Dear Family and Friends,
I don't have alot of time but I wanted to update you all on the families we are teaching. The Gleason's are getting baptized in two weeks!!! We are really excited. They are an awesome family. The kids went to a wedding in Boston this week so we actually got to meet with Sister Gleason by herself. It was nice to get to just talk with her. She is such a great mother and loves her kids so much. She had a very strong testimony!! I love her so much!!
The Browns are doing well. Brother Brown came back from his trip out to see his family. We are really praying for him at this time. We hope that he will be able to recognize the spirit and take steps closer to the Savior!
Transfers were this weekend. Sister Walton is going to Lakewood Ranch and I am getting a new companion. Her name is Sister Westover. She is from Sandy, Ut and is a Spanish speaking sister. There is not a lot of Spanish work here but I am happy to have her.
I love you all!
Sister Comte
Tuesday, September 29, 2009
Tuesday, September 22, 2009
September 21st Email
Dear Family and Friends,
It has been a marvelous week here in Valrico, Florida! The Gleason's, Katie and Michael, are getting baptized on the 10th of October. We are so excited. We watched Legacy with them this week. They loved it. They mom asked if we could move in because they are so well behaved when we are around. They are such good kids. Michael is so excited because he will be able to get the priesthood. He wants to be able to pass the sacrament with the other boys!
The Browns are doing good. Brother Brown is out of town for awhile but we are trying to strengthen his family so that they can help him progress. We had family home evening with them last night. We talked about Alma 50 and building fortifications aroung our homes. The Browns have five children. A girl that is 15, a girl that is 13, a boy that is 7, and twins, a boy and girl, that are 2. The younger kids built a city out of blocks and then built a wall around the city so that we could protect the city. We then talked with the older girls about how they could help their mom make their home a safe place. The girls talked about Family Home Evening, Family prayers, and family meals. We also talked about what we bring into our home as far as the media goes. We talked about the movies we watch and the music we listen to. The girls both agreed that once we let Satan in a little bit, he will come in as far as he can budge. They decided to just leave him at the sidewalk as they enter the house.
We went this morning to the zoo with Sister Brown and the twins for P-Day. It was so much fun. I almost got licked by a giraffe. It was so disgusting! I got to see my first huge Florida gator. They had a ton of them. We also got to pet sting rays and see a baby gorilla swinging from the trees. The kids loved it and so did we. It was fun to get out and do a fun activity!
A constant theme this last month for every missionary meeting is FAITH. Everything relies on Faith. If we believe it is possible than there is no way that it will be impossible. Our Savior will provide for us. If we put our trust in Him, He will never let us fall to hard. He knows us so well that He will succor us in our time of need!
Love Sister Comte
It has been a marvelous week here in Valrico, Florida! The Gleason's, Katie and Michael, are getting baptized on the 10th of October. We are so excited. We watched Legacy with them this week. They loved it. They mom asked if we could move in because they are so well behaved when we are around. They are such good kids. Michael is so excited because he will be able to get the priesthood. He wants to be able to pass the sacrament with the other boys!
The Browns are doing good. Brother Brown is out of town for awhile but we are trying to strengthen his family so that they can help him progress. We had family home evening with them last night. We talked about Alma 50 and building fortifications aroung our homes. The Browns have five children. A girl that is 15, a girl that is 13, a boy that is 7, and twins, a boy and girl, that are 2. The younger kids built a city out of blocks and then built a wall around the city so that we could protect the city. We then talked with the older girls about how they could help their mom make their home a safe place. The girls talked about Family Home Evening, Family prayers, and family meals. We also talked about what we bring into our home as far as the media goes. We talked about the movies we watch and the music we listen to. The girls both agreed that once we let Satan in a little bit, he will come in as far as he can budge. They decided to just leave him at the sidewalk as they enter the house.
