Monday, November 30, 2015

Sister Mansfield in Toronto


mon- today we had dinner at a members home, the m family. it was so great! their grandchildren were there as well and there so adorable! i was also able to help one of the grandchildren with his french homework so that felt good. then we taught our returning member sister h about the importance of following the prophets. they are the anchors to eternal truth. and general conference is such a special oppourtunity to hear from our living apostles and prophets. we really are truly blessed by following their counsel. i hope everyone has been ponderizing if not repent and sin no more haha courtesy of my companion sister chelson!

tues- we dropped by one of our members homes the o family to share a short mesage about faith. we also sang her sick husband a song and it really lifted his spirit. then we went to visit a part member family the w family and we taught the husband about the restoration. and the wife bore a sweet testimony about how trials are for growth. then we had dinner at the ferrys house. sister ferrys maiden name is senechal and her family still lives in quebec so cool! we all talked around the dinner table about the different culturesd around quebec. it was nice! felt like home! then we taught another returning member family callld the m family. they are quite chatty but we were able to teach then two principles about the restoration and they are really trying to read and pray as a family.

wed- we went to visit a member who is coming back to church. she really loves the book of mormon and its great to see her testimony grow from reading and prayer and the other basics everytime we go and visit her. we had dinner with sister cliffe. shes so adorable! she made so many different types of fish since shes from the maritimes yum! we taught sister h about family history to get her pumped to go to the temple to do baptisms!

thurs- we had a six month follow up with all the new missionaries and then we got to go do a session in the toronto temple it was amazingg!! it was just us and president and sister clayton in the session and the spirit was super strong! i got an answer to a question that was weighing heavy on my mind so im grateful for that! then sister chelson and i splurged on a bit of timmies! yummy and oh so canadian!

fri- we had a zone council which followed up on what elder perkins taught us about last week. its good to have a reminder about what we learned.  as missionaries we have special power and authority from on high to find those prepared people who are ready to accept the gospel. oh what a great calling! we went on exhanges again with the sister training leaders. i was with sister jolie. it was cool because i led most of the lessons since i was more familiar with the lessons. we helped sister c with her reading and we read a story out of the bible. we had dinner with the hodders and alll the children are just the sweetest! brother hodder is from nova scotia which is awesome! then we taught with some potential returning members the g family. sister g gave us a whole banana bread it was quite delicious! we werent able to get the children to sit in on the lesson but we taught the restoration. we were able to really get the parents thinking and i seen that light of testimony come back into their eyes it was sweet! 

sat- today was a day of weekly revelation woohoo! 

sun- the sabbath day! what a delight! we had dinner with the ibanez family. it was so yummy! there the sweetest! then we watched the #ASaviourisborn video. its so good! everyone please watch it and share it! and make sure you invite them to discover why:). love you all! 

p.s. im getting transfered! off to st catharines i go! hi ho hi ho hi ho! :D
im terrible with pics so sorry!

Monday, November 23, 2015

Elder Anthony D. Perkins of the Seventy Woohoo


monday- we spent pday shopping with hermana fife and hermana tyler! well window shopping that is! theres so many fun ugly christmas sweaters its great! we had dinner with the stake president goobie of the brampton stake so that was lovely!

tues- we went to help a member named Sister Palmer with some service. She has three adorable kids so shes always got her hands full. we were really grateful to lend her a hand shes awesome! we met with some returning members the M family. we taught them about prayer and commited them to pray as a family daily and to read a verse of scripture together daily. Its super important to do those basics together as a family so that everyone can be spiritually strong. then we taught the part member d family. its a part member family. i taught the restoration in french! it was hard but it was awesome! i definately was blessed with the gift of tongues and i think sister d definately felt the spirit because she seemed to understand things better. its a bit tough because sister chelson doesnt understand french but at least she felt the spirit! 

wed- we went to visit a returning member named sister t. shes currently living with her boyfriend and isnt sure if the church is true so we retaught her the restoration. hopefully she keeps the commitements we gave her to pray and read the book of mormon because that is the only way for her to find out if the things that we teach her and the book of mormon are true.

thurs- elder perkins of the seventy came to instruct us. i really like what he taught about being bold. we have to teach people with love, charity, trusting in Christ, we have to increase our faith and know that we are authorized representatives of Jesus Christ and so we can teach with power and authority. He also said to use preach my gospel in everything! It is an inspired book!

sunday- so the temple dedication was like amazing! it was great to see all the familiar faces of those whom i love! sister mella got to shake elder eyrings hand so jealous! im really grateful for temples! we are truly blessed to have one so close to home! i really felt the spirit and alot of gratitude during the dedication. I hope we all make temple worship a priority in our loves! I love you all! :D<3

Week 2 in the Field!


