So Many Miracles! {week 17}

Hello everyone!

I don't even know where to begin so sorry if this email ends up making no sense, because it probably won't. Haha oh well.

This has been a week of miracles! So amazing! One thing I'm learning is that the only way for God to perform miracles is if we act in faith. The key word is act. There are so many people that we talk to and after the conversation we say "wow that was a miracle!" But would it have been a miracle if we decided to not talk to that person? Nope! If we didn't act and talk to people, we would see no miracles. But they are all around us!

Here's a list of miracles:

1. Our car was broken into :( but we felt inspired to bring our GPS inside for no apparent reason! So it wasn't stolen! Only Sister Van Valkenburg's flash drive was stolen! 

2. This one is pretty cool. We were on our way to a meeting at the church. We get there 15 minutes early and see this random car parked on the speed bump. We creepily pull up next to it and roll down our window to talk to the driver. Come to find out she's not a member and just comes to the church because it feels good there. We give her a church tour and set a return appointment. She's been looking for a church and is super cool. After she leaves we look at our phone and see a text pop up that was sent at 3:30 in the afternoon to tell us that the location of the meeting had moved. It was 8 at night. And we had been using the phone all day. If we had got that text we never would have gone to the church. It was a miracle! I couldn't even believe it! God's hand is in His work.

3. There's a member of the church here who doesn't come often because him and his sister are only 17 and 11. And his parents aren't members. But I've always felt strongly that we needed to work with them. One day last transfer Sister Crane and I ran into him on the streets but weren't able to talk to him. Ever since then I've felt really sad and have been secretly praying for a second chance since he's never home when we drop by. Yesterday we ran into him on the street but it was in the middle of a crosswalk! I was so sad we couldn't talk to him for longer! So I said a prayer that we would run into him again. And within the hour we ran into him and were able to talk to him more! It was a miracle! Especially since we wouldn't have been walking if we hadn't run out of gas earlier that day. Incredible! Heavenly Father is so good!

In order to see miracles we have to act and use our faith. But excersizing our faith is different for each person. As long as we act in faith Heavenly Father will bless us! Don't forget how much God loves you! I cannot even express to you how much effort He goes to for the well being of His children. You should see our multiple area books... and the billions of meetings we have. Just to know how to help any and all people. Don't doubt for a second that He loves you!

To answer some questions:

Yes I am working in both wards now, it is fantastic! I love it so much! God has a lot in store for this area. Haha and yes a lot of exciting things have happened this week...see above :). 

Have a wonderful week!

Sister Bloomfield

 

Dressing up for Halloween!

 

The chicken nugget becomes the chicken {week 16}

Hello!

I hope everyone has had an amazing week. Things have been pretty great here in Canada! It's been so exciting to figure things out with the new ward added to my area, but it's been so awesome! I never even know where to begin when writing this email though, so sorry if it doesn't make sense or doesn't include interesting information.

It's been raining here a ton! It's so fun to run around in the rain :) Canada is absolutely gorgeous!

It's kind of cool because Sister Van Valkenburg came from my last area! It's been so fun to talk about the people we both left behind! It's definitely making me homesick for my last area though. I absolutely LOVE Brookswood/ Willoughby! I am so grateful Heavenly Father allowed me to stay here! I was sad to say goodbye to Sister Crane, but I know she'll do amazing things in her new area! My subject line is one last parting quote from Sister Crane. She always called me chicken nugget :) and when she left she said "it's time the chicken nugget became the chicken." 

Things are going great here though! I love getting to know all the ward members. Funny story, yesterday the elders had to give us something so we were trying to figure out a place to meet up. We ended up meeting in front of a members house. The elders parked in the driveway and handed us what we needed. Right as we were about to leave the member came out of her house, confused as to why there was a gathering of missionaries outside! It was so funny! The member is a good friend of ours though so we had a good laugh :) 

Something I've started to work on is studying the life of Christ. I've learned that it is only because of Christ that we have to ability to become anything. Because Christ loves us so perfectly as we come closer to him we learn how to love more perfectly. I know that He is with us before, after, and during our trials. Even if we can't feel His presence until after the trial. It is because of Him that we can experience pure and lasting happiness. So if you ever wonder why the Mormon missionaries are always at your door to bother you, that's why. We just want everyone to have this same happiness.

Have a great week!

Sister Bloomfield

Transfer Calls! {week 15}

Hello!

