Ahhh!

I really am struggling to know what to email because this week has just been oh so miraculous! So I'll start with quoting myself from my letter to President today. 

This week was certainly one of the most miraculous I've seen in a while. These miracles are happening not just in Kearney but in all of the areas of these sisters. All of them now have a baptismal set and 4 out of the 5 were a star companionship! We know that it is because we are focusing more on the Book of Mormon that all of these miracles are coming to pass! I have never had more joy in my mission than I do now and I know it is because I am taking the time to notice the miracles and thank my Heavenly Father for them. This work is so rewarding but that is not what motivates me. When I first came on my mission I did it because Heavenly Father wanted me to. Once some time passed I realized my motives for being here was for my family and my future family to have the best chance in the world. Now, it is because I love my Savior and I want to serve him the best that I can!

We are finding new people to teach. The members are giving us referrals. Less-actives are showing up out of nowhere. It's incredible and Kearney is really picking up with missionary work. I hope i can stay here forever!!!!!! :( 

There is a talk in October 2013 GC called Called of Him to Declare His Word and it talks about how when we serve selflessly we will find more joy than ever before and I know that is true. If you are struggling in any way look around you and see how you can lift one of God's children. I promise that service combined with reading the Book of Mormon, Praying and going to Church will get you through anything! I promise to write more next week! I love you all! 

If you are reading along in the Book of Mormon we read through page 45 today. There's still hope :)

Sister Dumont

Following the example of Jesus Christ!

Howdy Y'all,

It sure has been an eventful week, I hope I can say all that I want to! 

I'm gonna start with the best! KAREN WAS BAPTIZED AND CONFIRMED! It was so stinking great! She was so ready and is on fire. She shared her testimony at the baptism and is was so sweet. She is going to make a huge difference in the Kearney area. The Elders are already recruiting her for team-ups and she wants everyone to feel how she does. Karen once asked what we get for getting a baptism and we told her "blessings!" and she said, "not even a Bucky Beaver badge?" So she made one for us!

I was all sorts of sick this week, it's amazing how Satan tries to do anything he can to stop the work. After zone conference on tuesday, a bunch of missionaries had some stomach issues on Wednesday (Sister Smith and I included). Then Friday I thought i was having really bad allergies but it ended up being a cold or something. I think i'm getting over it....maybe. 

Zone conference was so amazing. We are really making a push to inviting all to read from the Book of Mormon. 

*Starting today we are reading 5 pages a day until Dec 8th to read the whole thing before Christmas and I want to invite all of you to do that!*

I know the BOM is the most correct of any book on earth. The reason we read it daily is to be more converted to the gospel of Jesus Christ. I am so thankful for the many prophets and people who sacrificed that we could have this great book. 

 I love you all so much! Keep on reading :) Let me know if you'll be joining the mission to read the BOM by Dec 8th !

Sister Dumont 

400 days of.....

400 days of a mission! We've been on the mission for 400 days, can you believe that? We won't talk about how many that leaves us with...

How was y'alls week? 

This week was so....great and crazy and busy. 

So Monday night sister Smith and I get a call from the TP sisters (Sister Call and Sister Nelson) saying that they got my letter and they wanted to know when we would be at the trail center the next day with Karen. We set it all up so that Sister Call could surprise her :) Muahahaha! It was so funny because on the way to Omaha Karen said, "Last night as I was laying down I realized we should have set something up with Sister Call and have her meet us there." She tried to pick up on our facial expressions but we have such good poker faces, she couldn't :) haha 

So many miracles happened on Tuesday at the Trail Center...where do I begin? I guess with the beginning: 

1. Karen's mom came with us so that was a blast. She is the cutest, funniest thing I've ever known. 

2. We were in the front taking pictures when we first got there and guess who pulls up? Sister Case and Sister Mahlstede! I never thought I would see Sister Case again until after the mission (she is now a trail center sister, aka perfect for her!) The cool thing is that they were only there for a few minutes. Lucky Ducky

3. Karen hadn't told her mom that she was getting baptized yet and so she thought this would be a good way to "break the news to her." Half-way through the tour she got a copy of the Book of Mormon and gave it to her mom and invited her to read it. She then told her the news and her mom was so happy she high fived us :) haha I guess you could say she took it well. Nancy, her mom, had so many great questions and it was really fun teaching her about all the pioneer stuff. She is really interested in family history. 