This week has been crazy..filled with many wonderful miracles! 
It's so hard to keep track of everything! The days go by so fast...and the weeks seem so long because so much happens in just one day!
This week, I'll keep my words short, and hopefully my pictures can do some talking.




INVITING: I have to be honest...I really have a hard time liking stopping and talking to everyone who we pass by on the streets here in our area in Bangkok....
As many of you know, I am really not much of the out going type and talking to random people has never been my forte...
Add in a language that I can't really speak at all... and you've got a very frustrated and awkward Sister Kwak. 
But each time I remember that everyone is a child of a loving Heavenly Father, who misses them very much...things get a little easier~ 
Working my self up to a point where I can have a sincere smile on my face and love inviting is a mental challenge ever day, but once I can get to that point with the help of our Father in Heaven, I love being a missionary (inviting and all!)
My companion and I actually had the opportunity to stop and sit with random people on the streets and share a short message about the gospel.
Each time something like this happens, it's the motivation I need to keep moving forwards!
And thank goodness for a patient Trainer...because she has to do most of the talking... 






Thailand is a very...(for lack of a better word)...interesting place~
It's a place where the most beautiful things are found in dirty, run down corners...
Being able to teach such beautiful people living in impoverished conditions, surrounded by much junk, and yet beautiful nature as well is an experience I never dreamed I would have...








Just two of the many miracles that happened this week:

This little cutie, has been an LA for a year. She hasn't really wanted to talk with the missionaries, or come to church the last few times we contacted her, BUT for some reason this week she was willing to meet with us!
We had the wonderful opportunity to eat lunch with her and to share a spiritual message~ 
She is such a lovely girl and it is our sincere hope and prayer that she will find Christ again in her life!



This group of thirteen 14-15 year old students visited our church on Sunday!
They were working on a research project about church and attended our meetings today..
The miracle was that we were actually able to sit with them after church and explain to them that prayer is a two way conversation with our Heavenly Father. 
We even invited one of the girls to pray for us! She offered us the most beautiful and innocent prayer~ 
To our pleasant surprise, at least a couple of these students were touched, and sincerely interested in learning more!





Our District!!

Sadly...Sister Fa and Sister Bin only stayed with us for a short while before heading off to the MTC in the Philippines! 
Thank goodness these two lovely Thai Sisters will be coming back to this mission!
I really hope I get the chance to serve with them again! 



Our District 
We made it to six whole people for one day!!!
Now...we're back to only four...but that's okay! We'll still be strong in doing the Lord's work! 



Some of the members that I love!
Book of Mormon Class





Please allow me to introduce...the cutest little helper EVER!
His name is Fi Fa! And he is always helping out with keeping the church building clean!
He's learning so well from his mama! 

This is probably the weirdest thing I have ever done...cleaning the windows with newspaper...
I didn't believe it  until I tried it...but it really does a fabulous job at making the windows spotless! 






The Biggest SCARE I've had thus far came in the form of this puny little guy...
These little creatures are sooo fast! And when I realized there was one right in my face as I opened my closet...
I practically jumped out of my skin! 






One of the greatest things about the area that I am serving in right now, is the members. 
They are all so warm and kind, and have huge hearts.
Many of them are not well off, but when they come to church, they are dressed in their best clothes, with huge smiles and glowing with the light of Christ.
They are a very passionate people, and love to talk about gospel. 
They love to spend time at the church and spend much of their time there throughout the week! They're always there! 
And they are so very willing to help us teach investigators and less active members. 
I am surprised each time, as many of them put down what they're doing to come help us teach.
Missionary work is definitely a priority in this ward. 
I am so very blessed for the opportunity to work with people who are so willing and ready to be the shepherd, to go and find the one. 
There's so much love and warmth in this ward, that can only be a product of people who love the gospel and are constantly trying to be Christ-like. 


The single adults who have taken us under their wings! 





