Tender Mercies

 This past week has been filled with tender mercies.... Seriously it's been amazing! We taught a family.... They are from Nigeria... V--- is a doctor and M--- is a Pharmacist, they have 3 children. We met them a few weeks ago.... hahahah funny story: We were doing some night tracting and we saw them walking down the road. We waved and exchanged a quick "Hello" and continued walking. Pretty soon we realized that we should have talked to them about the gospel. So picture this 2 sister missionaries on the hunt for a couple, we were literally running up and down streets looking for them. We decided to say a prayer. I offered the prayer...I asked for forgiveness and for another opportunity to talk to this couple, and I told Father that if we saw them again no matter what we would talk to them.... after I finished the prayer we walked out to the busy road and they were walking about a mile away from us. So we ran back to our car ... and starting driving towards their direction. We pull over on a street, because yelling out the window is creepy and tacky :) ..... so we get out of the car and start walking towards them.... by this time we are both completely out of breathe... we meet with them briefly and they are SO nice and agreed to let us come teach them. We taught them yesterday it was an amazing lesson!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!! They also made us a Nigerian meal.... it was so awesome! They asked so many great thought provoking questions! They accepted the Book of Mormon and invited us back to teach them again. We also invited them to church this Sunday. Please keep them in your prayers. We love them! Last week. Sister Matheny and I were doing our morning studies and she was reading a scripture to me and all of a sudden there was a loud bang on our sliding glass door..... we were so scared! We tip toed over to the door and guess what........... there was a bird gasping for air....... then it died.... I literally felt like I was on a Windex commercial.......the bird flew into the glass window it was sad yet......a little funny at the same time.... One thing I absolutely love love love about Oregon... is the berry bushes.... they are EVERYWHERE.... we stop so many times throughout the day to eat berries...Every once in a while I think "what if I eat the wrong kind of berry and turn into Violet from Willy Wonka & the Chocolate Factory!" But....they are SO yummy, I'm willing to risk it! :) 
I have been blessed by the opportunity to serve a mission. I have learned so much about the character of Christ and the nature of God. I am blessed to be able to share my testimony of the tender mercies which I have seen in my life, and to be able to help others recognize the tender mercies which they have received. I love you all! Don't forget about a Sista! Keep that snail mail coming! 

XOXO

Sis Z

Bomb.com!

Bula vinka (hello in Fujian)

Happy 4th of July, Happy Birthday Cookie girl,  Happy birthday

daddy, and Happy anniversary mommy & daddy!

My week has been filled with making sushi, interviews with President

Samuelian, catering to the needs of sisters, and learning lessons.

Seriously where do I start....

I feel like a new missionary. The amount of stress I currently have is

out of control ! I'm in a trio with two Hawaiian sisters

#getdownwithdabrown.

I had an interview with President this past week. The following is an

account of our conversation....

President : Sister Zubicki would you offer the opening prayer?

Me : sure, I would love to.

Me : Our Dear Father In Heaven.... In the name of Jesus Christ. Amen.

President : (immediately stares into my eyes) Sister Zubicki (in his

sacrament voice)... Are you tired of being asked if your Polynesian?

Me : hahahahhahahahahhahahahahahhahahahahahahahahah actually yes

because I'm Fijian.

- Sister Purcell and Agader are from Hawaii and they told me I needed

to pick a island to say I'm from so I picked Fuji... They taught me

some words... I feel super cool. I can't tell you how many people

think I'm actually from Fuji :)

Sister Agader really likes to cook so we made sushi with a less active

couple this week. It was seriously so much fun****  We shared a

message about eternal marriage at the end of our lesson. It was so great!

We are also helping them build their house. They are doing the habit for

humanity program so, every Saturday we help them for a few hours.

It's super hard but really rewarding.

We had a baptism this week... Which was awesome!!! We live in

a house that is literally the size of a shoe box. I'm currently

living out of my suitcase. The ward is on fire! They've have 7

baptisms this month. <~ super exciting. We are working with a family.

The mom was baptized a few months ago as well as the daughter and the

son. We are currently working with the dad. His name is D---. He's

awesome ! I invited him to be baptized on July 12.

Keep him in your prayers...We will be teaching him on

Wednesday.  I feel like daddy needs to send D--- a letter about his

experience in joining the church.

