Final Letter {week 80}

Well friends,
This is my last official email. I can hardly believe I'm writing those words! It makes me so sad to think that I'm entering the last week of my mission. Each week, day, and moment here have been precious to me.

This week Sister Guzman and I were blessed to see a lot of miracles! Sister Guzman has been sick sadly but I've been blessed to go on splits with a variety of different sisters! It's been so much fun! I even got to go on a split with my old companion, Sister Tapon! That made me beyond happy.
This week at church a girl named Ivy just walked in and started looking around. Luckily by some miracle one of her high school friends who doesn't regularly attend the YSA had decided to go this Sunday and just happened to be standing in the door way when she walked in! Coincidence? I think not! She told us that her neighbor had told her mom about the church and that she was curious so she just showed up! It was a miracle! Lately the entire branch has been praying for opportunities to share the gospel and I know that God has been answering their prayers! Ivy just came out of nowhere and is truly interested in learned more! I am amazed by little miracles like that. Many people would say "well, if you already go to a Christian church, why go to another one?" But I know that this is more than just a Church. Coming and learning about the restored gospel of Jesus Christ is about learning who you really are, who God really is, and what you can to do to be with Him forever. It transcends this life. 

This week we also got to meet this amazing girl named Jamie and her friend Rueben. We taught them a very simple lesson about prayer and then invited them to read the Book of Mormon and pray about it! After the lesson we texted both of them and Rueben responded telling us that he's always searched for God but has felt so empty inside any time he's walked into a church or tried to pray. We were able to promise him that as he learns about our message, that emptiness will leave him. I know without a doubt that that is true. This message fills a whole that many people don't even know they're looking for.

I'm so grateful for my mission. On my mission I have come so much closer to my Saviour, Jesus Christ, and have changed so much because of that. My testimony of Jesus Christ has grown so much. Before I subconsciously considered Him to just be a historical figure that did a really great thing for me and that I would get to see again someday after I die. But now I can feel His presence in a very real way. Christ is very much alive today, directing and leading His church. He is with me in every moment and it is because of Him that I see miracles, and have seen success. He has been there in my hardest moments to lift me up and give me the strength to keep going. Instead of reflecting about what He did thousands of years ago, I also think about what He does for me every day of my life. He truly does live. It's because of Him that I can live with peace, hope and happiness. No matter what situation I may be in, or what may happen in my life I have faith in Jesus Christ. And that is enough. He lives, and this is His church.

I know that the best way to come to know Jesus Christ, is through reading the Book of Mormon. That book truly is the word of God! It's not just words on a page, but it's God's words to YOU. Any question we have, when sincerely asked, can be answered in the Book of Mormon. I have experienced that first hand. After finishing the Book of Mormon a couple of weeks ago, I read Moroni's promise and a new meaning took shape for me. In Moroni 10:3-5 it says 

"3 Behold, I would exhort you that when ye shall read these things, if it be wisdom in God that ye should read them, that ye would remember how merciful the Lord hath been unto the children of men, from the creation of Adam even down until the time that ye shall receive these things, and ponder it in your hearts.

4 And when ye shall receive these things, I would exhort you that ye would ask God, the Eternal Father, in the name of Christ, if these things are not true; and if ye shall ask with a sincere heart, with real intent, having faith in Christ, he will manifest the truth of it unto you, by the power of the Holy Ghost.

5 And by the power of the Holy Ghost ye may know the truth of all things." 

 The line that stood out me when reading it this last time was the line "the time that ye shall receive these things" when we read the Book of Mormon we can pray to know if the record as a whole is true, but also if the things we learned for ourselves are true. I know that if we do pray, God will answer. 

I know that God is there and loves each of us more than we can comprehend. I have seen that as He has put the right people in my path. I have seen miracles as I've been able to share the gospel with those that are truly seeking for it. I have also felt His love through all of my amazing companions. I know He's there.

I hope you all have an amazing week! See you soon!

Sister Bloomfield

Come Follow Me {week 79}

Hello friends!

I hope you've all had great weeks!! 

We saw a lot of miracles this week!! Yesterday somebody just walked up to us and asked us if we could teach him about Jesus Christ! He then set up his own return appointment! It was a miracle! We will be seeing him this Wednesday! 

