Last Pictures on the Square!

December 16, 2011

Hello Family!

This is so sad! I can't believe this is my last letter home! I just got here, didn't I? As for my last week on the mission it was awesome. It started off with Luna's baptism! I am so happy for her. Arriving at the baptism I gave her a big hug and said, "You look so good in white!" Then it reminded me of that line from The Best Two Years and I felt dumb... especially when everyone laughed at me... awkward. Anyway, not important, the Spirit is. But she was so happy and she practically jumped in the water; after they baptized her she came up screaming. At first we were like, "Wow, she must be excited!" But after she told us the water was cold, ha ha. The brownies served after the baptism were fantastic! Big and still warm.... ok, just kidding Mom. Lubna looked so happy and as if she had just had a huge weight lifted off her shoulders. That is what the Gospel can do for us, if we let it change us everyday.

We had great miracles on the Square this week too. With the Christmas lights it brings in so many members but for some reason we were finding all the non-members on the Square. We contacted these two kids by the eternal family painting from Southern California. They told us that they were atheist and agnostic and had a hard time believing on something just because everyone else said it was true. Because they were science majors I showed them Alma 32:27 about experimenting on the word. They liked that part. We followed up with Moroni 10:4-5, then invited and they both referred! The only thing they knew about the Church was from South Park and that everyone else will go to Hell because the Mormon Church is the 'correct church'. Good thing South Park got it right!

We also met a man from Algeria. He spoke French better than English so Sister Tahi took over on that one. Within 5 minutes of explaining what the Book of Mormon is and how we are the original Christian church he also referred. We were so excited (I was more excited that Sister Tahi did it herself without my help!) and then realized that 1) he is Muslim; 2) he lives in a Muslim country and 3) The Church isn't in Algeria. So sad!!! Kinda a bummer but he felt the Spirit and he knows about mormon.org. It is all we can do now. Stupid Satan!

Other than that snippet of miracles this week I had all my departing stuff. First I had my interview with President Holmes where he read of list of things to do to stay active. I guess it is a big problem. He also gave me a new temple recommend that only lasts 3 months to force contact with my Bishop. Second we had our temple trip today. It was full of reflection of my mission and the realization that this is now a springboard for the rest of my life. I am so happy that I made the decision to go and the impact it has and will make on my life. I never want to leave but I know that my time is up. I want to close this last letter with a scripture that inspired it all and has defined my entire mission:

"Yea and from that time until now, I have labored without ceasing that I might bring souls unto repentance; that I might bring them to taste of the exceeding joy which I did taste; that they might also be born of God, and be filled with the Holy Ghost." Alma 36:24

I know this Church is true. I know that Jesus is the Christ and that He suffered for us, so that we might know the joy of our redemption and the lasting peace of eternal life. I know that His Church is restored on the earth again. And nothing is more important than this Gospel. May we recommit ourselves everyday to “waste and wear out our lives in bringing to light all the hidden things [from] darkness.“ I love you all so much. Thank you for being great examples to me. See you next week!

December 9, 2011

Hi Family!

What a good week! It was even busier on the Square and thankfully my body seems to have adjusted to working our schedule until 10 p.m. -blessings from heaven, seriously. But we were spoiled this week by being able to attend the Christmas Devotional on Sunday. We were seated right where all the apostles walk by to take their seats. All the international Sisters were trying to shake their hands. If that were me the Brethren would have taken one look at my American flag and ignored me. Why can't I get away with that like they can?! It's because I look American, isn't it? That's it! Next time I am looking Asian; I think that could work. But it was great to listen to the First Presidency speak about the importance of Christmas. I really like this whole missionary thing, not feeling guilty for being overly concerned with the materialistic side of Christmas because my focus is on the correct reason for the season. Gotta love it.

We talked to some amazing people this week on the Square. One was a man from the Democratic Republic of the Congo. He joined the Church 20 years ago and was one of the first ordained priesthood holders there. He has moved to India and is helping to build the church there too! Something about Africa but it has followed me my whole mission. As we talked to him I thought about all our investigators in Liberia who have no access to the Church. My heart aches so badly as I think about how they have no way to get to Church and no missionaries, except us calling them. BUT a miracle happened this week, by which we received contact information to a member in Liberia who is a ward mission leader. He said that he would tell the mission of Bong Range (that is the city we are teaching) and see what they could do!!!!!!! AHHHHHHH! It isn't much but it is a step in the right direction. We couldn't have been happier.

As for Sister Tahi and I, we made yet another trip to the doctor, not for me this time but for her. She has this weird allergy to the cold and her skin gets huge itchy bumps when we are outside for too long. Long story short the doctor wrote her a prescription to "Stay inside." Wow, I could have written that one. Hey that just means we cannot be given assignments to be outdoors for too long!

Tomorrow one of my old investigators is getting baptized! She lives in Salt Lake so guess who gets to go! I can't think of a better way to end my mission than with a baptism. Lubna is amazing. We met her at Welfare Square and she is just so ready to make these steps in her life. She needs the peace that comes from the gospel and she needs the direction. I am so proud of her. She has had a really hard life. But to make this decision when your whole family is Muslim takes courage. Well, off to this next week. Gotta make every moment count!

