actual committments but they are working towards it! The Lord gave
us 3 PEOPLE to work with towards baptism. He answered our prayers in a
different way; in His way, which is always the best way. </div>
<div>
<br /></div>
<div>
We are excited to keep on working!! it's so fun
being a missionary. I love you all and hope that you all have a
wonderful week!!!!!!</div>
<div>
<br /></div>
<div>
Love with all my heart,</div>
<div>
Sister Valerie Preston</div>
<div>
</div>
<div>
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Sometimes I feel like I don't send ya'll any pictures. Maybe i do. Either way, here ya go!<div>
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the first one is an action picture of our planning sessions haha....we love the floor</div>
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the second one is of all of us with elder Casper the night before he left for home</div>
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love you!!!!!</div>
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Sister Preston</div>
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<span><span style="color: #666666;"><br /></span></span>Sister Valerie Prestonhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/02275979566796532481noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-908429690757147374.post-41282420965461323082013-09-22T18:24:00.002-07:002013-09-22T18:25:35.641-07:00<div dir="ltr">
9/09/13<br />
Hey family!!!!
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This week was a little bit harder but it's expected
in missionary work. Satan was being a little punk and our top two
progressing investigators, Kandi and Faye both dropped us. :( BUT they
both still promised to read the book of Mormon. So there is still hope
:)</div>
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I was feeling a little discouraged at one point because I recognize
that I don't have much time left out here and I just want to be able to
do as much as I can with the time I have left. However, I also
recognize that Heavenly Father knows what is needed in this area at this
time, so He will help us. Maybe we need to focus our efforts in a
different area; maybe he needs us to grow and strengthen ourselves in a
different area to prepare us for something else. We have been feeling
that we really need to focus on the ward this transfer; to build up
their unity and to help ignite the fire for missionary work. We know it
will not be easy but we feel strongly that this is where the Lord needs
it to go right now. So we have plans and we are going to put them into
action!</div>
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One plan we had was a copy of what we're all doing as missionaries.
Beginning on September 11, the missionaries are all going to begin
reading the book of mormon, reading 2 1/2 chapters or 5 pages a day and
finish by Christmas day. So we would like to initiate that with the ward
to help build ward unity as they all work on the book of mormon. Plus
it builds your spiritual strength. Anyway, we have other ideas as well!</div>
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Happy story of the week deals with Michael. He came
to church this week and brought two of his friends!! Tyler seemed to
enjoy it but he has a lot of little nit-picky things he was pointing
out. Either way, he felt the spirit countless times and he recognized
that, so hopefully he won't forget that. Jeff truly enjoyed church. He
is 27 and hasn't come to church since he was 10. He just moved to
Tennessee a month ago and has been trying to find out what he needs to
do in life. As we were sitting in gospel principles, we were discussing
the Gift of the Holy Ghost. They described in the book that the Holy
ghost will most often be described as, "i just had a feeling.." Jeff
read that and in amazement said, "That's what I keep saying!" Wheels
started turning for him. At the end of class he asked me when church was
again. I told him the next sunday and he said, "What? That's so far
away!" So we gave him a copy of the Book of Mormon and set up a time to
meet with him and Michael later that day. Hearts are being prepared! I
really do feel that he came to tennessee for a reason. He said he came
out to tennessee on a whim. He had called his mother, scared of what o
do with his life and she said that if he was scared, he needed to go to
church, and then michael invited him to go, he came, and now he's
begining a journey of self-discovery and truth. We are excited for him. </div>
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My new companions are wonderful and I truly just
love them. We have a lot of fun together. They love to laugh and they
have a deep passion for this gospel, taking it to all of tennessee!!</div>
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I attached a pic of my comps. </div>
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I love ya'll so much!!!!</div>
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Sister Valerie Preston</div>
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<span style="color: #666666;"><br /></span>Sister Valerie Prestonhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/02275979566796532481noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-908429690757147374.post-83802779087218356252013-09-08T19:34:00.001-07:002013-09-08T19:34:48.025-07:009/02/13<br />
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Hey family!!<div>
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I'm glad to hear once again that everything is going well for all of you back at home. :) I'm glad that the blessing went well. YES I received the letter with all the pictures. It was like Christmas again ha. I loved it. Thank you!</div>
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This week was definitely crazy busy! I have two new companions. Sister Weirich (why-rick) is a sister trainer leader with me and then we are both training our golden, Sister Benge (benj). They both are amazing! They are so enthusiastic and we are already having so much fun and success together with the great help of the Lord. </div>
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So this week!</div>
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Michael was baptized!!! I have to just say that Michael has one of the strongest testimonies out of anyone I have taught thus far. After he was baptized, he bore a beautiful and strong testimony of his journey to this point. Then he was confirmed in sacrament meeting, which happened to be testimony meeting, so he was able to bear his testimony again. He jumped on that opportunity and bore another beautiful testimony. He told the congregation that they would have a hard time getting rid of him. :) </div>
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Our recent convert, Kenneth, blessed the sacrament on Sunday. THAT was incredible. Kennneth stumbles over his words all of the time and does the same thing as he reads. However, when he knelt down to say the sacrament prayer, it came out smoothly and perfectly. The spirit helped him so much. It was so great. A big smile crossed my face. Elder and sister casper told me that I looked like a proud mother at that point. Ha I felt like one!</div>
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Also, our investigator, Kandi, was at that sacrament meeting, so she was able to talk to Michael about his conversion and she was able to see him receive the gift of the Holy Ghost. She has been struggling to make this step in her life, but we feel that this sunday helped. </div>
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Okay, now back to the first day that my new companions were with me. We visited our investigator, Faye. She had come with me and Sister Malloy to a baptism the night before. So when my new companions and I visited her, we taught her, she felt peace that she hadn't felt in a long time, and we were able to commit her for baptism! What a great way for this golden to start out her mission! Committing for baptism and witnessing baptisms. There have been blessings poured out all around us. The field truly is white and it is being harvested.</div>
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Well, I love ya'll so much! You are truly the greatest people in the world! Have a wonderful week!! Have a great Labor Day! :)</div>
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Sister Valerie Preston</div>
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hey family!, here is the picture of Michael's baptism</div>
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Sister Valerie Prestonhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/02275979566796532481noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-908429690757147374.post-2712228371960053472013-09-08T19:31:00.003-07:002013-09-08T19:31:29.724-07:008/26/13<br />
Hey family!!!<br />
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What is happening in this world?? Fires and tornadoes and floods? Stay safe please :)</div>
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Transfers are this Wednesday. I am going to be staying in Knoxville as a Sister Trainer Leader AND a Trainer. whew! A tad overwhelming, but I know for a fact that the Lord is there by our side and wants us to learn and to grow. Besides, we have 28 missionaries coming in this transfer. So there has to be more threesomes. A lot of the zone leaders and the sister trainer leaders are going to be training. President told us that when he first came here, there were 98 missionaries. That was about the same number when I was here as well. And now we have 217! We have doubled our numbers. It truly is growing. </div>
