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

I'm FALLING For You ;)

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

LOVE YOU!!!!!

Love 

Em 

Elder Holland Has Soft Hands

Hellloooo everyone! 

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

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

I hope everyone has an amazing week! 

Sister Moran 

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

"Your mom" - Sister Simon (Australia) 

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

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

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

"Oh FLEEP" - everyone our apartment 

"Hey boo boo" - Sister Duapa (Philippines) 

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

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

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

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

Love

Em