Hello Everyone! This is Sister Amber Zibetti! I am home now. I arrived on Wednesday Aug. 14th and got released that night.
My advice? Don't come home from a mission. Ever. It's the worst thing ever invented. :(
Okay, maybe I'm being dramatic, but it was really bad and it is still hard. I've never been this emotional in my life! I miss being a missionary so much. It hurts. Sometimes I just cry for no reason. Silly self.
BUT!
I trust that God has a new plan for me! That is something I learned as a missionary, to more fully put my trust in God and not in the "arm of flesh". I know my Father in Heaven has a plan. And I know it is a better plan than my own. He actually knows and sees the eternal picture, whereas I am still learning to see. There is no need to worry when the future is in God's hands. Don't ya think?
For your information, if you'd like to come to my "homecoming" slash "non-homecoming" talk, I have been randomly selected to speak in church this Sunday, August 25 @11am. Your ticket to get in is a non-member or less active friend. :) you think I'm kidding....I am. But seriously, try.
The address is: 2876 West 1390 North Provo, UT 84601. Hope to see you there!
Church is then 2 more hours (if you were not aware :) ), but if you'd like to and can stop by at my house after Sacrament meeting ends I will be there. My mom strongly suggested that I be there. :) my address is 1388 North Geneva Rd. Provo. Much love sent your way! I am excited to see you!
-Sister Amber Zibetti
Wednesday, August 21, 2013
Monday, August 19, 2013
August 12, 2013
I am very busy with the Lord's work. So much going on. We went tracting
on Friday and Saturday so we could teach the new sisters how to do it
before they have their outbound winter assignment in a new mission. I had a
miracle. A while ago I met a man in the Walmart at Keokuk (a small city
near Nauvoo). I got his contact information and have been teaching him
over the phone in the Visitor's Center. (Teaching over the phone is a
whole 'nother ball game.) Then GUESS where I was assigned to tract?!
Keokuk! I was able to find his address and we happened to be tracting in
that very area! SOOO amazing! My temporary companion (Sister Searle) and I were able to
find his home and teach him a little lesson. We were trying to talk
about Joseph Smith and the Book of Mormon and he just wasn't getting it.
My companion asked him a simple question: "Do you believe that God
exists?" He said "so-so". YIKES! I said, "Well, we need to go back to
the basics." Sometimes people are not ready for the bigger doctrines,
but just simply need to know that they have a loving Heavenly Father who
wants them to know He is there for them, and has a plan for them.
I know that God is in the details of my life. In all honesty, I am terrified to come home. I'll be in the same place I was before my mission with the same people, and I DON'T want to go back to who I was. I have become a servant of the Lord and I want to keep becoming that for eternity and I trust that God will help me with that, but I am just a little nervous. I am SO excited to see everyone and get to know them and how they have changed.
Thank you for being my support. See you soon.
Your sister in the Gospel,
I know that God is in the details of my life. In all honesty, I am terrified to come home. I'll be in the same place I was before my mission with the same people, and I DON'T want to go back to who I was. I have become a servant of the Lord and I want to keep becoming that for eternity and I trust that God will help me with that, but I am just a little nervous. I am SO excited to see everyone and get to know them and how they have changed.
Thank you for being my support. See you soon.
Your sister in the Gospel,
August 6, 2013
Hi family! Isn't it a wonderful day to be alive?! Wow! God loves us so
much that He gives us life so we can learn to become like HIM.
I can't believe that you were here 3-ish weeks ago. Time has been flying by. It has NEVER gone this fast! Sometimes I wonder if Heavenly Father put me on His time, like the "thousand years to us is one day to him". I feel like one day to me is like a thousand years!
Pageant ended on the 3rd. We are now going tracting this week to show the first summer sisters what it is like before they go out and do it in 2 months. Before I know it I'll be on a plane; heartbroken, but excited. I have accepted that this is God's will. All good things come to an end right? Because our options are good, better, and best! Elder Oaks wrote a whole talk about that! The best moment will be when we reunite in the Kingdom of our God, with all our families eternally.
We had another recent member of the 70 visit
Nauvoo and when he, Elder Zwick, was here he said that "missionary work
is the life-blood
of the church". I have been pondering that. Doing missionary work keeps
this church alive and growing.
That is what I hope to continue in my own
ward in whatever capacity I serve. My desire to serve the Lord helps to
keep His church alive since we are all His hands.
Well, I love you! I've gotta go, but I am excited to meet you again!
God be with you till we meet again,
-Sister Zibetti
I can't believe that you were here 3-ish weeks ago. Time has been flying by. It has NEVER gone this fast! Sometimes I wonder if Heavenly Father put me on His time, like the "thousand years to us is one day to him". I feel like one day to me is like a thousand years!
Pageant ended on the 3rd. We are now going tracting this week to show the first summer sisters what it is like before they go out and do it in 2 months. Before I know it I'll be on a plane; heartbroken, but excited. I have accepted that this is God's will. All good things come to an end right? Because our options are good, better, and best! Elder Oaks wrote a whole talk about that! The best moment will be when we reunite in the Kingdom of our God, with all our families eternally.
We had another recent member of the 70 visit
Nauvoo and when he, Elder Zwick, was here he said that "missionary work
is the life-blood
of the church". I have been pondering that. Doing missionary work keeps
this church alive and growing.
That is what I hope to continue in my own
ward in whatever capacity I serve. My desire to serve the Lord helps to
keep His church alive since we are all His hands.Well, I love you! I've gotta go, but I am excited to meet you again!
God be with you till we meet again,
-Sister Zibetti
July 30, 2013
Mom!!! The sisters LOVED the socks and hi-chews! Thank you so much. They say they love you! It was SOOO good to have you here!
I'm soooooooo glad you got to come. Did you have a spiritual experience in Nauvoo? Do you mind sharing? Did you get to go to the Temple? Why did you like Trail of Hope? I love that trail. I think you are all so wonderful and I am excited to see you too. It is going to be hard to leave this place though.
The YPM's are great. At the beginning of last year I was a bit jealous that I wasn't doing what they were doing, but then I realized that my call was to preach the gospel to the people in Nauvoo and in the Call Center. The YPM's preach the gospel through performance, but I get to do it talking face to face with people with real problems, and I get to see them change and the light of Christ come into their lives.
Taking
upon the name of Christ is our responsibility as baptized members of
the His church. Perhaps read Mosiah 18:10-15 or so. That discusses the
baptismal covenant, which we renew every week. You can read in Preach My
Gospel from the Christ-like attribute section! It is amazing. There is a
quiz you can take that is absolutely perfect for self-evaluation. I
have taken it a couple times throughout my mission and it is amazing
what I learn about myself.
Personally, taking upon the name of Christ is a way of life. Our actions
and behaviors change and become more God-like because that is what
Christ emulated. For me, it has been hard to find the balance between
taking upon Christ's name and answering the call to "be ye therefore
perfect even as your Father who is in Heaven is perfect". When we try to
become like Christ, our weaknesses are made more visible, as Ether 12:27 so
clearly states. When we come unto Christ, He shows us our weaknesses,
but we are given those to become humble and teachable. Then Christ can
make those weaknesses strengths. Only He can. That is the enabling
power of the Atonement. I know that when I strive in the smallest way to
be Christ-like, I am given divine assistance.
That might help some.
I have a question for you: What do you think classifies as a "miracle" that a missionary can experience?
I've got 16 days left. I'm not "trunky", but reality is hitting my heart and it hurts. Pray for me to have a miracle please. I love you all!
-Sister Zibetti
I'm soooooooo glad you got to come. Did you have a spiritual experience in Nauvoo? Do you mind sharing? Did you get to go to the Temple? Why did you like Trail of Hope? I love that trail. I think you are all so wonderful and I am excited to see you too. It is going to be hard to leave this place though.
The YPM's are great. At the beginning of last year I was a bit jealous that I wasn't doing what they were doing, but then I realized that my call was to preach the gospel to the people in Nauvoo and in the Call Center. The YPM's preach the gospel through performance, but I get to do it talking face to face with people with real problems, and I get to see them change and the light of Christ come into their lives.
Taking
upon the name of Christ is our responsibility as baptized members of
the His church. Perhaps read Mosiah 18:10-15 or so. That discusses the
baptismal covenant, which we renew every week. You can read in Preach My
Gospel from the Christ-like attribute section! It is amazing. There is a
quiz you can take that is absolutely perfect for self-evaluation. I
have taken it a couple times throughout my mission and it is amazing
what I learn about myself. 
Personally, taking upon the name of Christ is a way of life. Our actions
and behaviors change and become more God-like because that is what
Christ emulated. For me, it has been hard to find the balance between
taking upon Christ's name and answering the call to "be ye therefore
perfect even as your Father who is in Heaven is perfect". When we try to
become like Christ, our weaknesses are made more visible, as Ether 12:27 so
clearly states. When we come unto Christ, He shows us our weaknesses,
but we are given those to become humble and teachable. Then Christ can
make those weaknesses strengths. Only He can. That is the enabling
power of the Atonement. I know that when I strive in the smallest way to
be Christ-like, I am given divine assistance. That might help some.
I have a question for you: What do you think classifies as a "miracle" that a missionary can experience?
I've got 16 days left. I'm not "trunky", but reality is hitting my heart and it hurts. Pray for me to have a miracle please. I love you all!