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So this past week I got attacked by a dog. Okay, don't take it as seriously as it just sounded. ha. bad happened, it's just a funny story. so i was on exchanges in Sevierville and they stay with the relief society president and her family, which means they of course have a dog because everyone in Tennessee has a dog. Well, we walk in and the husband is holding the dog by the collar. We walk in and he says, "Are you ready?" say what?! ready for what! </div>
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He lets the dog go because he was supposed to come up and smell us and get to know us or something. Well, ya'll know how short I am. And this dog is no chiuaua. It's a big dog. So he runs over and decides I am an easy target, so he jumps up to get at my face. I turned away and all at once he starts barking and showing his teeth and tries going at me again. At this point I was a little bit scared for my life. Sister Holsclaw grabs him by his collar and pulls him away and the member takes him into a room where he was going to stay the rest of the evening. So Sister Holsclaw and I go upstairs and I hear the dog barking. I turn to her and ask, "So that dog doesn't come upstairs does it?" She just laughed at me. I thought it was a reasonable question...</div>
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But he doesn't go upstairs and I never have to see him again. :) Happy ending to that story if you ask me :) </div>
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as you can probably tell, I really am not the biggest fan of dogs anymore. Tennessee does that to ya.</div>
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Michael is getting baptized this Saturday!!! So hopefully everything will go well!!</div>
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So you kind of asked me about any experiences or about my mission for Dad's talk (which he should send to me by the way. i want to hear it :) </div>
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Well, I have actually been thinking about that throughout the mission. I occasionally look back at where I started and where I am at and where I am going. Growing up in the Gospel I was happy and enjoyed life in the iceburg of Idaho. I definitely went through trials and the Gospel of Jesus Christ was always there to help. However, it was when I came out here on this mission that I really began to see how great this Gospel truly is. God Gives us so many opportunities out here and I was able to truly apply what I knew to be true. the mission has been the hardest opportunity that God presented to me and for that I am grateful because I would definitely have to say that my greatest convert has been myself. I hope that doesn't sound selfish. But the only person I have been with my entire mission is myself. We teach people and we get transferred, hoping that we helped them gain a strong enough testimony or planted a seed that will help them to continue throughout their own personal journeys. Sometimes we get to see them actually take the step into baptism. But we are constantly with ourselves, being able to see ourselves improve in the Gospel. I can now say that I know with all of my being that this Gospel is true, that Heavenly Father loves us enough to give us everything we need to return back to Him. I have given this mission everything I have, I have turned myself over to the Lord and have spent 18 months in the refiners fire. I know that this is true. "For I am not ashamed of the Gospel of Jesus Christ: for it is the power of God unto salvation to every one that believeth." Roman 1:16</div>
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Thank you for asking me that, it was nice to be able to reflect on my mission. That was only a spec of what I have learned out here. There's plenty more to come ha. You don't have to use that in the talk but it's there for the families enjoyment and upliftment and for the ward if you want to use it. </div>
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Well family, stay SAFE, happy, and healthy. I love ya'll so much!</div>
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Love your daughter, sister, and friend,</div>
Sister Valerie Prestonhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/02275979566796532481noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-908429690757147374.post-38967993186354409302013-09-08T19:30:00.002-07:002013-09-08T19:30:23.803-07:008/19/13<br />
Family,<br />
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Thank you for those emails! I wish you could have all been here when I opened up my email here at the library haha. I opened up my email and saw a picture of shaun and rachelle (rachelle sent it to me) holding teighan and the new arrival!! I let out a BIG gasp and Sister Malloy thought it was pretty funny. CONGRATULATIONS!!! Little Audrey Scarlett, what a cutie!!!! I am so excited to meet her and Teighan.</div>
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It's also good to hear that things are continuously going well for all of you at home. It's still burning up over there? We have had an unusual summer here. Usually it's 90-100 every day. But this summer we have had a ton of rain. I am definitely not complaining. I love it :) </div>
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SO:</div>
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This week we had 3 investigators at church again! Michael and Kandi both came again. Faye didn't come this time :( But a new investigator, Mary, came! It's so exciting that people are coming to church!! They are taking those steps of faith.</div>
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Also, one of our elders gave michael one of his white shirts and ties so that he could be dressed up for church. He was so excited to wear it. So he came with his white shirt and tie and said that he felt sharp. And our recent convert, kenneth came with a white shirt and tie to church as well! One of the members took him shopping for one. Now they look unified with the men in the ward. It's so great. They were both just beaming with big smiles in their new shirts.</div>
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The story for this week comes from Michael. It's probably more of a personal story for Michael, but I feel I can share it with the family. He called us up in the morning while we were studying for him and our other investigators. He had been searching on random sites on the internet (red flag) and brought up a question that we knew we would have to address at some point: blacks and the priesthood. </div>
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All at once, our nerves were getting the better of us because we don't know what he read online about it. Sister Malloy asked him to do us a favor and study <a href="http://lds.org/" target="_blank"><span style="color: #0072c6;">lds.org</span></a>, not google. So our studie began to change as we turned to his concern. We discussed that we could only share what we know, so we spent a lot of time in prayer. I was praying so hard the whole time we were driving over there. </div>
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As we sat down, he brought up his past about how he had been in love with a mormon and the only thing that kept them from being together was this concern with blacks and the priesthood. It was a long and hard fight and he ended up with a deeply broken heart. He had forgotten about how much it hurt him, until recently his mind brought it up again, which led him to search it online. He understands that Satan is trying to do everything possible to keep him from being baptized, but he expressed to us that this concern is going to make it or break it for him. This concern could keep him from baptism. </div>
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Now I have to tell you, I don't remember what we said during the lesson. The only thing I remember was the spirit. I could feel it SO strongly within me. We only spoke when the spirit told us and only said what the spirit told us to say. At one point the spirit directed me to talk about God's will for him and I related a very personal experience to him that I don't just share with everyone, but the spirit kept encouraging me to do so. I opened up to him and his heart softened. I seriously don't remember half the things that were said during that lesson, but by the end of it, he realized that he needed to find it in his heart to forgive the past and he needed to pray to see God's will, not his own. I remember asking him, if his heart could be completely healed, would it be worth it?" He expressed, "Yes." We then talked about the atonement with him and that it was only Christ who could heal him. </div>
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Sunday, comes around and he walks in with thumbs up and says, "It's all good." He told Sister Malloy what happened while I was playing the piano for sacrament meeting. She later relayed the story to me. He had spent most of the evening praying to Heavenly Father for forgiveness in his heart. He then told her that as he was crying to the Lord, his hard feelings towards the church and his past just lifted and went away all at once. He had experienced part of the atonement in his life as he prayed for help. Just imagine what the atonement will do for him, when he has full access to it when he has been baptized. He is looking forward to his baptism. I can see the Lord is helping in miraculous ways to strengthen michael as he prepares for baptism, for which we are all grateful.</div>
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Alright family, the rest of our investigators are doing well! This month has just flown by! I can't believe that transfers are coming up next week already. I'll let you know what happens. </div>
