A Dingo May Just Eat My Baby!!

Dear Family and Friends,

We had a wonderful week down here in the South. Being in a trio is crazy! Every night is like a sleep over. When we walk down the street we look like a gang. And we have way too much fun :) But I love it!

This week we totally scored and an Elder who served here a year ago gave us 29 referrals! So we were busy contacting all over Little Rock. It was really good because it gave Sister Hosea lots of practice with talking to people and how to begin teaching.

Training Sister Hosea is so much fun. She is such a good sport even when she makes really funny mistakes. For example her very first door approach she was doing really well and then she asked the man she was talking to what his religious background was. He responded "I'm Catholic" Sister Hosea paused and then asks "So do you believe in Christ?" As soon as she said it she realized what she had said. The man responded "Yes" and we quickly gave him a card and said good bye. I told Sister Hosea that it was pretty safe to assume that in the South everyone believes in Christ. :)

She really is such a good sport. We laugh because she sleeps in the bed in the corner and is banished to the back seat, but we really do love her! Sometime though her lack of street smarts scares both Sister Anderson and I and we are a little worried about how she will fare without us once she gets to the Outback.

Anyway I love training. I am learning so much! President Wakolo gave some really good advice to the new trainers this week. He told us that we could either be an example or an excuse to our new trainees. I've seen times this week when I was the excuse but have tried hard to be the best example I can. I think this can apply in real life too. Are we being an example or an excuse to our family and friends and those around us. Do people want to become better because of the things they see us do or are they able to justify their actions because of our actions? I have been really blessed to have some really amazing examples in my life both in and out of the church. People who have made me want to change because of the example they set. Hopefully Sister Hosea is able to see my example and learn from me. Because I am definitely learning from both her and Sister Anderson. They both have such strong testimonies and I love getting to be around them.

Maddie sent me another email responding to my questions and commenting on what I wrote, so I will add this little excerpt from that letter along with some pics of them having some fun and of working themselves to exhaustion

Being in a tri-panionship...

I think that being the oldest sister of three has really helped me prepare for this transfer. I'm with two girls who are the youngest in their family and let's just say they really remind me of our Kate. Which as you know has its perks and challenges. You will not be surprised when I tell you that I definitely feel like the mom of the companionship. Sometimes it is a little frustrating but it is also my personality to just do things instead of confronting others. I also have my own bathroom and sleep on the queen bed. I like to refer to myself as the queen sometimes instead of the mom it makes me feel better :)

Anyway I do really love my companions. They keep my laughing...hard. And we are also getting lots of work done and I love getting to see my little trainee improve and grow. So it is all good :)

As Always thank you for all that y'all do. For all the love and support.

Have a great week :)

Love

Sister Aase

Three is a Magic Number

Dear Family and Friends,

This week I had to say goodbye to my dear friend and companion Sister Kalahiki. She is now serving in Conway! She is actually serving in the very same place that I was three months ago so that is exciting. She was replaced with not one but TWO new companions. Sister Anderson is actually returning to Pinnacle Mountain to help me train Sister Hosea who is only in Arkansas until she gets her visa to Australia. It has been SO much fun getting to serve with these two sisters. We are all getting along really well which has resulted in us staying up a little later than we should but we are working on it :)

 

It is really cool to serve with Sister Anderson who is going home at the end of this transfer and Sister Hosea who is just starting her mission. They both are teaching me so much I feel like I'm the one being trained! I think that it is going to be a really great time until next transfer. 

 

Thank you to everyone who sent me trainer advice I really appreciated it and all the support. 

I promise to send pictures next time. 

 

Love

Sister Aase

 

PS  So funny story. Trios are hard especially when everyone here absolutely LOVES sister Anderson. Like ward members who never really talk to me or fed me and sister Kalahiki are suddenly our best friends because of Sister Anderson. It's kind of a little annoying but I absolutely adore Sister Anderson so I really can't blame these people. I just wish they would at least pretend that Sister Anderson isn't their favorite missionary EVER and that they like her SO much better than me and Sister Hosea #enviousofthelove #loveallmissionaries 

I'm Not Fat, I'm Layered

Dear Family and Friends,

Oh my it has been a week. A long week. A cold week. A hard week.

