April 4, 2016: Ah! Thats all I have to say.

Hello Family and Friends!!

Wow. Time is going by way to fast. Ah! I'm grateful for every moment I have been a missionary. I just feel so blessed. I love when we are able to see God's hand in all things.

This week we were really wanting to find 3 new investigators. We had originally planned to go to this one sky train station, but how time worked out, if we had went there we would have had only like 10 minutes there before we would need to turn back. So we prayed for guidance! We decided to take the bus to a stop about 10 minutes away. We got in line for it and started talking to the girl in front of us and she is the sweetest little Taiwanese girl ever! She has been in Canada for a few months learning English and she has been wanting to come check out church. Blessings! Then we get off at the stop we wanted to and go up to the intersection to decided what way we want to walk down. I saw a couple 1st nation looking ladies walking towards us and get this, they started talking to us first! They asked if we were modern days nuns. lol. :) We got chatting to them and they are really cool! I was telling how I love their culture and they asked if I have ever studied it before.. .Well, kind of!! We shared with them the Book of Mormon. What completely amazed me was before we got to explaining that there was a record Jesus Christ appearing to the Nephites, they explained how they belief that Jesus showed himself to their people. I was just like, "That is exactly what this book says!" It built my faith. We are going to meet up with them and share more. God is so good to us. :)

Lots of our investigators we able to watch conference with us. I talked to President But this week and he said of how special it would be to me that in 6 months when we watch conference in October, my mind would just come back to watching it here in Vancouver with my investigators. One of our sweet investigators, Grace, came to the 1st session on Sunday but texted us later saying that she was going to watch the afternoon session on the internet because she was so emotional at President Monson's health. I just loved all of the powerful testimonies that were given. I found answers to my own questions, prayers, and concerns. I did like Bonnie L. Oscarson's talk. She tells it how it is!  I sometimes get worried to go back into the world without all the protections of the mission. But the Lord has tutored me so much from being out here. I know I have not only a testimony to keep my safe, but I conversion to keep me safe. I don't just have a knowledge but I have a true belief that I am willing to act on.

I am so deeply grateful for my mission. As I have focused on others and lose myself in the service of God, I have come to realized over time that Heavenly Father, in his mercy, has blessed me so greatly. My mission has not only changed my life, but it has changed my eternities. My time in limited as a full-time missionary, but I am going to continue to work hard until the end. That I can stand blameless before God at the last day. That when I stand before Him, he can say, "Well done, my good and faithful servant."

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

Love,

Sister Lofthouse 

Springtime blossoms!!

Springtime in Vancouver!!

March 29, 2016: Easter Monday.. What??

Hello Family and Friends!

I can't believe its been another week... Time is going way too fast! Ahhh! But its been a good week. :) Its been a slower week. But small miracles and still miracles nonetheless. :)

Easter was a great day. :) And Easter Monday... lol. We had 5 of our investigators at church! Both Elisabeth and Roy came. They are the couple that we have been teaching since I have gotten to Vancouver who are in wheelchairs. Roy had never been before but he woke up early to come and he loved church! Its been cool to see how his faith has grown. :) He said he will keep coming! 

Last week we met a guy on the street and talked with him and he said he was interested in learning more and he gave us his number. His name was Teardon. So we called him and text him a couple times and he finally called us back. And we are talking to him and he said he didn't really remember talking to us... but he also has some short term memory lose. And he also said his name wasn't Teardon. That is was Eugene... But we set up a time to meet him at the church. We were waiting for him out front and he got out of the car and it was not the same guy! They looked similar but definitely different people. But it was neat because he has actually met up with Elders in the past and is really looking for something to help him right now. So basically it was crazy how everything worked out!

I was thinking this morning of what is the overall theme or lesson I have learned on my mission. And it was answered in Alma 57 with the 2000 Striping Warriors. After a battle they were badly wounded but not one of them actually perished. "And now, their preservation was astonishing to our whole army, yea, that they should be spared while there was a thousand of our brethren who were slain. And we do justly ascribe it to the miraculous power of God, because of their exceeding faith in that which they had been taught to believe—that there was a just God, and whosoever did not doubt, that they should be preserved by his marvelous power. Now this was the faith of these of whom I have spoken; they are young, and their minds are firm, and they do put their trust in God continually." (Alma 57:26-27) They saw the goodness of God. That is exactly what I have seen throughout my mission. That when someone is looking for something and exercising even just a little bit of faith, He shows them His goodness and puts them in our path. He has showed me His goodness as He has helped me feel His love through the hard times and has helped me overcome my weaknesses. I have come to know our Heavenly Father on my mission in a way that I would have never known if I wasn't out here. I'm so grateful for that. He truly is aware of each of us and as we have faith, we will see his marvelous power in our lives. I am filled with exceeding joy because of the goodness of God. (Alma 57:36) I love you all so much! Thank you for your love, support, and prayers. It means so much. See you in a few....

