Christmas Time is Here!

We went and helped decorate for the Ward Christmas Party last week. It was the most elaborate Ward party I have ever seen. It was fun helping to decorate, I felt like I was at my job again. :) The party was Polar Express themed and they even made a train!

Choo-choo!

We were running to see Santa!

Dinner time at the Christmas Party!

The Polar Express at the party. It was so awesome!

Heidi didn't have any Christmas decorations and has been on a tight budget lately, so I brought over all of the Christmas decorations yall have sent me and we decorated her house!

On Monday night we were visiting Heidi and we were all sitting on the couch talking. Heidi stops suddenly and is looking at the frosted window by the door and there is a shadow that looks like a person right outside of it. She whispers, "there is a person outside of the door." The door wasn't locked and it looked like there was someone leaning against the wall right outside of it. We were all freaking out! Then Heidi said, "I have an umbrella by the door." So she tip-toes to the door and grabs the umbrella, holds it behind her back, and then opens the door. And there was a Christmas tree leaning against the wall! Someone had brought Heidi a Christmas tree and a gift card with money to buy Christmas presents. It was truly a miracle and so amazing! And it made for a funny story that we were all so scared over a Christmas tree. And Heidi grabbed an umbrella for protection haha. We brought in the tree and decorated it! It was so perfect and I am glad Sister Kerr and I were there for it.

After decorating the tree we all went over and spent the rest of the evening at the Levensellers home for our last night in Aloha. Sister Levenseller let us open our Christmas presents since we were leaving. She made blankets for Sister Kerr and I. They are the cutest. I love that family. Heidi gave me an ornament off her tree. I love these people. I am so grateful to know them.

Thanksgiving and Claudia's Baptism

 We made Oreo turkeys with one of our less actives for Family Home Evening! It was so much fun and reminded me of home :)

Us with our turkeys!

Thanksgiving morning!!! I wasn't feeling so well, but I love Sister Kerr so much. She is the best companion I could have ever asked for.

Visiting President and Sister Morby Thanksgiving morning. I love them so much and am so grateful for them and their help and support.

Sister Kerr with a turkey on her head!

Doing service. We cleaned up the road :)

The whole litter crew!

The Aloha 2nd missionaries <3

Claudia got baptized!!!!!!! It was another wonderful baptism. She is amazing and I am so happy for her and her new life! 

Heidi's Baptism

November 18, 2013
Hi Everyone!!! I love you all so much.

It was such a wonderful week!!!

And Guess What??

It went by so fast!!! :)

Last Tuesday morning we woke up and were getting ready for the day when we noticed that it was smelling really strongly of smoke.  Like a fire.  It just kept getting worse and worse and we realized it was coming from the vent.  It started getting a little smokey too we thought.  Then the smell just kept getting stronger and stronger. Sister Kerr and I kind of started freaking out a little and were like, "maybe we should go tell the office..." and then when the smell kept getting stronger I said to Sister Kerr, "maybe you should call the fire department!" and Sister Kerr said, "But I've never done that before... I don't want to. You do it." and I said, "But I've never done it before either! I'm scared!"  So we decided to just walk down and tell the office.  They quickly came up and inspected and said it was just because the people down below us were using their fireplace for the first time.  We were really really glad we were both too chicken to call the fire department. haha  That would have been really embarrassing... It was funny though.  We laughed about it the rest of the day.  Hopefully in a real fire emergency one of us would be brave enough to call 911.

That night on our way home I said to Sister Kerr, "I really hope our apartment isn't burned down because I am way too tired for that tonight..."  She agreed.

On Wednesday night Sister Kerr and I went on splits.  It was my first time.  I went with Sister Read and Sister Kerr went with Sister Anderson.  They are both older ladies in our ward and are some of the ward missionaries.  Sister Read and I went and saw a less active and it was really fun!  We finished early and went back to Sister Read's house where we were going to meet Sister Kerr and Sister Anderson when they were done.  We talked and ate cookies.  It was weird not being with Sister Kerr... haha  It was fun though.

