tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-64094302540658726802024-02-19T04:10:14.870-08:00Sister Snyder's Mission BlogSister Snyder's adventures while serving in the Texas, San Antonio Mission.Serena Snyderhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/12084815879888090486noreply@blogger.comBlogger56125tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6409430254065872680.post-6659473106864735732016-01-26T20:16:00.003-08:002016-01-26T20:16:59.583-08:00Speak of the Savior<span style="font-family: Helvetica;">Hello everyone!</span><br style="font-family: Helvetica;" /><br style="font-family: Helvetica;" /><span style="font-family: Helvetica;">I hope that all is well wherever you may be!</span><br style="font-family: Helvetica;" /><br style="font-family: Helvetica;" /><span style="font-family: Helvetica;">By no means do I mean to dwell on this, but on Saturday, I hit my 18 </span><span style="font-family: Helvetica;">month mark. I have experienced the most incredible and most important </span><span style="font-family: Helvetica;">18 months of my life. I have learned things that I simply would never </span><span style="font-family: Helvetica;">have known. I have grown to love God first and to apply the atoning </span><span style="font-family: Helvetica;">blood of Christ. There is so much that God has allowed me to learn, </span><span style="font-family: Helvetica;">love, feel, and experience, and I am so grateful for that. I have one </span><span style="font-family: Helvetica;">week left to give everything in me, and I am so excited to do it!</span><br style="font-family: Helvetica;" /><br style="font-family: Helvetica;" /><span style="font-family: Helvetica;">We have had another beautiful week here in Palo Alto! The </span><span style="font-family: Helvetica;">investigators are doing so well! One of them, Becky, got engaged to a </span><span style="font-family: Helvetica;">member of our branch on Monday night right after our lesson with her. </span><span style="font-family: Helvetica;">So fun! And the less active work continues to go so well! I love all </span><span style="font-family: Helvetica;">of these people here so much and I really admire their humility. They </span><span style="font-family: Helvetica;">are so willing to put aside anything and everything to change and </span><span style="font-family: Helvetica;">return to Christ.</span><br style="font-family: Helvetica;" /><br style="font-family: Helvetica;" /><span style="font-family: Helvetica;">Yesterday we had a really neat experience on Lackland Air Force Base. </span><span style="font-family: Helvetica;">We have some YSAs that live on base that attend the branch there, and </span><span style="font-family: Helvetica;">we have been wanting to go to their service to try and meet some of </span><span style="font-family: Helvetica;">these people. The elders in our district are assigned to that branch </span><span style="font-family: Helvetica;">as well as their ward, so they have base passes that they use each </span><span style="font-family: Helvetica;">week, but we don't. So we figured it out and had a sister whose </span><span style="font-family: Helvetica;">husband is in the branch presidency come meet us at the gate so that </span><span style="font-family: Helvetica;">we could get on with her pass. So we drove to the gate with the </span><span style="font-family: Helvetica;">elders, Sister Fullam and I got into the sister's car, and we let the </span><span style="font-family: Helvetica;">elders go through first. Right as we're going through, we saw the </span><span style="font-family: Helvetica;">elders turn around and go out the other way. We called them, and their </span><span style="font-family: Helvetica;">passes had expired! So although it was our first time, it was up to us </span><span style="font-family: Helvetica;">to teach any of the trainees who wanted to hear about the gospel! It </span><span style="font-family: Helvetica;">was such a miracle that it worked out this way! We got to help the </span><span style="font-family: Helvetica;">senior couples with some paperwork, answer some questions, have </span><span style="font-family: Helvetica;">sacrament with them, and then anyone who wanted to know more came to a </span><span style="font-family: Helvetica;">classroom with us and some other trainee members and we got to teach </span><span style="font-family: Helvetica;">the Restoration to about 20 men and let me tell you, it was powerful. </span><span style="font-family: Helvetica;">Many of them had great questions, and sharing the First Vision brought </span><span style="font-family: Helvetica;">the spirit so strongly. Many of them asked for copies of the Book of </span><span style="font-family: Helvetica;">Mormon after the class. It was such a neat experience to be on base </span><span style="font-family: Helvetica;">yesterday, to teach such humble people, and to see how God's hand was </span><span style="font-family: Helvetica;">in this allowing for His work to go forth.</span><br style="font-family: Helvetica;" /><br style="font-family: Helvetica;" /><span style="font-family: Helvetica;">This week we had the worldwide missionary broadcast, and it was </span><span style="font-family: Helvetica;">incredible. The Brethren truly are inspired of God and it increased my </span><span style="font-family: Helvetica;">passion to TEACH REPENTANCE AND BAPTIZE CONVERTS, to always be focused </span><span style="font-family: Helvetica;">on my purpose, to turn outward, to love others more, to be obedient, </span><span style="font-family: Helvetica;">and to talk of Christ ALWAYS. There is so, so much that we learned, </span><span style="font-family: Helvetica;">but one of my favorite things was from Elder Andersen. He said:</span><br style="font-family: Helvetica;" /><br style="font-family: Helvetica;" /><span style="font-family: Helvetica;">“I know you talk to everyone who will listen to you. Wherever you </span><span style="font-family: Helvetica;">are—in a bus, on the street, in a teaching situation, or in a home </span><span style="font-family: Helvetica;">with a member, if you are ever unsure of what to say, speak of the </span><span style="font-family: Helvetica;">Savior. Testify of Him. Speak of His doctrine, of faith in Him and His </span><span style="font-family: Helvetica;">Atonement, repentance, baptism, the gift of the Holy Ghost, and </span><span style="font-family: Helvetica;">enduring to the end. This is your purpose. This is your charge.”</span><br style="font-family: Helvetica;" /><br style="font-family: Helvetica;" /><span style="font-family: Helvetica;">I love this so much, because isn't this the purpose and charge of </span><span style="font-family: Helvetica;">every single one of us? We have made that covenant, we have crossed </span><span style="font-family: Helvetica;">the line, and what a blessing and privilege it is to testify and speak </span><span style="font-family: Helvetica;">of the Savior!</span><br style="font-family: Helvetica;" /><br style="font-family: Helvetica;" /><span style="font-family: Helvetica;">He lives. He loves us. He allows us to change. He forgives us. He is </span><span style="font-family: Helvetica;">our Savior. Through Him, nothing is impossible.</span><br style="font-family: Helvetica;" /><br style="font-family: Helvetica;" /><span style="font-family: Helvetica;">I love y'all so much! Have an incredible week!</span><br style="font-family: Helvetica;" /><br style="font-family: Helvetica;" /><span style="font-family: Helvetica;">Love always,</span><br style="font-family: Helvetica;" /><br style="font-family: Helvetica;" /><span style="font-family: Helvetica;">Sister Snyder</span><br style="font-family: Helvetica;" /><br style="font-family: Helvetica;" /><span style="font-family: Helvetica;">Sent from my iPad</span><br />
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<span style="font-family: Helvetica;"> The best book ever.</span><br />
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<span style="font-family: Helvetica;"><br /></span>Serena Snyderhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/12084815879888090486noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6409430254065872680.post-3590072640877862402016-01-20T17:21:00.001-08:002016-01-20T17:21:12.703-08:00"So, as much as in me is, I am ready to preach the gospel..."<div style="font-family: Helvetica;">
Hello sweet friends and family!<div>
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How is everyone doing? I hope that everyone had a great week! And mom, I hope you had a wonderful birthday!</div>
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Things here are going amazing! Palo Alto is incredible, we had exchanges on Friday-Saturday, we got to spend time down in Pleasanton, I met a pet pig named Tamale, and we saw miracles. I always say it, but I wish that each of you could be here with me or step into my mind and experience what we do as we study and prepare and go out and talk to and meet with people. I have truly learned how to love God first and how to love His children. This work has absolutely nothing to do with me, but everything to do with Him. And I couldn't be more grateful for that. He makes weak things strong. He changes hearts. He blesses the obedient. He loves unconditionally. He provides us a way to return. All of that is why I love and serve Him.</div>
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This week we were blessed to work with a few less actives that are working to be fully active again. These people inspire me a whole, whole lot. Living the gospel of Jesus Christ requires diligent and honest effort, and it doesn't always seem to be the easiest. We all slip up and make mistakes, but it's the desire to return that matters, and this is what we see over and over with these wonderful people. Our purpose as a whole Church, as disciples of Christ, is to invite others to come unto Him. To teach repentance and baptized converts. I have gained a string testimony of fulfilling my purpose with EVERYONE. Just because someone is already a member doesn't mean that our purpose doesn't apply. And that's what we've been doing, inviting people to <i>continually</i> come unto Christ. </div>
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We had a lesson with a brother named Joseph who has a strong desire to return and build his testimony again. We met out in his backyard(yes, it was nice enough and yes, I got a sunburn in January, haha) and we had a member of the branch with us, and we taught him the Restoration. There is such power in allowing someone to hear again what they know and to allow it to begin burning in them again. As we concluded the lesson, I felt prompted to share with him the power of having a vision and setting goals, since this is something I have really come to understand on my mission. I then pulled out a sticky note, and asked him what his vision is for himself. His vision is to be fully active again in the church. We then asked how he plans to do it, and what he will do each day to make it happen. We wrote all of this down for him, gave him the sticky note, and invited him to prayerfully commit to Heavenly Father to do these things. It was powerful, and we were able to do this 2 other times with other YSAs in the branch who are pushing hard to come back. I feel such a deep love for these people. I see their potential, and Heavenly Father sees it even more. </div>
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This week I have learned SO much. I have been working on My Plan, the program for returning missionaries to help them have a better plan to continue their discipleship and habits. It helps set goals about everything from work to education to scripture study to dating to remembering what we have learned during this time. As I've been doing this each morning and doing personal study, a few points have stuck out to me. Nothing new, just extremely important. </div>
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First, the importance of scripture study. Preach My Gospel has a whole chapter on the Book of Mormon, and it says, "The Book of Mormon, combined with the Spirit, is your most powerful resource in conversion." I am converted, but I also plan to continue to be converted, so I know that I must never cease my study of and love for the Book of Mormon.</div>
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The second thing is the importance of the covenants we make and the temple. A part on My Plan says that "temples provide strength to help us become become more deeply converts disciples of Christ." I want nothing more. And I love this quote from Elder Ballard: "There is no spiritual power that comes in convenience, it comes in keeping our covenants." </div>
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The last thing is the influence of the Holy Ghost. I have been studying the role of the Holy Ghost in conversion and how it is truly central to conversion. We must teach by the spirit, and others must receive by the Spirit. I was thinking about this last night, and about how at the beginning of my mission, I would often wonder if I was actually feeling the Spirit, or sometimes I would wonder why I didn't feel like the Spirit was working through me. Now, I feel that the Spirit is the guide and that the Spirit does speak through me. Why the difference in feeling and belief? I first needed to learn how to feel and recognize the Spirit. I studied it and began to recognize the influence of the Spirit more and more. And then when the promptings came, I needed to learn to jump on and follow. It can be scary, it can be hard, but there is power that comes when we do what God asks. He loves us and loves all of His children enough to allow His Spirit work through imperfect people like us. </div>
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Knowing these things has blessed me in countless ways. I am forever and ever indebted to my Father in Heaven and my Savior. I am nothing, I am fallen, but through Them, I, you, and all of us have great, great value, and incredible potential. We just need the eyes to see it.</div>
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I'll end with a scripture found in Alma 29:9 that my Dad sent to me today that I love! I had been studying Alma 26 this week, which goes perfectly with this. I testify to you that through the gospel of Jesus Christ, my joy truly is full. </div>
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"I know that which the Lord hath commanded me, and I glory in it. I do not glory of myself, but I glory in that which the Lord hath commanded me; yea, and this is my glory, that perhaps I may be an instrument in the hands of God to bring some soul to repentance; and this is my joy."</div>
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I love y'all!</div>
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Love,</div>
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Sister Snyder </div>
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<br /><br />Sent from my iPad</div>
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1. Me and a member, Reyna, with her sweet pig named Tamale<br />2. Sister Fullam and me! Love her<br />3. With the sweetest family ever, the Zendejos! Love them so much!<br />4. Again with the pig. Hahaha.</div>
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Serena Snyderhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/12084815879888090486noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6409430254065872680.post-29025307747451359772016-01-12T18:40:00.000-08:002016-01-12T18:41:46.428-08:00Hello Y'all<div>
<span style="background-color: #fdfdfd; color: #333333;"><span style="font-family: inherit;">Hello Y'all!!</span></span></div>
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<span style="background-color: #fdfdfd; color: #333333;"><span style="font-family: inherit;">This week I was blessed to witness many times the change of heart that </span></span><span style="background-color: #fdfdfd; color: #333333; font-family: inherit;">happens within someone as they begin to align or realign their will </span><span style="background-color: #fdfdfd; color: #333333; font-family: inherit;">with the Lord's. Lives change, people change, but the gospel doesn't, </span><span style="background-color: #fdfdfd; color: #333333; font-family: inherit;">and that is why it is our safe anchor in all of this. We have seen how </span><span style="background-color: #fdfdfd; color: #333333; font-family: inherit;">investigators begin to change and how they have proven to us that they </span><span style="background-color: #fdfdfd; color: #333333; font-family: inherit;">are repenting. We can see it each time we meet that these children of </span><span style="background-color: #fdfdfd; color: #333333; font-family: inherit;">a God are being converted. We have also been working consistently with </span><span style="background-color: #fdfdfd; color: #333333; font-family: inherit;">many less actives, and getting down to their concerns and why they </span><span style="background-color: #fdfdfd; color: #333333; font-family: inherit;">decided to be baptized in the first place. All of these people felt </span><span style="background-color: #fdfdfd; color: #333333; font-family: inherit;">the Spirit and experienced some change at one point, and now they need </span><span style="background-color: #fdfdfd; color: #333333; font-family: inherit;">to come back. We have been blessed to have very spirit led discussions </span><span style="background-color: #fdfdfd; color: #333333; font-family: inherit;">with many of these returning less actives in which we have been able </span><span style="background-color: #fdfdfd; color: #333333; font-family: inherit;">to help them resolve their concerns. We have been turning to Preach My </span><span style="background-color: #fdfdfd; color: #333333; font-family: inherit;">Gospel for help with these concerns that come up, and how inspiring it </span><span style="background-color: #fdfdfd; color: #333333; font-family: inherit;">is to see it all come together as we receive the help we need. We have </span><span style="background-color: #fdfdfd; color: #333333; font-family: inherit;">a less active that has now come back and is attending activities, and </span><span style="background-color: #fdfdfd; color: #333333; font-family: inherit;">he is strongly considering serving a mission. Last night we had a </span><span style="background-color: #fdfdfd; color: #333333; font-family: inherit;">lesson with a man who feels that he has lost his testimony, but wants </span><span style="background-color: #fdfdfd; color: #333333; font-family: inherit;">it back. We told him that he will gain it back as he does what is </span><span style="background-color: #fdfdfd; color: #333333; font-family: inherit;">necessary, and invited him to read, pray, and come back to church. He </span><span style="background-color: #fdfdfd; color: #333333; font-family: inherit;">accepted our invitation, and as he said the closing prayer, the Spirit </span><span style="background-color: #fdfdfd; color: #333333; font-family: inherit;">was so strong. It is an absolute privilege, and a very humbling one at </span><span style="background-color: #fdfdfd; color: #333333; font-family: inherit;">that, to witness the change that occurs in these people as they begin </span><span style="background-color: #fdfdfd; color: #333333; font-family: inherit;">to repent and forsake. Last night we came out of that lesson with </span><span style="background-color: #fdfdfd; color: #333333; font-family: inherit;">great gratitude for our calling and for these experiences that the </span><span style="background-color: #fdfdfd; color: #333333; font-family: inherit;">Lord blesses us with.</span></div>
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<span style="font-family: inherit;"><br style="background-color: #fdfdfd; color: #333333;" /><span style="background-color: #fdfdfd; color: #333333;">I could not be any happier with how everything is going and with my </span><span style="background-color: #fdfdfd; color: #333333;">mission experience. The Lord has blessed me in countless ways. I feel </span><span style="background-color: #fdfdfd; color: #333333;">it every day that this is exactly where I am meant and needed to be. </span><span style="background-color: #fdfdfd; color: #333333;">How grateful I am to be a disciple of Jesus Christ.</span><br style="background-color: #fdfdfd; color: #333333;" /><br style="background-color: #fdfdfd; color: #333333;" /><span style="background-color: #fdfdfd; color: #333333;">Have a wonderful week!</span><br style="background-color: #fdfdfd; color: #333333;" /><br style="background-color: #fdfdfd; color: #333333;" /><span style="background-color: #fdfdfd; color: #333333;">-Sister Snyder</span></span></div>
Serena Snyderhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/12084815879888090486noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6409430254065872680.post-34249804530921090282016-01-12T18:38:00.002-08:002016-01-12T18:40:21.016-08:00happy new year! (from 1/4/16)<div style="color: #222222; font-family: arial, sans-serif;">
Hello sweet friends and family! Happy new year! I hope that everyone is enjoying 2016 so far! I just can't believe it's here already! This last year was the very best year of my not so long life. I have learned and experienced more than I thought possible, and I'm so excited to continue that for the rest of my life.</div>
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Everyone here goes bananas for New Years with fireworks. There was traffic everywhere on Thursday from people going to the different firework stands around. It was pretty exciting. I just thought I'd throw that in there. It's awesome down here.</div>
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This week was MIRACULOUS. I'll go ahead and tell you why! (This might be long...)</div>
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-our investigator KJ is still progressing so well! We had to change his baptism date to <span class="aBn" data-term="goog_1446477119" style="border-bottom-color: rgb(204, 204, 204); border-bottom-style: dashed; border-bottom-width: 1px; position: relative; top: -2px; z-index: 0;" tabindex="0"><span class="aQJ" style="position: relative; top: 2px; z-index: -1;">February 6th</span></span> because of his work schedule, but he is still so set on it and we are so excited for him. The other day we were talking about obedience and following the prophet, and we asked what his thoughts were. He said, "I think it's really simple. It isn't rocket science. We just need to follow what they say." He has such a simple and logical but powerful faith! He accepts everything we share with him, and is more than willing to live it. </div>
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-our other investigator Becky has a baptism date now as well! We had talked to her about praying for herself about what day to be baptized, and as we went over to a lesson on Saturday we were wanting to bring that up. We didn't have to, she did. She said that she had prayed about it, and now she has a date set for <span class="aBn" data-term="goog_1446477120" style="border-bottom-color: rgb(204, 204, 204); border-bottom-style: dashed; border-bottom-width: 1px; position: relative; top: -2px; z-index: 0;" tabindex="0"><span class="aQJ" style="position: relative; top: 2px; z-index: -1;">March 5th</span></span>! It was awesome! We taught her the Restoration again with a member there and it was a very powerful lesson. There is nothing better than being able to testify of the Prophet Joseph and of the full gospel of Jesus Christ being restored. I love it. </div>
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-on Wednesday we had MLC. We talked a lot about the doctrine of Christ and how our purpose really is to "teach repentance and baptize converts." We talked about how Preach My Gospel answers every questions or concern an investigator has, and we talked a lot about change in the mission and the church. It really strengthened my testimony of standing by the prophet and the brethren no matter what. I know that they are men called of God, and I have already made the decision that I will go and do what they tell us. How blessed we are to have a prophet of the Lord on the earth today.</div>
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-on Wednesday night we went to go visit a recent convert/less active member that we haven't been able to see for a while. He and his family have been having a hard time lately, and he answered and invited us in! We were so thrilled. Then comes the miracle. His family hadn't really been interested while he was being taught. But as soon as we came in, they ALL gathered around the dinner table to hear what we had to say. We shared with them A Savior is Born and the Spirit was so present and led us through the rest. We were able to testify of where our loved ones go when they pass on, and I wish you could have seen the comfort it brought them. That family is prepared right now and their experiences have allowed them to open more. We taught them again the other night, and the mom wants to be baptized! Never doubt that the Lord loves you or answers yours prayers. I see it every single day that He absolutely does. </div>
