July 30, 2019

Salut tout le monde! Great week! Don't know where it went but it was great! We drove to Montreal last Thursday for MLC! It was so much fun because we got to stay the night with the Victoria sisters, sister Roux and sister Nelson! My MTC comp!! It was so fun to talk with her and catch up. I sure do love her. We all sat on the floor and told stories and just laughed our guts out until bedtime. So much fun! That is one of my favorite things to do haha:) MLC was awesome. We were able to put together our zone vision. We decided on: "We are all Enlisted" focusing on working with members to move this work forward. I am really excited to implement it! After zone conf, we went to Mascouche for an STL exchange! I was with sister Stephenson! This is her first time being an STL, so I got to be her first exchange! It was so special! It was so much fun to be in a French speaking area again. I was pleasantly surprised at how naturally it came back. It was still a little hard, but I loved every minute of that exchange. There is something so special about being reunited with old friends. It reminded me of Alma 26 (pretty much my favorite chapter in the Book of Mormon) These are the days where the best memories are being created. I have been so blessed with such wonderful friends to share them with. I love all of my comps so very much and I am so grateful that they have been placed in my life. We have been really trying to find more creative ways of finding this week. We posted some bible ads on Facebook and they have just literally exploded!! We have been running around delivering bibles all week! And this morning alone we had 25 more!! Oh mon do!! But it is awesome because usually these people are searching for something so it is a good chance for us to talk with them about the gospel and Jesus Christ. We have a lot of great appointments set up for this week so hopefully they all stand! We have been trying to meet with our friend Rebecca since sister Johnson left with no success. But yesterday she texted and asked US to meet! That was cool! She has a lot of potential, she is just so shy! But her testimony is the most beautiful thing I have ever heard:) Sister Newman and I are such great friends! We laugh and sing literally all the time and its just so much fun! I am loving it here so much. I just seriously feel like my heart has reached its fullness limit haha. But the Lord has a way of making it grow for the joy that is to come. I just know that this life was meant for us to be joyful. This gospel that I am proclaiming brings purpose and joy. I don't ever want to let it go. I know that Christ lives. I know that more than anything else. I love you all! Sister Bates

July 23, 2019

Hello everyone! This has been such a crazy week! Last Thursday I dropped off sister Johnson at the bus station. Saying goodbye to companions is always sad because there are so many memories and miracles between you two. But it was just a "see you soon". She is going to do great back home. She served such an honorable mission. I am so proud of her. After that, I picked up my new comp sister Newman from the airport! She is from Wyoming and she is just the cutest, happiest little soul! We clicked right away! I can already feel that this transfer is going to be just amazing! She was serving in Halifax before, so this is the first transfer where missionaries from both sides have begun to merge over. I am so grateful to be a part of it! There are definitely a lot of little things that I wasn't expecting. It really feels like we are putting two different cultures together! And uh, we kind of are! But her ideas and insights have been so refreshing! I am just so excited to get to work together and put our heads together to look for more diverse ways to progress the work. I have taken her bus finding these last couple of days and it has been so different than what she is used to. It has been so much fun to show her the city! I feel like I have grown so much. I was kind of commiserating a lot last transfer with sister Johnson going home. And just looking back at who I was when I first entered the MTC or first entered the mission field. It is absolutely crazy! What used to scare me doesn't anymore. I still have bad days and fears and things that I don't like to do, but I truly feel like the Lord has refined me, conditioned me. When you are given an immense amount of weight to hold, you can let it crush you, or you can ask the Savior for help. He doesn't take it all, just some. He lets us grow our spiritual muscles until we have the strength to carry it ourselves. I can testify of that because I have felt how he has done that form me, especially as a missionary. This work is so real and so grand. I say this in like every single email I know, but I am just so grateful to be a part of it! I know that the Lord knows us personally. I know that his grace is sufficient. I know that we are all called to be gatherers. If you ever have a question about this church or know someone who does, talk to the missionaries. As a missionary, nothing makes me happier than to tell people all about this message! It is why I gave up 18 months of my life. There is just so much peace and lasting joy in this gospel. I have felt it personally. And it's not a secret! We have the answers here. I love you all dearly! Love sister Bates

