Zone Conference and Lots of Lessons!

It was a fun week! First off, we had Zone Conference on Wednesday in Greeley, which was super fun! I always learn so much and I've noticed that when I go into a meeting with a question in mind and come prepared with my notebook and scriptures, I get SO much more out of it than I would otherwise! I encourage all of you to bring a little notebook with you to whatever meetings, firesides, or conferences you attend, because you'll learn so much!

Afterwards, we drove back to Fort Morgan and had another lesson with Kelsi and Soneyda (Olman and Brian were there again, which was awesome!) about the Gospel of Jesus Christ and it went really well! The next step for them is getting them to come to church, so we'll be placing a bigger focus on the importance of the Sacrament and gathering together as Saints.

We also had a lesson with Fabiola on Thursday! She was someone that Hermana Severtson and Sister Carlson street contacted into while I was on exchanges with Sister Stone, so this was my first time meeting her! We introduced the Book of Mormon and invited her to read the Introduction - she said she would, and that we could come back the next Thursday, but she seemed really distracted and not super interested - we'll go back on Thursday and see how it goes.

We had another lesson with Carmen! We talked about the Plan of Salvation and she really liked the idea of the Resurrection and being with our families forever. Then, we had a lesson with Elmer, who we had tried to contact a few times, but was never home - he was there with his family and this CUTE little baby and goodness gracious it's so hard to not be able to hold babies as missionaries! We introduced the Book of Mormon and he said he'd read the Introduction and that we could come back! He seems pretty shy, but really nice!

On Saturday, we helped our neighbor Liz pack some stuff because she's trying to move. When she asked us to come help, she made it sound like it was going to be intense packing and moving stuff, so we blocked out a chunk of time, got in our service clothes, walked over to her apartment, and then packed her glass cups into boxes for about 45 minutes. She was so surprised with how quickly we finished everything she had for us to do - I guess she thought we were going to pack reeaaally slowly or something.

We also had another lesson with Anayeli, but we're not sure what to do about her - she's not interested in making changes in her life, but she keeps wanting us to come back and share scriptures with her to make her feel warm and fuzzy inside...but our purpose as missionaries is more than just that! We'll plan to talk to her more about our purpose in teaching her and how we want to help her come closer to God by making and keeping covenants!

I've reached the end of the chapters in the Book of Mormon where Christ is teaching the Nephites, and this is one of the last things He tells the multitude before ascending into Heaven:

"And now, behold, my joy is great, even unto fulness, because of you, and also this generation; yea, and even the Father rejoiceth, and all the hold angels, because of you and this generation; for none of them are lost."   --3 Nephi 27:29-30

I love the idea that all the angels up in Heaven are cheering us on (and that WE were angels cheering others on before our mortal life!) When we have that pure, Christ-like love for others, we cheer them on and are truly happy for their righteous successes! I invited each of you to find one way to be an "angel" for someone who needs some help right now - to cheer them on and rejoice in their successes, no matter how small!

Love you all and have a great week!

 

Greeley Zone

 

Fort Morgan District, Polaroid edition, featuring Pres. Palmer

 

Hermana Severtson and Me, Polaroid edition

 

Lessons, Exchanges, and Eternal Progression!

We tried to visit a lady named Angela on Monday - she was a self-referral who had responded to a prayer ad on Facebook and wanted the missionaries to come pray with her, so we dropped by! A woman answered the door and said that Angela wasn't there, but that we could come back another time. On Wednesday, we got a text from Angela asking if we had come by her house on Monday. We said yes and that her friend had answered the door and had told us to come another day. She responded with: "Look, I'm not gonna lie to you - it was me."....soooo yeah, turns out, the lady was Angela!

We also had a lesson with Kelsi and Soneyda on Wednesday about the Plan of Salvation and it was really good! Kelsi's husband Olman and their son Manuel sat down and joined in, so that was really cool!

We also had an awesome lesson with Carmen on Friday! She had said in our last lesson that she was Catholic and didn't feel the need to come to a different church, so we decided to talk about the Restoration and Priesthood Authority this time around. As I testified, you could SEE that she was feeling the Spirit so strongly! It was amazing!

On Saturday, we had exchanges with the STL's (Sister Stone and Sister Carlson)! I went with Sister Stone and we contacted lots of people, got some Return Appointments set up with people, and I taught an impromptu lesson in Spanish by myself for the very first time (because Sister Stone doesn't speak Spanish) so that was really cool to feel the Gift of Tongues so strongly during that lesson!

