I Identify as a Vampire

Hey Everyone! I turned 20 this past week! It is weird to think that I have somehow been alive for that long but here I am. All of the sisters were so kind to me and showed me a lot of love for my birthday. Especially my past companions and roommates! They all worked hard at decorating my door and desk and living room so I could come home to a surprise. Thanks to everyone back home that reached out to me and made my 20th birthday a special one. I ate brownies, cookies, half of a cheesecake, and probably zero fruits and veggies for a few days. That's probably not the best way to start my twenties. 

This week was pretty standard. I honestly can't say that too much really stood out about anything that we did. We taught some more good lessons with Apollo and he is progressing well! The problem is he always seems to have something going on on Sunday. Pray that he can make it next week! We also are teaching this guy (who will remain unnamed) and he told us yesterday over the phone that he identifies as a vampire. And he wasn't even joking about that! After some research, Sister Brinkmeier and I discovered that it is indeed a thing. We also learned that he is into what he calls warrior shamanism. A cool guy to say the very least. 

We have transfers in t-minus six days!! Sister Brinkmeier and I won't be staying together but I am excited to have a new companion next week. So stay tuned! 

Love you and I hope you have an amazing week:) 

Sister Moran 

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PARENTS!!!!!!! 

This email will be a little shorter because I talked to you for so long on the phone. Which was SUPER NICE!!! I feel like I haven't been able to talk to you too much the past few weeks, especially you dad, so it was nice to be able to talk without a time limit and just listen. 

We honestly have some solid people that are progressing. I am worried a little bit about vampire man but he loves God still and goes to church. One problem he has is so many lifestyle changes and having to be so committed to the church if he joins. I have some ideas of what to say to him but if you have any more I would love to hear them! It is honestly a pretty normal thing for people to feel that way and say that. Apollo is just the most wholesome person that I have ever met. He is the cutest little guy and he has the biggest and most pure heart. I just want to come closer to God and I love getting to talk to him! I really hope that he can make it to church! His date will for sure have to get moved back because he was supposed to be baptized on the 27th and he hasn't even gone to church yet... awkward. We will keep working with him and keep you updated though! We have another new lady and her name is Clemekia. She is super sweet and I ended up chatting with her for 20 minutes on our first phone call. She spilled her guts to me and said that all this bad stuff is going on and she wants to get closer to God but she feels like as soon as she is trying to make the changes to do that in her life, her life just fell apart. She almost wishes she had just stayed doing the things that she was doing before because her life was more stable before. We talked about Job and about how it has never been easy following Christ. I mean, He Himself died because people didn't like Him! We introduced the Book of Mormon to her on the call (she was a Bible request btw) and talked about how it could help her. We also talked about some welfare assistance that the church could provide. Sometimes, people just come on asking for help and taking advantage, but I really felt the spirit telling me that this lady needed this and she needed to know that we cared about her situation. She was very grateful and even though she wasn't able to make it to church to meet with the Bishop and everything about her situation, she should hopefully make it next week! The Elders that she is working with are super good at communicating with us what is going on. They told us that she might have gotten into some anti material though... pray for her that her heart will be softened!!! We had eight people go to church last week which was actually a HUGE MIRACLE!!! Usually, we are lucky if we get one or two to go, but EIGHT?!?!!? We were both shooketh. 

