Tuesday, June 25, 2013

History is being made June 28, 2013.....Washington Seattle is being divided‏

Today is the last P-Day in the history of the Washington Seattle Mission, today having 240 missionaries, and is rather an emotional time for all the missionaries, especially those that have just a couple of month left. President Todd S. Larkin and his wife and family will be released and return to Las Vegas, Nevada. Elder Yoon Hwan Choi, a Seventy of the 1st Quorum is the new Mission President and his wife. The other half of our mission will divided into the Federal Way Mission with President Eaton as their President. This is a glorious event and the privilege to know and work with two presidents will be wonderful and will also be an honor.

Last Monday on P-Day we rode to Seattle on the light rail and took a ferry ride through the Ballard Locks which provide a link for boats between the salt water of Puget Sound and the fresh water of the Ship Canal, which connects eastward to Lake Union and Lake Washington. This day was sunny and beautiful and warm...not hot. This lock maintains the water level of fresh water of the lakes at 20-22 feet above sea level.



Sister Lance, Sister Frame, Sister Morton, Sister Carter


Wherever we go in this city...and we are getting out and about often....we hear "Hi Sisters" as people continuously recognize us as missionaries and love to chat. We love it!  We continue to work with the less active as we visit and share "Mormon Messages", teach scriptures and sing primary songs with the help of my ipad. These wonderful people love what they feel and they keep coming to church. Today there were 16 at Sacrament Meeting. Our dear friends, Sue and Tracy are getting closer to marriage and we are happy for them.

Nancy, who was baptized last Sunday, was totally unable to come to church today to be confirmed and we held our breath. We checked on her this afternoon and the confirmation wall take place Wed. in the chapel at the church by the Elders. Whew! She had gotten frustrated during the week so there were a plethora of prayers offered this week in her's and our behalf.

We have been doing some proselyting and seeking for non-members. We have found a mother and her 13 year old daughter and she is interested in hearing of our belief. I had no idea Heavenly Father had this in mind for me as I left on my mission but each day I am loving the work more.
Yesterday we were with the Elders on a Church Tour with a Burmese father and I felt such an outpouring of the Spirit. This really is a marvelous work and it is a privilege to share it with others.
I know Heavenly Father hears and answers our prayers. Yes, I know it and I also know our prayers usually are not answered when we want it but in Father's time.
May God be with each of you and bless you this week....and will you look for Miracles in your lives. They are there!!!!

Love to all of you,
Sister Frame

Just an update on our Pday Monday:  Whew, what a day....washed sheets, dark batch and white batch:  haircut for the 2 Elders; (Sister Carter did and I was there), hustled to Des Moines for lunch with the Sassers; Bishop called and we hurried back to Tukwila to pick up Foke for a job interview in Federal Way at DI.   Then we hurried back to Burien to get the oil changed and immediately went to Les Schwab to find out about the new tires I need and we will going in at 7:45 in the morning.  Oh my, then we have FHE in 1/2 hour.  Sister Carter finally (13 days) received her lab report on the her esophageal test and she has Barrett's Esophagus.  This is caused by acid reflux and she has 3 lesions in her esophagus which are precursors to cancer.  She will do nothing in the Mission field and the doctor said she should be fine for a year.  Wow!!!!  What a day!

And to all of you...thanks for notes and pictures and emails and phone calls and your continued expressions of love.  I just love all of you with all my heart...I really do!!!!! I am very happy.  This mountain I am climbing is gigantic..BUT  I am getting there...1/3 the way up and I can see a vista that is beautiful and I feel extremely great.   My faith is growing and I know that as I work my tail off and serve and pray and go to church (CPR) my spirit will be kept alive and I will feed it and refuel it daily.  I love these wonderful people in Tukwila.  If you could see the streets and lanes where we travel and the people we pass (including prostitutes and such)  you would pray even harder for me, but really I am doing great!!!!  Just know how much I love my Heavenly Father and I know how indebted I am to Jesus Christ for the restoration of the Gospel of Jesus Christ.
Well, got to run!  Make each day beautiful and may God be with you and bless you....and take the time to look for Miracles!!!!

Monday, June 17, 2013

Called to Serve Him.....what a privilege!

