#44 A renewed appreciation for music

Heisan fra Drammen

This week has been an amazing week so I'm just going to jump right in!

Monday

Last Monday we hiked up the Vikersund ski slope with two families from the ward and we took a good amount of pictures, I have more from then to send today!  Then we went back to one of the members houses and had "Norwegian Sloppy Joes" and it was actually way better than American sloppy joes! We had so much fun with all of them!  

Tuesday

Today we made thank you notes for the people in the ward and then went to visit a member in our ward.  We just stopped by to see how things were going and asked if we could share a spiritual thought with her.  We shared Mosiah 24:14-16..I believe that's the right reference! But anyway, we were talking about that and then she started talking about her Book of Mormon reading and you could tell just how passionate she is about the gospel and it was the greatest thing!  As missionaries we go in and try to help them and uplift them, but more than half the time I feel like I'm the one that has been uplifted.  Then we went to Mommo and Besse's house and had dinner and then talked about the priesthood and the roles of priesthood holders.  We showed the Mormon Message "Sanctify Yourselves" and that is so good!  I just had a renewed appreciation for the priesthood and those who honor their priesthood.  It truly is a blessing and it's incredible and comforting to know that God's power is still here on the earth today.  

Wednesday

So today we had an appointment with a potential investigator!  We even got a member on the teach which was awesome because they live all the way out in Kongsberg!  We taught him because his wife was at school... and taught him the Restoration... and it went so well! He just kept telling us, "I guess I just need to pray about it and find out for myself" It was awesome!  He had a little bit of a problem with accepting that Heavenly Father, Jesus Christ and the Holy Ghost are 3 different people and then had a little bit of a hard time with Thomas S. Monson being a prophet today... but as soon as he voiced his concerns then it was just, "I'll pray about it" so it was incredible! We went and visited a less active and it was a super short visit because we had to catch a train... but she has been reading in the Book of Mormon and she tells us that she is much more calm throughout the day because she reads daily.  It's incredible when others can see and describe the difference that "feasting on the words of Christ" can bring!  We then caught the train to have dinner with a family in the ward. We got there a little early so we banked on some doors and we found one person that was really open so we're going to try and visit them again later!  Then we had choir practice for stake conference and then went to young women's ....and then picked up Sister Reid!! We are going to be be three sisters now!!! 

Thursday

So a little bit about Sister Reid!  Sister Reid is from Las Vegas and has been on her mission for almost a year...she came a couple of transfers before me.  She is like Beethoven on the piano which works out great because now she plays for Sister Sorensen and then I just listen haha!  She is probably one of the funniest people I've ever met so we have a blast every single day!  We had district meeting today and we talked about praying, reading the scriptures, and attending church and then how we can use analogies to teach it relating to our investigators and people we teach!  We had District lunch, finished up our studies and then went to dinner at a membmer's house. We got to the area a little early and were knocking doors.... and we found someone that said we could come back... so hey!! Success!  At our dinner appointment we shared the Mormon Message "Sanctify Yourselves" and talked about missionary work and invited them to bring someone to a dinner appointment with us.  Our MMK tells us that we need to make the members sweat a little and get them involved in the missionary work so we've been really focusing on missionary work every where we've been visiting.  It was a super cool spiritual thought and the spirit was really strong!  They said they would do it so we're super excited about it!  

Friday

Today we did weekly planning and then visited our neighbors down the street and had dinner with them. They were so nice and gave us our own Easter eggs filled with candy so that was super sweet of them!  They told us the story of their wedding and we saw pictures too so that was super fun!  We then finished up the day with 12 week...which is what we do everyday haha!

