Week #22 - January 26th, 2015

Hello Family and Friends(:

Announcing for "Music & The Spoken Word"

Sister Sughroue &
Sister Sindylkova

So yes my new P-day is Monday yayyy! I got a new companion.... nope she isn't Chinese or Asian,.. her name is Sister Sindylkova from the Czech Republic! She is 19 and came right of high school. She is so sweet and a really hardworking missionary. She has been out for about 3 months, Oh and she looks exactly like the girl in the movie "The Bridge to Terebithia" ( I forgot her name)!  I think that the language in Czech is harder than Chinese!  O Hoy means hello! She is still working on learning English, I am a really good teacher (; ....we try to do 3 new words a day. I taught her "cool beans" and "chill dude". She loves saying "cool beans" now.... all the time. So funny.  What did I do.... ahahah. She has such a strong spirit she carries with her and loves missionary work!  We actually just went to lunch with a Professor from BYU who interviewed her about the church in Czech Republic. Her parents joined in secret when it was still communism and are a huge part in helping the church grow over there. The Czech Republic is the most athiest country... Modern Day pioneers, so amazing! 

Saying Good-bye to
Sister Gee &
Sister Tiritilli

So last Wednesday was a wierd day Sister Chen left for Texas and Sister Gee and Sister Tiritilli, my mission big sisters, went home.... a few tears were shed, I will miss them so much. They both were examples to me of amazing missionaries who gave their all to the Lord. They really impacted my mission and helped me see the type of missionary I hope to become. I wouldn't mind if either of them married into my family.... so good thing I have a brother and lots of guy cousins. (; So many good times and many more to come, that is what is so special about the Temple Square Mission we are constantly surrounded by all the missionaries in our mission so we get soooo close.

This transfer should be great one! Sister Sindylkova and I are Member Event Coordinators and are serving at Welfare Square to give tours on Tuesday.... so we get BYU Creamery chocolate milk and cheese(: We are in charge of putting on and organizing the youth conferences here at Temple Square, it is based off the "Living Christ" document and is powerful. 

Update.... I am getting better at basketball we started to all play again in the morning for

Sister Sindylkova & Sister Sughroue

work out, and because we are all from different countries there are a million different rules and ways to play so it is hilarious.  It's more of an ab workout from all the laughing. 

Belgianka and her family are still on date to be baptized this weekend. Her parents have been giving her a hard time about getting baptized lately and she struggles to get to church but is determined to be baptized. She knows this is how she will be the happiest, she reads the Book of Mormon knows it is true and completely understands this is all part of Gods plan for her! She is amazing. 

Saying Good-bye to
Sister Gee

Saying Good-bye to
Sister Tiritilli

We witnessed a change of heart Yesterday. A few weeks ago as we were walking home in a hurry at night, I said hi to this couple in there 20's and just asked if it was their first time at Temple Square, the guy said Yes... because we were in a rush I straight up just asked if he wanted to keep in touch so we could help him learn more about the Gospel of Jesus Christ and he said YES! He has come to the square the past 3 Sundays for us to teach him the lessons. He told us the first time he came he had no intentions to join the church or be baptized and just loves learning about all religions. I asked him what he had been searching for in all these different religions and why he hasn't stuck with one, he said he just wanted to know his purpose! We taught him the plan of salvation and could see that he felt the spirit and really wanted to know if this was true, but he still had this wall up. Last night when we met with him he shared with us that he he is at a difficult place in his life trying decide what kind of life he wants to live and  who he wants to become and he really wants to know if this church is true. He wants to find his faith in Christ and follow him. As he shared this with us the spirit was so strong and I recognized that he has had a change of heart, and because of that he is receptive to the spirit and now prepared to search for the truth! 

The Lord is blessing us with many oppurtunities to share about our Savior Jesus Christ  all the time. At one of our meetings one of the Sisters talked about not going through the mission but letting the mission go through you. I am here for 18 months, I do not want to just go with the flow but really change to become the person my Father in Heaven wants me to be. This is not an easy process but  it is defineitly worth it. I know when we are humble enough to let the Lord direct, guide and change us that is when we can be the happiest and reach our full potential. 