 
This is a glorious Day!!!  Yesterday Nancy went to church with us and following Sacrament Meeting she said she needed to ask Bishop a question.  Coming back she smiled at me and said she wanted to be baptized into our church. An excitement thrilled my heart and when we told the Elders, Elder Buckway asked if she wanted to get baptized Sunday night....at 6....and she said yes!!  So, motion was in place and all things started to happen.  A program was planned, she was interviewed, arrangements made for the RS room, the font was cleaned and started filling (takes 3 hours) and this wonderful lady "followed the example of Jesus Christ and was baptized by someone holding  the priesthood authority of God.  What a beautiful Sabbath Day!  Actually, I was able to be one who was used to teach and preach and share this beautiful message with Nancy who was waiting for someone to find her and teach her.  I am overwhelmed with this privilege.
 
Last week was Zone Conference and it was an incredible meeting with President and Sister Larkin.  President is a profound speaker and does so with the Holy Spirit.  16 missionaries who are being released in June and July bore testimonies about the work they had been involved in.  Pres and Sister Larkin are being released on June 30 so this meeting was held to be able to say "Good Bye" to all the missionaries.  It was a rather emotional day and filled with learning and love.
P day of last week Sister Carter and myself and the Elders went to the Powers for a barbecue.  Powers furnished the meat and we (the Sisters) brought the rest.  It was a fun day and the Elders brought the message.  We love the Powers.
 
Tuesday morning we visited 4 less-active families.  At 1:00 Sister Carter had an esophageal procedure administered in the hospital and it took us out of work for the day.  It seemed to go well and she will have results of her biopsy done in 7-10 days.
We continue to teach ESL and are finding it easier to go to the homes of these beautiful Burmese people.  The Pow Mung family is one of our dear families and we are teaching Hat Nu, the mother.
 Front R to L: Mary 20: Hat Nu (mom); Pow (Dad) Back row: Esther, Samuel, Zo
Our days go by so fast, we wonder how we will ever get all the work done but we continue to work and try as a team and pray for strength to be 'successful pioneers in the work we have been called to do".
I must tell all of you how thankful I am that the Gospel of Jesus Christ has been restored in these later days.  What a blessing it is my life to be in the Seattle Washington Area with the privilege of serving, meeting wonderful new people and feeling the love and direction of our Heavenly Father as we did yesterday and last night at the Baptism of Nancy.  Such joy is hard to find in this world when so many things pull our time and efforts away from Christ.
I value the teachings I have received to seek for personal revelation and to recognize it daily.  We are taught to "Look for Miracles" and we find them!!  What empowering words of truth have been taught to me and I pray with all my might that I will never forget the blessing that are affordable to all of us if we seek them.
I am aware of Heavenly Father's love for me and all of His children and I pray daily to seek those I am here in Seattle to find and serve and to forget my own selfish feelings.
May God be with and Bless all of you....and look for Miracles.

Love,
Sister Frame

Tuesday, June 11, 2013

Meeting with President Larkin

Pres. Larkin, our Mission President, sent his weekly letter and the words and message were  what all of us needed.  It was beautiful!  He and Sister Larkin will be released on June 30 and the fervor of his words were loud and strong.  He spoke of 1 Samuel 7.  The Prophet Samuel told the children of Israel that they were losing their battles because they had turned from their God of Israel and were worshipping the Gods and vain things of the world.   He promised the people that God would deliver them from their enemies if they would only turn away from the world and serve The Lord God of Israel.  These words are appropriate for all of us and as we seek to serve in a more dedicated manner, He will help us with out battles.  I am a witness of the truthfulness of these words and I love my God ....for His blessings for all of us.  I would challenge all to read this chapter and feel the love of a Prophet towards God's children.  We are blessed with the privilege of living in the sound of a Prophet's voice and we should choose to follow Him, even Thomas S. Monson.
Our Zone Meeting was held this week and I continue to be impressed with the Power of The Priesthood these young men have and how well they present themselves...especially those that are teaching and role playing.  I just love all of them and also the strength of the Sisters and the number of people they are bringing into the waters of Baptism.
This is a picture of our Zone.
 
