Pics

Steph has been on her mission for 5 Months. It is a very crazy for us all. She is amazing! There isn't a week that goes by that we don't just cry through her letters. We do miss her but that is not why the tears fall. It is the spirit that we feel through her letters. We are being blessed daily because of her service, and know that she is being blessed daily. We are so Grateful for her!

Steph loves to take pictures of the sunsets. This one is my favorite, such pretty colors.

I think this is at regional Conference...


This kind of looks staged to me, who knows if it is or not.


There are six sisters in the Long Beach Spanish mission, here are four of them.


Steph is really good at burning towels in the mircowave. I'm not sure why she puts in the mircowave. This is the first one on the mission

I don't remember this families name but they love the missionaries. He made Steph a tiki.

Sister Colwell and Steph's Christmas card. By the time they sent it out it was no longer current.

Her Christmas tree.

A day in November....how great would it be?

Her new Companion, Sister Hoover.

Her family wall....if you look closely you will notice that it is a wall of Matthew.

Merry Christmas from Huntington Beach!

Hello everyone! Well I can hardly believe that Christmas is here! It was 3 weeks away when I got transferred and now it is in 2 days! Crazy! This week has been pretty good. We had some great lessons! We taught the Bautista family on Friday night. The Spirit was so strong. After we finished Osvaldo said he was going to time how long I took teaching the lesson in Spanish the next time. I guess my Spanish is getting better even if I don't realize it. Some days it’s great and other days I get so frustrated. I feel like I can't understand it at all and it's just hard. I was talking with Sister Hoover about it and she said it just takes time. I know that it will all click one day but being in between is very hard for me. I am amazed that I can communicate and have a conversation in Spanish but I don't feel like I can express myself the way I want to in Spanish. I just have to be patient and have faith in myself and keep trying and it will come. We had a wonderful zone conference on Thursday. I love zone conference! We had a combined conference and took a mission picture, well half of us. They took the other half on Friday. We heard the testimonies of several elders that are leaving. The spirit was very strong. President talked about several things that were so great. He talked about becoming The Missionary and not just a missionary. He also talked making our relationship with our Savior as friends and not as strangers. He talked about 4 different levels. 1) Stranger, 2) servant, 3) son/daughter and 4) friend. It made me think a lot about my relationship with him. It is definitely a lot stronger than before I came on my mission but there is always room for improvement. We also received a panoramic picture of our mission. Sister Sexton took pictures from Signal Hill and it is beautiful. I am super excited to put it together and frame it when I get home. I also received my family Christmas memory letter. I just cried. Not because I am sad to be here but because of the love and support that I feel. This truly is the most amazing time to be on a mission. I would love to be with family but there is no where else I would rather be instead. The gospel is true. Jesus Christ truly lives and died for us. There is nothing more important than him and his love for us. I was reading in Ether 12 today and it talked about the gift of the Son and that because God gave us this gift, a more excellent way is prepared for us to gain eternal life. The only we can receive this gift is through faith in is Son. Faith that he truly came and suffered for us. Faith that he loves us and will lift us up at the last day. It truly is amazing. I know that the Gospel of Jesus Christ is real and true. I know that God lives and loves each and every one his children. I know that He knows us better than we know ourselves. I cannot express the love I have for my Savior and my Heavenly Father. I hope that you all have a wonderful Christmas this week and remember the reason we celebrate Christmas. Sidenote: Christmas can be broken down to Christ- and mas which in spanish means more. That is what this world needs is more Christ. That is the best gift you can give this year. I challenge all of you to bear testimony of him and share his light which is in you with the world. You won't regret it. I love you! Clarissa Jane congratulations on your beautiful girl! Happy Birthday Charlie! Love ya!



* Our cousin Clarissa and her husband welcome Emalyn to the world on Dec 21.
*Charlie is now 25 years of age.

Week 20

Hello family! I hope all is well wherever you are! I think I am settled in here in Huntington Beach. We got transfer call Saturday night and nothing changed because we already did. My district Leader from Long Beach, Elder Salmon is being transferred here and will be my DL again. I am excited! I was sad to leave those elders. That is the only change in my district this transfer. This week has been a little interesting. We have been keeping busy but poor Sister Hoover still isn't feeling well. She coughs and coughs until I think she is going to die at night. She has codeine but she can only take it at night and it takes a while to kick in. I keep telling her that she needs to rest but she is a little stubborn. She rested a little on Saturday after the Bautista's told her she looked awful. We went to the Christmas party that night at the ward. It was fun. They had an activity where everyone went around the church with a candle and knocked on the different Inns only to find that there was no room. After we all returned they shared the story of Mary and Joseph. I really enjoyed. The little boy Noah that we were going around with was getting frustrated. It was pretty cute. Sunday we went to church. It felt like I hadn't been there in forever. We went to the Bautista's before to see if we could get any of their family to come but no one was there. I went to my first Spanish ward. I understood most of it. The gospel vocab is pretty good for me so it is easy to understand. The elders had a confirmation and the spirit was very strong. Osvaldo and Cesar Bautista(recent converts) blessed and passed the sacrament. It was great to see them participate. We then went to the Beach ward for our meetings. Bishop Johnson had me get up in PEC and bear my testimony. Afterwards he had me stand in Sacrament meeting to be recognized by the ward. After church we went the Bishop's house for their annual open house. I felt like I was at home expect it wasn't. The bishop and his family are so great. If I had been thinking I would have had him stop by and say hello last weekend. He drove to Rexburg to pick up his daughter from school and they spent the night in Bountiful. So close to home. I'm sure he would have done it too. We then had a dinner appointment. The only reason I am telling you is because of the main course. We walk in the door and they say, "I hope burgers are alright." My heart sunk. I told them I couldn't eat it. I'm sure I could have justified since it was homemade but I didn't do it. I couldn't. She made me a salad. I wasn't that hungry cause we ate at the Bishops. Sister Hoover had been praying for a hamburger for days I guess. Man I felt bad but I couldn't do it. I have worked to hard. Then Sister Hoover started to have a reaction or something. I'm not sure what happened. Brother Okuchi is a chiropractor and he realigned her neck and then she almost threw up. I had to support her as we walked to the car. I drove us to the Bautista's. Normally we would have gone home but we wanted to see Cleo and we told them we would be there. Cleo works in LA Monday through Saturday. She comes home Saturday night and leaves Sunday night. We chatted with her and her family for awhile. It was good to see them. We then came home and I told Sister Hoover that she needed to rest. She proceeded to do so and slept until 11 o'clock the next morning. I got up and studied the scriptures for 3 hours by myself. It was great! I love having extra study time. I am almost done with the Book of Mormon again. I just love it! It truly is an amazing book. After Sister Hoover rested all day we went to 3 different Family Home Evenings. It is really fun to just go from house to house. The first one was Monica and Gretchen. They have 2 little boys, Noah and Jayden. They just received custody of both of them and are trying to get custody of Monica's other 2 kids. She has a crazy life and I don't know the whole thing myself. She is a recent convert. She is truly amazing. We had dinner there and helped them decorate the tree. It looks beautiful! Also Noah got to call Santa Claus which was pretty cool. Then we had FHE with the Chase's. It was kind of weird to go home for an appointment but it was really good. Sister Chase talked about the different symbols of Christmas. It was a great lesson. It is so easy to get caught up in shopping that we forget the real meaning of Christmas. It reminded me of why I am here. Without Jesus Christ I would be home with my family. But with Jesus Christ I have the sacred opportunity to share his life with Long Beach. Because of Jesus Christ I can live with my family forever. Because Jesus Christ I can have peace in this life knowing that I have a Father in Heaven who loves me and keeps all of his promises. Because of Jesus Christ gave his life, we have life and the promise that we will one day perfect and with our families. I am grateful for Jesus Christ and his sacrifice. I am grateful that I can bring this message of great joy and see how it changes their lives. I know the gospel of Jesus Christ has changed my life and I will never be the same person I was before my mission. We also wrote letters to Jesus Christ. We wrote what we want to give him for Christmas this year. Sister Chase is going to send it to me next Christmas. I think this is a good tradition. We then went to the Bautista's. Osvaldo gave the lesson on the Book of Mormon. He did a great job. He had me expound. I don't know why he always picks on me but it gives me practice. Well the gospel is true. I know it with all my heart. I hope all is well for you and that we can all remember Jesus Christ and the true meaning of Christmas. I love you!

