Philippians

Hey guys! I don't have an email from Sofie to post quite yet but I found this scripture that I think is perfect.

Philippians 4:6-7

6. Be careful for nothing; but in every thing by prayer and supplication by thanksgiving let your requests be made known unto God.

7. And the peace of God, which passeth all understanding, shall keep your hearts and minds through Jesus Christ.

In Memory of Doris.

What a week, what a week, what a mighty fine week. :)

Hey y'all! I'm hoping this email finds you in high spirits, warm places, and with happy hearts. :)

It's been a good (albeit challenging) week and I'm grateful for it.

Monday- Typical P-day activities, we had dinner with the Singers. I LOVE THEM. They're so nice to us and they're so funny and happy. We got a call from Desirae that her baby was in the hospital (newborn, 3 weeks) and she was not doing so well with it all so we went over to her house with the elders and they gave her a blessing, and then she asked us to take care of her dog, so we agreed. This is kind of where the craziness of the week begins.

Tuesday- Okay this was actually one of the weirdest days of my mission so far. We went to take care of Desirae's dog and then we did studies. We went to the baptism of a little girl in our ward and they asked us to do a presentation, so we showed the restoration video.. except it got abruptly ended so Sister Freeman and I booked it up to the front and bore our testimonies. It was funny. We went to lunch then went to check on people.. including Doris, our rum-cake eatin', fuzzy-slipper-wearin', Judge-Judy-watchin' 93 year old investigator. When we showed up, her son in law walked up to the car and let us know that Doris had passed away. Also- someone had seen her obituary in the newspaper and broken into her house and stolen her silver. Sigh. So sad. But yeah. So I got permission from the AP's to call Sister Leavitt and Sister Clark (which was really weird) and I let them know that Doris had passed away. That was really sad. After that whole thing, we went to dinner at the Emery's. It was an awesome dinner. We played games with them and they had a less active member there and it was really fun. I just love Norman. :)

Wednesday- Okay, so maybe this was the weirdest day of my mission so far. We went and took care of Desirae's dog, then we talked with President Walkenhorst and were given permission to go up to the city for Doris's funeral. We got a hold of Sister Leavitt and Sister Clark and arranged meeting up with them, and after studies, we headed to the city. We met up with Sister Leavitt and Sister Clark (it was so weird being with my first field companions again) and their companions went on splits while Sister Freeman, Clark, Leavitt and I went to Doris's funeral. Oh my heavens. The preacher at her funeral kept calling her the wrong name. He kept calling her Dorothy instead of Doris and it was so sad. :( But after the funeral her son in law told us that she had a special place where she would put books she actually read, and the Book of Mormon was in the pile. So that was happy. :) We were just preparing her for the spirit world, that's all. We headed back to Norman and had dinner with a nice family named the Humphrey's. It was freezing cold, but we roasted marshmallows and that was fun. After dinner we took care of the dog and then went and did some tracting. A dog named Porkchop got really excited to see my companion and went to the bathroom all over her feet.. Poor Sister Freeman.

Thursday- Doctor's appointment followed by taking care of the dog. We came back and did studies, then two RM's from the mission came to visit Sister Freeman, and took us out to lunch at Chipotle. So that was really fun. :) After that we took them on some visits and then they dropped us off at our apartment. We went to the neighborhood of our dinner appointment and knocked about 60 doors in the area before dinner. it was really fun. I think tracting is one of my favorite parts of being a missionary. :) After that we had dinner with the Zimmerman's. I love them so much. Man alive. After dinner we taught a "practice lesson" to their non-member daughter and it went really well. I related repentance to being a turtle trudging through peanut butter. During the process it can feel like you're a turtle trudging through peanut butter, but after you finish, you're like a turtle buttered with Crisco, going down an inclined pan. :) Sister Freeman loves my analogies, hahaha.

Friday- District meeting, district lunch, exchanges. I went to Noble (again) with Sister Allen! It was fun. :) We met with some folks and then went to dinner with a sister from their ward. She took us to a place called Kendall's for dinner. It was pretty good.. but afterwards I felt pretty crummy. My companion did too, so we went back to the apartment and we were both pretty sick for the rest of the night. I wish there was more to say about Friday.. but it was mainly spent being sick.