Transfer calls came and there were some interesting changes! Sister Crane is going to Northshore and I'll be staying here! Weirdly enough my new companion is the sister who took my spot in Victoria. So far I've always been companions with my previous companion's current companion! Kind of weird! I'm sad to see Sister Crane leave but I am excited for the challenges that lay ahead! They just added another ward to my area! So now we cover Brookswood and Willoughby, We also moved zones and districts and we're moving in with the STL's! (Sister training leaders) It's going to be an exciting transfer! Also I'm slightly jealous of this elder in my district who randomly got called to Spanish work after serving English speaking for the past year or so. He wasn't even called Spanish speaking to begin with! Talk about a cool challenge! I'm super excited for this next transfer though and beyond grateful for the opportunities Heavenly Father has given me and will continue to give me on my mission. 

I love the people in this area SO MUCH! Let me just rave about one of the members of our ward.  She is one of the people who gave us Thanksgiving dinner. She is always calling us, asking how she can help, hosting activities for us to invite people to, making flyers for us, and introducing us to her friends. Not to mention she feeds us dinner a lot. And she's not even a ward missionary! I just wanted to take a moment to talk about how amazing she is! The other day she was telling us that sharing the gospel just felt so good that she wanted to do it all the time! Talk about amazing! I want to be that type of ward member some day. This ward is on fire though, there are multiple people like that who are eager to join in on the work. I know that as people become more engaged in missionary work their happiness and love for the gospel increases. 

I love the people so much, if I haven't already said that enough! I love the people we're teaching, the people on the streets, the people in the ward. I'm so grateful for the chance I have to be a missionary. It really is a privilege. 

Last P-day I had the amazing opportunity to see Sister Beckstrand and Sister Fababier! Their zone joined ours for a BBQ! I was so surprised to see her! It made my day! Life is full of a lot of ups and downs but it's the ups that amaze me. Heavenly Father could have just sent us to earth to suffer, but no He loves us and has provided us with so many opportunities to experience happiness. Happiness is not just for the next life, it's for right here and now too!  

It is so incredible to see the gospel change people. I have seen people who were once hostile to the church completely change and begin attending again. I've seen people in extremely difficult circumstances turn around and give and serve others. I've seen people bear their testimony of Jesus Christ despite the difficult trials they are facing. It is incredible to watch people begin to discover their divine potential because of the gospel. I know that each individual has a divine potential that can be reached with the help of Jesus Christ. 

It's also amazing how much Heavenly Father has a hand in the missionary work. If it weren't for Him we could completely and utterly fail. The other day we were teaching a lesson with our incredible investigators who are preparing to be baptized. They were asking some questions that I was unsure of how to address but words were coming out of my mouth that were not my own. It was such an incredible experience! As a missionary I am not the teacher, the spirit is and because of that I can learn with my investigators. Talk about amazing! 

Also funny quote from Sister Crane: "If you had to eat cheeseburgers for the rest of your life..... would you eat them?" I don't know if that's funny to you but it's funny to me! Sister Crane is always asking me the randomest and funniest questions! We're always laughing!

Have a wonderful week! Look for the miracles that are all around you!

Sister Bloomfield

 

 

When in doubt, just be normal! {week 14}

Hello everyone!

Happy Thanksgiving! Yes it's Thanksgiving here in Canada. I feel like Christmas should be just around the corner but we still have Halloween to get through! Thanksgiving here also spans 3 days so thanks to our AMAZING ward members Sister Crane and I had quite an extensive Thanksgiving. I'm so grateful! I love these people so much! I may be away from home but the people here have opened their hearts and homes and I feel just like I belong! Canada will forever be my home away from home! 

I'm quoting Sister Crane in my subject line! Prime advice from my amazing trainer ;). All I'm going to say about that is sometimes you get into weird situations as a missionary haha! 

I hope everyone had a great week! Enjoy the snow in Colorado!

It's been such a great week! So many amazing things are happening here in Brookswood. The other day in a random parking lot I met four more deaf people! It made me so happy! I am so grateful God gives me the chance to use ASL! I also know that it is because of Him that I can even understand these people and they can understand me. This week I'll also be meeting the lady that the elders found so I'm super excited for that!

I seriously love the people I have met here so much! One thing that is amazing to me is the effort people go to to serve others. We truly are happier when in the service of those around us. 

I've gotten to try so many different kinds of food here. This past week I had Japanese, Mexican, Vietnamese, and African. I'm sure there's more I'm just forgetting! There are so many different cultures here! I love it so much! 

One thing I've been realizing is that being changed by the atonement is a lifelong process. I know that I am who I am because of the atonement and that I have the ability to become something because of the atonement. It is only through Christ that we are able to become anything at all. Truly, anything is possible through Christ. Don't give up because Christ will never give up on you! 

I love being a missionary so much! And what's incredible is that we can focus all our efforts on serving God even if we're not a missionary. I am honestly so happy even in the difficult moments because it is only through this gospel that we can find the pure and everlasting happiness. Have a great week!

