February 16, 2015

Dear Family and Friends,

 

Last week was amazing!!!!  We found 5 new investigators!!  3 of them are part of the T family.  Brother T is a less active and now his wife and 2 kids are investigating.  They are super awesome and have really good questions.  They are totally getting sealed one day :)  I can't wait.

 

Also, Jerome (Less Active) and his 2 little boys came to church yesterday!!  Jerome is like my favorite person ever!  He was sitting in Gospel Principles class and the teacher asked, "How has the restored gospel blessed your life?"  Jerome raised his hand and said, "Well, I'm a member already...I think...haha yeah I grew up in the church and it was good but then I just stopped coming.  I'm so grateful that my name was on some list and that the sister stopped by and visited me.  It's really nice to be back.  I'm grateful for them teaching me more about the gospel and helping it to bless my life."  He is AWESOME and his 2 boys are the cutest little kids ever!!

We did have the opportunity to play savage ball (dodge ball) this morning.  I'm pretty competitive so I was playing really hard.  I was jumping up and down and landing pretty hard on my feet. I finally got out and I sat down on the floor, and realized my toe was hurting...well I took my shoe and sock off and realized some of the skin underneath my big toe was not connected to my toe anymore.  So I went to the bathroom and taped it back together.  No worries  I'm sure I'll be fine.

Other than that things have been pretty much the same.  We are teaching people and working hard.  Have a great week.  Love,

Sister Moon
Pictures:
Dead Girl Moon...

My toe :)

February 9, 2015

Sister M and I are both staying in O in the MV Ward!!!!!!!!!!!!!  We are excited to stay in this ward because it is AMAZING.  We are planning to do so much work this transfer!

 
Our investigator Brandon is moving this week, but he asked us if we could hook him up with some missionaries in Santa Monica because he wants to keep coming to church.  I say he'll be baptized in a few months!!  We did teach the best lesson ever to him about the Plan of Salvation.  The Spirit was SOOO strong.  Sister M and I both started crying during the closing prayer when Brandon explained that he'd been wondering about some questions but he didn't ask us because he didn't think anyone knew the answers, but he got all the answers to his questions during the lesson.  MIRACLE! 

 

We had 20 lessons last week. We basically had a pretty normal week, so I'll share some of my favorite quotes from this week.  We meet a lot of interesting people here in California...

 1. "Matthew if you don't put that down I'm going to throw this salad dressing at you!"  -Our Ward Mission Leader to his special needs son

2. "My stove is broken!  That's why my meatloaf was dryer than heck!" -70 year old woman

3. "I don't even get stoned anymore, but if I did...I'd be trippin out on these plants." -Less Active

4. "I told my husband if he ever cheated on me I'd beat him the head with a baseball bat.  So far he's done good." -87 year old woman

5. "Do you smell flowers?"  "What?"  "Ok fine...it's marijuana....but don't worry it's medical.  Take a deep whiff" -Crazy Lady

6. "Sir can I get you to sign right here"- Me volunteering at the Food Bank  "Last time I did that I ended up in the U.S. Army...7 years I was in the U.S. Army..." -Crazy man

7. "Oh he doesn't live here anymore?  Well, do you have a forwarding address for him?"  -Sister Martinez and I  "Try...JAIL"- The less active's mom that we were trying to find

8. "That blessing was trippy" -Less Active who received a Priesthood blessing before surgery

9. "Sisters, if you ever see the lady I visit teach tell her she owes me money!  She better pay me back.  If not I'm gonna set my boys on her." -Active Lady :/

10. "The address is 718 E J street...then it's what the kids call a hashtag now-a-days then 18B" -Really old lady that apparently thought we didn't know it used to be a number sign.

11. "So what does unrealistic mean?...ohhh so it's like telling someone they look like a cow but really they're a human?" -A Tongan sister that's trying to learn English :)

12. "I graduated high school 55 years ago....oh wait...not that long ago...it was only 45 years ago...I'm not that old...haha" -A sister in our ward who really graduated high school 65 years ago, but we didn't want to be the bearer of bad news so we let her think it was 45 years ago :)

13. I'm taking this new medication.  I'm in so much pain....oh where's my baby??  Oh there's my cat..." -A Lady who is apparently taking "new medication"

 

So that is basically what missionary work is like...you get to have super amazing lessons like the one we had with Brandon then you spend the rest of your time talking to crazy people, but it's the best!  Have a great week.  Love,

Sister Moon

 

Pictures:

 

The District

Ward Volleyball Night

Brandon aka coolest investigator ever

The snake kept moving so we couldn't get a good picture...

