Tuesday, December 16, 2014

Miracle family, birthday celebrations, and slap happy

Familia!!

Well this past week was a good week! It was not only my birthday, but we also found some really cool new investigators.

Monday after emailing we headed to the cat park in Rosamond and spent some time there with a member and that was fun! That night we had dinner and a lesson with the Valdez family, and we taught them about agency. We then headed to contact a referral from a member and we talked to them for a while. Her name is Carmen, and she is going through a hard time right now and could really use some peace. The spirit really leads you to people who need the gospel in their lives. But she set up an appointment with us so we are really excited to go back and teach her.


Tuesday we headed early to an appointment we had with Maura, but she wasn't there again, so we taught her mom Rosaura and we read 3 Nephi 11 with her and talked about baptism some more and reset her baptismal date for Jan 3! We are really hoping she can make it to this date. Later that afternoon we had a lesson with Guadalupe and all I am going to say about that lesson is the spirit wasn't there as strong as we would have liked it to be. But we learned from our mistakes, repented, and will be better next time. We then contacted a bit and shared with people the "He is the Gift" cards and told them about this amazing video we can watch for this Christmas season. We then passed by one of our investigators, Evenie, she is 10 years old and we taught her the plan of salvation. Something that I have learned is that it takes one talented person to teach a child about the plan of salvation...thank heavens for cut-outs! That night we passed by the Juarez family and helped Hermana Juarez make scarves for the Relief Society, so that was fun!

Wednesday we headed to the chiropractor and then headed to Carmen's and we talked about our purpose as missionaries and what we do and what she wants to learn more about or get out of our visits. She told us a lot about her family and she is just really awesome! She wants her kids to listen, so hopefully we will be able to teach them later in the week. We then had a lesson with an investigator, Armando, but then he dropped us, but it's okay! We are glad he was honest with us and didn't waste our time. That night we had a lesson with the Rasch family and we taught them about the scriptures! It was good! And then we headed over to Hermana America and Hermana Blanca's house (they are less actives) and we sang...well tried to sing...Christmas hymns to them. We got through like 2 songs and then couldn't stop laughing...lets just say the past few weeks finally hit us and everything was making us laugh. 



Thursday was my birthday!! And just to sum it all up right now, it was AMAZING and I am so blessed to have such amazing people around me. We got up and did our studies and some Elders from my district who live in the same apartment complex came over and sang to me and gave me some cookies! We then planned a bit and I opened some gifts from family :) which were awesome by the way, so thank you, thank you! I felt SO loved! We then had a lesson with Chris and talked about the priesthood and he has changed so much and has such a desire to do good now! I love seeing people change because of the Gospel. We passed by the Juarez's house, and ate some cake that they bought for me and their son who has the same birthday, and that was fun! I love that family so much! After dinner we had a lesson with the Harrison family (they are less active) and we taught them the restoration of the gospel. And then that night we met Pedro at Vallarta (a Hispanic grocery store) and ate ice cream and talked with him for a bit. We are so happy for him! He looks so much more confident and like he belongs somewhere! He is so awesome! After planning I opened the rest of my presents.




Friday we had district meeting and then Carmen called us and told us to come earlier to teach her and her family so we headed over there and had a 2 hour lesson with them. Lets just say they like to talk! haha. But it was a really good lesson and while we were teaching the story about Joseph Smith we were telling her about how confused he was with all the other religions around and that he wanted to know which one was true, so he asked God. And Carmen was like "wow, that is such a good idea. I have never thought about that!!" That is probably the best reaction I have heard while teaching the restoration to someone. They have been going to a lot of different churches and want to just pick one and go to that one. So the spirit couldn't have led us to her and her family in a more perfect time. We then showed Rosemary and her mom a mormon message and talked about baptism. And sadly Rosemary wants to push her baptismal date out more because she doesn't feel ready. We talked a little bit about why and we decided to reteach her the lessons. That night we taught the Morelos family and read Alma 32 with them and Maria told us all her worries about going to church, so hopefully we can help her now come to church. 

Saturday we had a lesson with Guadalupe and her son Jose who joined in on the lesson and he told us that he really enjoyed it! So yay! New investigator! We then had a lesson with the Alvarez's and studied about the scriptures with them. That night we had correlation and then we went to a baptism and brought Guadalupe with us to see what a baptism is like. She enjoyed it! 

Sunday we had Guadalupe and Jose come to church! And the men sang a Christmas song in sacrament meeting, and that was pretty! We planned a bit and then had a lesson with the Rojas family and showed them the "He is the Gift" video. 

Well family! I can't believe this transfer is over, and another is starting! Christmas is next week and I get to skype and see my lovely family!

Thank you all for the birthday wishes, I felt the love, that is for sure!

Have an amazing week and remember, if you haven't yet, go share "He is the Gift" #sharethegift is it AMAZING! I can't even explain it! :)

Love you all!!

Love, Hermana Aase

The most wonderful sound I've ever heard, is the sound of water running in the church

HELLO FAMILY!!

Well, this past week was crazy busy as always, but so wonderful!

Monday after pday we had dinner and a lesson with the Juarez family. We read about the tree of life in 1 Nephi 8, and we talked about how the world right now can relate so much to this dream that Lehi had in the Book of Mormon. We then ran by the Miranda Family and had a short quick lesson with them about the importance of prayer and doing family prayer. After that we raced over to Pedro's and we made his baptismal program!!! Woo hoo!! He is so nervous, but he is so prepared! We are so ready to see him make this covenant with the Lord.

Tuesday we planned to do service with Pedro, but it poured ALL day. Like flooding...it was ridiculous! haha. So instead we ate donuts and read a talk out of the April 2014 general conference Ensign. Later we stopped by a less active that just got back into town and we read with her in the Book of Mormon. Later that night we passed by some of our other less actives and we invited them to the creche festival and we ate some Chilean donuts, they tasted like scones! They were really good :) So yeah, there was so much rain that the streets were like rivers!! I was afraid our car was going to float away! haha, but it didn't! So we are happy about that!

Wednesday we got up and ready and headed to mission leadership council. It was really good! We learned about how we can use the simple tools we have to become better missionaries. And then we had a training on making covenants, and not just the big covenants when we are baptized, or get married, but those little promises we make with God. We know that God will ALWAYS come out on his end of the promise, we just need to keep our end. So we focused on making a covenant with God to have a baptism in each area each month and we learned how we can receive revelation on how to accomplish that! I got to see some missionaries before they go home that I served with in the beginning of my mission, so that was nice! Later that day I wasn't feeling super hot, so we stopped at home and I took a short nap. We then headed over to the church to help out with the relief society and making scarves! It was fun and I learned how to make a new kind of scarf :)

Thursday we planned for ZTM in the morning and then got ready for our exchange with Hermana Alzate and Hermana Christensen. I was with Hermana Christensen for the day and it was really fun!! Weird to think that 6 months ago we were switched positions. But she is awesome! We had all our appointments fall through, which was a bummer. But we got to contact and find some cool potentials. We also taught a couple less active lessons. 

Friday we got Pedro all set up in his jumpsuit for his baptism and then we headed off to get ready for ZTM. ZTM was really good. We focused on becoming the missionary that the Lord needs us to be and then we gave a training on using the simple tools to becoming better. It was a spiritual ZTM :) For the rest of that day we were running around getting things ready for Pedro's baptism and inviting people and all that jazz. We then had a lesson with Pedro that night and we brought Abuelita hot chocolate :) and read in the gospel principles book about baptism. He said he was super nervous, but we just kept telling him that he is ready and that he will be perfectly fine!



Saturday we got up and got going, got programs copied and frosted the cake we made and headed to the church building to get everything set up! One of the best sounds you could ever hear on your mission is water running in the church (my subject line- aka it is from a song:)) It is such a great feeling to see and know someone who you have come to love make these promises with God and get baptized. The service was really nice, we didn't have as many people as we had hoped for, but we had a good crowd. President and Sister Wilson also came!! So funny story, ever since Pedro picked his date for getting baptized he had been joking about how he will touch the water with his toe and it'll be TOO cold so he won't want to get baptized...so Hermana Gutierrez is standing in the font and Pedro is about to go down the steps, he makes the sounds like he is walking into boiling water..! haha..it was funny! But then he got into the water, and he had to be dunked 3 times because he is a tall big man and the ward mission leader is shorter than Pedro...haha. BUT HE IS BAPTIZED!! We then ate some cake and then ran to do some security at the creche festival and then came back later with Pedro and walked through with him and enjoyed the christmas music. 



Sunday was really good! Pedro got confirmed and it was one of the most amazing moments on my mission. After Pedro got confirmed he looked so peaceful and so happy. I know that the gospel gives us that peace and happiness. And to see someone that I have come to love accept and live the gospel, makes me the happiest person in the world. AHH!! Freak...I want to feel like that all the time! Well, I know I can every day, but too see someone get baptized is even more awesome! Also Maura and Rosaura came to church!! And all the Juarez boys took part in the sacrament! It was such a great feeling as well. We then did some planning and helped out a bit at the creche and then watched the Christmas Devotional. It was so amazing, and such a great way to remember to Savior during this Christmas season.

So that was our week!! 

I am so grateful to be a missionary during this season. I love my Savior and am so grateful for His love and for His example. 

If you haven't yet, please go and look up HE IS THE GIFT at christmas.mormon.org there is a video that just gives me the chills when I think about it! It is amazing and it really helps us focus on the birth of our Savior Jesus Christ. 

Have a wonderful week! And I will be looking for those packages, tell everyone in advance THANK YOU!! I will definitely feel loved on my birthday! 

Talk to you next week!

Payer list- Maura, Rosaura, Rosemary, Pedro, Miguel, Guadalupe, the Garcia Family and the Morelos Family.

LOVE YOU!!

Hermana Aase

Turkey, Christmas lights, and waters of Mormon

Hola Famila! Como Estan? Come fueron su dia de accion de gracias? (thanksgiving in spanish)

Okay...that took way to long to type out! haha. But really how are you?? And how was your thanksgiving with Josh and Natalie?? Was it fun?? And how was black Friday shopping, or should I say working?? Was it busy Mom??

Well our past week was really busy, but really good!


Monday- after the chiropractor and emails we cleaned the house for exchanges this week and wrote some letters, and then played some volleyball and mafia with the zone! It was fun! I was the bad guy, but then I got killed pretty quick because apparently I look suspicious. haha. That night we had a lesson with Miguel and made a baptismal calendar for him and he is really excited for his baptism! He just has such a strong desire to learn! Hermana Lau and I love teaching him! We then had a quick lesson with the Miranda family and we talked about prayer and how important and essential it is for us to pray daily! Even if you feel weird about it, just do it because it will begin to feel normal and something that you can't not do. We then ran to Pedro's and we reviewed the baptismal interview questions with him and he answered all of them and is feeling prepared...just really nervous. 

Tuesday- we headed to have a lesson with Maura, but she wasn't there, so we ended up teaching Rosaura about the Plan of Salvation and every time we come she looks more peaceful and happy. That is why we have the gospel! To make us happy and give us joy! We then had a lesson with the Morelos family and we watched Finding Faith in Christ. It was a really good lesson, and we talked about certain things we can do to find faith in Christ like read the scriptures, pray and go to church. Later that night we had a lesson with Rosemary and we also taught the Plan of Salvation. That night we stopped by one of the less actives and we got to talk to her for a while! Her name is Melanie and she is so cute and fun! She wants to retake the lessons and start coming back to church, which is great to hear! After her we had a lesson with the Valdez family and we taught about honesty from the gospel principles book.


Wednesday- We had the chiropractor again, and then we headed for exchanges with Hermana Simpson and Hermana Wiscombe! So we are doing exchanges differently now, where instead of one companion going to the other area, the other set of sisters come to our area and we pretty much blitz the area with both sets of missionaries in it. This is pretty convenient since we have a lot of area now and a lot of appointments that we are running to and from. Hermana Simpson came with me and we had a ton of fun! We first had a lesson with Rosemary and we read in the Book of Mormon, just where she was at, and then we talked about how the Book of Mormon has helped us in our lives. We then contacted for awhile and it was awesome! Sometimes when you are running from appointment to appointment, you miss just contacting people and talking with them and walking around on the streets. One person that we ran into that was kind of interesting was this Muslim couple. They were really nice and shared their beliefs with us and we shared ours with them. Something that I am grateful for is that we can receive personal revelation from God, and that we have a Prophet on the earth that leads and guides us :) Having this, is such a calm, peaceful feeling. So the rest of our appointments got cancelled, so we stopped by a family and talked about the articles of faith with them and then we visited a less active named Hermana Ponce De Leon, and we read 2 Nephi 2:11-15 and talked about trails in our life and how the gospel can really help us overcome those.

Thursday- was busy, busy. We had a lesson with Pedro and we also read the articles of faith with him and asked him how he was feeling about his baptism. He said he was still feeling nervous. Later, we did some planning and made some cookies for our investigators and less actives to drop off for the Thanksgiving holiday. That night we had dinner with the family Gutierrez, our ward mission leader, and it was such a humble dinner. Very good, and fun to spend that time with them. After dinner we dropped some cookies off to our investigators and less actives and then stopped by another family to say hi and they gave us a bunch of food to take home!


Friday- we had district meeting in the morning and then we ran home and ate lunch quick before Hna. Usher and Hermana Burns came for our exchange! Hna. Usher and I were together once again!! This companionship hasn't happened since the CCM!! CRAZY, right!?! I have missed her tons and I am so happy to be working around her again. We had a lesson with Chris and it was really good! We talked about missionary work and then we taught the restoration! He is doing great work with one of his friends and sharing the BOM and the gospel with her. He just has the light of Christ in his eyes when he talks about sharing the gospel. It makes us missionaries proud! We then contacted for a bit and that was fun as always! haha. Something that I learned is that you need those days that no one answers the door to really see where your dedication is and to really just keep up the faith! That night we contacted a really cool guy named David and he actually took the lessons in Palmdale a couple months ago. We lastly stopped by the Juarez family and shared with them a way that they can share the gospel. 

Saturday- Not too much happened, but we contacted in the morning and then Hermana Lau and I had to finished planning, so that was fun! And then we had our appointment with Rosaura canceled, so we passed by Pedro and gave him cookies and then we had correlation.

Sunday- Church was great. We had Pedro and Guadalupe come! And then after Pedro had his baptismal interview and...HE PASSED!!!!! HE IS GETTING BAPTIZED THIS SATURDAY!!! YAYAYA. We were so freakin' excited! After church we just sat there and screamed in the car! We were so happy that tears came to our eyes! We then contacted and found a super prepared lady named Stephanie. We then had a lesson with the Valdez family about the life of Christ. It was a good day!! 

Well I hope you had a great Thanksgiving and freak can you believe it is December!?! 

I love and miss you all! 

Love, Hermana Aase

prayer list- Pedro, Rosemary, Rosaura, Maura, Miguel, and Guadalupe

Busy doesn't even measure up to reality...

HAPPY THANKSGIVING WEEK!!! :) 

It is so crazy how fast these holiday are coming up. I am going to blink and it is going to be Christmas, which is 31 days away!! haha not that I am counting down or anything. 

So this past week was so incredibly busy...I can't even describe it. I felt like a chicken sprinting around with my head and arms cut off...if that makes any sense haha. But I'll explain why it was so busy during the email.


Monday was fun as always! We had dinner with the other Hermamas' and we got some sad news...one of the Hermana's is going home and she will be leaving on Wednesday, which means her companion will be leaving, which means we will be taking over their area until the end of the transfer. We were crushed...it is so sad to know, or hear about someone going home, but to have it be one of the Hermana's under our stewardship that we got close to, that was hard. After that we had a lesson with Miguel and re-retaught the restoration and answered some questions he had so that was good! We then stopped by the Juarez family and talked with them for a bit and picked a chapter out of the gospel principles book that they want to learn more about for their appointment on Tuesday. 

Tuesday we ate breakfast with the other set of Hermana's and then contacted some potentials that morning. One of our set appointments got cancelled, but then we headed to the Alvares' for some lunch and we ate these weird, Chilean, dessert scone with sugar syrup things...they were interesting...We then read Mosiah 18 about our baptismal covenants and talked about how we must always remember those promises we make with God. After that we had a lesson with Guadalupe (she is an investigator we inherited from the other area). We read with her 3 Nephi 11 and answered some of the questions she had about the church. It was a good lesson. She is really progressing and wanting to learn. She also came to church the week before so that was cool!! We then had some appointments cancel, which gave us a minute to breath haha. And then after dinner we had a lesson with the Juarez Family and we taught them about family responsibilities, and what I learned in that lesson was that my parents were totally right, so sorry about complaining about doing yard work...that is totally part of our responsibility. haha. 


Wednesday we said goodbye to Hermana Fishvogt in the morning and then had a chiropractor appointment and that made us feel better! We then had a companion study with the Assistants and we focused on helping the sisters in our stewardship find, and be believing in themselves and having confidence. After that we had a lesson with Rosaura and we taught the first half of the restoration and every time we have a lesson with her the power of the gift of tongues in real. We then helped Hermana Gutierrez (a lady in our ward) do family history work and she loved it! She is going to do the work for her sister and her parents. That night we had an FHE with the Dominguez family and I tried pumpkin pie for the first time- it wasn't that bad actually! We read 2 Nephi 2 and talked about the plan of salvation. AND GUESS WHAT!!! -- Rosemary picked her baptismal date for Dec 27 :)

Thursday we planned all day, and that took forever because we had to organize both areas and get everything planned out for two exchanges this week. So that was fun! We then had a lesson with the Rasch family and we read the chapter about prayer. It was a really good lesson. And something that I learned as we are teaching these active families in the ward is that even though they are "active" they still need support and a spiritual boost. 

Friday morning we had district meeting and we gave a training on how to work more with members. After that we had a lesson with Rosaura and we taught the second half of the restoration and it was such a good lesson. The member we brought with us was such a big help and she shared her testimony about trails in her life and how the gospel has been such a big help and blessing. We then had a lesson with Guadalupe and we shared with her the Articles of Faith and she loved them. She said that she really understood now what we believe. THE ARTICLES OF FAITH ARE AWESOME! After that we ran to our lesson with Rosemary and we talked about missionary work! That night we had a lesson with Miguel and taught him about the word of wisdom. He said he is still set for his baptismal date for Dec 19 and said that not drinking coffee will be easy...where do you find these people! And then we ran to our other lesson with the Morelos Family and we read some more in the Book of Mormon and talked about the importance of praying as a family.


Saturday was my 10 MONTHS!!! woo hoo!! :) We then knocked for about 2 hours in the nice wind and sand...by the end of the 2 hours my hair was all knotted! We then invited all to the thanksgiving dinner and then we had correlation and then headed to the dinner. There was so much food! And it was so yummy!! Our investigator Guadalupe and her son came to the dinner!

Sunday We did church visits in the morning, and that was fun! No one answered the door and an investigator dropped us. Church was good! We had 3 investigators come to church!! Guadalupe, Rosaura and Maura!! Woo hoo!! We then contacted and we met this girl named Maria, right now she is going through a really hard time and she was just sitting on the side walk and we talked to her about the gospel and how Christ can heal her and help her change her life. That night we had a lesson with the Valdez family and we also read the articles on faith and talked about the importance of them! And then we ate dinner with the Juarez family and had a lesson with them about tithing. 

SO...long story short...this week was so busy!! But it was good! We had some awesome lessons with our progressing investigators :)

I hope you all have a wonderful week and thanksgiving!

Love you all!!

Hermana Aase

prayer list- Rosaura, Maura, Pedro, Miguel, Rosemary, and Guadalupe

Gift of tongues and Christmas music

Hi familia!!

How is everyone doing??

This past week was a slow and hard week. Our motivation was running slow and unfortunately many appointments got cancelled, but it was still a good week for missionary work like always because the Lord is hastening his work :)

Monday after p-day festivities we had dinner with the Parra's and Pedro came for dinner and guess what?!! He picked a BAPTISMAL DATE!! He picked the 6th of December :) we are so excited for this day because it is the day he picked and feels ready for. This has been a long awaited decision. 

Tuesday we ate lunch with a less active couple in the ward, the Alvarez's. They are from Chile and they are just so old and cute! haha. But we had some Chilean food that was really good and then we helped Hermana Alvarez with her family history work and she loved it! She was so intrigued by it. It is so true how the spirit of Elijah can turn our hearts to our ancestors and help us regain that testimony we have about the gospel. We then had a lesson with the Juarez family and we watched the Restoration DVD and they really liked it and we asked them what they feel is was so important that Joseph Smith prayed. And something that one of the kids said was, because he wanted to know the truth and we can only do that through prayer. How real that is! God is the source of all truth and if we want to know something we must do what is says in James 1:5 to ask God. I know that this is true. I know the our Heavenly Father answers our prayers and the Spirit can testify of truth to us. We then had dinner with Rosemary, her family, her friend Dara (who we are now teaching) and the members that live across the street. It was fun! We then had a family home evening with them and read 3 Nephi 11 and talked about the importance of having daily scripture study both as a family and individually. That night we met with a member and got a referral of someone they want us to teach.

Wednesday we had a chiropractor appointment in the morning and we say that other sisters in our stewardship there! haha. We then headed and contacted the referral we got Monday night and talked with him for awhile. He wasn't really interested in learning right now, but we know that his friend who is in the branch will help him come and learn. We then ran to our lesson with Rosemary and Dara and we taught the restoration of the gospel of Jesus Christ and Dara really understood the purpose of prophets and about the apostasy. It was really cool. And she is really interested in reading the Book of Mormon. I love those we start teaching who have that great desire to read and learn about this. It is just so incredible to see!! That night we did the activity with the primary age girls and we made thankful turkeys! It was a blast! And then we stopped by a member in the ward.

Thursday we started planning a bit early and then we had to go back to the chiropractor for Hermana Lau's shoulder. We then did some more planning...yay! And then we had a lesson with Maura's mom Rosaura, and I still can't believe how this lesson went. So we come in and we start talking to her and telling her what we do and she tells us she is catholic and how she doesn't understand why we are teaching her daughter. So we read the introduction to the Book of Mormon with her, but then she starts asking us questions. Okay let me give you some background...she is straight from Mexico and staying here with her daughter for a couple months, so Maura told us to come read the bible with her mom while she is at work...so that is where the story picks back up. We are trying to understand her Spanish and her questions and so we start reading some more scriptures to answer her questions...the scriptures have better Spanish than we do! But then she asks us more questions. She has had a rough life and lost one of her sons, and so she has been asking us questions about this and so we start teaching her the plan of salvation (more about the spirit world) and half way through the lesson she says "so for me to see my son again and talk to him I need to learn about what you are teaching my daughter," and we were like "yes, this can bring you so much joy and you can see your son again and live with your son again," and the next thing that she said was what really hit me...she said "when can you come back?... FREAK. 1) the gift of tongues is real...she understood what we were saying and the spirit told us what to say, and 2) this lady went from "I am only catholic"...to "when can you come back". The gospel is real!! It is so cool the difference it makes in people's lives.  After that we ran to a meeting we had with Presidente Rojas and all the missionaries in the branch because 5 of them are new to the branch. After dinner we planned for some STL things this transfer like exchanges and meetings and all that jazz. 