4. As we were walking over to the pioneer cemetery a big 15 passenger van with a trailer pulled up. They had 2 bingham miner stickers on it and I immediately guessed that it was the Christensens. We walked over to the Cemetery and I kept my eye on them. As soon as I saw the mom I realized I was correct, it was them. WHAT ARE THE CHANCES? Karen reminded me that it's all Heavenly Father....duh! After we looked at the cemetery and temple we went back over to the TC and I went and found them. I only really know the twins, Emily and Elise. I found Elise and it turns out she is just going home from her mission in Kentucky. Her family had picked her up a week ago and they were heading back. Emily is on a mission in Canada. I was in the Riverton children's choir with them, we golfed together in high school, and our cousins are married. It was so cool to talk with her about her mission for a minute.

Ahhh so much to say so little time. 

Well Karen passed her baptismal interview although they played a trick on us saying she wasn't ready.....So Thursday August 21st is the big day! 

I love you all so much! This work is they work of the Lord's so we can't fail. 

Sister Dumont 

Staying in Kearney

Sister Smith and I were only slightly worried that I would get transferred but alas, I did not! 

We had another crazy busy week with another one to come. 

I HAVE TO BE CAREFUL WHAT I SAY ABOUT KAREN NOW BECAUSE SHE FOUND MY BLOG ;) Love you Karen! 

We had quite the adventure at Karen's this week. We went out to her house to put up corn (she wouldn't let us help). Oh the skills you learn on a mission in Nebraska! haha anyway, we were just chattin away, sharing nursing stories and such. She had received a few warnings on her phone about a thunder storm...pretty normal for these parts. Well, all of the sudden we she got a call from her neighbor asking about the storm. She hangs up the phone and tells us we have to leave. She straight up kicks us out of her house! haha How rude ;) just kidding, it was good reason because we walk outside and there was lightening going every which way!!! Driving home we prayed so hard and we were only slightly scared (maybe a little more). We made it home safe, don't worry. 

Our investigator Leslie asked the question this week about crosses and if we wear them and stuff like that. Well I don't know if my mom ever remembers me asking this question but I do. I have never forgotten the reason my mom told me. She said, "If I were to die in a car accident, you wouldn't wear a car wheel around your neck. We don't wear crosses because we remember Christ for the life he lived and his resurrection."  "Yea, and they did obey and observe to perform every word of command with exactness; yea, and even according to their faith it was done unto them; and I did remember the words which they said unto me that their mothers had taught them." 

How grateful I am for a mother who taught be in the ways of the Lord :) 

I love you all and hope you have a great week! 

Sister Dumont

I love coney dogs

Sister Muasau and both the elders left :(

Time Flies when....

I'm not sure how it's possible but it's August of 2014, if you were wondering. 

Last Monday we got to play volleyball all day again and have a bbq. I love being able to play sports :) 

On Tuesday I got to do exchanges with the one and only......SISTER CASE. I just love her! We did the most awesome service ever! It was a lot of physical labor but it was so much fun. We helped another church organization move hundreds of huge bags of clothing to one big trailer. We had to stack them and climb and throw. It was a blast! 

We may have had way to much fun....oh well "When ye are in the service of your fellow beings ye are only in the service of your God" :)

Friday we had MLT (mission leadership training with district leaders) in Omaha. Our car is over miles so we drove it all the way to Omaha and got a different one. It just so happened that we got to take over the Tranquility Park sisters car which meant.....I GOT TO SEE SISTER CALL! Gaul, I miss that sister so much. I got to meet the sister she is training as well. 

"... therefore Alma did rejoice exceedingly to see his brethren; and what added more to his joy, they were still his brethren in the Lord; yea, and they had waxed strong in the knowledge of the truth; for they were men of a sound understanding and they had searched the scriptures diligently,

that they might know the word of God."

True Story! 

Also we found the Chick-Fil-a in Bellivue! That was the biggest of all tender mercies! I haven't had chick-fil-a since the airport on our way from Minnesota to Omaha when that nice pilot bought us all chicken sandwiches. I was so stinking excited. I'll have to send the video home because it's a little ridiculous :) 

Karen is as good as ever. She came to church yesterday and just LOVED fast and testimony meeting. She said we were in trouble for not telling her it was a no makeup kind of day (tears). She felt the spirit so strong. She was telling everyone she's getting baptized on the 21st! We couldn't be more excited. 

