2016 09-28 "Working hard--all the way to the 4th floor, last door!!"

Hi family!!
How in the world is it already going to be October??? It was June like 2 days ago.

We've seen a lot of people on drugs this week so....yeah....yay Connecticut

Transfers are on Tuesday and Sister Sam is leaving Darien because I will be training a new missionary! I'm scared out of my mind but what else is new? Pray for me? :-) I'm going into the city tomorrow for a meeting with President Smith and the other missionaries that are training. As nervous as I am, I'm grateful for this opportunity! #MissionsAreCool I get to be in Darien for Christmas!!

Okay so HOW EXCITED ARE YOU FOR CONFERENCE!?!?!? I AM STOKED. Seriously. Only 3 more sleeps until my favorite weekend on the planet!! WOOOOOHOOOOOO!!! The Women's Conference was so so good. I will have to admit, though, that this was the first time I've been homesick since being here. I missed being at the church with mom watching it!! But I hope y'all have a good time going to Conference on Saturday! I thought of mom when they sang "If I listen With my Heart" then proceeded to cry for a solid 10 minutes. I love you, mom! Everyone needs to read Sister Bingham's talk about charity!!

Fun fact: Lindsay Sterling served in the NYNYN mission and everyone wants her to come back hahaha we've had a lot of people this week tell us they miss her. Another fun fact: I'm living in the same apartment that Sister Sterling lived in when she served here in Darien so that bascially makes me famous too!

To answer your question: I don't get to help out at the Hartford Temple. There were 8 sisters from the NYNYN mission that were assigned to serve at the temple. But my companion and I will get to go if we have an investigator or less-active that wants to go! The open house starts in 2 days and we are so excited!!

Cool miracle of the week: We visited a less-active each week named Pegguy.  She's the sweetest person ever and I love her. I think I mentioned her last week (???) but she's wonderful.  We met with her on Sunday and I had the impression to ask her if she spoke French. In my head I was like "That's a dumb question....why would I need to know if she spoke French?" But I asked her anyway because I knew I'd be chastised later if I didn't and guess what everyone....Pegguy speaks French.  But guess who else speaks French? OUR INVESTIGATOR JACQUELOVE. So that's awesome and Pegguy is going to come to our lessons with Jacquelove and they're both going to love each other and be best friends and Jacquelove is going to get baptized and Pegguy is going to come back to church and it's all going to be great. We are so excited. Also, Pegguy is coming to general conference with us on Sunday so we're also stoked for that.

We've been busy this week! Working hard--all the way to the 4th floor, last door!!❤
I hope you all love General Conference!! Do you have all your questions written down??
Have a good week!!
I love you!!

Love always,
Sister Bain

Look at us

Hiking in the woods

The Karate Kid has nothing on me. Finding my Chi.

Beautiful!

2016 09-21 "Hearing the Voice of the Lord"

HELLO❤I miss ya!
Thanks for the prayers! We had a good week! :-)
Remember when I had a meltdown last week? Well I'm over it now so it's all good. Really though, thank you for praying for me. There are angels surrounding us here in CT!

I forgot last week, but I hope Kyle had a fun birthday on the 11th and that sweet Kimberly has a fun birthday this weekend! Doesn't Elder Sirrine turn 20 today?? He's so old. WOW.

Since I'm in Connecticut I was far away from the bombings in the city. We actually didn't even know about it until Tuesday. (The missionary bubble is nice because we don't know anything that goes on in the world) All the missionaries are safe and accounted for! :-)

You're in luck, this week's email will hopefully be a lot happier!
I've been having a good time here. This email will most likely be super random and might not make sense....putting my happiness and excitement into words is kinda a struggle...but I'm over it.

This week included an obscene amount of pizza, ice cream, and tracting miracles!!
We are SO excited for the Hartford Temple open house. As we've tracted, the spirit has prompted  us to invite a ton of people. There's something about getting a free tour of an LDS temple that catches people's attention. IT'S PRETTY COOL.

