Bonjour everyone :) 

This week was great! We had a snow storm on Monday night... We texted everyone and cancelled our YSA FHE because the roads were so bad but the Elders texted everyone and uncanceled it because they didn't want to sit in there apartments and so we all risked our lives and went to the church to play games... we played "murder in the dark" and it was terrifying but pretty darn fun. 

We got a new Elder in the area because Elder Cox went home, His name is Elder Argyle, he served in Fredericton which is great cause i can ask him about all the people i worked with there :) One of my old investigators got baptized last week!! woohoo!!

We had a hot chocolate stand this week, we just give out free hot chocolate and talk to people on the street as we do it. We were soooooo cold... BUT you know how i told you the story of finding that less active Steven? (form China) a while back when we were clearing off cars? WELL we found ANOTHER less active while we were doing our hot chocolate stand! His name is Michael and he is from Sweden. He ended up coming to church this sunday with Steven haha we told Bishop about him and he was like "Where do you keep finding all these people??" Apparently less active students are just crawling all over Wolfville! 

This is the first day of my last transfer!! I have been reflecting a lot on the things i have learned over the last 17 months and i must say that the greatest knowledge i have gained on my mission is the truthfulness of the Book Of Mormon. I am in awe of the many wonderful lessons and experiences i have had from this simple testament i am so grateful. The testimony i have gained of this book will carry me through any trial i face in my life and it is such a significant blessing. 

I hope everyone had a great Valentines day! I got a cute package from my mama, the picture of just me was during the snow storm, looks lame cause you cant actually see the snow.. and then our "Godfather" pictures that we took before Elder Cox went home.. they are pretty sweet. 

Love ya all! 

Sister Lambert :) 

November 30... Tour de Faith

This week was crazy. But so rewarding! 

So to start we had our zone conferences this weekend. Since me and Sister Weckesser were giving a training we went to all 3 (Moncton NB, Dartmouth NS, Gander NFLD) But even though we were only in our area for a day and a half we still got two new investigators and they are pretty cool! Good things are to come here in Halifax :) 

In the zone conference the Assistants gave a training on follow-up, then President announced the mission goals for 2016, then we gave a training on basically how we are going to accomplish these goals and on planning smart. It was a really good conference. THEN PRESIDENT ANNOUNCED THE "TOUR DE FAITH". I am putting this in capitals because we have been planning it for a month or so now and I am SO stoked. Basically it is a competition between Elders and Sisters. It is a week long challenge to shoot off the new mission goals. The standard for the week is 3O hours of finding and at least 300 contacts. We have different challenges each day (how many Book Of Mormons can you pass out, how many baptismal invites can you give, etc.) and so we will have daily winners and then over-all winners. And whoever loses has to serve dinner at the Christmas Conference and the winners receive prizes. Needless to say it is going to be awesome. So this is starting TODAY. Let the games begin... Being in Halifax we have a pretty sweet advantage when it comes to contacts so we have been taken out of the daily winners running but we still can contribute to the over all total. We have made a goal of 1000 contacts this week. The family sisters have the same goal. It's going to be so awesome. We are gonna be so tired and so sick of talking to people but it will be sooo worth it. Pray for us!!! 

We ended our long week of conferences in NFLD and went on exchanges in Bay Roberts. I love it there. It's small, but soo pretty. And Newfies are just the funniest people in the world. I will send a picture of the seal skin Santa hat I found at a craft fair we contacted at haha The only bad part of our trip was getting home from the airport at 2am Sunday and still needing to get up at 6:30am because we need to be obedient because we NEED the blessings! Plus we were doing a mission wide fast to start off the Tour Da Faith, so my brain was basically out of commission all day haha. It was a struggle.... 

With that said, I feel so blessed for the opportunities I have been given on my mission. At the beginning I dreaded the idea of EVER having to give any type of training or even talk in front of missionaries or members. But these experiences that I've had really made me love it! I LOVE giving trainings now. Preparing them will always be a struggle but the spirit that is felt as you present is remarkable. And getting to know all the missionaries along the way is a huge blessing. I find it amazing how God knows exactly what we need to grow and progress not only in our testimonies but in all other skills that can benefit many aspects of our lives. I hope to make the best of these last 4 months and do all I can to fulfill my purpose here and take as much knowledge and experience home with me. 

Love you all :) Have a great week! Watch the new Christmas video that the church put out because it is adorable, and start thinking of ways that you are going to serve the Lord this Christmas Season :) 

Love, 

Sister Lambert 

November 16..We have a Prophet!

Hello hello everyone! 

Another wonderful week has come and past and new adventures yet await! 

So this week we had the opportunity to attend a Remembrance Day ceremony! And oh my goodness, the spirit was so strong! And I found that to be really cool. It reminded me that this is still a country built on God. It was touching to have an opportunity to remember those who have and do fight for our freedom. This week happened to be the week I was reading through the war chapters of the Book Of Mormon. And it was upsetting to me to think about how we are still fighting today for the freedoms that the Nephites fought for (and at times the Lamanites) but I went to the ceremony with a few American missionaries so it was a nice time to show off some Canadian pride! 

We helped out at a family history fair this weekend!! And man oh man.... I am so pumped about family history! On Tuesday they taught us missionaries how to index... And then we taught people how to do it on Saturday! Then we also got to learn a little about how we can expand on our own family trees :) I am so stoked. 

My dearly beloved companion Sister Fenn is going home tomorrow :( it is a heart breaking day... I will miss her greatly! I have loved serving with her! But I am also really excited to say that I am going to be staying in Hali for another transfer and I will be serving with Sister Weckesser. She is a sister I already know pretty well and she is awesome! We are going to get along great :) She is a fellow Alberta dweller... She is from Rocky Mountain House and lived in Edmonton for a year so we probably know some of the same people! 

My spiritual thought is based on the craziness that is exploding on social media due to the policy change made last week (from what I hear, I really don't know what is going on with social media...) but the other day I was reading the account on Alma 30 when Korihor goes and is leading away the hearts of many to believe in his wicked teachings. 