Monday, November 16, 2015

sister mansfield's adventure continues


monday- we went bowling as a zone! it was so spicy! i loe the bodacious brampton zone! i got a couple strikes and the rest gutter balls yay! but we do this thing as a zone whenever someone strikes we do an x and scream strike its pretty funny! we met a sister in our ward who fed us subways. she has a great family with a son who served in romania and a daughter at byu.

tuesday- we had an interesting meeting with a potential named hasan that we contacted on a bus. he was having marriage troubles. we tried to teach him the restoration but he wouldnt listen. he was more trying to get the answers he wanted and teach us. so ma and my companion whom i loev sister chelson just bore our testimonies about the saviour and his atonement and were at peace when we left the lesson. we had a lesson with sister hackner about how we can more fully feel gods love in our life through prayer and and church and scripture study. the basics are so important! 

wednesday- its so cold outside! and were in a car share! buses dont worka s well as the stm here in the brampton suburbs but at least we get to talk to lots of people! we visited with the walton family. there baby girl is due in like two weeks its so exciting! we taught brother walton a bit about the restoration and he was open so thats always nice. we dropped by a investigators house the desirs to say hello. sister desir is so sweet.  the relief society president sister king fed us diinner. steph i ate the quiche! it was so good! and we just discussed the needs of some sisters that we were going to visit. 

thursday- we met with the elder monson and elder bradford today to coordiante the work in the heartlake ward so that should really help the work move forward. we visited with the mcdonald family and taught them of the importance of the sabbath day. they bore testimony of the sacrament and came to church sunday yay!

friday- we visited with sister macpherson. her undderstanding of the gospel is limited because she has a disability but her taught her about the plan of salvation. she has the desire to do the work for her family and especially her son in the temple so it was nice to see that we helped increase her knowledge of the great plan of happiness. i taught a whole lesson by myself in french to sister desir! it was tough but i definately had the gift of tongues! it was great to know that i could help ease her concerns in a language she understood so im grateful to be able to help her in that way. we taught sister hackner about prayer. she taught me that sincere prayers are really the ones that get anwsers so dont let satan put those doubts in your mind! 

saturday- my first exchange with the brampton sister training leaders! we ere in there are so brampton east. sister jolie! we found a new investigator because i felt like we should talk to this guy at a bus stop. so maybe im actually starting to figure out how the spirit works yay! we helped a member named mon clean out her fridge and oven. she was so grateful. we read the book of mormon with bro smith to help him have strength to overcome his smoking. we went and taught about the spirit world to sister purchase to help her get excited to go to the temple to do family history. i love the temple! i get to see the toronto one almost daily and im so grateful!

sunday- church is such a great thing! its the most relaxing day as a missionary. its my favourite to just get to know members they are so loving and i love them! i helped the elders investgator thomas during sunday school cause he speaks french. im grateful that hevenly father isnt lettign me loose my french. the sousas fed us dinner again. i love that family so much. they also give us treats every sunday. im so grateful for this gospel! it brigns so much comfort to my soul to know why im here and where im going. sorry im terrible with sending pics! i love you all!

-sister mansfield :)<3

Sunday, November 15, 2015

Week 1 in the Field!



This week has been crazyyyy!!! I can't believe that I was in two different countries and did so much in just one week!
My week has been blessed with so many blessings and miracle~ I am so amazed at the extent of Heavenly Father's hand in my life!! 
I don't even know where to start...
Let's start with all of the amazing people that I said goodbyes to at the MTC. 
I am so very grateful to all of my teachers and all of the friends I made in our zone. 
I will forever be grateful to the examples that they have set and for their love for me, each other, the gospel, our Savior and our Heavenly Father. 


Sister Painter, Brother Sugi and Brother Tirrell



Brother Merkley 



Brother Saunders


Sister Du and Brother Yuen 


I am so blessed to have had all of these wonderful spiritual giants be my teachers at the MTC, preparing me to be out in the field!
Thank you so so much!! I will forever be grateful~

Elder Gray and Elder Biggs, our Zone Leaders!
It was a pleasure serving with these two great elders, along with Elder Munsey and Elder Allred (the Zone Leaders before these two...regretfully I don't have a picture with them!)
I learned much from their examples of leadership, service and diligence. 
Good luck Elders in your field! 




Question: How many family photos does it take to get a picture where everyone looks good?








Answer: IT"S IMPOSSIBLE!!! 
We have definitely become family with our Nong Thai's!! I am so excited to be serving with all of these great missionaries in the same Mission!

And here we are in Thailand....
This is our Mission Office!! 