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-this week we have also been doing lots of less active work, and it has been amazing! People are coming back and getting the fellowship they need, and their lights are growing. It's a privilege to be able to see the change in people.</div>
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I know this is really long, but I want to end with two more thoughts:</div>
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First, this week I have been studying in Lesson 1 of Preach My Gospel, the Restoration, especially the section "The Restoration of the Gospel of Jesus Christ through Joseph Smith". I want all of you to know, that I know without a single doubt, that Joseph Smith is a prophet of God, the head of this dispensation. The fullness of the gospel of Jesus Christ was restored to this earth again through him, and he was and is God's chosen vessel. The ordinances of salvation are available to us today because of this restoration, and I am forever grateful for that.</div>
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And last, I want to share the last verse of hymn 85, 'How Firm a Foundation'. We sang this at MLC last week, and President Slaughter had us stand up after and recite the last two lines together. This sums up very well my testimony of this gospel:</div>
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The soul that on Jesus hath leaned for repose</div>
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I will not, I cannot, desert to his foes;</div>
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That soul, though all hell should endeavor to shake,</div>
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<b>I’ll never, no never, I’ll never, no never,</b></div>
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<b>I’ll never, no never, no never forsake!</b></div>
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I love y'all dearly and hope you have a wonderful week! </div>
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Love always, </div>
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Sister Snyder </div>
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<span style="background-color: white;">PS here's a picture of my zone after service on Tuesday. </span></div>
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Serena Snyderhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/12084815879888090486noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6409430254065872680.post-40018445902969245302016-01-12T18:32:00.003-08:002016-01-12T18:32:51.393-08:00Goodbye New Hope, Hello Palo Alto! (From 12/21/15)<span style="background-color: white; color: #222222; font-family: arial, sans-serif;">Happy Monday! Merry Christmas! I can't believe it's Christmas this </span><span style="background-color: white; color: #222222; font-family: arial, sans-serif;">week! What a wonderful time to focus on Christ and to remember the </span><span style="background-color: white; color: #222222; font-family: arial, sans-serif;">greatest gift that any of us will ever, ever be given.</span><br style="color: #222222; font-family: arial, sans-serif;" /><br style="color: #222222; font-family: arial, sans-serif;" /><span style="background-color: white; color: #222222; font-family: arial, sans-serif;">There is so much that has happened this week, and it has all been so </span><span style="background-color: white; color: #222222; font-family: arial, sans-serif;">wonderful! I'll jump right into it!</span><br style="color: #222222; font-family: arial, sans-serif;" /><br style="color: #222222; font-family: arial, sans-serif;" /><span style="background-color: white; color: #222222; font-family: arial, sans-serif;">On Tuesday we dropped off Sister Angulo to head down to the border, </span><span style="background-color: white; color: #222222; font-family: arial, sans-serif;">then went and worked and had amazing lessons! The Lord truly is </span><span style="background-color: white; color: #222222; font-family: arial, sans-serif;">preparing people in many ways. Right before dinner on Tuesday we got </span><span style="background-color: white; color: #222222; font-family: arial, sans-serif;">transfer emails, and.....I saw that I was going. I was excited/sad but </span><span style="background-color: white; color: #222222; font-family: arial, sans-serif;">so ready to go wherever I was needed! I spent a few pretty late nights </span><span style="background-color: white; color: #222222; font-family: arial, sans-serif;">trying to pack and prepare everything for doubling out, but it worked </span><span style="background-color: white; color: #222222; font-family: arial, sans-serif;">out great. And it's always such a pleasure to work with the sweet </span><span style="background-color: white; color: #222222; font-family: arial, sans-serif;">sisters in Palm Valley. Hermana Gonzalez is a native, and while </span><span style="background-color: white; color: #222222; font-family: arial, sans-serif;">Hermana Boren was with another Sister at the church we went out to </span><span style="background-color: white; color: #222222; font-family: arial, sans-serif;">some appointments. Imagine it. Me not knowing where I'm going, we can </span><span style="background-color: white; color: #222222; font-family: arial, sans-serif;">hardly communicate, it was awesome, hahaha. Yes, we got lost, but we </span><span style="background-color: white; color: #222222; font-family: arial, sans-serif;">had a lesson and it all worked out. So many fun times!</span><br style="color: #222222; font-family: arial, sans-serif;" /><br style="color: #222222; font-family: arial, sans-serif;" /><span style="background-color: white; color: #222222; font-family: arial, sans-serif;">It was so sad to say goodbye to New Hope. I love, love, love that </span><span style="background-color: white; color: #222222; font-family: arial, sans-serif;">place and the people there. It means so much to me, and I really feel </span><span style="background-color: white; color: #222222; font-family: arial, sans-serif;">like that's a place where I grew the most on my mission and really </span><span style="background-color: white; color: #222222; font-family: arial, sans-serif;">came to build my confidence and my testimony and understanding of who </span><span style="background-color: white; color: #222222; font-family: arial, sans-serif;">Heavenly Father and Jesus Christ truly are. I am eternally grateful </span><span style="background-color: white; color: #222222; font-family: arial, sans-serif;">for every day I spent there and for the people who helped to change my </span><span style="background-color: white; color: #222222; font-family: arial, sans-serif;">heart and help me become. I love being a missionary. At what other </span><span style="background-color: white; color: #222222; font-family: arial, sans-serif;">time would I get to be placed into all of these different places and </span><span style="background-color: white; color: #222222; font-family: arial, sans-serif;">get to meet these people and talk to them about the gospel? God knew </span><span style="background-color: white; color: #222222; font-family: arial, sans-serif;">where I needed to be, for me and for them.</span><br style="color: #222222; font-family: arial, sans-serif;" /><br style="color: #222222; font-family: arial, sans-serif;" /><span style="background-color: white; color: #222222; font-family: arial, sans-serif;">Thursday morning was transfer meeting, and I totally fit everything </span><span style="background-color: white; color: #222222; font-family: arial, sans-serif;">into my two suitcases and carry on! Woohoo. We went to the church </span><span style="background-color: white; color: #222222; font-family: arial, sans-serif;">building and when the meeting started, I could feel it in my bones </span><span style="background-color: white; color: #222222; font-family: arial, sans-serif;">that I was going back home to San Antonio to die. Haha. So they went </span><span style="background-color: white; color: #222222; font-family: arial, sans-serif;">through all of the Austin areas, I wasn't called, so I knew it was San </span><span style="background-color: white; color: #222222; font-family: arial, sans-serif;">Antonio! And then they announced where we were all going and I am now </span><span style="background-color: white; color: #222222; font-family: arial, sans-serif;">serving in the Palo Alto YSA branch in south San Antonio. My lovely </span><span style="background-color: white; color: #222222; font-family: arial, sans-serif;">companion is Sister Fullam from New Hampshire, and she is awesome! So </span><span style="background-color: white; color: #222222; font-family: arial, sans-serif;">focused, so FUNNY, and so, so humble! Everything is just so right! I </span><span style="background-color: white; color: #222222; font-family: arial, sans-serif;">am exactly where I need to be and I feel such a fire to give every </span><span style="background-color: white; color: #222222; font-family: arial, sans-serif;">ounce of everything every single day during this last transfer. I want </span><span style="background-color: white; color: #222222; font-family: arial, sans-serif;">to leave everything I can here. It's been such a great few days!</span><br style="color: #222222; font-family: arial, sans-serif;" /><br style="color: #222222; font-family: arial, sans-serif;" /><span style="background-color: white; color: #222222; font-family: arial, sans-serif;">The branch is so great! There are so many wonderful and funny people </span><span style="background-color: white; color: #222222; font-family: arial, sans-serif;">here! YSA is definitely different than a family ward, but it's so </span><span style="background-color: white; color: #222222; font-family: arial, sans-serif;">incredible! They have all welcomed me right in and it's such a neat </span><span style="background-color: white; color: #222222; font-family: arial, sans-serif;">experience being here. We have a great branch president and members </span><span style="background-color: white; color: #222222; font-family: arial, sans-serif;">and it's just a good time. And the members are amazing at helping with </span><span style="background-color: white; color: #222222; font-family: arial, sans-serif;">the work. I'm so excited for what's ahead! Yesterday was our Christmas </span><span style="background-color: white; color: #222222; font-family: arial, sans-serif;">program and it was really good! There were 30 people there. So </span><span style="background-color: white; color: #222222; font-family: arial, sans-serif;">different, but so good! You get to know everyone and really work with</span><br style="color: #222222; font-family: arial, sans-serif;" /><span style="background-color: white; color: #222222; font-family: arial, sans-serif;">them </span><br style="color: #222222; font-family: arial, sans-serif;" /><br style="color: #222222; font-family: arial, sans-serif;" /><span style="background-color: white; color: #222222; font-family: arial, sans-serif;">Our area covers quite a lot of ground. I'm forever confused on where </span><span style="background-color: white; color: #222222; font-family: arial, sans-serif;">we are, but it's been so fun. The other day we were in downtown San </span><span style="background-color: white; color: #222222; font-family: arial, sans-serif;">Antonio and it was so fun. It could be categorized under what some </span><span style="background-color: white; color: #222222; font-family: arial, sans-serif;">might call "sketchy", but we're careful about when and where we do </span><span style="background-color: white; color: #222222; font-family: arial, sans-serif;">things. Don't worry Mom! All is well. Also we get to cover some bases! </span><span style="background-color: white; color: #222222; font-family: arial, sans-serif;">Lackland AFB is one of them! Hoorah. Also, I thought I wouldn't be </span><span style="background-color: white; color: #222222; font-family: arial, sans-serif;">driving this transfer since it's my last, but alas, due to some </span><span style="background-color: white; color: #222222; font-family: arial, sans-serif;">circumstances, I am the driver. Haha. Also, the same car I had in New </span><span style="background-color: white; color: #222222; font-family: arial, sans-serif;">Hope was moved down here and I get to drive it still! Woo hoo.</span><br style="color: #222222; font-family: arial, sans-serif;" /><br style="color: #222222; font-family: arial, sans-serif;" /><span style="background-color: white; color: #222222; font-family: arial, sans-serif;">We have been seeing MIRACLES with A Savior is Born. People's hearts </span><span style="background-color: white; color: #222222; font-family: arial, sans-serif;">are so soft at this time of year, and we have been able to share the </span><span style="background-color: white; color: #222222; font-family: arial, sans-serif;">video and cards and different messages with so many people each day! I </span><span style="background-color: white; color: #222222; font-family: arial, sans-serif;">invite each of you to share it again this week, to reach out to </span><span style="background-color: white; color: #222222; font-family: arial, sans-serif;">someone, and to love others. Reflect on what it means to YOU that a </span><span style="background-color: white; color: #222222; font-family: arial, sans-serif;">Savior has been born, and that a Savior lives today for YOU.</span><br style="color: #222222; font-family: arial, sans-serif;" /><br style="color: #222222; font-family: arial, sans-serif;" /><span style="background-color: white; color: #222222; font-family: arial, sans-serif;">The words of the scriptures tell us that in Him all things(ALL </span><span style="background-color: white; color: #222222; font-family: arial, sans-serif;">things!) are fulfilled. I have learned for myself that that is nothing </span><span style="background-color: white; color: #222222; font-family: arial, sans-serif;">less than the most sure truth. As Elder Christofferson tells us in a </span><span style="background-color: white; color: #222222; font-family: arial, sans-serif;">conference talk, "The Savior makes all things right." The words we </span><span style="background-color: white; color: #222222; font-family: arial, sans-serif;">read from Preach My Gospel further testify of Him: "All that is unfair </span><span style="background-color: white; color: #222222; font-family: arial, sans-serif;">about life can be made right through the Atonement of Jesus Christ." I </span><span style="background-color: white; color: #222222; font-family: arial, sans-serif;">love Him, I adore Him, and I know, without a single doubt, that He </span><span style="background-color: white; color: #222222; font-family: arial, sans-serif;">lives.</span><br style="color: #222222; font-family: arial, sans-serif;" /><br style="color: #222222; font-family: arial, sans-serif;" /><span style="background-color: white; color: #222222; font-family: arial, sans-serif;">I wish all y'all the happiest Christmas!!!</span><br style="color: #222222; font-family: arial, sans-serif;" /><br style="color: #222222; font-family: arial, sans-serif;" /><span style="background-color: white; color: #222222; font-family: arial, sans-serif;">Love always,</span><br style="color: #222222; font-family: arial, sans-serif;" /><br style="color: #222222; font-family: arial, sans-serif;" /><span style="background-color: white; color: #222222; font-family: arial, sans-serif;">Sister Snyder</span><br style="color: #222222; font-family: arial, sans-serif;" /><br style="color: #222222; font-family: arial, sans-serif;" /><span style="background-color: white; color: #222222; font-family: arial, sans-serif;">Sent from my iPad</span>Serena Snyderhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/12084815879888090486noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6409430254065872680.post-424809887741509322015-12-06T18:36:00.000-08:002015-12-06T18:36:05.925-08:00Happy Thanksgiving and Merry Christmas!<span style="font-family: Helvetica;">Hello!</span><br style="font-family: Helvetica;" /><br style="font-family: Helvetica;" /><span style="font-family: Helvetica;">Sorry that I have been the worst at emailing to the big group lately! </span><span style="font-family: Helvetica;">But I'm back! We had an incredible week! Texas got COLD. I don't know </span><span style="font-family: Helvetica;">how I did it in Utah. But I really think it's the humidity here that </span><span style="font-family: Helvetica;">gets me. But all is well! We stay warm and we see miracles every day!</span><br style="font-family: Helvetica;" /><br style="font-family: Helvetica;" /><span style="font-family: Helvetica;">There's always so much to tell all of you, but I will share with you </span><span style="font-family: Helvetica;">about thanksgiving and about A Savior is Born.</span><br style="font-family: Helvetica;" /><br style="font-family: Helvetica;" /><span style="font-family: Helvetica;">Our thanksgiving day was amazing! One of the best I've ever had. My </span><span style="font-family: Helvetica;">sweet companion and I had so much fun and saw blessings and miracles </span><span style="font-family: Helvetica;">like crazy.</span><br />
<br style="font-family: Helvetica;" /><span style="font-family: Helvetica;">Here are our thanksgiving day miracles:</span><br style="font-family: Helvetica;" /><span style="font-family: Helvetica;">1. It was Sister Angulo's birthday! I woke up at 5 something to </span><span style="font-family: Helvetica;">decorate our door for sister Angulo, then went back to sleep. Haha so </span><span style="font-family: Helvetica;">sneaky. It was awesome and we had a fun time!</span><br style="font-family: Helvetica;" /><span style="font-family: Helvetica;">2. We went and did service as a zone for this foundation called </span><span style="font-family: Helvetica;">Annie's Way. It was at a Catholic Church in Round Rock, and it was </span><span style="font-family: Helvetica;">amazing!!! People from the community donate different thanksgiving </span><span style="font-family: Helvetica;">dishes, and anyone is welcome to come and enjoy, and they do! There </span><span style="font-family: Helvetica;">were people who were homeless, widows, less fortunate, or those who </span><span style="font-family: Helvetica;">just didn't have plans. So we talked with different people, served </span><span style="font-family: Helvetica;">them drinks, offered desserts, etc. I loved it so much! And it was </span><span style="font-family: Helvetica;">such a blessing, there was TONS of leftover food! So much. So we </span><span style="font-family: Helvetica;">started boxing it up and we were able to take some with us to give to </span><span style="font-family: Helvetica;">people.</span><br style="font-family: Helvetica;" /><span style="font-family: Helvetica;">3. We had the best thanksgiving lunch with the Worwood family in our </span><span style="font-family: Helvetica;">ward and they went over the history of thanksgiving for sister Angulo </span><span style="font-family: Helvetica;">and it was so neat! It was such a yummy meal!</span><br style="font-family: Helvetica;" /><span style="font-family: Helvetica;">4. We were able to give the food out! A less active family that we </span><span style="font-family: Helvetica;">haven't been able to see was home, and they were so sweet to us! They </span><span style="font-family: Helvetica;">stuffed us full of tamales, and sister Angulo was able to speak with </span><span style="font-family: Helvetica;">them since they are mostly Spanish speaking, and it was just what they </span><span style="font-family: Helvetica;">needed.</span><br style="font-family: Helvetica;" /><span style="font-family: Helvetica;">5. We visited a less active part member family and had a really </span><span style="font-family: Helvetica;">spiritual lesson with them.</span><br style="font-family: Helvetica;" /><span style="font-family: Helvetica;">6. We met another ward member we haven't been able to see yet and had </span><span style="font-family: Helvetica;">a really neat visit with her.</span><br style="font-family: Helvetica;" /><span style="font-family: Helvetica;">7. We ended the birthday/thanksgiving night with ice cream cones.</span><br style="font-family: Helvetica;" /><br style="font-family: Helvetica;" /><span style="font-family: Helvetica;">What a beautiful day! The Lord's work is progressing and it is amazing </span><span style="font-family: Helvetica;">to be able to witness it every single day. I love it so much.</span><br style="font-family: Helvetica;" /><br style="font-family: Helvetica;" /><span style="font-family: Helvetica;">The last thing I want to mention is the new church initiative, A </span><span style="font-family: Helvetica;">Savior is Born. Everyone, this video is so simple and so beautiful. It </span><span style="font-family: Helvetica;">really sums up why we have Christmas, and helps us remember how </span><span style="font-family: Helvetica;">important it is. I invite you all to think about what it means to you </span><span style="font-family: Helvetica;">that a Savior is Born, and then share it. Spread the video, use the </span><span style="font-family: Helvetica;">hashtag (#asaviorisborn), and just share your light with others. There </span><span style="font-family: Helvetica;">are amazing things happening everywhere, and ours is the blessing to </span><span style="font-family: Helvetica;">share that with others! We are so blessed to have our iPads this year </span><span style="font-family: Helvetica;">to share the video with everyone we see, and I will keep y'all updated </span><span style="font-family: Helvetica;">on the miracles we see!</span><br style="font-family: Helvetica;" /><br style="font-family: Helvetica;" /><span style="font-family: Helvetica;">This is the true gospel of Jesus Christ, and I am so grateful that a </span><span style="font-family: Helvetica;">Savior was born for me, for you, and for everyone.</span><br style="font-family: Helvetica;" /><br style="font-family: Helvetica;" /><span style="font-family: Helvetica;">I love y'all!</span><br style="font-family: Helvetica;" /><br style="font-family: Helvetica;" /><span style="font-family: Helvetica;">Love always,</span><br style="font-family: Helvetica;" /><br style="font-family: Helvetica;" /><span style="font-family: Helvetica;">Sister Snyder</span><br style="font-family: Helvetica;" /><br style="font-family: Helvetica;" /><span style="font-family: Helvetica;">Here's us on thanksgiving with leftover food to give out!</span><br />
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<span style="font-family: Helvetica;"><br /></span>Serena Snyderhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/12084815879888090486noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6409430254065872680.post-43833225256145437442015-11-09T16:28:00.001-08:002015-11-09T16:28:11.481-08:00Hiii<span style="font-family: arial, helvetica, sans-serif;">Hello everyone!! </span><br />
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<span style="font-family: arial, helvetica, sans-serif;">My heart is grateful and filled as I think about the week that we had. I know that the Lord’s promise to always have His spirit with us is true, because I have felt the Spirit abundantly this week. I found myself reflecting on the changes that have occurred in me and those that we meet with, and I feel nothing but pure love and gratitude to Heavenly Father and Jesus Christ. I have never felt so right. Even as I type this right now to you and as I think about the gospel and how it changes and blesses everyone, it is filling me with so much love. It’s hard to adequately express these feelings, but they are nothing but good. I am so grateful for every aspect of this life, and I am so grateful for my mission and who it has made me. I’m not ashamed of whom I used to be, but I am proud of and grateful for whom the Lord has made me to be.</span></div>
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<span style="font-family: arial, helvetica, sans-serif;"> Our investigator Marcela is doing amazing! She is all set and ready for her baptism this Saturday, the 14<sup>th.</sup> I have never seen someone so willing to change her life to align it with God’s teachings as much as she has. Anything that comes up, she asks, we answer, and she adjusts. Her humility and ability to be teachable is inspiring to me. She is so thrilled to be baptized. We were able to meet her husband and daughter on Saturday for lunch, and we love them so much! They are the kindest people and we know that as they see Marcela’s example that their hearts will be softened. . I love her so much, and I recognize that the Lord prepared her so well for the gospel at this time. The Spirit touches her heart as she studies and reads and she knows it’s true.</span></div>