July 17, 2019

Hi everyone! This was such a great week! We have still been doing a lot of bus contacting and it is starting to pay off! We had several first lessons this week with some super cute potentials! Also, there was a missionary that just came home from Chile who called us and asked if she could come finding with us before she went and got released. We were like- uh yeah!! She was so stellar! She got us 5 new potentials! The missionary fire is such a real thing. We had a lesson with one of the girls she contacted yesterday and she brought one of her friends who was interested too. Keira and Laila. They were young but I was seriously so impressed with their desire to learn more about God. She told us that when she was approached by sister Tustian on the street she felt like it was a sign from God because she has been feeling like she needs to strengthen her relationship with God. It really felt like people to teach have just been coming out of the woodwork! I love this work. I know that Heavenly Father has people prepared to receive this gospel and he is preparing them to be placed in our path. He does his work in so many diverse ways, it boggles my mind! Today is sister Johnson's last day in the mission field. Tomorrow she takes the bus to Montreal and then the next day she will be on a plane home. It is crazy! Being companions with her has been one of the biggest blessings. It has been so cool and eye opening to see what it is like at the final few weeks of the mission. She is what I hope I can be by the end of mine. She was bold and loving and the most excellent teacher! She knows her purpose clearly and is courageous in standing for truth. She has taught me SO much and I am going to miss her dearly! But she is an Aggie like me so it for sure won't be the last time that I will see her! I feel a sense of urgency to make these last 6 months of my mission count. I want to be all in, completely dedicated and 100% converted. I know my weaknesses and my struggles but I also know that Christ's grace is sufficient to cover those. I can overcome those things, and I will! But until then, I have strengths too that the Lord can draw from to help others. I really do know that the Lord needs each of us in this great work. There are certain people that need the testimonies and strengths of other certain people. That being said, by choosing not to take part in this great work, we are only hindering ourselves. He can do this work with or without us, and he will. But he has given us these opportunities to serve (in whatever capacity, missions, callings etc.) to helps US become. I hope that by the time I get to sister Johnson's point I will have truly become all that the Lord knew I could be. I know for sure that the power God has to help us is real and it is immense. The amount of that power that we will be able to receive from him will depend entirely on us. How much faith we have in him, how obedient we are, and how much our desires and will align with his will all determine just how much strength we will receive. It isn't a matter of how much power he has, because that is infinite. It is a matter of how much power we will allow him to give to us. I know my Savior lives. It is an honor to be his hands. I know that Heavenly Father is acutely aware of us and the people around us. The strangers on the bus are not strangers to him. They are his children and he aches to have them home. How grateful I am to be a gatherer in Israel. I love this work and I love this gospel. It is true. I know it's true. I hope that you are all happy and healthy and well! Thanks for you messages of encouragement. They mean the world to me! Much love, sister Bates

July 9, 2019

Hello everyone! This week completely flew by! I don't even know where the time is going anymore! We have still been doing a lot of bus contacting. Yesterday morning I had a thought that I would be meeting some Spanish speakers that day. Lo and behold, a Spanish class had just finished and so a whole bunch of people got on! I got into a conversation with two really nice people, one an older man and the other, a sweet girl my age. I told them about the Book of Mormon and they seemed really interested! I love how the Lord prepares the minds of those who are ready to share or receive the gospel. He really does have this whole thing under control. We also got to volunteer and Bishop's storehouse. I love doing that! It is so fun to help people in need. We spent a good part of the morning unloading food and organizing it all which is like my favorite thing to do! Haha I had a great birthday too! Thank you all so much for your sweet messages, they were all very kind and totally made my day! I can't believe I am 20... I still feel like I am like 14... Anyways, it was super sweet because we visited a district meeting and at the end, the Zone leaders came in with a cake. It was such a sweet gesture! Also, my darling companion made me the most lovely crepes for breakfast! I sure love her! We got to volunteer at a local soup kitchen which is my absolute favorite thing to do! It was the most perfect day! I am so happy here. I love the work and I love seeing the everyday miracles that the Lord puts in my path. I love the people I work with. They are truly dedicated and kind servants of the Lord. I know that this is his church on the earth. He will bring us eternal joy in the next life, I know. But he also brings us joy now. Does this not match the true nature of his perfect, fatherly love? I know that he is my father and that I am his work and his glory. I know that his son Jesus Christ is the means by which this whole plan works and I love him for that. Sorry, this email is so short! We've got a lot to do today! But I love you all dearly and hope that you have a wonderful week! Love, sister Bates

July 2, 2019

Salut tout le monde! This has been a great week! One of change for sure. President and sister Phillips flew home and President and sister Low flew in. I am really going to miss the Phillips and their wisdom and fire. But I know that the Lord is behind this mission merge and so I am behind President Low all the way. We got to have interviews with them. It was so cool to meet them in person. I know that they are truly called of God to be mission president and wife for the Canada Montreal Mission. I know that they are where they are supposed to be and I am where I am supposed to be too. I am still LOVING Ottawa! It was so much fun to spend Canada here in the capital! Unfortunately, our apartment faces the wrong way, so we didn't get to see the fireworks😢, but we sure heard them! haha Sister Johnson and are still doing a lot of bus contacting. I have a lot of faith that we will find more people to teach soon. I know that the Lord is preparing people and I know that we will find them when they are ready. Until then, we are plenty busy talking to everyone and working with our super awesome recent converts. I love these young adults. They are so stellar and so elite! The stake put on a young adult conference this last weekend. I got to see some youth that I haven't seen since I was in my first area in Quebec! It was wonderful! I got to practice my French for like 5 minutes! haha! On Sunday they had a special testimony meeting. It was powerful. There is a real power in pure doctrine and pure testimony simply stated. I got to go on exchanges again, this time with sister Hicken. She is going home at the end of this transfer, just like sister Johnson so I didn't feel like I would have a lot of advice to give her. But we had a good conversation over a really good ice cream sundae! She is such an amazing person and I am so grateful for the opportunity I had to get to know her. There are so many people here that I have so much love for. Sorry, this email was a short one! But doing great and loving my mission so much! I truly know that the Lord is in the details. I know of his love. I have felt it stronger than ever before. I know that everything, truly everything he does is to help us progress. We are his work. How grateful I am that he is allowing my imperfect self to take part in this great work. I love him. I know he lives. I hope that you all have just the best week and that you are able to see the hand of the Lord in your lives. I promise that as you look for it, he will give you the eyes to see it. I love you all!! Love, sister Bates