Justice Campbell's Baptism

Dear family and friends.....



Hermana's Wright y Ipson

This week I will keep it a little shorter.... We have to cut PDAY short because we are going to the Temple this week!!!!!!! YEAH!!!!!!!  I am so excited; it will be such a great time for spiritual rejuvenation! 



We focused a lot on getting Justus ready for baptism. It was a lot of work....but very rewarding. We actually had to change the date last minute, so the baptism was yesterday. Justus is such an awesome person!!!! I cannot get over it! 

Favorite Lesson Moment: 

We also had a lesson with Gladys (esposa de Francisco...aka my favorite EVER....he is one of the few here I have felt I knew before I met them). She is the lady whose children are all members. She is Cuban and has been taught the lessons for a LONG time. We had already taught the Restoration to her, but we really wanted to provide her with a powerful spiritual experience. We decided to watch the Restoration with her, and we also brought Hermana Rodill to come with us. During the movie I was praying so hard to know what to say....to help her feel the spirit. It ended so well. She said she knows that Joseph Smith was a prophet (it's the other part about how baptism must be by proper authority....that's the problem). She really liked the movie, and I felt the spirit so strong when we testified of the Book of Mormon and Joseph Smith. We went in planning to talk more about the Book of Mormon, but we really felt inspired to talk about the Holy Ghost. After all....it doesn't matter what we say, the ONLY way she will know its true is through the Holy Ghost. It was a powerful lesson!!!!!!!

Spiritual Moment:

Today, actually, I studied Charity. I learned that Charity...just like Faith and every other Christ like attribute, has to "be exercised to grow" (Robert J Whetten). How do we exercise and grow our charity...... service, and like Moroni says " pray with all the energy of heart, that you may be filled with this love." (Moroni 7:48). Also I learned that from faith, hope, and CHARITY flows a fountain of righteousness. So in other words, when we focus on having these 3 Christ-like attributes, then everything else will fall into place. 1 Peter 4:8 (JST) says "For charity preventeth a multitude of sins."

My biggest goal for my whole entire mission, is to come back and have become more like Christ...to possess at least some of his attributes, but most especially Charity. 

 

Special Moment:

Kimmy Ruiz & Justice Campbell

Justus' Baptism was yesterday at 6pm. We were a little stressed because Hermano Ruiz (who was the one baptizing him) didn't show up until 6:15 !!! Holy smokes!!! But the most important part was that he got baptized (even though the font may have started draining during the talks) It was so awesome!!!! I may have almost cried when he came up to us afterwards and sincerely thanked us for our help!  



Final thought folks..... "Two men up in heaven were waiting to come down to earth. They FINALLY had their interview before coming down, where God would tell them what their life would be like. The first man went in and came out smiling, and indescribably happy. The second man asked why. And he said, It's because I will be born into a family that lives the Gospel of Jesus Christ, and obeys the commandments of God. The second man had his interview, and left crying. He told the other that his family would be one that didn't value Jesus Christ and his gospel, his parents would be divorced, and wouldn't keep the commandments. The first man said, its ok, while we are down on Earth, I will search for you, find you, and bring you to the gospel." 



Find the people you promised to help on this Earth!!! "Now is the moment in the timetable of the Lord to carry the gospel farther than it has ever been carried before....many a person in this world is crying, knowingly, and unknowingly, 'Come over...and help us'. He might be your neighbor. She might be your friend. He might be a relative. She might be someone you met only yesterday. But we have what they need. Let us take new courage form our studies and pray, ads did Peter, 'and now, lord,... grant unto thy servants, that with all boldness they may speak they work'.-- Spencer W. Kimball 

Love you all!!!! Thank you for your support!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!



The Fong's new puppy!!!

 

Another Week of Miracles

June 22, 2015

Well family, we are starting week 3 of the transfer here in the beautiful Rialto, California...... and super hot....it rarely gets under 100 here......woohoo!!! 

Well I wanted to start this letter by talking about all the miracles from this week:

We got 7 new investigators this week, more than doubling the pool of investigators! Yeah!!!!