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<span style="font-family: arial, helvetica, sans-serif;">I have to update you on the newly reactivated member we have been working with, Sister Amidon. Her change and progression has continued and she has gained so much strength in so many aspects of her life! We had a visit with her the other night, and her testimony is so powerful. She is living proof of the power of the Book of Mormon. We did absolutely nothing to help her change. All it took was a simple invitation to begin reading and praying again, and the Spirit taught her and filled her as her focus turned to God. It is amazing and humbling to witness the change it brings in someone in just a few months. She was talking about that change and how when she first went away, she was looking for something else. Then she said something I love, “The grass isn’t greener on the other side, it’s greener where you water it.” There is no need to search for something more, because this gospel is what brings the most happiness. And when we “water” where we are, we will grow greener and greener. It’s incredibly humbling to have such a lovely person thank us for being the missionaries she needed. She told us that she needed us specifically and although we didn’t baptize a family together, that we forever changed hers and that they will be baptized when they are old enough. It makes me want to cry just thinking about that moment. I have been very humbled.</span></div>
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<span style="font-family: arial, helvetica, sans-serif;">Another huge blessing this week has been being able to work with Hermana Boren as we double cover Palm Valley and New Hope. First of all, Hermana Boren is incredible. She has had quite the transfer, but she is so dedicated and loves this work so much, and she is holding everything together so well. I love working in the Spanish area. I don’t speak much Spanish at all, but the Spirit is so strong. On Saturday night after a lesson, Sister Boren asked us, “Can you still feel the Spirit even though you don’t understand what’s being said?”. And I told her that it is so tangible and real. It is the universal teacher and comforter and there is power behind that. No, I don’t know what is being said all of the time, but I can feel the truth of what is being spoken and that right there is all we need. Another neat experience was on Friday night when we attended the primary program practice for Palm Valley since Sister Boren is leading the music. We were sending emails and updating our area book and listening to the music, and when the children and adults started to sing “A Childs Prayer”. The spirit was so strong and warm and I thought about every person in that room as a child of God. It was easy to picture them standing next to Christ, and my love for each of them grew. I’m so grateful for experiences like that that allow us to increase our capacity to love and serve others.</span></div>
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<span style="font-family: arial, helvetica, sans-serif;"><span style="line-height: 13.800000190734863px;">Sister Storms is amazing. She has changed my life. I have learned and grown more than I </span></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: arial, helvetica, sans-serif; line-height: 13.800000190734863px;">thought possible during these last three transfers, and I owe so much of that to her. I know that companionships are inspired of the Lord, because Sister Storms is more than what I needed. I have found one of my best friends in her, and she continues to strengthen me. Her boldness and unshaken testimony have inspired me to reach higher and work harder. She is going to continue to do amazing things in life. Her testimony and drive to share it with others will continue to bless everyone around her. I am forever grateful for her and the impact she has had on me and those that we have been blessed to teach together. I’m sad to see her go, but so grateful for every day that we had to be united as a companionship, as servants of the Lord, and proclaim the gospel. We had so much fun along the way, and my heart is full. I'll be sure to let y'all know what happens this week with transfers!</span></div>
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<span style="font-family: arial, helvetica, sans-serif;">In my scriptures, I keep my patriarchal blessing with a sticky note on top quoting Alma 5:26, “Can ye feel so now?” On the back of this sticky note, I write some of the most incredible experiences I have had on my mission. I was looking at that the other day, and I am grateful to say that yes, I do feel so now. I feel to sing the song of redeeming love every single day for the rest of my life. I feel so as I read the scriptures, I feel so as I pray, I feel so as I study with my companion, I feel so as I testify to others that the gospel has been restored and that we have a living prophet. I can feel so now and I will feel so forever. My heart has been changed and I will always sing the song of redeeming love. I love the Lord.</span></div>
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<span style="font-family: arial, helvetica, sans-serif;">I love y'all so much and hope that you have a wonderful week!</span></div>
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Serena Snyderhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/12084815879888090486noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6409430254065872680.post-77742723837362227502015-10-25T17:30:00.001-07:002015-10-25T17:30:41.771-07:00Hello!<span style="background-color: white; color: #222222; font-family: arial, sans-serif;">Hello everyone!!</span><br style="color: #222222; font-family: arial, sans-serif;" /><br style="color: #222222; font-family: arial, sans-serif;" /><span style="background-color: white; color: #222222; font-family: arial, sans-serif;">We have had such a great week here in New Hope! It was crazy busy with </span><span style="background-color: white; color: #222222; font-family: arial, sans-serif;">exchanges and zone meetings and all of that fun stuff, but I have </span><span style="background-color: white; color: #222222; font-family: arial, sans-serif;">learned so, so much and most importantly, I have felt the love of </span><span style="background-color: white; color: #222222; font-family: arial, sans-serif;">Heavenly Father and Jesus Christ. Their love is so real. I wanted to </span><span style="background-color: white; color: #222222; font-family: arial, sans-serif;">share from my notebook on Gospel Library what I've been studying this </span><span style="background-color: white; color: #222222; font-family: arial, sans-serif;">week. I chose the scripture Helaman </span><span class="aBn" data-term="goog_80607429" style="border-bottom-color: rgb(204, 204, 204); border-bottom-style: dashed; border-bottom-width: 1px; color: #222222; font-family: arial, sans-serif; position: relative; top: -2px; z-index: 0;" tabindex="0"><span class="aQJ" style="position: relative; top: 2px; z-index: -1;">3:35</span></span><span style="background-color: white; color: #222222; font-family: arial, sans-serif;"> to ponderize this past week, </span><span style="background-color: white; color: #222222; font-family: arial, sans-serif;">kind of in a whim. But as I actually turned back to it and really read </span><span style="background-color: white; color: #222222; font-family: arial, sans-serif;">it, I realized that it contains what we need to do to love the Lord </span><span style="background-color: white; color: #222222; font-family: arial, sans-serif;">first and truly progress in this life. Too often we feel stuck in one </span><span style="background-color: white; color: #222222; font-family: arial, sans-serif;">place and like we can't move forward, but God sees the greet potential </span><span style="background-color: white; color: #222222; font-family: arial, sans-serif;">in each of us. As we rely on Him and our Savior, we are able to </span><span style="background-color: white; color: #222222; font-family: arial, sans-serif;">overcome the setbacks, to develop a deep love for God, ourselves, and </span><span style="background-color: white; color: #222222; font-family: arial, sans-serif;">others, and we are able to progress toward eternal life. I have loved </span><span style="background-color: white; color: #222222; font-family: arial, sans-serif;">starting this study and seeing the things we should always be doing in </span><span style="background-color: white; color: #222222; font-family: arial, sans-serif;">order to grow and align our will with a God's will. Here are my </span><span style="background-color: white; color: #222222; font-family: arial, sans-serif;">thoughts so far</span><br style="color: #222222; font-family: arial, sans-serif;" /><br style="color: #222222; font-family: arial, sans-serif;" /><span style="background-color: white; color: #222222; font-family: arial, sans-serif;">How Do We Progress And Put God First?</span><br style="color: #222222; font-family: arial, sans-serif;" /><br style="color: #222222; font-family: arial, sans-serif;" /><span style="background-color: white; color: #222222; font-family: arial, sans-serif;">36 Master, which is the great commandment in the law?</span><br style="color: #222222; font-family: arial, sans-serif;" /><br style="color: #222222; font-family: arial, sans-serif;" /><span style="background-color: white; color: #222222; font-family: arial, sans-serif;">37 Jesus said unto him, Thou shalt love the Lord thy God with all thy</span><br style="color: #222222; font-family: arial, sans-serif;" /><span style="background-color: white; color: #222222; font-family: arial, sans-serif;">heart, and with all thy soul, and with all thy mind.</span><br style="color: #222222; font-family: arial, sans-serif;" /><br style="color: #222222; font-family: arial, sans-serif;" /><span style="background-color: white; color: #222222; font-family: arial, sans-serif;">38 This is the first and great commandment. (Matthew 22)</span><br style="color: #222222; font-family: arial, sans-serif;" /><br style="color: #222222; font-family: arial, sans-serif;" /><span style="background-color: white; color: #222222; font-family: arial, sans-serif;">When we want to put the Lord first and love Him above all else, we </span><span style="background-color: white; color: #222222; font-family: arial, sans-serif;">need to turn to Him, be humble, and give ourselves to Him through the </span><span style="background-color: white; color: #222222; font-family: arial, sans-serif;">Atonement. That is how we progress and draw nearer to God and become </span><span style="background-color: white; color: #222222; font-family: arial, sans-serif;">who He intends us to be. We learn how to do this in the Book of</span><br style="color: #222222; font-family: arial, sans-serif;" /><span style="background-color: white; color: #222222; font-family: arial, sans-serif;">Mormon, in Helaman chapter 3.</span><br style="color: #222222; font-family: arial, sans-serif;" /><br style="color: #222222; font-family: arial, sans-serif;" /><span style="background-color: white; color: #222222; font-family: arial, sans-serif;">34 And they were lifted up in pride, even to the persecution of many</span><br style="color: #222222; font-family: arial, sans-serif;" /><span style="background-color: white; color: #222222; font-family: arial, sans-serif;">of their brethren. Now this was a great evil, which did cause the more</span><br style="color: #222222; font-family: arial, sans-serif;" /><span style="background-color: white; color: #222222; font-family: arial, sans-serif;">humble part of the people to suffer great persecutions, and to wade</span><br style="color: #222222; font-family: arial, sans-serif;" /><span style="background-color: white; color: #222222; font-family: arial, sans-serif;">through much affliction. (Helaman 3)</span><br style="color: #222222; font-family: arial, sans-serif;" /><br style="color: #222222; font-family: arial, sans-serif;" /><span style="background-color: white; color: #222222; font-family: arial, sans-serif;">35 Nevertheless they did fast and pray oft, and did wax stronger and</span><br style="color: #222222; font-family: arial, sans-serif;" /><span style="background-color: white; color: #222222; font-family: arial, sans-serif;">stronger in their humility, and firmer and firmer in the faith of</span><br style="color: #222222; font-family: arial, sans-serif;" /><span style="background-color: white; color: #222222; font-family: arial, sans-serif;">Christ, unto the filling their souls with joy and consolation, yea,</span><br style="color: #222222; font-family: arial, sans-serif;" /><span style="background-color: white; color: #222222; font-family: arial, sans-serif;">even to the purifying and the sanctification of their hearts, which</span><br style="color: #222222; font-family: arial, sans-serif;" /><span style="background-color: white; color: #222222; font-family: arial, sans-serif;">sanctification cometh because of their yielding their hearts unto God.</span><br style="color: #222222; font-family: arial, sans-serif;" /><span style="background-color: white; color: #222222; font-family: arial, sans-serif;">(Helaman 3)</span><br style="color: #222222; font-family: arial, sans-serif;" /><br style="color: #222222; font-family: arial, sans-serif;" /><br style="color: #222222; font-family: arial, sans-serif;" /><span style="background-color: white; color: #222222; font-family: arial, sans-serif;">1. "Suffer great persecutions and wade through much affliction"</span><br style="color: #222222; font-family: arial, sans-serif;" /><br style="color: #222222; font-family: arial, sans-serif;" /><span style="background-color: white; color: #222222; font-family: arial, sans-serif;">We suffer through the challenges life throws at us and realize that we </span><span style="background-color: white; color: #222222; font-family: arial, sans-serif;">cannot make it through alone. It is not easy, we need help, but we </span><span style="background-color: white; color: #222222; font-family: arial, sans-serif;">keep going knowing that God is the one who can help.</span><br style="color: #222222; font-family: arial, sans-serif;" /><br style="color: #222222; font-family: arial, sans-serif;" /><span style="background-color: white; color: #222222; font-family: arial, sans-serif;">2. "Fast and pray oft"</span><br style="color: #222222; font-family: arial, sans-serif;" /><br style="color: #222222; font-family: arial, sans-serif;" /><span style="background-color: white; color: #222222; font-family: arial, sans-serif;">God cannot help us unless we out our trust in Him and act. We must </span><span style="background-color: white; color: #222222; font-family: arial, sans-serif;">pray with faith and with the spirit, and we must do it often. 2 Nephi </span><span style="background-color: white; color: #222222; font-family: arial, sans-serif;">33:3 "But I, Nephi, have written what I have written, and I esteem it </span><span style="background-color: white; color: #222222; font-family: arial, sans-serif;">as of great worth, and especially unto my people. For I pray </span><span style="background-color: white; color: #222222; font-family: arial, sans-serif;">continually for them by day, and mine eyes water my pillow by night, </span><span style="background-color: white; color: #222222; font-family: arial, sans-serif;">because of them; and I cry unto my God in faith, and I know that he </span><span style="background-color: white; color: #222222; font-family: arial, sans-serif;">will hear my cry."We understand what prayer really is from the Bible </span><span style="background-color: white; color: #222222; font-family: arial, sans-serif;">Dictionary:"As soon as we learn the true relationship in which we </span><span style="background-color: white; color: #222222; font-family: arial, sans-serif;">stand toward God (namely, God is our Father, and we are His children), </span><span style="background-color: white; color: #222222; font-family: arial, sans-serif;">then at once prayer becomes natural and instinctive on our part (Matt.</span><span style="background-color: white; color: #222222; font-family: arial, sans-serif;">7:7–11). Many of the so-called difficulties about prayer arise from </span><span style="background-color: white; color: #222222; font-family: arial, sans-serif;">forgetting this relationship. Prayer is the act by which the will of </span><span style="background-color: white; color: #222222; font-family: arial, sans-serif;">the Father and the will of the child are brought into correspondence </span><span style="background-color: white; color: #222222; font-family: arial, sans-serif;">with each other. The object of prayer is not to change the will of God </span><span style="background-color: white; color: #222222; font-family: arial, sans-serif;">but to secure for ourselves and for others blessings that God is </span><span style="background-color: white; color: #222222; font-family: arial, sans-serif;">already willing to grant but that are made conditional on our asking </span><span style="background-color: white; color: #222222; font-family: arial, sans-serif;">for them. Blessings require some work or effort on our part before we </span><span style="background-color: white; color: #222222; font-family: arial, sans-serif;">can obtain them. Prayer is a form of work and is an appointed means </span><span style="background-color: white; color: #222222; font-family: arial, sans-serif;">for obtaining the highest of all blessings."Praying with faith is </span><span style="background-color: white; color: #222222; font-family: arial, sans-serif;">knowing and believing that God hears you and that He will listen and </span><span style="background-color: white; color: #222222; font-family: arial, sans-serif;">answer your prayers when He know it is right. We share with Him our </span><span style="background-color: white; color: #222222; font-family: arial, sans-serif;">will, and more fully come to understand His will as well.</span><br style="color: #222222; font-family: arial, sans-serif;" /><br style="color: #222222; font-family: arial, sans-serif;" /><span style="background-color: white; color: #222222; font-family: arial, sans-serif;">3. "Wax stronger and stronger in their humility"</span><br style="color: #222222; font-family: arial, sans-serif;" /><br style="color: #222222; font-family: arial, sans-serif;" /><span style="background-color: white; color: #222222; font-family: arial, sans-serif;">'Wax' means to increase. 'Strong' means determined, self controlled, </span><span style="background-color: white; color: #222222; font-family: arial, sans-serif;">and firmly held and established So we need to increase our humility </span><span style="background-color: white; color: #222222; font-family: arial, sans-serif;">and make it firmly held. We need to get to the depths of humility and </span><span style="background-color: white; color: #222222; font-family: arial, sans-serif;">be willing to act on what we receive from the Lord. We need to be </span><span style="background-color: white; color: #222222; font-family: arial, sans-serif;">teachable, and we need to ask "What lack I yet?"</span><br style="color: #222222; font-family: arial, sans-serif;" /><br style="color: #222222; font-family: arial, sans-serif;" /><span style="background-color: white; color: #222222; font-family: arial, sans-serif;">4. "Wax firmer and firmer in the faith of Christ"</span><br style="color: #222222; font-family: arial, sans-serif;" /><br style="color: #222222; font-family: arial, sans-serif;" /><span style="background-color: white; color: #222222; font-family: arial, sans-serif;">'Firm' means strongly felt and unlikely to change, steadfast and </span><span style="background-color: white; color: #222222; font-family: arial, sans-serif;">constant, decided/fixed upon, and definite. Our faith needs to be </span><span style="background-color: white; color: #222222; font-family: arial, sans-serif;">unshaken. We need to be fixed upon Christ, and willing to give it all </span><span style="background-color: white; color: #222222; font-family: arial, sans-serif;">away to follow Him.Faith in Christ is built through prayer, through </span><span style="background-color: white; color: #222222; font-family: arial, sans-serif;">studying the word of God, and through attaining Christlike </span><span style="background-color: white; color: #222222; font-family: arial, sans-serif;">attributes."We do not know Him until we become like Him."</span><br style="color: #222222; font-family: arial, sans-serif;" /><br style="color: #222222; font-family: arial, sans-serif;" /><span style="background-color: white; color: #222222; font-family: arial, sans-serif;">5. "Fill your soul with joy and consolation"</span><br style="color: #222222; font-family: arial, sans-serif;" /><br style="color: #222222; font-family: arial, sans-serif;" /><span style="background-color: white; color: #222222; font-family: arial, sans-serif;">'Consolation' means giving comfort to someone who has suffered. Christ </span><span style="background-color: white; color: #222222; font-family: arial, sans-serif;">fills us with joy, he is our Consolation. When we are filled with that </span><span style="background-color: white; color: #222222; font-family: arial, sans-serif;">joy, it is because we are allowing Christ and the Atonement to change </span><span style="background-color: white; color: #222222; font-family: arial, sans-serif;">us. We read in 2 Nephi 2 that agency is essential to progression, and </span><span style="background-color: white; color: #222222; font-family: arial, sans-serif;">we choose whether or not we will be comforted by Him. We suffer every </span><span style="background-color: white; color: #222222; font-family: arial, sans-serif;">single day, and He is there to comfort and heal, and to allow us to be </span><span style="background-color: white; color: #222222; font-family: arial, sans-serif;">free of the scars. Through Him, our souls will be filled with joy.</span><br style="color: #222222; font-family: arial, sans-serif;" /><br style="color: #222222; font-family: arial, sans-serif;" /><span style="background-color: white; color: #222222; font-family: arial, sans-serif;">6. "Yield your heart unto God"</span><br style="color: #222222; font-family: arial, sans-serif;" /><br style="color: #222222; font-family: arial, sans-serif;" /><span style="background-color: white; color: #222222; font-family: arial, sans-serif;">We need to give up our heart to the Lord through loving Him, trusting </span><span style="background-color: white; color: #222222; font-family: arial, sans-serif;">Him, and doing His will above our own. We do this through prayer and </span><span style="background-color: white; color: #222222; font-family: arial, sans-serif;">humility, and acting upon the promptings of the Spirit. We are </span><span style="background-color: white; color: #222222; font-family: arial, sans-serif;">constant and definite in our Savior, and we allow Him to comfort us </span><span style="background-color: white; color: #222222; font-family: arial, sans-serif;">and bring us joy.</span><br style="color: #222222; font-family: arial, sans-serif;" /><br style="color: #222222; font-family: arial, sans-serif;" /><span style="background-color: white; color: #222222; font-family: arial, sans-serif;">7. "The purifying and sanctification of our hearts"</span><br style="color: #222222; font-family: arial, sans-serif;" /><br style="color: #222222; font-family: arial, sans-serif;" /><span style="background-color: white; color: #222222; font-family: arial, sans-serif;">"The pure in heart shall see God" -Matthew 5:8 'Pure' means free from </span><span style="background-color: white; color: #222222; font-family: arial, sans-serif;">guilt or sin, blameless. Being pure comes from clean actions and </span><span style="background-color: white; color: #222222; font-family: arial, sans-serif;">thoughts in every way. </span><span style="background-color: white; color: #222222; font-family: arial, sans-serif;">Zion=the pure in heart. 'Sanctified' is the process of being free from </span><span style="background-color: white; color: #222222; font-family: arial, sans-serif;">sin, being pure, and clean and holy THROUGH THE ATONEMENT. </span><span style="background-color: white; color: #222222; font-family: arial, sans-serif;">"Sanctify yourselves, that your minds become single to God." -D&C 88:68 </span><span style="background-color: white; color: #222222; font-family: arial, sans-serif;">"Sanctify yourselves, for tomorrow the Lord will do MIRACLES among </span><span style="background-color: white; color: #222222; font-family: arial, sans-serif;">you." -Joshua 3:5 </span><span style="background-color: white; color: #222222; font-family: arial, sans-serif;">We are sanctified by the blood of Christ. We are sanctified through </span><span style="background-color: white; color: #222222; font-family: arial, sans-serif;">the Atonement and the love of our Savior.</span><br style="color: #222222; font-family: arial, sans-serif;" /><br style="color: #222222; font-family: arial, sans-serif;" /><span style="background-color: white; color: #222222; font-family: arial, sans-serif;">God's love is so real. It changes us and it allows us to be who we are</span><br style="color: #222222; font-family: arial, sans-serif;" /><span style="background-color: white; color: #222222; font-family: arial, sans-serif;">meant to be.</span><br style="color: #222222; font-family: arial, sans-serif;" /><br style="color: #222222; font-family: arial, sans-serif;" /><span style="background-color: white; color: #222222; font-family: arial, sans-serif;">I love y'all so much and hope you have a wonderful week!</span><br style="color: #222222; font-family: arial, sans-serif;" /><br style="color: #222222; font-family: arial, sans-serif;" /><span style="background-color: white; color: #222222; font-family: arial, sans-serif;">-Sister Snyder</span><br style="color: #222222; font-family: arial, sans-serif;" /><br style="color: #222222; font-family: arial, sans-serif;" /><br style="color: #222222; font-family: arial, sans-serif;" /><span style="background-color: white; color: #222222; font-family: arial, sans-serif;">Today while we were down in Austin :)</span><br />