Week 19

** I apologize again for not keeping this more up to date. I have been going a little crazy! Hopefully with school out for the semester I can get back into the swing of things. Steph's new address is the post below.



Hello! Well this week has definitely been an interesting and exciting week! On Wednesday we had a very busy day! We started during language study time to fit it all in. We taught Maritza about the Restoration and then left to teach Rosa. We left Rosa's house and met up with Sister Kavea and taught Marcos. We only had a few minutes with Marcos but we taught him about prayer and it went very well. He wanted more scriptures in the book of mormon so we taught how to use the index and the footnotes. We then went home for a what we thought we would be a quick bathroom break before our next appointment at 1. We had 3 messages on the phone. 1 was from president Sexton and the other was from Elder Ward, an AP. They both wanted us to call them back when we got the message. So we call him and put the phone on speaker. We were both wondering what was going on. It was about 1 o'clock and this is what Elder Ward says. We need to make an emergency transfer with sisters Hoover and Haltli. Sister Mickelsen will be leaving and Sister Haltli will be coming. We are hoping to have the transfer done in about 45 minutes. Both of us were in shock and didn't know what to say. We knew that transfers were coming but they don't happen until next Tuesday. So I called some members and let them know, I also called Elders Salmon and Anderson to let them know that I would be leaving. We were going to the Kavea's for dinner that night and I was really sad to leave them. We got me all packed up and waited for the other sisters to come and make the switch. I didn't really have time to think or cry but all is well. We live a member here as well. The Chase's are great. We have a bedroom and a bathroom. It's kind of weird to live with a family but it is nice. They take good care of us. I haven't seen them too much yet but they have 2 daughters living at home and have a bunch of family coming home for Christmas. It will be fun to be surrounded a family for Christmas. We went straight to work after unpacking a little. We met the ward mission leader and his family and met with some recent converts. The Bautista family is great. They were very sad that Sister Haltli left but were excited that I was there. Sister Hoover had to do a lot of explaining but all is well. Thay are very helpful and understanding with my spanish. They are helping me a lot. When I can't understand them I just tell them. Before I would never do that. They make me talk to them and if sister hoover jumps in to help they stop and make me do it. Needless to say I am already feeling more confident. I don't know what it is but for some reason I'm not as scared. Sister Hoover had me call Osualdo the other day and I did it without question. When Sister Colwell would ask me I would freak out. I did it one time with her and it was horrible so from then on she didn't make me do it. I have a feeling that this will be good be for me. We had dinner with Bishop on Thursday night. We have a lot more dinner appointments here and there is almost always a member with us when we teach lessons. It is insane! The ward truly has a missionary vision. It is much different than the last ward. Sister Colwell told me that they were hoping that I would play the piano on Sunday but obviously I couldn't. Most people found out that I wasn't there on Sunday. Friday Hermana Hoover started to get sick but she just kept going. When we got home she had a fever. We called sister Sexton in the morning and waited for the doctor to call. He told us that we couldn't work so we stayed home all day. Sunday we got up and ready for the day and then Sister Sexton called and asked how we were. I had woken up with a sore throat but nothing major. She told us to pray and decide whether or not we should go to church but that she was also going to call president and see what he said. We got a call about 2 minutes later that said we couldn't go to church because sister Hoover had a fever. So we stayed in all day again. We were sad to miss the Christmas devotional. I got sicker as the day went on. I had intentions of working yesterday but appartently when the alarm went off I said I'm staying here. I had no memory of saying that. Sister Hoover said that all night I was coughing and tossing and turning. No wonder I was so tired. I got up and got ready and did personal and companion study but couldn't stay awake for language. Sister Sexton called and said that I could rest as long as I needed. I slept til about 3. We went to Walmart and picked up another perscription for sister hoover and then went to work. We had dinner with a family and then taught their dental hygenist. It went really well. Their son just returned from his mission in Chile not to long ago, about a month or so. It was really great. We then went and had FHE with the Bautistas. I taught the lesson about the atonement. I felt like they needed to know that it was more than just for repentance. I think a lot of people don't realize that. The atonement of Jesus Christ is the only way we can have peace in this life. Through him we find the strength to move forward. Before my mission I didn't understand the importance of the atonement. Now I know that whenever I need someone to talk to I can turn to him and he will know exactly what I need to feel better. The atonement is truly amazing. Just a little note about sister hoover. She is from Maryland, a BYU education graduate. She teaches 2nd grade in Maryland and goes home in march. She is great person and was actually sister colwell's companion in the MTC. This week has been crazy but it wasn't as hard to change as I thought. I miss the investigators but I have met some new ones here and the work is just as important here. I love you all and hope you will have a great week!

NEW ADDRESS!

Steph was transferred this week here is her new address. She will get her letters if you have already sent them to the previous address.

Sister Stephanie Mickelsen
8791 Palos Verdes
Westminster, CA 92683.

week 18

Hello family! I hope that Thanksgiving was so great for all of you! Thanksgiving here was good. It didn't really feel like a holiday because I wasn't with the family but I was with my mission family. We started the day with district meeting and we both got letters that had been sent to the office which was good. We went to the Sorenson's and they gave us pumpkin pie. We then went to President Sexton's house and a great meal! There were 24 people there. 20 missionaries and 4 of the 6 Sexton children. Their other 2 sons are on missions. It was so great! One elder had at least 2 plates piled high. I was impressed. Sister Sexton made 14 pies! It truly was a great meal and we felt priveleged to be there. We were the only sisters there. He called all of the hermanas first to make sure they had an appointment and we were the only ones without an appointment. The spirit was great and it felt like home. President told me that the Wallbergers(sp.?) from Rexburg had come to visit them and told him that they knew the Munns who of course know me!:). Small world. We had 4 appointments after the Sexton's and I just nibbled cause I was so full. Luckily we only had one other family feed us a big meal and I could only eat a little. I had to eat to not be rude but I couldn't eat much. It was a great day! Wednesday we had some heavy rain. It flooded the streets! It was insane! I will send some pictures! We were lucky we didn't stuck in the middle of the intersection. There were 2 little cars that had to get towed out. I have never seen rain like that before. The water was up above the curbs and flowing like a river. They don't have a good drainage system here so the water has no where to go. It had rained all night Tuesday and then there was huge drops for about an hour Wednesday and then it cleared up and everything dried up. It was so fun. Sister Colwell was excited because she loves to drive through puddles and make a big spalsh. Friday we went and visited Gary to take him a plate of leftovers from Thanksgiving that we promised him. There are some dogs across the way that are always barking at us and never stop. Usually I will tell them to be quiet and it doesn't help. This time I decided to try spanish. I told them Calmete pues! They were completely silent. Who would have known that the dogs spoke spanish. It was so funny. Saturday we had a great lesson with Javier Perez. He was completely focused. Their phone was ringing like crazy but he said no this is the time for God. It was so great. He told us he was going to come to church but apparently they slept in. We went over there yesterday but they had an emergency so we couldn't teach as we had planned. Saturday we met an ornery man. Most people are nice but this man was so rude. It makes me sad when people are so angry. One day he will thank us for caring. On Sunday we taught a man and his friend that we had met on the street a couple of weeks ago. We had to meet them on the corner and ended up teaching them in a Starbucks. It was a little weird but the lesson was really good. He took notes and is really excited to meet with us again. It was great! Yesterday was a great day too. We had appointments fall through but we had some other great things. We did service at Gary's. We were sanding his garage and taking off the paint so we could paint it again. It was lots of fun. I was sweating cause I was working hard. Who would have thought I would be doing service outside on december 1st. I got a cut on my thumb from the putty knife but all is well. Sister Colwell was administering first aide and I started singing "Doctor Doctor can you fix me up". Do you remember that song from Goofy movie? It was so great. Sister Colwell wanted to make sure she remembered it correctly before she stared to sing the rest of it. She didn't want to look stupid. It has been a great week. Next week we find out if we get transferred. I can hardly believe how quickly the time is passing. I hope you all have a great week this week. Know that I am praying for you and you are never far from my thoughts and heart. You are the best family anyone could ask for. Thanks for all of your love and support!

