Author Archives: Joy

Sunday Best!

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“Imagine yourself as a living house. God comes in to rebuild that house. At first, perhaps, you can understand what He is doing. He is getting the drains right and stopping the leaks in the roof and so on; you knew that those jobs needed doing and so you are not surprised. But presently He starts knocking the house about in a way that hurts abominably and does not seem to make any sense. What on earth is He up to? The explanation is that He is building quite a different house from the one you thought of – throwing out a new wing here, putting on an extra floor there, running up towers, making courtyards. You thought you were being made into a decent little cottage: but He is building a palace. He intends to come and live in it Himself.”
-C.S. Lewis

Hope your Sunday is the Best! Love, Joy

Out on a WIM #77

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#77

Ok so the title of the email…… FUNNY STORY! Sister W. one of my comps is super funny and can do a Relief Society General Presidency voice and she was say short bold statements of doctrine from PMG in that voice and I tried to use that line in a lesson and all I could think about was her saying it all funny so we all started to giggle… ANYWAY!!!

How are you all?? Sounds like you all had a pretty normal week! I am excited to see the new car!
Thanks for those Halloween pictures!! They are so cute!!!!!!
I will try and get you all something cool from here.
So anyway this week was crazy! I am yet again teaching another of my posterity to drive on the crazy roads here. It is intense.
Honestly this week was a little difficult for me. In the sense that a lot of the people that have been progressing in the past and doing SO AWESOME are falling by the wayside because of their agency. Bob Sagget. Agency is so useful yet sometimes saddens me.
The Sisters are picking up on things quickly. I attempted to send them off on splits by themselves but our apts fell through…. But for the time they did have by themselves they did well! Next week I will be leaving to go to Trinidad for a STL and ZL big meeting with President M. and the AP’s so that’ll be cool and a good opportunity for them to learn and grow by themselves.
On the bright side of things! We are finding a lot of really cool people!
We also have met some really hysterical and wildly inappropriate drunk people….. SO. We will keep being careful.
This week we met this family and they are meant to be a mormon family!!!!!!!!! They are awesome. They are going to be great!!!
Anyway honestly that’s about all to super report on this week. Just still going strong and doing our best. I love my trainees they are amazing and teach me so much.
I had my last fast and testimony meeting as a missionary yesterday. I was a little emotional not going to lie. But I pulled together. These next few weeks I may be a little sad but life goes on right>?!!?
Welp. I love you all so very much and I thank you for all you do for me 🙂
Love, Sister Emily

Beautiful Places!

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I have always loved Poppies!

They are such a beautiful flower.

There is a beautiful exhibit of ceramic poppies that have been placed around the Tower of London to commemorate the 100th anniversary of the end of World War I.  Each poppy represents a soldier killed during World War I, 888,246 poppies will eventually be “planted.” The exhibit started back in August and it has taken all this time to fill the mote of the Tower of London with all of the poppies. The last poppy will be planted on the 11th of November,  Armistice Day. 

What a neat thing!

When I look at this exhibit I think, “This is beautiful! This is a beautiful place!“

We should always remember those who came before and sacrificed so much to make life better for us.

You can read more about it here and here!

Out on a WIM #76

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#76

Hello to my most awesome family 🙂

How in the stink are you all???
Sounds like all is going well!
I am glad that you found a car! And that is hilarious about Harrison. (I do love my calling in Primary. The kids are all so darling and fun! One Sunday little Harrison was having his first experience in Primary. His first day as a Sunbeam. Whoever was doing sharing time asked a general question and Harrison raised his cute little hand and said, “Jesus!” with a little lisp. He continued to raise his hand with the same answer several more times. I thought it was so cute and true! Jesus is the answer to everything! The children are wonderful!) You see the sister missionaries at home now??? We never saw them when I was there!! Tell them I say hello!
Thanks for each of you and sharing all that you are doing. I am glad to hear that everything is just gravy!
As for me. This past week has by far been one of the most wild and busy weeks ever. Earlier in the week we had been getting everything ready for the sisters to leave. And on Wednesday my two new trainees came in! I will send a picture 🙂
This week was great! We worked really hard and saw lots of success…… I am glad to be in my area and able to do my best here without having to leave all the time. The new Sisters are great. (sister S. and Sister W.) from Utah and Canada!
I looked for ways to teach them and also looked for ways to put them out of their comfort zone (in a loving way of course) Haha one lesson I went and sat off to the side and hand washed some ladies laundry while I had them teach her and learn together! They did well. It was fun to hear them teach. They are learning quick! And they must because I only have a few weeks to teach them everything!!!! Holy cats! It is a lot of fun and I love them a lot. I still can’t believe I only have a few weeks left.
 Something hilarious is my daughters (trainees) are trying to prep me for real life so last night for training we were role playing and I was helping them contact and then they wanted to do a real life role play with me. Having me role play how to flirt and talk to a boy!!! Hahahaha! We laughed pretty hard. I think I will be fine.
I also decided that I am not going to be a dingleberry about coming home. I keep pushing away the thought and now I realize it will make me really sad when I get home if I do that. So in a more healthy way I have started setting goals and making plans for how I will be a missionary at home! And don’t worry all of you I am excited to come and see you. It will be an adjustment! And I will cry a lot. I already do. But I am doing my best to prep for it now. But I am loving my last transfer as a missionary. Everything is going well and working my tail off. We have people we are helping to be baptized! That will be great.
Anyway I have so many things to fill out for all of my mission ending things so my email will be a little shorter. If you have any questions about the sisters or anything let me know.
If you have any suggestions for me on finishing up out here let me know 🙂
I stinkin love being a missionary! It is marvelous 🙂
Thanks for all your love mama and daddy!!! I love you both. SO much! Can’t wait to see you 🙂
Love you all!
Love, Sister Emily

