I'm FALLING For You ;)

Hey there lovely parents of mine! It was nice just to talk to both of you this week. I'm glad that we got to chat for a little bit, even if it wasn't as long as usual. 

So, we had Mission Leadership Council (MLC) this week. In this all-female mission, there are a lot of Sisters that go and see a counselor. There is one designated counselor in the mission and her name is Kris. So, I have had four companions that go and see her. Sisters Johnson, Harris, Whitmarsh, and Brinkmeier. The appointments usually take about one hour and vary in frequency. Usually about two-three a month. So, this Kris lady I think is super swamped because about half of the mission goes to talk to her. Literally like over 100 sisters go and talk to Kris. This is because a lot of the missionaries here have various problems such as anxiety, depression, homesickness, and are overly-stressed, etc. Basically you name it, they have it. No biggie, but so many sisters are going because of stress that Sister Fisher is getting Kris to come to Relief Society later this week to do a training/lesson on how to deal with stress. That will be awesome! The leaders in the mission also received training on Monday (yesterday) at MLC on the book "Adjusting to Missionary Life" which we will refer to as ATML. So, we had about a thirty-minute training on how to use the resource and how we as a mission, are going to start using this resource more. It was super good! I hope that it will help more sisters find ways to help themselves and adjust better to all phases of missionary life and just normal life. 

Some fun stuff for you, we met three guys from Mainland China yesterday and they have met with missionaries before! One even went to a baptism. We taught him the word "dunked" because he didn't know how to say went all the way under the water. Funny, right? He then taught us how to say "awesome" which is very similar to a very naughty word. He then said the f word and s word and then we were like "oh we don't say those things, we try to keep our language clean and professional" he was like oh okay so sorry! Do you want to learn them in Chinese though? And we were like "uh no that is okay" so they taught us how to say shoes instead. They were sooo funny though and we added them on Facebook. One of them even texted me individually and sent me videos of the aquarium that they had been to earlier that day. Too funny. 

I also met this guy named Ray in the South Visitor's Center. Ray was an interesting dude. He had a massive heart attack and actually died eight times and then was in a coma on life support and they unplugged him to see if he would wake up and they saw his finger move and he was alive and good! yay! Then he had an allergic reaction to the medicine and his skin starting burning and peeling off. He showed me a picture. Gross. But he is good! And only one year later! He was saying that he knows that God has a plan for him, he just needs to figure it out. So, I was like yeah He does! And we gave him a Book of Mormon as well as a Plan of Salvation Pamphlet and told him to read the Pamphlet and then look up the scriptures that it references in the Bible and Book of Mormon to read more about the plan that God has for him. He took my email and phone number and took a picture with me and some other sisters! So cool! He actually texted me today, only one day later and thanked me for spreading God's word. How neat is that? I don't know if we will start teaching him because he was kind of an odd duck, but we will for sure try. 

I told you earlier in the call that the queue for Teaching Center has been crazy dead. BUT we had some miracles and we found four new people. The best one, I think, is Barbara. She was a Bible request and upon calling her, we find out that Barbara knows NOTHING about the Bible and nothing about God and Jesus Christ. Her knowledge is that "God is the Father and Jesus is His Son and they might actually be the same person" and that's it. Wild. I explained to her that they were two different people but that they both loved her so much and the Bible could help her learn more. Then I asked her if she had heard about the Book of Mormon and she said no so I told her that it was more scripture that could help her and I asked her if she wanted a copy of that too and she said yes!!! YAY! Plus, she has no religious background really so it'll be easier for her to accept the Book of Mormon as legit because she doesn't know jack squat! She was like 23 and had a three-year-old son and was so cute. She named her son David because she heard from a random pastor in the hospital when she was giving birth that David was a strong dude in the Bible. So, she named her son David. Isn't that just too cute? Anyways, we are excited to work with her so maybe just pray for Barbara that she will continue to have a desire to come closer to God and that she will want to keep talking with us and with the local missionaries:) 

During one of our Tabernacle shifts this past week, we talked to these three girls that worked on a cruise ship for like 20 years. Not really, it was only 20 minutes. But they were so cool! Two of them were from England (connections baby) and they were just so cute. They had some questions and we became friends on Facebook. One of them was a singer and she even sang in the Tabernacle because we told her that she had to. She wants to do West end when she goes back home and her voice is actually legit and I told her that when she gets into a play, just let me know and I would come and see her. Cool right? But yeah, a cool thing is that the next morning we had Tabernacle again which doesn't usually happen, having it so close to another Tabernacle shift, and THEY CAME IN AGAIN!!!!!! If anything, I think it was God telling us not to forget about them. At the very least, we made some friends and created a good first impression for these three girls. So cool. 