We have been working hard to teach a lot even though the queue and the square are dead. We taught 24 lessons last week out of our 20 goal!!! We upped it to 25 this week because why not! We are for sure getting split so we want to go out with a bang. It has been cool to see the Lord provide the people online and on the square for us to teach. Even if all of them don't want to stay in contact with them, I know that being able to teach them and invite them to change will make a difference. I honestly sometimes have a hard time feeling like I am doing anything of worth here at Temple Square because I take tours and maybe one in ten people want to stay in contact and then I talk to people all day on square and no one wants my number or email and no one will give me theirs, but I know that the Lord doesn't forget about these people and He is taking care of them. Studies show that it takes about seven invitations for someone to accept or to change. I am just glad to be one of those invitations. Also, one of My ZLs that is leaving the mission soon gave her departing talk in Sacrament meeting and she talked about how her grandma went on a tour when she was a young adult of temple square. She did the "tour thing" and she felt touched by what the missionaries said and what she felt but then she went home and got married and moved to Cali. Her husband (the grandpa) then got a job offer in Orem UT! They weren't sure about the move but they felt positive feelings about the "Mormons" and they didn't know much about them, but that they were good people that loved God. They ended up getting baptized when they moved over and then they moved to AZ where this sister is from. Now, their granddaughter is now one of those Temple Square missionaries that were a part of their conversion. Isn't that pretty neat? We hear a bunch of stories like that but sometimes it is hard to believe when none have happened to you. I just trust that what I am doing has worth. Even talking to members has worth even if it isn't my favorite thing to do in the world. I guess that I why God wanted me here at Christmas, to humble me and to love the members that come to Temple Square more because there are going to be A LOT. 

Sister Brinkmeier and I actually had a really good week. We got along and there were no silent treatments and no long comp inventories. It was surprising for both of us I think! We were talking during inventory in our Weekly Planning and we were asking "what did we do differently this week that made us better?" and neither of us knows. Weird. Maybe it is because we can see the finish line? Because we are almost done? I think all of my prayers that I literally say on the bathroom floor in the middle of the day are finally starting to take effect. I'm glad that we stayed together for a second transfer, even though it was the longest and the hardest of my mission. I remember at the end of our first transfer, I was trying to think of what I had learned from her and I honestly hadn't learned anything. I just didn't. But this transfer did I learn a lot oh my. I think one of the biggest things has been that I need to seek to understand before I seek to be understood. I have found that as I try to listen to her and listen to the Spirit, things work out better than if I just try and get my point across and get her to listen to me. I try to always see how she feels so that way I can make a more informed decision and response. That has been a big thing that I obviously still need to work on, but I'm glad that I was able to start to develop these past few weeks. I am excited about the transfer though!! I have no idea who my companion will be and I am nervous but I know that whoever it is will be who God wants me to be with! I really think I'll be normal next transfer. I don't think I will be in leadership anymore, I think I will be a normal just regular missionary. That is what I want and what I am anticipating when the transfer board comes out anyways. I'm grateful for the time I had with Sister Brinkmeier and I am glad that we had such a good last few weeks together! I think that she will be someone that I will be friends with even after the mission and I think that a lot of that comes from the stuff we did go through that made us stronger in the end. 

If I think of anything else I will email it to you but I love you both so much and I miss you both!! I have been a little homesick as of late so I am trying to work even harder so that way I don't notice it! I know that it will only get worse as the holiday's approach so it will be a good thing that the square will be so busy. I'll talk to you soon! Have a great week! 

Love 

Em

President Oaks is Gluten Free

Hello everyone! It has been an eventful two weeks! First of all, we met not one, but TWO general authorities this week. The first we actually met was President Oaks. We were dropping off a package of gluten free food from our mission president and wife early in the morning for him. They let us into the lobby of the administration building and from there his secretary was supposed to grab it. We were patiently waiting and then lo and behold the man himself that we were there for comes out of his office and shakes all of our hands and says hello before he headed off for the day... and he didn't even take his package, he just said to "give it to Marge." Pretty cool. The second was Elder Uchtdorf!!! That one was pretty neat because we were just going to eat food at the mall across the street and he was crossing the street at the same time and he shook our hands and we got to say hello. I even talked to him in German and he responded in German! That wasn't on my bucket list or anything but it probably should have been.  

This week we were super blessed to teach a lot of lessons online. Our online teaching center has been pretty dead lately so that has been a huge miracle to still be able to teach while we're there!  I don't know if I mentioned this before but we have a new person on baptismal date! His name is Apollo and we get to call him about once or twice a week and we coordinate with the local sisters and we take turns teaching. It has been pretty cool to see Apollo get happier the more we meet. His grandmother just passed away and as we were teaching him about the Atonement of Jesus Christ and how Christ felt everything that he did, he just said "I love that. He knows what I am going through so I don't have to go through it alone." Apollo for sure is a blessing in our lives and we are praying that he is able to be baptized! 

