Revenge Week

Hey everyone! How's life??? This week was good! It was known as "revenge week" because our zone had a huge bounce back after a rough finding week last week. Our zone found like 20 people in the past week! We found a guy named Al, and get this, he was a COLD CALL REFERRAL. In other words, we called a random number, and they weren't interested, but gave us the number of someone who was! That doesn't just happen! This is the Lord's work folks! They didn't even have his name right haha but he's cool! He sometimes brings up marriage though and some of the things he says are slightly on the creepy side so we might pass him off to the Elders haha. But that's cool!

Our friend Edward came to church yesterday, and of course one of the hymns was "If You Could Hie to Kolob," haha hopefully he didn't think too much about it. We also had exchanges on Thursday, I went to Superior with Sister Pearl! We got to teach a bunch of people; it was really good! That whole day was a big success day for all the companionships which was awesome. We tried street contacting for the first time at a college, but nobody was there (we found out later it was spring break for them) but we'll get there! We were also able to have a bunch of member meals this week which was good. 

For those of you who are familiar with my fish of 1 1/2 years, Desmond, I am sorry to say that it was his time to go. My family had a funeral for him, which I appreciate. Here's a little tribute to Desmond!

-Favorite song: Little Saint Nick by the Beach boys, and another by 1D that I can't remember.

-Favorite activities: Watching me do homework, hiding behind his tree

-Favorite food: The tan pieces in his fish food, I always assumed it was krill but I have no idea what it is

-Least favorite activity: Bath time

I love you and will miss you Desmond! You will be in our memories forever! 

Spiritual thought for the week: When Joseph Smith had the first vision, he was "called by name." He also experienced this when Moroni appeared to him. What is the significance of being called by name? When we receive priesthood blessings, when we are set apart, and when we are given a responsibility by the Lord we are always "called by name." I am a big believer that names have power. They add emphasis and personal meaning to any sentence, and they have the power to make any compliment, insult, or phrase strike us to the core. So, let me ask again, what is the significance of God always calling us by name? That He knows us personally and loves us? That he individually chooses us, by name, for our responsibilities? I would like to invite you all to think about your names, and the fact that God knows them and knows you! He knows what He is doing when he calls you by name for a responsibility or even just for communication. Trust Him. 

 Anyway, sorry this was so long, I love you all and hope you have the best week!  

This is an adorable little doll that some people in my ward had made for me! Thanks so much I love it! 

I'm Free!!

Hello everyone! This week was good! A little rough in the finding department, and we had to drop some people which was sad, but we were able to have lessons with some people that we haven't been able to get teach in a while which was nice! It was good to see where they are all at. Wade, one of our friends who they have been teaching on and off for about five years, is preparing for baptism and we got to meet with him and discuss some things holding him back which was good. We're excited for him. Lots of good lessons this week :) some big changes were that we don't have to wear masks everywhere now! If it's required or recommended, we still have to, and if other people are too out of respect for them. But any other time we don't have to! And we can eat in member homes now! And we can street contact now! Except everyone in the mission now has only been here during covid and nobody knows what they're doing! It's gonna be an adventure but I'm so excited!

Today we were able to go to an overlook over the city and do personal study there which was super pretty! In honor of pie day, we also made a pie. On Saturday we were asked to fill the font for a baptism, and we stayed for the baptism which was fun! Saturday night we had a lesson with the Alexander family, which was good, and then it seemed the topics we taught were totally emphasized in church the next day which is so cool. Our friend Edward said he would come to church tomorrow, but he didn't again :( but we're going to try to arrange a ride for him next week! Other exciting events, sometimes (after 9 of course) my companion and I will have a "movie night" and watch some church videos. The most recent one was "The phone call" which is super funny and old and is on gospel library for some reason :) it's an adventure. I don't really know what else happened this week.

Spiritual thought for the week: The whole point of this gospel is to become. Become like the Savior, through the Savior. Humility and hope lead to growth. When you are humble, you don't need to be uncomfortable because you know that you are submitting to the Lord's will, and through Him we prevail. Hope is to know and trust that God can comprehend all things, and He does all things for the benefit of His children. When we are humble and depend on the Lord for strength, and hope that He will give us that strength and that He will follow through with His promises even if we are in a difficult situation, we grow. Heavenly Father wants us to see our progression! I would like you all to write every night for this next week how you have grown that day. I know that God wants us to see our progress and will help us become more and more like Him as we make an effort to grow! Anyway, I love you all and hope you have a fantastic week :)

沒有 Miles

Hello everyone! This was a good week, we had transfers which made everything exciting! My companion and I are both staying here in Duluth which I'm happy about :) Let me just say having a car is such a blessing. Appreciate your cars everyone. :) We had a little adventure when we went to Silver Bay (which is already about an hour away, our area is huge) to bring cookies to a member, except her address took us to the middle of nowhere. But we knew she lived on that street, so we just kept driving! And kept driving. And kept driving. Turns out she lives DEEP in the middle of nowhere, but we eventually found her house (and then she wasn't home) and dropped off the cookies! It was super pretty though, and on the way back I stuck my head out the window and the freezing cold wind was so fun. No regrets.

