August 28, 2019

Hey all! This week was incredible! We got transfer boards Sunday night and I am headed to Greenwood Nova Scotia!!! I am beyond excited and so so humbled. It is so close to some of the areas where my dad served in his mission! I will be an STL still and with Sister Clark. I met her once at MLC and so it's super cool that I get to be her comp now! This was the area that Sister Newman just came from so we are basically switching areas now haha! I am so excited! I know that it is going to be a completely different dynamic. This is a small town and now I am used to the city. That will take some getting used to, but I am up for the challenge! I hope and pray that while I am there in that beautiful part of Canada that I will meet people that may have remembered my dad. There is a power in connectivity. I just can't help but think that there can't be a coincidence that I get to serve in his areas 25 years later. I trust the Lord has a plan and knows what he is doing. I am excited to see this whole thing plays out. We also gave away so many copies of the Book of Mormon this week. I got to tell this girl all about it and she was super interested. I read a verse from it and she said that it sounded familiar to her. People are definitely being prepared to receive the fullness of the gospel. We had some great luck finding! I met this super sweet girl who was happy to talk. We were having a good conversation, but her bus pulled up, so I only had time to give a card. I didn't think much of it, but then she texted us!! That almost never happens! She is just so cute! I hope that she stays interested and they are able to teach her. Sister Newman got talking with this other super cute girl named Gloria. She has SO much potential. She accepted a copy of the Book of Mormon and said that she was super excited to read it. We also had a great couple of lessons with my favorite person, Jen. We had a super spiritual experience with her last night. She asked me to say the closing prayer and she said after that she felt the spirit so strongly. She said that she had never felt anything that strong before. It was so amazing to witness her feeling the spirit testify of God's love for her. It is such a real thing. His love is personal and healing. There are so many soulsick people in the world that need to feel his love. It really does change people and it really does bring lasting joy. I am a witness of that. The church is true because Christ is at the head. I love him. and I love all of you! I hope you all have a great week! Next week I will be in Nova Scotia, and I can't contain my excitement! love, sister Bates

August 20, 2019

Hello tout le monde! Another great week in Ottawa! I hit my year mark this last week which was nutso! I can't believe that this at this time a year ago I was in the MTC learning French. Those were such good days. I used to think that it was so hard. Haha, now I really understand what frustration and heartache feel like. But now I also understand more profoundly what true joy and peace feel like. That kind of joy is worth the frustration. That being said, this week was a bit frustrating in the sense that we have not had anyone to teach in a very long time. Lots of people and lessons fell through and it was disheartening. But we are working hard and trying our best which is all that matters to the Lord. On the bright side, we got to go to Ottawa Mission, a homeless shelter to help volunteer. That is like my favorite place ever. I love volunteering there! We also met with a member named Millie. She bought us Arby's and totally made my day Haha! Transfers are coming up and I am not sure what to expect. I have been having feelings that I might leave Ottawa. I don't know though. It's all up to the Lord. I do feel like there are people out there just waiting for us to find them. But in the meantime, I am being changed. We had a really cool 8:59 miracle last Saturday. We got on this bus on the way home and I ended up sitting by this super cute girl named Mary. We started talking about being a missionary and she said that she had met elders like 2 years ago but had never been taught. I gave her a card that showed her how she could download the Book of Mormon and she was like oh cool. And then my stellar companion, who was sitting across from her, was like "Hey, would you like a physical copy?" she whipped it out of her bag and gave it to her. It was awesome. I showed her Moroni 10:3-5 right there on the bus and she said that it was written so clearly and so powerfully. She said that she was so excited to read it! We were also able to get her number and we hope to meet with her again this week! It was so amazing! The work is moving forward. I think faster than we imagine. He is working in the hearts of people, and they are being prepared for a great and beautiful change. I love this work! (I know I say that every time, but it's true, sooo..!) Most of all, I love my Savior, so very much! You all are fantastic! I love you dearly! Love, Sister Bates