-Sister Zibetti
July 23, 2013
 |
| In Nauvoo with Sister Zibetti |
I love you family! You are here right now and it is awesome. It is a strange feeling to have my two worlds collide. My family and home, with my mission and home. I have not been happier! I love you all and hope that you have/did enjoy Nauvoo. I pray that you will act on spiritual promptings that you did receive while here in Nauvoo. This is a place for revelation.
-Sister Zibetti
July 16, 2013
Family!!
I'm excited to see ya'll! It is very busy and crazy right now. There is an excitement here like none other! It is wonderful! I love the spirit here, I love the people, I love the light of the gospel that is here.
I hope you love it here as much as I do.
Don't stress too much about staying right on schedule, it is flexible. The Spirit just needs to know your plan so that as you go about Nauvoo, He can direct you otherwise if God needs you elsewhere. There is a lot to do and see, and a little bit of time. Enjoy Nauvoo.
I love you! See you soon!
-Sister Zibetti
I'm excited to see ya'll! It is very busy and crazy right now. There is an excitement here like none other! It is wonderful! I love the spirit here, I love the people, I love the light of the gospel that is here.
I hope you love it here as much as I do.
Don't stress too much about staying right on schedule, it is flexible. The Spirit just needs to know your plan so that as you go about Nauvoo, He can direct you otherwise if God needs you elsewhere. There is a lot to do and see, and a little bit of time. Enjoy Nauvoo.
I love you! See you soon!
-Sister Zibetti
Sunday, July 14, 2013
July 11, 2013
So a neat experience as of late! Sister Mills and I met D, who
is Catholic, and he is doing an internship here at the Community of
Christ church. He gives tours of the Joseph Smith sites. He is
awesomesauce! Sister Mills and I gave him a tour in the Visitors' Center
a while ago and we established a contact with him and have been
emailing him. He is reading the Book of Mormon but hasn't prayed about
it yet. We invited him to come to the Pageant with us and he actually
CAME last night when all of the sisters got to see it. He said we could
call him at 6:30am on Sunday so he can make it to church by 7:40am!
haha! He is so great! He just wants to learn a little bit more. I can
see Heavenly Father working through us "by small and simple means" to
bring about something "great" (Alma 37:6).
He liked the Pageant. good sign. :) I LOVE Pageant! It is the most powerful play ever!!!!!! Why? Because all of the events are true because of the restored Gospel of Jesus Christ; that gospel being restored through my friend Joseph Smith.
This week my testimony was strengthened of the Atonement of Jesus Christ. I know by the power of the Holy Ghost that Christ knows our hearts and desires. He knows what it feels like to sacrifice. In the True to the Faith, it talks about how with an eternal perspective, sacrifice doesn't seem like a
sacrifice at all. I have come to
understand that so fully as a missionary and representative of the Lord.
I am not sure how Christ felt about His infinite and intimate
Atonement, but I know that He had a perfect eternal perspective. I know
He sacrificed because He loves us. My favorite part of the week is
partaking of the Sacrament each Sunday. That is the renewal that I need.
There is nothing like it. Here in Nauvoo, during the passing of the
sacrament, it is silent. Last year as I was thinking about the Savior's
sacrifice, I listened to the cups dropping back into the trays. I closed
my eyes and to me, it sounded like "great drops of blood" falling to
the ground. That Hymn "This is the Christ" says, "How many drops of
blood were spilled for me?". It always makes me wonder. I am so grateful
to have a Savior and to know Him. How do you feel about Jesus Christ?
Gots to go! The church is true and I love you!
-Sister Zibetti
He liked the Pageant. good sign. :) I LOVE Pageant! It is the most powerful play ever!!!!!! Why? Because all of the events are true because of the restored Gospel of Jesus Christ; that gospel being restored through my friend Joseph Smith.
This week my testimony was strengthened of the Atonement of Jesus Christ. I know by the power of the Holy Ghost that Christ knows our hearts and desires. He knows what it feels like to sacrifice. In the True to the Faith, it talks about how with an eternal perspective, sacrifice doesn't seem like a
sacrifice at all. I have come to
understand that so fully as a missionary and representative of the Lord.
I am not sure how Christ felt about His infinite and intimate
Atonement, but I know that He had a perfect eternal perspective. I know
He sacrificed because He loves us. My favorite part of the week is
partaking of the Sacrament each Sunday. That is the renewal that I need.
There is nothing like it. Here in Nauvoo, during the passing of the
sacrament, it is silent. Last year as I was thinking about the Savior's
sacrifice, I listened to the cups dropping back into the trays. I closed
my eyes and to me, it sounded like "great drops of blood" falling to
the ground. That Hymn "This is the Christ" says, "How many drops of
blood were spilled for me?". It always makes me wonder. I am so grateful
to have a Savior and to know Him. How do you feel about Jesus Christ?Gots to go! The church is true and I love you!
-Sister Zibetti
July 4, 2013
There
are YPM's here (Young performing missionaries), and one of the Tech
Elders just told me to tell you hello from him! His name is Elder
Mortensen, and actually, his companion Elder Anderson served in Germany
on his full-time mission and Kylen was his MTC teacher! Ha!
We had the Carthage Commemoration this week and is was so powerful! President Gilliland didn't even use notes as he addressed us!!!!!!!!!!! I love that man. The sisters had a special meeting in Carthage Jail after all the guests had left. We had a testimony meeting in the Martyrdom room. The Spirit was so strong you could cut it with a knife!! Some things I wrote down from the sisters testimonies goes as follows:
"It's not about the piece of plastic we put on every day, it's about painting that tag on our hearts." -Sister Holt
"Have sacred moments with the Savior." -Sister Gines
"How can we be more sensitive to the Spirit?" -Sister Kim
"[at the restoration] when the light pierced the earth it never left us and now we have a piece of that light within." -Sister Umphenour
"This is a moment that matters most." -Sister Ripplinger
"Would I exchange anything for this moment? Never." -Sister McInelly
"How DARE you forget the Savior in your missionary work? Remember your own nothingness." -Sister Hall
"Christ is the source of peace." -Sister Streeter
"I can go on faith. We can because He did." -Sister Richardson
Don't you love them?! I do! I love these Sisters!
Well, I only have like a month left of my mission and sometimes Satan tries to make me feel like I am a terrible missionary, and that I haven't learned anything. That is kinda how I've felt recently.
For the past 2-ish weeks I have felt sick every morning and every night. It kinda goes away during the day. I feel like I want to throw up, but nothing comes out. I have just been pushing it aside and dealing with it throughout the day because I don't want my mission to be hindered, nor do I want the Lord's work to slow because of me. I know God is giving me the strength that I need to serve. Sometimes I think: "I can't do this!" And then I remember: "Oh that's right. I can't. Only Heavenly Father and Jesus Christ can do it through me. They give me the strength."
So I am doing well! I absolutely love being a missionary. I have never been so happy in all my life. Every day I get to invite others to come unto their Savior. It is the most humbling thing I've ever done. I love wearing this tag.
Thanks for caring enough about me and all of the sweet sisters. This is the best mission in the world. I have never felt so much a part of a family of saints. I love Nauvoo!
I love you all!
-Sister Zibetti
We had the Carthage Commemoration this week and is was so powerful! President Gilliland didn't even use notes as he addressed us!!!!!!!!!!! I love that man. The sisters had a special meeting in Carthage Jail after all the guests had left. We had a testimony meeting in the Martyrdom room. The Spirit was so strong you could cut it with a knife!! Some things I wrote down from the sisters testimonies goes as follows:
"It's not about the piece of plastic we put on every day, it's about painting that tag on our hearts." -Sister Holt
"Have sacred moments with the Savior." -Sister Gines
"How can we be more sensitive to the Spirit?" -Sister Kim
"[at the restoration] when the light pierced the earth it never left us and now we have a piece of that light within." -Sister Umphenour
"This is a moment that matters most." -Sister Ripplinger
"Would I exchange anything for this moment? Never." -Sister McInelly
"How DARE you forget the Savior in your missionary work? Remember your own nothingness." -Sister Hall
"Christ is the source of peace." -Sister Streeter
"I can go on faith. We can because He did." -Sister Richardson
Don't you love them?! I do! I love these Sisters!
Well, I only have like a month left of my mission and sometimes Satan tries to make me feel like I am a terrible missionary, and that I haven't learned anything. That is kinda how I've felt recently.
For the past 2-ish weeks I have felt sick every morning and every night. It kinda goes away during the day. I feel like I want to throw up, but nothing comes out. I have just been pushing it aside and dealing with it throughout the day because I don't want my mission to be hindered, nor do I want the Lord's work to slow because of me. I know God is giving me the strength that I need to serve. Sometimes I think: "I can't do this!" And then I remember: "Oh that's right. I can't. Only Heavenly Father and Jesus Christ can do it through me. They give me the strength."
So I am doing well! I absolutely love being a missionary. I have never been so happy in all my life. Every day I get to invite others to come unto their Savior. It is the most humbling thing I've ever done. I love wearing this tag.
Thanks for caring enough about me and all of the sweet sisters. This is the best mission in the world. I have never felt so much a part of a family of saints. I love Nauvoo!
I love you all!
-Sister Zibetti
June 24, 2013
I
am so excited for you to all come to Nauvoo! Nobody comes here by
accident! There are many reasons why Heavenly Father wants you to come.
I'll make sure you are a part of everything you possibly can be. There
is SOOO much to do here, and you have a limited amount of time, but we
are going to make the best of it.
