Spread the Good News 10/3/13

October 3, 2013

Hello everyone!

     How are all of you doing? Things are still going great here in the Temple Square Mission! I love being here and we get great miracles, whether they are big or small. 

     So we took around a group of Chinese people and they all seemed so interested! One of them who gave us his information wrote on the card that he wants to love others how God loves him!! So golden! Again, China is so ready!

     Scott, the little chinese boy who recently got baptized is still so incredible. He has cerebral palsy, but is super smart. He loves the scriptures and listened to the stories from the New Testament in one afternoon and then told us the whole story about Christ walking on water! It was such a miracle and so incredible. He loves this gospel so much and we see that every time we see him! I will attach a picture of him and his family (minus five children). 

     Those are kind of the big events of the week! I love serving here and I am so sorry that this letter is so short! Oh we did get in contact with some people that we haven't been able to reach and they are so golden and ready to learn! So good! This work is so important! It is hard, but so much more than worth it! I love being here and Serving the Lord!!!

     I hope that you all enjoy conference! If you do have anyone that you think could benefit from hearing of this gospel, or just needs a pick-me-up let me know and we can contact them! That is one of the really cool things about Temple Square, we can call people from all over the world and have people who speak many languages so if you know of anyone! Let a Sister missionary know from the temple Square Mission! I love you all and Listen to conference with a question in your heart and I can promise you that it will be answered!!

Love,

Sister Sara Snow

1. My district: Sister Ochoa (Mexico), Sister Ordonez (Honduras), Sister A. Lee (Clifornia), Sister M. Vargas (Spain), Sister Chen (Taiwan), Me.

2. This is part of the Walker family. Five of the children are not in the picture. Scott is the little boy who got baptized, I am sure you recognize him. 

3. For zone activity we went to a football game. It was so much fun! Kinda cold, but a good American experience! 

There Are No Coincidences 9/26/13

September 26, 2013

Hello To All,

     I hope that everyone is doing well. This week has been great! Yeah just like every other week! But it is just so amazing here that I can't get over it. I know that the Lord hears and answers all of our prayers, but He does in His way and His timing. But this week was great. We have really been praying hard that we would find and come in contact with those people who have been prepared by the Lord and that we would know what to say to them. We had three Mandarin tours, one right after the other!  It was so crazy because we were at the right place at the right time, just ending one tour and ready to start another one! The Lord definitely made it that way because there are absolutely no coincidences! 

     So then after we were done with the third tour a man came and asked if he could find out more about what we believe in. We were going to give him a tour but we just ended up staying where we were and talked about Joseph Smith and the Book of Mormon. It was so amazing and he was so receptive and understood a lot what we were talking about. He ended up wanting a Book of Mormon, and I also gave him our number so that he could call whenever he had questions or wanted to learn more. So golden. 

     This week we were also able to set one of our investigators on date for baptism! Woot! His name is Brant and he has been in contact with us since before I was out here, but didn't really understand until like the last two weeks of the last transfer. So that is when we learned he likes to smoke marijuana before ready the Book of Mormon to "clear his mind." Yeah so then we talked about the word of wisdom with him and it took a few times, but he understands and has been clean for like a week! It is so great! He is really receptive and so ready to learn and will be meeting with the local missionaries soon. Oh this gospel is so true!

     Well I remember that I spoke of Scott in last weeks letter, and guess what? He got baptized!!! Yay!!! Now the family can prepare to go to the temple all together! It is such a beautiful thing! Oh and crazy thing about the baptism as we were closing the Joseph Smith movie in the Joseph Smith Memorial Building and a Chinese lady wanted a tour. So we took her on one and then we asked her if she wanted to attend the baptism, she said yes! So she came and it was so cool, she then came back to the square the next day. We don't know what will happen next with her, but at least we planted a large seed, and miracles do happen!

     That is all the big news that I can think of right now. Sorry, so much happens in the week and I want to write ALL of it, but I think my letter would take days to write! Haha. The gospel is true. The atonement is real. I love being here and sharing this with so many people everyday. Remember that every member is a missionary and without members, the missionary work can't move forward, we need your help! So please help! I love you all so so much and hope you are all doing great! 

Love, 

     Sister Sara Snow

The first one is Scott with all the missionaries that taught him. Sister Roffler (Switzerland), Me, Sister Chen, Scott, Elder Salmon and Elder Heath. Such a special Day. The second one is with the Sisters (especially Sister Chen) Scott, and Brother Walker, Scott's dad :)

Pictures - 2nd Transfer

Sisters Chen & Snow trying to prepare for a picture.

