Dear Family and Friends,
The highlight of this week would have to be the wonderful fast and testimony meeting we had! Last week my companion and I talked about missionary work. The bishop wanted us to speak the week before fast Sunday so that we could encourage the ward to fast for missionary opportunities. So a lot of the ward members were fasting for missionary experiences in their lives. I felt so united with our ward as we did this. It was a really neat opportunity!
We had a wonderful testimony meeting as well. There is a man in our ward that is from Iran. He converted from Islam about 15 years ago. He stood up and bore his testimony about the Savior and how the gospel had changed his life. He bore a very strong testimony of the divinity of God and Jesus. This was only the start of our meeting. Many stood up and told what the gospel meant to them. Almost every testimony focused on missionary work.
One of the last testimonies was so touching to me. The Deyoe’s, a family that Sister Stewart and I worked with in Lakewood Ranch, came to visit us because they wanted to see Sister Stewart before she left. Dave, who was baptized in March, stood up at the very end of the meeting and told what the gospel meant to him in his life. He looked us both in the face and cried while telling us thank you for the sacrifice to come on a mission. He was so grateful to have the church in his life. He told the congregation that if they felt they needed to check out a different church, to go and check it out. But no matter where they went the church would be waiting for them to come back home, because the church is true. He could barely make it through his testimony without crying.
The whole ward was crying by this time and you can only imagine what Sister Stewart and I looked like. The spirit was so strong as many bore witness of the truths that we know of. The ward here is incredible and I think it is because they are so unified. They all want to help each other and let others know about the gospel. There is a scripture in 4 Nephi verses 2-3 that talks about united. It is one that Sister Stewart shares a lot with our members. We can all have this kind of united if we all had the gospel. There is a lot of work to do and it is our responsibility to share the wonderful gift of the gospel with others.
We are still teaching Edward. We have committed him to baptism but he really wants and needs to study a little more before he can make that commitment. He is very serious about this, as he should be. But I know that because he is sincere he will know for himself that it is true. Any free time that he has off he spends reading the Book of Mormon. It is really neat to see the change in him this far. He loves what we teach and has nothing against the church. He also really likes his “angels.” (Sister Stewart and I)
Last Thursday we had a special musical fireside. They wouldn’t announce the special speaker because of the media. We were all so excited to see David Archuleta. I never thought I would get to meet him. The youth in our ward were ecstatic. It was hard because we were in the chapel for a fireside not in the gym for a concert. They did a really good job of keeping it under control. I never knew how little David was until he got up to speak. It was really neat to see him in his white shirt and tie. He was asked to speak from his heart, which is not his normal thing. He normally does a question and answer session. But he did a really good job. He is a really shy kid. You could tell he is a normal kid though. He kind of rambles and got off subject at times. But you could tell it was from his heart. He talked about how he knew God was using him to do missionary work, which he was doing that very night because there were a ton of non-members there.
We got to meet him afterwards and took some pictures. But they wouldn’t let anyone take pictures with their own cameras, so I don’t have any to send you but I will next week. When we took the picture he put his arms around us. The people in the room gasped and he dropped his arms really fast. He apologized profusely, he forgot the rules. He was so embarrassed. It was really cute!!!
Thank you so much for all of your prayers and support. I love you all so much. This work is amazing. I love it. We talked this week at interviews how before the mission we wanted to have fun. But as missionaries know we want joy and we know where to find that joy. It is found in the gospel if Jesus Christ. I am filled with joy and hope I can take it into my life after the mission!
Love
Sister Comte
Tuesday, August 4, 2009
Wednesday, July 29, 2009
July 27th Email
Dear Family and Friends,
It has been a really good week. Monday we went on exchanges with the sisters that are serving in Tampa. I stayed here and Sister Walton came from Tampa. We had so much fun together. We tracted into a really nice man named Edward. A lot of people tell us that they will come to the church and learn more. Most of them you never see again but Edward actually came. We were so excited. He is really interested and accepting of our beliefs. He is also a man of his word; when he says he will be there he will be there! I love it!
On Friday we went to an investigators home for dinner. His wife is a member and he has been taking the lessons for over a year. We are going to start re-teaching him and committing him to do things. I think that he will go far if we are sweetly bold with him. He is more active than some of the members of the ward. He is from England and has a wonderful accent. I hope we can explain the importance of being urgent in keeping God’s commandments.