I found out that Eggie and her baby (new companion) scheduled someone

for a baptism! I'm SO excited for them both!

We are going on an exchange on Saturday in Rockaway Beach!

I'm so pumped to see all of my peeps!

I also bucketed 1 ton of hay this weekend. It was bomb.com!

Please keep me and all of the missionaries around the world in your prayers,

we need them, some more than others but, we ALL need them!

I love you all more than I can put into words!

XOXO
Sis Z

Till We Meet Again

Signed, sealed, delivered......Sis E & I are homies for at least 6 more weeks! We were both a little sad, as we are ready to spread our wings and grow in different areas with different companions but, our love for each other may be so strong that our bond just wasn't ready to be broken yet ;)

 

It's SUPER cold and I miss the AZ sun like mad! We go weekly to lay in the tanning bed....a brownie tanning, crazy right?! We need the vitamin D it gives us.....I'm sure this is a touchy subject with some - slow your roll....it's not very often and this chicken little ain't seen NO real sun in a while! Sis E makes Casper look tan!

 

I had this whole "thing" typed up to send....maybe another day - after getting the video of Piper trying to sing "Till We Meet Again" I thought about the words of that hymn, sang them, thought about the many times they've touched my life.....

 

God be with you till we meet again;
By his counsels guide, uphold you;
With his sheep securely fold you.
God be with you till we meet again

 

God be with you till we meet again;
When life's perils thick confound you,
Put his arms unfailing round you.
God be with you till we meet again

 

God be with you till we meet again;
Keep love's banner floating o'er you;
Smite death's threat'ning wave before you.
God be with you till we meet again.

 

[Chorus]
Till we meet, till we meet,
Till we meet at Jesus' feet,
Till we meet, till we meet,
God be with you till we meet again

 

Sometimes words are just words, we sing them, say them, recite them and leave them there hanging in the air as a faceless, lifeless form to be picked up and reused when next we need them.

These words....Till we meet, Till we meet at Jesus' feet, God be with you till we meet again....they are so much more than just words...

 

When is again, after breakfast? After school? After vacation? After my mission? After this life?  Till we meet again....at first they brought me sorrow as I thought of my grandfather and then I was instantly filled with joy, as I thought of him...it's not goodbye, it really is until we meet again...the unending blessing of knowing that no matter the context as long as I live as my Father has asked me to.....it will always be "Till we meet again!"  I am so grateful for Eternal Families! My lesson this week is, live like there's no tomorrow so when we are at our judgment day we can receive the many blessings we have been promised, if we have followed our Heavenly Fathers plan. Do not put off repentance, do not put off church attendance, do not postpone scripture study, do not hold out forgiveness - do today what you have left undone, we are not promised tomorrow to set our course straight....

 

Family and Friends I love you all and pray for you daily. Don't forget about me, Till we meet again!

 

XOXO

 Sis Z

 

Church is a hospital for Sinners NOT a resting place for Saints!

It's snowing, like cold white powder everywhere! Funny how much the weather rules our lives as missionaries. I'm still in Bend, Sis E is still my companion and I'm pretty sure she is the most completely innocent person I have ever known....she makes Snow White look tarnished! 

Apparently people think sister missionaries can't listen to any music EVER, can't walk around our house barefoot, know everything about everything, and think that we have isolated ourselves from the word fun. But in reality we catdaddy to Efy ballads, we don't walk around our house...we fly! We are pretty confident the primary children know more than we do, and we have way to much fun beat boxing and free styling! We are everyday normal daughters of our Heavenly Father, who loves us and we Love him! 

Which brings me to my lesson this week, don't let others dictate who you are!

We are all children of our Heavenly Father, perfect in his eyes. We are not the choices of our past, we are not our failures, we are not our bank account, we are not the whispers behind us or the stories told about us....we are our Fathers children, created in his likeness, all flawed and broken and still he loves us! Never let another's inability to see you as the unique person you are, dictate who you see in the mirror. 

Don't let the darkness in, don't give in to the sadness! If you feel lost turn to our Lord. Never question if he hears you, if it's strength your prayers are for and you feel he has not answered you....it is not he who is not listening to you, it is you not having faith in the strength he has already blessed you with.

