Dear Family,
I had a great week from exchanges to interviews. It was so wonderful to have that one on one time with President Collins and to seek comfort and advice from him. I know the things that we talked about were from the spirit and as I have applied those things, I have felt refreshed:) He is an amazing person that I'm very privileged to serve under. I also went on exchanges in North Vernon with Sister Williams. Oh my gosh we had so much fun. It was great to be with someone who feels the same way that I do about missionary work. Sister Williams is from Bountiful and she has been out for about 6 months. She is a hoot and we just had a blast. It is always fun going to another area for a day and just a breath of fresh air. It did feel so good to come back to my area though, I love it so very much. The ward and the those that we are working with, I just know without a doubt that the Lord needed me in Bloomington.

Transfer calls are next Monday, so I'm getting a little anxious about that because I don't want leave. Sister Freer and I have had some great times together and I'm grateful that we got to serve for two transfers together. We have been working with a less active, Emily and her son, Jayden and they have been struggling for a long time. Emily is finally coming to church consistently and Jayden has been sitting in our lessons now. It has been a blessing from Heavenly Father to see the change in them. I was so happy yesterday in our lesson, because we got Jayden a children's Book of Mormon and he is excited to read from the Book of Mormon now and Emily has decided she wants to go to the gospel doctrine since they are learning about the Book of Mormon. They are excited about the gospel and it's wonderful. The gospel is true and living it truly does make one happy. It's so great!!!! I love it. Jayden said the prayer at the end of our lesson and it was the sweetest prayer and Emily got a little emotional. I can tell how much their relationship has changed because they are doing the small and simple things together.

We have been working with this cute little family that I adore. The dad is a member but hasn't been active for 15 years and so his wife and children aren't members. The dad, Uriah, came to church and wants this for his family. Last week we taught them the Plan of Salvation and Heather really wants her family to be eternal. We have been trying to think of ideas to get Tate, the four year old, more involved, because he is so hyper, adorable, but hyper. We brought a bunch of pictures for him to color but that worked for 2 minutes and then he wanted me to finish coloring for him:) They are a cute family! Things our going well for us though. Michaela and Phillip are still doing good and working towards their baptism dates, Feb. 11 and Mar. 17. It got super duper cold last week and snowed, but now it's nice again, gloomy but still the snow is melting and it's supposed to be nice this week, so that was good to hear. I haven't had to break out my 5 layers of leggings yet....
Love,
Sister Lamb

Dear Family,

 

We had a lesson with Sam last Tuesday and as I was racking my brain all day Monday and Tuesday morning, the Lord really helped me with a lesson for him that evening. In my personal study, I couldn't stop thinking about him and I was just pleading that the Spirit could help me and I knew that it would. I was directed towards the story of the Anti-Nephi-Lehis and felt pretty good about the story and that Sam could relate. I then thought of Alma the younger, and his beautiful account of the Atonement in his life. As I was reading I really felt the reality of the Atonement and that Sam needs to believe Christ. A song that is very dear to my heart and has given me a very spiritual experience, Nearer My God to Thee, came to my mind. We were able to get it in an instrumental format and when we went to Sam's we played it in the background while we each read the verses of Alma to ourselves. The spirit was there and I know we all felt it. It was very special and I will remember those feelings that I felt in that moment. I love Sam so very much and I worry about him often, as well as some other investigators we are working with. It kind of weighed me down yesterday because some of them were not at church yesterday and I just worry so much about how they are and what we can do. I know things will come with Sam, and that he has to make the decision to believe Christ. Hopefully as we help him build a testimony we can help feel the love of Heavenly Father. I just want this for him so much and I know Heavenly Father does too. When he told us the things that are holding him back I just cried because I couldn't imagine experiencing what he did.  I know the Lord is going to help us.