On Saturday we had a pioneer day activity. We had almost 700 people there. It was amazing to see. We had a really good time together. It was good for all of us to remember what the pioneers did for us. What they did has to be done by all who are in the church. The pioneers left the life that they knew, the comforts they enjoyed, and their own comfort zones to do what the prophet had asked of them. Each one of us must too decide for ourselves if we believe in the prophet and are willing to do what he asks of us. I am sure there were many who thought the prophet was crazy for the things that he asked them to do. But some knew he was a prophet and followed what he said, whether crazy or not.
Yesterday my companion and I spoke on missionary work. I wanted to say something that people hadn’t heard before. But I am sure they have heard it all. But I tried to convey that sharing the gospel is done out of love. Our Heavenly Father wants us to be happy but to be happy we must look outside of ourselves. A great way to do this is to always be looking for someone that needs the gospel and thinking about how you can share it with them. It is easy with God on our side!!
I know that this church is true. The Book of Mormon is another testament of our Savior, Jesus Christ. What a wonderful message we have to share with others, that God lives and that He has called a prophet to lead and guide us in these days!!
Love Sister Comte
It has been a really good week. Monday we went on exchanges with the sisters that are serving in Tampa. I stayed here and Sister Walton came from Tampa. We had so much fun together. We tracted into a really nice man named Edward. A lot of people tell us that they will come to the church and learn more. Most of them you never see again but Edward actually came. We were so excited. He is really interested and accepting of our beliefs. He is also a man of his word; when he says he will be there he will be there! I love it!
On Friday we went to an investigators home for dinner. His wife is a member and he has been taking the lessons for over a year. We are going to start re-teaching him and committing him to do things. I think that he will go far if we are sweetly bold with him. He is more active than some of the members of the ward. He is from England and has a wonderful accent. I hope we can explain the importance of being urgent in keeping God’s commandments.
On Saturday we had a pioneer day activity. We had almost 700 people there. It was amazing to see. We had a really good time together. It was good for all of us to remember what the pioneers did for us. What they did has to be done by all who are in the church. The pioneers left the life that they knew, the comforts they enjoyed, and their own comfort zones to do what the prophet had asked of them. Each one of us must too decide for ourselves if we believe in the prophet and are willing to do what he asks of us. I am sure there were many who thought the prophet was crazy for the things that he asked them to do. But some knew he was a prophet and followed what he said, whether crazy or not.
Yesterday my companion and I spoke on missionary work. I wanted to say something that people hadn’t heard before. But I am sure they have heard it all. But I tried to convey that sharing the gospel is done out of love. Our Heavenly Father wants us to be happy but to be happy we must look outside of ourselves. A great way to do this is to always be looking for someone that needs the gospel and thinking about how you can share it with them. It is easy with God on our side!!
I know that this church is true. The Book of Mormon is another testament of our Savior, Jesus Christ. What a wonderful message we have to share with others, that God lives and that He has called a prophet to lead and guide us in these days!!
Love Sister Comte
Tuesday, July 21, 2009
July 20th Email
Dear Family and Friends,
It has been another fun week here in Florida. Sister Stewart and I have been working really hard. We are still looking for people to teach but we know that it will come soon enough. We know that we are working on the Lord’s time and not our own.
We went to zone conference this week. We talked about our purpose as missionaries. By knowing our purpose better we will become better missionaries. This goes for life as well. The better we know our purpose for life the better people we will be. This is because our purpose directs our actions. I encourage all of you to think about your purpose in life and decide what actions need to be taken to fulfill that purpose!
Thursday night my companion was really tired and we had been tracting for awhile. No one seemed to be home so we decided to go do something more effective and come back when more people were at home. We started walking down this street and I stopped because I knew we needed to tract at least the one side of the street. My companion agreed and said she had the same thought. So we tracted the street and at the last house we found a wonderful women. Her father is a member in California. She was really interested and we are going to teach her tonight!
I am so thankful for the spirit and the Saviors help in strengthening us!
Love,
Sister Comte
It has been another fun week here in Florida. Sister Stewart and I have been working really hard. We are still looking for people to teach but we know that it will come soon enough. We know that we are working on the Lord’s time and not our own.
We went to zone conference this week. We talked about our purpose as missionaries. By knowing our purpose better we will become better missionaries. This goes for life as well. The better we know our purpose for life the better people we will be. This is because our purpose directs our actions. I encourage all of you to think about your purpose in life and decide what actions need to be taken to fulfill that purpose!
Thursday night my companion was really tired and we had been tracting for awhile. No one seemed to be home so we decided to go do something more effective and come back when more people were at home. We started walking down this street and I stopped because I knew we needed to tract at least the one side of the street. My companion agreed and said she had the same thought. So we tracted the street and at the last house we found a wonderful women. Her father is a member in California. She was really interested and we are going to teach her tonight!