We went to a members house and while we were waiting for everyone to sit down for the prayer, Brother Cole looked at me and said "Sister Bain, are you good at making rice?" After dinner we got in the car and laughed so hard I cried. (You had to be there...)

We got in contact with a potential named Jacquelove. (Pronounced: Jack Love hahahaha) she's been in the US for 4 months- she's from Haiti and speaks French. She's taking English classes and her English is sooooooooooo good. She also has the cutest little French accent. She told me she'd teach me French so we'll see how that goes. (I've also been learning creole and that's hard so....) Jacquelove is so sweet and so prepared. She loves reading the Book of Mormon and she said she wants to meet Joseph Smith. We love her. The first thing she said to me was "Sister Bain, are you from Chinese?" Hahaha

We met Bill who reminds me of Mr. Fredrickson from the movie "Up". He was the nicest Jeohovahs Witness we've met so far in this area.

We got in contact with the Smith family. They met with missionaries for 5 years and they haven't been contacted for 2 years! They're super awesome and we love them. We're just helping them work through some word of wisdom stuff and they're golden! Pray for them!

My studies were real good this week. I was reading the talk "Hearing the Voice of the Lord" (THANK YOU for sending that to me, dad!!) AND I wanted to share some cool things with you that I learned! Elder Lund said, "Life is too complex to provide a rule book for each situation.  That's why we have the Holy Ghost."
1. The Holy Ghost and I have become real good friends. I am constantly relying on the spirit for direction. Pretty cool that we get a member of the God head with us 24/7 as long as we live worthy!
2. Doctrine and Covenants 101:16 says, "Be still and know that I am God." Only as we are still can we learn to hear the still small voice. LIFE IS SO CRAZY but we have to slow down long enough to listen and then be willing to act on the answer we get. We have to find our "inner quiet" as Elder Lund puts it. So, how do we find that inner quiet?
▪Read and study the scriptures
▪Pray! Be consistent, focused, and submissive to God's will
▪Personal Reverence. "Reverence brings revelation" (Boyd K. Packer)
▪Take time to ponder and reflect! Even the Prophet Joseph Smith had to do that! JSH 1:12 says, "I reflected on it again and again..." Pondering is key! We have to actually think about what we're studying and what the spirit is telling us!

So, how are you going to find your "inner quiet" this week?

I'm going to reflect more on what I'm reading in my scriptures. We're reading the Book of Mormon in 100 days as a mission and WOW I love love love the Book of Mormon. So follow up with me next week, okay! :-)

I hope you all had a good week! Kell told me gets to go to General Conference next weekend!! That's so exciting!! I AM SO EXCITED FOR CONFERENCE YAY YAY YAY!!! Only 10 more sleeps until Conference!!

I really am so so happy here.
I love you!!
Love always,
Sister Bain 

We're going up.

Fall is in the Air...

"We went hiking today in some trees. It was nice :-) "

2016 09/14 "We have a Savior."

I had a tough week. Probably the hardest week since I've been a missionary. (Which has been almost 3 months I might add)

I went about with my companion finding people to share the gospel with. But nobody seemed to be home this week. Seriously. Hardly anyone answered their door. The few people that did answer their door either weren't wearing clothes or they saw the Book of Mormon in our hands and slammed the door. So I was pretty down on myself this week because I feel like nobody wanted to talk to us or the people that did talk to us just had pity on us because it's so hot outside.

I felt a little better towards the end of the week, but I kept feeling like there was this disconnect between me and the Spirit.  It was so frustrating. How in the world am I supposed to do the Lord's work if I don't have the spirit? (The answer is.....I can't.)

