Spotted the Cheney Man - Sister Rebekah Avery

Written by Sister Rebekah Avery, temporarily assigned to the Washington Spokane Mission while waiting for a visa to serve in the Portugal Lisbon Mission of The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints.  

I officially have a big, white, puffy, warm, winter coat and I am SOOO Happy!!! I had no idea how amazing it would feel to have an actual coat, but let me tell you, I feel like a new woman! Thank you to the Wallace Family for bringing me a coat, you are the best!

It hasn't been terribly snowy here, unlike Utah where my dad and sister seem to be tearing up the ski slopes, but that is just fine with me! They can go ahead and have as much powder as they want ;)

Quick Summary: We are teaching 7 people and working with 3 more, and have 2 people we're preparing for baptism - so we are incredibly busy and incredibly happy! The greatest gift that we can give anyone is the knowledge that God loves them personally, and that they aren't forgotten.

The Cheney Man: he's a random man that walks the streets of Cheney, no one knows why or what he's doing, but I never saw him until this past week and I can now rest easy. He's like the bigfoot of Cheney. We said hi :) He's nice!

This week has been yet another week of miracles! We have a Zone goal to be more bold in testifying of the truth and power of the Book of Mormon, in an effort to try to hand out more copies. The idea is that instead of just handing a copy to anyone who will take them, we need to get their names and know that they actually have an interest in reading it at some point in their lives. It's been amazing to see how many people are actually open to the idea of learning about the Book of Mormon. My favorite thing is to ask if they want a personal relationship with God and Jesus Christ, to which they usually answer, "Yes!", at which point I can bear my witness of how I've gotten to know my Savior and Heavenly Father on a deeper level through reading the Book of Mormon. Don't get me wrong, plenty of people have told us no and we had a couple of door slams, but it's all worth it for the couple of people who are open and willing to try.

One of the people that we went to see this week is named Z, and she's from Ethiopia. She lives on her own and just really wants some friends, since her family all lives far away, but is open to learning about our beliefs and said she wants to try coming to church with us next week! It was cute to hear that after our first visit she called her dad and told him all about us, and he encouraged her to keep seeing us and learn more. Z is the nicest person ever, and she is a GREAT cook! We got to try some of her Ethiopian food before we left (just a smidgeon) and it was amazing!

We also had a wonderful first lesson with a young woman named Ar**. She came prepared with questions about how to grow closer to God, how to recognize Him in her life, and why there are so many churches that seem to have different approaches to worship. It was amazing to watch the light and excitement as we were able to answer all of her questions. She said that it all finally makes sense, and that she is so excited! She'd already had a goal to start reading the Bible daily (she started in the Old Testament, bless her heart) and praying more often, which we told her is a great start! We gave her a copy of the Book of Mormon and invited her to stay for the Institute dinner (which she did), and are hoping to teach her again on Wednesday!

Sister Thomas and I are so excited for one of the people we've been teaching (the one who switched her date, named Alyssa) to be baptized this week! It's a little stressful, but she's so excited that she just skips everywhere. We've also made plans to go to the temple with her about three weeks later, so that's going to be fantastic!

I am constantly amazed at how my mission just seems to get better and better! It seems impossible that I could be happier tomorrow than I am today, yet I always seem to be! It's amazing to me to see how much Christ can change people, even little old me, into something so much more than we ever envisioned. His grace truly has transformed me and given me a hope that I want to share with every person that I meet. What a privilege it is to be able to serve as His hands here in Cheney, Washington, all day every day! We're so busy every day that I go to bed feeling completely and utterly spent, but it's the best feeling in the world. Nothing is so fulfilling as serving others.

The people here are wonderful and I am definitely in love with this area! It's not perfect, but I know that when my Visa comes that I'll be sad to go.

Please keep Anne (pronounced like Annie) in your prayers! She's a cute old woman who helps to run the Care and Share, which is a charity that we volunteer at. She recently had back surgery and has run into some complications with recovery.

I hope that all of you know how much God loves you and how wonderful you are. We are truly all loved children of a Father with a plan for us.

Until Next Week!!!