Friday we had district meeting and that was really good! New district leader who has some really good plans to help us, our companionship and the work move along. After that we had had a lesson with Chris and we taught him about the amour of God and he really liked that since he is looking for that amour to put on every day. And something that Hermana Lau and I have noticed is that what really, truly protects us are the things we have been saying since we were in primary - read your scriptures, pray, go to church, be a good example, have good thoughts, love others, etc. They all work because it is the GOSPEL! After that lesson we ate lunch and then headed over to have a lesson with Tony, but he wasn't home. So then we contacted a bit and then picked up a member for a lesson with the Garcia family, but sadly they were not home either, and the most sad part is we think they are avoiding us. They don't ever answer the door any more, or text us back, or are home for appointments. We don't know what happened :/ So we then ran over to Rosemary's and we read a bit with her out of the Book of Mormon. That night we had a lesson with the Morelos family and we taught the Plan of Salvation...dang did all that teaching of the Plan of Salvation pay off!! haha. 

Saturday we finished some planning and then headed out and contacted potential and former investigators, but no one was home. For dinner we went to a Chinese restaurant where Chris works, and then we had correlation. After we headed to the adult stake conference session, and guess what...our stake understands missionary work now!! It was so exciting to see them catch the vision of the Lord! This is what we have been waiting for!

Sunday we woke some people up and then headed to stake conference! It was really good also. Some good talks about not being afraid to do missionary work, and how to fortify our homes which are with 1) family prayer 2) family scripture study, and 3) family home evening. We then stopped by and found Miguel home! So we had a lesson with him. And then we had some studies and then headed out for dinner with Presidente Rojas and his family and we invited Miguel, and he came! We taught a short lesson about the Articles of Faith. We then stopped by the Alvarez and had some abuelita hot chocolate and shared the articles of faith with them too. 

oh...so about Christmas music...I broke down and we started listening to Christmas music...too early for it? I think NOT! :) haha

Well I love you all! I hope you have a wonderful week...in the snow! hehe.

prayer list- Pedro, Miguel, Maura, Rosaura, Rosemary, and Dara

Love you!!

Hermana Aase

It is a Plan of Salvation Week

Hello Family!! Can you believe it is the end of another transfer...these go by WAY, WAY to fast. To answer everyone's question -- I am staying in this area with Hermana Lau!!! We are so stoked!! That means we will be together for Thanksgiving and my Birthday, which means the TEMPLE!!! So yeah, that is pretty much the exciting news! Now for the week.


Monday during p-day I bought a jacket because it was SO flippin' cold...call me a wimp...I know...I am from Minnesota, and I was cold. We then played some volleyball with the zone and that was a blast as always! After dinner we had FHE with Rosemary and her mom (who is a less active) with a family across the street that used to be in the branch and we watched the Restoration DVD and that was awesome. We all shared our testimonies about the Book of Mormon and the prophet Joseph Smith and the spirit was really strong in that lesson. We then stopped by Francisco, and he dropped us :( but one day! He will learn more and be baptized. We then headed over to the Juarez family and had a FHE with them and talked about the Priesthood and the roles and importance that it has in our lives. 

Tuesday we had a lesson with Maura and we taught the Plan of Salvation. I don't know about other missionaries, but this lesson is harder for me to teach...especially with it being in Spanish!! It was a good lesson, but I kind of stumbled with Spanish, so hopefully she understood. We then had a fun ice cream date with the other Hermanas' in the branch, and then headed to the Alvarez (an older couple from Chile in the branch) we had lunch with them and then talked about family history work. Hermana Alvarz showed us all his pictures when he was a professional soccer player for Chile! It was cool!! The spirit that you can feel when you do family history work is amazing. This is what some people need to be able to find the church, come back to church, and or stay active in the church. We then had a lesson with our favorite family - The Garcias. We read Alma 32 and talked about how we can grow our faith. The kids really liked the example of the seed and growing it into a tree. That night we ran by the Morelos family and read The Family Proclamation to the World, and they really liked that.This family has a lot of potential, but we are working slow with them. And lastly we had a lesson with Miguel and again we taught the Plan of Salvation. This time it went much better! Second time's the charm right?? But he is awesome, he really wants to learn and grasp the gospel, so we are just making sure he does daily prayer and scripture reading!! 

Wednesday was a crazy day. We got up and got ready early and headed to Tehachapi for the Mission Leadership Council (MLC) meeting with all the zone leaders, sister training leaders, and President and Sister Wilson. And guess what...Hermana Lau, I, and the two Zone Leaders in our branch, Elder Howell and Elder Angles, did the training at this meeting...can you say that is the "IN" to these kinds of things, and that we were nervous and freaking out!! But it went so well! President and Sister Wilson were really impressed and loved what we trained on. A sneak peek of what we trained on - the missionaries are heading the missionary work and we can't do that in these wards and branches. We are here to help the bishop and ward mission leader, not to the run the show. So we did a lot of training on what our roles are, and what the roles are of the bishop and ward mission leader. We showed a lot of videos from hastening the work website and read form PMG. After dinner we contacted and then planned for ZTM which will be on Friday. We then had a lesson with Pedro, and again we taught the Plan of Salvation. The third time is the charm right!!?? It was a really good lesson though, so I am grateful for that. 


Thursday was a really busy day, and none of that was planning. We had a lesson with Maura and read first in 2 Nephi 2 about opposition in all things. She liked that, since right now she is having some opposition in her life. We then taught her some English and we got some Spanish in too! We then had a lesson with Chris and we taught the Plan of Salvation and read 2 Nephi 2 and helped him understand some of the scriptures in that chapter. We then ran quickly to Rosemary's house and had a lesson with her and read the end of 1 Nephi with her. We then did some visiting teaching with Hermanas' in the branch and then we planned!