On Thursday night we had that phone call with Janelle, the girl we found tracting last week.  She called and had some questions for us.  A LOT of questions.  The first one was, "You said to me that if I read the Book of Mormon and prayed about it, I would come to know it is true. What is your experience with that?"  At that point I was feeling okay about the questions, haha because I could totally answer that.  But then her questions got progressively more deep and intense and she was throwing scriptures at us in the bible trying to contradict everything we said... Sister Kerr and I both came away from that experience feeling weird about it and I was just feeling blue.  The next morning I woke up though and during my scripture study I realized, I could answer all those questions!!!  I did answer all those questions!  Whether she was open to us or not, we could still answer all of the things she was asking!  I will never have to wonder EVER about the things she was wondering about.  Those questions of the soul are answered in the gospel.  As I studied that morning more about the questions she asked, everything fell into place . Everything came together perfectly.  We have the fullness of the gospel.  We have all of the answers.  We never have to walk in darkness or confusion because the gospel is complete and full, without any holes.  It is perfect.  I am so grateful we had that experience, because it has strengthened my testimony so much.  I have more gratitude for the gospel than I could ever express.  We have the truth.  There is no need to wonder.  We are going to talk to Janelle again on Thursday.  If she isn't open to what we are saying then we will stop talking to her, but hopefully her heart will be softened and her questions can be answered through the gospel.  She has so many questions. And they can ALL be answered.

On Thursday we also went and saw Mandy, a less active member, and her family.  We invited them to go to the Visitors Center with us on Friday and they said yes.  But that night we got a call from her saying she wasn't feeling well and we would probably just need to wait and go next week.  At 1:50 on Friday we texted her just to make sure we weren't going (we were planning on leaving at 2) and she texted back, "Of course!!!  We are just about ready to go!"  Sister Kerr and I seriously were so taken back.  We really didn't think we were going!!! haha  It was so awesome.  Mandy and her two daughters and us went and it was SO much fun.  It was such a special experience.  Mandy expressed to us that one of the things that caught her attention about our church was baptisms for the dead.  She loves that concept.  She has wanted to go so badly ever since.  When we were watching the films about temples she said, "I want to go in so badly."  We said, we can work towards that!!!!  Her attitude was, are you kidding me?  Me??  But she can do it... It was such a special day.  It really was so amazing and such a blessing.  Sister Kerr and I needed a pick-me-up after Thursday, and that was it.  It was so special.  I love the temple.  On the way home from the Visitors Center, Mandy took us to Cold Stone :) Yumm.

Saturday was the best day of my mission so far.  HEIDI GOT BAPTIZED!!!!  We went and did service for her that morning and helped her clean her house and shared in her excitement for that evening. Then we went to see Claudia, our investigator getting baptized on the 30.  We helped her decorate for her 18th birthday!! She can get baptized now! :)  Then we went and contacted a less active who was so welcoming and sweet and we ended up talking for a long time.  Then Sister Kerr and I had to run to dairy queen really quick and get some food in us then we went to the baptism...

Heidi looked so beautiful in her new outfit she got and it was just the most exciting thing ever.  She was so happy.  Being a part of her journey has been such an incredible blessing.  I feel so beyond blessed that Heavenly Father trusted me enough to help Heidi in this process.  Honestly though, I don't feel like I did anything!!!  She has been so faithful and has just immediately accepted everything.  But when she tells her story she says, "I was searching for so long for a religion.  There was something missing in my life and I knew it.  And then the Sister Missionaries came to my house and immediately I knew I found home."  She tells everyone that.  And when she says the part about how we came to her house and she knew she found home, I am filled with so much joy.  When she says that it makes me realize I actually did do something, I showed up :)  Heavenly Father did the rest, but I am grateful I was able to show up. :)

Heidi couldn't stop smiling after her baptism.  There is nothing more special than seeing an investigator come up out of the water.  I have never been filled with more love in my life.  Heidi expressed some concerns to us before that she was worried she wouldn't feel different.  But coming up out of the water she said in her cute Heidi voice, "Oh yeah."  She felt it. :)  We went to her house that night to be with her and her son Noah and we played a couple games with them.  It felt different being around her.  You could seriously feel a huge difference.  Her whole home felt different, like we were entering a members home for family home evening or something.  It was awesome.  I love her so much.  This is why I came, this is what it is about.  I told Sister Kerr we need to have a baptism a week now because that was just too amazing. :)

Yesterday she received the Gift of the Holy Ghost in sacrament meeting.  She asked one of the Elders serving in our ward to give it.  He is from Virginia and has a little accent and a really deep voice.  We asked Heidi why she picked him and she said, "His voice is just so cool!" hahahaha  She is so adorable.