Oh my goodness!!! That World Wide Missionary training was AWESOME!! It helped light the fire for missionary work around the world! Wow, you were there? That must've been so powerful! I didn't get to see dad sing in it, but I could feel him there!
While watching that, I realized even more that missionary work isn't something "extra" that we do, it is a part of who we are and who we are becoming. This is God's kingdom on the earth, and now is the time to act. We ought to be eager to find qualified and repentant people for the Lord, and bring them into the fold and care for them as our own family. Someone at the broadcast said, "Wishing will not make it so. Action is required". That is so true! Even as a missionary! Just because some wear the tag it doesn't force them to act, we all still must choose. Elder Nelson said, "Missionary work comes alive when we hear stories of personal conversion". I think we should all share our conversion story, or parts of our increasing conversion, with all those around us! Every testimony shared makes that place or that soul holy. Let us not postpone sharing our testimonies until a handbook is written. After watching that, what do you want to do differently in your life?
After that training, Vocal Point, who is here in Nauvoo, did a fireside. It was SOOOO powerful! Wow! The sung and spoken testimony really touched my heart. I feel re-energized to Represent Christ with everthing I have and to do my best to honor Him.
This week I was calling in the Call Center! Over the phone, and
online missionary work has already happened in Visitors' Centers around
the world. A couple of weeks ago my companion and I met a man named at Wal-Mart in Keokuk. We established a contact with him and I
called him last week. We talked for about an hour about the church. He
had a lot of deep questions of the soul like: Where did I come from?
what is the purpose of life? Why did my mother die? I was able to talk
about the plan of salvation and many other random things over the phone.
It is going well and he has become a friend through the gospel.
This week on Thursday June 27, we have the Carthage commemoration. That was the day that Joseph and Hyrum were killed years ago. We will have a powerful meeting at the base of the building. Afterwards, the sisters and President will spend some special time in the Jail and in the Martyrdom room. That was one of my favorite experiences last year. I hope you take a minute and think of Joseph and Hyrum that day. I challenge you to ready D&C 135, which is the account of that day by John Taylor.
So! Last year we had 20 sisters, this year we received one more recently and have 21. We were supposed to be getting 3 more sisters in August when some of us are leaving, but the MTC switched their times, so they are arriving on July 17! Right in the middle of Pageant. Things are going to be crazy. We will have 16 sisters in the Hatch house and 8 in Carthage. Heavenly Father really is going to use me to my fullest ability here and I can feel Satan trying to stop it. I thank you for your prayers and constant support. I love you all!
-Sister Zibetti
Oh my goodness!!! That World Wide Missionary training was AWESOME!! It helped light the fire for missionary work around the world! Wow, you were there? That must've been so powerful! I didn't get to see dad sing in it, but I could feel him there!
While watching that, I realized even more that missionary work isn't something "extra" that we do, it is a part of who we are and who we are becoming. This is God's kingdom on the earth, and now is the time to act. We ought to be eager to find qualified and repentant people for the Lord, and bring them into the fold and care for them as our own family. Someone at the broadcast said, "Wishing will not make it so. Action is required". That is so true! Even as a missionary! Just because some wear the tag it doesn't force them to act, we all still must choose. Elder Nelson said, "Missionary work comes alive when we hear stories of personal conversion". I think we should all share our conversion story, or parts of our increasing conversion, with all those around us! Every testimony shared makes that place or that soul holy. Let us not postpone sharing our testimonies until a handbook is written. After watching that, what do you want to do differently in your life?
After that training, Vocal Point, who is here in Nauvoo, did a fireside. It was SOOOO powerful! Wow! The sung and spoken testimony really touched my heart. I feel re-energized to Represent Christ with everthing I have and to do my best to honor Him.
 | ||
| Vocal Point in Nauvoo (we borrowed this picture) |
This week on Thursday June 27, we have the Carthage commemoration. That was the day that Joseph and Hyrum were killed years ago. We will have a powerful meeting at the base of the building. Afterwards, the sisters and President will spend some special time in the Jail and in the Martyrdom room. That was one of my favorite experiences last year. I hope you take a minute and think of Joseph and Hyrum that day. I challenge you to ready D&C 135, which is the account of that day by John Taylor.
So! Last year we had 20 sisters, this year we received one more recently and have 21. We were supposed to be getting 3 more sisters in August when some of us are leaving, but the MTC switched their times, so they are arriving on July 17! Right in the middle of Pageant. Things are going to be crazy. We will have 16 sisters in the Hatch house and 8 in Carthage. Heavenly Father really is going to use me to my fullest ability here and I can feel Satan trying to stop it. I thank you for your prayers and constant support. I love you all!
-Sister Zibetti
June 17, 2013
This week there is an Archeological dig happening in Nauvoo that we
get to be a part of! We are volunteering there to help dig things up
near the Joseph Smith sites. The Community of Christ is doing this dig,
so we have had some great missionary experiences already. I'm going
tomorrow for the first time.
I am going on an exchange to Carthage this week. We do exchanges occasionally and it is wonderful to get to know the different sisters so well.
An experience of this past week? ...Well. I was able to go on an exchange with a sister who is struggling in her companionship. We'll call her Sis. H. Her companion will be Sis. S. Both of the sisters in this companionship are amazing and trying to make things work. They just have VERY different personalities, but neither one of them want to hurt the other. So I was kinda in the middle of this because I went on an exchange with Sis. H. and heard some of the legitimate concerns. I am SUPER close with her companion, Sis. S., so it was really hard for me to hear some of their struggles because I love Sis. S. so much, but I feel for Sis. H. AHHH! It was really jarring to be in the middle of it all because they wanted me to fix it...but I can't. THEY have to fix it. I was just there to listen, give advice, and supervise and then I had to give them their space so they could figure things out. Which they later did.
It hurt so badly to be on both sides and feel for both sisters. It nearly broke me. I sat in the bathroom one night and just cried. I haven't cried much on my mission, but this was a hard moment for me. I'd never felt so alone. My heart literally felt like it was ripped open and was bleeding inside. I felt wet all over inside. I mean, I know that I am already wet inside haha! But it didn't feel so good. It hurts now even talking about it. I wondered "where is my Savior and why isn't He healing and comforting me right now?!"
The next day I had to distance myself from a best friend so things could work out. Eventually things surfaced and got better. My heart is better and healing, with a lo t of help from my companion. :) Sister Mills. She helped me talk it through. She helped me see the Savior's light again, which was always there, but I was just too blind to see. I know Christ is always there and I know He felt my same exact pain and poison. He is my "healing balm in Gilead".
Anyway, I hope that was not too sad. But it came to mind. I really am so happy; the happiest I've ever been in my life! This mission is the greatest experience ever. I got a blessing from President Gilliland and he said in the blessing that my whole mission will culminate together in these next 2 months; it'll all come together and I will have "mountain-top experiences"! So I know that the lowest of lows have an opposite and I will feel the highest of highs soon!
All is well in the Kingdom!
I love you! I've gotta go!
-Sister Zibetti
I am going on an exchange to Carthage this week. We do exchanges occasionally and it is wonderful to get to know the different sisters so well.
An experience of this past week? ...Well. I was able to go on an exchange with a sister who is struggling in her companionship. We'll call her Sis. H. Her companion will be Sis. S. Both of the sisters in this companionship are amazing and trying to make things work. They just have VERY different personalities, but neither one of them want to hurt the other. So I was kinda in the middle of this because I went on an exchange with Sis. H. and heard some of the legitimate concerns. I am SUPER close with her companion, Sis. S., so it was really hard for me to hear some of their struggles because I love Sis. S. so much, but I feel for Sis. H. AHHH! It was really jarring to be in the middle of it all because they wanted me to fix it...but I can't. THEY have to fix it. I was just there to listen, give advice, and supervise and then I had to give them their space so they could figure things out. Which they later did.
It hurt so badly to be on both sides and feel for both sisters. It nearly broke me. I sat in the bathroom one night and just cried. I haven't cried much on my mission, but this was a hard moment for me. I'd never felt so alone. My heart literally felt like it was ripped open and was bleeding inside. I felt wet all over inside. I mean, I know that I am already wet inside haha! But it didn't feel so good. It hurts now even talking about it. I wondered "where is my Savior and why isn't He healing and comforting me right now?!"
The next day I had to distance myself from a best friend so things could work out. Eventually things surfaced and got better. My heart is better and healing, with a lo t of help from my companion. :) Sister Mills. She helped me talk it through. She helped me see the Savior's light again, which was always there, but I was just too blind to see. I know Christ is always there and I know He felt my same exact pain and poison. He is my "healing balm in Gilead".
Anyway, I hope that was not too sad. But it came to mind. I really am so happy; the happiest I've ever been in my life! This mission is the greatest experience ever. I got a blessing from President Gilliland and he said in the blessing that my whole mission will culminate together in these next 2 months; it'll all come together and I will have "mountain-top experiences"! So I know that the lowest of lows have an opposite and I will feel the highest of highs soon!
All is well in the Kingdom!
I love you! I've gotta go!
-Sister Zibetti
June 10, 2013
I am sooo sorry, but I don't have much time
right now. I received an email from an Investigator in DC and had to
respond. It took most of my email time.
Choose the Right! Search, ponder and pray!
Vocal Point is coming to Nauvoo soon! I am so excited to see them perform!
I love you all! The church is true and no unhallowed hand can stop the work from progressing.
-Sister Zibetti
Choose the Right! Search, ponder and pray!