 

Michaela is doing wonderful.    We had her come to a baptism in the University ward and afterwards she met with us.  We invited her a few days earlier to come and she wasn't sure if she could.  On Saturday, the weather was wonderful and Sister Freer and I were walking out and about and we received a text from her saying she can come.  The baptism started in 20 minutes and so we booked it to our car and of course once we started driving we hit every red light.  We finally made it and she loved the baptism and the only way she could describe it was awesome:)  She brought her little brother with her and while we were waiting for the two kids who got baptized to change, we were all sitting in the chapel and her little brother started playing with his tooth that was loose.  All the sudden he starts bleeding a lot and so we walked out and he yanked out his tooth and oh my goodness, I kept running into the bathroom to get wads of tissue.  It was a lovely adventure!   She wants this for herself and is willing to do what it takes to continue to have the joy that she has been feeling. When we met with her a few weeks ago, the date February 11 kept coming to my mind, and so when we met with her on Saturday, we committed her to baptism on that date. She accepted it and she is understanding what the spirit feels like. I'm continually so proud of her and where she is going, it's been surreal to be a part of it. It's definitely a tender mercy that our church time is in the morning now because she can stay for all of church and now go to Young Womens. The Young Women leaders have been amazing with her and she is building support in the ward. Last week she wasn't able to come to our ward so she went to the later time in Clear Creek, and she told us that she was glad she went but it didn't feel the same, she is feeling more comfortable with the members in the ward.

 

The weather is still beautiful as ever and I'm loving it!!!!!  We were tracting the other day and we started talking to this really nice guy.  He told us that he was pretty familiar with our church but was open to hearing us out.  Before we even talked about the Book of Mormon, he told us that his wife is native american and that they believe that Jesus Christ came to visit the Americas.  Sister Freer and I got so excited and told him about the Book of Mormon and how it is a record of that story.  He didn't want to read it but he was really nice about it.  It was such a cool experience to hear him talk about that.  His wife had heard stories growing up about that and it's just so great to know that Book of Mormon testifies of that truth.  We are so blessed.  We used part of the account of Jesus Christ coming to the Americas in a lesson with a less active family yesterday.  We turned out all the lights and talked about how before He came the people were in darkness for three days and then they heard the voice of the Savior.  We read those verses of Christ talking as it was dark and it was really comforting to hear those words from our Savior in darkness.  It was a great lesson and helped us all continue to focus on the Savior and know that He is always asking us to come unto him. 

 

We have a great week planned, we have interviews with President and Sister Collins and I'm going on exchanges to North Vernon, so lots of fun things ahead.  Transfers are on January 25, and ugh I'm not looking forward to that.  I love this area but the people have become like family and I love them so much!!!!!  Sister Freer and I are pretty sure that one of us will be leaving so it will be hard but the Lord is in it. 

 

Love,

Sister Lamb     

Dear Family,

Happy New Year!!!!!!  Well we finally have our snow with a heavy dose of wind chill...blahhhh!  It snowed a few days after Christmas and it snowed again today and the wind is awful:(  It's been kind of a slow week, just with the holidays there weren't a lot of people home and so I know this week will be good though.  Heavenly Father is definitely blessing me with memorization skills.  President Collins has asked all of the missionaries to memorize a scripture once a week and we get a specific one each week, so that' been a good challenge.   

Ugh, we had to drop Jim and that just broke my heart. I try not to take it hard but that is very hard for me because I really grew to love him and I had a lot of hope that he would change. Maybe too much hope. He just doesn't believe it's true. I know we did all we could for him but his heart just wasn't completly open, even though I felt as if he did have a true desire but I guess he just isn't ready now. He will accept it one day and I know he won't forget the countless times Sister Freer and I bore testimony. He's a good guy and I have loved teaching him and I will continue to hope for him.

We set our district baptism goal for January and for Highland we are going to strive to set two baptismal dates. We have set one with Phillip for March 17, he is working towards that but it is still a struggle to get him to church because of his work schedule.    We are going to also work on setting a date with Michaela. She is a doll and is very self-motivated. Yesterday she didn't make to our ward and so she went to the other ward and we were so impressed with her determination to go to church because she knows it's important. I love her so much! 
 

