LINNAE CHRISTMAS LETTER

Dear Family and Friends, How is everything. Thanks for the email. It definately will be different not being at home with all of you for christmas but it will be fun here in St. George. Everything is going well. My health is doing well except I have been just so exhausted since yesterday. I hope I am not getting the flu. Sister parry had it and gave it to sister cannon and now I feel very achy. NOT GOOD! Well I have come to have such a better understanding and gratefulness for the atonement of our savior. Whenever I feel inadquate or weak he helps me. Also my mission I can truely say has changed my life for the better. I will be half way through here this transfer. It goes by too fast. The Lords prepares us for callings. I see that alot of my mission each transfer. Also I really have come to know through my mission my heavenly father and jesus Christ. Yes dad it is a sacrifice but the best sacrifice this is the least I can do compared to the saviors sacrifice. I challenenge each of you to be more obedient in your lives to keep all the commandments. Also to find people around you who are Non members or less actives and testify of our savior this holiday season. We have 5 people who will be baptized by the end of the transfer. I love my area the stakes and the people I serve with here in St.George. The Miracles that I have seen on my mission confirm to my spirit that heavenly Father and Jesus Christ live and that they hear and answer our prayers and that they are mindful for each one of His children. Please Pray for Kevin Graham and AJ Muelnickel. They need alot of help right now. These are my investigators and satan is really working hard on them. I also can see satan working rreally hard on me right now. I have really just learned to rely on Christ at this time. I talk to heavenly father all day everyday constantly literally from minute to minute. Whether out loud or in my head. It is what keeps me going and keeps me sane. I love him so much. I am so glad for the gift of prayer. I have gained a HUGE testimony of prayer. Thank you so much for the boxes of treats, the $, the gifts, cookies!!!!!I feel so blessed to have a family who is so giving and loving. I really appreciate it. We are planning on making the cookies and giving them out on christmas day and caroling to all of our investigators. I havent opened my gifts yet i want to wait more towards christmas. Isnt that such a neat word CHRISTMAS. IN spanish "mas"means more. And our goal this transfer as missionaries is to have more of Christ in our lives. To testify of him. what a great time to have Christmas or More of Christ in our lives not just now but always. Did you watch the Christmas devotional with the 1st presidency? I loved all the talks but especailly the prophets about have more time for christ in our lives. His invition is for us to come unto him. That is the best invitation any one of us could have. This is going to be a speical and memorable christmas I think. Wow President really said some nice things about my work and I appreicated it. It took me about 6 months to adjust to my mission. Now I love it. This is what he said because I wrote him a letter telling him thanks for talking to my parents he told me boy your parents sure love you!! haha and I told him right back well I sure love them. We both laughed I had a great interview with him the other day.MERRY CHRISTMAS< LOVE SISTER RALEIGH