Saturday

Saturday our MMK said that he wanted us to try and have sport so that we could invited less actives, members, investigators and whoever wants to come to come and play...... but no one came.... and it was just us missionaries.  So we went to the church and did studies and lunch and then we helped prepare the food for all the people that were in meetings the whole day at stake conference.  So that was fun...we were just chatting it up with two sisters in the ward... and we were having so much fun!  Then we went to stake conference and it was so good!!  There is a family  that just moved to our ward and they are such good singers and write their own songs... and so they sang a song about missionary work that the mom had written the words and music too... and I just cried...it was so good!  The music was my favorite part of stake conference!  I absolutely loved it!  I just gained a whole new appreciation for the language and the people and it was just so cool! Elder Bennasar from the Seventies was there....and out of the blue I get asked to come up and bear my testimony!! Uhh...talk about being taken off guard and into a straight panic attack!!!!!  This conference is literally being broadcasted to half of Norway and I was terrified....I could barely even sing the song because I was trying to think of what I was going to say.  But I got up there and I have never been so calm talking in front of people.  That was definitely the Spirit because if it was just me, then I would have been shaking like crazy.  But I was so calm and my voice wasn't even shaky..I was able to speak clearly and then he thanked me for my testimony afterwards!  It was a super cool experience even though I thought I was gonna die when he first said my name! I also met my second cousins and more family from Kristiansand and that was so much fun!!!  It's an incredible blessing to be able to serve in the place where so much of my family and even my ancestors are from!

Sunday

Today we had Stake Conference again and practiced in the choir before the meeting.  We were singing, "Høyt opp på fjellets topp" (High on the Mountain Top) and it was so much fun to sing!  I literally just gained a whole new appreciation for hymns and songs and everything in Norwegian this stake conference... so it was super cool!  The talks that were given were really good and I got to stay seated this time and watch my grandpa be sustained as one who can receive the Melchezidek priesthood... so that was really cool!  But then Elder Bennasar said, "I'm sure Sister Love delights in her ancestor and will take pictures and send them home and say that something great happened in the family today" so I still got put on the hot seat while sitting in my seat haha!  But it was really good!  Then we practiced a musical number that Sister Sorensen is singing at a mission conference and then we went and visited a member family!  We shared Ether 12:4 with them and it was a good visit!  Then we finished up weekly planning and that was that!

Today

Today it is coming down with snow so we're staying inside the church and playing the piano and writing letters!  So it will be fun and relaxing! 

This past week as you have seen in my email, I have really had a renewed appreciation for music.  The hymns, the primary songs, other church songs are things that can bring the spirit so quickly.  Music is something that can speak to everyone and anyone, there is no barrier that it can't pass through.  As it says in the scriptures, "a song is a prayer unto Him" and I love that!  I'm so grateful that I have been able to see and use the power of music in my missionary work and I honestly think that it is because of music and the role that it has played in my life even before my mission, is why I have such a strong testimony today! 

Love you all lots and miss you all tons!  Have a great week!

The missionaries in Drammen
Me and my companion
Me with my mom's cousin and wife
Me and my second cousins
With grand parents and Elder Bennasar

#43 An Easter season I will never forget

Hei Hei Fra Drammen!!!

This past week was a phenomenal week and it was literally because of Easter!!  I'll talk about why at the end of my email...and I woke up to snow today..so much for me making fun of Utah...the North Pole delivered today!:))  

Monday

Last week we went shopping around the mall and then went to Subway for lunch and that was delicious!  P Day went by super fast last week!  We went and had family home evening with a family in the ward and showed them the Easter video... and then asked them to think about a person that they knew that didn't have the gospel and what it would mean to that person if they had the same knowledge they did about the gospel.  We then talked to them about the person they were thinking of and how they could specifically share the gospel with them and asked them what they were going to say and set the date of when they were going to talk to them by...so it was super effective and lots of fun!

Tuesday

Today we were supposed to have another lesson but it got cancelled so then we did our studies and then we went with the Elders to a family in the ward and helped them paint the outside of their house!  We had dinner with them about half way through the painting and then went back outside and painted while listening to EFY music coming from the car! It was a lot of fun and now my work out clothes are covered in paint... but it's all good because it was a blast and we were all cracking ourselves up!  We decided this past week that our District is a comedy show!:)))  

Wednesday

Today we went and tried to visit our investigator, but she didn't answer...so then we walked up the hill and went and visited a family in our ward and shared the exact same Easter message that we shared with the family on Monday,and committed them to the same thing. After that went and visited another member and shared the same message.  We've had a hard time finding new investigators and getting the investigators that we do have to meet with us... so we're now just going for the members and hoping they can help us out!  Gordon B. Hinckely said himself something along the lines of, "We go tracting but everyone on a mission knows there is a better way...through the members" The members here are incredible and are doing so much missionary work... but they just need that extra little push to get the ball rolling and so that's what we're doing!:))  We made thank you notes for people who have invited us over for dinner and who let us come and visit them... and then we went to our dinner appointment. We were laughing so hard the whole appointment!  They are the funniest family!  We shared the same message we've been sharing with the other members and it was just as effective here as it was before!  

