i love to see the temple

Chicago Illinois Temple

Just got back from the temple! We went with Sister Miller 

(Bishop Miller's wife- who's been coming to lessons with us.) 

It was one of the most sacred experiences.....We were able to do Everything.

There was a sweet girl there doing baptisms who had just been baptized on Saturday. 

She was doing her Mom's work. Wow. 

& One of the paintings on the walls was the girl in the flower garden. 

The same picture that was on the front of my very first journal from Maga (grandma). 

I LOVE MY FAMILY. 

FAMILIA FOREVER.

I wish I had more time to write... & also to read your emails!

Talk to you next week!

Steadfast and Immovable in Christ!

Love, 

Sister Osmond 

Baptism!!

Bob was Baptized!

I have been waiting for this week my entire life.

The gospel changes human nature.

Before Bob was Brother Schaber... he would always say,

"It's just really hard for me because I have to see things to believe them.That's just the way I am!"

Fast Forward to Sunday school yesterday: "At first I was questionable, so I took the time to study and pray for myself. Now I KNOW that this is the the Truth and the Restored gospel of Jesus Christ on the Earth today."   

My heart exploded with Joy as I watched him enter into the baptismal font.

Words cannot describe the Spirit of Love that was in that room.

President and Sister Cutler were there along with so many investigators!

After the Baptism, the family that Brother Schaber lives with said they wanted us to go to lunch with them and explain the significance of what their "Uncle Bobby" had just done!

So there we were... at the Family Buffet- teaching the gospel. :)

ps: The cornbread was Yum-ola!

Church yesterday was mind-blowing.

Sister Westra and I didn't sit together for all 3 hours of church because there were so many investigators, people coming back to church, and part-member families!

The gospel principles class was packed. The Elders taught about the Restoration.

Brother Schaber shared his testimony with penetrating conviction and the room went still, and everyone felt the power of the Spirit testifying of truth.

It was an incredible blessing to those who brought their families to that class. Those who love the gospel want those they love to know it's absolutely true for themselves.  

I know that this gospel is true.

It is Christ's church on the Earth today preparatory to the second coming.

People have been prepared and are flocking to the truth! I know that we have a prophet today who leads and guides us because he has been given the priesthood authority of God to do so.

I know that I don't have to go through life alone- 

I have family, friends, and a Heavenly Father who Loves me and will strengthen me if I turn to Him. 

I know that Jesus Christ is my Savior. I love Him. 

I know that it is through His Atonement that I may Live! 

I can progress and feel peace in my life & I know this applies to every single person. 

Heavenly Father Loves you. & wants to help you.

I am so grateful for my testimony and I pray everyday that it continues to grow.

Steadfast & Immovable in Christ!

Love, 

Sister Osmond

Also: I'm going to the Chicago TEMPLE next week! wow. wow. wow.

We can only go every 6 months if we are serving nearby. So some missionaries don't ever go! & even though Sister Westra was 2 weeks shy of 6 months- It's what she wanted more than anything before going home... so basically we have the Best Mission President Ever. Ah! I can't wait.

Ps. Because of Memorial Day (prime proselyting time- families are together) P-Day has been moved to Tuesday! The day I am going to the temple. AH! :) We still have to write President so I will email but I don't know how much time I will have!

Sister Osmond & Sister Cutler

Noodles & Co.

Danielle

The District!

Mother's Day

Ode to Mom!

"Motherhood is the Highest Holiest service to be assumed by mankind."

Motherhood is a Sacred work and you are beyond QUALIFIED Mom.

The reason why Motherhood can be difficult at times is because YOU change generations.

My Mother leaves people and places better than she found them! 

You are an incredibly influential woman.

You are light.

You have changed my life. I am a part of you.

& because of you and your example and for the 19 years of preparation (preparing me both physically and spiritually) and your unconditional and unwavering LOVE- you are now changing people's lives here in Wisconsin.

You are a representative of Jesus Christ. People recognize that. You are the reason why I am who I am. You really do... Love All, Serve All. 

You teach your children because you walk your talk.

& You have the purest heart!

Thank you. Those two words can not be repeated enough or with enough magnitude.

I am sending enough hugs and kisses to last 15 months. You are the strongest person I know.

ALSO: You looked absolutely STUNNING yesterday! I was like- THAT'S MY MOM!

I LOVE YOU. I LOVE YOU. I LOVE YOU.

100,000,000x more than I love Pepper.

Love, 

Sophia

ps: I hope you had the BEST MOTHERS DAY EVER!

& I hope you had Martinelli's!!

pps: I see "The Black Pearl" everywhere lately. We have passed at least 4 of them...

It's a little reminder that you aren't far away at all! :)

Keep calm and Carpool on!  ha ha!

You are a SuperMOM!!!

Optimist Park

When I go to my happy place... this is it! Optismist Park!

Menomonee Falls Optismist Club sponsors everything here.

It's a great little reminder that Heavenly Father is taking care of us! 

When we took this picture: Bob had just told us that he broke the word of wisdom. He had beer after hearing some really bad news at the bank.

We were devestated. (He had just passed the baptismal interview with our District leader 3 days prior and was so excited to be baptized.) The Adversary didn't waste any time in trying to bring him down!   

We decided to postpone our "contacting" plans and visit Bob instead.

As we talked in the driveway- big, tough, Harley-riding Bob burst into tears.

Our Confidence in the Atonement of Jesus Christ brought the spirit immediatley.

Bob laughed and said, "Ok... You can stop that!"

We were confused. "Stop what?" we said.

"The sun came out right when you said it's all going to work out!"

We told him- we knew it would.

