Sister Jessica Garfield California San Fernando Mission

We're So lucky, we got 2 letters this week from Jessica, one for last week, and one for this week! Yay! March 12, 2018 (last week, haha) Hey all! Favorite scripture: Mosiah 28:3 I read this scripture when doing a study on charity. When I read it as part of the list, I thought it was so interesting because I'd always considered this to be a missionary scripture before. But after a minute, the thought came to mind that Jesus Christ's mission was the salvation of our souls. The thought of any of us enduring endless torment caused Him to quake and tremble. So even though His mission was the hardest thing of all, to carry out the atonement, He did it anyway because He loves us. And that right there, the love of Christ, what charity is supposed to be. It was then that I realized why this scripture was listed under charity, because those missionaries had that same love for the people they were serving. And I want to be the same kind of missionary. Ever since that r...

There was no group email this week but here is a little note that she sent to us: Transfers are tomorrow! Sister Parker is going home, and Sister O'Bourke is getting transferred to the other valley! That was really surprising since she's only halfway through training, but I guess it's what the Lord thinks is best!  It will be sad to see Sister Parker go, but I think she's ready. And I'll miss Sister O'Bourke too. But I'm excited for this coming transfer. I'm staying in Newhall and YSA as one of the STLs. The other STL, who will also be my new companions, is named Sister Pinter. She is super awesome; she actually was already in our zone, just serving in a different district. She grew up in Laketown and is absolutely hilarious. I'm excited to see what happens this transfer. I really love you guys! Keep being awesome! Sister Parkers "Funeral" This one is much less morbid ;-) I'm gonna miss this Trio! Sister O...

Hey Everybody!    Favorite scripture/quote: 3 Nephi 18: 32 "Nevertheless, ye shall not cast him out of your synagogues, or your places of worship, for unto such shall ye continue to minister; for ye know not but what they will return and repent, and come unto me with full purpose of heart, and I shall heal them; and ye shall be the means of bringing salvation unto them." This may seem a little random, but it has a point, I promise. It even goes with one of my favorite spiritual moments for the week. I liked this scripture from the perspective of a missionary, because it lets me know that whether a person will accept the gospel or not is not up to me. It's their agency. But that doesn't mean that I don't still have a responsibility to share the gospel with them. I may not be the missionary that helps them to change their life, or even the one who touches their heart enough to help them begin to soften it. But they still deserve that chance. Because someda...

SORRY EVERYONE!  We were so excited to get letters this week, but also so busy that I forgot to post until today!  Here is the letter and pictures from Monday! Hey everybody! Favorite scripture/quote: 3 Nephi 28: 11 I love how this is just a simple testimony of the Godhead, and makes it clear the purposes of each member. It's just simple, but it stood out to me. 4 Nephi 1: 15-18 When we have contention, it drives away the Spirit. When we focus on Christ, it invites the Spirit. I want to make sure that I always am living in such a way to be able to have the Spirit with me. Favorite spiritual experience: Oh man, there were so many this week. We had a lesson with Monse and her family this week just a couple of days before the baptism. It was so cool. We read Alma 32 with them, which was super cool because Monse's nonmember sister was there too and loved the imagery of it. But the coolest part of it was that Monse bore her testimony to her kids. It was so amazi...

Hey guys! Favorite quote/scripture: DC 64: 33-34. I don't have time to type it out, so go look it up. I like how it talks about this work. I want to give my whole soul to the Lord as I go about doing His work. This is important. I want to make sure that I give my all. Favorite funny moment: So this wasn't like a laugh out loud moment or anything, but more of just a cool thing. We had a two week training follow up for all of the trainees and their trainers last Tuesday. One of the missionaries that came in with Sister O'Bourke is from Thailand. I'm not even going to guess at how to spell her name. She's still learning English, but she's been doing really good. Now that it wasn't her first day, I introduced myself again. Normally when I tell people my name, if they say it back to me to make sure that it's right, I say something like "yep, like the cat." She sounded it out to make sure she was saying it right, and I told her she got ...

Hey guys! Quick testimony: I just want to reassure everyone that God truly answers prayers. I'm going to be honest; the first half of this week was really rough. I didn't know what the problem was, but I was just really stressed and overwhelmed and unhappy, so for a few days I was just really pouring out my soul to the Lord to ask Him for help. I didn't even know what it was I needed, but I knew that He did, so I asked Him to help me in whatever way would be best. Just a few days later, I got my answer. It was in the form of a scripture, one that would never have stood out to me in any other circumstance. But it was exactly what I needed. I'm not going to share it because I don't want to go into what exactly it was I was struggling with, and it wouldn't make any sense otherwise. But I know that God answers prayers. I know that the scriptures were written for our day. I know that God knew ahead of time that I would be struggling with this right now, so He...

Ahh! Sorry! Short on time! Updates for this week that are important that you all probably want to know. ; ) So, Monse and her family are absolutely amazing! The night after I emailed last, we got her three oldest kids - Kelly, Sergio, and Mariah - on date to be baptized! They are getting baptized February 17th and are super excited about it. We've been meeting with them a ton, and they are just so amazing. They are doing everything they can, and so are we, to make sure they are ready by then. I can't wait! I'll keep everybody updated there. I found out this week that I get the chance to do something pretty cool, something that my dad also got to do on his mission: I get to serve in two different missions. In June or July, when my mission president is being released, the San Fernando mission is going to be dissolved and split between the LA mission and the Bakersfield mission. I don't know which part I'll be in yet, but it should be really cool. It ...