Happy New Year!

I've received complaints that these emails are getting a little bit too long. Since I don't have time to write in my journal every night, this blog has become like my journal. I can't promise this one will be shorter - it'll probably be longer actually - but I highly suggest you read this entire email. You can ignore my blog for the rest of my mission as long as you really read this one.

 

This week has been a weird one - full of ups and downs. I finally started feeling sick last Sunday after Sister Ure had been sick for over a week. I didn't feel too great Christmas Eve, felt great Christmas morning, and felt DREADFUL Christmas night. Despite this, and being away from home for Christmas for the first time in my life, this Christmas may have been my best one yet. For Christmas Eve, we were at the Visitor's Center all night - from 2-9. I'm not sure if I mentioned this before, but all the sister missionaries at the VC put on a little Christmas show with narration and singing and the like. We had two performances that afternoon and then an unscheduled third performance that night. It was pretty busy - a lot of members make it a tradition to come down to see the lights and the performance every year. It was also amazing how many non-members came as well. There was a woman visiting from Persia - she didn't speak much English but she was there with her Muslim daughter and another Christian man of Middle East descent. During the performance, something just told me that I needed to go talk to them after the show. So I did. Nothing really came of it, but the man asked a lot of questions that I answered to the best of my ability, and I invited them to look around some more. They ended up speaking to another sister missionary that night and were really curious about the Book of Mormon. While none of them accepted the invitation to receive a Book of Mormon at this point, I think they'll be back.

Christmas morning was absolutely magical. Sister Ure and I both were not feeling very well so it took us awhile to get out of bed, even to open Christmas presents!!! We were SO spoiled. Our ward had gone above and beyond to make us feel loved and appreciated this Christmas. We each got huge stockings full of presents, and then we got a few more presents on top of that from individual people, some of whom did NOT have the money to give us so much. It just really warmed my heart - it was hard because I couldn't give back, but I'm giving what I can as a missionary. Our apartment was a wreck for a couple of days because we didn't have a preparation day until Thursday, but I never expected to receive so many presents. It may have been my biggest Christmas ever!

However, even that wasn't the best part. That morning, we went over to our bishop's home, Bishop Passadore, for breakfast. It was so nice and relaxing. Bishop Passadore is a convert and he's been a member for about 30 years, and it took his wife 10 more years until she joined. His perspective and understanding has been such a blessing as we've worked with part-member families - it takes time for everyone to really make that commitment to the gospel, but I've seen how happy it makes them when they finally do it. Their son-in-law (married to their inactive daughter) was there with us too so we gave a little message about the Restoration, which was really well-received. It was just nice.

Then we stopped by the Willits' home for just a minute - they had invited us over for breakfast as well but we already had plans with Bishop and Sister Passadore. The Willits are awesome - they have quite a few kids, but only a couple of them are still active in the church. But still, they're just so happy and optimistic - they know that their children will understand and come back someday. We got there before their family did and had ANOTHER breakfast just with them, since they never have time to eat when everyone comes over anyways. By the time we left, a few had shown up so we were able to meet them - no pressure, just saying hi.

We went over to the De Voe's home next - Brother and Sister De Voe are awesome, and their 15-year-old son Devin comes to lessons with us all the time. They were inactive for a time, but now they are just rockstars - so strong, so involved in missionary work, so much fun. We love spending time with them. They let us use their phones and computers to call our families! I tried to skype mine but the connection was bad so I just saw some blurred images. Still, better than nothing!

After that, it was off to the VC again from 2-9. Those two breakfasts really took a toll on me and I just started feeling so sick. It was hard to get through the first two performances. It wasn't as busy as had been predicted, but we still put on another impromptu performance at 7pm - the 6th and final performance. This performance turned out to be one of the most spiritual experiences of my life. It had been a busy month preparing for Christmas, so busy that sometimes we'd miss personal study in the morning, or companion study. I felt my testimony waning a little; I felt myself losing strength to share the gospel. There were some days that I would go to the VC and I just wouldn't want to be there. I started questioning what I was doing; do I really know that Jesus Christ really came to the earth, that He is our Savior? I've met people as I've worked at the VC who are Muslim, atheist, Jewish - people who don't think of Jesus Christ as our Savior. But I know I've felt Him in my life. I've felt His healing, His sacrifice, His love. But sometimes, it's easy to forget - even when you're on a mission serving the Lord, you can still forget. Sometimes when you think too much about it, the gospel seems completely preposterous.