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I don't have any other stories coming to mind right now. But Iove ya'll and wish you the best week! God bless each of you.</div>
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Love, Sister Valerie Preston</div>
Sister Valerie Prestonhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/02275979566796532481noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-908429690757147374.post-37844167111580441432013-09-08T19:28:00.002-07:002013-09-08T19:28:34.806-07:00<br />
8/12/13<br />
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How are the preston's doing?????<div>
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so I just love all of you! hope all is going well! Has KC had her baby yet? :D </div>
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So here is a happy statement: Michael came to church!</div>
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Here is another happy statement: Kandi came to church!</div>
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oh and another happy statement: Faye came to church!</div>
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3 investigators came to church! That's happy!! So I haven't had that many investigators come to church since my first area. It is so hard to get people to come to church! We had 4 people commit to come and then 3 showed up. It was incredible.</div>
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Michael called to get his own ride, which was awesome because he's taking initiative for himself. Kandi had a member pick her up. But was was really inspiring to me was Faye.</div>
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Faye lives by herself. She's divorced and her children, in her eyes, seem to not really care. So she's alone. We've been meeting with her and I just adore her. She's always so happy to see us. We've invited her to church before, but this time we applied a new way to invite her that we learned from a training given by Elder Kopischke (I'll talk about him later). So we invited her to come to church to receive revelation; to come with a question and to get an answer. We are always teaching people that we go to church to partake of the sacrament; but at this point in their lives, the sacrament won't mean much to them because they haven't been baptized. So when we are telling them that's why we go they are thinking, "Well cool, but what's it going to do for me?" So we invited them to come to receive revelation; that ALL can receive personal revelation when they come to church.</div>
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Faye decided to come and she even had us help pick out her outfit. </div>
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As we were waiting for our investigators to come, Michael came walking in, and then Kandi followed shortly there after. i was looking out the doors waiting, when around the corner comes Faye, walking with a big smile on her face. She was walking alone, but I felt angels walking with her. She LOOKED like an angel walking up the sidewalk with her church bag in hand and her countenanve shining. I was overjoyed. These people were coming to church to receive personal revelation from their Heavenly Father. It was incredible.</div>
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To top it off, President and Sister Irion were the speakers for this Sunday so it was AWESOME. </div>
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The other great thing that happened this week was we had the opportunity to meet with Elder Kopischke from the Seventy for 3 1/2 hours. It was SO GOOD! It was probably one of the best meetings I have been to my whole mission. He came with Elder Hymas (the area of the seventy I think) who asked him, What are we going to speak on? To which Elder Kopischke responded, we'll just go by the Spirit. And let me tell ya, it was the most spiritual meeting ever. I could feel the spirit FILLING my soul. He asked us to come with questions in our hearts and if we felt to, we could ask them. So he truly was going off the spirit and what we needed to hear. It was a discussion, more than a talk. At the end of it all he told us, "you have all been corrected by the spirit today, and yet you are still smiling and laughing." That statement was so true. The spirit had taught us all of the many things we are doing wrong and where we need to improve, but for some reason it wasn't overwhelming and we weren't discouraged. BECAUSE THE SPIRIT WAS THERE doing the correcting. It wasn't Satan saying, wow look at all the faults you have. It was the spirit telling us where we need to improve. and that's the difference. We felt like we could leave that meeting with a deeper desire and committment to work harder and do better the rest of our mission. </div>
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I love the spirit!</div>
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And I love all of you!</div>
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I hope everything continues to go well for all of you.have a great week! </div>
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Sister Preston</div>
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Sister Valerie Prestonhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/02275979566796532481noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-908429690757147374.post-55466865174715679052013-09-08T19:26:00.003-07:002013-09-08T19:26:42.134-07:008/05/13<br />
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Hi Family!<br />
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A new transfer has started and Sister malloy and I get to stay here in Knoxville! We're pretty excited. The work is going really well. We were actually gone a few days this past week due to meetings and splits that we were on, but the Lord still helped us to teach in our area during the times that we were here. </div>
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Michael is super sick, so he wasn't able to come to church and he didn't get baptized. We invited him to pray over the month of August to set a new date with the Lord. He really liked that idea and said it felt right to do it that way. So hopefully we will be hearing his new date soon!</div>
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Kenneth is doing great! He was sustained on Sunday as one worthy to receive the Aaronic Priesthood. He either received it after church or he will be receiving it next Sunday. We are excited for him to keep progressing! The ward or at least a few of the men are planning a Temple trip and invited him to go. THAT is awesome. I hope he can go! The Temple is wonderful!! I definitely miss going there. </div>
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Which by the way, I was so happy to hear about your temple experiences this past week! I am so glad that you all were able to have your own experiences there. The temple is the goal! There is so much to learn there and i feel it is the closest we can get to Heaven while we are here on earth. Our investigator, Michael really wants to go there so bad. He's been letting one little cigarette keep him from baptism; but when we gave him a picture of the Nashville Temple, tears came to his eyes and he told us of his re-dedication to stop smoking so he can make it there one day. </div>
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Kandi is also doing really well. She came to church on Sunday which was a big step for her. She has her "church family" that has been difficult for her to break away from. But she came and she enjoyed it. Kandi has really surprised us. We taught her the Word of Wisdom and she had boxes of cigarettes on her right and a jug of sweet tea on her left (EVERYONE loves sweet tea down here). Anyway, we taught her the Word of Wisdom and asked her if she would be willing to start living it and she responded, "Girl, I need to! it's for my benefit!" We asked her if there would be one thing she would like to work on at a time and she just told us that she would just cold turkey quit everything. We came back the next day and she was serious! She wasn't drinking tea and hadn't smoked. It was incredible. Then when she came to church, she was asking about where she would be baptized. Kandi has been just soaking everything in that we have taught her, and now she is taking action and really showing her desire. I remember when we first taught her and she wouldn't pray. Now she prays at every lesson. It's been so great. She's committed for baptism and working towards it!</div>
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This next week is going to be full! Sister Malloy and I are still Sister Trainer Leaders, so we still go on exchanges and power-ups with the sisters in our zone. This transfer we have two more companionships added to our zone, so we have more to do this transfer. It makes for a very full and busy transfer, but we love it. We have 7 companionships that we work with and 6 weeks to get it done, so it makes for very full schedules! </div>
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Also, we get the opportunity to meet with Elder Kopischke of the seventies this Friday. he spoke in this most recent General Conference. We're excited for that! </div>
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Well Family I love you!!!</div>
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Have a great week! Stay safe, happy, and healthy!</div>
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Tenga un buena dia!</div>
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Love, Sister Preston!</div>
Sister Valerie Prestonhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/02275979566796532481noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-908429690757147374.post-17162252427918225022013-09-08T19:25:00.001-07:002013-09-08T19:25:09.337-07:007/29/13<br />