 

February 2, 2015

Dear Family and Friends,

 Last week was amazing!!  We had the privilege of getting 22 lessons!!!!  We got a new investigator that just moved here from Utah, and she knows about the church, and she wants to take the lessons!!  Andddd I hit my 1 year mark!  Woot woot.

This is the last week of the transfer so we are saying potential goodbyes to everyone...just in case.  I really love this ward and I want to stay another transfer, but we'll see what happens. 

We had a really great lesson yesterday in Relief Society about Christ helping us through our trials.  We read the story of the apostles who were sitting in a boat and Christ is watching them from far away.  He goes to help them and He's walking on water, then Peter comes out on the water too, but starts to doubt when immediately Christ helps him.  We read the 3 different accounts in Mark 6:45-52, Matthew 14:22-33, and John 6:15-21.

 We talked about how Christ allowed them to go through the trial, even though he could have easily helped them before they rowed 3 miles in treacherous wind.  He could've rescued them, but He knew they never would grow if they didn't experience these trials.  This is the same in our lives.  If we don't go through hard times then we never would learn to rely on the Lord.

 
Another interesting insight is the fact that the Savior actually told them to get in the boat.  Sometimes we pray for guidance and the Lord directs us to a certain path, things are going fine when suddenly something happens.  We get frustrated because we're doing everything right.  Why would this happen?  Well, just because we follow what God wants us to do doesn't mean that we won't have trials.  Sometimes these trials are blessings in disguise.  

"Moreover, enforced change usually does not last, while productive enduring can ingrain permanent change"   Neal A. Maxwell.

I know that Jesus Christ came to earth and provided for us an example.  We should always be striving to become like Christ.  I also know that it is impossible for us to be perfect by ourselves.  We need the Atonement so we can repent and be worthy to live in God's presence again.  I know that Christ lives today and He is willing to help us through anything, but we have to let Him in first. 

I love the scripture in Moroni 10:32  that says, "Yea, come unto Christ, and be perfected in him, and deny yourselves of all ungodliness; and if ye shall deny yourselves of all ungodliness, and love God with all your might, mind and strength, then is his grace sufficient for you, that by his grace ye may be perfect in Christ; and if by the grace of God ye are perfect in Christ, ye can in nowise deny the power of God."

I know if we come unto Christ by reading our scriptures, going to church, and asking ourselves "What would Jesus do?", and we use the Atonement and repent of our sins, and strive never to go back to our old sins, and if we love God with all our being then and only then can we be made perfect in Christ and have eternal life.  Have a great week.  Love,

 

Sister Moon

Pictures:

What the heck is wrong with people in California??

Restoration :)

Our investigators!!  The Noriega Family.

January 26, 2015

Dear Family and Friends,

 Last week was so AMAZING.  The best news is that my brother got his mission call and he's going to the ROCHESTER NEW YORK mission!!  He will leave May 20th which means I will miss seeing him by about 2 months, but that means I just have to wait 22 months when I get home :) and we all know 22 is a great number!

 We had 23 lessons this week so we were super excited about that!  We committed Pedro to baptism on March 21st and he accepted.  We have a lot more teaching to do, but he came to church twice and he really likes it.  His wife came yesterday too, so we are planning to set a date with her this week.

 We also had Zone Conference last week so I got to hang our with my buddies, Sister R and Sister M.  It was a great meeting, and we talked a lot about the Spirit.  We learned how the Spirit works more and then we were able to really fell the Spirit last week during our lessons. 

 We taught Sabrina the Restoration and the Spirit definitely guided the lesson.  We usually tell the shortened version of the "First Vision" which I have memorized and it's really easy to say, but for some reason during the lesson I couldn't remember the shortened version.  I kept saying the longer version in my head, and I couldn't remember the short version for the life of me. I decided that maybe I should just say the longer version.  That's what I did, and we ended up talking about how Joseph Smith struggled and had to go through trials (which is the part that is taken out of the shortened version), and then he was able to receive his answer.  We talked about how that is basically what she's going through at the moment and the Spirit was so strong.  It was the best lesson ever.