I've even wondered about the Spirit in the last few weeks. Do I feel the Spirit? Is the Holy Ghost even a real person, or do these good feelings come from some anatomical source, like endorphins? But that Christmas night, as we sang in celebration of Jesus Christ's life, I received the most powerful witness that could NOT have been purely natural. I was standing up there, sick, feeling like I was about to throw up - and all of a sudden, that was gone. As we sang the third verse of Silent Night with the audience, my heart swelled up with joy - a feeling I know I've had before, but that I had completely forgotten. I can't even explain it - no one would really understand unless they have felt it too. And as I cried through that last song, I felt the Spirit - I received that witness again from the Holy Ghost that confirmed my belief in Christ, my belief in our Heavenly Father, and especially my belief in the Holy Ghost. I know music can carry the Spirit, and I know that the Spirit is not just a feeling.

During the performance, a couple in the back caught my eye, and another sister noticed them too. She had invited them in from outside. While they didn't accept at this time to have the missionaries over, they expressed that they felt something different, something they had never felt before. They said they'd ponder it more and come back. The feeling of the Spirit IS different. I needed to have this experience - I needed to understand how people feel who have never felt the Holy Ghost before, who have never heard the gospel before. As men, the Restoration of the gospel and everything else that comes along with it seems completely impossible, but the Spirit can teach us those things. When thought of with a spiritual mind, all the pieces of the restored gospel make sense. I have a friend who refers to herself as "spiritual but not religious". That phrase has stuck with me: there are many people in the world that are spiritual - that believe that there is more than man can comprehend in this world. But through the Spirit, we can understand everything. We can understand the things of God. We can receive that personal revelation that teaches us what we need to do. This friend is an active and faithful LDS member; she attends church every week, prays, reads the word of God - General Conference talks, the Bible, the Book of Mormon - and her spirituality has led her to the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-Day Saints, the only church with a modern-day prophet called by God to guide our lives through revelation - through spiritual guidance. The things we teach are meant to enrich our temporal lives, but most importantly, our spirits. In the Bible Dictionary, to reveal is "to uncover or make known"(http://www.lds.org/scriptures/bd/revelation?lang=eng&letter=r). God is not a mystery - He wants us to learn everything we can. The Spirit allows us to do so. I know that we can all learn the truth of the gospel through viewing it with a spiritual mind, through praying and sincerely asking God if it is true. And if it's true, what else matters?

The next day in my personal study, I was reading in the Book of Mormon and I found this verse in 2nd Nephi Chapter 9:

18 But, behold, the righteous, the saints of the Holy One of Israel, they who have believed in the Holy One of Israel, they who have endured the crosses of the world, and despised the shame of it, they shall inherit the kingdom of God, which was prepared for them from the foundation of the world, and their joy shall be full forever.

That's how I felt Christmas night - like my joy was full. Even as a member of the church, I don't feel like that all the time. And many people have never felt that. There is nothing I want more than to feel like that forever, and I want everyone I meet to have that opportunity. Jesus Christ has shown us what we need to do in order to find that fullness of joy, and that is what this life is all about. I know we can find it by living the restored gospel of Jesus Christ.

I've written WAY too much - I really thought I could sum this up real quick but apparently not. Thursday was our preparation day so that was nice - I was sick and ended up falling asleep on the floor for a couple of hours in the middle of writing letters. So if you didn't get a little Christmas card this year......I'm sorry. I'll do better next year.

Saturday was amazing day - we had another baptism! Two weeks in a row! Craig was baptized on Saturday and it was a really cool thing to see. The service was amazing and the Spirit was so strong (I definitely recognized it this time). Craig is not usually very serious - he's always cracking a joke. After his baptism, we asked him how he felt and he said, "Wet." Then, we asked him again, "Craig, how do you feel right now?" and we heard, "Drying off a bit." Finally, Sister Ure said, "Craig, really, how do you feel?" His answer was so genuine and sincere: "like a burden has been lifted." He had a rough past full of a lot of mistakes that he was not proud of, but he was able to wash all of that away and start fresh because of the Atonement of Jesus Christ. We can all do that, no matter what we've been through. I've seen it in my own life, I've seen it in Craig's life, and I see it everyday as I meet converts at the VC or random walk-ins that feel the Spirit at the VC.