December 2, 2011

Hey Hey Hey!

Hark how the lights, cold, frigid nights, all seem to say Christmas is here, thousands and thousands of people coming, thousands and thousands of people coming! yadda yadda yadda you get it. But oh my gosh my poor, tired, 80-year-old missionary body is about to die from exhaustion. We are so wonderfully busy! We are out till 10 p.m. every night and who knew that that precious time from 9-10 helped us rest for the next day. So, needless to say, everyone here is tired yet happy for the season. It is like conference, except every night. We used to have set assignments out at the reflection pool for a few hours, then contacting outside for a few hours but Sister Tahi thankfully has an allergy to the cold. Don't believe it? Neither did I until we were outside for 40 minutes and HUGE itchy bumps exploded all over her face. Needless to say we spent an hour downstairs waiting for them to go away. I have never been so grateful for an allergy in my life. So we have many indoor assignments. The Square looks beautiful and it is only going to get even busier as it gets closer to Christmas. Bring it on.

Other than nighttime we have had some really good success this week with our investigators. One of them, Vincent from Ghana, got baptized last week! We taught him a while ago but found out he was Muslim so we couldn't call him. I felt like we needed to just call and see how he was doing and he told us he got baptized! He was the guy who found a Book of Mormon on the ground and, after reading and praying, knew it was true and searched for the Church. He was so happy and we were internally screaming. Now to get all the rest of our people to the missionaries!

So I have a story that proves that 1) prayer works and 2) miracles still happen. So Sister Tahi and I were making our lunch in the kitchen on Temple Square and I sliced my thumb on the can. Right when it happened I knew that I needed stitches but I was just hoping that maybe if I applied pressure and elevated my hand all would be well. But two huge bloody napkins and a half hour later I decided maybe I should at least go find a band-aid. I spoke to Sister Holmes who took one look at my finger with the subcutaneous fat visible and told me to go to Instacare immediately. Fine. So we went and waited for about an hour to see someone. Good thing it was just my thumb, I would have died otherwise. But I saw the nurse and she took one look at my thumb (still bleeding by the way) and said, "Oh yeah, you need stitches" She got everything all prepared and left to get the doctor. Now earlier I prayed and asked for my thumb to be healed then felt silly for even asking for that. But when the doctor walked in 20 minutes later (again I would have died if it was anything else more serious than my thumb) and looking at it said, "Wow, you don't need stitches at all!" I looked at my thumb and the wound had closed up completely and stopped bleeding. Yay! All the doctors and I were friends by the time we left, probably since I made a huge deal out of the whole thing in the office.

That was my week - more spiritual stories next week I promise.

November 25, 2011

Hi Family!

Happy Thanksgiving... yesterday! We had a blast here in Salt Lake City- the Square closed early so we all went over to Noahs, a party/reception center for big parties. We went to the same place last year and I was happy to be back. As soon as we arrived I, of course, ate some snacks then headed over to dominate on the volleyball court. It was Polynesians versus the French speakers + me. Because we didn't keep score I’m not sure who won but I will just admit it was probably the Polynesian Sisters. You don't mess with them; they were screaming battle cries the entire time. After I was on stage helping direct the mission for line dances (thank you stake dances). Finally we were able to eat catered Thanksgiving food, nothing like Mom's but that is ok. Last year I thought it was terrible but this year I thought it was wonderful. Same food, maybe I am just more grateful for what I can get. Look! Progression!

The anticipation for the Christmas lights to come on has been building all week. Tonight is the night they turn on so from here on out p-days start at 10 a.m. and end at 5 p.m. Not a fan of morning p-days but eh what do you do? We are given assignments every hour just to make sure that every area is covered. Unfortunately we are stationed at the reflection pool for a couple hours at a time - I might not live to see Christmas. If I don't make it, just look for me, a frozen Popsicle by the pool, and take me home.

We had a busy week but there is one story I will share with you all. On Sunday Sister Tahi was announcing for French tours after Music & the Spoken Word. I was praying for a French tour since we haven't had one yet, but nobody came up for one except a man who was telling her all about his going to France. In my mind I thought, "Heavenly Father this ISN'T what I prayed for." He was here for the Physics Conference and at first I didn't want to take him around but then decided to offer. Turns out he was golden! It was so neat to ask him questions then sit back and let the Spirit do its job. We were in the NVC basement talking about prophets and how it just makes sense that there would be prophets in the Americas. Then he looked at me and asks, "So in your beliefs or does it say somewhere in the Book of Mormon that God would call a prophet today? Like, why would we need one?" I pondered for a moment then asked him, "So do you believe that Adam was a prophet?" "Yes." "Do you believe that God revealed to him what we need to do to live with God?" "Yes... Oh! I see where you are going with this! So if we only needed one prophet then there would be no reason for Moses!" And just to add the frosting to the cake I showed him Mormon 9:9 that God is the same yesterday today and forever. Bam. He was so excited. But like Preach My Gospel says most concerns are like icebergs where only the tip is visible. Yeah only after we showed him President Monson’s talk and he was sobbing (Sister Tahi and I looked at each other like, oh yeah, he feels the spirit) when, with face in hands he said, "My girlfriend broke up with me because I don't have faith!" Yada, yada, yada, yeah all of a sudden it got awkward. Uh.... Gospel? Missionaries? Thankfully he referred but man that was uncomfortable. Ha ha, good times as a missionary. Solving concerns one broken heart at a time! No faith? We can change that.

