2017 07/26 "WAY too BLESSED to be stressed"

HAPPY BIRTHDAY GRANT!!  I cannot believe that he is 12. What. In. The. World. He is getting so old. I hope he has the best day ever  Okay also I hope you're having the best time at Bear Lake. I'm sad that Kell & KC weren't able to stay the week. That makes me super sad  MICKELLE IS GETTING MARRIED NEXT WEEKEND. Please send her lots of love  This week brought big changes!!

Sister Dismuke was transferred to the Bronx (haha the one place she didn't want to go ) and Sister Horton came to me in Harlem! I met Sister Horton my very first day in the mission field. We were roommates in Connecticut and I absolutely adore her. Heavenly Father has blessed me SO. MUCH. with all of my wonderful companions 

ANN IS GETTING BAPTIZED ON SATURDAY WOOT WOOT.  We are so excited. And the Harlem 1st ward is SO. EXCITED. I have learned so much from Ann. She is one very sweet soul  AND! She prays for you all! The other night when we saw her she said, "Please bless Sister Bain's family. Bless her good parents that they will continue to be strong and faithful, bless her little brothers that they will grow up healthy. Bless her sister and brother-in-law that their marriage may be strong. Bless them to have experiences to bring them closer to Christ." Those sweet prayers bring so much peace to my heart. Ann is so faithful and she knows that her prayers are always answered, therefore my sweet fam is being extra blessed 

I am so so grateful for this time in my life. WAY too BLESSED to be stressed Something I've realized a lot this week is that it's SO easy to go through the motions and to get into a routine. The other day we helped a woman who was visiting from Oregon learn how to use the subway. To us, swiping our metrocard to catch the 2 train to 96th street to transfer to a 1 train to go up to 103 street because only the 1 travels on Broadway is super easy and it's just part of life. But for this woman from Oregon, it was so magical. To us, it's easy to let Central Park fade into the background because we see it every day. But people come from all over the world to see Central Park. We see the Empire State Building every day. We see thousands of people from all over the world every day. We run like crazy people to catch the M116 so we don't have to walk crosstown 45 minutes to get home-- you would NEVER see me running to catch a bus in Utah. But stuff like that is normal for us and sometimes I feel like I'm just so use to it that I don't even see the "magic" of New York City anymore. But that's what happens when we just get lost in the routine. But.....is that what happens with your daily scripture study? Daily prayer? Weekly church attendance? Are we just doing these things because we know we should? Or have we found purpose in our studies and in our prayers? Have we found our own reasons for attending church each week? Are we in a mundane routine of small and simple things that we've lost the magic of spiritual experiences? Here's some questions I really want you to think about:

1. Do you remember the first time you felt the Holy Ghost?
2. Do you remember the last time you felt the power of the priesthood?
3. Do you remember the last time you felt the Book of Mormon was true?
4. Do you remember when you have felt God answer your prayers? 

Are we putting ourselves in a position to have these experiences each day to renew our faith? Are we actively searching for ways to feel the constant companionship of the Holy Ghost? Are we actively looking for our own testimony of the power of the priesthood? Are we keeping a study journal to remember the promptings we receive as we study our scriptures and look for God's hand in our lives? It is SO insanely easy to create a regular routine which eventually turns into regular, normal motions. When was the last time you marvelled at the blessings you've been given because of the Restoration of the gospel of Jesus Christ? Marvelling at these blessings is a sign of faith!! I believe that it shows that we believe in God and that we believe in Jesus Christ. And we believe that our Heavenly Father loves us enough to bless us every day!  

I hope you all have a wonderful and SAFE week at the Lake!
I love you!! 

Love always,
Sister Bain 

"I think of his hands pierced and bleeding to pay the debt!
Such mercy, such love and devotion can I forget?
No, no, I will praise and adore at the mercy seat,
Until at the glorified throne I kneel at his feet.
Oh, it is wonderful that he should care for me
Enough to die for me!
Oh, it is wonderful, wonderful to me!"
- I Stand All Amazed hymn 193 

(I cry WITHOUT FAIL every time we sing this song.) 

ANN IS GETTING BAPTIZED ON SATURDAY

Saying to Sister Dismuke

Hello Sister Horton

2017 07-19 "I LOVE YOU."

