May 26...no time to waste

Every Monday night, for the past few weeks or so, we have been going to the house of this older couple to help them strengthen their testimonies. It has turned in to what we call miracle Monday. We all start off by sharing a miracle that happened that week whether it was big or small. Then we ask what they call a "golden question", basically it is a question that gets them think deep about a gospel principle. For example, how do you know when you are feeling the Holy Ghost, or if you could focus on one Christ like attribute to work on which one would it be. These questions usually turn into sharing experiences and it is so amazing to hear the things they have accomplished in their lives. The sister shared with us something that I am going to hold on to for a long time. She said if youre ever getting a thought to do sometime and you dont know if it is you or the spirit, if it is good, just do it.

Tuesday we had a pretty good time. We were invited to have lunch with this couple since our dinner calendar is already full. They were a super awesome couple, they are really wanting to help out the missionary work in their ward. After lunch we went to the Provo Rehab and Nursing to teach our 94 year old. But I totally spaced that it was Tuesday and that she would be in physical therapy. So we headed out to contact some other people. We got to teach Jessica like we do every Tuesday and there was something about this lesson that was special. Usually she is pretty quiet and reserved but the past few times we have been over there she has opened up a lot more. She now has this glowing countenance that is amazing. She told us earlier that she used to struggle to avoid coffee at work, but she has been working really hard on quitting because she really wants to make it to the temple. She also told us about the reason she came back to the church, it was all because her brother kept loving her. After that we had dinner with a couple that served as mission president and wife in Columbia. And after dinner we got to go teach Malakai, it was his last lesson before his baptism. We were teaching about tithing and we asked him to read the scripture from  Malachi 3:10 and after he finished reading it he said, "and I said that." It was so funny coming from a 9 year old. Later that night we decided to contact one of our less active families we haven't seen for a little while and we actually were able to catch them at home. We then went and contacted a referral that we got from the ward mission leader. On our way home that night we walked past a house and the family was out working in the yard. They were Samoan and were really excited to see sister missionaries. They ran in and got us each a box of cookies and a thing of juice to take home. It felt like such a wonderful day!

Wednesday morning we got to do a service project for the mission. We helped plant bushes and plants at the mission office and put in bark around it. We also got to clean out the rain gutters on the street around the mission office and sweep out the parking lot. It took a good part of our day but it was fun. I am finally starting to have some color to my skin. The weather has been beautiful and I love it. After the service project we had lessons scheduled for the rest of the evening. The first lesson was with this sister who is trying to help her friend learn more about the gospel and so she was to get more active and have a better understanding so she is more helpful. She got really excited when we told her we could Facebook or Skype her friend to get her started with the missionary lessons. Then we got to teach Alan, he is doing so much better, he got a letter that day telling him that now he has been full fellowshipped back into the church he has the full power and duty of a Melchizedek priesthood holder. He also has been reading his scriptures more often and can feel and see the difference in his life. For our lesson with the Petersen's we did something a little different. We decided we wanted to teach about Christ like attributes and so we wrote all of them down from Preach My Gospel on post-it notes and had each of them pick one they wanted to work on. We then talked about each one and read scriptures to go along with it. Something that was quoted was "You are not punished for your sins you are punished by your sin."- Neal A. Maxwell. I really like this quote when it comes to the reason we are obedient. The spirit was so strong in the lesson and it definitely made me want to continue to develop Christ like attributes everyday. When we got home there was a bag of Samoan food sitting at our door. I guess the poly elders were given to much food so they brought some to us.

Thursday was a walking day. We seriously walk all day trying to find people at home and ready to be taught. We had two appointments that both fell through. The first one got stuck in bad traffic on his way home from work and wouldn't make it on time. And the second one was interesting, we were in his house ready to teach but he got a phone call right before we were going to get started and so we had to leave. He helps this boy down the street who is in a wheel chair and he needed help. So we did some more contacting of empty houses. Even our meeting Thursday night was strange. Usually we have at least 2 or 3 ward mission leaders show up. The meeting started at 8:00 and no one was there until 8:20 and he was the only one to show up.

Friday started early because we had a lesson at 10:00 and the DTM at 11:00. The lesson was super interesting. It was with these two Mennonite women, one who was older and one that was a little older than me. The one around my age actually didn't grow up a Mennonite, she was converted when she was in college. They love the Bible. They had a lot of questions about our religion and they always made sure it matched up with the doctrine in the Bible. We got to teach them about the Book of Mormon, and they committed to start reading it so they could find out if it is God's word. They also asked if we had set lessons about the basic doctrine in our church. So we are going to be teaching those, actually we won't be because she doesn't live in our area, but we are going to be handing her off to the other sisters. DTM was fun, we played Preach My Gospel jeopardy. Then we went to Costa Vida as a district and it was so yummy! Friday evening we went and taught a less-active and her girls, and we got to help clean the house. The youngest girl is 3 years old and she had a little boy from her daycare group die this week. What she said was the cutest thing, she said that Tyler is sleeping with Jesus now. I am so grateful for the knowledge we have of the plan of salvation.