Love,

Sister Lofthouse

Pretty bush!!

Overlooking Vancouver!!

Coolest house ever!!

March 21, 2016: Pig Ears

Hello Family and Friends! 

Its been another great week here in beautiful BC! It was even sunny for a few days!!! :) But like always... Its been an adventure. In our ward that are quite a few Filipinos. Well they invited us over for dinner last night! I was not aware of what was on the menu. PIG EARS. If you know anything about me, you should know that I did not at anything part of a pig before my mission... There were a few families at the dinner and they all got me to eat it! I was not expecting it to crunch in between my teeth... So I asked them if its supposed to be like that and they told me to was the cartilage... Yeah that was the last straw. I just felt my stomach churn and signalling code up chuck... So I shuttered and swallowed it all in one bit without chewing. They all laughed at me. But hey, now I can saw I have eaten pig ear! 

Our investigators are doing really well too! The boyfriend of one of our recent converts in the ward has decided that he wants to learn more and be baptized. We read with him a bit from Mosiah 18 and he set a date to be baptized in May! :) Also, we got to see Dawna this week! :) She came to the church and our Bishop's wife picked her up. We gave her a church tour and then sat down and reviewed the Gospel of Jesus Christ with her. She just understands everything! She explained to us how The Holy Ghost has been helping her out so much to calm her anxiety so that she can even meet with us! And she expressed how she would love to have it as a constant complain because she doesn't want to feel lonely any more and when she prays or reads the scriptures she just feels so much better. God's power is real! She is gaining such a special relationship with Heavenly Father because she sees immediate answers to prayers. We also asked her why baptism would be important to her and she told us how it would make her feel complete. That she is dedicated to God and living these things and be a member of Christ's church. So she set a date in April! She is so amazing. Every time we meet with her my faith is strengthened. :) Right after the lesson we had a Relief Society activity and dinner and it was great! Dawna was able to meet other amazing women in the ward! She was happy and excited about it all. :) When she got home she texted us saying how much fun she had and also asked us for addition chapters in the Book of Mormon she could read that would go along with each of the lessons we have taught her. So cool! :) 

Also this week we got a media referral for a lady named Candace. She lives in a building with a buzzer and we couldn't get a hold of her so we just worked in her area and God lead us to about 5 different people who are interested in learning more! So that was a huge blessing in itself. We finally got in contact with her and we visited her. But to our surprise she has actually been baptized! She is from Calgary and was baptized 4 years ago with her kids and loved it! She was a ward missionary and everything. Then she became less active and hasn't even prayed or picked up the Book of Mormon in a year. But now she is ready to rekindle her faith and give things a try again. And that's all God requires of us to strengthen our relationship with the Savior again. She is amazing as well and its cool to see her re-act on the faith that she once acted on. 

"And behold , there is one thing which is of more importance than they all - for behold the time is not far distant that the Redeemer liveth and cometh among his people." (Alma 7:7) Christ truly is the most important then all the things I could talk about! He is the author of eternal salvation to all who will obey Him. (Heb. 5:9) Through Him we can truly find new life. We can find a deeper since of peace, joy, purpose, and directed in our lives. He has the power to heal us physically and spiritually. "He will swallow up death in victory; and the Lord God will wipe away tears from off their faces." The more I see other's lives change for the better from living the Gospel of Jesus Christ, the more I see it change me. I have seen it heal me. I have seen it fill me with great joy and make it so I don't feel lonely. He truly is always there waiting for us to take the steps to reach out to Him. Hallelujah. I love you all so much! Thank you for you love, support, and prayers!

Love,

Sister Lofthouse 

Rocks on the beach! 

Feeling cool with the Book of Mormon

Us with our recent convert Nikki. :) 

Spring time in BC :) 

March 14, 2016: Sister Sandra Humphrey :)

Hello Family and Friends!

Its been another great week at the best place on Earth... British Columbia! It still amazes me so much when I see the Lord direct us into someone's path. :)

Our friend, Sister Sandra Humphrey was baptized this weekend! She was just so excited all week and every time we see her she just always tells us her testimony of the Book of Mormon and how God answers prayers. Its so cool to see. :) On Saturday she was all ready for her baptism by 4pm and it started at 7! We went and picked her up and took the bus to the church with her. :) She loves all the support in the ward and is just so thankful for everything. After she got baptized we asked her how she felt and she said she felt just so light and free. :) She also came to church the next day wearing a white sweater and white skirt. :) So cute! She's doing great!

