PUMPKINS!!!

Hi Family!

I think I'll start off with telling you about last Monday, so we are still in the Ulziiduuren transfer and everything makes sense chronologically.  We finally got to carve pumpkins and make Pineapple Dole Whip.  It was so much fun!  Sister Ulziiduuren did not freak out at the pumpkin guts, as I was expecting.  She got right into it and loved it.  It was so fun!  Sister Ogawa discovered that she LOVES the sound of a spoon scraping on the inside of a pumpkin.  It makes her so happy.  Sister Ogawa made me laugh with her pumpkin.  She was bound and determined to make a "Japanese Jack", meaning she put very thin lines for the eyes.  We took pictures later, and she decided to hold it up in front of her face for a picture, but then asks, "Do I look Asian?"  I about died.  Sister Ogawa is funny.  It was a fun experience. 

Transfers came on Wednesday, and I know I already posted about this on Wednesday, but let me tell you again.  I got none other than the lovely Sister King, and oh my goodness, Family, this transfer is going to be crazy!  She is so much fun!  She is crazy bold and it is so awesome!  I'm learning a lot from her, and we have so much fun together because we have the same quirks.

One of our first days together, we met a lady named Loretta.  She was carrying in her groceries, and she actually accepted our offer to help!  This NEVER happens!  So we helped her carry in her groceries and we got to talk to her for a while.  She said we were the first missionaries she had let in her house, so that was pretty cool.  We talked to Loretta for a while and Sister King was always so quick to tie it into the message of the Restoration of the Gospel of Jesus Christ.  Loretta accepted a Book of Mormon because she wanted to make sure her "bases were covered".  She was a lot of fun.

We had a funny experience later in the week.  We stopped be a less active member that is trying to come back to church.  We knock on the door, and this is the conversation that happens before the door is even opened:

Our friend: "No one's home!"
Me: "I don't believe you!"
Friend: "Dang it!"
Friend: *opens the door and everything else goes on normally*

We've been working really hard to get to know the youth (and I may or may not have made my own little "squad").  We took an especially missionary minded young women out on splits with us.  Her name is Alex, and I want her to be friends with Sarah.  (There is also a girl named Kaitlyn that I want Sarah to be friends with, but that's a different tangent.)  She was so excited to be out with us.  We stopped by one member that is unable to come to church due to health reasons.  I don't even remember what we talked about, but Sister King shared a scripture and then started talking about something else like Dementia or local honey (honestly, I think that was what we were talking about), and the wonderful gentleman that we were talking with was so grateful because somehow in the mix of it all, we had helped him hear what he needed to hear.  After that, it was time to drop Alex off at home, and her mom and step-dad had some people over.  IT WAS SO COOL!  Alex's step-dad turns to his buddies and says, "Do you know who these girls are? Do you know what they do all day? They knock on doors," and proceeds to tell them all about missionaries.  It ended up turning into an awesome discussion about the Word of Wisdom, and it was just a prime example of how to do missionary work when you're not wearing the name tag.  It really showed me that it doesn't have to be awkward.

Seriously, Family, half of these miracles came because Sister King is just ready to kill it.  I prayed the morning of transfers that I would get a companion that was ready to work, and that's exactly what I got.  She is on fire!  Sometimes I am just like, "Wow, I'm just trying to keep up with her," but she also said something really nice to me during our companionship inventory.  She told me that when she found out that she was going to be killing me, she was a little worried about trunkiness because that's pretty normal among dying missionaries.  But then she went on to say that has not been the case with me and that she hopes that when she hits her last transfer that she will be as focused as I have been.  I am so excited for this transfer.

But going back to the working with the youth thing, we also got to go to a Bishop/Youth Discussion in one of our wards.  It was at Bishop Hixon's house (and Dad, don't be upset, but I got adopted as an Honorary Hixon, too), and we had a missionary panel.  Sister King and I, along with Bishop's son Chip and a few of his recently returned missionary friends, got to answer questions about missions that the youth asked.  It was so fun and I just love working in this area.  I am so lucky to be here.

I love my mission so much!  I am so lucky to be here and I don't want it to end.  I love you!

Sister Emily

1001 N Burk Street
Gilbert, AZ
85234

Sister Ulziiduuren was all about that pumpkin life.

Carving Pumpkins!

We also carved pumpkins as a Zone today, and this is Sister King.

Temple View Zone!

The Week that I was a Professional Sign Holder

Hi Family!