Our cute little office dog~ 






Goodbyes to my MTC district!! We have become so unified as one! 
It's going to be so weird to not see them every single day!!
Good luck to you guys!! Love you so muchhh!!! 








Assigned area: Srinakarin, Bangkok Thailand! 
My new companions!! This is Sister Bin (who will leave us shortly to go the MTC in the Philippines for a while) and my Heaven sent Trainer, Sister Hayes!
She is one of the most patient, loving person I have ever met. And most importantly, she LOVES the work!
Her diligence and love for the work pushes me forward! 
Even though I am sometimes terrified of being a missionary, watching her talk to every one she sees and her bright smiles and optimism, and her ability to see the miracles each and everyday, makes me love being a missionary!
I want to become just like her as a missionary...being grateful for everything that the Lord has blessed us with, loving the people wholeheartedly, and loving the work! 



First time on a SongThaew !
Basically it's a pickup truck with seats in the trunk...
Costs about 25cents to take a ride! ^^





Now... for one of the most beautiful moments of my first week in Thailand! 

This is the home of Sister Phan. 



It looks decent at this angle...but let me try my best to paint a picture of the conditions of this house... 
The yard it piled high with rotting garbage...
The door step is wobbly and cracked...the door, not much of a door...
The floorboards are so old and cracked that one wrong move would result in falling right through the floor...
​Most of the little home is empty except for the rotting floorboards and layers of dirt and musty air...
The only room that has life is cluttered with bags and containers and boxes piled high...a dirty, tiny little fridge...an old t.v...
But right in the center of all the rubble, on a worn, ancient looking bed, sits the most beautiful thing that I have ever seen...
Right in the heart of this crumbling home, on this old old bed, sits Sister Phan.
I don't know how else to describe her, except that she is perfect
She is an old lady in her late 70s, who is entrapped in her bed because she can't walk...
She has tubes running out her excretes into a container by her bed...
But the light that she shines is so bright! 
The spirit that she holds, fills the room and cannot possibly be denied.
By her bed is a single picture of Christ, and a picture of the temple.
She has a Liahona open that she's been reading, and a set of scriptures too. 
Her smile is radiant. 
This most precious, glorious, most brilliant daughter of our Heavenly Father is nothing short of perfect.
I didn't understand everything she said, but it did not matter. 
Her faith, the light of Christ that she holds was so strong that I was certain it was tangible. 
She cannot go to church, and lives in this lonely home... but she is happy, truly happy.
I know that this is only possible because she knows the true meaning of the Gospel. 
Adjusting to missionary life is hard,  but Sister Phan has given me so much courage and motivation to keep moving forward! 
I am so so wonderfully privileged to get to visit her each week.
I am so excited to learn from her wondrous example! 
She is a live miracle! 



One of the other wonderful things about being a missionary and inviting people on the streets is the opportunity to invite those who have nothing to come unto Christ. 
I have had two opportunities this week to share the gospel with homeless men. 
I actually didn't say much, but listened as my companion or the member we were inviting with would share the beautiful message of the gospel...
We had the opportunity to teach a crippled old man (not the one in this picture) about our loving Heavenly Father and our Savior, Jesus Christ.
We gave him a Book of Mormon and prayed with him.
To think that it was his very first time hearing that he would have a whole body after this life, one where his disfigured leg would be perfected...
What a miracle is it to be able to share the beautiful message of the restored gospel to people like him! 
What a miracle the gospel is to be able fill someone's heart, even when they have nothing else. 
I sincerely hope that he will be able to recognize our Heavenly Father's and Savior's love for him and that he will know that our Father in Heaven is waiting for him with open arms. 








Weirdest thing I have eaten....
It was actually pretty good...but creepy looking.... 




Monday, November 9, 2015

Bodacious Brampton Zone


mon-preparation day is always the greatest in our zone. our zone had a fiesta with papoosas, dulche leches and nachos. it was delicious! then i watched the zone play kill ball. they really love that game! we had a lesson with a member family the ferry's. the moms from quebec! her name is nathalie senechal and she said that some of her siblings are married the lallements. small world!

tues- we had a good lesson with returning member sis h. we taught her about the atonement and tried to help her feel more of god's love in her life. shes being doing really great with her scripture study and prayer and now we just have to get her to church each week. shes had a hard life so shes having a bit of trouble with being mad at god. we taught her about how trials are for us to learn and grow and that if we can bear our afflictions with patience the lord will  make our burdens like and we shall gain eternal life. the sousa member family made us delicious alfredo for dinner. there so sweet they give us goodies bags every sunday at church. love them!

