Week 61: It'll Take A Bull to Get Me In a Fight, But It'll Take a Herd To Get Me Out

5 Questions:
1) How soon are the baptisms you've got scheduled?
2) Do you have a minute that you could write a note to Sister Brytni Butler? 
3) How are things going with your companion?
4) Do you hear from your brother? I can't tell you what it means to me that you two are helping each other, separate from me & dad.
5) Any suggestions for Christmas gifts? Some requests have already been asked.

1. We have two for 28 November. Their names are Jose and Ida--they're a couple. And we have one for 5 December. Her name is Gloria.
2. Yes, I will/did.
3. So well that we're basically the same person....not even joking. The other day we were reciting our mission statement and we both yawned in the middle--at the exact same time. And then we were giggling/laughing and we barely made it through the rest. haha it's a really good companionship. We're planning on Hermana Henricksen killing me so that'll be great. haha
4. Yes, off and on. If I write him he usually responds. I try to write weekly but sometimes it doesn't happen. AT least every two weeks though. He's doing alright.
5. Uh, ask me next week..

Well, this week was good, if crazy. I can't say why but just know that I'm doing well and we are working hard here in Rochelle. I truly do love it here. I think I'd like to die here (Alma 17:23).

The Gospel is true and it truly blesses lives more than anything else. What we do as missionaries is invite all to bring the truths they already treasure and see if we cannot add more. I know we can and we will, because this is the restored Gospel of Jesus Christ. This is the Church of Jesus Christ, and He is at its head. He directs His Church through His prophet Thomas S. Monson today, and He restored His Church through the prophet Joseph Smith in the year 1830, bringing back precious truths that had been lost after His death and the death of His apostles. The Book of Mormon is literally another testament of Jesus Christ and will bring a man closer to God than any other means will. I know all of this is true because I prayed and asked God if it was. And He told me, by the power of the Holy Ghost, that it is. No one can take that knowledge away from me, and only God can give it. I invite you all to ask, either for the first time or the hundredth time, if God still speaks to His children through a prophet on the earth today, and then listen.

Love, Hermana DeBuck

Fotos:
1. One of the many finely dressed geese in Illinois, for your enjoyment.

2-3. Found some clothes in a closet in our house and so I tried some on... (: (Some things just never change...)

Bonus photo was sent by the Bishop's wife (their landlord) after the girls had haircuts and ice cream with her today for P-Day:

 

Week 53: "After Their Missions, our Elders and Our Hermanas Will Get Married and Make Mormon Babies," Said a Recent Convert

5 Questions:
1) So, did you finally get the little bubble envelope gifts?
2)  Did the package of new garments get to you yet from the Distribution center?
3)  Any new investigators?
4) Did this past week go better for you than the week before?  You sounded a little down, but were plowing through anyway.
5) What did you do for Labor Day?  Was it a regular day, just switched for P Day?

1. Yes, thank you! I loved them.

2. Yes, got them a week or two ago. The bottoms are still a bit tight but they're good. The tops on the other hand feel a bit too big, but they're okay too. haha we just can't win

3.  Yes! I'll tell you about them in a moment...

4. Yes, this week was a lot better. I think I'd just kind of psyched myself into a weird emotional state, but now I'm okay.

5. Yes, yesterday was just a regular proselyting day for us. The idea is that because it's a holiday more people will be at home. So all (?) Monday holidays get switched with Tuesday for P-day, at least in our mission. Sounds like it's not a States mission thing, like I thought. But hey, that's the revelation our president has received so that's what we do.

Yesterday was a bit rough because we basically were in the sun ALL day, and boy was it hot. But at 6:30 we had an appt with a couple--we'd made the appt last week, so in all honesty I was a bit skeptical of them actually being there--but they were waiting for us on the dot! They told us they'd turned down other things to do because they knew they'd made the appt with us. Oh man. And they are amazing! Their names are Dolores and Porfilio Aregueta. They had a ton of questions. But, thanks to what we've learned from past companions, we were able to take control of the conversation and  actually teach them! And even though they still have questions, they committed to read and ask God if it's true. They also basically told us that we were telling them that their church actually is NOT the church Christ left behind. But because the Spirit was there, and we just told them to ask God if what we say is true, we left on a good note and I don't think anyone's feelings were hurt. It was an awesome experience. I love them so much.  Plus, they were hysterical! And, Dolores told us that next week when we come, she's going to feed us too. I love Latinos...so much. They are amazing people.

