This last week 3 of her investigators were baptized. There Aunt attended the baptism's, she is from Mantua. She called us Monday morning to tell us how sweet our Stephanie is. One comment " I didn't know you could love someone so quickly" Both her family and the family that was baptized love Steph and her sweet spirit. We are so blessed to have her in our family.
Wednesday, October 21, 2009
She's almost home!
We have heard word that she is coming home on the 29th of December! We can hardly stand ourselves. My Mom is making all kinds of plans. We are trying to figure Christmas out, and all our holiday adventures. We are SO excited to have her home. She can't think about it too much, she can't believe how fast the time has gone.
Wednesday, October 14, 2009
Week 61
October 6, 2009
Well I am staying here in Los Alamitos! I am really excited and surprised. We received a call Wednesday night telling us that Sister Lauchner would be training. I kept telling myself that I was the one leaving because it would make it easier. I didn't want to leave but I knew it was a high possibility. When we received transfer calls I was shocked when the elders told me I was staying. Sister Lauchner is headed to Cypress and is opening two wards to sisters. She will do great. She has experience in opening a new area. I was secretly hoping that I would be going back to Long Beach where I started. Sister Haycock is training again so I am now companions with her greenie, "my grandbaby". It will be fun. We actually went to school together and graduated the same year. Small world in the church. It will be fun. This will be her second transfer. One of the Elders in my first district is now my zone leader. We haven't served in the same area since last year. I am super excited! He is a good elder. We were both greenies together. So Sister Lauchner is super sad to leave because this is her greenie area and it is all she knows. We have a family that is getting ready to be baptized in 2 weeks! They have been meeting with the missionaries for like 6 years! It would have been hard for either one of us to leave. The mom and 2 of the girls that are being baptized wrote a letter to President asking him to give permission for sister Lauchner to come. They gave them to him on Sunday at general conference. I forgot that they live in our stake and that they would be at the stake center to watch conference. It was fun to be there with them. They are so good! So we were talking to Sara and teaching her and had planned to set a date for her to be baptized in November. We didn't want to rush her. It is always good to set it when they feel they will be ready. Then essentially they are making the choice and not us. Less pushy. So at first she was like I don't think that I could do that and then out of the blue she asked how long it was until the other girls were being baptized. We told her it was 2 weeks and she asked if she could be ready by then. We told her that she could be if she wanted and she said lets do that. We were taken back. So crazy! So now all 3 of them will be baptized in 2 Saturdays! Their parents told us Sunday that they want to be baptized as well. They have some bigger obstacles to overcome but I have complete faith that it will happen. The spirit was amazing on Sunday. They talked about having a get together in Utah for a family sealing. WE WERE SO EXCITED!!! I just love this family so much. I know that we were called here to help them see that they can be members of the church. The mom's twin sister is a member and they are coming down for the event. It is all very exciting. There wasn't a dry eye in the house. We were all touched by the spirit and I know without a shadow of a doubt that this is God's work. Everytime that I leave their house I am just in awe that I am so priveleged to be a part of this family and their conversion. So other than this big change the highlight of the the week was conference. It was so amazing! I have been praying and praying to have some questions answered and how I can finish my mission strong. I was overwhelmed at how each talk answered my questions in one way or another over and over again. I learned so much! If we prepare ourselves we will be uplifted and edified. The speakers all did a wonderful job. Elder Holland was very powerful. I was so moved that I couldn't take notes. He had my complete attention. I was hoping that our investigators wouldn't be scared by his intensity. One of my favorite talks about the ulimate operation. Our spiritual conversion is much like a heart transplant. If we don't care for our spirit it will be rejected and it will bring us farther from God. I loved President Monson and his desire for us to do service. We went over to our recent converts house yesterday to say goodbye and she had a jar of "Warm Fuzzies". I asked her if that was what it was and she told me yes and that she planned to use it with her 4 year old twins to help them do nice things for each other. It was amazing. It is so great to see your converts following the prophet and making changes in their lives. We get great parenting counsel. It will be interesting to see how this transfer plays out. I hope that I know enough. It is always a little intimidating to take over an area in such a short time. You always worry that you are going to forget someone. I know that Heavenly Father won't let me mess up but it will take effort on my part. Yesterday we were running around all over to say goodbye to people. Everyone is sad that Sister Lauchner is leaving. I am too. We have had some good times. We didn't always agree but we all know that we are different people. I have learned a lot this transfer. God is always helping us to remember to be humble. We asked an old man when he was going to give up his beer and he just looked at us and took a second to think and then said ".....NOPE!" It was the funniest thing ever. Sister Fannin's daughter came for the weekend to help her mom. It was great to meet her. She doesn't live too far from SLC. She actually flew home today with all of the departing missionaries. Life is good! I love my mission and I love being able to serve here in Los Alamitos. Sidenote, there is a sister serving in the Philipines from this ward. She just arrived there and this week she has seen 2 pythons and found a rat in her kitchen! Her mom says that in some areas she walks in chest high water because of the flooding. She is wearing mostly her service clothes and helping people who have lost their homes. Mom are you glad that I am in America? I love you all so much and hope that you have a great week! Thanks for all of your love and support! Love Sister Mickelsen
Well I am staying here in Los Alamitos! I am really excited and surprised. We received a call Wednesday night telling us that Sister Lauchner would be training. I kept telling myself that I was the one leaving because it would make it easier. I didn't want to leave but I knew it was a high possibility. When we received transfer calls I was shocked when the elders told me I was staying. Sister Lauchner is headed to Cypress and is opening two wards to sisters. She will do great. She has experience in opening a new area. I was secretly hoping that I would be going back to Long Beach where I started. Sister Haycock is training again so I am now companions with her greenie, "my grandbaby". It will be fun. We actually went to school together and graduated the same year. Small world in the church. It will be fun. This will be her second transfer. One of the Elders in my first district is now my zone leader. We haven't served in the same area since last year. I am super excited! He is a good elder. We were both greenies together. So Sister Lauchner is super sad to leave because this is her greenie area and it is all she knows. We have a family that is getting ready to be baptized in 2 weeks! They have been meeting with the missionaries for like 6 years! It would have been hard for either one of us to leave. The mom and 2 of the girls that are being baptized wrote a letter to President asking him to give permission for sister Lauchner to come. They gave them to him on Sunday at general conference. I forgot that they live in our stake and that they would be at the stake center to watch conference. It was fun to be there with them. They are so good! So we were talking to Sara and teaching her and had planned to set a date for her to be baptized in November. We didn't want to rush her. It is always good to set it when they feel they will be ready. Then essentially they are making the choice and not us. Less pushy. So at first she was like I don't think that I could do that and then out of the blue she asked how long it was until the other girls were being baptized. We told her it was 2 weeks and she asked if she could be ready by then. We told her that she could be if she wanted and she said lets do that. We were taken back. So crazy! So now all 3 of them will be baptized in 2 Saturdays! Their parents told us Sunday that they want to be baptized as well. They have some bigger obstacles to overcome but I have complete faith that it will happen. The spirit was amazing on Sunday. They talked about having a get together in Utah for a family sealing. WE WERE SO EXCITED!!! I just love this family so much. I know that we were called here to help them see that they can be members of the church. The mom's twin sister is a member and they are coming down for the event. It is all very exciting. There wasn't a dry eye in the house. We were all touched by the spirit and I know without a shadow of a doubt that this is God's work. Everytime that I leave their house I am just in awe that I am so priveleged to be a part of this family and their conversion. So other than this big change the highlight of the the week was conference. It was so amazing! I have been praying and praying to have some questions answered and how I can finish my mission strong. I was overwhelmed at how each talk answered my questions in one way or another over and over again. I learned so much! If we prepare ourselves we will be uplifted and edified. The speakers all did a wonderful job. Elder Holland was very powerful. I was so moved that I couldn't take