I had the opportunity to meet a lot of amazing people this week! There are a lot of people out there truly seeking for the gospel! It's amazing! I know that Jesus Christ really does live and that this really is His church.

I had an amazing experience this week studying the new come follow me manual! This week was all about how we need to be active learners! I loved it because I met someone recently that we had been teaching a lot. She said that she would just leave things up to fate and if her work schedule worked out then she would know the gospel is true. I know though that we need to choose our fate. In general conference Elder Renlund talked about how God is more concerned with us choosing what is right more than doing what is right. That's because He loves us and cares about who we are. 

We also are still teaching those people from the bible college! They're awesome! In one lesson one of them talked about how they need to make sure that when they pray, it's with real intent. If we're not willing to give everything to God we won't receive the answer we're looking for. What he said was so true! We need to be willing to follow God's will even if it's in something we're not expecting. 

I met the cutest girl the other day! She told me she loved Jesus Christ and knew all about Him. I asked her if she knew about the Book of Mormon and she told me that she didn't. She was SO EXCITED when I explained to her what it was! She was so happy to have more knowledge about Jesus Christ! The Book of Mormon truly does testify  of Him and brings us closer to Him.

Sorry this email is so scattered! Just know that I'm loving life and I love being a missionary!!! It's the best thing in the world! Have a great week! 

Happy New Year! {week 78}

Hello Everyone!

To be completely honest with you, I don't have too much to say because it feels like I only emailed a couple of days ago! Maybe because I did haha. 

Anyways, it has been a good past few days with a lot of miracles. This week we met with a girl that we found at a mall food court. We were just walking past and we were in a rush so I wasn't planning on stopping. But the spirit literately whipped me around and I started talking to her. It was like a 2 minute conversation but she took a Book of Mormon and we exchanged contact info. Then she asked if she could bring some friends to our lesson. 

When we got to the lesson it was her and a friend. They both are going to bible college. At first they pelted us with a lot of questions about the bible which earlier on in my mission would have made me really nervous. It was amazing to watch as the spirit took over the lesson though. It was such a spiritually powerful lesson where we just shared spiritual experiences and testified of the Book of Mormon. Marcia was with us and bore such a powerful testimony. It was amazing. They committed to come to church and went in Abbotsford. They loved it and are meeting with us again! At the end of the lesson one of them said " I believe I have the truth, but I also recognize that the Book of Mormon might be true. So I'm just going to read it then ask God if it is true." It was so cool! Both of them have been so prepared by God, it was really cool to hear some of their personal experiences and to see how they have been prepared for this message. 

Today I was able to finish the Book of Mormon! It was an incredible experience, reading it from October till now at the request of President Nelson. The one thing I learned this time reading it through, is how merciful Christ is. He knows we're human and knows we will make mistakes but He is merciful and wants to help us overcome the natural man. He wants to help us overcome our weaknesses because each of us have an individual and specific work to do. I testify that Christ really is there to help us in our hardest moments. He loves us so much.

Have a great week!

Sister Bloomfield 

Merry Christmas {week 77}

Dear Family and Friends,

First of all, Merry Christmas!!! This has been an absolutely amazing week! There have been so many moments this week where I have thought to myself "I wish I could just freeze time right now and stay in this moment forever." I am so blessed. I love being a missionary so much! I love my companion, this area and all the people in it, and the missionaries I get to serve around. 

We've been able to meet some pretty amazing people this week including a cute girl named Misaki! She is from Japan and is here studying English. Her English is pretty limited so in my first contact with her I had to use google translate! I typed in my phone "I just like to meet with people and help them to learn more about God. Do you want to meet on Tuesday or Wednesday?" and she responded that she did want to meet! It shocked me that she would say yes so readily because it was a little difficult to communicate haha! For our lesson we brought a member with us who just returned from her mission in Japan. As you can imagine, the member was pretty pumped to come and talk to someone in Japanese.I was so grateful for her because there would have been so many misunderstandings without her! During the lesson we realized that Misaki is actually really interested and learning about the gospel and really wanted to come to church on Sunday. We taught her about the atonement and prayer and she said a prayer at the end of the lesson. She also committed to come to church! 