"18 And thus he did preach unto them, leading away the hearts of many, causing them to lift up their heads in their wickedness, yea, leading away many women, and also men" 

This account made me think of the people in the media and even close friends and fellow members who are being lead away from the teachings of the Prophet due to worldly views and pressure from society. BUT what I absolutely love about this story is how the people of Ammon react to these teachings:

"19 Now this man went over to the land of Jershon also, to preach these things among the people of Ammon, who were once the people of the Lamanites.

20 But behold they were more wise than many of the Nephites; for they took him, and bound him, and carried him before Ammon, who was a high priest over that people.

21 And it came to pass that he caused that he should be carried out of the land." 

And so with this in mind, how do we react to teaching against the church? Do we allow these negative thoughts and teachings linger in our mind and in our homes? Or do we bind them up and cast them out? 

With this said, I am not saying that we should not ask questions and I am not saying that it is a bad thing to address doubts. But my advice is to keep it between you, the Lord, and If needed trusted priesthood leaders. But don't listen to the voices in the media. Those who try and look to other sources are simply allowing Korihor like characters into there life, risking the testimony that they have built from years of spiritual confirmations. We must look to the one source of ultimate truth with a spirit of humility and understanding. 

But hey, I trust you all to find the truth :) I will tell you that I know that we are lead by a Prophet that is called of God. And although I may not have a perfect knowledge of why the changes were made regarding the children of same sex couples, I DO have a knowledge of Thomas S Monson being called of God. And that is enough for me to have the faith and patience to know that understanding will come with time. 

Love you all :) have a great week! 

Love, 

Sister Lambert

October 12... answer to "What is it like to serve a Mission"

I will be having thanksgiving dinner at Presidents! I'm actually at his
house right now, he invited us to spend the day here haha

What is it like to serve a mission? That is sooo hard to summarize mom!!!
I would say that a mission is the best thing any girl can do to start off
her life as an adult and as a disciple of Jesus Christ. You learn skills
like talking to people, and how to study and work hard. You also get
to help people change their lives for the better and build life long
friendships. But the best thing of all is you build a strong and personal
relationship with your Heavenly Father. Through this relationship you learn
of your true identity and your potential. You are shown your weaknesses and
then you get to see these weaknesses be turned into strengths through the
atonement of Jesus Christ.
So what is it like? It is hard, but it is rewarding. We are promised in our
call letter that "greater blessings and more happiness than you have ever
yet experienced await you" and it is SO true. Any joy and happiness that
those young girls have experienced thus far will be magnified by 100 if
they choose to serve God and go on a mission.
The best thing members can do is to be friends, not just fellowshippers.
Fellowship is key, to help investigators and less-actives feel welcome at
church and is essential to conversion. But to be a friend is so much more. It
means asking them about their life, their problems, even if they are not
gospel related. It means inviting investigators or less actives into your
home not just for missionary lessons but also outside of a lesson
setting, to just to hang out and have fun. Build a real desire to want to
help them no matter what decisions they make regarding the gospel. Because
as you build that Christ like love for people, that love will radiate into
their lives so much more than you could imagine. It helps people recognize
that this is not just a church, but a family. This is something that
missionaries can't do, so members are the only ones that can not just
fellowship but friendship. It is SO important to building Gods kingdom.

September 7th.... 1 Year Anniversary

Yes yes, the rumors are true.... I HAVE BEEN OUT FOR A YEAR. my goodness.... it's crazy. 

This week as flown by!!!! Moncton. Dartmouth and NFLD Zone conference.... so much fun! But i am a wee bit tired now... just a little bit. The conference was jam packed with info and it was very uplifting and inspiring! We had the couple who is in charge of the medical stuff in our mission (and like 6 other missions) come and give us a training on how to stay healthy and stress free. Then Brother Cartier who is the CES representative in the east coast (and the institute teacher here in Halifax) gave us a training on how to study the scriptures and get the most out of our personal study. That was an awesome training! It is amazing how much you can get out of a single verse of scripture. 

THEN President gave a training on member presents and near the end said "and now the STLTs are going to train you on IPERF" (a new concept that we had just learned about from president the night before) So we had zero idea he wanted us to train on it.... and we barely understood it ourselves....but we did it. And it turned out pretty good. It was a fun surprise.... 

It was so great going back to Newfoundland again! Me and Sister Fenn both served there so it was a good time. And my old comp Sister Pitcher was just made STL there so we got to go on exchanges with them :) It was a struggle getting to NFLD though. The assistants put my name on the ticket as Emily Fenn, so i couldnt use the ticket. And to get my name changed on the ticket was a hour and a half long process.... and the check in for my flight was closing in 10 minutes... so i had to buy a whole new ticket (didnt help that it was 5am so nobody was answering the phone) ive decided that airports are the biggest rip off in the world... so sneaky with all there hidden fees and silly rules. anyways, it was great once i got there but a bit stressful. I had a nice chat with the assistants after that. But all is well!!!! 

I am loving serving with Sister Fenn, she is so fun!!! We are getting along great :) 

I may have sinned.... i didnt write in my journal all week.... MY BAD! so i dont have much to tell...Sister Fenn almost got hit by a car in Halifax and then we got in a car crash in NFLD. THAT was fun. I would tell details, but i think its funner to just leave it at that. 

The greatest thing that i learned at Zone Conference is that their are two reasons to read the scriptures: 

1.To be changed

2.To obtain light and truth that will save me, my family, and those i serve. 

And if these are not the reasons we have in mind as we read, then they need to become the reason! 

Thanks for the emails and the support, It is a blessing to reflect every monday on the love and care i receive from those at home. Love you all lots :) 

Sister Lambert 

August 24... Lots of Training

Oh well hello everyone.... Long time no talk! 

Okay. CRAZY heat wave has hit Nova Scotia.... IM DYING HERE.

This has been a pretty crazy week! First off, I am now in a trio!!! But just for the week. One of the cole harbour sisters got sick and needed to go home and so sister Smith is now here with us in Halifax 😊 it has been a blast since she speaks some Chinese and our investigators love it! So Sister Smith and Sister Howell are BOTHA going home on Thursday soooo this is going to be a short email, I got two dying missionaries to keep busy here! 