wed- theres a thing called whopper wednesday can you believe it! it costs like 6 dollars for a trio its the greatest thing! we took some whopper lunch to a members home the w's and ate with them. they both have disabilities and there expecting a baby. but they are still so positive and were both inspirations to me. we helped the relief society president sister king clear out her garden which was fun. the palmer family had us for dinner and they have three adorable little ones.we helped sister palmer tidy up and then she fed us some pork chops yum! tonight me and sister chelson contacted a whole bus stop full of people it was so exciting! i got like an adrenaline rush it was great!

thurs-we met with a returning member named sis w and had a second lunch which was carribean food so my tummy was real happy. we went to have a short lesson with the vicente member family and they know the feths from montreal.it brings me alot of peace having all these connections to home. the m family agreed to let us help them to prepare to go back to the temple to partake of those blessings. we got to go to a young womens activity which was fun. we are embroidering our white handkerchiefs for the montreal temple dedication. i have my ticket already. im so grateful to be able to be in toronto right now to be able to participate. the lords hand is in the details of our lives folks! 

fri- zone conference is the bomb dot com! the spirit was so strong! we learned about the importance of follow up. its a way to show that we love and care about those we teach. it waas also impressed upon me that we can have enough faith to move mountains! we are so blessed to be able to represent the saviour and that attitude a positive one makes the world of a difference. 

sat- we met with sister m shes a member. shes so sweet. she had trouble understanding because of  a learning disability but so is so willing to learn and listen. our ward had a chili cookoff which was a great oppourtunity to meet more members. the food was so good! yes i know i talk loads about food! and it was nice to see some less actives come and have fun being involved in the dancing and other activities.

sun-church was great! i really enjoyed the relief society lesson about self reliance and about how we should share our talents. the martinez family gave us a wonderful dinner to take home. im grateful for the simple truths of the restored gospel. there is no other way to return back to our father in heaven and our saviour. i love you all!

looky who! :)




Saturday, November 7, 2015

Week 9 - final week at the MTC!



My final week here at the MTC is finally coming to a close! 
I don't really know how I feel.... Some part of me is so excited to FINALLY be leaving the MTC....
Another part of me is terrified that I am not ready to be in Thailand... 
But this past week has been filled with the tender mercies of our Heavenly Father that have reassured me that "It will be okay"~ 
(I am now convinced that Heavenly Father will guide me to Thailand kicking and screaming if He has to.... OR I can have a much better attitude and accept His will with joy and full purpose of heart!) 
Here are some of the highlights of my week, and the Lord's hand in my life!

The first experience happened while I was at the temple on Monday.
As I was praying in the Celestial Room after an Endowment Session, I was pleading with the Lord to give me enough strength to get through this mission... 
I wanted to follow His will, but I was having such a hard time feeling ready, sufficient and focused. 
A significant part of me just wanted to pack my bags and go home. 
As I was praying, I suddenly remembered something that is said in my Patriarchal Blessing. 
It says that when I am at the Temple, I will feel close with my ancestors for whom the work has be done. 
As I was reminded of this, I started to talk in my heart, with two of my grandparents. 
This wasn't the first time I've talked with my ancestors through prayer, but this time was definitely special. 
At the time, I was wearing a necklace that has been remolded from rings that my grandmother had owned, and a ring that had once belonged to my mom. 
As I focused on the necklace, I talked with my grandmother. She passed away when I was about 6 years old, so I don't remember her very well, but I do remember all the stories my dad has shared with me.
She was the perfect example of love and compassion, and faith. 
Growing up, she wasn't just someone who had these qualities... To me, she WAS those things.
So, as I prayed, and talked with her, I could feel her support, and draw strength from her spirituality. 
Next, I focused on the ring, and as I did so, I talked with my grandfather. 
I never knew him because he passed away when my mom was only about 9 years old. 
But my grandmother has told me so many wonderful stories about him growing up.
He was the body guard to the President of Korea, and a war hero!
He was someone who had so much courage, and always bold in standing up for what he believed to be right. 
Although I never personally knew him, I could feel his protection, and his strength supporting me.
I could feel that I was drawing the courage and boldness I needed.
As I talked with my grandparents a little longer, thanking them for their love and support...
I had the impression that my grandmother was there, standing beside me and giving the most warm and comforting hug.
I am so very grateful to my grandparents (one from each side of my family) who have been such marvelous examples to me. 