Things are getting all decked out for Christmas and the lights should turn on soon. I'm really excited to be able to celebrate here and see the lights, it will be my first time! 

I hope that you all have an amazing week! 

Sister Moran 

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Hi Parents! 

On Friday we were assigned to go to the Humanitarian Center. Sister Brinkmeier had served there for four transfers but I had never served there before and I knew zero of the facts. So, I studied the site guide and then took my very fist tour! We ended up giving three tours that day and I memorized most of the information so that I actually knew what was going on in the tour. Someone asked me a question and I said that I didn't know and that it was my first tour and they said "wow I would have never guessed you are doing awesome" and that made me feel good. So, if you want to know about how the Humanitarian Center works, I am now your girl. We even made some hair ties because they have sewing machines and spare fabric. I made one but I gave it to our roomie for her bday so I didn't get to keep any, but I will finish one that I started on a mission machine. They have a cafeteria at the Humanitarian Center and they feed the missionaries that serve there for free which is cool because I got a whole free lunch. The head cook there is super good friends with a bunch of the sisters and he came and ate lunch with us. His name is Brent. Brent is a cool dude, I can now say for myself and not just blindly agree when other sisters say it. Friday was a good day to say the least because "the Humanitarian Center is my happy place" according to Sister Brinkmeier. Friday, Cole also came and visited me and gave me a birthday present and it was the cutest. I don't know how to help him feel the spirit because he was in the MTC of all places and didn't feel it. weird. But it was nice of him to come all the way from Vegas (he came for a concert) and take the time to come see me at Temple Square. Plus, he waited for three hours because we were at the Humanitarian Center and not on square. What a homie. 

On Saturday, we MTC contacted, when a missionary who is in the MTC but will be going to a visitor's center mission comes to Temple Square for  a day to get some real-life experience. I was with this girl named Sister Wong and she was form Hawaii! She was super cute and she was going to the Oakland Visitor's Center. We ended up teaching two lessons on Square and one online which was super cool. It was funny too because we had some good contacts on Square and some really awkward ones. We walked up to this nonmember family and started talking and invited them to see the Christus and I told them that it was my fav spot on Temple Square and then the dad asked me why and I though "yes!!!!! perfect time to make it spiritual" and I told him that I felt peaceful up there etc. and I said I actually love this scripture that describes it perfectly, do you mind if I share it with you and then he said no. That was awkward. I explained what the scripture said and then they all just walked slowly away. I guess she (Sister Wong) could experience the good and the bad that comes with the Visitor's Center life. She was really nervous to talk to people on Square in person though. Online wasn't so bad because she couldn't see them but on Square was a different story. Every time we walked up to someone to say hey, she would mumble under her breath "20 seconds of insane courage" to hype herself up. It was kind of funny. We taught three lessons in Teaching Center which never happens so that was a huge miracle. One was with this lady named Rheu Rheu who we met on square and gave a tour to with her mom. We were kinda in contact with her over messenger for about a month and we finally had our first phone call with her and we talked about what she was hoping the Book of Mormon could do for her and basically she wants to see how it is different from the Bible and she wants to come closer to God when she reads it. We started her off with 3 Nephi 17 and told her what it was about and she seemed super pumped about it. She is really busy but we set up an appointment for the 21st and we are excited to see what she thinks about it. We taught another guy named Louie and we taught him how to pray. I honestly think that is my favorite thing to teach people. They really have no idea how to communicate with God and this is the way that they can talk with Him and they can come closer to Him. He was really receptive and said that he wanted to make this journey and meeting with us a priority and so we are excited to keep talking with him. We also talked to this lady named Joanne. We read with her in Alma 40 because the missionaries will be teaching her the plan of salvation soon but she had a hard time understanding the scriptural language. We kind of turned into a "if you read and ask God, He can help you understand" and she really liked that. Also, we read the scriptures with Apollo and then called him again earlier this day and taught him the Gospel of Jesus Christ and he is just the cutest thing ever and we are excited to him to get baptized (hopefully) so please pray for him.