Well, we had a zone activity today so I didn't have a lot of time to write. But know that I am well and I love being here in Rochelle. We are working with some truly amazing people and I know that we will see miracles. I know that Jesus Christ in all reality did heal the blind and the lame; He raised the dead and forgave sins. Why not in our days? God is the same yesterday today and forever, and I know that the heavens are not sealed and miracles have not ceased. I love the gospel. I know it's true. And the Book of Mormon is evidence that God loves all his children--no matter where, no matter when.

Con Todo Mi Amor,
Hermana DeBuck

Week 49: Finger Food Sports

5 Questions--

1) Did you finally get all your birthday packages?  The last one was a yellowish bubble envelope.

2) Now that your birthday is over, and you have opened everything, what did you think?

3) Did you do anything  (dinner, etc) on your birthday?  I know you said there was a Primary activity. With tandem bikes...

4) Sister Ormond said you wrote her an email last week.  Do you write to many other people, ward members, family?

5) Do you get email from Gma Jo?  She sent you $ for your birthday that I added to your UCCU account.

1. No envelope...but I'll probably get it Thursday at zone training. (Question, did you ever send the correctly sized garments? I got the first set, with three tops and the one bottom, but I haven't seen any since....the one bottom you sent was just too small so the size just above would be perfect.)

2. Well, I think it may just be the general feeling of being a missionary, but after having my 20th anniversary of my birth, I think celebrating birthdays is bit silly. I mean, of course I'm grateful to have lived an entire year more, but I was able to do service almost the entire day of 31 July 2015 and I think it was one of the best birthdays yet. But thank you (to everyone) who sent me birthday wishes in whatever form. I hope you all spent the day trying to serve someone other than yourself because I know I did and it was one of the best days ever.

3. Well, the primary activity was the day before my birthday. For the actual day of my birth, we spent almost the whole day at the church helping to decorate for a wedding that would take place the next morning. Only three to four other people were there all day, and after praying about it, we felt that we needed to stay. So we didn't get to do very much proselyting but I know we did what the Savior would have done. The Spirit confirmed that revelation and I didn't look back once.

4. I tried to respond to everyone who wrote to me for my birthday because it's the least (possibly the most) I could do. Last week I did write to a bunch of people, though I couldn't tell you who exactly...

5. I did get an email from Grandma Jo a while ago... well, I know for sure I wrote her, when you first told me about the birthday money, to say thank you.

So this week. Well, I honestly can't remember anything that sticks out. It was good, if a bit long and tiring. We weren't seeing a ton of success numbers-wise and I just felt like we were wearing ourselves out. But you know what, sometimes we work as hard as we possibly can and we don't see immediate results. From this and many other experiences, I know that the Lord seeth fit to try the patience of the Saints. But that doesn't mean He isn't aware of us, or doesn't pay attention to how we feel. On the contrary, He knows exactly how we feel and exactly what we are doing. If you're not seeing immediate blessings from God, I would implore you not to give up or give in. Because I know that God's love never fails (Moroni 7:46). I know that God will not let us pass through something that we cannot overcome (1 Corinthians 10:13); rather, He will provide a way for us to accomplish whatever trial stands between us and eternal life (1 Nephi 3:7). I know that that has been true for me, and I know that it is true for everyone single one of us who belong to the family of God.

This week, our zone is keeping track of how many times we share a tender mercy with a member. We were really excited to apply this principle, but our problem was coming up with tender mercies to tell the members. But now we have some, of which I would like to tell you...