August 12, 2019

Hello everyone! OK, this week was just so great! We did a lot of finding as usual. I don't know why but some days are just a lot better than other days. Last Friday I felt like I was on fire! I talked to everyone! None of them were particularly interested, but that's okay! I felt so good at the end of the day because I really gave it my all. There is really no better feeling than that, even if seemingly nothing comes out of it. We went on exchanges this week as well. I got to be with my baby sister Atwood! It was so much fun to be with her again! We were able to do a lot of bus contacting and she did such a great job! This girl is fearless! She had so many good conversations with people! She has grown so so much and it was just so cool to see! We have also been working really hard with members. Last night a miracle happened. Sister Cloud has us over for dinner every Sunday. She is such an amazing member missionary! Always looking for opportunities to share the gospel. She has been working with her granddaughter for a very long time. But these last few weeks, she has begun to listen. We talked with her at a couple of baptisms that happened last week and we have been kind of teaching her when she is visiting her grandma. But last night after dinner we were having a spiritual thought and all of us were just bearing our testimonies and out of the blue, she said, "I want to be baptized this Saturday." Oh my goodness we were all freaking out so much! Everyone was crying! We taught her about the gospel of Jesus Christ and we will be teaching her the rest of the lessons this week. Her date should be next Saturday so she has more time to get ready. She is just so excited! She called us and asked us to say the prayers and is already planning everything! She bore the most powerful testimony to us about how she feels the spirit when she is with her grandma and when she prays and when she goes to church. She said that it feels like a power that she has never felt before. She said that there are just too many reasons why she knows that this is the right path for her to take. All of it makes sense. All of the doctrine is so clear. And she has felt the truth of it for herself by the spirit. We are just so so excited to keep working with her! She is elect and golden and so so prepared! All thanks to her sweet grandma, who never gave up on her and always stood as a good example. That is how people's hearts change. I am so grateful for my mission! I have seen so many people change. Myself included. I am so grateful to be an instrument to the Lord. I can see how he is using me and I can see how he is changing and refining me. I love my Savior and I know him well. Nothing is more wonderful and rewarding than knowing him. I would give up all I have just to know him. "But the Master comes, and the thoughtless crowd never can quite understand the worth of a soul, and the change that is wrought, by the touch of the Master's hand." ~Myra Brooks Welch I love you all so very much! Love, sister Bates

August 6, 2019

Hello everyone! Another awesome busy week! We had exchanges this week and I was able to go with sister Fonseca! She is a doll! She is so awesome and so all in. I felt like she was the STL and I was the one going on exchanges haha! She is just so good! She is called Spanish speaking, so I was able to go to a pass off lesson from the elders with a cute lady named Lulu. She doesn't speak any English so the whole lesson was in Spanish! I was surprised at how much I was able to understand just because it is similar to french in some ways. That was cool and a real gift of tongues miracle haha! I was impressed by how powerfully sister Fonseca and elder Petit bore testimony. I couldn't understand much of it, but my spirit sure could! The language of the spirit is such an amazing thing. My mission has really proved to be the best way to practice and be enveloped in the language of the spirit. I am so grateful for this opportunity. Christ really has so much love for us. And the spirit is the means by which we feel it. We had such a cool experience with a bible referral. There was a lady named Belinda that wanted a bible, but we didn't have time to deliver it on Sunday, so we asked if she would be able to come to the church and pick it up. She told us that she would be there at 1 (which is when our church starts...) But she didn't come until like 1:15 which was the middle of sacrament meeting. So we texted her and told her to come inside and that we would come out of our meeting in a few minutes. So after Sacrament meeting, we booked it outa there! After a few minutes of searching, we found her in the foyer with the riverside elders. They were teaching her about the book of mormon. They are so stellar!!! She was like "I have my kids waiting for me in the car, but I want to make time next week to come to this church"... AHHHH It was so incredible! I am so grateful for those elders that were so on top of it and so focused on their purpose as missionaries to teach in every possible situation. That is how miracles come to be. We have a lot of hope for her. These bible referrals have caused us to have a lot of super cool experiences! I just love being a missionary so so much. I love the people I meet instantly. I hope that never goes away. I just love being a missionary. I just truly do! This work is true! This church is true! And I love it with all my heart! I hope that everything is going super great with all of you! I love you all dearly! Love, sister Bates

