There are no poor connections and the wifi is perfect!

I loved this week!!!

So many great experiences. I have such a testimony that as we are paying attention, God works in the details and that is what can bring us joy in this life. We are placed in certain paths for very specific reasons but we just have to be looking. 

Yesterday during church the bishop came into relief society and asked if anyone knew ASL. Both an investigator and I did but she wasn't real confident in her ability so she had me go. There was a non member woman who had come in the doors with a pamphlet to give to the bishop about getting a system for her to be able to come to church. She is deaf but does not know sign language completely, so an interpreter would not work. I was able to translate as much as I could to the bishop as she read lips and signed a bit. My heart was so full because we were able to set up an appointment to teach her this Tuesday. Such an incredible experience, I am so excited. 

Something that I have noticed about the members here is that they have such a profound understanding of building a relationship with God even though He is not right there. Because many of the families are military families, the husbands are deployed quite often and/or gone from the home. It is so cool to see these families make things work normally as a family with dad being out of town or overseas. Skype is a miracle. Our "skype" is prayer. Heavenly Father wants us to show Him that we want that relationship. When we do, He ALWAYS picks up. There are no poor connections and the wifi is perfect as long as we listen. I am so grateful to have been able to experience this by their example.

Steve got out of the hospital this week and he is doing well. He found out he won't be able to ever walk on his foot again so he has been a bit discouraged but we are keeping him in our care :) 

Sister Young and I had some fun car moments this week! We got quite lost and it was so stressful, but 30 minutes later we ended up getting to dinner. The best part about it is that we had been there several times before. Some things never change.

I am so grateful for the scriptures. TRULY and 100% as long as we are reading them the spirit will direct us in ALL things. This week sister young and I were studying for someone and when we came together the things we shared were EXACTLY the same. There was no doubt in our minds that the spirit directed us so perfectly. The spirit in the room was pretty cool and there were definitely tears.

Love you all,

Sis E.

Each day is a gift!

You never know what each day will bring. We had some unexpected things happen this week that had us on our knees more and exercising more faith.
        We got news Monday that our investigator Steve was sent to the hospital for hallucinating and shaking. We went to go visit him every other day and came to find out his Kidney had failed and he would have to be put on dialysis for the rest of his life. Steve was just waiting to get out of the nursing home (by then his foot would be healed enough to get wet) we were hoping for October, but now we are not sure what the plan is. The first day we went to see him, I almost did not recognize him, the poor guy was twitching and hallucinating and would start talking and then trail off. The next time we saw him he had rapidly decreased and it was clear he was in quite a lot of pain. The prayer we said with him that day was one of the most spiritual experiences. The spirit is strong even when the body is weak. We prayed holding each other's hands and at the end of the pray I felt him squeeze my hand with the little strength he had in him. I am so so so grateful for that simple gesture of fight in him showing us that he knew what we were doing and why we were there. That night we prayed so hard for him and God delivered. We went to go see him a couple days later and he looked at us right when we walked in. We said "it is the sisters!" He said "Thank God, I love you guys so much" Granted he was just out of surgery for his dialysis and was a bit loopy but he looked 100 times better. Even though he was crying the whole time we felt so blessed to be able to experience such a miracle. We were able to pray with him that time and he mustered up a smile in the tiny corners of his mouth. Let me say this again, the human spirit is strong. 

        This weekend we went to go see Melinda and it was the most fulfilling lesson! We have been working on teaching the Restoration the past few times. This time we were trying to get her to understand the importance of priesthood. She finally got it, and it took quite some time but I lit up so much and stood up so excited. There is nothing better than seeing someone be able to learn and know Christ better! It is going to take some time but now she has been at church three times and is taking notes. I love that girl!

Not just names, these are people I love

Hello Everyone,
I hope you had a lovely fourth of July. We had a lot of fun and spent time on Sheppard Air Force Base. This week I have started to fall so in love with the people we spend each week with. Christ has shown me so much love for them and I am starting to get really attached to them. There have at the same time been many events that happened that caused me to get on my knees for them.

