This is Better than All my Planing!

It's December 26th and life is just wonderful!

The highlight of the Holiday yesterday was definitely being able to Skype my family! I love and miss them so much! The hard part about having a family as amazing as mine is that they are really hard to be away from. I love my family and I am so glad that I can live with them forever! Serving a mission is just a small sacrifice to help others be able to live with their families forever.

The Mesa Arizona Christmas Lights Concert went so well last night. Our missionary choir certainly sang with angels and I know that those who heard it were filled with the spirit.

Here are some thoughts that I had from this week!

Revelation 21:4 

"And God shall wipe away all tears from their eyes; and there shall be no more death, neither sorrow, nor crying, neither shall there be any more pain: for the former things are passed away."

I just LOVE this scripture!

The Three Pine Trees

I read a Christmas story this year about three pine trees. All three trees wanted to do and be something great when they got older. One wanted to be made into a cradle to hold and comfort a baby, one wanted to be made into a large ship to help men cross great waters, and one wanted to stay on the hill and grow so tall so that he could point everyone to God. 

The first tree was made into a lowly manger instead of a cradle and was disappointed that he would never get to hold a baby. He was unhappy with his fate.

But God said "Wait, I will show you something." And He did. Christ, the son of God, the most holy and important child to ever live was born in a manger.

The little tree that had been made into a manger whispered "In all my dreams, I never thought to hold a child like this. Why, I am part of a miracle. This is better than all my planning"

The second tree was made into fishing boat that stayed near the shore. The tree was also upset with his fate. He wanted to cross great distances and discover new lands but was stuck as a fishers' boat.

Then God said "Wait, I will show you something." And He did. That fishing boat was owned by Christ's apostles. It sat in the waters while Christ told parables on the shore. It carried the apostles and the Savior and was a witness of many miracles.

"This is wonderful" the little boat whispered. "In all my dreams, I never thought to carry a person like this. Why, I am part of a miracle. This is better than all my planning"

The third tree was cut down and carried away and was so sad that he would not be able to stand tall and point others to God. Those who carried him away made him into a cross where Jesus Christ was crucified. The little cross shuddered beneath it's weight of agony and shame. But God said "Wait, I will show you something." And He did.

Then suddenly a miracle happened... the little cross heard the words

"And I, if I be lifted up from the earth, will draw all men unto me." (John 12:32)

The little tree that had become a cross began to understand, and whispered "this is wonderful! I am a part of a miracle. In all my dreams I never thought to point others to God in this way. This is better than all my planning."

All three trees received their wish, but each in God's appointed time, in God's appointed way. I know that God will give us our desires too if we are willing to give our lives to Him and let him, who is the master sculptor, mold us into a masterpiece.

WHAT SHALL WE GIVE

What shall we give to the babe in the manger?

What shall we offer the child in the stall?

Incense and spices and gold with a plenty...

Are these the gifts for the king of us all?

Worldly things have great meaning to us but they are of no value to God. The wise men and shepherds gave the best they had... but what kind of gifts can we give God that are truly valuable to Him? I'd like to ask you to ponder that... what kind of gift can you give "the king of us all" that would be worthy to give Him? Are the gifts that we are giving fit for Him? I don't think that our gifts need to be anything crazy... but they do need to be sincere (service, action to change our lives for the better, repentance).

Talk to you soon!

Sister Zimmerman

P.S. Here are some fun pictures and what we do in Arizona for Christmas...

December 19th- Jesus Once Was a Little Child, a Little Child Like Me!

Merry Christmas Friends and Family,

    

Sorry if you got a random e-mail from me earlier this week. My email has been having problems recently so I apologize.

There is so much good news to share with you this week!!! Lance was baptized this Saturday and it was amazing! He is truly converted and I know that those who attended his baptism felt the spirit and was changed by what they experienced there. 

Lance is the Tall one!

