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
Tuesday, September 1, 2009
Monday, August 24, 2009
August 23rd Email
Dear Family and Friends,
I am running out of time but I wanted to write you all one quick email. This week we taught an awesome lady the First Lesson. She has two small children, one that starts Kindergarten tomorrow and a two year old. They were all over us during the lesson. But when my companion shared the First Vision, the children were so calm and quiet. The lady really felt the spirit and recognized that something was different. She knows that she needs to put God first even though she is busy. I know that this gospel will help her so much. I hope that she will continue to feel the spirit and recognize it.
Well, I love you all and hope to get a better email off next week. I know that the church is true. I know that Joseph Smith saw God the Father and Jesus Christ. He restored the same gospel that the Savior had taught in its fulness. I am so thankful to know the truth of this life. Because of the gospel I am so greatly blessed.
Love
Sister Comte
I am running out of time but I wanted to write you all one quick email. This week we taught an awesome lady the First Lesson. She has two small children, one that starts Kindergarten tomorrow and a two year old. They were all over us during the lesson. But when my companion shared the First Vision, the children were so calm and quiet. The lady really felt the spirit and recognized that something was different. She knows that she needs to put God first even though she is busy. I know that this gospel will help her so much. I hope that she will continue to feel the spirit and recognize it.
Well, I love you all and hope to get a better email off next week. I know that the church is true. I know that Joseph Smith saw God the Father and Jesus Christ. He restored the same gospel that the Savior had taught in its fulness. I am so thankful to know the truth of this life. Because of the gospel I am so greatly blessed.
Love
Sister Comte
Tuesday, August 11, 2009
August 10th Email
Dear Family and Friends,
It has been a great week. The only bad part was finding out that I had bed bugs. I have been getting weird bits and on my legs, back and everywhere. We were wondering how I was getting them and someone said that it might be bed bugs. So we went to the store and bought some bug bed spray killer. We sprayed in on and then let it dry all day. We then vacuumed the bed and the most disgusting thing happened. Bugs started crawling out. EWWWWW!!!! I immediately called the office elders and told them that I needed a new bed. They brought me a beautiful mattress the next day!!!! It is a wonderful bed!! This is a caution: Bed bugs do exist and they hurt. Be careful with your mattress!!
This week we had a new investigator at church. It was really exciting. He loved it and I know that he felt the spirit, even though he probably didn’t understand what was being said. Sunday School was combined because it was Ward Conference. Class was on the Oath and Covenant of the Priesthood. I pray that he wasn’t scared. This ward is wonderful and was so welcoming to him. We didn’t have to worry about him getting to class or sitting by himself because someone from the ward was always right beside him.
We also taught a little family this week. Sister Gleason and her oldest son, Chris are members. But her younger children who are 11 and 12, Katie and Michael are not members. Sister Gleason hardly ever comes to church. But I know that as she feels the spirit she will rearrange her priorities and come to church. We had a wonderful discussion with their whole family. The spirit was so strong.
I know that this church is true. I know that God hears and answers our prayers. He knows our righteous desires. He wants to bless us but we have to be obedient first. He loves us and He will always be there for us!!
Love
Sister Comte
It has been a great week. The only bad part was finding out that I had bed bugs. I have been getting weird bits and on my legs, back and everywhere. We were wondering how I was getting them and someone said that it might be bed bugs. So we went to the store and bought some bug bed spray killer. We sprayed in on and then let it dry all day. We then vacuumed the bed and the most disgusting thing happened. Bugs started crawling out. EWWWWW!!!! I immediately called the office elders and told them that I needed a new bed. They brought me a beautiful mattress the next day!!!! It is a wonderful bed!! This is a caution: Bed bugs do exist and they hurt. Be careful with your mattress!!
This week we had a new investigator at church. It was really exciting. He loved it and I know that he felt the spirit, even though he probably didn’t understand what was being said. Sunday School was combined because it was Ward Conference. Class was on the Oath and Covenant of the Priesthood. I pray that he wasn’t scared. This ward is wonderful and was so welcoming to him. We didn’t have to worry about him getting to class or sitting by himself because someone from the ward was always right beside him.
We also taught a little family this week. Sister Gleason and her oldest son, Chris are members. But her younger children who are 11 and 12, Katie and Michael are not members. Sister Gleason hardly ever comes to church. But I know that as she feels the spirit she will rearrange her priorities and come to church. We had a wonderful discussion with their whole family. The spirit was so strong.
I know that this church is true. I know that God hears and answers our prayers. He knows our righteous desires. He wants to bless us but we have to be obedient first. He loves us and He will always be there for us!!
Love
Sister Comte
Tuesday, August 4, 2009
August 3rd Email
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
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
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
Subscribe to:
Posts (Atom)
