Christ Centered Christmas 12.26.16

Merry Christmas Friends and Family! ❤

I hope you all had a wonderful Christmas. It was such a privilege to be able to partake of the sacrament on Christmas and to remember my Savior. Yesterday was wonderful! Filled with lots of singing. After church, we went caroling with the Hillard Sisters for about two hours. Boy, I love those sisters. They crack me up. We went to the complex for retired senior citizens and they referred us to everyone. We just bounced from house to house it was wonderful to bring Christ into so many homes this Christmas. We also had the privilege FaceTime our wonderful families and how thankful I am for technology to be able to do so. My heart is full for all the love and support this Christmas season. Thank you to all. We then spent the rest of the evening caroling at an assisted living center. I cant explain the joy I felt going from person to person singing about Christ. Christ centered Christmas is just the best. 

We also had a mission day centered in Christ and Christmas alllll day Tuesday. It was wonderful to celebrate the birth of our Savior as a whole mission. (: That night we each received our own Book of Mormon and study journal from our mission President and his wife for Christmas. We are doing a Book of Mormon reading challenge as a mission and will finish March 28th. I love the Book of Mormon!! I chose to study Faith and Endure To The End. There is such a power and learning that enters your soul as you study the Book of Mormon with a purpose. I invite each of you to do so.

A is doing AWESOME. He had his baptismal interview this past week and passed! (We weren't surprised at all). He will be baptized January 7th!! A is such a great example of how the gospel can change lives. 

K and K are great. We have a great experiences with them this week. My favorite was reading 1 Nephi 4 with them. The spirit was so strong as we studied the Book of Mormon with them. The Book of Mormon really does bring a sense of peace, joy, and hope into a home when a family reads it. 

This week S was referred to us who moved into our area. We will meet her for the first time tomorrow. Her baptismal date is this Saturday but due to her just moving here we most likely will postpone it. But we are excited to teach her (: 

And...everyone has heard me talk about my best friend and brother Justin. Long story short, I had the privilege to be there as he took the missionary discussions, spoke at his baptism, watched him get the priesthood, go to the temple for the first time for baptisms and so on. As I served my mission, I was able to read emails of how he was growing in the gospel. On the night of my birthday in May, I received a video from Justin informing me that he would not be home when I got home and that he would be serving his own mission. Last night I said goodbye to Justin and look forward to reading his emails as Elder Olson. To see who he meets and helps come unto Christ. Friends and family, that is what the gospel is all about...helping others come to Christ so that they can help others too. The gospel changes lives I've witnessed it. Let's reach out and share the gospel! No effort is wasted! 

I love the Book of Mormon, I really do. There is power in the Book as we open it up and strive to live the principles within it. I know the Book of Mormon testifies of Christ and invites us to come unto Him. I hope we each take time to set goals on how we can bring Christ more into our lives this new year. Jesus Christ lives. God is Real. In the name of Jesus Christ, amen. Until next Monday, thanks for all the love and support!

Happy New Year, see you all in 2017.

XOXO, 

Sister Detamore 

Merry Christmas

Zone Nativity Pic

It's always a party with Miss Sister Alius  

Sister Hall, Sister Manns, Sister Alius, and I #Caroling

Do We Let The Opportunity To Be The Masters Hands Slip Between Our Fingers Daily? ✨ 12.19.16

 

Friends and Family:

Can you believe how fast time is going by? I can't believe it will be 2017 soon. I'm not quite sure what to think...so for now, I'm going to ignore that it's almost a new year. 

Merry Christmas! I love being able to spend the Christmas season bringing the light, life, and gospel of Jesus Christ into the world. It's such a sacred opportunity to represent the Lord Jesus Christ. To bring others to Him this Christmas season. I hope we each take time to pause and reflect on our Saviors birth. To show gratitude for Him and to Him. 

A is doing wonderful! We reviewed the baptismal interview questions on Saturday and he most likely will be interviewed tomorrow evening! We are very excited for him. We did a lesson at the Spackman’s Saturday night which was a huge tender mercy for me. I did theatre in high school with Brother Spackman AND Sister Spackman’s siblings. I was in Miss West Point Royalty with two of Sister Spackman’s sisters. Brother Spackman’s dad was one of my seminary teachers in high school. It was such a neat experience to teach in their home. 

K and K are great. They are preparing for March 11th to be baptized. They have the cutest 4 kids. This week we took some time to read from the Book of Mormon with them and it was incredible the power and spirit that the Book of Mormon brought into that home. I love the quote " Happiness in family life is most likely to be achieved when founded upon the teachings of the Lord Jesus Christ. Successful marriages and families are established and maintained on principles of faith, prayer, repentance, forgiveness, respect, love, compassion, work, and wholesome recreational activities." I've seen this unfold in my own home. Happiness in a home really does come from being founded on the teachings of Jesus Christ. I'm grateful to be able to teach this family. 

