2016 08-24 I learned that from President Brown

Hello! Hello!
Happy 1st day of school!! I hope everyone had a good time! I love that Grant's teacher makes them say "yes ma'am". That's so funny.

Mom, I'm so happy Paul Lerdahl is your office neighbor.  He's such a cool guy hahaha he told me at the end of fall semester that I was a 10/10 student :-)

Yay for surprise pictures! That picture you got was from Brother and Sister Miles. They're a family in our ward and we had dinner at their house on Tuesday! Brother Miles served his mission in Japan and we had a good time talking about mama-chati's (Dad, I'm so sorry if I spelled that wrong....HAHA) but the Miles just moved here from Lehi about 3 weeks ago!

Driving in CT is probably the most stressful thing in the whole world.  Rush hour is basically all day long so that's the worst.  But we're still alive so it's fine.

This week was good! We did a lot of tracting so we had a fun time. Umm tracting is tracting so I don't really know what else to say about that haha...

Monica no longer has a bap date.  Her parents are visiting from Ecuador so she doesn't want to meet with us while they're here and they're not leaving until mid-September....so that's a bummer. But we're still praying for her! <3

Oliver is still progressing! The Atonement really does change people.

I'm going to the temple next Wednesday in Manhattan!! (SO I'm not too sure how emails will work next week but we'll figure it out!) Utah is so blessed to have so many temples!! Take advantage of it. SERIOUSLY. The other day Sister Sam and I went to play Frisbee with our district (at 6:00 in the morning. Lame.) and so I decided to just take my drivers license, my debit card, and my temple recommend. When we were leaving, everyone kept asking me why I took my temple recommend with me and when I thought about it, I realizes that I take my temple recommend with me everywhere I go- even to play Frisbee! That's something I learned from President Brown. He told me that whenever I go anywhere I should take my recommend with me to remind me of what I've covenanted in the temple. That's a powerful reminder! It's a sacred privilege to hold a temple recommend. So take it with you to always remind yourself of that! :-)

Tell cute Sally happy birthday for me next week!!

I hope you all have a good week. Remember who you are and what you stand for.

Heavenly Father is taking good care of me! :-)

I love you!!

Love always,
Sister Bain 

A beach on the Long Island sound

RAIN RAIN all the time. 

The Miles Family children

  

2016 08-17 "My weekly appointment"

Happy Wednesday!!
I'm so excited for the boys and Kell to start school! Don't forget to send me "first day of school" pictures! Summer went by so fast! How is it already the 17th of August???

We have fun on P-days. We play Frisbee as a zone in Stamford most times, but we also have a lot of other things we have to get done on Wednesdays. There aren't a ton of things to do here in Connecticut for P-day, but we make it work :-)

We didn't get fed fish this week so that's good. Who knows...maybe I'll like salmon when I get home?? (Probably not though so don't get your hopes up)

Having a companion.  Companions are nice. It's weird having someone with you 24/7, but there are a lot of blessings that come from having a companion.  Sister Sam is wonderful. She's helping me learn and grow and I'm very grateful for her. Sometimes I dislike having a companion, but we have a good time together :-)

I'm super jealous you got to go to the temple! I miss going to the temple! The members here don't go a lot because it takes so long to get to the city. But I know blessings come when we make the temple a priority. Bridgette, who got baptized at the beginning of this month, wants to go do baptisms soon so Sister Sam and I will be able to go to Manhattan with her when she goes for the first time! Temple blessings are real!!

My knee is all better! I don't need to wear that annoying brace anymore which is super awesome. Thanks for the prayers! :-)

The other day someone asked me where my ancestors are from and without even thinking about it I said "They're from Norway!" And the look the lady gave me was so funny because she was way confused. Good times.

There are two things I've been thinking about a lot this week. One is The Restoration of the Gospel of Jesus Christ.  We've taught that lesson a lot this past week and I. LOVE. IT. The Restoration is such a special message that we have and I'm still waiting for the day when I can say the first vision without crying. Joseph Smith saw our Heavenly Father and Savior Jesus Christ. I wasn't there, but I know that he did! :-) The experience that Joseph Smith had was truly a miracle. I know he was and is a Prophet called of God to restore the church in its fullness on the earth. Go share your testimony of Joseph Smith and modern day prophets sometime this week! :-) there's power in everyone's testimony. ❤

The other thing I've been thinking about this week is the sacrament. Our lesson in Relief Society was also about the sacrament :-) the sister giving the lesson said a lot of things about the sacrament that I didn't agree with so it made me really think about how I view the sacrament. I think about the sacrament as my weekly appointment with God.  How would we act if we went into the chapel to meet with our Heavenly Father? How would we dress? What would our mindset be like? Would we be there early? The sacrament is 15 minutes out of our week to focus 100% on our Savior Jesus Christ and "commune with our Father in Heaven." I think the sacrament can be our own sacred grove experience. The sacrament has become a lot more special to me as a missionary. It's my time to focus on my own personal relationship with my Heavenly Father. So, for your next appointment with Heavenly Father on Sunday morning, maybe be a little early.  Listen to the prelude music. Prepare yourself throughout the week to worthily partake of the sacrament. Make the sacrament a special time every week ❤

I think that's it from Sister Bain this week. Monica is still on date for baptism and we are praying with Oliver to choose a date for baptism! The work really is moving forward and I feel so blessed to be a part of it.
I hope you all have a fun last few days of summer vacation! Let me know how the first day of school goes!!

