A WONDERFUL BRANCH FHE

OH HAPPY WEEK!!
   Last week was so amazing and this week is full of BIG and Exciting things coming. On Saturday we have a huge futbol (soccer) tournament happening. We have LOTS of potentials who are Super Interested in coming! YAY!!! And...

ON MONDAY WE HELD A PETTING ZOO ACTIVITY 

FOR OUR BRANCH 

FAMILY HOME EVENING!!!

   On Monday we held a BRANCH FAMILY HOME EVENING and focused on helping our investigators find friends. IT WAS A HUGE MIRACLE. Our favorite investigating family the Familia Bautista came! They loved their time with us too! And if that wasn't enough...I got to hold a duck!! Well, Hermana Walton and I have been praying and we are praying for some huge miracles with some families who will be baptized someday!!! We made LOTS OF FRIENDS, human and animal!!!

   

HERMANA PHIPPS HOLDING A DUCK!

It was WONDERFUL hanging out with good Friends!!

THIS IS LENAYIA a little girl who was

BAPTIZED just a month ago!

GOOSE HUGS!

Everyone at the Activity was required to receive one!

HERMANA PHIPPS GETS A GOOSE HUG!

HERMANA WALTON AND HER GOOSE HUG!

   Anyone who wanted could ride horses! Well, that is except the missionaries... it is against the white handbook!! Ha ha! So, why is the Elder wearing a Helmet then? That is because they thought it would be funny to take a picture by the horse 'pretending' they were going to ride them. Missionary humor... Ha ha!

   Well, Sister Quinn, when she saw the Elders buckling the helmets on, and did not know they were just going to take pictures, came running from a football field away. Her and her companion booked it waving their hands and yelling, "No! No! You Can't DO THAT!!" It caught everyone's attention! 

The TRUTH is... I have been so blessed with the opportunity to work with 

Really Obedient Missionaries

who strive to be EXACTLY OBEDIENT.

It makes all the difference in a mission!

OBEDIENT MISSIONARIES!!

AND OF COURSE...

OUR PETTING ZOO NEEDED...

LLAMAS!

I LOVE TO GO WALKING...

IN MEADOWS OF LLAMAS!!

IT WAS SAD TO SEE THE DAY END!!

AND SAY GOOD-BYE TO OUR FRIENDS!

IT WAS TIME TO END THE BRANCH FHE!

   But there are more fun things... I played Basketball!! It Was Fun!!!  And... BIG NEWS... It looks like it is finally time for me to start using my Bike! Yep, we have been cut back 300 miles, which we were struggling to survive on at our original amount! So, we will drive to the small towns and bike around! How exciting! Pray for me please! :D

THOUGHTS ON TRANSFER TRAUMA

   It is the end of May! I heard the best time to be a missionary is in Summer and it is almost here!! :D Kids will be out of school, everyone will be enjoying themselves, it will be great!
   I am excited to see the miracles that are coming! Hopefully we can find the families we are praying for. We know they are out there! Just got to find them.

RUMORS...

   One Friday, Hermana Quinn came up to me and said that the President had called her to get her thoughts about transfers. Then rumors started to happen saying that one set of missionaries would be taken away from our Branch. I WAS SO HEART BROKEN! I love serving with the two other sets of missionaries! But I knew that everything would be alright.

   Also, with that rumor came the rumor that our area would be the area taken away since it is the newest and the other sister area needs to be opened so Sister Philippi can go to doctor appointments up there. Just that morning, I was driving and thinking to my self... THIS IS THE BEST AREA IN THE WORLD and the work is picking up!! I couldn't stand the thought of it going away. Well, the Lord made it work! I am so grateful!! All three sets are still working at the Branch! I will NEVER let rumors take any of my attention again!!

   The new Transfer happened. How crazy, I felt like I was just saying this a week ago!!

   Hermana Walton was expecting to leave, but she isn't! I'm so grateful!! She really has been my favorite companion to work with. The only sad thing is I think that she really was ready to go. I do not blame her, she is going on 7 transfers in the same area and it has been a hard area to get going. But it is going now so we will see MIRACLES! :D

   Sister Quinn will still be in our Branch, but because our Zone has so many missionaries, they are having her and her new companion go to a different zone. :( And she won't be in our District! That means Hermana Walton and I are the only Sisters! Crazy!! I will be the Sister Missionary who has been in the District the longest! It is all so strange, but I'm excited. It's going to be such an adventure!! 