Vocal Point is coming to Nauvoo soon! I am so excited to see them perform!
I love you all! The church is true and no unhallowed hand can stop the work from progressing.
-Sister Zibetti
June 3, 2013
Things are going well!
We did our Sociable/Fireside last Sunday. It turned out really well and very spiritually powerful. Sister Streeter and Holt were the directors and they did such a great job!!! Seriously. All of the missionaries who came to watch loved it.
Last weekend there were 3 tornado's that touched down in Hannibal, a
small city about 2 hours from here. We were able to go down there on
Wednesday to do some clean up with the Stakes down there. It was
awesome! I've never worn a "Helping Hands" vest before and I got
to!!!!!!!!!!!! It felt so good to serve! There is nothing quite like
completely forgetting about yourself and helping someone else out.
Someone who is in a more dire circumstance than your own. We cleared
fallen trees. It was so fun!
Mom and family, I cannot wait for you to meet all of my sisters
here!!!!!!!!!!
Just know that you will be adopting them all into your heart through me
because they have each changed me in wonderful, spiritual and eternal
ways! And a
little piece of you is in them because of your influence on me. They all
can't wait to meet you as well. I feel the same way about their
families. This is one way that we can all become ONE with God. We must
love the family we have here on earth. Each person we pass on the street
is a child of God.
Elder Packer, President Packer's son, said that "If you don't love someone, you don't know them enough". I love that. And I know it is true!
I have to tell you this funny thing that my best friend Sister Streeter said the other day. We were talking about how we don't want to go home, nor give up the opportunity to be a missionary for the Lord and she said, "I just want this forever. Why don't we have Mormon nuns?!" haha! It was so cute. I thought ya'll would laugh.
Last Tuesday I served in the Lyon Drug and Variety Store! Love it! A family came in that I gave a tour to in the Visitor's Center. They are so amazing! I love them. I love seeing people more than once in the same little city. Heavenly Father is in each detail of scheduling so that we can meet the right person at the right time in the right place. After giving them a tour in Lyon Drug, the youngest boy, gave me a hug. It was the sweetest thing ever. He reminded me of a mini version of Dallin. :) It made me so so happy!
Mom, you have got to see if you can find this song in youtube or google it somewhere. I think it is called: "She Put the Music in Me". The song relates a daughter who's mother taught her all about the primary songs and it has made a huge difference in her life. It is so cute. You should look it up. It reminded me of you.
Love you!
Sister Zibetti
We did our Sociable/Fireside last Sunday. It turned out really well and very spiritually powerful. Sister Streeter and Holt were the directors and they did such a great job!!! Seriously. All of the missionaries who came to watch loved it.
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| Wearing the vest! |
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| Clearing the trees |
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| Loading the truck |
Elder Packer, President Packer's son, said that "If you don't love someone, you don't know them enough". I love that. And I know it is true!
I have to tell you this funny thing that my best friend Sister Streeter said the other day. We were talking about how we don't want to go home, nor give up the opportunity to be a missionary for the Lord and she said, "I just want this forever. Why don't we have Mormon nuns?!" haha! It was so cute. I thought ya'll would laugh.
Last Tuesday I served in the Lyon Drug and Variety Store! Love it! A family came in that I gave a tour to in the Visitor's Center. They are so amazing! I love them. I love seeing people more than once in the same little city. Heavenly Father is in each detail of scheduling so that we can meet the right person at the right time in the right place. After giving them a tour in Lyon Drug, the youngest boy, gave me a hug. It was the sweetest thing ever. He reminded me of a mini version of Dallin. :) It made me so so happy!
Mom, you have got to see if you can find this song in youtube or google it somewhere. I think it is called: "She Put the Music in Me". The song relates a daughter who's mother taught her all about the primary songs and it has made a huge difference in her life. It is so cute. You should look it up. It reminded me of you.
Love you!
Sister Zibetti
May 21, 2013
Things are going well here in Nauvoo! I cannot
believe this 6-week transfer is already over on Thursday. This transfer
went by sooooo fast. It felt like a week. I am so behind in my journal.
Probably a month behind. ! ah! Yesterday in the VC (visitor's center) it was very busy.
Almost the entire time we had someone to talk with. It was so great! I
had some really great experiences.
We have a 12 Apostles display and I watched a young boy go over to
it and start listening to the testimonies. I walked up to him and said,
"Did you find the best one yet?" "No." he shook his head. "Do you know
who these guys are?" "No..." "Do you know who Jesus is?" "Yes." I
realized that this boy, was not a member. He also
had some sort of socially challenged disability. He wouldn't look me in
the eye almost at all. I talked to him about how when Christ was on the
earth, He had 12 men follow Him around. They would help teach, they
would heal people and that is who these guys are today. I said, "Do you
see that statue over there? That is Joseph Smith. He was 14 and he saw
Jesus and Heavenly Father. How old are you?" He perked up at this,
"Almost 12!" "Could you imagine in 2 years seeing Jesus and God?"
"Yeah!" That was so sweet. I talked to him for quite a bit longer and he
was smiling happy. I showed him on the map that he could go to the
blacksmith and he could go on the carriage ride. So sweet. His
grandmother came up to me after and said, "He is very shy. I've never
seen him talk and open up to anyone like that before."
It was a neat experience.
So there was a "tornado watch"
here the other day. We were driving back to Nauvoo from Carthage and we
were right in the thick of the storm. We had no idea until later that it
was one of the dangerous areas. It was pretty scary. We were in 10
minutes of severe pounding hail attacks and pouring rain. Literally.
This rain is not like anything I've ever seen. Utah can't even SPELL
rain after seeing this Illinois rain. We were driving slowly while the windshield wipers were going crazy fast; and we could still hardly see.
There was thunder and lightening all around us. Literally right in front
of the van. One crack was so loud that a sister screamed. I grabbed
onto my companion until we were safe. One of the sisters prayed for
safety and I know that is what brought us through.
-Sister Zibetti
Pictures:
1. Our turtle friend that Sister Richardson and I found by the VC. His name is Borris of course
2. This car might have gone through the car wash with the rug on it's back haha! had to get a picture
May 7, 2013
Everything is going so great! I am busy but I like it
that way. I have a spare moment very rarely, but I told Heavenly Father
to help me serve with all my heart, might, mind and strength, and He IS
doing that. He is taking full advantage. Careful what you pray for,
because you just might get it all. :)
Here is something I just emailed to a dear sister that I thought you would like:
"I am so proud of you. The 12 Step Atonement program is like the best thing on the planet. :) I have met so many people on my mission who have been in the gall of darkness and through the Atonement of our Savior, have come into the light. We will never be perfect in this life. Christ is perfect, so when we make a covenant with Him, like our baptismal covenant, it is like we are attached to Him. Let's look at it mathematically. Okay, I've never done this analogy before and I've never been good at math so just bear with me. haha!
Jesus Christ performed the infinite and intimate Atonement so He is the "infinity sign" (~) (that'll be the pretend sign for now) and we as individuals, are the (x) or (y).
Here: (~)(x) = (~)
We don't know the value of the (x) because it is not quite measurable yet. We know we are all God's children, so we have a lot of value and potential. But for every one person's part, there is different effort exerted in the gospel and different doctrines understood. And THAT is what God can draw upon.
There must be two people to make a covenant. Jesus Christ gives us the power in the covenant (promise). But we still need to do things on our part so we can be a part of the covenant. There can't just be a (~) chillin and expect to attach somewhere without being invited to an (x). WE must invite our Savior in. No matter the value of (x), if it is multiplied by (~) then it will ALWAYS be (~) infinite.
Therefore, we must stay true to the promises we have made with God and His Son, Jesus Christ. And when we mess up, which I have done many times in my life and on this mission, just get back on the path again. I have felt the enabeling power of the Atonement of Jesus Christ change me forever."
-Sister Zibetti
We went on a handcart trek yesterday. It was so awesome.
These pictures are from yesterday. The one in the yellow dress is my Companion Sister Richardson.
Here is something I just emailed to a dear sister that I thought you would like:
"I am so proud of you. The 12 Step Atonement program is like the best thing on the planet. :) I have met so many people on my mission who have been in the gall of darkness and through the Atonement of our Savior, have come into the light. We will never be perfect in this life. Christ is perfect, so when we make a covenant with Him, like our baptismal covenant, it is like we are attached to Him. Let's look at it mathematically. Okay, I've never done this analogy before and I've never been good at math so just bear with me. haha!
Jesus Christ performed the infinite and intimate Atonement so He is the "infinity sign" (~) (that'll be the pretend sign for now) and we as individuals, are the (x) or (y).
Here: (~)(x) = (~)
We don't know the value of the (x) because it is not quite measurable yet. We know we are all God's children, so we have a lot of value and potential. But for every one person's part, there is different effort exerted in the gospel and different doctrines understood. And THAT is what God can draw upon.
There must be two people to make a covenant. Jesus Christ gives us the power in the covenant (promise). But we still need to do things on our part so we can be a part of the covenant. There can't just be a (~) chillin and expect to attach somewhere without being invited to an (x). WE must invite our Savior in. No matter the value of (x), if it is multiplied by (~) then it will ALWAYS be (~) infinite.
Therefore, we must stay true to the promises we have made with God and His Son, Jesus Christ. And when we mess up, which I have done many times in my life and on this mission, just get back on the path again. I have felt the enabeling power of the Atonement of Jesus Christ change me forever."