 
 Elder Geigle and Elder Beetis, kneeling, are our Zone Leaders and very excellent ones!  Third from the left is Elder Buckway, my District Leader and Elder Nebeker, his companion, is just over my right shoulder.  Sister Carter, my companion, is standing next to me.   This was a wonderful meeting and I learned much and I appreciate the experience of learning.
I love this work...love the missionaries I am working with...love the people in the Tukwila Area and I love The Lord.  Last week, after experiencing a miracle,  we started teaching Nancy...an extremely tender ad loving lady of about 50.  I invite all of you to pray for her that she will have the courage to follow the example of Jesus Christ and be baptized by someone holding the priesthood authority of God.  She is such a good person.
This week we gave service to Irene who is 73 years old, with the help of our District Leader and his companion, and we pruned kiwi's (they grow on vines the way grapes grow), deadheaded rhododendrons, pulled weeds, raked, picked up many trimmings and watched Irene use the electric trimer.  Missionaries can not use these (plus for some reason they scare me).  After working for 1 12 hours we had hot dogs, potato salad and baked beans.  Great feeling to be physically tired and to sleep extremely well that night.  Irene is a non-member who adores the Elders and loves Sister Carter/ Frame as we love her. 
We continue to teach and work with Roberta, The Fokes, Kathleen, The Beckers, The Powers, Sue and Tracy, Irene, Mary and Kim.  Sat morning we drove Irene to Seattle to catch a ferry for a day visit to Vancouver.  She will spend the day and her son will bring her home tonight.
I just love being a missionary.  I am extremely appreciative for the experience of growing and serving and meeting so many people that I love.
May God be with each of you this week....and may you experience Miracles!!

Sunday, June 2, 2013

June Already...

I am just surprised that another week has gone by and I am now writing on June 2, 2013
Our p day last week was a stay home and get caught up.  Then our dear friend Sue invited us and the Elders to her home for a barbeque.  Her son Matthew was there with his Grandpa, Freddy, who is a non-member and not much interested about the church but he is a fine man.  Without another male in the home, the Elders would not have been able to go.  This was such a nice time.  And then when we arrived home, we turned around and went to FHE for the Stake Single Adults.   This is a very diverse group, you would never believe the different personalities,  but we all need a friend and to be loved.      We played "Mexican Train" with dominoes and just really enjoy ourselves.
Monday was not p day because we are going to the temple tomorrow.  We had district meet at our chapel and we were instructed by our Zone Leaders and also our District Leader.  I am sure all of you know of my insecurities in thinking I can't do many things.  I am so afraid of how I will look or what I will say wrong.  Well, Elder Beetis told me to read Alma 26:27 and told me basically to not worry about myself...that I was being prideful...and that I should not worry so much about myself and depend on my Heavenly Father to bless me and strengthen me and inspire me when I do my part.  Words were spoken to me that made a profound difference about some feelings.  The Holy Ghost was with me and I was taught by the Holy Spirit....and I felt I learned.
Tuesday we had the privilege of going to the Seattle Temple in Bellvue.  It was a wonderful experience, especially since I love being there and when we can only go once every 4 months it makes the experience that much more meaningful.  We drive another set of Sister Missionaries that work with the Tongans and had a very nice time.
We went tracting this week, after my experience at District Meeting,  and I really am surprised at how calm I felt.  We found 3 people that said they are interested and we will go back to them this week.  This certainly is not the most effective way to find people to teach but it can make a difference.  We knocked on 45 doors and 3 were interested!  Not the best odds. The weather has changed from a solid week of rain and we are excited to see the sunshine and to feel warmth during the day.
I really am loving a missionary and the people in the Seatac Ward have wrapped us in their loving arms and we really are happy.  We see progress and feel happiness that was not here 5 months ago.
I am extremely thankful for this calling and daily trying to learn that "With God, all things are possible".
Thank you for remembering all the missionaries in your prayers, especially me.
Thank you for your notes and letters and emails and for the love I feel.
May God be with each of your this week and bless you with your righteous desires.  Remember how much our Heavenly Father loves all of us and blesses us with his guiding words through his Living Prophet and His Apostles.
Make each day beautiful....and look for Miracles each day of your lives!
Love,
Sister Frame