Thursday

Today we did weekly planning and then we went and visited a family that was an hour drive from Drammen. We had a lot of fun jamming out to our EFY music!:))  It was a super fun dinner appointment and we were all cracking up! I love dinner appointments like that:))

Friday

Today we had District Meeting and we talked about charity and love... and Sister Sorensen had shared that "Charity is your secret weapon as a missionary" and I love that!!!  Charity is truly the key to all hearts...it can soften the hardest hearts and can truly work miracles.  It says in the Bible Dictionary that Charity is the highest and noblest kind of love and I think that is incredible!  It was also a District meeting where there were plenty of jokes made about my name!!:))  Then we went to our dinner appointment and then we played soccer with their kids at a little soccer field that they had by their house.... and so it was them against the missionaries...4 Norwegians who play soccer vs. 6 Americans...yea we lost...but only by one point!:)) So fun!!  Then we split up teams and it was the most hilarious game of soccer I've ever played!  Elder Mitchell was standing in the goal yelling at us to kick the ball and then we're running for it and then missed when we kick it... and this is when we decided we are a comedy show!  We came back and had Kvikk Lunsj (chocolate) and waffles and it was a super fun way to celebrate Easter!  The Elders also had the coolest spiritual thought about Christ!  They had cut up a piece of paper while telling a story and it came out as a cross and the word love just by cutting one piece of paper... and then they explained that that is why we are out on missions.  So share the love of Christ, because He loved us enough to atone and to suffer for us.  It was all because of love and that is why we are on missions!

Saturday

Today we went to a family in the ward again for breakfast. On the way there we took the bus and Sister Sorensen and I made a goal that we were going to bus contact. I have no problem stopping people on the street and talking to them, but for some reason when I'm on a bus... then it terrifies me!!  It probably has something to do with the fact too that if you talk to someone on the bus, it's not just that person but the entire bus, because everyone can hear every single word... because no one talks on the bus!!  So I prayed that I would receive strength to have the courage to talk to someone on the bus and then of course the Lord works His miracles and there is someone who sits right across the isle.... so now I can't get out of it without feeling guilty:)  So I just asked this guy if I could share an Easter card with him and he told me no, then getting off the bus I asked someone else and she said no, and then I stopped the other guy that had just gotten off the bus and he said no too. But I was so glad and so relieved that I  had given it all... even though I got hit with no's three times in a row.  The Lord truly does bless us when we give everything we have!  We had breakfast after that and it was so much fun and then just bore our testimonies on Easter!  We had studies after that and then went to Mommo and Besse and showed the mormon message, "None Were With Him" by Jeffrey R. Holland. I'm going to put that link at the end of the email because it is incredible!  My favorite things that he says in the video is when he talks about how "Christ was perfect, but He had to go through all of these things just so that He could know how we felt, how the rest of us felt" and then he later says, "He walked a long path utterly alone so we don't have to" and then we did the spiritual thought that the Elders had done and bore our testimonies about Christ... and it was so good!!!  After that we had a mission wide webex where the senior couples and President and Sister Hill spoke to us and it was really good!!  

Sunday

Today we had MMK and church and then right after church we left to go to President and Sister Hill's house to have our Easter feast with all the missionaries from the Sandvika area and the Oslo area!! I was able to talk to Sister Petersen which was so much fun!!!! (her friend from EFY)  Our District sang I am a Child of God as our musical number because we have to sing for food... and then we sang other songs just all together and chatted!  It was so much fun!  And that took up the rest of our day!

