We Have Reached the Halfway Point

Dear Family and Friends,

As usual we had a great week here in Pinnacle Mountain despite the rain and sleet and snow. Things are going well. We have people to teach and our recent converts are doing well. And there is a rumor that we may have full car........ this rumor was just dispelled, we will be walking this week. But life is still good!

This upcoming Wednesday I will officially hit my 9 month mark of my 18 month mission. I cannot believe how fast time has flown by! I still feel like a brand new missionary most of the time and still have no idea what I'm doing most of the time. But I also can tell that I am not the same missionary or person that I was 9 months ago.

My testimony of the gospel and of my Savior is much stronger. I am much more confident than I was before. I am a lot more patient with people and not as quick to judge. I understand the power of the Book of Mormon and know that it can change lives. I recognize what it means to be humble and why it is so essential to be this way. I think most of all I have come to understand what it means to have a Savior and how to rely on him.

I think about how 9 months ago I thought that I could be a missionary. I believe that I had studied enough and I had a strong enough testimony that I could do this work. I knew that I would need the help of the Savior but I figured that I could do most of the work on my own and Christ would just go behind me and make up the rest. This idea has changed completely 9 months later. I now recognize that Christ is not just there after all we can do but is there working along side of us always. I now understand that this is not my work but His work and I'm not here to do my will but His will. Just as it says in 3 Nephi 5:15 I 'm here to declare "HIS word among HIS people," and that is something I can't do by myself at all. I have realized that it is a privilege to rely on our Savior not a sign of weakness. He is there to help us because he knows that we can't do it alone. I now know that missionary work can only be done by relying on the Savior and that life is so much better when we rely on the Savior. And this knowledge has made me so much more thankful that "God loved us so he sent his son,"

I am so lucky that I get to continue to grow my testimony of the Savior and his gospel and share that testimony with others for the next nine months. I'm so lucky that I still have more learning and growing and changing to do. Thank you for all that y'all have done for me this first half of my mission. I have appreciated all the support that I continue to get. Thank you!

 

Hope everyone has a great week!
Love
Sister Aase

Winter Wonderland

Dear Friends and Family,

We have a had a bit of a crazy week this week! Monday and most of Tuesday we were snow/iced in. Missionary snow day are not as fun as normal snow days. It is nice to have more time to study and read scriptures but you go crazy after a while. Anyway because of the snow we had a bit of a late start to the week. But that didn't stop us from working hard. We were able to find some really elect people this week and we are excited to start teaching them the gospel!

On Friday we had our zone conference which is when half the mission gathers together for a meeting. President Wakolo spoke about our purpose as missionaries and one thing that he said and has said before that I just love is that we as missionaries need to match the message we share. We teach the plan of happiness not sadness so we need to be happy! Even when someone slams the door in our face or wants to argue with us. Even when we are walking in the snow and ice. Even when things are really hard. We can and need to be happy.

President Wakolo is one of the greatest examples of this principle. He is always so happy and excited about this work. No matter what is going on in the mission or in his day he is always happy. Sister Hosea and I have both been working on matching our message and being positive and happy no matter the circumstance. We were put to the test yesterday as we were walking through the sleet/ice storm with our umbrellas. After about 5 minutes of being outside Sister Hosea just starts yelling "I will not let this make me upset! I will be happy! I have the gospel and I will be happy!" It made me smile. I just love her sometimes :)

We received transfer news this morning both Sister Hosea and I will be staying in Pinnacle Mountain that is until Sister Hosea's visa come which could be any day now.

As always thank you all for everything you do! I hope everyone has a great week! Wish us luck it is snowing again and we might be forced to stay in again. 

Love

Sister Aase

PS Sister Hosea and I rewrote the Standard of Truth, which is a statement by the prophet Joseph Smith on missionary work, to fit our wintery situation yesterday while walking in the ice. 

The Standard of Truth has been erected; no storm can stop the work from progressing; snow may fall, roads may freeze, temperatures may drop, and hearts may be frozen, but the truth of God will go forth boldly, nobly, and independent, til our toes are frozen, umbrellas are broken, faces are numb, and our fingers are frost bitten, til the weather conditions are unbearable and the Mission President says "Stay in."

Our Trio is Down to Two!!

Dear Family and Friends,

This morning we woke up to ice and snow! We are officially snowed in but luckily we live with members who are letting us use their computers so you still get to hear from me. However we are lucky missionaries because most of the other missionaries will not have the chance to write home today (my heart goes out to all the missionary moms who are freaking out right now - glad you don't have to be one of them)  I still can't believe that we have snow today. It was 75 degrees on Saturday. Beautiful weather for Valentines Day.

The weather was not the only unexpected thing that happened this week. On Tuesday we got a call saying that Sister Anderson was going to be transferred to Conway on Friday to take Sister Kalahiki's spot when she left. In the words of Timon from The Lion King "Our trio's down to two." We spent Wednesday and Thursday packing Sister Andy up, driving her around to say goodbye to people, crying, and telling each other that it was all going to be ok.