 

Have a great week!  Love,
Sister Moon

Pictures:

The Costa Family

Sister Shelby and Sister Boudreau

My favorite investigator, Lynette

 

January 16, 2015

Dear family and Friends,

 This week is going great so far.  We got to go to the temple this morning which was AMAZING.  If you ever want to feel the Spirit to its max then go to the temple!  Everyone is so nice and helpful, so I can't wait till heaven because it will feel like that all the time!  But don't worry I'm not planning on dying anytime soon...

Today is our P-day so I won't be back until January 26th so I'll probably have more to say then, but until then I will just share a story with you.  

Once upon a time we had over 600 people on our ward list and no one knew who 300 of them were.  We decided that we would see if we could verify everyone's address.  Well it's been about 2 months now and we are down to 5 people that haven't yet been verified.  We have been working hard!  I may or may not have lifted Sister M up so she could peek into some windows to see if anyone lived there.  We may or may not have tricked the mailman into showing us someone's mail.  We may or may not have called their parents to see if they still lived there.  We may or may not have looked at people's packages by their doorstep.  We may or may not have helped our Ward Mission Leader Facebook stalk people.  But, the point is that we only have 5 people to go!!  It's been a good week.

 

Talk to you all later.  Love,

 

Sister Moon

 

Pictures:

Sister T and I

 Zone Temple Trip

 

January 12, 2015

Dear Family and Friends,

 This week was awesome!  We had 15 lessons, and continued to find people from our Ward List.  We didn't do much that was different from every week, except we had Stake Conference which was awesome!!

 Elder Bassett from the 70 came and spoke to us.  He spoke a lot about enduring to the end and about going to the temple.  A questioned was asked, "If you went to trial right now would there be enough evidence to convict you as a temple worshipper?"  We talked a lot about this question, and we decided that we need to put the temple first in our lives.  The temple is literally heaven on earth, and in a world that is going crazy we need to go to the temple to feel the peace that God wants to give us.

 We are super excited because we actually get to go to the temple this Friday, so we will have another P-day this Friday, and not the following Monday. 

 There is a quote I found this week that was amazing and I want to share it with you.  It says, "Looking for the path to safety in the counsel of prophets makes sense to those with strong faith…the choice not to take prophetic counsel changes the very ground upon which we stand. It becomes more dangerous. The failure to take prophetic counsel lessens our power to take inspired counsel in the future. The best time to have decided to help Noah build the ark was the first time he asked. Each time he asked after that, each failure to respond would have lessened sensitivity to the Spirit. And so each time his request would have seemed more foolish, until the rain came. And then it was too late.

~ Elder Henry B. Eyring

The Spirit can only dwell with us if we are worthy.  I hope we can all listen to the Spirit and do what God would have us do and become what God would have us become, even if it's not what we want.  Have a great week.  Love,

 

Sister Moon

 

Pictures:

I'll meet you at the corner of Moon dust and Moon Crest :)

 

Exchanges

This car though...AMEN

January 5, 2015

Dear Family and Friends,

Linda got baptized last week so of course it was a great week!!!!  She was freaking out before the baptism,and really didn't think the ear putty stuff we got for her would work.  Sister M and I prayed like there was no tomorrow, and turns out everything went great!  She was confirmed yesterday and she is now a member of the church!  Woot woot!  The Spirit was so strong in the room when she got baptized.  Linda has such a strong testimony of the gospel, and she really felt the Spirit bear witness to her that she was making the right choice!  I am so grateful I am able to be a part of her journey.

 
We also started a new year!  So far this year has been pretty good.  I was able to keep the tradition going and I made a fruit pizza on New Year's Eve!  We have so much junk in our apartment that we decided we aren't going to start the "New Year Diet" until later :), plus our gym is STILL not ready!  Ugh.

Sister M and I are doing well together.  We are working hard, and finding people to teach.  The days are long, but fulfilling so that always makes you feel like you're doing something right.  We have set some goals for this transfer including meeting every single person on the ward list, so we have become professional stalkers :)  Our motto is, "We gon' find you".  But seriously, we are going to find everyone!!

Have a great week and a happy new year!

Sister Moon

Pictures:

Fruit Pizza 2015
This week I saw my life flash before my eyes :/
Linda's Baptism!

December 29, 2014

Dear Family and Friends,

Last week was great!!  We had a very Merry Christmas!!  We had 13 lessons which is a very special number as most of you know :).  There were a lot of people that went out of town so we didn't have as many as we normally do, but this week should be better.