Transfer News:  I will be finishing my mission here in the good old Temple View Zone.  Sister Ulziiduuren is getting transferred, though.  I'll miss her.  She's been a lot of fun, but I am so happy I get to stay in this area.  I love being here.

To start off my email, I was reading in the scriptures and I'm pretty sure my thought from it was an inspired question.  Okay, maybe not, but I still enjoyed it, and I'm going to share it in honor of Wednesday Addams Day (which a few years ago, I decreed was the Wednesday BEFORE Halloween each year, and that is coming up in two days-- y'all better celebrate).  Anyway, I was reading, and in the scriptures it said the phrase, "the human family of Adam".  Upon reading that, I immediately thought, "Does that mean we are all part of [the] Ad[d]am's Family? (Thank you, thank you.  I'll be here all week. Try the veal.)

Okay, after my pretty awful joke, I hope everyone is still reading because we had a really good week.  At church, I kept seeing one sister walk in and every time I see her, my brain thinks, "That looks like Sarah Judd".  (For those of you who are not familiar with Sarah Judd, she was a few years older than me, was always a great example, and her dad, who was in the Stake Presidency when I was in late-elementary, early-junior high, gave talks that I really enjoyed at Stake Conference.)  Well, this Sunday, the girl who looks like Sarah Judd spoke in Church.  She introduced herself and Sarah and then her last name, and gave a really good talk.  My wheels were already turning trying to figure out if it could actually be Sarah Judd, and then she told a story about her mission, in which she referred to herself as "Sister Judd".  So, Family, there is a reason that she looks like Sarah Judd. It's because she IS Sarah Judd!!  I get to go over to her house on Friday to have dinner with them.  I love small world moments.

I also became a professional sign holder.  We got to help at a service, which was actually a tailgate party that the Seminary by Campo Verde High School was putting on before a football game.  They wanted missionaries to come (in pants, I might add--joyous day) and talk to the people who showed up.  It was really fun.  Sister Ulziiduuren and I got to hold a sign and try to get passing by cars to come enjoy the free food.  Then I spent the last half hour of it as the official D.J. because someone asked me to.  But the good news was that all the music I could pick from was on LDS.org.  We also had a Trunk or Treat, and once again, we got to be the sign holders.  Except this time, Sister Ulziiduuren was to direct people to where they could park and I was in charge of keeping people from going to where they could not park (unless their car was going to be involved in the Trunk or Treat).  I feel like I have developed a new skill now that will really bless me for the rest of my life.

At the Tailgate Party Service, a member that was there said something really nice about me.  I was talking to someone and I got the typical "How long have you been out/How long do you have left?" question. Someone else told him that I had six weeks left (to which I had to correct him and say it was 6-1/2 because I still got lots of time).  The first person asked me if I was getting trunky, and before I could even respond, the second person said, "No, she is a solid missionary.  We had her over for dinner the other night and we tried to make her trunky, but she is just rock solid."  It made me feel really good and I'm so happy that others see me as a missionary who is focused on her purpose.

As fun as being a sign holder was, the lessons we had were better.  We did a church tour with Laura and her two kids. It was a lot of fun.  We showed Aalyra the Young Women's room since she will be going to Young Women's next year.  We told her that the room was for her and she had a pretty blown away facial expression. My favorite part of the tour was showing them the baptistry.  Whenever we plan for it, it never feels like it will be a notable part because it's like "here is the baptismal font--normally it has more water in it, but you can pretend" *crickets chirp in the background*.  At least that is how I always imagine it--but the Spirit always ends up being so strong. We were having an awesome moment showing them the baptistry . . .until, over the speaker from the chapel, someone decided it was a good idea to beatbox into the microphone . . . Aalyra and Anthonee were pretty amused to see Sister Ulziiduuren and I running to the volume panel to turn it off. (And it actually was pretty funny). 

After that, we were thankfully able to bring it back, and have an awesome conversation.  We had planned to talk about following the Prophet, and I wasn't sure why I felt inspired to do that until Aalyra opened up about some questions she had after her dad showed her anti-Mormon videos about Joseph Smith.  I was just amazed at how strong she is because it was visibly concerning to her, but she decided to ask her mom and us and try to find answers.  It led into a great discussion about how the Holy Ghost speaks to us.  I feel like the Lord really inspired us to teach that on that specific week so we could help Aalyra. We also got to take them on a tour around the temple grounds (it's a nice perk when your church building is in the temple parking lot), and show them the waiting room inside the temple.  They were pretty excited that "they got to go inside the temple", but the most special moment was seeing the three of them sitting there and imagining them being sealed as an eternal family.  It was a blessing for me to see that.