Skiing Brighton with cousins was so much FUN

Temple Square is so beautiful with millions of lights

Sister Linnae Raleigh Mission Letter

My dear sweet Family and Friends!!! Today is my 8 month mark!!!! It flies by. Thank you for the letters from Thanksgiving that made my day. I cannot even tell you how blessed I have been while being on my mission. This transfer is awesome!!!!!! I am seeing the blessing from being obedient. So many come from being obedient to the rules even if its going to bed or getting up on time. That was a hard thing for me but being a trainer I HAVE TOO!! We have received many new referrals out of nowhere people just call and say oh this person wants to hear the gospel or want to be baptized. Its because of the members here in St George that I am able to have a successful mission. How I love missionary work. How I can look back on the last 8 months of my transfer and see the growth that comes and the blessings and most importantly the MIRACLES I have seen here in St George that only our father in heaven is capable of. They will stick with me forever. I love trainer and I love being in a three some. The unity is amazing. We have 10 people on date for this next transfer from he work that sister moon and I did last transfer. None of this is possible without the help of the Lord. No way!! I love my savior I have seen the power of the atonement in these past couple months and my testimony of the atonement has grown so much. I love being here in St. George for Christmas. It is really crowded on Monday nights for FHE and thanks giving and on the weekends. Hundreds and hundreds of people we are showing Christmas movies now and all the lights are up around the temple it looks beautiful I will send pictures. I don’t think I will be as homesick at all but of course I will miss you all but I will get to talk to you on Christmas. What are you plans? Well we are going caroling at the rest homes in our area and I just found out I am in charge on Christmas eve at the visitor center Well, I’m in charge of all the sisters and we will have about 15 of us on shift. Its going to be crazy but I am so ready I cant wait. We expect hundreds of people I hear its just like a zoo and we play the christus messages over and over again a sister just stands there and hits the button over and over and over and crowds of people come in. I AM SOO EXCITED!! Bring it on St George!! haha Sister Cannon is my new companion she is from Seattle and she is so smart already she has been out for 2 months and Sister Parry my other companion I have come to know her really well since I have been here she is 26 and she is from Monterrey Ca and she is great she goes home in 5 weeks!!! Dad I will read Jeffery R Holland’s talk actually his home ward is in the stake we cover the 5th ward his mom is in the ward and he was at church on sunday sitting by the bishop he is coming back Dec 21 to speak in that ward and we will definately be there. He is a very powerful man. Ill send pictures if he lets me take a picture. Thank you so much for the face lotion. I need it!!!Sister Cannon and parry and I spoke in 3 wards on sunday and it went well. We have some strong member missionaries and great ward mission leaders I have really learned on my mission how to deal and work with WML and bishops relief society pres and so forth. MOst are nice some are pain in the you know what. I just pray for the ones that can drive me nuts some times. We have one who we had released because he never came to the meetings because he was at home playing halo. He is 27 and married! Well I want to challenge all of you to read the book of mormon again this holiday season.I just started a couple days ago. I am in 1 Nephi. I think I will understand it more since I am missionary minded and I have only read it once when i was 19. I am starting at the beginning. The book of mormon is an invitation in partaking of the Lords atonement. The spirit that comes from reading it will bless your life. I have so much to work on and I will have to work on charity and patience for the rest of my life. I have been working on Charity and if you think about it love is like a boomarang, you throw it out there and it always comes back to you. I have seen this lately and I challenge all of you this holiday season to be more charitable but to find people and pray for people that the missionaries can teach. Ya know sometimes in life we just want to give up. Cause its to hard or you just don’t want to live by the rules but there was a great talk by an apostle and he was saying never turn your back on the savior he would never leave you alone. The savior was alone for a time his apostles left him, the people, even his own father. How alone he must have felt. He lives he loves us and the power of the atonement is real. Its there weither we except it or not. At times we feel inadequate in things especially for some with sharing the gospel. I felt like this when I came out on my mission I didnt know alot and I still am learning everyday! Or maybe if we get a new church calling. But think about it.....all we really need is out testimony. Today I woke up to the most beautiful sunrise I have ever seen. The sky was orange,purple, blue, yellow and red and it covered the sky. I love the scripture in mosiah 4:9. I love Our God. I have come to realize on my mission that it is not only about getting people to hear the gospel and hoping they will except it but it is about getting them to the temple that is the ultimate goal. Being sealed as families forever I feel so blessed to be a a visitor center with a temple right there. I have the neatest experience I have to share. Back in July a man who has been a member his entire life came in with his fiance and they were in their 50s probably. He had been divorced a couple times. She is from puerto rico I think and he is white she is NOT a member. So i took them on a tour around the visitor center and then I took them into Gods plan for his families which talks about the plan of salvation. At the very end the spirit prompted me to teach this woman about the restoration of the gospel. The spirit at the moment was one of the times i have felt it the strongest on my mission. Then I gave her a hug her name is GINGER and sent her on her way. She is From big bear California. So its hard because at the visitor center we don’t really see the fruits of our labors because all we can do it stay worthy of the spirit and be ready to bear testimony and send the visitors’ on their way and pray that they will get missionaries. So back in July I met her then never talked to her but prayed for her a couple times. Well the other day like 3 days ago I get a call on my cell phone from GINGER. She called the visitor center and asked for my number. I quote exactly what she said;" Sister Raleigh I have been waiting to get a hold of you....I have to tell you that when I met you at the visitor center and everything you told me I know it was true I have never in my entire life felt what I felt when you were talking about the gospel. I will always remember you because you were the first one who really explained the restoration of the gospel to me. Since then I have been having the missionaries’ over at my home in California and because of the things you said to me that day back in July I am going to be baptized on December 13th!!!!!!!!!" what an amazing time I was able to be apart of when the spirit was able to work through me. It wasn’t me it was the spirit who is the true converter. These are the miracles I see on my mission and I am so grateful to be called to the VC cause i wouldn’t of met Ginger. She plans to be sealed in the temple in one year to her husband and invited our entire family to go.!!!! WE ARE GOING!!!!!!!!! I love the gospel. Think about it this is christs church. The CHURCH OF JESUS CHRIST OF LATTER DAY SAINTS. Christs church wouldn’t be called the Seventh Day Adventist or The Church of MAry or the Catholic Church. IT IS JUST AS it should be the church of Jesus Christ. I feel blessed to be about my fathers business everyday. To put on my name tag everyday. I never want to take it off. Everyday of our lives we are called to bear witness of the savior. I want you all to know that my mission is like a being thrown into a refiners fire a mission brings out all of my weaknesses but that is okay I have alot to work on. As I have been able to refine my life so far being a missionary it is my pray and my hope that when the savior comes again and stands in front of me and looks me in the face that he will be able to see his own reflection. We need to always strive to be more like him. Work on those christlike attributes everyday pray for them fast for them. A couple months back I prayed and fasted for greatest faith and I received it and I prayed to be humbled and I was for sure. How grateful I am to have the knowledge of the gospel and to share it. I want to be on a mission forever. I love you I pray for you especially this holiday season. MY ADVICE DONT GET SICK!!! I love you!! love Sister Linnae Raleigh