Yesterday, Sister Freer and I taught the gospel principles class and it was on temple work and family history.  It was really neat to hear of experiences that people have had as they have done temple work for their family!  I was just in awe the whole time.  Dixie shared some cool experiences she had doing work for her family as well as Sam's family (he is the vietnam vet) and it got me excited to do work for our family and how crucial it is for us to do.  We went over to the family history center to get familar with it so we can use it to help investigators, and I went and looked at our family names and it is something that I want to do more of. 

Love,

Sister Lamb

Dear Family,

It was wonderful to hear from you!!!!!!  It made my day for sure:)  I have been so grateful for the support you have shown me and I will never forget the feelings I have felt during Christmas.  It truly has been amazing to be representing Jesus Christ, especially this time of year.  My testimony of my Savior has deepened and that is giving me the strength to continue to press forward and do what He has asked me to do.  I have noticed during my time as a missionary that my prayers have changed and that I am asking what the Lord's will is.  That has helped me so much and the spirit has been guiding me every day.  I love this work and I love my Heavenly Father and Jesus Christ. 

Sister Freer and I had a great experience with John.  He has been pretty frustrating since day one and he is a little slower but he would create contention and he was offended when he came to church last. We decided to teach him the Plan of Salvation to help him with a concern that he had. We used some pictures that I drew to help him visualize the plan. It's as if a light just clicked and his countenance changed. He understood and during the lesson there were no feelings of frustration. We called him during the week to see how his reading was going and he said that he read what we asked him to read in the Plan of Salvation pamphlet and he then asked us if there was something specific that he should read in the Book of Mormon. We couldn't believe what we were hearing! He told us that we must trust him enough to have him read these things. It made my heart swell.

As hard as some of the days have been this past week, I have continued to feel the Spirit guiding me in our lessons. We met with a less active, Amy, who has such a great understanding of the gospel and amazing insight but she doesn't act on the things she knows. As we started teaching her I felt we should talk about her role as a mother and the wonderful responsibility she has felt since being a mother. I am always in awe of mothers and respect them so very much for loving motherhood. It was great to talk to Amy about that and what she wants for her children. As she was talking she brought up the concern of why she hasn't been acting. She says she is afraid of responsibility and commitment. I shared with a scripture from D&C 11, I have no idea where that came from, well I have an idea, but I am not the best at recalling scriputres and as I shared it with her I knew that is what she needed to hear. That her desire to do better is what the Lord needs of her and that her desire will bless her daughters. Unfortunately she didn't come to church, but I can't deny the spirit that I felt and that she felt.

I'm excited for another week and I have been looking for the Lord's hand in each day and it has been there.  It was so wonderful to talk to you and I love each of you dearly.  Sorry it's kind of short this week but I'm sure there will more stories next week:) 

Love,

Sister Lamb

Hello dear family,

Nothing too crazy has been happening around here in Bloomington.  We did get two new elders in our district, Elder Quirk and Elder Edwards.  We had a testimony meeting with our district and we have some amazing elders that have rock solid testimonies.  It was great to be able to hear their experiences of deciding to come on a mission and we were all able to relate in a way.  It's going to be a great transfer!  We got a new ward mission leader and Sister Freer and I are way excited because it is the guy who brought us a new washer at the beginning of last transfer.  We went over to visit with him and his wife and they are amazing!! 

We had our ward Christmas Party and we had four investigators come and they really loved it, especially Bill and Aggie.  We had a neat experience with them last night.  Sister Freer and I felt we should go see them and so we did and their daughter was there as well.  We got to know her and she was in a car accident and now has some pretty intense spinal injuries.  It is really hard for Aggie to see her daughter struggle.  After their daughter left, they told us about how they had a grand daughter who passed away and also a good friend recently pass away.  I opened up to Alma 40:12 and shared with her that all will made right and that all these things that we face in life will be made right and that those that we love are in a state of peace and rest.  As Sister Freer and I were able to testify of these things, I felt so strongly of the reality of this plan and that it is of God.  We had never seen Aggie react the way she did and she and Bill felt the Spirit and told us that we were supposed to come over and that they needed us.  It was really special. 

