Sister Henson-It's raining! Green is almost here!

What a week! Satan has been working really hard to destroy the work that we’ve been trying to do here. Sister Moore tripped the other day as we were tracting some apartments. She fell down about 7 stairs and broke her ankle pretty bad. She had to go back home for surgery, I just hope she comes back out. The day before that, a member of the singles ward proposed to me…. Diamond ring and everything. His name is John and he is one of the ward missionaries. It was really embarrassing because it was at a ward activity and we had investigators there. As you can imagine, I didn’t appreciate it very much and neither did President Newman. He emergency transferred me out of the area and put two Elders to take over the work. Because of the lack of Sisters, I was put into a threesome with a companionship of Elders serving in the Benson ward…. Wait a minute… Elders?… hahahaha… April Fools! Ok, I’ll really tell the truth about this week….
I have never been so blessed, tired, grateful, humble, happy, amazed and excited! What an incredible week! As you well know, this week we ran full speed towards the Mission of Excellence. And guess what?! Our companionship got the Standard! Our district was close, and so was the mission! I’ve never worked so hard and smart before. As I look back, I’m amazed by how much the Lord blessed me, my companion, the members and the area. I barely slept, hardly ate, but the Spirit sustained me to be able to accomplish the work that the Lord laid before us. Now please keep in mind that although we’re working to accomplish goals that are represented by numbers, those numbers represent people. And that was where all of the miracles were found, with the people we met and taught this week. Here are some highlights of those people and miracles:
Matt Young, we met him tracting in the same complex as Trevor and Justin. As we were teaching him the Restoration and were talking about Prophets of the Old Testament, he asks, “Well, since there aren’t prophets on the earth today, should we just listen to the Pope?” I wish you could have seen the surprise on his face when I told him that there were prophets on the earth today. He said the closing prayer and thanked Heavenly Father “for sending these wonderful people to tell me about modern prophets and I hope this is a Church that I will love.” Just before we walked out he looked at the Book of Mormon and said, “This book is going to bring me so much closer to Jesus Christ.” It was so neat. He came to Church yesterday and loved it.
Chris was a referral from the Millard Elders, Bernards and Sperry. We went on companion exchanges Saturday morning and so Sister Allen and I went to see him. He spoke like he was already a member of the church, and had been his entire life. After we shared the First Vision with him and were bearing our testimonies he seemed to be shaking slightly. Towards the end of the lesson he says, “There is something to this, I’m nervous about it, feeling the Spirit today even made me shake a little. Please just give me some time for the Spirit to work with me.” He had refused a Book of Mormon from the Elders but seemed to greedily take one from us.
Freido, whose real, full name is Ahoelete Adadjisso. I think I told you already that he is from Togo, West Africa. He speaks Mina, French and English, all very well. He is one of my favorite investigators. He came to Church on Sunday and expressed that he felt the Spirit and enjoyed the casualness of the meeting (it was fast and testimony Sunday). He is from a Catholic background so he is used to a lot of rituals and formalities. We taught him after Church and had planned to teach him the Gospel of Jesus Christ. We talk about faith, which it leads to repentance, then baptism, then receiving the gift of the Holy Ghost, and enduring to the end, and then we start that Gospel cycle all over again. As we began to teach, it didn’t feel right, and then I remembered that last time we taught him, we had talked about the Plan of Salvation but hadn’t finished it due to his questions. I somehow re-routed the lesson to teach him about the Judgment, Resurrection and the Kingdoms of Glory. Wow, I’ve never seen someone recognize truth so quickly. I just love seeing people progress, recognize truth and feel the Spirit. It’s my favorite part about being a missionary. I was so grateful to be able to teach so much.
I mentioned our companion exchanges earlier. It was so much fun! This was the first time in my mission that I’ve gone on one. Usually, the Sisters don’t do them because missionaries will go with their District or Zone Leaders (who are Elders). Well, Sisters and Elders cannot go on exchanges, which would be a date, and just wouldn’t work out ;)
Since my area is really made up of everyone else’s areas, we are often finding people for other areas, and sometimes they find young single adults for us. We had been spending a lot of time finding in the Elkhorn area lately and had a bunch of people we wanted to turn over and Elkhorn actually had a lot of people for us to teach. So President approved a companion exchange! I went with Sister Allen who has been out a couple transfers longer than I have. She is incredible! She is so bold, diligent and a master teacher. I learned so much from her. I hope that President will have us go out on these more often. We had a great time teaching together and learning.
Thank you for all your prayers of faith. The Lord answered them in such a powerful way this last week. Don’t slack, I’ll need a lot of prayers to keep the momentum going! I love you, Happy April!
Sister Henson

Sister Henson-Mission of Excellence Week!