Thursday night we headed to the mission home where I had to say goodbye to Sister Anderson and Sister Kalahiki, who finished her mission and is now home in Hawaii.

So I am now the solo trainer of Sister Hosea. Training is hard and stressful especially when you have to do it by yourself.  The song by Michael McLain "You can make it on your own" suddenly had new meaning when I woke up Friday morning.  Luckily she is awesome and so training all alone isn't bad at all. President Wakolo told us on Thursday night that this would be an opportunity for both of us to grow. It has only been like four days and I can already tell that we are both growing and becoming better. We have stepped up our game.

Also we get to see Sister Anderson this Wednesday at Zone Conference and she is spending her last P-day with us so really we just said see you later not goodbye :)

Despite all that craziness we still had missionary work to do. On Valentine's day we spent the day "heart attacking" members of the ward. It was so much fun and we only got caught once. By the end of the night Sister Hosea and I were pros. Sunday was super special. Trina was there! YAY. She has been unavailable for almost a whole month and it was the best Valentine's gift to get to see her in church again.

I hope everyone had a wonderful week. Thanks as always for all the prayers and love and support!

Love

Sister Aase 

Best quote of the week. 

Brother Burleson: Joseph Smith is like Justin Timberlake. You know because JT brought sexy back and Joseph Smith brought the gospel back. hahahaha

Missionaries Sang as They Walked & Walked & Walked

Dear Family and Friends,

It was another walk week here in Pinnacle Mountain. And we walked and walked and walked. Fortunately for us it has been beautiful the past few days and so walking was actually quite pleasant.

The week started with Sister Anderson's birthday Yay!

6 Birthday cakes

5 Birthday Dinners

4 times eating out

3 days worth of leftovers

2 sick sisters

and 1 week later we are all pretty Birthday-ed out. But it was fun to get to celebrate with Sister Anderson and Sister Hosea.

This week I have been thinking a lot about how important it is to listen to the Spirit even if the instruction or direction that we receive is a little strange. I was reading about the story of Philip and the Ethiopian eunuch in the New Testament this week. At the beginning of this story Philip, who was like me given the call to preach the gospel, was told by the Spirit to go into Gaza which was the desert. I'm sure that Philip was a little confused why God would want him in the desert when he was suppose to be teaching people. But he didn't question and followed the directions he was given. Once there he was again prompted by the Spirit and told to approach a chariot carrying an important Ethiopian eunuch. Once again Philip may have been a little confused as to why he needed to approach this person but he did as he was directed. And in the end this Ethiopian man had been very much prepared by the Lord to hear the gospel and Philip was able to teach and baptize him.

So many times this week I was prompted to things that didn't make a lot of sense but I did them anyway. One example we were asked to teach a man in a member's home and the topic the member had felt prompted to have us teach was about the temple. Usually we don't teach about the temple until an investigator has a little more understanding about the basics of the gospel. But we felt good about this and so without a lesson plan and totally relying on the Spirit to help us we began to teach this man about temples. The lesson went exactly as it should and in the end we were able to invite this man to be baptized.

I know that miracles happen when we listen to the Spirit. Even when it prompts us to do things that don't make sense or may seem a little scary. Like Elder Uchtdorf said "I think God knows something that we don't" and when we follow his guidance from the Spirit blessings are always sure to come.

As always thank you all for the support and prayers!

Hope y'all have a wonderful week!

Love

Sister Aase

You Are Now Entering The Mission Field

Dear Family and Friends,

We had a beautiful week here in Arkansas! It was sunny and warm and wonderful. Of course though, the weather realized this morning that it is still winter and the cold has returned just in time for walk week :)

Being in a trio is way too much fun. Somewhere between all the pictures and laughing and talking we get the real missionary work done. We also have time to teach Sister Hosea some important life skills and missionary skills. This week we learned what Marijuana smells like and how to tell if someone is trying to hit on you. Important life and missionary skills.

This week we also were able to find some really cool new investigators. We found one new investigator at a "hair party" we stumbled upon. It was crazy! Lots of black ladies all getting their weaves done. Sister Anderson even got to try on a weave/wig. She says her mission in now complete and she can go home happy. Somehow amid all the craziness we were able to explain what we do as missionaries and one mom invited us over to teach her kids where their names come from. They all have bible names but don't know the stories. So we said we would come back. You can truly find people to teach anywhere!

As always thank you for all that you do!

Hope everyone has a great week!

Love

Sister Aase

 

Photos:

You are now entering the mission field. Cool Right!  This sign is actually in front of a HUGE Baptist church sponsored by Bill Clinton. We parked and ran and took pictures really fast.

 

The district:  sometimes we tease our District leader that he is a SIS-trict leader because he is over all Sisters :) good thing he has like four sisters so he is used to it

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