Life is a series of ups and downs...if you're up hold tight the down is coming, each more powerful than the last....if you're down keep hold of the rod and weather the storm, I promise you, up is coming! Sadly this world is filled with those who love to see others down, who thrive on another's pain...if I have learned anything these past 5 months it is that if I let others dictate my happiness, my happiness will never come. No one can make you happy or make you sad - it's your choice in how you let another affect you, chose wisely! 

Psalms 56:11

in God I trust; I shall not be afraid.

    What can man do to me?

Put your faith in our Heavenly Father, he will never leave you.

My district leader said "Church is a hospital for Sinners NOT a resting place for Saints!"

Could be one of the best lines ever!!!

Mom seriously the package was the Best one ever!!!! I love it! 

Don't forget about the missionaries, feed them, let them teach you, send their mom a text saying how awesome they are, bake them brownies...they always need extra love! 

Sis E & I are best dressed! No there was not actually an awards ceremony but if or when they implement one, we got this! 

Things I miss:

~Naps

~Netflix 

~Watching movies in mommys bed

~Hearing Micks drama

~Laughing at Granny's jokes

~Eating wings with daddy

~I miss daddy's gun collection! (I know The Lord will protect me but, still my only line of defense is the can opener! Ain't nobody trying to be on Nancy Grace!)

Things I've learned:

Snail mail is Awesome!

I CAN survive without technology but, I don't want to!

Getting up on time is essential! I lack some essentials ;)

I love myself! Completely! 

I love you all! Don't forget about me! 

Less Me & Much More YOU!

Sister E & I have received revelation for this area..... We need to
find our Brothers and Sisters who were once with us. Currently on our
ward directory there are 790 members and.... 190 are active. How are
we to find/teach & bring in new people when the ones we already have
aren't coming? We feel that as we work with the members & less actives
this area will begin to harvest! We CAN NOT do this work alone. I
think members in our church don't understand missionary work! They
don't understand the role they play in this amazing work. Do members
realize that this work cannot be accomplished merely by a random
sentence in family prayer?

"We properly pray for the safety and success of the full-time missionaries

throughout the world. And a common element in many of our prayers is a request

that the missionaries will be led to individuals and families who are prepared
to receive the message of the Restoration. But ultimately it is my
responsibility and your responsibility to find people for the missionaries to teach. Missionaries are full-time teachers; you and I are full-time finders. And you and I as lifelong missionaries should not be praying for the full-time missionaries to do our work!"
-Bednar

An opportunity for member missionary work...gone wild.

My Peeps:

O** is a mother, we've been meeting with her a
lot over the last 7 weeks. We recently found out she is actually a
member our the church, and has been inactive for about 30 years.
She's really nice and Loves having us over! This past Thursday I felt
prompted to invite her to our ward chili cook which was held this
past Saturday. We didn't think she would come.... But she actually
did! We were SOOOOO excited she came and she also brought her daughter
E****(non member). When we first saw her I was overwhelmed with joy! I
thought to myself what an amazing opportunity our members have to
fellowship her and E****! During this 3 hour gathering 5 people spoke
to them... And 3 of the 5 we had to ASK them to introduce themselves.
It was extremely hard to watch our members be so consumed by the
conversation within the groups they already know, and so easily over
look those who need the fellowship. O** and E**** left before the
party was over.... They didn't feel loved or wanted...

Sis E and I were so saddened by what happened and

pray that they will open their hearts to us again.

I can't stress enough how important the role the members SHOULD be in this work!!!! Do we as members of the church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints realize who
is at the head of our church ? Did we somehow forget the convent we
made when we were baptized? We are to stand as witnesses in ALL TIMES,
IN ALL THINGS & IN ALL PLACES. After countless talks, and lessons,
members still don't understand. In D&C 88:73.... It says "I will
hasten MY work in its time." Well brothers and sisters... It's time!!!!
We cannot be so wrapped up in ourselves that we don't even notice the
lost sheep that are an arm's length away... The gospel is so simple &
brings so much joy and happiness into our lives, how dare we keep others from those blessings because we can't see past ourselves!

 Sister E says the darndest things - the other day we were walking and 2
doe's walked by and she said with a straight face... If those are deer
why don't they have horns? HA! She cracks me up she's so stinkin innocent and cute!

I love you all! Tell Marianne and Scott I got the card and money and I big HEART them!

Kiss those little babies and tell the big babies to write me!

XOXO

Sis Z