We did service for Linda last week, and met with her a lot.  She had her interview and she's good to go!  She is planning to get baptized this Saturday at 11:00.  She is a little worried about water getting into her ears so please pray that we'll find some good wax for her ears so she'll be baptized :)  she's really scared...

 We had a great dinner with the D's for Christmas Eve and they even read the Christmas story in German since that's their tradition.  I didn't even have to serve a foreign mission to experience that...awesome! 

We did have a great Christmas and I got to Skype with my family!!  We opened presents and guess what I got?  I got tickets for Taylor Swift's concert in September!!  I am so excited so that just made Christmas morning great...then we had breakfast with members, then we visited Linda, then we Skyped our families, then we ate Christmas dinner, then visited the nursing home, then we watched The District for 2 hours!!  What a great Christmas right?  We really did have a great week.

Oh and transfers are today, but Sister M and I are staying together in Ontario!  We are looking forward to the next 6 weeks!!  Hope everyone is prepared for the New Year.  Everyone ready to set goals?  Our gym still isn't open so I can't set any exercise goals...bummer...oh I'm heartbroken.  Have a great week!  Love,

Sister Moon

 Pictures:

Service at Linda's
Christmas: Taylor Swift Tickets!!
Christmas orange banana breakfast
Not a good picture, but look at those matching California T-Shirts
I need a house like this, but replace Lakers with Taylor Swift

December 22, 2014

Dear Family and Friends,

 

Merry Christmas everyone!!  This past week was pretty good.  We had 18 lessons and found a new investigator!

Linda is still doing great.  She is scared about the change in her life, but she knows she needs to do it.  She has a testimony of the gospel, and she is doing great!!  She came to church yesterday and sang in the choir for our Christmas program! 

We had the opportunity to go volunteer at the Old Folks home, and we got to help them with Bingo.  Probably the funniest thing that has happened in a while.  During one of the rounds this guy won, and this old German lady (probably like 90) started yelling at the guy.  She said, "Stop cheating!!  You are looking at my card.  He doesn't deserve to win.  STOP IT.  CHEATER!!"  Oh boy, it was the greatest thing ever.  I'm surprised they let her keep playing.

We also had the opportunity to go to Rancho and have our Christmas party!  I got to see Sister Rietz!  Man I miss that sister!!  We had a great time, and we are so excited for Christmas.  3 days!!  We also sang at the Nativity scene in Ontario on Saturday.  It was so cold.  A whopping 50 degrees!  Oh man....freezing :)  We has hot coco and lots of cookies so it made it all worth it.

 And last, but certainly not least...Daniel got baptized!  He is 8 years old, and his mom just got baptized so he's not a convert, but we still taught him so it was a very special day for us!!  He is the cutest kid ever, and he is the newest member of our ward!!

 That's about it for last week.  I hope you all have a great Christmas!  Remember the true meaning of Christmas.  Who is the Gift?  Christ is the gift.  Love,

 Sister Moon

 

Pictures:

 

Sister R and I

Daniel at his baptism :)

The freezing sisters after we got done singing!

 

December 15, 2015

 

Dear Family and Friends,

 Last week was awesome!  We found 2 new investigators and we are excited to continue teaching them.  Linda is still doing great.  She came to church again yesterday, and really enjoyed it!  She still does not have a baptismal date, but we're shooting for January 3rd!

 We received mail this week which is awesome!  Mom sent a cute 12 days of Christmas package for my companion and I so we are enjoying opening 1 gift each day (we started on a very important day of the year...Taylor Swift's birthday...oh ummm I mean my mom's birthday)  Happy Birthday mom!!

 We had our 4 week meeting last week and the Ward Christmas Party so that was exciting!  We had a great time being able to hang out with other missionaries and the Ward members.  Our ward is so funny, which is good especially around the holidays.

 I did cut my hair this morning so that was exciting.  I didn't cut that much off...just about 6 inches.  Now maybe my hair will dry overnight...fingers crossed.

 This week is going to be full of lessons, service, and parties :)  We are looking forward to another great week.  Hope you all have a great week too.  Love,

Sister Moon

 
Pictures:

Before and after my haircut :)

My cute little Christmas tree and my 12 days of Christmas presents!

 So how much is the car wash??