Snow and Miracles

This week was fantastic!!!!! We had snow on Halloween! It was pretty crazy. Welcome to the lake effect, the chilly winters, the snowy tundra of northern Indiana. Thank goodness it hasn't snowed since, just a lot of rain!

What a fantastic week that Sister Tanner and I had in Mishawaka!!! It was awesome! We had several lessons and got to know a lot more of the ward and even committed 3 of our investigators to baptism!!! The 3 investigators we committed to baptism are Tyler, McKenna and Ashlynn Eskridge! They are 14, 13, and 12 years old. They went to church a lot when they were younger. Their grandma is a member and so is their Dad. We committed them to be baptized on November 29th! They are so excited! I love them so much already. They are so sincere in their desire to come closer to God and they are already reading the scriptures with their grandma everyday! They weren't able to come to church last week because a couple of them were sick and the car wouldn't start…. but they will be there this week! The ward just loves them too! I am so excited to see them grow over the next month as they prepare for their baptism!

Dennis quit drinking coffee!!! Which makes us so excited because that means that he is now that much closer to getting baptized. He said that he thought it was going to be a lot harder to give it up then it actually was. He said that the first couple of days were difficult, but now he hardly misses it. He is now praying about when he will be ready to be baptized! 

On Saturday, we had a little bit of time, so I took Sister Tanner tracting. She was pretty nervous, but by the end she was very confident in talking to anyone who answered their door! It was fun to watch her change over just two hours of trying something new. I am so grateful that I have learned how to open my mouth and how to testify of what I know to be true. The gospel is so exciting, how could we not share it with EVERYONE!!!!! God knows us all perfectly and He loves us unconditionally. He loves us so much that he sent his son, Jesus Christ to die for us! I know that through Jesus Christ we all can return to live with God again. 

Thank you for your love and your support!!!

Love,

Sister Sarah Mumford 

Oh and here is one last picture with some Indiana corn fields…. they look a little different when they are dead. hahah

Mishawaka

Hello Hello!!! I am in Mishawaka now!!!!! Which is all of the way up north :) technically this part of Indiana is considered Michiana. Our ward boundaries barely go up into Michigan! My companion is Sister Tanner. She is super fun and super cute!!! She is 19 and went to a year of school at BYUI before she came on her mission! She is wonderful and loves to work hard. I can not wait to see the adventures that this transfer will bring :) Oh it is also super fun because Sister Cutler in now one of my sister trainer leaders and she is serving in the ward right next to mine! 

We live in a cute little trailer :) It is actually one of the nicest apartments that I have had my whole mission! The worst part about it though is that our water is NASTY! It is very hard and has lots of sulfur in it..... it smells really bad... so showering is an adventure. Our ward mission leader told us that we can't drink it because that is how hard it is! So instead we buy water... so weird that we have to buy water. oh well :) it is an adventure!

The fall up here is beautiful! We spent the last couple of days trying to get to know our area and the members and the people the sisters before were teaching!

We met one of our investigators, Steve. He is pretty sweet! His wife is an inactive member and they live with his mother in law who is very active. We were able to read 3 Nephi 11 with him when we met with him and we talked about priesthood authority. He is so sincere in everything! We committed him to pray about a baptismal date. We can not wait to meet with him again this week to see what his answer was! 

We also met with Dennis. He is a funny man. He has been meeting with missionaries for a few months now. He understands and believes almost everything. He just isn't sure if he is willing to make the commitment necessary to be baptized and isn't sure if he is willing to give up coffee. I know though, that as we can help him understand how to apply the atonement more fully that he will have a desire to change and that the commitment part of the gospel will come more naturally! 

We also had the opportunity to give a church tour to one of the Bishop's coworkers, Eric! It was awesome! He loved being in the church and wants to learn more. We were able to invite him to baptism and he said "of course I would be baptized if I knew it was true! That would only make sense!" I am grateful that this gospel is so logical and that Eric was able to recognize the spirit as we taught him the restoration! 

This area has so much potential! The members seem very willing to share the gospel with those around them! I am so excited to be here and I am grateful for the opportunity that I have to first half train Sister Tanner. (even if it stinks that she has to kill her mom...) I know this church is true! Christ lives :) and I am grateful that is isn't freezing yet! 