Saturday was baptism day! We had a baptism at 11:00 for Malakai, he was so happy and so ready. The talks that were given at his baptism were very spiritual and inspired. After the baptism we went home and ate lunch, then did weekly planning. After weekly planning we tried doing more contacting and we actually went to this one lady's house that we have been trying to contact for awhile and she let us in. We wanted to show her the "Because of Him" video but she didn't want us to. She wanted to know how we knew Jesus, not what we know about him but how we personally know him. She was quite interesting to teach because there was some points where she was trying to convert us to her faith. She is from Africa and she really likes how safe Provo is. After her we had dinner with this couple that has seriously been married for only 2 months, we have been eating with a lot of people like that. After dinner we went down to Springville for one of Sister Lani's investigators baptisms. The was a huge turn out. They had all us missionaries stand up and be recognized and it was super awkward for me since I didn't know her at all. But that is the joy of being a companionship.

Sunday was probably one of the most successful Sunday's we have had in a while. We went to church at 9:00 and one of our less actives was there so we got to sit with her in relief society, and then after she invited us over for lunch. We were able to have a lesson about the importance of centering our homes on Jesus Christ. After her we went and did more contacting, and found a less active at home. We taught her the restoration and she said was an answer to her prayer. She told us that the only things she struggles with in the LDS faith is Joseph Smith's story, so when we got done teaching today she said she really wants to pray about Joseph Smith so that she can have a testimony. After her we had dinner and then a drop by to another less actives home. We had some fellowshippers from the ward come with us and at first we didn't think the family was home, but we knocked again and they answered. We were able to get to know them more and also teach them a short lesson about the Book of Mormon. At the end I felt prompted to ask them if we could go through all the discussions with them and they agreed that it would help them a lot! We then spent the rest of the night contacting more people.

Today we got our transfer list, and here is what is going to happen... I am going to be a sister training leader in North Orem with Sister Coleman, who is from Kennewick! I am going to miss being here in a walking area so much and all the AMAZING people! 

Some things I noticed that I love this week are the following:
- I love the reaction we get when we pull out our iPads to share a spiritual thought. So many return missionaries get jealous.
- I love members that feed us good. I feel pretty lucky to get fed every night and to be honest I haven't eaten anything to weird.
-I love my companion, she is seriously the best. There is not a day that goes by that she
doesn't make me laugh and smile.
- I love that everyday me and my companion coordinate our outfits so we can match.
- I love being honked at, even though it startles me every time. But it is people showing that they love missionaries.
- I love that as a missionary I can go into a strangers house and come out and feel like I just made a best friend.
- I love that we have iPads so that me and my companion can take pictures and videos all the time.
- I LOVE MY MISSION!

may 19...eventful!

Tuesday was full of fun and miracles. We went to the mission office and got to say good bye to Sister Mabey, her and her husband are leaving at the end of this month, and the new mission secretary seems super awesome too. We had some really good lessons. First with Jessica, a less active, she told us she has been going to church and her husband got a calling. They also have been working really close with the bishop to try and go to the temple soon. Then we decided to go and contact a part member family, the mom has been gone for a while but is back and she is actually the one that requested that her and her non-member daughters have the missionaries over. We had been trying contact them for awhile, but on Tuesday we were finally able to, they invited us in and we were able to get to know them and have a lesson. I guess both the girls (who are 18 and 13) had been really close to getting baptized before. As soon as one of them told them missionaries she wasn't quite ready because she still had a lot of questions the missionaries stopped coming. They also have never had girl missionaries and they said that would love to take the lessons from us. After dinner we had a lesson with our 9 year old investigator who is getting baptized be next week and so we set up a baptism interview for Saturday. He is so excited and so ready. After his lesson we went to the stake relief society activity. It was an around the world theme about coming unto Christ no matter where you are from. One of the sisters from the general relief society board was there and she spoke to us, and told some really funny and amazing stories.

Wednesday was a great day. We were able to see our recent convert at the nursing home. She is so fun to go see because she has such a wonderful spirit. Then we went and saw Sonny and Avery. They are always so full of energy. After dinner we were trying to do some contacting in the North Park 3 ward but no one was home. I had a feeling that we needed to visit this one less active the ward mission leader had told me about a while ago. It was definitely a prompting from the holy ghost. She was home and when she opened the door she looked so stressed. We asked her if we could come in and she said she was busy cleaning the house because there was cat hair everywhere. We asked if we could help her. She got all teary eyed and asked if we would really do that for her. She thought we wouldn't talk to her or help her because she is less active and because of her appearance. We were able to go in and help clean for a little while and then we realized that her vacuum was broken and that is why her house has so much cat hair because the past times she has been vacuuming it hasn't been sucking anything up. We then shared a spiritual message with her. She really need us there and God made sure we were there. 