Drove up to Hatchers Pass, Absolutely Beautiful!

The beauty of this glacier was spectacular.

Alaska's Beautiful Mountains and Glaciers

Bryce treated us to an incredible flight to view the snow driven mountains and deep crevice glaciers. The flight was incredible and stunning. We all felt very safe and not a bump in the flight.

Elle is on her way to church to be blessed by her daddy along with her grandpas.

Grandpa loving every minute!

Grandma loves to hold

sweet little Elle!

Grandpa and Grandma

so proud to be with Elle!

Bryce the happy father

of beautiful 3 week Elle

Sister Raleigh NOV 4th

How are you? Mom and dad it sounds like you are having a blast in Alaska.I am so happy. Elle sounds like she is a great little baby girl and what a happy time right now. I bet she is so cute! Today is election day Nov 4th 2008 and its my pday as well. I am anxious to see who becomes President. My perdictions are Obama. He doesn’t really have any experience though. I have been praying for our country and also for prop 8 to pass. I hope it does. I am not allowed to go to your blog so please send me pictures. I hope the lord directs you into what you need to do about the house situation I have been praying and fasting for our family. I guess that is all we can do and have faith Heavenly Father will provide. He always does when we are doing what’s right. Well since last thursday I have been feeling alot better back to normal and serving in my area and at the Visitor center. I love the visitor center. The spirit is always so strong there and people just come in there to ponder, receive answers, pray, or read their scriptures. Its neat to see them doing that because its quiet there. My health is 100% better! Thank you for sending my box up here its getting cold up here today it looks like it is going to rain. Halloween was a blast!! I felt better I will send pictures. I am surprised how much fun the Holidays are on my mission. I heard Christmas is so much fun. The are starting to decorate for Christmas at the visitor center in 3 weeks. I saw pictures of last year and it is beautiful. But for Halloween Sister Moon and I went to D.I. and bought 80's outfits for like $5 total. We had a huge party with all the missionaries at the church building across the street from the visitor center we had dinner then took lots of pictures and then had a rely race with all of our districts there were 6 districts with 10 people in each. We were partners with our companions I think that it was the hardest I had ever laughed with sister moon Like there was no air coming out of my mouth cause we were laughing so hard. It was in the basketball court room and like some of the things we had to do were Leap frog over each other to the other side then one companion had to chew gum and blow a bubble as fast as they could and then get a piggy back ride back to the other side. then we had a 3 legged race and Eat a donut on a string and it was the district who did it the fastest won!! guess what!??!?? we didn’t! haha actually we left out one of the things we were suppose to do so we were disqualified!! but it was so much fun anyways. You should have seen sister moon and I trying to do the leap frog. It was so funny and embarrassing. We were horrible at it. ha! Then we had a pie eating contest and then we all watched the Emma Smith movie in the Relief society room. I had so much fun!! Well Sister Moon and I have seen alot of miracles together these past transfers. We have potentially 6 baptisms in the next 3 weeks and last transfer we had 7. I feel very blessed to be apart of these peoples lives. I am so grateful for the atonement of Our Savior and that he is able to help my investigators and the people I love here in Saint George. I am so grateful especially for the atonement in my life. I am so far from perfect and have so much to work on. Read D&c 8. My greatest desire on my mission by the end is to have a greater appreciation, love and knowledge and understanding of the book of mormon. I have such a desire for that. I am really learning to love this book and I am so grateful for it. Everytime I am having a hard time on my mission I just open up my book of mormon and read. It gives me direction and comfort. Ya know we are all in a spiritual battle with satan everyday from when we get up in the morning till we go to bed at night. Each 24 hours we should look at like our mini life everyday. When we are doing righteous things we are happier and the Lord blesses us. Think about the men fighting over in Irag or throughout the ages the wars. These soliders would never go over to battle with out their protection like helmet, sword, gun, breastplate, and they put it on everyday that they are over there!!!!!!!!NEver miss a day without putting on their protection to fight!!!!. Think about this since we are in a spiritual battle everyday with satan never should a day go by that we should miss out on putting our armour on our protection which is reading our scriptures, praying, fasting when needed. Heavenly father will bless us as we show him we are putting him first. 