Also this week I got a chance to see some old friends (aka RM's that I used to serve with at the beginning of my mission). Instead of Elder Stratton and Sisters Child's and Redford they are now Taylor, Mindy, and Shayla... but their happiness and strong spirits haven't changed a bit! I love them! 

Working at the Temple for Christmas Lights has been so fun! Everyone who does not have the gospel feels the missing piece in their lives. Those who come to Christmas Lights begin to feel what that missing piece might be and are given the opportunity to receive answers to
their questions as they refer themselves to be taught by the missionaries the beautiful message of the restored gospel. That is why so many miracles happen... thousands of people attend... and we have what they are all looking for!

I love serving the Lord. Once we give ourselves to Him, He has this great way of molding us into something so much greater that we ever thought we could be. I am always amazed at God's love and care for me!

Here's a couple more thoughts for week:

The Boy and the Christus

This week in Sacrament meeting a woman told a story of a young boy who ran into the Visitors' Center and right up to the Christus (Large statue of Jesus Christ). His father called to him and told him to stop but he boy replied by saying "Don't worry daddy, He likes children"

That little boy knew the Savior well and felt of His love. Isn't it great how even children can understand God's love. No matter our level of understanding we can all feel of God's love and have a personal relationship with Him because He does love us and is our father. We
can all learn a little something from the children around us who see the world with pure and accepting eyes. Children are humble and meek and forgiving. We should all strive to be a little more childlike as the Savior taught us in.... 

Matthew 18:3-4
3 And said, Verily I say unto you, Except ye be converted, and become as little children, ye shall not enter into the kingdom of heaven.

4 Whosoever therefore shall humble himself as this little child, the same is greatest in the kingdom of heaven.

NO EFFORT IS WASTED

“Father, where shall I work today?”
And my love flowed warm and free.
Then He pointed out a tiny spot
And said, “Tend that for me.”
I answered quickly, “Oh no; not that!
Why, no one would ever see,
No matter how well my work was done;
Not that little place for me.”
And the word He spoke, it was not stern;
He answered me tenderly:
“Ah, little one, search that heart of thine.
Art thou working for them or for me?
Nazareth was a little place,
And so was Galilee.”

--Meade McGuire

We may feel that because our service and kind efforts are so unrecognized that what we do doesn't matter... but I know that God knows everything we do and will add to us His blessings and strength as we continue to serve Him. An English speaking stateside mission
seemed to be very "small" and unworthy of praise and recognition when I received my mission call. But I know that this small corner of the Lord's vineyard is mine to tend and that the praise and glory of the world mean nothing to God. I try to serve HIM every day and express gratitude for this opportunity to serve where He needs me... and I would never want to be anywhere else than where the Lord wants me to be.

MAKING ROOM FOR CHRIST

"On that night in Bethlehem there was no room for him in the inn, and this was not the only time during the thirty-three years of his sojourn in mortality that there was no room for him. Herod sent soldiers to Bethlehem to slay the children. There was no room for Jesus in the domain of Herod, so his parents took him to Egypt. During his ministry, there were many who made no room for his teachings--no room for the gospel he taught. There was no room for his miracles, for his blessings, no room for the divine truths he spoke, no room for his
love or faith. He said to them, “The foxes have holes, and the birds of the air have nests; but the Son of man hath not where to lay his head” (Matthew 8:20).

Even in our day, although two thousand years have passed, there are many who say the same thing that was said on that night in Bethlehem. “There is no room, no room” (see Luke 2:7). We make room for the gifts, but sometimes no room is made for the giver. We have room for the commercialism of Christmas and even pleasure-seeking on the Sabbath day, but there are times when there is not room for worship. Our thoughts are filled with other things--there is no room.

While it will be a beautiful sight to see the lights of Christmas … , it is more important to have human lives illuminated by an acceptance of him who is the light of the world. Truly we should hold him up as our guide and exemplar."

I am so excited for Christmas and I hope everyone has a wonderful
Christmas Season!
With Love,
Sister Zimmerman

He Sent His Son To Be Our King!