Well, life is about to get crazy so off we go to talk with members. All million of them that come in one month! Until next time!

November 18, 2011

FaMiLy!!

Hello from freezing cold Temple Square. So to clarify I am no longer at welfare square (super sad about that, I loved all the crazies there) but just Temple Square. Definitely a change of pace. There are not as many people coming so sometimes we walk around a lot but that doesn't mean that the of quality of people that come has dropped but it is about the same. We had great miracles this week.

But it started off by having Cell Phone Training! Yes you read that correctly we are finally emerging into the 21th century by having cell phones. Look out world. The second coming is about to happen. But really they are only for texting and to get in contact with other sisters. But the missionary department gave us the capability for international texting so we can text our investigators in Africa! It is a great tool that was much needed. I guess they were worried about us walking around the square talking on the phone or texting. Nothing like a 3 hour cell phone etiquette meeting to squash all desire to ever have a phone to help us know! We still are working out the kinks... and there are many. It might take a while to get used to your coat ringing.

This week Sister Tahi and I had lots of miracles! We were working on speaking during tours and now we are up to sharing principles. She has progressed a lot already. We took a group around of Hilton Garden Executives and it was an interesting tour. With the Christmas season upon us everyone is practicing in all the buildings we have. Not conducive for the spirit to dwell in. But thankfully the Bells on Temple Square or the Christmas Concert Dancers were not practicing at the Christus statue. We were able to bear our testimonies on Jesus Christ and let the spirit sink in. When Sister Tahi bore her testimony a lady started crying! Nothing like a confidence booster there. 3 of them referred to learn more!

Later in the week we saw a French-speaking lady and tried to (discretely) track her down so Sister Tahi could talk to her. But we searched in vain for a half hour but found her in the North Visitor Center basement. Obviously it was a slow morning or else we wouldn't have tried this. But she was so good, lots on concerns about churches, and not ready to meet with missionaries yet, but she left with a smile on her face and a promise to go to mormon.org. The Lord must have felt bad for us, you know running and stalking people on the square, so he gave us a tour with a wonderful lady from Australia! At first she straight up said that she didn't want to learn more from missionaries but again, just let the spirit do his work and by the end of the tour she was so touched by everything that she filled out the card with no hesitation.

We have been very blessed this week and hopefully we can keep up the faith. I just love being on a mission. I can really feel the importance of it, not only for the people that come but for myself. It is amazing to look back and see how much I have learned and how far I have come. I am forever indebted to our Heavenly Father for this experience and I find myself full of gratitude as I reflect on our day His hand in everything we did. Off to find more miracles for this next week! Have a wonderful Thanksgiving! I will be sure to tell you all about it from my end.

Zone Picture by Bountiful Temple

November 11, 2011 (11-11-11)

Bonjour!

Obviously the titles of my letters are very exciting BUT this means that my companion speaks French! Now enters Sister Tahi from Tahiti! I can't wait to go visit all my old companions, just hand over the Credit Card Dad, I need to go all over the world to see my friends - yes I am that popular. But we had transfer conference on Monday to find that Sister Mata'utia and I were splitting. We were so sad to split because we had so much success and fun together but we knew that it was too good to last for 2 transfers. But my assignment for the rest of my mission is VIP bus tours. I guess I didn't do a good enough job last transfer so I am doing it again. But more specifically I am now training the Senior couples to do it so we will see how this ends up. They are all really funny and energetic so this could work, I am excited to have the Bus Tours start up for the Christmas season again. Let the insanity begin! We might have a meeting this Tuesday with Church Hospitality to confirm the transition from them to us to handle all the scheduling.

Other than that Sister Mata'utia said goodbye to everyone at Welfare Square. It was so sad because we have grown to love all the volunteers that work there. One of them even called President Holmes and said that she received a revelation from God that we needed to stay at Welfare Square... yeah I guess it didn't work because I am still not at welfare square. Brother Goodrich even came up to Sister Mata'utia and I and said that he would be sad to see us go, we worked really hard and he could tell. Aww I felt special.

But this transfer I am back on the Square! Weird... I haven't really been on the square in 5 months. It has slowed down a lot but in a few weeks the lights will turn on and it will be just as crazy as general conference! Sister Tahi and I get along great and I am excited to work with her. Ok well before I go one quick miracle story. So we were calling our investigators and couldn't get a hold of anyone! So we said, "Maybe we are supposed to do something else... lets do chat right now" So we logged into chat on mormon.org and immediately we get one. He is from Ghana and he found a book of Mormon and a restoration pamphlet on the ground. He read the whole thing and said, "I know that this church is Christ's church restored on the earth again!" We just stared at each other for a moment and then asked him... "sorry...what?" He said that he read the Book and that God told him it was true and he is willing to leave his family, friends, and home behind to follow Jesus Christ and be baptized. Ok... is this real?! Yes it is. But he is Muslim... so we can't teach him but he has a rough road ahead of him if he wants to pursue this. We keep in contact through e-mail and keep him in our prayers. One day everyone will be able to have the gospel without being hindered by biases, religions, or opposition. Until then, we just have to keep doing our best to help people overcome their concerns. Well until next week!