Week 17

I'm all caught up! Hopefully I won't get this behind again......


Hello family! I was so excited to hear that little Brooklyn is here safe and sound. I have been praying all week that she would come. I wish I could be there but I know that I am doing as I should and being on a mission is where I need to be. I am glad that you received the picture from Sister Sorensen. They have a son on a mission and they know what the parents back home will enjoy. They are a wonderful family and frequently feed us. This week has been a great one. I completely spaced the BYU game until Saturday and then I didn't think again about it until I heard that the Cougs lost. I was hoping that little Brooklyn would come so I wouldn't have to read all about the Utes winning. :) GO COUGARS!! I will still cheer no matter what happens. Anyway, this week has been great. We have worked hard have some great potentials. We started visiting part member or less active families everyday. One day last week they weren't home so we decided to knock the surrounding homes to see if there was a different reason that we were supposed to be in the area. On the last door that we knocked we talked to a boy about 15 years old named Javier and set an appointment to return on Sunday. We went by on Sunday and talked with his dad Javier, first. He told us that his son had been going through some depression ever since he and his wife divorced in February. He had gotten sick last week and they took him to the hospital and found an ulcer. He went in for surgery and his father told us that he just prayed and prayed for him to be ok. When he had gotten home Saturday night he saw the pamphlet that we had left with his son and asked him where he had gotten it. He told him that some ladies dropped it off and that we were coming by on Sunday. His father told him that this was proof that God knew he was and that He loved him. He brought out some chairs so that we could teach his son about God. Of course we didn't hesitate. The lesson went well and he was very attentive and answered our questions. He is very bright. We left him with the Book of Mormon and we are returning to teach him tonight. I am very excited. I have a strong hope that this family is an answer to our prayers just as we are the answer to a fathers prayer for his son. I know that the Lord guides us if we are faithful and work hard. Also last night we were going to an appointment and as we were walking this guy out of no where asks us who we are and what we are doing. I instantly feel nervous because it is dark and it was unexpected. We said we were missionaries and he was excited and said teach me something. We said ok. We taught him an abbreviated first lesson and he was very interested. Everything we said about his questions made sense and he was amazed. It was so great. I had seen him earlier in the day watching us in a house across the street that was vacant. It creeped me out a little and it made me nervous. I was grateful he had said something so that we could teach him. In Preach My Gospel it talks about not being in a hurry to get places and miss opportunities that are waiting along the way. We were on our way to an appointment and had no intentions of stopping but we needed to talk to him so the Lord provided a way. I am so grateful for his help and helping see the opportunities. We are going by to visit him again tomorrow. He is a very interesting guy but he has a strong faith in the Bible and wanting to live out of the world. We have some great potentials to be baptized we just need to get them to church and progressing. I think if we can get them to church we can get them baptized. Omar and Marcela have some great fellowship they just haven't made it to church yet. We are praying hard that they can make it. Oh I almost forgot. We had jsut finished studying on Saturday and our phone rings. I answer because it is on my desk and it is President Sexton. I was a little nervous. The president doesn't just make phone calls to everyone. That's what his assistants and zone and district leaders are for. He was calling to invite Sister Colwell and I to Thanksgiving dinner at their home! I am so excited to go and eat at their home. It is such a privilege and I don't know how we made it out 100 missionaries but I am not complaining. I love being in his presence. He is truly inspired and has a strong testimony of the restored gospel. I will be sure to tell you all about next week! Also there is a family in our ward that went to Puerto Rico to pick up their nephew from his mission. The Archuletta's picked them up at the gas station and then they were at testimony meeting at the Dewsnup's. She told me before that they were going and I told them to say hello for me and she did but she couldn't remember my name. I am hoping to get their address so I can write them. It is truly a small world. This week I want to bear you my testimony. I know that the gospel of Jesus Christ is true! It is truly the only true church on the earth today. I am so grateful for the prophet Joseph Smith. He made a great sacrifice so that we could have the blessing of the gospel in our lives today. I know that the Book of Mormon is true. I know that it can give us strength and power that we don't even know that we need. I am amazed by how much I learn everyday. As I teach and testify daily I feel in my heart the truthfulness of the words. I am so grateful to know that we have loving father in heaven who loves and knows each and every one of us. I know with all my heart that I have a Father in Heaven who is very aware of what is going on in my life right. I know He lives and that He is always there. I know that the Savior Jesus Christ atoned for our sins. I know that He suffered everything so that I can live in peace in joy and return to live with my family with our father in Heaven. I know that because Jesus Christ loves us so much that we can be happy and live with our families forever. I love all of you and wish you a Happy Thanksgiving. I know that this Thanksgiving I am grateful for the restoration of the gospel of Jesus Christ. For a wonderful family who loves and supports me always. For this wonderful opportunity to be a full time missionary where I have the blessing of being apart from the world and just testifying and sharing the good news with everyone in Long Beach. May the Lord's choicest blessings be upon you this week as we remember all that we are grateful for and remember that all we have comes from a loving Father in Heaven. Welcome to the best family ever little Brooklyn! We are so happy that you are here!

Members

This picture was taken by one of the members that feeds the missionaries often. She was kind enough to email it to us. She also told us how much the love having Steph in there ward. She is doing great!

New Addition

We welcomed a little girl to the world on Novemeber 24, 2008. Brooklyn Ruth Mickelsen

Brother is very sweet with her, isn't exactly sure about he whole situation but will smile and give her kisses

She has a head full of hair and its curly!

Week 16

Sorry this is a week late, I don't have any excuse other then I've been slacking. Oops!!