We had a ride set up for her to come to church on Sunday but the ride last minute cancelled. I was so sad Sunday morning, thinking we had no way to get Misaki to church. Then Sister Guzman said "why don't we just walk with her from the sky train station to the church?" We decided to just go for it and texted Misaki the plan. We met Misaki at the sky train station then walked with her all the way to the church. In the rain. Needless to say we were soaked and the ward (it wasn't even our ward because YSA disbanded for Christmas) was probably confused and horrified by our appearance. Haha. The service on Sunday was really good but the whole time I was wondering what Misaki was thinking. On the walk home we were able to talk to her about it and she told us she really liked it. She randomly said "I so happy."  We asked her why and she said it was because she felt peace at church. I was filled with so much happiness when I heard that!! There we were, walking in the freezing rain (Misaki was wearing tennis shoes and didn't have an umbrella or a raincoat) and Misaki still felt the peace that comes from coming closer to God. It was amazing! That's a Christmas miracle for you. 

On Thursday this week we had a tri-zone zone conference!! It was so much fun!! We learned a lot about teaching skills and it really hit me how important it is to rely on the spirit when teaching someone. God knows the hearts of His children best. I've been realizing that the ability to truly minister requires a lot of faith and confidence in the Savior. I remember one time I was thinking about all the people who have helped me in my life and I was thinking about how it was that they were able to help me. My first thought was "I guess you have to be really confident in yourself to be able to help someone." Then immediately another thought flew through my mind. That thought was "No, you just have to be confident in who the Savior is." That really hit me. Of course as humans we're going to come short, but because Jesus Christ is perfect and is with us we are able to minister and help others with His power. It's all centered on and revolves around Jesus Christ.

After zone conference we had the awesomest  mission Christmas party ever! We had a Christmas lunch together then we all gathered to watch performances from each of the zones. They even skyped in the missionaries up north and on the island! We only had a days notice to come up with a performance but we all pulled together and came up with an awesome skit! I may be biased, but I'm pretty sure Abbotsford zone is the best zone ever ;)... not like I've served in this zone for over a year or something haha ;) I'm so grateful for little golden moments like those. 

We've found some amazing people this week! We met this girl named Rochelle from the Philippines. While we were talking to  her she said "I just feel like I have no purpose in my life." We taught her the plan of salvation and invited her to learn more about it. Sister Guzman said "let's meet on Tuesday (Christmas)" I thought for sure she would say no (you know, Christmas...) but she said yes!! Unfortunately she was stuck at work so we had to re-schedule. I'm so excited for her though because it's easy to see how much she really is searching for the gospel! 

We've honestly seen so many miracles this week and I'm so grateful! I love doing this work so much! I hope you all had a merry Christmas!

Love, Sister Bloomfield

Be Still {week 76}

Dear Friends and Family,

This has been an incredible week!! COBY GOT BAPTIZED!!!!!!!!!! I'm sooooo happy and excited for him!!!! It's amazing to think that just a couple of months ago sister Robison and I ran into him on the streets of Langley on the day we didn't have a car. God's plans are WAY BETTER than mine!! That's for sure!!! 

The font here in Langley was broken so we had to go all the way to Maple Ridge for the baptism! It turned out to be an amazing service! It was especially amazing to see the difference in Coby after he got the gift of the Holy Ghost! The best thing in the world about being a missionary is watching someone grow in the gospel. 

This Sunday all of us missionaries were asked to speak! It was an amazing experience because one thing I've been working on is teaching by the spirit so I decided to not write my talk out this time. Instead I just studied a lot and prepared a few scriptures. When I got on the stand I didn't know exactly what I was going to say, but I felt the spirit so strongly. It was a pretty amazing experience. All the other missionaries who spoke also had such strong testimonies. I felt the spirit so strong that sacrament meeting. One thing our branch President said after we spoke was about how amazed he was that God would send such young people to proclaim the gospel. He said "God sends weak things to confound the wise so weak things can become strong." That really struck me. It's so true that God can make weak things become strong. One of the themes of my mission has been the scripture in Ether 12:27. If we humble ourselves before God, He can make us strong even though we are weak.

I've learned lately that if we truly understand the gospel, there would be no need to be worried or stressed. Because of Jesus Christ everything will always be ok. One thing that has been echoing in my mind has been "Be still, and know that I am God."

Have a wonderful week!