The Mission of Excellence begins! I feel like I’ve been waiting for this day forever. We’ve already seen incredible miracles preparing for this and yesterday was an amazing start. Trever and his cousin, Justin, came to church yesterday and loved it. One of our members invited them over for Easter dinner and they had a great time there too. When we saw them at FHE last night we asked them about it. Justin said, “It was probably the best day I’ve had in years, I just felt so peaceful. I’ve been to other churches before and the pastors or whatever always acts so much better than everyone else. Here, everyone is equal, that’s how it’s supposed to be.” He’s been going through a lot in his life lately and is soaking up the spirit. He seems to be especially in tune with it. As we were talking to him, amidst the foosball, ping pong, and Richard Simmons video (long story) the Spirit told me to ask Justin to be baptized. It was quite a strange conversation, it went something like this: The Spirit and I…
“Justin needs to be baptized.”
“I know he does.”
“Ask him to be baptized.”
“But, we’re at FHE; this isn’t even an official lesson. I mean, we haven’t even said a prayer.”
“So…”
“Well, what should I say?”
“Just ask him.”
“Um, well, uh, ok.”
I turned to Justin…
“Hey Justin, you know that we’re helping Trever prepare to be baptized. Do you want to be baptized?”
“Yes, I do. But I’ll need more time to prepare than Trever.”
“That’s ok. We can help you get there. Will you prepare to be baptized on April 27th?”
“Yes, I will.”
We laughed almost the entire way home. I have learned my lesson; just do what the Spirit says, even if it doesn’t make sense in my limited understanding. Sometimes I remember that I’m still a dork. But I’m so excited for him. If I had to describe him, I would say that he looks like a little, hurt puppy who needs the healing power of the Atonement. I’ve seen a change in him already. We taught Trever and Justin the word of wisdom last week and they quit smoking on Sunday. It’s been amazing to see the Gospel work so quickly with both of them. It seems that the Lord is pouring out His blessings on them because their challenges will be more physical in nature (overcoming addiction.) The Lord is merciful.
We had a great Easter as well. We ate dinner with Bishop Dallon and his family, along with a couple members of the ward who are far from home. We also taught a guy named Freido from West Africa. As we sat down, he opened up his Book of Mormon and referred to all of the places he had highlighted and asked some great questions. He kept saying, “Yes, that makes sense.” He is very smart and logical. That is a challenge for me, obviously, not being a very logical thinker ;) I am learning to study the Gospel in that sense to be able to teach him. Thankfully, we have several law students in the ward that have been coming to each appointment. They can teach from the head, while I can only teach from the heart. I hope that my brain will catch up someday!
Sister Moore is doing great! We spent some time last week practicing teaching on members. I sat back and she taught most of the lesson. She is quickly gaining confidence and is on her way to boldness! She’s so cute. Last night when we came in for the night she said “I have no fear… I will go tracting… right now… by myself!” I laughed and laughed. I am so grateful that the Lord is blessing the area so much right now; it has been a great boost to our faith.
So again, thank you for your prayers. I feel much like Ammon in Alma 26. I feel almost invincible, but not in the worldly way. Like verses 11-13 “I do not boast in my own strength, nor in my own wisdom; but behold, my joy is full, yea, my heart is brim with joy, and I will rejoice in my God. Yea, I know that I am nothing; as to my strength I am weak; therefore I will not boast of myself, but I will boast of my God, for in his strength I can do all things; yea, behold many mighty miracles we have wrought in this land, for which we will praise his name forever. Behold, how many thousands of our brethren has he loosed from the pains of hell; and they are brought to sing redeeming love, and this because of the power of his word which is in us, therefore have we not great reason to rejoice?” One of the greatest blessings of all these miracles, selfishly, is the changes I have seen in myself. I thought the other day that Meagan would never have been able to do this, but Sister Henson can. I’ve grown so much, come so much further than I thought possible. And all because of the Lord. When we put our trust in Him, he can work mighty miracles within us. That’s how I know that this Gospel is true. Nothing but truth, straight from God himself, could change me and lead me to do something like this. Only truth moved thousands of pioneers to emigrate from their homes to the deserts of the Great Salt Lake. Only truth is worth dying for, living for, and working for.
I love you! Don’t forget to pray!
Love, Sister Henson

Sister Henson writes again-Who was praying for us?