I am so grateful for the wonderful week it has been.  I am so grateful for the BILLION letters and packages I got this week.  I am SO grateful for that.  I feel so loved. :)  Letters and packages make a world of a difference.  It can completely change a day.  I love you all.  Thank you for your support.

I am grateful for the Book of Mormon. I know that the gospel has been restored in its fullness.  This is the Lords church.  We can find answers to all of our questions.  As we make The Savior our foundation and the center of our life, we are blessed beyond measure.  He lives.  We can know Him personally.  I am grateful for that.

I love you all.

Love, Sister Dittmar

The Visitors Center

November 11, 2013
Hola mi familia!!!! :)
I love you all so much. THANK YOU for your emails and letters and packages.  You are the best.
This has been an awesome week.

On Tuesday I woke up and we had a day of tracting ahead of us.  I was determined to make the best of tracting that day.  I knew that I needed to overcome my fear of it and just figure out what I need to do to not dread it so much. haha  So I was determined to face it with a good attitude.  And guess what?  It was actually fun!!!  I made it a point to keep a conversation going with Sister Kerr between houses and just focus on how amazing and special the gospel is.  It's not an annoying thing us knocking on their door, we are offering them the greatest joy that they could possibly have in their lives!!!  We actually had success too!! Within the hour we had two people who said we could come back and we set up appointments with!!!  We knocked on a door and a man answered, and we let him know who we are and the gospel has been restored and then he told us to hold on and walked away and left the door open, then a lady comes back and we tell her the same thing and ask if we could come back and teach her more, and she said yes!!!  It was so exciting.  The other door we knocked on we did the same thing, and she said she didn't have time right now but that she is interested and gave us a time to come back.  Anyway, it was just so awesome to see some success tracting.
And then we got back in the car.
And we realized we had just tracted a street right outside our area.
Ugh.
So we gave the names to the Elders in the area next to ours and they expressed their gratitude because they had been praying for new investigators. haha
So anyway, at least it was a fun, successful tracting day!  I really didn't think that was possible to have. haha
 In return though, the Elders in our ward gave us two names of ladies they found tracting.  One is named Tina and the others name is Marie.  My name!!!  That was random and funny I thought.  We haven't met with them yet since the Elders gave us the wrong apt # for Tina and Marie was sick when we went over.  But we will see them both this week.  That same day we went and tried to contact them, it was the rainiest day and all of our appointments feel through (literally ALL) and we tracted and tried contacting all day and nobody would let us in and we were soaked and cold.  It was such a typical missionary day I felt like haha.
 On Wednesday night we got to go to the temple. I can't even begin to express my gratitude for being able to go.  We didn't get to do a session or anything, we just went to a sealing of some people in Sister Kerr's old area she had worked with.  I was so grateful I got to go along.  The temple feels like home.  It gives me strength.  I am so grateful for the temple.  I had such a special experience there.  I am so grateful. Sister Acosta, a lady in our ward, drove us.  She is our friend :)  We love her so much!  She has the cutest little boy names Jonas and one on the way here pretty soon.  After the temple she took us to get frozen yogurt and it felt like I was a normal person again and it was just so nice.
On Thursday morning we met with Heidi.  We taught her the Word of Wisdom and the Law of Tithing.  It was one of the most incredible experiences of my life.  We were a little worried about how she would receive the Word of Wisdom.  She has had awful experiences in the past and so had already given up a lot of those things in her life, so the only issue she had was coffee and tea.  We taught her about this and laughing she exclaimed, "Why couldn't you have taught me this tonight!???  Or tomorrow!???" haha  It was so funny!  But she seriously just soaks everything we teach her up and her attitude towards it was completely "now that I know it's wrong I won't do it anymore." She told us, "you need to help me get rid of everything right now."  We helped her get rid of her entire coffee maker and all of her tea.  When I say "she got rid of it" I mean she threw every bit of it away.  We walked out to the dumpsters and did it right then.  I have never seen such great faith.  She has been struggling a lot financially, but she wouldn't sell the coffee maker or any of it because she told us, "I can't even sell it because then I would be supporting someone else sinning!"  She literally has such great faith that the gospel is going to change her life for the better and she is totally willing to give everything up completely that she needs to.  She is willing to do everything Heavenly Father is asking her to do.  Because she has been struggling financially, we knew that tithing might be hard for her as well.  We bore testimony of the blessings that will come from this law as described all throughout the scriptures.  She committed to paying it even though she expressed how she didn't know how she would be able to pay rent and buy gas, etc...  But as we bore testimony to her that the Lord would provide a way, she told us she knows He will too.  Later that day she called to tell us her miracle.  She had been trying to sell something on KSL and had received no offers so the thought came to her to go look at the ad, just to see why it would be that no one was responding to it.  She saw that she had put her phone# down wrong!  So she changed it and a few minutes later someone called her and she sold it.  She called to tell us that "the Lord provided her the money to pay her tithing before she even paid it!"  It was amazing.  It was incredible also that she recognized that this was from the Lord.  She is so amazing.
