OHHHHHH we're HALFWAY THERE ohhhhhh LIVIN ON A PRAYER

Hey Everyone! As you may have guessed from my not-so-subtle subject line, I HAVE BEEN OUT ON MY MISSION FOR 9 MONTHS!!!! I'm actually in shock. It feels like forever and like no time has passed at the same time. I figured since I have been out for 9 months, I would share my top three things that I have loved or learned on my mission so far. 

1) My companions. Wow, I have had some pretty phenomenal companions. I'm grateful for all that they have taught me and that God has let me be with them so they can help me be better. I seriously have had the best companions:) 

2) TEMPLE SQUARE!!!! I really don't know why God blessed me with literally THE BEST mission in the world but I am just so grateful that He did. At first, I really hated my mission, I won't lie to you guys. I struggled with why I had to be here. Now I know that it is where God needs me. I love how unique it is and how many opportunities we have here to teach all nations. 

3) I learned that God can help me with all things. Including getting out of my bed early every single day and helping me not be tired. I'm grateful that He is here with me through it all. After all, this is HIS work, not mine. 

Okay, I know that this is four things, but last but certainly not least, I have come to know my Savior better. The reality that He lives and that He has done everything for me has grown so much in just nine short months. I'm grateful for Him and I love Him. 

Thanks for all of the love and support while I have been out! I'm excited for the next nine months!! 

Sister Moran 

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Okay, parents! I know, another pday. But, this pday is special because I hit 9 MONTHS UNTIL I GO HOME!!!!! Can you even believe that? The time has gone really fast but also really slow. It's weird. I'm excited for the next nine months. I heard that they go faster which I hope is not the case because it has already been going wayyyyy too fast. 

Anyway, this week was slightly rough. This past week was mission interviews with President Fisher and like I always do, I just blabbed my mouth off, cried a little, and told him I loved him a lot. Sounds pretty familiar. I do that every single transfer. But I'm glad we have such a good mission president that cares so much about us and wants to help us with everything that we may be going through. 

This week we had a pretty rough motorcoach. I already told mom about this but I'll tell you too dad because you should know too. So, there we were, Sunday, giving a motorcoach of 33 English speakers. Two of the couples on the tour were from England and I was wearing my British flag that day and I was pumped for the connections, even if I'm not technically British. So, we start the tour and at first, everything is great, we talk about the Seagull miracle at the Seagull monument and then we make our way into the Assembly Hall and that is where things start getting sketchy. In case you didn't know, there is a star of David on the outside on the Assembly Hall. The Star of David can also represent Jubilee which is what we were going for when we incorporated it onto the building. The British people asked why it was there in a rather harsh tone (along with tithing and other questions like that) and Sister Brinkmeier explained that it is sometimes referred to as Jubliee Star. They did not like that. They argued with her for about 30 seconds about it and then said "well, we would just be happy if you called it the Star of David" which she politely refused to do and then we went on our way. The Spirit was gone. It was when we got to the Tabernacle that all hell broke loose. We decided to stop preaching because they were so touchy about religion and we decided to just focus on history. So there we were talking about history when some random lady asks the million-dollar question, "what is the difference between your church and other Christian churches?" So now we have to preach. We throw out a couple (prophets, apostles, restoration vs. reformation, etc.) but we ultimately focus on the Book of Mormon. Sister Brinkmeier goes in depth on what the Book of Mormon is and then as she is doing so I am smiling observing how the group is taking the information (like it says to do in Preach My Gospel) and when I make eye contact with the British people, one of them just mouths to me "only the Bible". That is when I knew that something was about to go down. Once Sister Brinkmeier stops talking, homeboy (the one that was mouthing that crap to me) starts quoting verses and his wife starts talking about how Joseph Smith and the Book of Mormon and irrelevant and then Sister Brinkmeier responds with another Bible verse that contradicted his and then he just wouldn't shut up and then I just started saying "sir, sir, sir, sir, excuse me sir, sir, stop talking" until he shut up (so we were just talking over one another in front of the whole group) and then I told him "we are not here to bible bash and I'm sure that you could do this all day but your bus actually leaves in four minutes so you can go now. This tour is over. Thank you, everyone, for coming" and then they were like "oh we weren't trying to Bible bash" and I was like "well you sure fooled me" and then rolled my eyes and turned away. They then left and then I started to cry because I was SO EMBARRASSED.  And then a bunch of old ladies just patted my arm and said that I did so good and they were so sorry and I was just like oh thanks but I was just embarrassed. We then went to West Gate to drop off the microphone and all that good stuff and literally as we were standing outside the main anti guy just comes back up to us and points his finger in our face and is like "if you would just read the Bible you would understand" I then said "I really don't want to talk to you right now or ever so I just invite you to leave" and I was already and I just started to cry more like a baby gosh so stupid and then he just keeps going and Sister Brinkmeier snaps her finger in his face and says get out or I'll make security get you out and then he kept going so she called the security guy that was standing nearby over and he just got him out. Hot mess. Sister Brinkmeier and I were both crying after that one but it was a good thing that it was dinnertime and we could just take a little break. 