I hope you all are enjoying this beautiful Christmas season. Sister Godfrey and  I sure are!

Here are a few updates and thoughts from this week...

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What shall we give in exchange for so much?

This time of year we give and receive many gifts. Of course the first and most valuable gift of Christmas was given so long ago in a humble stable with only animals and shepherds as witnesses.

You may have asked yourself this year what you might be able to give to the Savior to show your gratitude for all that He has done for you...  And I would like to invite you to consider giving Him your heart this year. There is always something that we may be holding back from giving ourselves completely to the Lord ... and it's a lifetime process but

this week think about how you can be more charitable, kind, forgiving, sincere in prayer, honest to yourself and others, or diligent in your scripture reading.

I promise you that as you make one small changes to follow the Savior you will feel your life filled with more joy than ever before.

Give it a try! There's nothing to lose, only so much Joy to gain.

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Maggie's Miracle

This week we had another lesson with Maggie this week. Maggie is a friend of Rachel in our YSA Ward and is from Thailand. We love Maggie so much! We went to dinner with Rachel at her home and Maggie was there. We invited Maggie to take the lessons and have now been teaching her for a month. So in the past Maggie would come to her
lessons and tell us that she hadn't been reading her scriptures as much and didn't feel super committed to studying with us. That didn't deter us so we have been praying with her and having more lessons just reading the scriptures with her and she has changed so much!

For example just this week she texted us and asked if we could read the scriptures again. So we met up at Rachel's home and talked with her about her scripture reading and prayers. Maggie said that she had read almost every day and had seen this change in her life where she felt so happy and content. She felt a connection with God and knew that He was reaching into her and showing her the path that she needs to follow. We invited her again to be baptized and pray about a specific date and she accepted. She accepted the challenge as well to live the commandments to prepare for baptism even though she will have to overcome some things in order to be baptized. She has truly changed from not being interested in change to someone who says " sisters, I know that it will be hard but I need to change and if this is the path that God wants me to follow I will do anything to get there."

This is one of my favorite parts of missionary work. I love seeing how the gospel of Christ truly changes people. There is no doubt in my mind that Maggie's blessings and happiness come from God because she is keeping His commandments. It's a simple equation... as we keep God's commandments He will bless us and fill us with his love!

Have a wonderful week!

Sister Zimmerman

I'm glad that I have time to share some thoughts this week!

Here are some catch up things because I did not get to write last week.

I may have already mentioned this before but...a few weeks ago I had the opportunity to have Thanksgiving dinner with my family (grandparents, aunts, uncles, cousins who live near the mission) which was a blast. I felt so much love that day and am always grateful to be part of the Zimmerman gang! We also got to celebrate with the Heywood family. I love them so much!

Mesa Arizona Visitor Center-

We work shifts at the Visitors' Center for the Temple Christmas lights which is so fun! We love seeing how God truly guides His children to find the truth. We have people every night who walk up to us and ask if they can be taught by missionaries because of the special spirit that they have felt on the Temple grounds. 

Seriously-- miracles are flowin' here!

And now for the MIRACLES:

ANGEL- we got a referral from the Visitors' center for a Trevor and went to knock on his door because he wasn't answering the phone. We knocked on the door and another man came to the door and said that no Trevor lived there so we taught the man at the door named Angel and it turns out that he is really interested in learning what we have to share. God even works with our mistakes when we go to the wrong address. God is so good!

KENDAL FLAMM- we were at the Visitors' Center for a singing practice when I hear someone call my name. Down the hall I see sweet Kendall who went to high school in Ohio with my sister and I and was recently baptized this summer. It was so neat to see her and hear about her conversion. She had so many amazing influences that led her to the church including Elder Nye (serving in California) and Elder Kerry (serving in a Colorado). You never know how you might influence someone so be kind and don't hesitate to share the gospel with everyone you meet.

