Do not Fear. Have Faith!

Heeeeey y'all !

First, sorry about the hectic emails.  For some reason I can't access my contacts while writing emails on the MTC computers but I will sort it out once I get to the field. So, for today, I just click the letter on the keyboard and select all the names that are under it and then move to the next letter of the alphabet… hahha so sorry if you get this email how many times or if someone misses out!

Anyways, to the exciting things! This week was so amazing! I've absolutely loved it! It’s so crazy to think that this time next week I am going to be in Sydney! Crazy right? The time has flown by so fast!

I am going to miss my sisters here so much; I’m bracing myself for the tears hhaha. All of us that are called to Australia leave on Wednesday. My flight is at 7am so I have to be at the airport at like 5am or something so that will be lots of fun waking up even earlier than usual hahhaha.

My companion Sister Koy and I have had some really amazing visits with our investigators this week. Our investigator named Fu'e was baptised five years ago but then his wife left. She was one of the main reasons why he was baptised so then he went less active. We started visiting him at the end of last week and my companion and I have both improved heaps in our teaching skills.  Our teacher said that if we can improve this much in the three weeks that we've been here in the MTC then just imagine how much  we can improve in the 18 months that we are in the mission field. I love my companion! When we first started teaching she was really quiet and so I was doing the majority of the talking - which i didn't like hahhahhaha and so over the last week her confidence and her boldness to speak has increased so much! I am so grateful for her - she is going to be such an amazing missionary and Sydney north is so lucky to have her!

Yesterday, we went to the Temple, and honestly it was amazing! I always feel the spirit when I go to the temple, but yesterday the spirit was so strong! and I definitely received answers to questions that I have had. I'm so grateful for the temple! If you have the chance to go to the temple whether it be for a visit to see the temple or the visitor's centre, or to go in and do temple work, I invite you to go! The feelings of comfort and peace that you receive are like no other.

On Wednesday the MTC missionaries had the opportunity to go out proselyting with field missionaries in the Auckland Mission. I loved my companion. Her name is Sister Kaio and she's from Sydney South so she was giving me some scoops. We went to visit three of their investigators but none of them were home, so we went door knocking. The first house we went to was Oscar's house! He is so cool! He was home by himself so we just stood outside and were talking to him about missionaries and what we do and shared about the Book of Mormon. He said he wasn't interested in reading the Book of Mormon but we left a pass along card with him. He then started telling us all about his family, his wife Peta, his daughter who is 11 and his son who is 8 years old. He told us about his job and that he paints.

There was this massive painting in the living room right behind him so I asked if he painted it and he said no!! He said that his son and daughter painted it. Honestly it was so amazing. He said that he would get them to do a painting for me and bring it over to the flat (which is right across the street from his house). I was so gutted because I obviously wouldn't be home to get it hahhaha because I would return to the MTC.  So hopefully Sister Kaio's companion will like the painting on my behalf.  The awesome part about this is that as we were standing there I had this reassuring feeling come over me that Oscar and his family would be baptised. As we left his house I told Sister Kaio - you need to keep visiting them. I know they are going to accept the gospel. She told me that she will do her best and I've been praying for them every day since. Door knocking is fun; Sister Kaio was shocked that I was talking and doing the knocking because she said most of the time the new sisters she knows do not like to talk or knock.

In 2 Timothy 1:7 it says "for god hath not given us the spirit of fear; but of power, and of love, and of a sound mind".  I love sharing this with my friends who have gone on their missions and it's so awesome that I get to apply it to my missionary work as well. I know that fear does not come from Heavenly Father; it is something that the adversary tries to make us feel to keep us from accomplishing that which is good. Fear is a word of no action. When you fear it keeps you from doing things - for me if I had fear it would keep me from speaking to others, from sharing my testimony, from leaving my family for 18 months so that other families can be with theirs for eternity.

I know that Heavenly Father does not give us fear. We have faith. Faith is a word of action - to act and not be acted upon.  He gives us power, love and a sound mind - the power to be able to speak up and speak out to those around me so that they may know of the restored gospel of Jesus Christ.  To speak and share my testimony that I know that the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints is the only true church upon this earth and  it is only through and by our Saviour Jesus Christ that we may be cleansed of our sins and one day have the opportunity to live with him and our Heavenly Father again.

He gives me the spirit of love - to love my companion, to love my sisters in my district and zone, to love my Mission President, to love the people that I will be serving for the next 18 months, He gives me the spirit of love - to love him and Jesus Christ even more.  As my love for my Heavenly Father and Jesus Christ increase my love for my brothers and sisters increases too. The spirit of a sound mind - I know that while I am away from my family they will be looked after - they will be blessed for the time that I am away and for me that is one of the greatest blessings.

I know too that as I am obedient that I will have a sound mind that my companion and I will always be safe too. This scripture though short, has so many applications to my life.  I invite you to read this scripture and see how you can relate it to your life and your situation. Do not fear. Have Faith! Have faith so that through all your experiences you may be able to grow and become the person that Heavenly Father sent you here to become!

I love you all so much!

Sister Roos xx (: (: