Week 76 - The gospel really can make you so happy!

Lego Party

 
Back for another week! 

 On Monday night last week we had what's called a Lego party. It was a big service project and this man collects Legos then he cleans them all and sorts them out. Then he puts sets back together and gives them to kids in foster care. But he has buckets and buckets and Legos and he needs help sorting them so that's what we did! Ward members invited their neighbors and friends and we probably had about 100 people and it was so awesome to serve with the community and build relationships with other people who want to serve! 

Our Sisters at the 8 Witness Monument

 This week we also met a man named Larry, and we are going to be teaching him over the phone! He is a truck driver but met the sisters when he was home for 4 days. Over that weekend they had 3 lessons with him, he went to church and decided he needed to get baptized but e problem was, he had to get back on the road and couldn't stay in contact with those sisters. So they referred him over to us and because we are serving in a visitor’s center we had the opportunity to teach online. So even though Larry can meet with missionaries in person, we can still teach him the lessons and he loves reading the Book of Mormon every night! I know Heavenly Father loves all his children, so he makes it possible for every person to know about His plan. 

Also the happiest part of our whole week was we had people come to church!:) if you remember the family we started teaching who had a picture of the temple on their mantle already? They are so prepared to receive the gospel in their lives! The father's parents are members so they came with them to church and everyone loved it. The kids especially! They had to leave a little early because they had a prior commitment, but as we pulled the kids out of primary they were like, we're leaving already!? The mom texted us after and said that her whole family loved church and she felt that we were heaven sent. And I know that we were because the spirit guides us to know where to be! I love when people being to understand how happy living the gospel really can make them. That's one of my favorite things about being a missionary:) 

All is well and God is good:)

Love Hermana/Sister Courtney Baggett

Julia and Elise Marble with Sister Morgan and I

Trunk or Treat

Week 75 - Ain't no party like a Holy Ghost Party!

The Liberty 1st District.  Elders Leary, Mogan, Bytheway, Christiansen, Reis and Anderson.  Sisters Morgan, me, Hixon, Anderson, Flake and Jorgensen

Awesome miracles from this week as always!:) Follow up on last week with our service with the woman we met at the hospital. We met Janet at the Kansas City Rescue Mission on Wednesday with a member and she had some members from her church there with her. It was so incredible to serve there. It's hard to see what these people are going though as they are homeless and going though a very hard time in their life. But to see the light come into their eyes as we give them a meal and sing hymns and share scriptures. They can be fed both spiritually and physically. I was so grateful for the opportunity and to see how Christ lifts all. Our new friends taught us a new song they told us we had to learn before we left, it goes...

"Ain't no party like a Holy Ghost party cause the Holy Ghost party don't stop"  

Service at the Kansas City Rescue Mission.  If I don't look like a lunch lady, I don't know who does!  Janet, Sister Morgan, Michael, Nancy me and Tami.  Notice Michael's shirt!! haha They're so awesome!

I went on an awesome exchange this week with Sister Anderson!! She is such a great missionary and something she taught me this week was how important it is to be kind to yourself and to listen. Words that we use with ourselves can be very destructive. Would we say to others thing that we say to ourselves? Often times probably not. But we are just as important and special as the people we love! The need to listen is so important as well. When we listen we show people we care. So show someone you care this week and listen to their feelings and their thoughts. 

Friday was Sister Morgan's birthday so happy 21 to her!:) and then Saturday we went to Kloe Russell's baptism. She just turned 8 the day before and was so excited to be baptized!

Kloe Russell's Baptism.

Tonight we are going to go to what's called a "Lego party" and basically what is it is this man collects Legos and then he cleans and sorts them. After they're sorted he puts them together in to full sets and gives them to kids in foster care. So a Ward member met up with the man in charge and invited around 160 people, members and nonmembers to come have a party and sort with us!! Serving with people builds relationships with members and nonmembers so we're super excited!! Get out there and serve this week:) 

Love you all and hope you have a great week:) all is well and God is good!

Love Hermana/Sister Courtney Baggett

At dinner with the Hansen family playing with their lizard :)

Sister Morgan and I matching one day.

Week 74 - Hospital and Golden Referrals

Sister Morgan and I at the Kansas City Temple

Liberty Zone!

Hey all, it's been another great week here in Missouri! 

