"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

FROM THE SUBURBS OF SAN ANTONIO... | 7.18.16

Hey y'all!

It has been quite a week! It's not getting any cooler... but that's okay! We love it! This week we had exchanges again so Sister Gillespie was here with me. I love her so much! I'm pretty used to the biking by now but Sister Gillespie took a spill! Haha I felt so bad... I just heard a big ol crash behind me and she was laying there on the ground! Sister Olsen's bike had to go to the shop... Sister Gillespie was a bit scraped up too, but all is well. We got to see lots of people that day and she was a trooper! 

We have AMAZING members in this area. They are all just the cutest and I love them so much. We got a big Texas bbq meal last night.. wow I love Texas. :) 

Yesterday we were really hoping that our investigators and less actives would actually show up to church like they said they would... nobody actually came that we were planning on... but! This man walked in with 4 kids and one of our members just grabbed him and took all his kids to primary! Then she brought him to come and meet us. He was actually at the wrong (but very right;)) church! Haha but his kids loved primary SO much. They said it was the best church that they had ever been to because they actually got to go sing and learn! I thought that was so cool! All you really need to know is what you learn in primary. I thought it was so cool that they ended up there by "mistake" and the kids just loved it. 

Love y'all and hope you have a great week!

Love,

Sister Philpot

"Do you want to be happy? Forget yourself and get lost in this great cause. Lend your efforts to helping people. ... Stand higher, lift those with feeble knees, hold up the arms of those that hang down. Live the gospel of Jesus Christ." -President Gordon B. Hinckley

THERE'S A REASON I'M IN SAN ANTONIO | 7.11.16

Hello Everyone!

This week has been great! We had 4 investigators at church yesterday! Maggie has now come to church 5 weeks in a row! She is so cute! She has no religious background at all, but she loves coming to church and learning more! After the baptismal service we brought her to, we asked how she felt and she said that she doesn't think she is ready for that yet! But she loves coming to church and I know she will feel ready soon enough. Her husband and her son came back from China this week and we were able to meet them both! CJ (Her husband) was a lot more open and supportive than we were thinking he would be, so that is really exciting! And her son, William,  was so excited and kept saying, "I wanna go to church, I wanna go to church!" Haha Yayyyy! They are the cutest family ever. Even though CJ isn't super interested or ready yet, I know he will be one day too! He has the desire to believe even though he doesn't have much religious background and a very scientific mind. He said it's hard for him to believe things unless its a scientific experiment and something that could be measured. We read in Alma 32 about experimenting on the word and making a place in your heart for the seed of faith to grow! He liked it more than I thought he would. There are so many cute families in the ward that are friends with their family and it makes all the difference! I love to watch Maggie come to church and just go sit by the ward members and feel at home. It makes me feel so successful when people don't need us. It sounds kinda funny, but its true! When people are friends with the members and truly converted to the gospel, they don't need us to tell them what to do! It's so exciting to see her sincere desire to come to church and come closer to God. Hopefully her family will come next week! They were home asleep during church because they are still adjusting to the time difference from China!

A week or two ago we were walking in some apartment complex, and this man was outside. Well we talk to everyone, right? So we gave him a card with the website and our number on it. He didn't seem too interested, but still friendly. We didn't think too much of it because that happens all the time. Later, we got a text saying that he wanted to meet with us and to come by on the 5th! Wow that never happens! Well we brought another sister from the ward and we went over. I was so curious to see what this guy was gonna say... I had no clue what to expect. But he is so great, wow! His name is Matt. He was talking about how he hasn't been practicing religion for a very long time but he knows he needs to. He kept saying, "There is a reason I moved here to San Antonio!" He is searching for something that will make him really happy. He promised us that he would come to church every single week and he accepted the invitation to be baptized! He LOVED the first vision and he gave us a ton of referrals! He is so prepared, it's crazy. It's definitely not a coincidence that he moved here right next to the temple!! Ah! We are so excited to teach him more. 

Wanna hear something funny? it's kinda sad actually... It is SO HOT and we just bike around and get so so sweaty and it's really pretty gross. We biked to a lesson that we had with Maggie, and we were just sitting there red faced and so nasty... haha Sister Morris, the member we brought, was all, "are you okay Sister Philpot? Get her some cold water!" Haha sometimes it is really hard to focus on teaching a lesson when you are a roasted tomato.... Now Maggie always offers us rides and water and it's probably because we are SO SMELLY! Haha its the worst! But it's all worth it. :)

Sometimes I feel like people don't take us too seriously. I mean I look like a 15 year old biking around with my goofy helmet in a skirt... what even is that? I love it but people seriously stare at us! We just smile and wave! Haha! Yesterday, we biked up to this house and walked up to the door the same time as the plumber... and he goes, "Is your mom home?" Hahahah I was like what? We don't live here.... hahahaha oh man I do look 15. 

It is a good thing they make us wear helmets though. We were biking down the street and stopped to talk to these people. Just picture it... these two sweaty sweaty girls in their helmets trying to talk to people about Jesus on the street... Anyway, we were in the middle of our conversation and all of a sudden some rock or something super hard fell from a tree or something and just whacked my helmet! Haha sometimes I just think it is so funny! I would never be biking around talking to people with a helmet on and get whacked in the head if I were at home in Utah. I'm so glad for all these fun adventures and I am SO grateful that God sent me on a mission. I love it with all my heart! And I love all the people here in Texas. Haha what a great week!

Love y'all!

xoxo

Sister Philpot