Today

Today we are going with a member family to see the largest ski jump in the world so that is going to be so much fun and I'm so excited!!!  I'll take lots of pictures!

But I just wanted to give my thoughts on this Easter.  I have always enjoyed Easter, but this past Easter has been really special for me.  I have studied in the New Testament along with Jesus The Christ about the last week of Christ's life and we've watched the Bible Videos as well.  I don't think Easter has ever become so real to me since this Easter and I'm incredibly grateful for that.  I know that Jesus Christ lives, that He is real. I know that He willingly laid down His life for us.  I know that He did it for each one of us, every single one, personally.  I know that He suffered in the Garden of Gethsemane and suffered every pain, every temptation, every affliction, and every sorrow.  I know that He suffered through all the things in between Gethsemane and Golgatha for us.  I know that He suffered on the cross and died for us, but then after 3 days, He was risen!  Nothing makes me heart rejoice more than reading the scripture that says that, "He is not here, for He is risen" I know that with all of my heart.  I love my Savior with everything that I have and I know that I will never be able to repay Him.  But I know that serving a mission and testifying of Him each day is the least that I can do.  

My heart has been so full this Easter season and I can not put into words of how much this testimony means to me and I feel like words don't do it justice, but this Easter was truly an incredible blessing and I will forever look at Easter completely different from now on.

https://www.lds.org/media-library/video/2013-10-1290-none-were-with-him?lang=eng

I hope you all had a great Easter and that you all got to reflect on the Savior and what He did for you!  Love you all lots and miss you tons!!

Pictures of Kylee and Sis. Sorenson and walking up to the top of the world's largest ski-jump 1078 steps

#42 Grateful to represent Christ

Hey Hey Hey from Drammen! 

First of all, I heard that Utah got snow yesterday...HAHA!  I'm in Norway and it's been nice all week!  I even got a tan line from my watch!  So spring is coming! 

Monday

So today we went to Elve Parken again and what's Elve Parken without blueberries!? So we had those!  But it was incredibly windy so we didn't stay there for very long...so we just headed back to the church and we just all chatted:) After that we went grocery shopping and then we all went to a member's house and watched the last session of General Conference!  That Sunday Afternoon session was literally the most perfect session for missionaries and investigators... so we were all just in awe!  One of my favorite talks from that session was D. Todd Christofferson.... when he told us that " when we have been warned, it is our responsibility to warn those around us."  So share the gospel!  

Tuesday

Today we had District Meeting and Elder Nelson had asked me to teach the doctrine portion of District Meeting and it was on the importance of members in missionary work!  So I read Dad's conversion story and related that to what it was talking about in Preach My Gospel!  Then we did practicals about going through the baptismal interview questions... and we were each given a problem that we had to act like we had when we were the investigator... and so mine was that I spoke no english, no norwegian and didn't understand.:))  If I did speak any of the languages it was very very broken.  So then I did the practical with Elder Mitchell and that was the funniest practical of my entire mission!:))  He tried to play sharades, he drew on the board, he even wrapped a tablecloth around his head to try and teach me about prayer haha!  It was hilarious!  Then we had District lunch, studies... and then contacted people on the street.  We also tried to schedule an appointment with one of our investigators, but that didn't work.  We banked and the first house we banked on took the Book of Mormon!  That doesn't happen every day!   Okay this is hilarious!  Well at least we thought it was! We needed to get toilet paper at the store right before our bus came so we went in to buy it super fast and then we saw our bus so we started booking it through the city.... and so I am holding the toilet paper in my hand and Sister Sorensen has her waffle mix and every one is just staring at us...people already stare because we are wearing skirts so I can only imagine what everyone else was thinking!  Even the bus driver got a laugh out of it, told us it was good exercise!:))  

Wednesday

Today we went and visited a less active because it was her birthday.... so we visited her at her work and then we had an appointment with a family in the ward. We had lunch with them and they helped us with the language so we played some games!  Lots of fun!  After that we had a dinner appointment with a family in the ward and then had ward council for an hour and a half with President Hill and the leaders in the ward.  We all went over the mission plan.  My favorite quote from ward council was this, "We baptize half a person in this mission, and in England we baptized the whole person and then some"!:))

Thursday-9 MONTH MARK!