I testify that God loves each one of us personally. I testify that He knows us better than we know ourselves, and so He knows how to help us if we just turn to Him. I know that Jesus Christ didn't just die for us - He suffered for our sins so that we "might not suffer if [we] would repent" (D&C 19:16). I know that we will be blessed if we aim to make Jesus Christ a part of our life, not just a part of Christmas. I know the Holy Ghost is a real person that testifies of truth. I know that our Heavenly Father sends the Holy Ghost to us to help us to rise above and see the spiritual side of things, not just the confusion of the world. It reminds me of a Mormon message that I hope you all watch, and think about how a direct messenger from God, the Holy Ghost, can or has blessed you in your life.

http://www.mormonchannel.org/mormonmessages?v=910930358001

Hope you're all going out tonight to enjoy the fireworks! If you don't have plans to see them, do it for me because I'll be in bed by 10:30pm.

Happy New Year!

Merry Christmas Eve!!!

I can't believe Christmas is almost here! Time is flying by so fast. I've been out on my mission for three months and I'm almost done with my first transfer out in the field! People always say that a mission goes by fast, and I'm only starting to understand that. But I am so grateful for the time that I do have to serve the Lord and everything it has taught me already.

I'm skyping the family tomorrow morning so I don't have too much to say right now, but some Christmas miracles definitely happened this week. My companion Sister Ure has been sick with a cold for most of the week: some days she feels fine, others not so much, so this week hasn't been as crazy as most. We've had a couple nights where Elder and Sister Clement have sent us home from the Visitor's Center to rest up a little more so that she can get better. Because she's been sick, we haven't had much exercise this past week, which would be alright if we hadn't received tremendous amounts of sugary treats from members of our ward. My mom might just have a heart attack when she sees how much candy we were given - it's a little excessive.

But if we thought we got a lot of candy from the members, we were in for a huge surprise with all the presents everyone gave us. All the members of the Relief Society contributed little gifts and they gave both of us a stocking full of things, as well as a couple of boxes. It's insane! I'll include a picture of that too. I didn't expect any of this; I am serving in such a great ward and everyone is so thoughtful and kind. I am also so grateful to everyone who sent Christmas cards or any other gifts - they're all sitting under the Christmas sign in our apartment, waiting for Christmas morning.

Now on to the important stuff about Christmas. I absolutely love Christmas, but mostly because I love giving gifts. It's been hard this year because I haven't had much of an opportunity to give any gifts - I just don't have the finances or the resources to get presents for anyone. This Christmas is unlike any Christmas I've ever had, but I love being a missionary, especially around Christmastime. As I've considered my purpose and what I have come here to do, I've realized that I have the privilege of giving the gift of the gospel this year. And not just for Christmas, but for 18 whole months! The knowledge of Jesus Christ's complete and original gospel is a gift of immeasurable worth - I can't count all the ways that it has blessed me in my life, and I've seen how it has blessed all the people I have met. Just like any gift, we give it with love. People recognize that love, and it makes them more willing to learn more and to use that gift. When we perceive the gospel as a gift, we will want to share it with others. I've probably shared this thought before, but the word gospel means "good news". Who doesn't want to hear good news?

And that's what I get to do while serving here in the Oakland/San Francisco mission: spread the good news, just like the shepherds who witnessed Jesus Christ's birth spread it all throughout the land. With the help of the Spirit, I've been able to share that news with some of the 12,000 people who have come to the VC this month, members and non-members alike. I've been able to see this good news change lives - Saturday was my first baptism here on the mission for Ling Liu Garrison. Her husband Derrall was baptized one month ago, and so he was able to baptize her. There were complications: the drain wasn't fully plugged so the water was only up to their knees and the water was freezing and no one could hear anything because the heater was running - but it was still great. You could see the change in Ling, especially after receiving the gift of the Holy Ghost the next day, yesterday, at church. It was a beautiful baptismal service, and we have another one this Saturday for Craig!!!