-Sister Zibetti
We went on a handcart trek yesterday. It was so awesome.
These pictures are from yesterday. The one in the yellow dress is my Companion Sister Richardson.
April 30, 2013
Nauvoo is about the Savior and the Saints who followed Him through a Prophet
of God. It is a beautiful place of peace and you will be healed here.
It would be such a wonderful experience for you to come feel and know
for yourselves of the truth, in the way that God wants you to. Pray
about when you should come and let me know how you feel, and what God
says. You'd also love a Sacrament meeting full of missionaries on a
Sunday. :)
All of my Nauvoo sisters did come back; they came home. It feels great to be here with them all.
He shared a story about President
Hinckley. One time, the King of New Zealand gave President Hinckley a
big, beautiful hand carved bowl made from fancy, ancient wood from New
Zealand. As a joke, when he received the gift, he picked it up, looked
at the bottom of it and said aloud, "Made in China"... haha! It was so
funny. I love to hear stories about the Brethren that have their
personality in it. April 23, 2013
I don't have a ton of time this week. I had a bunch of people to write and not a lot of time.
My companion is so great. All 14 sisters live in the one house. No ASL people have come to Nauvoo yet.
This week I learned that the power of the Holy Ghost really can bring all things to our remembrance. There are things He is bringing to my memory from last year that are helping me now. It is incredible. I am so grateful for that.
44 Senior couples came this week! Isn't that great?!
-Sister Zibetti
My companion is so great. All 14 sisters live in the one house. No ASL people have come to Nauvoo yet.
This week I learned that the power of the Holy Ghost really can bring all things to our remembrance. There are things He is bringing to my memory from last year that are helping me now. It is incredible. I am so grateful for that.
44 Senior couples came this week! Isn't that great?!
-Sister Zibetti
April 16, 2013
Yes that photo was at Mt. Vernon, near George Washington's home. haha!
My new companion is Sister Richardson. She is soooooooo great. I love
her so much. The only thing that worries me about her is that she thinks
I am perfect, and I am far from perfection. As soon as she realizes
that, things will be great. She keeps saying she wants to be like me
when she grows up. I am thinking the same thing about her! She is so
much braver than I ever was last year. She just wants to talk to people
and help them out and give tours right now. I am so proud of her. She
rocks at ASL. She dated a Deaf boy before her mission, so she is
teaching me many things.
We are serving in the Brigham Young home for my
first site tomorrow. I am so excited!!!!!!! I can't remember the rest
of the week's sites. There are so many things to be done. I was blessed
by President Riggs before I arrived here that'd I'd be able to remember
the things of Nauvoo when I arrived, and I have. It is great. The Lord
is truly blessing His servants.
President Gilliland just got back on Sunday and said that Elder Cook said there are basically 2 more things that need to happen to fulfill prophecies: 1. The Gathering of Israel, 2. The Savior to come. That is it and it is soon approaching. Soon in the Lord's time
We are serving in the Brigham Young home for my
first site tomorrow. I am so excited!!!!!!! I can't remember the rest
of the week's sites. There are so many things to be done. I was blessed
by President Riggs before I arrived here that'd I'd be able to remember
the things of Nauvoo when I arrived, and I have. It is great. The Lord
is truly blessing His servants. President Gilliland just got back on Sunday and said that Elder Cook said there are basically 2 more things that need to happen to fulfill prophecies: 1. The Gathering of Israel, 2. The Savior to come. That is it and it is soon approaching. Soon in the Lord's time
April 12, 2013
Well,
I'm back in Nauvoo. It was really difficult to leave, but I asked for a
blessing from President Riggs and things started to feel better from
then on. He told me in the blessing it was time to "look forward".
Leaving was still hard, but my heart was going back to Nauvoo before I
was. I traveled to the Dulles Airport and actually met another Nauvoo
Sister, Sister Petricek, there for her connecting flight. We were so
excited to see each other and got to talking....and talking. We were
completely in our own world and yep, we missed our flight. Oh my
goodness! I couldn't believe it. It was like a bad dream when we
realized. I know that Heavenly Father is in the details of my life. He
knew we'd miss our flight, so he had another flight scheduled for the
same place about 2 hours later. We talked with the man who boards people
on the plane and he seemed frustrated with us. He said he had called
our names numerous times. We accepted and took full responsibility for
our actions and apologized profusely. He was kind enough to get us a new
boarding pass on the next flight to St. Louis Missouri; no charge. Wow.
What a miracle!
Now we had to tell President Gilliland...We didn't have phones, so we used the pay phone there. We called the Emergency number which the Church gave us and informed them. They told us President Gilliand already knew we missed it. We felt terrible! We called the Nauvoo Visitor's Center and tried to make contact with the secretary so she could call President or give us his number. We didn't get through, but we made it on our flight this time just fine.
Six of the returning sisters had things go wrong with their flights. Either we missed the flight, or there were storms and the planes couldn't land. Finally about 5 hours after what President had originally planned, we were on our way home. The other 14 sisters had already left.
President Gilliland called two sister Assistants and we were off to Nauvoo from St. Louis.
Coming back has been overwhelming. It is strange to completely leave everything from DC in the Lord's hands. I can't even think about that part of my mission anymore. I can't even hardly pray for my previous investigators. It is almost like completely cutting ties. I just must focus on Nauvoo and these amazing sisters. We have 10 wonderful new sisters here fresh from the MTC. I am training Sister Richardson. She is amazing. I love her so much already. She is an ASL sister and just so motherly. We are similar in personality. She is from Elkridge UT.
There is a lot to do here in Nauvoo. Much to plan and figure out. We got our site dresses yesterday and moved into our different rooms in the Hatch house. 6 Sisters are serving in Carthage. The next few days we are going to be watching the movies, seeing some sites and shows. President Gilliland and his wife left yesterday at 11am. They have a mission President seminar for 3 days. So he gave us the information and schedule for the next three days and had to leave. He gets to sit at the feet of an Apostle of the Lord; Elder Quentin L. Cook. President and his wife are not happy that they had to leave, but they know they are supposed to be there. We had a wonderful meeting with them before they left. We talked about Proverbs 31; being a virtuous woman. I loved that chapter. It says about a virtuous woman that "strength and honor are her clothing". That is what it takes. All of these sisters are amazing and are these virtuous women. The Assistants have taken over all the scheduling and different room, fridge, and cleaning assignments. It is pretty overwhelming.
But it is so great to be back in Nauvoo. All of the returning sisters had about a 2 hour talk about our outbounds and different experiences we have had. We discussed what more we can do to better prepare these new sisters for their outbound experience.
I've got to go, but I love you all!
-Sister Zibetti
Now we had to tell President Gilliland...We didn't have phones, so we used the pay phone there. We called the Emergency number which the Church gave us and informed them. They told us President Gilliand already knew we missed it. We felt terrible! We called the Nauvoo Visitor's Center and tried to make contact with the secretary so she could call President or give us his number. We didn't get through, but we made it on our flight this time just fine.
Six of the returning sisters had things go wrong with their flights. Either we missed the flight, or there were storms and the planes couldn't land. Finally about 5 hours after what President had originally planned, we were on our way home. The other 14 sisters had already left.
President Gilliland called two sister Assistants and we were off to Nauvoo from St. Louis.
Coming back has been overwhelming. It is strange to completely leave everything from DC in the Lord's hands. I can't even think about that part of my mission anymore. I can't even hardly pray for my previous investigators. It is almost like completely cutting ties. I just must focus on Nauvoo and these amazing sisters. We have 10 wonderful new sisters here fresh from the MTC. I am training Sister Richardson. She is amazing. I love her so much already. She is an ASL sister and just so motherly. We are similar in personality. She is from Elkridge UT.
There is a lot to do here in Nauvoo. Much to plan and figure out. We got our site dresses yesterday and moved into our different rooms in the Hatch house. 6 Sisters are serving in Carthage. The next few days we are going to be watching the movies, seeing some sites and shows. President Gilliland and his wife left yesterday at 11am. They have a mission President seminar for 3 days. So he gave us the information and schedule for the next three days and had to leave. He gets to sit at the feet of an Apostle of the Lord; Elder Quentin L. Cook. President and his wife are not happy that they had to leave, but they know they are supposed to be there. We had a wonderful meeting with them before they left. We talked about Proverbs 31; being a virtuous woman. I loved that chapter. It says about a virtuous woman that "strength and honor are her clothing". That is what it takes. All of these sisters are amazing and are these virtuous women. The Assistants have taken over all the scheduling and different room, fridge, and cleaning assignments. It is pretty overwhelming.
But it is so great to be back in Nauvoo. All of the returning sisters had about a 2 hour talk about our outbounds and different experiences we have had. We discussed what more we can do to better prepare these new sisters for their outbound experience.
I've got to go, but I love you all!
-Sister Zibetti
Sunday, April 21, 2013
April 8, 2013
Sorry I don't have much time at all today. We
went to Mt. Vernon where George Washington lived and to Alexandria, a
masonic temple is there. It was fun and interesting.
I know that Christ is the ultimate physician
and can heal any pain and sorrow. Go to Him.
One of my
favorite things from General Conference was something Elder Scott said:
The greatest blessing we can give to the world is a Christ-centered
home.
I am so glad that I was raised in a Christ-centered home. Because of this I am on a mission serving the Lord and God's children.
I am so glad that I was raised in a Christ-centered home. Because of this I am on a mission serving the Lord and God's children.