Sister Bloomfield 

Another Amazing Week! {week 13}

Hello!

I hope everyone has had a wonderful week! Wasn't general conference just AMAZING!?!? 

To answer the questions about the weather, yes it's been quite nice here. There has been a bit of rain but not as much as I was expecting. Although the worse is yet to come apparently. It's so beautiful here! I love it! Canada is surprisingly pretty different from America. 

It's been such an amazing week with a lot of great experiences! I don't even know where to begin! I'll start with a funny story. The other day Sister Crane and I had plans to drop by a member of the ward we hadn't seen in a long time. So we go and knock on their door. When they opened the door they started laughing and said "come and join the elders!" Apparently the elders had the same idea because when they walked in they were sitting on the couch! It would have been too weird to just leave so we just joined them. It was very weird. What makes it even funnier is that Sister Crane had a dream that that was going to happen the night before! We were laughing so hard! Although now that it's written out I don't think people who aren't missionaries will think it's funny. Oh well! 

A few days later the elders called us and told us they wanted to pass us a person who potentially wanted to learn about the gospel. So we went to her house with them and it turns out she owns a doll making studio. So there were porcelain dolls everywhere! And I mean EVERYWHERE. It was a strange experience. But still pretty cool! 

And now for the miracle! God is so good to me! Yesterday the elders called us with some really exciting news! They were really excited because they had run into a deaf woman and her deaf husband who want to learn about the gospel! They told them that I know ASL and we are planning to meet them some time this week! It was such a miracle! I am SO EXCITED!!!!!!! I was wondering what my purpose was in this area, but I've met multiple deaf people that I've been able to communicate with. I cannot even begin to tell you how happy it makes me! It is no coincidence that the elders ran into this woman at this time! I am so grateful God is allowing me to use the different skills I've been blessed to learn. I'm so excited!!!

One thing I noticed about General Conference is how much the apostles and prophets were emphasizing the importance of the Book of Mormon. The Book of Mormon is so important! It is essential to read it everyday! And if you're already reading it every day, redouble your efforts! I learn so much every time I open and read it. The other day I was reading in Alma 58 and I noticed something interesting. Life is hard, there's no question about that. But we can choose to notice all our inconveniences. We may be cold, tired, and hungry as the army of Helaman undoubtedly was in Alma 58. But we can choose to focus on the negative and end up bitter and sad all the time, or we can be like the army of Helaman and focus instead on the good in life! The people in this chapter trusted in their God and knew that he loved them and wanted them to be happy. He loves us and wants us to be happy. There is SO MUCH good in the world. We choose to be sad or upset when we choose to ignore the good and focus on the bad. I testify that there is a way to be happy in ANY situation. Choose to see the positive through the negative.

I know that the words spoken by the apostles and prophets this past weekend are God's words! 

I hope you all have a marvelous week! 

Sister Bloomfield

 

To which we owe all our happiness {week 12}

Hello!

Isn't life just great? It's good to hear things are well in Colorado :) I'm so blessed to have such an amazing family!

Those of you who have read the Book of Mormon are probably familiar with the fact that the Book of Mormon is full of a lot of war. In one of my favorite parts of the Book of Mormon (...ok it's all my favorite) Captain Moroni (a prophet and captain of the army) is describing the reason they have success in war. He attributes it to God and the gospel of Jesus Christ. In expressing his feelings for the gospel he says one sentence that has been echoing through my mind as of late. He says "to which we own all our happiness" (Alma 44:5)

The other day Sister Crane asked me "who would you be if you weren't a member of the church?" That thought causes me to shudder. I truly do owe ALL my happiness, everything I am, to Jesus Christ and His gospel. I cannot adequately express my gratitude for this church. The gospel is a gospel of happiness and I know that only in living by the words of Jesus Christ can we find the pure and everlasting happiness that everyone is searching for.

This has been another wonderful week in Canada! I am so grateful for my mission and the experiences I've had already! God truly does love all His children.

We were blessed with the opportunity to listen to the Woman's broadcast of General Conference the other day! It was SO GOOD! If you haven't had the opportunity to watch it go back and watch it! Even if you're a man! It was incredible and just what I needed to hear! 

The other day in the mall I ran into 3 deaf people! I can't even tell you how excited I was!!! I was so flabbergasted though that I was only able to have a quick conversation with them. But it was still cool! I love ASL!! Heavenly Father is so merciful to allow me to have such cool experiences!