Sunday Best!

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“Most of us spend too much time on what is urgent and not enough time on what is important.” -Stephen Covey

“I invite us to identify the time-wasting distractions in our lives that may need to be figuratively ground into dust. We will need to be wise in our judgment to ensure that the scales of time are correctly balanced to include the Lord, family, work, and wholesome recreational activities. As many have already discovered, there is an increase of happiness in life as we use our time to seek after those things which are ‘virtuous, lovely, or of good report or praiseworthy’”-Ian S. Ardern

Hope your Sunday is the Best! Love, Joy

Out on a WIM #75

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Emily10-15-2014

#75

Hello! It was good to get your email and hear that all is well!

I hope you find success as you look for a new car and try and decide what to with your job. It is wild to think that even later in life you still have to make decisions…. I have been thinking a lot about my Father in Heaven wants me to do and realized that most often Heavenly Father trusts us enough to make our own decisions. I am sure you’ll know what to do Mama!
To answer your questions: I did have a wonderful week. This was the first week this transfer that I have been able to stay in my area and be wholeheartedly here, without traveling and being so focused on everyone else. We worked really hard and saw many miracles with all three of us working together. I am glad to be in my area more. President M. called another STL to take care of St. Lucia and Barbados so I wouldn’t have an overload of responsiblities with my new companions that are coming. I am still with Sister W. and Zuster C. They really are my best friends. They will be leaving on Wednesdayand also my trainees will be coming then too. We have been doing a lot of goodbyes for my sisters and I am doing my best to prepare myself to train two peole at once!!! I am way excited! What a good learning opportunity. I love Heavenly Father very much and I want to make sure that I will always be willing to do WHATEVER he asks me to do. I know he is actively engaged in my life, I have seen it and I know he strengthens me for my callings.
I am not sure where my new comps are from but their names are Sister W. and Sister S.!! They just sound adorable! I cannot wait to meet them and help them to learn! I don’t know any details about them yet though…
We met this golden young woman named T.! She is awesome and we are teaching her and her family (ish) You will rarely see a standard family in the West Indies. It’s mostly a jumbled house of cousins, brothers, maybe a mom. But we are teaching her and her cousins! It is wonderful. We also are teaching the man that President M. taught with us and reffered us to. We set a bap date with him. Also we started to teach another family and we are meeting tons of people and still working with the members!
I fasted yesterday and it was a  very spiritual fast. They all are good. But this one was special. I love the power in sacrifice and prayer.
Our area is doing really well and we are working hard. I will be glad to be really in charge of the area this next transfer because most of the time it was just my Sisters here this t-fer.
Something I am learning a lot right now is Training rather than doing. So often we are taught to do and so we are so eager to do that. But in the branches here and in all situations in life the best way to do it is to give them an example and then aid them in doing.
I am way excited for these coming few weeks and I am trying my best to be a little more trunky. I have to force myself to start thinking about those things so that I am not a total nut and sob story when I get home. I really will miss being a missionary. I feel like I completely am starting to get it down 100% and I am about done!!! Ah!! I swear that is how it always goes… Hahaha! Oh well what can ya do? Do any of you have ideas of what to do when I get home? When I get home I will do lots of job hunting. I have acquired an even stronger drive since I have been out here so I am determined to find what will be best.
This week I am really grateful for the spirit in my life and the constant companionship of the Holy Ghost. He has such a huge role in the Lords work. I know that Heavenly Father answers our prayers. I know he does. And sometimes we expect promtings to be more clear. We need to have a greater trust in Heavenly Father because he has an infinite trust in us.
Anyway!!! Sorry I always end up just typing out all my thoughts! This week was great and I will let you know how all is going next week! You all are amazing!!!!!!!! And I love you!
Take it easay.
Love always, Sister Emily

The Learning Curve is a Circle!