I am so thankful for the spirit and the Saviors help in strengthening us!
Love,
Sister Comte
Tuesday, July 14, 2009
July 13th Email
Dear Family and Friends,
I arrived safely in Valrico on Tuesday. It is beautiful here with tons of trees and nature. Some of our area is country and some is really residential. The country is beautiful and we went to a miniature farm on Saturday to lay sod. A lady in our ward, who just lost her husband, Sister Brozak, asked the Elders to come help and they told her the Sisters would love to help. It was hard work but it was a lot of fun to get dirty! Some of the elders in the neighboring areas came and helped us. It was fun to work hard together. Sister Brozak was so appreciative and said to love to hire the missionaries because she knew they would come with good attitudes! We loved it!
This week we went on splits with the sister in one of the Tampa Wards. I got to tract with one of our newest Sisters in the field. She is amazing. Anyways while we were tracting we knocked into a lady named Kasey. She said that they just moved here and maybe in awhile we could call them to set up a time to meet them. I wanted Sister Stewart to meet them so we went over there yesterday. Her Husband was home and her two year old daughter. They invited us in and it was a wonderful opportunity to bear our testimonies to them. They are really busy for the next couple of weeks but want us to come back in August! I am so excited for this little family. The husband is in the Air Force and I loved talking to them about all their adventures.
The ward here has never had sisters that they can remember. They are a newer ward though. They are so excited and everyone wanted to meet us yesterday! Everyone here is so talented and wants to share their talents with us! We met a member this week that is originally from England. She wants us to come over on a P-Day for a Tea Party! I am so excited for all the fun things we will do here in this area!!!
We visited a family who was going through a hard time but we didn’t know it. My companion read to them Heleman 10:5. The wife cried as we read it. It talks about doing the Lord’s will.
His will, will always make us happy! I pray everyday for the courage to accept His will because He has a bigger picture and He will lead me safely home!
I love the Lord and I will do whatever He asks of me!
Love
Sister Comte
I arrived safely in Valrico on Tuesday. It is beautiful here with tons of trees and nature. Some of our area is country and some is really residential. The country is beautiful and we went to a miniature farm on Saturday to lay sod. A lady in our ward, who just lost her husband, Sister Brozak, asked the Elders to come help and they told her the Sisters would love to help. It was hard work but it was a lot of fun to get dirty! Some of the elders in the neighboring areas came and helped us. It was fun to work hard together. Sister Brozak was so appreciative and said to love to hire the missionaries because she knew they would come with good attitudes! We loved it!
This week we went on splits with the sister in one of the Tampa Wards. I got to tract with one of our newest Sisters in the field. She is amazing. Anyways while we were tracting we knocked into a lady named Kasey. She said that they just moved here and maybe in awhile we could call them to set up a time to meet them. I wanted Sister Stewart to meet them so we went over there yesterday. Her Husband was home and her two year old daughter. They invited us in and it was a wonderful opportunity to bear our testimonies to them. They are really busy for the next couple of weeks but want us to come back in August! I am so excited for this little family. The husband is in the Air Force and I loved talking to them about all their adventures.
The ward here has never had sisters that they can remember. They are a newer ward though. They are so excited and everyone wanted to meet us yesterday! Everyone here is so talented and wants to share their talents with us! We met a member this week that is originally from England. She wants us to come over on a P-Day for a Tea Party! I am so excited for all the fun things we will do here in this area!!!
We visited a family who was going through a hard time but we didn’t know it. My companion read to them Heleman 10:5. The wife cried as we read it. It talks about doing the Lord’s will.
His will, will always make us happy! I pray everyday for the courage to accept His will because He has a bigger picture and He will lead me safely home!
I love the Lord and I will do whatever He asks of me!
Love
Sister Comte
Tuesday, June 30, 2009
June 30th Email
Dear Family and Friends,
Hola! Como Esta! I am doing good and as you can tell the Spanish is coming one phrase at a time. On Tuesday nights we hold a class for Spanish speakers to learn English. I learn a lot of Spanish from the people that come. We laugh so hard because of how I pronounce things. But it will come with time!
We started teaching a young girl this week. Her name is Saida and she is 11. You pronounce that Sa-da. It is Spanish for Sarah, I think. She is a really sweet girl and is very smart. On Sunday she told me “If I have to speak one day I know what I would speak on. I would talk on the Prophet Joseph Smith.” She loves him and wants to learn all she can about the gospel. I am so excited to teach her. She has a wonderful spirit about her!