We also had a couple of lessons with Charles this week!  I'm really excited for him.  All he really needs to do is come to church, which he says that he will do as soon as he can buy a suit.  I was on exchanges with Sister Donaldson for one of his lessons.  He's been reading the Book of Mormon, but it hasn't been sticking with him, so Sister Donaldson, being on top of it, taught about paying attention to the feelings we have as we read and knowing when they come from the Holy Ghost.  We talked about the First Vision and showed him the 20-minute video called "The Restoration".  We talked about how knowing the Book of Mormon is true and that Joseph Smith was called as a prophet go hand in hand and invited him to pray about if Joseph Smith was a prophet.  He said he would, and we were able to set a new baptismal date for November 25.

A few days later, we had a return appointment with Charles.  We followed up on his prayer, and he had done it! And . . . then he got on the internet and had a few questions. (I mean, I would too if the Book of Mormon Musical had been a point of reference.)  He had questions about Race and the Priesthood and Women and the Priesthood.  I was pretty sure that this was the end of the rope and Charles would not want to meet with us anymore, but we trusted God and just tried to find out what He needed Charles to know.  We first told him that the Book of Mormon Musical was not doctrine, and he was quite relieved to hear that.  He made a comment that we were kind of in the same boat as him and asked why we are okay with not holding the Priesthood.  I had to stop and think about it, to be honest, because my first impulse is always to try to make a case out of it with research and statistics and a complete bibliography in MLA format (because that's the only format I know how to do).  I felt really blessed because in that moment, as I gave the Holy Ghost a chance to speak, what came out was very much not my complete case study with research and statistics and a complete bibliography in MLA format.  Instead, I got to bear my testimony about how God loves His children and that even though I don't know all the answers, I know that He wants what is best for me.  I know that the men He has called to serve us are good men that love and cherish their wives and that Jesus Christ truly is the Head of this Church.  We continued to have an awesome discussion.  Sister Ulziiduuren showed him "A Book of Mormon Story", and we got to show him the Gospel Topic Essay about Race and the Priesthood and The Family: A Proclamation to the World. 

At the end, Charles said that when he had been praying before we got there that we would be able to answer his questions and said that he really trusts our answers.  It is such a blessing to teach Charles, and I feel so lucky to be working with so many people who are ready to receive this message.  I am gaining a stronger testimony that this is the Lord's work and that He is leading it.  It's so special to have those opportunities to teach people that are ready.  There's nothing else quite like it.  I know those moments come because this is the fullness of the Gospel of Jesus Christ again restored to the earth.  It's the best I could ask for, and I love it! I love you, Family!

Sister Emily

1001 N Burk Street
Gilbert, AZ
85234

This is us holding a sign at the tailgate party.

This is us with our signs at the Trunk or Treat.

Y'all, it's another familiar face!

That Week I Got the Cops Called on Me

Hi Family!

Someone asked me how long I had been out, and I told them sixteen months.  And then I realized that that is not actually true, and I died a little.  I don't know who thought it was a good idea to let me be seventeen months, but here I am.  And speaking of which, I made it seventeen months before I finally broke . . . and found a saxophone.  Sister Sattler plays the violin, and she managed to get one, and I've been telling myself my whole mission, "I don't need my saxophone.  It can wait until I'm home."  Well, when someone else gets an instrument, Sister Sabey needs one too, so a very nice member in my ward is letting me borrow it until I come home!  I'm trying to find a way to use it in missionary work, but also I haven't played in 17 months, so it'll take some practice first.  I already have a few ideas.  I'm just super excited. (Sister Ulziiduuren, on the other hand, is not because "she wants peace". . .)

This week was full of adventures.  I'm not even sure how to sum them all up without writing more of a novel than I normally do.  I was told that I have a southern accent this week--and that's not the first time I've been told I have an accent.  I have no idea how that happened.  Who thought that 1. I'd ever develop an accent on my mission and 2. that my accent would not be the same as the people I serve.

