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 

Farewell

Hey everyone! 

This week has been super sad because Sister Harris, my beautiful, awesome, powerful companion is actually going home. Maybe some of you remember, but she is really sick. President Fisher decided that it was time for her to go home to get better there where she can fully rest and not only halfway rest because she is on a mission. I understand, I really, really do but it is just the worse. We have only been together for 2 1/2 weeks but we got really close in that time and I will miss her a lot. I know that home is where the Lord needs her though and I hope that she will get better soon when she is there! 

So, Sister Harris will probs leave tomorrow for Colorado and then I will have a new companion! I don't who, but it will for sure be someone! We are going on three companions in just one transfer, I think that I have broken some kind of record haha. (Actually, it's going to be FOUR companions in one transfer. Emily emailed yesterday to let us know she'd been put in as a third missionary with her roommates Sister Whitmarsh from Australia and Sister Moala from Tonga.)

Well, I hope you all have an awesome week and please keep praying for Sister Harris that she will get better! Love you all! 

Sister Moran

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Okay, this pday has been super wild so I will just try to get everything in here pretty quick if I can. 

So, last Tuesday we had a mission activity and we went to the Mormon Flats and hiked it and it was about 5 miles but the good news it was all flat and when it wasn't flat, it was downhill. When we got to the basecamp we all just hung out and played games! President got out his guitar and we all sang some fun songs and then ate some really good food! We roasted hotdogs and had chips and cookies and s'mores for dessert. They had cornhole at the activity and Sister Harris and I went AT IT. I taught her how to play and for a while, I was really killing it but then I accidentally went over 21 points and it went back down. Sad. We ended up stopping the game at 17-11 (me winning of course) because it was time to eat dessert and then all of the Chinese sisters hijacked the game haha. But it was good! Overall a really fun activity. 

Another fun thing happened this week..... lice. Temple square got a lice infestation. So, on Tuesday, right after the activity at 9:30 pm, we went to the designated lice check room and got our heads checked. I was clean but poor Sister Harris had a bunch of eggs but no bugs. She was about to die. I really didn't want lice but I didn't want her to have lice alone so I literally said a prayer and asked Heavenly Father to give me lice so that way Sister Harris didn't have to have lice alone but alas I had none. So, long story short we had to treat the lice right away so us and one other companionship were up until 1am in the lice check room treating Sister Harris. It took like four hours because this woman has thick hair. It is actually kind of comical how much crap Sister Harris is going through currently. When we finally got home at 1am we were too tired to do anything else but clean our sheets but we obviously couldn't sleep in our beds so we just got new blankets from the "clean" closet and rolled up in them and went to sleep right on the floor. We woke up at 6:30 but then decided to skip exercise time and just use it as a nap time. We then were informed by our zone leaders that we were not allowed to go to square because Sister Harris had lice and we were quarantined for the day. That was actually the worst because Sister Harris is sick and could sleep all day but I am not sick and I was awake all day. I read the entire book of First Nephi, caught up on my journal, stretched, tried out meditation, and sang to myself. It was a good day. 

Thursday, Sister Harris got permission to go to the doctor with her mom (her mom was in town for BYU education week so they just went together) and so I was in a trio with my district leaders for the day which was super awesome! We ended up being in the South Visitor's Center for two hours and working through lunch and then going right to the Assembly Hall and we didn't eat lunch until 3pm. I loved to just finally be up and working hard. When I got Sister Harris back she had just tried drinking a smoothie and then threw it up so we had to take a break so she could nap. It has been so hard to see her so sick. Anyways, they didn't see anything wrong with her stomach but the doctor said that he was pretty sure it was gastroparesis (I don't know if I spelled that right) but they gave her this pill that we refer to as the "magic pill" that should have fixed her as soon as she started taking it. Just have it 15 minutes before you eat and watch it work it's magic!

At first we thought it worked! We eased into things by having some applesauce and she kept it down for two hours but then it came up. We were like oh it isn't a big deal though because that was the first try so of course it will be rocky. After the second, third, and fourth tries, we realized that it wasn't going to work. And so then, like I told you, President was like no I won't send you home because you won't get better there, but then now he is sending her home. We have her flight details, she leaves tomorrow at 11:13 and she needs to be at the airport at 9am. So that is that! I still don't know who my new comp will be or if I will be in a trio or what but I will let you know later if it is still my pday. Or, you can stalk my google photos and see who I start taking selfies with!

