First Companion

Oh hey!

So here's a picture of my companion, Sister Anderson from Kearns, she's about done with her mission now though and I'm getting a new companion tomorrow whose name is Hermana Spittle. And I'm staying in this area! Which is great cause I feel like we're making a lot of progress with the people here. And they said I'm going to be the designated driver, so that's cool!

Remember how I said a couple weeks ago that I wanted to teach an English class to help members and to invite investigators? We had it on Tuesday and it went great! We've been trying to get one of our investigators to come to church for a while and he just hasn't. But he came to the English class and then stayed for the Book of Mormon class afterwards, and then he came to church yesterday! I think it's a great way for investigators to come out to the church so they know where it is, and they can get to know some of the members so they feel more comfortable at church. Plus they said it's a huge help, because there's a lot of people in the ward who really struggle with English and want to learn it, so they get a free class. It just seems to be a good thing for everyone! And when we go tracting and there's nice people that don't want to here the message, we invite them to the English class and they really perk up and say they're really interested in that. I'm excited to see it grow!

So there was one day where I was super sick this week, I think I had food poisoning or something. So the elders came over to give me a blessing. But they couldn't come inside cause it's against the rules, so we had to do it outside our apartment. Our porch is kind of covered but there's an opening, and when we opened our eyes afterwards there were these two little kids staring at us and they said, "what are you doing?" Haha. I can only imagine what that would look like to someone who'd never seen it before. We didn't know what to say so one of the elders said, "what are you doing?" And they said, "watching you." Haha. It was hilarious.

So here's a kind of sad story. We had this investigator named Salvador. We taught him the restoration and we could tell he was super ready to receive it. It was so proactive and he was like, "so what do I need to do to be baptized?" It was so cool! We were really excited. But he didn't come to church, so we wondered what happened. We had appointment with him and we called to confirm, and his wife answered and said he'd be busy all day. So we stopped by a couple days later and his wife wouldn't let us go in to talk to him, and she said he is busy all of the time, isn't interested in hearing more, and they are catholic. It was super sad, so we had to drop him. Hopefully her heart will be softened one day.

But Roger and Jenny (have I told you about her?) are doing great and continuing to prepare for their baptisms. The work is rolling forth, but Satan is definitely still there doing everything he can to keep people from it.

So here's something cool I've learned this week. I always thought that people go on missions and just become all amazing. We just see them leave and they come back so changed, mature, and converted to the gospel. I always thought it was something that just happened to them. But I realize now that's not what happens at all. The change that occurs during a mission comes from the decisions we make every day to change ourselves. We act, and are not acted upon. Many people can go through a mission without having the mission go through them. The key is to actively change yourself every day. Humility is essential. Charity is what we strive for. We must constantly have an attitude of striving to be better. We know that is how we can most effectively be the Lord's hands in this marvelous work. That was such a great lesson to learn. I am doing my best to change and grow every day. This is the Lord's work, but I need to make myself a useful instrument in performing it. I know that I can do nothing in my own strength, and the way to be successful is to rely on him and let him teach me what I need to become.

I love you all!

Hermana Cannon

(Pictured with Hermana Christina Anderson) 

It's been a month already? What the.

Hello!

 

Guess what? We had two people commit to be baptized this week! That was SUPER exciting. We were glad cause it's been kind of a hard week.

 

But I got to go on exchanges! My companion for a day was Hermana Hunter. She was awesome. I learned so much from her about how to be a good missionary. She made it so fun! And at the same time we worked really hard. Those days are the best, when you put in everything you have, til you're wiped out by the end of the day, but you had so much fun doing it. I love it. It was just the boost I needed.

 

So did I even tell you about what the deal is with this transfer? It's only a five week transfer this time. And for some reason they had me come in when it was already a week into it, so for me it's just a four week transfer. So it ends this Tuesday, and my companion will be finishing her mission. So I'll already be getting a new companion! Crazy. I feel like I'm flying through them. So that's what's happening next week.

 

So here's a funny story for the week. We were eating with some members and they were telling us about another dinner they had with missionaries, and the family asked the missionaries what the worst thing was that happened in their missions. One elder said it was when they were eating this food called menudo, it's like a soup. Apparently it was so bad that he couldn't even get it down. He didn't know what to do, and he didn't want to offend her. There was a window close by, so when she had her back turned he threw the menudo out the window! But the problem was, the window was closed! Hahahah. He thought it was open. We were all rolling laughing at that story. Haha. If he didn't want to offend her by not eating it, I can only imagine what she though of him throwing it all over her window.