Melinda- came to church yesterday and we were so excited. We are not sure how much she really understood but when she got home she told her foster mom that we baptized her at the church in a blue dress. It was quite alarming to us and we are really worried about how much we can prepare her and how well she will understand the gospel. She is such a special daughter of God and all I want for her is to be able to know in all purity Heavenly Father. However, I am sure she has a special relationship with them far before this earth life.

Mike and Steve- It was Mike's birthday this week, he turned 54. He has never been married or had kids and we knew that no one would come to visit him, so we planned something special. He has been sick now for a whole month and was not in the best of shape when we saw him. We came in with the squeaker things you blow in for birthdays and also a couple Happy Birthday banners. We made him put on a birthday hat on for a few minutes. He was so surprised and I know that it was love that he needed. We had a lesson with just Steve and he was so prepared and knew that the things we were teaching were true. His heart is so open to the spirit and he has such a desire in his eyes to understand, I love him so much. Last night we received a call from Mike saying that Steve did not know if Joseph Smith could in any way be a prophet and if it wasn't resolved we would need to stop teaching him. It came out of nowhere and broke my heart. That is where my faith has to come in. I cannot make Steve know that Joseph Smith was a prophet but I KNOW the spirit can. We are going to need to go into this coming lesson with complete trust in the Savior.

Terry- (A recent convert from California who moved here to get away from her drug and alcoholic past) She has had a really rough week. The 18 year old homeless boy she has living with her got arrested this week for breaking and entering as well as stealing. The problem and the blessing is that Terry has such a good heart but she gets herself in bad situations. She is such an amazing, strong woman for pulling through all the hard things she has done. We are worried about her and the people she is around. The way she applies the gospel in her life is remarkable. I TESTIFY that the Atonement works and that the power of your Savior Jesus Christ heals ALL wounds. I am so grateful to be a missionary and to be trusted in this sacred work.

These are not just names, they are people that I love so dearly and I am turning over completely to the Lord. I am learning that when love becomes completely selfless, it is the love of Christ. When my thoughts are directed to the Salvation of Heavenly Father's children, this is when the change comes.
I love it here in Texas and I know that the Lord is shaping me and those around me through His grace. My companion is incredible! When I woke up this morning and looked in the mirror there were 20 notes waiting for me of scriptures and the sweetest comments. It said "Happy Six Months". She is teaching me how important it is to listen and turn my heart outward. God knew that I needed her and that hopefully I can be even the smallest impact on her. I am so blessed.
LOVE YOU MUCH!!!
-Sister Engelbrecht

GO TO CHURCH!

Life is made up of thousands of tiny moments in time that change us and help us mold into what the Savior wants us to become. That has never been truer to me than it has this past week.
We lost a couple elders in this area this week because the mission has had so many missionaries going home lately, but truly it has been a big blessing. Sister Young and I have been so incredibly busy this week which made this week feel like a blink of an eye.
Every night this week when I sat down to write in my journal, there was so much to write, but I felt so grateful for the outpouring of work the Lord has given us.
We gained 5 new people to teach, 3 of which are investigators.

Let me start by telling you about Melinda. She is a 27 year old who is in the foster care system. She has schizophrenia (I cannot spell it) and something else. Her mother and father and and aunt and grandparents are all dead. She has an aunt left who is just horrid. We met her because the elders had run into her from talking to her foster mom who happens to be a less active. We were able to teach her first lesson with them and she is incredible. She "sees spirits" and has a crazy imagination. The moment I met her I was overcome with love for her. She has been very mistreated her whole life and knew that as missionaries we had the potential be change her life through the message of the gospel and the healing power of the Atonement. As we taught her about God's love her demeanor calmed and she lit up as we talked about the savior she was smiling from ear to ear as she said "I love Him, Jesus, I love Him" Chills. The second time Sister Young and I went to teach her she felt the spirit so strongly that she was shaking and in awe. She kept telling us that she was able to feel the peace that she has been longing for. It is going to take us quite some time to teach her and make sure that she is accountable enough to be baptized but this girl, man she is incredible. Her baptism date is for August 8, 2015.