Ling's son Leo is 13 years old, and we've been teaching him for a few months now. The last time we asked him about baptism was probably two weeks ago, and he adamantly said that he did not want to be baptized. Slowly he progressed from disbelief in God to a belief in the Restoration and the Book of Mormon. We taught him after church yesterday, and we asked him to pray to know if the Book of Mormon was true. He replied with, "But I already know it's true", an answer we were NOT expecting. But Sister Ure and I had felt a prompting to come and teach him, and we knew he was ready. We talked for awhile, and he said he wanted to be baptized when he turned 14 in August. We couldn't understand why he wouldn't be baptized now if he knew the Book of Mormon was true, but we eventually accepted his answer and asked him to end our lesson with a prayer and ask Heavenly Father if he should be baptized sooner than that. We stood around and talked for a few minutes after the prayer and Leo just blurted out, "I changed my mind, I want to be baptized. After I prayed, I got this really good feeling. I feel like it's the right thing for me to do." This 13 year old boy, with never-ending questions and no religious background, felt the Spirit. He saw how it made both of his parents happier, and he knew that is what he wanted as well. It was an amazing experience - truly a miracle. But the Spirit knew we were supposed to be there - instead of seeing Jackie like we do every Sunday afternoon, we were guided to Leo. The Spirit really does guide us, and usually we don't notice that it is the Spirit until we put forth the faith to follow those promptings. And then we see the miracles - Leo is getting baptized January 12th :)

I've also been able to see how that good news is very "plain and precious." The idea of seeing our families again after this life is common among most Christians, but still marriage ceremonies say "til death do you part". A family from Tonga came into the VC on Saturday - the wife's sister was being sealed to her husband and family but it took awhile to figure that out because the family didn't really understand what they were doing in the temple. We showed them the God's Plan for the Family presentation and also the pictures of the inside of the temple. The husband, Sifa, said that he was baptized when he was eight but then his family stopped going to church so he didn't know much about it. But he said that he has always believed that families can be together even after death - it was just something he knew, and he didn't understand why they had to be sealed in the temple. This idea is one of the plain and precious covenants of Christianity that was lost after Jesus Christ's death, and the truth of this doctrine is still believed by many people, but only through the restored power of God on the earth is this possible. Elder Boyd K Packer said, "It is important for a missioanry to know that the Holy Ghost can work through the Light of Christ. A teacher of gospel truths is not planting something foreign or even new into an adult or a child. Rather, the missionary or teacher is making contact with the Spirit of Christ already there. The gospel will have a familiar 'ring' to them." As we open our mouths, people will recognize our beliefs as true doctrine given by Jesus Christ.

I have seen how people can relate to the gospel. Even the Big Book (used by Alcoholics Anonymous) follows a similar sequence of events to what Jesus Christ taught, specifically faith, repentance and enduring to the end - as I've learned from one of our investigators. The gospel of Jesus Christ is simple, logical, practical - it just makes sense. It answers every question. The gospel pieces everything about life and death and everything in between together, everything that's missing, because it was restored in its original form by Heavenly Father and Jesus Christ through Joseph Smith. The gospel is the Christmas message because it is centered on Jesus Christ. I am so grateful for the new perspective I have gained as a missionary for the Lord this Christmas season.

Merry Christmas everyone!!!

Merry Christmas everyone!!!

Sister Ure and I have been jamming out to Christmas tunes. We have three CDs that we rotate through - The Messiah, The Forgotten Carols soundtrack, and the recording of the MoTab/David Archuleta concert a couple years ago. It was such a blessing to start the Christmas music - before, we had a some CD with country LDS songs, and I had to just bite my tongue - as much as I love country, this CD was just not good. The Christmas season came just in time. It's weird coming to terms with the fact that I won't have any semblance of a white Christmas this year, but the few presents under our imaginary tree and the constant Christmas music has reassured me that it is indeed December.

