Be patient and kind with yourself

Well this week was a week... it felt like a week... and looked like a week... but I think next week will be better.  

We got off to a good start on Monday and then Tuesday rolled around and Sister Prusse was really sick. We ended up in the ER again with another kidney stone and we didn't get home till 1:30 in the morning. That  was hard since I haven't gotten to bed later than 11pm for that last 9 months! She was so tired, so the next day I let her sleep during weekly planning and I did weekly planning alone. 

Then we found this crazy new investigator. Jake brought him to a lesson and he was so solid.  He wants to be baptized on July 17.  He believed everything we told him.  The only problem is that I think he is YSA age, so that means we have to pass him off to the YSA sisters (danget!).  We got to teach Bob and Judy again and she read the the entire book of second Nephi. It was crazy. She is so incredible. They want to be baptized also. Then we taught Heather and she is doing okay. She wants to be baptized before August, but I feel like every time we set a day she finds a way to push it off. I don't know what to do. I do love her so much though and I really would just like her to progress.  We got to teach a guy named Joe and he works for a moving company. Turns out he is moving a mission president! He wasn't a super solid investigator until he told us about how he helped move this guy (mission president) and how he is now really interested in our church!  We also had incredible lesson with less active members and we were able to find some new investigators. GOOD TIMES! 

Now you are probably wondering why this week was a little off.  I worked hard, I was diligent, I was obedient, but I guess I was a little tired and a little homesick this week. It's interesting how you can be homesick after 9 months. You would think I would be use to it by now.  I was also having trouble questioning if I was doing enough and feeling inadequate in my calling as a missionary.  Anyway, I prayed that church would help and the Sacrament definitely brought the Spirit back, but I still felt like I was missing something. The Relief Society lesson was all about trying. I am trying SO HARD. I just want to be a good missionary, and I mess up all the time.  I was letting those mess-ups get to me.  I know that God is okay with my work . . .because I am trying. That is all He can ask of us because there is no way we can be perfect.  Then several people in the ward told me that I was doing a good job and they gave me some good old-fashioned 'bear hugs'.  Those always help me feel better.  I sure love the La Mirada ward.  I hope I'm helping them grow.  

I LOVE YOU ALL SO MUCH!  Please email me I love hearing from you :)

Love, Jess

Kidney Stones & Diligence

This week we landed in the ER because my companion had kidney stones.  She is really tough, but was in so much pain!  She is doing better but I felt so bad for her.  We also had a special mission-wide training in Huntington Beach this week.  It was great. They talked about diligence and how important it is to continually be diligent in everything you do.  

I think this week I learned that God will always provide.  We spent less time working this week and trying to get my companion better.  However, on Saturday God helped us fill almost all of our key indicators! It was such a miracle.  I've never had that happen.  Even though my companion was sick, we worked as much as we possibly could-,and because of that we saw miracles. 

God understands our situations and he understands our limitations. As long as we are diligent then we will see growth.  That means diligence in little things like prayers, scripture study, going to church, keeping the commandments, and so many other things.  So be diligent!  It pays off. 

Love, Jess

My Greenie!!

So I mentioned last week that they called me to be a trainer...everything about my week has been centered on that so I'll talk about it.

I went to the office on Tuesday and I was so scared.  I was antsy the whole day- I had been nervous since I got the call.  I sat down and just looked at all the Greenies and I was freaked out. Some of them looked like they would be hard companions, some of them couldn't speak English very well... I WAS MORTIFIED!  I didn't think I could train let alone have another hard companion. So I just prayed and fasted and prayed and fasted (possibly for days but don't tell my mom) and then they said, "Sister Webb, your new companion is Sister Prusse".  

Since then- my mission has completely turned head over heals and I suddenly feel like I a sprinting to the finish line.  Every bit of my work, everything that I do, everything that I'm thinking about is how I can help her and how I can be the best example to her.  I really want her to be a better missionary than me and I want to teach her everything that I know (which isn't a whole lot- let's be honest) so she can change this mission.  For the first few days SHE WAS EVERYTHING!  All I wanted was for her to be okay and for her to be a good, happy missionary.  Then I started thinking about the ward more and I started spending all my free time going through the ward list- writing down scriptures- reading things- thinking of new ways to teach... I gave not only all my physical energy to the work but I gave everything in me too. As a result- I truly loved missionary work this week. 

I feel a bit like a slacker missionary for taking this long to figure it out.  It took me NINE MONTHS!  I know that I will mess up again (I messed up so many times this week alone), but I know that I will keep trying. I only have nine months left.  That's it. Nine months to give everything I have to the work of the Lord.  I don't have school right now, I don't have to worry about home, I don't have to worry about boys, the ONLY THING I have to think about is how I can be the best missionary La Mirada has had.

Now sadly- I don't think I can live up to the impossibly high standards I've set for myself... but I can sure as heck give it a shot. Last week we found a girl in tears, extended two baptismal invitations, taught almost all our investigators, had less actives open up to us left and right . . . and this week, even if those miracles don't happen we are going to work till we drop... at exactly 10:30pm... every night hahaha. Obedience brings miracles :)  

I love you all so much and I hope you have a fantastic week!  

Love, Jes

Grandma spoke at Stake Conference sharing the wonderful experiences of being a senior missionary.  She did a wonderful job and inspired many!