Loves.

Pictures on Temple Square Fall 2011

November 5, 2011 Temple Square

Hi Family!

Happy November! So this past Monday as you all know was Halloween and at Welfare Square it was crazy! All the volunteers there dressed up and were helping with food orders. They were even passing out candy and fake tattoo sleeves. On top of all that, we had a Polish journalist walk in (unscheduled) to do a story on the Church's welfare program and film the projects that go on here. Brother Goodrich, the main guy at Welfare Square, nearly died when he realized that everyone was dressed up like witches, vampires or gangsters. Talk about uplifting the image of the Church! All of the costumed individuals found a place to hide for a half hour then everything returned back to normal.

The Square closes at 5 p.m. because of all the creepers that come out so we had our mission party from 5-9. We ate candy, pizza, candy, candy and um... more candy. Wow thought my heart wouldn't slow down - how do little kids do it?! But we watched 2 movies: Despicable Me and The Best Two Years! Everyone started screaming at the sight of the second one. I was really excited to watch it as a missionary to see how my perspective has changed. It has - fyi. It is funny to see the same personalities of those missionaries in the sister missionaries that I serve with. It was just what we all needed; all of us are exhausted.

We also got permission to attend a session at the Bountiful Temple! It was BEAUTIFUL. We drove up as a zone and I am proud to say that the car I was driving was the only car that didn't get hopelessly lost. In their defense we were driving in a snow storm (yes, the snow has arrived... dang). Other cool moments of the week were seeing Elder Holland and then Sister Thompson from the Relief Society Presidency at the Church Office Building - just going to buy some stamps and look who we bump into! We aren't allowed to talk to them though but a sighting is still pretty cool!

This week we have been really busy at Welfare Square with tours. It has been great; hopefully it stays that way because the day goes by much faster with tours. Plus we get to spiritually uplift people and teach them the gospel via service and Jesus Christ - what can be better? When we come back from Welfare Square we usually just go straight to calling people in the RC and our investigators. We had an amazing lesson with one of our investigators, Andrew, who had some concerns on why drugs were bad and what was wrong with tattoos. As we were talking with him he explained that he does drugs to see why it is wrong. He has very valid reasoning - he tries things out to understand where everyone is coming from. The lesson was amazing because we truly taught a person rather than a lesson. We try for that every time but for him it felt like a perfect lesson. MTC DVD worthy. At the end he was like, "Stop making things make sense! Fine! I won't do drugs anymore and I wont get tattoos, happy?" Um... yes. It was a great experience to share my life's thoughts and experiences to help him understand why God gave it as a commandment. Best of all he understood. *sigh* I love teaching people.

Well, this next week is transfers so we will find out what happens to us Monday. I will be entering my 12th and final transfer as a missionary. I am excited to see what miracles and experiences the Lord has in store for me as I keep trying to be as diligent as possible. More updates whenever I write you next! Love you all!

October 29, 2011

Hi Family!

For the majority of this week we were at Welfare Square, taking tours and helping people fill their food orders at the Bishop Storehouse. I really love serving here; we meet so many people. And when you help with hosting (filling their food orders) you can be sure that you are going to have a great conversation with people because they always have a story on why they are coming in and how their life is going. It is really sad to see people going through hard times but it is such a testimony builder of what the Church is all about, helping one another and supporting ourselves through hard times. We personally go to church to be uplifted by the messages that are shared but we build relationships with our ward family for support. One such story was a lady who was less active for many years. Her husband left her but because her neighbors were always supporting her she came back to church and has felt such an outpouring of love. She knows this is where she is supposed to be. So whenever people say that they don't need church to worship God, tell them to read Moroni 6 for further explanation.

I also called a man who recently lost everything and is looking for a place to live. I talked with him about being physically set (house, job, food) before we are able to sit down and be spiritually fed. He paused and said, "You are the first person who actually understands what I am going through!" Wow. Yea, Welfare Square! That is what Sister Mata'utia and I have focused on this whole transfer, and I love when the Lord gives you people who need what you have really come to understand.

Welfare Square is slowing down but sometimes it is CRAZY. We sometimes have back to back to back tours and we have no time for anything. By the end we are dead.

Friday the International Missionaries came to Welfare Square. The MTC always sends them to the Humanitarian Center but after taking a tour, decided to switch to Welfare Square. It was so much fun! But they were more camera-happy than listening. That’s ok, the MTC people came up to us after and thanked us for a spiritually uplifting tour.