I love you so much!!
Do all things with kindness ❤

Love always,
Sister Bain

---
3rd Nephi 19:26
"And Jesus said unto them: Pray on."

Me and my Trainer - Sister Sam

INDIAN food. So Good

Visiting Westport

2016 08-10 - Number 45 at 8:50pm

HEY! How in the world is it already P-day again?? Times goes by so fast. We had a good week! Sister Sam and I have seen a lot of miracles here in cute Darien.
I can't believe Bri has been in Peru for a year.  THAT'S SO AWESOME. HAPPY ONE YEAR HERMANA!!! ❤❤❤❤

To answer Jacob's question: my most favorite thing that's happened to me while I've been on a mission is seeing the Lord direct me in all things.  It's cool to see how when we ask to be guided, WE ARE GUIDED. I've learned a lot about the spirit in the last month. It's COOL. I've seen His tender mercies and His miracles and it's just cool to be a representative of Jesus Christ. #MissionsAreCool

That's way cool that the missionaries shared their testimony! I shared mine on Sunday too! My goal is to share my testimony on every fast Sunday in the mission. So far I'm doing really well! :-) I know that there is POWER in sharing your testimony! While I was in the MTC I had an experience that made me question if I really did have a testimony of Jesus Christ. I would always ask myself "Why am I even here? Do I even know that this is true??" BUT I DO KNOW! I know with my whole heart and soul that the gospel of Jesus Christ is true! I haven't had an angel come and tell me that it's true. I didn't have an Alma the Younger experience. But the Lord has blessed me with little experiences my entire life that have testified to me that Jesus Christ is my Savior. I really really love fast Sundays. There's a lot of strength that comes from fasting- especially as a family! Thanks for letting me know about the family fast! Your favorite missionary in Connecticut is always praying for you!! <3 #familygoals

Bridgette got baptized on Saturday!! The Darien Ward is INCREDIBLE. We had so many people calling us and texting us asking what they could do to help. There were so many people there supporting Bridgette! Her husband came too which was a huge blessing.  He's not interested in meeting with missionaries right now, but whenever we go to Bridgette's for dinner he always eats with us and talks with us. He definitely felt the spirit when Elder Tanner and Elder Glick  (the elders in our ward) shared the First Vision.  There is so much power and peace that comes from knowing the Restoration of the Gospel of Jesus Christ. Bridgette was really overwhelmed with all the attention,  but on Sunday when she received the Holy Ghost she was the happiest person in Connecticut! It was such a good day!

MONICA IS GETTING BAPTIZED! We extended a baptismal date for September 10th! Monica is so prepared. She reads the Book of Mormon every day after she puts her two girls to bed, she prays every day, and she's come to church 2 weeks in a row. She's experiencing the Atonement in her life and she's finding the peace and strength she's been looking for for years. We teach her on Fridays and this last lesson we had with her we were able to bring Maria, who was baptized in January! Maria is wonderful.  Her and Monica are already really good friends so it's fun to see them together. They have similar backgrounds and it was so cool to see Maria share her testimony with Monica about how she's seen Heavenly Father's hand in her life, even when she wasn't a member. The gospel changes people!

We had an interesting experience the other day. We had just come from Monica's lesson and we had an investigator in mind that we wanted to visit.  We put the address into our GPS and while we were driving I looked at Sister Sam and said "uhhhh we're going the wrong way"...but it was almost 9:00 so we wouldn't have enough time to go all the way to the other side of Norwalk- which is where we wanted to go. So we decided to continue to West Norwalk Road, where our GPS was leading us?? We didn't know why we were there so we stopped on the side of the road and prayed. We have this thing where we pray before literally everything we do.  This is the Lord's work, so we need to include Him! I said the prayer,  and while I was doing that, the number 45 came into my head.  Sister Sam said that she felt like we should go to the house right in front of us. THE HOUSE RIGHT IN FRONT OF US WAS HOUSE NUMBER 45. So at 8:50 at night, we knocked on 45 West Norwalk Road. A guy answered and told us to go away because it was late HAHAHAHA but we left him with a picture of Jesus Christ so it was all good. The Lord was definitely testing Sister Sam and I that night but I'm grateful for that experience! It taught me a lot about how the spirit works and how we have to be willing to do whatever is asked of us- even at 8:50 in a super sketchy forest neighborhood! We don't know why we needed to go to 45 West Norwalk Road but the Lord knows- and that's all that matters! :-)