KENDRICK- last night at the YSA Christmas Devotional potluck my companion sat down to wait until it started and out of the corner of my eye I see Kendrick. He was someone I found, taught, and then got to see baptized in one of my old areas. He is amazing and truly changed his life to join the church. We weren't even going to be there that night and neither was he but God guided us there and we sat down and talked about his life as a recent convert and it was so good. Seriously that was a tender mercy! (Picture below)

SISTER TABER- Sister Taber is one of my sweet friends. For December 1st we decided to do some service and help her out with some things around the house. She has Parkinson's disease which makes it hard for her to do heavy lifting and such. We enjoyed spending time with her and serving as the Savior would have served and we look forward to seeing her again soon! 

Worldly movies bring inspiration sometimes

This week in our YSA testimony meeting several people bore their testimony on something they learned from the new Disney movie Moana. I know that's kind of weird but it brought me an answer to my prayers. The YSA members talked about how at some part of the movie the main character asks the ocean to take her to someplace to find what she is looking for and it drops her off on this island where she feels that she is not supposed to be. She is angry and says to the ocean 

"I asked you to help me. Why did you put me here?"

Man oh man... how many times have I asked God that in my frustration when things don't seem to be going the way I had planned. I shake my fists and heaven and say,

"I asked you to help me! Why did you put me here?" or "Why is this happening?"

In the end the island ended up holding what the main character was looking for and that's how it always works with God. We don't have his all knowing perspective. He asks us to hold on and trust Him so that He can make the most out of us. When we do we will receive more than we had ever planned or dreamed of. God's really good at blessing us. He wants us to succeed so trust His plan and hang on tight no matter what trials you may be facing. The captain of the ship knows where we need to go and He will never lead us astray.

Born a Sacrifice For All

At testimony meeting this week Bishop Coons told a story about going to a funeral of a baby that passed away in his extended family. This mother of this child carried the baby full term and loved it knowing that he was going to die. When the child was born he looked completely healthy on the outside but only had half of a heart. After 2 weeks of struggling to hold onto life he passed away. Even though the baby only lived for those 2 short weeks his mother cared for him and loved him completely.

Bishop continued his story saying...

"I think also of another mother who bore a child... knowing that He was going to die prematurely. Mary, the mother of Jesus Christ, knew all along that her Son was born to save the world... but that could only be done if He suffered, bled, and died for all of us."

I sat there listening to this story and just cried to think of the love that Mary had as the mother of Jesus... but also of the love that Jesus has for me. I will live again after death because he gave His life for me and for that I am forever grateful!

Have a Holly, Jolly, Christmas!

Love,

Sister Zimmerman

This is so me!

Know ye not that ye are in the hand of God?

   

Lots of miracles to share this week so buckle your seat belts boys and girls cause it's gonna be good!

Transfers

Okay this is the saddest part of the email today. We received transfer news... and sister Colbert will be transferred this week to the Citrus Heights Stake. Man am I going to miss her like crazy. She has been the best companion that I could have asked for for these past 2 transfers and I love her so much! I will be staying in the area (Solomon & Candlelight Park YSA) and will be joined by sister Godfrey. I don't know much about her because she has only been out for a few transfers but she seems like fun so let's go change the world!

The Most Golden... Like 24 Karat 

This week God just blew us out of the water... I didn't even know what to do.

Let me explain--So a few weeks ago a couple came to church in the Solomon Ward and stayed for the whole 3 hours (Solomon Ward is the Ward that is so hard to find people to teach in and hasn't had a baptism for years so this was BIG)! The Sunday school class (gospel principles) is supposed to be a simplified class for all investigators and recent converts and such to learn the gospel and feel comfortable... but this week, much to our chagrin, many of the class members debated details of the 2nd coming and exactly where Zion, the new Jerusalem, would be built. It was a train wreck... but God is still watching out for us and so after the class sister Colbert and I stuck around to talk with them. We figured we would have to apologize for the class and explain some things about the doctrine the 2nd coming and how Mormons are truly a peculiar people ha ha ha. We went up to them thinking that they would just run right out of the church and never come back but to our surprise they introduced themselves to us as Sarah and Dustin and asked right then and there if we could come over, have dinner, and share a lesson with them... so yeah... that happened and we tried not to jump for joy in excitement until we got out to our car at which point we screamed like crazy and said a prayer of gratitude thanking Heavenly Father for this miracle.