This week we also got to see Dawna. When we walked in she wasn't quite herself... She had a hard week and she says normally when she feels like this she shuts everyone out. She thought about cancelling with us but decided not to because she didn't think it would be fair for us. We told her she could just vent to us and we would listen. She has been having some work problems but realizes these things could be happening because a better opportunity is going to come up. She hadn't read anything we left her or had prayed for a while... We taught about the Gospel of Jesus Christ. That through living it we find a deeper sense of hope and purpose even during the hard times. We also talked about the Holy Ghost and how it directs us and comforts us. It was amazing to see things change in her right then. She was laughing and smiling and she even said that she didn't even know why she was feeling so down and how she wished she would have prayed during the hard times. She also came to realized by herself (or from the Spirit) that she had to feel that sorrow so that she could feel of this great joy! She also asked, "So when do you know you are ready to go to church??" Haha it was so cute! We are going to take her on a church tour and get her out to a Relief Society activity to help her feel more comfortable there. :) She keeps texting us of how excited she is. We also committed her to start saying prayers with her boyfriend (who has been inactive since he was 17.) She texted us later of how cool praying with him was. The Gospel of Jesus Christ blesses anyone who will live it. :)

Its been amazing to see how the Lord once again puts in the right place at the right time here in this big city! One day this week we were going to try to contact a referral with got and when we got off the train, I recognized someone waiting at the bus stop. It was the Bishop from Vanderhoof ward!!! What are the odds... His son is in the hospital down here. I hope us running into him shows him that God is aware of him. Also last night was pretty crazy. All our plans kept falling through but we prayed that we would be at the right place at the right time to be where He needed us to be. So we looked at the map and decided where to go. Well,after a couple train stops we realized we for got our phone... So we decided we needed to go back... By the time went back and got it, we realized we wouldn't have time to do our original plan. So we decided to go on a bus. And there was one lady at the stop and we started talking to her but to my surprise, it was Jwan! An investigator from a few weeks back who's phone stopped working! We told her we could walk over to the church right then and teach her and she came! :) It was great.

"And those who did belong to the church were faithful; yea, all those who were true believers in Christ took upon them, gladly, the name of Christ." (Alma 46:15) Sandra's baptism has just reminded me of how much blessings come from gladly taking upon ourselves the name of Christ. To take on His work and His ministry. Yes, its takes effort. Yes, it takes sacrifice. But what great blessings come. My mission has changed my life. It has truly shown me that when we are serving others, we are only in the service of our God. As we forget about ourselves and just go do what the Lord wants us to do and expect us to do we see great things happen. We see the Gospel change others lives, but we see it change ours. Its purifies us. It gives us a great desire to be doing good continually. I love you all so much and an so grateful for your love, support and prayers. Have a great week!

Love,

Sister Lofthouse

Sandra's baptism!! 

Brother Crossley baptized her. He has been active now for a year and was so excited for the opportunity! 

March 7, 2016: Van City Baby!

Hello Family and Friends!

Wow, what a week! I got a new companion straight from the MTC. Sister ZoBell is from Alberta. She is actually a visa waiter for Colorado but she is ours until it comes! I got her on Thursday and we just keep on learning together everyday! Sometimes we get a little lost in Vancouver but "blessed be the name of my God, who has been mindful of wanderers in a strange land." :)

Our investigators are doing great. We got to teach Sandra about the Ten Commandment and she was reading them and she read out "thou shalt not commit adultery" and added in "EVER!" It was hilarious and cute. That lady just has so much faith. She came to church on Sunday and she stood up and bore her testimony. She told about the experience she had when she 1st had her kidney failure and how the doctors said she shouldn't ever been alive and how because of that experience she knows that God is there. Then she shared about when Sisters first met her on the street her husband was trying to get her to not talk to them but that she just told her husband that she knew they had a message from God and that she needed to listen to them. She then gave her testimony on how she loves the Book of Mormon and how it has brought peace, understanding, and revelation into her life. It was so cool! She passed her baptismal interview and is all ready for baptism this Saturday! :) We feel so blessed to have the opportunity to teach her!