I met these other cool people, an aunt, and her niece. The aunt was a member but the niece was not. They were going around Temple Square seeing all of the things and learning together! The aunt had really been talking a lot about the Book of Mormon and how it doesn't take anything away, but just adds to the Bible. I talked to them at the Christus and we had this great conversation and then I invited them to come and watch God's Plan (you know the video about families that they had in the DC Visitor's Center?). So, we go with four other people that also wanted to watch and it was the BEST God's Plan tour that I have ever taken. Sometimes, I feel really awkward in there and like I don't know what to say, but this time I just let the Spirit take over and I focused a lot on the Savior. I just told them that if they focused on the Savior and tried to work more to be like Him as individuals and as families, that they would be happier. We gave them all copies of the Family a Proclamation and invited them to read through it and find one thing that they are lacking on and develop it and they all said they would. I will never ever see that girl (her name is Bailey by the way and her aunt is Savanna) again but I know for sure that at the Christus and in the video she could feel the Spirit. I know that one day she will come around, even if I never know about it. That can be really hard about serving here sometimes, we have these awesome lessons and spiritual experiences on Temple Square but you don't ever really know where they are going to go. Even people who give contact info don't always respond like they say they will. I have faith though and I  know that they will be okay and this was just the beginning of their journey in the Gospel of Jesus Christ and not the end. 

Okay, some other fun things we did this week was make a pumpkin pie! Not the crust, we bought that, but the filling we totally did! Also, I cooked for myself twice. I know, pretty impressive. We also went on a canyon drive with our mission nurse which was AWESOME. Sister Mace (the nurse) has a Mini Cooper and we drove with the top down through the canyon and up into the mountain and there was so much SNOW!!! We stopped at a place a took some pics and then talked to some dudes from Wisconsin and they were pretty cool. They had moved to UT literally yesterday to work at Snowbird. I told them to come down to Salt Lake City and to Temple Square and we would give them a tour! They were actually really funny and were all admiring Sister Mace's Mini Coop. We drove back down which was just as beautiful as going up and listened to classical music and just kind of froze a little because it was COLD up there but it was such fun. Honestly, it was nice to get a change of scenery. It can get old being in the same city all day every day. The exact same 35 acres and the same walk and the same everything. It was nice to get some fresh air (literally) and go see some nature. I felt calmer up there. I'm grateful for Sister Mace and for her driving us up there, what a blessing and just what I needed for sure. Also, I love my roomies. They have been super loving and supportive to me and just writing me sticky notes and encouraging me. I'm grateful for them and their kindness. 

Okay, I think that's all I have for you! I love you so much! I miss you both a lot! Esp with the holidays and fall and thinking about Christmas soon I'm super bummed that I can't be with you. Oh well, I guess there is always next year, right?? 

LOVE YOU!!!!!

Love 

Em 

Elder Holland Has Soft Hands

Hellloooo everyone! 

This week was pretty amazing because we had an Apostle of the Church come and speak to our Mission! Elder Jeffrey R. Holland! He came to speak to us on last Thursday at 6:45 a.m. We were planning on getting there at 6:30, like we were told to. But then we heard that Sisters were going to start showing up at 5 and we determined with the members of our district that we would not let anybody get there before us and steal the good seats. So, naturally, we made a pact and we showed up at the East Gate of Temple Square right at 5 a.m. to discover that the gates were locked. Upon calling security to let us in, we discovered that they would not let us in. So we got up at 4:30 a.m. literally for nothing. We waited outside in 20 degree weather until about 5:30 when a nice maintenance guy walked by and let us in. I don't even know his name but God bless him. After waiting for another hour or so, Elder Holland was officially in the mission home! He let us all go up and shake his hand and tell him where we were from and that was just the coolest thing ever! 