Flash forward to our dinner and lesson... so that night we stepped inside their humble apartment and prayed over the food. As we talked we learned that Dustin and Sarah have come to Arizona escaping a life of addictions and sorrow. They have given up so many bad habits and have already changed so many things in their life which has brought them happiness... but as they told us this Sarah said "even through all the changes we have made together I still feel like there is something missing. I didn't know what it was for a long time but I feel like what you ladies have is the missing piece". (Insert chocking on food here ha ha ha) Then Dustin talked about how he didn't understand how most churches believe that there shouldn't be prophets and apostles like in the time of Christ. He said "I don't understand why we don't have a prophet like in the time of Christ. Isn't God the same all the time? Why would he take that away? We need a prophet now more than ever."

Okay soon can imagine at this point sister Colbert and I are literally choking on every bite of food trying to answer their questions and trying to eat as fast as we can so we can share the message of the Restoration with them. It was crazy. I sat there at the table with a prayer in my heart that God would use me as a tool to speak exactly the words that He would say if He were the one in the room teaching them... and because we have the spirit with us we didn't even do the teaching at all...The spirit filled the room as soon as we began the lesson and every word was brought by the spirit.

This lesson was straight up "The District" style! I sat there thinking..."someone should be filming this right now" ha ha! They asked wonderful questions and at the end we invited them to read and pray and be baptized by the priesthood authority of God. Sarah turned to Dustin and said "I believe all of it... yes! We'll be baptized. I know that it's what we really need." Dustin had already been reading the Book of Mormon and was so ready to learn more. Sarah said the closing prayer and said "God, please bring these ladies back as often as you can because they have what we need"

Okay so yeah... that was kind of the highlight of this week... God is so good!

And He Just Walked Into Church
Another Solomon Ward miracle for you- all these investigators that we have in the Solomon Ward have literally just walked into the church and we just have to say "Hi, can we teach you?" And they say "yes" and then blessings fall from heaven!

Kwame was the miracle walk-in this week. Kwame has no connections to the church other than a class that he is taking at the University of Phoenix called "History of Mormonism". Yeah, a pretty inspired class if I do say so myself. He has met Mormons before and they helped him out quite a bit in his life so when the teacher of his class suggested that all the students go to our church and see how we worship he thought that was a good idea. Kwame looked a little out of place considering that he is about 6"6', 300 pounds, and black and the majority of the Solomon Ward is white and about 95 years old ha ha! He enjoyed all 3 hours of church and then we set up a time to visit with him. During our lesson this week the spirit was so present. To keep things short he said at the end "I have studied so much about Mormons and I completely believe that Joseph Smith saw God and Jesus Christ and that the Book of Mormon is true. Why would it not be true? ... so I just need to read and pray to really know if I should follow this, right?" And we said "yes" and will follow up with his reading this week!

Wow, crazy right?

So Maybe We're Terrible

We got a call from President Townsend this week who told us that Lance got permission from the First Presidency to be baptized on December 17th. It was such a quick response and we couldn't even believe it. We were so excited for him and set up a lesson with him that night to share the news.

Okay something that needs to be understood is that Lance is a jokester. He always fakes us out and send us dumb texts and such...he's 19 and acts like he's 15 and that causes problems sometimes. So we decided along with out Ward mission leader, Jake, to fake him out and tell him that he didn't get permission.