Hello my dear family!I hope all is well at home. I think about you often and pray for you several times a day. Things have calmed down out here and I hope that there won't be any more problems. The other day was pretty smokey! You couldn't even see the sky. It was covered in smoke. Along the coast you could see where the wind was blowing it up and away. It looked pretty cool. It looked we were having an inversion during the wintertime only it was 80 degrees. I took some pictures so you can see. It was snowing! Of course it was just white ash but I had never seen anything like it before. I felt like I was camping or something. It has cleared up a lot and you can't really smell the fires anymore. It doesn't feel like the middle of November because the weather is so warm. It has been in the high 80s all week. It is going to be a rude awakening when I return to Utah in the middle of the winter. Well this week has been so great! We had zone conference on Thursday and I just loved it. I cried only a little. My companion didn't even notice. She only knew that I cried in my interview with President Sexton. I wonder if I will ever have one without crying. At zone conference I was rejuvenated. Everything that was said felt like it was just for me. They gave us some great ideas for knocking and finding and for the first time I felt like I could do it. We went out on the doors that night and I did do it. It felt so great! President talked about what is going on around us and promised that we would be safe as long as we were obedient. The spirit protects us when we are doing as we should. Of course I already knew that answer but it is easy to forget sometimes. He shared some scriptures from Doctrine and Covenants that were amazing!(D&C 72:9-11 and 109:25-33) They said that no weapon formed against us would confound us. In the end of the verses he shared in 109 it talks about them pleading with the Father to break it off so that we may rise up and do the work that we called to do in this generation. It had such great power and I know that I needed that. I have been called to teach in this generation and nothing the world does will stop me from doing it. Even if we stand alone the truth will go forth, it will never fail. It really was so great and is so true! He promised that we would be taken care of and that He will take care of us. It brought great comfort. He also promised us that we would be able to find 5 new investigators by Sunday night. As of Thursday at conference we didn't have any new investigators. Thursday night we found one new. On Sunday we still only had the one. Sister Colwell said we are not going home until we have found all 5 of them. We were standing outside after our dinner appointment talking to the Elders when they saw a man walking down the street. They said, "There is a new for you". We left and went to talk to him. We taught him a little lesson and got his phone number and are teaching him this week! Then we went to go followup with someone who was a no show the day before and decided to knock his street. We found 5 new investigators on one street in one block in 30 minutes! It was truly amazing. My faith grew and knew that it was because we were obedient and diligent in working. I was so excited and I enjoyed knocking! It was fun for me and I knew that we were blessed because of our faith and our prayers. That is the only way to be successful in this work. Pray and have faith that you can do it and actually do the work. So great. I can't even explain the joy I felt. This gospel is true and the field is white and ready to harvest! We taught a lot this last week and it felt so good! It is definitely getting easier and I just love it. Today has been a great day so far. My testimony has grown in the importance of scripture study! The scriptures are truly the answer to everything. As I was reading my scriptures today I was just amazed at every verse I read. I had planned on reading in genesis and in alma. Every day I usually finish what I have planned to read but today I only read 2 chapters in the Book of Mormon! One hour of study and I read 3 pages! It was so chuck full of goodness! It was so amazing! Every word was what I needed and I have new love for the scriptures! I know that the scriptures speak to us. I was reading in Alma 26 about Ammon and the sons of Mosiah. They had just finished teaching the lamanites and were rejoicing in the blessings of missionary work. Ammon said did you realize the blessings you would receive from teaching the lamanites? We have been made instruments in the hands of the Lord, what greater blessing is there? It probably won't mean the same to all of you but it was what I needed. I am amazed that I missed it before. I have the read book of mormon before but this time is just amazing. The scriptures mean more because I understand the story line better now and it just so great! I cannot express it, just know that the scriptures are a blessing to us if we read them. In short read your scriptures the blessings are waiting. Thanks for the package and letters yesterday. It was so great to receive it! I am reading and rereading the talks from conference and I just love it. You just can't get enough. We asked an investigator to pray about being baptized yesterday and it was great. I really believe that she will be baptized. Well I hope that you are all doing well! I am excited to hear when little Brooklyn will come! I love you all so much and miss you like crazy! The church is true and my testimony grows each day. I often wonder what is happening in your lives and you are being blessed. I know that you are it is a promise of missionary work. I hope you are all being strengthened in the gospel. I love this work more everyday and I hope that one day I can say the same thing Ammon did. This is my life, this is my joy, this is my salvation. I know that I am an instrument in the hands of the Lord and that we can all be. As we seek Jesus Christ and look forward and prepare for his coming we will be strengthened and our lives will be blessed. The world will fall away and we will be a light to all of those around us. We will never fall if we build on thefoundation of the Savior Jesus Christ. I know He lives and that this is His gospel. Have a great week! I love you!

Week 15

Hello! I just want to tell you that you are very fortunate to receive an email today. Seeing as it is a holiday every place with a computer is closed. But we had to venture to the mission office to retrieve our car and there were two open computers and the Rose's said that we could use them since we were here. Blessings from heaven. I am doing well. This last week has been a little crazy. I'm sure you have seen some of it on the news but there are some unhappy people in the state of California. Luckily we haven't ran into anyone yet but it sure makes me nervous. Apparently there are commercials that are targeted at missionaries so people have a really bad image of us. We have to call in every night and report that we have arrived home safely. President had us stay in the other night after our 5 o'clock appointment. It was nice to have some extra study time but you feel like you are breaking the rules cause you are just sitting in the apartment when you should be out knocking or teaching. Honestly I am a little scared but I know that I will be protected. President Sexton is very in tune with the spirit and I am confident in his abilities to guide us through. Things have quited down a lot so hopefully it will continue to do so. They had like 2000 protestors on Thursday at the temple and the had to close the temple because people were trying to get in. So crazy. We also had to have members patrol the building during church on Sunday. Why can't we all just get along? Speaking of Sunday, I gave a talk this Sunday. Me and Elder Anderson were asked to share our testimonies about the atonement of Jesus Christ. Of course I cried, I guess I take after my parents ;). I talked about I have come to appreciate the atonement more than ever since being on a mission. I have really learned to trun to my Savior and humbled to my knees. I have learned that it is the only way to feel peace and love when we are discouraged or when we are having a hard time. Even when we have a great day we are on our knees praying to our father in gratitude. My testimony has really been strengthened as I have come to know my Savior and confide in him. We are so blessed to have someone who knows us so well and knows exactly how we feel. It is comforting to know that I can talk to him when I am having a hard day and he will make it alright. I got the picture of Matthew the other day. Man is he growing up! He changes every picture. I can hardly believe it! We had some great lessons this last week. Yesterday we taught all day and didn't have time to come to eat. Three of them were in Spanish. It still gives me a headache. One day it will just click. Until then I will just keep going and learning and trying. I have a great spanish story for you. I just know you will laugh. So we teaching this spanish family and we were talking about prophets. I was trying to describe the role of prophet and why he is important. In spanish I said "El es un MAN... I was supposed to say "El es un hombre..." Where does this spanglish come from? I sounded so brilliant. We were with some members so my companion couldn't laugh at me until after we had dropped them off. So funny. She did it yesterday though so we had a good laugh about it. So remember how I was so excited about Tongan food? Well it wasn't the best I have ever eaten. It was good but at least it wasn't horse or dog. He almost got us octapus. We had some cooked green bananas. They were pretty weird. I'm not a fan of cooked bananas. Speaking of food we ate In and Out yesterday. It was good. Theelders were super excited to have hamburgers from In and Out. We had to rescheldule the hour and they thought we were cancelling. They almost died. PS a member from Long Beach is moving to Murray this week. I told her to stop by. She has our address so if a random member comes to say hello its ok. Her name is Crystal and she is a poly. Her sister is going on a mission to Uraguay in December. So great! Meag Sister Colwell was pretty excited to hear that she is wanted. She was already planning on coming over to our house before I got home. She has pretty much adopted Matthew and Brooklyn and says that she will take care of them until I get home. I will let you know when her homecoming is so you can go. ¿Que más? We ate the Vamanrov's this last week again and sister Colwell was relieved that it wasn't fish. I made some brownies for them and some other members. I tried it with the butterscotch and vanilla. Very good creation. They loved them and wanted the recipe. They are spreading like wild fire up here. The secret is out and everyone loves it cause it is so easy. Gary called us like 3 times to tell us thank you and that they were so good. It was his birthday and he was so excited. Zone conference is this week and I am so excited! It is my first one and I can't wait! It will be in spanish so I will probably have a headache afterwards but it will be spiritually uplifting! Well I should probably let you all you go. I love all of you and miss you so much! The gospel is true and I love being a missionary. Don't worry about me, I am safe just nervous. I love you! Have a great week!



*I am on top of things this week, Steph's P days are on Tuesday. I am usually to busy to post them on Tuesday. Not today! I wouldn't count on it happening again...well maybe once or twice more. Meags

Week 14

* Sorry its taken me so long to get it up this week.