We had weekly planning!  Then we went to Mommo and Besse and showed them the 3 Mormon Messages from David A. Bednar about the Patterns of Light.  We talked about that for a while and then we all bore testimony.  Super cool!  After that we helped one of the members move which was a lot of fun!  Sister Sorensen and I were moving something up the stairs and my shoe came off in the middle of moving so I had to just walk the rest of the way with one shoe on.... and then one of the elders picked it up and said, "You lost your slipper!"  Cinderella reference in case you didn't get that!:)))

Friday

Today was great!  We went visiting teaching with a member of the ward and visited two other members... so that was a lot of fun!  I love going visiting teaching with members..., it helps us to be able to get to know the members  better!  Plus, I've realized just how important visiting teaching is on my mission!  We did our studies and had lunch and then went out and banked. First of all, every time you go banking here... more than half the people open their windows and talk to you instead of coming to the door! So you stand there waiting for the door to open, then you hear the window crack open and you are left to just yell that you are missionaries.... and then usually they tell you no and then close the window!:)  There was some old guy that opened up the window with no shirt on...grateful for the window open with that one instead of a door!:))  We had a quick dinner and went and visited our less active and watched Finding Faith in Christ!  It was so cool!  After that we watched the video "One by One" and committed her to read the Book of Mormon and come to church with us!  

Saturday

Today we had a "street stand" in a way!  The members had loaned us their ipads so that we could show people the Easter video...you say the word Easter and people do not want to talk to you!  It was kind of rough!  I don't think I've ever been shut down so fast by people!  I got the typical, "I see what it says on your tag" and there was some that were super nice and then I asked them about Easter and they then said, "Oh my gosh!  I am not talking to you!  Don't even bother!" And then of course people tell you you're wrong all the time!  Someone told me, "Søster Love, cute name!" in English and then just walked on and then I got called a "Jesus woman" after some lady had taken a card.  But I'm grateful that I have the opportunity to represent Jesus Christ every single day...to have His name right next to mine every moment of the day.  It is a great privilege and I learned a lot from just that street stand!  Later we went to a family in the ward for dinner and had family home evening.  It was a lot of fun!  We talked about missions since it's a family of boys and now they're all reading in the Book of Mormon and coming up to us telling us about it in church!  Goal accomplished!

Sunday

Today we had MMK and then church and testimony meeting was great!  Søster Sorensen went up to bear her testimony and I swear that chapel went silent.  Everyone in that room was listening and it was so powerful!  It really taught me just how powerful simply testifying can be.  Every single sentence that she said was testfying of truth and that's enough for the Spirit to bring the message to the hearts of the people.  I'm grateful that I have the opportunity to train!  It's a huge blessing!  Then I got to watch Besse bless the sacrament for the first time and it was the coolest thing!  Let me just say, the gospel changes people.  It changes people, it changes lives.  It reminds me of the quote from Dallin H. Oaks in conference where he said, "The world thinks it is enough to know something, the gospel challenges us to become something" Then we went to Break the Fast after church and talked to a non member for a really long time (a friend of one of the members) just about church and religion and so hopefully something comes of that!  Then we went home and organized our week and then did 12 week!

Today

Today we are walking around the malls!   

HAPPY EASTER!  Hope you all have an amazing week!  Love you lots and miss you tons!