Some of the people we contacted last week became our investigators this week so.....

Abrahm--- really awesome older man that has worked in just about every handyman job there is (he was the neighbor of the Former Investigator Pedro). We had a great lesson with him where we showed him Because He Lives (Gracias a Que El Vive) and talked to him about how he can grow his faith in the savior....through the Book of Mormon. He is probably the sweetest guy ever!!!!!!!!!!!

Josephina---a former investigator of the Elders....she is always alone so they could never go in. Just another testament that the Lord knows what he is doing. We had been to their house probably no less than 7 times. Each time either no one would answer or her grandson would (but she wouldn't be home). So after we said the prayer before leaving the car we said it was the last time....we told Heavenly Father this was the last time we were going to try to contact her....) Low and behold her grandson answered, and said "Do you want me to go get her?" We were SO excited!!!!  She and her grandson are very interested in learning. We talked to them about the Book of Mormon and showed them the pictures at the front. She said that now when we come (she said 3 or more times a week... so cute!) they will make a big dinner so that her kids get excited to learn. She wants it to seem like a big happy party whenever we come to talk about the gospel. After we talked about the Book of Mormon she re-taught the whole thing to her younger grandchild.....she is SO awesome! The only problem is that she works as a CNA on Sundays....and like every other day too....bummer.

Gladys and Francisco---- they have been investigators for a LONG time....all of their kids are members I believe...... They are really sweet. Gladys is Cuban and her husband is from somewhere around Jalisco. We taught them about the Restoration....they provided us with our first encounter with a misunderstanding about AUTHORITY.....and how once it was taken from the Earth, NO ONE had authority. So we are working really hard on understanding Catholic beliefs so we can teach better to their needs. 

Claudia and David are really great! They struggle with similar problems as Gladys and Francisco......so if you have any ideas about how to teach really strong catholic people....let me know. 

Lupis and Raul: This is the regular Lupis and her husband. They are really great and know a lot about the gospel, but they have never been able to make it to church. We tried really hard with them this past Sunday, and then they never came. We had people waiting at the door to greet them and people who had invited them via text......oh well. We are going to make one last big push with them this week! 

We contacted a wonderful teenage girl last night who used to investigate the church a while with the Elders. We are excited to start working with her as well

Good news! Finally had a lesson with Jose Ocampo!!!!! That was most definitely a miracle for me!!!! 

We got our IPADS!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

We are getting really good at talking to people on the street! President's new thing to tell us is that nowhere in the Book of Mormon does it say "Is there a time that we can come by and visit you?" he says....JUST START TEACHING THEM!!! So whenever we talk to people, before we ask for a time and their phone number....we teach them a principle of the gospel, usually the Book of Mormon. REALLY AWESOME!!!!!!! We have had some really good experiences with that. 

We are planning the baptism for Justus Campbell this week and we are working on inviting EVERYONE!!!! It will be so great!!!! It's going to be in Spanglish....so woohoo!





This week was really rewarding! Hard work....but rewarding!!!!!!!! This week was another testament that the Lord really prepares people to receive his missionaries. Each person that we come in contact is a miracle for me.....literally everyone is put in our paths for a reason. Everyone is in the process of preparation! Maybe that preparation is still small....but they are being prepared in one way or another.  Covering 2 areas is hard work!!!!! I love you guys!!!!!!! Have a great week!!!!!!!

We had a missionary Primary Activity on Saturday.
The kids even went on a 'plane' to get to the Brazil MTC.
 We taught them about what its like to be a missionary!

By the way, the Fongs dog had puppies!! So cute!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

Love,

H Wright

God Works in Mysterious Ways

Hello family !!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!                                                    

Everything is going really well here in sunny California. If I don't finally get a nice tan here.....I don't think I ever will. As you can tell from the titles...this week was FULL of miracles. It was an AWESOME week!

