What a week!

 This week has been a long one ! We started out having exchanges from Tuesday night to Wednesday and didn't come home until Wednesday night. It was really fun though! I went on exchanges with Sister Connover she is so nice. We went to an apartment complex and met a guy who lived there. He and his wife are from Brazil, and he is teaching his wife about the church and English, it is so cute. Sister Connover and I went street contacting and we ended up giving away 2 Book of Mormons, talking to a few, and accidentally knocked on a Jewish household. The mother answered the door and kind of told us off.

 Sister Blaine and I talked to a new guy that we found and it was a difficult lesson. He didn't really want to listen to us, so that wasn't to fun...but that's okay...press forward.

 Anyways, we have been hearing that there is supposed to be Northern Lights soon and so we have been trying to see it. We were excited the other night and both had dreams about them.I dreamed that I looked out and there they were. Sister Blaine said that I sat up in bed and did just that, I don't remember doing anything or seeing the lights, but I guess I did. We have really been enjoying the sun, but that also brings lots of mud and water on the roads which makes our car super dirty.

 I was doing my studies about the Atonement on Sunday morning, and I looked in the Bible Dictionary for the definition of the Atonement. The first part is "At one" Jesus Christ was at one with the Father and His will when He suffered for us. He suffered and died so that not only could we be at one with God, but so that He could be at one with us. When we repent, we are aligning our will with God's. We are changing to become better, and we are allowing the Savior to heal us. I have come to realize that the Atonement is not just for when we do something bad. I already knew that, but I hadn't ever fully understood how, until now. What ever we are going through, we can always turn to the Savior and use His Atonement to heal us physically, spiritually, or however else we need. Just remember this, the Savior will not rescue us against our will! We must turn to HIM! I encourage you all to read Alma 34, reflect  on how to use the Atonement. Turn to Him, with sincerity, get on your knees, and pour your heart out to Him. Ask Him to help you change, heal be forgiven, or to forgive, or to just feel His love for you! He will answer you, in Alma 34:31 it says "if ye will repent and harden not your hearts, immediately shall the great plan of redemption be brought upon you.

 Remember, have a open mind, sometimes the answer we get isn't always the one we think we want. But listen to the spirit, and follow the promptings, your burdens will be lifted. Look at the pictures in this weeks Come, Follow Me pages of the Savior and Peter, when Peter sinks in the water and Christ is holding onto him.The Savior is looking right at him, but Peter can only look at his hands. But look at Him, turn to Him every day and trust in Him. Allow Him to help you, he won't let you sink.

 Let Him in, let Him heal you, and let yourself be lead back to the arms of the One who died to save you. He knows and loves you, I bear witness that He lives and that He is mindful of us. I know the words of the Book of Mormon are true, and by reading it every day , we will feel closer to Christ. I promise you these things in the name of Jesus Christ, Amen.

I hope you have a wonderful week, I love you!

Love, Sister Talbot

Miracles and a Ghetto Gas Station

 Hello everyone! This week was super awesome!! First of all, we found 4 NEW PEOPLE!!! Many many miracles happened this week. So many that I am going to have to go day by day and tell you what happened, even though that can be annoying.

 Monday: We say a gorgeous sunset! It was like something you hear about or only see in pictures! It was breathtaking, seriously. We had fun struggle trying to take pictures that involved thin ice, and that is all I can say about that, but we finally found a good spot! We were able to get in contact with a lady that we have been trying to find forever! And we had a fun experience with an old school gas pump! We needed gas and our regular gas station was closed so we went to that one and we weren't sure how the pump worked...anyways, moving on.

Tuesday: We had  district council and then we went to Rainy River. We were able to get in contact with a former person being taught, who became one of our new people! Super exciting! We also had dinner with the Johnson's and their sweet family, it was super fun. They were all so sweet!