Saturday- I was still a little sick (so was Sister Allen) so we took it easy in the morning. We did studies, ate lunch (what we could, anyway) and then did our exchange report. After that we went and visited Sister Pam (one of my favorite sisters in Noble) before we went and exchanged back. I love exchanges, but it's always relieving to be back with your own companion in your own area. :) We went home and Sister Zimmerman picked us up to take us to a lesson with the Jingozians. They've been sick all week so we haven't been able to meet with them. We gave them quick spiritual upliftment and then after the lesson we went and Sister Freeman got a blessing. We were dropped off at our apartment again and Sister Freeman was feeling pretty sick, so I made her rest and I did language study until dinner. We had dinner with Sister Oropeza and poor Sister Freeman was a zombie (she got a nasty cold) so I had to do most of the talking. It was a good dinner though. After dinner I got approved to drive us home (I'm not supposed to drive because I'm a visa-waiter) and Sister Freeman went right to bed.

Sunday- I loved it. It was a cold night (I gave my extra blanket to SisFree) so I didn't sleep too much, but I woke up feeling fine. :) Church was good. We taught the lesson in Gospel Principles on the final judgement. After church we had dinner with the DeLange family. They're really nice and they really like Sister Freeman a lot because they have a lot of ties from her family to theirs, so that was neat. We had a quick lesson with Annie and Jared and then we went back home so Sister Freeman could sleep. It was an overall good day. :)

Well folks, I gotta get going. But I want to leave you with a final thought: Something I've been working on understanding more is faith. People always say "have the faith to move mountains" and I've always been like, "You can't move a mountain. It's a mountain." But the more I think about it, the more I realize that having faith to move mountains isn't about making an entire mountain move at once. It's about having the faith to persevere and move the mountain in smaller steps. 

So, that being said- Have the faith to move mountains, even if it's one stone at a time.

I love y'all a ton! Take care:)

Sister Sofia Larson

Oklahoma, Oklahoma City

But one day-

Brazil, Rio De Janeiro

Email dated January 6, 2014

Christmas Drills are Drilling?

Hello one and all! I'm so excited that it is alllllllllllllllready the Christmas season and CHRISTMAS IS THIS WEEK. What an exciting time to celebrate the birth of Christ and come closer with our friends and family!

Who knew that they would amplify the amount of construction going on in the area the closer it got to Christmas? There is construction EVERYWHERE.

Anyway.

I'll get right to the week. :)

Monday- Ah. I love P-day. What a glorious day. Knowing that both Sister Ott and Sister Leavitt were getting transferred we knew that the next two days were going to be full of packing and stress and sadness from losing one another. We did our typical P-day activities and then had dinner with the Sonne family. They had a sick child so the husband took the rest of the kids, us and the elders to McDonald's for dinner. While we were there, one of their sons thwacked his head pretty hard on the corner of a table and immediately hit the floor. There was a lot of blood and sobbing and it broke my heart that I wasn't allowed to give him a hug and comfort him! I did what I could to help and then we ate so they could leave.

Tuesday- Beautiful day. Oh man. We went to a doctor's appointment, then had lunch with the Zukas's and Desirae- our amazingly golden investigator. She is one of the most genuine and prepared people that the world has ever seen. I love her so much! She is incredibly strong, too. After meeting with her we had a lesson with the Jingozians. We had a very deep, heartfelt conversation with them and talked about the talk "Like a Broken Vessel" by Jeffrey R. Holland. That talk, right there, is one of the most amazing talks I have ever heard. I love it so much. What an inspired message. We had dinner that night with the Rex family. I really, really love them a lot. They're so funny and happy! Ah. I LOVE NORMAN.

Wednesday- Transfer day. I had to stay behind in Norman with Hermana Crockett who was sick all day, so I read to her, we chatted, I studied, and I accidentally fell asleep. But hey. It was a wonderful day! After that our companions showed up! Sister Freeman is amazing! She's a spiritual powerhouse and she's so nice! I love her. I'm excited for this transfer, she wants to work hard and so do I- we're gonna get a lot accomplished. :)

Thursday- Weekly planning. It went well! After that we had a bunch of appointments that allllllllllllllll cancelled on us. It was such a bummer. So we went and checked on different people until dinner. We had dinner with the Kunz's! I love them. :) After dinner our other appointment cancelled on us.. again, so we went home and dedicated our apartment/read a talk we were asked to read by the AP's. It was a good day. :)

