sister.ali.lloyd: SINGING LOOS AND RESCUES!

LOVE YOU BEAUTIFUL FAMILY!

Sacrament meeting was incredible yesterday. I felt the Spirit so strongly during all of our meetings. Our bishop loves us so much, and spent his 5th Sunday lesson talking about helping the missionaries. He and our ward mission leader have given Sister P and me so many referrals in the last week and it is helping HEAPS!

Serenaded to "All You Need is Love'

We also had miracle lessons with our ward members this week! Yes, most of them are busy, but we found a way to make it work and the Elders let us use the car. It was perfect, and the member’s testimony and fellowship are exactly what our investigators needed. We set baptismal dates and invited them to church with the members.

MISSIONARIES working with MEMBERS = SUCCESS!

I was asked to speak in Sacrament as the final speaker yesterday. The topic was "RESCUING," and the first two speakers were very quick. I looked at the clock, and realized I had 40 minutes to talk with the ward. President Hamilton turned to me and said, “Heaps of time ... good luck!”

I decided to take a different approach to rescues. We are hearing HEAPS that we need to go out with the missionaries, and find referrals, and I think that most of the time, the members just shut off.

I shared the parable of the good shepherd in Luke 15. I related the experience that before my mission, I sometimes felt like a lost sheep. We read in Isaiah 53, that all of us, at one point, have been lost. We all need the Atonement, to help us continually draw closer to the Saviour. I bore my testimony about how the first rescue that blessed my life was the rescue of my parents. Because of them, we were sealed in the Temple as an eternal family -- the family that allows me to bear testimony of celestial happiness in this life and the next.

Met Rugby Star & former RM Will "Hoppa" Hopoate at Church

I also shared an experience of how the first night I got to Louisiana I met a very special family. Because a woman was rescued, her partner was baptized. Not only were they rescued, but future generations were impacted. I had talk prepared, but the Spirit prompted me to fill the time otherwise. I know that I was speaking by the Spirit because I was learning as I was speaking. I pray that I was an answer to someone’s prayer through the words I was prompted to speak. I invited each one of us to not think about rescues as a mandatory or statistical obligation, but remembering our own conversion, our own rescue, should propel us to reach out to those we love. Parable of the Lost Sheep

Reunited with MTC Comp!

My core experience with God this week was a lesson we had with a young woman we met on the street who immediately was so keen. We sat down in the park to teach her about the Restoration The Restoration. She said that she had been praying for so long for someone to help her on her path to find Jesus, and then we came along. We taught and testified, and the Spirit was so strong. She accepted the invitation to be baptized. I am always so grateful to teach the Restoration because of the happiness and hope that it has given me. She simply said that everything we said made sense, and that she knew that this is what she has been looking for.

We had a miracle with one of our new investigators. He said that through our church, he had started doing his family history work in England. He had to come back to AU, and was never able to finish. We told him we have a Family History center here in Freshwater! He couldn’t believe it. We are meeting with him again tomorrow to help him. Miracles!Family Search

"Freezing" Beanie Weather

Teaching as Jesus taught came from an experience we had finding. It was absolutely freezing outside, and the sun was setting. No one would let us in or talk to us despite the freezing weather! We were about to head back to the bus stop when I felt prompted to hike up a hill to a very inconveniently located home. We followed the prompting, went up the hill and through a ginormous gate, and found a beautiful family of two little girls and a father and mother who have and will do anything to raise their girls with good standards and separate them from the evil of this world.

I am so grateful for the opportunities I’ve had to bear my testimony about eternal families this week. We taught the C family again with a member, and talked about the sealing power. I bore my testimony about my own family and how much I wanted those blessings for them. This family is wonderful!

New Companion!

As I was studying D&C section 121 before bed, a phrase that stuck out to me the most was:

“The Holy Ghost shall be thy constant companion, and thy sceptre and unchanging sceptre of righteousness and truth.”

I realized that on our missions, even though we are always with someone, it may feel like the loneliest time of our life. Until we realize that Heavenly Father and Jesus Christ are always there, we can often feel helpless and alone.

That is why I have such a strong and unwavering testimony of obedience. Because when we are obedient, we feel the Spirit; we feel joy and comfort and guidance, and need never feel alone!

I know there is always room for improvement and growth. There are always opportunities to fan our faith and grow closer to our Father in Heaven. We are given chances daily to change and become more like our Saviour. I pray that I and each of you will take those chances, and share the light that we have been blessed with.