I'LL SEE YOU IN HEAVEN

Hello hello!! Greetings from Midland! I am in Midland today while Sister M. is at a "goodbye" conference. It's crazy that she'll be home in less than a month!

 This week was so busy and so so so good. 

 First, thank you for the package Mom and Dad!! I absolutely loved it, and loved the letter more than anything. Thank you for the Pumpkin Spice cake, it was so good and we enjoyed it! Thank you for the cute decorations that have helped make our apartment feel more like a home! I love it even more knowing my momma picked them out! Thank you for the CAMERA!! I have taken so many pictures, and I am sorry they came in single-e-mails today. I loved taking pictures and it was so fun to look for things to take pictures of to send home. Thank you thank you! I am so blessed.

 Fun fact for your day: President Jacobsen is the oldest mission president in the world:)

 Another fun and really weird fact for your day: My "trainee", Sister Roberts, entered the MTC July 22nd, a week before I did. However, due to her long time in the MTC, I spent an entire transfer out in the field before she came. So the person I am "training" has been a missionary longer than I have! Crazy, huh?

 This week started out a little rough. I was having a hard time trying to be ok with being a beginner trainer and trying to help other people. Overall, I was simply struggling. I prayed to ask God to let me know that I was doing what He wanted, and that He was proud of me. And guess what happened? We door-knocked into a deaf man named Casey.  Let me tell you, ALL OF THE BLOOD RUSHED OUT OF MY FACE. Oh freak!!! For the first time being on my mission, I could not turn to my trainer for help. I introduced myself, did my best to explain who we were, and fervently prayed to understand what he was saying. I can understand much more sign language than I can say, but I am not too familiar with church words. BUT! I was able to clear up and we were not Jehovah's Witnesses, and that he can learn more by visiting Mormon.org. He told me something about the Bible, and how he saw 4 angles when he was 14. (Let's just take a moment to appreciate this moment. Here I am, soaking in the rain, STRUGGLING to tell a man about Joseph Smith as a Prophet, (in sign language) and he GANDER-RANTS in a language I don't know very well! AHHHH!!) So during this door approach I learned two things: 1) I am exactly where the Lord wants me to be 2) I NEED to learn more sign. How can I do that without a teacher? Where can I get books or something?  It was so cool, but would have been cooler if I could have explained something like....um...the Restoration:) 

 Speaking of Jehovah's Witnesses, some knocked on our door this week! Haha!  Their faces when they saw our nametags were priceless!! We talked for a long time, and when they gave me the Watchtower, I asked if I could give them a Restoration pamphlet. They said no, but it was a really funny moment! Haha!!

Another Miracle this week: a few weeks ago, we met a man named Pat who told us his story about his brother who has cancer. He cried telling us how God has helped him in his life, but has struggled to find faith in him. We testified that God knows him and loves him, and he thanked us for our time, but said he wasn't interested in setting up an appointment. This week, we were knocking on some doors, and Pat answers one of the doors. He says, "So we meet again". What? He was at his daughter’s home watching her kids while she rested. NO WAY!! He said how grateful he was to see us, and how much he has thought about our conversation.  We found him, AGAIN!! We gave him a Book of Mormon, and it was so cool! I don't know what it is about him, but something in his eyes looks so familiar to me! I can't tell if he has the same eyes as Daddy, but there is something about him that just rings a bell. It was a really neat experience. 

 We also met this really old man this week that is devoutly catholic. We talked about the Plan of Salvation, and when we walked away, he said, "I'll see you in Heaven" and it was the saddest moment because this lonely old man said it!!

 

Another miracle this week: I was standing in line to get food with some members, and this woman looked at me and said, "Hello!" which is not the normal response of people around us in public. Turns out, she is a less active that we have been searching for. I wrote her name a couple weeks ago to try and contact, and there she was, a few towns away from her home, behind me in line at Burger King. What are the chances?!?

 

It was really a good week, and thank you to all who sent me things. It is seriously like Christmas getting a package/letter. Thank you!!! Conference was AMAZING! We watched all sessions at the church with some members. I loved ever talk, and it's amazing how conference is so different on a mission. I was worried about President Monson at the end of his talk, and we are all praying for him. I loved hearing from Elder Christofferson, and the three new apostles. It was so amazing!! 

 

Funniest moment of the week? I was making rice at the church, for lunch, in between conference, and Sister R. and I were trying to find the microwave. There were other people, so we were trying to be quiet, and search. After looking through the whole Kitchen 48,738,047 million times, we decided to simply bake it. The MINUTE after we put it all in the oven, we hear the microwave beep....behind the door. SERIOUSLY CAMILLE!?! DUH???!! I was laughing so hard I was sobbing. Haha  It was so funny!!! I felt so dumb! 

 Thank you again for all that you do!! I hope you have a wonderful week and know I am praying for you! The Church is true and God knows you!

 Xoxo

Sister Ensign

*Note from Camille’s Mom:  I wrote and told her who the person was that Elder Christofferson (a member of our ward), talked about in his Conference talk.  Her reply.. “I KNEW IT WAS D.!!! I tried searching through the ward in my mind, and then I leaned to my comp and whispered, D. K. That is so cool!! So many people talked about his talk.  It was a blessing from on high because it answers so many of the questions people have here.  How I wish I could personally thank him for his talk.  It will make missionary work easier as I have something to refer to now.  I whispered, ‘You knew I needed that’.  THANK YOU ELDER CHRISTOFFERSON!  It was amazing!!!”

It's Freezing!

The Ladies