Thursday we had a guy stop us on the street and ask us about the LDS 12 step program. We also almost caused an accident when we were at the temple booth. We were out waving and we had a sign that says I love to see the temple. Some one was waving at us and they didn't notice that the traffic had stopped in front of them so they had to slam on their brakes to avoid anything bad happening. When we work at the temple booth we have a lot of the construction workers walk by and I just felt like we needed to do something for them. So we went to Smith's and bought 4 bags of skittles and 2 bags of pretzels. We then separated them into 90 little bags with a note attached saying how grateful we are that they are helping build up the kingdom of God. After a wonderful dinner with one of my favorite people here in Provo, we were able to teach some one new. His name is JD, he is about 30 and he is less active. The lesson was super awesome. We taught the restoration, which he knew pretty well and then when it got to the part about how he needs to find out for himself by reading the Book of Mormon and praying about it he got interested. I decided to share my story about how I came to know for myself and he asked me lots of questions about it. I can tell he really has the desire to know for himself. 

Friday was such a weird day. We had DTM and it was good. On our way to the temple booth we passed this group of homeless people and one of them asked us if we could come over and pray with the group. To be honest I was so scared to shut my eyes because I didn't know what was going to happen. But I said a prayer and asked Heavenly Father to bless them with the knowledge that they are his children, and that he loves them. As we were at the temple booth we got to hand out a lot of our little bags of goodies. It was so cool to see how happy they were to get some gratitude coming their way.  Also while we were working at the temple booth a guy walked past that was so drunk he couldn't even stand up. He fell over a few times. Me and Sister Lani had a weird feeling so we went inside the temple booth and locked it for a few minutes while he passed by. Towards the end of our turn at the temple booth all the construction workers were getting off work and so we were able to hand out a lot of our little baggies. After dinner we headed to do some contacting with one of the ward mission leaders and everyone we tried contacting wasn't home. So we were walking to the chapel to use the restroom and there was a big group of people across the street. They called us over and told us to join them. So we got to go to a big Poly BBQ. The food was so good! We talked to them a lot about missionary work and we even were able to share a spiritual thought and our phone number just in case they had friends that were ready to hear about the gospel. We had lots of good laughs and some small world moments, their was two of them that had just got home from their mission and they knew my friend from high school. 

Saturday was so hot! Sometimes it feels like we are melting but I much prefer this than the snow so I am not complaining. In the morning we were headed to the chapel for a baptism interview for our investigator and the mail man walked up with a big white envelope and handed it to me. It was what our mission calls "trunky papers". But it is a letter from President McCune that says we have four months left and he wants us to work harder than we have our whole mission. I am so excited to work even harder. The baptism interview went well. The Elder that interviewed him said he knows a lot for only being 9. We are all looking forward to Saturday when he is getting baptized. Then we had temple booth that afternoon and we were planning on going and handing out more of the little bags but then we realized that they don't work on Saturday's. But we had fun standing outside and doing lots of waving. I think my right muscle is getting so strong, actually probably not. After dinner we went to one of our less actives house and she thought she was feeding us and so we got to eat two dinners again, for the second night in a row. 

Sunday was great too. Every day is great when you are serving the Lord. We actually had quite the adventure in the morning. We were planning on going to the 11:00 ward with some of our investigators and I was pretty sure it was at the stake center which is the farthest church from our home. So we left our house quite early so we could be there on time. When we got there we saw the Elder's bikes and so we went in and I guess their Spanish ward meets at 11:00 at the stake center. It was already 10:50 so we borrowed the Elder's bikes in order to get to the right church building by 11:00. After church we went to our investigator's house since they didn't show up to church. They weren't home. So we went and ate lunch and did some other contacting. Then we had a coordination meeting at 4 and then dinner. The people we ate dinner with were so awesome. They had just been reactivated by some elders a little while ago and so the wife had just gone through the temple and they are going to the temple next month to get sealed. After dinner a ward invited us to their "walk and talk",  which is just a bunch of neighbors getting together and talking but there are lots of non-members and less-actives that come. Then we had a lesson at 7 and our less active that we were teaching had some super awesome news for us. He just got re-fellowshipped into the church and was able to take the sacrament for the first time in 20 years! He is doing so great! After the appointment we met up with Vanessa at a church to talk for a little while because her friend died in a car accident that morning and she was really struggling. It was my first time seeing her in about 7 months which was way to long. But she is doing awesome! She is a supervisor at her job and her kids are growing up like crazy! 