Friday we had ZTM and that was good. We did the same training at MLC at ZTM so that was easy! We then had a lesson with Tony, a newer investigator that we found, and we also read 2 Nephi 2 about opposition in all things, and we learned more about him and how he is feeling about learning more. We then had a lesson with the Garcias and we taught them about...can you guess?? The Plan of Salvation. At least this one was in English, haha. But it was good! They are really loving it and want to learn more. And then we had a lesson with the Morelos family again, and we began reading the Book of Mormon, and the husband finally joined in on the lessons, so that was a surprise!! We have been asking him every time we have a lesson with his wife and kids and he always said he was busy, but this time he sat in! 


Saturday we helped set up for the wedding of one of the couples the Elders are teaching, so we were there for a while. We passed by a less active family and read a General Conference talk with them called, "Yes Lord I will Follow Thee." It is a really good talk, I suggest you go and read it :) We then visited some investigators and invited them to the wedding and baptism and then we planned until we headed to the wedding. It was a nice night. The husband has severe prostate cancer and doesn't have much time to live and so they got married and baptized this weekend. 

Sunday was good! We woke up some of our investigators and guess who came to church?? Rosemary!! Finally! And she really liked it. We then visited some investigators before the baptism and invited them to that and then helped set up some more for the baptism and then had the baptism! It was really good, the spirit was really strong in that service. And Rosemary came too!! And she told us that she loved it, and that she thinks baptism is a really great thing :) one day soon she will be getting baptized! We then stopped by a former investigator and we talked with him for a bit and then we had a lesson with Pedro and we read 3 Nephi 11 with him and talked about baptism, and he said that he will be picking a date and calling us tomorrow! 

This past week was really good!! I loved it and it went by so fast!
I love being out on a mission. It seriously has been the greatest time of my life, and I don't want it to end! I still have 8 months, so it is all good!

I hope you all have a great week! Crazy stuff that it is snowing in Minnesota...I miss the snow!!

I love and miss you all!!

Talk to you next week!

Hermana Aase

What fries your brain?...Planning does!

Good morning family!! It is a brisk morning here in Lancaster, California, the temperate is currently at 58 degrees..and I AM SOOOOOOOOO COLD!!! I am from Minnesota for crying out loud and I am a baby to the cold!! haha..tips..what can I do to help me from freezing?? I bought a jacket from target this morning, so that should help :) but yeah...haha. It is sad, and when winter comes when I am home in Minnesota. I am not sure how well I am going to do. 

Well this past week was kind of another crazy week. We had 2 exchanges, planned, and worked hard in our area! Something that I truly have noticed, is that the more you trust in the Lord to bring you to those that are prepared, He will.

Monday after p-day festivities we had a lesson with Miguel. It was probably one of the most fun and spiritual lessons I've had. We taught him about the importance of reading and praying. He has such a desire to learn and grow so that is so fun to see. He then taught us some spanish!! I learned to say I have been there on vacation -- yo fui para vacaciones de puerto vallarta...or something along those lines. Haha. We then contacted a less active family and then headed over to the Juarez, and they just fed us some good food...instead of FHE. We will try next time to get a lesson in there.

Tuesday we taught (an investigator) Gladys, and that went okay. We aren't sure how interested she is, but she made a return appointment with us!! We then headed out to North Edwards (my home!) and had exchanges with Hermana Christensen and Hermana Alzate. I stayed in North Edwards and worked with Hermana Alzate. It was weird to be back, but really fun! We stopped by a less active and had a lesson with them, and then we ran over to the Winterton's and I got to say hi to their kids and that was great! They all remember me! We then headed to dinner at the Irishes. That was a blast. I sure do miss that family. We then headed over to a family they are teaching, but the parents weren't home, but we just talked to the kids and asked them how their reading and praying is going and then how they feel about baptism. The oldest boy just got accepted into BYU-Idaho, so I was telling him all about that!! We then stopped quick before we headed home to read with the guy that works at the convenient store, and then lastly we stopped and said hi to Kayla Martz and her family. Looking back at who I was there and what I still needed to learn, it is incredible what a mission does to you and how much you change.  

Wednesday after the exchanges were over we drove back home to Lancaster and contacted some potentials and referrals, but none were home, so then we both got the idea to check on a former investigator that lived in that same area. So we headed over there and we met this cute little family, and they were interested an invited us back again. We were not expecting there to be a family, but the spirit led us to them and now we have a new family to teach! We contacted the rest of the night and then headed over to our ward mission leader's house and had a lesson with their family. We watched Finding Faith in Christ and talked about things we can do to find our faith in Christ. 

Thursday we had a day exchange with the Hermana's in the branch, Hermana Ostler and Hermana Fischvogt. Hermana Ostler went to the temple because she is departing the mission next week, so Hermana Fischvogt was with me for the day. But sadly Hermana Fischvogt got food poisoning so she was sleeping all morning. We then went out and had a lesson with Rosemary and taught the Gospel of Jesus Christ and that went well. Hermana Fischvogt is a really good teacher, and I loved being with her for a couple hours. I then went with Sister Peatross (an english sister in the zone) to a lesson with her because Hermana Lau was with her companion because she hurt her back. So yeah, we had a fun day of exchanges with a different sister missionaries haha. 

Friday we had a lesson with Maura Martinez, what was supposed to be an english class turned into reading some Scriptures and helping her out. Which wasn't bad at all. We are always here to help with the gospel. We then had district meeting and I gave a talk on "finding through the spirit". I really focused on how we must have the spirit before we can find whatever we are looking for, and then after we have the spirit we can then find. But the key to finding is working! If you aren't working, then you can't find anyone. We then had a lesson with Chris and we watched a conference video about "which way you face". We then had a lesson with Alondra (the family we found on Wednesday) and that lesson was so good!! They were so open to learning. They are new and have been looking for a church to go to. We then invited her to the Halloween party and THEY CAME! It was so cool! We headed in at 7, and wrote some letters and ate some cookies and yeah! 