Gotta go
-Sister Zibetti
April 1, 2013
This week has been a week of miracles. There were many times
where we had so many options on what to do. There were choices and we
were able to zero in on the Spirit without even knowing that between the
decisions of "good, better and best", we chose the best. The
confirmation of the truth, came forth after we had the faith. For
example. Yesterday, we were invited to come to a members home to
celebrate their son-in-law's birthday. He is not a member. He is
married to a less active sister. The second day Sister Kraemer and I
were here in Aquia, we had a first lesson with him. We taught about the
Book of Mormon. He was realllly struggling at that time. There had
been an incident at home and he was waiting to hear from the court/judge
whether or not he'd still be able to live with his wife and son. I
could see the imprint of guilt and shame engraven on his face 2 months
ago. He was in the depths of despair. This was the first time he really
sat down and wanted to listen to the missionaries. In a time of crisis.
Since then, he has been going to church with his wife and learning here
and there from the missionaries in Pittsburgh where he lives. Yesterday,
I could see the huge difference in this man. The gospel of Jesus Christ
truly does lift burdens, erase feelings of guilt and calms the troubled
heart. He had become a "new creature in Christ" as the scriptures say: Therefore if any man be ain Christ, he is a bnew creature: cold things are dpassed away; behold, all things are become enew. 2 Corinthians 5:17
He is not baptized yet, but he will get there. Anyway, we were able to
share a message about eternal families, which they all needed to hear.
We
almost didn't go to the home because we wanted to try and accomplish
our weekly goals for the key indicators, and we knew that we wouldn't
accomplish them if we went over there. But we did and the Spirit
confirmed to us that is was the best choice.
In any situation, we have the opportunity to choose:
good, better, or best. It is similar to the 3 degrees of glory. Let me
explain that. At any given time, we have the opportunity to make a
Telestial, Terrestrial, or Celestial choice. We are the author of our
future. Let us be more mindful of the choices we make. Do they reflect a
Telestial body or a Celestial body? Is a decision going to lead us to
truth, light and knowledge? Or not? Think about it.
Another
miracle from yesterday alone, an investigator came to church who we
have been working with for like 2 months! It was her first time there,
on Easter Sunday. She loved it. She had to sneak out of her house
though. She didn't tell her husband. He doesn't really like us all that
much. He doesn't even like to see us at his house when we go teach. BUT! This work will not be stopped from progressing. No, not by
anyone. Not an annoyed husband, nor a legion of Satan's demons. This is
the work of God in which we are involved and we as His missionaries and
representatives of Jesus Christ are on the front lines of the battle.
Bring it on.
I
love J and M. They are so fantastic. We are meeting with
them tonight, but we have been able to keep daily contact with them.
Yay!
P is so hot
and cold. She is off and on in the gospel. She promised us she'd come to
Easter Sunday and she did not show up. We tried calling her like a
million times yesterday before church. We don't know what is going on. I
don't think she understands our role as missionaries. We are not just
friends to hang out, we are representatives of the Lord who teach the
gospel. We explained to her that her father (who was a preacher) never
had the authority that he thought he did. That might've hit her in the
heart. But the truth hurts sometimes, it cuts to the very center.
-Sister Zibetti
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| My last district |
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| Eating MREs |
March 25, 2013
What was the first word in the first vision? Do you remember? "Joseph".
That's right. God knows us all by name and has an irremovable love for
us. It is unconditional.
I'm
glad you got the picture of us. :) This ward is so incredible. We are
doing a 40-Day Fast. You know how the Lord fasted for 40 days? We are
going to do that with the ward. Today my companion and I are fasting.
Yesterday our Ward Mission Leader fasted. Tomorrow it will be another
family. So on and so forth, for 40 days. 24hour fast. It will never
cease. The focus of the fast is on missionary work. At the end of the 40
days, and throughout, the doors will start to open for us to teach. New
revelation will be brought forth. People don't have to necessarily fast
from food, they can fast from something that would be a sacrifice for
them for 24 hours. It is such a cool concept. Ya'll should think about
it in your ward.
Mom!! Hi! You are amazing. I want you to know that.
There is nothing you can't do. Thank you for choosing the right. Thank
you for following the spirit. Thank you for joining the one and only
true church on the earth! Thank you for loving the Book of Mormon. All
of these decisions you have made have blessed my life eternally! Can you
believe that? ETERNALLY! My companion's mom was also Catholic and
converted to the LDS church. Cool huh?!
J and M are awesome. They went out of
town this weekend. It feels like forever since I have seen them! As
missionaries, we are supposed to have daily contact with our
investigators. It is so hard! A phone call or a text or a visit every
day! Just to help them remember their commitments or to read the Book of
Mormon. Plus a lesson within the week. It is a lot, but it is
important. Do you want to know why? Because Satan never stops. He has
daily contact. So our influence for good must be brought to their
attention.
We haven't explained that to them yet, but we will.
S is one of our investigators. She is one of those who is
sometimes referred to as: an eternal investigator, or an eternagator. :)
She has been married to a member for years and has had the missionary
discussions numerous times. She even had a date to be baptized! But she
is "just not ready." she says. Which is understandable. It is her
decision when she feels it is right. Her entire family is not
supportive. But S is incredible
Oh P. Love her. She is crazy. The
other night she asked one of our members, who we brought to meet her, if
they could get some men over there to baptize her son A. (I'm
thinking: hello...that's what we are here for. Investigators have to go
through us...Anyone over the age of 8 must be taught by missionaries to
join the church...) Then we asked her if she'd be baptized.
"Re-baptized?" she asked. We explained authority again. She just doesn't
get it. We went over the baptismal interview questions. She agreed with
them all except Joseph Smith. If people cannot accept him as a prophet.
They cannot accept the keystone of our religion; the Book of Mormon. If
they can't accept that, they cannot accept a modern-day prophet. Just a
small issue. :) We love P and her son A. She has some word
of wisdom issues too. It will be a very slow progression with her. But
this gospel is true and everyone needs it.
What do you remember about your baptism?
Something President Riggs has asked us to do with
the members is: choose 14 families and ask them a specific question each
week. Take only 10-15min to do this. The question is "Have you received
any revelation on how we as the full-time missionaries can be of better
service to you, your family, your friends or your neighbors? How can we
assist you in your missionary efforts?" They respond. Usually they
don't have anything, or they ask for service at their house. Which is
great and totally fine! Then we ask them to pray for revelation this
week. We are here to support the members. It is not the other way around
although some people might think so. We are at their beckon call. I
hope you are all praying for missionary opportunities and then taking
them when they arise. I also hope you are praying for revelation on how
the full-time missionaries can help. I remember at home, I rarely saw
the missionaries. I wish I made it more of a priority to help them in
their missionary efforts, now that I am on the other side haha!
I know Jesus Christ walked this
earth over 2000 years ago. I don't know how He did it, but He walked in
my shoes. He has felt every pain, misdeed, sorrow and joy that I have
ever felt. It was my sins which nailed him to the cross, and His love
for me which motivated Him. I know that the tomb is empty. The Savior
rose on the 3rd day. This is one of my most favorite times of year
because I can remember Him.
I love you all
-Sister Zibetti
March 18, 2013
Things with our investigators are going well, but we had
a slow week this week with only 3 lessons. We did meet again with J and M! I love them! We are going to see them today. We
taught them more about the Book of Mormon and then they started asking
us so many questions about what do we believe about heaven and hell.
Their questions are leading right into the next lesson! The Plan of
Salvation! It is amazing how the spirit works. Sister Kraemer and I have
been working on the "How to begin teaching" method from PMG. At the
beginning of the first lesson with someone, the following are some ideas
to use of what to say:
By the way, we as missionaries can now email our friends, not just our family. Pretty cool huh?
- •Because God is our Heavenly Father, we are all brothers and sisters. We would like to refer to you as brothers and sisters.
-
•Each person we teach has personal challenges and concerns. No matter what your needs or concerns might be, the Savior and His teachings—the gospel—will help you.
-
•Our message will enable you to improve the quality of your lives. It will help you deal with the problems and challenges that we all face in life.
-
•Our message, which is centered in Jesus Christ, is of great value and importance.
- •We all make mistakes in life, and these mistakes create feelings of guilt and shame. These feelings cannot be relieved without repentance and forgiveness. They can be fully healed through the Atonement of Christ.
- •Our message cannot be learned all at once. Understanding will come over time through prayer, study, experience, and keeping God’s commandments.
-
•We have weaknesses, as everyone does. We may not speak the language very well or be able to answer every question you have. But we have been called by a prophet of God to share what we know. We know that our message is true.
- •We will be guides so that you can learn the truth of our message for yourselves. It is your choice to accept and act on the message. Therefore, you should feel free to ask questions.
-
•As you sincerely seek to understand our message, you may face challenges, but God will help you.
- •As you accept our message, you will learn how to make covenants, or promises, with God. You will learn how to make changes to bring your lives in closer harmony with His teachings. You will want to follow the teachings of Jesus Christ and be baptized by proper authority
We are also trying to practice
switching off teaching every 30 seconds. That is how to keep the
investigator involved. Teach, testify and ask questions. That is a great
method of teaching.
We have not met with the investigator who
dropped us last week. She is so great. We are going
to wait until one of her good family friends comes to visit her husband.
This friend has a lot of influence on her husband, so the friend may
help open his eyes to learning more. I'll probably be gone by then. It
makes me so sad! I don't want to leave this mission! It is so hard to
leave people you love.