I AM GOING TO TRY TO REALLY 

BE LED BY THE SPIRIT THIS TRANSFER!

MIRACLES ARE OUT THERE.

Love You All! ~Emma

A FAST WEEK & SEEING MY FAMILY

On Monday May 12th ... the day after Mother's Day, Emma wrote:

Wow, I am emailing already!! It feels like just yesterday was Monday! The life of a Missionary!

I loved, loved, loved seeing my family yesterday! Really, it just brightened my life. It also gave me a kick start in energy for the Summer! This is going to be the most amazing summer ever!

Last week we worked hard on talking to and then teaching everyone we saw. It was amazing the miracles we saw! What is even more amazing is we are talking and teaching Spanish speakers. I don't even know where they came from, but we are finding them. The Lord works in the most mysterious of ways! I LOVE IT!! I love how the Lord really can open doors and hearts that we cannot open on our own.

This week we had exchanges and I taught one of the most difficult lessons of my mission so far and I did the lesson by myself. I truly have a huge testimony concerning teaching the gospel two by two! I love companionships. But the best thing is that as a member of the Church of Jesus Christ, we never have to be truly alone. The Spirit is our Forever Companion!! I know that he is essential to everything we do.

Sister Walton really is the perfect companion. So hard working and always looking for ways to make higher goals and find ways to improve in every aspect of Missionary Work. She really helps me to reach higher each day!

I just love the Scriptures. They teach me so much every single day. 

I feel so blessed to help others find and treasure the Book of Mormon.

TRANSFER CALLS ARE NEXT WEEK!

I have no clue what will happen! ~ But it will be great!

 WILL TRANSFER CALLS SEND THESE TWO HERMANAS

INTO MORE WILD AREAS!?!

I LOVE YOU ALL SO MUCH!! 

Thank you for giving me the world and for the support each of you give!

Then on Monday May 19, 2014, Emma wrote:

:D .. I AM STAYING AND SO IS HERMANA WALTON!

~SO HAPPY!!

THIS WEEKEND WAS THE LILAC FESTIVAL!

We did not go to it, but we celebrated by 

taking pictures with Lilacs!!

HALF WAY!!

   It is amazing how the words someone says can change your perspective!! Last Sunday Elder Bowen of the Seventy came to talk to us about how to be successful missionaries. He told us that success as a missionary is when you are 'FACE TO FACE' with people. Being a Spanish speaker in the states it is easy to say, "Well tracking door to door and talking to English speakers won't help our work." But that statement is SO NOT true! This week was evidence of that.
   So instead of going to the same Spanish speaking houses we always do, where the people are rarely ever home or don't open up, each day we put in plans that will help us meet people! It is amazing how this leads us to find Spanish speakers like we never have before. FINDING IS MY FAVORITE THINGS NOW!! Not only that, we made it a goal to teach, invite, and pray with EVERY single person who would let us say even a sentence to them. We saw so many hearts open as we did this. IT IS AMAZING!!
   I just wish I would have had this perspective as a missionary for my whole mission! I really do feel more successful because I feel the spirit as we talk to these people. I have loved every single person we have prayed with!

Well, Now I Know!!

EMMA IS AT THE HALF WAY MARK!!

She can use this new understanding in her work

for the next NINE months!!

HERMANA EMMA ROSE PHIPPS &

HERMANA CLARA WALTON

CELEBRATING THE HALF-WAY MARK ~

NINE MONTHS OF MISSIONARY WORK!!

GO SISTER POWER!!

   Also, on Wednesday, Jonathan came on a Church Tour!! Church Tours are probably one of the HARDEST things to get people to actually come to. It is because it takes lots of action on their part. But he came! :D  Jonathan has never even entered any Church before in his life, so he told us he was nervous just a bit while walking in. But he loved the Church Tour! On Saturday we taught him with one of our favorite members ever!! Her name is Ana. She got into teaching mode with us and it is so adorable.

   As soon as we walked in we asked Jonathan how his reading in the Book of Mormon is going and he told us that he had read 7 pages! Woo!! Ana then said, "Hello, my name is Ana and I am here tonight to answer any questions you might have. We start with a prayer, right hermanas?" Ha ha, she is so cute! Definitely one of my favorite member missionaries! After the prayer we kept on rejoicing about his reading with him! 

   JONATHAN CAME TO CHURCH! My little soul is just so happy that we got to be at church with Jonathan when he went to a church for the first time, how neat that his First church experience is the RESTORED CHURCH!! Walking out of Priesthood, he looked a little overwhelmed, but as soon as we asked him about it, he said he liked it! One of the best members in the ward walked up and said, "Do you have a ride home?" Which he did, then she followed up by saying, "I will see you here next week, right?" To that he responded, "Claro que si!" (Of course!)