I am so grateful for the Lord and allowing me to see so many blessings every day. Transfers are next week and I don't know what is going to happen, but I know the Lord will put me where ever I am needed!:)

May 12...my week

Tuesday we did exchanges with the sister training leaders.  It was so cool how busy we stayed that day. We were able to contact a lot of people and teach a lot of lessons. We also were able to have fellowshippers at every single lesson. I usually really don't like going on exchanges with the sister training leaders but this week it was really fun. We also got to teach a lesson to an active family and it was so amazing how strong the spirit was as we were teaching them. They're really excited to reach out to their friends, family and neighbors and teach them more about the gospel. Our dinner appointment was really interesting, the couple had signed up to feed the missionaries three times and we were the first ones to finally show up. Even though me and Sister Hedley had only been companions for the day we taught really well together.
Wednesday morning we had DTM. Me and Sister Lani got to do the training and teach about the importance of how to begin teaching and do a role play. We had each of the sets of elders teach a sister, it was really cool to see how well they did. In preach my gospel it has certain bullet points we're supposed to use as we teach the first time and each of the missionaries used quite a few. We also finally got to teach one of our investigators has been out of town for three months. She is from Mexico so she doesn't know a lot of English so we are trying to hand her off to the Spanish elders. She is convinced that she knows English really well but she always gives us a blank stare when we teach her about the gospel principles. We also got to teach one of our investigators about eternal families. She loves all the principles that we teach she just doesn't know if Joseph Smith is a prophet or not or if the Book of Mormon is true. She has tried so hard to find out, she prays daily and reads the Book of Mormon all the time, she also goes to church every Sunday. I really hope one day she'll be able to find her answer. This week's dinners were really interesting we were fed a lot of healthy food. Wednesday night we got salad. The weather here in Utah is so bipolar, one minute it is sunny and warm and the next it is windy, cold and rainy. Luckily one of the ladies that we taught that day gave us her umbrella to use in the rain. Because when we left home it was so sunny and warm so I didn't think we would be needing one, but I was wrong.

Thursday was fun. The weather was super bipolar again, and for some reason the work was a bit slower. We were able to teach one lesson to our recent convert and it was her last official lesson with us. We are going to keep stopping by just to make sure she is keeping on the straight and narrow. Both of our appointments that night cancelled and so we were left to contacting. We found a family that was playing football outside and we started talking to them. They told us they moved here from out east and they like it here because of the safety. We asked them if we could share a short message and they said not right now but we were welcome to come back sometime. So we will be following up with them some time this week. As we were walking around finding people, we were walking on the main road and all of a sudden I heard someone yell my first name. It confused me so bad, there was a car that had pulled over and was waving at me. I started walking towards them and they took off. I found out later that it was one of the high councilors from Spanish Fork. I don't know why in the world he called me by my first name. That night we had our regular missionary coordination meeting and only one ward mission leader showed up so it was a really short meeting.

Friday was our Zone Conference and I learned so much. I am seriously so grateful for President and Sister McCune. They have taught me so much and they are amazing! In the middle of the conference we did a split meeting, so the Elders went with Sister McCune and us sisters got to stay with President. He talked a lot about how even if you don't ever get into a leadership position on your mission it doesn't mean you are not a good missionary. I think sister missionaries are really bad when it comes to comparing ourselves to others. This lead in to what Sister McCune taught us all and that was the "4 deadly C's", compete, compare, complain, and critize. But I know all of us missionaries are really good at getting frustrated with our selves when we don't stay away from these things. At the end of Zone Conference we went and talked to President about our living situation and he had the housing couple come take a look. We just don't feel very safe in the area where we live. I am grateful to have an apartment but its been kind of creepy lately. They said we should be okay because if anything does happen the police department is close. But I really think it will be okay. 

Saturday we got to do a service project for a family that is moving. The mom is pregnant and the dad just had knee surgery and they are supposed to be moving by the end of this month. So we got to help do some cleaning and packing. We tackled the walls(scrubbed them with magic erasers) and the kitchen(moved the fridge and stove out and cleaned behind them.) When we got done Sister Lani got to Skype her family, because they are 18 hours ahead of us. It was so cool listening to her speak her language. Saturday night it decided to be winter again. It didn't snow but it was really cold and rainy. I just wish Utah would get the memo that it is supposed to be summer soon.