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<span style="background-color: white; color: #222222; font-family: arial, sans-serif; font-size: 13px;"><br /></span>Serena Snyderhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/12084815879888090486noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6409430254065872680.post-51640170420697700692015-10-25T17:23:00.002-07:002015-10-25T17:23:51.338-07:00Hi y'all!!<div style="color: #222222; font-family: arial, sans-serif; text-align: right;">
10/12/2015</div>
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hello!!! how is eveyrone doing? Life is so, so good!! </div>
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I want to share a quote that Sister Bateman shared this week from President Eyring: "Whoever you are, and wherever you may be, you hold in your hands the happiness of more people than you can imagine." There is so much we can choose to do!</div>
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There is always so much that happens in one short week, and it just shows time and time again that the Lord fulfills His promises and this work is moving forward "boldly, nobly, and independent." I can feel it each day as we study and prepare, and as we go out and work. The Restoration of the gospel continues to happen today, it is being restored to those who knew it once before in their life before this one, and they are again coming to know it. I see it every single day, and it has changed me. Every single person needs to hear what we have been blessed to partake of already!</div>
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We had MLC in San Antonio on Tuesday and talked a lot about faith and working with members and the Sabbath day! It was so good! I get to give some trainings this week about some of the things we learned and I'm so excited! I love the Slaughters so much. Everything President and Sister Slaughter tell us I just love. I am grateful to have them as my leaders here. I learn so much everytime I hear from them.</div>
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At MLC we also found out that the whole mission has to cut back a lot on miles for the cars, so now we basically just drive into our area and bike or get rides, and we have seen miracles from it! There are so many people to talk to and see and it has been such a blessing!</div>
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Tomorrow we are going on exchanges with Pflugerville, and I am so thrilled because I get to go there with Sister Reece!! It's always the best to go on exchanges with old companions! I'll be sure to take some pictures! </div>
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Funny story from this week. So Brother Johnston in our ward puts up the lights that flash to music for Halloween and Christmas, and he goes all out. Each year the missionaries help him put up lights. So after district meeting on Wednesday, we went over there and helped him. Then we continued on with our day. That evening, we parked again outside of his house and then biked from there. Then the next evening, we happened to park there again, then biked/walked. We had members take us to our coordination meeting that night, and it ran late, but we made it back to our car and Brother Johnston was outside on the phone. And he came over and asked where we had been and told us that he thought we had gone missing and he was worried! He had called a bunch of missionaries in the surrounding areas because he thought our car had been parked there for 2 days straight! Hahaha. So our zone leaders called us concerned about where we were and all that. It was pretty funny. We were just at our meeting. Good times. I'm glad we have a ward that is so concerned about us!</div>
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I want to share some of our best experiences from this week:</div>
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Last Monday we received a message from that young man named Tyler that we have talked to a few times and who has been to church at another ward. He's still a bit hesitant to meet with missionaries because he likes moving at his own pace, but he texted us and told us that he knows that the Book of Mormon is true and that he feels the spirit as he reads! He also watched general conference and loved President Monson's talk! It is incredible to see someone who is truly proving to us that they are prepared. And it also shows the power of the invitation. It took his friends inviting him a few times, but he finally attended church, and loved it. And now he continues to progress. I love it!<br /><br />This week we received some referrals that we were able to meet with. The first one was a woman named Janice, who was a headquarters referral and she asked for a copy of the Bible. We hadn't been able to contact since we first received the referral, but on Saturday she answered the phone and we were able to deliver her Bible to her. She has been going through some hard times lately, and we were able to talk with her about the gospel and the priesthood, and she wanted a blessing, so some elders came over and gave her a blessing. She said after that she felt the power of it and could tell that there was something there. We're excited to meet with her again on Wednesday.<br /><br />Our next referral was a man named Siddarth that we received from headquarters and he requested a Book of Mormon. We went over there on Saturday night with a member to deliver it and meet with him, and it was such a good visit! Sid recently moved in from Dubai and is from India. We asked him how he knew about the Church, and he told us that his son who goes to Penn State recently got baptized into our church and is dating an LDS girl! He said he was interested to find out if it was right. He asked great questions and was eager to read the Book of Mormon. He said, "You'll have to give me some time to read it all. At least 10-15 days." Hahaha. It was so awesome! We can't wait to meet with him again on Thursday! Our bishop lived in India for a few years, so that will be great fellowship!</div>
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President Slaughter has assigned us to study the topic of blessings and healings and this morning I was studying a talk from Elder Richard G. Scott called "To Be Healed" (April 1994 Conference). It is such a beautiful topic to study. He talks about how not everything we struggle with will be resolved here on earth, and that sometimes we are to learn to be cured and sometimes, we are to learn to obtain strength to endure challenges. Then comes the part I love---"In either case, the Redeemer will support you." Christ is there for us through it all, no matter what, all the time. He may not be able to heal or cure us in the way we wish, but sometimes he cures our impatience or lack of faith so that we can endure the challenges. No matter the case, He will always support us, because He loves us. As we do our part to come unto Him, to seek His help, we will feel that love. I know that without a doubt.</div>
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I love you all so very much and pray for you! Have a wonderful week!</div>
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Love always,</div>
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Sister Snyder</div>
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Here's a picture of all of the sisters at MLC on Tuesday :)</div>
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Serena Snyderhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/12084815879888090486noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6409430254065872680.post-92063810666644050722015-10-11T13:53:00.001-07:002015-10-11T13:53:19.403-07:00New Hope Round 3<div style="font-family: Helvetica;">
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I hope everyone is doing well!! We had transfers this week and Sister Storms and I are staying here again! Yay!!</div>
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We had an incredible week!! And this weekend was amazing with conference!! I wanted to share some of my favorite things that were said, they're not exactly word for word, but they're what I got out of it! </div>
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Exaltation is our goal, discipleship is our journey. -President Uchtdorf</div>
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This church is powered by the priesthood to propel us through the unpredictable waters of mortality. Hold on and stay on, and we will reach our eternal destination. -Elder Ballard</div>
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We need to be humble enough to ask and faithful enough to act. "What lack I yet?" -Elder Lawrence</div>
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Being ship shape is being temple worthy in good times and in bad times. -Elder Cook</div>
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Christ will never forget us, and our mothers will never forget us either. Mothers never faileth. Their acts and kindness never will, just as Christ's never does. Mothers and the Savior help us to do what we cannot do for ourselves. Thank you for your crucial role in fulfilling the purposes of eternity. Be peaceful. Believe in God and in yourself. You are doing better than you think you are. In fact, you are saviors on Mount Zion. And like the Savior you follow, your love never faileth.</div>
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Christ can say the same things to us.---<em>I know what you've been through, and I can help you through it. </em>That is the power of the Atonement. -Elder Foster</div>
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The Lord always fulfills His promises. We doubt not the Lord nor His goodness, we have proved Him in days that are past. And in our present day. The more we persist, the brighter His influence becomes in our lives. There is no darkness that is so dark and menacing that it cannot be overcome by light. -Elder Stanfill</div>
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Undeniable. -Elder Martino</div>
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The cure is our Savior and His Atonement. -Elder Oaks</div>
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Repentance is not a fictional experience or the product of a frenzied mind. It brings about a mighty change of heart. -Elder Haynie</div>
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When you cannot do what you've always done, then you only do what matters most. -Elder Bednar</div>
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The light of the gospel of Jesus Christ will cut through the confusion, the pain, and the darkness, and fuse healing love and cast out discouragement. -Elder Clark</div>
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I could say a lot more, but I'll spare y'all! Haha.</div>
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I'll share one more experience! At transfer meeting on Thursday, we were doing our usual singing of hymns before President Slaughter and the other missionaries came into the chapel, which is one of my favorite parts of transfer meeting. We were singing Praise to the Man, which is a hymn that I have always had a deep love for. As we were singing though, one of my favorite lines stuck out to me in an entirely different way. I love when it says that "death cannot conquer the hero again." Because of the song being about Joseph Smith, my thoughts are always drawn to him when we sing that line. But instead, this time as we sang, I thought of our Savior Jesus Christ. I thought of His life and teachings, and His selflessness. I thought about Him suffering for me, bearing the pain of it all, and then being crucified. He died, but that was not the end---it was only the beginning. Christ lives today. I feel it, I know it, and it gives me so much hope. Death cannot conquer the hero again, and death cannot conquer any of us because of Him. Spiritual death cannot conquer us either because of Him. I know that it is only through our Savior that we can become who our Father in Heaven has intended us to be. It is through Him that we will live with the Father, and our families, forever. I am filled with deep gratitude for my Savior, and I will forever "waste and wear out" my life so that others can know of what is possible through Jesus Christ and His restored gospel.</div>
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I love, love, love this work and I am grateful every day for the privilege it is to be one of the Lord's full time missionaries.</div>
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Love y'all, have a great week!!</div>
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Love,</div>
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Sister Snyder</div>
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P.S. for your viewing pleasure, a picture of my former district with our mustaches.</div>
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Serena Snyderhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/12084815879888090486noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6409430254065872680.post-81936615327966644742015-10-04T17:51:00.000-07:002015-10-04T17:51:14.338-07:00We ate cow tongue for dinner last night...<div style="font-family: Helvetica;">
Hello hello! How's everyone doing? Shoutout to my sweet brother, Happy Birthday yesterday! Also happy birthday to my sweet companion yesterday! Members had us over for an exciting meal last night and we ate cow tongue. Hahaha. To be honest, it was actually pretty good!<br />
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This next week we have transfers. We get transfer emails tomorrow evening, so we'll see what happens! Tomorrow morning Hermana Clark that we live with is fixin to report back to the mission home and returns home on Wednesday! We are so sad! We all watched the moon together last night<br />
and celebrated Sister Storms' birthday and it was so fun. So we get to be with her companion for the next few days in our area and in the Spanish area. It will be fun, but we're so sad for her to leave!<br />
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We had a wonderful week! We got to give a training at district meeting, we had some good lessons, and we saw some incredible miracles! Here are a few of my thoughts from our training, from our lessons and miracles, we saw, and from the General Women's session on Saturday. This is going to be a long one, but there is just too much good stuff to not share it! </div>
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I love the expectation that is set for us in our mission, and for our lives, to <strong>know who we are and act accordingly</strong>. To me, that encompasses all parts of the gospel and tells me that if I recognize who I really am in the eternal scheme of things, I will choose every day to follow and live the gospel and Jesus Christ. If I recognize that I am a daughter of God, that I have a divine purpose, that I am of the house of Israel, and that I have much to accomplish, then every day I will choose to act accordingly. This past week, Sister Storms and I had the opportunity to give a training together at our district meeting about being dignified. We felt that first talking about who we are and being all in was important, because when we know who we are, we will be dignified and do all things how God wants us to. We started by reading from Doctrine and Covenants 133:<br />
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5 <strong>Go ye out from Babylon</strong>. Be ye clean that bear the vessels of the Lord.<br />
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8 Send forth the elders of my church unto the nations which are afar off; unto the islands of the sea; send forth unto foreign lands; call upon all nations, first upon the Gentiles, and then upon the Jews.<br />
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9 And behold, and lo, this shall be their cry, and the voice of the Lord unto all people:<strong> Go ye forth unto the land of Zion,</strong> that the borders of my people may be enlarged, and that her stakes may be strengthened, and that Zion may go forth unto the regions round about.<br />
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14 Go ye out from among the nations, even from Babylon, from the midst of wickedness, which is <strong>spiritual Babylon</strong>.<br />
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15 But verily, thus saith the Lord, let not your flight be in haste, but let all things be prepared before you; and he that goeth, <strong>let him not look back </strong>lest sudden destruction shall come upon him. </div>
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I am so grateful that I have made the decision to leave Babylon. To walk away, to run away, into Zion. It is the best decision I have made. Because not only have I made the decision to leave Babylon, but I have made the decision to go to Zion, not looking back. There is nothing there for me. There is nothing in Babylon that could ever bring more happiness than what is found in Zion. Knowing that I have made that decision and that I fully intend to stay in Zion for eternity helps me to know who I am and act accordingly.</div>
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Our biggest miracle this week happened on Tuesday and we were guided to the exact place we needed to be. There is a young man named Tyler that we had met at a restaurant who has been attending the ward after ours with his friends. We have seen him around a few times since, and he told us that he has been enjoying church. His friends are incredible member missionaries. On Tuesday we were driving on the road where our church is located, and we saw Tyler riding his bike down the road. We saw him disappear into the church parking lot, so we flipped around and pulled into the church. He had gone there hoping to get a copy of the Book of Mormon and Doctrine and Covenants. He told us that he has truly felt something different at our church and that he was ready to begin reading. He has talked to the elders in that ward and wants to take it slow, but he wants to read and is willing to act on what he knows. He said that if he knew it was all true, he would want to serve a mission too. We were amazed and so glad that we were there to give him what he needed and talk to him! </div>
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Something that we've been focusing on for the past few days has been helping people find answers to their questions through the Book of Mormon. In Preach My Gospel chapter 5 there is a whole section about the questions of the soul that are answered in the Book of Mormon. We have been printing these out and sharing them with people, and we had an incredible lesson with Rachel and Alyssa the other evening. We read a chapter with them to answer their question, and they picked up on what it meant so quickly! it was amazing. The questions and answers straight from PMG are these:</div>
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Is there a God? (<a href="https://www.lds.org/scriptures/bofm/alma/22?lang=eng"><span style="color: #0066cc;">Alma 22</span></a>)</div>
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What does Jesus Christ expect of me? (<a href="https://www.lds.org/scriptures/bofm/2-ne/9?lang=eng"><span style="color: #0066cc;">2 Nephi 9</span></a>)</div>
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How can a belief in Jesus Christ help me? (<a href="https://www.lds.org/scriptures/bofm/alma/36?lang=eng"><span style="color: #0066cc;">Alma 36</span></a>)</div>
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Is there life after death? (<a href="https://www.lds.org/scriptures/bofm/alma/40?lang=eng"><span style="color: #0066cc;">Alma 40</span></a>)</div>
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What is the purpose of life? (<a href="https://www.lds.org/scriptures/bofm/alma/34?lang=eng"><span style="color: #0066cc;">Alma 34</span></a>)</div>
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Why does God allow evil and suffering to occur? (<a href="https://www.lds.org/scriptures/bofm/2-ne/2?lang=eng"><span style="color: #0066cc;">2 Nephi 2</span></a>; <a href="https://www.lds.org/scriptures/bofm/alma/14.9-11?lang=eng#8"><span style="color: #0066cc;">Alma 14:9–11</span></a>; <a href="https://www.lds.org/scriptures/bofm/alma/60.13?lang=eng#12"><span style="color: #0066cc;">60:13</span></a>)</div>
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Does my infant need to be baptized? (<a href="https://www.lds.org/scriptures/bofm/moro/8?lang=eng"><span style="color: #0066cc;">Moroni 8</span></a>)</div>
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Does God know me? (<a href="https://www.lds.org/scriptures/bofm/alma/5.38%2C58?lang=eng#37"><span style="color: #0066cc;">Alma 5:38, 58</span></a>)</div>
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Does God answer prayers? (<a href="https://www.lds.org/scriptures/bofm/enos/1.1?lang=eng#0"><span style="color: #0066cc;">Enos 1</span></a>)</div>
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How can I find peace and joy? (<a href="https://www.lds.org/scriptures/bofm/mosiah/2?lang=eng"><span style="color: #0066cc;">Mosiah 2, 4</span></a>)</div>
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How can my family be happier and more united? (<a href="https://www.lds.org/scriptures/bofm/mosiah/2?lang=eng"><span style="color: #0066cc;">Mosiah 2</span></a>)</div>
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How can I balance my family and career? (<a href="https://www.lds.org/scriptures/bofm/3-ne/13?lang=eng"><span style="color: #0066cc;">3 Nephi 13</span></a>)</div>
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How can I strengthen my relationship with my spouse? (<a href="https://www.lds.org/scriptures/bofm/3-ne/14?lang=eng"><span style="color: #0066cc;">3 Nephi 14</span></a>)</div>
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How can I avoid the evils that threaten my family? (<a href="https://www.lds.org/scriptures/bofm/alma/39?lang=eng"><span style="color: #0066cc;">Alma 39</span></a>)</div>
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How can I avoid sin? (<a href="https://www.lds.org/scriptures/bofm/hel/5?lang=eng"><span style="color: #0066cc;">Helaman 5</span></a>)</div>
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Studying these has helped me SO much!!</div>
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The last thing I'll mention is the General Women's session that was on Saturday. First of all, it makes me so thrilled for this next weekend of General Conference!! I can't even believe it's here again! Here are some of my favorite things that I got out of it:</div>
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-Life is a gift, and God does have a plan for each one of us.</div>
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-Because we are His children, we not only need Him, but He needs us as well.</div>
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-We must be so careful, sisters. We cannot play with Satan's fiery darts and expect not to be burned.</div>
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-The reward is so great, everlasting, eternal, and joyful that we may say to our Father, "Is that all that was required?" We will do anything to return to live with Them when we realize their love for us. What will they mean when the trials are the very things that qualify us for eternal life?</div>
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-We each have a glorious work to do. I this cause, we are all valued, we are all needed. The righteous cause we serve is of Jesus Christ, it is the work of salvation. His cause is the good news. It is His sacrifice. Our Savior has marked the path and led the way. If we choose to serve the Lord, we will stand pure before Him at the last day.</div>