Friday- Christmas Mission Conference! It was really really good. Really spiritually uplifting and happy. Also- reallllllllllly long. 9 am to 7:30 pm. It was really good and then there was a musical program! There were some really awesome performances that were done- we have some amazingly talented musicians in our mission! It was wonderful. :) After that we had correlation because the weather was gonna be bad the next day. It was successful! :)

Saturday- Okay. Man. Freezing rain is a buzz kill. Let me tell ya what. It's beautiful though. It makes everything look like it's being preserved in glass and it's really, really beautiful. We had a wonderful day. We went and visited Sister Power, who is a sister that lives in the elders area, but she's a bit of a feminist, so we get to visit her. After that we had a lesson with Desirae! It was inspired and we committed her to baptism! :D So excited! After that we had dinner with the Robertson family. They remind me sooooooooo much of the Thomsons and I absolutely love them! They're hilarious! They took us and the elders to Golden Corral- the elders were in heaven. Hahaha. After dinner we had a really good lesson with the Jingozians and got them to make some very important commitments to further their progression towards baptism! So excited. I LOVE the Jingozians so much. They really are the sweetest. Heavenly Father knew I needed to be here for them. :)

Sunday- WHAT A GREAT DAY. AHHHHHHHH. Okay so first off, DESIRAE CAME TO CHURCH. It was the best thing ever and she loved it! AH. Okay. Second off- it was just a successful day. I LOVE THIS WARD. I want to cry, I love it so much. After church we had a really good lesson with Annie and Jared. They're so great. Man. After that, we had dinner with the Davis family! I love them! They have INCREDIBLE knowledge of gospel history and deep doctrinal things and they remind me a lot of the Carlsons and I love them so much! It's so happy! After dinner we had an appointment that got cancelled, and we visited with Sister Zimmerman- who is a saint. I had been yawning a lot and trying to hide it and she asked me why I was so tired, so I told her that I wasn't sleeping well because our bedroom windows leak and my blanket wasn't that great. She gave me a quilt. Bless her heart. It's so happy. I tried to refuse it but she insisted. And I got the best night's sleep I've ever gotten last night.

Alright, well folks, I love this gospel. I know that God lives. I know that Christ lives! I know they have bodies of flesh and bone, and I know that they are our literal family. I love everything about the restoration! I love that a boy, even a boy as simple and humble as Joseph Smith, was seen as something worth so much more in the eyes of God and through his faithful diligence, he restored the original church of Jesus Christ to the earth, so that during this last dispensation we can all receive the blessings that come from the Priesthood and the atonement and all of the other important principles of the gospel. I know that we can all live with our Father again someday and I'm so excited for the glorious day! Not to say I'm excited to die. I just know that the comfort and peace that will come in that day will be unlike anything else. I am so grateful for the life of Christ! His ministry, His sacrifice, His example to us all is something I strive daily to include in my life.

I wish you all a Merry Christmas and I hope you remember that Christ loves you, God loves you, and I do too. A LOT!

P.S. - That's my hand in the picture. Hahaha. Sorry if that confused any of you!

Email dated December 23, 2013

Christmas Miracles EVERYWHERE!

It has been SUCH A BLESSED WEEK, everyone! I'm SO GRATEFUL.

Before I begin- Transfer calls were last night, so here is my address! You can now send me mail here for the next 7 weeks!

Sister Sofia Larson

1100 Oaktree Ave. Apt. M1

Norman, OK 73072

Alright, now, lets get into the week! :D

Monday- WHAT A GREAT P-DAY. After P-day activities, (including getting hit in the face with a basketball. Why is it that the one time I wore my glasses to play sports, that's the time I get hit in the face?) we had dinner with the Zimmermans! I love them. They're so funny and happy. Sister Zimmerman is incredibly spunky and down to earth and I just love her. We had chili and cornbread, which is by far the most common meal that we have down here, but I loved it. :) After dinner SisZim came with us to a lesson with the Jingozians. AND WE COMMITTED CHRIS TO BAPTISM. I AM SO SO SO EXCITED. WORDS CANNOT EXPRESS. AHHHHHHHHHHHHHH.