But anyways - starting with last Monday - after serving in the VC all day (literally: from 9am-6pm), we had a couple lessons. We taught Leo again, and he's taking HUGE strides. Before we started meeting with him, he didn't believe there was a God. Then at our last lesson, he said that he thought of God as a "force", not as a man. But at Monday night's lesson, he likened God unto a scientist - not a force, but a MAN. It's still hard for him to comprehend everything God is, growing up as of yet without any knowledge of God, but he's slowly getting there. He's been praying, reading the Book of Mormon, and coming to church - I know those are the three things we need to do to increase our faith in the gospel. Around here, we call these primary answers "CPR": Church, Pray, Read the scriptures. But it's amazing how it really works! I've seen it in my own life - when I'm slacking on one, two or all three of those areas, I do doubt more. Those are the three simple things we need to do, and still it's hard. I'll talk more about this later on, but I know that the guidelines of CPR are essential to our faith and our ability to return to live with God.

Tuesday was my very first zone conference. There were a lot of people there - I met a few new people, but I mostly just know all the sisters at the VC and the elders that bring investigators to the VC a lot. It started off with a talk that Elder Holland gave at the MTC a couple of years ago, "Feed My Sheep". It was similar to the one he gave in General Conference a couple months ago, but he really focused on why we teach people and not lessons. Missionary work has changed so much and I really believe that it has become very effective. From all the people I've met, everyone needs the help of the gospel. Elder Holland said, "If you listen with love, you won't need to wonder what to say." The biggest piece of advice that I heard from everyone before my mission was "Don't be a robot." Sometimes, I do still see missionaries that act like robots - that don't truly listen to the person. When you learn to listen, you learn to love people so much more - you feel the love that God and Jesus Christ have for them. It really is amazing. It's hard, but it's possible. It's a process I've been working on for the past few years - and it's probably a subconscious reason that I decided to serve a mission. If you haven't read President Monson's talk from the priesthood session of General Conference, I suggest you do. I'll even include the link:

http://www.lds.org/general-conference/2012/10/see-others-as-they-may-become?lang=eng

I know that the gospel addresses every need that our friends and family members have - we just need to listen.

Anyways, back to Zone Conference: we did some roleplays on how to contact member referrals, and I felt pretty comfortable with it. After lunch prepared by the stake, we had a huge gift exchange that Sister Meredith had organized. Members from all the wards had donated not just a gift, but a whole bag of goodies and other things for us. It took forever, but it was a lot of fun. I ended up with some chocolate syrup and ice cream toppings, and my companion got that Messiah CD. Afterwards, President and Sister Meredith talked about charity. Charity is so so important in missionary work, and they are both such great examples of charity.

Crazy story from Tuesday: we have this investigator named Jackie - I don't think I've mentioned her before. Before I came here, she was progressing, she had a baptismal date, and she was snapping out of her deep depression that she's had for decades. Then she got pneumonia and we couldn't get in touch with her for a few weeks. Her baptism was supposed to be this past Saturday, but the pneumonia dropped her back to her depression - Sister Ure told me that she was worse now than she had been when Sister Ure met her. We finally got back in touch with her and started seeing her infrequently, but she was just so down that it was hard to feel the Spirit in her home and teach her. It went on like that for a couple of weeks, but last week she agreed to go to the Relief Society activity on Tuesday night. We had to work at the Visitor's Center so we weren't going to make it, but we got a ride all set up for her and everything.

After Zone Conference on Tuesday, the day of the RS activity, we saw that we had a voicemail from Jackie, and we were worried that she was going to bail. But we didn't expect to hear what we did. She called us to let us know she couldn't make it to the activity because a friend of hers had come over, had a heart attack, and died in her home. We were absolutely stunned. It sounded like the most incredible lie ever - but it was the truth. Sister Ure and I were so frustrated because it seems like there's always some roadblock that's keeping Jackie from doing what she needs to do; she needs to read the Book of Mormon but she can't find her glasses, she needs to come to church but her son is coming over and she doesn't know the exact time, she needs to pray when she's depressed but she can't bring herself to do it because her depression is so bad. So the fact that this happened was really insane - she's been through so much and wants to do the right thing but there's always something in the way. And then her friend dies in her home! It was just so sad, and so overwhelming - but she finally let us bring over some priesthood to give her a blessing. Since that blessing, she has been more calm, and has been more attentive in our lessons. Her depression is still bad, but she knows she can overcome it - and she WANTS to over come it. Desire is the most important first step - desire leads to hope and faith. We gave her a new baptismal date for February 12th and we're so excited. We know that she can get there.