Later that day we took Juana, an investigator we got from the Spanish Elders, to the Visitors Center!!  Sister Acosta drove us.  It was so amazing.  The Portland Temple has an atrium that anyone can go in.  So you can walk in the temple with your investigators and off the lobby you can go in the atrium.  Just being that far into the temple, you can feel the difference of being in the temple versus the world.  The Spirit is so strong as you walk through those doors.  Juana soaked it all up.  She loved it.
The next day we took Heidi!  Sister Reid drove us.  Being in the atrium, she soaked it all up as well.  Heidi and Juana both could feel that distinct difference.  That the temple was something special.  When we came out of the temple Heidi said to us, "I want to go buy skirts for church."  She has just been wearing normal clothes because she says that she didn't think the Lord cares what she wears.  But she said being in the temple she realized that we don't dress up because the Lord cares what we are wearing, but she wants to dress up so that she can honor the Lord.  The next day she went to DI and bought two new skirts. :)  It was amazing.  It was especially incredible to me that she realized that all on her own and while she was in the atrium of the temple.  Another special thing about the temple that day was while we were walking on the grounds Heidi and I were able to talk just her and I and I was able to share with her my testimony of the temple.  I told her in a year Sister Kerr and I would come back and go there with her.  Baptism is the first step, and then she can go do baptisms for the dead!  And I told her to keep her eye on a year from now when she can go through the temple.  I can't wait to come back for that!!!
On Friday night we went to the Browns house for dinner.  It was yummy and fun to see Kelly again.  It is still so funny that I am serving in her ward. haha
On Saturday we went tracting again and made sure that the street was for sure for sure in our ward boundaries haha.  We knocked on the door of this one lady and she had an adorable little boy.  She said that she wasn't interested and I asked if we could leave her a Book of Mormon and bore testimony of it and she said, "I already have one."  She had gotten it in high school a few years ago from some friends.  I asked if we could come back and discuss any questions she had about it and she said that she was busy most of the time with her little boy.  We asked for her number and she said no but that we could give her our number and she would let us know if she had any questions.  So we left our card.  After an hour of no success, I was joking with Sister Kerr about Daddy's favorite movie, The Best Two Years.  We were talking about that part where Elder Calhoun gives his information to that guy, and his companion is bummed and like oh well, he isn't going to call, that is that.  But then how Elder Calhoun prays he will call and he calls while they are praying.  hahaha So funny.  So I told Sister Kerr that we are definitely praying when we get home, because my Dad would love it if that happened to us! :) haha  An hour later, right before walking into dinner, Janelle texts us. haha  We were freaking out!!!!!!!  We were so excited.  She said, "Hi, I'm that girl you just met on the doorstep with the little boy.  I do have some questions for you."  She doesn't want us to come by, but we are going to talk to her on the phone.  So we don't have a real appointment YET, but we are hopeful. :) That's our little Best Two Years story. :)
Saturday night we got a call from the Bishopric asking us to speak in church the next day.  We of course said yes :)  The Elders and us both spoke.  I spoke on the Plan of Salvation.  It was such a good day at church yesterday.  Sister Kerr and I had 4 investigators in sacrament meeting!!!  And one less active who we love so much came too!!!  It was so so awesome.  Juana's kids, Alex and Olivia, came and they loved primary!  Also, after church I was talking to Noah (Heidi's 11 year old son who the Elders just started teaching) and he couldn't stop smiling.  He was trying so hard not to smile.  He never smiles and is the most mellow kid ever. haha  But he loved church so much!!!  He even told his mom that he was sad Sunday was over!  Also, a cute story from last week at church that Heidi told us, when Heidi got up and bore her testimony in fast and testimony meeting she said that when she sat back down Noah patted her leg and said, "Nice speech mom." haha  So cute.
It was a really awesome week.  We taught Claudia last night. She turns 18 on the 17th, so she wanted to get baptized on the 16th and confirmed on the 17th, but her dad wouldn't sign the papers for one day early. :( So she has to wait until the 30th now since her Uncle can't come to baptize her until then if she doesn't do it this Saturday.  But Heidi and Juana both had their interviews yesterday and are good to go so we have two baptisms this weekend!!! Yay!!! :)