I'm so grateful for a companion who keeps me laughing. If I didn't laugh multiple times each day this week I think I would have gone crazy.

We were on foot this week and because we have no one to teach we were on foot a lot trying to knock doors and find people. It was cold. Not Minnesota cold but still pretty dang cold. Sister Kalahiki thought she was going to die. I told her we weren't going to die we were going to bundle up and be ok. I told her to repeat that to herself over and over. Instead she repeated we're going to bundle up and then we're going to die! We didn't die but we did freeze :) But thankfully Minnesota taught me how to layer.

Since we spent the whole week finding we met a ton of people. We met many friendly people and some not so friendly people. I learned a lot about being diligent this week. Being diligent means going out when you have no one to teach and really would rather stay inside where it is warm. Being diligent means not giving up even when you haven't taught a lesson all day long. Being diligent means relying on the Savior when you honestly don't think you can make it through the week. The Savior was the perfect example of being diligent. He always did his Father's will even when it was hard. I'm grateful for his example and for the enabling power of his Atonement which helped both Sister Kalahiki and I get through the week.

On Saturday I found out that I am training next transfer. Which means that I will have a brand new missionary as my companion. I feel completely unqualified for the job. I'm nervous and overwhelmed but I know that it will all be ok. I know that the Lord provides a way for us to accomplish all that he asks us to do (1 Nephi 3:7) I know that I am going to have to rely on my Savior a lot these next two transfers but that's ok. We don't grow in our comfort zones so I've been told and training is definitely way outside my comfort zone so I'll be growing a lot.

I love this work and I love this gospel. 

Hope everyone has a great week!

Love Sister Aase

It's A New Year!

Dear Family and Friends,

HAPPY 2015!! I hope everyone had a wonderful New Year. Sister Kalahiki and I welcomed in the new year by sleeping. It was great! Because we spent most of this week walking and trying to find new people to teach I had a lot of time to reflect on the past year and ponder on this upcoming year. Whilst pondering I was reminded of a favorite country song of mine about writing a letter to yourself and I thought about what I would write if I could write a letter to me a year ago. I think it would go something like this...

 

Dear Future Sister Aase

Congrats! You just finished your mission papers! You will not regret your decision to serve a mission. Now that waiting begins. Don't worry February comes fast. And when your call doesn't come in time don't panic. It will all be ok and your call will come when it needs to.

I don't want to give away where you are going but I will tell you that you are going to love it! The people are wonderful and so friendly (most of the time) and your mission president is amazing! You are going to love serving a mission. You are going to have really great companions who will become close friends. They are going to teach you so much and help you to grow. When they get transferred don't be too sad. I promise they will stay in touch and you will get to see them again.

Remember to stay in touch with people back at home. There are so many people who are supporting you. Remember to thank them often for all that they do for you.

You are going to have some hard times this year but remember that you can always turn to the Savior no matter what the situation is. When you are getting eaten alive by bugs, when you crash your bike, when it is 110 degrees outside, when appointments fall through, when you're not feeling well, He is always there.

This year you are going to have some of the most awkward moments of your life. Some of the most heartbreaking moments of your life. And some of the most amazing, spiritual, sacred moments of your life. Even when it is hard you will never ever regret the decision to serve the Lord.

Happy 2014!

Sister Aase

 

I can't wait to see what this year brings. I am excited that I get to spend all but 16 days as a full time missionary. I know that I am going to grow in ways that I can't even imagine right now. And I am so excited!

Here's to 2015!

 

Sister Aase

PS. a quick funny story. We were talking with this one lady this week and she was telling us about how crazy the weather was in Arkansas. She said "Sometimes it even snows in FEBRUARY!!!" Apparently it is unusual for places to have snow in February. I had no idea :)  I miss you Minnesota haha.