Love,

Sister Sarah Mumford 

 This is the view from our street

Sister Tanner and Sister Mumford with a "sunday Selfie"

Moroni Files

We had quite a few adventures this week! But, I thought that first I would start with what is happening at transfers!! We honestly last night had no idea what was going to happen at transfers... Sister Hales and I were trying to patently await our call, or text! Well the verdict was not at all what we expected, but it was exciting!!! I am officially released as a Sister Trainer Leader and I have been called to train (only first half train) for my last transfer!!! It has been a while since I have trained, but I am super excited!!! A little nervous, because this means that I will get double transferred into an area, but it should be an adventure, that is for sure :) So next week I will get to send pictures of my lovely greenie! It will be really sad to leave the YSA branch. I really love it and it has been a lot of fun. 

We had a wonderful surprise this week when we got kidnapped by one of our members, Lita! Her fiancé, Logan, who is also our ward mission leader has been working on the temple. We had planned to contact on campus with Lita on Friday morning, so we met her at the church as usual and were getting ready to walk over to campus. Then she asked if she could share a big secret with us! And that secret was "at 11am, Moroni will fly!" She then asked if we had any set appointments (which our only scheduled one had just canceled) and then she asked if she could kidnap up!!! So we got to go to the temple in Carmel to see Moroni FLY!!!! The temple was beautiful and it was so much fun! I loved how I also got to see some old friends from Carmel who also went to the temple to see Moroni put on the top! And it was a beautiful day in comparison to our kind of dreary and rainy week!!! 

Sarah and some members after the angel is placed.  The girl on the right just got home from her mission to Utah last week and had dinner with Sarah's Mumford Grandparents and even got peaches form their orchard.  Sarah might be a bit jealous.

Sarah and Sister hales before the angel goes on top

Christian is still doing awesome! We had a lesson with him this week where we were able to invite him to be baptized and extend a baptismal date! He is getting baptized on December 13th! It is wonderful because he is reading the Book of Mormon everyday. He wasn't able to get off work this week- but sounds like he will be able to next week!!! So exciting! 

We met a really cool guy on campus this week- his name is Elijah. He is on IUPUI's basketball team! We kept seeing him EVERYWHERE, and on Friday, we finally had the opportunity to talk to him :) He was sitting outside of the bookstore. So we approached him and got to know him a little and we were able to then teach him about the restoration! We were not able to set up another time to meet because of how busy he is with work and basketball, but he was pretty receptive :) I think that the best part was is all transfer I have been telling sister Hales that I want to talk to him, since we saw him everywhere and we were finally able to say more then a hello in passing and actually share the message of the restoration with him! 

I am so grateful for the Atonement! I am so grateful for my Savior Jesus Christ and for this message that we share! I love this gospel and I know that our Heavenly Father loves us! That is exactly why He sent His son to die for us! I know that through Christ's atoning sacrifice for us that we can return to live with God again. We can be cleansed from our sins and we can gain the strength that we need everyday to follow His perfect example!!! 

I hope you all have a wonderful week :)

Love,

Sister Sarah Mumford 

 One last "Sunday Selfie" with the beautiful Sister Hales

Enjoying the beautiful Indiana Fall 

Rain Rain go Away

This week was interesting, to say the least. It was a little slower than weeks we have had before, but still good! Actually this week was really super de duper rainy. Which makes personal contacting on campus a little tricky, because we are not allowed to start conversations inside of buildings, only outside. It was also a bummer that our favorite member to contact with, James, was in Utah all week! But we still had lots of miracles! 

We have this new investigator named Christian, who funny enough, I actually haven't taught yet because of the way that exchanges have lined up!! He is a music therapy major here at IUPUI. He seems pretty interested. We (and by we I mean Sister Hales and Sister Cooley when they were on exchanges) were able to take Christian on a church tour and he loved it! His work schedule right now is a little tricky and he wasn't able to come to church, but he says that he would like to soon! I love how strong his desire to learn more is! He is reading the Book of Mormon... I think that he is starting to change. Honestly, that is the most amazing part about missionary work is being able to watch someone change as they accept and begin to live the gospel of Jesus Christ in its fullness! 

We also got to see Meet the Mormons again this week when it was screened for our zone! It was just as good the second time! If you haven't seen it yet, you should!! You won't regret it! It is an awesome way to feel the Spirit! Our Branch President on Sunday talked about how it was just like sacrament meeting, except for the fact that everyone was 30 minutes early to the theater and then everyone stayed after to socialize! So that is my plug for Meet the Mormons-- you should totally see it!!