On the way back we stopped at another house, and then the Bishop's wife messaged us and said to visit her too! It was a fun day :) although our miles for the month took a solid hit. I honestly don't really know what else happened this week... Edward said he would come to church and then he didn't, which was sad, but he said he would come next week for sure! He has been reading the Book of Mormon though and he said he really felt that God was at our last lesson which is great! My companion and I made apple pie with Ritz crackers instead of apples! I had it at a science camp in like 8th grade and mentioned it and we made it on a whim! It tastes exactly like apple pie, it's pretty wacky. We had a lesson with the Alexander family in person for the first time which was good! I honestly don't know what else happened this week, but it was good! :)

Spiritual thought for the week: One thing that never ceases to amaze me is how simple God's plan is, and how completely based off of love it is. God, in His loving selflessness, has no ulterior motives. He has no underlying tricks or loopholes. He is not "a ref waiting for any excuse to throw us out of the game." He is a Father who sent His son to die so that we can become like Him! All that He does for us is out of pure love and nothing else!  I would like to invite you all to read 2 Nephi 26:24 and think about the things in your own life, and how they are all ultimately for our benefit, whether or not it feels like it right now. Look through the lessons of the gospel and God's plan for us and pay attention to how His love is the motivator for all He does. It's incredible.

The Parable of the Washers and Dryers

Hello everyone! This has been a good week! We had a snowstorm and had to have gotten like three feet or something. It was all stacked against our window and looked really cool. We had my first church tour on Saturday, but Edward, the guy who we were giving it to, is quite the talker. Let's just say it took 2 hours and I think you get the idea :/ there was absolutely no way to get words in but next time we'll just give a very specific time limit! He told us he wants to come to church which is awesome! 

Oh oh! Guess who finally got their car! Yesterday we took a road trip to Silver Bay which is about an hour and a half away to visit a lady who we've heard is incredible and so so ready, but we haven't been able to get in contact with. We went and brought cookies, only to find out she had moved, which is kind of a rip. It's all good though! She'll find the gospel when she finds it. We were out there visiting some people when we found out one of our sisters who was supposed to leave Tuesday was actually leaving Monday! So, we zipped it back to spend a little time with them before they left.

The last few days haven't really gone according to plan at all but it's an adventure! As for the email title, last week we were doing laundry at the apartment and the laundry machines were being lame and not working! My trainer suggested we say a prayer, so we did. No sooner after we opened our eyes, the laundry machines worked! It testified further to me that the Lord cares about the little details of our lives! Fast forward to today, the laundry machines again refused to cooperate. We prayed that according to His will, and according to our faith, they would work! They didn't work. We went to a laundromat. 

This experience showed me that God cares about the little details of our lives, but He also wants us to have faith whether or not our will is the result. Always an important lesson to learn in life! Transfers are this week; I can't believe I've already been out for a transfer! There's a good chance I'll be staying here, which would be nice, but don't want to speak too soon! We cold called into someone last week who said she was putting her kids to bed and said 9 was a good time for her. A few days later we called her at 9 and yeah, she definitely meant 9 am. It was super awkward haha but we were able to teach her later and she is super awesome! Hopefully it goes somewhere :) 

Spiritual thought for the week: Lately I've been thinking a lot about the divinity of my calling as a missionary. Take advantage of the position you are in; we are so incredibly blessed to have the knowledge we have. We were all prepared to come to this earth in the premortal life. Sometimes I wonder what it would've been like if I had grown up in another country, in poverty, as an orphan. How far would that preparation take me? God has given you these situations for a reason. I have grown up in the gospel and had these blessings for a reason, for this privilege of being a deliverer of the knowledge that changes lives. 

Lately, being here, I wonder if the gospel is something I would recognize had I grown up differently. Every soul is precious unto God. He placed you in this position and gave you this information for a reason. What does He want you to do with it? Sorry if that doesn't make sense, it made sense in my head :) Love you all! Email me back! 

Snow on Snow on Snow

你好! This week was good, lots of ups and downs! I officially had my one-month-in-the-field-iversary on Saturday which is awesome! And I have less than 15 months left which is so wild. Anyway, we were able to find a new guy named John! He's so awesome, and we haven't found anyone in a long time, so it was really great! He was a gray dot, (someone who missionaries had contacted before, but he hadn't been taught) and we were texting everyone in the world happy Valentine’s Day, and he responded saying that he would call us the next day (Which he actually didn't but we got ahold of him later)! So that was exciting! He's so awesome! They restarted the second meeting of church in person which was awesome.