Our miracle street contact this week was talking to a young man named Tyler.  We were trying to contact a less-active member, but she was not home, and Tyler was standing in his driveway just next door.  He told us that he believes in science up front, and told us that he was going to give us homework--to watch a documentary on Netflix.  He told us that if we didn't do it, that he would be "not angry, just disappointed".  I swear that he got that straight out of Preach My Gospel.  We had to break it to him that we didn't watch Netflix on our missions, and I think he almost passed out.  (Okay, not quite, but he didn't know what to do with that information.)  But he had lots of questions, so we had a pretty good conversation.  We asked him to watch the video called "The Hope of God's Light" because he had a lot of questions about receiving answers to prayers.  At the end, I gave him a copy of the Book of Mormon and told him that the book is very special to me, and then had to back up because he didn't want to take the copy as it was "very special to me".  I told him it's like if I had a Harry Potter book.  I don't care what copy you give me--it's still Harry Potter.  Then he freaked out that we hadn't boycotted Harry Potter because it had witchcraft.  In the end, he accepted a copy and said he would look at the video.

We also got to teach the Eeds again!  We had a lesson plan, but then they requested to read from the Book of Mormon Stories book, so we did that, and then last minute they asked about the Ten Commandments.  It felt all over the place, but we had a fun time teaching them the ten commandments.  We have little hand signs to help kids remember the ten commandments (I can't really explain them over the computer, so I'll have to show y'all that at a future date).  They thought they were the best, so we had a lot of fun.  They were pretty excited to show their friends what they learned.

Our last crazy adventure for the week is that we had the cops called on us.  Yep, that's right, the police.  It was pretty crazy.  One of our members had asked us to contact their neighbor named Paul.  We had tried a few times, but he wasn't home.  Well, this time, we tried and he was home and immediately informed us that he was not interested.  Just to be sure we had met who we thought we had, I asked, "Are you Paul?"  He was a little shocked and asked how I knew his name, so we told him "your neighbors set us on you".  He thought that was funny, but I guess not funny enough because he then spent a good while telling us that we were trespassing and soliciting, and there was really no point to try to say otherwise.  He demanded to know the contact information for "our bishop", took down our names, and told us he was going to call the cops.   I'm still here, so I guess that we are okay.  But, hey, who'd've thought that would happen in Gilbert?  I have all the crazy mission stories now.

We had Stake Conference this week, and I am pretty sure that I have had Stake Conference in every area that I have been in on my mission.  It's so great.  It's been cool how my attitude about Stake Conference has changed throughout my mission from "Yay! Shorter Church!" to a time that I look forward to and receive personal revelation from.  There was one talk that I really liked about developing meekness, and a large part of it was about patience.  A lot of people said that talk was probably directed at them, but let's be real, Family.  That talk was directed at me.  The speaker talked about how patience leads us to have self-control, orderly control, greater love, and a greater ability to hear the Spirit guide you.  One quote I especially liked said, "Patience in the little things prepares us to be patient when the big things hit".  The speaker tied the whole thing back to Pahoran's response to Moroni's epistle.  It was incredible.  Another speaker said that the Lord prepares us for greater things than we could ever know, even when we pray about a question that is totally different than the answer we received.  There was so much other good stuff, but that would take a whole email in and of itself to explain.  We'll just stop at saying I have so much that I can work on, and I feel an excitement that the Lord is going to help me.

One thing I've been working on is memorizing "The Living Christ".  Since we have been receiving a lot of counsel from the last few General Conferences about studying it, I decided that I should probably do it--I keep noticing it, so God is probably trying to tell me something and I should probably take the hint.  It's been incredible because I've never given that document much thought before, but I always feel the Spirit so strongly as I have been working on memorizing it.  It's given me a stronger testimony of the Savior and of the authority of those He has called as Prophets, Seers, and Revelators. It's an inspired document, and I know the Lord has been guiding me.  It's the best thing ever to see themes that I've noticed all throughout my mission tying together.  I know the Lord is at the head of this work.  I love it so so much!  Even when it's hard, I've had the blessing of feeling the Lord helping me in greater abundance than I'd noticed before.  I know He's helping me all the time, but I'm glad that I'm finally in a place where I can begin to appreciate it.  I love this work and the time I still have to keep feeling this wonderful Spirit and sharing just a little bit with y'all over email.  I love you!

Sister Emily

1001 N Burk Street
Gilbert, AZ
85234

Sister Ulziiduuren really wanted a biking selfie

We match way too often #compunity (It gets worse because if you use the X-Ray filter,

 the color on our shirts are just swapped with each other).

Post District Meeting Chick-Fil-A (oh and I got a Chick-fil-a T-Shirt).

Here are (most of) the Elders, so they don't feel left out

So I'm 21 now. Huh.

Hi Family!!