Much Love!

Sister Sughroue

Week #21 - January 16th, 2015

Sister Sughroue & Temple Square Sisters
Hiking Ensign Peak

Sister Tiritilli & Sister Sughroue
Temecula Crew

Well life at Temple Square is just dandy. We are in the last week of this transfer and alot of changes are about to happen! In this mission things are constantly changing.  First off, Sister Chen found out she is going outbound to San Antonio, Texas and leaves next Wednesday, I am going to miss her! I have learned more Chinese and President Poulsen served in Taiwan so he speaks Mandarin. The newest thing she taught me to say was "Hello President, you look pretty". He was impressed.... and laughed and was very grateful for the sincere compliment(:  a haha

Sister Sughroue
Hiking Ensign Peak

They are starting to send sisters outbound earlier so I might go in 6  or 12 weeks.... we will see! But I love it here on Temple Square and Sister Chen! I am going to miss Sister Tiritilli who is about to come home to the rest of you in Temecula :( I get to drive her to the airport though!! Sister Chen has taught me so much this transfer about faith and trusting in the Lord, and that fry sauce fixes everything. Yup, I have never ate so much fry sauce in my life.... if something doesn't have enough flavor she just squirts fry sauce on it... on anything! hahahah it might look strange but it super good. She is so funny. We have  till next Wednesday together so we are gonna finish strong! 

Sister Sughroue & Sister Desjourdy from Quebec

Last P day we went and hiked Ensign Peak as a zone, we basically were trudging through mud the whole way up and slid the way down but it was so much fun! The Sisters in my zone are all such characters. We were singing the Lion King song and trying to get Sister Sonku from South Africa to sing it because that is her language... It was interesting i will send the video! hahaha.

Sister Sughroue's District
Ensign Peak

Belgianka and her family are still on date for the 31st of January! Her parents are originally from Romania and don't speak english very well  and the local missionaries and us do not speak Romanian so we have found a Return missionary from romania that will hopefully be able to help us communicate with her parents better so they can have a better understanding of the Gospel! 

Sister Sughroue's District
Ensign Peak

We have been working with a lot of less actives lately.... a ton. They all have slighty drifted for various reasons and timing but end up at Temple Square. They come to find answers, feel the spirit and actually a lot of them when we ask say they do not know why they came they just felt like they should... and then thats when we say well duhhh thats the spirit! They have lost their way and have lost the happiness that comes from the Gospel of Jesus Christ. But it is amazing to see them begin to recognize that, and they begin to thirst and hunger for the Gospel even more. And come back even stronger, they have felt the absent of the spirit in there life and now they always want it! But it requires change.... which is hard and takes diligent faith and time. Sometimes all of us may feel that we can not change or we often say "that it just the way we are" ( I am guilty of this)... but we can change! The Savior Jesus Christ Atoned for our sins so we can constantly repent and become better and whenever we say that is just the way we are we are denying that gift of repentance which enable us to change....We always need to change and try to become more like our Savior everyday. And no matter what mistakes we have made his arms will be open inviting us to come unto him.  Alma 5:33, "Behold, he sendeth an invitation unto all men, for the arms of mercy are extended towards them, and he saith: Repent, and I will receive you." It is now a goal of mine to never say, " Thats just the way I am" to justify a bad habit or anything! But to accept the invitation of our Savior Jesus Christ and come unto him. 

Sister Chen & Sister Sughroue
Ensign Peak

I might not have p day next week depending if My p day changes for the next transfer so we will see! But I next time I write I will give you an update on all the new changes for the next transfer!

Have a Good week!

Much love! 

Sister Sughroue

Our recent convert Nick sent us this! This shows how inspired Mormon.org chat is and how missionaries at Temple Square are able to work with the local missionaries to help people come unto Christ! I am so glad we were able to continue teaching nick over the phone after he initially came on, I just begin to think of all the thousands who have come onto chat with a similar experience as Nick but we do not know what happened... I know the Lord has provided a way  for those children too and I am positive many of them have entered the waters of baptism as well! 