We didn't go to the temple on Saturday with Bridgette. She called us and told us she wasn't ready and that she had a lot of doubts and she was uncomfortable. We assured her that having doubts was okay and that we were there to help her. She was really short with us on the phone and kinda rude and she just hung up. She didn't come to church on Sunday and we were super worried about her. We called her and asked if we could come visit her and she said sure. We walked into her house and I knew something was wrong. I had been feeling all week like something was wrong with Bridgette- especially when she cancelled the temple trip which took us SO long to try and work out. She sat down on the couch and she said "I just want to tell you that I'm going back to the Catholic Church. My whole baptism was a mistake and I don't believe in anything you've taught me." Sister Sam and I were blown away. We sat there in silence for what seemed like forever and then both Sister Sam and I started crying. Bridgette was taken by surprise when we just burst into tears. I felt like someone had my heart in their hand and they just crushed it. I seriously thought I was going to throw up-- I felt so sick. She said she didn't believe the first vision happened and that the priesthood authority wasn't on the earth and that she was going to go to confession. She ended by telling us that she wanted her records removed from the church and that she was done. We bore testimony to her and then we were invited to leave. We got in the car, I drove around the corner, and we sat there for an hour and just cried. My heart was actually broken. It was a feeling I have never felt before. I didn't even know I could feel this much sadness for another person. I would say that we had a pretty traumatic experience on Sunday, but it was also a sacred experience. As I was sitting there while Bridgette was talking, I had the thought come to my head "This is how I felt." The hurt I was feeling was felt by my Savior. He was rejected. He was spit upon. He was nailed to a cross. Because He loves us. Sitting in Bridgette's living room, I felt even the smallest part of what the Savior felt. I felt that hurt and pain. Not in the same way or to the extent that the Savior did, but I was literally heartbroken. I want this so bad for Bridgette. I want her to have the hope of the Gospel.  I want her to have an eternal family.  I want her to find peace in this life through the Atonement. I was sitting in the car crying for her and it felt like the advisory put a thought in my head. He told me that Bridgette turning her back on everything we had taught her was because of me. Honestly, all I wanted was a hug from mom. Rough day, huh?

In the end, I know I am supposed to be here.  I'm right where I should be. I know that Bridgette has her agency-- one of God's greatest gifts to us, and that I did all that I could to help Bridgette come closer to Jesus Christ. But, in the end, it's her choice. This past week was kinda the worst ever, but I needed it. I came closer to my Savior Jesus Christ. I know that He is MY Savior. I know that I can overcome anything through the Atonement of Jesus Christ-- He can truly heal me. I know I'm worthy to be here. My Heavenly Father has been preparing me my whole life to be in this place at this time. I may not be converting all of Connecticut, but I'm sure planting a lot of seeds-- and the Lord is still working on His children. I know that. I know His plan is real. I know this is His work and I am so grateful to be even the smallest part of it. This week was hard, but it was also full of some really sacred experiences that have changed who I am. I know we can do hard things. That saying has a whole new meaning to me now. I know it's true. All things are possible because God is our loving Heavenly Father and we have a Savior.

So I guess this week wasn't all bad,  a lot of good came from it. So count your blessings each day,  okay? :-)

I'm sure grateful for my calling.

I love you!!

Love always,

Sister Bain

My desk and two miracles.  Which two are they?

Photobombed by Vader

Beautiful Sunset

Two Sister Missionaries.

2016 09-07 "Read the Book of Mormon every day"

Hello! Hello!
First up: HAPPY BIRTHDAY GRANDMA WOOD!! Something I love about Grandma Wood is her jokes. I always laugh so hard when I'm with grandma. I love her!! #GrandmasRule MicKelle and I still owe her a trip to Hawaii😂

I'm working on this annoying habit of using hash tags but it's a big thing in this mission so it's a bad habit I've developed hahaha lame.

I'm so happy Bri kissed a llama from a distance.  I laugh so hard I cried from the picture she sent. It made me so happy.

I AM SO EXCITED FOR GARRETT TO SERVE IN WASHINGTON. HOLY COW. I CAN'T EVEN BELIEVE THIS. I was hoping for the East Coast, but Washington is cool too. The west coast is cool I guess ;-) I'm stoked for him to start 12 week training (The District videos are the best YAY) CONGRATS GARRETT!
"God our strength will be; press forward ever, Called to serve our King!"