notes. He had my complete attention. I was hoping that our investigators wouldn't be scared by his intensity. One of my favorite talks about the ulimate operation. Our spiritual conversion is much like a heart transplant. If we don't care for our spirit it will be rejected and it will bring us farther from God. I loved President Monson and his desire for us to do service. We went over to our recent converts house yesterday to say goodbye and she had a jar of "Warm Fuzzies". I asked her if that was what it was and she told me yes and that she planned to use it with her 4 year old twins to help them do nice things for each other. It was amazing. It is so great to see your converts following the prophet and making changes in their lives. We get great parenting counsel. It will be interesting to see how this transfer plays out. I hope that I know enough. It is always a little intimidating to take over an area in such a short time. You always worry that you are going to forget someone. I know that Heavenly Father won't let me mess up but it will take effort on my part. Yesterday we were running around all over to say goodbye to people. Everyone is sad that Sister Lauchner is leaving. I am too. We have had some good times. We didn't always agree but we all know that we are different people. I have learned a lot this transfer. God is always helping us to remember to be humble. We asked an old man when he was going to give up his beer and he just looked at us and took a second to think and then said ".....NOPE!" It was the funniest thing ever. Sister Fannin's daughter came for the weekend to help her mom. It was great to meet her. She doesn't live too far from SLC. She actually flew home today with all of the departing missionaries. Life is good! I love my mission and I love being able to serve here in Los Alamitos. Sidenote, there is a sister serving in the Philipines from this ward. She just arrived there and this week she has seen 2 pythons and found a rat in her kitchen! Her mom says that in some areas she walks in chest high water because of the flooding. She is wearing mostly her service clothes and helping people who have lost their homes. Mom are you glad that I am in America? I love you all so much and hope that you have a great week! Thanks for all of your love and support! Love Sister Mickelsen
Week 60
September 29, 2009
Hello everyone! I can hardly believe that another week has come and gone! It seems to speed up everyday. This week has been great! We have had some great success as well as some funny memories to go along with it. So I will start with a funny story. So we live with a sweet widow and every Friday morning after studies we do some service for her. This week we helped her clean and vaccum in preparation for her daughter who is coming tomorrow. After we finished Sister Lauchner asked if she could fix the shower. It did not turn to cold at all when we had taken showers. Sister Fannin was glad to show us how to fix the problem. So we gathered up the tools and all huddled in the bathroom to watch how it was done. We began by taking apart the handle to get to the shower valve. We got a thorough description of how a shower valve works. I had never seen one or knew how it worked. So we were about the the valve and we were removing the last part. Can anyone see where this is going? We took out the part that keeps it intact and the shower valve started to come out by itself. Then all of a sudden it shoots out and water is spraying everywhere! Sister Fannin's face was priceless! She was very startled and she lifted her finger and said quickly " I need to turn off the water!" She ran outside soaking wet to do the job. Sister Lauchner and I just started laughing so hard! It was one of the greatest moments ever! We couldn't stop laughing. When Sister Fannin came back in she said. "Rule number one when doing plumbing is to turn off the water." We all started laughing again. Oh it was so funny! I was reading some directions and the first thing is said was to shut off the water supply, I read it out loud and we laughed some more. Sister Lauchner is excited to watch that one in heaven. We are still laughing about it today. Wednesday we had a great lesson with Jesse. He is a 17 year old that we met last Sunday at the Bakker's. We taught him outside because no one else was home. It happened to be 104 that day. It was hot! But we survived. We came to church on Sunday. We also taught him Sunday night and we will be teaching him again tonight. He is making great progress. I pray that the spirit will continue to touch his heart and guide him in this precious time of his life. We had a good lesson as well with Janet. Austin(her son) didn't come home for the lesson but that is ok. We finished teaching the plan of Salvation. Janet is so great. She always tells us that she wants to be as happy as we are. The gospel truly does make a huge difference in our happiness. It is the only way to have happiness in this troubled world. I loved the Relief Society Broadcast! It was so great! I am super excited for general conference this weekend. I know that we are so blessed because we have these great men who lead us and love us just as the Savior does. We had 2 investigators come to the broadcast! Woohoo! They both enjoyed it. One of them was Jackie the mother of Brandy. Brandy was baptized a couple of weeks ago. Jackie has been very busy and stressed and so we were excited that she was able to come and feel the spirit. She was taking notes and just loving it. I am grateful for the joy and peace the gospel can bring. The other person that came was Sara. She is a sweetheart. I was glad that she came. She enjoyed it and was asking a lot of questions. We ate some dinner afterwards. Sister Sexton was there because we are in their stake. I also saw Sister Gallik. That was a nice surprise. She was more surprised to see me because she didn't know that I had been transferred. She is busy in school and doing well. I am so grateful for the short 2 weeks I had with her as my companion. The Beaudoin girls and their mom were all at church on Sunday. It was a great meeting and the spirit was there. I think that all who came enjoyed it. The chorister asked me last week if I could play a musical number in November. I told him that I would I was still here. I told him that transfers were coming and that I might be moved. He saw me on Sunday and his wife said that she had reported to him that I was staying. They were disappointed when I told them that we still hadn't had transfers. It is hard to believe that another transfer has passed. I don't like to think about how many I have left. I just keep enjoying every minute and do the best that I can. Sister Lauchner and I have tried to predict this next transfer. Two sisters will be training. She seems to think that it will be me because I am the oldest. I know that age in the mission has nothing to do with it. President will match them perfectly with the sister that they need. It would be a great privilege to train again but I also know that I will be happy to do whatever the Lord wants. I have felt over and over again with each change that I am where the Lord needs and my companion is exactly who I need to help me grow and be better. Each transfer has been filled with challenges but I have also grown and changed so much because of those challenges. The gospel is true. This is the Lord's work and we are all children of a loving Heavenly Father. That will never change. He will always love us and guide us as we seek His help. We can't do His work alone no matter who we are. God lives. I know it with all my heart! I hope you all enjoy this great conference weekend! It will be evidence that God loves you and is aware of you and your life if you take the time to prepare yourself to receive that witness. I love you all and pray for you daily! Have a great week! Until next time!Love Sister Mickelsen
Hello everyone! I can hardly believe that another week has come and gone! It seems to speed up everyday. This week has been great! We have had some great success as well as some funny memories to go along with it. So I will start with a funny story. So we live with a sweet widow and every Friday morning after studies we do some service for her. This week we helped her clean and vaccum in preparation for her daughter who is coming tomorrow. After we finished Sister Lauchner asked if she could fix the shower. It did not turn to cold at all when we had taken showers. Sister Fannin was glad to show us how to fix the problem. So we gathered up the tools and all huddled in the bathroom to watch how it was done. We began by taking apart the handle to get to the shower valve. We got a thorough description of how a shower valve works. I had never seen one or knew how it worked. So we were about the the valve and we were removing the last part. Can anyone see where this is going? We took out the part that keeps it intact and the shower valve started to come out by itself. Then all of a sudden it shoots out and water is spraying everywhere! Sister Fannin's face was priceless! She was very startled and she lifted her finger and said quickly " I need to turn off the water!" She ran outside soaking wet to do the job. Sister Lauchner and I just started laughing so hard! It was one of the greatest moments ever! We couldn't stop laughing. When Sister Fannin came back in she said. "Rule number one when doing plumbing is to turn off the water." We all started laughing again. Oh it was so funny! I was reading some directions and the first thing is said was to shut off the water supply, I read it out loud and we laughed some more. Sister Lauchner is excited to watch that one in heaven. We are still laughing about it today. Wednesday we had a great lesson with Jesse. He is a 17 year old that we met last Sunday at the Bakker's. We taught him outside because no one else was home. It happened to be 104 that day. It was hot! But we survived. We came to church on Sunday. We also taught him Sunday night and we will be teaching him again tonight. He is making great progress. I pray that the spirit will continue to touch his heart and guide him in this precious time of his life. We had a good