Sunday, I gave the closing prayer in church! A lot of people thanked me for it which seemed surprising because it was really just a normal prayer. As I was coming off the stand, President asked me how I was doing as he shook my hand before I left and how Sister Brinkmeier was doing. He said that I just had to weather through it for two more weeks because I would for sure have a new comp next transfer. I don't know about everyone else, but three months is a long time to be with someone 24/7 so I am excited to see who I will be with! Especially because this next transfer it will be Thanksgiving and Christmas so I hope that I get a good one! I am a firm believer that anyone can be a companion if you put in the work. See, Sister Brinkmeier and I were there, then not, and now are pretty much there again. Yay for miracles! Keep praying for us though!!! 

Okay, I think that is about all that I have for you today. I turn 20 tomorrow which is cool and all. It feels weird and I am kind of homesick because I just want to be home with you guys for my bday and Christmas and Thanksgiving and Christmas and new years but I guess that won't be happening. Good times. I knew it would be hard and none of that stuff has even happened yet so that is super cool. 

I love you both and miss you both!!! I'll talk to you in a week!

Love 

Em 

Spooky Szn

Hey Parents!

Let me tell you about Halloween on Temple Square. You are going to wish that you were a Sister missionary serving here by the end of this. So, on Halloween, the square closes at 5. For your information, the Square never closes, like ever. But on this one day a year it does. They close at five and all 200 something sisters all cram into Theater One in our mission home basement thing and we all eat food together! I might mention that during the day all of the sisters are low-key dressed up and then by the nighttime, everyone puts on the rest of their accessories that would not have been appropriate for the Square. So, after we eat, the APs get up and they give us a briefing on what we will be doing next... CAPTURE THE FLAG!!!!!!  ON THE SQUARE!!!!!!!  They even made their own safety video with rules and dos and don'ts. It was legit and it was hilarious. Then, they split us into groups and we were let loose on the square. I will be the first to say that I knew nobody was going to win. There were way too many sisters, about 100 on each team. Even if all of the offensive sisters were in jail, there were still so many sisters guarding the flag and the jail that nothing would really happen. But that didn't make it any less fun. I made one run for the flag and I actually got super far so that was cool. Mostly I played defense but lemme tell you, I went HARD. I was booking it. Keep in mind that we are all wearing proselyting clothes, skirts and dresses and slacks. I was one of the lucky ones that was wearing slacks but my shoes were the worst for running so when I really needed to move fast I took them off. It was 20 degrees outside I may add. But I was still sweating that is how hard I was going. One of the senior couples mentioned it to me the next day and said they had no idea how fast I could go. I thought it was common knowledge but I guess that was the first situation that anyone would have seen me running so it actually makes sense. Anyhow, after running around for what felt like two hours, we had donuts and hot chocolate, ran around some more, had more sugar, and then all got herded into a big theater in the North Visitor's Center. There, they revealed that we would be watching the LIVE ACTION CINDERELLA. That entire movie was a straight scream fest. All of us are way too deprived of romance so even just the Prince and Cinderella looking at each other caused us to flip. But let me tell you, it was unforgettable to watch that movie in that setting. This was easily one of the best nights of my life. Also, Sister Brinkmeier and I dressed up as Elders and it was ICONIC. So many people asked us to take pictures with them, so that was an ego boost. 