We are so excited because we have a Christmas Conference this week with the mission and I know that it will be very special.  President Collins has told me time and time again how special this time will be to spend Christmas in the mission field.  I'm seeing the wonderful things already and really cherishing this time.  I love being on a mission because of the many instances where following the spirit can make all the difference.  I had a very special experience of doing what I needed to be doing so that I could be an instrument in the Lords hands for Sister Freer.  I am grateful to her and I'm grateful that I was able to tell her things that she needed to hear in the moment.  I couldn't tell you all I said but I do know that it was not me speaking.  Sister Freer and I are having a lot of fun and we are excited for Christmas, we have made some pretty snazzy decortaions in our apartment and we are making our Christmas cards today:)  I love this time of year, I do miss you all very much, but I know that all is well there and that you are all happy.  It is very true what they say about absence makes the heart grow fonder.  I love you all more than you know and I'm so excited to talk with you in a week:))))  

Sorry that this is kind of short, but things are going well and we are just going forward! 

Love,

Sister Lamb

Dearest Family,

Oh I have been thinking a lot about you lately, especially with all the Christmas music and programs.  We had our Christmas program in Sacrament yesterday and then the Stake put on a Christmas concert and it was spectacular, oh my goodness, I had chills the whole time.  I felt the spirit so strong testify to me that Jesus Christ is the Savior.  Indiana University, which is here in Bloomington, has the number one music program ( as well as medical and dental and on and on...) in the country and so there are a lot of people in the stake that are in that program.  There was an orchestra and a choir and it was beautiful.  We had a couple of investigators that came and they loved it, so that was good to have them there. 

Sister Freer and I are staying for another transfer!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!  Apparently the assistants are calling everyone even if you are not getting transferred, yeah we didn't get that memo and so when the phone rang this morning, Sister Freer and I were scared, but no worries we are staying and we are so happy.  We were hoping we would be able to spend Christmas together.  We are seeing miracles here and it's been amazing.  The Lord is truly blessing us and those that we are working with are doing well and we have really been relying on the spirit in our planning to what they need.  We set a baptismal date for Phillip and he was pretty excited about that.  We are just working with him a lot to help him gain a testimony but he is loving reading from the Book of Mormon.  We also were able to have a really special lesson with a less active and his wife, who is not a member.  Uriah came to church last week and was very touched by the spirit and it is something that he wants in his life.  We got to meet his family and Uriah expressed that he wants his family to be sealed and Heather, his wife, had never heard him talk about that before.  To hear Uriah explain to her what being sealed meant was a sweet moment for Sister Freer and I. 

I went on exchanges this past week and Sister Valencia came to my area and we had a blast.  She is a very dear friend and an amazing missionary and so it was fun to spend the day with her.  She is serving in my last area, YSA, and so I was happy to hear how things are going there.  I got some happy news that a recent convert of mine, that struggled for a bit there, is doing well and will be moving up to Ball State.  I know the missionaries that are serving there now and so I know they will take care of her.  While she was here, we had a lesson with a new investigator, Michaela, who is 16 and a doll.  Her boyfriend is a less active and has been coming to church and bringing her.  We finally were able to have a lesson and she loves the feelings that she has had since she has been coming to church.  Miracles, lovely little miracles, everyday!  The work is going well here and I know as we continue to be obedient that we continue to see the Lords hand in the work. 

It's getting blasted cold here but no snow....yet:)  Bloomington is absolutely adorable with all the Christmas decorations and lights.  Down by the university there is a street of fraternities and sororities houses and they are so gorgeous, and with the Christmas lights, it's awesome.  Sister Freer and I are continuing to do well and having giggle fests everyday:)  Big hug. Little kiss.. big kiss..little hug... 