So we go home and get out a tub of chocolate ice cream and go out to the patio because we were sad and thought that ice cream for dinner would help. These nice members are having a family reunion there and refused to let us eat only ice cream for dinner and basically forced us to come to eat their ribs and chips and veggies. Sister Brinkmeier started to cry again because it was a rough day. So, we ate dinner with the nicest members ever and then we went back to the square to do some Teaching Center and report our District's key indicators. While we are on Teaching Center, Sister Brinkmeier visits her friend's Facebook profile (which is against the rules) and finds out that her friend died and so now we are crying and then we need to call some local missionaries for a referral that Sister Brinkmeier sent last transfer and LITERALLY THE LOCAL MISSIONARY IS JAKE BROWN. (For those who don't know, Emily and Jake Brown dated for a while during their senior year and he's now serving a mission in Richmond, Virginia) So then we were both screaming but we had to call them to talk about the person but they don't pick up so Sister Brinkmeier goes back to crying while am calling people about their Bible requests and then THEY CALL BACK AND WE START SCREAMING AGAIN and then we pick up the phone and in the most chill voice you could ever imagine said "hey Elders this is Sister Brinkmeier and Sister Moran, thanks for calling us back" and then we talked and then I was like sooooo Jake? and He was like hey Emily what's up!!! Dude. I felt so awkward. So that was our Sunday. A rollercoaster. 

We contacted this German motorcoach and the Germans were rude and it was a big waste of time. A member reprimanded us for not playing the audio for the Christus right away and I literally almost punched this lady because she wasn't aware of the whole situation. 

We did have some awesome miracles though with our key indicators, we found 13 new people which is awesome and we sent a bunch of referrals and taught a bunch of lessons so it was a good week, there was just all of this stuff that happened at the very end which made it seem less good than it was. What I will say is that God is super aware. He knew about the anti motorcoach and that the rest of the evening would be stressful so He gave us this nice member family to feed us. We never get fed by members. It was so nice! He knew that we have been obedient and working hard so He helped us with our key indicators and helped us meet our goals. I'm grateful for Him. 

Oh and Dad, we had to reprimand our district this week because their key indicators were like at zero but we did so with love and we didn't do it terribly. I think it was a good correction that you would be proud of:) 

My companion is a little tired right now. Tired of the drama at her house and of the work and just kind of wants to go home. We have been out the same amount of time. Maybe send some extra prayers her way with her friend passing away that she will be able to find the motivation to keep working hard to be out here for another nine months because right now she doesn't have too much. 

I think that is all that I have for you. Tomorrow we have zone conference and I am participating in a musical number! I will let you know how that goes for sure. But I love you guys and I miss you soooo much. I am praying for you every day. Have a great week! 

Love 

Em 

Sugar

Hey Everyone! This week was a week of parties. Sister Do (from South Korea) is in our district and she turned 21 this week so we had to go over and party and eat way too much sugar way too late at night. Of course. And then my beautiful companion turned 22 this week!! WHOO HOOO! So we had another party (or two or three) and ate even more sugar. I won't be surprised if they have to roll me off the plane when I get home;)

We saw a lot of miracles this week both on square and online. Lately, Sister Brinkmeier and I have been trying this thing where when we are just proselyting on the square, we offer to talk to people on tours. We call tours "walking lessons" because that is what we are doing. We are teaching them a lesson mixed in with some history as we all walk around Temple Square! Anyways, we have had some really cool experiences with these random tours we talk people on and we have even gotten the contact information from some! Fingers crossed that some of them will turn into new people we can teach. 