We went this morning to the zoo with Sister Brown and the twins for P-Day. It was so much fun. I almost got licked by a giraffe. It was so disgusting! I got to see my first huge Florida gator. They had a ton of them. We also got to pet sting rays and see a baby gorilla swinging from the trees. The kids loved it and so did we. It was fun to get out and do a fun activity!
A constant theme this last month for every missionary meeting is FAITH. Everything relies on Faith. If we believe it is possible than there is no way that it will be impossible. Our Savior will provide for us. If we put our trust in Him, He will never let us fall to hard. He knows us so well that He will succor us in our time of need!
Love Sister Comte
Tuesday, September 15, 2009
September 14th Email
Dear Family and Friends,
It has been a great week here in Florida. The Orlando temple is just right outside our mission bounderies, so we only get to go once on our missions and that is the day before we go home. But we can go if we taught someone on our mission and a year later they go through the temple for themselves. This means for sisters we have to teach someone in the first six months of our missions to be able to go to the temple with them. I had the wonderful priviledge to go with a lady, that got baptized a year ago when I was in NOrth Port, this weekend when she got her endowments out. It was so good. The spirit was strong as I saw this faithful women who is so strong in her testimony of the truth to recieve the blessings of the temple. I loved being in white and seeing some of the people I love in the Celestial Room. It was a beautiful experience. She kept saying "I don't understand it all, but I love it." She wants to go back as soon as possible.
Here in Florida it is a longer drive for the saints to get to a temple. Some sacrifice alot of money, time and effort to get to the temple. But those who are faithful don't think of it as a sacrifice. They love the temple. It has made me appreciate the temple more. I want all of you to evaluate you temple attendance and see what is holding you back from attending more.
The Gleason Family is doing well. They all came to church yesterday and then to a bishops youth fireside last night. They love church and were rivoted on the bishop as he spoke on obedience. They will be out of town for the next two Sundays and we will miss them. But they are ready for baptism and we will probably set dates with them this week! They are so awesome!
The Browns are doing well. We didn't get to see Brother Brown this week but we went over and had a wonderful discusion with his wife. We talked about fortifing her home and strengthening her weakest points in their home. As we were talking I thought about how in Alma in the war chapters it talks about how they put their strongest men at their weakest spots. Instead of ignoring our weaknesses we should work on them so that they can become strong. It is really hard to do, sometimes I wish I could just ignore them. But I need to remember to make them strong. God will help us in our fight to become perfect!
Well, I better go. I love you all and am working as hard as I can. Satan can try as hard as he wants to but God will always be triumphant. Keep holding on and never give in!
Love
Sister Comte
It has been a great week here in Florida. The Orlando temple is just right outside our mission bounderies, so we only get to go once on our missions and that is the day before we go home. But we can go if we taught someone on our mission and a year later they go through the temple for themselves. This means for sisters we have to teach someone in the first six months of our missions to be able to go to the temple with them. I had the wonderful priviledge to go with a lady, that got baptized a year ago when I was in NOrth Port, this weekend when she got her endowments out. It was so good. The spirit was strong as I saw this faithful women who is so strong in her testimony of the truth to recieve the blessings of the temple. I loved being in white and seeing some of the people I love in the Celestial Room. It was a beautiful experience. She kept saying "I don't understand it all, but I love it." She wants to go back as soon as possible.
Here in Florida it is a longer drive for the saints to get to a temple. Some sacrifice alot of money, time and effort to get to the temple. But those who are faithful don't think of it as a sacrifice. They love the temple. It has made me appreciate the temple more. I want all of you to evaluate you temple attendance and see what is holding you back from attending more.
The Gleason Family is doing well. They all came to church yesterday and then to a bishops youth fireside last night. They love church and were rivoted on the bishop as he spoke on obedience. They will be out of town for the next two Sundays and we will miss them. But they are ready for baptism and we will probably set dates with them this week! They are so awesome!