I know the Lord lives and this truly is His gospel.  I have a testimony of the Book of Mormon.  I have never felt more connected to the missionaries we read about in the Book of Mormon than I do now, being a missionary.  I love the hour in the morning of personal study, where I can feel that personal connection as I read of their accounts of missionary work.  I love this gospel. This truly is the Lords work.  I admire the strength of Alma, and Ammon, and Mormon and Moroni and the many others we learn from in the scriptures who were filled with the "love of God" and endured many afflictions and trials to bring the joy of the gospel to others.  I read about the "incomprehensible joy" talked about in reference to missionary work all throughout the Book of Mormon, and I am grateful to have the opportunity of tasting of this joy.  With that comes times of heartache and trial, but those moments of joy outweigh the hard times.  True joy comes in selfless service.  I am grateful for this time to learn how to lose myself in the service of my brothers and sisters.  I know without a doubt that we have a Father and Heaven who knows each of us and loves us.  We lived with Him before we came to this earth and He truly does have a plan for each of us.  I can't begin to express how deeply I love the gospel.  I pray that everyone can taste of the peace and pure joy the gospel brings.

Halloween in Oregon

Hi Everyone!
I hope yall had a great Halloween.  I am personally EXTREMELY glad Halloween is over.  Oregon people decorate for Halloween SO MUCH.  Like more than I have ever seen.  Almost every single house is so decorated, which makes it so much more scary when tracting.  I am looking forward for when the decorations start coming down, which hasn't happened yet.
Halloween day though was a really great day.  We had an appointment with a 9 year old little boy named Alex.  His mom is Juana and she is taking lessons from the Spanish Elders but Alex likes English better and she wanted him to take the lessons from us.  It was really fun.  He is so cute.  Then we went tracting and then went to an inactive families house and helped the 9 year old girl, Montana, get ready for her Halloween costume.  We did her makeup and helped her put her wig on.  haha it was fun.  At around 4:30 Sister Kerr and I were starving but dinner wasn't until 6:30.  We decided to stop at Wendys and get a "snack" while we did our weekly planning.  We were so so so hungry, but we didn't want to be full for dinner, so we were debating on whether to get a burger or not.  We had dinner at the RS President's house that night and she is a very proper, sweet lady and we figured that she was probably going to be a super healthy eater and it probably wouldn't be the most filling meal.  So we got a spicy chicken sandwich, fries, and a frosty, from the dollar menu.  Then we did our weekly planning and ate our "snack" and were so completely stuffed after that.  aha But we went to dinner, and for dinner she had made very cheesy lasagna and hot dogs and salad.  Then for dessert she served us Albertson donuts (mmm) AND ice cream.  hahaha we seriously underestimated her!  It was hilarious.  We were SO full after I could hardly move. haha it was so funny.
Earlier that day we had been blasting the heat in the car and Sister Kerr said, "Let's turn the heat off, it is SO hot in here."  Literally right after she said that, we passed our Elders on their bikes and they were so bundled up.  We just found it ironic and really hilarious.  It is so freezing outside, I am grateful for our car.