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

June 25, 2019

Bonjour! This was such a full week! I feel like this is the busiest I have ever been as a missionary! Its exhausting and its amazing! So we went on exchanges last Tuesday and it went so well! I was with sister Rodriguez in Chapel Hill. I love her so much! One of the best things about being a missionary is that we get to feel a small part of the love that God has for his other children. Just that small part is so immense! We clicked really well and I was able to help her. We are so similar. We did a lot of passbys and got some return appointments! And of course we ended the day with chocolats favoris! Yumm. We have still been doing a lot of bus contacting. We are working hard to try to find more people to teach and so far it has been rough, but I know that there are people being prepared for us. We just haven't found them yet. But we will! I had a sweet tender miracle this last week that I wanted to share. Last week while on the bus a man saw my name tag and asked about it. I told him that I was a missionary and he thought that was amazing! He started telling me all about his life and some hard things that he was going through. We were having a really great conversation when I had to get off at my stop. I was only able to leave him with my card. I didn't even have time to catch his name... I felt so bad that I hadn't been able to share more with him. I prayed for this stranger all week. I prayed that he would call or that we would get the opportunity to see each other again. A week later, we were walking to the bus stop and we got there just before the bus was about to leave. We almost didn't make it. So I got on and there he was. He recognized me and we continued our conversation! He said that he has been looking for peace in his life and that it probably wasn't a coincidence that he met a missionary twice in the same week after having prayed for an answer for so long. He said that he would like to come to church and would like to talk more. It was such a testimony to me that God is very much aware of each individual person. He knows that man and he knows his needs and has already provided the means by which to help him. It also built my testimony that faith and prayer have power! Faith through prayer that week was strong enough to make our paths cross again. Do not ever underestimate the power behind a faith driven prayer. That is how miracles start. And work is how they are accomplished. We need both. Working with the Zone leaders and district leaders is a lot of fun. I am learning so much from them. There are so many super great missionaries serving here and I am truly blessed to work alongside them. This week President Low is coming to start interviewing all the missionaries, and then President Phillips will be leaving us. I can't believe it.. It is going to be quite a change, but I am not worried. Heavenly Father knows what he is doing and I trust him. I trust the leaders that he has called too. I know that they receive revelation for those who are serving under them. I know that this is the way that God directs his church. It is orderly and efficient and yet it focuses on the one. I haven't met president Low yet but I know that he is called of God to direct this mission. I know that God's love is real. I have felt it in very real ways and I cannot deny it. I know that this work is his. I know that he is hastening it. I know that Christ is at the head. I have come to know him more in these past 10 months than the rest of my life combined. I know his love for us. I know that he wants us to have his joy and I know that he has given us the means to do it. I know he lives! I love him. I love you all dearly and i feel your prayers and love. Thank you! I hope you all have a wonderful week! A le prochaine! Sister Bates

June 18, 2019

Salut!! Another great week here in Ottawa! We had a lot of spiritually uplifting things happen. We had our last zone conference with president and sister Phillips yesterday. Man, it was a bawl fest... I look up to them so so much and I can't even express the gratitude I have for the opportunity I have had to serve under them. They have changed my life forever. The mission merge officially takes place on the first of July. I feel so excited! My mission is going to be HUGE. It will cover three different time zones! We also had a great stake conference the Sunday before. It was wonderful! It was my first one in English since I have been here! So that was wonderful. We and the zone leaders and had the great opportunity to sit in at a meeting with elder Bennet, an area 70. He was incredible! I felt a bit out of place, but I learned so much! It was cool to hear him speak the next day too. One amazing thing that happened this week was that we got to visit Jen! Jen is the cousin to brother Montreuil in Quebec. So I knew her from my first area when she would come to visit! It was so cool to see her! We had a fun time catching up and had a super spiritual discussion. It was powerful and we were all crying! Other than that, this week was full of visiting all of the other district's district councils which is always fun! We did a lot of service! I got to work in a soup kitchen! I have never done that before and it was a lot of fun! I love the feeling of being in an industrial kitchen. It makes me really want to have my own one day!;) We also helped out with, Bishop's storehouse. That was super cool! I am always surprised and impressed with the organization of the church. We are planners and doers! We set up the gym just like a store and then went and helped the people to get their groceries. It made me so happy. We had a super awesome lesson with this cute girl named Amanda. She came to the church and we gave her a chapel tour and taught her the restoration. Somehow she convinced me and sister Johnson to sing I Am A Child of God. She was touched by it. She is so sweet and has great potential and a lot of faith! I love this place. I had a lot of very sweet experiences this week at zone conference. I gained a greater witness than I have ever felt before of God's love. I know that I am his child. I know that all he does is to help me. I know that he knows me perfectly. I know that I have the potential to be like him. I know that he will help me do that. I just know. I love you all so very much. Keep on keeping on! Much love, Sister Bates