Sister Bloomfield
 

A year in Langley! {week 75}

Hello Friends,

Sorry but I don't have much time! One thing I've learned this week though is how much God truly loves us! We saw some tender mercies this week that just amazed me! He truly is in the details of the details of our lives!

This week there was a day where I was feeling kind of down. I said a prayer to Heavenly Father that He would send someone to me to pump me up and I kid you not, 5 steps later I ran into the Cranes! The Cranes are a senior couple who used to be serving here that recently went home! They are the ones who helped me so much with my passport! It was such a sweet reunion and it made me so happy and excited! Just one evidence that God was aware of me!

A few days later we were doing comp study and we were really stressed about something when we got a random phone call. It was our district leader! It was a surprise because he usually calls at night but he had felt prompted to call us right at that moment. He role played with us and we were able to laugh and prepare for the rest of our day. It truly was inspired and helped us a lot! God is seriously aware of each and every one of us!

This week we have been able to teach a lot of amazing people! The other day we found this awesome girl! And it turns out she is friends with one of our members! We had a lesson with them and the spirit was so strong! I could feel it guiding us! I just know this church is true and that God is so aware of us. He wants the best for us!

We also got transfer calls and I'm staying in Langley YSA with Sister Guzman. WOOOHOOOOO!!!! I can say that I spent a year of my mission in Langley!!!!!!!!!! That makes me so happy!!!! I've practically moved in!!!! This is seriously my home now!!! I love it so much!!! Not to mention a huge portion of my MTC district just got transferred in this zone!! Woohoo!! I'm practically ending my mission the way I started it! This is going to be such a blast!!

To quote a fellow missionary "Heavenly Father always smiles at you when you try your best." I know that's true! Sometimes we view God as a disapproving teacher or something but I know that He is always smiling at us and He is so happy whenever we do something good. God truly loves us so much! More than we can ever comprehend!

Anyways, have a great week!

Sister Bloomfield

All that you have and are {week 74}

Hello everyone,

This has been such a crazy and exhausting week. Exhausting in a wonderful way! 

This week we were able to teach one of Marcia's friends! It was such a cool experience! She has so many questions and is so curious about the gospel. It is so fun teaching people who have so many questions. I always love it when we commit someone to read the Book of Mormon and pray about it. The Book of Mormon is so powerful. Reading has really helped me to understand the true nature of God. 

We were also able to teach another girl we're working with about faith. She's had such a hard past she has a hard time trusting God. But as we taught her, her heart opened up and she said she wanted to learn to trust God. As we were walking out of the lesson she asked me what made me always be in such a good mood. I told her it was the gospel and asked her what made her happy. She said she wasn't happy because of what happened in her past. I told her that it is only through the gospel that she can leave that behind and become truly happy. I know that's true. It is only through Jesus Christ that we can find relief from the burden of past trials and mistakes. 

We also had stake conference this weekend. Elder Hallstrom came! It was one of the best stake conferences I've ever been to. They talked a lot about consecration. In Mosiah 2:34 it says "I say unto you, that there are not any among you, except it be your little children that have not been taught concerning these things, but what knoweth that ye are eternally indebted to your heavenly Father, to render to him all that you have and are" I love that scripture because we are able to give heavenly Father all that we have and are out of a deep gratitude and love for Him. Serving God should be our first priority. True happiness comes as we turn our hearts to God. 

I have found true happiness as I've been able to serve as a missionary! We saw so many miracles this week, as we do everyday! 

Anyways, I hope you all have an amazing week!

A Lesson on Repentance from Wendys {week 73}

This has been a good week! Lots of exciting things happened! I absolutely love being a missionary!!

As the subject line says, this week I learned a lesson on repentance. I don't know if this is happening in the States but here in Canada for the month of November Wendy's was having this promotion where if you bought a sheet of coupons for $2 you would get $10 worth of coupons. At the beginning of this transfer we walked into Wendy's and this really nice lady I have never met before was so happy to see us. She gave us a stack of 11 coupon booklets and told us to give it to other missionaries. We were grateful and gave a sheet of coupons to one companionship. We then promptly forgot about them. Then this week we went into Wendy's. She asked us what we had done with the coupons and we felt really bad. They expired at the end of November and she didn't seem too happy. We felt so bad. So we left and carried on with our day. Then the next day we got a text from the elders asking us about the coupons. Apparently they went to Wendy's and the lady asked if they had them and they said no. The elders informed us that the lady was pretty mad. We felt so bad so we went and pulled out some money to pay her for the coupons. We walked into Wendy's pretty embarrassed and apologized to the lady and tried to pay her back. We thought she was going to yell at us. Instead she refused to accept our money, but did accept our apology. She said she was so happy we came back and that it showed a lot about our character. We didn't know what to say. She walked around the counter and gave us both hugs and then gave us 2 free frosty's. I was so surprised! I didn't even know what to say!