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-In this work, we may know the pure love of God and obtain true joy.</div>
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-Faith turns our whole lives around. Faith led to hope. Faith and hope gave me confidence that one day things would work out. Because of the Savior, everything will be made right.</div>
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Faith in the Savior taught me that no matter what happened in the past, my story could have a happy ending.</div>
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-Now is part of eternity. We can be happy now.</div>
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-May faith fortify every footstep along your way.</div>
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I am grateful for the simple truths of the gospel and the changes that take place in each of us as we more fully strive to live them. It is such a blessing to witness people making that change every single day. There is no other way to be happy, truly, truly happy, than by living the loving principles of the gospel. </div>
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<strong>"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."</strong> (2 Nephi 31:20)</div>
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I love y'all and hope you have an incredible week!</div>
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Love,</div>
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Sister Snyder</div>
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Here's a picture of us with Fong this week :)</div>
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Serena Snyderhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/12084815879888090486noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6409430254065872680.post-1395474554120632102015-09-17T19:27:00.002-07:002015-09-17T19:27:36.717-07:00"sacrifice brings forth the blessings of heaven"<span style="font-family: Helvetica;">Hello!!</span><br />
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How is everyone doing? I hope that all y'all have had a great week and are enjoying life! We had an incredible week! Our area is being so blessed and Heavenly Father is literally placing people in our path that are prepared to receive the gospel. Every day we are amazed by what happens. We have been striving so hard to be diligent and to turn outward, and we have seen the blessings from that. We have been working more and more to forget ourselves and focus everything on the people here---the investigators, the members, everyone. I feel so much happier when I am not worried about myself. When I'm not studying for myself, but rather for our investigators or the other sisters. The Lord provides me with what I need to know, and then allows me to share it with others and help to</div>
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We went on exchanges twice this week, and I got to stay in New Hope for both of them. Sister Fullam from Austin came here on Tuesday-Wednesday, then Sister Burrows from Rockdale came here from Thursday-Friday. Both exchanges were so great!! We met the greatest people and we were able to teach them right on the spot, which I love. These sisters we get to work with are amazing! I learned so much about loving people, using the scriptures more, and being more family focused.</div>
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Our investigators are doing well and we've been able to meet with a lot of former investigators and one came to church this week! Our members are so helpful in the work here and we love it! New Hope is such a great area/ward and we're going to keep working our hardest so that the Lord can work through us to hasten His work here.</div>
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Something funny from this week is that we went to meet with Fong and took the one Cantonese speaker that we know of in the stake. He's awesome. So Fong always gives us fruit of some sort to eat, and this time it was cantaloupe. So he thanks her and tells her it's delicious in Cantonese, so I repeat what he says just to be funny and try to speak the language. FONG LOVED IT. Hahaha. She was laughing and saying that I was so good and it was just the funniest thing ever. We taught her about prophets and it was good. </div>
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There's a section at the beginning of the missionary handbook titled "Your Calling". That's something we've been discussing a lot lately. About having a fire burning within us to do the Lord's work as we realize the importance of our callings. One of my favorite lines in it simply says, "How great is your calling!" Throughout this last transfer and this last week, I have more fully come to know the greatness of my calling. Not only as a full time missionary, but as a</div>
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full time member of the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints. Not only as a member of the Church, but as one known and loved by Jesus Christ. And not only as one known and loved by Jesus Christ, but as a daughter of a Heavenly Father who loves me more than I can<br />comprehend, and who is in every detail of my life. My calling is that of one of His children, sent here to receive teachings of the gospel, to live them, and to share them with my family, with my friends, and with all of His children. How great is my calling! How great are all of our callings! We all have chosen to come here, and we're here for a reason. We have the greatest potential, and the way to achieve that potential is found in the scriptures, from our prophets, and through prayer with our Father in Heaven. Never, ever doubt the greatness of your calling as a son or daughter of God.</div>
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Yesterday as we were driving in the car, I was thinking about what I really know to be true, and how to help others that may be struggling a little, because it happens to all of us. It led me to ask myself if I 100% know the restored gospel of Jesus Christ to be true. I am grateful for everything I have learned that allowed me to answer 'yes'. A phrase that we use in our mission that came from a returned TSAMer is that "the blood of the Restoration flows through my veins." That is something that I have always wanted. I've always had a deep faith in the gospel being restored, especially through the prophet Joseph Smith. But yesterday as I thought about this, I really felt in myself that this is now who I am. I am a product of the Restoration. I am living it, and there is not one single doubt in my mind that Jesus Christ's true teachings and authority have been brought back. And there is so much that comes with it. Every part of my life is the way it is because of the Restoration. My family is not temporary, but eternal because of it. I have true and full access to the Atonement. I know the plan Heavenly Father has for me. We have baptism by proper authority. We have the Book of Mormon to guide us. The blood of the Restoration does flow through my veins. It is who I am, and who I will become. It is what I will live for, die for, and it is what has changed me. "I have learned for myself." And the best part of knowing this and feeling this is that it's the same for each one of us, whether we've come to know it yet, or whether we're not quite there. It's about the direction we're facing, not our position that matters. </div>
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I love this gospel with all of my heart. I know it to be true, and I know that we all can and will know for ourselves as well. </div>
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I love y'all!!!</div>
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Love,</div>
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Sister Snyder</div>
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Pictures 1: Sister Burrows and me at the end of our exchange on Friday morning</div>
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2: Saturday night so excited that we got mail from our MOMS!!!</div>
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Serena Snyderhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/12084815879888090486noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6409430254065872680.post-36695120765753129422015-09-07T16:17:00.002-07:002015-09-07T16:17:45.685-07:00happy labor day!<span style="background-color: white; color: #222222; font-family: arial, sans-serif;">Hello hello!!</span><br />
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I hope everyone is having the happiest labor day ever! our week was too good to be true.</div>
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This week we had zone meeting, exchanges with the lead sister training leaders, exchanges with some other sisters, and incredible lessons and experiences with our investigators. I've been studying a lot about the importance of extending commitments to people boldly and lovingly. we talked a lot about it at zone conference, especially about inviting people to be baptized and following up with them. Inviting people to make these changes in their lives is so vital for them. And it's not about being accountable to the missionaries or doing something just because we asked. When we extend commitments to these people, we should be doing it because we love them so much, we truly desire their salvation. Obedience to the Lord's commandments out of love brings us happiness and blessings that we can't even imagine. Mosiah <span class="aBn" data-term="goog_830959170" style="border-bottom-color: rgb(204, 204, 204); border-bottom-style: dashed; border-bottom-width: 1px; position: relative; top: -2px; z-index: 0;" tabindex="0"><span class="aQJ" style="position: relative; top: 2px; z-index: -1;">2:41</span></span> puts it perfectly:</div>
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<a href="" name="14fa97d861974a8e_41" style="background-position: 0px 0px; border: 0px; color: #0091bc; font-family: Palatino, 'Palatino Linotype', Pahoran, Georgia, 'Times New Roman', serif; line-height: 25.2px; margin: 0px; padding: 0px; vertical-align: baseline;"> </a><span style="font-family: arial, helvetica, sans-serif;"><b><span style="background-repeat: initial initial; border: 0px; color: #333333; line-height: 25.2px; margin: 0px 1px 0px 0px; padding: 0px; vertical-align: baseline;"><span style="background-color: #ffbf98; background-repeat: initial initial; border: 0px; margin: 0px; padding: 0px; vertical-align: baseline;">41 </span></span><span style="background-color: #ffbf98; background-repeat: initial initial; border: 0px; color: #333333; line-height: 25.2px; margin: 0px; padding: 0px; vertical-align: baseline;">And </span><span style="background-color: #ffbf98; background-repeat: initial initial; border: 0px; color: #333333; line-height: 25.2px; margin: 0px; padding: 0px; vertical-align: baseline;">moreover, </span><span style="background-color: #ffbf98; background-repeat: initial initial; border: 0px; color: #333333; line-height: 25.2px; margin: 0px; padding: 0px; vertical-align: baseline;">I </span><span style="background-color: #ffbf98; background-repeat: initial initial; border: 0px; color: #333333; line-height: 25.2px; margin: 0px; padding: 0px; vertical-align: baseline;">would </span><span style="background-color: #ffbf98; background-repeat: initial initial; border: 0px; color: #333333; line-height: 25.2px; margin: 0px; padding: 0px; vertical-align: baseline;">desi<wbr></wbr>re </span><span style="background-color: #ffbf98; background-repeat: initial initial; border: 0px; color: #333333; line-height: 25.2px; margin: 0px; padding: 0px; vertical-align: baseline;">that </span><span style="background-color: #ffbf98; background-repeat: initial initial; border: 0px; color: #333333; line-height: 25.2px; margin: 0px; padding: 0px; vertical-align: baseline;">ye </span><span style="background-color: #ffbf98; background-repeat: initial initial; border: 0px; color: #333333; line-height: 25.2px; margin: 0px; padding: 0px; vertical-align: baseline;">should </span><span style="background-color: #ffbf98; background-repeat: initial initial; border: 0px; color: #333333; line-height: 25.2px; margin: 0px; padding: 0px; vertical-align: baseline;">consider </span><span style="background-color: #ffbf98; background-repeat: initial initial; border: 0px; color: #333333; line-height: 25.2px; margin: 0px; padding: 0px; vertical-align: baseline;">on </span><span style="background-color: #ffbf98; background-repeat: initial initial; border: 0px; color: #333333; line-height: 25.2px; margin: 0px; padding: 0px; vertical-align: baseline;"><wbr></wbr>the </span><span style="background-color: #ffbf98; background-repeat: initial initial; border: 0px; color: #333333; line-height: 25.2px; margin: 0px; padding: 0px; vertical-align: baseline;">blessed </span><span style="background-color: #ffbf98; background-repeat: initial initial; border: 0px; color: #333333; line-height: 25.2px; margin: 0px; padding: 0px; vertical-align: baseline;">and </span><span style="background-color: #ffbf98; background-repeat: initial initial; border: 0px; color: #333333; line-height: 25.2px; margin: 0px; padding: 0px; vertical-align: baseline;">happy</span><span style="background-color: #ffbf98; background-repeat: initial initial; border: 0px; color: #333333; line-height: 25.2px; margin: 0px; padding: 0px; vertical-align: baseline;"> state </span><span style="background-color: #ffbf98; background-repeat: initial initial; border: 0px; color: #333333; line-height: 25.2px; margin: 0px; padding: 0px; vertical-align: baseline;">of<wbr></wbr> </span><span style="background-color: #ffbf98; background-repeat: initial initial; border: 0px; color: #333333; line-height: 25.2px; margin: 0px; padding: 0px; vertical-align: baseline;">those </span><span style="background-color: #ffbf98; background-repeat: initial initial; border: 0px; color: #333333; line-height: 25.2px; margin: 0px; padding: 0px; vertical-align: baseline;">that </span><span style="background-color: #ffbf98; background-repeat: initial initial; border: 0px; color: #333333; line-height: 25.2px; margin: 0px; padding: 0px; vertical-align: baseline;">keep </span><span style="background-color: #ffbf98; background-repeat: initial initial; border: 0px; color: #333333; line-height: 25.2px; margin: 0px; padding: 0px; vertical-align: baseline;">the </span><span style="background-color: #ffbf98; background-repeat: initial initial; border: 0px; color: #333333; line-height: 25.2px; margin: 0px; padding: 0px; vertical-align: baseline;">commandme<wbr></wbr>nts </span><span style="background-color: #ffbf98; background-repeat: initial initial; border: 0px; color: #333333; line-height: 25.2px; margin: 0px; padding: 0px; vertical-align: baseline;">of </span><span style="background-color: #ffbf98; background-repeat: initial initial; border: 0px; color: #333333; line-height: 25.2px; margin: 0px; padding: 0px; vertical-align: baseline;">God. </span><span style="background-color: #ffbf98; background-repeat: initial initial; border: 0px; color: #333333; line-height: 25.2px; margin: 0px; padding: 0px; vertical-align: baseline;">For </span><span style="background-color: #ffbf98; background-repeat: initial initial; border: 0px; color: #333333; line-height: 25.2px; margin: 0px; padding: 0px; vertical-align: baseline;">behold, </span><span style="background-color: #ffbf98; background-repeat: initial initial; border: 0px; color: #333333; line-height: 25.2px; margin: 0px; padding: 0px; vertical-align: baseline;">they </span><span style="background-color: #ffbf98; background-repeat: initial initial; border: 0px; color: #333333; line-height: 25.2px; margin: 0px; padding: 0px; vertical-align: baseline;">a<wbr></wbr>re </span><span style="background-color: #ffbf98; background-repeat: initial initial; border: 0px; color: #333333; line-height: 25.2px; margin: 0px; padding: 0px; vertical-align: baseline;">blessed</span><span style="background-color: #ffbf98; background-repeat: initial initial; border: 0px; color: #333333; line-height: 25.2px; margin: 0px; padding: 0px; vertical-align: baseline;"> in </span><span style="background-color: #ffbf98; background-repeat: initial initial; border: 0px; color: #333333; line-height: 25.2px; margin: 0px; padding: 0px; vertical-align: baseline;">all </span><span style="background-color: #ffbf98; background-repeat: initial initial; border: 0px; color: #333333; line-height: 25.2px; margin: 0px; padding: 0px; vertical-align: baseline;">things, </span><span style="background-color: #ffbf98; background-repeat: initial initial; border: 0px; color: #333333; line-height: 25.2px; margin: 0px; padding: 0px; vertical-align: baseline;">both<wbr></wbr> </span><span style="background-color: #ffbf98; background-repeat: initial initial; border: 0px; color: #333333; line-height: 25.2px; margin: 0px; padding: 0px; vertical-align: baseline;">temporal </span><span style="background-color: #ffbf98; background-repeat: initial initial; border: 0px; color: #333333; line-height: 25.2px; margin: 0px; padding: 0px; vertical-align: baseline;">and </span><span style="background-color: #ffbf98; background-repeat: initial initial; border: 0px; color: #333333; line-height: 25.2px; margin: 0px; padding: 0px; vertical-align: baseline;">spiritual; </span><span style="background-color: #ffbf98; background-repeat: initial initial; border: 0px; color: #333333; line-height: 25.2px; margin: 0px; padding: 0px; vertical-align: baseline;">and </span><span style="background-color: #ffbf98; background-repeat: initial initial; border: 0px; color: #333333; line-height: 25.2px; margin: 0px; padding: 0px; vertical-align: baseline;">i<wbr></wbr>f </span><span style="background-color: #ffbf98; background-repeat: initial initial; border: 0px; color: #333333; line-height: 25.2px; margin: 0px; padding: 0px; vertical-align: baseline;">they </span><span style="background-color: #ffbf98; background-repeat: initial initial; border: 0px; color: #333333; line-height: 25.2px; margin: 0px; padding: 0px; vertical-align: baseline;">hold </span><span style="background-color: #ffbf98; background-repeat: initial initial; border: 0px; color: #333333; line-height: 25.2px; margin: 0px; padding: 0px; vertical-align: baseline;">out </span><span style="background-color: #ffbf98; background-repeat: initial initial; border: 0px; color: #333333; line-height: 25.2px; margin: 0px; padding: 0px; vertical-align: baseline;">faithful</span><span style="background-color: #ffbf98; background-repeat: initial initial; border: 0px; color: #333333; line-height: 25.2px; margin: 0px; padding: 0px; vertical-align: baseline;"> to </span><span style="background-color: #ffbf98; background-repeat: initial initial; border: 0px; color: #333333; line-height: 25.2px; margin: 0px; padding: 0px; vertical-align: baseline;">th<wbr></wbr>e </span><span style="background-color: #ffbf98; background-repeat: initial initial; border: 0px; color: #333333; line-height: 25.2px; margin: 0px; padding: 0px; vertical-align: baseline;">end </span><span style="background-color: #ffbf98; background-repeat: initial initial; border: 0px; color: #333333; line-height: 25.2px; margin: 0px; padding: 0px; vertical-align: baseline;">they </span><span style="background-color: #ffbf98; background-repeat: initial initial; border: 0px; color: #333333; line-height: 25.2px; margin: 0px; padding: 0px; vertical-align: baseline;">are </span><span style="background-color: #ffbf98; background-repeat: initial initial; border: 0px; color: #333333; line-height: 25.2px; margin: 0px; padding: 0px; vertical-align: baseline;">received </span><span style="background-color: #ffbf98; background-repeat: initial initial; border: 0px; color: #333333; line-height: 25.2px; margin: 0px; padding: 0px; vertical-align: baseline;">into </span><span style="background-color: #ffbf98; background-repeat: initial initial; border: 0px; color: #333333; line-height: 25.2px; margin: 0px; padding: 0px; vertical-align: baseline;">h<wbr></wbr>eaven</span><span style="background-color: #ffbf98; background-repeat: initial initial; border: 0px; color: #333333; line-height: 25.2px; margin: 0px; padding: 0px; vertical-align: baseline;">, </span><span style="background-color: #ffbf98; background-repeat: initial initial; border: 0px; color: #333333; line-height: 25.2px; margin: 0px; padding: 0px; vertical-align: baseline;">that </span><span style="background-color: #ffbf98; background-repeat: initial initial; border: 0px; color: #333333; line-height: 25.2px; margin: 0px; padding: 0px; vertical-align: baseline;">thereby </span><span style="background-color: #ffbf98; background-repeat: initial initial; border: 0px; color: #333333; line-height: 25.2px; margin: 0px; padding: 0px; vertical-align: baseline;">they </span><span style="background-color: #ffbf98; background-repeat: initial initial; border: 0px; color: #333333; line-height: 25.2px; margin: 0px; padding: 0px; vertical-align: baseline;">may </span><span style="background-color: #ffbf98; background-repeat: initial initial; border: 0px; color: #333333; line-height: 25.2px; margin: 0px; padding: 0px; vertical-align: baseline;">d<wbr></wbr>well </span><span style="background-color: #ffbf98; background-repeat: initial initial; border: 0px; color: #333333; line-height: 25.2px; margin: 0px; padding: 0px; vertical-align: baseline;">with </span><span style="background-color: #ffbf98; background-repeat: initial initial; border: 0px; color: #333333; line-height: 25.2px; margin: 0px; padding: 0px; vertical-align: baseline;">God </span><span style="background-color: #ffbf98; background-repeat: initial initial; border: 0px; color: #333333; line-height: 25.2px; margin: 0px; padding: 0px; vertical-align: baseline;">in </span><span style="background-color: #ffbf98; background-repeat: initial initial; border: 0px; color: #333333; line-height: 25.2px; margin: 0px; padding: 0px; vertical-align: baseline;">a </span><span style="background-color: #ffbf98; background-repeat: initial initial; border: 0px; color: #333333; line-height: 25.2px; margin: 0px; padding: 0px; vertical-align: baseline;">state </span><span style="background-color: #ffbf98; background-repeat: initial initial; border: 0px; color: #333333; line-height: 25.2px; margin: 0px; padding: 0px; vertical-align: baseline;">of </span><span style="background-color: #ffbf98; background-repeat: initial initial; border: 0px; color: #333333; line-height: 25.2px; margin: 0px; padding: 0px; vertical-align: baseline;">ne<wbr></wbr>ver-ending </span><span style="background-color: #ffbf98; background-repeat: initial initial; border: 0px; color: #333333; line-height: 25.2px; margin: 0px; padding: 0px; vertical-align: baseline;">happiness. </span><span style="background-color: #ffbf98; background-repeat: initial initial; border: 0px; color: #333333; line-height: 25.2px; margin: 0px; padding: 0px; vertical-align: baseline;">O </span><span style="background-color: #ffbf98; background-repeat: initial initial; border: 0px; color: #333333; line-height: 25.2px; margin: 0px; padding: 0px; vertical-align: baseline;">rememb<wbr></wbr>er, </span><span style="background-color: #ffbf98; background-repeat: initial initial; border: 0px; color: #333333; line-height: 25.2px; margin: 0px; padding: 0px; vertical-align: baseline;">remember </span><span style="background-color: #ffbf98; background-repeat: initial initial; border: 0px; color: #333333; line-height: 25.2px; margin: 0px; padding: 0px; vertical-align: baseline;">that </span><span style="background-color: #ffbf98; background-repeat: initial initial; border: 0px; color: #333333; line-height: 25.2px; margin: 0px; padding: 0px; vertical-align: baseline;">these </span><span style="background-color: #ffbf98; background-repeat: initial initial; border: 0px; color: #333333; line-height: 25.2px; margin: 0px; padding: 0px; vertical-align: baseline;">things<wbr></wbr> </span><span style="background-color: #ffbf98; background-repeat: initial initial; border: 0px; color: #333333; line-height: 25.2px; margin: 0px; padding: 0px; vertical-align: baseline;">are </span><span style="background-color: #ffbf98; background-repeat: initial initial; border: 0px; color: #333333; line-height: 25.2px; margin: 0px; padding: 0px; vertical-align: baseline;">true; </span><span style="background-color: #ffbf98; background-repeat: initial initial; border: 0px; color: #333333; line-height: 25.2px; margin: 0px; padding: 0px; vertical-align: baseline;">for </span><span style="background-color: #ffbf98; background-repeat: initial initial; border: 0px; color: #333333; line-height: 25.2px; margin: 0px; padding: 0px; vertical-align: baseline;">the </span><span style="background-color: #ffbf98; background-repeat: initial initial; border: 0px; color: #333333; line-height: 25.2px; margin: 0px; padding: 0px; vertical-align: baseline;">Lord </span><span style="background-color: #ffbf98; background-repeat: initial initial; border: 0px; color: #333333; line-height: 25.2px; margin: 0px; padding: 0px; vertical-align: baseline;">God </span><span style="background-color: #ffbf98; background-repeat: initial initial; border: 0px; color: #333333; line-height: 25.2px; margin: 0px; padding: 0px; vertical-align: baseline;">ha<wbr></wbr>th </span><span style="background-color: #ffbf98; background-repeat: initial initial; border: 0px; color: #333333; line-height: 25.2px; margin: 0px; padding: 0px; vertical-align: baseline;">spoken </span><span style="background-color: #ffbf98; background-repeat: initial initial; border: 0px; color: #333333; line-height: 25.2px; margin: 0px; padding: 0px; vertical-align: baseline;">it.</span></b></span></div>