For starters....my new companion is Hermana Ipson!!! She is really great! She is from Brigham City, UT and she has been out as long as I have. She keeps saying she's never spoken this much Spanish on her mission, and I keep saying 'Bienvenidos a Rialto'. 

 Day 1: 

We left early in the morning to go to Highland to drop Hermana Jimenez off. She was so excited to go to the desert... I was a little nervous to be taking over the area. When Hermana Ipson and I got back we went out to lunch to get to know each other..... Then we had a meeting with the elders. The elders (now just Elder Gore and Juarez) lost their car this transfer and are back on their bikes. Our ward is (was) divided into 3 areas... one for each companionship.....but now there are only 4 of us, with 2 of them on bikes. So.....we are taking over MOST of the ward as well. woohooo! That is why the back of our car looks like a mess....we are trying to organize all the progress records. We were excited for them to give us some investigators....but instead they gave us a lot of 'formers' (former investigators) ....which is fine with me. We worked on setting up appointments for the next week (something I had never done in my mission). We visited A LOT of people! We got home sweaty and exhausted, but ready to start a great transfer. 

 Day 2: We helped a member with her talk for the Friday baptism, taught some member lessons (we teach them the Restoration and have them teach it back to us. It is supposed to help people know how to answer questions about our church SIMPLY). I have realized just how important it is to work through the members. So, we are working with the members....on working with their friends. Even though their friends may not be ready now....we need the members to be there for them when they are ready. That means being their FRIENDS!!! Believe it or not, that is kind of a hard concept sometimes. 

Claudia & Immanuel
(we help him with homework)

We also taught/picked up a new investigator Claudia....the one we always do service for. They are such a great family and are really interested in learning more about Jesus Christ. They are really Catholic....so it will be an interesting experience! We also visited a less-active member and had one of the most powerful lessons on the Book of Mormon. 

We also started working with the Former Investigator piles we had strewn across the backseat of the car. That means a lot of door approaches...which I have found are not that bad. I like making random, awkward conversation. :) That sounded sarcastic, but I am dead serious!

Day 3: We contacted a few formers who were actually interested in having us come back. We scheduled LOTS of appointments! YEAH!!!!!! We were driving around looking for a Former Investigator named Pedro. We pulled up to the house, and I saw a neighbor standing outside. I really wanted to talk to him, but by the time we were out of the car with all of our gear (just scriptures :)) he had already gone inside. BUT....by the time we made it across the street...slowly of course to provide him enough time..... he was back out on the curb. It was perfect timing because in that short amount of time we had suddenly forgotten the name of the person we were going to see. So.....we asked the neighbor and he said he didn't know. But we started up a conversation, and he invited us to come back....and we got his number. His name is Abrahm....and I am WAY excited to go visit them!

Then.... we actually went to the house of the Former..... Pedro. And his brother said he didn't live there anymore. But, we asked if we could come by and visit them, and he was like let me ask my mom. (don't worry he was like 16 so it wasn't awkward). He got his mom and she was SUPER interested! She is worried about her sons because they don't have great friends.... YEAH!!! Her name is Rosario. 

These are only a couple of examples....we visited A LOT of People!!!

Lupis, Vere & Katrina
with Sis Jimenez & me

Day 4: We had a lesson with Lupis and her husband. Then my mind goes blank......I know we visited lots of former investigators though. Then we went to the baptism of Maggie Serabia. 

Day 5:  Sunday!!!! Hermana Ipson bore her testimony, and she did so good! Then Hermana Montez brought a nonmember friend with her to church, Patricia....so we will work with her on that. Then we had planned to go visit one of the young women, so we could talk with her about coming on visits with us. Her boyfriend, who comes to church sometimes, was there. We had a lesson with them and taught them the Restoration (member lesson). We asked them how they knew the Book of Mormon was true. Kimmy bore a POWERFUL testimony, and then her boyfriend said. "I have actually been thinking allot about being baptized, and I think it's right now. I was going to talk to the bishop about it on Tuesday." My jaw dropped........... I knew he wasn't a member.....but WOW! Heavenly father prepares His children!!!!!!!!!!! So Justus is getting baptized on June 27th. Although he speaks pretty much ONLY English, he would like to be baptized into the Spanish ward with his girlfriend. So.....YEAH!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

We had SO MANY miracles this week! Thank you all for your prayers and support!!!!! 