lesson as well with Janet. Austin(her son) didn't come home for the lesson but that is ok. We finished teaching the plan of Salvation. Janet is so great. She always tells us that she wants to be as happy as we are. The gospel truly does make a huge difference in our happiness. It is the only way to have happiness in this troubled world. I loved the Relief Society Broadcast! It was so great! I am super excited for general conference this weekend. I know that we are so blessed because we have these great men who lead us and love us just as the Savior does. We had 2 investigators come to the broadcast! Woohoo! They both enjoyed it. One of them was Jackie the mother of Brandy. Brandy was baptized a couple of weeks ago. Jackie has been very busy and stressed and so we were excited that she was able to come and feel the spirit. She was taking notes and just loving it. I am grateful for the joy and peace the gospel can bring. The other person that came was Sara. She is a sweetheart. I was glad that she came. She enjoyed it and was asking a lot of questions. We ate some dinner afterwards. Sister Sexton was there because we are in their stake. I also saw Sister Gallik. That was a nice surprise. She was more surprised to see me because she didn't know that I had been transferred. She is busy in school and doing well. I am so grateful for the short 2 weeks I had with her as my companion. The Beaudoin girls and their mom were all at church on Sunday. It was a great meeting and the spirit was there. I think that all who came enjoyed it. The chorister asked me last week if I could play a musical number in November. I told him that I would I was still here. I told him that transfers were coming and that I might be moved. He saw me on Sunday and his wife said that she had reported to him that I was staying. They were disappointed when I told them that we still hadn't had transfers. It is hard to believe that another transfer has passed. I don't like to think about how many I have left. I just keep enjoying every minute and do the best that I can. Sister Lauchner and I have tried to predict this next transfer. Two sisters will be training. She seems to think that it will be me because I am the oldest. I know that age in the mission has nothing to do with it. President will match them perfectly with the sister that they need. It would be a great privilege to train again but I also know that I will be happy to do whatever the Lord wants. I have felt over and over again with each change that I am where the Lord needs and my companion is exactly who I need to help me grow and be better. Each transfer has been filled with challenges but I have also grown and changed so much because of those challenges. The gospel is true. This is the Lord's work and we are all children of a loving Heavenly Father. That will never change. He will always love us and guide us as we seek His help. We can't do His work alone no matter who we are. God lives. I know it with all my heart! I hope you all enjoy this great conference weekend! It will be evidence that God loves you and is aware of you and your life if you take the time to prepare yourself to receive that witness. I love you all and pray for you daily! Have a great week! Until next time!Love Sister Mickelsen
Week 59
September 22, 2009
Well this week has been amazing! I have definitely seen and felt the love of a Heavenly Father. He is always there helping us along the way. At church we had 9 investigators at church. The entire Beaudoin family came! It was so wonderful to see them there! They are progressing well and we continue to teach and prepare them. We reset their baptismal date for after transfers. I am hoping that we will both still be here. I know that they want us both here but we told them that there is chance we won't. They asked if we could come back and we told them that we couldn't. I told them that I could come back after my mission though and spend as much time as I wanted. I promised them a sleepover and they were jumping up and down. It was pretty funny. It made me feel good. The highlight of the week though was yesterday. We had a mission tour and it was AMAZING! It was exactly what I needed to boost me up! It came straight from heaven. Elder Craig C. Christensen of the seventy came to speak to us. We met with half of the mission in Westminster. 6 of the 8 sisters were there. It was fun to see them! Such sweet spirits! Before the meeting started we all lined up in zones in the gym. We sang some hymns while we waited. President and his wife came and greeted us and asked how we all were individually and then Elder Christensen and his wife did the same. Sister Christensen gave us big hugs and thanked us for doing this hard work. She held our hands and just told us how much she loved us. Tears filled my eyes and I felt such a genuine love for and from this great woman! Elder Christensen asked where we were from and how long we had been out. He also asked me if it was what I expected. I told him no, that it was much better than I expected. It is the truth. We waited in the chapel until he was done greeting all of the other missionaries. We heard from a member of our mission presidency and then from Sister Sexton. Then Elder Christensen talked to us. He is an incredible man. He is so full of the spirit. One thing that I really loved was he talked about our calling. He told us that we had been called and prepared from before the foundation of the world. He told us that Heavenly Father knew where we would serve. Someone asked him how the timing worked if a young man didn't go when he was 19. He said that timing doesn't matter to God. We have time in this world to help us have structure and to learn. God doesn't need that. He adjusts when we mess up. His plan is still perfect for each one of us and He has it all planned to succeed. Even if and when we mess up He is right there to help us back and to bless us. I thought that was incredible. How blessed we are to have someone in control who is merciful and loving and always waiting to bless us. He told a story about when he was first called to be a mission president in Mexico City. He told us that he got several phone calls about missionaries that had been assaulted or injured in some degree. He finally told Heavenly Father that he couldn't do it. It was too much. He said the answer came like this, "I am doing the work, all you have to do is listen." It is true. I have seen it in my own mission. Any baptism you can see that God placed that person in your path and you were just the mouthpiece of the message. It is incredible. I love this gospel. He told us that we all have to do the same thing to know the Lord's will for us. He said "President Monson doesn't wake up with a to do list on his pillow in the morning from the Lord." He has to study it and ponder it and ask just like the rest of us. It is always reassuring to know that we are all the same and the God takes time to talk to me just as much as anyone else. It is all dependent on us. We talked about being sanctified and how we get the glow in our eyes when we walk off that plane. He told us that its not by studying deep doctrine but by living by the spirit. The more we trust in the spirit the more we have the spirit upon us. We receive Christ in our countenance. One thing that struck home was he said that you can't apply the world to a mission. The way we succeed in the world isn't the way to be a good missionary. I have always known that but when he said it I felt the truth of that statement. The greatest calling in the world is to be a missionary. He is a true servant of God. I felt the love of my Heavenly Father as He spoke. I know that he was answering my prayers in the words he said. He was speaking by the spirit. His wife talked about the Articles of Faith. She told us to teach them because they came from a man that was closest to God. They explain the doctrines of the gospel more than I could. They are things that the world doesn't know but are what they need to know to make it in the next life. President expressed his love for each one of us. He said that he didn't have us shine our shoes and get haircuts because he wanted to impress Elder Christensen. He wanted us to look as good as we are. He wanted to inside to show on the outside. Every time I hear him speak I know that this is the mission I am supposed to serve in. I sang in a quartet. It felt good to sing. I am amazed that we could meet together in the morning and practice for 5-10 min and be able to sing. The Lord helped us because he knew that we wouldn't be able to take the time to practice because we had a more important work to do. After we finished we ate lunch. One of the stakes had prepared a Thanksgiving meal for us. It was really good. They brought out pie and I wasn't going to get any. President saw that none of sisters were going to get pie so he came over to tell us it was there. We said we know and he said do you want me to bring the cart over? We told him no. He was worried that the elders would eat all of it and that we wouldn't get any. So we got some and ate it. I couldn't eat it all. I didn't even eat my whole plate of food. Elder and Sister Christensen sat with us. It was very enjoyable to sit and eat with them. They are great people. They told us about their schedules and how busy they are. He said that Mondays are their "P days". She said, "He is spending his 'p day' with you". It was a lovely experience. When they got up and left, Sister Haycock said" We just ate lunch with a general authority! That is so cool!" I just laughed inside. It was an incredible experience! I love all you and hope that you have a wonderful week. I know that this gospel is true with all my heart. I have seen evidence of it everyday of my life. Until next week...Love Sister Mickelsen