The Browns are doing well. We didn't get to see Brother Brown this week but we went over and had a wonderful discusion with his wife. We talked about fortifing her home and strengthening her weakest points in their home. As we were talking I thought about how in Alma in the war chapters it talks about how they put their strongest men at their weakest spots. Instead of ignoring our weaknesses we should work on them so that they can become strong. It is really hard to do, sometimes I wish I could just ignore them. But I need to remember to make them strong. God will help us in our fight to become perfect!
Well, I better go. I love you all and am working as hard as I can. Satan can try as hard as he wants to but God will always be triumphant. Keep holding on and never give in!
Love
Sister Comte
Wednesday, September 9, 2009
September 8th Email
Dear Family and Friends,
Another week has come and gone. This was definantly one of the longest weeks of my mission.
I feel ill on Tuesday. But I am much better today. I had some neat experiences through my sickness though that I know my Heavenly Father gave to me. First off was the Priesthood. Some of the elders gave me a blessing on Tuesday and from then on I knew I would be better. Another thing that was really neat was when I had to get chest X-rays to see if I had bronchitis. The guy, don't worry there were other women in the room, taking them asked if I had any metal on and I told him no. (I had forgotten my magnet name tag that I had on) After the first try to complete the X-ray, he said "YOu have something metal in your heart. Are you sure you haven't had surgery?" I told him I probably would have remembered that and then he pointed at my tag. I thought that was neat that as missionaries we all need to have the Savior in our hearts.
Last week we taught the youth in our ward how to teach the first discussion. There is a part member family, The Browns, in our ward, one that we have been trying to work with.Their two oldest daughters are in YW and for practice they taught the first lesson(for FHE) to their non-member father. It was really neat. Their mom called us the next day. She said that the lesson was amazing and that the dad had alot of questions. The spirit was so strong as she told me about how her daughters testified to their Dad that they knew it was true. Their dad kept saying to them "You believe it is true." And they would respond, "No dad, we KNOW it is true." She said the spirit was so strong. They didn't get through the whole lesson because the Dad had so many questions. So the wife said she would call the missionaries. He was a little hesitant but we went over anyways. He was the nicest guy. He sat in our spiritual thought. I hope that soon we can start actually teaching Brother Brown. He is definantly being prepared.
The Gleasons are doing great. They finally came to church this week. I know that they all felt the spirit because of the wonderful testimony meeting that we had. We taught them about the gospel of Jesus Christ and Katie and Michael both expressed their desire to be baptized. They are just children but they know where to put their faith. It just goes to show that when the Savior says to become as a little child, He is reminding us to have more faith. Katie and Michael are really good examples to me.
Yesterday was a really good P-Day. We went out to a members house and played in their back fields. We also got to Deworm, which means to shoot medicine into their mouths, their horses.
At first I was very digusted and said I wouldn't do it. But they talked me into it. We then played games in their back fields. They have a 21, 18, 16, and a four year old at home so we had alot of fun with them. Then we went hiking which was gorgeous. When we got home we showered and got ready for a barbeque we were invited to. One of our investigators, Edward O'Neal, cooked all the food for the barbeque. We were doing the whole barbeque for a fellowshipping opportunity. It was a great time for the ward to really get to know Edward. He made some really good ribs as well.
Well, thats all for this week. It has been long but one full of learning. I wish I could tell you everything I was learning but it would take pages to write it all down. This morning we had interviews with the mission President. He told us that the meaning of Insanity is doing the same thing over and over again and expecting different results. If we want different results than we must do something differently in our lives. May we all step out of our comfort zone to make the world a better place is my prayer. I love you all and appreciate all of your prayers!
Love
Sister Comte
Another week has come and gone. This was definantly one of the longest weeks of my mission.