We had transfer letters!!! Drum role..... I'm staying here in Hali (WOOHOO) and Sister Fenn is going to be my new companion! Which I am so excited about because I love her! She is so fun! 2 days before transfers I was telling president that I had a feeling that Sister Fenn was going to be my companion (because we are the only STLs that have been out for 2 transfers, everyone else is newer or going home) and so when I saw him at our weekly meeting on Sunday he's like "I didn't make her your companion cause you asked me to okay? Don't think you can just go around requesting companions..." Hahaha I get what I want here.... Guess you could say I run the show 😉

This next transfer is going to be CRAZY. I'm over 6 sets of sisters now. That wouldn't be too crazy but it doesn't help that they are spread over the whole mission. So I have to help train 4 new STLs and then I have 2 sets of regular missionaries as well. I'm going to be going to Newfoundland again next week because I might be giving a training at zone conference and to go on exchanges with the sisters there... Then we are going to be teaching all of our investigators as well as the assistants investigators because they are going to be traveling with the member 70 that is touring the mission this transfer. So they will basically be out of there area for 2-3 week. All while trying to fit in my 5 other exchanges in the first 3 weeks of the transfer. Woohoo..... Oh, and president said that he wants me to become an "expert" in working on campus. Since our mission focus is going to be on the YSA and institute he is going to give me this transfer to get really good at working on campus and then the next transfer train the mission on it... He told it to me AND the assistants but they are going to be gone for pretty much the first 3 weeks of the transfer so they put it on me... And sister Fenn of course, but she doesn't know it yet. So this transfer has felt so crazy and went by sooo fast... And next transfer is going to be even more crazy and go by even faster! But it's okay.... We got this...with a whole lot of the Lord’s help. 

I'm sorry but I have no spiritual thought this week! We went to Peggy's Cove today with Ryan and the Tegge girls (they are from Edmonton, one went to school here and the other served her mission here) it was lots of fun! 

Love you, I might not have time to respond personally to very many of you! Sorry!!! 

Lobsters, Nuns. and Transfers

Transfer time has come waay to fast. I was pretty calm about transfers since i had just gotten to Cole Harbour and my companion was going home i knew i was going to stay here and i was already 90% sure who my companion was going to be. All was well. Then we get to the church with the Elders.... and my NAME IS NOT UNDER COLE HARBOUR. So i am getting transferred. I am going to be serving in the Halifax YSA ward as an STLT... Sister Training Leader Trainer....I don't even know all that this entails but from what i understand It is nothing too crazy. It just means that instead of being over the regular sisters we are over the STLs and go on exchanges and do trainings with them. I am excited! It will be so much fun :) although i am very sad i had such a short time here in Cole Harbour. i really loved it here. Maybe i will come back! 

My new companion is Sister Howell! She served with Sister Pizzey and she is an awesome missionary! i am really excited to serve with her, im going to learn a lot from her in this time. She is going home in a transfer so i will have to learn as much as i can in this next 6 weeks! 

So last monday we went it Pier 21, it is a museum. Pier 21 is where all the immigrants came into Canada back when the east coast was a bumpin' place. It was cool from a family history perspective but also pretty boring from a 19 year old girl with a short attention span perspective. I got some pretty sweet pictures though. 

I went on exchanges in New Glasgow this week which was fun. I was with Sister Taylor again. this time we didn't run out of gas which was a nice improvement from last time... We went to a Lobster Carnival (only in the east coast) and we later knocked on a house that had a bunch of Catholic Nuns living in it... they thought it was great that we were Sisters to, and how we started so young... we corrected them a bit and talked for a while. They ended up taking a Book Of Mormon which is pretty cool.... 

I big personal barrier was broken this week. I sang a duet with sister Shannon in sacrament meeting this sunday. i was beyond terrified but it actually went really well. It started as a way to get a less-active to church. He played the guitar to Nearer My God To Thee and we sang, the second verse Sister Shannon played the flute. It turned out really nice. 

I continue to feel so blessed for the many opportunities i have been given on my mission. I was reflecting on this in my personal study and came across Mosiah 2:22 -24

  And behold, all that he requires of you is to keep his commandments; and he has promised you that if ye would keep his commandments ye should prosper in the land; and he never doth vary from that which he hath said; therefore, if ye do keep his commandments he doth bless you and prosper you.

23 And now, in the first place, he hath created you, and granted unto you your lives, for which ye are indebted unto him.

24 And secondly, he doth require that ye should do as he hath commanded you; for which if ye do, he doth immediately bless you; and therefore he hath paid you. And ye are still indebted unto him, and are, and will be, forever and ever; therefore, of what have ye to boast?

and then again in 41:And moreover, I would desire that ye should consider on the blessed and happy state of those that keep the commandments of God. For behold, they are blessed in all things, both temporal and spiritual; and if they hold out faithful to the end they are received into heaven, that thereby they may dwell with God in a state of never-ending happiness. O remember, remember that these things are true; for the Lord God hath spoken it.

THAT IS WHY. I always knew of this promise of course. But i had such a confirming moment that i was doing the will of the Lord, i was following his commandments. And it is because of this i feel happier than i have ever felt. i get to teach people about something that can bring happiness into every situation. I get to help the sisters in this mission progress and feel confident about there abilities as well as learn from each of them. And i have friends and family from home giving me constant encouragement and love. 

 Alma 26:12

12 Yea, I know that I am nothing; as to my strength I am weak; therefore I will not boast of myself, but I will boast of my God, for in his strength I can do all things; yea, behold, many mighty miracles we have wrought in this land, for which we will praise his name forever.

I hope everyone can have an opportunity to reflect on the blessings they have received. And if you feel that you are in need of more blessings, reflect on the things that you feel may not be aligned with Gods will and change it. Because this promise of obedience leading to happiness is for everyone! 

Love you all, i will get off the soap box for the time being. 

Love, 

Sister Lambert :)

June 15th...Real Success

Well hello everyone, it is great to read all your emails and see what great things are happening in everyone's lives!

First off, a big happy birthday to my beautiful mother!!!! Wish i could be there but at the same time i don't, because i like it here.... 

So i am loving it here in "Cool" Harbour (as Paige would say) the members are great and there is so much potential here! this place is going to be exploding with missionary work in no time!! 

We had our Zone Conference this week. It is the last one we will have with the Leavitts which is sad but we are getting more and more excited for the new President that will be coming at the end of the month! 