I love you all. I hope you know that I am not the same person I was a year ago and that is because of the atonement of Jesus Christ. If we let it, the Book of Mormon can allow us to have "a might change of heart." Let the spirit work in you until the perfect day when we are like our savior. 

Have a great week! 

Sister Dumont

Family History

On Tuesday I read the talk "Live True to the Faith" from General conference and it prompted me to read some conversion stories I had printed a few months ago. I read Warren Ford Reynolds and he bore a powerful testimony at the end of his life "Warren Ford Reynolds' last advice to his family was to tell them to carry on and remain steadfast in the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints, for that is the only way that we can all be together forever.  Work hard in finding and redeeming your ancestors who are anxiously waiting for you to do their work for them.  Get the spirit of genealogy and do all in your power to further it.  Time is short and there are many many of your ancestors who are waiting for the time to come when their work is done in the temples; something that they cannot do for themselves.  To all of the family who have served missions, we are grateful, for had it not been for the missionaries who brought the message of the Church to me things would have been different.  To you who have lost loved ones, do not grieve for they are all right and are working as hard on their side of the veil as they did when they were with you.  Warren died July 10th 1900 in South Cottonwood and was buried in the Murray City Cemetery." How cool is that! Plus, I don't think there is a coincidence that I entered the MTC the same day he passed away 113 years previous! I felt really connected to him this week!

Sister Snider asked us what we wanted this week for dinner and we said Ice Cream.....so she delivered. Haha after our chili and cornbread she busted out 6 cartons of Ice cream! YUMMY!

Sister Smith and I have been in Ne for one year (Thursday 24th) so we celebrated. 

Karen is officially getting baptized on August 21st!!! She is doing so well and has overcome many trials of her faith. 

It was kinda a slowish last couple of days but this week was a great faith building for us here in Kearney. We are having good experiences and will be able to share with the sisters in our stewardship. One in particular: we didn't have a new investigator Sunday night at 8:50. We were on a way home from a member's home who lived about 5 miles out of town. We couldn't tell if we would have time still or not to try and find someone. Well, Heavenly Father knew we had someone to find and so he made it possible for us to hit EVERY SINGLE GREEN LIGHT. This NEVER happens. We wanted to try a potential but she said evenings weren't good so we decided to go to her apartment complex and knock on one door. We had 3 minutes left and as we pulled in, we saw a man driving a remote control car. We looked at each other and said, "That's the one!" We were able to teach about how families can be together forever, gave him a Book of Mormon, and prayed with him. He said we could come back and teach his family on Thursday! 

I love you all so much! Do your family history and learn from your ancestors! Have a great week!

Love Sister D

It's the Good Life!

I LOVE BEING A MISSIONARY! 

It's not always the easiest or the most fun. We're

not always smiling and happy but......IT IS SO WORTH IT!

Here are some highlights from the week:

We played volleyball last pday and it rocked! I love it and miss playing sports a lot. Luckily, the missionaries here like to play :) 

Tuesday night Karen and John had us over for dinner. Now I'm not sure if I've said this before but they are big fishers. Like, they are OBSESSED with fishing and eating it and all things fish. So they had us over for a Fish Fry and boy was it good. I've never really been a big fish fan but this was delicious! We had such a great time getting to know John more. We shared our stories of why we came on a mission with them and it was fun to hear their reactions. 

Us 4 Kearney sisters sang at zone conference. I played guitar (borrowed from Brother Price) and we sang "Did you think to pray?" it was so much fun and I love singing with these sisters. 

A less-active family showed up to church last week and we met with them on Wednesday. They have a 9 year old daughter who hasn't been baptized but wants to so we are going to start teaching her :) Yay!

Jose (la member) invited his friend over for a lesson we were going to teach him. She became a new investigator and we are beginning to teach her. She knows and believes a lot of the same things we do :) 

Saturday was the pioneer day activity and we got to sing and play dressed as pioneers :) iT was a grand old time. Then Sister Smith and I went to the Robinson's farm to help them in their garden. Their cousin from Denmark is there for a year and so we got to know her better and she helped us shovel manure. She taught us some Danish...strange language that one is. We had so much fun all laughing and shoveling..... :)

Our favorite visitor from England! She demanded we sing songs about flowers and then did a ballet dance for us :) 

Oh...and KAREN CAME TO CHRUCH FOR THE FIRST TIME :) This is a big step! 

El Sker Dig (pronounced: el skeh di Means I love you in Danish)

Have a great week!!!!

Sister Dumont