This week, I learned a lot about positivity and eternal progression. We constantly hear the phrase, "Do your best", but for many people, including me, that phrase brings negative feelings and makes them remember all the things they didn't do, or didn't do well enough, that day. What I've discovered is that, instead of asking myself, "Did I do my best today?" I should ask, "How did I do good in the world today?" I've found that when I do this, I recognize all the good things I DID do that day, no matter how small they may have been. When we focus on the positive things in this life, I promise that we'll be SO much happier and that we'll find joy in eternal progression.

"For a small moment have I forsaken thee, but with great mercies will I gather thee...with everlasting kindness will I have mercy on thee...for the mountains shall depart and the hills be removed, but my kindness shall not depart from thee." --3 Nephi 22:7,8,10

I absolutely LOVE these verses! Our trials might seem like forever, but in an eternal perspective, they really are just a small moment. Even when it seems like we're alone, God will never abandon us; He's giving us our trials and helping us get through them so we can become stronger.

Love you all and have a great week!

 

(p.s. If you want to listen to an amazing song sometime this week, listen to Rob Gardner's "My Kindness Shall Not Depart from Thee" - it's one of my all-time favorites!)

6 Months!

Exchanges with Sister Stone

Getting tres leches cake at Rosita's bakery

My impressive Duolingo streak

6 Months Already???

Today is my 6-month mark! How has it already been that long??? I won't be posting anything about my months in the mission on Facebook until my 9-month mark, but I thought I might as well announce it in my weekly email since it's actually the day of! It's crazy how fast the time has gone, but I'm glad I still have 1 more year to keep serving the Lord.

It was a long week, but a good one! Here are just some highlights:

We went bowling as a District last P-day and it was really fun! The last time I had gone bowling was when I was about 10 years old, so it was nice to see that I've improved a lot since then.

One of the members of the ward made dinner for our whole District on Wednesday and brought it to the church so we could eat together! Afterwards, we had a meeting with some members of the ward to talk about the spanish-speaking members of the ward and how we can help them, because practically all of them are inactive. We're planning on focusing on these members and strengthening their faith.

We also had a lesson with Kelsi and Soneyda! They're sisters-in-law and they're SO sweet! We showed the "Gracias a Él" (Because of Him) video and they really liked it - we talked about how the Atonement is a very personal thing and invited them to pray to be able to feel God's love for each of them.

I'm loving my personal studies in the Book of Mormon right now! This is Christ's Sermon on the Mount that He gives to the Nephites, and this part is word-for-word the same as the account in Matthew, which shows that this is probably pretty important:

"Lay not up for yourselves treasures upon earth, where moth and dust doth corrupt, and thieves break through and steal; But lay up for yourselves treasures in heaven...for where your treasure is, there will your heart be also." --3 Nephi 13:19-21

Sometimes, it's easy to focus on laying up worldly treasures, like cool clothes, that promotion at work, fancy vacations, etc. but when this mortal life comes to a close, we won't be able to take any of those things with us. When all is said and done, the most important things are our families and the gospel. When we focus on the things that have eternal value, we'll find lasting joy in both this life and in the life to come!

Love you all and have a great week!

 

I found a cute flower

Return of the Masks...

A meme I made to cheer up Hermana Severtson

First Week in Ft. Morgan!

It's been a crazy week! We had transfers on Wednesday and I had to say goodbye to everyone, which was super bittersweet. I got on the transfer bus and met Hermana Severtson in Ft. Collins, CO! Turns out, Hermana Severtson is from Mesa, AZ so we actually have a lot of mutual friends from back home!  We drove from Ft. Collins to Ft. Morgan and then to Wiggins, which is the tiny village where we actually live (it's about 30 minutes away from Ft. Morgan so we drive there and back every day!)

We had District Council on Thursday, which was really fun! This is my first time being in a District with another set of Spanish missionaries, and it's super awesome! It's really nice to be able to talk about the people we're teaching and the struggles we have and to have the other Elders in our District truly understand how we feel!

On Friday, we had a lesson with Carmen, who was someone Hermana Severtson and Davis had a Bible Study with and also accepted a Book of Mormon. We read Mosiah 3:4-13 with her, talked about Christ and how the Book of Mormon testifies of Him (just like the Bible) and invited her to read the Introduction - she said she would! Hopefully, we'll be able to keep meeting with her and help her progress in the Gospel!