Hey Family!<br />
<br />
<div>
So this week was probably one of the harder weeks, but we were still able to see the Lord's hand throughout each day. We had a lot of dropped appointments and spent A LOT of time tracting. Some days were really difficult tracting days, but we also had a really successful tracting day and it was really fun. I feel that a lot of it depends on attitude and a huge part depends on prayer. When we include the Lord in prayer throughout the day, He is going to help us in one way or another. </div>
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Michael has been super sick all week and had to cancel all of our appointments. It was such a bummer. I learned something really significant though, through it all. I kept praying that Michael would start feeling better so we could meet with him. Then one day he called us to cancel again and we had been committing him to stop smoking for 24 hours, then we would commit him for another 24 hours each day, so he was taking it a day at a time. He told us that he was too sick to smoke. That night, as I was praying, it hit me that I couldn't ask heavenly Father to help Michael get better. I was kind of asking or telling Heavenly Father what to do by asking him to help Michael get better so he could come to church. Something kept telling me to pray differently. I was seeing God's will before me. I started to wonder, "What if God is helping Michael to start the process of quitting smoking with this sickness? And I'm trying to tell Him to help Michael get better." I started changing my prayers to ask that God's will be done and that if it is in His will for Michael to be well enough for church, then that would be great; but if there was something else in His plan, that we would be okay with it. </div>
<div>
Michael was unable to attend church, but something incredible happened. We have been teaching him about the priesthood and on Sunday he asked for a blessing. We went over there after church with two priesthood holders and they taught him the importance of his faith in this blessing, that it would be upon his faith. He completely understood. The power of the spirit was definite in that room as he received this blessing and his emotions overcame him as he received it. he literally felt the power of God working within him. </div>
<div>
I know that this was supposed to happen. This was part of God's plan for Michael. He needed to have this experience in his life as he is preparing himself for these changes. He hasn't smoked in 3 days and he's taking it a day at a time. He knows the power of God is real and he is so excited to keep progressing towards his baptism and then towards receiving the priesthood. </div>
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We're also working with a lady named Kandi. We have been teaching her for about a month now and she also has a baptismal date. She has been a lot of fun to work with. We teach her on her porch. We have a lot of porch lessons here. We teach Kandi, Michael, Ron, and sometimes Kenneth (when there's not a lady in the house) on their porches. it's a lot of fun. Except when the mosquitoes come out. They are ridiculous here. ha Bug spray has become our new perfume here.</div>
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The work is going great! michael is planning on being baptized on Saturday. We're excited for him!</div>
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I hope everything continues to go well for each one of you at home. Continue to build your relationship with Heavenly Father and with jesus Christ by studying about Christ's life, praying to our Heavenly Father, and sharing what you learn with others in the family or friends. We really can have Gospel lead discussions whenever we want!! i love it.</div>
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and I love all of you!!</div>
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Take care and may God bless you,</div>
<div>
<br /></div>
<div>
Sister Valerie Preston</div>
Sister Valerie Prestonhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/02275979566796532481noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-908429690757147374.post-71369006557129139672013-09-08T19:22:00.001-07:002013-09-08T19:22:14.068-07:007/22/13<br />
Hey Family!<br />
<div>
Well, Wilma kind of dropped us. She called us and told us that we don't need to come over because she's not going to join the church. However she still wants to read the Book of Mormon, so we'll check up on that :)</div>
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So are you ready for the baptism story?</div>
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<div>
So Kenneth was baptized on Saturday! Which happened to be Sister Malloy's birthday. It was quite an experience. We were feeling like everything was going to go smoothly for once, but of course baptisms can't go by without giving the missionaries a high anxiety level.</div>
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<div>
Sister Malloy and I show up to the church where our mission leader is already there with our investigator Michael. We look over the baptismal program and it says, "Baptism for Michael Ray Moore." Our investigator is Kenneth Ray Moore. our mission leader got confused because he was picking up our investigator Michael for the baptism and it probably confused him when he was creating the program. So, Sister Malloy and I were searching for the white-out but there wasn't any, so we decided to keep it old school and write his name over and over again on a piece of paper and tape it onto all of the programs. super professional right? When Bishop came he had a big grin on his face when he looked at the program and told us, "This is a classic knox 1st program." Welcome to tennessee I guess! ha</div>
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As we are cutting out and people are starting to arrive, we are missing someone, the baptismal candidate. It's 6:15 and he's not here and it starts at 6:30. So Sister Malloy called him and he didn't answer. We gave it a few minutes and called again. Finally his brother answers the phone and tell us that Kenneth is asleep. Our investigator almost slept through his own baptism! He woke up and then proceeded to tell us that his car was broken down. ..... so he decided to take a nap?? (I find this super funny, but it was pretty stressful while it was happening. However we still managed to laugh during this whole thing as well)</div>
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<div>
Our mission leader was kind enough to go get him. Our investigator, Michael, made buddies with our mission leader so he tagged along. When they arrived with Kenneth, we had him change and then the program started. The rest of the program went pretty smoothly except right before the actual baptism, Elder Davis taps on my shoulder and asks, "Who are the witnesses?" Wide eyed I respond, "You are?" Thankfully, he and his companion jumped right up to be witnesses. Wow. What are we always telling people? no one's perfect? Ya. I was a bit embarassed that we forgot such an important detail, but anyway it went really great. We had a young woman in the ward give a talk on baptism and it was good for her to do that because she is deciding if she wants to serve a mission, so it was a good prep experience for her. </div>
<div>
We also had a girl who has just recently come back to the church give a talk on the holy ghost, she prepared all week for it and did a great job. We also picked three people from the ward to share their testimonies of baptism and the gospel while Kenneth was getting changed. We had a convert share her testimony, a man who had been a member his whole life, and a man whose mother was a convert, which helped him to be in the church. So it was taken from different perspectives. This was good for the investigators who were there viewing the baptism. We feel that the program went really well. The spirit was strong as it bore witness of the ordinance being performed. Kenneth's brother attended the baptism, so we really hope it will make an impact on him. </div>
<div>
Michael loved it. And he really loved when kennth received the Holy Ghost on Sunday. He kept saying that he can't wait until his turn. Michale writes music and he said he had an inspiration come to him for the title of a song or the first line or something, "2-0-1-3-(2013), a Mormon Man I will be!":D We are so excited for him to enter baptism as well.</div>
<div>
Kenneth could really feel the spirit come over him as he received the Holy Ghost. It's something he will remember forever.</div>
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<div>
Everything else has been going really well here. We taught Gospel Principles spur of the moment, so that was fun. Usually I get super nervous when put on the spot like that. but the Lord was truly with us, so it was great. Oh and for Sister Malloy's birthday, I made a creation, ha. So I've made oreo brownies before back at home, but this time i decided to get creative. So i bought peanut butter oreo brownies to stick in the brownies and then for frosting, I used Nutella. It was pretty delicious if I do say so myself. ha. Then Michael's birthday was on Sunday. He turned 60 but you would NEVER believe it. no one really does, ha. He look like he's 40, no joke. anyway, we gave him a brownie as well. He's progressing so well. Once he stops smoking and drinking coffee, he's ready to go! He's going to pray over a baptismal date and then work towards it. he truly wants to be in this gospel. I've never taught someone with such a STRONG testimony of this Gospel in such a short amount of time. He told the class at church that he was lost until we knocked on his door. and now his life as changed. It's a miracle.</div>
