Transfers!!

Well this last week was our last week of the transfer and transfer calls were Sunday night. I had not a clue what to expect from transfers, but when we got the call we were all surprised because we are all staying! And not just the sisters in my ward but my entire zone is staying the same, other than the three missionaries who are returning home. So that's pretty exciting because I really like my zone. I have mixed feelings about it because I've been here three months and I'm ready for a change in a way, I think maybe because school semesters are three months long I'm just used to getting a switch-up around every three months. So I hope this next transfer doesn't drag along. I am also quite excited to stay just because I really do love the ward here and the people I've met and wasn't ready to leave them to some other missionary who doesn't love them as much as I do! It was actually quite sweet to hear so many members tell us they wanted to ring up president and tell him not to transfer any of us when we told them transfers were coming up. It's completely different in our ward now than how it was when I first got here. When I first got here we had ZERO support from members, bishop, or leaders. We were out here all on our own and it's taken a lot of hard work and patience and love but the ward has completely changed their attitude towards missioanry work. We are invited to ward council now, and all the leaders of the ward were telling us how excited they are to do missioanry work and they've never really been excited before. It's been so cool to see, and honeslty it makes me feel like I came to this ward for a reason and that part of the purpose of Heavenly Father sending me here was so that I could connect with ward members and get things going here, even if we haven't seen any baptisms yet I feel likemy last two transfers have been a real success just based on that. 

We have also seen a miracle with two less active ladies we have been visiting. We met them both on the first week of this last transfer. The first one sister Healy was baptized back in 2010 and went less active shortly after her baptism. When we met her she told us she wasn't mormon anymore and was going back to her catholic roots. She had some deeper doctrine questions that rocked her new faith and she wasn't able to get over them so she just kind of gave up and left and that brings us to now. So she brought up the issues she had and I honestly have no idea how I was able to find answers for her, truly the spirit brought to my memory things that I'm not even sure where I learned them, so thank you to all of the religion courses, sunday school, YW, and seminary teachers I've ever had because that knowledge that I thought went in one ear and out the other really did stop in there and stay and the spirit was able to bring it up again when I needed it. So after clearing up some of her major concerns, using Isaiah of all books! (I had no idea I knew anything about Isaiah until I started talking to her) she told us we could start from the beginning and teach her all the principles in the missionary lessons and she could ask any questions she had. So we have been meeting weekly with her and doing just that, we aren't even finished with the plan of salvation (she has so many questions!) but through out all of that she has now came to church 4 times in a row! She quit drinking coffee again without us even bringing it up, she started paying tithing without us saying a thing about it, and now she told us she wants to get her patriarchal blessing and work towards going to the temple!It's so amazing how learning about the principals of the gospel and feeling the truthfulness of them really helps people grow a desire to change. The more you study the gospel and feel it's truth the more you want to follow Christ. So that's just been incredible to see. And theres more! So the second lady is sister Bottaro and she is so cute! She is Australian but lived in canada the past 30 something years until she came back here for her health about 3 years ago. Well she got pnemonia and was in the hospital and rang the elders to give her a blessing and they told us to go visit her once she got home. So we did and she told us she wants to come back to church! So we have been visiting her and once she was well she came. Her first Sunday was also sister Healy's first Sunday. So we sat with them both and introduced them and now they are like best friends! Sister Bottaro drives sister Healy to church, they've been helping each other with the whole process of coming back and we missionaries didn't really have to do anything but invite and teach them and let the Spirit and Heavenly Father do the rest. I hope we get to see more success like this in our ward in this next transfer! Australia is a great place to be right now. OUr mission is going to have like 270 missionaries by November I think and it's growing so much! OUr new mission president is making lots of great changes and the whole place is just excited! I think the whole world is excited! So if you aren't involved in missionary work right now go talk to the missionaries in your ward because I know there is something for everyone to do in this work and the world needs it. Catch the wave! haha I love that expression so much ;)

Hope you all have a good week sorry for the novel!

Love,

Sister Rasmussen