I feel ill on Tuesday. But I am much better today. I had some neat experiences through my sickness though that I know my Heavenly Father gave to me. First off was the Priesthood. Some of the elders gave me a blessing on Tuesday and from then on I knew I would be better. Another thing that was really neat was when I had to get chest X-rays to see if I had bronchitis. The guy, don't worry there were other women in the room, taking them asked if I had any metal on and I told him no. (I had forgotten my magnet name tag that I had on) After the first try to complete the X-ray, he said "YOu have something metal in your heart. Are you sure you haven't had surgery?" I told him I probably would have remembered that and then he pointed at my tag. I thought that was neat that as missionaries we all need to have the Savior in our hearts.
Last week we taught the youth in our ward how to teach the first discussion. There is a part member family, The Browns, in our ward, one that we have been trying to work with.Their two oldest daughters are in YW and for practice they taught the first lesson(for FHE) to their non-member father. It was really neat. Their mom called us the next day. She said that the lesson was amazing and that the dad had alot of questions. The spirit was so strong as she told me about how her daughters testified to their Dad that they knew it was true. Their dad kept saying to them "You believe it is true." And they would respond, "No dad, we KNOW it is true." She said the spirit was so strong. They didn't get through the whole lesson because the Dad had so many questions. So the wife said she would call the missionaries. He was a little hesitant but we went over anyways. He was the nicest guy. He sat in our spiritual thought. I hope that soon we can start actually teaching Brother Brown. He is definantly being prepared.
The Gleasons are doing great. They finally came to church this week. I know that they all felt the spirit because of the wonderful testimony meeting that we had. We taught them about the gospel of Jesus Christ and Katie and Michael both expressed their desire to be baptized. They are just children but they know where to put their faith. It just goes to show that when the Savior says to become as a little child, He is reminding us to have more faith. Katie and Michael are really good examples to me.
Yesterday was a really good P-Day. We went out to a members house and played in their back fields. We also got to Deworm, which means to shoot medicine into their mouths, their horses.
At first I was very digusted and said I wouldn't do it. But they talked me into it. We then played games in their back fields. They have a 21, 18, 16, and a four year old at home so we had alot of fun with them. Then we went hiking which was gorgeous. When we got home we showered and got ready for a barbeque we were invited to. One of our investigators, Edward O'Neal, cooked all the food for the barbeque. We were doing the whole barbeque for a fellowshipping opportunity. It was a great time for the ward to really get to know Edward. He made some really good ribs as well.
Well, thats all for this week. It has been long but one full of learning. I wish I could tell you everything I was learning but it would take pages to write it all down. This morning we had interviews with the mission President. He told us that the meaning of Insanity is doing the same thing over and over again and expecting different results. If we want different results than we must do something differently in our lives. May we all step out of our comfort zone to make the world a better place is my prayer. I love you all and appreciate all of your prayers!
Love
Sister Comte
Tuesday, September 1, 2009
August 31st Email
Dear Family and Friends,
It has been another wonderful week here in Florida. The sun continues to shine. Saturday it was 103 with humidity. But God always sends a breeze when we are out working. He has also been sending rain storms this week. I had never seen rain like this before I came to Florida. It is perfectly sunny outside and be pouring for an hour or more. Florida is the lightening capitol of the world, I think. It is crazy. We can’t be out and about when it is lightening so we plan visits during that time. Sometimes it is hard to plan around the storms.
On Wednesday we had a great activity with the youth. The youth came in Sunday dress and were split into two groups. The youth were assigned mission calls to three different places. A returned missionary from that part of the world did a culture night with one half of the group and we, Sister Walton and I, taught the other half the First Lesson. We switched half way through the night. This Wednesday the youth are going to members homes and teaching them the First Lesson. We only had a half hour to teach them how to teach the First Lesson so it was a little rushed but the spirit was amazing in the room. Most of the kids were really involved. Most of them want to do really well teaching it this week so they paid attention. At the end of each group I bore my testimony and the spirit was so strong.