Saturday we planned for MLC and that took a long time...this is where my brain was fried. We then had a lesson with Pedro and taught him about tithing. It rained while we sat and taught him, so I was FREEZING by the end of the night. We then had correlation and then went back to planning. 

Sunday we did some church visits and then headed to church. Pedro came!! And he stayed for all 3 hours!! We then finished our planning and then had dinner and then did our weekly planning. So...you can say by sunday night by brain was fried by planning so much! But I have learned a lot about planning - it takes the spirit :)

Well family! I hope your Halloween as good!! It was fun here. I love this work and being able to share the message of the Gospel with all. 

I hope your week is good!! 

Can't believe it is the end of the transfer already!!...it goes by WAY to fast.

LOVE YOU!!

-Hermana Aase

Monday, October 27, 2014

Waking People Up, It's What We Do!

Hi Familia!!

I hope everyone had a wonderful week last week. I loved all the pictures...it makes me miss home, but I love it out here, so I am doing just fine! I can't believe that I hit HALF WAY this past week. The time has just flown...it's crazy. And all I have heard is that once you hit 9 months it goes down hill from there really fast. Which I don't want it to end...I love being out here. So I am taking every opportunity to live the mission. 

Well this past week was really good! It was not as busy as the last 3 weeks have been, so that is good! I enjoy having time to actually work in the area and see our investigators progress.

Monday- after emailing we got all our shopping done and then we played ultimate frisbee, which is really hard in the wind I might say! We then got flu shots and ran home quick to change for dinner. And I was SOO excited to open the mail! I got so many wonderful packages from my family :) I felt so loved! SO thank you family! You are awesome! I have already eaten half the packs of gold fish, and candy...! hehe. After dinner we helped some of the ladies in our ward do their visiting teaching and then we contacted the rest of the night.

Tuesday- We had a lesson with Maura Martinez and we read with her where she is at in the Book Of Mormon. We also set her with a baptismal date of Dec. 27th!! She told us that she is ready before that date, but that she can be married by then. So that made Hermana Lau and I excited to hear. We then met with the ZL to plan for MLC (which is mission leadership council) and guess what...we are TEACHING in it! My first one, and we are teaching it! haha. Is that nerve wracking or what? We then had some potentials and referrals we contacted, sadly no one wanted to open the door...it's a bummer when that happens! But you just keep moving forward and find those who WILL open the door to you. We then stopped by one of our investigators and while the mom was busy doing things about the house we read with Thalia, the daughter, in Alma 32 talking about how faith is like a seed that can grow and she asked us, "how can I find the truth," and we simply explained to her through prayer and her feelings. She then quietly asked how we knew this church was true, and both Hermana Lau and I bore our testimonies about how we know this church is true. She smiled at us and was like "I want to know the truth like you two do"...this literally brought tears to my eyes. This little 12 year old wants to know the truth and she has such a strong desire to know it! I love it! We then had a really fun FHE with the Juarez family talking about the amour of God and what we can do to keep that amour on! We drew a man with all the amour on, so pictures to come with that.

Wednesday- MY HUMP DAY!!! I still cant believe that I hit 9 months this past week...TIME FLIES when you are having fun! But the day started out a bit slow, I woke up with a bad headache, but my awesome companion baked cinnamon rolls, so those were delicious! We then went out to work and we found a new investigator named Tony. We taught him the restoration, not sure how interested he is but we are going back for sure to teach him more! We then ate some lunch and while making lunch I cut my finger really bad, so that was not so good. Luckily I didn't have to get stitches! We then headed back out and passed by a few homes but no one was there, so we walked down the street and a potential that we talked to was outside with his little girl, so we started talking to him and taught him the Restoration and half the plan of salvation because he had so many questions for us. And we set him with a baptismal date of Dec13! So that was really good! We then had a relief society activity and we made these BOO suckers - the ladies in the branch liked that! And then we headed to a lesson with Pedro and we taught him the Word of Wisdom and he told us that he is getting baptized in the month of November! But he wont tell us a specific date...





Thursday- We had service in the morning and that was a blast. We worked in the kitchen and made bags of food for the shelter. Later that day we had a lesson with Chris, a newly reactivated member and that lesson was one of the most powerful lessons I've had on my mission. We taught the Gospel of Jesus Christ and he kept telling us that we were saying exactly what he needed to hear and that he really does want to change and be better. The spirit really does guide us in what we need to say. We then did some fun planning, and visited a less active family that we haven't been able to contact. We shared with them 2 Nephi 25:26, and talked about Christ and their conversion to the church. 

Friday- We taught Maura English in the morning and also shared with her some scriptures to help her out in this hard time in her life. We then had district meeting and talked about inviting people to church! Because that is one of the hardest things to get investigators to do...for some reason. We then contacted for the rest of the night!

Saturday- We had a lesson with Rosemary in the morning and we read 1 Nephi 17 about Nephi being commanded to build a ship and we related that to the Lord commanding us to be baptized. She really understands now the things that she needs to do to prepare to be baptized. I am hoping that she will be baptized at the end of the year. We then contacted a bit and we drove by our investigator's (Miguel's) house to see if he was home, and he was! So we stopped and taught him the Gospel of Jesus Christ and reset his baptismal date for Dec. 19th! He has such a strong desire to learn about Christ and the church. That is one of the things I love the most, to see those we teach have a true desire to learn and grow.

Sunday- It was a really good day! A little bit cool and the sun was shinning and we got up early to knock on people's door to get them up and going! And guess what, It WORKED! TWO of our investigators came to church! Pedro and Miguel!  After church we did some contacting until dinner and then we had a meeting with our Branch President, and we were able to help him really understand his role. It was a really good meeting. 

Well, this week was really good! I get to go to North Edwards for an exchange tomorrow so I am happy to be back in my home :) I'll talk to you next week!