Tuesday- We had a doctor's appointment in the city (OKC) and they took my blood! They had to poke me a bunch of times to get it. After our doctor's appointment we had an appointment with LD. HE IS SO SOLID. He wants everything the gospel gives and he even asked to come to church. He's awesome. Afterwards we went to check on a few more people but got lost in a trailer park and couldn't find our way out to save our lives. It was ridiculous. We went to the Thacker's and helped them decorate their Christmas Tree and it was awesome. :)

Wednesday- Our morning appointment fell through, so we knocked doors. We found some great potentials and it was really awesome. :) We did mormon.org and then we went to a realllllly heavy lesson with the Jingozians. It was rough, but we gave them hope and I hope that they were able to feel the love of Christ because we were trying so hard to help them feel that. 

Thursday- Weekly planning is RIDICULOUS. Especially as sister missionaries- it takes so long. It's crazy. There isn't much to report on for the day. My companions both weren't feeling well so we weren't able to do much until dinner. We had dinner with the Zukas family! SO HAPPY. They had a non-member named Desirae over, and our dinner thought turned into a full on lesson! IT WAS AWESOME. I bore my testimony to her and it was a really spiritual experience. I love her. She's so strong. 

Friday- District meeting, lunch at Cici's. OH! BUT FIRST. We got a text from SisZim that someone had dropped off an anonymous gift for the Jingozians that she needed us to pick up. So we did. Someone donated them money and it was one of the sweetest things I have experienced. Their faces lit up. After lunch we went and helped SisZim with a painting project. It was fun and we got to spend time with one of my favorite sisters, so I was happy. :) We had dinner that night with the Jensen's (they are WONDERFUL) and then we went to the ward Christmas party! It was so fun! I love the ward I'm serving in- the people are so happy and kind. :) As Sister Reynolds was driving us home, she got pulled over- so in exchange for her ticket, we gave the cop a pass along card and it was really awesome. :)

Saturday- After morning studies we had a zone-wide lunch at the Martin's and it was really nice. We had correlation after that, then did some more training until we had dinner at the Oropeza's. I LOVE the Oropezas. They told us this story about how someone broke into their house and Brother Oropeza was a BOSS. It was a great story. 

Sunday- AHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHH WHAT A GREAT DAY. The Jingozians came to church, and it was like God had specifically made the day just for them. Man alive- God loves His children! We had a lesson with Annie and Jared (my favorite youth! What solid kids!) and took awkward family photos, then we had dinner with the Youngs. Sister Leavitt really likes the way I tell the Patty&Linn story, so she had me tell it to them and it really helped to break some ice with them. We told pet horror stories and had a good time. :) After that we had a really good lesson with the Jingozians and it's amazing that they already know so many restored truths that they haven't even learned about yet. God is really preparing them for the gospel. We got transfer calls! I'm losing both of my companions! Sister Leavitt will be going to serve in OKC, and Sister Ott is going to Enid. It's weird. I'm staying here in Norman, and I'm getting a new companion- Sister Freeman. I'm really excited! It's going to be a great transfer!

Alright- well. I love you all so much. During this time of year, remember that Christ loves you and He came to earth for you specifically! I am so grateful for the gift of the atonement and the love of Christ I can feel in my life. Have a holly jolly week! :)

P.S.- The picture is because I fixed my shower this week and I'm really proud of it. :) Hahaha.

Have a good week y'all! :)

Email dated December 16, 2013

Doughnut Tacos and Gluten Free Thanksgiving!

Hello errybuddy! What a week it has been, I LOVE that we're in the holidays now! So happy!

First off- they are in the middle of changing the rules for mail, so you can send me mail, but I will not be getting it until transfers. After transfers come (two weeks from Wednesday) I will give y'all my new address and then you can send me mail normally again! :) Sorry for the inconvenience. It bums me out too :(

Alright I'll get right to it. :)

Monday- After emailing, we ran errands and then played sports. I made a MIRACLE shot playing basketball and it was the only shot I made. Hahah. Hence it being a miracle. But it was fun. I love sports on P-day! After that, we had dinner with the Emery family! They're so nice. Their daughter just got back from a mission in Riverside, California, so it was AWESOME to talk to her about her mission experiences.