I just wanted to thank everyone for the birthday wishes.  It made my day really special.  I'll tell you more about it later :)

My district leader gave me a challenge this week.  He asked me to write five things that went well each day in my journal.  People have given me this challenge before, but I usually forgot to carry through, so now my journal entries look more like lists every day, but it's been really fun to be able to reflect on just how much God has been in my life. And with that, now I'm all ready to tell y'all about things that were awesome this week.

We went tracting this week and met a girl named Allie.  She was fun to talk to and has lots of Mormon friends.  We introduced ourselves saying, "We're the missionaries and we are kinda new to the area" sort of deal.  Well, she misunderstood and thought I meant I was a new missionary.  It was a funny conversation because she straight up said it was awkward, so we apologized and made comments about trying to not be awkward during our conversation, so at one point she told me, "It's okay, you're still learning".  I liked that response, so I went with it.  This is official news now: I am still learning.  I have lots to do :)

I guess that is my funny moment for the week.  I had an awesome experience doing service this week.  We were helping someone named Aimee, and while we were talking, she mentioned the Las Vegas Shooting, and asked, "What does your book say about that?"  It was awesome because it was a totally unplanned teaching opportunity.  I got to talk to her about how God is in charge and how in the eternal perspective, He knows who those people that would be coming home that day were.  I remembered a scripture about it, so I got to share that with her.  I told her about the Nephites and how they sometimes had wars happen, and then shared Alma 56:11, which says, "Nevertheless, we may console ourselves in this point, that they have died in the cause of their country and of their God, yea, and they are happy."  She really liked it and even asked me to write it down so she could share it with a friend!

We also got to see our friend Jaime again! I mentioned him before.  He was the man in scrubs that we gave a Book of Mormon to.  We stopped by and he spent a long while telling us his life story, but it was cool because we got to testify of the Savior and invite him to church.  He said that he did not want to, but "if his Heavenly Father was calling him, he would obey".  I'm hoping we get to see him at church one of these days.  He said we had shown up at the perfect time, and I was really happy that we got to talk to him again.

Now I will tell y'all about my 21st birthday.  We had Zone Sports, and we played my favorite game, which is called "Chair Soccer".  I asked all of the zone to come (there are one or two that don't usually come), and they all came!!!  We went out and worked and it was a pretty normal day, but we got to have dinner with Sister Sorenson and Sister Donaldson.  It was a lot of fun and they worked really hard to make sure it was a special birthday.

We got to end off the evening by stopping by Charles, and it turned into a teaching appointment!  We taught him the Plan of Salvation, and he absolutely loved it!  It was so good.  We are doing a church tour with him this upcoming week, and I couldn't be more excited.  We got to testify and it strengthened my own testimony of the Plan of Salvation as we did so.  Charles even commented that he could see that this was "in our hearts".  It made me so grateful for a loving Heavenly Father and for all that He does for us, including and most importantly, sending His Son to die for us.  I love the Gospel, I love sharing it, and Mom got her wish for my birthday--I was definitely just a little spoiled in a lot of ways.  I'm so blessed to be serving here and to have an awesome family that is so supportive.  I love you!

Sister Emily

1001 N Burk Street
Gilbert, AZ
85234

Sister Sattler and Ogawa surprised me by decorating the kitchen

We were at House of Refuge when I saw a missionary car driving through.

I might have chased them down and hopped in the back seat.

Don't worry, it wasn't for me. 

I just saw this and laughed because music and upcoming birthdays.

Revelation Carefully Recorded is Revelation in a Time of Need

Hi Family!!

Y'all, I have been so multicultural this week.  I was not expecting to get to try crazy foreign foods when I came to Arizona (except maybe a little Mexican food, which has been very good), but in the last three or so weeks, I've gotten to try authentic Russian, Mongolian, Japanese, Colombian, and Macedonian/Albanian food.

It's been another incredible week here in the Arizona Gilbert Mission.  I got the email for MyPlan this week, a six week course that missionaries complete prior to returning home.   I don't have to start it for . . . a long, long time still, but it was still weird to get the email.  One thing that has been cool about my mission is that it has changed the way I deal with stress (and let's be real, getting that email was a wee bit stressful, among other things).  Before my mission, I probably would have been hiding myself behind a screen, watching TV or mindlessly scrolling down a social media site.  Well, that's not really an option for me, so I've learned to rely more on prayer and reading the scriptures or asking for a priesthood blessing.  I think I knew that I'd learned to rely on that somewhere in the back of my head, but it really clicked when I was listening to a song the other day.  It was a song I've listened to a lot on my mission, and one of the lines says, "I will feel no fear.  I know that You are here."  I realized then just how amazing it is that any time I am having a hard day or need some help, I always know a sure place to turn 1000% of the time.  I can always turn to Jesus Christ--and as I've been serving, it's something that has become a lot more instinctive for me.