Oh oh! I forgot to write about this last week: The apartment complex next to the main Sisters’ apartments had a HUGE fire. I was sleeping and having wonderful dreams when I heard our doorbell going off. It took me forever to register what was going on. But I heard the door open and a sister yell "SISTERS, GET OUT OF YOUR APARTMENT; DA IS ON FIRE!" DA is our main apartment complex. My first thought, “I don't care. They are 1/4 mile away, not my problem.” But I stumbled out of my apartment and we watched the apartment NEXT to DA burn for about an hour. President showed up and cancelled our sacrament meeting since we had been up for over an hour at this point. It took us all at least an hour to fall back asleep. But nothing happened to the apartment complex-which was a miracle because there is a tree that touches both apartments and it was on fire. But if another fire happens over there, tough! I am sleeping through it.

That's my week! Until next Saturday!

October 22, 2011

Hi Family!

This week was gone in the blink of an eye, but we did have some cool experiences too! One of our investigators in Puerto Rico who speaks perfect English finally got in touch with the missionaries! She is awesome. She even stayed up till 2 a.m. watching On the Way Home and Together Forever... yeah, she must be golden if she still wants to investigate after watching those movies.

We also got in touch with a lot of old former investigators who ended up not getting baptized. So that is our goal get them back on the path, since they are not with missionaries anymore and get them wet! We have a new mission focus, baptisms, shocking I know. But in the past it has always been call them till they meet with missionaries but to help us remember what is the most important thing, which is getting them on the path to the temple, they need to be baptized! We called a recent convert in Liberia who has moved away from the Church and is trying to have us get the Church established there. I told him that the only way to get the Church established in his area would be for him to do lots of missionary work himself. So we are helping him out by calling his referrals so we will teach them and maybe we can be like the Sister here who spoke Swahili and a congregation put her on speaker whenever she called... yeah that would be cool. But we are helping him get a good spiritual uplift when we call by reading the Book of Mormon together. It just is so sad to see how these people struggle, yet they are pioneers paving the way for others to have the gospel.

Funny phone story: I called this lady and her phone connection was terrible. She couldn't hear a word I said but she heard “The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints” and “missionary.” So she asked when we were coming over. Why can't everyone be like her? Sure feels good to be a harvester again. Puts it into perspective on how people are genuinely seeking truth. All we have to do is go by the spirit and be there when our Heavenly Father needs us.

Took a man around today who is looking into the church. He is so worried about not knowing enough and is trying to understand EVERYTHING. We told him that it must come line by line. We took him to watch a clip from one of the Apostles and he picked President Uchtdorfs talk "The Road to Damascus." I was praying that he would pick that one; and it totally met his needs and concerns. He loved the analogy of how revelation is like a puzzle, we put it in one piece at a time and then take a step back to see it all come together. Hopefully he ponders what he felt here.

But everything else is going well! Still doing our time at Welfare Square and loving every tour we take, except when they come every hour and half hour... then you just start walking in a daze and forming complete sentences is not possible. Dinner breaks turn into naptime. Wouldn't have it any other way! Until next week!

October 15, 2011

Talofa!

Where to begin with this week!? It was one of my favorites in my mission thus far (and that is saying something). From when I last wrote we have mostly been at Welfare Square with a few hours here and there on the Temple Square. Sunday we were asked to help with "announcing" where Sisters stand outside that tabernacle and announce that there are tours in different languages. A man approached us asking if he could take a tour. We usually would say to join the group that is going with the English-speaking Sister but we decided we would take him around. He was awesome - searching for truth, really confused about all those churches out there. You know just a typical product of the apostasy and a shoo-in to accept the fact that a Restoration happened. The neatest moment was when we had him translate Moroni 10:4-5 from Russian for us (he speaks Russian so it wasn't completely random) so he had to really think about each word in the verse. We stood there as he pieced it together and we invited him to learn more, which he accepted. We will call to teach him more soon!

The rest of the week we were at Welfare Square, which isn't our typical schedule but they had meetings so life was crazy. Anyway we have made goals to help us make every stop full of the spirit and relate everything back to Jesus Christ, not hard to do when you are talking about welfare because Jesus Christ set up the perfect system. People (not members) have come through and asked, "How do you get your members to donate their time and money?" We simply say, "The Church just asks them to do it." Mouths drop. Everything runs so smoothly; there is no way it could have been conjured up by men but only through a perfect person with perfect motives, “To lift those that cannot lift themselves.” We have already seen so many hearts change (mean, grumpy people in the beginning to happy people by the end... I am sure the free samples of chocolate milk and cheese help). But when we don't have tours we help with "hosting" or filling their food orders. It has been so busy and tours are starting to be less and less so two days in a row we spent 12 noon to 4:30 p.m. running around and filling orders. We took naps when we got home instead of dinner. So we have made friends with all the workers at Welfare Square too. We watched as they filled bottles of cookies and cream milk and asked them if we could have one. Not only did they bring us bottles but offered to give us a personal tour of them making butter and cottage cheese! We didn't have time, but next time we will do it, hairnets and all.