I really didn't want this one to turn out so long! I'll wrap it up real quick here. Craig's still doing great - he made it to all three hours of church yesterday, he's keeping all the commandments we've taught him, and he's still set for his baptism date on the 29th! We do have a baptism this weekend, by the way - Leo's mom, Ling, is getting baptized this Saturday! Her husband was baptized about a month ago, right before I got here, so he is going to baptize her. We wanted Leo to be ready for this date too, but he still needs more time.
Another miracle: on Thursday morning, we received a call from Michelle, one of our recent converts, on behalf of her friend at her assisted living facility, Rebekah. Rebekah is staying there, but her husband Dave is an inactive member staying at another assisted living facility and he had called her, asking her to send over priesthood from our church to give him a blessing. A couple men from the ward went over. We went to see Michelle that day, so we stopped in to see Rebekah as well, and we have a return appointment with her this week to teach her the first lesson! Everything happens for a reason. Sister Ure and I are REALLY bad at asking for referrals - we're just too busy focusing on the person we're teaching at every lesson. We had made a goal for that day to ask for referrals from everyone we went to see - and we totally forgot. But I believe that Heavenly Father knew we'd forget, so He had Michelle call us that morning so we could get in touch with Rebekah. Just another little miracle.

We had a really powerful lesson on Thursday night with Gerry and Raul. Gerry and his wife, Elizabeth, had been investigating for over seven years and Elizabeth was finally baptized this summer. Gerry knows it's true, but we can't understand why he won't be baptized. Raul is Elizabeth's cousin who lives with them - he just started investigating a few months ago. Sister Ure and I were so excited for this lesson as we planned it that morning - we planned to talk about Alma the Elder and what he did when he learned the truth of the gospel from Abinadi (Mosiah 17 and 18). We were going to commit both Gerry and Raul to baptism and make it happen. The lesson was going SO WELL - we read verses 9-11 in chapter 18 and we were about to extend when Elizabeth jumped to defend them. We could tell that it wasn't going to happen with Raul, but Gerry was on the brink - we really thought he would accept. But then the moment was just gone. So that was unfortunate. Baptism is a leap of faith, but Gerry's doing everything he's supposed to - except church I guess. So it's just sad.

I can't remember what happened Friday - VC all day. But on Saturday, I met this man from Sri Lanka. He's not a member but has a co-worker who gave him a Book of Mormon and has talked to him a little bit about our church. He asked about tithing and the Book of Mormon and other things like that - he even tried to bring in his Hindi Indian friends who were looking at the view outside, but they didn't want to come in. We showed him the Book of Mormon in his native languages, Sinhala and Tamil. He talked about traveling to Jerusalem and the peace he felt there. He filled out a referral card, so I can send the missionaries over to see him and teach him more! Totally golden.

And then Sunday - we had SIX investigators at church! I never thought that getting investigators to do those primary answers - CPR - would be the hardest part of missionary work, but it is! I always thought teaching the Word of Wisdom or the Law of Chastity or the Law of Tithing was hard - but it really gets down to the basics: if they pray, read the scriptures, and attend church, they will have the faith to follow those commandments. Nhi and Josh both promised they would come last week and they didn't, but they did this week! And they made comments in Sunday School and Relief Society, which really showed us that they are learning and retaining the things we are teaching them. It's just such a good feeling when investigators show up for church.

Anyways, that's all the news I have. Life's great, and I wouldn't want to be anywhere else!

I've run out of titles for subject lines

Hello!

Today's the first sunny day I've seen here - but there's wind. I can't really win with the weather right now. I thought I'd love the weather, but I really can't decide. We do outside tours at night because there are so many Christmas concerts and other events happening on Temple Hill, and it is absolutely FREEZING because we literally are at the top of a hill. I love this temple so much because it can be seen all around - people see it just from driving down the freeway, so they pull off and come check it out. There was a couple that came with their little boy Saturday night - they were just walking around outside because their little boy has always wanted to come see it. He was only 2, maybe 3, but he recognized the temple as something more. They came to the Visitor's Center and agreed to meet with missionaries! It's just amazing how this area just draws people in.