OK, whoever just started praying for us, thank you and shame on you. You should have started long ago, because of your prayers, we are seeing miracles! ;) Just teasing, I give all the credit to the Lord. He has blessed us so much this week, it's been incredible.
I'll start with Trever, the tattoo guy. We went to teach him on Saturday and he had read Alma 7. He said his favorite verse was 20 because it made mention of a crooked path and he feels like he has been on a crooked path for too long. I had to smile because that morning, S. Moore and I had planned to set him for baptism using Matt 7:13-14, which talks about the strait gate and narrow path and 2 Nephi 31:17-18 which teaches us that the gate is baptism and the path is enduring to the end. We started to teach him about the path or plan that our Heavenly Father has for us and then I introduced the scriptures. After he finished reading 2 Nephi 31 he pauses and says, "That's weird that it talks about baptism, this last month I've been feeling like I need to be baptized but the Catholic Priest and all the other people I've talked to haven't been able to help me." I told him that we could help him to prepare for baptism. That it was a commitment to God but that we could help him to be ready, then I asked him to prepare for April 6th... he said yes! Can you imagine a better day to be baptized?! We are so excited!
We also met an amazing young man named Ryan Marquart. The Elders in the Benson area, Kinderman and Schulz, met him and told him about the singles ward and he seemed interested so they passed his information onto us. We had tried several times before to contact him but had been unsuccessful. I felt prompted one afternoon to call him and it turned out that he was driving around "being bored" he said. I asked if he'd like to meet someplace and we agreed to meet at a little restaurant called Panera Bread, it's kind of like Zupa's back home. Anyway, over bread bowls and in the midst of this packed restaurant, we taught him about the Restoration of the Gospel. Not the most ideal location but I'll teach wherever I can. The Lord made up for it and the Spirit was so strong. By the end of the First Vision he was smiling. He was just eating it up! He asked how he could learn more, we smiled and told him we could arrange something... wink. ha! He loved the Book of Mormon and was so excited to read it. He's coming to the wards FHE activity tonight. He's just graduated high school last year so I imagine he's 18 or 19. His heart is so pure and kind, he is just the neatest kid.
We also met some other really great people this week, the Lord has been blessing us so much as we've done our best to prepare for this great goal. Mom, you wrote about how the Lord is so aware of even the small things. This goal that we've set, for the mission, for our area, is way beyond our abilities. Not only is the Lord providing and making up for our inadequacies, but he's also building my faith to achieve it. He is so merciful. When we set goals of a righteous nature, the Lord helps us to fulfill them, when we seek His help. I've not let a single prayer go by without asking for help for the Mission of Excellence. With my limited abilities I do all that I can and I see, every moment, the Lord's hand. It's absolutely incredible. I can't believe how much I've seen and grown in the last 11 months.
Please continue with your prayers of faith. Thank you so much for your love and support. There is so much joy in the Gospel. I can't imagine anything more important than sharing it with others. If they were to even feel a portion of the blessings and joy it gives me, they would live it too. Thankfully, the Lord won't give them a portion, He will give them all the blessings that He can.
Love Sister Henson

Transfer #8!

Here is the first of many letters from my beloved Sister Henson!