This week I read Alma 24. I loved this chapter and encourage all of you to read it. It is amazing! In this chapter the Anti- Nephi-Lehies bury their weapons of war for peace. There are many things in our lives that we do that cause contention in our lives and the lives of others. We need to bury these so that we can have peace in our lives. Some of the weapons that I can see in the world is gossip, negativity about self, others and situations, and sometimes how we treat others. The Anti-Nephi-Lehies buried their swords to avoid the temptation of falling back into their old ways. Bury the temptations to hurt others so that you can stand up against Satan!
Yesterday we had a wonderful Sister’s Conference. The Assistants to the President came and talked about the culture of our mission. I thought about what the cultures of our lives are. What is our lifestyle portraying? One thing we talked about , and I think that this happens throughout the church, is the –ite problem. We develop groups and won’t let others come in. Just like in the Book of Mormon, we separate ourselves into the Lamanites, the Amulonites, and all the other –ites. Why can’t we all just be friends?
Remember to always listen to the Spirit and do what He is saying. I love you all!!
Love
Sister Comte
Hola! Como Esta! I am doing good and as you can tell the Spanish is coming one phrase at a time. On Tuesday nights we hold a class for Spanish speakers to learn English. I learn a lot of Spanish from the people that come. We laugh so hard because of how I pronounce things. But it will come with time!
We started teaching a young girl this week. Her name is Saida and she is 11. You pronounce that Sa-da. It is Spanish for Sarah, I think. She is a really sweet girl and is very smart. On Sunday she told me “If I have to speak one day I know what I would speak on. I would talk on the Prophet Joseph Smith.” She loves him and wants to learn all she can about the gospel. I am so excited to teach her. She has a wonderful spirit about her!
This week I read Alma 24. I loved this chapter and encourage all of you to read it. It is amazing! In this chapter the Anti- Nephi-Lehies bury their weapons of war for peace. There are many things in our lives that we do that cause contention in our lives and the lives of others. We need to bury these so that we can have peace in our lives. Some of the weapons that I can see in the world is gossip, negativity about self, others and situations, and sometimes how we treat others. The Anti-Nephi-Lehies buried their swords to avoid the temptation of falling back into their old ways. Bury the temptations to hurt others so that you can stand up against Satan!
Yesterday we had a wonderful Sister’s Conference. The Assistants to the President came and talked about the culture of our mission. I thought about what the cultures of our lives are. What is our lifestyle portraying? One thing we talked about , and I think that this happens throughout the church, is the –ite problem. We develop groups and won’t let others come in. Just like in the Book of Mormon, we separate ourselves into the Lamanites, the Amulonites, and all the other –ites. Why can’t we all just be friends?
Remember to always listen to the Spirit and do what He is saying. I love you all!!
Love
Sister Comte
Monday, June 8, 2009
June 8th Email
Dear Family and Friends,
For all those who haven't heard, I am being transfered. I am going to Arcadia to serve with Sister Hofheins. I have already served with Sister Hofheins once so it should be fun. Arcadia is very small and a farming community. The church is small there so there is alot of work to be done!
This week flew by. We moved apartments this weekend and it was alot of fun. We have a great ward and it went fast because of the many hands. We stayed in the new apartment for two nights without any furniture. It was alot of fun!
This week we got a call for a very concerned member. Her friend was going through a really hard time and needed someone to go visit her. Her husband died 5 months ago and her mother died 8 months ago. She didn't want to hurt herself but she didn't see a purpose for living. So we rushed over to see her. She was crying and having a hard time talking to us. We talked to her about the priesthood and asked if the elders could come give her a blessing. She said that would be fine. While we waited for the elders we sang hymns to her. The spirit was so strong and the room was filled with peace. We had the elder's bless her home and give her a blessing. It was amazing. After we were all finished she felt so much better. She is going to learn more and is looking forward to restoring some hope in her life.
The Lord is so good to us. In all things He blesses us. I am so thankful for His guiding hand in my life. He is my best friend!
I love you all!!!
Love,
Sister Comte
For all those who haven't heard, I am being transfered. I am going to Arcadia to serve with Sister Hofheins. I have already served with Sister Hofheins once so it should be fun. Arcadia is very small and a farming community. The church is small there so there is alot of work to be done!
This week flew by. We moved apartments this weekend and it was alot of fun. We have a great ward and it went fast because of the many hands. We stayed in the new apartment for two nights without any furniture. It was alot of fun!