They always have everyone prepare 5 minute talks and then at the conference ask 2 people to give there talk on the subject given, and then after everyone shares what they liked and what that person can work on.... of course.... thanks to my awesome luck.... i was asked to give my talk. I was asked to talk on using time wisely. I talked on the importance of prioritizing our efforts and used the example of Alma in chapter 32, and how he taught the prepared. It was a great reminder to me that we truly are here to find those who are prepared to hear the word of God. 

There is a Board Walk here that is so beautiful! It is in Eastern Passage which is a area near Cole Harbour. There are small beaches, fun shops, restaurants and great walking paths. I am so lucky to be serving in such a great place! We saw a family from our ward there and they took us out for dinner, it was great. I will send a picture!

So yes yes.. it is true. I have now been out for 9 months.... and yes... that does mean that i am now half way done my mission.... which is sooo crazy. I can not believe how fast my mission is going by.... but lets just not think about it. moving on... 

We went to a members home this week and her husband is an amazing musician! He plays the guitar and he showed us a few songs! I introduced him to the song `Nearer My God to Thee`and he LOVED it. So he played it on the guitar and me and Sister Shannon sang. It was so fun! It was a great way to bring the spirit into the life of someone who isn`t yet willing to invite it in himself. 

I have had some really great personal studies this week! One that i would like to share with you is when i pondered a quote i have that says:
 ``There is nothing more vital to our success and our happiness here than learning to hear the voice of the spirit. It is the spirit who reveals to us our identity, which isn`t just who we are but who we have always been. And when we know that, our lives take on a sense of purpose so compelling that we can never be the same again``

I find that there are a lot of people who are scared of change. They are scared of the truth, of feeling the spirit, because if they allow it in, it will give them a reason to change, a reason to make sacrifices in there life. People have a false sense of joy that they cling to, not realizing that they are allowing themselves to be content with mediocrity. They are allowing there views of themselves and others be shaped by man rather than by God. The Spirit allows us to become `who we have always been`. Our true selves, not a manipulated version of ourselves that has been pushed around and changed by the worlds ever changing idea of ``success``. I chose a quote that will be a theme for this transfer. It is `Strive not to be a success, but rather to be of value`. I know that Heavenly Fathers idea of ``Success`` is a lot different than what we imagine it to be. I want to be of value to my family, my friends, my mission President, and my Heavenly Father. I know this will be through helping bring the spirit into the lives of others so that the spirit can in turn teach them the truths of our message.

June 8th.... New adventures

Hello everyone :) i must say, transfer time sure is an adventure!! It has been weird going from an area where i knew everything about everyone and i knew my way around to an area where i don't know a soul, and i feel like a lost puppy just following around Sister Shannon! But i will get more comfortable as time goes on. This is Sister Shannon's last transfer so I will most likely be here for a little while longer :)

So we had Sister Drew stay with us for a few days before transfers because her companion went home early for health reasons. We had a blast for those couple days! It was a good end to my time in Fredericton, visiting with members and making sure all was organized for Sister Pitcher and her new companion. We drove to Moncton to pick up there new companions (hit a bird on the way... woops) and then me and the other missionaries getting transferred to Nova Scotia took the transfer van right to the temple :) OH MY how much i missed the temple!! What a relief it was to be in the house of the Lord. The peace that is in the temple was really what i needed to calm my nerves and remind me of my purpose here on my mission and ultimately in life. 

After I met my new companion Sister Shannon and we went right to work! I am really excited about this area! I was amazed at the size of the ward on Sunday! And it was even a low attendance that day! i am so excited to be in an area with so many strong members who all live in town! (unlike Fredericton where 80% of ward council lives 45 min out of town) And it throws me off to be walking into the church building and seeing President and Sister Leavitt..... that's never happened before..... 

Being an STL is not nearly as scary as i thought (so far) but God has been really answering my prayers by giving me the confidence i need to fulfill this calling. Its funny though to realize how much really does go on in a mission. I used to think that because im doing good that im sure EVERYONE is doing good as well! Who knew that missionaries actually had problems... and need help and encouragement... 

Today i am emailing a bit late because we went to Martinque beach with the Pitts (a senior couple that lives next door to us. They work in the temple and are from Montana) It was a beautiful beach and after they took us out for local fish and chips! So good! I am going to love serving around a senior couple.... Brother Pitt has the same cheesy humor as Dad so i always get a kick out of that haha

I don't have much of a spiritual thought this week, but i would like to say how much i appreciate the spirit in my life. It is an amazing blessing to have that comforting presence in a time where most people would feel pure panic. Going to a new area, living with someone you don't know, in a place where you have no family or really even friends and still being confident that you are where God needs you to be and knowing that you have a whole community of people who love you without even knowing you. What a blessing! It is a reminder to me that I am being carried by the Holy Ghost and guided by a Heavenly Father who loves me dearly.

I hope everyone is safe and happy, i thank all of you for the words of encouragement! 

Love, 

Sister Lambert :) 

June 1st.... transfer to Cole Harbour, NS

So transfers letters have come... and they are pretty crazy... but i think that maybe i'll just tell you about it another time... 

JUST KIDDING (don't kill me mom) They are finally sick of me here in Fredericton and kicking me out.... I am going to be serving in Cole Habour Nova Scotia as a Sister Training Leader.... you may ask "Sister Lambert, does President really think that you can be an STL?" and my answer would be "i guess so..." you may follow up with a "But why?" and my answer would be "I DON'T KNOW" but... i know that the Lord knows i can do it, which must mean that i can do it. And so i am very excited to be serving these sisters! I also get to live right beside the temple which is SO exciting!! And i will be serving by the mission home for President and Sister Leavitt's last month in the mission and get to be here for the new mission president coming in! So that will be fun :) 

My new companion with be Sister Shannon and i know nothing about her except i'm pretty sure she is from Ontario.... but that's all my knowledge. 

I am very very sad to be leaving Fredericton... i have grown great freindship's with a lot of members and i will miss the people that we are working with. I am so lucky to have gotten to know the people here and i am so grateful for social media so that i can stay in touch with many of my now close friends! After i gave my leaving testimony in the ward one girl did the hunger games whistle and held up the 3 fingers (for anyone who has seen the hunger games movie) it was SUPER inappropriate but pretty funny...  