By the way, we as missionaries can now email our friends, not just our family. Pretty cool huh?
President
Riggs is the most amazing man I've ever met. He is so loving and so bold
and so full of the Spirit. He came to our District Meeting. A district
only has a few missionary companionships within it, so it is not a
common occurrence for the President to show up! We were so excited. And
my district leader, who is so awesome and very humble, asked me on the
spot to share my testimony! ha. Good thing we missionaries are always
prepared....:) Anyway, to President we are like his family, so he loves
spending time with the missionaries. We are his investigators. He shared
a story. The other day he was going out to lunch with some missionaries
and he beat a man to a parking spot just before him. When he got out,
he went up to the man who had to park elsewhere and said in a joking
tone, putting his hand on his shoulder, "If you had been living more
righteously, you would've had that parking spot!" What?! Wow! Haha! It
was so great. They continued to talk and he offered to pay for the man's
lunch. This was just a great example of missionary work today. It is
sometimes spontaneous. It is natural. It is applying things to the
current situation. It is bold. It is loving. It is the Savior's way.
Here is something I have been thinking about this week that I think can help anyone.
Take
your frustrations and deep concerns--even if the concerns are not your
own, but become your own--to the Lord. Christ says in Matthew 11:28-29,
"Come unto me, all ye that labour and are heavy laden, and I will give
you rest. Take my yoke upon you, and learn of me; for I am meek and
lowly in heart: and ye shall find rest unto your souls. For my yoke is
easy, and my burden is light." It has taken me a long time to understand
this scripture, and I still have not grasped the full concept, but here
is what I have learned.
Teach
people that repentance is a beautiful blessing. Not a condemning
consequence. There is a song that I have loved as I've heard it out on
my mission. Some of the lyrics say, "You can fly. Wrap your mistakes in a
cocoon and emerge a butterfly."
I was confused as to HOW Christ's burden would be light and His yoke
easy. He bore all of the sorrows and sins of each person...how could His
burden be light!? What?! But I know that it is because as we take upon
us His yoke, we are doing hard things together. A yoke distributes the
weight equally between the two pulling and pushing. It is like the
saying, "Many hands make light work". The Savior will compensate for
what we cannot do, and give us the strength we need.
Teach
people that repentance is a beautiful blessing. Not a condemning
consequence. There is a song that I have loved as I've heard it out on
my mission. Some of the lyrics say, "You can fly. Wrap your mistakes in a
cocoon and emerge a butterfly."
Alma.
Yes. He did not feel exquisite joy until he remembered that his dad had
told him about a Savior, even Jesus Christ. Pretty amazing huh? Now the
question is, how do we apply the Atonement?
I
think by loving others as Christ loves us and doing our best to live
like He lived. Learn about Him, pray, read scriptures, renew our
covenants during the Sacrament. Very simple but important things.
I've got to go!
Sunday, April 14, 2013
March 11, 2013
You described a youth activity, it sounds like the MTC and companion study. Every
day we practice teach something. We practice the restoration, or a
baptismal invite or what we will be teaching that day. The way you
practice is the way you end up teaching. It is the same with any sport.
We practice the skills over and over again so that under pressure we may
remember and act well.
Here is a miracle that happened this week.
On
Saturday night, one of our investigators, P, said she was too busy to come to church. We explained that if she
were to put the Lord first, she would be blessed in all other aspects of
her life, even temporally. She had mentioned previously that her phone
charger was missing, so my inspired companion Sister Kraemer said, "In
two minutes if we can find your phone charger, will you come to church
with us tomorrow?" She nodded. I prayed so hard as I crawled on my hands
and knees looking under, around and through everything. We found it! P started getting her church clothes ready for the next day. As
we had promised, if she put the Lord first, even with this small
commitment to come to church, she would be blessed temporally; the Lord
was bound and she was blessed. That scripture in D&C 82:10 is true.
"I the Lord am bound when you do what I say, but when ye do not what I
say, ye have no promise."
One of our investigators basically dropped us this
week. She said she is happy with the church in which she is. She hasn't
even come to our church yet! She's never been able to come. She was
going to come yesterday but dropped us right before church. We decided
we needed to go over there and talk to her about this decision. This is
eternal salvation! It was really hard and very emotional. It was ripping
my heart out. She knows the Book of Mormon is true and it is her
husband that is holding her back. He is very close-minded. ahh! We will
not stop trying though.
This week we found 2 new investigators. We had an AWESOME first lesson
with them last night. J and her roommate M. They are both
Christian. After we explained the Book of Mormon to them, M asked,
"Why haven't I ever heard about this before?!" haha. Well, it is time.
March 4, 2013
This
week has been great, and interesting. We had a dinner with the C family and she told us about her neighbor who she invited earlier in the
week to come. She told us to go check on him to see if he'd like to
join. He recently lost his wife, and he was left with his 18 month old
son. As we were walking over there, I heard down the street a child
screaming and some other noise from children. I heard them speculating
on how "it" happened. The kids were standing around him just yelling at
him to "get up" and that he was "fine". He was crying and screaming for
help. I couldn't bear the sound. I had to go over there and just see if I
could help in some small way, also to see if it was an emergency. We
walked over and the kids around the boy started walking away and into
the house nearby. One girl was still there and the boy on the ground
asked her to get his sister to come outside from the house. I asked the
girl what happened and some of the kids heard me, so they explained that
he fell and probably twisted his knee. He had a little scrape on his
knee that was bleeding a tad. It didn't look bad, but he could not move
his knee because it would hurt to do so.
He stayed in the same position
the whole time we were there. In the middle of the street I got down so I
could look at his face and talk to him. "What's your name my friend?"
"B." "What happened?" "I fell on the rocks. We were playing
basketball" "Can you move it at all?" He tried to raise his leg but
flinched away in pain. He had tears and drool running down his dark
face. His sister came out and asked him what happened. She was probably
16. She tried to call her mom who was not home. Ben was still crying and
clenching his fists. He looked like one of those professional soccer
players when they get hurt and really exaggerate it...but he wasn't
exaggerating. I couldn't bear to see him like this. I told his sister
that it might be a good idea to call an ambulance if her mom doesn't
answer. The sister agreed and phoned them. She wiped off the tears from
his face.
He stayed in the same position
the whole time we were there. In the middle of the street I got down so I
could look at his face and talk to him. "What's your name my friend?"
"B." "What happened?" "I fell on the rocks. We were playing
basketball" "Can you move it at all?" He tried to raise his leg but
flinched away in pain. He had tears and drool running down his dark
face. His sister came out and asked him what happened. She was probably
16. She tried to call her mom who was not home. Ben was still crying and
clenching his fists. He looked like one of those professional soccer
players when they get hurt and really exaggerate it...but he wasn't
exaggerating. I couldn't bear to see him like this. I told his sister
that it might be a good idea to call an ambulance if her mom doesn't
answer. The sister agreed and phoned them. She wiped off the tears from
his face.
As I sat by him I asked, "B, do you know who Jesus Christ is?" He
nodded. "Jesus Christ is your Savior and he has felt everything that
you are feeling right now. He knows the pain and I want you to rely on
that okay? Remember that now." He nodded and held his fists tighter. I
took my jacket off and put it under his elbow where he was leaning into
the asphalt so he could have a cushion. I stared at his knee and called
down the powers and virtue of heaven to heal his knee. I know I don't
have the Priesthood, but I know it is real, and any thing that we obtain
in this life is due to the power/Priesthood of God. I know that faith
has the power to move mountains. So I prayed in faith that he could be
healed and that he could feel better. After that he was much calmer. He
wasn't screaming anymore.
We heard sirens and the ambulance arrived. A man got out and
assessed the situation. I asked B for my jacket back and the EMT took
control of the matter at hand; asking him his name and what happened.
Sister Kraemer and I left.
I don't know what happened after that, but I saw the ambulance
drive away without the siren on, which could possibly mean that Ben did
not have to go to the hospital, and I hope that is the case because an
ambulance is expensive.
That was my cool experience from this week.
I hope you are all happy! I love you!
-Sister Zibetti
February 25, 2013
Hello Family!
It has finally arrived! Time for Trevor to go! This is gonna be fantastic. His
talk and the song sound like they were amazing! Thanks for letting me
be a part of it, but it is all in God's hands. It is all of His
miraculous doings.
This week we invited some people to be baptized. One said she had
never thought about it before. She was really shocked when we asked her.
The
other one said she had already been baptized in the Catholic religion.
But she understood that it should be done by the Priesthood to be
baptized. By that authority which John the Baptist had to baptize the
Savior of the world. She was impressed that we perform baptisms in the
exact same way in which the Christ was baptized, by full immersion. Her
family is not really supporting her in her studying with us. Her husband
doesn't want her to come to church, but he said that we could study
with them and that they as a family will read the scriptures more.
Do you guys still read and pray as a family every day? Does it
bring peace into your life? It helps me as a missionary to know that my
family kneels in prayer for me. I know that prayer works. God answers us
because of His infinite love.