Well this week has been amazing! I have definitely seen and felt the love of a Heavenly Father. He is always there helping us along the way. At church we had 9 investigators at church. The entire Beaudoin family came! It was so wonderful to see them there! They are progressing well and we continue to teach and prepare them. We reset their baptismal date for after transfers. I am hoping that we will both still be here. I know that they want us both here but we told them that there is chance we won't. They asked if we could come back and we told them that we couldn't. I told them that I could come back after my mission though and spend as much time as I wanted. I promised them a sleepover and they were jumping up and down. It was pretty funny. It made me feel good. The highlight of the week though was yesterday. We had a mission tour and it was AMAZING! It was exactly what I needed to boost me up! It came straight from heaven. Elder Craig C. Christensen of the seventy came to speak to us. We met with half of the mission in Westminster. 6 of the 8 sisters were there. It was fun to see them! Such sweet spirits! Before the meeting started we all lined up in zones in the gym. We sang some hymns while we waited. President and his wife came and greeted us and asked how we all were individually and then Elder Christensen and his wife did the same. Sister Christensen gave us big hugs and thanked us for doing this hard work. She held our hands and just told us how much she loved us. Tears filled my eyes and I felt such a genuine love for and from this great woman! Elder Christensen asked where we were from and how long we had been out. He also asked me if it was what I expected. I told him no, that it was much better than I expected. It is the truth. We waited in the chapel until he was done greeting all of the other missionaries. We heard from a member of our mission presidency and then from Sister Sexton. Then Elder Christensen talked to us. He is an incredible man. He is so full of the spirit. One thing that I really loved was he talked about our calling. He told us that we had been called and prepared from before the foundation of the world. He told us that Heavenly Father knew where we would serve. Someone asked him how the timing worked if a young man didn't go when he was 19. He said that timing doesn't matter to God. We have time in this world to help us have structure and to learn. God doesn't need that. He adjusts when we mess up. His plan is still perfect for each one of us and He has it all planned to succeed. Even if and when we mess up He is right there to help us back and to bless us. I thought that was incredible. How blessed we are to have someone in control who is merciful and loving and always waiting to bless us. He told a story about when he was first called to be a mission president in Mexico City. He told us that he got several phone calls about missionaries that had been assaulted or injured in some degree. He finally told Heavenly Father that he couldn't do it. It was too much. He said the answer came like this, "I am doing the work, all you have to do is listen." It is true. I have seen it in my own mission. Any baptism you can see that God placed that person in your path and you were just the mouthpiece of the message. It is incredible. I love this gospel. He told us that we all have to do the same thing to know the Lord's will for us. He said "President Monson doesn't wake up with a to do list on his pillow in the morning from the Lord." He has to study it and ponder it and ask just like the rest of us. It is always reassuring to know that we are all the same and the God takes time to talk to me just as much as anyone else. It is all dependent on us. We talked about being sanctified and how we get the glow in our eyes when we walk off that plane. He told us that its not by studying deep doctrine but by living by the spirit. The more we trust in the spirit the more we have the spirit upon us. We receive Christ in our countenance. One thing that struck home was he said that you can't apply the world to a mission. The way we succeed in the world isn't the way to be a good missionary. I have always known that but when he said it I felt the truth of that statement. The greatest calling in the world is to be a missionary. He is a true servant of God. I felt the love of my Heavenly Father as He spoke. I know that he was answering my prayers in the words he said. He was speaking by the spirit. His wife talked about the Articles of Faith. She told us to teach them because they came from a man that was closest to God. They explain the doctrines of the gospel more than I could. They are things that the world doesn't know but are what they need to know to make it in the next life. President expressed his love for each one of us. He said that he didn't have us shine our shoes and get haircuts because he wanted to impress Elder Christensen. He wanted us to look as good as we are. He wanted to inside to show on the outside. Every time I hear him speak I know that this is the mission I am supposed to serve in. I sang in a quartet. It felt good to sing. I am amazed that we could meet together in the morning and practice for 5-10 min and be able to sing. The Lord helped us because he knew that we wouldn't be able to take the time to practice because we had a more important work to do. After we finished we ate lunch. One of the stakes had prepared a Thanksgiving meal for us. It was really good. They brought out pie and I wasn't going to get any. President saw that none of sisters were going to get pie so he came over to tell us it was there. We said we know and he said do you want me to bring the cart over? We told him no. He was worried that the elders would eat all of it and that we wouldn't get any. So we got some and ate it. I couldn't eat it all. I didn't even eat my whole plate of food. Elder and Sister Christensen sat with us. It was very enjoyable to sit and eat with them. They are great people. They told us about their schedules and how busy they are. He said that Mondays are their "P days". She said, "He is spending his 'p day' with you". It was a lovely experience. When they got up and left, Sister Haycock said" We just ate lunch with a general authority! That is so cool!" I just laughed inside. It was an incredible experience! I love all you and hope that you have a wonderful week. I know that this gospel is true with all my heart. I have seen evidence of it everyday of my life. Until next week...Love Sister Mickelsen
Week 58
September 15, 2009
Hello everyone! I hope this letter finds you all doing well. As I am sure you can guess I am doing great! There have been some bumps in the road this last week but it has only strengthened my testimony. Heavenly Father is amazing! He is so aware of us and is always blessing us even if we think it is too much for us. This last week I have really tried to be obedient in committing people to baptism as instructed by president. We were successful and had 3 baptismal dates. I am super excited about it all. However we got a phone call from one of them on Saturday night and they told us that they had been very anxious ever since the last time we had come over. They weren't dropping us but they were telling us that they weren't ready and that they were going to attend another church on Sunday just to try their options. My heart sank. Not because they told me no but because I love them so much. It hurts so bad when you know what they need in their lives but they can't see it. Satan works so hard and it just breaks my heart. Sister Lauchner and I pulled over and said a prayer. We sat there in silence for a little bit and then just talked about what we needed to do. We had an appointment with them the next day and I had no idea what to say or teach them. We decided that we would fast as a companionship until after their lesson. The whole night I was thinking about them. I love these families like my own. It is an amazing experience to have such love for people that I haven't known for a long period of time. In my prayers I was just pleading with my Father to know what to say. The talks in church were exactly what I needed. They were about the Book of Mormon, Prayer and Friendship. All three of those things were what I felt these girls needed in order to know that this was the correct path to follow. When we got to their house I had a better idea of what I was going to say but I was completely relying on the spirit. The spirit there was amazing. We asked them about church and they said that it was bad. They didn't like it at all. The mom told us that it was the first service she had attended where they bashed the mormons. She said she stopped listening after that. The dad told us that he couldn't feel the spirit there at all but that he could feel it strongly right then at their house. That was the first sigh of relief. We talked and cried and I don't even remember all that I said. Needless to say that it went better than I could have imagined. They are still getting baptized we just pushed back a couple of weeks. No biggie. I just love this family so much! Their oldest was there for the first time and she asked some questions at the end. She is going to be there for the next lesson as well. I am so grateful for a loving heavenly Father. If I had to do this alone I would have failed already. Heavenly Father truly makes everything in our lives so much better! So ward choir started on Sunday and Sister Lauchner was pretty stoked to participate. So I willingly went. It is the typical ward choir. Our recent convert who is a music teacher was pretty excited about it as well. She wouldn't let us forget whenever we saw her. So she went and we visited her last night and that was the first thing we talked about. She was very disappointed. I told her that the ward choir is not a normal choir and that everyone who wants to sing in it is there. Bless her heart. I just had to laugh. So we'll see what happens. We had a great lesson with some new investigators. It is a mother and son and we have been trying them forever! The referral came when Sister Hart was still here. The lesson went so well and the spirit was very strong. We asked them to be baptized and they said they would if they found it to be true. I hope that they will! I think that we shocked her a little but I'm not worried. Obviously not everyone is going to be baptized in the same time frame but this helps us to see how serious they really are. A lot of people just give you fluff and then you waste a lot of time and energy on someone that is not going to budge and