It has been really hard with Sister Harris, not because she is hard to deal with because she isn't, she is awesome! She is easily the companion that I became the fastest friend with. But it has been hard because she is sick and we have to go slow. But, do you remember how I told you that I had prayed and asked God to give me a trial and humble me so I could love my companion more? Well, I was thinking that was because I was having a hard time loving Sister Johnson, but when literally the next day I got Sister Harris I was really confused. But now I realize that Sister Harris is how I learned to love more. I feel like the Grinch. Like my heart has grown 3-5 sizes as I have been with her. I have had to serve her and help her and focus on her and not on myself and I will forever be grateful for the two and a half weeks I had with her because I have learned countless valuable lessons. 

Anyways, I love you both a lot and if I know who my new comp or comps will be I will email it to you. Pray for Sister Harris! And also pray for Sharon and her kids!!! Love you so much!

Love 

Em 

Switcheroo

Hey Everyone! I know, the past two weeks have been the longest of your life because you haven't been able to hear from your favorite missionary, but don't worry, I'm back with lots of fun things to talk about;) 

Okay, so these past two weeks have actually been wild because I got a new companion! I know what you are thinking, it hasn't been six weeks yet and you are correct, but, some other sister went home and then one sister came early from outbound and when the APs and President looked at the transfer board, they decided that Sister Johnson and I were the people they needed to split to put with the two struggling sisters. So, my new companion is Sister Harris from Colorado!!!! She is super crazy and I love her a lot. She is very sick though, like very very sick, so if you all could please pray for her it would be greatly appreciated. 

Emily and Sister Johnson, who were companions for three short weeks

Emliy and Sister Harris, her new companion

Anyway, more on missionary work: We found this awesome lady named Sharon and her three kids and literally two days after we first called them they went to church. Then, just two weeks after our initial phone call,  Sharon and her three kids committed to being baptized on September 28! What a miracle! We are so excited for Sharon and her kids and we love them a lot:) 

Well, that is about it but I hope you all have an amazing week! I'd love to know how you're doing so please send me an email and I'll respond as soon as I can:) 

Sister Moran 

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Hey Mom and Dad! Buckle up, this weeks email is a doozy. Okay, it actually isn't that crazy but you know it's chill. 

It all started on Tuesday where I saw how God helps us achieve all of our goals. We had set some good (but hard) goals that morning during planning and then I lowkey forgot about them during the day (whoops), but as I looked back throughout the day I realized that all of them had been achieved! In the South Visitor's Center, this French couple really wanted to learn more but we didn't have anyone that could take them around in French, I thought that all was lost when all of the sudden I just gave them a referral card and told them to put their name, contact info, and address and we would send some missionaries to them in France. They immediately agreed (like what? people never do that) and then two minutes later they were gone and I was able to give the referral to a French sister. What a miracle! That made us achieve our goal of teaching a lesson in the South Visitor's Center. A lesson is teaching a principle, extending an invitation, and asking for contact info by the way. And we did all three of those things! Yay! We had North Visitor's Center right after that and then even though no one took me up on the offer, I invited at least five people to go up to the Christus and we could play the audio for them. I realize that people have their agency and we can invite and invite and eventually someone will accept. So that was us reaching another goal that we had set to invite someone to go to the Christus and hear the audio!

We took not one, not two, but THREE tours on Wednesday and poor Sister Harris was about to fall over by the end of the day. We had a regular scheduled tour, we took a member family with their German exchange student on a last-minute tour, and then we took a VERY LAST MINUTE GERMAN TOUR literally 20 minutes before we were supposed to go home for the day. Have I ever mentioned that I hate giving German tours because I suck at German? But you know it is okay because the Lord provides a way and the gift of tongues is real. They all spoke English except for the Grandma anyway so it wasn't too bad if I forgot a word because I could just ask and they would know the word and I could then just keep plugging along. We actually have given like three German tours in the past week which is crazy because usually I maybe, MAYBE give one a week so maybe God is telling me that I should really study German more. The other stand out German tour that we took was for this German young couple that were members and went to BYUI and the guy's parents that were not members, kind of crazy to meet a young person from Germany that were members. Anyways, it went well and at the end we gave the parents a card for the Book of Mormon because according to them "they don't have enough time to read it" so I just told them that they could listen to it while they drive. Noice sister Moran. Anyways, I've noticed as well that I have a lot more luck with the German people than with the native English speakers and I think that it is because my German is not so good so everyone will just accept a Book of Mormon and contact information because they just feel bad saying no. Hey, whatever works right? 

There were outbound calls in Relief Society this past Thursday and 23 sisters got called, including TWO from my group. Crazy. The rest of us will probs start going in the next few transfers. I hope that I can go in January so I can be here for Christmas and for the lights and then leave during the dead season and come back for General Conference and then just go home not too long after. That would be ideal, hopefully, God agrees with me because I really want to go in January. 