This week we got a call for a very concerned member. Her friend was going through a really hard time and needed someone to go visit her. Her husband died 5 months ago and her mother died 8 months ago. She didn't want to hurt herself but she didn't see a purpose for living. So we rushed over to see her. She was crying and having a hard time talking to us. We talked to her about the priesthood and asked if the elders could come give her a blessing. She said that would be fine. While we waited for the elders we sang hymns to her. The spirit was so strong and the room was filled with peace. We had the elder's bless her home and give her a blessing. It was amazing. After we were all finished she felt so much better. She is going to learn more and is looking forward to restoring some hope in her life.
The Lord is so good to us. In all things He blesses us. I am so thankful for His guiding hand in my life. He is my best friend!
I love you all!!!
Love,
Sister Comte
Monday, June 1, 2009
June 1st Email
Dear Family and Friends,
This week has been amazing! We have done alot of good things this week, including getting out of the car at a stop light and asking the people next to us to listen to our message. It is fun to talk to everyone, no matter where they are or what they are doing. Everyone needs to hear about the gospel so we must open our mouths to tell them!
We have been working with a family for awhile now. One at a time they are getting baptized. This week the family invited us to go to one of their sons performances. He has aspergers syndrome and is really shy. We have been trying to get him to warm up to us so that we might teach him. He is in a really neat program called Easter Seals for special needs children. This week they had an Easter Seals Idol. He was in the top three. He has an amazing voice and he would've won if he wouldn't have told everyone to vote for the other girl. What a good sport he is. He wanted it to be about everyone else not himself. He was so happy when the other girl won and he was so comforting to the one that lost. He showed a really good example of humility and love. He is never boastful about how talented he is.
Last night we went to a members home. The wife has been a member all her life. The husband joined the church when they were married. They have a little girl who is about 2. They never went to the temple to be sealed and now are less active. Last night as we talked they decided to seriously work on going to the temple. We helped them recall the feelings of their baptisms. The wife cried as she told us that nothing in this world is more important to her than being with her family forever. She is even willing to quite her job to go to church. What amazing faith she has!! We have the opportunity to go to the temple so much but we just don't take the time. When I get home I want to utilize the temple and go as often as I can because their is nothing more important to me than being with my family for eternity!
All three of us spoke in church yesterday. The spirit was really strong. We talked on missionary work, how members can help, and the covenants we have made to do the work of the Lord. I spoke on how members can help. Sister Downs talked about how this work is about eternity! I loved that because we aren't here on the earth to became something special here but to be heirs to the kingdom in the hereafter!
Well, I love you all! Remember to keep your heads high. Listen to the spirit. Make time in your lives to be quiet and just listen. I know He will help you!
Love
Sister Comte
This week has been amazing! We have done alot of good things this week, including getting out of the car at a stop light and asking the people next to us to listen to our message. It is fun to talk to everyone, no matter where they are or what they are doing. Everyone needs to hear about the gospel so we must open our mouths to tell them!
We have been working with a family for awhile now. One at a time they are getting baptized. This week the family invited us to go to one of their sons performances. He has aspergers syndrome and is really shy. We have been trying to get him to warm up to us so that we might teach him. He is in a really neat program called Easter Seals for special needs children. This week they had an Easter Seals Idol. He was in the top three. He has an amazing voice and he would've won if he wouldn't have told everyone to vote for the other girl. What a good sport he is. He wanted it to be about everyone else not himself. He was so happy when the other girl won and he was so comforting to the one that lost. He showed a really good example of humility and love. He is never boastful about how talented he is.
Last night we went to a members home. The wife has been a member all her life. The husband joined the church when they were married. They have a little girl who is about 2. They never went to the temple to be sealed and now are less active. Last night as we talked they decided to seriously work on going to the temple. We helped them recall the feelings of their baptisms. The wife cried as she told us that nothing in this world is more important to her than being with her family forever. She is even willing to quite her job to go to church. What amazing faith she has!! We have the opportunity to go to the temple so much but we just don't take the time. When I get home I want to utilize the temple and go as often as I can because their is nothing more important to me than being with my family for eternity!
All three of us spoke in church yesterday. The spirit was really strong. We talked on missionary work, how members can help, and the covenants we have made to do the work of the Lord. I spoke on how members can help. Sister Downs talked about how this work is about eternity! I loved that because we aren't here on the earth to became something special here but to be heirs to the kingdom in the hereafter!
Well, I love you all! Remember to keep your heads high. Listen to the spirit. Make time in your lives to be quiet and just listen. I know He will help you!
Love
Sister Comte
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