Sunday was by far the best day! It felt like church was never going to end. I loved the speakers and the lessons but I just couldn't wait to Skype my wonderful family. It was so good seeing everyone and I just can't believe how much everyone has grown. I thought going on a mission would be like going into the Narnia wardrobe where I would come home and nothing would have changed. I guess even though lots of things are changing I am still super happy to be serving. Getting told by Jace that he could drive me home from the airport and be dating... SCARY! And Kade having a beautiful smile and growing like crazy! It was also so good to see Summer, Bradley and Zoey. What a cute family! Also seeing the most supportive parents in the world was wonderful. I can't wait until I can give all of you the biggest hug in the world. 

I am going to keep working my hardest and learning and growing everyday. 

 Love you all!

May 5...enjoying the little things

I have been continuing to look for the miracles in my life everyday and it is making me so much more happy. Even on the days we don't teach anyone and we can't find anyone home I am still completely filled with the joy of knowing that God is in my everyday life. Last P-day was so much fun. We went to "Sacred Gifts" which is the art museum on BYU campus and right now it is an exhibit of all the famous paintings of Christ. We then joined up with our district and went and hiked the "Y". I seriously miss hiking Badger Mountain and all the hikes up in Canada.

Tuesday was so crazy busy. We started with the temple booth and had so much fun waving at lots of people driving by in cars. Then our adventure started. We had 7 scheduled appointments and most of them were in the evening so we had them almost every 30 minutes. Only two of the 7 appointments cancelled which made us happy. We got to teach the less-active couple that referred themselves on Mormon.org. They are so awesome and fun to teach. The wife knows a lot and the husband is excited to learn more so they can someday soon go to the temple. We were teaching the restoration and it was probably one of the best first lessons I have had in a while. It was a missionary dream come true to be busy all day. I wish every day could be like that.

Wednesday was cold and windy. We got to work at the temple booth again and wave. After the temple booth we ran to the post-office and at night we had dinner with a family from Spokane and it was super entertaining. I love when we go to dinner with people and they are super talkative. As we were leaving their house I was walking down the steps to leave and their huge lab came and ran right in between my legs and almost made me fall over. It was so funny. Me and my companion had a good laugh after that one.  We then got to go to the family history center with the Peteresen's. It was so fun and exciting. A lot of it was trying to figure out where all the information went that they put in on Sunday but we eventually got it figured out. 

Thursday we got to make a trip to the dentist in the morning for Sister Lani's root canal. And so the rest of the day was spent letting her recover. We did still have a meeting we had to go to that night but she was feeling good enough to go. She recovered really fast. 

Friday was fun. We had ZTM in the morning and then I  decided to be charitable and buy the whole zone pizza. It was just 5 Buck pizza but it was still yummy. Then me and my companion did a lot of trying to contact with little success. But it's funny because I don't even get discouraged anymore when days like this happen because I know that at least I am trying. We then decided to do some street contacting down university ave and center st it was fun because I guess there was a bunch of different things going on and so there was people every where. We were able to hand out our phone number and we even got some free donuts. 

Saturday was so beautiful outside. We had a lesson set up at 10:30, they weren't home when we went over there and so we decided to go see our 94 year old that lives in the old folks home. She was still sleeping and so we went back a little later and she was still sleeping. We did some contacting and we were able to meet some people that we have been trying to get a hold of for a while. We went to lunch at Roco's and this guy tried paying for us and the lady behind the counter said that's nice of you but we feed them for free. I love Provo! Then we got to go to temple booth again. I love seeing that beautiful temple so often and I love that the progress on it is moving quickly. The rest of Saturday we spent trying to find people at home, and then we went to Gloria's with the district for icecream.

This week was so fun and I learned some really cool stuff from my studies. Alma 26 is amazing because it tells us that there is so much to find joy in. It also teaches us that we should never give up, the Lord is always on our side and is there to help us. In Ether 12 it teaches all about faith, hope and charity. Without those things we can not return to our Heavenly Father. 

I love the Book of Mormon!

Apr 28...the things we do for missionary work

This week was slow at the beginning and then just got faster and faster. Monday-Wednesday we got to stay at home because my companion was sick. She had an infection in her gums that made her lip really swollen. It did not look fun and so I let her sleep a lot. While she was sleeping I read the scriptures and Jesus the Christ and when I needed a break I decided to color. I thought of quotes I like and drew pictures to go along with them. I will send a picture of them. Also this week me and my companion decided to start doing a miracle a night, so we write a miracle or two that happened that day on a post-it note and we hang it on our door. It's been really awesome to see all the miracles that God puts into our life everyday. We also wanted to unify our companionship more and so everyday we decided to coordinate our outfits so we matched. It was so fun and lots of people asked if we meant to do it.