Dawna is also going really good. Me and Sister ZoBell went and visited her and she told us about her experience of praying about the Book of Mormon. As she did so she just cried and said that she has never believed in anything, but she believes in the Book of Mormon. Moroni's promise works for any honest seeker of truth. Its amazing to see really how much that Lord has prepared her heart for these things. We taught the Plan of Salvation but she already had a great understanding of it because she studied the pamphlet so well. Sister ZoBell asked her how she thinks the Atonement can bless her life and she just gave a profound answer of spiritual healing. She just gets things way more than other investigators and its because she truly knows that she is ready for these things. :)

I am so grateful that the Lord has allowed me to serve a mission. I am so humbled to be with a brand new missionary my last transfer. It has been teaching me a lot. But really, the Lord is just showing me how much I truly have grown on my mission. I have seen weaknesses turn to strengthens. He has helped me over come my fears and doubts. He has granted me all of my righteous desires. With The Lord we truly can do all things. I'm grateful that I can see the Lord's hand in my life and to see Him use me, despite my weaknesses, be in an instrument in His hands to bless His children. Its the greatest blessing I have ever seen. I love you all and thank you for your love, support, and prayers.

Love,

Sister Lofthouse 

The blossoms are out! 

Me and Sister ZoBell :) 

February 29, 2016: My God is an Awesome God

Hello Family and Friends! 

Man, its been such a great and busy week. I don't even know where to start... How about my last transfer calls... I'M TRAINING!!! Haha I can't believe I am training my last transfer in Vancouver!! Im a little scared but it will be great! I can't think of a better area to start your mission. :) I will meet her on Thursday! Please pray for us! I'm sad to say bye to Sister Unwin! She taught me so much and all we did was laugh! And teach the Gospel. :) 

As for a continuation of last weeks amazing skytrain miracle.... Last week we got a call from President Burt saying that he got a letter sent to him. And it was from Dawna's boyfriend's family in Alberta. She had been asking them questions about the church and asked how she could learn more because she wants to start a family and raise her kids in a good home. Well her boyfriends brother wrote President Burt and told him the other half of the story and how crazy it was that she actually ran into Sister Missionaries on the skytrain. Cancelled flights, missed flights, stand bys... everything. It was cool because that man that wrote the letter was like you probably don't know who those sisters even are... But there service has meant so much to our family. He thanked President Burt for having such great missionaries who are worthy of the spirit. Me and Sister Unwin were almost crying as President Burt was reading this letter to us. And the amazing thing is, me and Sister Unwin weren't even doing anything special. God just made everything happen that we were in the right place at the right time. God is in EVERY detail of our lives. If we are searching for him, he will reach our to us. President Burt also promised us that this would be a little fore tast of how heaven will be like, we will be able to know all the other halves of the story.

On Friday we got to have an appointment with Dawna. It was one of the most spiritual 1st lessons I have ever had. And it was because of Dawn's preparation. She had really studied the Restoration pamphlet. She also was very open with us and told us that she was in a very dark place the past few weeks before we met her. She has had many scars that need healing. She said that she has tried everything and now she knows that the healing she is looking for is spiritual. We testified that the Savior and his Gospel brings that healing and went into the Restoration. She really studied it and already understood it. She said that when she read about the apostasy and she was, "Thats me! Im in apostasy!" and then she kept reading where it talks about "when time is right, God will reach out in love." She said that she knows God is reaching out to here now. She said that when she was reading it, she just got the most amazing feeling, and obviously it was the Spirit. She also really wanted her own Book of Mormon so that she could do all the additional study in the back of it. She really connected with us. She even gave a beautiful prayer at the end of the lesson and asked if we could kneel. No one ever does that! She is amazing. I already love her sooo much. :) We are going to see her tonight. :) 

Also, Sandra is absolutely amazing! She is our investigator from the Caribbean. We taught her lesson 3 this week and we asked her to define faith and she basically quoted Preach my Gospel!! So prepared. She just keeps telling us that she knows God has kept her from joining a church her whole life so that she could join this one. She came to church yesterday and absolutely loved it. She fits in so well in the ward. She even was giving great answers in the Gospel Principles lesson. It was on prayer and in her accent she said, "And if we have faith, God will answer our prayers. He do. He do." She is so cute!!! At church, she leaned over to me and was like, "I just wanted to be baptized." So she is doing so well. I love her so much too. :) And her daughter still in the Caribbean is going to meet up with missionaries. :)