I got two big things out of his comments. One, that Temple Square may not see the fruits of our labors, but hour by hour, minute by minute, we are the most productive mission in the church. And that isn't to put other missions down, but with the number of guests that we have and how many people we talk to and teach, we just get to have that opportunity. What a blessing, even if we can't see the fruits of our labors all the time! The other thing is that a mission is extremely short. We need to make every single moment count. I loved that because sometimes the mission can seem really long, but really, 18 months is nothing. I'm so grateful for this time that I have to focus 100% on the Lord. 

I hope everyone has an amazing week! 

Sister Moran 

p.s. we went to a pumpkin patch with some sisters in our zone last pday so enjoy these fun pics

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Hey there my loving parents! Thanks for always supporting me here on the mission! Thanks for raising me in a nice and gospel centered home! Thanks for sending me packages and letters and for caring about my companions and sending them things too! I really appreciate all of those things and I just don't really think that I can articulate what it really means that you do all of this for me. So just thanks. 

Okay so nothing really happened this week but I will tell you about some cool people that we found online:) 

Stoney: She (I didn't know if it was a he or a she initially but then we discovered that it was indeed a she thanks to the local missionaries) requested a Bible. So, I called her and talked to her about her request and then I asked her why she wanted a Bible ( I know, what an inspired question;) and she said that she wanted it because it was different than other Bibles. I was like  "what?" And she was like yeah it is different than the King James version and I was like ohhhhhhhhhhhh yeah the Book of Mormon. That is what she wants. The Book of Mormon. So then we are talking about the Book and how it could help her come closer to Christ and we were like okay okay do you want a physical or digital and she was like digital and then I was like dang it and I was hoping she was wanting a physical so that way we could send the local missionaries to deliver it to her. SO I told her that she could download the app and then texted her the link. Then (because I wanted her to meet with locals still) I told her that we had people that could study with her in person as well as me online and she could do both. I knew it would be a long-shot but BOOM she said yes, so we sent the locals!!! Turns out she is planning on going to church this Sunday and is a super sweet lady. What a miracle!

Etta: This woman is actually hilarious. The missionary department is doing this new initiative where they are wanting to get away from people requesting just an item, say a Bible or a Book of Mormon. Because, when people get the item, they just tend to stop talking to us when they get it. NOW, the missionary department is wanting to offer people experiences so that way they want to continue to meet online and in person. So now people can request Bible studies and Book of Mormon studies. So, Etta was a Bible study and she wanted to study online. I call her and we talk about it and it was a good conversation and then all of the sudden, she asked me what organization I was from. I told her "The Church of Jesus Christ" and she said "of Latte-day Saints??" and I was like "uh, yeah" and then I was like dang it she isn't going to want to do the Bible study. She went a little anti at that point and I was like ugh and I almost shut it down but then the Spirit was like, just stay patient, maybe she just doesn't understand. So, I answered her questions and corrected her many, many misconceptions. Let me tell you, it got the point where at the end I bore I think the most powerful testimony that I have ever given about the Book of Mormon and how divine it is and how much it has helped me and how it could help her. I promised her that if she read it with a sincere heart with the intent to ask, she would get an answer. And then she was just silent. I asked her "Is that something that you would be willing to do? To know for yourself if the Book of Mormon is true" and she just said "yes". Then she agreed to the local missionaries and we set up a time to call her back and talk more. She is a cool lady. Honestly, I don't know if she will go anywhere because she is pretty stubborn, but I do know that both of us can feel the Spirit. 

Nesha: Nesha was another Bible study request and she was the cutest little lady ever and she just had the biggest desire for her and her family to come closer to God. This desire came from her 20-ish year old daughter asking her questions about God and Nesha realized that she didn't know the answers. So, she requested a Bible study so she could learn more about God and then help her family and they could join in later on. Well, said we could do that Bible study and then do her one better and I asked her if she had ever heard about the Book of Mormon. She said yes but not too much. So, I told her what it was and how it would help her come closer to God and know more of Him and of His Son soooo yeah. She said she would like to study that one too because the more she could learn the better!!! When the missionaries went over the second time, she had all of her kids there ready to listen and the missionaries taught the restoration and everyone was just enthralled and loved everything about it! Apparently Nesha said that this gospel is what she and her family needed at this point in time! What a miracle! We text her pretty often and talk about what she learns and how it is going and we are going to call her soon to read the Book of Mormon. It is such a miracle!!!