3 nephi 13. We need to feed our spirits. I love the scriptures. Sister Moon and I are extremely busy we have received so many new referrals which is great and are teaching some new investigators with alot of potential.Ya know Heavenly father is so mindful of all of his children and he leads sister moon and I where we need to go at the exact time. I had a neat experience with this yesterday. Well we met with a new girl we are teaching then after we were going to another woman house for an appointment but she called and dropped us. So within an hour we gained a new investitgator but lost another. So it was 5:15 and we were like what are we going to do cause we had dinner planned at 6 with some Less actives we are teaching so we were like lets just go over to their house early and see if they are home. We get there and they are not home so we see this old man who is their neighbor he is smoking he looks hammared and he has a coke in one hand and a cigarette in the other and he didnt look happy or he wasnt very nice either. So We asked him if we could talk to him for a while. This mans name is brent he is 68 years old and is less active he had been married 3 times, he has tried to kill himself 3 times and failed, he was an assasian for the US government and he said it messed him up mentally, he is an alcholic, smoking, and he is addicted to gambling he had just gotten back from Mesquite and lost $300 and now his checks were going to balance. He said Heavenly father has never loved him, he is worth nothing, he’s a bad person, there is no hope, and that were were wasting our time on him. He said there is no hope to change and that he is at a point in his life where he just wants to die and doesn’t even want to move on there is nothing for him. His family doesnt talk to him and he is very stubborn. He probably smoked about 6 cigarettes in the hour we talked to him. He said he came back to church about 20 years ago and was the singles rep but feel into his old habits and never came back. He thinks people in the church dont know anything and he was a murdered because he use to kill people for the CIA. I mean of course that would do something to a person I would think too. He said it has just got to him. I dont even know why our country does that but anyways... It was so amazing the spirit was so strong, we said a prayer and commanded satan to depart from him while we talked to him. We told him there is hope through the atonement and to humble him self as a little child mosiah 3:19 and called him to repentance. SIster moon and I were crying. He had no self worth and thought heavenly father never has loved him and he didnt care about him. Man did satan have a grasp on Brent. We cried together and told him to PRAY in humilty and we are going back Wednesday to meet with him again. He soften up towards the end and said he would try to pray we told him heavenly father wants to hear from him. He has been waiting all this time. I cant wait to go back wednesday and see what happened. That experience was amazing I will never forget it and it was so sad to see someone who didnt have any self worth and though God didnt love him but there is hope and GOd loves him so much. I know we were suppose to meet him that day to help him. I pray that we can save his soul. He is a special person my new speical friend Brent. I love the light that the gospel can bring into people's own lives. We have to have faith hope and charity Moroni 7:41 I love this scripture. Heavenly father needs everyone of his faithful sons and daughters to help his other children. Think of a $20 bill and if it was spit on and crumbled up and had gum and it and was lying on the floor....would it still be worth the same amount??? Well of course just because it has some stuff on it it is still worth $20 and that is like us we are going to have "gum on us and spit on and be crumbled up but we are always still worth the same. Every soul is great in the eyes our our father in Heaven. He heart aches when we ache. The gospel gives us opportunites to grow. I love you all and I hope you are doing those things that help you gain eternal life. There is hope through the atonement. I love my Savior. Talk to you next week!!!!!! Love Sister Raleigh