Again, I could just keep going about the amazing experiences that I have been having. I am so grateful to be here in Canada and here in Vancouver. I can't believe I will be starting my last transfer. It makes me really sad. My mission has taught me so much. I truly know that God is in every detail of our lives, sometimes we just have to open our eyes a little more to see it. He sent his Son so that we could have mercy. If we are afflicted in ANY manner he can heal us. (3 Ne 17:7) He has compassion for us. He has sorrow for our sufferings and His joy is full when we have enough faith to come unto Him. Those afflictions can be spiritual. We can be healed spiritually though the Atonement. Just like Alma the younger. "And now, behold, when I thought this, I could remember my pains no more; yea, I was harrowed up by the memory of my sins no more. And oh, what joy, and what marvellous light I did behold; yea, my soul was filled with joy as exceeding as was my pain!" Becoming clean from sin is being healed spiritually. I've seen that in myself and I have seen it with the wonderful people I get to serve here in Canada. The Gospel of Jesus Christ works. I love you all and miss you so much. Thanks for all the support. Have a great week! 

Love,

Sister Lofthouse 

February 22, 2016: And then... Two Sister Missionaries got on the train

Hello Family and Friends!

Its been another amazing week here in Vancouver. Man, I love this beautiful city. And the sun has come out for a couple days! Really miracles every single day and our investigators are just so amazing. They increase my faith!

Last Monday evening we had a lesson at the Church with the cutest girl ever named Cindy! She is 33 and is studying at UBC here in Vancouver. She is so enthusiastic about life! We taught her the Restoration and she absolutely loved it. Our member asked her what are her thoughts about prophets and we just exclaims, "THEY ARE NEEDED! DEFINITELY NEEDED!" She's adorable. She also told us that she sleeps with the Book of Mormon under her pillow because it makes her feel safe. Then after that lesson we were headed over to another appointment across town to an investigator who the Elders were passing to us to teach. So we go and get on the sky train and both me and Sister Unwin sit in seats where there would be empty seats by us so that people could come and sit by us and we could talk to them. Well, after a couple minutes I'm looking at Sister Unwin and a couple people go to sit by her and then at the last second decide not to. So I start laughing to myself because I'm thinking she smells bad or looks funny or something like that...  But then I see this girl get up from her own seat and comes and sits down and start talking to Sister Unwin... I'm trying to see what's happening while having a conversation of my own with another person. But then it was our stop so I got up and this girl that was talking to Sister Unwin gave me a great big hug and was like, "This is a miracle! Ask your friend what just happened." And we got off the train and I asked Sister Unwin what happened! She said that this girl, Dona, said that her boyfriend (who she was on the train with) is a member of the church and that his family is big into the church. And they have been thinking about starting a family and how she really likes her boyfriend's family's values and beliefs. So the day before she was on the phone with his Dad asking what she should do to get more involved and learn about the church. And he told her she needed to get in contact with the sister missionaries in Vancouver. And she told him that she has never even seen sister missionaries in Vancouver... So then they were on the train and and all of the sudden her boyfriend leans over to her and was like "look who just got on the train..." It was us!!! And she got the courage to come up and talk to Sister Unwin and exchange contact info. Whoa. God is so aware of each one of his children!! We were put in each other's path at the right time in her life. We were going to visit her tonight but she texted us saying that she is really sick so that we will have to reschedule. But really what a miracle!!

Later Monday evening we made it to Sandra's (the investigator the Elders passed to us). She is from the Caribbean (Yes, she is black!!!) and she has such a strong desire to be baptized! She is going through kidney failure and is on dialysis... So she is just so humble and ready for the Gospel. She prayed at the end of the lesson and in it said, "Let me know if the Book of Mormon is true. Even though I already feel that it is." The spirit was so strong. We have seen her a couple times since and she told us how she used to study with the Jehovah Witnesses but she never felt inclined to join them or get baptized or anything, but that now she feels that God is telling her that this is her path and she needs to get baptized. She was just crying with joy when she told us this and that she called her kids and talked to them and told them how she is going to join the church and they told her to do it! So she just cried with joy even more. She has 6 kids back in the Caribbean, But really Sandra is amazing. :)

Really I feel like I could just keep going on and on with cool stories and lessons but my time is limited. I just love being a missionary and our area is on fire! The Lord has been so merciful to me. Today I was reading Alma 36 and went in with the question of "What would Alma want his son to understand?" He begins and ends by saying "Inasmuch as ye shall keep the commandments of God ye shall prosper in the land." Must be important! Want help, strength, and happiness?? Follow the Gospel of Jesus Christ. He overcame the world. He can help us with ANYTHING. I love you all so much! Thanks for your love and support.

Love,

Sister Lofthouse

Last P-day was really rainy... So we made a fort in our apartment. :) Welcome to Fort Loftwin.

Bubbles!!