Sister Harris and I have started a new tradition in the mission. FRISBEE FRIDAY!!! Basically, every Friday during exercise time we invite a bunch of sisters to go and play frisbee with us at the track of a high school not too far from where we live. We had about 14 sisters go this past week and that was good. The problem was, we only had a dinky one dollar frisbee and it literally broke two minutes into the game (sad) but then we noticed that there were some coaches and a bunch of student athletes that were doing early morning practice that were starting to show up so Sister Doman asked if we could borrow a frisbee and then return it in like 20 minutes. And, because we are serving our mission in Utah, they said yes!!! Our team ended up winning 2-1 and I caught both of the "touchdowns" (I don't know if that is what they are called but oh well). One of them was particularly epic because I dove for it and did a sick roll at the end to complete the catch for the point. Boom nailed it. Sister Harris afterward mentioned that she had no idea I was so good at frisbee. I guess that I am just a woman of many talents. 

Okay so update on Sister Harris: she is quite sick. She still can't keep anything down but protein drinks and plain toast and the past few days she hasn't even been able to keep those down. We had a doctor appointment yesterday where she swallowed some Barium and they tracked it in an x-ray as it went down. The only thing that they found was that she has a small hernia and some reflux, but both of those are results of the throwing up and not the reason she is throwing up so we still have no idea what is happening. We are having a scope done on Thursday and hopefully that will give us some more answers. But poor Sister Harris can't take it any longer. She threw up late last night and she texted President that she can't do it anymore. It has been almost three months that she has been throwing up and not eating and she has lost probably around 20-30 pounds and it is just really bad. She spends a lot of time napping during the day because she just doesn't have energy and needs more rest. She has told me that when she was still outbound she felt like she needed to go home and she felt peaceful about it and it sucked but that she was going to do it, but them President Fisher called and said no you can get better at Temple Square so just come here and she felt okay about that too but now that she is here and she is praying about it again, she just feels like she needs to go home. She told President Fisher lowkey and they are going to talk later today, but he wants her to stay and see what happens with the scope and I don't want her to go but I think that it might be best because she is just so so sick. I pray for her so much you have no idea. So so much. Like literally every time I say a prayer, even if it is just a personal prayer for food, I pray for her, but she isn't improving and they still don't have any answers. I think it might be best for her to go home and get better there, even though it sucks. It also sucks not being able to do as much work and go as fast and do as much, but I know that companion work is more important than missionary work so hopefully she just gets better. 

On the brighter side, we found six people in two hours this week on teaching center which is good because the queue has been dead lately so it is nice that we finally could do some finding, especially for Sister Harris because she had a big fat zero people. Also, SHARON IS ON DATE!!!!! HER AND HER THREE KIDS FOR SEPTEMBER 28!!!! It is such a huge miracle because we literally found her like maybe two weeks ago and she was just so prepared. We love calling her and following up and just talking with her. What a nice lady. So pray for Sharon that she will continue to progress and stay on track for her date. 

Okay, I think that is all but I could be wrong but oh well it is good enough. I love you both and I'll probs call you soon!!! 

Love 

Em 

This is His Work

HEYOOOOO! This week has been really good! We had another miracle with prayer but this time it was because we needed to teach like four lessons in a day and God made it happen! I've been thinking about it a lot lately, how this is God's work and not mine. Yes I am the one doing it and I am technically laboring but I am not really doing anything of worth, it is all God. That is why it is so important to do the little things. To be obedient, read our scriptures, pray, be kind and just try because that is how we can have the spirit with us. President Nelson has said that it will be impossible to survive spiritually in coming days without the constant companionship of the spirit and I second that. I remember at USU, I was praying (kinda) and reading my scriptures (sorta) every day but I can see that I was struggling spiritually. I consider it kind of a miracle that I made it out on the mission tbh. Anyways, seeing how my daily prayers and scripture study has impacted my life for the better makes me never want to miss a day. The blessings and the spirit that we receive in return is not even comparable to little effort we have to put in. I'm so grateful that I was able to learn this lesson and that God hasn't given up on me. I'm grateful that this is HIS work and not my work because if it was my work it would fall apart immediately. But, because it is His work, we can have four lessons in a day and see people come closer to Jesus Christ. How neat is that? 