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To me, that scripture sums up why we even ask people to do things. I love these people and I so want for them to experience the happiness that comes from the gospel. </div>
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Exchanges were awesome! We met so many neat people and had the opportunity to talk with a lot of people. Miracles always happen on exchanges. I went down to Zilker Park with Sister Scott and it was so great to be with her again! I sure do love her and I learned so much from being on an exchange with her. </div>
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<span class="aBn" data-term="goog_830959171" style="border-bottom-color: rgb(204, 204, 204); border-bottom-style: dashed; border-bottom-width: 1px; position: relative; top: -2px; z-index: 0;" tabindex="0"><span class="aQJ" style="position: relative; top: 2px; z-index: -1;">Friday</span></span> was my birthday an I'm a real adult now. Haha. I live with the greatest sisters. I got home from exchanges and they had decorated my bed and they made me a cake and it was so fun! It was one of the happiest birthdays i've had.</div>
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Yesterday was a day of miracles!! We had 6 people come to church!! We met the sweetest family earlier this week, a mom and her 3 daughters, and they came to church and loved it. And Fong went to another ward where they could translate for her, then we had two other investigators come. Our 11 and 13 year old investigators both shared their testimonies!! It was AWESOME. Such sincere and loving testimonies of how they know that Heavenly Father knows and loves each one of us. Two of our investigators are set with a baptismal date for the 26th, and we are so excited! So many good things happened this week. I really wish I could explain it all, but just know that it was awesome. We are going on exchanges again <span class="aBn" data-term="goog_830959172" style="border-bottom-color: rgb(204, 204, 204); border-bottom-style: dashed; border-bottom-width: 1px; position: relative; top: -2px; z-index: 0;" tabindex="0"><span class="aQJ" style="position: relative; top: 2px; z-index: -1;">tomorrow</span></span> and I'm so excited! There is always so much to learn, and it's such a blessing to be a missionary. It's the happiest work in the world.</div>
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I love y'all.</div>
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Love,</div>
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Sister Snyder</div>
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P.S. Here's some pictures from this week! With my birthday cake and the sweetest member in my ward that is from Nicaragua! MOM.</div>
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Serena Snyderhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/12084815879888090486noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6409430254065872680.post-77641541600777937802015-09-07T16:15:00.000-07:002015-09-07T16:15:07.965-07:00for real the greates week ever (from August 31)<span style="background-color: white; color: #222222; font-family: arial, sans-serif;">Hello! This week was too incredible to put into words. And i don't have much time. But know this: </span><br />
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We are all so much more than what we think. We are children of God. We are capable. We are beautiful. We are able to become who we're meant to be because of Jesus Christ. "Can't" should never be an option. We are not confined to the box of the world. We have a purpose. We can change. We can choose to be our very best. We have eternal potential, and we need to value it. We choose eternal life by choosing Christ. We are becoming who we will become.</div>
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Love y'all!</div>
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Love,</div>
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Sister Snyder</div>
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1) Us with the Slaughters after our session at the temple!</div>
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2) My lovely companion and me!</div>
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Serena Snyderhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/12084815879888090486noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6409430254065872680.post-40038894241058291762015-08-26T19:13:00.001-07:002015-08-26T19:13:24.334-07:00hooray for new hope round 2!<div style="color: #222222; font-family: arial, sans-serif;">
Hello!!</div>
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Happy Monday! I hope y'all are having a great day so far, we sure are! </div>
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In other news I hit 13 months yesterday and want to cry. Every week I struggle to know how to adequately explain the week I've had and how incredible every day is as we choose to make it so. Ammon's words are really what explain it best: <strong>"I cannot say the smallest part which I feel.</strong></div>
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On Tuesday we got transfer emails and Sister Storms and I are both staying here!! We're really excited, and at transfer meeting we were assigned to be sister training leaders, so we get to work with other sisters and go on exchanges and such. it's going to be so great, and I'm excited to learn from all of the sisters! this week we get to go to San Antonio for two meetings, tomorrow for MLC(missionary leadership council), and then <span class="aBn" data-term="goog_1668307465" style="border-bottom-color: rgb(204, 204, 204); border-bottom-style: dashed; border-bottom-width: 1px; position: relative; top: -2px; z-index: 0;" tabindex="0"><span class="aQJ" style="position: relative; top: 2px; z-index: -1;">on Friday</span></span> for sisters conference! All of the sisters in the mission get together and we get to go to the temple and have meetings and such. This is going to be such a wonderful week! There is so much to learn and do and I'm so excited for it all!</div>
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This week was really good. We set some goals of what we know we can accomplish this transfer and how we will do it. We have a goal set to have 4 people become members of the church by the end of this transfer, and we are going to do everything we possibly can to make that happen and help these people see how important they are and how the gospel can bless them. It's going to be an awesome transfer. </div>
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Last Monday evening before we headed out to proselyte, we had a neat experience. Sister Storms and I had been reading letters and emails from our parents and talking about how blessed we are. Then we were looking at pictures of a little girl one of the hermanas knows that had passed away and talking about the Plan of Salvation. We went into our room to pray before we left the apartment, and as we knelt down to pray, Sister Storms and I looked at each other and we both started crying. Now listen, I really don't cry that often, but I just couldn't hold it in. THERE IS JUST SO MUCH TO BE GRATEFUL FOR. </div>
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Too often we overcomplicate our lives and make things harder than they are, and all we need is to take a step back and look at what we have. I know that life is not easy and at times it seems hopeless, but I promise you that there is so much more. And as we knelt to pray, we felt that. In that moment I could completely feel that we have a loving Father in Heaven who has given us a time to learn and a way to return to be with Him. We have a Savior. We have a divine purpose. We are cherished beings of our Father. We have every reason to stand tall and confident, and to be happy. The world will try to tear us down, but we have so much to be grateful for, and so much to live up to. I love the words of Ammon in Alma 26:35 and 37:</div>
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<strong>"Now have we not reason to rejoice? Yea, I say unto you, there never were men that had so great reason to rejoice as we, since the world began..."</strong></div>
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<a href="" name="14f60e1aaeecef36_37"><strong> </strong></a><strong>"Now my brethren, we see that God is mindful of every people, whatsoever land they may be in; yea, he numbereth his people, and his bowels of mercy are over all the earth. Now this is my joy, and my great thanksgiving; yea, and I will give thanks unto my God forever. Amen."</strong></div>
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He loves us. We are His children. And we have such a great purpose. Never forget who you are and how loved you are and how much more there is to come. We are an extremely blessed people.</div>
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<strong>"Brethren, shall we not go on in so great a cause? Go forward and not backward. Courage, brethren; and on, on to the victory! Let your hearts rejoice, and be exceedingly glad." </strong>(Doctrine and Covenants 128:22)</div>
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I love y'all.</div>
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Love,</div>
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Sister Snyder</div>
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1. My district last transfer. One of the very best districts around!</div>
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2. After transfer meeting in the rain with the cutie sisters we live with!</div>
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Serena Snyderhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/12084815879888090486noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6409430254065872680.post-15082003037532898662015-08-18T20:37:00.002-07:002015-08-18T20:37:54.109-07:00it rained this week for 15 minutes<br />
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Hello everyone! Wow what a week of learning and miracles and answered prayers! Never ever doubt that our Heavenly Father loves us or hears us, because He definitely does. We saw that a lot this last week! .</div>
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So on Sunday night we had met the neighbor of an investigator(this apartment complex is full of so many wonderful people!) named Meagan, and on Monday we went back to teach her, and she LOVED it all. The next night we taught her and her son, and they committed to baptism in September. They are so accepting of the truth and have such pure and simple faith. I love it so much. We have been praying and working hard to be so diligent so that we can find these people that are prepared, and the Lord is so good to us and to His children that are prepared to hear the truth at this time.</div>
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Another thing that still amazes me is that we just help people carry things or just say hello, and the next thing we know we're sitting in their apartment talking about Jesus Christ. That happened this week with the sweetest woman and I'm so grateful for the faith people have. Our other investigators are doing well and they are such amazing people!</div>
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One experience I must share is from Saturday evening. The American Sign Language sisters were having a baptism for their 11 year old deaf investigator. Meagan and her little girl came to see it, and they know some ASL so it was perfect. The baptism was incredible. It was all in ASL, and there were translators for the hearing. The prayers were in ASL, the bishop welcomed her in ASL, and people practiced so hard for it. The Spirit there was so strong. Everyone felt it. That sweet girl that got baptized was so excited and pure and I wish y'all could have been there. It was so quiet and peaceful and it was just the best feeling being there. Definitely something I will never forget. </div>
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This week was one of refinement and answered prayers and such an opportunity for growth and increased faith in my Father in Heaven and Jesus Christ. I love His gospel and how loving it is! I feel it so deep within me and I can't quite describe it fully, but it's of comfort and truth. I just feel such peace and happiness of knowing the Plan, of knowing how encompassing the Atonement is, and how much love there is. I know who I, and every other single person, am intended to become. And although I'm not there yet, I see that there are so many things to learn along the way that will ultimately take me there. I have that ultimate end goal of living a life of faithfulness to God that will allow me to stand worthy and repentant before Him, allowing me to live eternally with Heavenly Father, Jesus Christ, and my family. I can't imagine anything sweeter or more joyful. And along the way, there are the smaller goals that lead to the end goal. The restored teachings of our Savior and the saving ordinances administered by the priesthood are the only way back. The power of God is greater than the power of man, and it's His power and authority thats binds us together for eternity. And it's all here for us to feast upon, to learn from, and to work on. I'm so grateful that we have this time to learn for ourselves of the goodness of God. That we get to experience trials and good things that help us rely on the Savior. As we push forward and work hard to be better than we were yesterday, the Lord strengthens us and allows us to become who we are meant to be. And I absolutely love that I get to be an instrument in God's hands to help others realize the same.</div>
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In my studies this week, I was focusing on diligence and the priesthood. President Slaughter had shared a quote with me that says "Self-discipline and self-control are consistent and permanent characteristics of the followers of Jesus." It's from an Ensign article called "The Price of Discipleship" by President Faust in the April 1999 Ensign. I went and read the article, and it changed me. Please read it if you get the chance. I learned so much from it. The price we pay to be disciples of Christ is obedience. To fully follow Christ, we first need to seek the direction of the Master. And sometimes it seems like we have to give up a lot. We forsake the world, we cast out all evil, we are disciplined, we learn to repent and enjoy forgiveness. It seems like a heavy cross to carry, but it doesnt end up being so, because the strength we need comes from our Savior, and the reward is so great. </div>
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“Take my yoke upon you, and learn of me; for I am meek and lowly in heart: and ye shall find rest unto your souls.</div>
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“For my yoke is easy, and my burden is light” (<a href="https://www.lds.org/scriptures/nt/matt/11.28-30?lang=eng#27"><span style="color: #0066cc;">Matt. 11:28–30</span></a>).</div>
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Obedience is the price we pay. We learn to love God above all else, and we receive love, strength, peace, joy, and greater than anything else, eternal life with those we love most. So yes, we do give up some things that may be hard, but like President Faust says, <strong>"It's a price we cannot afford <u><em>not</em></u> to pay."</strong></div>
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Love y'all.</div>
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Love,</div>
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Sister Snyder</div>
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P.S. Here's a picture of me and Aleigha. She's moving this week, but don't worry, the other missionaries will continue to meet with her!</div>
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Serena Snyderhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/12084815879888090486noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6409430254065872680.post-19671130246084661032015-08-18T20:36:00.001-07:002015-08-18T20:36:15.506-07:00I never want to leave this place - August 10th, 2015<br />
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happy monday to all of you! I hope you have all been enjoying your summer!</div>
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We had a wonderful week, yet again. There's never not a good week as a missionary. The blessings and miracles are countless and endless and the Lord's promises are so real. All of our investigators are doing well and I love how personal the gospel and the teaching of it is for each person. With Fong, we're focusing more on teaching her English now, which is so fun! With Aleigha, who is 8, we teach her with lots of visuals and activities, and with the Galavis family, we teach by answering their questions that are SO good. The gospel is so personal, because the Atonement of Jesus Christ is personal. Yes, He suffered for all mankind, but I don't think it was all at one time. It was very individual, one by one, and that is how He invites us to come unto Him today. It's what He did with the Nephites in the Book of Mormon (3 Nephi 11:13-17). And it's what He does with us now as we turn to Him through every heartache, feelings of inadequacy, sin, mistake, good thing, victory, learning experience, and miracle. He wants it all. He wants nothing held back, good or bad. President Slaughter brought up a few months ago that we shouldn't forget that it's not the Atonement that saves us, it is Christ! The two are not separate things, they are the same, and Christ loves all of us so much. </div>
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On a different note, last year for my birthday, Syster Bateman sent me a gratitude journal that has a variety of prompts to write about, with the main focus being on expressing gratitude for what we have been given. This last week, I wrote in this journal a lot and focused on what I had been blessed with each day. Then I also wrote what I had learned each day. I want to share with y'all the little things that I was grateful for each day this last week, and what I learned. This may end up being a bit long, but I still want to share.</div>
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<strong>August 5th:</strong></div>
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I'm grateful for: 1)Sister Storms and the great training on planning that she gave at district meeting today 2) to have learned 3 Nephi 5:13, our mission scripture in sign language from the ASL sisters 3) for the enthusiasm of new missionaries 4) for the satisfaction that comes from working hard and contacting people 5) that Fong can meet tomorrow night so that Brother Himmer can come and translate 6) for the Checketts coming to our lesson and testifying of the gospel 7) for the hamburger I ate for dinner</div>
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Today I learned that God keeps His promises to us, His children. He provided a way for our schedules to work out, for members to come to lessons, and He provided people for us to meet. As we did our part to work hard and diligently, He allowed us to meet those that need the gospel at this time. He always fulfills His part of the promise. I love Him.</div>
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<strong>August 6th:</strong></div>
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I'm grateful for: 1) The service we did this morning. We helped put together cauliflower, onions, potatoes, and apples at the Round Rock food pantry. My hands are so sore from untying the sacks, but it was so awesome! I lifted all the onions and took charge of them, and the coordinator Marilyn called me "Onion Girl". Haha. I definitely had to shower after. 2)Sister Slaughter caring so much about each missionary 3)Alfonso leaving a note to say he couldnt meet. It was super thoughtful. 4) #RONROK on the whiteboard in the car. 5)Brother Himmer coming to Fong's lesson to help translate.</div>
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Today I learned that people who cannot understand the gospel or are not quite ready still deserve our best love and service. Often times, that's exactly how they will come to understand.</div>
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<strong>August 7th: </strong></div>
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Truly a crazy day, but full of so many miracles. I'm grateful for: 1) the fact that we finally found a U-Haul after searching and searching for one so we could get a hitch on our new car for our bike rack 2) That the lady at the hotel we stopped at was so nice and printed out directions for us 3)Sister Storms' prescriptions for allergies going from $156 to $76 because of a paper the doctor had given us 4) french toast for dinner 5)discovering the Gospel Library in Cantonese for Fong 5) Meeting with Barbara and Israel tonight. They have such great questions 6)getting an awesome letter from Dad today</div>
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Today I learned that the Lord answers prayers and is so mindful of every single detail of our lives, whether it's the big things or the little things, He loves us and cares about what matters to us.</div>
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<strong>August 8th:</strong></div>
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I'm grateful for: 1) The stake missionary breakfast at President Romero's and the dog that wasn't his that ran into the house as we went inside. Hahaha. 2)the fact that I'm actually understanding the war chapters from Alma in the Book of Mormon, and it's SO good 3)The Limbs and their love for the gospel and the great member missionaries they are.</div>
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Today I learned about perseverance. It was so hot, and we were exhausted and pretty hungry , but as we kept working and stayed on track, we were so blessed. The Limbs gave us a super solid referral and we had a great day. As we give what we have to pay the price, we are extremely blessed for it, either immediately or sometime in the future. When we're patient, the Lord gives us success. </div>
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Okay, one last thing I learned from my studies. I've been reading in Alma 47-50 in the Book of Mormon this past week, about Captain Moroni and how as he and the other Nephites were obedient, the Lord protected them against the Lamanites, who were very wicked at the time. There was one scripture that I really loved. It is Alma 48:7. At this time, the wicked Lamanite king Amalickiah has been killing and lying to gain power, and Moroni has been following good and defending his freedoms. The verse says this: "Now it came to pass that while Amalickiah had thus been obtaining power by fraud and deceit, <strong>Moroni, on the other hand, had been preparing the minds of the people to be faithful unto the Lord their God." </strong>The first thing I thought was that Moroni is a great leader. And as I thought more about the verse, I thought about what the world is trying to teach us, versus what we're trying to teach the world. Lots of influences in the world, all through Satan, would have us believe that it doesn't matter what we do or say, as long as we feel happy. The sad thing is, it's not true or lasting happiness. Heavenly Father has us know that being faithful to God and following Christ is what will bring us true and lasting happiness. There is simply no substitution. The words of the Savior in John 16:33 sum it up so well: <strong>"These things I have spoken unto you, that in me ye might have peace. In the world ye shall have tribulation: but be of good cheer; I have overcome the world."</strong></div>
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I love y'all.</div>
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Serena Snyderhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/12084815879888090486noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6409430254065872680.post-50224495758725956042015-08-02T15:49:00.001-07:002015-08-02T15:49:44.189-07:00Year Mark, Exchanges, and a Miracle!!!<div style="font-family: Helvetica;">
Hello sweet family and friends!!!</div>
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This week was incredible. Every week is, but this week was just top notch. Here's why:</div>