We also have our monthly “Why I Believe” Fireside on Sunday. I love it so much! It is so uplifting to hear so many recent converts, or returning members share their stories. Plus it is pretty fun to see all of the other missionaries that I have served by again! Yesterday, Sue Fleener spoke at it (I found her with Sister Pitcher when I was in Carmel and she got baptized a little bit after I was transferred!) She did so well ! I loved being able to hear her testimony of these restored truths. She shared with everyone how it was hard and it was frustrating, but how she wanted so badly to find the truth! When we first met Sue she would never pray, because she thought that God didn't care about her. Now it is amazing to see how the knowledge that she is a daughter of God and that He cares about her reflects in her countenance! I loved that I could give her a huge hug again too :)

Well, I hope that you all have an amazing week!!! Thank you for your continued love and support!

Love,

Sister Sarah Mumford 

This is our walk every day to campus.

General Conference

This week was pretty great!!!! Got to love General Conference :) We actually had a really bust week before that, so not only did we get to hear from the prophet, but we also got a nice change of pace! So here is a little bit about what happened this week! 

Monday- Preparation Day :) Played some pretty intense volleyball at the church with all of the missionaries in our zone. Got smacked in the face by the ball. It was pretty epic. 

Tuesday- Exchanges with the Avon Sisters. I went to Avon with Sister Tibbitt and her companion, Sister Tollman got to go to IUPUI Campus for the day. All of our plans fell through in the morning, so we went and we tracted... it was so weird to tract again! Boy oh boy we are really spoiled on campus. It is so nice that there are always SO many people to talk too :)

Wednesday- The Plainfield Sisters both came to campus for exchanges! It was so much fun! We met a lot of really cool people. One of my favorite lessons was with a girl named Sara. We were just outside of the library when we stopped and talked to her. She is actually from Norway and here on a scholarship to play golf.... pretty cool :) She is pretty religious but doesn't have a church here! We were able to share a little bit about what we believed with her. It was sweet! She was on her way to class, so she didn't have too much time, but we are pumped to meet with her again this week! 

We also met a really cool girl named Maya. We were sitting down on a bench doing a couple of lesson evaluations and she came up and started talking to us!!! It was awesome. She wanted to know what made us different and said that she is always looking to learn more about different religions. It was pretty sweet- when we shared the restoration with her she had actually heard it before!! She also said that we were way better then the "preachers" on campus (guy who reads-- maybe more like yells about the bible on the corner) we thought it was a pretty sweet compliment! 

Thursday- We contacted with one of our favorite members James in the morning. It is really fun because he actually starts most of the conversation. He is so out going-- he joined the church almost a year ago and is too old to serve a mission (he is 30) so he loves the opportunity to share his testimony! 

We also had a SWEET lesson with one of our investigators Lacey. We mostly just taught her about Jesus Christ and the Atonement. I love how every time that I have the opportunity to teach about the atonement that my own personal testimony of it is strengthened.  

Friday- We had Mission Leadership Council at the mission home!!! We all had to come with a talk prepared on how faith in the atonement increased our desire to serve and then they randomly picked 2 people to give it! Thank goodness it wasn't me!! I did learn a lot though as I prepared the talk and from the Elder and Sister who actually gave the talk. We talk about the Atonement of Jesus Christ a lot. But the real question is... are we applying it? The Atonement of Jesus Christ is so much more then a redemption of our sins-- but there is an enabling power that comes from the Atonement! Christ knows us perfectly and knows how to help us perfectly and can gives the strength that we need that is beyond our own needs!! 

AND WE GOT TO WATCH MEET THE MORMONS!!!!!! It was really sweet! 