Hello family! I hope you are all doing well. I am doing well. I made it through my first transfer! I can't believe it has already been 6 weeks. The time is just flying! We got our transfer calls on Saturday and I am staying here in the Long Beach 4th ward with Hermana Colwell! She is very excited because now she for sure gets to experience the arrival of little Brooklyn! I can't believe that is already November! I am so glad that Halloween is over. It is not my favorite Holiday. We just went around to members houses and shared little thoughts with them. We felt that was safer than knocking and more effective than battling with the trick or treaters. It was fun. Thursday night we had some great food! The Vamanrov family(they are from Tonga) made us shrimp for Australia and mussels from New Zeland. It was so good! My companion hates seafood and we got to the door and I smelled fish and just laughed. She ate it and put on a good game face but the entire time she was dying. After we finished eating she almost threw up in the car ride over to the Kavea's. She was the only one that didn't like it. The elders loved it and so did I. We also had Korean food this week. Sister Rome is from South Korea and made us chow mein and egg rolls and it was so good! It was a good week for member meals. We don't get many so we love it when we do have them. Mom thanks for your great letter and talk! You made me cry. I didn't realize that you talked about me, I thought you just gave a little blurb. We had a great lesson with Gary's friend Kiso. We taught him about the Book of Mormon and he came to church. Gary is so great! He just wants everyone to know what he knows. The gospel has truly changed his life. He told us that he went to a party on Halloween with some of his old cop friends and that he didn't smoke or drink and didn't know what to do with himself. His friends commented on how happy and different he seemed. They asked if he had found something good and he said that he had. He is a great example to me. He gets mad if we forget to give him a big reading assignment because he just wants to keep learning. We went President Sexton's house last night to babysit sister Hart again. Sister Orton was having dinner with the Sexton's. It is always a great opportunity to be at his house and feel of his love. He is such a great man and I just love listening to him. We have zone conference next week and I can hardly wait! We went knocking the other night and a spanish lady answered the door and it was my door. Usually I let Hermana Colwell take over but this time I just did it. I messed up a little but she understood me. Then when I said all I could Hermana Colwell took over. I was so proud! It keeps getting easier. The other day we did all of companion study in Spanish and it felt great. Teaching is getting a little easier and I am starting to follow conversations better. They still talk pretty fast and if I get stuck on a word they are on a different subject by the time I figure it out. Hermana Colwell started reading outloud to me so I can translate by listening and it gives me a headache but I can do it. The other day at dinner with the elders we were talking about a Book of Mormon that I had marked. It has a bunch of scriptures from preach my gospel and is color coordinated and lesson coordinated. I was telling Elder Salmon that I don't use the book of mormon in my lessons but I was talking about that particular book of mormon. He was like don't remember the district meeting where we talked about using the scriptures in our lessons. My response was remember how you do it all in spanish? I can't understand half of it. We all just laughed. Elder Anderson was grateful to know that I don't understand all of the lessons either. I'm getting there poco a poco. So on Sunday we were at church waiting forit to start and Hermana Colwell was transferring pictures on her camera and accidentally erased 6 months of her mission pics. So sad. She was so sad and is still sad. I'm glad that I send my home so I have a back up copy. I hope that never happens to me. I finished reading in the D&C which was a big milestone for me! I learned a lot and just love reading the scriptures! There is always so much to learn and I just love it! I think we are going up to Signal Hill today to take a picture of Catalina Island. It rained pretty good this week so the sky is pretty clear. It will be the first time that I will be able to see the ocean and Catalina. President said yesterday that the first 2 members on the island received the preisthood. So great! They have a little branch over there and the elders were the only ones who had the preisthood. It is so great that the church is being established on that little island. Hermana Colwell said that's great now the hermana's can go over there. President just laughed and said that maybe the next president would put hermana's over there. We are now down to 8 hermanas. One left today and one came today. I don't know if there are any more scheduled to come. There are 4 that will be leaving in the next few transfers. Crazy. Well the church is true and I am so grateful to be on a mission. I know it is going to go by quickly, it already is. I am so grateful for my great family and all of their love and support! You are the best and I look forward to hearing from you always! Love Hermana Mickelsen

Week 13

Hello to all! It was so great to read your emails today! I just love hearing how you are all doing. I love you all so much! Meag I can't believe you won the WII! That is so great! Thanks for filling in for me! We are 3 for 3 at the banquet! YAY for us! Thank you so much for the little photo album! I was so excited to get it! I only got mail 2 times this week so it was well appreciated! I love the pictures and I just can't believe how much I miss and love you! So this week has been pretty good. It seems like we have been pretty busy as usual. I have been extra tired this week cause we did service and boy was it a workout! This family is moving and bless their hearts they had more on their hands than they could handle. There is only a mom and a daughter and a whole house to clean out. I have never seen so much stuff! Mom if you thought our house was cluttered, I promise this one had more. The daughters room was covered with garbage, empty pizza boxes, papers everywhere. It was like a foot deep. She hasn't slept in her room for over a year. I promise to keep my room clean for the rest of my life and yes you can hold me to it! We hauled many bags of trash out and we only did one room. We packed up her mom's room who died about a year and a half ago of brain cancer. She collected everything at the end of her life so there was stuff everywhere! It felt great to be able to help someone. You could tell that she was so grateful. The elders came and helped load the truck yesterday which made her and the driver grateful for the extra hands. I just love helping people! It is so great for everyone involved! One day when we were cleaning out stuff we found these tablets that form into dinosaurs when you soak them in the water. We saw them and said we need to give these to the elders. So we did and yesterday we asked if they had done it yet and they said they didthe other night. Elder Anderson said "I'm not going to lie, it was pretty fun. It was fun to watch them to see which one start going." It was great. I just love those elders. Yesterday we went to the Kavea's and Brother Kavea gave me my tiki that he carved for me! It is so cool! I am sending pictures home of it today. I will treasure it for the rest of my life! Their family is so great! They are the ward mission leaders and a great strength to the missionary work. Next week he is making Tongan food for us but his wife made him promise no dog or horse so hopefully I won't have to eat that. The elders had a baptism on Sunday. It was Brother Kavea's grandson. He is a cute kid. It is so fun to see these little hearts changed. I just love seeing people change and come unto Christ. This week we met a man named Omar and his wife Marcella. He told us that he knew that they needed to get baptized. We are excited to teach them! We are also teaching a lady named Rosa. We went over there yesterday and she said that she had prayed and read in the Book of Mormon. We are hopeful that she will continue to progress. We were teaching Mireya last night and talked about Lehi's vision. We were going to teach her the 2nd lesson but she was confused about the Book of Mormon so we read from there instead. She said something in Spanish and I responded before Hermana Colwell and she said to me english, you understood! YAY! It is coming! I think I know a lot more than I give myself credit for but I still struggle. Little by little. So this is the last week of the transfer! Have I really been here 6 weeks already? The time in the field goes so much faster than the MTC. Holy Cow! We are babysitting one of the sisters today so her companion who is going home next week could go to the temple with the Sexton's. It is fun to get to know the other sisters. Sister Hart is the last sister to come out before me and she came out in like January. They went through a big dry spell so they were extra exicted to get me! I think there are 5 sisters leaving in the next 5 months and then I will be the 2nd oldest sister! Crazy! We are running low on the hermanas out here! Sister Miller wrote us this week(she was the sister I replaced) and she made us trunky calendars! So funny. I now have the remainder of my mission pocket size on an index card. I marked all of the transfers so I will either come home the 29th of December or the 9th of February. Unless for some reason I get extended but that is a long ways away. So now you know when I could come home. It seems so close but yet so far. I know it fly so I am going to enjoy every minute of it. So things are pretty good. We didn't have any funny door approaches or anything but we did have one that made me way nervous. Politics are pretty heavy out here right now, hmmm...I wonder why? Anyway we haven't really run into many problems until we met this one guy. We were supposed to be going to an appointment at a house but there were a bunch of people out front and it was kind of awkward. So we contacted one of the guys standing out front and he did not like us. He told us that we were taking away the rights of people he holds dear and to leave because the church is supporting propostion 8(which is to stop gay marriage). Hermana Colwell tried to be respectful and leave on a positive note but he said that he could spit on us. Hermana Colwell wanted a good story and I wanted to leave. I have never been so nervous. Nothing crazy happened but it was very uncomfortable and I didn't like. I hope that he is not the husband of the lady we didn't teach cause we are going back to her house. I can only imagine what would happen if he answered the door. We would get spit on for sure this time! I will be grateful when elections are over. I am really grateful that we are not involved in everything right now. It is so nice to be in the world but of the world. I hear about everything sometimes and I just want to cry because of how crazy and wicked the world is becoming. That's why it is so important for us to prepare for that which lies ahead. We need to read our scriptures and constantly pray and build that firm foundation so we stand immovable when tragdey hits. I am so grateful for the hope that we find in Christ and in his gospel. I so grateful to know that have the truth and that we know that the best is yet to come. I am amazed at how much I learn everyday. I am working to finish the Book of Mormon 2 more times before the year ends. Once in Spanish and once in english. As I read the Book of Mormon I am looking for teaching skills that will help me as a missionary. I am so amazed at much is in there. It really is applicable to every situation you just have to look. I know that as I continue to read the Book of Mormon I will find what I need to learn to help me and to help those around me. Sometimes in companion study we will prepare a lesson for someone and find scriptures to share with a specific person but then we won't even share them with that person. We share them at a different time and place then we were expecting. We never who the Lord is preparing us for and how grateful we can be when we have read those passages to help us help someone else. We must always be prepared so we don't let those moments pass us by. I love you all so much and miss you so much! I couldn't do this without your love and support! I am so grateful for the best family! You really are the greatest blessing anyone could ask for! Thank you and know that I love you more than I can express!