Hey Family,
Wow, the Lord continually surprises me. This last week was transfers and despite the confidence of my companionship staying the same, Sister Foutz was transferred. This has been the fastest transfer of my mission. I feel like I blinked, and it’s gone. I hear it only gets worse; I’m not excited about that. However, I am excited about my new companion, I am training again, and her name is Sister Moore from Layton, Utah. She is a sweet little thing and is anxious to learn and grow. She has such a gentle, kind spirit. We all know I am nearly the exact opposite of that, so I am excited to learn from her example as well. If it seems that I'm turning into a softie, you'll know why. We are getting along great, of course. Just in the last couple days we’ve had a wide variety of experiences. Most of which happened at an apartment complex I like to call the “Pizza Hut Apartments.” They look like those old school pizza huts with the hut top. Anyway, we decided to do a little tracting in between our appointments on Saturday. I asked Sister Moore to pick a building and I could tell she did it prayerfully. I like to start from the top of the building and work our way down. The top floor was empty, no one was home. The second floor was filled with opposition. I’ve never found such a concentration of mean people before. I was afraid that Sister Moore was getting discouraged so I almost suggested we leave, I’m so glad we didn’t. We went to the bottom floor and Sister Moore knocked on a door that had music playing behind it, at least we knew someone would be home. Her first knock was a little timid so I encouraged her to try again. This next time she put some urgency in it and a young man named Trever Grayber answered. At his appearance, I half expected Sister Moore to turn and run! He was wearing a loose tank top that nicely displayed his mass collection of tattoos! Looks can be deceiving though, you never know who the Lord’s elect might be. We introduced ourselves and asked a couple questions and he opened right up. Thirty minutes later we left him with a Book of Mormon and a return appointment, which is tonight. I’m so excited. We stopped by yesterday to give him a birthday card, and he was so appreciative. He had spoken with his Grandmother just the day before and she gave him a lot of heat when he told her about us. He is already receiving opposition and overcoming it! He is amazing.
We are working really hard on getting our area ready for the Mission of Excellence in a couple weeks. Remember the Standard and District of Excellence I told you about the other week? Starting March 24th, the entire mission will be striving to get the Standard! It’s all very exciting and I know that it’s attainable. The Lord showed us that the other week. I imagine it will be the most exhausting and grueling week of my mission, and it’s going to feel so good! I love being tired, it’s a great manifestation of the work that you’ve been doing. I imagine that other missionaries might be able to work just as hard and not be tired, maybe they’re just in better shape than I am ;) Either way, keep the mission in your prayers as we strive for the standard. I am preparing to see miracles!
The Trail Center is starting to get busy. I’ve given a couple tours the last week that were so neat. This time of year brings a lot of locals in, it’s an exciting way to do missionary work. They think they’re coming here for some history and they get a huge dose of the Spirit! It’s amazing to see the way that the Lord brings people here to prepare them for the Gospel. I love missionary work!
You’ll notice that I haven’t complained about the weather yet. No, I’m not trying to buck up and just deal with it… it hasn’t really given me reason to complain! It’s a whopping 54 degrees today! I can almost see green starting to emerge here and there! I can’t wait! Please remind me of how much I longed for summer when I complain about how hot and humid it is…. Haha!
Well, take care, I love you all and may the Lord bless you with missionary opportunities. Or may you just make your own. Go to mormon.org and send an e-pass-a-long card! You can’t make it easier than that! I expect to hear back from everyone about the e-card they sent! This is an email world, may we use it for good!
Love, Sister Henson

True.

I'm going to tell you all some cool and true things.
1. Alfred Hitchcock did'nt have a belly button
2. People do not get sick from cold weather, its from being
indoors a lot more.
3. When you sneeze all bodily functions stop, even your heart.
4. 40 people are sent to the hospital for dog bites every minute.
5. Babies are born without kneecaps. They don't appear until they are 2-6 years old.
6. The average person over 50 will have spent 5 years waiting in lines.
7. The toothbrush was invented in 1498.
8. 40,000 Americans are injured buy toilets each year.(Does that include bidets?)
9. The average computer user blinks 7 times a minute.
10. Your feet are bigger in the afternoon than any other time of day.
11. The REAL reason ostrich's stick their head in the sand is to search for water.
12. The only two animals that can see behind themselves without turning their
heads are the rabbit and parrot.
13. Michael Jackson ownes the rights to the South Carolina State anthem.
14. In most T.V. commercials advertising milk, a mixture of white paint and a
little thinner is used in place of the milk.
15. Prince Charles and Prince William NEVER travel on the same airplane,
just in case there is a crash.
16. Most hospitals make money by selling the umbilical cords cut from women who gave birth. They are used in vein transplant sugery.
17. Humphrey Bogart was related to Princess Diana, they were 7th cousins.
18. If coloring werent added to Coca-Cola it would be green(same with hotdogs).
19. Human plasma is used for some make-up products.

Cool yes? Since I love my sister SO much Im going to start putting her emails that she writes here on my page starting today! She will kill me for this, Ill have to make sure theyre extra "preachy". I miss her a lot...can't think about it or I'll start crying at work...love my sis.

Love animals, don't eat them!

I am VERY happy to announce that my friend and Co-worker Dee Kowalski has decided to make the big and quite awesome desicion to become a VEGETARIAN!! This is a wonderful day for cows and chickens everywhere! I will be here to guide her along this wonderfully challenging yet rewarding path. I wil show her the ins and outs of this slaughter free lifestyle and support her in ordering all the tofu and veggie burgers she can possibly consume.