I know that this church is true....I can see from the frontlines the difference the gospel makes in the lives of those who chose to ACT!!!!!

Love to all!!!!!  Hermana Wright 



Happy Un-birthday Party with the Hermana's
(I am multi-tasking...)

My First Transfer

June 8, 2015

 

Saying goodbye to Sister Stubor (right front)

Welp folks....it's transfer time again...! And the big news is.......I am staying here in Rialto 4th with my new companion Sister Ipson! It's going to be awesome....maybe a little rough at first, since we both came out together, and we still aren't FLUENT...per se. But, I will definitely be pretty darn fluent by the end of these 6 weeks. 

 

The Larios Family

This week has been really good! I have realized just how much I LOVE these people here! We had the opportunity to do some great service for two families in our ward, the Larios family and the Arcos family. I didn't think that I could love them more than I already did....but I found out I could! They are SO great. The Larios family wanted some help with cleaning the windows, so we went over and helped a little bit. Hermana Arcos is pregnant (when I say pregnant....I mean like she is due in 3 weeks....so she is READY), and so we came over to help her clean her house to prepare for the baby....although I am pretty sure she cleaned before we came. It was so nice to talk and get to know these people!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!! LOVE THEM!

We spent the last day or so visiting families so that Sister Jimenez could say goodbye. 

Right now, we are working on finding new investigators. We are, however, working with la Hermana Fong, and hopefully she will accept a baptismal date of July 11th.
I am SOOOOOOO excited to start working with Hermana Ipson!!!!!!!! 

For this week's spiritual moment----- 

Yesterday we had an AWESOME stake conference where 2 from the Seventy came! It was so awesome! One of them was Elder Nielson....yes the very same....he came to visit our mission not too long ago. His wife gave an EXTRAORDINARY talk...from which I would like to share my thoughts, but first.....

The take home message of the conference----KEEP THE SABBATH DAY HOLY!!!!! No more justifying.....just keep it holy! Remember that it's a time for family, and most importantly remembering GOD! We shouldn't be justifying going out to eat (because it's with our family), or watching football (because we are with our family). Keeping the Sabbath Day holy is a demonstration of your love for Heavenly Father....what are you showing him? 

In Sister Nielson's talk, she shared a GREAT parable, which their family calls the parable of the Peach Tree--- her grandkids REALLY love her peach trees, she talked about how each of her 3 grandkids would get the peaches.....

1) The toddler Andrew would crawl as fast as he could and get to the tree, then stuff the first peach he saw on the ground into his mouth. 

2) The 8 year old, Will, would run as fast as he could to the tree and climb to the very top. He knew that the good peaches were at the very top, because they were the most affected by the sun.

3) The 4 year old, no me recuerdo su nombre, would run to the tree, and look up at his brother....he knew he didn't want the rotten fruit that Andrew was content eating underneath the tree....but he was too scared to climb the tree.

 

Bottom line----- Some people in this world are content eating the rotten peaches at the bottom of the tree....why? Because they lost sight of their goal....the TREE! We must keep our sights on Eternal Life...the ULTIMATE goal... and then we will not be content with the rotten parts of the world. As far as the 4 year old is concerned...  sometimes we hold back because of fear or sin.... Get up the courage to change and start climbing the gospel tree!!!!! For those of us in the tree, at the top, enjoying the blessings of the gospel.....we need to reach down, and not only encourage those we see but reach down our hand to help them! 

Rialto Sunset...

It reminded me of something one of our Zone Leaders said..... we are all on the sea of life.  As missionaries (and members) we are in the boats with the life jackets....if we don't share the gospel which saves us from the storms of life.....we are riding along in our boats waving and smiling at those drowning around us!!!!!! SHARE THE GOSPEL!!!! Share it because it will bless their lives and their families!