This week I took my first German motorcoach! A motorcoach is a group tour of more than 15 people. Mine had 30 people. When they called me and asked me to take it, I said what I always say, "my German isn't good enough to take that big of a tour" but I was literally the only person that could take it so I just accepted my fate and started praying like my life depended on it. It was pretty cool because as I was giving this tour and translating what Sister Brinkmeier said and everything, I could really feel that God was there helping me remember certain words and speak more confidently. What a blessing. I for sure know that God knows us and is aware of our struggles no matter how small and will help us with everything that we go through. 

I hope that everyone has an awesome week!

Sister Moran 

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Okay, welcome to my week! We have deep cleaning inspections going on and we for reals cleaned for close to four hours straight this morning. I scrubbed ALL of the walls and the baseboards and I got ALL of the random blackish mold stuff out of our shower. Afterward, I just felt so tired and dirty though. But I will say that it is nice to have a spotless apartment.

This week was seriously so full of German people. So many Germans. I took two large German tours in one day and my German literally sucks. Like so hard. But God was with me for sure. Some of the things that I said and the way that I explained things I had never done so well before! The things I said made sense and I could speak with clarity and without stumbling over my words. It was such a huge blessing because the whole day before the planned large tour (the other large tour was last minute and they needed me to do it) I was just so nervous and I was doing my best to role play and google translate words and phrases as I went so that way I would hopefully remember everything when it came time to do the tour. We actually almost didn't give the tour because they were 20 minutes late and as we were about to leave to take an English tour, I hear this German-accented voice behind me asking if we were the tour. I was so sad that we had to take the German tour after all but I know that God was with me and carrying me through the tour and made it so it wasn't a complete failure. I also took another scheduled tour for two Germans yesterday and they took my contact information at the end! Last but not least, we have ANOTHER German motorcoach tomorrow which will be interesting for sure. I hope that the gift of tongues is as real tomorrow as it was the other day. 

This week Sister Brinkmeier and I did MTC contacting. MTC contacting is when, every Saturday, all of the Sisters from the MTC that are going to a VC for their mission, come to Temple Square for the day and they go around with a leader from Temple Square and learn and see and experience the VC life for a day. I contacted this nice girl, Sister Mahan, from Idaho. She is going to the St. Geroge VC. We took a tour (with her knowing absolutely nothing lol) and it actually didn't go half bad! She asked me tons of questions on the best way to call local missionaries and how to do phone calls and how a tour is supposed to work and everything. It reminded me of training again! I forgot how it feels to have a companion that knows literally nothing. I'm grateful that MTC contacting is only for one day and not for 12 weeks like training. Also, the day of MTC contacting, Sister Brinkmeier had her bday party and we had to go on exchanges so she could go to her party and I could contact a German motorcoach. Not going to lie to you, that rubbed me the wrong way because her priorities aren't quite correct in my opinion but I can understand her wanting to go to her party. Contacting the German motorcoach was a disaster anyways. I'm still glad that I did it though because I would've felt guilty if I went to her party instead. 

I went on my first exchange as a District Leader yesterday! I went with Sister Johnson (you know, the one I was companions with for all of three weeks). At first, it was nice to be with her, and then she started talking and I got very grateful for Sister Brinkmeier because we can at least be friends. Not that Sister Johnson and I weren't friends or aren't friends, but it just is different because she is different. I think it was good for her because she could tell me all of the stuff and struggles from after our split last transfer. Long story short, her companion for the other three weeks wasn't very nice to her and that kind of broke my heart. Something funny that happened on our exchange was that some guy almost made it to the organ during our Tabernacle shift! I saw him taking pictures and selfies past the red rope right by the stage while I was trying to explain something to some guests. I quickly excused myself to go ask him to leave. As I was walking up there, I realized that homeboy was not right in the head. Like at all. For a second there I almost turned around and called security but then I was just like whatever and I went and asked him to leave and this man had the AUDACITY to ignore me. So, I tapped him on his shoulder and told him he couldn't be behind the rope, etc.  and he was really nice. But also really crazy. He literally danced his way out of the tabernacle. What a time it was in that shift. I also met this other crazy dude that spouted some random crazy things about the Bible and I straight laughed at him and then he laughed at me. It was weird. 

Well, I love you both and I miss you a lot but I know that this is the best place that I could possibly be right now. I'm praying for you every day. 

Love 

Em 

Trio Lifeeeee

Hey Everyone! So, I missed my last pday because of transfers so I'll just condense everything from the past two weeks into this one email! 

