Death is Part of the Plan

Bonjour!

The week has blown by! Quite literally haha ?

We are cherishing the last couple weeks of fall. We have been doing much park, street contacting along with tracting! It has been fun to see all the Halloween decor out! ?

Jabba the Hut?

 We have even spotted some Christmas things out and about!?! HAPPY HALLOWEEN!!!!!!! ?????????????????

Authentic Mexican food! Yummy!

Grande Prairie Swan

Sunset Jump!

Saturday walk in the park

Some highlights were District Council Thursday morning. 

District Council -- oh yeah!

I was asked to lead out the training (which I got to pick what I wanted to give a training on...!). So I did it on our Mission Motto:

Mission Motto

Learn to Love the People 

FIND with Faith Always

Strive to be Exactly Obedient

Teach with Power 

Invite with Confidence 

It was such a powerful meeting!! I had asked each companionship to talk about one of the sections and I took the responsibility to do the rest. Everyone was very well prepared and we all learned lots from each other! I love my District!

Also yesterday, Sister Wilson and I were on exchanges and we had a Family Home Evening at the Pope's (family in our Ward!) home for Chuan and Dean! We talked about eternal marriage and Chuan shared something very insightful. She told us of a famous Chinese man who had just passed. He had pulled himself out of his career about a year ago and many people were upset and didn't know why. At his passing, it was clearly understood that he had left his career due to bad health and needed treatments. Unfortunately he passed away leaving people more sad then mad now because they really loved him. Chuan said that if only she could share with his wife her knowledge of the Plan of Salvation with that man's wife and that she could be an Eternal family, and would be able to see her husband again.

What I beautiful testimony and example Chuan is to all those around her. Although she doesn't say much or doesn't know how to say it all in English, she still can say things in a way that the Spirit testifies to everyone around that she gets it. She lives it and she loves it! 

I too want to share my witness and testimony that as we stay, or get back on, the covenant path - as we are baptised, receive the Gift of the Holy Ghost, receive the Melchizedek Priesthood (for men), and receive a Temple Endowment and Temple Sealing for all time and Eternity - and keep pressing forward with a steadfastness in hope and love, we will have eternal life. (2 Nephi 31:20) I know that as I do these things, as I put my trust in God and as I rely on Christ and His Atonement in both the GOOD and the BAD, I will see my family and friends again one day.

Lots of love!

Sister Tatjana Zumbach

The Influence of the ONE

Bonjour!

Well it has been a busy weekend! I'll start with the beginning...

Friday evening Sister Herzog and I had a little bit of time between the activity we had just finished and before we had to go to a lesson. We decided to go to the tracting spot we had chosen that morning. We knew we would only have 10 minutes however we went with faith, calling down angels and miracles.

Exchanges with Sister Herzog

 We knocked at the door of a former however no one was home, feeling that she wasn't the one we had been sent to the street for, we walked across the street and knocked at this door. A mother answered soon followed by husband. As we got talking we shared some principles with them and invited them to church. They were really excited about it being in the afternoon! Sister Herzog and I knew after leaving that they were the ones we had been sent for, and we were so grateful we chose to be diligent and act on our faith. 

Our lesson was at the Diniz home with James. We read Ether 12 with him, talking about faith, miracles, weaknesses and strengths.

Diniz baby eating my finger... yum!

 That night all 8 Sisters did face masks! 

8 Sisters! Face masks ...

...  & Zone Conference

Yeah! So fun... Sister Pattison posted it on our Mission Facebook chat. 

Saturday! Probably the busiest day! We started with Zone Conference which was all morning and half of the afternoon!

Zone Conference & our pumpkins 

 I gave my training after the Elders gave theirs and the participation was great!

Giving my training

 We had a long lunch since the Stake put on a Pig Roast for everyone, so lots of members and lots of friends! 

Pig Roast!

I was privileged to see many families that I love and miss from Peace River so that was tender.