Tuesday- I don't have much written down in my journal on Tuesday for some reason.. BUT! We had dinner with the Rex family and Brother Rex was so excited to tell me about a hunting endeavor he'd gone on. We visited a couple other people (no one was home) and went home to do training and language.

Wednesday- we had to do weekly planning because Thursday was Thanksgiving! After planning, we had lunch, checked on a couple people, then had a really early dinner appointment with the McAdam's at Pizza Hut. They are the most hilarious little old couple. I love them so much. After dinner Brother McAdam's left our waitress a Book of Mormon (what a champ) and we left. We met with one of our investigators, Lindsey. Usually she's really shy, but this time she opened up a lot and told us about a miracle that she'd experienced the day before. Her brother had gotten into an accident with a semi truck, and he came out of it just fine. He should have died. BUT, at the same time as he was getting in the accident, Lindsey just happened to be praying with her son. It was an awesome experience to see that growth of testimony that she has. :) After Lindsey, we had a lesson with Annie and Jared. OH MAN I LOVE THEM! They're the STRONGEST youth I've ever met and they're so solid! Sister Ott rapped the 10 Commandments for them while I beat boxed (poorly) and then we read Dieter F. Uchtdorf's talk "You Can Do it Now" and we acted out the story in the beginning of that talk. It was fun. We had a good time. I love teaching them. They're both so solid in the gospel and it's the greatest.

Thursday- HAPPY THANKSGIVING! Okay. So we woke up, studied, then decided to take cheesy family photos. They're included in this email. Don't mind the way awkward one of me holding a mini-pumpkin. We were instructed to spend the whole day with member families, so we did! We first went to dinner with the Corless family. They're awesome. It was more like, pre-dinner. Lotttttts of chips and dip. We played games and their grandma is hilarious! She kept saying "CHEAT TO WIN, NEVER GIVE IN." And it was the funniest thing ever. Man. After that we went to our ACTUAL dinner, with the Blackburns. Have you ever had a gluten-free thanksgiving before? Yeah I used to be able to say no to that until this Thanksgiving! It was actually not bad. :) Lots and lots of weird, non-traditional Thanksgiving foods, but it was still really good. There was a lot of sushi. That part was different. But they also had deviled eggs so I was happy. :) Their Stuffing was actually just grits but prepared in a really weird way. So that part was new. It was a nice dinner :) After that we went home and slept for a bit then went and played games with Sister Smart and the Elders. It was sooooooooooooo fun. We played Shoot the Bowl, which is just like catch phrase but without the actual catch phrase game. :)

Friday- We had district meeting, but because Elder Duffin got sick, Elder Tripp didn't come either, and he's our district leader, so we had to go to a different district's meeting. We learned all about Teaching People, Not Lessons and it was really good. :) After District Meeting my companions and I went to Taco Bueno and I got a DONUT TACO. Yeah. Who knew they existed? It was basically a Chalupa but I loved it nonetheless. :) We went and used mormon.org (perks of being in the 12 week training program) and then Sister Barlow showed up for her stay with us. Sister Barlow is a sister that is assigned to work in the office, and then comes out with different companionships on weekends. This weekend she was with us! We had dinner with the Singers (they made us "Cafe Rio"! So happy! :D) And then Sister Ott and I went back to the apartment to do language study. :)

Saturday- Weird day. We had correlation, then we did studies and training and then Sister Ott and I went and tracted. We stopped by Patty and Lin, and we set up an appointment with them for tomorrow, and then we visited Brother Feazel. He- ..man alive. He's an incredible person!  He's coming back from 13 years of inactivity and his passion for the gospel is inspiring. He wants to help his wife embrace it so bad and it's awesome that he has such passion for it. After that we had dinner with the Youngs. Brother Young was an Olympic gymnast in Athens! So cool! They told us some cool stories. After that we went and Sister Ott and I did more tracting. We went to visit a less-active family with a single mother and totally walked in on the mom on a Skype date. That was a weird experience. We talked to the guy and to her and it was a great time! It was weiiiiiiiird though. Really weird. We also found another Do Not Contact! So that was slightly scary. But it was fun. I love being out here. :)