Nick at his baptism!

Nick's conversion told by His Elder Keefe the one who taught him in the Ukraine! 

 "*Well, I am just amazed with this week and how the Lord has truly blessed my companion and I. We have just come from an amazing last week with our best friend being baptized and already have an amazing investigator who will soon make the commitment to be baptized. And this week the Lord, in His infinite love, sent us yet another one of his prepared children to teach.* *This came with our new investigator. So we first met about 3-4 weeks ago when he came to the church to get a copy of the Book of Mormon for his friend, but he wouldn’t give us his number at the time. We didn’t see him after that until this last Sunday. I saw him walk in and just go sit down in sacrament by himself at the end of the row. He looked a little nervous to be there. So naturally, I decided to go and talk to him and help him feel more welcome at the branch. As I started to talk with him, he started to tell me his story of how he was there today. As he told me, I was blown away by his story of faith and determination. So it turns out he was found through our English class about a year ago and he came every time for a couple weeks as he put it "for the spiritual thought not for the English". He came for a long time, just for those 15 minutes at the end of English when we do our spiritual thought, so he could learn more and feel the spirit.* *But then after a while, he stopped coming and started a year of what he called finding out his desires. He literally spent an entire year researching and deciding if he really wanted to join with our church. Just this last week, he decided to come and join the church. So he first went on mormon.org and chatted with a sister missionary who recommended that he come to church this week and talk to the missionaries here. So that is exactly what he did and right after church we met with him and he shared with us his story. So right then and there we set a baptism date for the 21st of December and set up our action plan to his baptism. And oh was he so happy when he found out that after all this time he could be baptized! Just this whole experience that we had with him really shows me how much the Lord's hand was in his life this past year leading and guiding him to the truth. This whole experience has greatly increased my testimony that the Lord is in every aspect of our lives and all we need to do is to try to find Him and His will in our lives and He will guide us. I pray that we all may seek the Lord's will and do everything in our power to align with it, and become who He has intended we become.I love all of you so much, Have a great week!-Elder Keefe" 

Week #20 - January 9th, 2015

Hiiiiiii, 

To start off the week we had a miracle from fasting! Sister Chen and I fasted for our investigators that they would have a greater desire to be baptized and progress. We got an email from Belgianka and she said that 6 members in her family now want to be baptized on January 31st! She has progressed so much in this past month.. at first she was afraid to be baptized without the support of her family but we have been encouraging her  to move forward in faith and her family will be blessed by her example and follow for a month now!  We had been really emphasizing how important it is for them to pray as a family about being baptized  and now  Belgianka, Stella, Larissa, there two little brothers and sister in law are all preparing for the end of the month! The parents are also learning but are just progressing a little slower. The gospel of Jesus Christ really does bless families! They are about to make the first step by being baptized.... and we have faith that they will one day be sealed together as well! 

South Zone #1 Activity -
Movie night
"Meet the Mormons"

We have been blessed this past week with potential investigators! We were assigned to open and close the movie "Meet the Mormons" last night in the JSMB  and we got there a little early before it got out and met Karissa who was waiting in the lobby with her adorable but loud 3 year old. We just started talking to her found out she wasn't a member but her husbands family is.... she likes the church but it has just never been a priority in their family. She wanted to stay in contact with us so we invited her to come back to Temple Square to bring her family and meet with us. No matter what assignment we have at Temple Square the Lord will always put people in our path. 

O and remember the girl from Haiti who lied to me and told me her brother was the non member and that whole long story.... well we got a hold of her and laughed about the whole thing and we have an appointment with her this week(:

Every week Sister Chen and I have made it a goal to study and work on a Christlike Attribute. This week we are working on Knowledge! I love studying the scriptures! We have been studying the New testament this past week and Sister Chen is so smart so I feel blessed to be her companion I learn something new everyday! We also have had many experiences on the square that have helped us gain a greater understanding of the gospel.

Movie Night
"Meet the Mormons"

Today we are going hiking to Ensign peak as a zone because it is in the 40's so in utah thats warm... then we will eat food of coarse because I am driving.... most likely mexican. 