So the first week of a new transfer with a new companion is always a bit awkward because you're two different people and you've never met and suddenly you're together 24/7 and you're supposed to have each other's back 24/7. Well, Hermana Henricksen is great (the Holy Ghost told me we'd get along great before transfers so I wasn't worried) but she's also somewhat similar to me in that we're both pretty quiet. So...we didn't get to know each other very well right away. And it wasn't bad, just a little awkward is all. So one day while I was driving, I asked Heavenly Father if He would give us an experience over which we could bond. Well, that very night, when we were reporting our numbers to our district leader, we sent the number and then realized it was wrong. So we started the text, correcting the previous one and it turned into the attached photo. And maybe it was just because it was after 9 pm but man we were cracking up! It was hilarious....I really hope our district leader appreciated it as much as we did. Or at least a little bit because I doubt anyone will appreciate it as much as we did....oh man. But anyway, so we bonded over that. Which was great.

And the Saturday happened....

So Hermana DeBuck did something she shouldn't have done (but there was absolutely no way to have foreseen this coming) and she ended up being unable to move because of an intense pain in the center of her back. Well, it was just as our lunch was ending so we called Sister Griffin because that's what you do and she said to take some Ibuprofen and to lay down for an hour and then see how it was. Well, I about went crazy but I did as she asked and at the end of the hour I still couldn't move without being in pain. (Sorry this is so "graphic" but it's important to know the point to which I am getting.) Anyway so we decided it would be better to wait it out a bit because it's better to be out for two or three hours than to get up and hurt myself worse and then really be out of commission. Also, at the end of the hour we texted Hermana Griffin, basically asking (in Spanish) what to do because I still couldn't move. We tried doing productive things but there isn't a ton you can do when you have to lay flat on your back on the bed. Then, just as I was approaching the point of stir crazy, we get a text from Sister Griffin. It says "Si puedes" and that's it. Now, for all you gringos, you may not know what that means but it was exactly the pep talk I needed. I read those two words three times, maybe four, and thought to myself, "Joseph Smith was tarred and feathered in the middle of the night and got up the next day and preached like he would've any other day. You can stand up and walk." And so that's what I did. 

Now I don't share this story to brag or anything (far from it; goodness knows I am such a baby when it comes to pain.) But hermanos y hermanas, I know that it is thanks to the Lord Jesus Christ that I was able to get up and walk. Not because I received some miraculous blessing of healing (that's another story) but I know--I KNOW--that when we rely on the merits, the mercy, and the grace of the Savior (2 Nephi 2:8) we truly can do all things (Philippians 4:13). And even though we didn't find someone asking us to be baptized a member of the Church of Jesus Christ, I know we made a difference in someone's life, which we wouldn't have been able to do if I had stayed in bed, bemoaning the fact that my body isn't perfect. And that truly was a tender mercy--even if it was a rough road to get to it.

I also want you all to know that our loving Heavenly Father hears and answers prayers---both verbal and non-verbal. But here's a background story first.....

1. On Thursdays (usually) we do what's called weekly planning. Now, before my mission I had no idea that this was a thing, but it makes sense. God is a God of order so it follows that His work would be done in an orderly fashion which requires some planning beforehand. Anyway, so when we do this planning, we have three hours to plan for the people we are working with. We have 13 inspired steps to follow which help us to fill our days with meaningful activities which will help people strengthen their faith in the Savior and progress toward exaltation (PMG p. 146). So at the end of three hours we have basically every hour filled for the next week.

2. On Thursday night we met with one of our investigators (for whom we had just planned) and we found out we couldn't meet with her for the next week because of her schedule. Okay, no big deal. Things like this happen all the time, and we knew that something would come up to fill that time we'd planned for on Monday night.

3. Sunday comes around and it's the middle of the day and we still have no plans for that hour tomorrow. We were starting to get a little anxious. But we decided not to worry about it and basically just asked Heavenly Father what are we supposed to do tomorrow at 6?

4. Less than an hour later--maybe less than 30 minutes--we get a call from one of our recent converts asking if we could help her with some cleaning this week when we have time. We told her of course! how do 6 o clock tomorrow sound? 