I am sad to leave the young women here. We had a really awesome lesson with one of them about modesty the other day. My and this girls mind work the exact same and so i relate to her perfectly. It was a great spirit filled lesson that really reminded me of why I am here and that we as missionaries are sent to specific places for a reason. I know that i needed to be here in Fredericotn for this time but now the Lord has work for me to do in Cole Harbour. 

Our last Pday was a pretty fun way to end my time here, we went to a waterfall with the Elders and a older member of the ward. He loves taking pictures so got a ton of pictures of us. He even made us pose in a few of them so some of the pictures looks like cheesy 60's family portraits. It's awesome. 

I don't know if any of you saw it on the news, but Fredericton had a pretty crazy flash flood this week. Nothing bad, no serious damage but the power was out for a while and the weather was pretty insane. But do you know what sucks? I MISSED IT. We were on exchanges so i was in St.John and missed all the cool craziness.... but oh well.... 

To end off, i had an amazing experience with family history this week! I would like to tell you all a small tale of my ancestor Gudmund Gudmonson. He and his wife and 10 kids were baptized into The Church Of Jesus Christ Of Latter Day Saints in Iceland in the late 1800's and moved to Utah after being rejected from family and neighbors for there beliefs. It is a great story and there is lots to tell but for the sake of time and length of the email i want to share one part of the story

 "He was a very religious man and had many faith promoting experiences. He was a great believer and had great faith in prayer. At one time when some of the Saints treated the family so badly father doubted if the Church was right so he prayed to the Lord to guide him and to show him the way. This he soon found and spent his entire life working in the church, paying his honest tithes and offerings."

I know to many this does not seem like that big of a deal. But if Gudmund had chosen at this brief trial of his faith to become offended, resulting in inactivity, who knows if i would be here serving a mission right now. Who knows if his family would have stayed active, then resulting in his grandchildren and great grandchildren not being raised with a knowledge of the gospel. I know this may seem a bit extreme but i have worked with soo many less actives who have chosen to be offended, and because of it, their kids aren't baptized, or they have taken on the attitude of there parents, creating a hate for the church, then losing the joy they could have found in the gospel, simply because they had parent who chose to be offended. It is so important to remember that our decisions do not effect just us. I'm sure Gudmund didn't think in 1866 "oh i better stay active in the church so my great-great-great-great granddaughter can serve a mission" but it does not mean his choice didn't effect me. It changed my life as much as it did his.

I pray for those who have made the mistake to take offence, and i pray that i will never make that same mistake. 

I don't know what my new address is going to be, so stay tuned, i will have to let you know next week! I am excited for the adventure that lies ahead of me. I know this will be a time of great growth and i am very excited! I love you all, and thank you for the love and support you all give me! Miss you lots, sorry if the last part seems a bit intense but it is something that i am very passionate about! I know this gospel is true and i hate to see people miss out on the joy that comes from this truth due to the decisions of others. 

Love ya'll

Sister Lambert :)

April 13..... Spiritual Knowledge

That's right folks... it got up to like +14 yesterday... and today is lookin pretty dang nice. 

So to start off with some funnies... Sister Pitcher is seriously hilarious. Sometimes i laugh a little more at her than with her but i just cant help it... I have to share two funny quotes from her this week. 

first, we were saying bye to someone after a lesson and were giving hugs... when we leave Sister pitcher just looks at me with such sad eyes and says "I have such nerd problems... she squished my glasses against my face" ... I know it doesnt sound as funny over email but if you could see the legit sadness and concern in her face when she said it, you would laugh to. 

second. We were rushing into the apartment to grab something and im a fast walker to begin with so i was ahead of her, and all I hear is "I feel like a wiener dog chasing a greyhound" and we had to stop and laugh for a few moments. 

I know these probably are not funny to other people. But im still laughing about it as a type...  

I love it here in Fredericton... with all my heart... we are getting transfer letters on sunday and i DONT WANT TO LEAVE. I have been here for 3 transfers now so it is that awkward medium where i could easily stay... but people are usually in an area for around 3 transfers so i could just as easily leave... 

Something that i love about serving in a mission with small wards is how close you get to the members. What  a blessing to be building up great friendships everywhere we go! 

I read a talk this week called "Why 1820?" by Hyrum Smith (not Josephs brother Hyrum, a different Hyrum) and it is the funniest, sassiest, but inspirational and factual talk i have read in a while, i encourage everyone to read it! It talks about why God needed to restore the church in America in the year 1820, instead of (for example) a boy in europe in 1420... 

It is an amazing gift to have the knowledge of the Gospel in our life. And it is amazing that we have been chosen spirits to come to the earth in the last dispensation.

 I have been studying a lot on the topic of "Knowledge" and what it really means to have knowledge of the gospel. Because it is not necessarily to know where every scripture is and the ability to quote every prophet that has lived. But it is to consistently learning, and coming closer to our Heavenly Father through action. Action is such a huge part of spiritual knowledge. Having that perfect balance of work (scripture study, prayer) and faith - knowing that you will receive answers and blessing from the work that you put in. As we work to balance these things, we will become more like our Savior, and we will build our capability to serve him. 

I hope everyone has a great week! It sounds like a pretty crazy week for a lot of my family and friends! I hope that everyone travels safely! 

Love you all lots, i am blessed to have so much love and support! 

Love, 

Sister Lambert :) 

March 30.... Sun made a guest appearance

Yes, yes it is true. The sun made an special guest appearance here in the east coast. GET THIS. I got to wear my fall jacket instead of my winter one for a few days!! And one day i just wore a light sweater!!! I know what you are thinking.. "well Sister Lambert, its been like that all winter here in Alberta... so thats not exciting" But believe me when i say that it was the most glorious blessing from God when i got to go outside and actually feel the warmth of the sun again... 

We went on exchanges this week so i got to go to St.John for a day. It is such a cute city! Kind of reminded me of St.Johns a little bit (yes there is a difference between St. John and St. John's) It is very cute and i got a couple pictures but of course i left my camera cord at the apartment so you will just have to imagine the beauty in your minds this week folks. I hope i get an opportunity to serve there at some point. With that said, its right by the water and so the wind is freeeezing. But in the summer im sure it would be nice! But im also planning on staying in Fredericton for forever... so thats more likely. 