just isn't ready to try their faith. I was thinking about it and I realized that all of the baptisms we had in Fountain Valley were because we committed on the first lesson. I didn't realize that before. I have felt like I haven't had much success with it but then on the other hand I have been very blessed. I love this gospel. So Sister Lauchner and I did something fun. Sister Lauchner has crazy curly hair and we told someone that if they came to church 2 weeks in a row than she would straighten her hair. Well we did it saturday night and then they didn't come to church. I decided that I would make my hair curly. It was pretty fun to switch hairdos. We got a lot of compliments. We are so easily entertained as missionaries. We have a mission tour on Monday which I am super excited about! Elder Craig C. Christiansen is coming with his wife and will be speaking to us. I just love any spiritual knowledge and experience that I can get! I was asked to sing in a quartet which I am excited about but also a little nervous. This is the first time that I have done any musical numbers on my mission. It feels a little nerve racking but it will be just fine. I am lucky to have someone that will help overcome all my fears. Well all is well here in California! I love my mission and love all that I learn even when it is hard. God lives and is very aware of our situations. I know that we are guided by someone who loves us and wants us to be successful. If we talk to Him and listen He will guide us to true happiness and success. Love Sister Mickelsen
Hello everyone! I hope this letter finds you all doing well. As I am sure you can guess I am doing great! There have been some bumps in the road this last week but it has only strengthened my testimony. Heavenly Father is amazing! He is so aware of us and is always blessing us even if we think it is too much for us. This last week I have really tried to be obedient in committing people to baptism as instructed by president. We were successful and had 3 baptismal dates. I am super excited about it all. However we got a phone call from one of them on Saturday night and they told us that they had been very anxious ever since the last time we had come over. They weren't dropping us but they were telling us that they weren't ready and that they were going to attend another church on Sunday just to try their options. My heart sank. Not because they told me no but because I love them so much. It hurts so bad when you know what they need in their lives but they can't see it. Satan works so hard and it just breaks my heart. Sister Lauchner and I pulled over and said a prayer. We sat there in silence for a little bit and then just talked about what we needed to do. We had an appointment with them the next day and I had no idea what to say or teach them. We decided that we would fast as a companionship until after their lesson. The whole night I was thinking about them. I love these families like my own. It is an amazing experience to have such love for people that I haven't known for a long period of time. In my prayers I was just pleading with my Father to know what to say. The talks in church were exactly what I needed. They were about the Book of Mormon, Prayer and Friendship. All three of those things were what I felt these girls needed in order to know that this was the correct path to follow. When we got to their house I had a better idea of what I was going to say but I was completely relying on the spirit. The spirit there was amazing. We asked them about church and they said that it was bad. They didn't like it at all. The mom told us that it was the first service she had attended where they bashed the mormons. She said she stopped listening after that. The dad told us that he couldn't feel the spirit there at all but that he could feel it strongly right then at their house. That was the first sigh of relief. We talked and cried and I don't even remember all that I said. Needless to say that it went better than I could have imagined. They are still getting baptized we just pushed back a couple of weeks. No biggie. I just love this family so much! Their oldest was there for the first time and she asked some questions at the end. She is going to be there for the next lesson as well. I am so grateful for a loving heavenly Father. If I had to do this alone I would have failed already. Heavenly Father truly makes everything in our lives so much better! So ward choir started on Sunday and Sister Lauchner was pretty stoked to participate. So I willingly went. It is the typical ward choir. Our recent convert who is a music teacher was pretty excited about it as well. She wouldn't let us forget whenever we saw her. So she went and we visited her last night and that was the first thing we talked about. She was very disappointed. I told her that the ward choir is not a normal choir and that everyone who wants to sing in it is there. Bless her heart. I just had to laugh. So we'll see what happens. We had a great lesson with some new investigators. It is a mother and son and we have been trying them forever! The referral came when Sister Hart was still here. The lesson went so well and the spirit was very strong. We asked them to be baptized and they said they would if they found it to be true. I hope that they will! I think that we shocked her a little but I'm not worried. Obviously not everyone is going to be baptized in the same time frame but this helps us to see how serious they really are. A lot of people just give you fluff and then you waste a lot of time and energy on someone that is not going to budge and just isn't ready to try their faith. I was thinking about it and I realized that all of the baptisms we had in Fountain Valley were because we committed on the first lesson. I didn't realize that before. I have felt like I haven't had much success with it but then on the other hand I have been very blessed. I love this gospel. So Sister Lauchner and I did something fun. Sister Lauchner has crazy curly hair and we told someone that if they came to church 2 weeks in a row than she would straighten her hair. Well we did it saturday night and then they didn't come to church. I decided that I would make my hair curly. It was pretty fun to switch hairdos. We got a lot of compliments. We are so easily entertained as missionaries. We have a mission tour on Monday which I am super excited about! Elder Craig C. Christiansen is coming with his wife and will be speaking to us. I just love any spiritual knowledge and experience that I can get! I was asked to sing in a quartet which I am excited about but also a little nervous. This is the first time that I have done any musical numbers on my mission. It feels a little nerve racking but it will be just fine. I am lucky to have someone that will help overcome all my fears. Well all is well here in California! I love my mission and love all that I learn even when it is hard. God lives and is very aware of our situations. I know that we are guided by someone who loves us and wants us to be successful. If we talk to Him and listen He will guide us to true happiness and success. Love Sister Mickelsen
Week 57
September 8, 2009
Hello Family! How are you all doing? I hope that you had a wonderful holiday weekend! We have had a wonderful week. When I talked with President he told me that he feels so strongly that this is where I need to be. I told him that I feel it too. I have never felt so strongly that I am where I need to be so quickly. It ususally takes a week or so to transition but I felt it the very day I transferred. Anyway I love Los Alamitos! We had a baptism on Sunday! It was wonderful! The spirit was so strong. We had some opposition as always. We almost rescheduled but I just kept praying. It all worked out and Brandy was baptized on Sunday. There were many tears and it just felt so good. I love the spirit! Brandy was a member referral and the family participated a lot. The oldest boy baptized her and the dad confirmed her. The mom told us with tear filled eyes that we had been prayed here and sent here so that this miracle could happen. We weren't the first set of missionaries. Our Heavenly Father has so much love for each and every one of us. Sometimes it overwhelms me to know just how much love our Heavenly Father has for everyone. He is so involved in each of our lives and is always placing people in our path to bless us and help us be better people. It is truly amazing. We had a good labor day. We were able to visit a member family who gave us a huge list of referrals. This ward is awesome with referrals! Everyone is so excited about sharing the gospel. It definitely helps us immensely! We went to lunch over at member's home. They were having a huge pool party and a BBQ. We can't swim but we can eat. It was fun to visit with different members and there were even some non members. It was a lot better lunch than I could fix myself. We went over to Kelly's to do some service. She didn't want us to help but I suggested that we clean her car for her. We took her keys and went outside. It always feels good to have a clean car. We didn't have time to wash the outside but we deep cleaned the inside. She has 4 year old twins. She said, "I don't think that it has been this clean since I bought it." I love doing service! We had dinner with some great families this week. I love member meals. It is especially helpful when you are trying to get to know the members. One family was having family come in from out of town so they said come on over. They had the BYU game on. I put myself to work helping prepare the meal so that I wouldn't watch the game. I heard yesterday that they had won. Their family that was coming in had a recently returned missionary. She had been home about a week and was returning from Italy. She was such a sweetheart. The entire family was very nice and welcoming. They even came to our baptism on Sunday and tried to bring some investigators of ours with them. We also ate with a young couple. They are so awesome! They both are returned missionaries and understand what it is like to be a missionary. We could talk for hours but we can't. They gave us some referrals as well. We had an awesome lesson with a family we are teaching last night. The 3 girls were at church on Sunday. We were nervous about setting a date for baptism but I knew that we had to do it. I talked with President twice last week and in both our conversations we talked in depth about committing to baptism. My companion was hesitant but I didn't say anything. I knew that we needed to do it before we left that house. We were teaching about baptism and we read a scripture in 2 Nephi 31:17. I asked what it meant. This was the response from the 11 year old. She said "So basically the way to go is get baptized and become Mormon." It was so funny. We were all laughing and it really lightened the mood. They understand what they need to do but they are just hesitant because they want to understand everything! We did and we set a date for 2 of the girls. The youngest one was tuckered out and fell asleep before we were done. I know that Heavenly Father helps us in this work and allows to do His will if we test our faith in Him. If we don't do anything He can't help us. Yesterday we were visiting some people in the ward and trying to visit less actives or people we hadn't met yet. We got to a house and Sister Lauchner had remembered knocking it. A not very nice man and answered and in a nutshell said we don't want you here. She was hesitant to try back but I said let's go. We went and the person we were trying to talk to answered the door and we invited her to enrichment. It was so scary. 