On Tuesday we went to cheese cake factory to celebrate Sister Richarsons birthday, yes serving at Temple Square has its perks. 

That is pretty much my week! Life is real good when you are preaching the gospel you know to be true and love! 

MUCH LOVE. 

Love,

Sister Sughroue

Week #19 - January 2nd, 2015

Hello!

Sister Sughroue
Last Night of the Lights on Temple Square 2014

Sister Sughroue & Beth Leichty
(Last tie I saw her is when we both
lived in Ames, Iowa and I was 2!)

It was the last week with the lights on at Temple Square!!! So things are really about to slow down, which means we are back to our regular schedule and more online teaching time! I don't mind because it is cold and snowy ahahah. We met some people and when they found out I was from Temecula they freaked out and showed me a picture of the snow you got!!! That's crazy! We got plenty of snow here its so cold.... I think they should turn the reflection pool into an ice skating rink, I know,...genius idea.

We started showing "Meet the Mormons" in the Legacy Theater and on Temple Square today! The missionary department came and gave our whole mission training this week to prepare for it. Again just another amazing tool we have here to help introduce and share the gospel to all the visitors. And no matter where they come from they will be able to relate to at least one of the stories because they are so diverse! 

Christmas Lights on Temple Square 2014

A stake dropped off boxes of Book of Mormons
filled with testimonies and pictures of members
 for us to hand out! when I gave one
to someone this week their heart melted
when they read the sunbeams short,
simple but powerful testimony!

Belgianka is from Ireland and we have been teaching her and I guess her family.... because every time we call her, siblings gather around the phone and we end up talking to them too. Belgianka is 16, her Sisters Stella is 20 and Larrissa is 14. They all want to be baptized on January 31st! So we are helping them get there! They are so amazing and have such a strong desire to be baptized and come closer to Christ. They have progressed so much over the past month, so I have faith they will all be able to reach their goal. They get so excited when we call to teach and we do too! 

Nick's Baptism - Ukraine
December 21st, 2014

Nick's Baptism
Ukraine

Little miracle this week. Short story version.... It was late the other night and we only had 40 minutes left on Square. We had planned to go to the Reflection pool in daily planning the night before... I looked at Sister Chen and said "I must not have been thinking last night it is freezing and we planned to go outside?!" WE walked over there anyways and the crowd was leaving to go home, so we were saying goodnight to everyone. And then 3 college aged peeps came running back up to us and asked us about Heaven. We began to have a really good discussion which led straight into the Plan of Salvation, we took them into South Visitor Center and ended up answering a ton of their questions and giving them a Book of Mormon. Two were baptist one was a mormon, the two baptist said they would read the Book of Mormon to know for themselves and they said they felt good about everything they had learned. They had such sincere to desire to learn more about the fullness of the Gospel of Jesus Christ, I know they felt the Spirit and their hearts were softened.  We will hopefully be keeping in touch with them soon. We may not be able to see what comes of this, but I have faith the Lord will guide their paths, and when they meet missionaries back home they will open the door because of the experience they had at Temple Square. When we got home Sister Chen looked at me and said, "See Sister Sughroue the Lord was just proving you wrong!" She was right, clearly we were led by the Spirit to plan and go to the Reflection pool that night and that time! I know we must be led by the Spirit at all times, especially in daily planning. When we are in tune we will     be able to cross paths with those the Lord has prepared for us to meet and teach!

Dallin & Britt Starr
Sister Sughroue

Darby Maloney & Sister Sughroue

Sister Chen and are having a blast! We continue to work hard and testify all day long. We might not always be able to see the fruits of our labor but that doesn't discourage us. We do our best to plant as many seeds of faith as we can, and even help those that may be weak that come to Temple Square. So grateful for the members who bring their nonmember friends to Temple Square, keep up the member missionary work!

I hope everyone had an amazing New Year! I am so excited to be on my mission this year, I hope to become more like the Savior and the person my Heavenly Father wants me to be. I hope we all can strive to be more like Christ everyday(:

Much Love, 

Sister Sughroue