Happy Pioneer Day- July 23, 2015

Hellooooo! 

It feels like it has been a month since I last wrote!

One of our investigators was baptized last Saturday  it was a joyous day. 

We had another neat experience with fasting this week, with one of our investigators. I won't go into detail, but in his time of darkness, our friend turned himself towards Christ to seek His light, and found it. It was beautiful. We read Mark 9 together... You know, "Lord, I believe. Help thou mine unbelief"? Then we fasted. During the next 24 hours he played a lot of scripture roulette, and repeatedly found himself reading Mosiah 7:33, and felt that God was speaking to him through the scriptures (God does that sometimes... He's good like that).

I've learned more phrases in other languages, and this has quickly become one of my favorite hobbies. The Sisters here have been very patient with teaching me :) One of these days I'll get to throw down some Mandarin to a motor coach- more than just hello, how are you, thank you, and I love you haha. 

We get to watch the Pioneer Day Parade tomorrow, which I guess is a really big deal here in Salt Lake? Five years in Provo, you'd think I would know about these kind of things. It's fun to be able to share with visitors about WHY the early saints were wiling to make the sacrifices they did. Yep, all things here on the Square point to the Savior. It's not like it's His church or anything... 

Ah we met this amazing man this week who recently found out he's got about 6 months to live. So he's out checking things off his bucket list. It was cool to hear him talk about his love for the Savior, and the respect he has for God's chosen Prophet and Apostles. He even said if someone offered him $100,000 or to shake the Prophet's hand, he'd rather meet President Monson. He was just a good guy. Definitely made me consider what my priorities are. 

Sister Lytle and I got to take this amazing tour the other day. A lot depends on the people and their questions, but wow, the Spirit was ridiculously strong the whole time, and we just got to testify. At the end every one of them wanted a copy of the Book of Mormon. It just felt good, you know? When you can feel the Spirit teaching, and you hear words coming out of your mouth that are not your own. 

Mom and Dad, and Sarah and Scott :) this might sound crazy, but I know God didn't want me to see you last week, for whatever reason. Because if He did, I would have. Like when I saw Sarah. Also, those Sisters you talked with were none other than the APs. Any other sisters probably would have called me. And I was in the same building, at the same time you were. So. There are no accidents. But I love you all and I'm glad you got to go to the concert, I heard it was amazing. As was your concert the night before, Sarah Bear. I'm bummed I missed that. 

Dad, it sounds like you are very busy in the work of the Lord, I love it. Keep finding those opportunities to teach. 

Thank you Sarah for sending Nana and Papa's conversion story. I LOVED reading it- I didn't know a lot of the details, and it was fun to read. 

I'M STILL WAITING FOR SOME OF YOU *COUGH BROTHERS COUGH* TO HELP ME WITH MY PROJECT BUT WHATEVER I GUESS IT'S JUST NOT THAT IMPORTANT TO YOU. AND AT THE RISK OF SOUNDING REPETITIVE, PLEASE WRITE TO ME AND TELL ME 1- WHY YOU WENT ON A MISSION AND 2- WHY YOU STAYED. THANK YOU THANK YOU LITTLE NUGGETS. SHAUN THAT MEANS YOU, TOO.

Alright all you little children of God. I love you all. Remember to thank Heavenly Father for your blessings. If you look for His hand in your life, I promise, you will see it- EVERYWHERE. He is in the details. Jesus Christ is our Savior- turn yourselves to Him, and you will find peace.

Make good. Choose happiness.

Love always, Sister Chamberlin

P.S. Thank you mama for the love :) and boys, be safe this weekend! I'm a little jealous I don't get to come on your adventure on the sea!

Thursday, July 16, 2015 Hello!! All is well at Temple Square!

Hello!! All is well at Temple Square! 

So much has happened this week, and most of the truly incredible experiences were very personal, and only my journal is privy to that kind of sensitive information. Every day is so long, it's hard to keep track, but I'll try to hit the highlights. 

President Packer's funeral was beautiful. The Spirit was so strong, and there was just SO much love in the room. Of course,  "Where there is love, there is sadness at parting," but there was also so much hope, and peace, and joy to be felt. I loved that Elder Ballard thanked Sister Packer for encouraging Elder Packer not to call the other Quorum members before 5am... reminded me of some very early morning phone calls I've received from my own father... *cough cough* 5 is too early *cough cough* But seriously though, such a beautiful tribute to an amazing and faithful disciple of Christ. 