6 months ago I would have got back in the car. There was more than one experience like that this week. I guess I really have gotten over some of my fears. God has helped me to realize that this is really important and that I can handle it. A Bishop in the area once said in regards to visiting less active/in active members" What are you doing to do? Make them inactive?" It is really true. Maybe they won't listen but maybe they will. We won't know until we do our part as members and continue to love them no matter what. We had 8 investigators at church on Sunday! The Lord is truly blessing us! Bishop Shaw asked me to bear my testimony on Sunday. I tried to follow the spirit in what I should say to touch the hearts of our investigators. I felt it strongly and hope that they felt it as well. I hope you are all doing well! I love each and everyone of you so much! I know this church is true with all my heart! We are truly blessed that we can live with our families forever. You are all in my prayers! Have a wonderful week!Love Sister Mickelsen
Hello Family! How are you all doing? I hope that you had a wonderful holiday weekend! We have had a wonderful week. When I talked with President he told me that he feels so strongly that this is where I need to be. I told him that I feel it too. I have never felt so strongly that I am where I need to be so quickly. It ususally takes a week or so to transition but I felt it the very day I transferred. Anyway I love Los Alamitos! We had a baptism on Sunday! It was wonderful! The spirit was so strong. We had some opposition as always. We almost rescheduled but I just kept praying. It all worked out and Brandy was baptized on Sunday. There were many tears and it just felt so good. I love the spirit! Brandy was a member referral and the family participated a lot. The oldest boy baptized her and the dad confirmed her. The mom told us with tear filled eyes that we had been prayed here and sent here so that this miracle could happen. We weren't the first set of missionaries. Our Heavenly Father has so much love for each and every one of us. Sometimes it overwhelms me to know just how much love our Heavenly Father has for everyone. He is so involved in each of our lives and is always placing people in our path to bless us and help us be better people. It is truly amazing. We had a good labor day. We were able to visit a member family who gave us a huge list of referrals. This ward is awesome with referrals! Everyone is so excited about sharing the gospel. It definitely helps us immensely! We went to lunch over at member's home. They were having a huge pool party and a BBQ. We can't swim but we can eat. It was fun to visit with different members and there were even some non members. It was a lot better lunch than I could fix myself. We went over to Kelly's to do some service. She didn't want us to help but I suggested that we clean her car for her. We took her keys and went outside. It always feels good to have a clean car. We didn't have time to wash the outside but we deep cleaned the inside. She has 4 year old twins. She said, "I don't think that it has been this clean since I bought it." I love doing service! We had dinner with some great families this week. I love member meals. It is especially helpful when you are trying to get to know the members. One family was having family come in from out of town so they said come on over. They had the BYU game on. I put myself to work helping prepare the meal so that I wouldn't watch the game. I heard yesterday that they had won. Their family that was coming in had a recently returned missionary. She had been home about a week and was returning from Italy. She was such a sweetheart. The entire family was very nice and welcoming. They even came to our baptism on Sunday and tried to bring some investigators of ours with them. We also ate with a young couple. They are so awesome! They both are returned missionaries and understand what it is like to be a missionary. We could talk for hours but we can't. They gave us some referrals as well. We had an awesome lesson with a family we are teaching last night. The 3 girls were at church on Sunday. We were nervous about setting a date for baptism but I knew that we had to do it. I talked with President twice last week and in both our conversations we talked in depth about committing to baptism. My companion was hesitant but I didn't say anything. I knew that we needed to do it before we left that house. We were teaching about baptism and we read a scripture in 2 Nephi 31:17. I asked what it meant. This was the response from the 11 year old. She said "So basically the way to go is get baptized and become Mormon." It was so funny. We were all laughing and it really lightened the mood. They understand what they need to do but they are just hesitant because they want to understand everything! We did and we set a date for 2 of the girls. The youngest one was tuckered out and fell asleep before we were done. I know that Heavenly Father helps us in this work and allows to do His will if we test our faith in Him. If we don't do anything He can't help us. Yesterday we were visiting some people in the ward and trying to visit less actives or people we hadn't met yet. We got to a house and Sister Lauchner had remembered knocking it. A not very nice man and answered and in a nutshell said we don't want you here. She was hesitant to try back but I said let's go. We went and the person we were trying to talk to answered the door and we invited her to enrichment. It was so scary. 6 months ago I would have got back in the car. There was more than one experience like that this week. I guess I really have gotten over some of my fears. God has helped me to realize that this is really important and that I can handle it. A Bishop in the area once said in regards to visiting less active/in active members" What are you doing to do? Make them inactive?" It is really true. Maybe they won't listen but maybe they will. We won't know until we do our part as members and continue to love them no matter what. We had 8 investigators at church on Sunday! The Lord is truly blessing us! Bishop Shaw asked me to bear my testimony on Sunday. I tried to follow the spirit in what I should say to touch the hearts of our investigators. I felt it strongly and hope that they felt it as well. I hope you are all doing well! I love each and everyone of you so much! I know this church is true with all my heart! We are truly blessed that we can live with our families forever. You are all in my prayers! Have a wonderful week!Love Sister Mickelsen
week 56
September 2, 2009
I hope you are all doing well. It has been a great week for me. There are some challenges that I can already see but I have complete faith that Heavenly Father will help me through it. Sister Lauchner is so great! She is very outgoing and isn't scared of anything but bugs. It's pretty entertaining to be quite honest. She is from Virginia and is the 2nd of 4 girls. She is great at spanish and we are both excited that we can practice speaking together. I know that one of the reasons that we were put together was to help each other in our spanish. When I was with someone that could speak spanish I was too scared to talk out of fear. Now I know I can do more than I give myself credit for. It's not perfect but it is sure better than my gringa accent a year ago. We are teaching some great families. We have a baptism on Sunday! I am super excited! Brandy is so great! She is a young woman and has a great desire to live the gospel. She has a strong testimony and knows that the gospel will help her and her family. We are also teaching another family of 5. There are 3 daughters and they all ask great questions. I am always amazed at how deep their thoughts are. Even the youngest asks big questions. Some of them are things that I have never asked myself. We have taught them twice this week and they will be at church on Sunday. They have had the missionaries before but they say that this time it feels different. I feel good about it. We are also teaching some part member families. There is a lot of potential here in this ward and I am very excited. There is a very good spirit here and I love it! I am not too lost and I am remembering where people live. We have 4 different cities and 2 different counties here in Los Alamitos. It is fun. We are also teaching a recent convert. Kelly was baptized a few weeks before Sister Hart left. She is amazing! She has twin 4 year olds. Little Mikey has curly red hair. I haven't met them yet but I have heard a lot about them. I am just amazed by the spirit in recent converts. They truly have a glow and they just love the gospel. I am in awe that my loving Heavenly