Sisters Snow, Vargas (Spain), Lee (CA), Chen (Taiwan)

At the Daughters of the Pioneers Museum for Zone Conference

9/19/13 letter

Miracles

Hello to all the Lovely people who get to read my letters  :)

     Where to start... This week has been so incredible. Hard, and rewarding. We take so many people around the square and some people just want to argue and make-fun, but we do get our little miracles. We took around so many interesting people this last week and Sister Chen and I could feel the spirit so strong! It is so fantastic to get those moments. 

     So first of all we took around this group of women monks from Taiwan. So cool. They were here just to learn more about what we believe in and understand the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints a little better. They were so respectful and had such great questions. They really grew to love us and we grew to love them. I didn't understand much of what was going on, but I know the spirit was there. They were so sweet and gave Sister Chen and I cute little charms from their own bags so we could have them with us. It was so cute. They were so real and genuine. 

     Another really great group was a Chinese family who came here from Beijing. The guy who came and ask us specifically to give them a tour was so cool! He had been here a year ago and remembered the spirit that he had felt. He had also received a Book of Mormon the last time and had read the whole thing! He asked us to bring one with us so we could give it to his father. The guy brought his whole family with him! His wife and son, and his parents, and his wife's parents! They all seemed way cool! He also asked us to give him the address to a church building before they went back to Beijing so they could go to church. So golden! They are so ready and prepared. I love seeing people like that. 

     I really do love the Chinese people, they are so ready to hear the gospel. So we were on our way to our Assembly Hall assignment and some sisters called us over because they saw Sister Chen. They told us that there was a group of three Chinese people who wanted a tour, they had been waiting for a while and were ready to leave. So the sisters covered our assignment and we took the tour! They had already been taken around the conference center with a senior couple and they wanted more. So we first took them to the temple model, then they asked how the church got started and wanted to see the Joseph Smith statue, then wanted to see the Christus. They didn't care about the building or the historical facts, they wanted to learn about the gospel and what we believe in and such. It was so amazing and they had such amazing questions. They all also spoke English pretty well, so I could talk with them too. It was just so amazing! Oh and they are here for another week and a half and they all wanted to come back and see us again. They all also got a Book of Mormon (one of them had started reading it in the hotel!!) and gave us their info and wanted us to find them a church near them!! So amazing! The church is so true!!

     Have I mentioned anything about Scott? Well I will again if I have, but it is so amazing. Scott Walker is a 14 year old boy from China. He has Cerebral Palsy and was adopted by a family here in Utah from China a few months ago. This family loves him so so so so so much!!! It is incredible to see all the love that they have for each other, even though there is a language barrier. But they want to be sealed to him because he really is their son and brother! But he has to be baptized first. So Sister Chen and I have actually gotten special permission from our mission president to go to his house to teach him with the elders so that Sister Chen can translate!! It is so amazing to see the change in him and he understands repentance (on an eight year old level, but still!! amazing!!) and eternal families. You can see the love for his family in his eyes and how much he knows he belongs with them and wants to be with them forever, same goes for his parents and sibling wanting to be with him! He is such an inspiration, and although he has only been here for a few months, he understands so much English! It is truly a miracle! Well we actually have his baptismal interview tonight, so if all goes well (which we have faith it will) his baptism will be on Saturday!!! Woot!! So exciting to help a family receive the full blessing of this true gospel of Jesus Christ!!

     Well those are some of the bigger miracles that have happened this past week. We also see little miracles happen everyday. It is so beautiful so see how God prepares His people to hear and learn about the gospel. I love being a helper of this work. I know that it is only through the help of Jesus Christ and my Heavenly Father that I am able to do this work. Without them I would be nothing! It is so important to bring others unto Christ. I love this gospel and Know it is true. I hope you all can share your testimony with someone this week. May you be blessed in all that you do and keep Christ in your thoughts always. I love you all so much!!!

Love always,

     Sister Sara Snow

Picture is of Sister Chen and Myself :)

MTC PICTURES

Sadly, Sister Snow misplaced her camera somewhere between the MTC and her new home near Temple Square, thus losing all the wonderful pictures she had taken at the MTC. Finally, one of her wonderful friends from the MTC who had taken similar pictures e-mailed them to her. Here they are:

Pictures  

August 20, 2013

Sisters deCastro, Fonoifua, Bahr, and Snow at Welfare Square

                                

Sister Fofo teaching how to be gangster

Back to normal, angelic, innocent self

The Lord Prepares Those We Teach  

August 20, 2013

Hello Everyone!!