My funny moment for this week also relates to that.  Well, more with the MyPlan email.  Elder Matua, who I served with in Highland Zone, is in Temple View Zone now.  Back in Highland, everyone always said we acted just like siblings.  Well, the sibling rivalry is still going strong.  It is quite a joy.  When I was at District Meeting, I overheard some of the Elders talking about MyPlan.  I made a comment like, "Too soon! I just got that email!"  And family, I kid you not, there was sheer panic in Elder Matua's eyes as he yelled, "You're going home??"  It was fabulous.

This week was a week full of miracles, too.  On Friday, the Zone decided to go to In 'n Out before heading to a service project.  We were absolutely brilliant and went right in the thick of the lunch rush.  So I sat and waited a long time for my food.  There was a lady standing by me, and so I decided to start talking to her.  Her name is Jo.  We started talking, and when we all got our food, the other sisters and I got to sit and talk to Jo.  I think what made it special is that Jo is not LDS, but she was perfectly happy sitting and talking with missionaries.  It's nice to not have people run away from you.  She said she would keep the missionaries in her prayers.

We met with Charles again this week.  He is awesome.  He loves the Book of Mormon and hearing about Christ's ministry, and he is so excited to learn.  This week, we were able to invite him to be baptized, and he said yes for October 21!

Laura and her kids also met with us, and that was another amazing lesson.  Sister Schultz, the Primary President, came with us to tell Anthonee and Alyra about primary.  We taught them about the Gospel of Jesus Christ, and it was so fun to see the kids teaching each other when they had questions.  Anthonee and Alyra are so smart.  Sister Schultz also bore an amazing testimony while we were there, and we were able to invite Laura and her kids to be baptized too!  They set a baptismal date for November 8.

There is also this lady in our stake named Sister Worley.  She is awesome.  She called us up because she wanted to make homemade bread and take them to people in our area.  She said she's been doing this for the last 40 years and makes about 800 loaves of bread each month.  She said she's seen lots of miracles come from it, so she wants to do it with all the missionaries in the stake.  We decided to take one of our loaves to Renee.  She had been meeting with missionaries in Mesa, and Sister Ulziiduuren had been able to help them move in when they came to Gilbert.  It was just meant to be a quick stop by, but we talked to her a bit, and she is going through a bit of a rough patch.  Sister Worley was with us mentioned priesthood blessings, so we were able to offer her one.  She said yes, so on Sunday, we got to bring two men from the ward.  It was a beautiful blessing, and especially after Elder Rasband's talk, I don't think it was by chance that we went.

Speaking of Conference, (see how I casually did that?) I was so grateful to have been able to watch it this weekend.  I took questions, and it was amazing to, once again, see all of them answered.  Afterwards, I was asked which was my favorite talk, and I suddenly could not remember many specific talks for the life of me.  So I thought of what I did remember, and I remembered how happy and peaceful I felt, and I remembered the answers to my questions.  I thought it was powerful that out of all the things I could remember, the things that the Spirit needed me to know was what actually stuck.  I love that personal revelation works like that. And of course, I was able to take notes because, as I've been told over and over on the mission, "Revelation carefully recorded is revelation in a time of need".  I looked back at my notes and I realized that in addition to what I could immediately recall, I had recorded a lot of themes: serving others, putting down the smartphone, continuing to be faithful, moving forward with faith, and not being afraid.  Elder Vaupel (my district leader) pointed out that there was a lot interwoven about things pertaining to post-mission life.  It was interesting that he was the one to point that out because he will be finishing his mission six weeks after me.  I realized that it truly is revelation for what we need to know for the next six months, on a very general AND a very specific and individual basis.  I'm not excited to come home because I still have so much to do here, but I am grateful for a Heavenly Father who gives me specific direction for what I need to know in all things. But don't worry too much, Family.  I still love you!

Sister Emily

1001 N Burk Street
Gilbert, AZ
85234

I'm still adding to my collection of how many languages I can say "I am an apple" in.  Featuring: Mongolian, Arabian, and Japanese.

Sitting in a couch in the back of a truck

Smart Phone + Temple View Zone = lots of selfies with the temple