Father has allowed me to witness the changes that occur in the hearts of His children. There are times when I am sitting in home teaching someone and I am just amazed that I am a part of it. Are you ready for a funny story? Dad you will be so proud! So Saturday night we pulled into the driveway and started to do our mileage. Lucky for me the new car has tire pressure sensors. I had a warning light and it said one of the tires was really low. I thought it was a little weird because the car is only a couple of months old. And no I didn't run into any curbs. I looked and it didn't look super low but I told Sister Lauchner that we needed to go and put air in it because the next day was Sunday. So we filled it up and then went back home. The next morning we woke up and it was low again. We had somewhere we needed to be so we just left. When we got to our destination we discovered that we had a huge nail/screw in the tread. So we got a ride to church and then had to find a ride back to our car. Kelly took us to our car after church and we changed the tire. We were by a member but he wasn't there because he is in the stake presidency. So Sister Lauchner and I changed the tire ourselves and didn't have any problems. We were so proud! Sister Hiatt said that we were awesome and that any other sister missionary wouldn't have done it. So anyway it was a little unexpected but we did it and now I can say that I have changed a tire with no problems. The hardest part was figuring out the jack and how to get it to work. We went and got it fixed and all is well. President came over to our house yesterday for interviews. It was weird to see him in a home besides his own. We have a mission tour in a couple of weeks so he did our interviews at home instead of at zone conference. We are having our mission tour with Craig C. Christiansen and it will be combined with some of the other zones. I will get to see Sister Haycock! I am super excited! Last week when we did transfers I didn't get to say goodbye and I was so sad! We had to leave and they were in a meeting. It broke my heart. She called to ask a question and I got tears in my eyes. President told me that there would be a lot of change going on with the sisters. I am super excited that there are so many new sisters coming! It will be so great for the mission! I love my mission with all my heart! I can never thank my Heavenly Father enough for the great blessings He has given me. I don't even remember what my life was like before my mission and I know that it will be a part of me for the rest of my life! I love you all and hope that you have an amazing week! Have fun at the wedding! Krissy Jo I am so excited for you! Love Sister Mickelsen
I hope you are all doing well. It has been a great week for me. There are some challenges that I can already see but I have complete faith that Heavenly Father will help me through it. Sister Lauchner is so great! She is very outgoing and isn't scared of anything but bugs. It's pretty entertaining to be quite honest. She is from Virginia and is the 2nd of 4 girls. She is great at spanish and we are both excited that we can practice speaking together. I know that one of the reasons that we were put together was to help each other in our spanish. When I was with someone that could speak spanish I was too scared to talk out of fear. Now I know I can do more than I give myself credit for. It's not perfect but it is sure better than my gringa accent a year ago. We are teaching some great families. We have a baptism on Sunday! I am super excited! Brandy is so great! She is a young woman and has a great desire to live the gospel. She has a strong testimony and knows that the gospel will help her and her family. We are also teaching another family of 5. There are 3 daughters and they all ask great questions. I am always amazed at how deep their thoughts are. Even the youngest asks big questions. Some of them are things that I have never asked myself. We have taught them twice this week and they will be at church on Sunday. They have had the missionaries before but they say that this time it feels different. I feel good about it. We are also teaching some part member families. There is a lot of potential here in this ward and I am very excited. There is a very good spirit here and I love it! I am not too lost and I am remembering where people live. We have 4 different cities and 2 different counties here in Los Alamitos. It is fun. We are also teaching a recent convert. Kelly was baptized a few weeks before Sister Hart left. She is amazing! She has twin 4 year olds. Little Mikey has curly red hair. I haven't met them yet but I have heard a lot about them. I am just amazed by the spirit in recent converts. They truly have a glow and they just love the gospel. I am in awe that my loving Heavenly Father has allowed me to witness the changes that occur in the hearts of His children. There are times when I am sitting in home teaching someone and I am just amazed that I am a part of it. Are you ready for a funny story? Dad you will be so proud! So Saturday night we pulled into the driveway and started to do our mileage. Lucky for me the new car has tire pressure sensors. I had a warning light and it said one of the tires was really low. I thought it was a little weird because the car is only a couple of months old. And no I didn't run into any curbs. I looked and it didn't look super low but I told Sister Lauchner that we needed to go and put air in it because the next day was Sunday. So we filled it up and then went back home. The next morning we woke up and it was low again. We had somewhere we needed to be so we just left. When we got to our destination we discovered that we had a huge nail/screw in the tread. So we got a ride to church and then had to find a ride back to our car. Kelly took us to our car after church and we changed the tire. We were by a member but he wasn't there because he is in the stake presidency. So Sister Lauchner and I changed the tire ourselves and didn't have any problems. We were so proud! Sister Hiatt said that we were awesome and that any other sister missionary wouldn't have done it. So anyway it was a little unexpected but we did it and now I can say that I have changed a tire with no problems. The hardest part was figuring out the jack and how to get it to work. We went and got it fixed and all is well. President came over to our house yesterday for interviews. It was weird to see him in a home besides his own. We have a mission tour in a couple of weeks so he did our interviews at home instead of at zone conference. We are having our mission tour with Craig C. Christiansen and it will be combined with some of the other zones. I will get to see Sister Haycock! I am super excited! Last week when we did transfers I didn't get to say goodbye and I was so sad! We had to leave and they were in a meeting. It broke my heart. She called to ask a question and I got tears in my eyes. President told me that there would be a lot of change going on with the sisters. I am super excited that there are so many new sisters coming! It will be so great for the mission! I love my mission with all my heart! I can never thank my Heavenly Father enough for the great blessings He has given me. I don't even remember what my life was like before my mission and I know that it will be a part of me for the rest of my life! I love you all and hope that you have an amazing week! Have fun at the wedding! Krissy Jo I am so excited for you! Love Sister Mickelsen
Week 55
August 25, 2009
Well the biggest news of the week is that I am being transferred! I am so sad to leave Fountain Valley and my dear Sister Haycock. We had a short eight weeks together but I guess Heavenly Father thinks it is sufficient. Sister Haycock will be training this transfer. She is very nervous but I told her just be obedient and God will do the rest. I am going back to the Long Beach area and will be in the Los Alamitos ward. I will be in the same stake as the mission home. I am excited. It is always bitter sweet to leave an area. I know that this is where I am needed. Sister Hart went home this morning making me the oldest sister missionary. As I was driving to the airport I realized that the next time I go to the airport it will be for me. That was really weird. President told us some exciting news! He told us that we have 7 sisters coming! 2 in October, 2 in November and 3 in December! We will double in size by the end of the year! We are so excited! The drought has ended. We will all be busy training and opening new areas. Never a dull moment. This week has been pretty good. Sister Haycock and I have been busy. We received a call from the assistants on Wednesday so we knew all week that I would be leaving. It made all of our appointments bitter sweet. I am sad to leave but I will be coming back to visit. It is amazing how much love you can have for people in such a short time. We went to a training meeting on Friday morning. President had me come in so that Sister Haycock wouldn't be alone. It was weird to sit there and listen to her be trained on how to train. I was just praying that she wasn't checking off the things that I didn't do well. She told me that she wasn't but it was a weird realization. I was able to see Elder Anderson and Elder Salmon. Elder Salmon was my first district leader and he flew home today. When I first got here I didn't think he would ever go home. It was a long ways a way. We had a great lesson with Eva on Sunday. We went over to the Johnson's and had Sunday dinner with them. It was so fun! We had some great food and the spirit was so great. We sang primary songs and watched the restoration. I love the Johnson family. I am so sad to leave them. Bishop Johnson is pretty excited that my replacement is a Highland Ram. I really have been touched as I have said goodbye for now to these families. I really have been blessed. I have some wonderful friends here and memories that will never be forgotten. The gospel is amazing! I love it with all my heart. I was reading a talk today by President Uchtdorf and he talked about how the more we understand the gospel and the more we live it the happier we will be. I can testify that this has been one of the happiest years of my life. I know it is because I have been living the gospel the fullest that I ever have. I love you all and will talk to you next week! Love Sister Mickelsen