We had an amazing morning today with alcoholics anonymous checking out Temple Square. We decided we love them all very much because they understand the atonement without understanding the gospel. All you need to do is testify and invite. We don't speak Spanish but managed to get three Spanish referrals in an hour! We felt grateful that the Lord put us in the right place at the right time. It was nothing we did; they were prepared; we were just the harvesters. Then we took a super less-active family around. Talk about awkward tour. We figured we needed to salvage it somehow so Sister Mata'utia had a great idea to take them through God's Plan for His Family. It did the trick and they were all crying by the end. Even if they didn't make the decision now to go back to church they felt the spirit and they know that it is true. The rest is up to them. Well, gotta run but until next week!

October 8, 2011

Hey Everyone!

How was conference? I bet it was great, can't wait to read it in the Ensign! What a welcome back to Temple Square, it was just how I expected life to be. The mission had set a goal of receiving 7,041 member referrals in two days. Thankfully the weather stayed nice for those two days. But Sister Mata'utia decided the day before that we were going to just work, work, work and get as many as we could get with the Lord's help. So we ran up the stairs that morning and hit the square. Sunday morning we had an emergency meeting saying that we had only reached 2,000 member referrals and we needed to step it up. Even though we felt really good about what we had accomplished the day before we felt we needed to step it up even more. By 10am we had surpassed what we had received Saturday. Funny, how the Lord blesses us according to what we expect of ourselves. If we shoot low, He will only give us what we expect. Now if only I had faith to walk on water...Anyway so we were able to attend the Saturday PM session and it was a great way to end the two days of swollen feet and happy hearts. We had a mission meeting at 9 to unveil what we had accomplished. As 8:15 rolls around we don't see any sisters and we said, "What slackers! There are so many people out here!" So we kept talking to people and then a member walks up and says, "Hey sisters aren't you supposed to be in that missionary meeting in the Tabernacle?" Uh... we book it over there and arrive a half hour late! Who changed the time?! Obviously the line of authority didn't work this time. But we got 9,222 member referrals!! Now it is time to call them all.

I thought life would slow down after that. NOPE! We are at Welfare Square 4 days a week with bus tours after that. Since everyone is still hanging around after conference we have tours every half hour. We scarf down food as they are watching their 15 min movie then run to the theater. When we finish with our time at Welfare Square we need to run to the Joseph Smith Memorial building to greet bus tours. We are their only contact with missionaries since they don't go to Temple Square and we make sure that all their needs are met. We had a great conversation with a bus driver who loves everything about Temple Square. It was great to tell him WHY we need Jesus Christ and WHY this church is the only authorized church on the earth. Not interested in missionaries but he will later! Another miracle we had was a tour at welfare square. We had these two ladies from Jordan (who now live in Australia, I swear I have met more people from Australia in this last week than my entire life) who loved everything about what the church does. It was such a spiritual tour and they were so open to learning more. They grabbed the cards themselves! Just goes to show how some people are just ready to hear the gospel, we simply need to invite them.

Life is such a blur and we go to bed exhausted every night. But we are working hard and loving life. Until next week!

September 30, 2011 Temple Square

Hi family!

So I made it alive to Temple Square!!!! Life is fantastic! I didn't realize how much I missed Temple Square till we were up and talking to everyone in our path. I think I bore my testimony in an hour more than I did in a day back in New York. Just a different pace; work is the same. Funny Story: The night I flew in all these members were coming up to me at the airport wondering where my companion was and how terrible it was that I was alone. Uh... are you kidding? This is awesome! But after all of their concern for my well being while I insisted that Sisters would be waiting for me at the baggage claim.... no Sisters were there. There was a family who was bringing their daughter home from her mission in Spain and they were talking to me trying to figure out whom I could call to have someone pick me up. One problem - none of us had cell phones and it was 11 p.m. Yeah.... but don't worry! I started walking the sidewalks and out pops Sister Despain! We threw my stuff in the car and headed home. I was so glad they were there as I was on the verge of a heart attack. Yeah, being alone. Awesome.

I am in the Extended Zone at Welfare Square!! My companion is Sister Matau'tuia from Australia (Samoan= awesome) but our assignment is unique. They have put us in charge of bus tours. It is a new thing. Basically we are church hosting but missionaries. There are large bus groups that come in and pay extra money to get V.I.P treatment. We are in charge of greeting them, taking them places, giving them tours, etc. It is similar to when I was doing my thing with motor coaches before I left for outbound, but on steroids since we can do VIP groups and stuff. I am amazed that President Holmes trusts me do be the face of the Church. They were going to have only Zone Leaders do it but decided to make it a specific assignment and chose us to do it. I guess I am happy or something, because I love holding microphones. We also get CELL PHONES. It gets really hectic when you have 10 buses coming in at once. Also we can trump the schedules from the Zone Leaders and Guest Services. Kind of a big deal! Oh and the BEST part is (drum roll) we get fed lunch everyday at Welfare Square and dinner at the Lion House (if we want) when we take those groups through. We did it last night and the Sister just said, "Put this on Tiffany's tab." Oh, I am living the high life!

I am so excited to be comps with Sister Matau'tuia! She is in her 4th transfer and has had a difficult time with comps because they never work hard. So we have had 1 day together and have decided that this is going to be an awesome transfer. Everyone told her that "Sister Nelson works super hard; you both are going to tear it up!" So my fame precedes me. It feels so GOOD to be back on Temple Square.