This week we were checking on some old potential investigators in
the area book. As we were checking on one, a man came out of his little
trailer for a home. We told him we were looking for a girl. He told us
that she doesn't live here anymore, but that we could check with her
grandparents in the house down the street. We started talking to this
man. He told us
that his home burned down in 2011. He had let a man use his home and
this man set it on fire, for he was an arsonist. C, the man we were talking to, had just finished his
mortgage too. Now he has paid for the little trailer out-of-pocket. He
has great faith and has looked for the positive things in life. We
skimmed over the first lesson with him and gave him the Book of Mormon
to read. He seemed very interested and said he'd read it! I really hope
he does. We will go visit him again. C said that he use to live by a
great LDS family. A Polynesian family of 10. Their example brought him
closer to the church. Never forget what impact a good example can have.
Just think of the Savior's impact. His perfect example has led millions
to know truth and peace.
I know the Lord is looking out for me when he sends me someone who will just listen.
We
have an AMAZING new Ward Mission Leader. Brother Marshall! He is on
fire. He is a convert to the church and just wants to get all of this
rolling. He is going to have to with the announcement made with so many
new missions opening up in the world! Ahhh! So exciting. I only have a
short time left in Aquia. I am pretty sure that I will be staying here
until Nauvoo.
Also this week, the missionaries in my district put on a music
fireside about the Savior. It was beautiful. We had enough musical
talent within the district that we were able to pull something together
for our investigators and members could enjoy. It was wonderful. Many
people told us how much they loved the production. My favorite song was
Prayer of the Children. It was so wonderfully done and the Spirit was so
strong. It felt like this song was the only peace in the world.
We do service at a place called S.E.R.V.E. We just put food in
boxes; food with all nutrients which an individual or family would need.
These families can come once a month to get a box for free from here. I
love doing service like this. The people who work here are so
Christian! I love em. I just wish they had all of the correct doctrine.
Well, I love everything out here. I truly desire for souls to come
unto Christ through baptism. I am praying to see that opportunity
happen.
Family! I love you! The church of Jesus Christ is on
the earth once more. There are no variations from now verses when Christ
was here. Everyone on earth chose the plan of salvation/happiness
before birth. We as members are here to share this unique message with
the world. Every member of the church is on a mission. We all bear
Christ's name as baptized and confirmed members. "Be thou an example of
the believers, in word in deed." 1 Tim. ?
-Sister Zibetti
February 19, 2013
The Lord is blessing our family so much. Can you see it? Can you feel
it? I can. This work is true. This gospel is one of love. God is love.
With
it being Valentine's Day this past week, we visited some singles ladies
in the ward and talked about the love of God and Christ. It was great.
We went to the Temple yesterday! It was so great. I love the DC Temple. I definitely miss that spirit from the Lord's house.
Well
things over here are getting more inspired. A lot more planning. Each
week we are supposed to ask 14 member families a specific question from
president Riggs. "Have you received any revelation on how we, as the
full missionaries can be of better service to you, your family, friends
or neighbors?" We are not just asking for referrals, we are asking our
members who we can serve and how?! Miracles come because of it. We are
teaching this wonderful lady L. I love her so much. We asked her
to read part of a chapter in the BoM and she read the whole thing and
liked it! She struggles reading because of a head injury from the service. She has two sweet children. I love them too.
Her husband is not so keen on us yet, but he hasn't met us yet. We shall
see. She was going to come to church, but the babysitter didn't show
up! grrr.
A young man, D, an investigator came to church and he liked it! He said he'd come again! He is 19.
I
have not been so great at baptismal invites. Inviting people to be
baptized. I have been working on it this week. It is a bold thing, but
that is part of my purpose, and I need to be better at it.
We are going to work harder and more efficiently. Sometimes we are
all over the place and at the end of the day I feel like we haven't
accomplished much. So we need to be more efficient. We are trying.
A little girl from Gainesville who I taught got baptized on Saturday! We
got permission to attend. We were late by like 10min and I missed the
baptism itself, but got to see her confirmed. She gasped with excitement
when she saw I was there. :) It made me so happy. Also, there was a
little boy who was getting baptized that same day. His mom is Deaf and I
had signed with her a few times. She is so great. I asked her if she
wanted me to interpret for her son receiving the gift of the holy ghost.
She was so grateful. It is interesting to interpret for a priesthood
blessing. It is very powerful. My hands did things I didn't even know I
remembered or could do. I know the Priesthood is REAL. That is how we
can be sealed as families forever. It is that powerful. Baptism is the
first step, and all of the people that surround us can one day be sealed
to us as an eternal family.
I best be off.
-Sister Zibetti
February 11, 2013
Oh my goodness! TREVOR YOU ARE GOING ON A
MISSION!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!! You are going to be such a great and
humble missionary. I can't wait to see your life unfold. Dude, I mean
soon to be Elder Zibetti, keep a journal every day that you can. It will
help you see your progress as a missionary and as a representative of
our Savior, the Lord Jesus Christ. As you represent Him, you are SAVING
lives. It is amazing. Even if it is just a friendly smile. A Christ-like
smile is your best accessory. Represent Him well for this short time.
He loves you unconditionally and so deeply. Spend time with the family
as much as you can.
Things are great here in the Washington DC South side of the world.
We met the sweetest lady from Jamaica! She is divorced and has one son. They live in a ONE room apartment. Literally. Their
home is the size of our home's living room. There is a small bathroom. She is one of our investigators whom
we hadn't met yet. We came in and asked if we could do her dishes as she
was making dinner for her son and a friend. She gave me the strangest
look after I asked. She didn't answer for a minute, just stared at me. I
couldn't tell if she was shocked, surprised or appalled. Turns out, she
was shocked and after we washed her dishes was grateful. She wanted to
know more about Joseph Smiff, as she calls him, :) and the Book of
Mormon. She is very simple and needs to learn in a very simple way. I
don't think she understands that there is a simple and pure doctrine out
there with all of the truth. She church hops. We have to repeat
ourselves a lot and move slow. But she is so humble and amazing that it
will work. She gave us a cup full of fruit and told us to come over for
dinner the next day and said, "Don't be keepin' my cup. You bring it
back!". She is such a sweetheart and wanted us to come back with the
cup. She has NOTHING and is giving us anything she can. So kind. We are
meeting with them again tonight. Her son said, "I think I'll stick with
this religion". WHAT?! I love it. I am praying for her and doing
everything I can to help them taste the sweet blessings of making
covenants with God through baptism.
Things are great here in the Washington DC South side of the world.
We met the sweetest lady from Jamaica! She is divorced and has one son. They live in a ONE room apartment. Literally. Their
home is the size of our home's living room. There is a small bathroom. She is one of our investigators whom
we hadn't met yet. We came in and asked if we could do her dishes as she
was making dinner for her son and a friend. She gave me the strangest
look after I asked. She didn't answer for a minute, just stared at me. I
couldn't tell if she was shocked, surprised or appalled. Turns out, she
was shocked and after we washed her dishes was grateful. She wanted to
know more about Joseph Smiff, as she calls him, :) and the Book of
Mormon. She is very simple and needs to learn in a very simple way. I
don't think she understands that there is a simple and pure doctrine out
there with all of the truth. She church hops. We have to repeat
ourselves a lot and move slow. But she is so humble and amazing that it
will work. She gave us a cup full of fruit and told us to come over for
dinner the next day and said, "Don't be keepin' my cup. You bring it
back!". She is such a sweetheart and wanted us to come back with the
cup. She has NOTHING and is giving us anything she can. So kind. We are
meeting with them again tonight. Her son said, "I think I'll stick with
this religion". WHAT?! I love it. I am praying for her and doing
everything I can to help them taste the sweet blessings of making
covenants with God through baptism.
We are also meeting with E.
Interesting story here. Her brother, is a recent convert of last year. He just left on his mission
to Brazil this week and he gave us E's number to call her. We did and
she didn't answer, but she called us after her brother was gone. She and
her brother are very close and she wanted to know what he was getting
himself into, and what religion this was. There truly are still people
out there that think we worship Joseph Smith, and think the Book of
Mormon is written by him, some think we have horns, they think we can't
drink pop or wear makeup and that we have to do everything our husbands
and fathers command. Yikes. People need the truth. Anyway, E is so
cute. We are teaching her in a round-about way by saying, "This is what your brother believes and what he will be teaching." She is okay with that for
now. She says what we teach makes sense. It is hard for her to grasp the
concept of 12 Apostles today. She doesn't feel familiar with that.
Which is understandable. But things are going well.
We went tracting this week and I met a witch! Can
you believe it? We introduced ourselves and she said, "Oh that's nice,
but I'm a 'wicken'." I said, "What is that?" I seriously had no idea.
"I'm a witch." I said, "Oh coool!" She was shocked and stuttered on her
speech, "Th-that is not the reaction I expe-pected. I don't believe in
Christ. I thought you would be appalled by that." "Well, what do you
believe in?" "I believe in the elements and as you do good, good is done
unto you." "We believe a similar thing." I could tell she was not
interested but pleased with our reaction. Sister Kraemer is awesome and
handed her a mormon.org card and said, "Well, we also do service, so if you ever need anything, we are here to serve." It was an interesting convo.
I have interviews with President this week. I love President Riggs. He
is amazing. Even though I am not originally from this mission, he still
claims me as "his own". It will be one of the hardest things on my
mission to leave DC south. My other President said to me before I left,
"You better come back to Nauvoo." I promised that I would, but it is
going to be so hard to leave this place.
I love you all.
An investigator told me a quote this week, "A family who prays
together, stays together." and I thought of my own family. I am so glad
we did that. And dad, thank you for holding the Priesthood worthily all
these years. I think that is one of the most powerful things on this
earth except love and the Atonement.
-Sister Zibetti
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