Humbled. 10/27/2015

( Sister Innes wrote a day late on Tuesday. )

Hello familia!

How is everyone doing?! Sorry for the late email. We had interviews with President Stoker! I love that man, It was well worth waiting a day for my preparation day.

Well, my time is short today but I just wanted to really just express my gratitude for my mission. This week I have done alot of reflecting on how much I have learned so far on my mission. Me and President were talking about how when I came out I was so shy...but now I can talk to anyone! Its a miracle really. I have come to know how much my Heavenly Father truly loves not just me..but every single person on this Earth! He is so loving. Even when I continue to make mistakes, he is so patient and kind. 

This week we had some cool miracles. One being, Sister Jeffrey coming to church! I was so happy :) she said that she loves it and wants to continue coming! 

I'm so sorry I have little time, but I truly have just felt the happiness that comes from forgetting about yourself and serving others. Nothing better! I will write more next week, I promise.

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

Love, Sister Innes

:) 10/19/2015

Hello people!

How is everyone doing?! Well it has been a very great week, a quick
one at that. I wanted to apologize for my lame email last week...we
had a meeting in Manchester and we were rushing to get things done! I
promise today's will be better :)

Well, like I said I studied a lot about faith last week and I realized
how much fear I was letting Satan make me feel in different aspects of
the work so..I decided I was going to strive to exercise my faith more
to strengthen it. Monday we went to the grocery store to do our
shopping and before we went in I said a little prayer in my heart that
I would be able to invite the cashier to learn about the restored
gospel...so we get shopping and I honestly kind of forgot about the
prayer even as we were in line waiting to check out. When we got up to
the cashier he immediately mentioned our name tags and started asking
us about what we were doing...and I was just in awe because people
don't usually do that here...so we got talking and I was given the
opportunity to invite him and he almost said no but then he said,
"yeah I might be interested." So we gave him our card and went on our
way! But, my testimony is that Heavenly Father knows our hearts. He
knows our righteous desires and if we have faith that He will help us
and ask for His Help we will literally see miracles big and...small
right before our eyes manifesting His love and power to us.

Tuesday we had an amazing missionary leadership meeting...did I tell
you that I love President and Sister Stoker? Well, I sure do. I always
feel like I'm going home whenever I go to the mission home. Well, we
were taught some pretty amazing things from President and some of the
other missionaries. I loved all of it and felt like it was all just
for me! Haha funny how that always happens :) President taught us from
D&C 52:14-19 about patterns and how they keep us from being deceived
by Satan. The verses talk about how we must pray and be obedient to
our ordinances but also that we must be CONTRITE. I loved how
President explained contrite as humbly desiring to repent and striving
to become better. In verse 19 it says that we will be able to
distinguish the spirits and we will know when Satan is trying to
deceive us. I have really been contemplating this and realized that i
truly am more susceptible to Satans lies when I'm not praying as I
should and striving to be obedient. Satan is real and he desires to
"sift us as wheat" but I know if we follow the patterns that Heavenly
Father has given us we will have greater strength to do what's right
and not be deceived! It was a great day and I learned so much...I am
so blessed. We had a 4 hour drive back to Bangor that night which we
spent a majority of singing hymns together with the missionaries in
our van. Can I just tell you that I was in Heaven!! It was such a
sweet experience to feel the spirit from the missionaries in the car
as we sang together..:)

Wednesday we were asked to go sing to an elderly lady in our ward who
has been on dialysis for quite a while and they have now taken her
off...she absolutely loves music! We sang some of her favorite hymns
but the first one we sang was," I Am A Child Of God" and the spirit
was so strong in that room. I could feel Father's love for her...and I
know everyone else in the room did too....We also had an awesome
lesson with a sweet member in the ward. She grew up in the ward but
has been in and out of the church her whole life. We started teaching
the message of the restoration to see where she was at but the spirit
took the lesson to family history some how. She expressed a desire to
go to the temple and do the work for her family members who hadn't had
a chance to accept the gospel. There is a video we have been sharing
with lots of people about family history work that I love and one of
the men in the video says, "redeeming the dead has redeemed me!" And I
think that statement is just so applicable. There is a special spirit
that comes when we do work for those family members who can't do it
for themselves, it leads us to put our lives in line so that we can be
with them forever. So...we committed her to prepare to go back to the
temple! She is so sincere and I know she wants to...I am excited to
see the miracles that will take place in her life as she acts on the
amazing faith that she has!