We had a huge mission meeting the morning after I returned and everyone ran up and hugged me and it was great. I felt really loved. Even Sister Holmes ran up and gave all of us returning Sisters a hug. But here is the catch, 40 sisters are going outbound! Everyone is leaving!!!! I feel so alone because I don't know a lot of the Sisters anymore. Since the mission meeting we have just been getting ready for General Conference and our mission goal is 7,000 member referrals and we are ready to hit the ground running. Anyway that is my update! Gotta run, I will e-mail Saturdays so look for me then. Enjoy Conference!

Goal #1: Make Conference Ensign.

Karly Sighting in Utica, New York

Dear Bev:

It was so amazing seeing your daughter on Saturday. There were several hundred workers sent to our town to help with the relief effort. I was a team leader and they were going to assign the sister missionaries to me but then assigned them to another person. We worked the morning and then after lunch I informed the organizers of another need at the museum. I said I would take my team there but actually they assigned it to the team with the sisters. So we were working across the street. When we finished we went over to help at the Museum. I was talking to the sisters and asking where they were from and I was like no way, when your daughter said Rancho Cucamonga. Then she asked if I knew Craig and Beverly Nelson. I said, "Sure, they run the bookstore." She was so surprised. We talked about a lot of things and about my son who just got back from Spain. It was really fun. Catha and I were going to take them out to dinner today so Catha went to the Temple and we were going to get together for dinner. When I called them to get a time they said they were leaving early so we would have to do lunch. I asked a friend who works in their area to come with us. So it all worked out. Turns out that Catha gave them a referral. Catha works front desk at the Courtyard Marriott in their area. They visited the young lady and gave her a Book of Mormon. We had a nice visit at lunch. She does know Catha’s sister, Summer, and remembers Jack Morgan. I told her she would have to meet Megan when she returns to Salt Lake. She said she probably would not be able to, but I said she graduated from the Y with a Landscape Management degree and just started working on the Temple Square grounds crew yesterday. She was like, "Sure, I am sure. It will be easy to find her since they are mostly guys." It was so fun to talk to her. When I was the ward mission leader I loved having sister missionaries. I miss not having them now. Tell your daughter I appreciate her service. They can touch hearts that the Elders just cannot reach. I would have told her but my friend talks a lot and kind of takes over conversations. Enjoy the pictures.

Last day in the Utica, New York Mission

We Love Karly Sightings!

This New York photo, taken in mid-September, 2011, shows Karly and her companion with PJ Smith, a former Alta Loma resident many years ago ... before Karly was born ... that long ago! Involved in a Mormon Helping Hands project both members and missionaries were assisting after the significant flooding caused by Hurricane Irene. While conversing PJ and Sister Nelson discovered their common Alta Loma roots. PJ knew us, Karly's parents, from that long ago. PJ's wife is Catha Morgan Smith, sister of Summer Schwendimann. Such a small world in the church!

September 27, 2011

Hi Family!

So quick e-mail since we have a lot to do today. We got the call Saturday that our area is closing. With the death of one Sister and two more going home for medical reasons, there are not enough Sisters to keep our area open. Plus we are the only ward in the mission with two sets of missionaries. But this week was amazing and, wow, it went by so fast! It started with a trip to the Palmyra Temple and seeing all the church history sites around the area. It was fun to be taken on a tour from visitor center Sisters as well. I could take a step back and say, "Hmm, yeah I do that.... bad idea gotta change that. " or "I love how they did that!" Yeah so I am all pumped and ready to go back to Temple Square, seeing a visitor center got me all jittery to get back.

We also got to spend an hour ALONE in the sacred grove. It was amazing. It was just me, the Lord and 1 billion mosquitoes. The First Vision couldn't have been made up, because only God and Jesus Christ could have made all those mosquitoes go away for Joseph Smith to stay in that grove. But on a more spiritual note the feeling inside that grove was definitely close to being inside the Temple. To think that this grove was where the restoration all got started and that by small things great things are brought to pass. As missionaries and members of the Church everything we do is a small and simple thing that has great and lasting impressions on us and the lives of others. Let's not allow a moment to pass us by without remembering why we are here and what this life is all about. It’s not about the money or the material objects but our families and our Heavenly Father. Life may be hard sometimes but the Lord understands more than we do. Joseph Smith never had it easy but we look up to him, not just because he restored the Church but because he conquered his trials and came out on top. That is a promise that we all have from our Heavenly Father, rely on Him, do what is right, and we will be blessed in some way or another.

But we did service in Owego on Saturday! We helped a man demolish his walls (so awesome) and take out all of his trash. We got to even wear the Mormon Helping Hands t-shirts!! Dream #75843 accomplished. Later we got to clean the Tioga County Museum's collection pieces that were under 5 feet of water. It was so sad but a neat experience to clean eye glasses and ribbons from the 1800s. We had to throw away a lot as well, but we also picked up a new investigator who is seriously GOLDEN! He was a guy that we met on the bus (when everyone got in a religious debate a few weeks ago) and he asked for a baptismal date! Too bad we both won’t be here for it. That is ok. We found him and set him up with the Elders. He will do well.