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I recently started a new job.

I love my new job!

Any time I start to learn something new there is a learning curve. You know, the writing notes and steps of how to do this or that, and having some else teaching me. It is a pretty stressed out feeling.

Some days I come into work and I feel good. I can pick up where I left off yesterday. Other days I come in and can’t remember anything I’ve learned…for a minute anyway.

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It was on a day like that where I couldn’t remember anything that I realized the learning curve is a circle. I have come around to the beginning and I’m starting over, at least for a few minutes. After I spend some time going over what I’ve learned then it starts to come back to me.

I feel confident for a while, but then I get to learn something else. It basically never ends in life. My life is just full of circles! I am totally ok with this, because I love learning and I love circles. Like ripples on a lake I hope that the learning just get bigger and better.

Out on a WIM #74

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#74

Hello my sweet fam 🙂

It sounds like all is well in my favorite place in Utah 🙂
I am glad to hear that there are miracles happening and that you are doing ok after the accident!
I hope you find a great new car!
To answer your Q’s: Yes I did go to Suriname this week!!!!!!!!!! It was so very wonderful. I got to be with my daughter and grand daughter (in mission terms) Zuster K. and J.! I learned more dutch while I was there. Most of the time I knew what people were saying but had a hard time responding…
On Tuesday we had a Zone Meeting and me and the ZL’s taught with President M. there!! Then Wednesday morning we taught a lesson with him and Sister M. It was amazing! They inspire me so much.
Also we had our interviews with President M. and he told me what my last transfer call will be……………………….………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………. *drum roll please* (honestly I didn’t think he could surprise me anymore… but he did) He said for my last transfer I will still be STL over the same five places BUT I will be training again, TWO FRESH MISSIONARIES. And when I leave after the transfer they will finish the last six weeks of training with each other!!!!!!!!!!! HOLY CATS!!!!! So I will be in another trio. Apparently I still have a lot to learn in the next six weeks so I am very excited!
Suriname was great. There is such a variety of people there! Lots of asians! I loved it. We rode bikes around and we did lots of service! We dug mud holes… which i loved. Getting all muddy. Yes.
I helped the Sister there to start switching off in teaching and helped them over come some challenges. Sometimes I don’t know where I get the energy to do all these things…. Wait that’s a lie. I know where I get it from… My Father in Heaven.
I am pretty much dead right now I got 2 hours of sleep this morn. I got back from Suriname just about an hour ago….
Ok so cool story of the week: I was at the airport this morning. Very hungry, very exhausted and worn out and cold (from the AC) )yes I get cold in the West Indies) (yes I am going to die when I get home) ANYWAY! And then I found out that my flight got delayed (usually happens) But I was so eager to get home. When they said that my eyes started to leak water… YEAH I WAS CRYING!! I must have really not been feeling good to cry about something like that. Anyway I felt like I needed to speak with my Father in Heaven so I went in the bathroom and prayed for strength and for a tender mercy that would help me be ok until I could get home.
I walked out of the bathroom and over back to sit down and wait another hour or so… (with no food in my body whatsoever) (you know how I get when I don’t have my food) ANYWAY! So I went over and there was some cute members of the church from Canada. This Elderly sweet sweet sweet woman started talking to me and I asked her about her story and she bore testimony to me and helped me to feel better. She was speaking by the spirit. The lord worked through her to help me. It was amazing. As she spoke I cried. I knew I wasn’t alone! She taught me a lot and encouraged me in every way. I am indeed grateful for this.
Anyway I love the gospel so much. Something I realized when I was in Suriname is that although people speak different languages, the language of the spirit is the same. The gospel is the same. We are all truly brothers and sisters 🙂
I love you all so much! Mama thank you for your example to me and the things you have taught me. The things you and daddy have taught me are forever engrained in my heart 🙂
Pops thanks for always being there. Thank you for being worthy. The best feeling in the world is to know that I can turn to you for a blessing and feel your hands on my head, that is the greatest comfort. Thank you. Kels thank you for always being patient with me and loving me even when I was annoying… and weird on every level (I still am though) Al thank you for your sweet heart. You truly have such a loving heart and thanks for loving me in spite of me being a little bossy at times.
Riley and Janny bear thank you for being two of my favorite people. For always being so kind and also having fun and what’s not. All you guys are my best friends. I am grateful Heavenly Father gave you all to me.
I hope you all have a great week and keep being your very best!!! Nothing less. We should give everything to the Savior! I love you all and I will talk to you soon.
Love always, Sister Emily