TEXAS IN AUGUST | 8.8.16

Hey y'all!

Wow this week really flew by! We usually text and call people on Saturday to remind them about church... Sister McKee was like, "let's remind people about church!" And I was like, "shouldn't we wait until Saturday?" And she said.. "Sister.... It IS Saturday..." I don't know where the week went! Can I just say that I LOVE Sunday.... We have church at 9am and then again at 2pm so we are there all day and it is so wonderful. I just love church. How inspired that we have a whole day to take a break from our normal day to day life and think about eternal things... I love hearing everyone's testimonies and taking the sacrament. There is nothing more refreshing!

Our investigator Essie came to church! She is 9 years old and she is she daughter of a less active member... We are trying to activate the family and baptize Essie. Her mom is a single parent of 6 kids.... I don't know how she does it! Pray that her concerns will be resolved and that she will be able to come back to church! Agh! The gospel will help her so much if she will just let it!

I wrote a little about sister McBride last week... The hippie. She definitely belongs in Austin if you know what I mean. :) we taught her again and WOW I just love her. She played her guitar for us again. She is so awesome! When we ask her to read scriptures.... She just gets so into it!! She really dramatizes it and it makes it so fun! She loves reading conference talks and just loves all that we share with her. Hopefully she will come to church soon!

We are also working with Cathy... She is GREAT! When we read Moroni 10:3-5 with her, she whipped out that highlighter of hers and marked the page. She wants to "deepen her spirituality" is what she says so we are so excited for her to read and pray because we KNOW she will get an answer. We asked her how she thinks she will get her answer and she said "I don't think it will come all at once... " she loves meeting with us and talking. I love how the gospel is so simple... And it is for everyone! But at the same time... It can be so personalized to each individual's needs. Cathy is really looking to come unto Christ. Those simple things like reading the scriptures and praying will get her there! We taught her the gospel of Jesus Christ (faith, repentance, baptism, the gift of the Holy Ghost, and enduring to the end) and she LOVED it. She said.. " I've got faith.., I'm working on
getting to the repentance part." Ah! I Love her!!

I have learned a lot this week about the Savior and His character. I have been focusing on the Christlike attribute of charity and love. Charity is a gift from God.

45 And charity suffereth long, and is kind, and envieth not, and is not puffed up, seeketh not her own, is not easily provoked, thinketh no evil, and rejoiceth not in iniquity but rejoiceth in the truth, beareth all things, believeth all things, hopeth all things, endureth all things.

46 Wherefore, my beloved brethren, if ye have not charity, ye are nothing, for charity never faileth. Wherefore, cleave unto charity, which is the greatest of all, for all things must fail--

47 But charity is the pure love of Christ, and it endureth forever; and whoso is found possessed of it at the last day, it shall be well with him.

I have been studying ways that Christ demonstrated charity. Even when His people rejected him in the worst way possible, even when He suffered so much pain and injustice, He showed love. He was meek, submissive, and humble. He loves so freely and perfectly.... Even those who were cruel to him. I have learned that I need to love even those who reject our message and who are unkind without cause. Even when I am exhausted and it is HOT and we are biking around.... It can be challenging! But as I turn to the Savior, it is more and more possible each day. He is the example of perfect love. I am so grateful for my mission and how it has brought me closer to my Savior. I have learned so much about Him because of my mission and it only makes me want to learn even more.

48 Wherefore, my beloved brethren, pray unto the Father with all the energy of heart, that ye may be filled with this love, which he hath bestowed upon all who are true followers of his Son, Jesus Christ; that ye may become the sons of God; that when he shall appear we shall be like him, for we shall see him as he is; that we may have this hope; that we may be purified even as he is pure. Amen. (Moroni 7)

Love y'all! Xoxo

Sister Rachel Philpot

AUSTIN, TX | 8.1.16

Hello!!

Wow what a great week! I made it safely to Austin on Tuesday. It was sad leaving Las Lomas and Stone Oak because I LOVE the people there with all my heart!! I miss my cute Trainee, Sister Olsen, but I know that she is takin good care of the area. We drove up to Austin and transfers are just nutso. There were a million Elders with their bikes... But guess who I saw?! My MTC companion, Sister Kirby! AND! I also saw my beautiful and perfect trainer, Sister Jones!! I hugged her so tight I'm surprised I didn't squish her to death.

