Nov 28, 2011

hola familia, this week was good but nerve-racking at the same time. Before I have never known for sure that my companion was leaving, especially to her house. it has been really weird and frustrating because it makes me think about home. oh well, it will be back to normal with another companion who still has time in the mission. I have learned a lot from hna troesch. always just when I am getting settled in, we change. i always freak out when my companion leaves, but hopefully i will be more stable this time. haha. C was baptized on saturday and P baptized her. his first time. he was way nervous. it all went perfectly. we were so scared that he would have to do it more than once and would feel badly, but all was perfect. afterwards, the bishop said, do you realize what is happening? P is progressing so incredibly. he said not many missionaries get to see one of their own converts baptize someone. I felt so priveleged to see the change that has happened in him, from where he was in his life to now. we were teaching his sister D yesterday, and after we shared the first vision of Joseph Smith we asked him what he felt when he heard it for the first time?  he said that he felt the spirit and that the spirit told him, you have to change. it was so awesome.
so C lives like 2 blocks from our house, so she knows where we live. on saturday she said she would pass by our house to walk together to church for her baptism.  we said about 8 would be fine and she thought it was too late, so we settled on 7:45. on sunday morning, at 7:15 we hear a clap outside. no way, already? sure enough, we hadn't eaten or put on our shoes yet and she was all ready to go. it was so funny. so we had to hurry and eat something and go. she is always very punctual. haha. she was so excited for her baptism and confirmation. she says that before she met us, she would always wake up at night and feel an emptiness and a sadness. she didn't know why, but at the same time, it didn' go away. she says that now she feels happy, peaceful, and she doesn't have those feelings anymore. the gospel really works miracles in our lives. that is one of the biggest testimonies I have gained from my mission.
yesterday in gospel principles class, the spirit reminded me of something really important. the lesson was on sacrifice. there are 3 levels of why we sacrifice. 3. fear of God 2. to receive blessings 1. just because we love the Lord. I realized that I needed to be reminded that the only way to be completely happy and to know my savior is to do the work for nothing more than my desire to serve Him because i love Him. that applies to so many parts of our lives. oh no. I am out of time. I love you all so much. I think of you and pray for you every night. I hope you all had a good thanksgiving!!! send me pictures!!
love,
hermana plummer
The ward asked the missionaries, serving from our ward, to write a letter to the ward.  Here is Whitney's letter to the Foothill Ward.

21 de Nov, 2011

Querido Foothill Ward,

How awesome y’all wanted to include the missionaries in your Christmas celebration.  I am excited to share a few of my thoughts about this time of year.  When my mom told me what I was asked to do, the first thing that came to my mind was something my mom sent to me in the MTC, that was called “Ten Reasons Why a Missionary Christmas is Different.”  If any haven’t read it, I’m sure if you ask my mom she will find it.  After my first Christmas in the mission, I don’t think I could ever go back to celebrating it like I did before.  Christmases before were always filled with presents, planning, traveling, parties, and a whole bunch of other fun stuff.  But when I had the best Christmas ever, that didn’t include all these things, I had my eyes opened in a new light.  There is nothing better than being able to focus completely in Christ during this time of year, when the world fills it with other things.  I am so grateful for my testimony of our Lord and Savior Jesus Christ and for the change that has occurred in me.  We have a change of heart when we take out distractions and focus on what is most important.  As we put our focus on Christ and as we learn more about the Atonement, the result is that we begin to become a little more like Him.  We can be instruments in His hands to let the light of Christ touch the lives of others, and not just at Christmas time either.  What a blessing to have the restored gospel in our lives to help us feel the power of the Atonement.  Let us share that knowledge with others.  They need it!!  I know that these two Christmases on my mission are so that I will never forget, and even though in the future I will be back living in the midst of it all, I hope to never forget to consecrate this special time of year.  I wish everyone a Merry Christmas.  See y’all next year.

Always,

Hermana Plummer