 

Also, I just want to say thank you so much for your support, and prayers especially. I really feel them out here. Cause you know what? Missionary work is hard. Who knew, haha. But I can only imagine how difficult it would be without so many people praying for us. The prophet and quorum of the twelve pray for us every Tuesday, people in temples around the world pray for us daily, our families pray for us, and many other people pray often for the support of the missionaries. I just want to say thank you so much. We need every single prayer.

A week of miracles!

Hey!

 

Sorry I forgot to tell you we had zone conference yesterday, so P-day is on Tuesday this week. Guess what they announced? We're allowed to email friends and extended family now! This is a change that's happening world wide. So if anybody wants to email me you are welcome to at amanda.cannon@myldsmail.net. However, we only have an hour on the computer once a week to write our families, the mission president, and everyone else. So I can't promise I will have time to respond to the emails right when I get them, but you are welcome to send a quick message if you like! Please include your mailing address if you want me to write back to you, unless I end up having time to email you back.

 

Okay. This week was truly a week of miracles! Honestly, the Lord has blessed us so much. There are far too many stories to tell than could fit in this email. I will tell you one though.

 

My companion gave this guy Roger (20 years old) a Book of Mormon 3 months ago and he seemed really interested. They've gone back a to his house a ton and he's never been home, they didn't even think he lived there anymore. We went last Tuesday to visit his mom and he answered the door! He was like, hey guys, long time no see! We got to teach the whole restoration and he loved it. He told us he carries the Book of Mormon every where and even tells people about it when it comes up. And get this, he's been smoking a pack a day for the last 5 years and two months ago decided to quit cold turkey! He has so much self control. We haven't even taught him the word of wisdom! It's amazing to see the Lord working with people. The Holy Ghost testifies to people of truth and what they need to do - sometimes before we even bring it up. Towards the end of the discussion he started asking about missionary work and was saying it's something he'd like to do! It's amazing. We're teaching him again tonight.

 

On Saturday we had 5 teaching appointments scheduled and every single one of them fell through. But that day we found 5 new investigators just from knocking on doors! And not just people who said we could come back, people who have really had the spirit testify to them of the truthfulness of our words. People who are ready to hear the gospel. It was just crazy how even though all of our appointments fell through, we still got to teach 5 people who accepted.

 

I also got to take part in a 40 day fast the ward is doing. They have a different member of the ward fast each day so the ward can have more baptisms. How awesome is that! It not only shows the great faith of the ward members, but their understanding of the importance of and the role of missionary work. People over here understand it more than I ever did as a member in Utah. One of the apostles said that full-time missionary work should be focused on teaching and baptizing, finding should be up to the members. We need to help members of the church catch the vision of missionary work! What if every member shared the gospel with just one friend each month? What if they did it every week? Honestly whatever you can do will help. We need to tell our brothers and sisters on this earth about the restored gospel of Jesus Christ! It is the only thing that will bring them peace and joy in this life and eternal life in the world to come. One missionary was telling me about one of his investigators that he brought to the single's ward, and one of the ward members was his friend, and he never even knew. He said to his friend, "You knew about this all this time and you never told me?" People need the restored gospel of Jesus Christ. They need to feel the peace and cleanliness that can come from repenting of their sins. They need to know how they can live with their families forever. They just don't know where to find it. But we do. And if they don't realize the importance of it right now, we do! Help them understand. Help them see what they need. Be a friend to all.

 

Anyway, that 40 day fast was an amazing experience. We saw a lot of miracles that day. I love how much faith the members have and how much they understand that we need to do our part to help bring people to Christ. Missionary work is so central to this church.

 

I wish I had time to tell you about the other miracles we've had this week. Apparently this is a low baptizing area of the mission and it is hard to find people to teach, but we've found so many new investigators this week! When we are diligent and have faith, the Lord really helps us do his work.

 

Okay so zone conference was awesome. We learned about what it is to be a good steward over the things the Lord has entrusted to us: temporal items, our time, and what he holds most precious and sacred - His children. The only thing that is truly ours is our agency. Everything else belongs to the Lord. We need to use that agency to take care of the things the Lord has entrusted to us. That is critical not only for missionary work, but for everyone. I'd like to challenge you all to think about that this week. What has the Lord entrusted to you? How can you exercise your agency to take good care of those things? Jesus Christ suffered for our sins. He bled from every pore and died for us. How can we ever thank Him? Words will never be enough. We can never repay Him, but we can show our gratitude by our actions.

 

I love you all. I love the Lord. I am so grateful to be a part of his work.