Photos

LA Temple

So I was not thinking when I posted the pics. Some are MTC, some are in Long Beach, not in order. OOPS!

MTC

Frist Baptism, like a week after she had been there. Gary, she tells us all about him in her letters.

MTC, I think right before they left.

The district

Week 12

She's been out for three months...

Well another week has passed! Today marks 4 weeks in Long Beach! I can hardly believe it! I know I say this all the time but where does the time go? You truly have to live in the moment or you will miss everything. Sorry the letters didn't come til yesterday. I put them in the mail on Wednesday. They must have been off with the holiday. Anyway I am doing so great! It has been a pretty good week. Thursday was fall cleaning. It was a lot of work! They gave us 3 hours and we didn't even finish. We had to wash all the walls and floors, the fridge and freezer, the oven, the inside and outside of the cupboards. I'm sure we smelled like cleaning for the rest of the day. We didn't go out until 5 that night. We had district meeting and then weekly planning and then cleaning. Mucho tiempo en nuestro casa! We taught the plan of salvation to Mireya and her kids and Samuel. The kids were pretty excited about the visual aid I had made. They asked a lot of questions and they are bright kids. They could explain the whole thing by the end of the lesson. They came to church on Sunday but didn't enjoy it very much. The primary program is next Sunday so they were practicing in primary and it was pretty boring for them. I hope that it didn't scare them away but we will see. We are teaching them again this week so hopefully all will go well. We taught a less active family by playing Jenga. They had never seen the game before and were a little stressed everytime they pulled a block out. It was pretty entertaining. We taught them that the little things make a difference in how firm our foundation is. Reading the scriptures, praying and going to church help us build a strong foundation. If we have a strong foundation we won't fall as easily when the hard times come. We shared Helaman 5:12. I have a testimony of the small things and know that we gain power and strength everyday to help us through the daily temptations we receive. It makes a bigger difference than we know. The change is subtle whether it is for the good or bad. We don't realize the strength we are building or not building until the storm hits. It is better to be firm in our testimony so they we don't fall. We also met with another less active family who fed us lunch. They had already eaten and had a meal prepared for more than 2 and were constantly telling us to just keep eating. They sent us home with leftovers and told us not to be shy. Me especially. I just wasn't very hungry and I feel bad taking all the food home. I look like a person who is never fed. On Sunday we had dinner with a member who almost fixed hamburgers and fries but received revelation to have steak and baked potatoes. I don't know what I am going to do when it really happens. I am always so nervous but luckily it isn't a popular missionary meal. Don't worry I won't eat it until I get the ok that the diet is over. So in district meeting the other day we did a role play where we had to practice resolving doubts. My companion had the doubt of why we needed more scripture. She just kept going so I finally said, We are not perfect so we need the word of God. The elders said thanks and then shared some scriptures with us in 2 Nephi 28:30 and 29:6-10. It was pretty funny because sister Colwell was like, whose side are you on? At the end of Elder Salmon's slam he turned to his companion Elder Anderson and all he said was Es Verdad(It's true). We were all laughing. Elder Anderson came to the field 2 days after me but did his MTC training over a year ago so his spanish is rusty. I thought I had it bad. I don't complain anymore. I am glad that we can just laugh. The elders had told us of when they had contacted someone a couple of weeks ago and this lady said she didn't need anymore than the bible. That's why this story is so funny. Sorry if isn't as funny to you. The rest of the week we have come across those scriptures so many times. Every time we just laugh and we know that we need more than just the bible. I didn't have any public spanglish prayers this week but it did come up when we were at the wilson's for lunch on Saturday. It seems I will never live it down. All is well, good good times. We met a lady knocking the other day. Her name is Rosa. She had actually called in that morning to the Referral center to order a Finding Faith in Jesus Christ DVD. We hadn't even received the referral yet. We taught her yesterday and she had many questions. She asked about baptism and I had a picture of the LA temple and so she asked if she could go there. It was great to teach someone who had so much interest and was involved in the lesson. When we would ask herquestions she would answer and remember what we were talking about. She truly understood. We are going back on Thursday and are hopeful that she will be a solid investigator. Gary continues to progress. We are teaching one of his neighbors this week. He is already a missionary. He has learned that when he is talking about the church that he doesn't say mormon but latter day saint. The other day I called him to set up an appointment and he said "I'm just reading in Macaroni(moroni) and he has some recipes I am interested in". He is so funny. He should be receiving the preisthood soon which he is very excited for. We were telling him about the MTC and the teaching evaluation center and he was very excited. He said how many missionaries do I get? He wants to come to Salt Lake one day and I told him of all the places we could go and the things we could do. He is excited to go to the temple. It is so great to see his love and desire grow. He is a great example to me. Well it is time to go but know that I love all of you and miss you so much! I am loving being a missionary and being able to touch the lives of these sweet people! You are in my prayers always! Love you!Hermana Mickelsen