The other day Sister Sam and I went out tracting for a little while before we went home and I HAD THE HICCUPS THE ENTIRE TIME. I was trying to teach these sweet people about the Book of Mormon and I kept hiccuping!! HAHAHAHA it was so funny. I had the hiccups for a solid 3 hours.
My knee is getting better! I still have to wear the annoying brace, but it's getting better! The doctor just has me taking ibuprofen. I have to take 3 in the morning, 2 in the afternoon, and 3 at night. Sister Sam is real good at making sure I'm okay! #compgoals

One last thought- I've been thinking a lot about trials and adversity lately. We have the opportunity to teach a lot of people who have gone through SO much and are still going through really hard things. It makes me appreciate the life that I've been blessed with and how easy my life has been compared to theirs. I'm not saying that my trials are any less significant than those I've met here in Connecticut, but I've just been very very blessed. I was reading a talk by President Erying called Where Is the Pavilion? and it talks all about how God never leaves us, we are the ones that leave God-- even though His mission is to bless us! There's a quote somewhere on Pinterest probably that says something a long the lines of how we should fight lifes battles on our knees. I know that life is hard. But I also know that we can do hard things! Dad did a really good job of teaching me that. We can do hard things with Jesus Christ. I know that our trials truly do refine us. They force us on our knees  and help us strengthen our relationship with our Heavenly Father. When Joseph Smith was in Liberty Jail he asked God "Where art thou?" and the response he got was "My son, peace be unto thy soul; thine adversity and thine afflictions shall be but a small moment; and then, if thou endure it well, God shall exalt thee on high; thou shalt triumph over all thy foes." I know that hard times don't last forever. I know that we can find real peace through Jesus Christ. I know that when we're lonely or confused or disappointed, that we can find strength in the Atonement of our Savior Jesus Christ. And I love that I get to share those truths with the people all day every day! :-)
I hope you're all having a good week! It's been SUPER hot and humid lately, but it's been raining all day today! We have a good time here in CT doing the Lord's work.
I am happy here! I wish that you all could be here with me to experience the happiness and the miracles that come along with being a full-time representative of Jesus Christ. BUT. You all have tons of opportunities to be missionaries and see miracles as well! Pray for missionary opportunities and they will come! I'm glad you were able to make it over to the new neighbors house! They're lucky to live by the Violet Circle gang! :-)
I LOVE YOU!!


Love always,
Sister Bain

Ps: I hope Uncle Jim has a fun birthday this coming week! <3 HAPPY HAPPY BIRTHDAY ALL THE WAY FROM THE EAST COAST!


President Dieter F. Uchtdorf:
God didn't design us to be sad. He created us to have joy! So, if we trust Him, He will help us to notice the good, bright, hopeful things in life. And sure enough, the world will become brighter. No, it doesn't happen instantly, but honestly, how many good things do? 

Bridgette

Darth Vader said his first prayer

The Stamford District

Stamford Roommates

2016 08-02 Knee Brace

HI HAPPY AUGUST! I can't believe that it's already August. Time goes by so so fast. I'm glad you all had fun at the lake! It looks like Bryson had a good time sleeping on the beach HAHAHA I miss my boys. Give them lots of hugs for me. Hopefully their glasses and braces got fixed! The Bains can never go on vacation without glasses getting broken :-)

Side note: WHO MOVED INTO THE GRAF'S HOUSE??? Have you made them "Welcome to the Neighborhood" cookies yet? (MISSIONARY OPPORTUNITY)

This week has been so good. I love Connecticut. (A WHOLE LOT.) The members here are wonderful. Sister Cespedes fed us FISH last week so that was oh so nice of her. I'm getting use to this fish thing though so NO WORRIES. I just miss mom's cooking ya know? We had dinner with the Jones's the other day. They're a young couple in the ward who just moved here and THEY'RE AGGIES! Brother Jones went to Alta and his parents live down the street from us! (By Storm Mountain park I think??) Anyway, it's fun to talk to people who are from Utah. Sister Jones doesn't like the water here either so we're going to be real good friends. Also, our ward mission leader's wife is a Beetdigger! #GoDiggers

I got to go on splits with Hermana Day on Friday! It was super fun because I knew Herm. Day before the mission! We spent the day in Stamford and I WISH I COULD SPEAK SPANISH. I also got to drive the car so that was stressful. Imagine driving in Utah County BUT WORSE...and that's Connecticut. Drivers here are nuts. But all is well and both Hermana Day and I survived :-)