Also, I went on I think one of the best exchanges of my life the other day with Sister Norton. She is from Washington State. She is in our district and she and her comp (sister Do from South Korea) had some major problems last week and Sister Brinkmeier and I had to sit them down in a room and facilitate a comp inventory with them and then help them set goals to fix it. Kind of like we had done with ourselves with no supervision the week previous! It went well and they were doing a lot better but we went on exchanges because we're their district leaders and we are supposed to. We just had the best and most full day of missionary work. We taught five lessons and we had a miracle and we stayed super focused during our proselyting time (where we are basically just on Square talking to people and trying to do contacting and lessons for an hour/ covering shifts) which is a big deal because it is way easy to get distracted by other things when you have proselyting time. We found two new people in the Teaching Center even though the online queue is dead and that was a huge miracle. One even wanted to meet with missionaries! We took someone through the God's Plan for His Families presentation and during the last room, the most SPIRITUAL room, the fire alarm went off in the North Visitor's Center. That happened last week too! But, we were almost done anyway, so we took this group of cousins from Australia out the nearest exit in a calm and orderly fashion and asked them what they thought outside. It was kinda awkward because only one of them was answering questions but it was still cool. I met a really cool couple in the Assembly Hall! They had so many questions about the church and just everything so I answered everything by teaching the restoration, half of the plan of salvation, and the Gospel of Jesus Christ all in 15 minutes and super simply (isn't it cool how the Gospel is so simple?) and then they took my contact info and promised they would reach out. One was from Spain and other from American and they lived in "Barthelona" (that is how Carlos, the guy, said it anyway) and his wife was named Emily and we literally had the same birthday just nine years apart! Isn't that neat! Carlos said that it was a sign. I agree, Carlos. They were just super cool. Honestly, it was just a day of hard work and fun with Sister Norton. She is just a good missionary that has the desire to do work but is sometimes held back because of her comp and her comps issues with depression and anxiety. 

Side note: I love Temple Square and I love being a missionary. I love what I do. It is the best thing I have ever done. That doesn't mean that it's easy. Did I cry multiple times this week?? Yes, yes I did. Am I glad that I'm here? Yes, yes I am. 

Back to business, also on my exchange with Sister Norton, we helped Sister Fisher with a gluten-free assignment (because Sister Norton is gluten-free). Sister Fisher's son owns a business that makes gluten-free food and it is named after her because homegirl can't have gluten. Apparently, President Dallin H. Oaks is also gluten-free. So we, under the instruction of Sister Fisher, put together a box of gluten-free things to go to him tomorrow at the Administration Building. However, we wouldn't be on exchanges the next day even though I still wanted to go along to deliver the box of goodies. So Sister Norton invited Sister Brinkmeir and me to go along, kind of as a district activity thing. We get buzzed into the lobby of the Administration Building which is ridiculous fancy btw and I'm pretty sure is made out of solid gold and we are looking around the lobby when lo and behold President Dallin H. Oaks himself walks out of his office and right into four Sister Missionaries that are just chillin in his lobby. I froze. Everyone froze. And he just said "Why hello there sisters, let me shake your hands before I go on my way" so then he shook all of our hands and he asked us what we were doing there and we said "Oh we are here to drop off some gluten-free things for you from President and Sister Fisher" and he said that his secretary Marge would be out shortly to get them. He then went past the gold gate that separates the lobby from the rest of the building and walked away with Elder Soares. Coolest thing ever. Honestly, it was a super cool experience and I am just so blessed because these things have been going on since literally day one. I think that I average seeing a general authority a month. Not too shabby. #bestmissionever #takethatsacramento. Just kidding dad;) 

Also, we had a new person get put on date this week for the 27th of November! I had called him I think last transfer and the missionaries had gone over and done a Bible study and we would text but he just kind of plateaued progression wise. So I texted him and asked how things were going and he said that his grandma had just passed away and he was having a hard time. We comforted him (via text) and then set up a time to call and tell him more about where his grandma is. We got the locals involved because he hadn't been answering their texts and then told them to text him on Facebook because that is where we had been talking and he was super responsive on that. They quickly set up an appointment the day after ours. We taught him the second half of the plan of salvation and the next day the sisters slam-dunked the remainder and invited him to be baptized and he said yes for Nov 27! I'm so excited for him! We now have a weekly appointment and he is super excited to learn more. Also, I'm grateful for the knowledge that we have because it helps take the sting out of death. I'm grateful that he now has some of that same comfort and that he requested a bible and we could help him out. I love what I do!