It reminded me of a scripture in Mosiah. It's in Mosiah 2:23-24 and says "And now, in the first place, he hath created you, and granted unto you your lives, for which you are indebted unto Him. And secondly, he doth require that ye should do as he hath commanded you; for which if ye do, he doth immediately bless you; and therefore he hath paid you. And ye are still indebted unto Him, and are, and will be, forever and ever; therefore, of what have ye to boast?" When that lady gave us those coupons, we were indebted to her. And when we messed up and came back to apologize to her she rewarded us for the simple act of apologizing. Therefor we were more indebted to her. That's a lot like Christ. He has given us everything and sacrificed Himself for us. Because of that we are always indebted to Him. But anytime we do anything good or come to Him, He rewards us despite our previous debt. So we are always indebted to Him. It is impossible to pay Him back. Because Christ is loving, He doesn't expect us to pay Him back and doesn't hold our debt over our head. If we come with a broken heart and a contrite spirit, He immediately accepts us and to Him it's as if we never sinned at all. His hand is always outstretched and He is quick to forgive.

At General Conference President Nelson challenged us to read the Book of Mormon by the end of the year focusing on Jesus Christ. As I've done so one main message has stuck out to me: Christ is merciful. Even though we mess up hundreds of times if we just come back and express a desire to change He accepts us and helps us to become better. Jeffry R Holland once said "come as you are, but don't expect to stay as you are." In His mercy, Christ accepts us and helps us to change and overcome our sins. 

I'm so grateful for the gospel and my knowledge of a loving God!

This has been such a good week! We have seen some amazing miracles and met some amazing people! One of the happiest moments of this week was this last Saturday. We were standing in a huge crowd of people when we received a text from one of our people telling us who they wanted to have baptize them. It was a moment of pure joy for 2 sister missionaries, standing among a crowd of people who were clueless. It was pure joy because it was a sign that this person was truly taking another step closer to God. I'm so grateful! This type of joy transcends everything. Any sorry or difficulty we face is swallowed up in the joy of Christ.

I hope you all have a wonderful week! 

Sister Bloomfield  

Good, Better, Best {week 72}

Dear Family and Friends,

I hope you have all had an amazing week and that you have an amazing Thanksgiving!! There truly is so much to be thankful for! 

This has been a good week! We're seeing lots of miracles! I absolutely love serving in this branch! Being in YSA is so good! 

This week we were able to find a lot of new people to teach! It was so fun going out and talking to as many people as we could!

We are still working with that guy who is getting baptized soon. We had a really cool lesson with him on Saturday. We taught the law of tithing and he thought it was great! We asked him about church and he said he wasn't planning on coming. That's not good because in order to get baptized you need to come to church. We took some time to talk about the importance of coming to church but by the end of the lesson we were unsure if he was going to come or not. Sure enough, Sunday morning he was there ready for church! This time with a shirt and tie! It made me so happy! It's been so cool to see his conversion is such a short period of time! He is an elect!

This week we also had  zone conference! It was so good! One of the things I pulled out of it is the importance of constantly preparing so that we are spiritually capable of responding when God asks us to do things. His will should always trump our own. The things that matter most in this life are the things that center us on Jesus Christ. I learned that there is a lot of things that are "good" and "better" in the world. It's tempting to be distracted by them. But what we really need to focus on are the things that are "best." It makes me think of the story in the Bible of Martha and Mary. Martha was busy doing house work while Mary sat at the feet of Jesus. Martha got annoyed that Mary wasn't helping but Christ responded with "Martha, Martha, thou art careful and troubled about many things; but one thing is needful; and mary hath chosen that good part,which shall not be taken away from her." There are a lot of good things we can be doing, but we need to always remember what is best. 

Have an amazing week! 

Sister Bloomfield 

Another Good Week {week 71}

Hello everyone!