The second experience I had this week is a little hard to explain because I'm still confused at exactly what happened.
It was during one of our practice lessons with an investigator...
In the middle of the lesson, Sister Smith started to cry because she was so stressed and overwhelmed with many different things...
I was so lost, and didn't really know what to do...but tried to endure through the lesson by trying my best to meet the needs of the investigator.
I was soon joined by Sister Smith, and together we did our best.
Needless to say, we both felt dazed, and weird after this lesson...
We were trying to put ourselves back together before we headed back to class...
When our investigator, now turned back into our teacher, approached us and thanked us for caring sincerely for our investigator.
He told us that to Phi Jom (our investigator), it wasn't just missionaries, but two angels who had ministered to him....
Our teacher advised us to thank our Heavenly Father for enabling us to do this.
I was shocked to hear this. 
I thought of how unprepared I had been walking into that lesson, and how we had struggled through it.
However, here was someone who was telling us that the lesson had been effective...
Sister Smith and I knelt down in prayer together and we each took turns vocally saying a prayer.
I thanked our Heavenly Father for helping us to show love to our investigator and for helping me be a successful missionary, even though I was so imperfect and lacking in many many ways.
This experience helped me to know in my heart (not just in my mind) that when we are on the Lord's errand, He will help us. 
He will make sure that angels take our place when we invite others to come unto Christ because the worth of one soul really is great in the sight of God.
This is His work, and our imperfections and shortcomings will not stand in the way. 
I am so grateful to my Heavenly Father for trusting me to be a missionary, and for our Savior, Jesus Christ for the pure love that He has for each and every one of  us, here on the Earth. 





Passing over our responsibilities to the next Sister Training Leaders!!

Stripe Day! 

Bababeble~ 




It's HERE!! My Thai nametag!!! ðŸ˜±





Monday, November 2, 2015

First Pday in the Field!


 so my first pday in the field yay! so for those who dont know im currently serving on the canada toronto mission in the brampton stake in the heart lake ward. our area is heart lake north. im waiting for my visa before going to wisconsin.

monday- my first pday in the field yay! we went out to eat at five guys for lunch with the sister training leaders sister julian and jolie. so yummy! the wait family has us over for a spaghetti dinner it was so yummy! brother wait is actually from val d or so it was nice to be with a fellow quebecer. 

tuesday- we did service this morning for a garden owned by the salvation army. it was freezing! but we were basically cleaning out the garden and pulling out the crops and stuff. its always fun to be with the whole zone though. and after the fact it always feel good to give service so im grateful. a memebr family named the beamers  had us over for a greenie dinner! all the food was green and so yummy! the coolest thing ever! 

wednesday- today was skills and interviews with the zone and president clayton. i learned that missions are all about forgetting yourself and going to work. and things only work out when you do them the lords way. there is no other way. as missioanries we have to opne our mouths or else were giving satan power over us because thats what he wants. we had dinner at the ludlow families house and they have so much candy it was yummy! we tried to drop off a bible to a kid named tristan who was referred from salt lake but his mom wouldnt let us see him so that was really sad because he was interested in the church\

thursday- we had lunch at the stapletons house and shes the cutest lady ever. her and her husband are the oldest memebers in the ward and she loves when we sing with her. they ahve such a sweet spirit in their home. we also taughta short lesson to the goobie family and their cute children. they have a newborn and hes just so cute! we also had a short lesson with sister mcpherson. we also taught an investigator named dannie at dairy queen and it was so cold. but it was the first time i actually taught the whole restoration lesson and it went fairly well and he accepted our invitation to come to church. we had dinner at sis bourgeois house. it was stuffed potatoes and broccoli and cheese on the potatoes so good! i love broccoli so much! then we went to visit the garcia family who are so quiet but so cute!

friday- lunch with sister stapleton and more singing! we met with the walton family to get to know them. they are a young family with a baby on the way and super fun! the spice family had us over and we talked about family history. sister spice is from france and her husband served in france so that was nice. we taught the desir family about eternal families. i explained the book of mormon to the wife who is investigating the church because she is from haiti. it was sweet! its always that last door that you tract into that has the awesome prepared people!

saturday- we visited a member sister cliffe with a relief society counselor names sis ludow. sis clifee actually served some of her mission in montreal way back when so cool!