Tuesday we were able to go and teach one lesson. We taught the less-active named Jessica who has a goal of going to the temple with her husband. We taught the gospel of Jesus Christ. As I was talking about repentance I felt prompted to talk about the importance of forgiving our self. She said that was exactly what she needed to hear. Then we went to the dentist right after that because the swelling in my companions lip went all the way up to her eyes. The dentist said he didn't know why it happened but said that she needed to sleep with her head elevated. So we sent a mass text to our district asking for extra pillows. The Zone leaders brought us some pillows and also some ice cream and a chocolate bunny.

Wednesday we went and saw the recent convert who is 94. Teaching her is so much fun. Every time we go there she asks us who we are but she always remembers what we taught the time before. When we teach her we start with a song that relates to what we will talk about and then we teach the principle and close with a prayer. Usually the lesson only lasts 20-30 minutes. After that we went to the chapel to do Facebook and I was able to Skype with Corbin who was struggling with reading his scriptures and wanted some advice. I am so grateful for modern technology that allows me to do that. We also went and taught the Petersens. We talked about tithing and fasting. We also brought up family history and they want to do theirs so they can take the names to the temple. We are taking them to the family history center this week and hopefully we will be able to print off at least 5 names they can take to the temple. That night the sister training leaders called us to see if we needed anything because they were driving through Provo on their way back from Lehi. They were able to pick us up and take us home so we didn't have to walk 30 minutes home.

Thursday night was super busy. We went and taught a 9 year old girl who was baptized last year but doesn't come to church anymore because she has no support from home. She is interesting to teach because she is full of energy and very talkative. Then we went and taught Malachi who is our new investigator. He is 9 and has been wanting to get baptized for a long time but he said they haven't let him because his mom is not active. But he lives with grandma and grandpa who go to church every Sunday, so we are hoping we can get him prepared to be baptized next month. Our dinner couldn't feed us until 6:30 so we did as much teaching as we could before dinner because after dinner we had to go to our stake coordination meeting. Only one out of five ward mission leaders showed up which was kind of disappointing because we are finally getting work in the stake and we have no one to update. After dinner we had the couple that fed us run us home because the pollen in the air was burning my eyes so I went and put my glasses on. Then we head off to coordination

Friday I got to get out of my comfort zone a little but it was so much fun. In DTM we talked about the Holy Ghost and how we can have it more in our lives as missionaries. Our district leader told us we were going to implement it. So we said a prayer as a district and then he gave us 15 minutes to go out where ever we felt prompted to go and do missionary work. Me and my companion head down a street where we saw a lady sitting in the grass with her baby. We talked to her for awhile and she told us she has a friend on Facebook she wants us to start teaching and also her next door neighbor might be less active or a non-member because she has never seen her at church. We then crossed the street and talked to some "Google Fiber" guys. One grew up in Utah and doesn't go to church because he doesn't have a testimony for himself and the other guy was from Georgia and is baptist and he said that he has some questions he would love to ask us sometime. So we gave him our Mormon.org card and Sister Lani shared a scripture with them about Christ. Afterwards we all came back together as a district and shared the wonderful experience we just had. Then us and the other sisters went to Joe's, it is a hamburger place that feeds us for free. It was super yummy and probably not healthy at all. It's a good thing I walk all day. Then after that we went and did our weekly planning and then we were able to teach C***. We taught how our bodies are temples, so we combined the law of chastity with the word of wisdom. It was a quick lesson like usual with her. There was a crazy wind storm that night and it was BYU graduation so our dinner brought us Chick-fil-A. I have never eaten there before, and it was pretty good. We also decided to go meet our neighbors next door who just moved in because they just got married. We also were able to ask them for their wifi password so that we can do all our planning and stuff at home. It will be a lot easier than going to a chapel every day.

Saturday was so crazy. We almost got rained out. We walked through lakes of water to get to appointments and luckily we were able to get a ride to the farthest appointment. We started our day early since we were both healthy and ready to go work hard. We had a referral that we hadn't contacted since February because we were only given her name and what apartment complex she lived in. So since we had learned all about faith and the Holy Ghost on Friday I decided we would go and see if we can find her. I told my companion once we got to the complex that we should pray that we will be able to find her. As soon as we said amen the door on the second floor opened and we talked to the people and they showed us where the referral lived! It was such an amazing testimony to me that God answers prayers. Sometimes faster than we expect. We then went and ate lunch and headed back out. In the morning it was only sprinkling and by the afternoon it was down pouring. I have never seen so much rain, nor have I ever had to walk in that much rain. When my pictures send I will show you what I mean. We did a lot more contacting referrals that afternoon and it was probably the most success I have ever had with contacting referrals given to us. There was a less-active couple that referred themselves online through Mormon.org. They are wanting to get more active so they can go to the temple. We then got a call from the AP's saying that they had a referral of a less-active family who also wanted to get more active so they could one day soon go to the temple. We then went and contacted this less-active guy whose daughter is not a member and she is 18. He said he really wants her to be baptized and so we are going to be teaching them and hopefully the dad will be the one to baptize his daughter. Then we went to dinner and ate with one of the Relief Society Presidents and she was able to give us about 5 names of less-actives we should go contact. After dinner we decided to take a short break from the freezing cold rain and we went to a chapel to do some follow up on Facebook. While we were there my companion and I were looking at a map on the wall and I didn't notice that my companion had leaned her chair forward and I had my hand on the top of my chair and when we were done looking at the map my companion leaned her chair back and my fingers got smashed hard. Almost like getting them smashed in a door. So we ran to a members house to see if she knew what to do. She taped them up and so they will be staying taped for a few more days because they hurt really bad if I try to use them. That night we had a some what less-active that wanted to feed us and so we went and ate a second dinner with her and her girls wanted to color and play a matching game. So we did that and then we taught them a few gospel principles and then headed home. We got a call from our district leader asking us if we were planning on going to Gloria's for free ice cream, and who can pass up free ice cream! NOT ME:)