Kelly (I think that is her name anyway): Requested a Bible and it was a pretty standard Bible request call and then I just felt like I should tell her about the Book of Mormon which was weird because it was out of nowhere but I was like yeet why not and then she said that she used to have one!!! She told me that when she was younger she had gone to church and also girls camp with one of her friends when she was younger but had since lost contact and her Book of Mormon, but she said that she would love a new copy! We are going to be calling her in the next few days so pray for her! I think her name is Kelly... I think lol. 

I also talked to a crazy guy named Quentin on the phone and he straight up told me that he was married and that he had a fiance that he was having sex with and he asked me if that was a sin. I said yes that is a sin. He said he wanted to follow Jesus Christ more and I asked him if he was willing to do take the steps to do that and he said no because he likes his fiance too much and straight up, he told me that going to heaven wasn't enough motivation for him to stop and change his life. It was really sad. He said he still wanted to meet with the missionaries though and I told him that I was not comfortable sending them so I wouldn't. He said he would give me a call in a year when he was married to his fiance and was no longer sinning. What a guy. Poor Quentin. Maybe pray for him? He needs it. 

I'll end my email with some fun quotes that we have had from this past transfer: 

"Your mom" - Sister Simon (Australia) 

Sister Brinkmeier in the Temple: "Okay, I'll just tell them that I am diabetic and that I am crashing and I have to go through to the celestial room first" me: "You're going to lie in the Temple?" Sister Brinkmeier: "Well I didn't say it was the perfect plan" 

"You miss 100% of the shots you don't take... I think Michael Scott said that" - Sister Moran 

"Wow, my beauty is so fake" - Sister Brinkmeier 

"Oh FLEEP" - everyone our apartment 

"Hey boo boo" - Sister Duapa (Philippines) 

"Elder Holland has really soft hands" - Sister Galvez (Georgia) 

"This transfer went faster then the money on my card" - Every sister on this mission

Well I hope you enjoyed this email! It took me a hot minute to write so, you're welcome. Also, Sister Brinkmeier and I are trying to think of low-key Halloween costumes that we could wear on square. If you could do some pinterest searching and get back to us with some low-key ideas, it would be much appreciated. Thanks!!

Love and miss you both so much!! Talk to you next week!!!

Love

Em 

Conference Baby!

Hey everyone! This past weekend was General Conference and in case any of you don't know, that is a pretty important weekend in the church, where we hear from the leaders about how we can come closer to Jesus Christ. It gets even MORE important when you are serving your mission at Temple Square. These Sisters go all out. Let me tell you, I don't think that I have ever seen more fake eyelashes and tanning lotion in my whole entire life. It is kinda funny to think about how seriously all the missionaries on Square take two days. In April at the last conference, I didn't really look much different than I did any other day of the week, this conference though I had a very talented and beautiful and kind companion that did my makeup for me. The things we do in the hopes that we will get in the Ensign. 

But for reals, I love this time of year and how much work there is to do on the square. It is unique because there are thousands and thousands of members around so we get to go around and ask them all for referrals. We would explain that we teach online and ask them for people that we could reach out to and maybe start teaching. I'm grateful for the missionary-minded members that gave us their friends and loved ones for us to reach out to and teach. We for sure are going to be busy on the computers this next week or so! 

We are down to the last week of the transfer. It is crazy how fast six weeks goes! By next pday, I should know if I will have a new companion or not so stay tuned! I could honestly see Sister Brinkmeier and I staying together so it is all up in the air at this point. 

I hope you all have a great week! 