Wednesday night we exchanged with the Waterville sisters and yes I got
to go back to Waterville!! I was SO excited I felt like I little kid
on Christmas. I got to see some people who I just came to absolutely
love...and I'm sorry to those I didn't get to see! We will meet again
:) it was such a great day, I suddenly felt like I was a young
missionary again! Who am I kidding, I always feel that way...I don't
think it will ever change!

We our preparing for Elder Nielson from the missionary department to
come tour our mission in November and in preparation for that he gave
us some things to study...I started my studies yesterday and wow I am
so excited. The first talk I read was by Elder Bednar and it is all
about the enabling power of the atonement of Jesus Christ. In it he
says, "Most of us clearly understand that the Atonement is for
sinners. I am not so sure, however, that we know and understand that
the Atonement is also for saints--for good men and women who are
obedient, worthy, and conscientious and who are striving to become
better and serve more faithfully. We may mistakenly believe we must
make the journey from good to better and become a saint all by
ourselves, through sheer grit, willpower, and discipline, and with our
obviously limited capacities." But He goes on to say that, "The
enabling power of the Atonement of Christ strengthens us to do things
we could never do on our own." Sometimes we as Children of God we have
righteous desires and we want to do what's right but we literally
can't due to some sort of weakness we our facing whether it just be
fatigue or something more serious that we struggle with emotionally or
mentally. Heavenly Father knows! He knows us perfectly and he does not
want us to think we have to do it on our own...that's why we have our
Savior. I've come to see and know that most people our doing their
best amid their personal circumstances and I also know that through
the atoning sacrifice of our savior we can be given the strength to do
all that is asked of us...all we must do is ask and have faith! He
will not take our weaknesses away but he will give us the strength to
bear them and eventually overcome them. I saw it as we taught our
investigator last night who has such a strong desire to be baptized
but struggles with lots of different things. As we taught her about
this enabling power it was amazing to see the change in her to where
she was SO EXCITED ago be baptized!! We prayed together about a
baptismal date and Sister Poisson will be baptized on December 5th! I
love that girl, she is so strong.

Well, I will stop blabbing! I love you all so much. I know Jesus
Christ is our Savior. His love is one that makes me feel like I am the
only person in the room. I know He knows us personally...He suffered
for us personally. As we rely on Him and his power He will help us to
do the impossible. His church has been restored and we are apart of
truly "a marvelous work". I got a glimpse of the pure charity Jesus
Christ has this week...we taught a lot of lessons this week but we
also had some disappointments...at one point I wanted to just crawl up
in a little ball and never give my heart to anyone because I was tired
of it being stepped on by people who just didn't understand. But then
I was reminded of how Jesus Loved all people, even those who
misunderstood him and didn't believe Him when He told them He was the
Son of God. He knew His purpose and He fulfilled it even when others
didn't quite understand why...so I and striving to follow His example.
He is my best friend and my mentor. I love my Savior.

Have a great week! :)

Love, Sister Innes

Faith brings miracles! 10/12/2015

Hello family and friends!!!

How is everyone doing? I hope you are all having a great week :) the
weather is beautiful here!


This week has been an amazing one full of miracles! 

Tuesday taught a lesson to some members we are working with on how the Sabbath day is a delight along with the theme in General Conference! I just love and believe that If we keep the Sabbath Day holy it will help us to be in the world but not of the world and help us to remember what really matters throughout the rest of the week. It was a really good lesson and they committed to keep the sabbath day holy! Well guess who came to Church?! Yes they did! She bore her testimony along with her sweet niece :) Her niece said, "I love when the sister missionaries visit!" It was such an awesome day because the other member who we have been working with came as well I was soooo happy :) 

This week we also had a goal to get 7 return appointments and we really wanted to reach it, well we only got 6 but we found a new girl to teach because of it! She is such a sweetheart. She let us right in and was just so open about everything. I feel like she has been prepared to be taught..it was a sweet miracle to meet her. 