 

Hermana Cannon

First Day in the mission field

Here is a picture of Amanda with her mission President, Fernando R. Castro and his wife. This was taken in the mission home in Oxnard, California on Tuesday, February 26, 2013, the day she flew in to California.  In the next day or so, she wrote:

Hey Family!
I'm here safe and sound in Ventura. Straight from the airport, another elder who was on the same plane as me and I got to have dinner at the mission home and talk about rules and have an interview with the mission president. It was great! I love President Castro. He is so inspired. I'm amazed at how well he already knows me and loves me just from meeting me once. He gave me some awesome advice that I don't think he could have known to give me except through revelation.

Straight from there, I went to meet my companion, then we went to ward council. Our first full day was yesterday and it went great! We studied, tracted, had dinner with some members, then taught a lesson. It went really well and my companion said she was really surprised at how successful tracting was. A lot were interested and we were able to find some new investigators. By the end of the day I was exhausted, I slept super well last night, but it was a great first day! I really am surprised at how tiring it is. I spend a lot of time praying for more strength to be able to do it all. I'm sure I'll get used to it. As of now, I definitely feel that I am giving all my heart, might, mind and strength.

My companion is from Kearns and she's a great trainer! She doesn't baby me and she is here to help me learn. This is her last transfer! So she's kind of sad about that. But I will work hard and help her finish out strong.

That's about it! Everything's going well and I'm doing my best to learn. I feel well prepared and that I'm getting the hang of it quickly. I'm embarking in the service of God and loving it!

Thank you so much for all your support. I love you!

- Mandi

 Here's the classic photo: Amanda pointing to her mission location on the world map at the MTC.

 This is a photo of Amanda at the MTC in the snow before she left for California...

And a contrast shot: Amanda arrived in Sunny California :)

When Life Hands You Lemons ...

Hey!

 

Just had my first week in the field. It's been going well! My first full day was awesome. We tracted all day and were able to find some new investigators - people were really receptive that day. The weather here is amazing, it feels like summer! But not too hot. It's perfect.

 

The next day was kind of a downer because no one really wanted to listen. Mostly everyone is really nice here though, so even when they reject the message it's okay. At the end of the day I thought a lot about my purpose. Normally if I have a hard day at school I can say, well at least it still helped me progress towards my degree. But over here, the end means nothing. It's all about inviting people to come unto Christ. I understand that if I do my best and they still don't accept it, it's not in vain. But if I don't do everything I possibly can, it's nothing but wasted time. I'm doing my best to work hard and get acquainted with the area so I can know what needs to be done. It's fun and hard and great!

 

On Thursday we got to go help the bishop's family in their yard. We mostly picked lemons. I've never seen a lemon tree before, so that was cool. It smells so good! They're all over the place here, same with orange trees. They have a little 3 year old son and he started climbing up a ladder by the lemon tree and his mom told him to be careful and she doesn't want him climbing up a ladder, and then he was like, "But I have to help the hermanas!" Haha it was so cute.

 

The bishop is only 27 years old! Can you believe it? There were people his age in my single's ward. But he is such a good bishop. He's one of the few returned missionaries in the ward so he's really working to implement things he's learned in the mission here in the ward. They really need it, cause there's just not a whole lot of programs in place right now. We're working on at least getting home teaching and visiting teaching going, so all the missionaries are going to go on splits with the members to teach them how to do it.

 

I really love the people here. The ward is awesome. I had my first Sunday yesterday and it was crazy! Sunday's are not a day of rest when you're a missionary. But we got through it and I learned a lot. The bishop's dad is super nice and he came on a lesson with us. We were so glad to have him, because the poor guy we were teaching was not well in his mind, and there was just a bad spirit there, and we were a little scared. But he didn't do anything because we had Hermano Quezada with us. So we were really grateful for that. We also got to teach a recent convert that night and he was so funny! It was a great way to end the night on a happy note full of the spirit.

 

I'm learning a lot about faith as a missionary. I feel like I've already been having some pretty intense trials of faith out here in the field. But I know that if I trust in God he will take care of us.

 

Sorry this letter is super unorganized - we have such a short time to write so I'm just saying everything that pops into my head.

 

I've been studying Ch. 9 of preach my gospel, which is all about finding people to teach. There's some great ideas in there! I told my companion that I'd like to start holding an English class for members, investigators, etc. Some members have already said they'd really like help learning English. I think it will be a great way to help them and also find more people to teach. We're also just trying to figure out more of what people's needs are so we can figure out how we can serve them. It gets me so pumped! Knocking doors is great but I feel like there's other effective ways of finding people too - so I'm excited to try some of them out.

 

The pictures I'm sending you are so you can see the contrast of where I just came from to where I am now. I am so happy to be in sunny California!

 

I love you guys! Thank you for your support! Sorry I'm so short on time!

 

Amanda