Sister Moran 

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This past week was pretty fun! The last pday, the mission activity was watching the Sound of Music. I had been saying since my second transfer that the Sound of Music was a good wholesome movie and that we should watch it as a mission. Lo and behold president read my mind. It was so fun to watch and to listen to all of that music. Also, since we are the only zone with Tuesday pday, we had all of the theater one to ourselves. Sister Brinkmeier and I snatched the best seats with an unobstructed view (nailed it) and because we are the only zone with Tuesday pday, we literally got unlimited snacks. Like SO MUCH POPCORN and ICE CREAM SANDWICHES and CANDY. So fun. Plus, it was kind of like a blast from the past and homesickness for Germany. I was just remembering when we went on that Sound of Music bike tour and it was such fun! Also, just Germany and Austria and Switzerland I think are just the most beautiful place ever. It really made me miss it. 

We took a few German tours this past week. My favorite was of this German couple that are members and they were in town for Conference! They had the cutest story too. The guy was 43 (but looked like mid-thirties tops, he was very attractive) and his wife was 22 or 23, they had been married for a year. She had gotten baptized a few years back after coming to family night at like a YSA thing and then he invited her to come to hear him speak in church and then she just came every Sunday and got baptized a few months later. Pretty cool! Then, a few years later, they got married. They were literally the cutest couple I have ever seen though, no jokes. We took them through God's Plan and at the end they were both crying the husband was like "I am a lot older than my wife and it makes me said that there will be a time that I won't be here with her anymore" and they were just both crying as he was saying this but then he was like "I am just so grateful that we have the Temple so that we can be together forever and I can see her after we die and everything will be okay." Sister Brinkmeier and I were both about to cry at this point it was just so tender and wow. Hands down my favorite German tour that I have ever taken, if not one of my favorite tours on my whole mission. Even though it was with members and I don't usually like that, I was grateful to gain a new appreciation for the Temple. 

General Conference was really good! We had the whole spiel on terrorism and what do with an active shooter and what not to do so that was a good reminder. The actual days of the conference were really good too. I loved going to the women's session with my whole heart. I just felt so peaceful when President Nelson was talking. I just had this insane desire to be a holy woman. Like, I thought about parties and USU and how I thought it was so fun and I just didn't have the desire to do that or do those things anymore. I had a desire to go to the Temple and read my scripture and pray and stuff. Don't get me wrong I still love to have fun, but my views on it shifted and when I go home I want to be less in the world than I was when I left. 

Our whole zone got 50 referrals total and Sister Brinkmeier and I got 26 of them. I really don't know how people didn't get more. Everyone was asking us after "how did you get that many" and we were just like "you have to target the YSA, pre-mission people and RMs" That is so true too because they will give you people left and right. The others, not so likely. So yeah, we just know the crowd that will be willing to give us people. Work smarter, not harder. But still hard. You know what I mean. And mom, you are right, General Conference on Temple square is a party, especially when you are a missionary here. We get fed all three meals a day, only 30 minute meal times though because we have so much work to do. I love being busy all day every day. I can really get to the end of the day and feel satisfied with the work that I have done. Even though Conference is mostly members, I still got to teach two lessons to nonmembers and I even got their contact info! The stand out one was with this lady named Yasmin. She for reals was super curious about what was going on and what our church believed. I taught her basically the whole restoration, gave her a Book of Mormon, and got her phone number. It was a General Conference miracle! While I was talking to Yasmin, these two guys from Myanmar came up to Sister Brinkmeier and told her that they wanted to meet with missionaries! Just right off the bat! It is so crazy that we were standing at the most unlikely desk of all of Temple Square and three prepared people just wandered our way. What a miracle. God is super aware of His children. 

Well, I love you both a lot. Thanks for reading this crazy long email and for all of your support! I really appreciate it! Miss you! 

Love 

Em 

Conference Prep Week

Hey! This email will probably be a little shorter because I don't really feel like anything happened this week. So, here you go!

We had Zone Conference this Wednesday and it was good! I feel like every zone conference gets a little less exciting though. Like I know what is coming. Musical number. Sister Fisher roasting us. President Fisher telling us to love our companions and to be a little more obedient. One or two trainings from Preach My Gospel from the Zone Leaders, and people crying from the departing sister's testimonies. I was praying before Zone conference that my heart would be softened and that I would learn something that I needed to and the only real big thing I learned is that I need to be doing more studies and more meaningful studies. So, I have made a new goal that when we are just sitting around for 20 minutes at dinner, to use that time to study more. I am excited to see how Heavenly Father will use my knowledge that I learn during meal times!