How great was womens session of General Conference??? So amazing! My favorite line in the whole session was when one the speakers (who's name escapes me right now) said "The home is only second to the temple". What a great way to put into perspective the importance and sacredness of the home. A home needs to be an escape from the world, where anyone, member or non-member can feel the presence of the Holy Ghost and feel of our Heavenly Fathers love and comfort. It made me really ponder on the things i am going to do to make my home a Christ- centered home. I sanctuary from the world! 

General Conference is more exciting than Christmas as a missionary. What a great opportunity to hear the Lords Prophet and apostles speak to us and give us council. I hope everyone will get an opportunity to listen and apply the council given!! 

April is almost here..... its crazy... time is going waaay to fast. Im sorry this email is short, but i love and miss all of you!!! Hope everyone is doing well!!! Have a happy easter!! Make sure to watch and share the video the church put out for easter called Because He Lives! Its awesme :) 

Love, 

Sister Lambert

March 23... Just flurries

Hello everyone! Sounds like its been a crazy week! Congrats to Paige and Richard on tying the knot!! I've gained a real appreciation for the temple and the amazing gift of being sealed for time and eternity. It is so exciting to see loved ones make that commitment to each other and to our Heavenly Father. Im sure they are on their honeymoon so they will probably never read this... so if someone could pass on the congrats for me that would be great...

Also a big congrats to Lili Atwood for her farewell talk! I heard it went amazing! 

This week has been a bit crazy... losing some investigators due to some poorly used agency, as well as gaining some wonderful people with a pure desire to come closer to our Heavenly Father! I am currently teaching 2 ex-Pagans, so ive got to learn a lot about that religion lately! Its pretty cool... But God is cooler so... 

We had Stake Conference this week and had a General Authority, Elder Wilson come visit. Luckily the stake centre is in Fredericton so we didnt have to travel, but there were 6 sisters in our apartment which is a blast! The Aps started calling us hotel fredericton because of how often we have sisters staying with us while in transit. 

Elder Wilson gave some great talks, one that stuck out to me the most was his push on education. We need an education to be succesful. And obviously money is something that God does not care about, but when you are in a place where you dont have to worry about money, you have so much more time to focus on your family and the gospel, and on serving others. There is a very spiritual side to being financially stable. He was pretty funny about the weather, he was like "In utah, they would call this a blizzard, here, they said it was just flurries" haha welcome to spring time in eastern canada. 

Ive been really pondering on how I can best build my teaching skills and become more effective with my time, so that I am constantly and consistently working to fulfill my purpose as a missionary. Whenever I do this I end up making these big goals and never knowing where to begin.I did this a lot at the very beginning of my mission. I wanted to become consecrated to the Lord, in every way possible. And I continued to fail, over and over again I fell short to what it means to become fully consecrated to the work. I got so frustrated with myself  (i continue to get frustrated with myself) and as i was reading a talk just this morning by Elder Dallin. H. Oaks called "The Challenge To Become" I realized that the reason I continued to fail and becoming fully consecrated is because I was not yet fully converted. Now dont get me wrong, I know more than anything in the world that this is the true gospel of Jesus Christ, that Joseph Smith is a prophet of God, and the Book Of Mormon gives us the knowledge and instruction needed for eternal life. But have I allowed this knowledge to change me? to make me into what my Heavenly Father wants me to become? It is frustrating at times because this is not a goal that can be achieved in a week, or a month, or a year. But it is a life-long process that is hard for a impatient soul like mine, who has been trained by the world to want and desire immediate results at the blink of an eye. But as I set small, every day goals, like memorizing a scripture reference, doing small acts of kindness for my companion, and simply loving those i teach, i can work towards that conversion process, and i know that as i work towards that goal, i will become more consecrated to the work, to my purpose, and to my Heavenly Father. 

This is a gospel of learning. It is amazing that we have so much opportunity to change as we put our trust in an unchangeable God. Someone who will never disappoint us. 

It is great hearing from everyone! There is some amazing stuff going on at home from the sounds of everyones emails! And there is some amazing things going on here in Fredericton as well that I am very blessed to be a part of. Love you all!!! 

Sister Lambert :) 

6 month mark, 1 year left!

Yes yes yes, all the rumors are true, i HAVE been on my mission for 6 MONTHS now. Sometimes I'm excited that i have made it this far and learned so much already. And sometimes I just want to cry thinking that i have only learned so much already and i have SO MUCH MORE to learn!! And thinking that 1/3 of my mission is gone is just the saddest thing in the world...

So yesterday morning me and Sister Pitcher decided to be good girls and complete our personal study before running to the church to check transfer letters. During our study we get a text from the Elders saying "woah....." and then a text from the STL's saying "Well that's a twist...." So of course we are freaking out the whole time and not even focusing. We get to the church and turns out they were just messing with us.... Me and Sister Pitcher are both staying in Fredericton. WOOHOO!!! What they were talking about in the text is all the changes they are making to the leadership. Since we have sooo many new missionaries. And all the leaders are going home, they are putting all the current leaders (zone leaders, district leaders) with new or less experienced missionaries to help train all the new missionaries. So now we only have 1 zone leader instead of 2. But then we also have 3 STLs instead of 2... its all confusing. Im not in leadership (thank goodness) so i don't really have to worry about it right now. 

I have been having some awesome personal studies this week. I have been focusing a ton on building confidence, and self-esteem. I talked about it a bit in my last email but its really interesting when you really look at it. Low confidence in yourself is the root of so many issues and is often what leads to disobedience. So how do you combat it? I was studying and studying and then realized "wow... im so dumb. (obviously a great example of self confidence) I have been studying this for 3 days.... but the church has men called of God who have probably already thought about this. Where would their findings be? In a place that is easy access to the main focus group for this issue. The Young Women." So what do the young women recite every sunday? The key characteristics needed to have love for our Heavenly Father, those around us, and ultimately ourselves. Faith, divine nature, individual worth, knowledge, choice and accountability, good works, integrity and virtue. As i have been studying these characteristics i have thought about the countless times i recited this theme without have a real understanding of what i was saying. And they all interconnect with each other. You need to have faith in God and His teachings to understand what your divine nature is, and once you understand that you will gain more individual worth... and so on. 