sunday- fast and testiomny is always so uplifting! our ward mission leaders mom in law sandra came to church two times now and we hopefully will start teaching her next week. she has so much faith and you can tell by how she anwsers questions and with the conviction in what she says.
god really is in the details of our lives. and im grateful for all his tender mercies.

greenie dinne



Week 8



I can't believe that the weeks have flown and I am leaving in just one week!
We received our flight plans on Friday! We are leaving the MTC at 2:30am to catch a 6:30 flight to Chicago, then to Hong Kong, and then finally to Thailand!!!
The days have been long, the weeks very short. 
In a way, it feels like I've just been at an extended YSA conference, boot camp style and at the end of this week, I will be going home again.
It's mind boggling to think that I will ever actually make it to Thailand. I don't think it will sink in until I'm there.
The weeks here have pushed me to my limits, and helped me to grow in leaps and bounds. 
I stumbled and fell more times than I can count. I've prayed more than I have ever before. 
And I've really had to rely on my faith and trust in the Lord because there was nothing else I could do.
There were so many times I wanted to just quit and go home. 
The battles seemed endless, and many times it felt like I wasn't progressing.
Countless times I wondered: Why am I here? What is my purpose for being here? Do I truly have enough faith to pull through these next 18 months? Am I really meant to be a missionary? Am I good enough to reach out and serve those around me?
I don't have the answers to all of my questions, and I don't think I'll get all of the answers... But as Elder Neil L. Andersen said during the last General Conference, "Faith never demands the answers to everything, but it asks for the strength to endure." As I have spent the weeks here at the MTC, each week I have tried my best to not only "endure" but to "enjoy" through the trials and challenges. I am so very grateful to my Heavenly Father who places obstacles in my life so that I can learn and grow from them. I am so grateful that He loves me enough to push me to my limits. I know that it is through the trials that we face, that we are refined into becoming our very best selves. Although Heavenly Father gives us many challenges to shape us for the better, it's reassuring to know that He doesn't just leave us in the dark. He has given us Christ, who has suffered through every trial, challenge, heartache, disappointment and anything else that we could ever face and more. When no one else understands, Christ does. And He is always within in arm reach. The only thing keeping us away from Him is ourselves. All we have to do is simple go to Him in sincere, heartfelt prayer. During our Fast and Testimony Meeting, one of our zone leaders said, "Kneeling in prayer is the most comfortable position to be in." This is such a powerful statement, and it is true! I have a testimony that Heavenly Father and Christ live, and when we go to them with our questions and concerns, they are always willing to help us out in the best of ways. We don't know everything, but the Lord does! They have the bigger picture, and they know how best to guide us and lead us down the path of happiness. 
I am so grateful for the opportunity that I have had to be here that MTC, to learn from the examples of so many of the wonderful people that have been placed in my life.
As I learned from the others in my zone, our teachers, and others here at the MTC, I have come to know that my Heavenly Father really does care about me as an individual. He loves me, and He has called me on a mission at this specific time, to this specific location because He knows that the people that He has placed me with will help me to progress in so many amazing ways! I am so grateful to be surrounded by the people that are constantly around me physically, or in spirit. 
On Tuesday, we had the privilege of hearing from Elder Neil L. Andersen during our devotional here, at the MTC. He talked a lot about sacrifice as being a part of who we are. He told us that every missionary had to sacrifice something to be here! This is very true! As I have observed the other missionaries in my zone, it's amazing to hear their stories and to learn from their examples of courage and faith, the tremendous amount of courage, and love for the Lord that it took to be here right now, to follow the Lord's will!! I love these missionaries more than I can express! I wish them all the best on their missions, as we all head out to the places that we have been assigned to reach out and help others to come unto Christ!

It is my sincere hope, that each one of us can continually strive to be converted unto the Lord each and everyday, that we may never fall away. The gospel is true! Heavenly Father and Christ LIVE!




All of the Thai's! 



With our Cambodian Sisters!




A friend from Korea! Sister Kim~ Unexpected meeting here at the MTC for the first time in a YEAR!






Our cute little Sister Htwe!! 






Halloween at the MTC!! 








Date with my companion!! 










Sister Howardddddd!!!!! <3 Happy Reunion at the MTC! I am so privileged to get to see her here from time to time at TRC!!! 






BEST P-Day EVER!

Last time going to the temple for the next 16 months...gahhhhhh!!!



Soccer Baseball + PERFECT Thai Squat picture with all the Thai's!! :D


Sisters selfie!!