There was a man that walked this earth in simple robes and shoes that no one was worthy to loose. He was a man that began His mortal life in humble beginnings and left it with the greatest act of humility this world has ever known. He was scorned because He sat with sinners. He was mocked because He performed miracles. He was rejected because He claimed to be the Son of God, and crucified because He really is. "If it be possible, let this cup pass from me" were trembled words, "nevertheless, not as I will, but thou wilt" resulted in the greatest miracle known to mankind. There was nothing too great or anything too small that "didn't count" in the atonement for ALL. Every sin has been suffered for so that we don't have to. Every sorrow felt and every burden carried so that we don't have to do it alone. Every "I can't do this", every "It's too hard" has already been experienced by the greatest of them all. His gift continued as He was crowned by plaited thorns. He carried a cross many miles in each of our shoes, so that death wouldn't be the end. He has nail prints in His hands and feet so that we can testify that He lives again! His name has now crossed many lands, many waters. But it holds the same meaning to all who believe in Him. Because of Him there is a thing called second chances, a clean slate, a "get up and try again". Because of Him there is hope where we think there might be none. There is no such thing as an never ending heartache, no such thing as an uncalmed sea. Quitting doesn't exist, giving up is not a thing. There is direction, there is instruction, and there is a path we can follow. There is a "light" in a darkening world. There is everlasting peace, there are family bonds that will last beyond the grave, there is resurrection. There is a reason to carry on, there is a reason to have goals, to press forward, to endure. There is joy found in every day, there is a type of happiness that can't be received anywhere else. There is a reason to rejoice! Because He Is Risen! Our lives were changed and continue to be changed by a man in simple robes and shoes that no one was worthy to loose.

https://www.lds.org/youth/video/because-of-him?lang=eng 

#41 We're getting a Temple in my hometown!!!

Hey Hey from Norway!

So first of all...WE'RE GETTING A TEMPLE IN MY HOMETOWN!!! I'm going to talk about that in my email when I get to that day, but that was the most exciting thing that happened this past week! But anyway, jumping into the rest of it!

Monday

This last Monday we actually did something for P Day!  We went down to Elve Parken (park down by the river) after we had gone to Kiwi (grocery store) and gotten lunch! We went and sat on the dock down by the river and literally just sat there in the sun...I even got a tan line!  In April!  In Norway! We had strawberries and blueberries on a dock in Norway...that sounds like a dream doesn't it?!:)) Then after that we went grocery shopping and then went to girl in our ward and did a little family home evening.  We showed her the video of the mutual theme for 2017 "Ask of God" and then we each took time to write down questions that we wanted to have answered in conference.... and we just talked about that and our missions so that was a blast!  Then the Kristiansand Sisters came to our apartment because we had Zone Conference on Tuesday!

Tuesday

Today we had Zone Conference and I love Zone Conference!  We are now the largest zone in the mission...a whole 24 missionaries haha!  President Hill started talking about how we were like the Army of Helaman and then he said, "That's who you are, that's who you need to be, you need to own it" and I just thought that was super cool!!  So let's all own that we're the army of Helaman!  President Hill loves how happy me and Sister. Sorensen are...and we told him that we are just having so much fun!! So he told the whole zone that:))) and then said that that touches a mission president's heart!:)  We talked about revelation through church attendance and how we can help our investigators attend church...great conference!!!  After that we printed out a few copies of a talk about General Conference and dropped that off and some chocolate at a couple of member's houses... just to let them know we were thinking about them and then we went banking on a couple of houses!  

Wednesday

Today we dropped by one of our investigators and were just hoping that we could get a lesson out of it because she doesn't really make appointments. A girl in the ward went with us and we got in!!!  We started talking about the Plan of Salvation but didn't get past pre-mortal life because she had so many questions... but it was a really good lesson!  She then asked if we could come back the next day so that we could have a longer discussion and she promised us that she would read the Plan of Salvation pamphlet that we had given her!!!  After that we went and picked up the elders and drove to a family in the ward for our dinner appointment because we got to borrow the car today! The dinner was delicious and a lot of fun....and after dinner we went and sang in the choir practice, because we are singing in the stake relief society choir at the end of this month and then did 12 week!  

Thursday

So today we had our appointment with that same investigator and had a girl from the ward who is a returned missionary come with us to our lesson!  Our investigator had kept her commitment and had done more than just read the pamphlet!!! She had underlined, circled, bracketed, and even had a list of questions that she wanted clarification on. But it was a great lesson and she is really bold with us so we're just bold with her which is actually just fantastic, because then we all know what everyone is thinking!  She said that if she had found out this was true then she would feel happy, peace and she then told us that that is why she is meeting with us!  So that was really good to hear!  It was a great lesson and I'm super excited to see the progress she is making!  Then we went banking in Solbergelva and we actually handed out a Book of Mormon to this lady...she said she wasn't necessarily interested, but we are going back regardless to share the Easter initiative!  There was another guy that we talked to and he wasn't believing and I asked him why.... and he said that no one knows, they just have hope... and I was saying that I know.... and he kept telling me I didn't...but then once we had said we were leaving then his wife came to the door and told us that this was the first time that she had seen sister missionaries come to their door and then was asking us about our missionary work!  So you never know!  Then we went to our dinner appointment with all the other missionaries....and that was super fun!!!  Then we did 12 week!