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On Tuesday-Wednesday, we went on exchanges with our sister training leaders. I went to Georgetown/Serenada with Sister Record, and I learned so much! We focused on using scriptures more in teaching, which was one of the goals i had set for the exchange. But the thing I ended up learning the most about was the power and authority of my calling. And not in a conceited way. But throught the restored priesthood of Jesus Christ, missionaries are given power from heaven and the authority from God to preach the everlasting gospel to His children. It has been prophecied of for thousands of years. It is my blessing and my privilege. I am literally gathering Israel. We are all working to gather Israel. Knowing this, how can I not teach with power and authority? Knowing who I am called of, why I'm here, and what the everlasting gospel is enstills in me a confidence and love that makes me want to share the gospel with every person in this world. A good question was posed by an elder in my last district, and I've thought about this question a lot this last week: <strong>Do I understand the eternal significance of right now? </strong></div>
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On Thursday I hit my year mark. Booo. I really cannot believe I have been a fulltime missionary for a year. It blows me away. It's really sad if you think about it. I only have six more months to share the gospel with the people in Texas full time, to have such a great calling. But it motivates me too. I want to work my aboslute hardest during these last 6 months. And i've also been able to see the growth within myself. I have changed, and i could not be more grateful that i have.</div>
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Okay I want to share everything that i study with y'all, but i'll pass on that this week and just share some of the best quotes i came across.</div>
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"The choice to come unto Christ is not a matter of physical location; it is a matter of individual commitment." -Elder Russel M. Nelson</div>
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"Nurture your testimony until it becomes an anchor to your life." -President Thomas S. Monson</div>
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"Hold fast to what you already know and stand strong until additional knowledge comes." -Elder Jeffrey R. Holland</div>
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"Honesty is essential in requesting things from God...Often as I pray, the Spirit nudges me to admit that there is more I should do to receive the help I am asking from the Lord. Then I must commit and do my part. It is contrary to the economy of heaven for the Lord to do for us that which we can do for ourselves." -Elder J. Devn Cornish</div>
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I love the truths given to us by God through his servants on the earth today.</div>
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And now I will share one of the greatest things of my entire mission/life. So the Sanchez family was the family Sister Scott and I were teaching in Garden Ridge. I have emailed back and forth with the mom, and in her last email(last monday) she said that they were set to be baptized on Saturday at 6pm. I was thrilled, but kind of sad I wouldn't be there. I thought that being up in Austin would be too far to go. But Sister Storms said that as long as a member drives, we can go far distances for baptisms. So we called President Slaughter for permission and he said yes! Sister Scott is also in Austin, so on Saturday afternoon, we met at a church and Sister Scott and I headed down to San Antonio with some members while our companions worked together. The best part was that I had talked to the Garden Ridge elders, and we agreed to make it a surprise. The Sanchez family thought for sure that we wouldnt be there. So we got to the church, and waited and surprised them and it was such a happy reunion!! oh my goodness. </div>
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The service was beautiful. There are few things that I can imagine are sweeter than seeing a family being baptized, and being so ready for it. My heart was and is so full of love and gratitude for them and their faith. They truly acted on a small desire, and it grew into so much more. I testify to you that the gospel does change lives and it changes hearts. It fills us with truth and light that cannot and will not be found elsewhere. And seeing them know that for themselves is incredible. After searching, they found it, and they love it. They have changed my heart as well. It has been such a blessing to teach them and witness them making sacred covenants with God. The restored gospel is on the earth, and IT CHANGES AND BLESSES PEOPLE. The Lord keeps his promises, and His love for all people is real. </div>
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Saturday was one of the happiest times of my life. I really cant describe it well enough. All I know is that the Atonement of Christ is real, and that His gospel has been restored, and with that, the priesthood authority that allows us to access the Atonement and be made clean. I'm forever grateful for these people, this gospel, and these experiences that allow me to feel of God's love, and in turn, love Him even more.</div>
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There is no denying that this is the Lord's work and church. The truth is there and felt through the Spirit. I love it, my Savior, and my Father more than anything.</div>
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I love y'all!! Have a great week!</div>
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Love, </div>
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1) Sister Scott and I with the Sanchez famiy :)</div>
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2) The garden ridge elders, us and the sanchez's :)</div>
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Serena Snyderhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/12084815879888090486noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6409430254065872680.post-6707749375188483722015-07-26T09:24:00.000-07:002015-07-26T09:24:10.911-07:00sorry this will be short! <div style="-webkit-text-size-adjust: auto; font-family: UICTFontTextStyleBody; font-size: 17px;">
hi sweet family and friends!</div>
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this will be short, maybe i'll find time to write more later!</div>
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but we have had such a great week! i am so grateful to be where i am right now. New Hope is an answer to prayers, and it is exactly where we need to be right now. We can feel that every single day as we go out to work. </div>
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On Saturday morning we had a breakfast for all of the missionaries at the stake president's house and talked about missionary work and working within the different wards and ward councils. Great ideas were shared and we learned a lot. But my favorite part of it was when one of the ward mission leaders there gave the closing remarks and he talked about this time in our lives as missionaries, and how important and special it is. We need to be waking up so excited for our day, because we get to dedicate it fully to the Lord and others. We're here to change others and change ourselves. And we're here to help others apply the Atonement of Jesus Christ in their lives. That really got me thinking about how to share that with others, and what the difference really is. In Texas, almost everyone is Christian and goes to a church. That's just how it is here. As we go about meeting people and inviting them to hear our message, it can be hard because they already have Christ in their lives. So I was thinking about what the difference really is. And in very simple form, I think it's this:</div>
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Our message is not just that Christ lived. It's that <strong>Christ lives</strong>, <strong>we live because of His Atonement</strong>, and<strong> His gospel lives TODAY</strong>.</div>
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There is nothing that can or will ever change that, and how incredible is that? What a loving God we have, and a loving Savior. They both live, we live, and Their teachings provide love, light, and happiness to our families and our lives. </div>
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Joseph Smith said that the gospel would go forth "boldly, nobly, and independent", and it is. It really is the only way, and I'm so glad it is, because it's such a loving and happy way. If you do not yet know it, or are feeling it slip, or need that strength(because we all do!), turn to the Book of Mormon and to prayer. Talk with our loving Father who wants nothing more than to hear from us. Find answers in the words of God. I promise you that answers will come!</div>
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I know this work is true and I absolutely love it!</div>
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Love,</div>
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Sister Snyder</div>
Serena Snyderhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/12084815879888090486noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6409430254065872680.post-53636979762447527132015-07-14T18:13:00.000-07:002015-07-14T18:14:55.942-07:00I made it to Austin!<div style="font-family: Helvetica;">
Hello!! This email is probably going to be pretty long because its been a super busy week and I havent been able to write in my journal, so this is going to be like my journal for the past week! I'll send pictures from my iPad later.</div>
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So this week has been so busy and so much fun! We spent the earlier part of the week in Garden Ridge teaching our wonderful investigators and trying to write good notes and such for the new missionaries that would be coming in. (It ended up being elders that doubled into Garden Ridge!) We had incredible last lessons with Sue and the Sanchez family. It was SO sad to say bye to them and to the ward members, but it's so comforting to know that other TSAMers will take just as good care of them, and that I'll get to see them again someday. Those people changed me forever, the investigators and members alike. Garden Ridge will always have a part of me.</div>
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We headed to transfer meeting, and the way we do transfers is really fun. We do call outs, so on Sunday evening you just know if youre staying or going, then at transfer meeting you recieve your assignment as the assistants call it out. If your name isnt called at the San Antonio meeting, then you pile into the vans and the assistants drive you up to the Austin transfer meeting. So I could just feel that it was my time to head up to Austin. So I waited to hear my name called, but neither mine or Sister Scott's name was called, so we knew we were going to Austin! So we drove up there with a ton of new missionaries, and then at that meeting I found out who my companion was and what area we were doubling into! </div>
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My companion is Sister Storms from Idaho Falls and I <strong>love</strong> her. We are in the New Hope ward in the Round Rock stake and it's so great!</div>
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Our area covers parts of Cedar Park(where I had been before when we came to a doctors appointment), Round Rock, Leander, and Georgetown(mom!). It is absolutely incredible here and already feels like home. I have absolutely no idea where I am or anything at any given time, but it just feels so good here. Sister Storms is so awesome. She's been out for 14 months and is really funny and a powerful teacher. She's a really great missionary and we're already having so much fun together. This area is so busy and we never seem to have enough time to see everyone we want to! We also live with other sisters, which is so fun. We all sleep on bunkbeds out in the living room. I'm living the dream life. Haha. For real though.</div>
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The ward is incredible! They are so focused on missionary work and on helping us in any way possible. Also you know you're in Texas when the bishop is wearing his suit and cowboy boots. Haha. I love it. We have some wonderful investigators right now, and they are so prepared! I just can't say enough how much I love it here! It's really busy just picking up where someone else left, but we're grateful for the work that is happening and for the fresh start. We have the sweetest investigator named Fong who is from China so we get to teach her using materials in simplified Chinese and have to translate lots of things. She is so sweet and sincere and loves coming to church because of the Spirit she feels and how kind the people are. I'm so excited to meet with her and see the miracles that will come there. </div>
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Another sweet investigator we have is an 83 year old man named Herman. We told him he's like a grandpa to us, and he said "Well, if you'd like to, you can call me Papa." Melt my heart. I just love the people here and I wish i could tell you about everyone and the experiences i have each day but that would go on for hours. We've been meeting with lots of former investigators and they are so receptive! The work will continue to roll forward and we're going to see miracles.</div>
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So if you can't tell and if i haven't already said it enough, i love it here. The Lord truly knows us and what and who we need, and New Hope is what I needed at this time. What a blessing it is to work with such incredible people, to live with amazing sisters, and to have Sister Storms as my companion. I have learned so much this last week and I wanted to share with y'all part of what i've been studying.</div>
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First of all, we're doing a mission study of the For the Strength of Youth pamphlet. It's words are not only for the youth, but for all people. The principles are the exact same and will guide us in our lives. President Slaughter asked us to read it and focus on the agency we're given, and how we will be requried to stand alone a lot of the time. Something I've noticed from each section as I've been studying is that it points to the temple, the house of the Lord. Everything we do in life should lead us to being worthy to attend the temple and receiving the blessings that are found within. The media we use, the friends we have, our desire for education, it all relates to us and our eternal families and preparing to live with God again, which is possible through the temple and the restored priesthood authority. It's amazing that our leaders and our prophet are so inspired that they try to help us see that bigger picture from such a young age.</div>
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The other thing I've been studying is how baptism is a rebirth, or being spiritually reborn. So what changes occur as we are spiritually reborn? We receive a new heart, a heart that knows the Lord (Jer. 24:7). With that new heart, we are so open to the Spirit and to more and more knowledge that will come as we sincerely and diligently seek it. I continued to study this change of heart, because it is mentioned over and over. So why is the heart so important? We know that "the Lord looketh on the heart" (1 Sam 16:7), not on the outward appearance of us. The Lord doesn't see us from the outside in, but rather the opposite. The Lord sees our hearts first, and if they are changed. He sees what our true hopes and desires are, and if we have really turned to Him. Yes, He does want us to obtain knowledge and seek answers, but if we simply have knowledge without conviction and belief in our hearts, then it doesn't do us much good. I feel like before I came on my mission, I knew the gospel from the sense of having knowledge of it. I knew things in my mind, and most of the time they did make sense. But by giving this time to the Lord and learning to truly love Him and serve Him, my heart has been changed, and I won't allow it to be temporary. The love I have felt is so real and pure, and I can't imagine not having that with me. If our minds are the only things turned to the Lord, then the change will be temporary. <strong>But if our hearts are turned to the Lord, then we are committing ourselves to lifelong and eternal discipleship. </strong></div>
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This blessing is not limited to those who serve full-time missions, it can be experienced by all. Spiritual rebirth is a continuous process, and as we change our hearts, our very natures will change and we are filled with the love of God. I love Alma 5:26--"And now behold, I say unto you, my brethren,<strong>if ye have experienced a change of heart</strong>, and if ye have felt to sing the song of redeeming love, I would ask, <strong>can ye feel so now?" </strong>I have felt it, and I can feel it now. The change continues as we keep the commandments, as we love and serve God with all of our might, mind and strength, and as we study His word and talk to Him. We will feel the Spirit, we will experience that change of heart.</div>
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In the beginning of Preach My Gospel, there's a letter from the First Presidency, and in it they say, "More happiness awaits you than you have ever experienced as you labor among His children." That is my change. I have never, ever been any happier than I now am. And I didn't know it was possible. I am changed because that joy doesn't come from anything the world has to offer, it comes from a loving Heavenly Father and His Son. And seeing others experience that change of heart and sing the song of redeeming love only increases that happiness and joy. </div>
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I love this gospel and the Lord more than anything, because it is the only way to receive true and lasting happiness.</div>
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I love y'all so much!</div>
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Love,</div>
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Me and sister storms this morning</div>
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<span style="font-family: Helvetica;"> Leander, TX-basically represents all of my beloved texas</span></div>
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Serena Snyderhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/12084815879888090486noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6409430254065872680.post-74656739336713200782015-07-12T13:34:00.002-07:002015-07-12T13:36:14.572-07:00Double out, double in<div style="font-family: Helvetica;">
Hello sweet family and friends!! I hope everyone had a good 4th! Sorry I haven't written in a few weeks! We've been really busy and time just slips away! But thing have been going AMAZING. We have seen absolute miracles during the past few weeks and I have learned so, so much.</div>
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First things first, last night we received transfer news! Sister Scott and I are both leaving! We're doubling out, and we will both be doubling in to areas. We don't know if we'll double in together, we just know we're both going to areas where both missionaries will be new to the area. It's so crazy to be leaving Garden Ridge! I feel like this is where I've always been. But I am very excited for a change and to meet new people! It's going to be awesome! We're sad to leave our incredible investigators, but all of the missionaries are wonderful, so we're not worried. </div>
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Our investigators are doing awesome! We're teaching the best family around. They are so sincere and have such great faith. I wish I could sit down with all of you and try to express how much these people mean to me and all about them, but for now, just trust me that they're really great! </div>
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Another investigator we have is the wife of a member who hasn't been to church for quite a while, and they are so awesome. So funny and Texan and so, so sincere. We gave them a church tour the other day, and she loved it, especially the baptismal font. Those two say the funniest things and we sure love them. The work is progressing so well and my testimony has been strengthened that the Lord truly is preparing people. It's all in His own time, and He truly knows best. I just count myself very privileged that I was able to know these people and get to see them grow in the gospel. </div>
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We had an awesome zone meeting on Friday and one things we talked about was obedience and if we're being obedient to rules or to God. And I truly believe that as we're obedient to rules, our behavior changes. We do things that only affect how we act outwardly. When we're obedient to God, our nature changes, and we change outwardly <i>and </i>inwardly. And that change is long lasting. We choose to be changed forever based on what we experience, and that change is centered around our Savior. My love for Jesus Christ has grown so much. It has come through prayer, study, and a desire. It has grown through this video: <span style="background-color: rgba(255, 255, 255, 0);">Because of Him</span></div>
<a href="https://www.lds.org/youth/video/because-of-him?lang=eng&cid=email-shared" style="background-color: rgba(255, 255, 255, 0); border: 0px; font-family: Helvetica; font-size: 12px; margin: 0px; padding: 0px; vertical-align: baseline;"><span style="color: black;">https://www.lds.org/youth/video/because-of-him?lang=eng&cid=email-shared</span></a><br />
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we share this with a lot of people, and I know that it's true and it's real. Christ changes us, He heals us, and most of all <b>He loves us.</b></div>
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In Elder Kevin W. Pearson's most recent conference talk, Stay by the Tree, he talks about the Book of Mormon prophet Lehi's vision, found in 1 Nephi 8. I love what he says about what it all means, and why it's important: </div>
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"The tree of life is the central focus in Lehi’s dream. Everything points to the tree of life. <b>The tree represents Christ, who is the clear manifestation of the love of God.</b> <b>The fruit is His infinite Atonement and is great evidence of God’s love. Eternal life with our loved ones is sweeter and more desirable than any other thing. </b>To realize this gift, we must “come unto Christ, and be perfected in him.” He is “the way, the truth, and the life.” We can fill our lives with accomplishment and well-doing, but in the end, if we do not enter into sacred covenants to follow Christ and faithfully keep them, we will have utterly and completely missed the mark."</div>
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This is all real and it's true. </div>
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I love y'all and hope you have a wonderful week!</div>
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Love, Sister Snyder</div>
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P.s. Here's a picture of my wonderful zone! </div>
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Sent from my iPad</div>
Serena Snyderhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/12084815879888090486noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6409430254065872680.post-9224236208596509872015-06-16T15:36:00.001-07:002015-06-16T15:36:21.355-07:00Hi y'all!<span style="font-family: Helvetica;">Hello dear friends and family!</span><br style="font-family: Helvetica;" /><br style="font-family: Helvetica;" /><span style="font-family: Helvetica;">We had such an incredible week and saw so many miracles! This will be</span><br style="font-family: Helvetica;" /><span style="font-family: Helvetica;">a short one, but I just wanted to share what's been on my mind. This </span><span style="font-family: Helvetica;">week I was reading some old conference talks and there were two things </span><span style="font-family: Helvetica;">specifically that I love. First, it was an opening address to a </span><span style="font-family: Helvetica;">general conference and President Hinckley quoted a newspaper article </span><span style="font-family: Helvetica;">about missionaries:</span><br />