June 11, 2019

Bonjour tout le monde! My first couple of days in Ottawa have been a dream! The people here are sooo kind! I can't say enough about this place! The city is absolutely beautiful and so quaint! I feel so lucky to be here. We have been doing a lot of bus contacting. It's the first time i have done contacting on the bus and I thought it would be scary, but I actually really really enjoy it! Also I am serving in a YSA ward which is kind of the best thing ever! We have already gone to a lot of activities. It's fun and invigorating to be talking to so many people my age! We are working with some super cute people! But we will be doing a lot of finding these next couple of weeks because the sisters dropped a lot of people before I came. My new companion, sister Johnson, is the absolute cutest! This is her last transfer so I will be "killing her" lol I've always wanted to do that haha. But it's really the best because she is so full of wisdom! We get along really well and she is so funny! District council was great too. My district leader is elder Hsu, who came out with me. He does a great job. We also have a senior couple that.apparently always does object lessons with food Haha. This last time they made us a fruit salad and compared every ingredient to something we need to do in order to become a successful missionary. On Sunday we went to visit a sweet lady who goes to another ward but loves sisters. Her name is sister Cloud and she is the coolest lady of all time. She used to be a biker and has been to every state except like 3. She had some super great stories! Last night we got to go to FHE. The young adults were super kind and patient with my limited basketball skills. We had a very fun time and i got to know the members better. Sister Johnson and I have been discussing a lot of deep things during comp study and we had a cool conversation about desires that I wanted to share. Were were studying the living Christ and there was a spot where it talks about how Jesus Christ was able to be the savior because he had developed his desires to be exactly aligned with God's. I have been thinking a lot about that. Often times I do things because I have to or because I know I should, even when I really dont want to do them. But I know that I want be like him until my real desires line up with his. And so how do we train our desires to be in line with God's? I think that it is something that only the spirit can teach and guide us to do. We know the spirit sanctifies us. We know that we came here to earth to learn and prepare for godhood. We know also that we can't get there without Christ. I have made it a goal especially for this transfer to make Christ the focus. He is the bridge between us and God there is no other way back but by him. I know that his grace is sufficient. I know he has the power to help every person become like our father in heaven. But it is up to us to allow him to help us, because he will not force anyone to be saved. I am grateful for my savior. Everyone always asks me why I decided to come on a mission and my answers have varied. But as I have really thought about it, the real answer, is him. I could think of no better way to show my gratitude for the numbness things he has done and continues to do for me, than to serve his people the way he would serve them if he were here. That is why I came on a mission. Because of him. I love him. I will proudly be his defender and his servant. He gave me his entire life. I am proud to give him 18 months. I want to invite you to have a Christ focused moment every day this week. Whether that's reading about him, studying his life, or just talking a moment to think about him. It brings everything into perspective. I love you all and hope you are well! Thanks for your love and support! Love Sister Bates!

June 4, 2019

Salut!! This week was super full of ups and downs. We had some pretty rough moments at the beginning, but then everything got better from there! We got transfer calls and I will be leaving dear old Laval and going to Ottawa!! I am also going to be a sister training leader (STL) so that's terrifying! I am so excited to get the opportunity to work with all the lovely sisters there! I am sad that I won't be in a French speaking area anymore. I really hope I don't lose it all! But I know that I am not here to learn French, but to bring others to Christ through the restored gospel. I think that it will be refreshing for me to teach people in English. That will be a major stress taken off of my shoulders haha! I think I will be able to better develop the teaching skills that got a little muddled in the language. It will be so good. I am so excited for the change! We had a lot of goodbye lessons with a lot of our amis yesterday too. There are so many friends here that I just love with all of my heart! My favorite was with Lourdia. She has been going through some difficulties, but I was able to testify that Christ is ready and willing to help her, but that she needs to be willing and ready to follow him. The spirit was strong. Nothing like leaving an area to bring the courage to be bold! It's sad to say goodbye to them when all of your energy over the last few months has gone into them and into helping them progress! But they will be in good hands. And they will forever be in my heart! The time is just flying by! I know that over the next transfer I am going to learn so so much and I know that it will only go by quicker from here! I am so grateful for the last few transfers that I have had here in Laval. This area was a growing area for me, that's for sure. I learned some hard lessons and I was stretched. It wasn't the most pleasant experience at times, but I am grateful for what I learned. I know stronger than ever that this church is true. I know that Christ's way is the most freeing way to live. Satan does a darn good job at convincing us that it's too hard or it's less fun, or that we aren't worthy. But he's a liar. To follow Christ brings more freedom and joy and peace than anything this world could offer. I know this is true. I hope that each one of you are seeing the blessings of the Lord each day. I promise they are many. As always, thank you for your prayers and support. I love you all! A le prochaine semaine! soeur Bates