"Why don't you just blame everything on Satan? It's his fault anyway." -my companion 😂

I hope you all have fun at Bear Lake. Without me. Because I'm in Harlem. Which is way better. It's fine. #MissionsAreCool ✌Okay but on the real, I'd rather be in NY ANYWAYYYYYYYY 💕 So take lots of pictures for me. Also, tell Roomie she better send me an email or I'm going to come home and beat her up. (I still love her though.) Remember that one time Juanito Bandito called her out for her hair? 😂 Never forget. Last thing, on Sunday or whenever you're all together, send me a video with all of you in it. Because I love you & miss you all. Okay anyway enough about you 😂 (KIDDING.)

Harlem is such a good place and I can't wait to show you the city!! (ALSO I SAW THAT BRANDON WENT TO THE MANHATTAN TEMPLE AND I LOVE THAT PLACE AND I WISH I COULD STILL BE ON THE WEST SIDE SO I COULD RUN INTO THE GURNEYS AGAIN 😭😭) But this week was gggggrrrrrrreeeeeeeaaaaaaattttttt 💕💕

Candace, my cute co-worker at Seagull Book got her mission call to Mexico so YAY missions are cool. (Not the same one as Brandon, sadly.)

We've made friends with a guy at a fruit stand on 127th street (his name is Shakil. He's from Texas.) We passed him the other day and started talking to him, asking him how his day was going....the usual. But during all this, I was eating a granola bar a member gave me that had chocolate on it and he stopped. in the middle of his sentence. and said "Sister Bain, stop eating that. It's going to make you fat. Here, eat this." And he handed me a banana 😂😂😂 "if you're ever thinking about eating chocolate again, just come here and I'll give you free fruit." I'M GOING TO KEEP EATING CHOCOLATE OKAY SHAKIL. I walk a trillion miles a day anyway so I'm going to be just fine.

Sister Johnson and I went on a split and in one day Sister Bain....
1. Accidentally hit another sister in the face with a volleyball haha oops.
2. Got her hair stuck in a blow dryer and had to cut it out hahahahahaha
3. Got attacked by a dog. (I'm fine though so whatevs. Just some scratches on my leg.)
4. Had a water bottle explode right in her face causing her mascara to go everywhere
5. Had 5 members of an Italian mob ask her to take their "squad pic" (their words.)
Anddddddddd
6. Found an ASL referral (THIS HAS BEEN MY GOAL FOR THE LAST 12 WEEKS. woot woot.)
Best split of my life 😂😂😂😂😂

Anyway, on to more important things. Ann is getting baptized on July 29th and we are sooooooo excited. She is literally the sweetest thing ever. Also, in Africa, they don't use the word "treat" so we taught her what that was and she thinks it's hilarious 😂 her favorite treat is vanilla ice cream 💕 Ann has so much faith and it's so cool to see how the gospel has changed her heart. I know that's possible for everyone. The gospel is real and it's true. I hope you've been able to take the gospel of Jesus Christ from your head to your heart. How have you come to FEEL the gospel is true? 🌷 I know the spirit testifies of truth. And as we pray and ASK and SEEK our answers, they will be given to us. Ann has prayed and asked Heavenly Father if the Book of Mormon is true and she said "Sisters, I wouldn't feel this happy if it wasn't true." I know everyone can feel that if they truly desire it. ALSO.

On Saturday we went to visit one of our new members who just moved into the YSA ward and when we buzzed her apartment her roommate answered. She was kinda rude 😂 and said that our member wasn't home. The next day at church, the member we tried to visit said that her roommate who answered the buzzer wanted to meet with us. SO. My companion and Sister Christofferson met with her yesterday on our split and they said she's way cool AND SHE SET UP A RETURN APPOINTMENT FOR NEXT WEEK. Remember in the movie The Best Two Years when one of the elders is waiting for Kyle to call and the other elders were like "oh well that's too bad, he's not gonna call." But then Kyle calls? WELL FELICIA (the member referral) CALLED US AND SET UP YESTERDAY'S APPOINTMENT WITH US. If that's not the coolest thing ever I don't know what is. 👌 SHE CALLED US. THAT'S COOL.

Okay so I set a goal to drink 4 water bottles a day so pray for me to not be dehydrated. I'm also memorizing The Living Christ and that's really cool so you all should read that this week. (Since you're all going to be bored at Bear Lake you'll have time 🙃😉) okay

I'm going to be serious now.
I'm really sorry to hear about Brother Sheen. I can't even begin to imagine what Sister Sheen is feeling. But I do know that the Atonement of Jesus Christ is real.