Sunday morning we had to wake up super early because we were invited to a ward council at 7:00 and it takes almost 20 minutes just to walk there. That was super crazy! Then we went to the Pioneer 4th ward and we were able to teach Young Women's. The young women's had a visitor, it was a sister from the General YW board. We got to talk about missionary work. Big surprise, but it was cool because one of the girls there was not a member and there was one who was a convert. Sunday evening we didn't have a whole lot of success finding people at home. But I guess we have a busy week coming up so its all good.

There are miracles in our every day life. We need to look for them and thank our Heavenly Father for all that he does for us and all he has given us. So be sure to look out for yours this week.

Apr 21...13 months

So this week was transfers and Sister Wang was transferred to American Fork and so for PDay we went bowling at BYU then for dinner some awesome members took us out for Chinese food. And then the rest of the night and all of Tuesday was spent saying good byes and packing.
Wednesday morning we went to the transfer chapel and I got my new companion. Her name is Sister Lani, she is from Vanuatu, which is a small country near the islands of Fiji. She is the oldest of 6 kids and their family is the only members in their whole village, minus her dad who is not a member yet. She is so tall, about 5 foot 11 inches. I finally have a companion who is taller than me! She is awesome and full of energy and she speaks 6 languages. I can tell this transfer is going to be wonderful because of her and also my district is amazing! We had a member come pick us up for transfers and she came out of her car to help us load stuff and her car got locked behind her with the keys in the ignition and her phone was in their too. So she tried calling her husband but he works night shifts so he was sleeping so we called her neighbor to go wake up her husband and her boys were getting out of school and needed picked up but we were stuck for about 30 minutes. Then we finally were able to get in because her husband came and we went and picked up her boys.  We had a little while for Sister Lani to start unpacking and we also went and got her some grocery's.
Then we decided to get to work and we went and contacted one of the media referrals that we got a few weeks ago. It was in this building that you had to call up to the person for them to let you in. So they let us up and then we got to the door and they only spoke Spanish. Sometimes I wish I even knew a little Spanish so I could understand what they are saying to me. Then we went and taught one of our investigators about the law of tithing. She is struggling to know whether or not Joseph Smith was a prophet or not. Then we went and read the Book of Mormon stories with our recent converts. For our lesson with the Petersens that night we were talking about the law of chastity and we decided to use For The Strength of Youth. I am so grateful that we have a book full of the standards we should be living in life.
Thursday was super crazy. For some reason a lot of our appointments were not put in the calendar from last week and so we were running around crazy because I would all of a sudden remember an appointment we had, so we would have to hurry to get there. Since Sunday was Easter we went around to less-actives and showed them the new "Because of Him" video. I think it was a good reminder to them that He has done everything for us, so we need to show Him that we love him by doing the best we can. We also got a new investigator, he is 9 and his grandparents take him to church every week. He said he has been trying to be baptized for awhile but since his mom is not active they haven't been letting him. So we are teaching him the lessons and I hope we can get his mom to join us so she can become active again. But I think he has really great support from his grandparents. The missionary coordination meeting that night was pretty sad. Only two of the five ward mission leaders showed up. So I guess it was nice that it ended up being pretty short.
Friday was a great day. Our district training meeting was fun, we did introductions since there is one new person per companionship. We also talked about how to recognize and follow the spirit. Then after DTM we went and had a district lunch at Sammy's. They have amazing burgers and shakes and the great thing is that it is half off for missionaries. My district has decided they are going to try and teach me Spanish since me and Sister Lani are the only ones who are English speaking missionaries. I am excited to learn!  Usually every Friday we do our weekly planning but we had no time. We had temple booth at 2:00 and then a lesson at 3:30, which she was a no show. Then Sister Lani wanted a blessing so the Elders came to the chapel. Dinner was an interesting story. I had called them earlier to remind them and the voice mail said to text because it was faster, so I did and never got a response. So we went to their house and we rang the door bell a few times and knocked and no one answered. After waiting for almost ten minutes and then we decided to call some one else and see if they could feed us. We ended up calling the Petersen's because they said to call if anyone ever cancels. They couldn't feed us until 6:30 so we decided to go and see how Sunny and Avery (our recent converts) were doing with reading the Book of Mormon. They hadn't been reading so we read with them again. Dinner with the Petersen's so so good! Brother Petersen is a cook for a restaurant or something and so the food he makes is amazing!
 Saturday went by so fast. In the morning we had temple booth and then we had to do weekly planning since we didn't do it on Friday. Then we had dinner at 3:45 instead of 5 because we all had stake conference at 6:00 and wanted good seats. There was some families in the ward that were having an Easter BBQ and so we joined them. The new bishop of the ward was there and it is so cool, he is the guy on the cover of the February ensign of this year. And now he is one of the bishops I get to work with. We got to stake conference early and the youth choir was practicing and it was a small group and they asked us and he elders to join them. I am so grateful that the stakes around here are focusing their Saturday session on hastening the work. The stake presidency gave some really good advice to the members.
Sunday was an interesting day. My companion's four front teeth had been hurting since Wednesday and when she woke up her whole upper lip was swollen. So I told her to take some medicine, drink lots of fluids and go try and sleep more. I called Sister McCune to ask what I should do, and also the mission nurse. The nurse came over and brought some antibiotics. The members were so nice to us. We had two dinners delivered to us and also the sister training leaders and zone leaders came over so she could get another blessing. All day we watched church movies. Like Joseph Smith and the Restoration, Legacy, Mountain of The Lord, and so on. I guess you could say it was a relaxing way to spend Easter! And it was my 13 month mark! I can't believe I am at that point. Everyone keeps telling me that my flight plans are going to be coming this transfer which scares me now. If you would have asked a few months ago if I was excited to go home I would have said yes. But I am at the point now where it is bitter sweet. I really love serving a mission but holy cow I miss my family! I guess I will just keep working hard.
This week was so wonderful being able to tell people about the true reason we celebrate
Easter. It's not for the eggs and candy, it is because of Him. Jesus Christ's atonement makes so many wonderful things possible. It makes it so that when we die, we will see our families again. It makes it so that we can have chances over and over again to become better. I know that the atonement is so real and it is important to use it every day in our lives. I am grateful for everything that Christ has done for me and because of Him I am serving a wonderful full time mission for His church.