<br style="font-family: Helvetica;" /><span style="font-family: Helvetica;">A California newspaper recently commented: “The white shirts, </span><span style="font-family: Helvetica;">backpacks and bicycles give them away, even before you spot the Book </span><span style="font-family: Helvetica;">of Mormon.</span><br style="font-family: Helvetica;" /><br style="font-family: Helvetica;" /><span style="font-family: Helvetica;">“They’re stereotyped, for good reason.</span><br style="font-family: Helvetica;" /><br style="font-family: Helvetica;" /><span style="font-family: Helvetica;">“These armies of young men--missionaries in the Church of Jesus Christ </span><span style="font-family: Helvetica;">of Latter-day Saints--are strictly regimented while serving missions </span><span style="font-family: Helvetica;">around the globe.</span><br style="font-family: Helvetica;" /><br style="font-family: Helvetica;" /><span style="font-family: Helvetica;">“For two years, they spend 60 hours a week doing ecclesiastical work, </span><span style="font-family: Helvetica;">praying, studying, and telling others about the Gospel that drove them </span><span style="font-family: Helvetica;">to leave families, friends and the comfort of home behind.</span><br style="font-family: Helvetica;" /><br style="font-family: Helvetica;" /><span style="font-family: Helvetica;">“Contact with their loved ones is limited to letters and two calls a year.</span><br style="font-family: Helvetica;" /><br style="font-family: Helvetica;" /><span style="font-family: Helvetica;">“They live frugally, in private homes and apartments with companion </span><span style="font-family: Helvetica;">missionaries, rising at 6 a.m. to study and pray for guidance in the </span><span style="font-family: Helvetica;">work they will do until long after the sun sets. …</span><br style="font-family: Helvetica;" /><br style="font-family: Helvetica;" /><span style="font-family: Helvetica;">“This life, they say, is a sacrifice--and the most ‘fun’ they can imagine”.</span><br style="font-family: Helvetica;" /><br style="font-family: Helvetica;" /><span style="font-family: Helvetica;">I'm having the time of my life. Every day is so fun.</span><br style="font-family: Helvetica;" /><br style="font-family: Helvetica;" /><span style="font-family: Helvetica;">The next one is from Elder Holland's talk 'The First Great </span><span style="font-family: Helvetica;">Commandment'. I think everyone should read this talk, it's incredible. </span><span style="font-family: Helvetica;">Elder Holland puts in his own words for and exchange between the </span><span style="font-family: Helvetica;">Savior and Peter, in answering the call to discipleship. I LOVE what</span><br style="font-family: Helvetica;" /><span style="font-family: Helvetica;">he says:</span><br style="font-family: Helvetica;" /><br style="font-family: Helvetica;" /><span style="font-family: Helvetica;">"To which Jesus responded (and here again I acknowledge my </span><span style="font-family: Helvetica;">non-scriptural elaboration), perhaps saying something like: “Then </span><span style="font-family: Helvetica;">Peter, why are you here? Why are we back on this same shore, by these </span><span style="font-family: Helvetica;">same nets, having this same conversation? Wasn’t it obvious then and </span><span style="font-family: Helvetica;">isn’t it obvious now that if I want fish, I can get fish? What I need, </span><span style="font-family: Helvetica;">Peter, are disciples--and I need them forever. I need someone to feed </span><span style="font-family: Helvetica;">my sheep and save my lambs. I need someone to preach my gospel and </span><span style="font-family: Helvetica;">defend my faith. I need someone who loves me, truly, truly loves me, </span><span style="font-family: Helvetica;">and loves what our Father in Heaven has commissioned me to do. Ours is </span><span style="font-family: Helvetica;">not a feeble message. It is not a fleeting task. It is not hapless; it </span><span style="font-family: Helvetica;">is not hopeless; it is not to be consigned to the ash heap of history. </span><span style="font-family: Helvetica;">It is the work of Almighty God, and it is to change the world. So, </span><span style="font-family: Helvetica;">Peter, for the second and presumably the last time, I am asking you to </span><span style="font-family: Helvetica;">leave all this and to go teach and testify, labor and serve loyally </span><span style="font-family: Helvetica;">until the day in which they will do to you exactly what they did to </span><span style="font-family: Helvetica;">me.”</span><br style="font-family: Helvetica;" /><br style="font-family: Helvetica;" /><span style="font-family: Helvetica;">I think that says enough.</span><br style="font-family: Helvetica;" /><br style="font-family: Helvetica;" /><span style="font-family: Helvetica;">I love y'all and hope you have a wonderful week!</span><br style="font-family: Helvetica;" /><br style="font-family: Helvetica;" /><span style="font-family: Helvetica;">Love,</span><br style="font-family: Helvetica;" /><br style="font-family: Helvetica;" /><span style="font-family: Helvetica;">Sister Snyder</span><br style="font-family: Helvetica;" /><br style="font-family: Helvetica;" /><span style="font-family: Helvetica;">Sent from my iPad</span>Serena Snyderhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/12084815879888090486noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6409430254065872680.post-38691606786190715632015-06-14T10:36:00.005-07:002015-06-15T11:03:03.782-07:00Hiiii (from June 8)<span style="-webkit-text-size-adjust: auto; font-family: UICTFontTextStyleBody; font-size: 17px;">Hello everyone! How's it going? I hope everyone had a good week and</span><br />
<span style="-webkit-text-size-adjust: auto; font-family: UICTFontTextStyleBody; font-size: 17px;">that y'all are enjoying your summer so far!</span><br />
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<span style="-webkit-text-size-adjust: auto; font-family: UICTFontTextStyleBody; font-size: 17px;">Last week was really great! On Thursday morning we went to a meeting</span><span style="-webkit-text-size-adjust: auto; font-family: UICTFontTextStyleBody; font-size: 17px;"> </span><span style="-webkit-text-size-adjust: auto; font-family: UICTFontTextStyleBody; font-size: 17px;">where we got our iPads. So crazy that we actually have them. So we</span><span style="-webkit-text-size-adjust: auto; font-family: UICTFontTextStyleBody; font-size: 17px;"> </span><span style="-webkit-text-size-adjust: auto; font-family: UICTFontTextStyleBody; font-size: 17px;">spent a few hours setting all of that up and discussing different</span><span style="-webkit-text-size-adjust: auto; font-family: UICTFontTextStyleBody; font-size: 17px;"> </span><span style="-webkit-text-size-adjust: auto; font-family: UICTFontTextStyleBody; font-size: 17px;">things, so that's exciting. I'll be honest that I was kind of hesitant </span><span style="-webkit-text-size-adjust: auto; font-family: UICTFontTextStyleBody; font-size: 17px;">about getting one, but they are such an awesome tool. Seriously. Our</span><span style="-webkit-text-size-adjust: auto; font-family: UICTFontTextStyleBody; font-size: 17px;"> </span><span style="-webkit-text-size-adjust: auto; font-family: UICTFontTextStyleBody; font-size: 17px;">studies are a lot better, the pamphlets on here are beautiful, and we</span><span style="-webkit-text-size-adjust: auto; font-family: UICTFontTextStyleBody; font-size: 17px;"> </span><span style="-webkit-text-size-adjust: auto; font-family: UICTFontTextStyleBody; font-size: 17px;">can share videos and pictures with people right on their doorstep.</span><span style="-webkit-text-size-adjust: auto; font-family: UICTFontTextStyleBody; font-size: 17px;"> </span><span style="-webkit-text-size-adjust: auto; font-family: UICTFontTextStyleBody; font-size: 17px;">What a blessing to have such a great tool, and to be able to use</span><span style="-webkit-text-size-adjust: auto; font-family: UICTFontTextStyleBody; font-size: 17px;"> </span><span style="-webkit-text-size-adjust: auto; font-family: UICTFontTextStyleBody; font-size: 17px;">technology in a good way.</span><br />
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<span style="-webkit-text-size-adjust: auto; font-family: UICTFontTextStyleBody; font-size: 17px;">We met some really awesome people this week. Texans are so faithful</span><span style="-webkit-text-size-adjust: auto; font-family: UICTFontTextStyleBody; font-size: 17px;"> </span><span style="-webkit-text-size-adjust: auto; font-family: UICTFontTextStyleBody; font-size: 17px;">and love Christ, it's the best. People love to talk about the</span><span style="-webkit-text-size-adjust: auto; font-family: UICTFontTextStyleBody; font-size: 17px;"> </span><span style="-webkit-text-size-adjust: auto; font-family: UICTFontTextStyleBody; font-size: 17px;">importance of believing in God and Christ, and we're excited to get to</span><span style="-webkit-text-size-adjust: auto; font-family: UICTFontTextStyleBody; font-size: 17px;"> </span><span style="-webkit-text-size-adjust: auto; font-family: UICTFontTextStyleBody; font-size: 17px;">share more with different people this next week.</span><br />
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<span style="-webkit-text-size-adjust: auto; font-family: UICTFontTextStyleBody; font-size: 17px;">Saturday was super awesome because we got to go help with flood</span><span style="-webkit-text-size-adjust: auto; font-family: UICTFontTextStyleBody; font-size: 17px;"> </span><span style="-webkit-text-size-adjust: auto; font-family: UICTFontTextStyleBody; font-size: 17px;">cleanup up in Martindale. It's a a small town--population 1200. They</span><span style="-webkit-text-size-adjust: auto; font-family: UICTFontTextStyleBody; font-size: 17px;"> </span><span style="-webkit-text-size-adjust: auto; font-family: UICTFontTextStyleBody; font-size: 17px;">had been hit by the flooding here, and needed help. So 140 people and </span><span style="-webkit-text-size-adjust: auto; font-family: UICTFontTextStyleBody; font-size: 17px;">missionaries from our stake met early Saturday morning and headed up</span><span style="-webkit-text-size-adjust: auto; font-family: UICTFontTextStyleBody; font-size: 17px;"> </span><span style="-webkit-text-size-adjust: auto; font-family: UICTFontTextStyleBody; font-size: 17px;">there. The sweetest Baptist church hosted us. They fed us like 3 meals</span><span style="-webkit-text-size-adjust: auto; font-family: UICTFontTextStyleBody; font-size: 17px;"> </span><span style="-webkit-text-size-adjust: auto; font-family: UICTFontTextStyleBody; font-size: 17px;">and were so sweet! So we split up into different work crews(wearing </span><span style="-webkit-text-size-adjust: auto; font-family: UICTFontTextStyleBody; font-size: 17px;">our awesome yellow vests) and went to help people. We helped this</span><span style="-webkit-text-size-adjust: auto; font-family: UICTFontTextStyleBody; font-size: 17px;"> </span><span style="-webkit-text-size-adjust: auto; font-family: UICTFontTextStyleBody; font-size: 17px;">sweet older couple whose barn had been under 5 feet of water. So we</span><span style="-webkit-text-size-adjust: auto; font-family: UICTFontTextStyleBody; font-size: 17px;"> </span><span style="-webkit-text-size-adjust: auto; font-family: UICTFontTextStyleBody; font-size: 17px;">cleared it all out. It was good, hard work, but it was awesome. It was</span><span style="-webkit-text-size-adjust: auto; font-family: UICTFontTextStyleBody; font-size: 17px;"> </span><span style="-webkit-text-size-adjust: auto; font-family: UICTFontTextStyleBody; font-size: 17px;">crazy seeing the streets lined with everyone's ruined stuff, and</span><span style="-webkit-text-size-adjust: auto; font-family: UICTFontTextStyleBody; font-size: 17px;"> </span><span style="-webkit-text-size-adjust: auto; font-family: UICTFontTextStyleBody; font-size: 17px;">seeing trees and everything washed up. They got hit pretty bad. But</span><span style="-webkit-text-size-adjust: auto; font-family: UICTFontTextStyleBody; font-size: 17px;"> </span><span style="-webkit-text-size-adjust: auto; font-family: UICTFontTextStyleBody; font-size: 17px;">we're so glad we could help! It was really great.</span><br />
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<span style="-webkit-text-size-adjust: auto; font-family: UICTFontTextStyleBody; font-size: 17px;">One thing I really love about being a missionary is being able to </span><span style="-webkit-text-size-adjust: auto; font-family: UICTFontTextStyleBody; font-size: 17px;">answer these great questions of life that people have. We taught the </span><span style="-webkit-text-size-adjust: auto; font-family: UICTFontTextStyleBody; font-size: 17px;">Plan of Salvation to a guy who had never even thought much about where </span><span style="-webkit-text-size-adjust: auto; font-family: UICTFontTextStyleBody; font-size: 17px;">we came from and where we're going, and he loved it. It just clicked</span><br />
<span style="-webkit-text-size-adjust: auto; font-family: UICTFontTextStyleBody; font-size: 17px;">for him and made sense. I also love being able to go into the home of</span><span style="-webkit-text-size-adjust: auto; font-family: UICTFontTextStyleBody; font-size: 17px;"> </span><span style="-webkit-text-size-adjust: auto; font-family: UICTFontTextStyleBody; font-size: 17px;">someone you've barely met, and you get to comfort them and help lift</span><span style="-webkit-text-size-adjust: auto; font-family: UICTFontTextStyleBody; font-size: 17px;"> </span><span style="-webkit-text-size-adjust: auto; font-family: UICTFontTextStyleBody; font-size: 17px;">them as they work through different trials. It's so important to help </span><span style="-webkit-text-size-adjust: auto; font-family: UICTFontTextStyleBody; font-size: 17px;">others feel the love Heavenly Father and Jesus Christ have for them.</span><span style="-webkit-text-size-adjust: auto; font-family: UICTFontTextStyleBody; font-size: 17px;"> </span><span style="-webkit-text-size-adjust: auto; font-family: UICTFontTextStyleBody; font-size: 17px;">And it's amazing she they feel that. One of the best ways for them to</span><span style="-webkit-text-size-adjust: auto; font-family: UICTFontTextStyleBody; font-size: 17px;"> </span><span style="-webkit-text-size-adjust: auto; font-family: UICTFontTextStyleBody; font-size: 17px;">feel that is through the scriptures. This last week we were studying</span><span style="-webkit-text-size-adjust: auto; font-family: UICTFontTextStyleBody; font-size: 17px;"> </span><span style="-webkit-text-size-adjust: auto; font-family: UICTFontTextStyleBody; font-size: 17px;">Preach My Gospel chapter 5, about the Book of Mormon. Wowie wow is it</span><span style="-webkit-text-size-adjust: auto; font-family: UICTFontTextStyleBody; font-size: 17px;"> </span><span style="-webkit-text-size-adjust: auto; font-family: UICTFontTextStyleBody; font-size: 17px;">just the best.</span><br />
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<span style="-webkit-text-size-adjust: auto; font-family: UICTFontTextStyleBody; font-size: 17px;">The Book of Mormon is our complete witness of Christ. It unfolds to us</span><span style="-webkit-text-size-adjust: auto; font-family: UICTFontTextStyleBody; font-size: 17px;"> </span><span style="-webkit-text-size-adjust: auto; font-family: UICTFontTextStyleBody; font-size: 17px;">doctrine that helps us, guides us, and comforts us. As Elder Holland</span><span style="-webkit-text-size-adjust: auto; font-family: UICTFontTextStyleBody; font-size: 17px;"> </span><span style="-webkit-text-size-adjust: auto; font-family: UICTFontTextStyleBody; font-size: 17px;">says, it provides "safety for the soul". That talk he gave in October</span><span style="-webkit-text-size-adjust: auto; font-family: UICTFontTextStyleBody; font-size: 17px;"> </span><span style="-webkit-text-size-adjust: auto; font-family: UICTFontTextStyleBody; font-size: 17px;">2009 is incredible. There's a video that goes with it, called</span><span style="-webkit-text-size-adjust: auto; font-family: UICTFontTextStyleBody; font-size: 17px;"> </span><span style="-webkit-text-size-adjust: auto; font-family: UICTFontTextStyleBody; font-size: 17px;">Testimony of the Book of Mormon. It's. Mormon message that I would </span><span style="-webkit-text-size-adjust: auto; font-family: UICTFontTextStyleBody; font-size: 17px;">urge you to watch. I love the Book of Mormon. Everything we believe </span><span style="-webkit-text-size-adjust: auto; font-family: UICTFontTextStyleBody; font-size: 17px;">rests on whether or not it's true, and I testify to you that it is. I </span><span style="-webkit-text-size-adjust: auto; font-family: UICTFontTextStyleBody; font-size: 17px;">know for myself that it is the word of God, translated by His chosen </span><span style="-webkit-text-size-adjust: auto; font-family: UICTFontTextStyleBody; font-size: 17px;">servant, and it provides everything we need to return safely to our </span><span style="-webkit-text-size-adjust: auto; font-family: UICTFontTextStyleBody; font-size: 17px;">Father in Heaven and to be happy in this life. I love this gospel, and </span><span style="-webkit-text-size-adjust: auto; font-family: UICTFontTextStyleBody; font-size: 17px;">the Book of Mormon, with my whole heart.</span><br />
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<span style="-webkit-text-size-adjust: auto; font-family: UICTFontTextStyleBody; font-size: 17px;">I love y'all and hope that you have a good week!</span><br />
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<span style="-webkit-text-size-adjust: auto; font-family: UICTFontTextStyleBody; font-size: 17px;">Love, Sister Snyder</span><br />
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<span style="-webkit-text-size-adjust: auto; font-family: UICTFontTextStyleBody; font-size: 17px;">Sent from my iPad</span>Serena Snyderhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/12084815879888090486noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6409430254065872680.post-5108105778483081982015-06-14T10:30:00.003-07:002015-06-14T10:30:32.237-07:00happy monday! (from June 1)<div style="-webkit-text-size-adjust: auto; font-family: UICTFontTextStyleBody; font-size: 17px;">
Y'ALL. Hello hello. What a great week we had. I'm thrilled to say that I bought and voice recorder and that my journaling(is that a word?) has increased by 100% during this last week. Haha. Shout out to my family and future children, you're welcome! We had lots of fun and met some good people! We have a new investigator who is a sweet woman, and hopefully we can meet with her kids and dad next time too! And we had dinner with some sweet nonmembers who just wanted to feed us. People here are SO KIND. I love it! Please keep praying for my sweet Texans and others affected by the weather here! </div>
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<span style="-webkit-text-size-adjust: auto; font-family: UICTFontTextStyleBody; font-size: 17px;">I love the Savior and His gospel. I truly do. Every week I learn so much about Him, about Heavenly Father, and even about myself. I can honestly say that I am the happiest I've been in my life, and I love that it's true happiness brought about by learning and living the gospel. Yesterday I was studying helping people make and keep commitments, and Preach My Gospel lead me to Mosiah </span><a href="x-apple-data-detectors://0" style="-webkit-text-size-adjust: auto; font-family: UICTFontTextStyleBody; font-size: 17px;" x-apple-data-detectors-result="0" x-apple-data-detectors-type="calendar-event" x-apple-data-detectors="true">2:41</a><span style="-webkit-text-size-adjust: auto; font-family: UICTFontTextStyleBody; font-size: 17px;">. I've read this scriptures many times, but I understand it in a different way now. "...consider on the blessed and happy state of those who keep the commandments of God". Sometimes people will ask us why we're so happy, and I know that it comes from living the commandments of God. It's easier said than done to live the commandments of God, but there is absolutely nothing that will bring us more joy than being obedient out of love. But the blessings continue on: "...and if they hold out faithful to the end, they are received into heaven, that thereby they may dwell with God in a state of never-ending happiness." I cannot imagine anything greater than dwelling with God and my family eternally, and being in a state of never-ending happiness. How blessed we are to have commandments and promises from God that allow us to experience such peace and joy. And this is why it is so vital that those we teach make and keep commitments. They will be happy in a way they have never known. I love that. Keep pushing on. The reward is so worth it!</span><br />
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I love y'all! Have a good week!</div>
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Love,</div>
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Sister Snyder</div>
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Serena Snyderhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/12084815879888090486noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6409430254065872680.post-43422323238426091892015-06-14T10:29:00.000-07:002015-06-14T10:29:03.881-07:00Transfer 5 in Garden Ridge :) (from May 25)<span style="-webkit-text-size-adjust: auto; font-family: UICTFontTextStyleBody; font-size: 17px;">Hi everyone!!</span><br />
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We have had a fantastic week here and we have been so blessed to be teaching a few families. That's the ultimate. Also we got transfer calls last night! Everyone in the ward was pretty positive that I was leaving because it's been 6 months here, but jokes, I'm staying another transfer here! Haha hooray! I love Garden Ridge. So that will be a total of 7 1/2 months here. I might as well just become a permanent resident. We had some crazy weather on Saturday. We got completely soaked Saturday afternoon, and it was like we were walking through rivers. We had to walk our bikes to our appointments. Then Saturday night it poured BUCKETS of rain and there was a tornado warning. Good times! </div>
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We had an awesome meeting this past week where we were blessed to hear from two members of the Seventy. This was kind of kickoff meeting for getting iPads, but we hardly discussed the actual iPads themselves. We talked a lot about the why behind iPads, and about how to protect ourselves and use them effectively. It was an awesome meeting. The thing that was stressed over and over again was that this isn't really about getting iPads now or having technology now at all. It's about preparing ourselves for the rest of our lives. The Lord is allowing us to learn good habits now, so that when we return home, we know how to use technology in the very best ways. We'll know how to continue our missionary work, to strengthen people, etc. by using our technology. It's amazing. The other thing they talked a lot about was how much this will bless our future families. Imagine children growing up in a home where they know how to use social media and the internet in a way that will lift and encourage others to be better and be more faithful. It was an awesome meeting and we're excited to get going with using our iPads soon!</div>
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Like I said we've been meeting with some amazing families, and it's so exciting. Seriously families are the best. Work is progressing well, and Sister Scott and I are excited to stay here another transfer and see the miracles that will happen! I love the people here and the ward and ahhhh i'm just really grateful to be staying.</div>
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Sorry this is getting long, but there's one more thing I want to share with y'all. First, I can't tell y'all enough how much i love being a fulltime missionary. My purpose is to simply help and invite, and it's the absolute greatest thing I have been a part of. I have learned SO, soooo much during the past ten months, and I've learned what really matters in life. I promise you that God knows us, because He created us. The Savior knows us and loves us, because He willingly gave Himself for us, and He suffered through it all out of pure love. He lives today. And I've gained a greater knowledge of the Holy Ghost as the Comforter. Being able to live the gospel and have an eternal perspective is having the Spirit with us.</div>
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I was reading President Eyring's talk from the General Women's session yesterday, called "The Comforter". Please read it! It's incredible. In it, he says that "We lighten the loads of others best by helping the Lord strengthen them." We help others the most as we strengthen their faith in the Lord. What a blessing for both ends. And then what the talk ends with is so great. We read in 1 Corinthians that "charity never faileth." We also read in Moroni that "charity is the pure love of Christ." So then, we know that <b>the pure love of Christ never faileth. </b>That right there is what it's all about. That love, foregivness, and compassion will never fail anyone, no matter what.</div>
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I love y'all so much and hope you have the happiest Memorial day and the happiest week!</div>
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Love, Sister Snyder</div>
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p.s. i'll send pics next week :)</div>
Serena Snyderhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/12084815879888090486noreply@blogger.com0