The weather is nice here. The leaves are starting to change and it makes my heart oh so happy!! Fall is coming!! We've had a lot of wind the past couple of days and TONS of rain. There was supposed to be a hurricane or something??
We get to go to the temple again this Saturday! Bridgette is going to the temple to do baptisms!! We are so excited. I also have this crazy love and obsession with the city so I'm pretty exciteddddddddd to see it again!!!!😁😁😁


Sister Sam and I saw a lot of cool miracles! The other day we got a referral from church headquarters so we went to go contact her. We went to 18 Davis Ct but when we got there, there wasn't even an 18!! So we just decided to start knocking doors and we ran into Kaitlyn! She's a student right now and is looking into religion because she wants to know more about God. So we talked to her about the Book of Mormon and we were able to set up a return appointment with her! (Return appointments are hard to get in this area so TENDER MERCIES ALL AROUND!!) We're meeting with her again this weekend!

The other day we had some awesome plans. But they all fell through....so that was lame. But we still saw miracles. One miracle was Caleb! We talked to him right as he was walking into his house-- he was just getting home from prison! He's dealing with some drug problems and he was super interested in learning more about the Atonement. He has so much faith and he's willing to do whatever it takes to get through this addiction. He went to the Healing Through Christ addiction program that the church does last night at the church building and he said he loved it and he wants to keep going!! So cool.

Oliver is doing well! His wife, Veena, just had their second baby on Sunday! They named her Eve. We obviously won't meet with us this week, but he said for sure next week!! He accepted a baptismal invitation!! He hasn't set a date yet, but he said he knows he needs to be baptized!!! I'm crying right now just telling you this because I'm so happy. He's so prepared!! The Atonement is real, peeps. I know it!

We've done a lot of tracting this week which is always a good time!! I love this area.
Okay. So I have a lot of thoughts from my studies I want to share with you...but the one I've thought about the most is about studying the scriptures. READ THE BOOK OF MORMON EVERY DAY!! Make the Book of Mormon part of your every day life. As I've read the Book of Mormon this week I've also thought a lot about the Prophet Joseph Smith. He is one cool guy. I know Joseph Smith is the Prophet of the Restoration. He saw God and our Savior Jesus Christ. The First Vision happened. I know it did. And what a blessing it is to have that knowledge. I cry every single time I share the first vision because of how sacred it is and how special it is. The hymn "Joseph Smith's First Prayer" has become one of my very favorites here on the mission but the first line of the 4th verse gets me every time.
"Joseph, this is my Beloved; Hear him!” Oh, how sweet the word!"
WHAT AN INCREDIBLE EXPERIENCE.
I'm so grateful for my knowledge of the Restoration.

How did it go with sharing your testimonies this week?? Any cool experiences??
Something I wanted to invite you to read this week is 2 Nephi 31 and before you read, pray and ask for the spirit to teach you something new 😚 and then tell me what you learned!!
I really do love being here. I'm grateful for all that I'm learning :-)
God lives. Jesus Christ is my Savior and He means everything to me❤❤
Have a good week!!
I love you!!
Love always,
Sister Bain 🍍

"This life is a time to prepare to meet God- not receive every blessing He has in store for us."


Ps: Yes! Those pictures I sent last week were from Central Park! I'm in love with Central Park!! 

Fall is coming!

Sisters in Central Park

2016 08-31 Road Trip - NYC

Hello! Hello!
I hope you all have a fun Labor Day!! Take some pictures at the family picnic at Grandma's house for me!

Have you all been sharing your testimony on social media?? Any luck? (This is me following up)
I AM SO EXCITED FOR GARRETT TO SERVE A MISSION. My fingers are crossed for the East Coast!! Yay missionaries!! ❤❤❤❤

Can you send me Bri's emails?? I can't open the link to her blog.....Lame. That's so cool that she was transferred!! I'm so excited for her!! Also, she'd be the best STL ever.