My new companion, Sister McKee, is PERFECT. She is straight outta the 50's with her beautiful naturally curly hair. She is such a great missionary and I am learning SO much from her. I have been out only 6 weeks longer than her and this is her first area. She also danced in high school so we have a lot in common with that. And she also plays the piano and sings. She plays hymn arrangements and I fall in love with her because of it. It is great, I love her and I love the area. This area is a bike area too. Definitely less hills than Las Lomas! But Sister McKee's legs are a lot longer than mine so I still get a workout tryin to keep up! Haha!

We live with members here and they have a dog named Abby! Haha she is so much fun. She helps us out with our planning sessions. ;) I am kinda attached to her already.

We have a big district! There are 5 Sisters and 4 Elders. I love having sisters in the district again! I love love love district meeting. I used to be terrified to role play but now I love it because it honestly helps so much! Even in a role play, you can feel of the spirit and it is so much fun to learn.

Sister McBride... We are working with an ex'd member and she is such a hippie. She joined the church in her youth and was later excommunicated. She said it broke her heart but the bishop told her it was not to hold her back, but to help her move forward. She says she has really taken that to heart. After, she got married and her husband has recently joined the church! Crazy how that works out. We talked with her about covenants and the temple... She says her favorite hymn is come come ye saints and she played it on her guitar for us and sang. I wish y'all could have been there. I love her!!

The Lord watches over His missionaries. I LOVE my mission and I LOVE my Savior. The gospel is so true! I know that when we live worthy of the spirit, we will have true JOY! I love the time every day that I have to spend studying the gospel. God's love is real. ❤️

Xoxo
Sister Philpot

"WHAT DO YOU MEAN, THE RESTORED GOSPEL?" | 7.25.16

Hey y'all!

Wow! What at amazing week!!

First, transfer news!! Tomorrow I will be leaving Las Lomas/Stone Oak and headed up to Austin! My companion will be Sister Mckee. She is just out of training. I am so excited! I will miss everyone here in Stone Oak and Las Lomas. I have honestly grown to love them like my own family. It's hard to describe how much I love the people here and how much I will miss them. Sister Olsen will be getting a new companion here who will finish out her training. I will miss her but I know they will do great work here! I'll tell you more about the new area and my new companion next week!

There is so much that happened this week! We have been blessed to see so many miracles!! I will just share one of them. Over a month ago, Sister Jones and I were biking through a neighborhood and we stopped to talk to this man who was getting out of his car in the driveway. As we talked with him, he opened up to us a lot and told us about how his wife had recently passed away. The way he talked about her, you could tell that he loves her so much and that he is so heartbroken and misses her like crazy. He didn't really accept anything that we told him and said that he has a very scientific mind. He says he would like to believe in God, but there is no way to know for sure. We told him he would be able to see his wife again but he just didn't believe us! My heart really hurt for him! We would stop by occasionally and try to see him again, but he was just never home... we left him scripture notes every once in a while and even left a Plan of Salvation Pamphlet on his porch. :) I didn't think too much of it and didn't really expect to ever hear from him. Sister Olsen and I stopped by this week and he actually answered the door!! He told us that he is really looking for God now. He started crying and told us that our notes are so wonderful! He says he looks up the scripture and goes and reads the entire surrounding chapter in the Book of Mormon! He even came to church this Sunday and wants to meet with us this week! It makes me SO HAPPY!! It's amazing to see the power of the Atonement and the comfort that Jesus Christ offers, especially through the Book of Mormon. He was asking us all sorts of questions like, "What is the Restored Gospel?" Haha! I felt like such a missionary... well, let us tell ya all about it!! :)

We had another investigator promise us that she would read the Book of Mormon every day. She even gave us permission to text her and remind her to do it. ;) In another lesson, we were able to read the Book of Mormon with a less active couple and it brought the spirit in SO strong. You could just see their faces light up and their understanding increase!

I LOVE seeing the miracles that happen as we read God's word from the scriptures. My own testimony has grown so much as I have studied the scriptures daily. There is so much power in that! The real miracles are the changes that happen in the hearts of people. If you are ever worried, stressed, or have doubts... READ THE BOOK OF MORMON! The gospel of Jesus Christ brings true peace and joy and changes the way we see things. I love my mission with all my heart.

Thank you for all the love and support! Hope y'all have a fantastic week!

Love,

Sister Philpot