This is where it comes down to faith. Just the other day, Sister Pitcher asked me where i found my faith, how i got it. And the only thing that i could think of is "well, it just makes sense." and i stand by that! Why not choose faith? What else is there to choose? Doubt? fear? loneliness? no thankyou... I would rather put all my trust, love, and time into a God who loves me, who has a plan for me, who cares for my well-being, and who is consistent and will never let me down, then in a world that is shaky and forever changing. 

So this is my plea to all that I meet, including anyone who reads my emails. Choose faith! It is the only option that makes sense!! 

Thanks for letting me rant to all of you! I hope at least some of you chose to accept my Book of Mormon challenge! I love and miss all you! 

hope ya'll are enjoying the nice weather i keep hearing about. This week was actually so beautiful!! We had awesome weather!!!! 

Love, 

Sister Lambert :) 

In honor of my 6 months, im gonna flash it back to the mtc, where i was still with sister Pitcher haha and i was actually tanned and warm...and cute and not pale and tired of snow...and being cold. 

Feb. 9, Gettin ur done in Fredricton

This week was pretty great! Quote of the week goes to sister Pitcher, when we were street contacting downtown we were not having a lot of success and feeling a bit down, so then i started talking about how us feeling down is just straight up dumb. We are disciples of Jesus Christ, and we have power from Him to (according to our faith) do anything we want to do. Including bringing the spirit into peoples lives. And Sister Pitcher thought about it for a bit and then said "we can do anything? okay, next blind person we meet, i dare you to heal them"... Maybe its not as funny when i retell the story, but we had a good laugh about it. (have you seen the progression of my humor dulling? i have...) 

So as of tomorrow, i will have been out for 5 months.... SO CRAZY. i dont know if that sounds like a long time to anyone else, but it has just flown by. Sadly... i still feel pretty new. I was hoping to be awesome and waaay experienced and know everything by now. But sadly that is not how it works, and thats okay... because although i have not learned everything yet.... i have learned more in the last 5 months than i have in the last 5 years. Missions truly are amazing. How many opportunities do you have to drop everything worldly, and focus just on serving others. It is so rewarding. We were talking to a lady last night who is "unconvertable" (we will see about that...) and she said that something that is so impressive about our church is the young people, never has she seen such a large amount of young people so willing to serve God. And who are so happy and friendly while doing it. And the reason that we are so different in that way is simple. What we come to teach is true. It is the only possibility. There is no way that a church without the spirit could convince so many 18-19 year olds to abandon everything for 2 years, pay for themselves, and then give them no supervision, a car, an apartment, a pre-paid credit card, a new area where they dont know a soul, and expect them to follow the rules, work hard, and serve the Lord with all there heart, might, mind and strength. It is only through the Holy Ghost and through love and guidance from our Heavenly Father that we are able to achieve this. Our message is that important. It is true, i dont have a single doubt in my mind that what i have to share can change the lives of every single person in the world. I have had to much proof, too many experiences to ever deny this. 

God has promised us so many blessing, if we are to be obedient. D&C 82:10 "I the Lord am bound when ye do what i say, but when ye do not what i say, ye have no promise" Because God is a perfect being, when he promises us something, we can be 100% positive that that promise will be fulfilled. Having this knowledge has gotten me through some hard times. When our teaching pool is small i just remember that God has promised me people to teach, therefore i need to stop and think about what i am doing in my daily routine that is blocking me from receiving this blessing. And as i fix those small things, the blessings poor in. And so this is my challenge to everyone: Do a life inventory, think of the small things that you are doing that could be blocking you from the promises that God has given you. I promise that as you do this, you will find a closer relationship with our Heavenly Father.

Let me know how it goes! I will be following up!!! 

Fun story of the week: A nice family from Nigeria (who is baptist) decided that because we are so pretty and nice, that they needed to help us "find the truth so we can be saved" which is very nice of them... so sweet. 

Hey, i love you all :) thank you for reading to my crazy rants, hope you enjoy them!! Be safe and enjoy life!

Love, Sister Lambert 

The Perils of Pride

So the weather here is crazy. It was super cold all week and then yesterday warmed up a bit and now its raining. Its the middle of winter! Get it together New Brunswick. 

Also i have a cold which is lame. Its fine cause i can still go out and do stuff but its getting kind of noticeable that i'm sick.... but i refuse to stay in the apartment. Im not on my mission to just sit around, that would just be silly. 

I am loving Fredericton!! We are getting out transfer letters on sunday and i'm freaking out cause i dont want to leave!! Sister Hughes has been here for 3 transfers now so she has a better chance of leaving than i do but still... ya just never know what's gonna happen transfer week. 

We got some new investigators this week which is exciting! Sadly no super funny stories... sorry everyone. I haven't heard back from my baptist friends which is to bad. But we have been focusing a lot on less-actives. We are hopefully going to start teaching a super cute part-member family! Im excited because i haven't taught a family yet! 

We had a zone training this week and had a really good training on how to use our time wisely. We basically realized that missionaries are amazing at wasting time and we need to remember that this is the Lords time not ours. Its hard because most of the members and less actives in this ward live 20-40 min out of town. And so we spend a lot of time traveling. We are focusing a lot on using that travel time wisely to make calls at set up appointments. We have also been having lessons over facebook and skype which is pretty great because the spirit is still there but then we don't hahave to drive for 45 minutes to have a 40 min lesson and then drive 45 min back....  

I have come to realize that i am awful at talking to people on the phone. I am super awkward and i sound like a robot. I told the zone leaders about this and they said that i was probably over exaggerating. So we role played talking on the phone and he was like "wow... i see what you mean.." So then he helped me learn how to talk to people on the phone. I had to practice just saying "Hi this is Sister Lambert" about 12 times. It was embarrassing but i finally know how to talk to people... yay for me! 