So, the rumors are true. Once a year the Temple Square sisters get to go to the Brighton Girls Camp where we do purpose driven activities (like ropes course type things) and do processing and evaluating afterwards. It wasn't all just fun and games. It felt weird being on the receiving end of it. But it was nice to have a couple hours to be in the mountains. I did have the opportunity to repel... like 20 feet haha but for a pansy like me who is still overcoming her fear of heights, it was plenty challenging. 

This week has been a little different for me, in that I got to be a part of a Russian tour, and an Italian tour (with an American companion, we typically stick to English... it's the only language we're both fluent in). It was fun! The sister who actually speaks the language translates a ton, and I just got to bear testimony about why temples are important, or why I chose to serve a mission, or why reading the Book of Mormon is so important, and why I am so grateful for my Savior. 

Sister Lytle spoke in Sacrament Meeting on Sunday. She was awesome, as expected. She shared a "silly" story about Archie and the Apple Tree (she called it "just a silly little story" like 7 or 8 times before she would actually tell the story), and basically everyone and their dog wanted a copy of it afterwards. They didn't even know there were such fun pictures to go with it! It was all about faith and patience. So good. Very few dry eyes in the room when she sat down. There must have been something in the air, like tear gas or something... Jokes jokes only jokes, she invited the spirit with her personal story of patience, and it was so beautiful.

Ah okay! So there is this AMAZING man who has been working as a volunteer at the Humanitarian Center for the last 6 years. He is 87, and just has the sharpest mind. He shared this BEAUTIFUL poem, from memory, with Sister Lytle and me, about how we are not the houses (bodies) we live in. It's basically about growing old, but I am so in love with the idea that we are more than our bodies. And he is such a good man.

Okay. So a little follow up to the iPad miracle of last week. Elder Moore, one of our full-time senior missionaries, shared with us Matthew 14 after we told him about finding the iPad. He focused on verses 24 and 25, and told us we have a "fourth watch God." A God who always comes, but in the fourth watch... So Sister Lytle and I talked about that a lot this week, and in sharing some of our personal stories, it's just been cool to see how everyone's "fourth watch" is different. For me, it was after five years of being "tossed with waves." Anyways. Just some food for thought.

We've met some really incredible people this week. Some who have just been so obviously prepared to receive the Gospel of Christ. It is such an exhilarating experience to feel the Spirit teaching people as you speak with them. Ah and I'm just so excited that we get to continue teaching them and watch them progress in the Gospel!

God is so so good. Make good and choose happiness ya hooligans!

Love, Sister Chamberlin

P.S. To those of you who did NOT write to me about 1) why you went on a mission and 2) why you stayed, I am very disappointed in you. Do not procrastinate the day of your repentance, and help a sista out with her project- write it out and send it. It will be good for you to remember it for yourself. Okay thanks. 

Bekah's Pictures

Help!

(Hi family---Bekah just got her Pday moved from Monday to Thursday and since she already wrote this week she thought she would just sent this request to you.) 

Hey all you friends and family whom I love so so so dearly. I have a request  from those of you who have served missions. Please write me, answering 2 questions. First, why'd you go? and second, why'd you stay?

PLEASE AND THANK YOU! Blessings in heaven for those who come through for me :) and maybe some delicious treat-style blessings in this life?

rebekah.chamberlin@myldsmail.net

Sister Rebekah Chamberlin

Temple Square Mission

50 N West Temple St BVSC

Salt Lake Sity, UT 84150 

I'm not the Baby Anymore!

Shout out to Dre and Ben on getting ENGAGED! (Way to be romantic and sneaky, Bents, I approve) I'll be there in spirit. :)

Well, I officially have one transfer under my belt. Can I get a whoop whoop? For reals though, it's nice to not be the baby anymore.

The Bee's game was a riot. And we did get to celebrate the 4th with some J Dawgs. And it's possible I peeked at the fireworks in the distance, but no one will ever know for sure. 

We went to the Dentist this week for Sister Lytle. She's so prideful we had to drag her there kicking and screaming. She kept calling him "Dentist." We'll probably be returning this week because her face hurts. 