As far as the supreme court ruling on Friday, I want you all to know that I have a testimony of this gospel and I have absolutely no worry that God is going to take care of the hard times. I am grateful that we all have different perspectives, that was His plan for us all to be unique and we just have to love each other. We are told that the world is going to get more difficult and the only thing we can do is the simple things. GO TO CHURCH. READ and CLING to the scriptures. Most of all lets pray our hearts out and thank God for our freedom to believe in Him and His plan.

Lookuing back on this week I am reminded of so many faces and so many experiences that I feel so blessed to have been a part of. What made them even better is that I was 100% focused on each one of those moments and not worrying what was coming next. Quality time cannot be replaced.
LoVEs and KIsSes
SiS. E

-Sister Engelbrecht

Learning how to turn Lemons into Lemonade

Hey you,
There are two ways that I could look at this past week. I am going to choose to look at it as the week that made me stretch to my limits and then expand some. I know that there are just going to be hard times, that is simply just how life is. Wichita Falls is a tough area because our area is relatively small and all the doors have been tracted a couple times. The people are nice but there has been a lot of rejection lately. We have spent a ton of times on our bikes again this week just trying to find people to talk to BUT I can testify that it is not until after a trial of our faith that we see the blessings. Yesterday we were able to see a miracle though!
We have been teaching a lady named Betty Swan. She is 89 and such a doll. She has been taught on and off for a couple years and is getting close to her time on this earth. Well last time we met with her she said "ya know, I think I am going to be baptized in your church" we were so excited. Yesterday we were able to invite her to be baptized and she remembered and said YES!!! We are so excited and her date is in the middle of July. She has lots of hurdles to go through with her kids but we know she can make it.
There are two other sweet kiddos we are teaching named Tiffany and Robbie. They are 10 and 12. Those two have been waiting and waiting to be baptized but cannot until their court date in July when we find out if their grandma gets to keep them. We are praying really hard otherwise they will have to wait until they are older. It is incredible to see the light of Christ in children and the strength of their desires.
​The ward here is stinking hilarious! The kids are so routy is cracks me up. ​Today when we drove to Walmart to get our groceries and we saw a little girl who had climbed up on top of the car. I was dying of laughter and then we realized OF COURSE, it was a little girl in our ward, sure enough there goes her mother. So good. Discipline people, it is a thing! See the mission prepares you for life :p
I have learned a lot about the spirit this week. I can promise that as we follow the promptings the spirit gives us it does not get less scary haha, BUT we do recognize the promptings more easily and the spirit can work more fully in my our lives. I have found so much comfort from learning to recognize the spirit. The first several times everything is a bit hazy but it gets clearer as God sees that He can trust us with the tasks He has for us.
I love this gospel so much and I am so grateful for it. I hope you are all having a good week. Thank you so so so much for all the letters this week it meant the WORLD to me. Mail helps TONS.
P.s. Planning on the balcony helps!
Love,

-Sister Engelbrecht

Hard work feels so good!

This week we have busted our behinds! I started a journal this week to record a spiritual experience I have each day. It has helped me see how much God's hand has been in my life. I have been on my knees quite a bit the past couple weeks with my health and I think that I have finally found my answer. Wait for it...this past week I went gluten free. Doing this on a mission was is really difficult but after that advice kept coming over and over again I knew it was time I try it. It has helped me so much. I am feeling so much better. I know that I am supposed to be in Wichita Falls at this time because of all the people that know a lot about Gluten free diets that have been placed in my path. If anyone has any advice or ideas let me know, the journey has begun I guess. The elders in my district are awesome though because two of them have done it with me and helped encourage me.