We also had a lesson with one of our other investigators and we read through the story of the Brother of Jared and how it was his faith that gave him light to make it through the storms of the sea and make it to the promised land. We compared it to real life and how when we have faith and keep the commandments that that provides light for us to make it through the storms of life and make it safely home to Heavenly Father. I love love love that story. I have been studying a lot about faith in Jesus Christ and love how that was a huge theme in General Conference and just going back to the basics. I love how Elder Anderson said, "Faith is not by chance, but by choice." Our decisions everyday will either give us more light or less light and it effects how well we are able to bear the storm of this life. I know that if we center our lives on Jesus Christ and have faith in Him we will make it safely home to our Father in Heaven. 

I love you all so much and hope you have a fantastic week! I'm off to Manchester! :) 

Love, Sister Innes

This is the bishops wife. She's reminds me of my mom:):) she was a music teacher. 

Dad, this is the place where linkers canoe was made! 

Fall is in the air!!!

Sweet sweet Miracles! 10/5/2015

Hello family and friends!!

This week we saw some more great miracles :)

Tuesday we had some things scheduled but it all fell through and we were so low on miles but we felt we should stop by a referral we had received who we hadn't been able to find home...well we still couldnt find her home. So, we prayed and felt we should tract her street. Well we weren't having any luck until we came to this trailer that, honestly, gave me the heebee geebees and I was hesitant but Sister Eddington just walked right up and knocked on the door. Out comes this guy...and I instantly judged him (I'm still human but we are working on it) but as we got talking to him I could feel my love for him growing and it was the weirdest thing, I forgot I had prayed for charity that morning, but Heavenly Father helped me to see him as He did and I felt this desire to just give him everything I had!... but it was a little too early for that so we shared the #Becauseofhim video and the spirit was strong! Well the man agreed to have us back...it was a sweet little miracle and I just wanted time to stop. We also found another man who agreed to have us back too!

Tuesday night we planned for our day and we had a really great day

planned  but when Wednesday came around everything had fallen through again and it was POURING! So, we felt we should try visiting a woman we hadn't met yet ...but it turns out she is nonexistent... Well, we kept getting this prompting that we should visit a potential investigator who lived really close. When we got there she immediately let us in out of the rain and she happened to have two friends over too! They let us sit down on their couch and we got to know all of them and their different beliefs...well one thing turned into the next and we were sharing the Book of Mormon with them!! She is so intelligent. As we explained the background of the Book she said that totally makes sense because of.....(insert really intelligent comment that I can't remember) But It was amazing to see the little lightbulb go on in her head and how the spirit worked in each of them and gave them the desire to have us back! We are going back tonight, so stay tuned :) 

Thursday I got to go on exchanges with Sister Craig! Surprise!  Everything fell through except for our lesson with Sister Becky. What an amazing person she is! I just have so much love for her, its unreal. We had planned to teach about the atonement but felt we should read through 3 Nephi 11 with her. As we got to the verses where Jesus Christ arrives I asked my favorite question, "How do you think it would feel to be there?" Her response was kind of like mine, "Amazing and horrifying all at the same time." But as we kept talking I felt prompted to share a sweet experience I had with my Savior.- I was studying another chapter in 3 Nephi when he blesses the children and heals the sick. As I was pondering I had this sweet image of Jesus standing in front of me with His arms open wide beckoning me to come.. and as I came he enveloped me in his arms...And as I stood there is His arms I felt complete peace and love....and for a second everything was ok. As I shared this with her the spirit was so thick! I felt His love once again. We discussed that all the simple things we are told to do (church, prayer, reading) help us to come to know our Savior and strengthen that relationship with Him. After all, that is all that really matters. She agreed to come to church and I am just so happy for her :)

Among other miracles, we were prompted to stop by some who were mourning a death of a loved one, humans and cats... But what I learned this week is that sometimes it seems that all is lost and we don't really know what to do, but I found that sometimes Heavenly Father has something else planned. As we listen and follow the promptings of the Holy Ghost he will lead us to greater things and we will see miracles!! 

I wish I had more time but I will share my thoughts on conference next week! It was like Christmas to say the least :) I loved it all! I hope you enjoyed it too. Send me what you liked the most!

I love you all, have a great week and share the gospel! <3

Love, Sister Innes

Fun week!

Give Him your ❤️. 9/28/2015

Hello people that I love!!