I won't be at the Humanitarian Center this transfer :( but we get to do Guest Services, so that will be fun to learn. I've got some experience on the phone, I think it'll be just breezy. Oh, and I will have Pday on Thursdays... so if I don't write in three days, you'll hear from me NEXT week :)

I get to keep Sister Lytle for 6 more weeks before she goes home to St. Geezy. We are looking forward to letting the good times roll, if you know what I mean. She's gonna come visit y'all in CA before I get home so show her a good time will ya? I have learned so much from this little nugget. She is for sure one of my little angels from God. 

We will be attending President Boyd K. Packer's funeral this Friday. The timing of his passing presented an interesting opportunity to explain to guests why our flag was at half mast on "Murica's birthday, and such an EASY transition into the Restoration of the Priesthood, and how we have Prophets and Apostles today. I'm preparing myself for another week of, "Why can't we go inside the Tabernacle? We came all this way and we don't even get to see the organ??" ... at least, that's what happened during preparations for Elder Perry's funeral. We shall see what's in store. 

So many miracles this week. First of all, our investigator that invited his friend to church two Sundays ago? And then he started meeting with the missionaries? Ain't no thing, he's just getting baptized next month. We're so pumped for him, and for our boy who got to experience first hand the joys of sharing the Gospel with his buddies :)

We met a woman this week who is just... ridiculously awesome. She has changed her life so much, striving to be a better mother and wife. She was feeling pressure to be baptized before she was ready, so we got to just talk with her about the process of repentance, and changing, and turning ourselves towards Christ. It was such a cool conversation, because she doesn't just want to change her behaviors, but she's trying to have a real change of heart. She told us that, "all sin starts with a thought," which I just loved, because sometimes it feels like we can't control our thoughts, but it is VITAL to do so. She also told us that, "The measure of a man is his self control," which AGAIN I loved. I don't know. She's just amazing, and it's cool to see her work hard to understand Christ's doctrine.

Sister Lytle and I had a pretty spectacular experience on Saturday evening when we started our fast together. So, Sister Lytle's iPad had been missing for about 10 days by that time. We had it for companion study one evening, and left in on the couch to go to bed, and the next morning we went to take it to the Square and it was gone. Neither of us felt too anxious about it, because it had to be somewhere in the house. But over the next week or so we scoured the apartment thoroughly, moving furniture and deep cleaning. We even checked under our mattresses and in our clothing hampers. We asked our roommates (several times) and we just could not find it. We may or may not have begun to suspect the worst. Ten days of praying and searching. SO, the night we began our fast, I was praying and told God that we knew it was kind of a trivial matter, but we'd been looking for this iPad for a while now, and we just wanted to know what had happened to it- because if it HAD been stolen, it needed to be replaced. I told Him that we were at a loss, but we knew that HE knew where it was, so if He wanted to let us in on that information, we would be so grateful. No sooner had I closed the prayer than Sister Lytle looks at me and says, "Follow me, I have an idea." So I followed her into the living room, and she says, "I know we've checked here a thousand times, but let's just look once more." So we moved the couch and the iPad was just sitting there all innocently. I couldn't even believe it. It wasn't like we checked anywhere else, we went straight to exactly where it was. It was amazing. We kinda started freaking out with excitement and our roommates came out to see what the fuss was about, and I just held the iPad high and declared, "God lives!" haha it was a joyous moment. God really does care about His children, even our little trivial issues. Fasting and praying. I'll tell you what, that stuffs legit. 

We have this amazing investigator who will be baptized this month, she just has finish the lessons. She is SO SO GOOD.  We told her we'd all cruise down to visit her after our missions.

So, this week Sister Lytle and I have focused a lot of our studies on God's Grace, wanting to understand it for ourselves, and also so that we could teach it simply. We get a lot of antis on the Square that ask about it, and accuse us of thinking we can "earn our way to heaven". We've loved talks from Brad Wilcox and President Uchtdorf. And Alma 26:20-22. It's been a neat experience, and all I can say is God wants so much more for us than just to be saved. 

I love you all so much. God is SO real. Jesus Christ is our Savior. Because of Him, I get to become something so much greater than I could have ever imagined. The Priesthood authority is back on the earth, and we are so blessed to live in this time. 

Family, I love you. Let's spend eternity together, yes?

Make good and choose happiness, you hooligans.

Love always, Sister Chamberlin

P.S. I don't just love you to the moon and back, but through a wormhole at the end of our galaxy, and it's still going out... who knows when it will return?? Shout out to Brother Lytle, you've got wisdom beyond your years ;)

P.P.S. Thank you for writing me, humans. I love hearing from you all :)

Sister Lytle at the Dentist --- All smiles