     I would like to start this letter off with a picture and a story, so here you go :)

   

Front row kneeling left to right: Vargas (Mexico/Texas), Thalussidass (India), Muli (American Samoa/Tonga), Fonoifua (Cali/Tonga), Bardin (Arkansas).

Back row: Sister Creer, me, Pres. Gillette, Bardin (D.C./Northern Virginia), Ben, Elder Frost. 

Sister frost is on the far right and in front of her is Sister Ogata (Japan), behind Ogata is Hvistendahl (Denmark/Greenland), To the left of ogata from our view is Sister Luki (New Zealand) then kinda hidden behind Luki is Sister Osorio (Texas/Columbia), Finally kinda hunched down in Sister de Castro (Brazil)

The black guy in the the middle is Ben. He is from the Dominican Republic. Sister Bahr and Sister de Castro (The sister on the right of him and on the left leaning down) ran into him at the food court in City Creek Mall. He notice Sister de Castro's Brazilian flag and started speaking Portuguese to her. The conversation soon led to him telling them that he wanted to be baptized before he left SLC so they asked him when he left, he said Sunday (they met him on Thursday)! So they said they would see what they could do and set up a time to meet with him the next day. They talked to Pres. Gillette and well they taught Ben all four lessons on Friday, he was interviewed by Elder Frost (husband in one of the senior couples here) and was then baptized on Saturday!! He is the first baptism straight from our mission that no other mission can count that the Temple Square mission has seen in 11 years!! How cool is that! Miracles do happen and the Lord really does prepare those we need to teach, we just need to follow the promptings of the Holy Ghost to be able to find those people. It is so amazing!

     So some other miracles that I have seen this past week came from chat. So we are some of the missionaries that talk to people who go onto the chat feature through mormon.org. It is really neat. Sometimes we get get antis, and pranksters, but we also do get people who are really interested in learning more about the gospel. So one day we had this guy come on, his name is James. He is living in Thailand, but is from London. He talked to me a little about how he knew someone name Boyd K. Packer and asked if I knew who that was. So I told him, Yeah!! He is one of the 12 apostles! How he kinda knew him was that his dad was the car mechanic for the missionaries and the church leaders who came through that area in London!  So great! He likes to talk to the Elders in his area, but doesn't see them very often on the Island that he lives on, and he said that we tend to give better answers than the Elders. Haha. So I got his contact information and will be emailing him and maybe calling him to teach him more. Its so incredible the people we meet and how they have heard about the gospel.

     So actually at the same time that chat was going on, I met Shannon. She is from Portland Oregon! She came on asking what a YSA ward was. She has been going to church for a couple of months and hasn't met with the missionaries. She know that it is true and just didn't know what to do next. So I told her what a YSA ward was and we continued on talking. Toward the last part of the conversation we were really feeling the spirit! (yes it happens over chat!) The way the conversation was going was great and I gave her the baptismal commitment and she accepted!! All we need to do now is stay in touch and keep teaching her and get her meeting with the local missionaries! It is so amazing! She really is so so prepared!! I am so excited for her and know she is destined for great things! 

     So we had something really cool happen this morning. We had a guest speaker come to talk to us really early in the morning. It was okay that it was early because it was someone super cool and you should all be jealous. lol jk, but really. It was none other that the apostle Jeffery R. Holland!!!!!!!!!! Yeah!!!!!!!! He didn't have time to shake all of our hands today because he had to leave for a meeting with the 12! But he said he will be coming back so that he will be able to shake all of our hands!!! He is so great! He is such a powerful loving speaker and you feel the love radiating from him as soon as he walks in the room. He talked mostly about how we are always missionaries. We are called and when we go home, we aren't really going home. We are to be FOREVER changed and never go back to what we were before our missions!! It was so inspiring. I really love what he said about us. He said, "Don't you ever, ever, ever, underestimate the gift you have to give!  He is so amazing and I love all the apostles we have.Our prophet is the one we need for our days right now. All of those men are called of God and speak God's words. They are so incredible and we should aspire to be like them, but more importantly, we should aspire to be like the Savior. He came to earth to atone for our sins, he died and was resurrected so that we may obtain eternal life. This is the true church restored again on the Earth never to leave. I love my Savior and my Heavenly Father and I know they love me. And they love and care for each and every one of you! You are all great! Write to you next week! Love you!!

Love,

     Sister Sara Snow