This week was really great! Heavenly father taught me a lot this week.
He taught me what it means to love him and to give my heart to Him.

Tuesday me and Sister Eddington were asked to sing at the funeral of a
sweet girl who just recently passed away in our ward. She was only 20
years old with a whole life ahead of her! But Heavenly Father called
her home...he needed her! We sang, "Families Can Be Together Forever"
and oh man was that hard but it was a sweet experience. Before we sang
Bishop Degrasse spoke on the plan of salvation and I was already
bawling...so when we got up to sing I was worried I wouldn't be able
to make it through. The spirit was so strong there though throughout
the whole funeral...I was reminded of how short our life is on
earth...but so grateful to know that there is so much after this and
that we WILL be with our Families forever through the beautiful plan
our Heavenly Father has prepared for us!

That afternoon we were able to meet with a girl we have been teaching!
She is my age so that was a little different for me, but she is so
sweet!! She was introduced to the church by one of her close friends
from high school who is now attending BYU, so we were able to have her
friend Skype in for the lesson and it was so awesome!!! We read
through the Intro of the Book of Mormon..turns out she has been
reading without us even telling her to! As we read through the intro
she really liked how it said that the Book of Mormon tells us how to
find peace in this life...we testified to her that it would as she
lives by its precepts and then her friend shared a SWEET testimony.
Her friend just returned from her mission recently and she said the
Book of Mormon is what has helped her through the transition and
helped her to see that everything will be ok if she just lives her
life according to its words!! I am here to tell you that you can feel
the spirit through FaceTime. Haha Because man I felt it as she bore
that sweet testimony and my testimony was strengthened in the fact
that the Book of Mormon does bring peace no matter where we are or
what we are doing! As we committed her to read it and pray to know if
it was true the spirit bore witness to me again that it was true. Man
I love being a missionary! I am just so grateful...we had some other
pretty cool experiences this week with people we are working with but
I feel I should share with you what I learned during my studies this
week.

First off, I know that Heavenly Father is aware of us and that we
truly can find guidance and revelation through the Book of Mormon. In
all honesty these last couple weeks have been very hard for me...but I
know it was a trial to learn what I needed to this week. I have
experienced a lot of anxiety than I have ever before in my life due to
many different things but mostly just missionary work in general. As I
was praying I asked Heavenly Father what I needed to work on and what
I got was "sanctification." So I looked up sanctify in the dictionary
and the only thing I found was sanctuary which was defined as a place
where we will be safe and protected. While I was studying I was drawn
to Helaman 3:35 which says, "Nevertheless they did fast and pray oft,
and did wax stronger and stronger in their humility, and firmer and
firmer in the faith of Christ, unto the filling their souls with joy
and consolation, yea, even to the purifying and the sanctification of
their hearts, which sanctification cometh because of their yielding
their hearts unto God." And I looked up the first footnote in 2
Chronicles 30:8 which says, "Now be ye not stiffnecked, as your
fathers were, but yield yourselves unto the Lord, and enter into his
sanctuary, which he hath sanctified for ever: and serve the Lord your
God, that the fierceness of his wrath may turn away from you." And as
I was pondering these verses I realized that the way we truly sanctify
ourselves is by yielding our hearts to God through sincere prayer and
as we do we enter into his sanctuary where we our safe and protected.
The next day I was studying in 3 Nephi 13 and in verses 33 and 34 it
says, "But seek ye first the kingdom of God and his righteousness, and
all these things shall be added unto you.Take therefore no thought for
the morrow, for the morrow shall take thought for the things of
itself." Heavenly Father was just trying to tell me that all I needed
to do was trust Him and I would be safe and I wouldn't be worried or
stressed. When we put him first and give our heart to him we need not
worry because everything will work out how it should...And it all
starts with prayer...prayer is so crucial. In order to give our heart
to him we must pray...and as we do our hearts our changed and our will
becomes His will and our faith is strengthened in our Savior Jesus
Christ and his gospel! And then doing His will becomes a desire and we
know that is the only way to truly live or be happy....any other way
just brings heartache and worry. Give him you heart and all will be
well!!!

I wish I had more time... But, I love you all and hope you have a great week!!!

Love, Sister Innes

This is my only picture for this week, but it explains a lot. Things are changing! I've been wearing boots and scarves and mittens and running the heater at night.