I read a talk by Elder Holland recently and he said "Let’s stay with this matter of Christ’s Atonement for a moment. If I understand the doctrine properly, in the experience of the Atonement, Christ vicariously experienced (and bore the burden of) the sins and sorrows and troubles and tears of all mankind, from Adam and Eve to the end of the world. In this, He Himself did not actually sin, but He felt the pain and consequence of those who did. He did not personally experience a broken marriage, but He felt the pain and consequence of those who do. He did not personally experience rape or schizophrenia or cancer or the loss of a child, but He felt the pain and consequence of those who do, and so on and on through the litany of life’s burdens and broken hearts." I don't understand how the Atonement of Jesus Christ works, but I feel His love and peace in my heart and I know that God is aware of our burdens and will strengthen us. This does not mean our problems will always disappear or the world will suddenly be at peace. But I do know God loves His children- always. “When we speak of those who are instruments in the hand of God, we are reminded that not all angels are from the other side of the veil. Some of them we walk with and talk with—here, now, every day. Some of them reside in our own neighborhoods. Some of them gave birth to us, and in my case, one of them consented to marry me. Indeed heaven never seems closer than when we see the love of God manifested in the kindness and devotion of people so good and so pure that angelic is the only word that comes to mind.”

We can find happiness and lasting joy in this life because we have a knowledge and testimony of the Plan of Salvation. It's so cool to be here as a missionary and teach people about God's love and His goals/plans for each of us. I know that trials don't last forever and that we can find peace in our souls because adversity and affliction will only last but a small moment. (Doc Cov  121:7-8) Dad, thank you for sharing your talk with me and helping me remember the peace and comfort I felt as Grandpa Bain passed away. I sure miss him. A lot. But I know that because of God's plan I will be able to see him again. ❤ <<Families are Forever>>
“Hope is not a feeling—it’s not a tidal wave of joy in the middle of a problem. Hope is not the magic wand that makes the problem disappear. Hope is the lifeline that can keep you from being overwhelmed by the storms in your life. When you place your hope in Christ, you place your confidence in His promises that He will never leave you or forsake you—that He will do what is best for you. Even though you may be in the middle of a huge problem, hope enables you to be at peace, knowing that Jesus is with you every step of the way.”

What are you going to do this week to build your faith?
Radiate goodness ☄

Love always,
Sister Bain 🍍

Ps. Tell Jacob I am so proud of him and who he's becoming. I want to read his talk!! I know he did a wonderful job. I sure love him. 

Bridger and Bronxton-- the Bishops kids 

Sister Dickey. She's a Harlem legend. We sure love her. 

Sisters sisters. Never such devoted sisters. 💕 

(We usually look super cute and nice but yesterday it was 95 degrees with a million percent humidity soooooo) 

2017 07/12 "I really just want to go take a nap 😂"

WHAT'S UPPPPPPPPPP ✌

I hope you all had a good week! I'm glad that Jacob, Grant, and Bryson remember our dance parties in the car. They weren't nearly as good as Aunt Michelle's...but they were decent 😂 I love those boys. Also, I love that Grant has braces hahaha make sure they don't slide off his teeth 😂😂😂 that made me laugh so hard.

This week FLEW. BY. The months and weeks and days are going by faster and faster. A year ago yesterday my trainer picked me up and I went to my first area. Crazy, huh? One year in the mission field. It's been a good time. It's cool to go back and read journal entries about my first week in the mission field and then to reflect on all the wonderful opportunities I've had since then. 💕 I think I've grown up a lot and I've gained new perspectives on people and life. It's cool.

It's been super hot and humid the last couple of days. We come home exhausted every day 😂

Ann is getting baptized on July 29th so we visit her pretty often. The other night when we saw her she said "Sisters, are there missionaries in my country?" (She's from Africa.) And we said of course!! She asked us look up the nearest church to her home because her kids wanted to check it out! They said they had seen a huge change in their mom's life and wanted to know why. So we got onto mormon.org and searched her county. MIRACLE!! The only branch in her entire country is literally around the corner from where her family lives. 😍😍😍😍 WHAT. She wrote down the number for the missionaries and she called them and they're going to take her family to church!! ❤ She's too cool.

Sorry there's not much to report this week. I really just want to go take a nap 😂
I hope you all have the best week ever!!
I love you!!
Radiate goodness.

Love always,
Sister Bain 🍍

 

We walked up all of those stairs. It was death. 

4th of July celebrations. 

We saw AWESOME fireworks from our window!! (not pictured)

Our recent convert, Stephanie. We love her.

Steven got baptized this week!! 