Also this week we were able to focus on less actives, and through that we have found several potentials. One of the days this week we biked all day in the 97-100 degree weather plus humidity and I thought I was going to die (no drama :p). I had prayed a lot for courage that morning and I was determined to let all my fear go. I know that through Christ anything is possible! Sure enough we did stop and talk to everyone. The first person we met was Justin. We were looking for a ladies house and the house looked vacant so we asked him for directions. He told us that they had moved downtown and told us how we could get there. At the time he was working on his car but he seemed nice enough to talk to us. When I offered him a pass along card he smirked and laughed at the fact that it was a picture of Christ. I tried to not let it back me down and continued to press forward handing him the card. When he took it, we testified of the Savior. I told him that the Savior loved him and Sister Young bore an awesome testimony too. In that moment I saw his demeanor change and there was a light in his eyes. I know that a simple testimony of Christ can soften someone's heart. Even three sentences and the spirit is there. This is God's work not ours, but we have to be the medium through which He works.

Another man that we talked to was Ronny. We stopped and talked to him as he was taking a walk down the road. When we told him about God he told us how much he loved him. He served in Afghanistan and lost both his leg and his eye. To hear a burley guy express his love for God was so humbling and reminded me that we truly are all his children. We gave him a Book of Mormon and invited him to read 3 Nephi 11 about when the Savior comes to the Americas to minister to the people, just like when the Savior went to Jerusalem in the bible to minister to the people there also. He told us he would read it and asked us if we could come over that night and tell him more. We unfortunately had other appointments but told him we could come back the next night. Unfortunately, when we went back a woman answered the door and said he was in treatment and was not doing well. We are not sure if that was the full truth since we had just barely talked to him the day before, but we have his phone number so we think we will give him a call.

Everyday this week, Sister Young and I have come home completely wiped. It is such a good feeling to know that you gave it your all and that the Lord has to be proud. Something that I have realized is that in order to be the person I want to when I get home, I cannot put energy into changing myself but rather I have to put all my energy into serving the best I can and that is the only way I can become that person. I love the Lord so much, I have a testimony that He can help us with absolutely anything even biking in 97 degree weather. He hears us and knows us! When was the last time you let your fear go and did something that forced you to trust God?

Love,

Sister Engelbrecht

​(Signs are everywhere thanking God for rain...such a different world here)​

Serve Serve Serve, it brings so many blessings.

Serve Serve Serve, it brings so many blessings. 

This week has been a lot of just that, service. 

Wichita Falls has had a lot of flooding around the outer areas and there are a lot of people moving out and in right now because there are several military bases around us. Unfortunately I was sick again for part of the week but the rest of the time, we packed a lot of boxes and helped many people in our ward. It has been really good for me because I have been able to get to know the ward members. I have such a testimony that God gives us gifts that we just have to develop. I saw that a lot with the people that we helped this week. I never knew some of the things I was capable of unitl I tried. Trust me, you will never regret getting out of your comfort zone. 

We have lost a few investigators this week which has been really hard due to some sad circumstances. One of the couples we teach got into some domestic abuse this week and are getting separated. Another one of our recent converts was kicked out of her house and is making bad choices with her boyfriend. The difference between these two is that the sweet Antoinette ( the previous wife of her husband Nate ) has leaned on the Savior an exponential amount and through something so extremely difficult. Where Ashley, our 22 year old recent convert has rejected what she has learned and despite receiving answers on where she should go she has left Texas and ignored her promptings. Now, I don't mean to be harsh but I learned a really important lesson this week. We cannot take the gospel for granted. We cannot take our Savior for granted. There are people in this world that would do anything to just find peace from the truth and we have it, He can and WILL help us if we let Him.

The rest of this week I have spent a lot of time immersed in the Book of Mormon. I finished it this week again and felt such a huge sense of peace when I finished it. That book just blew me away, especially the last few books. The words are directly for our time. 

​My biggest testimony builder for the week came from Mormon 9:31
"Condemn me not because of mine imperfection, neither my father, because of his imperfection, neither them who have written before him; but rather give thanks unto God that he hath made manifest unto you our imperfections, that ye may learn to be more wise than we have been.​"

This helped me to understand more fully why things happen the way they do. The imperfections of myself, my family, my companions, my environment, they all are there to make my experience unique and exactly what it is supposed to be. I am not so sure I can say I am grateful for the imperfections yet but I know I should be.

Try to change y'all's perspective this week!

Love you all a lot and thank you for emailing me :)

​Love,​

Sister Engelbrecht