And there are TONS of people here every night! Even when people don't know about all the events being hosted here, they're drawn in by the lights. And then they see the Christus in the Visitor's Center through a huge window and everyone comes to see it: members, tourists, investigators, random people who know nothing about our church - EVERYONE. It's actually been really crazy - we're here at the VC all the time; this week we were here Friday 1-9:30pm, Saturday from 9am-1pm and then from 5-9pm, and Sunday from 2:30-9pm. It really does get insane - on those weekend nights, over a thousand people come through. It's hard to engage and really talk to people when there are so many around, but I've had a couple of cool experiences at the VC this week. On Thursday, a couple from Fiji came to the temple with their little girl - they tried to go in and asked for the priest. One of the temple workers directed them over to the VC, and there were a couple of elders at the VC. They were looking for a blessing for their daughter, who is bow-legged. The elders got the oil and gave this little girl a blessing. Afterwards, we took them through the God's Plan for the Family presentation. They said they were going around to a lot of different churches, asking for blessings. We tried teaching about the priesthood - we're not sure if they understood completely, but they gave us permission to send missionaries to their home. 

My favorite part is doing outside tours during the holiday season. There are so many people just outside taking pictures and looking around, and it's so easy to go up to them and talking to them about the gospel of Jesus Christ. I met a man from Jordan on Friday night - he looked Latino initially so we started speaking to him in Spanish. He tried speaking back in Spanish, but then we all reverted to English when we realized that he was not Hispanic. He said he didn't want to talk about religion, but feels a special peace when he comes to the temple, so I gave him a referral card anyways - in case he ever does want to talk about religion. 

But just last night, I had an experience where I recognized that God really is preparing people to hear the gospel. We were walking around outside and we started talking to these two women, probably my same age. One of them has a sister who is Mormon and living in Provo, and the other didn't know much about our church. We basically taught her the restoration right there on the spot, and told her a little bit more about temples. In the middle of our conversation, we asked if she knew about the Book of Mormon, and she said she was planning on buying one for herself as a personal Christmas present! It is amazing how prepared she is to receive the gospel! She asked a lot of questions and was satisfied with all the answers I tried to give, and accepted the invitation to have missionaries come to her home and bring a Book of Mormon! She had never been inside the VC, but she has recognized the peace of the temple just from being outside. It really is such a special place, and I am so grateful for the opportunity I have to witness all of these prepared people. And who knows - maybe she never would have gone into the VC if my companion and I hadn't gone to talk to her outside. You never know who is ready to receive the gospel.

The hardest part of missionary work is recognizing the people who are not prepared. There are a few people that we are teaching who have heard all the lessons multiple times at this point, but they're not doing anything about it. We teach them that prayer, scripture study and church attendance will help them increase in their faith and know that these things are true, but then they don't do it. The most important thing is to desire to know the truth - without that desire, there's nothing we can do as missionaries. They have to want it. My mission president said something really interesting in a training that we had this week - Elder Holland always says that "we have what [people] need" but President Meredith said that "we also have what they want." When we are obedient and desire to strengthen our faith, our happiness will increase; no matter what our situation is, the gospel of Jesus Christ - faith, repentance, baptism, the gift of the Holy Ghost, and enduring to the end - brings us closer to Jesus Christ, which always leads to more peace, joy and happiness in our lives. That's all we have to do. 

We do have on investigator named Leo who is still stuck on the question of faith. He does not have any religious background, and he's this whip-smart 13-year-old boy. Everything has to have proof in his mind - but we know his faith is increasing because he WANTS to know that God is there. His answer may come a piece at a time, but that desire is the most important thing. We're also teaching Craig - his baptism date is the 29th of this month. He's been sober for over 20 years, and quit smoking 8 years ago as well - and now, he's following every aspect of the Word of Wisdom by trading in his coffee for herbal tea. Our actions truly demonstrate our love for the Lord and our faith in His plan for us.

The Lord is preparing people to find the truth, and all I can do is invite them to it. I'm still nervous and a little afraid to talk to people, but it's easier to do when I remember the "good news" of the gospel. I've been turned down, hung up on, and stood up for lessons already. But you never know who will have a change of heart - everyone needs the gospel, everyone wants the gospel even if they don't know it, and it's my job to make sure they can learn more if they choose. It's hard when they choose not to, but only because I know it's true. I know that this gospel can bless everyone's lives if they let it - if they truly let the teachings of Jesus Christ become a part of who they are. 