November 1st was a good day.  We were tracting at one point and met a boy in his twenties who had just moved from Florida into his new house.  He was eager to talk because he hasn't made any friends here yet.  We could tell he was lonely.  We talked on the porch a while and he said he believed in science, not God. But because he was so lonely, he kept talking to us for a long time and we gave him the Book of Mormon and as we were leaving he said he would look into reading it.  So we told the Elders and they are going to go over there and be his friend :)  haha Hopefully we can sweep in there with a lot of Mormon friends before he finds other friends.  I just thought it was a blessing running into him like that.
So how it works with two sets of missionaries in the ward is we split the ward for tracting purposes only. Just so that we aren't tracting in the same areas.  But for teaching and everything else we both cover the whole ward.  If the Elders find someone who would be better suited for us, they give them to us, and vice-versa.  So like when we met that single guy, we told them about him.  And they tracted into a single lady the other day and set an appointment up for us with her on Wednesday.  That has happened a lot so it works out well.  They are also going to start teaching our investigator Heidi's 11 year old boy.  He doesn't have any male figures in his life at all.  He lives with his mom and his sister and her two baby girls.  So the Elders can be his buddies more than we can.  So they are starting to teach him.
Friday night we met with Heidi.  Last Monday we had planned on teaching her the Plan of Salvation but she didn't read the chapter we left her to read, so we just read 3 Nephi 11 with her instead. So on Friday we taught her the Plan of Salvation.  It was SO good. The whole time Heidi was saying, "This makes sense." Also, the member we brought with us,  Sister Fiatoa, clicked with her and her daughter,  so well. I asked Heidi if she would be baptized on November 16, and she said YES!!!!!  I asked her and everything was silent while I was asking her, the little girls weren't making noise, it was just so perfect.  The spirit was so strong and Heidi responded immediately after I asked the question. She just quietly said, "yes."  And she kept saying yes and we were all so excited and then she got super excited and it was just so happy!!
Heidi also bore her testimony yesterday at church.  haha She asked us during the meeting if she had to be baptized to go up there and we said no and she just went up!!!  She is seriously so awesome.  She started off by saying, "I don't really know what bearing your testimony means," and then she bore a beautiful testimony about how she has been searching for home for a long time and this is home.
Jay also asked about meals. This past weeks dinners were seriously UNBELIEVABLE. They were all so beyond good. hahaha Last Tuesday we ate at Sister Brennan's house and we had this delicious chili on rice, a recipe she invented. She is one of those awesome people who get paid to have a blog.  She invents her own recipes.  I asked for her blog address to give to yall.  It is www.laurenslatest.com.
That's all I am going to write today.  Thank you for your prayers.  I love you all so much and miss you more than I could possibly express. Write me please! :)
I love you bye.

Another P-day!

Sister Kerr and I in our apartment.

Beautiful fall leaves in Oregon.