Everything on a mission is so crazy and changes so fast! For those of you keeping tabs on the car situation...still don't have one. The transfer ends literally like next week haha but it's been good! The other sisters took us out one of the days which was nice! I'm trying to think what else happened...I discovered that I know like absolutely nothing about the Old Testament, have been running through all the kid versions of the stories on gospel library :) We had to drop some people this week because we couldn't stay in contact with them, so that was sad. We were also page reps for the Minnesota 2 Facebook page, but they are actually merging all of the pages, so we won't be page reps anymore. It was fun while it lasted though! I know other things happened this week, but I honestly don't remember anything, so this is what you get! 

Spiritual thought for the week: Lately I have been reading a lot in the Book of Ether. Ether is so sad, because the Jaredite civilization is constantly at war and experiencing destruction, always because they forget the Lord their God. I always think about how this could be avoided, and honestly the answer to getting out of the pride cycle is simply gratitude! Gratitude, daily repentance, and just taking a little time every day to remember Heavenly Father and what He has done for you. Take time to be still and remember Him. If you do that, with intent, every single day, you will never be in a position to ever forget the Lord. We have control over where we are going and what we are doing. But yeah, I hope you all have a great week! I'd love to hear from you! 

Three Fortunes, I'm Not Gonna Die!

Hello everyone! This was a good week! Last Monday we got with our district, and we were able to make cookies for zone conference the next day! Zone conference was awesome, the first training was totally about marriage which I thought was hilarious, but all the trainings were super hype. And we ate panda and I had THREE fortunes in my fortune cookie! Probably to make up for all the times in my life I haven't gotten a fortune haha.

We also had exchanges on Thursday which was good! I was with Sister Pearl, one of our STLs. It was good, and I learned a lot from her! This area is kind of rough when it comes to finding, but we might have found two people while cold calling! Unfortunately, one lives in California, but we will still teach her to gauge her interest before sending her info to the missionaries there. We taught the Restoration to another one, but I think she thought we were missionaries from her church so hopefully she is still interested! We have some other people we're teaching but getting in contact with them has been a little rough.

We still don't have a car yet :/ but it's been an adventure! It was supposed to be done last week but it should hopefully be done today or tomorrow! We had a guy who called us and started talking about Japanese culture and the Passover and asked us to see a movie with him? Apparently, the last sisters here had found him and sent him to the elders, and here he is finding us again :) it was super funny. Anyway, this week has gone by super fast but it's been great! 

Spiritual thought for the week: At zone conference something that really stood out to me was noticing where your thoughts come from. God tells you to be more. And He tells you that you can do it. Satan tells you that you will never get there. Source is everything, recognize who you are talking to! You can choose if becoming "more" is a positive or negative thing. We can always be a little more than where we are at now. But don't let Satan get a hold of that knowledge and motivation and turn it into feeling overwhelmed and not enough. If you can't complete the whole task, at least do a little. Giving one percent is better than zero, and success is built on little wins! Trust that when the Lord asks you to be "more," He knows you can do it. Anyway, I love you all, happy Valentine’s Day! I'd love to hear from you! 

I'm In Facebook Jail

Hello everyone! Hope you all had a fantastic week :) this week has been fun! We got a ton of snow which was super pretty! We've started doing a lot of cold calling, which is calling random numbers. It's super fun, it can be so awkward, but I love it. For some reason we kept accidentally calling kids. And then apparently, they told all their friends, and we got many prank calls the next day? It was hilarious; they must've been really bored to prank call the missionaries. A cute family gave us a gigantic cake. It was really good.

We still don't have a car yet, so we're usually stuck in our apartment but it's fun! The car should hopefully be here by the end of the week :) as the email title states, I friend requested too many people and Facebook blocked me from like... everything? Hopefully it goes away soon promise I'm not a robot :) anyway most of this week involved finding and teaching a few lessons! We have one lady named Dawn who we were able to teach about temples and that was good! We have some other people that we are teaching too but getting ahold of them is always an adventure :) it's fun though! Life is good! Oh, also we got to make fortune cookies for Chinese New Year in one of my group tutoring sessions! Mine were burnt but they were good!

Spiritual thought for the week:

The Atonement of Jesus Christ is always accessible. It's not pending. Christ already did it, He already suffered! Part of having faith in Him is having faith that after we sincerely repent, we are forgiven. He doesn't want us to beat ourselves up for something He has forgiven us for. That's unnecessary misery, and not how His Atonement works. We may not be perfect, but since He already did it, we can always have access to His enabling power. It's not pending. He did it for us, so accept His gift.

Anyway, I love you all! Please email me back :)