So that's what's going on here. I'm going to my first Zone Conference tomorrow, and then Wednesday is our P-day this week. And I'm going SHOPPING with my companion and the other two sisters in our district, Sister Garcia and Sister Mitchell. I can't remember the last time I went shopping. Don't worry Mom and Dad, I'll be frugal - just need a little something to rejuvenate the closet.

I love you all!

I'm here!

Hello from California!!! I don't even know where to start right now - SO MUCH has happened in the past week and a half.

So....my last few days in the MTC were pretty eventful. We went down to Salt Lake one night to practice everything we had learned but it was crazy because it was Thanksgiving weekend so the lights had just been turned on a couple of days before. Because of that, we didn't have a chance to do tours, only contact, but it was still a good experience. Hermana Ivey and I also started teaching a 19-year-old kid named Matty from Hungary via chat last Monday, and I got six referrals from missionaries at the MTC that I can start contacting too! Visitor Center Training was so so great, and I think it helped me transition into the field a little bit better.

And now the MTC feels like a lifetime ago and I'm finally here! When we got to Oakland last Wednesday, we had a very chill day - I didn't even teach. We went out to lunch with President and Sister Meredith and had a whole bunch of training and walked around the templegrounds and the visitor's center and didn't even meet our new companions until that night at 6. I'm glad I wasn't thrown right into it all right away.

Right now I'm in Castro Valley in an English-speaking ward. My trainer is Sister Ure - I'm her first American companion and she's from Parker Colorado too!!! We get along great - she's an awesome trainer and she's also a visitor center (VC) trainer so I get to do some exchanges during VC time. I'm a little worried about getting the language down when I'm not completely immersed in it. If I have to train a brand new missionary in 12 weeks - which is pretty likely since that'll be the EXACT time that all those new sisters will be leaving the MTC - I don't know how I'm going to hold my own in a Spanish lesson. But I did conduct a tour at the VC in Spanish by myself yesterday - Sister Ure was with me but didn't speak it so I was on my own. I knew more than I thought, and the visitors spoke a little bit slower for me so I could understand it pretty well. There are Spanish speakers in the ward - I just need to practice with them a lot.

Oh and in terms of my schedule - I love it. We get two full days of proselyting per week, and then the other 4 days are half-days - half at the VC, half proselyting. Also, each sister gets an opportunity to do full-time proselyting for at least two transfers in an area further away from the VC. I'm still working on feeling comfortable teaching at the VC - there are just so many people there for the lights that it's hard to focus on one group and really help them. I have talked to a couple people that I hope were affected by what I said - or rather, what the Holy Ghost said through me. It's hard because they leave and sometimes you don't get in contact with them again - you don't know if they're going to remember the experience. There are a couple of phones and computers at the VC so we can call and follow up and get local missionaries to their homes, but it's hard to find the time because the VC is so busy this time of year. 
Teaching hasn't been too hard for me because we've only been teaching investigators. We haven't done any tracting or gotten a hold of any referrals at this point. I had my first "first" lesson today and it's harder to naturally segway into talking about the gospel than I thought - it was easier in the MTC. But I will say, the ability to love people you've barely met is amazing. I thought that would be the hardest part for me - truly loving the people - but most of the people we're teaching are just in really dark times of their lives. It's amazing to see how the gospel is beginning to change them, and it's hard not to feel that love that the Savior has for them. It breaks my heart sometimes, but I know that every single person can be healed through the Atonement.

One awkward story: this older single man in the ward brought me a flower on my first Sunday - HIGHLY inappropriate, but apparently that's normal for him. And I felt mega awkward. But nobody saw it - and we ended up giving it to our investigator that we saw right after church. Other than that little incident....the members are GREAT. They're all missionary-minded and we get so many referrals. We have a good number of progressing investigators - 7 I think.

In Parker's first email from the field, he described that he felt "at home." I didn't understand it then, but I do now. Waking up at the MTC wasn't always my favorite thing to do - but now, I get right up, even if I'm tired. I love being here and doing this work, and I'm so excited to learn more.

Sister Jill Hunsaker


P.S. I forgot my camera at the apartment, but here are a couple of pictures from my companion.

Oakland Temple with the lights (a little blurry)
Me and Sister Ure in front of the Oakland Temple, first night
Our Friday brunch
I'm not a fan of all this rain