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Well family, That's about all for today. I could obviously go on about all of the people we are teaching but then you would be reading this forever. I love you!! annnd I LOVE YOU! annnnd I love you! :)</div>
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<br /></div>
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Love, Sister Valerie Preston</div>
Sister Valerie Prestonhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/02275979566796532481noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-908429690757147374.post-23937038884434588202013-07-15T13:34:00.000-07:002013-07-15T13:34:09.198-07:00Picture Time!<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
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I decided to send ya'll some visuals of how fantastic this mission is :)<br />
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pic #1: The Caspers! They are the mission office couple we are living with and we LOVE them.</div>
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pic #2: This is the type of things we see every day. haha love it </div>
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pic
#3: does this look familiar? The sunsphere in knoxville. I didn't think
i would actually serve in knoxville, but here it is!! </div>
</div>
<span style="color: #666666;"><br /></span>Sister Valerie Prestonhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/02275979566796532481noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-908429690757147374.post-32307123374382887422013-07-15T13:18:00.002-07:002013-07-15T13:18:55.173-07:00Valeries Great Week!7/15/13<br />
<br />
Hey family!!!<br />
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<div>
What a week!! Sunday was pretty much the best day ever and I'll tell you why later on in this email :)</div>
<div>
<br /></div>
I'm
glad to hear that things are still going well at home! It sounds like
it's definitely getting really hot over there. Drink lots o' water!. I'm
grateful that it has been raining so much because last summer here was
pretty unbearable; so the rain is definitely helping. Sometimes after it
rains though, the humidity is so thick, it makes it a little more
difficult to breath. But thankfully our bodies can adapt to the
circumstances we are in when we live in that kind of environment for
over a year.<br />
<br />
<div>
Anyway, you had asked about Kenneth and Wilma. We
still haven't seen Wilma in a while. hopefully this week. Kenneth is
doing great! he finally quit smoking! We told him he needed to quit by
saturday if he wanted to be baptized on the 20th. So Saturday morning
rolls around, and he throws out all his cigarettes and gives all his
lighters to his brothers. He's still going strong and is planning on
being baptized on Saturday.</div>
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<div>
This brings me to why Sunday was so awesome! So two
of our investigators attended church; which is rare. it's hard enough
getting one to come, let a lone two. Kenneth came. He had called us to
tell us he wasn't coming, but i called him right back and asked him why.
he said that he needed to get some yard work done. (okay, that was the
lamest excuse he's ever given us, ha). So i just asked him if he could
do that after church. He said he could wait, and showed up right as the
services were starting. I was so proud of our ward because they were
really in a fellowshipping mood and they were all talking with our
investigators. It was great! </div>
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Our second investigator to come to church was
Michael. He is amazing. he literally is a miracle investigator. Sister
Malloy feel so humbled every time we teach him because we are so
grateful that Heavenly Father is allowing us the great opportunity to be
a part of it. Michael is one of those investigators that you hear about
from mission stories and think, "That would be so cool to be a part of
that, but it's pretty rare." So the fact that Michael is this way and
Heavenly Father is letting me and Sister Malloy stay another transfer to
keep teaching him is incredible. </div>
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I don't know how much I ever told you about Michael, but I'm going to give you the story here.</div>
<div>
We
found Michael (59) as we were tracting a short street that i had felt
lead to. When Michael answered the door, it was evident that he didn't
own much, because he had tattered clothes on; yet his appearance was
humble. We asked him if we could pray with him and he agreed. Afterward,
we started talking to him about the Book of Mormon. Excitement came
into his eyes as he began o express how he once had a book of mormon. We
read the introduction to invite him to read and pray to know of the
truthfulness of the book of mormon. He instantly clapped his hands
together and proclaimed, "Yay! It's true. I know it's true." </div>
<div>
Of course this excited us as well and we set up another time to
visit him. We came to know his background and all of the rough things
that he has been through. He is a musician (he can play 7 instruments)
and he was doing so well when he lived in London. However, family
circumstances brought him back to the states and he came to Tennessee.
Things went incredibly downhill, leaving him with nothing.</div>
<div>
As we began teaching Michael, everything was falling into place. he
truly understood what we were teaching and it was evident that the
spirit was teaching him things that we were not saying. He remembered
learning about the Book of Mormon from a friend and he had seriously
dated a mormon girl in his past. As we came back for return
appointments, he not only read from the book of mormon, but he had
actually studied it. he used the study questions in the back of the
pamphlets we left with him and he studied topics from visiting <a href="http://mormon.org/" target="_blank">mormon.org</a>. His heart was prepared as he studied, so the spirit was able to teach him even more. </div>
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</div>
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We had given Michael the chapter of Alma 32 to read on faith when
he was especially struggling with his personal trials. There is one
verse in there talking about baptism and THAT was the verse that stuck
out to him when we came back to teach. This prompted him to ask us, "So,
can I like set up an appointment? To be baptized?" </div>
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</div>
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With smiles from ear to ear, we set a date in which michael could
be baptized. We warned him that opposition would come because of how
strongly Heavenly Father wants this for him, the devil would work
against him. And it happened. The first sunday he wanted to come to
church. He asked us if there was a church close by and if he was allowed
to come (of course!) However, he became very ill so he was unable to
attend. The next Sunday, there was a storm and he cancelled because his
neighborhood had flooded. Sister Malloy and i drove over after the
services and indeed, his neighborhood had flooded! There was a crew and
everything, cleaning it up. We knew at this point that Michael was
special. He expressed how badly he wanted to come to church and could
see how hard Satan was working on him in order for him not to attend.<br />
</div>
<div>
However he expressed to us that, "Nothing! Nothing can stop
righteousness!" So he told us for the next Sunday, "I'm coming to church
and nothing is stopping me!....unless I'm on fire; i'm coming to
church!" </div>
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</div>
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Sunday, July 14 rolls around and we anxiously wait for him to show.
We knew he literally didn't have much, so we told him to come in the
best that he had. Walking up the sidewalk with the member who picked him
up, came a man in his best; black jeans and a tye-dye shirt. Sister
Malloy and I could not stop smiling as pure joy entered into our hearts.
As soon as Michael entered into the doors, he took the initiative to
introduce himself to everyone, literally! :)</div>
<div>
We took him to Gospel principles after sacrament meeting and the
lesson was a detailed discussion on the priesthood. I was a bit nervous
that it would go over his head as they talked about the offices of
deacon, teacher, priest, etc. However, during the lesson he just kept
saying how interesting it was. The teacher was telling the male
investigators that they could work toward being a priest in the
priesthood when they were baptized and Michael became very excited. He
expressed afterwards his feelings on the class. he told me, "This all
makes sense. This is all about progression. My whole life I've just been
stuck, wondering what I'm going to do; not going anywhere. This gospel
allows you to progress and become something." I knew the spirit had
taught him an important doctrine that had not been said in the class
that day. </div>
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</div>
<div>
After services, a member asked him if he was visiting and he said
with a smile, "No. not anymore, I'm not visiting anymore." At first we
all stopped, wondering what he meant, but then he expressed that he
doesn't want to be a "visitor" anymore. He wants to keep coming back and
he wants to be a part of this church. </div>
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<br /></div>
<div>
Words cannot express the feelings I have concerning
this investigator. As we have taught him, his whole perspective on life
has changed and he views others so differently. He considers the Book of
Mormon to be "rehab" and thinks that all the druggies on his block need
to read it. We are so excited for him to be a part of Christ's church.
