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

Olympics Stripes and Hot Pot

This week was pretty great!!! We had some crazy adventures are were able to teach ALOT of lessons! It was pretty great :)

We had an awesome opportunity on Saturday to help out with the special olympics! They were having softball and corn hole tournaments! It was so much fun! There were lots of other missionaries that I have served with before there so it was fun to see friends! Most missionaries had specific jobs, like to help out in certain areas, but the assistants were just roaming and had a walkie talkie to make sure that everything else was alright that was going on! Sister Hales and I were made the assistants to the assistants so we also just roamed around to make sure everything was okay! The walkie talkie made us pretty official ;)

This week we had a pretty neat experience with Elliot. We were able to sit down after an activity at the church on Thursday and have a lesson with him. Cameron and Lucas were both able to come as well! He actually just moved in with Lucas and both Cameron and Lucas are converts-- so we couldn't ask for better fellowship! Elliot committed to baptism before and then canceled his baptism about an hour before had. Apparently there were some unresolved concerns. Sister Hales and I decided that we would read 3 Nephi 11 with him and talk about how when the Savior came one of the very first things he did was give Nephi the priesthood authority so he could baptize and we figured Christ could better explain why baptism was important. We were reading and the spirit was so strong. The coolest part is when he shared with us during the lesson that reading those verses gave him his answer and that he decided he wanted to be baptized!!!! Elliot is now working towards being baptized on October 4th :) We are pretty pumped!!!! 

Yolanda was doing great earlier this week, but we had some hic-ups yesterday. We are not sure if the baptism is going to happen this weekend or not. I guess there was just a lot that we didn't know. 

We also had a really cool experience with a girl named Kelly we met on campus this week :) Sister Hales and I had kind of had a long day and had just come out a really hard lesson. We sat down outside to do a lesson evaluation before we went and talked to some more people before we headed back to the church for dinner. We were pooped out and didn't have a whole lot of motivation. We decided that we just needed to get up and go and that talking to someone would be what made us feel better... So we did! Before we sat down, I had spotted a girl not to far from us in stripes. When we decided to get up, I was determined that that was who we needed to talk to! So that is what we did! We went and we talked to the girl in stripes. Turns out that she was at church the Sunday before and that she had been attending church in Kentucky the year before!! We were able to meet with her on Friday again and we had a sweet lesson and committed her to baptism!! I am so grateful that Heavenly Father prepares his children to receive our message!! 

So another cool story-- we were able to teach Kiki's boyfriend Min Gao this week :) We aren't sure how interested he is, but we were able to teach him more about God and we taught him how to pray. It was a pretty sweet experience. I love the spirit that comes as we teach others about God. I think that is one of my favorite things to teach on my mission! Kiki was also about to share her testimony with Min Gao and holy cow that girl is awesome!!!!!! She also made us hotpot on Sunday for dinner...which was kind of an adventure, but pretty yummy :)

Being a campus missionary is different! We get to teach so many people and we meet so many awesome people everyday, but it hard to get those we meet to keep their return appointments and often times they come across anti-mormon material between the times that we meet. So it’s hard, but it is an adventure :))

Oh and one more thing-- sweet quote I found this week :)

"Yes, every test, every trial, every challenge and hardship you endure is an opportunity to further develop your faith." Elder Russell M. Nelson

I love this truth!! Our trials are an opportunity for growth. I know that Heavenly Father knows us individually and that he also understands our divine potential. He is going to do everything that He can to help us become who He knows we can be. Our tests and trials and challenges are what shape us and allow us to become more like him. Through my trials I have found so much strength and growth. I know that God is aware and above all else, He loves us and will never allow us to fail.

I hope you all have a great week :))) 

<3 Sister Sarah Mumford

Staying at IUPIU

GUESS WHAT!!!!! Sister Hales and I get another transfer on IUPUI campus together!!! We are so excited!!!!! It is going to be great :))) We are super pumped cause with school back in session there are just so many people to talk to! It is wonderful!!! This week alone we were able to find 7 new investigators!!!! So end of story, this transfer is going to be amazing :))

Oh and total side note-- totally went running this morning along the canal that runs through Indy with some of my favorite missionaries in my zone.... yayay for Indy adventures :) 

This week we had mission leadership council! Which was awesome, as usual! It is amazing the direction and the inspiration that President Cleveland and the assistants receive for the mission! I am  very grateful for leaders who are in tune with the spirit! We were able to do lots of role plays, which was fun, and good practice! For the last two hours of mission leadership council this time, President Cleveland decided to do something a little different and we went to the park and we played sand volleyball and soccer and kickball. We were all organized into teams and everything! It was really fun-- even thought it was like 90 outside and crazy humid!