Our English class family - at the Pig Roast ...

... and dinner at their home

Selena and Joseph came along with our English class family!! We had interviews with President then headed off to dinner at the Wray's! 

Dinner at the Wray's

It was a great time, enjoying the food, enjoying the company, and enjoying the Spirit. Being the eldest Sister, I was asked to give a blessing on the food and I led the discussion/lesson after dinner. Everyone shared their favourite Book of Mormon story. The Holy Ghost was building up as each story and principles from those stories were shared. After everyone had shared, I had the opportunity to testify. I know that there is power in the Book of Mormon. I love that book more then any other book! I am so grateful for companions who have been so diligent in reading from it everyday. I know that their example has helped me to take more time to study and ponder than simply read it. I testify, in the name of the Lord, that the Book of Mormon is true. 

Sunday was great, we had Stake Conference in the morning, did some contacting in the afternoon and then had dinner with our Spanish family that comes to English class! They are the sweetest! We were able to share the story of how the Book of Mormon came to be.

Yesterday we visited someone in the hospital and then had dinner at DQ with some members!

Elevator pic at the Hospital

 Following our dinner, we went FINDing at the park and enjoyed the pretty, full moon!

Pretty night & moon!

 We then had a lesson at the Wray's for which Zhen Zhen was present! She has accepted a baptism date so we are working on helping her baptized by the end of the year! So exciting! 

Have a great week!

Lots of Love!

Sister Tatjana Zumbach

LEADERS don't...

Bonjour! 

It has been a while, wow! We have P-day (preparation day) today due to the whole Zone being here for Zone Conference Saturday and then Stake Conference Sunday. So that means that we had 8 Sisters in the apartment last night!!!! So fun!!!! 

Tetris with the sleeping arrangements... ?

In other news, President Pattison has assigned me as a Sister Training Leader (STL), for the Grande Prairie Zone... !?!?! That's why we were in Edmonton last week, I had some meetings to go to, including the Missionary Leadership Council (MLC).

Missionary Leadership Council group pic

Road trip with the Zone leaders back to GP

Welcome to Grande Prairie

Tim's lunch provided by Nick, a member in GP

So I've been trying to figure out my new role, including  a training that I had a week to prepare for Zone Conference tomorrow! I would have had a week and a half however I also conduct exchanges now so, I had one planned with the Fort Saint John Sisters from Wednesday to tomorrow evening. 

I was with Sister Millward Wednesday afternoon to dinner Thursday. She is fresh from the MTC! She is from Utah, had her 20th Birthday Wednesday, and though she is a little quiet (like me haha) she is an AWESOME missionary, and willing to put in her all to the work! We had a lesson with Joseph on the law of chastity and the word of wisdom. Thursday morning we also met with Sandy! I met Sandy a couple weeks ago with Sister Rivera, and we finally set up a time to meet and talk!  We introduced the Book of Mormon to him, and he was really excited that we gifted him with one at the end of our meeting. 

Lesson with Sandy and Sister Millward

The rest of Thursday I was with Sister Herzog (Sister Millward's companion and trainer) after having dinner all together. We didn't get to do much together yet unfortunately because we had to let the Hills come inspect our apartment, and gave us a new bed frame that we had to set up.

Setting up a new bed frame with the Slave Lake Sisters

 When P-day ends, we are going to do some FINDing and have a lesson with James!

Something that was said in the MLC meeting that I loved was: "Leaders don't create followers. They create more leaders". That has become my motto as a Sister Training Leader. I want to influence the sisters in such a way that they feel they have a voice and can lead in any situation. 

Have a great week!

Lots of love!

Sister Tatjana Zumbach

We Thank Thee O God For Our Prophet!

Bonjour!

Starting with some bad news first.. my pictures all deleted so I don't have many to send today, but one of the Elders in my mission taught me how I can get them back so within the week I'm praying I have all of my past 15 1/2 MONTHS worth of pictures and videos back!!