First things first, the last eight days of the transfer after Sister Harris went home, I was in a trio with my roommates, Sister Whitmarsh (Australia) and Sister Moala (Tonga) and it was the most fun eight days of my ENTIRE mission if not my entire LIFE. Not even exaggerating. I guess that God knew it was too much fun so He split us up after a mere eight days. Sad but I guess I can understand why it needed to happen.

Now, I am with Sister Brinkmeier! She is from Louisiana but her family moved to Illinois while she was on the mission. We were in the MTC together so it was kind of cool to have a companion that I already kind of knew before we became companions. We are district leaders together and I'm scared out of my mind about that but I know that God will take care of it all. After all, this is His work. 

I hope that everyone has a good week!

Sister Moran 

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Hey Parents! I know that I literally just emailed you like two days ago but I figured that maybe you would like to have a small update on some fun things that happened the past few days.

I talked about Savanna a little on the phone but ya girl is shooketh because she is so prepared. It was crazy too because when the old member lady said that she wanted a tour, I immediately said that we could take it. Sister Brinkmeier honestly looked real triggered because she was in the middle of a conversation with another sister but for some reason, I just felt so adamant about it. So, we took her despite Sister Brinkmeier being not totally on board. The spirit was there the whole time though and this girl was just totally prepared. Everything we said about the Plan of Salvation (which was the main focus) she was just eating up and just agreed with us hardcore. It was crazy too because Sister Brinkmeier shared her mom's conversion story which was PERFECT because it was just what she needed to hear and at the end of it all we were just all crying because of how amazing the whole thing was. It is so cool to see how Heavenly Father loves his children and he uses things like Temple Square for people to come to visit and learn more about how He loves them. We are really praying that Savannah becomes someone we could for sure start teaching. What a miracle. 

Another thing that happened just today when were walking around the mall was Felipe. We were walking into the mall and Sister Brinkmeier asked this guy that was outside smoking if he knew how to get somewhere and he was kind of wiping his eyes and he told us where to go. I stopped fifty feet later and I said "we have to go back and talk to him" but then we were like oh gosh what are we going to say to him because looking back, he was like hardcore crying now. But, I was just like "God will tell us what to say" and then just went and talked to him. It turns out that he used to be a member and even served a mission. He is from Brazil. But he is just having the hardest time right now. He didn't tell us with what, just that he was having a hard time. Sister Brinkmeier shared a scripture with him and the whole time we are with him he is just crying btw and it was so tender. He told us that he knew that he needed to come back. He knew he needed to go back to God and back to church and that us coming up to him and talking to him was the confirmation. He just kept thanking us but we literally didn't do anything. It was all God. It was Him through the Holy Ghost that told us that we needed to go back and just talk to him and see if he was okay. A thought struck me afterward: God can't come down and tell and show His children that He loves them, but he can send other people to help show that love. I really like that I can just be His hands. That I can do literally something as small as ask Felipe if he was doing okay and that is how God was able to help him. What a privilege. 

Anyways. I finally felt the love for Sister Brinkmeier. We were sitting and eating lunch and I just felt all warm and I knew that it was God showing me some of the love that He feels for Sister Brinkmeier. Even though it is sometimes hard. For example, she takes over every single conversation. Like all of them and it is really hard to just be talked over all day long. But, I love her. So now it is easier to stay chill with it and patient because God has helped me and showed me that love. Isn't that cool?

Also, thanks for sending me your thoughts on pride. They were really good to read and to think about! 

Love you both and miss you both and I hope you have an awesome week!!!! 

Love 

Em 

Transfers

Last week it was transfers again for Emily and she has a new companion (Sister Brinkmeier from Louisiana) and a new responsibility (District Leader). The previous transfer was pretty crazy for Emily with four different companions in six weeks, so we're praying the next six weeks will be a little easier. Or at least difficult in a different way. 

The eight days I had with Sister Whitmarsh and Sister Moala was a straight PARTY. Like it was so fun!!! I think it was really what I needed because I had been so stressed and worried for so long that it was nice to have two companions that didn't have a lot to worry about. Plus, it was nice for a change to have some people worry about me. I think lately it has been very "what can I do for Sister Johnson and how can I love her more and what could I do to serve her" and then it was "how is Sister Harris feeling and has she had enough sleep, when is the next appt., does she need a break, how is her mental state, President needs an update, etc." which is totally fine. And, as you could read in my last email it was something that I needed and it taught me how to actually love and put someone above myself. But, I didn't realize how tired I was of worrying and taking care of things by myself until I had two companions that I got along with super easily and could just work with and have fun with. Not that I didn't have fun with Sister Harris... hopefully that makes sense. 

