Family History and Birthdays

Love you more than...A good game of floppy sock! :)

All the sisters at the Zone Conference

I hope that you had a fun pioneer day! I have the best pioneer story for you! So go to familysearch.org/campaign/pioneers and when you sign in, it will tell you allll the pioneer ancestors you have! The new family history mission couple is here and they were helping us last night. We found one of my pioneer family members is Joseph Knight Jr. who came across then was in one of the rescue companies. Turns out he was baptized in June of 1830 so he was one of the first members of the church! And get this! D&C 12 and 23 are written for his father Joseph Knight Sr.! How cool is that! Be sure to let Grandpa/Grandma Sheffield know!

Ward member with us Sister Missionaries

One more family history miracle from last night. Background story is that back in Jr. High the Young Women went to a family history center and did so researching and I found someone who didn’t have their work done and I reserved her name so I could do the work. Well years later I remembered that I had saved someone’s name but never did the work. But I couldn’t remember who it was or how to find her and the program had changed so much, so had my email address… I felt soooo guilty! Someone’s eternal salvation put on hold all because I had been so naïve and forgotten! So I have spent years feeling like I messed up big time and just praying that Heavenly Father would magically make the internet break and accidentally release her name again so someone else could do her temple work and she could progress! Well guess what… last night I FOUND HER! Margaret J. Holloway! But after finding her, Sister Lewis and I felt like there was some misinformation there so we spent a couple hours just researching old records and data and going through. Turns out they had connected her to the wrong Elisha Holloway, aka we aren’t actually related! But we were able to clear up the relationship and sent her information to the temple! Her work will be done, and done with the right husband! I can’t tell you the amazing feeling I had getting that all sorted out! I never slept better :) But now I want to ask Grandma Anderson since it was her grandparents. Elisha Holloway and then his first wife passed away, Louisa Florence Quick. So then he married Nora Mae Williams. But I just want to double check that Margaret J. was not one of those wives. Also you should go in and update Grandpa Anderson! Add some pictures, stories etc. I had a blast last night with all of this and I’m on fire with the spirit of Elijah right now haha. I love my family!!!!!

Zone Conference with Sister Suriyani

OK so now for the week. I had a really rough time last week. I was feeling so down about myself and about the work. But this week we had a zone conference and I was able to have an interview with President like we do every 3 months. He said the kindest, most encouraging things. Basically he said, “whatever self-doubt or discouragement has gotten into your head, throw it out the window. Go back out and be your happy, faithful self! Don’t beat yourself up! Don’t worry about the work, just let the Spirit guide you when you go out the door.” He also said a few other things that just really touched my heart. It was just what I needed and this week I really did let go! Sister Allred’s aunt shared an analogy a few weeks ago that I really took on this week. She explained that we are riding through life on a tandem bike with Christ. For me, the last few weeks, I was in the front, trying to steer and pedal as hard as I could but barely making it around the corners and almost crashing the bike. Then Christ asked if He could take the front and I sat in the back and just pedaled my hardest and sure enough it was better than I ever could have done. I felt like I was able to let go in a way, and just get to work and the blessings have come! We had one cool miracle… Saturday we went to a member’s house unexpectedly when another appointment canceled. We decided to talk about missionary work and ask for a referral. Before we even knew what was happening, they already had a friend on the phone and were asking when the missionaries could come over! We didn’t have time on Saturday so we told them we would go with the Brother after church on Sunday. Well Sunday morning we show up to church and guess who is there? The brother, the referral, and the referral’s wife! They loved church and are going to come next week! See what the Lord does? And guess who else came to church for the first time ever….. IBU LELY!!!!!!!!!!!!! SHE LOVED IT! The talks, the lessons (I taught gospel principles about Priesthood) and the discussions were seriously soooo perfect for Lely and her needs and she was very inspired by it all. We were able to visit her 2x this week and then to see her come to church… miracles :) I can’t wait for when she gets baptized! I just pray it will be while I’m here to see it!

Mission Leadership Conference

This week a lot happened! We had zone conference and that was a blast! President basically told us to get back to P.M.G. and not just read it but DO it! We truly are sifting through the nations to find the elect and prepared! “We are going to become a mission that sleeps with Preach My Gospel (PMG) under their pillow!”

Zone Conference

One other cool thing he talked about, D&C 51:16-17. “When you get somewhere in life (a new area in the mission, moving to college etc.) act as if you will be there for years and make it like your permanent home. Unpack and settle in. Be where you are until you are not (not up in Bear Lake skiing).” Kind of like the bloom where you’re planted thing.

Birthday celebration

The birthday kids

Sister Allred's birthday with Sister Donald, the Mission Presidents wife

It was also the announcement of the new Presidential elections on the 22nd! That caused quite a bit of confusion and made it hard to find people to visit, but all is well and we still had a fun bay celebration for Sister Allred. I made her breakfast [not] in bed: crepes w/ nutella, strawberries and homemade whipped cream. An Eggwhite, spinach omelet and a strawberry, banana, yogurt, spinach fruity drink! Of course I threw flour on her too. I waited until she started to shower and then asked if she would hand me my deodorant and when she opened the door a crackle, I floured her! But she couldn’t chase after me because she didn’t have a towel on yet! Hahaha sooo good. I filmed it all. Then later we went out to lunch with Sister Donald and it was such a treat to just sit and chat. Her life has been seriously guided! Amazing to see such an amazing woman and yet most of her family is inactive, siblings, kids. Did you know President Donald is the only member in his family? Not even his parents or siblings have joined. But that just makes them even stronger! We also found a place that has REAL cheesecake and so I would say it was a great day. P.S. still no idea who my next companion will be but I am most likely to stay in Jakarta

It is the biggest Muslim holiday of the year right now so Jakarta has no people! Everyone has “pulang kampong” gone home! So we are loving empty streets and no macet (traffic). Today we are going to Monas.

TRAFFIC

OK so basically this week was revelatory for my life plans. On Monday for Pday we were at a member’s home and Sister Paul sat me down, just me, and started asking about my major. Well it was such an inspiring chat and she gave me some really great advice about what my TRUE purpose is on earth and how to pick a major that will support that and still go inline with the advice from my patriarchal blessing. Then last night with the mission couple, the Lewis’s, they were talking about their story of meeting and she said that you should pay attention to your “mind’s view” of your future spouse when you read your patriarchal blessing because it is the spirit letting you know something from an eternal perspective. “I’ve heard your voice before, I’ve seen your face before, it’s like we’ve talked like this before…” Also an extremely inspiring chat! Haha but sorry I’m not trying to scare you. Still lots of time right?

OK well I just wanted to let you know how much I love you all! Families are eternal and ours is the greatest one of them all! I love learning so much here on the mission. 1 Cor. 9:9 I will become who I need to be in order to help and bless people here.

Love you to the moon and back x1,000,000

<3 Sister Sheff

Clean-up AFTER Mission Leadership Conference (Pizza is such a treat)