Week 11

Hello! Sorry you didn't get your letters, I promise I sent them. You will probably get them today. I didn't know yesterday was a holiday, the joy of being involved in the work and not the world. I didn't get them in the mail on Wednesday cause I didn't have stamps but I do now so it won't happen this week. You will hear from me 3 times this week! Lucky you! Well this week has been good. A lot of knocking still but all is well. It is getting better and I just have to remember that the worst thing they can do is say no. All we are asked to do is invite and share and the rest is up to them. On Sunday Gary was confirmed and it was wonderful. He is so great and I love seeing his testimony grow. The gospel truly changes our lives as we look to Christ and live. We had 2 investigators drop us this week which was hard. It was too big of a change for them. We did what we could and planted the seed so now we just have to wait for it to grow in their hearts. We visited a less active member named Junior Masoe. He just got out of the habit and said that he wanted to return. His wife isn't a member and he has 3 daughters who are old enough to be baptized. It is a golden family and we hope that we can get the firing going. We are meeting with them for dinner this Thursday and are hopeful that this is the family that we have been looking for. Today has been wonderful already because we went to the Los Angeles Temple. It is beautiful! We got up super early(430) in order to make it to the 630 session. It was so wonderful! The spirit was enriching and the temple is just so beautiful. It reminded me a lot of the Salt Lake Temple. I took lots of pictures which I will be sending home today. I am sad that we only get to go to the temple every 6 months but I will make up for it and treasure the times I do get to go. Maybe next time we will go to Newport. It is getting pretty hazy out here. The Santa Ana winds were supposed to change and pick up yesterday and you can see a difference. It hasn't bothered me yet and I hope that it doesn't the pollution makes for a pretty sunset though. The sun was starting to come up when we were going into the temple this morning and I really wanted to watch it but we didn't have time. There were some funny things that happened this week. I'm sure you will all enjoy these brilliant moments of mine. One night I was backing up Sister Colwell( we lucky junior companions get to be backup guides) and I was walking backwards and ran into the car behind me and almost fell over. I just see my companions head drop and knew that I had been seen. I got back in the car and she tried to play a straight face but tears were in her eyes and we just busted out laughing. It was pretty funny. The next day we were having lunch with the Wilson's and Brother Wilson called on me to say the prayer. I started out fine and all was going well. I went to say please bless and started to say por favor but stopped and continued in english. I tried so hard to not laugh and took a lot to laugh. I barely said amen and elder Anderson and Sister Colwell just started laughing. Elder Salmon was completely clueless so we told him what we were laughing at and he started laughing as well. It was a good laugh and they give me a hard time about it as much as they can. It's a good sign that my brain is finally thinking in Spanish and coming natural. When we pray we do it in spanish always so it is harder to pray in english only. The spanish is getting better. Reading the Book of Mormon in Spanish out loud everyday definitely helps and my mind picks it up faster now. I don't have to think about it as much anymore. I need to teach more and practice more. I am following conversations better but I still get lost. One day it will be ok and I will understand without even knowing that I did. I got a letter from Darin and Drake this week. It was fun to hear from them both. I love being able to compare and share our mission experiences with each other. I can't believe that this transfer will be over in a couple of weeks. Time just keeps going by. It is weird to not see the leaves change and have the snow fall. It doesn't get a little chilly at night but it is relatively warm compared to what I am used to. The mission is great and I love the work. I love being able to read and learn so much. I am learning a lot about church history right now and I love it. We are truly blessed to live in this day and age. I love you all and miss you! I pray for you always and I am reminded of you everywhere I go. Whether is something I see or something I hear, I remember a good time or a lesson that I have learned. Thanks for all of your great examples and love. I promise to get you letters in the mail when I normally do so that you can get them on schedule. Love you!!!!


*We get an email from Steph every Tuesday and then usually letter either Friday or Saturday. This week we didn't get them cause she didn't have any stamps on Wednesday when she usually sends them out. Monday was a holiday so no mail. We got our letters Tuesday night at six. All of us we anxious to get her letters.
It's funny how you get into a routine, then when it doesn't happen that way it throws everything off. We look forward to the hearing from her twice a week. (I'm sure that this is only the first time it will happen) As does she, she loves to get mail just like we do. We do our best, which is not as good as she does.

Week 10

Hello! Well this week went by a whole lot faster than the first. I am sure it will continue to fly. I honestly can't believe how quickly the time goes. It was great to receive letters! I love getting letters and they always seem to come right when I need them. Well this week we didn't really have a lot of measured success. We taught a fair amount of lessons but we had a lot of appointments fall through and a lot of time to knock doors! My favorite part ;). It is getting a lot easier to talk to people but it still gets the heart rate going pretty quickly. The other day someone started speaking spanish and my companion nudged me to talk and then I heard the daughter speak in english so I started speaking in English. A little case of stage fright. Someday I will be able to spit those words right out no problem but that time hasn't come quite yet. I am getting more confident but I am still so lost in the conversations. Me and my companion have a recap afterwards and sometimes I pick up pretty well and other times I am way off. I have started reading the Book of Mormon in Spanish as we drive. Hermana Colwell says that my spanish has really improved. I have faith that I as read I will be able to speak better. I am trying to practice as much as I can but it can be hard. My english sounds funny because a lot times the way we say things in english doesn't translate into spanish so we have to use different phrasing. For example, in english we say When can we come by?, in spanish When can we pass by? So now when I am talking to people in English I say When can we pass by. So don't laugh too hard when I get home. Anyway conference was so wonderful! I really enjoyed it! My companion and I were counting down the days and were sad that it came and went so quickly. Now we will count down the days until we get the ensign with the talks. I really enjoyed President Monson's talk about change and living for today. In the mission it is really easy to stuck in the routine and forget to enjoy everything around you. It hit home that I need to live in and enjoy the spiritual blessings that I will receive as a missionary. There will never be another time like this in my life and it is preparing me for the rest of my life. I also loved Elder Wirthlin. It is important for us to remember to be positive and laugh and keep an eternal perspective when adversity hits. Most times we can only see part of the picture that our life is making. Each experience that we have is part of a beautiful canvas. Our Heavenly Father is creating this beautiful picture of our lives and knows exactly what we need to paint to make it perfect. We need to keep an eternal perspective because we know it will be beautiful in the end. It is also important for us to treat others with kindness. We never know what is going on in their lives and we don't know how our interaction can bless their lives. We need to be Christlike always so that everyone can receive the blessing of Christ in their lives. Sometimes all they need is a smile or a friendly wave. Let us bless the lives of those around us by striving to be like Christ and loving everyone. I enjoyed Elder Anderson's talk about knowing enough. It is easy to feel sometimes that I don't know enough to be teaching but really when you think about it, all you need is a testimony. If you have a testimony the spirit will come and it will do the work in the hearts of those you are teaching. It is a great blessing to know that Jesus Christ lives and that He died for us. It is a great blessing to know that God speaks to us and guides us through our lives if we seek Him. It is a great blessing to know that because of Jesus Christ, families can be together forever. What else matters? Nothing because the church is true. I wished I could have gone to preisthood and seen my friends in the choir. Most of my zone was singing and they found out right before we left. I miss the friendships from the MTC but I am making new ones quick here. Gary made it out to all of the sessions on Saturday. We didn't see him Sunday but I am sure that he was worn out from 6 hours of church in 1 day. I get overwhelmed sometimes with all of the spiritual rejuvenation from conference. I almost cried when they started the broadcast. I felt close to home but yet so far away. We watched conference at the church. It was quite different for me to not watch in the comfort of home but I guess we are pretty spoiled in Utah. I am so grateful for the gospel and that we are so fortunate to live so close. We have one investigator right now who is pretty solid. We go to her house every couple of days and teach her. Her name is Matilde. She is such a sweetheart. She couldn't come to conference cause her husband was sick. Hopefully she will make to church this Sunday. We are teaching her english too. It is a program we call 'daily dose'. When they were reading the were reading real slow and I could sympathize with them. I read spanish pretty slow but I am getting better at the accents and tenses. When we were finished teaching last night we were closing with a prayer and Matilde's son came in and asked if we could say a prayer for him and his wife who were looking for employment. It was great to see the desire. They weren't even in the same room but they knew that God would answer their prayers. We also were able to teach another family Mireya and Samuel. We usually teach them in Spanglish. We go back and forth through the whole lesson. In the lesson I commited her to living 100% by reading in the book of mormon for 5 min, praying and smiling everyday. I truly believe that doing these 3 things makes the biggest difference. I know that the little things have changed my life. Prayer and scripture study give us such great power that we don't even realize until we are missing those things. Thank you all for your love and support. It always gets me through a hard day. I am so blessed to have such wonderful family. I pray for you always. I love you so much and look forward to your words of wisdom and love each week. It always what I need to hear and I know it is because I have a Heavenly Father who loves me and sends His angels on either side of the veil to push missionary work forward. Love you!