The moral of the story comes from 3 Nephi 13:8, which says "your Father knoweth what things ye have need of before ye ask him" (it's also in Matthew 6 but I can't tell you what verse off the top of my head.) And I know that this is true. Heavenly Father knows what we need, even before we ask Him. Sometimes He answers right away (like He did for us on Sunday), sometimes it takes a day, or a week, or a month. Sometimes the answer may not come at all during this mortal existence. But I know that they do come to those who faithfully endure to the end.

Finally, I just wanted to share something we read this morning that really hit me hard:

"Any Church member not obedient to the leaders of this Church will not have the opportunity to be obedient to the promptings of the Lord." - Elder Marvin J. Ashton

I know that this applies to all of us, for so it has been throughout the entire history of this planet. If we choose to reject the guidance of the prophets and apostles, we choose to reject the guidance of the Lord. It is my hope that all of us may have our hearts opened just enough to experiment upon the words they say. Because when we do, we will come to know of the truthfulness of their words and of the divinity of their calling as servants of the Lord Jesus Christ. I love the Prophet, Thomas S. Monson. I love all of the Apostles on the earth today. And I love the Prophet Joseph Smith, without whom we could not have the complete fulness of the Gospel of Jesus Christ. Don't forget to prepare for General Conference; it's never too early to begin preparing to receive instruction from God.

Con Todo Mi Amor,
Hermana DeBuck
Fotos:

 1. The semanal corn foto. Pobrecitos, just won't grow any taller...

 2. All because two people....and a phone were tired.

 3. I can't remember if I told you already or not, but I got a Jehovah's Witness Bible! It's so soft....

 4. Hermana Henricksen and I. She doesn't like photos so I was going to take a photo without her knowing but she looked up right as I was about to take it--and she smiled! (:

 5. Hermana was taking a photo of the house (because this is the only house house that missionaries can live in within our mission) and I was opening the door for her to unlock it, right as a train went by so I was plugging my ears. And I thought it was a rather appropriate picture...always awkward Hermana DeBuck.

Week 42: Conversation Including Aliens, Disney and Random Bible Facts

Mom Note: In my letter this week, I didn't ask Hermana DeBuck my usual "5 Questions" as I was just getting back fro a long road trip and frankly, couldn't think of any more...After her responses this week, I guess I better start asking more questions. PS--I have no idea what her title means either.

Well, I'm doing great. I'm staying in Rochelle for at least six weeks with Hermana LaBonte. We literally have one investigator right now, but he is superb. I love knocking doors and talking to everyone. And yesterday we discovered that as we come unto Christ, it's easier to see our weaknesses--that's why missions are so hard and so refining!  (See Ether 12:27)

I love you all! "The Gospel's true and the Book is blue!"

- Hermana DeBuck

P.S. This is our church! It used to be a bank. So cute.

Week 41: 5 Seconds Outside & We Were Drenched!! No Exageration!

Mom Note: Cam and I were on a road trip when this letter came, and I didn't have access to her blog from my phone--so this is from last week, and I expect another letter tomorrow sometime.  Sorry for the delay.

5 Questions:
1) Do you recognize these good people?
2) Have you checked your mailbox lately?
3) Did my postcards make it to you?
4) Anything you want me to pass on the grandma & grandpa in California?
5)
1. Of course! Man I love the Albrechtsen's... (haha I think it must be getting harder and harder to come up with questions....)
2. Sort of. More on this later.
3. No. Again, see below.
4. As in, by word of mouth...? Just tell them I love them. (:
5.

So this week was really good. But you'll literally never guess what happened...

So Thursday we were doing weekly planning, like any other week. And about an hour into it or so, we get a call from the assistants. Elder Anderson says, "So we have a situation." (uh oh...that's what they said when we got the transfer call about being put in a trio) "So there's an hermana that's going home due to medical issues and Hermana DeBuck is being transferred." Yeah, I'm pretty sure my heart stopped. No joke. I could not believe my ears. He continued, "You're going to meet at the mission office at 11 in the morning tomorrow so that Hermana DeBuck can go with Hermana LaBonte to Rochelle." Uh, okay. Great. haha so I managed to pack mostly everything that night after 9 and then finished in the morning before studies. And so now I'm writing from Rochelle, IL. I got sent back to the cornfields! Woohoo! haha man I love it here. It's just the northern version of Peoria. Except Rochelle is smaller than Bloomington-Normal. By quite a bit actually. But man it's so great here.