NYNYN Mission with President Uchtdorf 

President Uchtdorf 

2017 07/05 "Miracle #6"

Hi hey what's up 
AUNT LISA- thank you so much for the cute birthday present  I'm so happy that Keith made it home safely!! Tell him to email me ASAP ALSO, happy (late) birthday to Aunt Nancy! There's a baptism happening in the YSA ward THIS FRIDAY! WHAT WHAT. Steven is being baptized in our ward and we are so excited. With the new YSA stake, our ward boundaries changed so we now cover Harlem, Inwood, the Bronx, and Westchester county! Steven is from the Bronx and this brave soul travels by train for an hour to come to church! He's a superstar. AND! Ann is getting baptized on July 29th in the Harlem family ward! We love her. She's been reading 1 Nephi and when we asked her how it's been going she said that she loves it. Ann is from Africa and literally left everything she has in her home country to come to New York. She said that she came here to learn the gospel but at the time she didn't know that that's what she was looking for.  she has had some incredible spiritual experiences with the Book of Mormon. I know that the Book of Mormon changes people's lives!! I love reading the Book of Mormon I've also come to love love love the dictionary in the last week  and I could sit and read it for days (if it was on the list of approved reading material for missionaries of course....) The rumors are true, I MET PRESIDENT UCHTDORF  WOOT WOOT. He came to NYC for a meeting and asked President Smith if he could have a mission conference with us. We had the opportunity to have a sacrament meeting with him and his wife. It was too cool. He shook my hand so that was a big deal  That was a perfect way to start our week! We saw soooooooooo many miracles this week!! That same Sunday that we met President Uchtdorf (aka the best day ever), a Belgium couple came to church. In the Harlem ward we do something called "The Harlem welcome" and if you're new or visiting you stand up at the end of sacrament meeting and introduce yourself. So, this couple stands up and introduces themselves and they tell us that they want to join the church because they felt so good and happy and they want to learn more. Fast & testimony meeting was all about the restoration and the Book of Mormon. Cool. Miracle #2- we were walking and stopped at a crosswalk. The girl next to me looked at me and said "Woah, are you two Mormon??" We said yes (naturally) and she said that her aunt is a member and served a mission and she was curious about what missionaries do! We talked to her for a quick second before she had to leave and we were able to give her our information. Miracle #3- we had to go to Costco to get my glasses fixed and it was PACKED. First miracle of this story is that the guy at the door let us in even though we didn't have a Costco card (BLESSED) but with all the people we had to stand in line before we could get out the door. We were figuring out a path we could take to escape and a girl came up and asked if we were missionaries. Again, we said yes, and her boyfriend asked me "what's on your heart today, Sister Bain?" We testified of the reality of God's love and the Book of Mormon. We were able to give both Ashley and Jeffery a copy of the Book of Mormon and a restoration pamphlet. (Ps. My glasses are fine, the screws just needed to be tightened....) As we were leaving Costco we were able to help a family with their groceries and they asked why we were being so nice  we gave them a picture of Christ and they taped it to their car window. Miracle #4 a member from Pennsylvania stopped us on the street and said his sister, who just moved here from the DR, wanted to talk to missionaries. She's meeting with the Spanish sisters tonight!!  Miracle #5- we got in contact with one of our YSA members who has been on tour with the Book of Mormon musical for the past year and a half. She's super nice and fed us brunch. Miracle #6- I met Edwin on the M101 (a bus) who said he's only felt God's love when he was in prison but hasn't felt it since. I told him that I've been able to feel God's love through the Book of Mormon. So I gave him a copy and asked if I could say a  prayer with him ("you wanna pray with ME? Right here on this bus? You must be outta your mind girlfriend.) But he let me pray with him anyway! Sooooooo those are just a FEW of the many miracles Heavenly Father blessed us with. We kept asking Him to help us be in the right place at the right time and He helped us out!!  I know that God works miracles DAILY. I'm grateful to be part of His eternal and important work. It has been the best time ever. 

Some last random thoughts brought to you by the one and only Sister Bain: 

Figure out how to find joy through reading the Book of Mormon 

"Wherefore, be not weary in well-doing, for ye are laying the foundation of a great work. And out of small things proceedeth that which is great. Behold, the Lord requireth the heart and a willing mind; and the willing and obedient shall eat the good of the land of Zion in these last days." << Doc Cov 64:33-34 >>

The gospel is for everyone even when it doesn't seem like it. 

Radiate goodness. 
Sister Bain 

Hope

So Cool

Sisters - Mission Conference

It's a pleasure to meet you President Utchdorf.