Happy General Conference!

Happy October and General Conference!!

Wow! Did everyone just love conference?! Maybe it's that I am eating, drinking and breathing the gospel right now but I could not wait for conference to start! We were at the visitor's center during two of the sessions so the only way we could watch it was from our director's laptop. When members of the church came in, it's not like we could say "Uh, HELLO? It's general conference? Why aren't you watching it?". Instead we would put down our notebooks and help others to feel the spirit at our amazing visitor's center. It was funny to see sisters be so calm about saying hello and goodbye to visitors while they were going crazy inside, wanting to soak in every ounce of what was being said. We were able to watch the other sessions of conference with members of the ward. I loved what D. Todd Christofferson said about how life's two best gifts are time and the freedom of choice. We have the choice to use our time as well as we can. Also Richard G. Scott's talk about character and self discipline. I always love hearing from President Monson. His talk on gratitude really helped me to remember that even when times get hard out here, it's living with the attitude of gratitude and prayer that opens up the blessings of heaven. I noticed an overall theme of agency and prophets. We have been giving the gift of agency and can decide whether or not to follow the counsel of men that have been called of God. Agency is definitely a gift and we show our Father in Heaven that we are thankful for that by making good choices.

This week has been great. Sister Juergens and I have been busy sharing the light of the gospel with others. We visited the Ortons, a less active family who has a daughter who is 32 that has a mental disability. I loved listening to how excited she got over even the little things. She talked about her bowling league named "The Power Cats" and how they have a tournament coming up. She talked about general conference and how important it was to listen to those men and women of God. She also talked about how she loved spending time with and helping her mom. She also took us over to their computer and showed us their screen saver of all the temples that have been dedicated. When we were about to leave, I asked if we could say a prayer with them and asked if there is anything that they stand in need of. Sister Orton sat there for a little bit thinking and then just started crying. She said "Peace is coming to my mind right now. I don't know why." We blessed her home with a missionary prayer and asked that she would receive peace at this time. I don't know what they are going through but I am thankful for the opportunity we have to follow the spirit in helping others.

We were able to visit with a part member family, the Tyrers. Sister Tyrer had to have an emergency surgery on her hip and we visited them with another family in the ward. She was in so much pain and we tried our best to comfort her. It was incredible when we said a prayer. The spirit immediately filled the room and there was a tangible peace in the air. Sister Tyrer didn't say anything and afterwards, said she felt better. It was a true testimony to me that prayer is powerful and changes things.

Sarah is getting baptized on Friday!!!!!! We are so excited and she is very excited too! Please pray that everything will go well so that she can experience this life changing event. Andrianna is also committed to baptism for November 2 and we continue to work with her. She is so amazing. We went over to teach a lesson and she brought out her notebook that she keeps all her notes in. She calls it "My Journey". She said she was guided in reading the scriptures and said she found things in the bible that say the church is true. She also said "The more I read out of the book of Mormon, the more I desire to get baptized." Wow! The amazing thing is, she is being guided by the Lord in all of this. At times, we feel like we don't do anything and that it is all the Lord. I hope I am able to serve Him in everything I do and with everything that I have. Thank you for all your support and prayers. Love you all!

Sister Love