This week we had a lesson with Savanna! I don't know if you remember, but she is the girl that we met in the South Visitor's Center and took on a tour and almost committed to baptism in the first 30 minutes. Yup. Well, we finally got to video call her at like 9ish (11ish her time in Florida) and it was a good time. We talked about the Book of Mormon and her boy problems and if the Book of Mormon could help her even with things like that. We invited her to pray and to go to church. She couldn't make it this week but she promised to go next week and we are excited because the Young Single Adult ward is right near her! She is just so busy though. She works all day and then has night school so it is really hard to stay in contact with her consistently. We are praying that the Young Single Adult ward will provide her with some good friends and that will motivate her more to meet with missionaries and to read and pray and grow. It was so cool though because she told us that she was stressed earlier in the week and was crying that she really wanted to feel comfort and she just picked up the Book of Mormon, not even to read, but just to hold and immediately she just felt more peace. That was a huge testimony to me that the Book of Mormon brings peace. She didn't even have to read it and she could feel it! We are so excited for her to read it and to really experience how it can change her life. 

This week was filled with tours on tours on tours. Thankfully, these tours were not mean like the last ones. We had a super good flagpole tour and the people were all super interested and kind. Two of the ladies on the tour had already gotten a Book of Mormon from sisters earlier and had gotten their contact info too. They promised us that they would email them as they started to read. The other couple was soooo funny because literally at the end, they had to go and catch their flight and the dude was like "okay, we need to go now" and the lady was like "but you don't understand I want to go to the museum and see the death masks of Joseph and Hyrum Smith, it'll only take a second, please we have time" and the dude was like "I don't really feel like you are listening to me, we have thirty minutes to get to the airport we need to go". I don't know what they decided to do in the end, but I got the lady's phone number and I sent her the link to the church's website so she could watch General Conference! She seemed especially interested. She hasn't texted me back yet so I think I will try again in a few days and remind her that General Conference is this weekend and to tune in. 

Speaking of General Conference..... IT IS RIGHT HERE PEOPLE. LITERALLY THIS WEEKEND!!!! This conference is no different than the last. I swear, for the sisters on Temple Square, Conference is the equivalent of the Grammys or the Oscars. Sister Brinkmeier is now calling herself "fake". Today for pday she bought fake tanner, fake eyelashes, a new kind of curler thingy, etc. all for Conference. Like half of the sisters here are doing similar things and it cracks me up. Sister Brinkmeier told me that "she's got me" for Conference for makeup and stuff so that'll be good because I literally have no idea how to do anything like that. 

We had our service project this week. We went to Days for Girls! That is the organization that makes reusable feminine hygiene for girls in Africa who don't have access to it. This is my second time doing it on the mission. It is a really cool project! The job that I did this time around though was super boring. We literally made sure that the bags that they all came in were the right size and that the ribbons were burned so they wouldn't unravel. After that, we all went to In-n-Out. Don't get me wrong, I think that it is good, but I don't think that it is good enough for all of the hype that everyone gives it. But, it was fun to go and get to know some of the Sisters in the Zone better. We ended up getting back to Temple Square super late and we missed two appointments that we had set up. I was so mad but hey, one of them rescheduled and the other one never responded to my text or calls later so she probably wouldn't have picked up the phone for our appointment anyway. 

This transfer has been really good for finding new people. We usually find between 10-13 new people a week and a lot of the referrals that we send and talk to and text are actually progressing with the local missionaries which is awesome! Especially because we had about six people who were on date to be baptized at the beginning of the transfer and all of them have fallen off date except for one. Please pray for Alisha Pressler that she will just keep on keeping on and progressing for her baptismal date on October 12th!!! 

Honestly, this week was not that fun and not really anything happened. So I guess that is all that I have for you! I love you both so much and I miss you so much and I hope that you have the best week ever!!!!! 

Love 

Em