Apr 14...Sunshine in my soul

The weather this week was wonderful, so wonderful that on Wednesday I got a nice sunburn. It was Spring Break here this week and so a lot of people were out of town and those who were home were at the park or playing outside. This made contacting and having lessons this week a little harder. But we got to walk around and enjoy the weather while talking to people on the streets.
Tuesday we were surprised by the other Sisters in our district with lunch. It was so delicious and one of the sisters gave me advice on how to relieve stress. It was amazing because she pointed out that our stress all starts with our thoughts and turns into feelings and then to actions. Then we had appointments for the rest of the night. We ate dinner at one of the Relief Society's houses and her family reminds me of our family, especially the food. Mom I miss your cooking! The weather Tuesday night was so great that I didn't even need a jacket or anything! I am so excited for the summer.
Wednesday was a different kind of fun. We didn't have any appointments until later that night and so we decided to try and find new investigators. I think the temperature was 75 all day! We got a list of unbaptized kids over the age of 8 from a primary president so we went and knocked on all their doors. Our result... No one was home! But because of that we were walking around that day for about 4 hours and I got sunburnt. Why do I have to be so white? After dinner we got to help fill Easter eggs for the stake activity that was this weekend. That night our lessons went really well. We taught the Petersen's who are a recent convert family and we love them and they love us so much that we loose track of time really easily when teaching them. But they have progressed so fast in the short time they have been baptized.
Thursday we did more knocking on doors out in the beautiful sun. And we had no success once again. That night we were able to teach a good lesson about the word of wisdom and then go to a coordination meeting.

Friday we had a lot of lessons planned and they ALL cancelled! how does that happen!

Saturday we got to go help out with a stake's 5K and Easter Egg hunt and then we got to go to the family history center and learn about how to help our investigators with family history work. Then we went with the other sisters and did yard work for a lady with cancer. So our day was full of service which is fun!

Sunday was sooo cold again. We spent a lot of our day in the chapel for meetings. And we also had a lesson with one of our wonderful investigators.

This week was pretty simple and some what uneventful besides the wonderful sun!:)

Love, Sister Harrison