Friday

Today we went to visit a referral way out in Sylling.... so we got to borrow the car because if  not then it takes 1 hour and a half on a bus one way! We drove all the way out there and we couldn't find the house to save our lives.  We needed house 33 and we only saw 30 and then there was just water.... but on the bright side,it was kind of rainy and foggy that day so we got the coolest  pictures ever!!  It was GORGEOUS!!! Sometimes I look at Norway and I just think it's a dream... that I'm literally preaching the gospel in this country...I literally preach the gospel in the woods...that's the coolest thing ever!!  So then we had dinner at Mommo and Besse's house and we had lapskaus and dessert...and then we showed them the new Easter video and sang Easter hymns which was a lot of fun!!  We had an appointment with another investigator planned and we had a member on the teach.... but when we got to our appointment and walked into her house.... she said she was leaving so that was really awkward! We tried visiting another potential  and a less active... and we weren't able to visit any of them.... but it was sweet of the member to drive us around so that we could get a lot of things done all at once!  Then we went home and started weekly planning!

Saturday

Today we went to President Hill's house for brunch and interviews! That was a lot of fun!!  President Hill was asking me how training was going and I had said that I was loving it.... and that I love being able to show Sister Sorensen just how much I love missionary work, so that she feels the same way! He asked me if I could train all the missionaries:)))  He was also saying that he doesn't think I understand how much of an impact I have simply because I'm always so happy!  It was a great interview!!  Then we did weekly planning and then watched the Women's Conference which was so incredibly good!  I loved Henry B. Eyring's talk and Linda K. Burton's talk...super good!  Then we went and picked up a less active and walked with her to the church to watch the next  session of conference and it was so good!  She was even crying and asked to come back to the other sessions with us!!!!  I have been looking forward to general conference for forever and I was soaking everything up!  I just started listing the talks that were my favorite and I just listed just about every single one of the speakers.... so just know that I loved them all!!! 

Sunday

Today was the greatest Sunday!  We did family history at the beginning of the day and I found more people on my dad's side of the line!!! (Her dad is a convert) So that's super exciting!  I was all motivated from Henry B. Eyring's talk to do family history because he had said that, "He knew He could trust you to do the work of your ancestors" so then I was just going ham this morning trying to find information... and I found it!!! Yay for family history work!  Then we had lunch and had our MMK and a meeting to know how to be more involved with the YSA!  Our less active said she couldn't come because she had gotten surprise visitors... so we watched the next session of conference and that was incredible!! LOVED IT ALL!!  Then we went to a family in the ward for dinner and then came back to watch the next session and everyone....THERE IS A TEMPLE COMING TO SARATOGA SPRINGS!!!! YOU SHOULD HAVE SEEN MY REACTION!!!!!! Elder Mitchell in my District is also from Saratoga Springs and we're both just jumping up and down in our seats and everyone in the chapel just looks at both of us because everyone knows where we're from and OH MY GOSH I WAS SO EXCITED!!!!! There's gonna be the temple celebration and then people from our area can work in the temple and wow I'm so excited!!!  I couldn't even really take decent notes the first couple of talks because my hand was shaking!  WOW!!! Anyway, the rest of that conference was fantastic too and I just can't wait til I can read them and highlight them and go over it all again!!  

Today

Today I think we are doing the same thing we did last week, just enjoying the sun and eating fruit!  We are also all going to a member's house to watch the last session of conference today so that will be fun!  

Love you all lots and miss you all tons!! 

TEMPLE IN SARATOGA SPRINGS!!! Sorry..just had to say it one more time!!!