He is setting an example for those he's around and he's setting an
example for me and Sister Malloy. I know there is a power in the spirit
and in this gospel and we can access it through the Book of Mormon. </div>
<div>
<br /></div>
<div>
Well family, I'm pretty sure that was one of the
longest emails I have written to you. I just wanted you to be able to
take part in the joy that we are experiencing here. This Gospel IS
changing lives, one at a time. </div>
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<br /></div>
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Love you with all of my heart,</div>
<div>
<br /></div>
<div>
Sister Valerie Preston</div>
<span><span style="color: #666666;"><br /></span></span>Sister Valerie Prestonhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/02275979566796532481noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-908429690757147374.post-31374668086902714992013-07-15T13:17:00.001-07:002013-07-15T13:17:17.946-07:007/08/13<br />
<br />
Hey family!!!<br />
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<br /></div>
<div>
Wow, July is here already? That is
CRAZY. I'm glad to hear that you all had a great fourth of July
celebration! I'm really sorry to hear about the death of that young man.
Agency is a great thing; it's sad when others use it in a way that
affects them so negatively. I hope his family is okay. </div>
<div>
the fourth here was another missionary day! Nothing too crazy. They
don't do parades here but people were out barbequing so it provided for
some finding opportunities. When we came home that evening, we were
able to see a few fireworks from our home. So it was good :)</div>
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</div>
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I don't even know what's happened this week. It's
been a blur! I've decided that my transfer here with Sister Malloy has
mostly been spent together soaking wet. ha. Tennessee has been really
getting dumped on! When it rains, it monsoons. It's so crazy here. One
of our investigators couldn't come to church because he said the roads
were flooded. Well, of course we were super sad, so we decided to visit
him after church because the rain had stopped. We didn't know he was
literally meaning the streets were flooded! They had a crew working on
it and everything. LOTS of water. Michael was so sad he couldn't attend
church. He was really looking forward to it. But he was grateful that we
were able to "bring church to him" as he put it since we visited him.</div>
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</div>
<div>
Another rain story; Sister Malloy and i were out
tracting and the weather was just fine. Well. out of the blue it starts
to POUR. so we are soaking and far from our car where our umbrellas are,
so we decided to just keep tracting back to the car since we already
were soaked. About a half hour later we make it back to the car. We
didn't want to ruin the car by getting in when we were soaked, so we
thought maybe we could get our umbrelaas and stand outside to try
ringing our skirts out. Well, this provided for a fun scene for the
people sitting on their porch across the street ha. Just imagine this,
They are sitting outside watching the storm and they see two girls
soaking wet walking to the car, pull out the umbrellas, and then just
stand there for a few minutes in the rain drenched with the umbrellas
now over our head. We're already soaked, defeating the whole purpose of
an umbrella. They just looked at us funny and i'm pretty sure they were
trying not to laugh at us. ha good times. </div>
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<br /></div>
<div>
Well this week has been another good one! We haven't
been able to see Wilma since the last time. We're hoping to see her
again this week. Kenneth came to church on Sunday and he threw out his
cigarettes the last time we saw him. So he's progressing really slowly,
but progressing nonetheless. </div>
<div>
<br /></div>
<div>
Another random thing happned this week. Of course
this was in the rain again. We were tracting and this car pulls over and
a young man calls out, "Are you missionaries?" okay, so this only
really happens if 1. you are a mormon 2. you know a mormon really well.
He invites us to head up the hill to a Baptist BBQ. He drives off and we
contemplate if that would be a good idea or a recipe fo disaster. We
keep walking in the direction of the church and he drives by again with a
girl in the car and they made us some food! He said, "I wasn't sure if
you were going to make it, so we decided to bring you some food!" wow.
so we told him we would go, and we continued walking to the church where
they met us. We talked with him and it turns out his best friend
growing up is Mormon and he recently left on his mission for South
America. This guy we were talking to, Andrew, was telling us how sad he
was that his best friend was going to leave for 2 years. But since then,
he has always wanted to take care of any missionary that he sees, feed
them, talk with them, be nice to them, etc because of his friend. he
said he might come to our church so he can meet more of the
missionaries, which would be really cool. It really shows us the power
of our example to those who are around us. His friend has made a big
impact on him that he will remember forever and it is influencing how he
treats others who are also mormon. </div>
<div>
<br /></div>
<div>
Well our mission just got bigger! We recieved a
whole new zone/stake from n. carolina. The asheville stake has joined
us. So our mission is getting bigger and the work is moving faster. The
Lord is truly moving the work along. It's so great!</div>
<div>
<br /></div>
<div>
well, I just want to let you all know how much I
love this Gospel. It truly has done miracles in my life and in the life
of those we are teaching. I have been able to gain a stronger
relationship with my Heavenly Father and I have really come to know who
my Savior is. As I study His life, I feel that I have been able to
develop a great friendship with him. He is my best friend and I know I
can trust him and rely on him in my life and in this great work. I know
for a fact that this Gospel is true. many people try to tell us how
wrong we are, but my faith remains unshaken. It grows stronger each day
and I cannot and will not deny what I have come to know for myself to be
true and that is this Gospel. </div>
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<br /></div>
<div>
I love ya'll and I pray you all stay safe and have a great week!</div>
<div>
<br /></div>
<div>
Love, sister Preston</div>
<span><span style="color: #666666;"><br /></span></span></div>
Sister Valerie Prestonhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/02275979566796532481noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-908429690757147374.post-29204500698327915032013-06-09T17:13:00.003-07:002013-06-09T17:13:58.674-07:006/03/13<br />
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Hey Family!<div>
<br /></div>
<div>
Another week flown by!</div>
<div>
I
found out on Saturday that I am being transferred out of my area. I
have just loved the people here from day one. I was a little nervous
with the area at first, but as soon as I met the ward members, I knew it
would be okay and I was supposed to be here. I have loved serving here
in Maryville. I thought it was going to be hard realizing that I am
being transferred to a new area. But the Lord has truly just been the
best Friend that I need because He has taken my worries and stress away.