Sunday- I NEEDED SUNDAY. I was kinda grumpy that day and church was exactly what I needed! Whew. After church we went and knocked doors until dinner. EVERY person we talked to agreed to pray with us. That was AWESOME. I loved it! The first door we knocked, the guy opened his door and immediately told us to come in! We were a little hesitant, but we went in and he played piano and we sang Christmas songs. About halfway through we found out his name was Mark. He's a real nice guy! He's a meteorologist and likes to compose music in his downtime. Cool guy. We talked to him about the church and set up an appointment with him. :)

I LOVE Oklahoma, y'all. It's the best. There are two things I've been really trying to apply this week. First- "There is no growth in the comfort zone, and no comfort in the growth zone." We need to CONSTANTLY push ourselves to be more like Christ and be stronger, better people! We have the potential, it's up to us to reach it!
Second- "Every weakness is a pending strength." I especially have been focusing on this. Heavenly Father wants us to learn to overcome our weaknesses, not bury ourselves in them. So remember that next time you feel like you can't do it. Heavenly Father knows you can, and I DEFINITELY know you can.

I love you all so much! Take care of yourselves and know that I pray for you!

Email dated December 9, 2013

Professor X and 4 Legged Whales.

Well hello there y'all! It's been a kind of rough week. But! We've seen successes nonetheless, so I'll get right to it. :)

Monday- After emailing and errands we played Scatterball at the church. Basically it's just free-for-all dodge ball and it is AWESOME. But man, I got out a LOT. Oh well. It's fun. :) We had exchanges that night! Our original date for exchanges had to be cancelled because of the weather so we did them from Monday to Tuesday night. Sister Ott and I went down to Noble with Sister Pfister and Sister Leavitt stayed here with Sister Main. It was an AWESOME exchange. We had dinner with the Comber family! I met them last exchange and it was great to see them again. After dinner we met with Sister Mona Jones. She is one of the coolest old ladies you'll ever meet. She makes AMAZING artwork with paper and folding it and she's just super artistic. ALSO, she let me ride around on her Hover Round. It was awesome- I felt like Professor X (from X-Men) and it was just a blast. I probably enjoyed it a bit too much, but it was really fun to whir around in that thing.

Tuesday- We exchanged back and went to a very interesting lesson with a couple we're teaching. I'll call them P and L. They're super unique. They are MADLY in love. They're in their late 50's.. and okay. They have HUNDREDS of WWE and WWF wrestling action figures in the ORIGINAL packaging nailed to their living room walls. They're covered. Also there are some stuffed animals on the walls. Also sweet puzzles that are of unicorns and Indians and rainbows and night skies and yeah. Also- P only has one leg. Her other one was amputated because she got a really bad staph infection.
Also- they have 4 cats. But they aren't really cats. They're actually furry 4-legged whales. I have yet to meet larger cats. It's ridiculous. Ridiculous. Anyway, so we went and taught them the other day. We show up and L is sitting in his recliner, shirtless, holding a toilet brush. He quickly got up and told me to sit in his recliner, and he shuffled off and put a shirt on. Later on, mid-lesson, P was sitting in her hover-round, really struggling with a housefly that would not leave her alone. After about 5 minutes of her jerking around, whispering 'LEAVE ME ALONE' at her housefly bully, L tells me to hand her the toilet brush.. so I gingerly pick it up and hand it it to her. She whacks at the fly until eventually the fly leaves her alone.. So she starts to brush her hair with the toilet brush.. Annnnnd I'm 99% sure that it has met a toilet or two in it's lifetime, not to mention there were definitely the guts of that housefly's little ancestors on that brush. So yeah. It was an interesting lesson. But we love them and they're hilarious. Man, the mission helps you meet some reallllllllllll crazy folks. :) 

After the lesson we went to check on someone else and we found a new investigator! His name is LD (he told us it stood for Little Devil) and he's super solid. :)

Wednesday- We met with President Walkenhorst, then went to visit with Kristyle. She's a LA that we're working on bringing back to the church. :) After that we had a doctor's appointment for my companion, then we went to dinner at the Hannah's!! YEAH! So excited. They made me Tamale Pie (SO HAPPY) and it was great. Also- we had a miracle lesson with the Jingozian's! It was awesome. We invited Jess to baptism again and she said yes! Chris said he's not quite there, but he's working on it. We're just so excited. We've been working with them. I love it. :D

Thursday- We went to the doctor again and then our cars were put on lock down because of the weather. Yeah it was pretty crazy. We've gotten snow and ice and the whole world has become an ice rink! We studied, planned, ate, chatted, and had a little dance party (you can only dance so much to EFY music) and it was a good time. :)

Friday- During my studies on my mission and also from other people, I have found some interesting things in the scriptures.