Yolanda has a new baptismal date now! Her date is now the 19th of September, so next Friday!!! This week with her was a roller coaster, that is for sure! On day she wanted to be baptized and the next she didn't want to make the commitment to change or want to repent! We had several lessons with her, not really knowing what to except. When she was at her lowest of lows this week, we committed her again to repent. She had expressed that she no longer really had a desire to repent and want to change. We were able to share our testimonies with her about the Savior and the blessings that come from making covenants with God. At the end of the lesson we committed her to pray about begin baptized and to pray for the desire to change. Not going to lie, we left that lesson pretty hopeless. We had been praying really hard for her all week, but we recognized that she had her free agency. End of story, we decided to put it in God's hands and let Him take control of the situation. We knew that if it was right and she could muster even just a little itty bitty tiny bit of faith that a miracle would happen. So that all happened on Wednesday. On Saturday we went back to her house. We had an awesome lesson on commitment and personal revelation. At the end of the lesson we asked her if she had prayed about a date and a desire to change. AND SHE HAD!!!!! She said for some reason she just kept praying about the 19th and she wasn't sure quite why, but she just did and that that was when felt right!! She even took the initiative to make some of the logistical preparation for her baptism! Her new found level of commitment I know comes because of her sincere desire to repent!! I am so grateful that the Lord softens hearts :) These next couple of weeks, well like 10 days are going to be hard for her, but they are going to be SO GOOD too. I know the Lord always provided a way when we do our best to follow His will and to keep the commandments!!

We also had a sweet lesson Sunday right after church with one of investigators named Elliot! He actually was really close to baptism about 2 months ago, but kind of chickened out... but he is meeting with us again! We were able to teach him about obedience and keeping the commandments by teaching him about Nephi in the Book of Mormon! I love how simply the Book of Mormon teaches us EVERYTHING that we need to know! I have heard it said several times that if you sincerely read the Book of Mormon and ask if it is true that there is no way that you can not gain a testimony of the restored gospel of Jesus Christ. I have seen this time and time again in nearly everyone that I have had the opportunity to teach on my mission. I know that Elliot will be able to make covenants with God by being baptized and be confident in His decision as he reads the Book of Mormon with and honest and open heart-- and is willing to act on it!

I think I have mostly seen this principle manifest in myself on my mission! I have learned so much about my Heavenly Father and about my Savior, Jesus Christ as I have been about to more sincerely study the teachings that are found in the Book of Mormon!! The Book of Mormon truly testifies of Christ and of God's love for all of His children. I am grateful for the opportunity that I have to share this testimony with others on my mission!!!!!!

Well sorry for the super de duper long email today!!!! Thank you so much for all of your prayers, especially for Yolanda!! I know that they are making a difference!! 

I love you all <3

Sister Sarah Mumford

Following a prompting

Here's a great story from 2 weeks ago

Okay so here is another really cool story that I just had to share!! So this morning we were on campus and we were walking around. We had just had a pretty cool restoration lesson with a guy from Burma, his name was Joseph and we committed him to baptism (didn't say yes.. but thats okay) but he has agreed to meet with us again! So sister Hales and I went and sat down and had a  quick lesson evaluation (where we talk about how the lesson went and the individual's needs for the next time that we meet). Anyways we got up and we had originally planned to go the way that we always go back towards the front end of the library, but instead I really felt that we needed to head in the opposite direction. So I told Sister Hales that and really having no idea where we were headed we took off. It was right in between classes, so campus was flooded with people! We were walking and Sister Hales saw a girl and said hey, we gotta talk to her! So we did, which was different for us, because we usually don't stop people who are walking, we usually try to talk to people who are already sitting down. We ended up walking back towards the library with her-- her name is Jackie. We had an amazing lesson with her on the Restoration. We also committed her to baptism.. she was actually raised Catholic and didn't want to commit right then and there to be baptized, but she was so excited about the message that we shared and wanted to learn more. We are actually meeting with her again tomorrow!!!! Right before we left she actually told us that she has been looking for church and more direction in her life! I am just so grateful that Heavenly Father guided us to her today!!!!! I know he knows all of His children and is aware of their needs individually!!! 

Just thought I would share that cool story!!! oh and totally almost forgot our #sundayselfie