So Hermana LaBonte: she's great. She's very happy and bubbly which is helpful for me because we all know how positive Hermana DeBuck is....haha but really. We've only been together about four days and I feel like I've already changed so much, learned so much. It's amazing. I love teaching with Hermana LaBonte; she's so spiritual and follows the Spirit so well. We've already seen miracles (we taught Jose yesterday for the third time and he almost accepted a baptismal date and then asked us "where will my baptism be?" Oh man. SO COOL.) Also, every single finding lesson we've had has been so spiritually powerful. It's almost insane. haha but it's so fantastic. (You could even ask the elders; they walked in as we were getting to the good part.)

Oh hey, that's something else kinda funny: one of the elders in the branch here served in Bloomington when I was in Peoria. So the "hasta la taco" and "buenos nachos" jokes continue...haha) Also, this is the area that got hit by the tornado so....I'm still kind of holding out hope that I'll get to experience that natural disaster, even though everyone tells me that I don't want to experience that natural disaster.

As far as the work goes, numerically, we have about two investigators so we're going to be doing a lot of finding. I'm so exciting. There's nothing quite like knocking doors to make you feel unstoppable. haha (I never thought I would say that...) Oh right, back to my new companion: she's from Texas and has been out ten months this week. She's a native speaker and so she went to the Provo MTC for ten days. She'll go home the same transfer as me--I'm not sure how the math works out but it does. haha. She went to BYU and is a pyscholinguistics (?) major. She also was/is a dancer. Man I love her. We have so much fun together and get a lot of work done. It's fantastic.

This week...well I don't really know what's happening. Other than the regular stuff. The week after next is our mission wide conference. We found out it's just in Naperville--not nearly as fun as Nauvoo or Carthage--but I'm excited. It's going to be amazing. We're all going to miss President Fenn so much, but I am so eternally grateful for everything I've learned from him. This mission is truly the  greatest mission on the face of the planet, because we have President and Sister Fenn. [No worries; I'm excited to meet President and Sister Griffin too though.]

Oh, and because it's actually a rule that we're not supposed to give our apartment/home address to anyone, I won't be telling you what it is. In case I ever get emergency transferred again. So you'll just
have to go through the mission office address. It's better that way.

Anyway. The Gospel is true. It's the single most important thing in my life because every single one of the blessings which God has given me has come because of my obedience to the principles and  ordinances of the restored Gospel. I love Joseph Smith, and I love the Book of Mormon. No matter who you are: Read it, and then ask God if it's true. I know without a doubt that He will answer you.

Todo Mi Amor,
Tu Hija y Amiga,
Hermana DeBuck


Fotos:

 1. Us with Carlos. He's going to be baptized on the 27th of this month. On Tuesday, when we taught him, I got the very distinct impression that the reason I was called to Bloomingdale was for Carlos. And then two days later, I find out I'm leaving. Coincidence? I think not. haha and then when we told him that I was leaving, he legitimately almost cried. Oh man. haha but I'll be back for his baptism in a couple weeks. So we're good. haha

 2. Us with Karina, who is a recent convert. She's 9. And SO hilarious. Every time we taught them I 1)learned something new and 2)laughed so hard my face hurt. So great. We had a couple nice smiling photos too, but this one is so much better.

 3. Me with Hermana Martinez. We Skyped from her apartment on Mother's Day. She's so great. haha (:

 4. The phone call that changed my life....haha (ignore the bottom two messages. Those aren't what changed my life.)

 5. Our front door to the apartment in Bloomingdale. How appropriate, no? haha

6. Hermana LaBonte and I went running this morning. And we got five minutes and then saw lightning and had to turn around. We were soaked (for the second time in four days) haha of course...