This week we had our zone service project and IT WAS SO FUN!!! We went to the humanitarian center (we give tours there but I have never been) and we put together kits. We did school kits and we did cleaning kits. It was like an assembly line type thing and I had so much fun. Like words can not even describe how much fun I had. I was just movin and groovin and putting all of these things in these bins and making it all fit at LIGHTNING speed and I don't think I have ever had more fun in my whole life. Okay maybe that is an exaggeration but it was super legit. Some sisters were even commenting on how fast I was going (not a competition but hey I like to work effectively). Afterward, I was talking to Sister Rasmussen (from Canada) and I told her that this was my idea first date when I got home from the mission. Let's look at the pros: free, you are serving other people, it is SO FUN, and you can talk while you work and get to know the other person. Win, win, win situation. Hopefully, boys will think the same thing haha. 

As I told mom on the phone, our man Kevin still doesn't understand why he needs to get baptized again. He told the Elders when they went over (keep in mind this is after we re-explained priesthood authority and put him on date for the 23) that "the sisters want me to get baptized on the 23 and I understand what the priesthood is and that only your church has it but I still don't see why I need to get baptized again, my baptism on April 6, 1986 changed me so I don't see why I need to do it again". Lol. The Elders explained baptism for the remission of sins and all that good stuff and read some scriptures in the Bible with him and everything and hopefully his understanding will come with time as we teach him more. We were supposed to teach the Plan of Salvation with the local missionaries via facetime on Sunday but then homeboy didn't show up for church. Come on Kevin. So we texted him but his responses were so weird so we were like okay we will back off maybe he is just like feeling like we are all over him. We got a text from him and he had not one, but TWO strokes yesterday and was in the hospital. It explains the weirdness. We are praying for him and we asked the Elders to go over and give him a blessing and hopefully this will be an opportunity for him to better understand what the Priesthood is and why it is so important. Sometimes God works in mysterious ways and I'm hoping that this is one of those times. 

Our two recent converts from the last transfer are doing so AMAZING!!! Richard who was like not talking to us finally responded after I texted him again. He said that he was meeting with the Bishop after church on Sunday (yesterday) to get his Temple Recommend. YAYAY. Also, he is ENGAGED to his 21-year-old fiancee who is endowed. Homeboy is only 19. Good work Richard. We don't know yet if they are going to wait the year to get married in the Temple or if they will get married civilly soon and then go to the Temple once Richard is able to but either way, super exciting. Rodrigo is also still the cutest thing ever. I didn't text him for almost two weeks because I don't speak Spanish and he pretty much only speaks Spanish despite the fact that he lives here in UT. But I kept feeling like I needed to. So with the help of some Spanish sisters (thank you Temple Square), I texted him. He said he would rather text in English so he could practice so that is what we have been doing. We send each other cool pictures we take with our phones. He told me that this Sunday he got the Aaronic priesthood and he will be going to the Temple soon. I am so excited for him! He has been reading his scriptures and praying every day and he is just so excited and it is TOO CUTE. 

Also, if you remember Johnetta she is a hoot. We have been with her for a while and she wants to get baptized but her dad is a preacher for another church and it would break his heart. She is in her 60s and her dad is having some bad health problems right now so she has told the elders that she will just get baptized once he passes away. Kind of weird but you know okay. She has stopped progressing though lately. She hasn't gone to church in a while and we haven't had too much contact with her. The Elder that has been with her for a long time is going home and the new comp doesn't know her at all and she texted us and said that "Elder Mears is going home and it is too much change and I don't want new missionaries so I am going to stop meeting with her". That was super hard to hear ESP because the Elders did a whole lesson about how she needs to keep meeting with missionaries even though Elder Mears is leaving and she said she would but now she isn't. She said that she would still talk to us and she would keep listening to the Book of Mormon every day and pray but she just won't talk to the missionaries every day. Elder Mears is doing what he can during his short time left but it is still hard. So maybe pray for Johnetta and that her heart will be softened because right now it is kind of hard. 

This week was good but it was weird, like a dream. I feel like for a while I was on cloud nine, especially with Sister Costilla. I remember one day near the end of my time with her I was just like "wow everything is going awesome and we have lots of new people and we are teaching a lot and wow life is good" and then I thought right after that "the Lord is going to knock me down soon I feel it". And boy was I right. It is good that the converts are going strong and everything but the people that we are teaching are just all kind of falling apart and the queue is dead so we can't find new people and life is just a little hard right now but it is okay. I will keep doing what I need to do. Be obedient, read my scriptures and say my prayers and work hard and I know that the Lord will make up the rest. This is His work after all. 

Anyways, I was thinking that this would be a short email but I was wrong so whoops. I hope you have an awesome week and hopefully next week I will be able to call earlier so I can talk to you too dad. But I love you both and thanks so much for all of your support. Also, this Bluetooth keyboard is seriously the bomb so thanks again for that. Love and miss you both so much!

Love 

Em