I know I can trust Him and so I know that wherever I go is where I need
to be. There are many of God's children waiting for this Gospel and I
am willing to go where He needs me.</div>
<div>
<br /></div>
<div>
So my precious Sister Gotchy is going to be
training! :D She just finished her training and now she is preparing to
train a new sister. She is a great missionary. I know that she will be a
good example of exact obedience and following the spirit. She really
wants to talk to everyone. :) I'm excited for her as she starts a new
journey with this new sister.</div>
<div>
<br /></div>
<div>
As for me, I have been called to be one of the new
Sister Trainer Leaders! It's kind of cool to think that the sisters
throughout the world who are getting called to this assignment on
transfers day will be the first ones in history, since it's a new
leadership assignment. It's humbling to know that Heavenly Father wants
us to be in these positions. A leadership assignment "must never be
viewed as a way to obtain personal recognition or advancement, but
rather as opportunities to serve others, to develop greater love, and to
learn." (white handbook) I'm actually really excited to do this because
I'll be able to get to know all the sisters in my zone a lot better and
I know that I am going to learn a lot and it's an opportunity for me to
grow and learn to love even greater. I want to be able to be a good
example and be obedient so that I can continue to develop into the
person that Heavenly Father expects me to be.</div>
<div>
<br /></div>
<div>
One thing that I have really enjoyed being a part of
this week, is finding families to teach. A lot of the time when we
teach, there are only a few people that want to learn in the household.
But this past week, we have been blessed to find families. It's golden. A
family can support each other as they progress and come closer to
Christ. They can be there for the hard times and struggles that may come
with change. I love teaching families. That's what this Gospel is
about! The good news is centered on Christ; and Heavenly Father has
provided us with families to help us apply the teachings of our Savior. </div>
<div>
<br /></div>
<div>
Here's kind of a fun story. So we were teaching a
man named Tim. This was our first appointment with him. We had met him
and given him a book of mormon to start reading in preparation for our
meeting. He hasn't had God in his life for a while because of doubts
that have come to his mind throughout the years. He feels that there are
all your "typical" churches and that it gives hope, but he feels it was
all made up to satisfy man. He feels this way because in other
countries they have different Gods (buddha, alla, etc) so he feels that
no one "knows" anymore. When we met with him, he hadn't read anything
from the Book of mormon yet. So we were talking to him about the
restoration of the Gospel and we brought up the Book of Mormon. He asked
us "So what's the difference between your church and the rest of the
them?" I felt I needed to be really straight forward, so I just said,
"Well, we have the fulness of the Gospel." He responds, "And it's in
that book." I nodded my head and said, yes! He then said, "See, NOW
you've caught my interest. I need to read that book. I'm sorry I haven't
yet."</div>
<div>
It was really cool :) When we teach by the spirit, we can be bold and loving. I love teaching! It's so great.</div>
<div>
<br /></div>
<div>
Well
family, I love ya'll so much!! Take care! And Megan, heal quickly from
your Wisdom teeth! You are in my prayers! Stay safe, healthy, and happy!
Love you!!</div>
<div>
<br /></div>
<div>
love ALWAYS,</div>
<div>
<br /></div>
<div>
Sister Valerie Preston</div>
</div>
<span><span style="color: #666666;"><br /></span></span>Sister Valerie Prestonhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/02275979566796532481noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-908429690757147374.post-40988475972698823122013-06-09T17:12:00.001-07:002013-06-09T17:12:46.394-07:005/29/13<br />
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Hey Family!!<div>
<br /></div>
<div>
Sorry this email is late. The library was closed for memorial day and then we have been super busy since then! </div>
<div>
<br /></div>
<div>
Yesterday I was invited to attend the Zone Leader
Meeting with another Sister in the mission, Sister Bowman. We were
invited once before and they had us both come again this time around. So
this meeting is for the zone leaders but ever since November, the
Presidency has asked that two sisters start attending these meetings. (I
can see now, in preparations for all the new sisters coming!) So this
last time, President Irion explained to us that the Presidency has asked
that the missions start having Sister Trainee Leaders, or something
like that. So for each Zone, there will be a set of those sisters. They
are there to support the Zone Leaders and the President and help out
with the sisters in a way that the Elders can't. For instance, the
elders can't go on exchanges with the sisters, obviously haha. So the
Sister Leaders will be able to do that to see how the sisters in the
other areas are doing. I feel that this will help to unify the
missionaries all together. Sometimes elders and sisters may not
understand each other very well....ha so i think it will be good. And it
gives the sisters more opportunity to support the priesthood while
taking on a responsibility as well. Anyway, we'll see what happens :)</div>
<div>
<br /></div>
<div>
So we have 4 baptismal commitments here in
Maryville! It's so exciting to see the Gospel changing people's lives.
Here's the stories:</div>
<div>
<br /></div>
<div>
Tammy: </div>
<div>
She is one of our neighbors and we have been teaching her
since I arrived in Maryville. At first when we taught her, she didn't
think she needed to be baptized again since she had already done so in
her previous church.But as we have been teaching her and she has been
reading the Book of Mormon, another light has come into her eyes and it
is something she started "thinking about." Now, this last time we saw
her, she decided to set her own baptismal date :) She set it for July
10, so a bit away, but she set it and wants to work towards it, so we
are happy for her. I know that as she begins coming to church, she will
really start to feel the truth of this Gospel and her desire to have it
in her life will grow. </div>
<div>
<br /></div>
<div>
Brittany: </div>
<div>
We found Brittany while
doing tracting (what we call Peace & Blessings....super southern
right? ha) Anyway, we ask to leave the Lord's peace and blessings in
their home and with their family and so we pray with them and then help
them recognize the spirit, and then try to get a return appointment to
begin teaching them. </div>
<div>
So we knocked on Brittany's door and she let us in, then she
agreed to have us come back. When we came back, we asked her questions
to find out more about herself and soon found that she has been looking
for a church to attend. She told us that she wants to have something for
her whole family (her fiance and her little girl) and that she wants to
be baptized. We asked her why she desired baptism and she explained to
us that she wants to get closer to God and she has never been baptized
before. We taught her the message of the restoration and commited her to
be baptized!</div>
<div>
She then told us that the other day she had received a phone
call from a wrong number. It was a church, calling to confirm someone's
baptism. So it put baptism on her mind. Then we showed up at her door
the next day. She told us that she usually doesn't let religious people
in her door, but she let us in and she didn't know why. Then she said,
"But I'm glad I did." We felt very humbled after she told us that. We
are excited for her to progress.</div>
<div>
<br /></div>
<div>
James and Jennifer:</div>
<div>
We were out
tracting again and found a guy named Scott. We did peace and blessings
and he invited us to come back. Well the other day, we came back but he
wasn't there. Instead, James and Jennifer opened the door. Scott was
gone and it turns out he doesn't even live there, he was just visiting
that day. But they willingly welcomed us in when we introduced ourselves
and what we were doing. James explained to us that he had just recently
started going back to church. He and his wife had both been through a
lot in their lives. We taught them the Restoration message and they both
accepted a baptismal commitment. They are such a humble family with
their precious kids. When we committed them for June 22, James accepted
and told us it was his son's birthday that day. </div>
<div>
We stopped by their home today just to check up on them. James
answered and when he saw us, he got a big smile on his face. He
explained to us that his wife was reading last night from the Book of
Mormon for 30 minutes and wouldn't let him read it. ha. We are so
excited for them as well. We hope that everything will continue to
progress for them as they start making these changes in their lives and
bring their whole family closer to the Savior.</div>
<div>
<br /></div>
<div>
Well family, I hope that everything continues
to go well for you! Summer is here so drink lot's of water!!! It's
always humid here, so we even have glistening faces in the mornings,
haha. Well, I pray for ya'll every night and hope that things continue
to go well for each and every one of you. I love ya'll dearly. Keep
studying the scriptures daily, even if it's just a few verses! I promise
it will bless you! I can see the difference it makes in everyone's
lives, including my own. I love the good word. </div>
<div>
<br /></div>
<div>
Have a wonderful week and I'll talk to you again on Monday! Love yall !!!</div>
<div>
<br /></div>
<div>
Love, </div>
<div>
<br /></div>
<div>
Sister Valerie Preston</div>
</div>
<span><span style="color: #666666;"><br /></span></span>Sister Valerie Prestonhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/02275979566796532481noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-908429690757147374.post-56896556978655105402013-06-09T17:11:00.001-07:002013-06-09T17:11:18.142-07:00Sorry We're Behind!!!5/20/13<br />
Hey family,<br />
<div>
<br /></div>
<div>
So this week we had 33 other lessons!