This week has been good. It sounds like Elder Sirrine had the same thing I did. I got the flu on Thursday so we were inside all day. BOO. I basically slept all day so that was lame. Sister Sam also got it (also lame) so we were inside all day yesterday but we are all better now! We just finished a session at the Manhattan temple!!! IT. WAS. SO. WONDERFUL. Ahhhhhh!!!!!

Oliver is still progressing!! He's super cool. He's changed a lot since I first met him and it's cool to see how his testimony of Jesus Christ is growing every day. We watched The Restoration with him and HE WAS CRYING during the part about the First Vision. (I was too) He's been receiving and recognizing answers to his prayers and he's having spiritual experiences while reading the Book of Mormon! We want to set a bap date with him tonight, so pray for him!

We are still in contact with Monica. Her parents are still in town from Ecuador for another week so we were hoping that once they left she'd want to meet with us again but she called us last Wednesday and told us her house burnt down....so yeah.....she's jobless and now homeless but something she said to me was really cool. She said "Sister Bain, I know Heavenly Father is looking out for me. I know He loves me. I know this is just a trial that will bring me closer to Him." She has so much faith-- it's incredible. It made me think about what I would act like if my house just brunt down and I had no place to live and no place to work. I've learned so much from her. Pray for her! :-)

We are also teaching Isis. She was baptized about 2 years ago, but she hasn't been to church since her baptism. We taught her about the sacrament and finding happiness through Jesus Christ. It was a super good lesson but she was drunk when we taught her so we're going to have to go back this coming week when she's sober.....but I know the Atonement is real and that #RepentanceIsCool

I've had a lot of random thoughts this week that I wanted to share with you.

1. God really does know better than I do. He truly is a loving Heavenly Father. He's softened my heart and He's really helped me open my heart and love. I know that when we ask our Heavenly Father to help us have charity, He will help us!

2. Let your daily personal study be a revelatory experience. Involve Heavenly Father and the Spirit in your studies and you'll see miracles!

3. My mission call was inspired by Heavenly Father! Sister Sam and I re-read our mission call letter during comp study the other day and both of us were bawling our eyes out by the end. That piece of paper that came in a big white envelope means so much more to me now than it did on March 12th, 2016. Of course it meant a lot to me when I opened it, but now that I'm here, in the New York New York North mission, I appreciate it more. In the First Presidency message in the front of Preach My Gospel, it says "The Lord will reward and richly bless you as you humbly and prayerfully serve Him. More happiness awaits you than you have ever experienced as you labor among His children." I have felt that happiness ❤

4. When you pray for opportunities to share your testimony, Heavenly Father will make that happen! I got to speak in sacrament meeting on Sunday about the gift of the Holy Ghost. I've been studying the Holy Ghost a lot this past week so it was cool to be able to share my thoughts and testimony about the spirit. I know the spirit really does testify of truth! He's done it again and again for me every day! Sister Sam and I also got to teach Gospel Principles and the 12-13 year old Sunday school! There have been a lot of opportunities for me to share my testimony this week and I know there are opportunities for you too! This week I want to invite you to pray for opportunities to share your testimony about Jesus Christ. I'll follow up next week :-)

Connecticut is wonderful. We can feel the fall weather coming!! We are so excited for the leaves to start changing!! I hope you all have a good week full of opportunities to share what you know to be true!! Missionary work is all about sharing your testimony-- when in doubt, testify!
I love you!

Make good choices kids!!
Be faithful. Be obedient. Be diligent.
#BainTrainForever
Love always,
Sister Bain
---

MOSIAH 2:34
"...ye are eternally indebted to your Heavenly Father, to render to Him all that you have and are"

NYC Skyline

NYC Skyline

NYC Temple

NYC Temple with Sister Sam