Santa is real! (Zechariah 2:6)

Baked goods can fly! (Zechariah 5:1-2)

Isaiah created the Kindle Fire (2 Nephi 7:11)

and UNICORNS ARE REAL (Isaiah 34:7)

Anyway, being on lock down can make any missionary go crazy. We weren't allowed to drive and we couldn't get to our area. We were also advised to only go out for specific appointments.. and it was driving us all crazy, so we walked to 7-11. Afterwards the ZL's brought us our mail (I GOT A LETTER FROM BIANA AND A PACKAGE FROM MY MOMMA) and we got special permission for my companions and I to drive to get priesthood blessings. It's been a rough week and we really needed that extra measure of support. Let me tell you- Heavenly Father knows and loves His children. I have felt that firsthand. It's been an awesome experience to feel the blessings of being a missionary and having the Priesthood in my life. I love it.

Saturday- Lock down again. We had correlation by phone and Sister Leavitt and I said the word "hue" for 20 minutes straight, because someone had told the elders in our ward that if you did that, you'd be saved. So we tried it. Felt exactly the same except my throat was a little sore. Our car was taken off of lock down for us to go to district meeting and dinner, and that was it. It was a great district meeting and dinner! Sister Ott rapped the 10 commandments again and that was an experience. She's funny.

Sunday- It was a good day. :) We had to teach Gospel Principles about the gathering of the house of Israel and that all went right over mine and my companion's heads. It was crazy. But the Spirit was in the room so that was what was important. After church, we had a lesson with Annie. We got her a Preach My Gospel so she could start teaching us the lessons to help her learn better. She did an awesome job teaching us the Plan of Salvation, and it was great. :)

We had dinner with the Kunz family! It was awesome. Brother Bets was there! He was in our ward before the ward switch and his family is one of my favorites! It was great to see him again. We watched the Christmas Devotional at Sister Smart's and then went home. It was a good day.

Well, everyone, as the Christmas season comes, I want to challenge each and every one of you to try and share Christ's love with just one person. It can be something as small as giving them a Joy to the World DVD or inviting them to church. Help them to know of the love of Christ and you'll be able to feel that same love in return! I love all of you and I'm praying for you.

Be safe, be strong, be good, be glad. 

The world is a beautiful place!

Zecharia 2:6 Ho, ho, come forth, and flee from the land of the north, saith the Lord: for I have spread you abroad as the four winds of the heaven, saith the Lord.

Zecharia 5:1-2 Then I turned, and lifted up mine eyes, and looked, and behold a flying roll.

And he said unto me, What seest thou? And I answered, I see a flying roll; the length thereof is twenty cubits, and the breadth thereof ten cubits.

2 Nephi 7:11 Behold all ye that kindle fire, that compass yourselves about with sparks, walk in the light of your fire and in the sparks which ye have kindled. This shall ye have of mine hand—ye shall lie down in sorrow.

Isaiah 34:7 And the unicorns shall come down with them, and the bullocks with the bulls; and their land shall be soaked with blood, and their dust made fat with fatness.

Email dated December 9, 2013

Freezing Rain, Seventies, and Bad Knees.

Hello one, hello all! It's another week here in Oklahoma and this week, I remembered my journal!

I'll get right into it.

Monday- After emailing we went to run errands and then play sports. I messed up my knee a couple weeks ago and it's been a bit of a bummer not being able to walk a lot, but I've been working through it! That being said, I wasn't allowed to play sports on Monday :( It took all of my willpower to not just run out and play anyway. But I persevered and wrote letters instead. That night we had sushi at the Blackburns! My companions don't like fish much so that was kind of fun to watch them eat it. It was decent sushi. I'm not big on fish either, but the dipping sauce made it way good. They are an awesome family. Brother Blackburn designs apps and video games (it's soooooooooo cool).

Tuesday- We went to the doctor about my knee! I thought it'd get better but my companions were like, "NO!" and they called my mission president's wife. Sooooooooooooooo we went to the doctor. Dr. Zukas, to be exact! Who is one of the most awesome members of our ward. I just sprained my knee so I should be a-okay. :) His son was with him and asked if he could come into our appointment because he wanted to see what it was like to see his dad as a doctor, so I told him sure. :) He got bored within a couple minutes and left. It was funny.