Saturday & Sunday- General Conference! We got to watch the first two sessions

at a members house-Todd's house with Natalie, Lauren, and Cameron and the other sets of missionaries :) We watched Sunday morning at the church and then Sunday afternoon with the senior couple in the White River Ward, the Larsens. It was so good!!!! I love that not only do we have a prophet, but that we get to hear from the prophet! One of my favorite quotes from him was:  "Walking where Jesus walked is less important than walking as He walked" President Monson. I know that President Monson receives revelation from God on what we need to hear and how to lead and guide Christ's church on the earth today!!! 

okay so now a funny story-- we got these "hipster" glasses from a service project we did last week.... the Elders wanted to wear them to MLC. So we agreed that we would be silly and do this. The funniest part of their request was that we match our outfits to the color of glasses that we have.... hahahahahah 

Temple, General Authorities and More

This week was wonderful!! We were so busy it went by so fast!!! On Wednesday we had a Mission Conference where Elder Perkins from the 70 came and spoke to our mission!! It was fantastic, what a neat experience! It lasted from 9am-4pm, so it was pretty long, but so good. We received several trainings on how we can be more effective as missionaries but I think one of my favorite trainings had to do with receiving personal revelation from meetings. We talked about how we should go to every meeting with a question and how this invites the spirit to answer our questions, making the meeting a personal revelatory experience. Now this is not the first time I have heard this or even used it, but I was so grateful for the reminder-- that I have the opportunity to always be seeking personal revelation. We also got to eat lunch with Elder Perkins and his wife! He is a funny guy. We heard lots of funny stories about his interactions with the quorum of the 12 apostles-- like playing golf with President Eyring or Elder Oaks telling cannable jokes. It made for quite an enjoyable lunch!

This week Sister Hales and I also had the wonderful opportunity to go to the temple!! What an amazing experience, I am so grateful that we have a temple. It was nice to be reminded of the promises that I have made and the blessings that come from keeping those covenants. As soon as we sat down in the temple, I was overcome with feelings of peace and of joy. I love that we have the opportunity to go to the Lord's house the temple and to feel the spirit that is there. I know that temples are what bind our families together and that the promises made there are essential to our salvation. I know that the temple is always a place where I can find refugee from my worries and from the world. What a wonderful opportunity that we have to go and to worship there! 

This week Kelly came to church!!! It was awesome-- she loved the branch and it was sweet that we had an awesome testimony meeting that she got to hear-- great first experience in the YSA branch :) We also got to help at a ALS run this weekend-- it was a pretty cool service opportunity. 

I hope that you all have a great week :) I love you so much! 

Yolanda gets baptized

So biggest miracle of the week....... YOLANDA GOT BAPTIZED! Yes that is right! She had an interview with President Cleveland on Tuesday afternoon and everything went well and we got the a okay to move forward with the baptism!!! It was amazing! Lots of members of the branch came to support her- which was wonderful. She was baptized by a member of the family ward that she used to live in, Eagle Creek. It was kind of cute, she actually got a little nervous right before she went into the font. After she was baptized, we asked her how she felt and how she thought that it went-- she said that it wasn't quite what she expected. That is was different then her first baptism. That she just felt different! From Yolanda who doesn't show a whole lot of emotion, those words were priceless!!! We got a text from her later that night saying "Thanks. Tonight felt like a new beginning."

The gospel of Jesus Christ changes lives! I am so grateful for the opportunity that I have to serve a full time mission for the Lord and to see so many miracles! After Yolanda's baptism I felt just so full of joy! Sister Hales and I were talking about it and we both just couldn't stop smiling :)) Being a part of this makes everything-- all of the ups and downs of missionary work totally worth it!!!!

This week we met a really cool new investigator- her name is Caila. I met her with another sister, Sister Hall, on exchanges this week. We were on our way to the library to meet someone and we saw her sitting on a bench. It turns out that she was actually waiting for the shuttle to come. We only talked to her for a few minutes, but it turned out that she was actually looking for a church to attend and wanted to learn more. We set up another appointment to meet with her the next day :) Well we couldn't get ahold of her on Friday when we tried to meet again. Which was making up super de duper nervous! But we went anyways to the spot we had planned to meet and she was right there waiting!!!! We were so excited. (turns out her phone had just died!) We had an awesome restoration lesson with her! We brought Jeanette with us and when she shared her testimony of the restoration and of God's love with us in our lesson she made all of us cry... including Caila. Caila explained that this was exactly what she was looking for in a religion. We can't wait to meet with her again this week!!!

I love serving on a campus! Somedays are hard because we talk to so many people and sometimes it seems like it doesn't go much of anywhere... and it seems like a lot of people don't like to keep their appointments. BUT it is wonderful because so many people are so open and we get to talk to so many people everyday and testify of Jesus Christ so often!!!!!

Anyways that is all for this week! Thank you for your love and your prayers and support!

<3 Sister Sarah Mumford