Com Amor,

Sister Avery

 

It's a Sherbethday Cake!!  (January 14, 2019)

It's Sherbethday Cake!! - Sister Rebekah Avery

Written by Sister Rebekah Avery, temporarily assigned to the Washington Spokane Mission while waiting for a visa to serve in the Portugal Lisbon Mission of The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints. 

Story Time!!!

Last night there was a devotional for the young adults with the Renlunds, which we were allowed to watch because one of the people we're teaching wanted to go. While she fell asleep a couple of times, she ultimately decided that she enjoyed it, especially the music. Afterwords all of the people in group had ice cream and treats. The person we're teaching decided that she was going to mix the Sherbet and Birthday Cake flavors, so we had a good laugh trying to figure out what it should be called. It seems like she made some new friends and wants to go to Family Home Evening with everyone at the Institute building tonight!!!

Quick Summary:

We're helping to prepare two people to be baptized and have a new potentially interested person, who has now come to church twice, the devotional last night, and institute last week. God has truly changed and inspired the people of Cheney so much. They teach me just as much as I teach them about what it means to love, serve, and follow the Savior. Christ gives us the strength that we need to do hard things.

Temple Trip:

On Wednesday we went to the temple with some members of the ward and a young woman who was recently baptized, Ai**. She is a complete sweetheart and has been so incredibly excited to come with us to the temple for her first time. The feeling of peace and love that you feel in the temple is truly immediate and all encompassing. I could feel all of the people I love with me in Spirit, celebrating with me as we performed the greatest service of all by allowing them to be baptized, including one of my own family names.

Afterwords Aimee said that this was just what she needed. She had been incredibly stressed with everything else that was happening in life, but knew from the moment that she got to the temple grounds that she had reached her goal. This life is so much more than our worldly stresses, and with God all things are possible and we can have lasting peace.

It helps that we stopped to get Krispy Kreme too!

My Other Thoughts and Insights and Such:

This week has blown by so quickly, because we're so busy all day! We have several people that we're trying to teach and work with right now. It's incredible to see how much these individuals grow every single time we meet, from start to finish. My favorite thing is when we're able to share scriptures and ask questions, then they teach themselves, because that's when you know that they not only believe it, but they're probably going to act on what they learned.

It's been an interesting experience using technology on the mission so far. While I'm still not sure how much I like it, it's been a blessing on the days when Sister Thomas and I are wondering if we're really making a difference. We'll randomly get a text from people that we saw on the street and they'll tell us that they were glad we talked to them or otherwise brightened their day.

Seriously, I love getting to meet so many amazing people from all over the place! They have so many unique experiences, and I love getting to speak with them about and strengthen their relationship with God. It's wonderful when we're sitting in a lesson or talking to someone on the street and ask them if they've seen God in their life, and they're able to take a moment to reflect and realize that He's been there all along. Sometimes I think that we have a hard time noticing the ways that God speaks to us and shows us His love, so it's important recognize that God is in the details. As Sister Thomas always says, every pink sky testifies of His love for us.

It's been a miracle to see people make and keep commitments to come to church and to read, and to be able to have a small part in directing them back to their Savior. I've loved being able to see the difference in their lives and how it's brought so much hope, joy, and light. While living the Gospel of Jesus Christ isn't easy, it's beautifully simple, and we can always rely on the Savior to help us make it back.

I love you all and pray for you constantly! I'm happy to say that I feel as though I'm getting better at recognizing the answers to them too. It's amazing to see how close my Savior feels, and I promise that as you put forth the effort to find Him in your daily life that you will. He loves you, and so do I!

Te amo com todo de meu coracao!!! (sorry, accents won't happen on this computer)

Sempre,

Sister Avery

Your Homework: Be the answer to someone else's prayer this week by doing a random act of service, big or small, every day! e.g. make their bed, bring them food, shoot someone a kind text

I'm a Sister-cicle  (Janaury 7, 2019)

Spotted the Cheney Man  (January 21, 2019)

I'm a Sister-cicle - Sister Rebekah Avery

Written by Sister Rebekah Avery, temporarily assigned to the Washington Spokane Mission while waiting for a visa to serve in the Portugal Lisbon Mission of The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints.