It's crazy. The average here is usually 20-25. So it was pretty fun. :)
We've been teaching less actives, investigators, and trying to find new
investigators every day. </div>
<div>
The work is continuing to press on. I know the Lord is hastening his work as more missionaries keep coming out. </div>
<div>
<br /></div>
<div>
One
of our investigators came to church yesterday. His name is Fred. He
attends a nondenominational church called Rio. We've attended it before
and it has a LOT of music (guitars, bass, beats, etc) and then there is
preaching as well. It's probably 80% music and 20% preaching. But they
have good values. Anyway, so we knew his experience at church was going
to be extremely different from what he is used to. </div>
<div>
When he walked into the building, we took him on a quick tour. We
expressed to him the spirit that is felt here. He paused and said with a
smile, "yeah, I guess it is pretty peaceful in here." as we introduced
him to everyone, he kept saying, "I'm just visiting." and he kept
telling us that he's just visiting and he's not planning on joining our
church. I thought it was a bit humorous that he kept saying that to
everyone. They all just smiled and invited him to come back again. </div>
<div>
Afterwards, we asked him about the service and he seemed to have
enjoyed it. He told us how different it was and that he wasn't used to
that, but he was very open-minded. And we hope he comes back! He has a
cousin who is Mormon that he has been talking to for some of his
questions as well. So I think he'll get there :)</div>
<div>
<br /></div>
<div>
I continue to see the power and influence of the
Book of Mormon as people read from it and apply it into their lives.
There is such a power contained in that book. For our investigators who
have a hard time sitting down and reading or seem to be too busy, we
invite them to just read 3 verses a day. One investigator said his life
started getting better since he met us. However, he did end up dropping
us and we asked him if he had been reading, he hadn't. I told him that
he should read 3 verses a day to keep those blessings coming his way,
ha. he laughed and said, "3 a day to keep 'em comin my way!" Thanks to
the spirit and the south for that one.</div>
<div>
<br /></div>
<div>
Anyway, that's all I have for today. Sorry my
letters are never that long. There is just always so much that goes on
each day and by the time I sit down to a computer, I don't know what to
write. Just know that we are continuing to work hard each and very day, I
love teaching people about this wonderful Gospel! I know it is 100%
true! My conversion keeps deepening and strengthening each day that I am
out here as well. I can feel the spirit in my life and I know that we
are being led by the Lord. I know for a fact that we could not
accomplish half of the things we do each day without the Lord. He is the
reason the work presses onward. It's the spirit that converts and we
are here to bring the spirit and the tools that will bring these people
everlasting happiness. I love it so much!</div>
<div>
I send all of you my love.<div>
<br /></div>
<div>
Sister Preston</div>
</div>
Sister Valerie Prestonhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/02275979566796532481noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-908429690757147374.post-812849500324108852013-01-20T18:29:00.001-08:002013-01-20T18:29:33.113-08:00 1/14/13<br />
Hey Hey Hey!<br />
<div>
SO, I absolutely love this ward that I am currently
serving in. The members are incredible! So the family that I told you
about last week, the do not contact member and his wife. WELL. they
agreed to come to church and guess what, they did! :D</div>
<div>
They walked in and sat in the front row and then here comes the
best part, the members just kind of jumped on the situation and welcomed
them right in. Brother Cox was baptized a little over 7 years ago and
he hasn't been to church in like 6. But everyone remembered him and they
all gave him hugs and he just had this great big smile on his face. The
fellowship coming from the ward was great. The members also just
welcomed Sister Cox right into the family of this ward! and their two
little girls were taken care of in primary and they really enjoyed it.
it was a new experience for them, but they seemed to really enjoy it.
Sister Cox was just ready to go to each class and learn. :) </div>
<div>
So funny story. Sister Cady and i were talking about how it worries
us when a sunday service is all about Joseph smith because then if an
investigator comes, they may think we worship him instead of the Savior
(we get accused of that here in the south). So we sit down for sacrament
to begin and Bishop announces the opening song, "praise to the man"..
Sister Cady and I just looked at each other. uh haha. well it turned out
being a great meeting. The talks were all very inspired and they were
using the bible a lot about jesus Christ and his ministry. It was
wonderful!! </div>
<div>
After church, everyone kept telling the Cox family, "We'll see you
next Sunday!" " Please come back next sunday!" and one member even
invited them over for dinner next sunday. Wow. Love it</div>
<div>
<br /></div>
<div>
This family is just wonderful and I PRAY that they
will continue to keep their commitments and progress in this gospel. I
know she is ready for this. OH! Here is the other awesome part of the
story. So after our lst lesson with them, The member we brought and I
were talking with Sister Cox. Sister Cady was off to the side speaking
with Brother Cox. Afterwards, SIster Cady told me that we had actually
been an answer to Brother Cox's prayers. WHAT. Brother Cox stopped
attending church when he married his wife because she is baptist and he
didn't want to push her. He still read from the book of mormon and then
was always praying that someone would come and soften her heart. "it
took you sister missionaries for her to open the door to it." wow. You
never know when you are being an answer to someone's prayer! The Lord
often does that. he answers the prayers of his children through the
lives of others. How great is that. How great is our calling as members
of this church! I love it.</div>
<div>
<br /></div>
<div>
Well family, thank you for all you do! You are truly special and I treasure each and every one of you!</div>
<div>
Mom,
thanks for the scripture! I always think about it, ever since you
showed it to me when we were talking in my room before I left on my
mission. You are great!</div>
<div>
<br /></div>
<div>
Alrighty ya'll have a fantastic week and don't freeze!!</div>
<div>
<br /></div>
<div>
Love, Sister Valerie Preston</div>
<span><span style="color: #666666;"><br /></span></span>Sister Valerie Prestonhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/02275979566796532481noreply@blogger.com