Here are a couple stories from this week!:) we got a referral from some missionaries serving in another area. They started teaching this woman who was going to church because she had family there. She has been going to church for the last 2 months or so but the elders were having a hard time teaching her because she wasn't in their area and they couldn't drive out to her, so they transferred her to us because she is in our area!! Probably the easiest contact Sister Morgan and I had ever had! She let us right in and said she wanted to learn more and that she loves going to church. She even had a picture of the temple on her mantle! Hahaha we were like is this even real!?:) so we have an appointment to meet with her this week and to make things just a little more perfect, her neighbors right across the street are active members and they already know her!! The Lord really is in all the details:)

This next one tells us even more how much God is in the little details. Sister Morgan and I went to visit a sister, Sister Helmbold one of my last companions, in the hospital. She had been experience extreme stomach pain and they couldn't find out why so they were running a bunch of tests. But she really felt like she was supposed to bear her testimony to someone there, so she kept trying! Many of them weren't interested...she asked one nurse if she was religious and she said not as much as you honey!:) haha but she was determined! After we visited with her for a bit a nurse came in and said she had seen Sister Morgan and I walk in to her room and said she saw a light about us. She thought we were from the clergy downstairs but then was like no they're too young, maybe they're from the latter day saints! So she came in to the room to ask if we were and she saw our tags and was like wow you are from the Latter Day Saints! I knew it!

We ended up having a long conversation with her about all these encounters and conversations she's had with missionaries all over the world literally! In Tanzania, London, Texas, she visited all of temple square, she reads from the Book of Mormon often and loves it! We were just shocked about the whole thing! She said I don't know why but I seem to find you everywhere, and Sister Helmbold brought the spirit right in and said I think Heavenly Father is trying to tell you something by having you meet so many missionaries. And she responded with maybe you're right! The conversation went on and she ended up giving us all her contact information so we could go do service with her this week!:) so we're very excited to see her again!

But to end the miracle of this story. Right after she walked out, all four of us were like that was so awesome! But we looked at Sister Helmbold and tears come in to her eyes and she said, as soon as she came in and we started talking to her the pain was gone. She had been at about a level 7 pain and then it was gone. The pain would stay away for the rest of the night and didn't return the next day either so she was able to go home.  Faith truly can heal the body and the spirit. I can't even explain how grateful I am to have been a part of this amazing miracle.

Sister Helmbold and our hospital visit.

I invite you all to find a way to increase your faith in Christ, because it is such a real power that can not only changes lives but the eternities.

All is well and God is good:)

Hermana/Sister Courtney Baggett

The MLC at the mission home.

Sisters Morgan, Flake, Jorgensen, Moss, Day and Me.

Week 73 - 40 day fast miracles

The day we found out we were staying together as companions!

When your companion is your best friend it's the greatest!

Hey all!!
So good things first we survived transfers!! Sister Morgan and I are so excited to be staying together for another in this Ward, amazing things are happening so we want to keep that all going!! We're also sad though because they ended up taking the elders out of our ward:( so now it will just be us. It will be a little crazy for a bit readjusting everything, but we know it will work out some how!

Really going to miss these awesome elders!

First an update on our 40 day fast! This is the last week that we will be doing it and we have already seen so many fantastic miracles!! One of the miracles is that we were able to start teaching the 4 girls last week! Lots of the members have been fasting for missionary opportunities and we've heard of those fasts being answered! One of my favorite stories from a sister in the ward was she texted us and said, and I quote haha, "I just totally had an awesome missionary moment handed to me and I botched it." So we asked her what happened and basically she has at a yard sale and got talking to the woman about how she has a big family and so does this member and at the end the woman says to the member, hey do you know of any churches around here, we just moved here and we need a church to go to. OKAY GOLDEN.

So this missionary moment was right in her face and it just shocked her!! Hahaha so she studded out an "I'm Mormon...and we go to the church by the temple..." she goes why would I said I'm Mormon first thing!?!? And we got even actually go to the church by the temple either we go to another building...we'll this is awkward   she was like I don't even know what I was saying and it just got so awkward and I know she thought I was crazy so I just got her number and decided I needed to fix it later!! Hahaha so later on in the week she invited her family over for a movie night on the lawn and they came! And they're also having a play date today! So if you ask her it wasn't the best contact ever...hahaha but that's why it's heavenly fathers work and not ours!:) he definitely makes up for our weaknesses and mistakes!

The Jensen's Barbecue!