I have been struggling a lot with my own pride since i have been on my mission. I recognize that i just really hate being bad at things. And my first reaction is that if im bad at something then i just dont do it. But you cant do that on your mission! Like the talking on the phone. I was really bad at it, so i just didnt want to talk to people on the phone.... and it was really embarrassing for me to have to turn to someone else for help. But because i did, i know what i need to do to be better and i will improve because of it. We all need to do this in our lives daily. Recognize our weakness, and admit that weakness to our Heavenly Father and ask Him for help to over come it. And He will help you by giving you the strength and knowledge you need to do it on your own, or put people in your path to help you. 

One other thing we talked about at Zone training was how every single concern or problem you or your investigator have in the gospel can be resolved with the first 3 lessons. The Restoration, The Plan of Salvation, and The Gospel of Jesus Christ. If you have a testimony of these 3 things, mainly that Joseph Smith is a Prophet of God and the Book of Mormon is the word of God, then there is nothing that can shake your testimony. This is the true gospel of Jesus Christ. That is something i will never be able to deny because i have learned it for myself through reading, praying, and personal experiences. This gospel can bless every family and every individual. And it is the responsibility of those who already have that testimony to share this knowledge with everyone. Remember: Every member a missionary :) 

Love you all, thanks for the love and support! 

Sister Lambert

-30 in Fredericton and the Baptist are having a Potluck!

I met this cute girl on the street, found out she is from Alberta, so we chatted, me being the awesome missionary i am, set up an appointment with her and got her contact info. Her being the awesome person she is, calls us up and invite us to dinner. We have a hoot of a time, we teach her and her husband (also from Alberta) about the restoration, we leave feeling jolly as can be. Try and set up another appointment and instead they say "hey, we are having a potluck at our house with all the friends from OUR church. want to come?" And we were like "do we want to come to a baptist potluck? Heck yes we do." (i was of course more professional and missionary like in my vocabulary) And i had sooo much fun. It was great! Everyone was super nice, they asked us questions about ourselves, we ate some good food. There was this guy visiting from Germany for a couple weeks and he asked me why i decided to go on a mission so i got to share my testimony with him and ended up teaching him most of the restoration. I bet none of ya have ever taught a resto lesson at a baptist potluck before.... (just kidding, kind of...) 

There was this guy who was pretty intense though. They were talking about potatoes so i asked him if he was a farmer, and he goes on for 20 min telling me how he found Jesus in his life. (jesus told him to plant the potatoes) and then he said that he shows his love for God through singing so i said i would love to here him sing some time. And in the middle of the room he just starts singing this Christian song and he gets so into it he starts crying! In the middle of the room! And then when we were leaving he quickly moves his truck in front of our car, blast some music and starts belting this other Christian song, and starts crying again and got so emotional that after he gave us a big group hug and is just like "God bless you girls, God bless" IT WAS AWESOME. i had a great time... 

Other than that, this week has been good. We have a girl on date for baptism! She is  a student at STU and she is actually from Newfoundland, i just cant get away from those Newfies. She is a sweetheart though! 

Did everyone watch the Worldwide broadcast that was on last night? It was amazing! He talked about having real intent in all we do. And it honestly is so important. On your mission, real desire and true intent is what makes the difference between a good missionary and a great missionary. 

As you come closer to Christ you recognize that God really does have the power to change your desire and the intent of your heart. You just need to simply allow him into your life to do so. You need to ask for his help and be completely vulnerable to Christ and his everlasting atonement. I am so happy to be sharing a message that changes the course of peoples lives. The gospel of Jesus Christ can completely change someones life from destruction to everlasting and eternal happiness. What an amazing opportunity!!!! 

I love you all, i miss you. Sounds like a lot of great and exciting things are going on and i am happy that everyone is doing well.

Love,

Sister Lambert

-30 and all alone on an otherwise crowded bridge

Love My Companions

My companions and I get a long so well, we have so much fun together. We are just all really silly and find each other hilarious. We jam out in the car to circle of life a lot, its like the only somewhat upbeat song sung by MoTab. We all have our own parts in it and everything. I cant even explain how we have fun because it just sounds silly to everyone else. Elder Gibb compares us to Cohen, Kaden and Brayden if that helps...
That is crazy about Riley!!!! And Taylor!! (I am sure she would add her congratulations! haha)

We had a girl on date for baptism december 20th, and then this week she texted us out of the blue and told us she doesnt want to meet with us anymore and now she wont answer any of our calls or texts. not gonna lie, it really broke my heart. To know that someone had recognized the truth of this gospel and felt that spirit all of a sudden turn around and deny it, just kills me. I feel sorrow for her because i know that she is probably feeling so much sadness from it. 
There is a couple that moved into our ward 2 weeks ago, the Earls. and WE LOVE SISTER EARL. and brother earl, but the elders get him.  She is from salt lake, and she is a amazing member missionary. He is here for the oil and she had decided that the reason she is here is to build the branch and do missionary work. She is going to be working a lot with the ysa, which is good. 
We actually got a decent amount of dinner appointments this month, must be the christmas spirit haha the members here are starting to get excited about missionary work and i actually emailed President Leavitt telling him i really dont want to leave because i love it here. There is soo much potential in this branch and i just so badly want to be apart of the growth that i know is coming here. Because they didnt have a lot of strong families here in the first place God is putting job opportunities here to bring in strong families from afar. And those families are going to bring in more families and really help build up the church here. 

We made a ginger bread temple for christmas, its pretty great. First temple is St.Johns ;) 

Email from Emily's companion, Sister Sharp

Hello! This is Sister Sharp. I am currently serving with your little one, Sister Lambert. She is fantastic! I thought you should know that you have raised a fine daughter and a fantastic missionary. I feel privileged to serve with her and am thankful to have her friendship. She maybe has told you some silly stories about me but rest assured that I do know the sacredness of this calling. I hope your family has a wonderful Christmas! I have seen pictures and you are a good lookin' bunch! Keep up the good work. 
Sister Lambert is hard working and always striving to improve and serve the Lord more fully. I am very impressed with how quickly she progresses. I know that she will have important responsibilities in this mission. 
Merry Christmas! And if you haven't seen the church's video "He is the Gift" then you should watch it immediately. 
And if you wouldn't mind, would you pray that we will find people to teach? That would be a marvelous gift to us sisters. 
Thank you for being so supportive of the fabulous Sister Lambert. I just love that gal!