   Jonathan has a goal to be baptized on May 31st.

   Well, being a missionary is a whole lot of work, but OH SO JOYOUS!! Really, I wish I could just carry all of you around each day so you could really see what it is like. I am so thankful for my amazing companion Hermana Walton! She is a work horse!! 

BUT WE DO FIND A LITTLE TIME FOR PLAY!

FOUR SISTERS HAVING FUN!!

BEING A MISSIONARY IS THE BEST!!

Special shout out to my FAMILY!

I LOVE YOU LOTS AND LOTS AND LOTS and I get to see you Sunday

when we Skype... And I

COULDN'T BE MORE HAPPY AND EXCITED

AND HAPPY AND MORE HAPPY!!

EL SOL

   The Spokane Temple will close for a month and we have exchanges the first week in May and TRANSFERS the second week in May, so this is the last week we could go to the Temple! So, I will be going to the Temple right after I write my words of HELLO to everyone. I am so LUCKY!

Here are the BIG Highlights of the Week!

   We have a new progressing investigator! His name is Jonathan. (Not very Spanish sounding, but he is a Spanish speaker!) We went to a certain trailer park that in our Area Book was the heads up 'that everyone there is Jehovah's Witness.' But, everyone needs the Gospel!

   We were walking to go knock and saw Jonathan outside! We started to talk to him and he has very little religious background, but he is open to learning! Our first meeting just on the street with him was rather interesting. He didn't talk a lot but we committed him to read 3 Nephi 11. We were nervous that he wasn't interested. We set up an appointment and followed up with him on Friday. He had read 6 pages even though he admitted that he didn't understand much of it! WOW!! He really only has the tiniest bit of background in religion, but the Spirit must have been teaching him as he read!

   As we left we asked about which of his neighbors speak Spanish. He pointed to some neighbors and said they were all very religious, but they don't have this book (pointing to the Book of Mormon). He already is seeing the need for the Book of Mormon! I am overjoyed!

  

 WE LOVE SEEKING FOR PEOPLE

WHO ARE SEEKING FOR TRUTH!!

   Then last night we had a member dinner and lesson appointment with the amazing Rodriguez family from our Branch. We were going to teach them the third lesson (The Gospel), but, while we were walking in, Brother Rodriguez pulled us aside and informed us that his niece, who has never been to the US before, was visiting and would be heading back to Mexico the next day. He asked us if we would teach her the RESTORATION! We were overjoyed to take this opportunity. What happened next was such a powerful moment. Each of the members of the family had been wanting to share the Gospel with this niece for YEARS. They all cried and testified so powerfully. At the end the niece was crying and she accepted to be baptized! So happy to get to start her journey with her.

   As we were leaving I overheard Hermano Rodriguez teaching about how their family can be together forever. They embraced in a HUGE hug!! 

THE GOSPEL BLESSES FAMILIES BEYOND BELIEF!!

DOS HERMANAS

SHARING THE GOSPEL MESSAGE!

(Sister Emma Phipps & Sister Clara Walton)

   We are working with an amazing family named the Bautistas! In Preach My Gospel, it suggests that you spend some of your language study with natives. The Bautistas have been so kind to have us come over once a week for language study. This week he prepared a TEST for us! I was freaking out! I thought it would be some crazy hard college exam that I would not know a single answer to. When he gave it to us, it was an advanced 2nd grade / 3rd grade exam! He understands that as missionaries (especially in the US) we have a harder time learning some of the day to day words. Well... It was the Perfect Level! I learned a lot from it and I believe that Hermana Walton and I passed the test! WHEW! I can now speak 2nd maybe 3rd Grade Spanish!! The Lord really is helping me!

JOY OH JOY!!

SO MUCH TO CELEBRATE!!!

ooooohhhhhhh...

WE WORKED ON A FARM!

I want to plant strawberries and own DUCKS

for the rest of my LIFE!!

Love, Hermana Phipps

SPRINGTIME ON THE FARM!

Emma left the City last Transfer and now lives by 

LAKES AND FARMLAND in Cheney, WA!

EMMA HUGGING A TURKEY!!

HERMANA CLARA WALTON

HUGGING A TURKEY!

SPRINGTIME IN THE 

SPANISH SOUTHWEST / CHENEY, WA