I love Wednesday's because I get to see my "zone":)

A Good Crazy Week!

Well this week was a party. I'll just share the highlights.

1) We taught G again. He is the guy who is related to Johnny Depp. He knows so much about the church and he is really smart. He wants to be part of this church but he is afraid of organized religion.  He had some really really crazy experiences with religion in the past so I don't blame him... however I'm sure he will come around. I had a really good study session the day we taught him, and EVERYTHING I studied applied to our conversation.  It was so cool (miracle).

2) We started teaching a guy named J.  His girlfriend is in our ward, and they just had a baby.  We love this family a lot, so we basically straight up asked him if he wants to have an eternal family and if we could teach him how he can do that. He said yes and he came to church on Sunday. We also taught his girlfriend and we did the thing where we flip to a random scripture... the scripture she chose (out of context) basically said that her boyfriend would soon be converted! 

3) We had really powerful lessons with J and H again- but neither of them came to church. WE WERE SO DISAPPOINTED!  But we went to their home for dinner on Sunday and so we got to tell them off a bit:) (and we did it over chocolate ice-cream). 

4) Brother M came to church again. He is so cool! He really wants to be active but it has been YEARS and YEARS since he came to church last.  He is incredible though. He reads the BOM daily and he loves God so much.  I wish I could be more like him.

5) We got to hear from a few general authorities on Saturday and that was amazing. President and Sister Tew said some goodbye remarks (they are going home in a few weeks) and two Elders spoke to us as a mission. They talked about so many things but the thing that stood out the most to me was to just get out and go and be the best missionary you can possibly be.

6) I'm getting a new companion!  She's a greenie and I get to be her trainer!!

7) We prayed again to find, and we prayed specifically to find an woman who would be receptive and kind to the message of the gospel.  GUESS WHAT!  We found her :)  God is so good. And she was so interested. She said a beautiful prayer for us and told us we were an answer to her prayers.  

I wish I could just go on and on with all the miracles we saw. But I CAN'T . . . however, we see miracles every second of every day.  I've really enjoyed being a missionary this week!

Love, Jess

Frozen Yogurt with Grandma & Grandpa after zone meeting.  I tried to treat, but Grandpa would hear nothing of it:)

Week of w-w-walkin & Conversion

This week was pretty fun!  We wanted to have a week where we found new investigators. We have been working on our teaching pool but it is so hard. So many people drop us.  I think we had like 5 semi-investigators tell us that they didn't want us to teach them anymore.  So we said "to heck with our teaching pool" and we started walking more.

On Monday we walked. and walked. and walked. and knocked. and testified. and walked a little bit more.  Turns out God didn't have too many people he wanted us to find that day . . .  But guess what, we had TONS OF FUN!  Me and my companion got to know each other way better, we had awesome conversations, and we both became better missionaries. We were hard core anti-Mormon rejected all week.  I think we had more anti-Mormon conversations than normal conversations, but it was okay because we worked hard and built the area.

H IS STILL PROGRESSING and she will probably be baptized soon! We are really excited!

We are teaching Brother M, and the missionaries have been teaching him for ages.  We have had powerful lessons with him. He came to church three weeks ago when we showed up on his front porch with a waffle and a smile.  Then he didn't come for two weeks, but guess what HE CAME YESTERDAY!  He has been messaging us and telling us how awesome we are for helping him.

We are also teaching J. He has had a hard week, and we had one of those lessons where everyone is in tears by the end.  J is about our age and it has been incredible to feel how much Heavenly Father loves him! Anyway HE CAME TO CHURCH TOO!  He may have stepped outside to smoke between second and third hour but hey- he wasn't doing crack so that's  progress! 

We did end up finding this one guy- turns out he remembers Sister Similai ( my trainer). Anyway he knows like a TON about the church because he is Native American, and how he finds it so fascinating that the church does what it does. Then he started talking about the rest of his family and how his cousin Johnny almost became Mormon. Then he started talking about he and Johnny's band... well it turns out, his cousin is Johnny Depp.  Yep. That. Was. Awesome. He told us that he calls him all the time and how he thinks he is going through a mid-life crisis because he joined a band again. SO COOL! I love California!

I've thought a lot about conversion this week.  How do I help others in their conversion?  What destroys a testimony- what enhances conversion- how do you know when you are converted- what does it mean to be converted...  I think that conversion is a lifelong process.  There is nothing set in conversion.  Even the people who you would consider to be the strongest are never strong enough.  We are SO WEAK in the flesh.  Sadly without the Savior- we are much weaker than Satan. He has had millennia of experience and study.  He is more an expert in the field of deception than any mortal can be in any field of study. If you are not feeding your testimony every single day, it is possible to lose it quickly in the world we live in..  Satan isn't just putting anti-Mormon stuff every here and there - he is hurdling it from every corner he possibly can.  If you are not ready, if your armor is weak, then you'd better make changes and become strong again.  It is so clear to me that now is the time where the wheat and the tares are separating.  I feel an urgency to strengthen my own armor and then help others.

Anyway- I hope you have a good week!

Love, Jess

I love Wednesday Zone Meetings . . . 

OK - maybe I love lunch with Grandma & Grandpa MORE!!