Well the biggest news of the week is that I am being transferred! I am so sad to leave Fountain Valley and my dear Sister Haycock. We had a short eight weeks together but I guess Heavenly Father thinks it is sufficient. Sister Haycock will be training this transfer. She is very nervous but I told her just be obedient and God will do the rest. I am going back to the Long Beach area and will be in the Los Alamitos ward. I will be in the same stake as the mission home. I am excited. It is always bitter sweet to leave an area. I know that this is where I am needed. Sister Hart went home this morning making me the oldest sister missionary. As I was driving to the airport I realized that the next time I go to the airport it will be for me. That was really weird. President told us some exciting news! He told us that we have 7 sisters coming! 2 in October, 2 in November and 3 in December! We will double in size by the end of the year! We are so excited! The drought has ended. We will all be busy training and opening new areas. Never a dull moment. This week has been pretty good. Sister Haycock and I have been busy. We received a call from the assistants on Wednesday so we knew all week that I would be leaving. It made all of our appointments bitter sweet. I am sad to leave but I will be coming back to visit. It is amazing how much love you can have for people in such a short time. We went to a training meeting on Friday morning. President had me come in so that Sister Haycock wouldn't be alone. It was weird to sit there and listen to her be trained on how to train. I was just praying that she wasn't checking off the things that I didn't do well. She told me that she wasn't but it was a weird realization. I was able to see Elder Anderson and Elder Salmon. Elder Salmon was my first district leader and he flew home today. When I first got here I didn't think he would ever go home. It was a long ways a way. We had a great lesson with Eva on Sunday. We went over to the Johnson's and had Sunday dinner with them. It was so fun! We had some great food and the spirit was so great. We sang primary songs and watched the restoration. I love the Johnson family. I am so sad to leave them. Bishop Johnson is pretty excited that my replacement is a Highland Ram. I really have been touched as I have said goodbye for now to these families. I really have been blessed. I have some wonderful friends here and memories that will never be forgotten. The gospel is amazing! I love it with all my heart. I was reading a talk today by President Uchtdorf and he talked about how the more we understand the gospel and the more we live it the happier we will be. I can testify that this has been one of the happiest years of my life. I know it is because I have been living the gospel the fullest that I ever have. I love you all and will talk to you next week! Love Sister Mickelsen
Week 54
August 18, 2009
Sorry that last week was so short. I couldn't remember anything when I was writing. This week has been pretty good. We have been working hard. Sister Haycock was sick on Tuesday. Bless her heart. She is much better now. She got a good night sleep. She was determined to go out so we did but she only made it one house before I brought her home. There is nothing worse than being sick as a missionary. Wednesday we had dinner with Tony and his girls. I just love that family. Tony made us lasagna. It was 3rd time we had lasagna in one week. Luckily I love lasagna. I would rather have too much of something I love instead of something I can't stomach. Thankfully that has happened to me yet on the mission. Knock on wood. On Thursday we had a great district meeting. We talked about the key indicators and how we can be better at meeting our goals. I have really tried to master this the last little bit. I hope to continue to get better. It is more than just writing numbers. We had an interesting appointment. It stressed me out and I didn't like it at all. I felt like I was being told what I believe and I couldn't a word in to testify. She wants to continue to learn and has a bunch of questions but wants to talk deep stuff. I tried to blunty but lovingly tell her that we needed to stick to the basics and that she needed to let us teach. It is frustrating. We will see what happens. This one definitely takes patience. We had a good lesson with Lenny and Summer. They were out of town last week so it seems like forever since we have seen them. I think that Lenny is being polite. I don't think he is ready. We don't have anything else to teach him. He isn't keeping commitments so there isn't much that we can do. Agency is a toughy. Friday was an amazing day! It was after our district meeting and I was all fired up from our planning session. We decided to set our goals one number higher and exercise more faith. We haven't changed our goals in a long time because we haven't been meeting them. We are both excited about this week. On Friday we set our goals high for teaching because we had some ground to make up. So we set specific goals that we wanted to meet in 3 blocks of time. We prayed and then went to work. We found a new family to teach! We were so excited! They were young boys, 12 and 10. We are going to teach them with their other brother and their parents on Wednesday. I have a really good feeling about it. We found Kristine again as well. She wasn't there at the beginning but then we knocked for a while and she was home. We haven't talked to her in almost a month. We committed her to be baptized and then never talked to her again. She isn't ready right now but she is reading the Book of Mormon. She is going through a lot and she said she will call when she is ready. We told her we would continue to stop by and check on her. We had made a goal for a member lesson but didn't have any plans for one. Well because we were being diligent and praying we were fortunate to have a lesson with a member. We had gone to a members home to use the restroom and in the meantime found out that Eva wasn't at the hospital as scheduled. Sister Johnson came with us. The rest of the night was successful as well. We ate with the Rowe's. They are the best ever! I just love them! The day was so great! I was really dreading it because we had a lot of knocking to do but the time went by quickly and we were successful. I love being a missionary! I love all of you and hope you have a great week!Love Sister Mickelsen
Sorry that last week was so short. I couldn't remember anything when I was writing. This week has been pretty good. We have been working hard. Sister Haycock was sick on Tuesday. Bless her heart. She is much better now. She got a good night sleep. She was determined to go out so we did but she only made it one house before I brought her home. There is nothing worse than being sick as a missionary. Wednesday we had dinner with Tony and his girls. I just love that family. Tony made us lasagna. It was 3rd time we had lasagna in one week. Luckily I love lasagna. I would rather have too much of something I love instead of something I can't stomach. Thankfully that has happened to me yet on the mission. Knock on wood. On Thursday we had a great district meeting. We talked about the key indicators and how we can be better at meeting our goals. I have really tried to master this the last little bit. I hope to continue to get better. It is more than just writing numbers. We had an interesting appointment. It stressed me out and I didn't like it at all. I felt like I was being told what I believe and I couldn't a word in to testify. She wants to continue to learn and has a bunch of questions but wants to talk deep stuff. I tried to blunty but lovingly tell her that we needed to stick to the basics and that she needed to let us teach. It is frustrating. We will see what happens. This one definitely takes patience. We had a good lesson with Lenny and Summer. They were out of town last week so it seems like forever since we have seen them. I think that Lenny is being polite. I don't think he is ready. We don't have anything else to teach him. He isn't keeping commitments so there isn't much that we can do. Agency is a toughy. Friday was an amazing day! It was after our district meeting and I was all fired up from our planning session. We decided to set our goals one number higher and exercise more faith. We haven't changed our goals in a long time because we haven't been meeting them. We are both excited about this week. On Friday we set our goals high for teaching because we had some ground to make up. So we set specific goals that we wanted to meet in 3 blocks of time. We prayed and then went to work. We found a new family to teach! We were so excited! They were young boys, 12 and 10. We are going to teach them with their other brother and their parents on Wednesday. I have a really good feeling about it. We found Kristine again as well. She wasn't there at the beginning but then we knocked for a while and she was home. We haven't talked to her in almost a month. We committed her to be baptized and then never talked to her again. She isn't ready right now but she is reading the Book of Mormon. She is going through a lot and she said she will call when she is ready. We told her we would continue to stop by and check on her. We had made a goal for a member lesson but didn't have any plans for one. Well because we were being diligent and praying we were fortunate to have a lesson with a member. We had gone to a members home to use the restroom and in the meantime found out that Eva wasn't at the hospital as scheduled. Sister Johnson came with us. The rest of the night was successful as well. We ate with the Rowe's. They are the best ever! I just love them! The day was so great! I was really dreading it because we had a lot of knocking to do but the time went by quickly and we were successful. I love being a missionary! I love all of you and hope you have a great week!Love Sister Mickelsen
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