Week 9

It was so great to hear from all of you! It was a little sad that I didn't get very much snail mail this week! I was so excited for it to be Tuesday so I could read all your emails! What a week it has been! It has been a little slow but I think it is mostly because it is a new schedule and I just needed to get used to it. In the MTC I had a hard time falling asleep but here I hit the pillow and I am gone until 630. Except for last night, for some reason I woke 3 times. I don't know what was going on! Well I arrived in California last week around 930. My mission president and his wife and 2 elders greeted us. They were the first people I saw when I came out of the airport. They greeted me with warm smiles and a big hug from Sister Sexton. My mission president said welcome to California in Spanish and it took me a minute to realize what he was saying. I was freaking out but all was well. We talked and got our luggage and then I rode back with the Sexton's and the elders that I traveled with went with the AP's. We had a nice visit and President Sexton said that they were very surprised and excited to find out I was coming this transfer. The sisters are few in number and they thought they weren't getting a sister this transfer. The elders I came with got their calls before me so the mission knew ahead of time they were coming but I just snuck right in. I told president that I was just as surprised as they were that I was coming so soon! When we arrived at the home we went through some orientation stuff and I took a driving test and confirmed that my bike was in their garage. Sister Sexton cooked us a wonderful meal and then we waited for our trainers to come. I was replacing a sister who flew out before I arrived. My companion is Sister Colwell. She is from Sandy Utah and has a twin sister named Meagan(yes that is how she spells it) who is on a mission in Texas speaking Spanish. They entered the MTC on the same day. I think that would be fun! She hits her 1 year mark on the 3rd. Our president just told us that we would be staying in areas longer because Elder Perry said that missionaries were being transferred to often, entonces(so) I may be with her until she goes home. I am serving in the Long Beach 4th ward which has many cultures including, Cambodian, Philipino, Samoan, Spanish, and many others that I can't remember right now. We teach about half english and half spanish. I hate knocking doors because is scares me soooo much! My companion is good at making me step out of my comfort zone! In my interview with the president yesterday I just cried and said that that is the hardest thing for me. It was my biggest reservation about coming on a mission but I know that the Lord will provide a way. Everytime I think I can't do it I think of 1 Ne 3:7. My mission president told me that it happens to everyone and that I am normal. Imagine that! He truly is an inspired man. I really love his counsel already and know that I needed to serve under him. He has a great vision for this mission and I know that I will be blessed as I follow his counsel and do all that he asks. We live in a backhouse behind a member so we get to do our laundry and wash our car at the house. It is really nice and the Sherman's are always looking out for us. They are very nice! Que mas? Our lessons went pretty well this week. We didn't teach a whole lot but we did have some great lessons when we did teach. The first time we taught I froze and I forgot my testimony. I had no idea what to say and I forgot everything I had learned in the MTC. It is getting better, I have less anxiety. My first lesson was to a man named Anthony. They found him knocking and his wife's funeral was in two days. He feels like we are his angels. I am very excited to continue teaching him. I think we are going tonight. We did get to attend the Relief Society braodcast on Saturday. We asked the zone leaders and they said probably not and we said why? you elders go to priesthood. The president said of course they can go if they want. We were so excited! It was weird seeing the conference center and being in differentplace. It tugged on my heart a little as I saw the familiarity of home. When President Uchtdorf spoke I was taken right back to the MTC and wanted to go back. I am going to miss those Tuesday night devotionals! The meeting was exactly what I needed to hear and I loved it. I realized that I focus on my inability to speak spanish and decided that I needed to be more faithful. We had a less active come and Bishop Garlick was very excited to see her there. I felt like we should invite her so I was excited to see her come. Sunday was probably one of the longest days. It was weird going to an english ward and going to a full block of meetings. We started the day with meetings at 830. Church started at 10. In the MTC we only had relief society and sacrament meeting and they were at 10 and 145 so it was weird attending all meetings like before. We taught the gospel priniciples class which was fun. After church we went and had our study time and then went back to the stake center to get ready for our baptism. Gary is a retired cop who can barely walk. I wish I could have seen his whole conversion but it was a great way to start the mission. When he came up out the water his smile was so big. It was so great. It was my favorite part of the whole experience! He bore his testimony afterwards and he said that this church was everything that he dreamed a church should be and more. He said that he feels like he is finally home and that he has been looking for home for a long time. This work is true! It was such a wonderful experience for me! Yesterday we taught 3 spanish lessons. It is really hard for me to understand them. I can read really well and can translate when I can see the words but it really takes a lot of concentration to understand what is going on in the conversation. The first lesson was with Cesar, I asked a question and then realized that I couldn't understand his answer. Luckily at the end of his answer that I didn't understand he said I don't know why. It set me up perfectly to explain. The next lesson with Matilde, I hardly said a word. I taught the principle I was supposed to and then just listened for the other 30 minutes. The next lesson was with Josefina and I decided I was going to take a leap of faith. I started and then if I couldn't explain fully my companion would take over. I even recited the first vision in spanish. I memorized it in the MTC but I hadn't used it a lesson before. I missed a couple of words but I didn't stutter very much and I didn't miss any big parts. We got out of the lesson and Sister Colwell said that was amazing! You did so good! I felt pretty good but I have got a long ways to go. Little by little. Oh funny story. So we were teaching a spanish lady named Josefina on like wednesday or thursday and Sister Colwell asked me to read a scripture. I read it and the lady was laughing at me and was just overjoyed at my attempt to read spanish. It was pretty funny! We also had this lady come to the door when we were knocking and all we hear is No me gusta! It was pretty funny. Well overall everything is going well. I really love the ward and it is fun to actually teach real lessons even though it is so scary. I love this gospel and know that this work is real. I know that I have been called of God and I know that if I am faithful and obedient I will be blessed for my efforts. He has prepared a way for me and I will be able to accomplish this work. I love all of you and hope that all is well! I love being in California but it really doesn't feel like I am here. It's hard to explain but it feels like you are in this surreal world. Not knowing what is going on around you in the world helps you stay focused and all you worry about is the gospel. I love it! We get to go the LA temple this transfer so I am very excited! We only get to go twice a year and at the end of our missions. I feel very lucky to start out with a visit to the temple and a baptism. I will talk to you later! Love ya and miss you! Hope to hear from all of you!

Mission President

We recieved a letter from Pres. Sexton yesterday, he told us the light that Steph brought with her is so great! Just look at that smile. YAY! for Long Beach!

Non MTC Mission!

We heard from Steph yesterday saying she made it to Long Beach, she thinks that her companion and her will get along.  When she got there the Mission President, his wife, and assistants were all there to greet them.  They feed them lunch and gave them the low down.  The Mission Pres, said that the area she is serving in she will use her spanish about 40%.  Which makes her a little nervous.   She and her companion went and taught a lady where they talked Spanglish.  The lady asked if she understand her, Steph's response, "a poco" meaning a little, they spoke english the rest of the time.  They then went to a guy, who had just lost his wife about a month ago, they taught him about the first principle and the Atonement, he told them that they really lifted his spirits.  She is excited to see him grow.  

She also told us that only family is suppose to email. She wants to be obedient.   So here is her address of her apartment.  She would love to hear from you all.  

3647 Lewis Ave

Long Beach, Ca 90807 

Headed to Long Beach

We got a call early this morning from Steph, Mom could hear her but Steph couldn't hear mom, so Steph had to call back a couple of times, but we finally talked to her. Mom and I ( Meagan) were the only ones home. It was so GREAT to hear her voice.  She is excited and nervous.  The unknown make us all very anxious.  She's excited though for the next chapter.  She was telling us about her spanish, and one day she forgot how to say good.  This is what she said "Ah, Como se dice good?" She said that she felt silly.  Good is Bueno.  She would also answer us in spanish, and that sometimes she forgets how who to spell in english.  She said that her Spanglish will be so great when she comes home.  All in all she is good, and we loved hearing her voice.  She will be in Long Beach by 1100am. WE are so proud of her!  

MTC Pictures

Cousin Drake( Elder Munns) and I. He is in Baton Rouge now
Cousin Darin(Elder Toone) and I.  He is in Jackson Mississippi. 
Sister Toronto (Jennie) and I, she is Meagan's age, and is in our home stake. She is serving in Korea.  I have been able to see a lot of friends from all over in the MTC with me.  
Hermana Hatch, Talivakala and I 
Hermana Hatch, Na'a and I
The crew! 
The boys
Some of the Girls