Linnae's October 21st Letter

My dear family and friends!! First off, I loved seeing those pictures of Elle. She is beautiful. She does have bryce's nose but looks alot like Tara. I can never tell until they actually start to open their eyes. Well, can I just say that I love my mission I probably write that everytime. Of course its hard but the people I meet and the experiences I am having manifest the truthfulness of the gospel to me. I really saw the spirit testify through me at the visitor center this past week. I always seem to meet people from foreign lands who come here and I figure I will probably never seen them again in this life so I am going to bear my testimony boldy and by the power of the spirit so they can, if their hearts are open to the spirit, feel that peace. I gave out a book of mormon in chinese and dutch yesterday. It was awesome. Also sometimes we have men who come in and try to bible bash in the visitor center and this seventh day adventist minister came in yesterday and he was bible bashing and I just let him talk(well he wouldnt let me say anything)he said he read the book of mormon and prayed about it but never got an answer and I wanted to tell him maybe he didnt pray long enough and he should fast about it but that would have been a little mean so i didnt. But I gave him a joseph smith pamplet and then he gave me his pamplets from his church in return and I told him thanks for coming and have a nice life..I mean day.. haha just kidding he was really nice and all people of all faiths are welcome but he came in to try to change my mind and he failed. I still love him though because he is a son of God and I respect that he believes in God and Christ but I just prayed for him. Anyways, My mission is going excellent, my companionship is great, We found a new investigator, we have 3 people on date for this transfer to be baptized. This Friday jesse Brown our ex polyigamy investigator is being baptized so that is exciting. Ill send pictures. I am sending some of my last baptism with Connie barnes too. I love utah. There is alot of work to be done here. I Finally after 6 1/2 months began driving on my mission. I will most likely take over my 2 stakes that I cover when sister moon leaves to go home in 5 weeks. I also became a sister #1 at the visitor center so when I serve there I am incharge of everyone on shift. I have to make sure they are in their correct areas and I have a just keep everyone in check. I am very excited. Its a big responsibility. I am going to get a flu shot this week cause winter is almost here. Halloween we are having a huge party with all the missionaries. Oh yeah dad I was wondering if you could ask Bob Holiday how my stocks are going?? Well I love you all and it sounds like you are doing well. Take care and give everyone and hug for me!!! Sister Raleigh

Baby Elle, our first Granddaughter!!!

We are up visiting Tara, Bryce and Elle Ryann. We have had so much fun playing Grandma and Grandpa, and being at the blessing of Elle. She is a perfect baby and we are so in LOVE!!!