Also, just a side note, with Sister Whitmarsh and Moala, they took me to all of the cool places to eat out because I had been so food deprived with my no food companion. The first two times we went out random members paid for us! Sometimes it is easy to forget that I am serving in Utah. Temple Square just kind of seems like it is its own little universe and the gates are the edges of it. If members come to the Square, I typically avoid them at all costs because I want to talk to the tourists. And there are way more nonmembers than there are members that come to the Square. But, when we venture outside our 35-acre bubble, I start to realize that I am in the land of the church and people love to pay for missionaries here. Kind of nice, I won't lie to you. 

Okay so now I'll tell you a little bit about my new companion. Her name is Sister Brinkmeier and she is from Louisiana! We have been out the same amount of time...almost nine months. The first memory I have of her is actually kind of funny. It was the fourth week in the MTC, so Visitor's Center training and I just remember looking at her and being super scared. So, I decided to sit with her at lunch and get to know her so that way I wouldn't be so scared. She loves to talk, especially about herself so I feel like I basically learned everything about her. But did the fear disappear? No, not even a little bit. I was still terrified. Good times. Good news, once we got to the field I got less scared of her and we would chat and were lowkey friends so when I saw that we were together I honestly was mostly excited. The only thing that scared me is that she is a very my way or the highway kind of person and has a strong personality. I was a little concerned that she would overpower me with teaching and tours and talking to people and things. And honestly, she does sometimes but it is way more balanced than I anticipated! Also, I am her third German speaking companion....in a row. It is honestly kind of hilarious. She told God that if she got another German speaker that she would take it as a sign that she needed to learn German. So now she is learning German. 

Anyways, we are district leaders together! Honestly, I never wanted to be a leader. Especially now that I am a leader, I just want to be normal even more. There are just lots of extra things that we have to do and plan and everything and it is a hassle. But oh well I will survive. It helps that with the mission being so low on people right now, our district is crazy small. It makes our job a little bit easier. Sister Brinkmeier has never been a district leader either so we are both in this boat together and it is nice to have someone to bounce ideas off of. The only thing is, she has been the companion of the district leader before and so she feels like she knows what she is doing and I don't. Any advice on how to handle that? And just pride in general? Get a load of this parents, I am a prideful person. I accept that and I am working on it and I feel like I have gotten a little bit better (not in a prideful way but in like a legit way if that makes sense) but this woman is PRIDEFUL. There is nothing that she is not "really good" at. Like, I will say "patience is something that I really want to work on this transfer and strive to develop" and she goes "oh yeah you should really do that. My mission has taught me how to be patient, so I have that one down" Like what?? I'm shooketh. 

Anyways, I love her a lot. We get along, but we are just very different people. Even just the way we were raised. She is very boujee (that just means fancy) and just very southern. Very different people. But I am excited to learn from her because she is an awesome missionary and I know God wants me with her for a reason! 

These past three weeks I have just kind of felt like I am in a funk. Just kind of slower than I usually am, not as motivated, quicker to get distracted, etc. and it has made me feel really bad! I mean I only have 18 months and I don't want to waste a single second! And don't get me wrong, I was still being obedient and staying busy and working hard, I just didn't feel as motivated to do so. Weird, right? I think that part of it was having a sick companion where we couldn't do as much, that I just slowed down and got used to it. Well, I was talking to Sister Whitmarsh and Sister Moala about it (#trioLIFE) and they told me that it was normal. They have both been out for about 14 months and they said that they felt the same way when they were almost halfway, that they were just tired. But, they promised me that it would get better and that it happens to everyone. Rather than just let myself get over it though, I decided to take it to the Lord and I fasted and prayed that He would help me be more motivated and have more energy and greater success. I promised Him that I would push harder if he would help me have the energy to do so. And guess what, HE DID!!!!! Sister Brinkmeier and I have been two very busy bees. Yesterday we literally had back to back assignments, not a single gap until our last hour on the Square, and even then we had set up a lesson! I'm grateful that Heavenly Father is just helping me get my fire back and get back into the work. 

Love you both and I hope that you have the most amazing week ever!!!!!! 

Love, 

Em