Wednesday: We had a huge spiritual experience! This lady we had been communicating with on Facebook for awhile agreed to meet with us. We have been sending her some uplifting quotes and such every day to help her out. When we companionship study we decided to sing her a song. Sister Blaine and I felt very strong that we should sing,"Be Still, My Soul" so we did and the spirit was so strong. So when we went to Hazel's house we were talking for a while and got to know her better. When we sang the song eariler, it was good, but when we sang it to Hazel, it sounded beautiful! Now, those who have heard me sing a little but it is not a natural talent, but when we were singing, we sounded amazing!!! It was incredible!!We know that it was the spirit. When we were done, she was crying and we testified of how much the Savior loves her and other things that she needed to hear. She was smoking the whole time, but stopped for a minute and by the encouragement of the spirit I got down on my knees in front of her holding her hands and bore my testimony, when I was done she was still crying. We left with a prayer, and she said she felt a weight lifted from her shoulders. It was wonderful!
Later that afternoon, we were walking around Big Island, since it was March break no one was home. But we seen a guy we had talked to awhile ago, but he doesn't have a phone, but we had given him a Book of Mormon.But when we seen him on the street again, he asked us what our favorite story was. We shared Alma 18 with him, He shared some of the beliefs for the Ojibwe culture, and it was cool to see how they all tied to our beliefs. It was a good miracle, plus we were able to set a baptismal date with Selena!!! It was amazing!

Thursday: We did a weekly planning, and were in the cabin all morning, but by a huge miracle, we were able to contact a guy and count him! And then we were invited to a fish fry! Wall-eye is delicious, I usually hate fish but I tried it and loved it. Its funny the things I've come to like on my mission! All because I don't want to insult people and their cooking, its ridiculous and humbling.

Friday: We went to a lesson with our new person Fiona. It was a cool spiritual experience. We also had a great lesson with Selena! A day full of miracles!

Saturday: We had interviews with President Hitchcock and a fireside, since it was Branch Conference weekend.

That's pretty much all I have to share, but it was an amazing week! The weather is starting to warm up and we were able to sit out on the front porch for awhile. I love you all, have a great week. Love, Sister Talbot

Snoring, Bonfires...an old lady scared me!

 Mine has been an interesting week, my emails have been messed up but life is good!!! Sister Blaine is seriously the best!!! We went to womens circle which was super fun with lots of laughs cause some women kept talking in Ojibwe then they would laugh and we had no idea! We went tracting on a road we had not been on and stopped at a home that looked empty but the driveway was plowed. We went and knocked but there were two doors no one came, then I felt scared and turned and a lady was pointing to me through a window to go around to the other door but wow. Sister Blaine told me I was as white as a sheet!!!  Funny thing happen a lot, but I have been trying to get over a cold, and Sister Blaine came in and woke me up saying I was snoring! It must have been loud cause I woke her up!

On saturday, we went to a bonfire!! It was so much fun, our branch President's son came home friday and so as per tradition, they had a bonfire at this tree he found years ago...in the snow! It was way fun, there family is hilarious and adorable! We had a pot luck after church once it was over we started comp study, we were sharing our studies when we got a reply from a post we made on Facebook about giving away free Book of Mormons. This guy asked about them, and we said we would be happy to drop one off to him. Turns out he was not interested and thought religion was pathetic, we simply thanked him and wished him the best and to have a great sabbath. But he continued on saying he was part of the Nine Angels which is part of a satanic cult. He said we should join him...NO way!! It was extremely scary, cause he sent a picture that was of the devil. Sister Blaine deleted it off and blocked this guy. It was a bad feeling, but we said a prayer and things felt so much better. If I could tell you one thing, it would be that Satan is very real, but so is God.Always stay away from the dark things. If you drive the spirit away you are not protected.Do what you are supposed to do and for Heavens sake read the book of Mormon!! I know the Book of Mormon is true, I know God exists, and that this gospel is true.I know that Jesus Christ is the Son of God and that he is our Savior and Redeemer. He is always there for us, even if you can't seem Him his hand are outstretched to you. I know that I am here for a reason and that god is watching over all of us. I am so thankful for this gospel in my life. Have a great week! Love, Sister Talbot