Love, Hermana Aase

prayer list- Miguel, Pedro, Rosemary, Maura, Jose, Francisco, Connie, and Manual

Girls on a Bike!

Hello family!!

Well all I can say is that this week didn't slow down anymore...haha. We had a busy week, but it was an amazing week!

Monday- after emailing we met with Kayla Martz and her cute kids for lunch and that was a blast! I haven't seen that family since I left my first area, so it was so good to see them!! Later we played some hard core sit down (which is like free range dodge ball) and after dinner we ran over to Angel's house because we were handing him over to the YSA Elders in this area. We then ran to a Family Home Evening with the Juarez family and they are doing so great!! They are doing a lot better. They are reading and praying everyday, which is great to see!


Tuesday- We had an early lesson with Maura (the former investigator who randomly called us and said she wanted to learn again) and that was good! We brought a member with us and we got to know Maura and she told us how she wanted to get baptized, but because she isn't married they couldn't continue to teach her, but now she is like "I want to get baptized! And I am going to ask my husband if we can get married, so I can be part of this church!" Our minds were pretty much blown! After that we had a meeting with the Assistants and all the STL's in this area. We talked about how to be better missionaries and help the sisters under our stewardship. A couple things that really stuck out to me was 1) we teach the GOSPEL of Jesus Christ, not about the boy in the woods or the great apostasy, but the gospel of Jesus Christ, which is what changes us, and 2) the lessons we teach - Restoration, Plan of Salvation, and the Gospel of Jesus Christ are all inter connected - CRAZY, right? So here you go, the Plan of Salvation = what the gospel is, the Gospel of Jesus Christ = how we live the gospel, and the Restoration = why we need the gospel. MIND BLOWN. It was a really awesome meeting! We then had my eye doctor appointment and my eyes are great, but that means they aren't causing my head aches...so back to step one! The rest of the night was busy contacting and walking our areas. 

Wednesday- Our appointment in the morning sadly cancelled. We then headed to Palmdale for the first round of exchanges. We headed with Hermana Wiscombe and Hermana Simpson. I went with Hermana Wiscombe in Palmdale, and guess what...THEY ARE ON BIKES!!! I GOT TO RIDE A BIKE IN A SKIRT ON MY MISSION!!!! So the day started out good, besides the fact that I was flashing everyone as I rode down the street on the bike...might I say, it is hard to ride a bike, in a skirt, against the wind. All I could do is laugh at how we looked. We had a lesson with a 7 year old boy who is about to be baptized and we taught him about the Plan of Salvation. We then biked over to an area close to dinner and knocked on a few doors. Sadly everyone we talked to was kind of rude, but we just kept knocking! We then headed down the street and tried past an investigator who they hadn't been able to contact and she was home and let us right in! We taught her about the Gospel of Jesus Christ and it was a really inspired lesson and the spirit was strong. While biking home quick before dinner we passed this old guy and he looked at us and was like "Aren't you in style! Girls on a bike!!" It was the highlight of my day!! haha. After dinner with our stomaches full, we biked our hearts out to our set lesson with a new family they found, which when we got there they weren't there...so we got our bikes and walked to our next appointment because I couldn't feel my legs! We got to our other appointment with a lady named Georgina, and that lesson was good. We talked about baptism and confirmation. After the lesson we biked home and we passed out pretty fast. 



Thursday- When I woke up on the morning I couldn't feel my legs. While Hermana Wiscombe exercised I sat on the couch and rolled frozen water bottles up and down my legs. We exchanged back and then we headed to a doctors appointment for Hermana Lau and thenwe stopped by See's candy so that made my legs feel better...well not my legs...but my soul. We then planned for a chunk of the night and did a little bit of contacting. But boy...if I get put on bike later on in my mission, I am going to be way more sore!! 

Friday- We had a lesson with Maura teaching her english and that was fun!! We then had interviews with President and Sister Wilson and those went really well. It is always great seeing them and telling them how the work is and getting some counsel from them. We then headed back to Plamdale and had another exchange with Hermana Moore and Hermana Burns. Hermana Moore came with me, and we had a really busy day! Our first set lesson was cancelled, which made us sad, so we tried a few potentials and then what we thought was the right house for a referral was not, but we found a family that had just moved from Palmdale and was taking the lessons there, so that was cool! We then had a lesson with Rosemary and she is getting close and closer to baptism. She says she knows the BOM is true and she wants to be baptized, it is just picking a date now. We then headed to dinner and the person wasn't there to feed us, so we headed home! And then we went back out and had a lesson with Maria and her family and we read 2 Nephi 31 about baptism, and Maria had some good questions about baptism. We brought a member too and they hit it off! We then ran to a set lesson with a new referral...but when we got there, no one was there. So we headed to Pedro and read Introduction to the BOM and they loved that. By the end of the night we were wiped, but it was such a good day! And we passed with our Spanish. 

Saturday- We contacted in the morning and headed to one of the trailer parks in our area and tried a menos activo (less active member), but they weren't home so we walked down the street and met a guy named Richard, who was really nice and said he would be open to listen to what we teach. Later that night we had correlation and we went by another referral and met a lady named Madeline, and we talked to her for a while about what we believe and what church is like. 

Sunday- Church was great! Maura came, but Pedro didn't, so that was sad. But guess what! We taught about missionary work to the primary kids! They loved it. We gave them little tags and talked about how they can be a missionary now and prepare to become a missionary later. That night we contacted a bit and then ran by Presidente Roja's house and updated him on a few families we contacted.


Hopefully this next week will slow down a bit, but we have another exchange this weekend, so that will be good! And I hit my NINE MONTHS on Wednesday...how weird is that! I am half way done!! 

Well I love you all and I'll talk to you next week! 

Love , Hermana Aase

Prayer list- Pedro, Maura, Connie, Manuel, Rosemary, Miguel, Madeline.