I love you guys!!!!!!! Thank you for your letters and your prayers!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!! Have a great week!!!!!!!

Hermana Wright

 

Also!!! A special Birthday Shout out to my very own DAD!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!
He is turning 32 this year!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!! Woohoo! He is probably one of the greatest fathers ever! He is not only intelligent when it comes to school work....he is also intelligent when it comes to the gospel. It helps that he spends every spare moment (mostly) studying the scriptures and gospel material! I miss asking one question and getting a nice 40 minute college lesson....with diagrams and take-home notes included! He really has been one of my very best friends, greatest confidants, and counselors! Thank you Papi-on!!!!!! 

 And my parent's anniversary is this week, as well, couldn't have asked for better parents....they raised such strong people (I have GREAT siblings), and now they get to see the legacy they are leaving behind! They are such great people, and I couldn't have chosen better parents. Thank you for being so influential, helpful, loving, spiritual, exemplary, and strong!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

 

Exchanges, Interviews, I-Pads & Speaking in Church

Roommates - Me, Hermana's Hamblin,
Jimenez & Olsen

This week was relatively AWESOME!!!! Well, not lesson wise....we didn't actually teach that much! But, I got exactly what I needed this week, a little bit of confidence! This week I had Exchanges, Interviews with President, IPAD training, speaking in church....and this Sunday we have another General Authority coming to speak in Stake Conference. 

 

Exchanges: I stayed in my area with Sister Shin, from Sandy UT. We literally are almost the same person....apart from the fact that she is Korean, and a Sister Training Leader. She actually knows a few people from Jordan High School, because hey, she also went to Jordan. She is majoring in Psychology at BYU, but only has 1 year left. It was really AWESOME....a little stressful...but awesome! We had 3 lessons--2 of which I had to translate....so you can imagine! It was actually the boost I needed. Everyone here is pretty certain that I am fluent .....at least I can DEFINITELY communicate! YEAH!!!!! 

 

My study desk.

Interviews with President: He was able to give me a priesthood blessing, and reminded me that unity in a companionship is the most important. He said if Thomas S Monson and Dallin H Oaks were asked to be companions they would want to go different directions, but they would work together. He also reminded me to go through my Patriarchal blessing again. He is so great!!!! 

 

IPAD Training--- really awesome, except we learned we won't be getting our IPADs until next transfer sometime...oh well. We had Elder Gonzalez and Elder Schweitzer come and speak to us!!!!!! It was SO SO SO SO great!!!! 

 

Mothers Day Activity

Speaking in church.   I spoke in church 2 weeks ago, about Arrepentimiento (or repentance). All 5 missionaries in our ward spoke, so it was perfect for the Doctrine of Christ (Faith, Repentance, Baptism, gift of the Holy Ghost, and endure to the end). It was only a little stressful.....

 

Well folks......it's almost transfers again.....I don't know what is going to happen, but I am way excited to find out! These people here are so so so awesome! And it's a little hard sometimes to remember that there are people in other areas that I am meant to help. Everyone is so humble!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

I wish I had more time!!!! But, know that I love you guys SO SO SO much! I love getting your letters, emails, and packages! Thank you to Hinckley 2200 that sent me the cutest pictures and notes this week!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!! I love you guys!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

 

My closing spiritual thought is:

"I feel certain that if, in our homes, parents will read from the Book of Mormon prayerfully and regularly, both by themselves and with their children, the spirit of that great book will come to permeate our homes and all who dwell therein. The spirit of reverence will increase; mutual respect and consideration for each other will grow. The spirit of contention will depart. Parents will counsel their children in greater love and wisdom. Children will be more responsive and submissive to the counsel of their parents." --- Marion G Romney

The Book of Mormon is SOOOOOOOOO Powerful!!!! Miracles happen when you READ!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

 

Have a great week everybody! And keep praying for those missionary experiences!
Love you guys!!!
 
PS  Finally found my camera cord!!!!!!!!!