We had a mission-wide devotional on Saturday with the mission president and his wife over Zoom and it was really good! I love President and Sister Palmer SO much - they're just amazing! Afterwards, we went and did some contacting and Anayeli answered the door! She said she had asked the missionaries to come back and teach her a while ago, but they never showed up at her door again so she was really sad (later, Hermana Severtson and I looked at Area Book and saw that there was a missed appointment a while back, and then no further contacts, which blew our minds!) but she said she was excited to see us again and that we could come back the next Saturday! I'm so glad the Lord put her in our path and that we could reconnect with her and hopefully we'll be able to teach her in the future!

We also had my first Sunday in Ft. Morgan! My whole District is over 1 English ward, which threw me for a loop for a bit! It was really weird to hear Sacrament Meeting in English again, but it was also really nice. I got to meet Pablo, who is our only active Spanish-speaking member and he's awesome and super funny! After the English ward, we had the Spanish Service, which is basically Sacrament Meeting in Spanish, but without the Sacrament, because we're not authorized to administer the Sacrament in that service yet. (Hopefully someday!) Kelsi, someone that we're teaching, came for the first time and we were super excited!

I'm finally at my favorite part of the Book of Mormon in my personal study - the part where Jesus Christ comes to the Americas and teaches them the Gospel. He gives the Nephites the Sermon on the Mount and this part really stood out to me:

"...ye should do alms unto the poor; but take heed that ye do not your alms before men to be seen of them; otherwise ye have no reward of your Father who is in heaven. Therefore, when ye shall do your alms do not sound a trumpet before you, as will hypocrites do in the synagogues and in the streets, that they may have glory of men. Verily I say unto you, they have their reward." --3 Nephi 13:1-2

When we serve others, we have to make sure we're doing it because we love others and we love God, not because we want public recognition. If we only serve people for public recognition, that will be our only reward; we'll be missing out on a much better blessing from the Lord! When we serve others for the right reason, we will receive amazing blessings! Serve because you Love.

Love you all and have an amazing week!

 

Last day in Laramie and saying goodbye to Hermana Behymer!

Taco soup with Hermana Severtson!

I'M LEAVING WYOMING

Yep, we got transfer news! I'm leaving Laramie, Wyoming and going down to the Greeley, Colorado zone! I'll be living in a nearby town called Fort Morgan and my new companion will be Hermana Severtson - Hermana Behymer knows her a little bit and said she's awesome! I'm really sad to leave Laramie and the people here, but I'm also excited for a change of scenery - I've been here for almost 5 months!

I don't have a ton of time to write a weekly email today, since I need to finish packing and saying goodbye to everyone, but here's some highlights for the week:

I turned 20 years old on Wednesday!! It's so weird to no longer be a "teenager." We drove up to Rawlins (1.5 hours away from Laramie) for Zone Meeting, had lunch, sang happy birthday, and ate cake, but it was so much cake we couldn't eat it all!

On Thursday, we had dinner with the Asay's and had taco salad with Doritos and ground deer (instead of beef!) and it was SO good! When they pulled out the Doritos, I was a little bit hesitant, but it really was super good

We got to meet with Flor on Friday, which started off really well, but ended really sadly. She's going through a really hard time right now with things going on at home (I won't give details for her privacy) and she's been praying to know what she should do to get out of her situation. She hasn't gotten an answer yet, but she still has faith that God will help her and her family through this hard time. We had brought a copy of the Family Proclamation for her to read with her family, so we invited her to read it and promised her that if she read it, she would receive an answer to her prayers about what she should do! The Spirit was so strong while we were there and oh my goodness I just really want Flor and her family to be happy. If you all could pray for her and her family, we would appreciate that SO much!

In my Book of Mormon study, I'm at the part where the signs of Christ's crucifixion have happened and all the Nephites are listening to Christ's voice while the vapor of darkness still surrounds them:

"...by me redemption cometh and in me is the law of Moses fulfilled...ye shall offer up unto me no more the shedding of blood...and ye shall offer for a sacrifice unto me a broken heart and a contrite spirit..." --3 Nephi 9:17,19-20

Whenever a law is fulfilled, the Lord always gives us a higher, holier law; once we've gotten good at/used to doing something, He gives us something new to help us continue to grow and become more like Him. When things we're used to doing change suddenly, it's easy to be angry and ask why we have good things taken away from us. But it's important to remember that when the Lord takes away something, it's because He wants to replace it with something better and holier. When we accept His will, He can make US better and holier.

Love you all and have a great week!

The District

Birthday Balloons

The Zone

Elder Baker and me with our birthday candles! (His birthday was the day before mine)