After the doctor, we visited with Sister Smart. She's HILARIOUS. She's not technically in our ward but she's one of those floater-people who just needs some love and we're allowed to visit with her. She's so funny. That night we had a lesson with the Feasels and then we came home and planned. It was a good day. :)

Wednesday- MY MOM'S BIRTHDAY. (Shoutout. Aw yeah.) We had lunch with the Thackers! They're awesome. Brother Thacker is the "grumpy old hick" that I mentioned in a previous email. We read the B.o.M. with him and asked him a LOT of questions about his church, the church of Christ. Learned a lot. Apparently they have a LOT of similarities to our church. Kinda cool. Kinda weird. Afterwards we went to check on a less active, but apparently he'd moved! BUT!! The people there were receptive and let us in! THEY'RE SO SOLID. One of them was recruited to play football for BYU (but he isn't a member) and the other lived in Arizona and had a bunch of LDS friends. Alsoooooooooooooo they have two kids! YEAH. They're a great family and they're SO prepared for the gospel. :D After meeting them (miracle) we had dinner with the Walser's, then we checked on Sister Weedn. Turns out she's Sister Blackburn's mom. Who knew? She's really nice and she told me all kinds of things about what to do to care for my knee, and she gave me some things to take care if it. Bless her heart, she's really the sweetest. And my knee is doing great now!

Thursday- MISSION TOUR. Elder Cardon of the 70 was in the area for Stake conference, so we got to hear him speak to us as a mission! It was so cool. He gave us great counsel on how to help pump people up to further the work! He's a great guy. After that we had a lesson with the golden family that we met. Yep. They're just as golden as we thought they were. Their questions are.. incredible. I'm dying. They are awesome.  After meeting with them we had dinner with the Tuckers! They feed us so much and I LOVE them. Their daughter is so funny and she always says the funniest things. After that we went home. I did language study! ANNNNNNNNNNND I GOT A LETTER FROM MATT. So happy. :)

Friday- Freezing rain! We were told to not leave except for specified appointments, so we didn't leave until about 4. We had a meeting with a less active. Her little daughter thought I was a human jungle gym so I sat there and distracted her while my companions got to know Crystle better. After that we had dinner with the Jensen family. They're hilarious! Sister Jensen is from Sweden and Brother Jensen's dad was a mission president in Germany. Crazy. After dinner we had a lesson with the golden family, but they cancelled because of the weather.. but we had a member with us (Sister Reynolds. She's the bomb.) so we decided to try a less active that lived in the same complex. ONCE AGAIN, the less active had moved, and the people that opened the door were receptive! SO we taught them the first lesson and set baptismal dates and they are SOLID. AH. I'm so happy! They're really nice and they just want to know the truth. I love missionary work!

Saturday- Still only allowed to leave for appointments! We had correlation by phone because of the weather.. which was way more productive anyway, we should always conference-call our correlation. Anyway. We picked up some firewood and brought it to the Jingozians, met with them, and then we had a lesson planned with the new people we found but it fell through because of the weather (dagnabit) BUT we had Sister Reynolds with us so we went and helped her do her visiting teaching. It was fun! After that we went to the adult session of Stake Conference.. which was basically a repeat of our mission tour. But it was good. I loved it. :) Elder Cardon really is an inspired man of God. There's a reason he's a Seventy.

Sunday- Our cars were straightup on lockdown. So we weren't allowed to drive at all. We got a ride (a very slow ride.. a 15 mph ride) to church with some members (so nice of them), and conference was great! We had a reorganizing of our stake presidency so it was mainly testimonies, but there are some real powerhouses here. After conference our dinner appointment turned into a lunch appointment due to the weather, so we had dinner with the Tuckers! (Not the normal Tuckers, their parents) and it was basically just a big block party! It was so fun. After dinner we came back home and weren't allowed to leave for the rest of the day. :( It was sad. BUT. We did a lot of studying (studies for dayzzzzzzzzz) and we organized EVERYTHING. Again. So yeah. Moral of the story- I really don't like being locked up as a missionary. It's hard.

Email dated November 25, 2013