The second group that came had two of our investigators in it. Their names are Katie and Michael Gleason. Their mother is a member and so is their older brother. Sister Gleason has been a member for awhile but is inactive. She asked us to teach her children. Katie and Michael love the church and both have strong testimonies of the church but need some help with getting to church. Katie and Michael came to Mutual this week and it was awesome. As we asked the youth questions about the First Lesson, which is the Restoration, Katie and Michael were usually the first ones with their hands raised. We asked the youth if Joseph Smith wrote the Book of Mormon. Michael shoot his hand up and said “Joseph Smith translated, not wrote, the Book of Mormon by the power of God.” We now know that it is time for him to be baptized. We are so excited for them
We went over on Saturday and Michael and Katie taught us the first lesson. They did such a good job, especially for not being members yet! We also went to a member’s house and had they 16 years old son teach us. He did a good job too. The greatest part of the whole activity is that the youth are almost forced to testify that the Book of Mormon is true which means they each need to pray about it. We committed the 16 years old son to praying about the Book of Mormon and Joseph Smith. He has been a member his whole life but he doesn’t really know for himself if the church is true. We told him that it doesn’t matter how old you are or how long you have been a member, we need to be continually on our knees asking for what the truth is! We all need to be converted!
I love this gospel. There is no greater gift than being able to share this message with others. I am grateful to be His servant and I will continue to live worthy of His spirit. I know that through Faith we can accomplish all things. He is my Savior and my very best friend. My prayer is that all of us will be worthy of the blessings He is ready to give us!!!
Love
Sister Comte
It has been another wonderful week here in Florida. The sun continues to shine. Saturday it was 103 with humidity. But God always sends a breeze when we are out working. He has also been sending rain storms this week. I had never seen rain like this before I came to Florida. It is perfectly sunny outside and be pouring for an hour or more. Florida is the lightening capitol of the world, I think. It is crazy. We can’t be out and about when it is lightening so we plan visits during that time. Sometimes it is hard to plan around the storms.
On Wednesday we had a great activity with the youth. The youth came in Sunday dress and were split into two groups. The youth were assigned mission calls to three different places. A returned missionary from that part of the world did a culture night with one half of the group and we, Sister Walton and I, taught the other half the First Lesson. We switched half way through the night. This Wednesday the youth are going to members homes and teaching them the First Lesson. We only had a half hour to teach them how to teach the First Lesson so it was a little rushed but the spirit was amazing in the room. Most of the kids were really involved. Most of them want to do really well teaching it this week so they paid attention. At the end of each group I bore my testimony and the spirit was so strong.
The second group that came had two of our investigators in it. Their names are Katie and Michael Gleason. Their mother is a member and so is their older brother. Sister Gleason has been a member for awhile but is inactive. She asked us to teach her children. Katie and Michael love the church and both have strong testimonies of the church but need some help with getting to church. Katie and Michael came to Mutual this week and it was awesome. As we asked the youth questions about the First Lesson, which is the Restoration, Katie and Michael were usually the first ones with their hands raised. We asked the youth if Joseph Smith wrote the Book of Mormon. Michael shoot his hand up and said “Joseph Smith translated, not wrote, the Book of Mormon by the power of God.” We now know that it is time for him to be baptized. We are so excited for them
We went over on Saturday and Michael and Katie taught us the first lesson. They did such a good job, especially for not being members yet! We also went to a member’s house and had they 16 years old son teach us. He did a good job too. The greatest part of the whole activity is that the youth are almost forced to testify that the Book of Mormon is true which means they each need to pray about it. We committed the 16 years old son to praying about the Book of Mormon and Joseph Smith. He has been a member his whole life but he doesn’t really know for himself if the church is true. We told him that it doesn’t matter how old you are or how long you have been a member, we need to be continually on our knees asking for what the truth is! We all need to be converted!
I love this gospel. There is no greater gift than being able to share this message with others. I am grateful to be His servant and I will continue to live worthy of His spirit. I know that through Faith we can accomplish all things. He is my Savior and my very best friend. My prayer is that all of us will be worthy of the blessings He is ready to give us!!!
Love
Sister Comte
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