Well this week was great and to top it off it was Thanksgiving AND General Conference weekend!!! So awesome! 

We started the holiday with our first turkey dinner Friday with the Purnells and some family and friends of theirs, including Joe who just got married to a member in the ward and we were able to have a lesson in after supper for Joe with everyone present! We are going to help him be ready for baptism early winter!

Saturday we had General Conference!!!! Oh yeah!! And there was also the Women's Session that night! Oh so good! There was a cute little fall desserts afterwards so it was all apple and cinnamon and pumpkin and apple and cinnamon and haha so good!  

Sunday was the rest of Conference and we also had our second turkey dinner!  We had several more offered for dinner that day and then we were going to have TWO dinners Monday night and go our for lunch with James but we had to very sadly cancel on everyone as we were asked to drive down to Edmonton.

... It was so devastating to say no to all those meals, but we were very very thankful and grateful for the love of the members and non members in our area!

We did have a lovely meal yesterday with the Travelling Sisters at a member's home and I loved the cat more then the meal! Haha he was sooo sooo sooo sooo fluffy!!! 

I know that President Russell M. Nelson is God's chosen Prophet on the earth today, that we have the guidance from God through His Prophet, Apostles and other leaders in the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints. Some things that I wrote down in my notes from the inspiring messages are listed below:

"God is personally invested in your success"

"Pray that the Lord may lead you to someone you can serve for Him"

"The Lord is aware of physical pains and spiritual struggles"

"Repentance is the plan, knowing we would fail"

"No one else can do what a righteous woman can do"

"Love what the Lord loves"

"It is between you and God anyways"

I encourage everyone who was not able to watch General Conference this weekend that you will take the time to write your questions and as you also take the time to watch the inspired messages and listen to the uplifting music, I promise that the questions you write down will be answered! You will feel peace! You will feel hope! You will feel comfort!

To those who did have a chance to watch Conference, I encourage you to write a common theme you noticed in 1 sentence, then to write down in 5 sentences what you learned or was studied out to you and share that with someone else! 

Lots of love!

Sister Tatjana Zumbach

Good Energy

Bonjour!!! It is snowing once again in the great land of Grande Prairie!

We had a very great, busy week. The Travelling Sisters were here over the weekend and I went on exchange with Sister Rivera!!!!

Group picture of exchanges!

 It was a blast! We had some fun Friday together, we met this guy named Shane sitting in his car and we invited him to read a two verses in The Book of Mormon. When we asked him what his thoughts were he said that gave him "good energy"! We couldn't help but agree with him. He's going to meet with Missionaries in Edmonton since that's were he lives and make them the best pizza in all of Edmonton! 

Saturday morning we had a lesson with Yamuna and Rohan and which was an awesome lesson! She read both pamphlets, pointing out the how to pray! We invited her to pray and she was so willing so after showing her she gave a beautiful prayer! We read in 1 Nephi 5 which is where Yamuna is in her reading.They were so cute because they would both read the verses together out loud in English. We got talking about commandments, and to do good and not bad things which led us to switch to 3 Nephi 11:31-34 and invited them through Christ's words to be baptised. They commented on how big of a sacrifice it would be yet, they were really open  to the invitation and will be praying about it. They recognise that Jesus was baptised and so should they.

They came to church Sunday as a family with their 3 year old son Jithain. Yamuna says that the lesson we had in Sunday School was perfect to her current situation and it was inspired. 

I know that as we each individually and with our family take the time to come closer to God and Jesus Christ, they will watch over us and bless us. Life will continue as it is, but we will be better prepared to face the battles as we study from The Book of Mormon and other scriptures every day, as we pray sincerely both morning and night, and as we attend church meetings every Sunday. As we do so we will get a spiritual recharge, gaining that "Good Energy". This I promise each one of you in the name of Jesus Christ.

Lots of love!

Sister Tatjana Zumbach