Dad, I hope your back feels better! Mom, keep on killing it! I  love you both! Also, I can't see the blog on Facebook so I would love to keep getting them in the emails:) I can't see the pics which is weird but that's okay. I miss you guys a lot. I am just a tad bit homesick, I won't lie to you. I think I should probably lose myself in the work more and that would help. Well, I'll talk to you next Tuesday. I love you both so much! Thanks for all the support! 

Love 

Em 

October Snow

Hello Everyone! These past few weeks have been really awesome... minus the snow in OCTOBER. Come on Utah. 

We had MLC (mission leadership council) and we learned all about how to help train the sisters in our districts and zones better. It was really helpful to learn how to do and be better, especially because I actually don't know what I'm doing and I don't know how I am supposed to help other missionaries, so it is nice to get some tips once a transfer haha. 

We are teaching some solid people! I'll tell you about two that are really sticking out to me right now. First off is Apollo Raspberry (I know, he has a dope name). He requested to have a Bible study so we called him and talked to him about it and got to know him and then called his local missionaries and told them about him and they went over and did a Bible study! We kept in contact via FB and would text back and forth about the things he was learning and everything like that. Well, the local missionaries had lost contact with him for a second so we decided to text him and see what was up and it turned out his grandmother had passed away. We told him that we knew where she was and that we could call him and tell him more and he said sure! So, today we got to teach him all about the Plan of Salvation which was just amazing because now he is so much happier! We are going to be calling him every Tuesday now and I'm excited to get to know him better and more importantly, help him get to know his Savior better. 

The other person is this lady named Felicia. Felicia is actually the cutest person ever. She requested a copy of the Book of Mormon and it was so funny because the whole reason she wanted it was because her fiancee is an usher (not at our church though) and she figured if she was going to marry him, she should know God better and she saw an ad that said the Book of Mormon could help her do that. I thought that was hilarious. We called her earlier in the week and sent her some local missionaries and then called her back a few days later to start reading the Book of Mormon with her over the phone. We read a little bit and then we ended up teaching her how to pray. It was the sweetest and most tender phone call to be able to help her communicate with her Father in Heaven. I know that we could all feel the spirit for sure. 

I'm grateful that I get to be part of these people's lives and help them develop a relationship with their Savior. Definitely, the most worthwhile thing I have ever done:) 

Sister Moran

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Hey there parents! 

Let me tell you about this week's exchange. I went with Sister Kearns from Texas! At first, the exchange was a disaster. I felt like we weren't doing anything because last-minute her aunts and Grandma were on square and then we were with them and there was drama in the zone and then we were running everywhere for whatever reason and we had no Teaching Center time and there was a lot to do on Teaching Center and I was feeling a little stressed and like I wasn't going to learn anything missionary from her because we weren't really doing missionary work. BUT THEN OUR DAY GOT REALLY GOOD!!! We took this super powerful tour of these eight ladies (not just spiritual though I cracked some jokes that had these ladies rolling on the ground at one point). It was especially good when we ended at the Christus because afterward, one of them came up to us and just thanked us for sharing our hearts and she said that she felt so warm but also small and big at the same time up at the Christus and just peaceful. We told her that was the Spirit and we tried to get her contact but she told us that she was actually about to start studying at Seminary in January! Kind of ironic. But I fully believe that she will go and look for those feelings there and she won't find them, at least not in the same degree that she did with us. I will never know what happens with her but I know that God has got it all figured out. Man, sometimes being at Temple Square can really suck I just want to STAY with these amazing people. Oh well. Also, just being with Sister Kearns was so nice. I told her that I was trying to be more charitable and loving and I had set all of these sub-goals to help me achieve that. She told me that I was going to go crazy, that I was spiraling. That was so true. It actually calmed me down because I had been feeling very on edge so it was nice to have someone from an outside perspective help me out and help me calm down. Sister Brinkmeier was with the other Zone Leader, Sister Hoffman, the one who I was with last transfer and they had a great time too. 

I love you both a lot and I miss you a lot and please send me lots of pics from Halloween!!! Talk to you next week!

Love 

em