Love,

Sister Lamb 

Dearest Family,
Happy birthday yesterday Coi!!!!!! I love you!!!!!! Thank you so much for the Christmas package, it was wonderful and Sister Freer and I had a lot of fun decorating our little tree. We even made a fireplace out of construction paper and we have stockings, mine has a kitty on it:) The rice bags came in handy, especially this past week, because I got sick, it was awful. Sister Collins told me to stay in one day and I just was doped up on dayquill which helped but ugh it was not fun. I'm feeling better, I'm still congested but the aches and pains and other things that go with the stomach flu are gone. The elders gave me a blessing and that really helped me, it was an amazing blessing and I'm so grateful for our elders here. It was awesome, as soon as Elder Enslow laid his hands on my head, everything went away, I felt pure peace, it was incredible, all my worries, feelings of being sick, everything went away for that small moment that he gave me a blessing. I love the priesthood.

That is crazy about the winds, I'm glad everybody is okay. It is still raining here:) Sister Freer and I were tracting and it was raining and then all the sudden it was the coolest thing, the rain looked like it was in slow motion and then it started snowing. It stuck for a day but melted and now it's raining...still. We had a good week, even though I was down for a time, we still were able to work hard and see those that we needed to see and also meet some new people.

We went to go and try a former investigator and he wasn't home and as we were walking back we saw a man sitting on his front step and went and talked with him. He was so nice and he said that he knew we were religious just by the way we carried ourselves. As we were talking to him, he told that he had seen the ads on TV for mormon.org and he and his family loved them. He was so excited to talk with us and wanted to know why we were so happy and also the people on TV. It was so special. We were able to set up a time to come and see him and his family, and Sister Freer and I really connected with them. They have two children and they truly are searching for truth and happiness. It was an amazing lesson as we talked to them about the Book of Mormon and why we are so happy. The only down side is that they are moving into the Clear Creek boundaries, I know they will be in good hands but it was so sad because we really clicked, but the Lord is in the work and if they are truly ready they will progress. I do know that we were led to them by the Spirit.

We have been meeting with Phillip regularly and he is doing well. I'm hoping he can start getting Sundays off so that he can continue to progress but he is keeping all of his other commitments and his desire to learn is awesome. We also had an amazing lesson with Jim and found out a concern that he has with church and we were able to help him with that and promised him that if he came to all three hours of church he would feel the spirit. We felt like we had made a breakthrough with him, because he said as he has been reading the Book of Mormon and the Bible it's like a lightbulb has clicked. His heart was being open and I know the influence of the Spirit could touch him as he comes to church. He felt the same way and then we went to see him on Saturday and everything changed. He said he wants to go to a different church and then modern day prophets was confusing him. Sister Freer and I, our hearts just fell out of our chest. It wasn't the same person. I'm curious to see what his experience was like. I know it is hard for him because he was raised with a different view of things and he is going where he feels more of a familiarity, but we aren't trying to take away any of that. We are giving him more, I know we are. It just breaks my heart. We are meeting with him this week to see how church was and we committed him to read Alma 5.

We did have a great experience with a less active yesterday in church. His name is Uriah and he hasn't been to church in 15 years. We were talking with his brother earlier in the week and he said that Uriah wants to start coming back. We talked to Uriah and he said he does and that he was planning on coming to sacrament. He came yesterday and was so touched by the Spirit, it was beautiful. He knows this is where he needs to be and it was awesome. His wife and children are not members and I think he is going to be a great example to them as he takes these steps towards Christ. We are meeting with him this week and Sister Freer and I are very excited.

The gospel is truly from a loving Heavenly Father and our Savior. Hope you were able to watch the first presidency Christmas Devotional last night, we went over to a members house and had cookies and hot chocolate while we watched and made invitations for the ward Christmas Party. It was a lot of fun. I love you all oodles and I hope you are staying warm and I'm glad no one blew away. How are my little kitties, I think of you all and PJ when I'm freezing on a doorstep:)
Love, Sister Lamb