I want to share an experience we had a couple days ago. We were at McDonalds, using the wifi to do some tasks. As we prepared to leave, we saw a 50 yr old man yelling at a 30 yr old woman. We weren't sure what was going on....but had a strong impression to talk them. They separated as we walked out and we asked the woman if she was okay. She didn't talk much and then here was some more arguments between them as we stood there innocently. Next thing we know, she was walking down the street. We could have easily let her go but we decided to follow her. We found her sitting in mulch, up against the wall of a building, tears flowing from her eyes. We sat next to her, waited for her to calm down, and then showed her #LightTheWorld. There was a clip from the video (photo below) that screamed at me....I was sitting in that moment but in a place of the Savior. 

We talked about the video and asked what her story was. She shared with us events in her life that lead her family to become homeless. As we sat and talked to S, a pouring of Heavenly Fathers love for her rushed over me. We shared with her the Book of Mormon, which we found out she had been given a copy awhile back. We wrote down a scripture for her to read and invited her to do so. Before we left, we helped her say a audible prayer to Heavenly Father. It was such a sacred experience for me. I truly felt I was standing in place of the Savior that day. To help her feel a glimpse of Heavenly Fathers and the Saviors love for her. To feel peace amongst the trials. We were given the opportunity to be the Masters hands. What would have happened if we decided to not follow her? To not minister to her, the ONE. Do we, as disciples of Christ, let the opportunity to be the Masters hand slip between our fingers daily? 

My hope is that each of us can recognize, acknowledge, and act upon the opportunities we are given to be the Masters hand each day. We have the opportunity to minister to the ONE. Jesus Christ showed the perfect example of love, compassion, kindness, charity, mercy, forgiveness, humility. I know with every fiber of my soul that we each are given an opportunity daily to minister to someone for the Savior. May we each take time to recognize, acknowledge, and act upon those opportunities. Jesus Christ is my role model. My savior. My brother. I love Him. I'm learning of Him. He lives. He is the reason for the season. I so testify in the name of Jesus Christ, amen. Until next Monday. Thanks for all the love and support.

XOXO,

Sister Detamore

The Gospel Can Bring Light Despite The Weather ❄️ 12.12.16

Friends and Family,

What a marvelous and wonderful week it has been. Every week that goes by, my love for being a missionary just expands. It's definitely December...with snow, cold weather, and putting on many layers but the gospel still can bring light and truth despite the weather. 

Sister Alius and I had an experience our first day back together that I never shared. In Powell, we grew very close to a family. One night in February we all decided to drop off a pan at the members home that they had lend to us (at this time we were in a trio with our lovely Sister Scott❤️). Brother and Sister M weren't home but there son Josh answered the door. Josh was inactive and we didn't really know him but we got to know him while we stood there. Without realizing, we had transitioned into how much our Father in Heaven and Savior love us. He shared a really personal story from his past that showed him that Christ was there for him. Without thinking about it, we simply invited him to church and to partake of the sacrament. He then said, "You know, I was just eating dinner and thinking about how I needed to go to church again." We didn't know Josh was home, we didn't even plan to talk to him but our Father in Heaven knew we would be at the home and knew that we would help build his faith. Sunday came and it was the most precious experience to watch Josh walk into church with his dad. My heart was filled with so much joy to be able to see his dad's eyes fill with tears and love that his son was at church. I can't imagine the joy that our Father in Heaven had to see his son, Josh makes steps of faith and change to come to church. So from there we would teach Josh every Monday night and it continued while I trained Sister Birchett and even continued after I was transferred. Well, flash forward to December 1st as Sister Alius and I were about to leave transfers, we saw Brother M walking up to the temple. With tears in his eyes Brother M, shared that Josh was still progressing and now paying his tithing. What a tender mercy to hear. 

We read 3 Nephi 11 together as a zone at Zone Training Meeting and it was very powerful. The spirit was so strong and hearing the missionaries bare testimony was a sacred opportunity. I feel so privileged to stand side by side with these Warriors and Servants of Christ as we proclaim simple truths. 

A is doing well. We had two great lessons with him in members homes. Tuesday we shared the Light The World video with him while we taught service. We asked him how he would have felt if he was there experiencing those miracles like those who walked with Christ. With tears in his eyes he said, "in a way, I already have." The spirit was so strong. For awhile A was atheist but with personal experiences he has come to believe in God and the Savior. Isn't it wonderful that we too can experience miracles in our lives just like those of old? Saturday we had a lesson at the Bishop’s home and A said he had some questions but bishop answered them through his testimony. It was SO cool. 