This has been a good week!

It's amazing and I love being a missionary so much!

Some highlights of the week:

-Working with John! John is the guy sister Robison and I found a while ago. He's just soaking everything in and loves the church! He came to church for the first time this last Sunday and said that it felt like coming home! We taught him the word of wisdom and he loved it! He bore his testimony that it's probably a good idea to keep the commandments because God knows more than we do! That makes me so happy!

-Working with Emily! Emily is a girl we found recenlty! She's from Korea. We had such a cool lesson with her the other day. We taught the restoration and she was pretty amazed by it. We invited her to be baptized and she said yes! It was such a spiritual lesson!

Honestly there's so many things that make being a missionary amazing! I love it so much!

One thing that's stuck out to me this week is something someone said in sacrament meeting the other day. He said "when repenting don't think of the wrongs you have done, think of the right you want to be through Christ."

Have a great week!

Sister Bloomfield 

 

Do Good Anyway {week 70}

Hello Family and Friends,

This has been such a good week! It's been stressful, but it's the best kind of stress! It's just the type of stress where you have a lot of things to do, but know it will all be ok because God is with you in every moment.

I absolutely love Sister Guzman! She is from Hondorus and is so much fun! She is teaching me Spanish and I can now say "I'm trying to learn Spanish" in Spanish! It's the best! I'm so excited for this transfer with her!

This week we have seen so many miracles! I've been learning the true meaning of turning everything to God. There have been so many times this week that I spent on my knees pleading with God to bless this area and this zone. As to my strength, I am weak. So so weak. But because of God I can do all things.

This Sunday at the beginning of church I sat in the pews a little sad because no one had come (as in people we're teaching). During the sacrament I just prayed so hard and decided I needed to turn everything to God. This is the Lord's work not mine. Then, after sacrament one of the people we're teaching just waltzed in with a bunch of the branch members who had all carpooled together. I was so happy and surprised! Then I turned around and saw that another member had brought her friend! Then we got a text from someone else we were trying to get to church that said they were sitting in the foyer! It was a miracle!!!! I have a testimony that if we rely on God, all things are possible.

This week we saw so many miracles! We worked so hard and met some of the most amazing people. I'm so excited to watch their progression. It's the most amazing thing in the world to just lose yourself in the service of God.

Lately I've been thinking a lot about why I serve. I've realized that the reason I serve, is because I love God. My efforts may amount to nothing, but they still mean everything because I'm serving out of love for Jesus Christ. My motto this week has been this quote from General Conference "If you are kind, people may accuse you of selfish, ulterior motives. Be kind anyway. What you spend years building, someone could destroy overnight. Build anyway. The good you do today, people will often forget tomorrow. Do good anyway. Give the world the best you have, and it may never be enough. Give the world the best you've got anyway. You see, in the final analysis, it is between you and your God anyway." (found in "for Him" by Joy D Jones)

Sister Bloomfield 

 

Hola Amigos! {week 69}

Hello Everyone!

Transfer calls came and I'm staying in Langley YSA!!!! That makes me so happy!!!!! I love this area so much!!! I'm getting a new companion and her name is Sister Guzman. She's from Hondorus!! I'm so excited because I'm going to finally have someone to try and learn Spanish from!!

This has been such a good week! I love serving in this branch so much!! I am so spoiled because since we cover so many areas of the mission I get to see so many different places and meet so many different people. It's absolutely incredible!

We are teaching this awesome guy! I don't know if I've written about him, but he's the one we found on the day we were without our car. He is just soaking everything in! We invited him to be baptized but he originally declined. Then after one of our lessons he texted us and said "about that baptism thing, I think I want to do it!" It made us so happy! We invited him to an activty on Monday and he told us he would rather have another lesson! It was so cool! Watching him learn about the gospel really made me realize how much happiness it brings. Knowing about Jesus Christ can truly change your life.

So much happened this week and I learned so much! I'm so grateful for the opportunity I have to serve in this area, in this mission, with all the companions I've had so far. I know that it is God who has given me everything. Even when I strive to serve Him with all my strength, it is him that gives me the strength to serve Him. In Mosiah 2:11 King Benjamin says "I have been chosen by this people... to serve you with all the might, mind, and strength, which the Lord hath granted unto me"

Have a great week!

Sister Bloomfield