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 

OHHHHHH we're HALFWAY THERE ohhhhhh LIVIN ON A PRAYER

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

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

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

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

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

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

Sister Moran 

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

Love 

Em 

Sugar

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

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

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

I hope that everyone has an awesome week!

Sister Moran 

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

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

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

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

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

Love 

Em 

Trio Lifeeeee

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

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

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

I hope that everyone has a good week!

Sister Moran 

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

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

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

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

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

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

Love 

Em 

Transfers

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

Love, 

Em