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!