I made it to Spokane! I guess they like to put a lot of Visa waiters on ice here. haha!

Sisters Avery and Thomas

I think that my new favorite part of my morning routine is making toast (you have no idea how much I missed my typical toast and apple breakfasts) and holding my hands over top of the toaster so that they can get warm. It's honestly wonderful.

QUICK SUMMARY OF MY WEEK (for those who don't want to read my whole email):

God answers prayers! My trainer is wonderful, we have two on date for baptism, including one who decided to move up her date from September to January!!! And almost all of the less actives/recent converts that we've been working with came to Sacrament meeting! We're going to the temple to do baptisms for the dead on Wednesday with one of our recent converts. God loves His children, and faith really does bring miracles, but it requires Action!

EXPANDED VERSION:

My new companion is Sister Thomas, and she's is seriously the biggest ray of sunshine and love that I have ever met! She's kept me super busy and has told me that I must have been super faithful and blessed to have been sent to this area, so I guess that's nice??? We've already decided that when we get back from our missions that we're going to go to the temple together and get Rockwell ice cream in Provo, so that's nice.

I've loved seeing how God prepares to bless us in advance, and how the little things in life make the biggest difference. This week we've had lots of people say they didn't want to talk to us, flake out on lessons, and just not respond. While it's heart breaking because I know that this gospel can change their lives and bring them so much joy, I am incredibly grateful for the success that we have had as we have prayed and acted in faith.

An example of this is yesterday, my first fast Sunday in the field (probably one of the best days of my life so far). We'd decided that we were going to fast that one of the people we were teaching would have a softening of her heart and move up her baptism date (she set it for September of this coming year back in August of last year....), and that we would be willing/able to open to our mouths to those whom we came into contact with. We got to church and immediately before Sacrament meeting, this sister came up to us and said that she'd been thinking since CHRISTMAS that she wanted to move up her baptism date, and had decided to change it to January 26th!!! We were so happy! Sister Thomas and I definitely cried, and I said the most sincere prayer of gratitude in my life.

THEN, we were on our way to try to contact a man we'd met while tracting on Thursday and ran into a man who said that he had made the decision to go back to church for the first time in TEN YEARS, that day!!! We got his number and he sounds interested from our communication thus far.

AND all of the less actives/recent converts that we'd been praying to go to church CAME!!! Well, almost all. But you need to take joy in the victories and try, try, try again!

MY TESTIMONY:

I know that God sent me to Spokane, Washington (Cheney, in specific) for a reason, and even if it was just to meet the people that I have in the past four days then it is WORTH IT. I also know that God loves all of His children, regardless of the mistakes that they may have made or how far they may have strayed from the path. He sent His Son, Jesus Christ, to Atone for us so that we can make it back to Him, have our guilt taken away, and be able to become new. I've already seen the change that the gospel of Jesus Christ can make in the lives of people since coming here, and the light that it brings to peoples lives. One of my favorite ways that someone we're teaching has described the Love of God is "It felt like a weight was taken off of my shoulders". I know that if we turn to Christ and humble ourselves, admitting that we need His help, that He will lift us up and help us to carry our burdens - we can truly do all things through Christ.

Know that I pray for all of you and that I love you with all of my heart! Have a wonderful week!!!

Your very cold and very happy,

Sister Avery

I'm in Spokane  (January 3, 2019)

It's Sherbethday Cake!  (January 14, 2019)

I'm in Spokane! - Sister Rebekah Avery

Written by Sister Rebekah Avery, temporarily assigned to the Washington Spokane Mission while waiting for a visa to serve in the Portugal Lisbon Mission of The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints.
 
Hey!

I have arrived in Spokane in one piece, and I am so very excited to be serving here! It's going to be wonderful! We have just finished dinner at the Mission home, will be spending the night with some members, then getting our companions tomorrow by 1 pm after receiving some training.

All is well! I'll let you know about my week on Monday! (Our PDay)

Te Amo!

Sister Avery

Amor e Alegria Para Sempre  (December 31, 2018)

I'm a Sister-cicle  (January 7, 2019)