We had splits again on Saturday with the Stamford English sisters who live in the same apartment as us. I had a good time with Sister Horton. She's from San Diego and she's so so awesome. We got to go to lunch with Hermana Vidol from Sister Horton's ward and she told me I need to learn Korean before Spanish hahaha love her. She made us tacos which was the best ever. Barriga llena, corazon contento! :-) (I'm basically fluent.) She was telling us all about her mission in Mexico and how she wishes every day that she could go back and be a missionary. I was thinking about everything she was saying and I realized that Connecticut has become sacred to me. The people here and the spirit here will always be a very special to me. Sister Horton and I went to the projects and we had a lesson with a lady named Mamushka. She's from Haiti and doesn't speak a ton of English so a translator from the Stamford ward came with us! My first translator lesson! It was a cool experience. The Spirit knows all the languages. I had a good time with Sister Horton! :-)

There's been a lot of excitment about the new Hartford Temple that's being built! The members here are STOKED for this new temple. Being from Utah, we can drive 20 minutes in any direction and find a temple. But here, the members have to drive all the way into the city to go and pay $45 for parking each time. We also have a lot of investigators who want to go to the open house so President is trying to find a way for Sister Sam and I to go with them!

BRIDGETTE IS GETTING BAPTIZED THIS WEEKEND! Yay! She's golden and I love her so much. She's so prepared! She texts us all the time and tells us how excited she is to be an official member of the church. Her baptism is this Saturday August 6th and we are PUMPED. Pray for Bridgette the next couple of days! :-)

MONICA CAME TO CHURCH! She's been having a hard time lately, but she came to church on Sunday and said that she felt a peace that she hasn't been able to feel for a very long time. She brought her two little girls who loved everything about primary. I feel really good about Monica. She's looking for peace and she was able to find it on Sunday.

I hurt my knee last week and I'm not really sure how. I saw the doc and he gave me this annoying knee brace that I have to wear every day. I'm not a huge fan of that, but it makes my knee feel better! The doctor told me that I hyper extended my patellae tendon or something like that??? I don't know, but Sister Sam is making sure I take my medicine and wear my brace! My companion rocks #companiongoals I'll be good as new in no time! :-)

There's a famous concert pianist in our ward who invited us over on Sunday for a private concert with some of her neighbors who aren't members. Sister Sam was basically in tears driving there because she was so excited. Sister Sam is a piano performance major at BYU so she was super pumped for a private concert by Yoshi Yakumoto. It was a good time. I miss playing the piano all the time!
Tell Makail that a lot of people here have Cutco knives hahaha mostly because they're all super rich so they can afford them. She should have come here to Connecticut to work for Cutco hahaha :-)
SUNDAYS. I love love love love love love love love love love love Sundays. Especially as a missionary. This Sunday was particularly good because last week President challenged us to think of only Jesus Christ during the sacrament. Sadly, it's a lot harder than you think. There are SO many distractions. This past Sunday I really worked hard to remember my Savior Jesus Christ while the Sacrament was being passed. I was thinking about His life and all that He did. I heard a quote the other day that really hit me "Jesus Christ died in front of the love of Mary and the hate of the world." Our constant challenge is to be as Mary- kneeling at the feet of the Savior and despite the hate of the world, she never forgot who the Savior was and what He did.  Never forget who the Savior is. So, my challenge to you this week is to direct all your thoughts to the Savior during the Sacrament and see how big of a difference it makes in your day and in your week.

One last thought- USE TECHNOLOGY TO SHARE THE GOSPEL. We had Zone Conference last Wednesday (which is why our P-day was changed) and it was all about how we need to use Facebook more as missionaries. We are one of 12 missions in the world that has the chance to use Facebook. SO WE NEED TO USE IT. It's a tool our Heavenly Father has given us to further the work. We have the opportunity to let every person in the world know of Jesus Christ through our technology. So, share your testimony or something gospel related on social media sometime this week. Let's flood the world with goodness! :-)

To answer dad's questions: I can leave my area for P-day, we go into Stamford a lot to play games with our zone! :-) also, I can't access my blog here.

Well that's it from me for this week. I'm sure there were a million more things I wanted to tell you about, but that's okay.

I am well and I love being a missionary.

I LOVE YOU!!
Love always,
Sister Bain


President Thomas S. Monson:
“To those within the sound of my voice who are struggling with challenges and difficulties large and small, prayer is the provider of spiritual strength; it is the passport to peace. Prayer is the means by which we approach our Father in Heaven, who loves us. Speak to Him in prayer and then listen for the answer. Miracles are wrought through prayer”

Hermana Day

Stamford

My dumb knee brace that I hate but it's fine