That night at the Visitors' Center we sat down to have our lesson and said a prayer to begin. I am a terrible liar along with sister Colbert so we left the dirty work to Jake to tell him that he didn't get permission. Jake said "so Lance, you know how we are waiting to get permission for you to baptized... well we got a letter back stating that it's going to be quite a while before you can get baptized. We're really sorry man!" After that you could tell that he was crushed and looked like he was going to cry. (Lance is an emotional guy so this wasn't too unexpected) but we asked him to read a scripture to bring him some comfort. The scripture we had him read was 2 Nephi 9:34 which goes "Wo unto the liar, for he shall be thrust down to hell." He read the scripture and we all laughed and told him the truth and he was so excited. He said "are you kidding me? I was about to just walk right out of here say "see you at church on Sunday I can't do this tonight" Oh my gosh, I'm going to get you sisters so bad. Just watch out."

Lance was so excited to hear that he got permission!

So anyways... maybe we're terrible, but it's all good and we're so excited for his baptism on the 17th of December.

He Is Always There

"we must not give up, but, instead, reach out to God’s awaiting arm of mercy, which is outstretched “all the day long.” (Jacob 5:47; Jacob 6:4; 2 Ne. 28:32; Morm. 5:11.) Unlike us, God has no restrictive office hours."

Thank goodness we don't have to set an appointment or be on a waiting list for God's help. I know that He is always there! I know that because I have reached out to my Heavenly Father more times than I can count and He has never let me down. Sometimes His answer to my plea is "wait a little longer" or "I'm here" or "not now" but He is always there!

A Work of Art

I received this quote from my friend Elder Andreason serving a mission in Finland in response to my email last week. I love it! I certainly feel that we are all this way! Thanks for the quote Elder Andreason!

"You can be simultaneously a masterpiece and a work in progress."

A little Testimony

Of all the things I could be thankful for this week I wish to share my gratitude for a God that knows our weaknesses and still uses us to do His work. I am so grateful that our Heavenly Father loves us, hears our prayers, blesses us with tender mercies, plans a path of Joy for us to follow, and never gives up on us... even when we do!

There is nothing more that I would want to be doing than sharing God's plan to the world this Thanksgiving. I consider it my privilege and blessing to have this sacred opportunity. My mission has changed my life and will bless me forever. I love the Lord!
Happy Thanksgiving

Love,

Sister Zimmerman

"Not This Time Satan! BOO YAH!"

We're ALIVE!

So this week has been quite a doosey!
I got pretty sick... just the regular fever and chills and aches. But then in the morning I woke up and found some big bruises all over my legs that seemed to be getting worse as the day went on. Later during the week they spread to my arms and all around my legs. So with some persuasion from my parents and companion I decided too see a doctor. The determined that I had Erythema Nodosum which just means that my body made some gnarly bruises all over in response to me being sick. It only lasted for a week or so and the bruises are slowly going away but it has been quite a roller coaster. Thank goodness for modern medicine and loving Ward members who took care of me while I was under the weather.

So...

Although I do not know exactly why God saw fit for me to be sick, I learned so much about how much I want to do God's work and how He will take care of us.

Also this week we were having dinner with a sweet little family and this intelligent little boy was talking about how he can listen to God and not Satan and he said "today I listened to God and not Satan because I listened to my mom and cleaned my room... not this time
Satan! Boo Yah!"
It was the cutest hung... but so true... don't listen to Satan!

I am learning about 2 things and would love your thoughts on them if you have some to share...

1. The power of the prayer of faith- how to pray with all my heart

2. It's okay to have weaknesses- sometimes I listen to the lies of Satan that say that I am not good enough because I have weaknesses... so I guess I just need to get comfortable with being human and not desiring perfection all the time ha ha ha

Any thoughts that you would like to offer on this subject would be most welcomed!
Thank you!

Favorite scripture of the week: D&C 100:5-8

And that is all that I have for you this week...
I love the Lord!
I want to give all I have to Him!

Sister Zimmerman