And one more member story!! The Jensen family has been very involved with their neighbors so they invited a whole bunch of neighbor families and a couple member families over to their house for a barbecue. There ended up being about 50-60 people there, about half were not members so perfect for us to just have some causal conversation and get to know people in the area!! So we asked Brother Jensen when we got there who he would like us to introduce ourselves to and he says "everyone you don't know, go work some sister magic!" Hahaha so off we went and we talked to all their neighbors!:) who knows if any will want to learn more about the church but they have a good contact with missionaries and know we are normal good people too:)

We had a great lesson this week as well with the girls we started teaching last week! 3 of them were there and they're teenage girls hanging out with their friends so as you can imagine it was a little bit crazy when we first got there! We were worried it would be hard to calm things down, but we said a prayer and started, and when we got to the part in the lesson where we tell about the first vision, Joseph Smith's experience, the girls were all zoned in. I know they felt the spirit, and now they will begin to act on those feelings and the feelings will grow:)

Baptism day

Fun with members!

Farewell to Sister Peterson.

Friends for life!

We had the opportunity to go to one more baptism in Sister Morgan's last area and right after the woman was baptized she was walking out of he font and she just says, "I'm so happy!" I've been thinking about her words a lot and just how happy this gospel makes me. Missionary work ain't the easiest work by any means:) it's hard, I'm tired, there's heartbreak and disappointment and we are going literally all day every day, but I am the happiest I have ever been in my life. So friends and family I just leave you this week with that simple truth, the gospel will make you happier than you ever thought you could be. That I can promise:)

All is well, and God is good:)
Love Hermana/Sister Courtney Baggett

Welcome to the MIM Sister Soutas!Growing up together and new here we are!  She is being trained by one of my last companions Sister Hunt :)

Sister Morgan and I were able to give a tour of Liberty Jail to the new missionaries.

Week 72 - Service and Conference

The Liberty Zone and our awesome shirts!  Man, I love these missionaries!

Oh boy do I have a lot to tell you about this week!! Things basically exploded here in the Doniphan area! But I'll just start with Monday and we'll go from there!:)

Monday we went and had a Family Home Evening with the family we have been meeting with from the past couple of weeks and we talked about the gospel of Jesus Christ, especially repentance and it was pretty amazing to hear the kids teaching us! We really can learn from anyone and everyone, I'm so grateful for their testimonies! They also told us about their commitment from our last lesson which was to bear their testimony on social media and they were so excited! So if you don't know who to share you testimony with, just share it with everyone:)

Tuesday was the biggest miracle EVER. There is a young woman in the ward who has been trying so hard to work with her friends. She has been inviting them to church but things haven't ever worked out so we were just trying to encourage her too keep going and not give up so she said she wouldn't! We were supposed to have dinner with their family Tuesday night, so this young woman texts us and was like "Sisters I have two friends coming with me to dinner!" So obviously we're pretty excited!!! And then we get to dinner, and she has FOUR of her friends there!! Pretty beautiful surprise!!:) so we had dinner with them and it was super fun and then we shared a message before we left about the Book of Mormon. They were excited to be able to know more of what this is and meet with us! 

The Marbles with all our girls!

And on top of that Tuesday was the day we went to the temple with Royce and Gabriela! Royce was baptized for his dad and the spirit there was seriously incredible. I love the temple and I love that families can be together forever:)

The temple with Royce and Gabriella :)

And the rest of the week we were able to do so much service!! We helped to clean some houses, do some yard work, paint a house and everything!! I've learned that service really is the key to people's hearts. When you serve them you can really show your love for them. So a little invitation for this week! Go out and serve someone:) it could be big or small but I promise when you do that you and they will feel the love of our Heavenly Father in their life more:)

Painting a house for service.

One ending note on general conference:) I was able to see some themes! Saturday was definitely missionary work and the Book of Mormon! Which is awesome because I obviously love missionary work:) and members are so important!! We couldn't do missionary work with out the amazing member testimonies! And Sunday the theme was joy!! We really can have so much joy. Serving here at the Liberty Jail we get to hear a lot about the trials the early church members experienced during their time in Missouri, but you all heard first hand a story of joy coming from the history here in President Nielsen's talk! Joseph Smith and the other men also did their best to have a positive attitude as I've read in some of the letters they wrote. Our attitude really can determine any outcome, it's your choice so choose wisely! 

Conference with Julia and Elise.

Another conference session with the Russells.

I'm so grateful for the weekend we had to hear from the prophet, apostles and leaders of the church. I know they they are inspired and the messages we heard were from a loving Heavenly Father who really does care about us.  So all is well out here in Missouri, and God is good:)

Love, Hermana/Sister Courtney Baggett

We'll see you soon Cougs!!   (School starts in January for these two BYU cougars!!)