We had dinner at our ward mission leaders home yesterday. It was awesome, him and his wife both are return missionaries. In fact, his wife is a convert and was found on OSU campus. (To all my OSU campus missionary friends, keep up the good work! You truly are making a difference). At the end of dinner we asked who we could share the Light The World video with and they invited us to share it with their neighbor K. We went over without any hesitation and K let us right in. We came to discover that her ancestors were pioneers, members of the church, missionaries, and even her great great grandfathers son served as a mission present over the North German Mission for the church. The same simple truths, the Book of Mormon that we were sharing with her....was the same message her ancestors were sharing with others years ago. We could feel the presence of her ancestors in that room with us and it was such a powerful experience. We are excited to share more with K. This experience truly was a testimony to me that the work we do is true and that the individuals on the other side of the veil are very involved. 

Family and friends, I know how true this gospel is. I know the light and joy it brings. We each can find our purpose on this earth as we turn to the Savior, understand His gospel, and LIVE His gospel. There is power in righteous doing. The Book of Mormon is true. Jesus Christ lives. I testify in the name of Jesus Christ, amen. Until next Monday. Thanks for all the love and support!

XOXO-

Sister Detamore

Recent Convert, Erika. We love her.

Harriet Malone. Our dear 101 1/2 yr old best friend.

Zone Pic #LightTheWorld 

YWs of our ward. We taught them yesterday.

 

Deja Vu Anyone? 12.5.16

Well, it's been a few couple crazy days. Why? I'm BACK WITH SISTER ALIUS. That's right folks. 6 weeks in Powell, Ohio in February wasn't long enough so we get another 6 weeks together but in a cute place called Marble Cliff. I feel like I'm living Deja Vu every day and it's been SO much fun. Sister Alius goes home at the end of this transfer so I'll be in mission terms..."killing" her. How thankful I am to be able to learn and grow from her example again.

(Good news is: the Sister that Sister Birchett trained is now training a sister. In mission terms I am now a great grandma. I'm old. )

Marble Cliff Ward is wonderful. The Columbus Ohio Temple is in our area. It's absolutely wonderful. We basically cover Columbus but we also have a little village called Marble Cliff, Grandview Heights, and Upper Arlington. If I had to describe this area in a nutshell (besides Upper Arlington), I'd say it's like good ole' Ogden, Utah. 

A is just golden. He is definitely a kingdom builder. He is preparing to be baptized January 7th. It's crazy how prepared he is. We text him and asked him to read Mosiah 13 in preparation for our lesson on the Ten Commandments and he text back, "Great, I read that chapter the other day. I'm excited to discuss the Ten Commandments." He loves the Book of Mormon and no matter how busy his schedule is, he reads it everyday. He is constantly receiving answers to his prayers and it's because he is committed. 

Yesterday, we had the opportunity to be in a trio for the day with Sister Hill. She was supposed to go home Friday but extended her mission for 3 days so that she could go to the temple on Saturday with two different converts of her. It was such a fun experience and she actually served in this area a year ago. She felt inspired to follow up on a family she had taught and we had a great experience meeting K, K, and their four kids. We are so excited to be able to teach them tomorrow! We took Sister Hill back to the mission home last night and had the opportunity to watch the Christmas Devotional at the mission home. There was such a sweet spirit there and my testimony of the Savior deepened. It also was a tender mercy because Sister Slater (one of my greatest mission friends) who went home in march was visiting and watch the Devotional with us!  

We met a less active of the church this weekend who was kind to us but didn't want his kids to have any contact with Mormons or even religion in general. My heart completely broke and I almost couldn't hold back the tears. There is so much hope, love, and joy that comes into the home as we allow our Savior to be there. I spent a lot of time pondering my home that was, thanks to my incredible parents, based on the teachings of Christ. How thankful I am to have grown up with the teachings of Christ. There was a sense of belonging and peace that I haven't found anywhere else but the restored gospel. I wondered what can I do to have a Christ-Centered home one day...how I can make my home a holy place. It's the gospel and practicing living the gospel principles in the home. I love the quote "By striving to make our homes peaceful places where we can feel the influence of the Spirit, we can help ourselves and our families to be more Christ-like." We can become more like Christ as we allow our home to be filled with spirit by living gospel principles. 

I know without a shadow of a doubt that this gospel brings such a great sense of peace, hope, love, and belonging in a home. It is the ONLY way to make a home a safe haven; especially in the world we live in today. Let us each strive to develop stronger relationships and spiritual strength in our homes by practicing the gospel principles. I know the Book of Mormon is true and was given to us by a loving Father in Heaven. The Book of Mormon testifies of our Savior Jesus Christ. Jesus Christ is the reason for this season. In the sacred name of Jesus Christ, amen. Until next week, love you all..thank you for all the love and support!

XOXO,

Sister Detamore