Through the Atonement of Jesus Christ we can become cleansed from the feelings of guilt and pain caused by past mistakes... and MOVE FORWARD!

My analogy of threshold potential and action potential in Neutrons came in handy. haha

Bob was an engineer for Harley-Davidson and in the Military for 10 years and knows just about everything about everything... so we had him explain action potential to us and then said: "That's like the gospel! You have to be at your lowest point before you can be at your highest. During threshold potential, it's center is unsure. But once it "chooses" the positive center (Christ), it's energy level spikes higher than ever!" 

*Notice the word Potential. It's all up to us.

(That has been a major theme this week for me.)

Agency is one of the greatest gifts our Heavenly Father has given us. To be able to choose and act for yourself is such a divine privelege. When we align our will with God's- we have more freedom!

We are like the Neutrons... we must choose our center. If our center is Christ, we will be filled with Light.

It's a simple formula!

(but we as humans forget so easily, REMEMBER!

Helaman 5:12--- "Remember, Remember that it is upon the rock of our Redeemer, who is Christ, the Son of God, that ye must build your foundation; that when the devil shall send forth his mighty winds, yea, his shafts in the whirlwind, yea, when all his hail and his mighty storm shall beat upon you, it shall have no power over you to drag you down to the gulf of misery and endless wo, because of the rock upon which ye are built, which is a sure foundation, a foundation whereon if men build they cannot fall.")

BOOM!

I know those things are True!

Mini and Miraculous Miracles happen every day.

Something as small as the Sun coming out to remind Bob of the love Heavenly Father has for him was all it took to restore "The Hope of God's Light." <----- This talk by President Uctdorf is incredible and really helped me this week when I felt the darkness of the Adversary working hard on me- I know that as we Choose to follow Jesus Christ, the Light within us is unquenchable!

At the end of the day, we are all daughters and sons of God-

with Limitless Divine Potential.

Steadfast & Immovable in Christ!

Love, 

Sister Osmond

Optimist Park

Press Forward

First of all... I don't think any of you understand what your emails meant to me this morning! :) 

I just felt such LOVE! ah! Thank you. really. I don't know how other missionaries do it without supportive families. Dad, Mom, Zak, Wyatt, Bella- thank you so much for praying for me to have the strength to endure and endure well! Even though this last week was hard, I am learning so much so fast!! I've been praying like crazy.  I know the Lord hears and answers my prayers because I have had so much strength this week! Physical strength is not an issue anymore-how amazing is that! I have been drinking lots of water and we have been making so many green smoothies!!  Sister Thurner in our ward- out of the blue- bought us groceries. Spinach, bananas, frozen fruit, wheat bread, chia seeds, etc. It was an incredible blessing...and I didn't even realize it... until right now... as i am typing... that it was a DIRECT answer to prayer...to help my health! woah!!!! So blessed!! Only NOW it's my mental strength!! haha! Having confidence in the Lord and not yourself. Well, I've realized they contradict each other.  I need to remember that in the strength of the Lord we can do all things.  I have been doubting myself BIG TIME & the adversary knows if you start to doubt yourself-then you doubt your ability to help others!! My missionary scripture has never meant so much to me. 

Wherefore, ye must press forward with a steadfastness in Christ, having a perfect brightness of hope, and a love of God and of all men.  Wherefore, if ye shall press forward, feasting upon the word of Christ and endure to the end, behold, thus saith the Father: Ye shall have eternal life.

(2 Nephi 31:20)

So...."press forward"...  I emailed Lily back just barely and told her the same advice I needed to hear myself. If you have a testimony- you can teach! They will not so much remember the things you said but how they felt. The teaching skills will come.

I know this needed to be my first area. I needed to just be thrown into a place where there was so much happening- I am gaining a ton of experience! You only learn by doing right?!

The zone leaders are in our ward now!! I'm telling you! Things in the Lake Michigan Ward are BOOMING!. We taught 5 lessons with a member present yesterday alone!! So this was the rundown of our Sunday: we had ward council at 7:30, then church (so many investigators were able to come! you have only the time in between class to get appointments set up and thank you notes passed out and everyone ushered to their next class! haha it's pretty insane!) then we had coordination meeting with the new missionaries (zone leaders) and Brother Cook and the Bishop joined us too.

Bishop and Brother cook were in tears.

Bishop miller said, "I have never felt this way about missionary work- not in 40 years." (he is a convert)

Brother Hirstbrunner- a ward missionary said, "We have the Best Missionaries, right here, right now. We need to do everything we can to invite others to come unto Christ!"

(definitely not US, but the role of "the missionaries"- because I sat there thinking... YEAH! that's true. there's so much to be done! Not even including myself in the equation.) Then Brother Cook said, "I just feel this overwhelming sense of urgency. It's evident that everyone else is feeling it too. I just wake up in the middle of the night thinking about missionary work and even if we were to have 100 lessons taught this next week- I would still say- ok this week shoot for 110!" 

Then he turned and said to the Zone Leaders-- "The way we do missionary work in this ward will make you better leaders & fathers & better in everything...This is the first Sunday of the rest of your lives!" haha! Brother Cook is so good at his dramatic, pump-up, go team! speeches. So grateful to have him as a ward mission leader  

All in All the work is progressing. Even with my weaknesses! huh- funny how that works out! :) The Lord is helping me to overcome those weaknesses and I have really felt of his love for me and for the people we taught this week.  

THANK YOU SO MUCH FOR ALL OF THE ADVICE, PACKAGES, LOVE, FUNNY STORIES, UPDATES- THE WHOLE SHABANG!

Steadfast & Immovable in Christ

Love,

Sister Osmond