Ok, enough writing. We have an entire apartment to clean and drive two hours to the mission home before 9 p.m. tonight. Call ya tomorrow!

Visiting the Sacred Grove and Temple in Palmyra, NY

Library where we EMAIL home!

September 19, 2011

Hello!

So this week was a whirlwind of faith and trust. We started the week on a high with a district meeting where our mission president gave training on "answering hard questions". I totally felt prepared because that is my mission at Temple Square, so I gave my two cents every once in a while and felt it was a great refresher for going back to Temple Square next week. After being on that spiritual high we got a phone call from some members in the ward that their dog had died and due to their health problems they couldn't dig a grave for it. So we busted out their shovels, sang songs from Holes, quoted Hamlet, and just had a fun time trying to dig a two foot grave for this dog. I am not sure they appreciated our happy nature at the moment but hey, the dog is a lot happier so they should be too.

Come Thursday during our weekly planning we decided that we had been hanging onto our investigators too long so we ended up dropping four of them. I was so sad because we have worked so hard in this area and I wanted to leave it better than when I got here (which having just two investigators would be better than when I got here but still, it's a [Christ-like] pride thing) But I have experienced it many times. When you drop people the Lord gives you more people. The day we dropped all of them, people started coming up to us and asking to meet with us. We would start talking to people and they were interested in learning what we were all about. One of our potentials even called us and asked for a ride to church!! Can life get better? I will drop someone everyday if this is what happens! As we put our trust in Him, He will follow through. Wow, we are more of a hindrance to the work than the people who don't have the gospel. Good thing Heavenly Father is patient with us.

With all of the flooding we were given permission to do service around the area on Saturday. Next Saturday we can go to Owego and help. We heard that the church even came with all of their Mormon Helping Hands t-shirts just like after Hurricane Katrina. We helped a lady clean out her basement and in the process we found a Book of Mormon! We asked her about it and her brother is a member. She said she would be more than happy to have us stop back and teach her more. So Sunday we stopped by and as we were teaching, her boyfriend sat in, then another friend stopped by and sat in on the lesson too! We walked out with 3 new investigators! So needless to say I felt much better about leaving this area strong. We already have completely planned the entire week (literally) so it is going to go by fast. Tomorrow I am going to the Palmyra Temple and visit the Sacred Grove as well. I am so excited, I didn't realize how much I missed seeing a temple every day. I am so grateful for my experiences here but I am so excited to go back to Temple Square and get back to bearing my testimony every 5 minutes- can't beat that! Until next week!

Church History in My Area...

*** Church history in my area:

Martin Harris baptized 100 people in the Susquehanna River when returning from his mission to the east in 1832;

The area was originally named Chenango Point;

M. Grant (an apostle) was born here;

Josiah Stonewall was born in a city nearby (sorry, who is that?)

September 12, 2011

Hello, Hello!

Well, if any of you have watched the news you will know that Upstate New York, and more specifically my area of Binghamton and Endicott, are under water. Preaching the gospel to every creature including the fishes is a little hard but hey the scriptures do say to preach the gospel to every creature. Just kidding, BUT we did have massive flooding here. The Susquehanna River swelled to a depth of 40 feet (14' is flood stage) and many homes were destroyed. Thankfully we were ok - no power outage or leakage. But we were protected by the nearby high school which is right next to the river; the water came up to the 5th highest row in the stadium and all you could see were two poles, which are the goal posts and a roof of the equipment shed. It was awesome. We almost had to evacuate but the fire department never stopped by. All of the schools were cancelled until further notice, though today they are back in session. Church was composed of three units: us, the Owego Ward and the Susquehanna Branch. Many of those cities are still under water too.

Wednesday when it was raining we were trying to get out to Binghamton to see a member but as we were sitting at the bus junction and we listened to the radio screaming, "We can't get through this road. It is closed!" or "The freeway just flooded!" We looked at each other and had a strong feeling to get off the bus and go back home. We ran into the Elders in our area and they gave us a look of "Slackers, it is just rain" when we told them we were heading back. Later we found out that the bridges were flooded and if we had gone we wouldn't have been able to return home till Saturday. We felt like the Lord was looking out for us.

So we were more or less stuck in Endicott for the entire week with no way to get out. But we made the most of it and found a few more people to teach. All of this is a great conversation starter. It is amazing how disasters bring people together, but at the same time what is most important to people comes out. We saw many people at the grocery stores buying essentials but many more buying cases of beer to help take the edge off. There are lots of service projects ahead of us but we are fine and safe. Plus I have awesome pictures to help visualize what happened. But when it comes to investigators... yeah we didn't get much done this week for obvious reasons, but that's okay. They all know that we are concerned for them. Stay dry in the rest of the country!

** Pictures: The high school, K-mart and the clean up. Did you call the mission at all? Or see it on the news?

Utica New York Flood September 9, 2011

Utica New York Flood September 9, 2011

This has been the worst flood in over a 100 years the Susquehanna river crested 6 feet higher than normal. The whole area is devastated.