Another cool thing happened the other day too. Sister Crane and I were kind of down about something and we were walking sadly home. Then we ran into this random man on the street and he just walked right up to us and was so kind! He wasn't a member of the church but he just wanted to talk to us. He had just come from the dollar store where he had purchased a couple of candy bars. He insisted that we take them. It was really random, but it was just a witness to me that Heavenly Father is in the details of the details of the details of our lives! 

General Conference is this weekend!!!!! YAY!!!! I CAN"T WAIT!!!! Everyone, go and watch it! It's an opportunity to hear form God's prophets! The people He has called to speak for Him!! Is there anything more amazing on the earth than that!? Just go and listen to it! I can promise you without a sliver of a doubt that if you go and watch General Conference, you will have your questions answered. You will feel God speak to you. So just go and do it! 

Being a missionary is so great! I am so blessed!

Have a great week everybody!

Sister Bloomfield

Lady they met that really wanted to take a picture with them :)

Vancouver Temple

Vancouver Temple

Thanksgiving, gluten-free cookies & ASL! {week 11}

Hello!

It's so great to hear about how you're all doing! Thank you so much for your emails. It means so much to me! 

I'm doing great! My new area is so amazing! The ward here is on fire! I have had such a great week, it's been amazing!

Some highlights from my week:

The annual BC thanksgiving food drive!: Here in Canada Thanksgiving is at the beginning of October, which is really weird. Now that everyone is prepping for Thanksgiving I'm getting pumped for Christmas and it's throwing me off because Christmas isn't for a while! Anyways, here in BC the church hosts a non-denominational food drive! And the Brookswood ward goes ALL OUT for it! We got to volunteer for a couple of hours unloading the food people were bringing in. It was so wonderful to be working along side members of the church and people not of our faith! Last year the Brookswood ward collected 6,000 pounds of food... this year we got 20,000! It was INCREDIBLE! Service is the absolute best! One thing that really impressed me was a massive donation of food from the Seek Temple. They donated about 7,000 pounds! I was astounded! They are such amazing people! It was just such a wonderful experience! Not to mention the ward put on a pretty stellar after party :)

Adventures with making cookies!: We have these WONDERFUL investigators that we just love SO MUCH! They just moved from Victoria so they're my type of people :) We haven't been able to meet with them for a couple of weeks because they're so busy. Randomly I had the idea that we should make them cookies. We texted them and said we were going to which made them happy. We asked them if they had any allergies and come to find out they are gluten free! At first me and my companion were like "umm how are we going to do this?" But then I randomly found a recipe for gluten free cookies in our cupboard. I made them and we gave them to our investigators. We were both a little nervous about what they would think... luckily we got to see them again and they told us that the cookies were the best they had ever had! It was a miracle! We had an amazing lesson about Jesus Christ with them too! They have so much faith! I love them so much! 

ASL!: Yesterday at church a lady came into Sunday school that I didn't recognize. I tried to introduce myself but the woman that had brought her came up and told me that she was deaf and couldn't understand me. I got really excited and asked her if she knew ASL and SHE DID! So we started talking and it was so amazing! I love her so much! It was such an incredible experience! I am so grateful I was able to learn ASL enough to be able to communicate with others! It is such a blessing! She wasn't able to communicate with anyone at church and then suddenly people were asking me to help translate. I can't even express how beautiful it was to see her open up. I also got to use some Spanish the other day which was pretty cool. I love languages! I'm trying to learn Chinese too so we'll see how that goes! 

It has been an incredible week here in Canada! Sometimes I can't even believe I'm here. It's so amazing! 

A guy in the Brookswood ward just got home from his mission and gave his homecoming talk yesterday. Guess where he served?? Colordado!!!!! It was so awesome to hear someone talk about Colorado! It made me so happy! 

One thing I've been thinking about a lot lately is faith! Faith is so incredible but it can be hard to develop. Having faith is having the courage to take a step forward even though making mistakes is inevitable. Having faith is knowing that even when we do make mistakes Jesus Christ can fix any broken thing. It makes me think of the parable of the talents. Sometimes it can be scary to invest in the world, to use our "talents", for fear of losing them. But we need to have the faith to invest our talents trusting that because of Christ all things will eventually work for out for the best in the end. If we have the faith to allow Jesus Christ to work in our lives we will be able to be happy even in difficult circumstances. If we have faith in Christ losing our "talents" isn't even a possibility. I found a quote the other day that says "We know that challenges, disappointments, and sorrows will come to each of us in different ways, but we also know that in the end, because of our divine Advocate, all things can be made to work together for our good" 

Have a wonderful week!

Sister Bloomfield

This is a picture from last week that I was waiting for permission to post.  It's with her 1st Companion, the ward mission leader in Victoria, and a recent convert.