Hi Everyone! Here we are again, another P-day! I am so grateful for P-days. They are so necessary and needed. It feels like it has been at least 4 months since I last wrote. haha So I am not as organized this week with what to write, but I will do my best to share as much as possible about what has happened.
Wednesday was my first real day in the mission field. I'll start out with my first experience tracting. It was THE scariest moment of my life. haha Tracting is SO terrifying for me!!! We went to the first door and the guy took the Book of Mormon and said we could come back Saturday! Unfortunately, he didn't answer on Saturday. But we will try again. On that first tracting experience we also ran into an inactive member who we are going to go see today and gave out one other Book of Mormon. After we stopped tracting that day I was seriously craving to keep tracting more. Which is so weird. I think I just really wanted to keep going so that I could get used to it. But, I don't feel like that after tracting anymore. haha
On Saturday we went tracting and we were having no success at all. One lady opened her door and immediately yelled, "I'm not interested, I practice witchcraft!" Ummm... We also had a guy who had been given anti literature and was extremely not welcoming.
As we were walking back to the car we stopped and talked to a man and woman who were unloading flowers out of the back of their car to see if they needed help. The man gave Sister Kerr and I each a bouquet of flowers and said that they sold flowers at the farmers market and didn't sell a lot today and that maybe those would brighten our day a little. I needed it! We then gave them a Book of Mormon and they weren't interested at all in us after that but we left them with it anyway. It was so nice of him to give us flowers though. We gave one to Sister Levinseller, who came with us to an appointment later that day, and another bouquet to Sister Kavenaugh, who fed us dinner that night.
Whenever we go tracting I have to take it one door at a time or else I feel as if I might collapse. haha it is so hard for me. I sing a hymn in my head and picture angels walking beside me and focus on how these peoples lives could change with this knock on the door. Help the missionaries in your area!!!! Tracting is wonderful and could potentially be successful, but it is so much better to receive referrals. ALWAYS be looking for people you can refer to the missionaries. That will bring the most success.
We got a referral the day after we got here from Mormon.org. It was from a lady in Washington referring her friend in our ward. The lady said only the sister missionaries could come by, so what a blessing it is that we got here the day before! Her name is Heidi and she has had a hard life, and called her member friend in Washington saying that she was missing something important in her life. So her friend referred her to us. Heidi said that she has investigated almost every church there is and is still missing something and she decided maybe it was time to try our church. We went and saw her and she told us how lately she has felt "spiritually hungry". She uses phrases like that a lot that are so familiar to us, but she always says, "I know this sounds so so weird..." and then she will describe how she is "spiritually hungry" or how she felt her prayer was answered or how she recognizes a spirit in us, etc... The Lord has been preparing her. We just visited with her that first day and then we went back on Saturday to teach her the Restoration. When we talked about how the gospel blesses families she cried so much. The Spirit was so strong. She has had a lot of hard experiences with men, but she loves her kids so much and wants to help them be happy so much. At the end of the lesson I asked her, "As you come to know for yourself these things are true, will you be baptized by someone holding the authority from God?" and she VERY enthusiastically said, "Yeah! Heck Yeah!!!" haha It was one of the best moments of my life. haha Tonight we are going to try to set a specific date for her baptism, so hopefully it goes just as well.
Heidi and her 11 year old son came to church with us yesterday and they both loved it a lot. It was the primary program in our ward which was so cute and good for her too because she wants a good religion for her two little baby granddaughters. Also, because it was the kids sharing everything, the doctrines taught were in such simple terms that it was just so good for her. After Sacrament Meeting I introduced her to Brother Wheeler. He and his wife just got baptized a year ago and went to the temple to be sealed this past Saturday. He asked her about what she was thinking as she is investigating and she said, "This is it. It just feels so good." Sunday school was amazing as well. The brother teaching taught about the Plan of Salvation and it was an amazing lesson! Heidi had her Book of Mormon out on her lap the whole time and even felt comfortable enough to ask questions. It was a perfect preview for our lesson with her tonight. Relief Society was on forgiveness which Heidi has been telling us that is something she and her daughter are struggling with so that was good for her as well. It was all just a really good Sunday for her. After it was done she said, "Church isn't long enough! There is still so much to talk about!" haha It was really cute. I really pray that she will continue to pay careful attention to her feelings. I know that this gospel will bless her and her children's lives so much. She is so special and I feel so blessed to know her! We are going to see if Noah, her 11 year old son who went to church yesterday, wants to take the lessons. And we are also going to ask her 17 year old daughter and her two baby girls to sit in with us too.
We also taught a girl named Claudia who has been investigating. She already has a baptismal date for a month from now. She has to wait because she doesn't turn 18 for another month and her dad doesn't want her to be baptized. She is so amazing! We already love her so much too, and have another lesson with her tomorrow.
We have been trying to go see a lot of inactives, but can't get in many houses. We have already had a lot of appointments set up and then cancelled or not there when we show up. That happens so much. I am so grateful for the members help. Please help the missionaries. Have your friends come to your house and do lessons there with them. It is such a huge help and way more successful than leaving everything to the full-time missionaries.
We have been eating dinner at members houses every night. I like our ward so much! The people are so kind. It was fun to go to church yesterday so we could meet everyone. Sister Kerr and I passed out programs so we could meet everyone and it is so cute to see how excited everyone is that sister missionaries are in the ward now too.
This week I have prayed a lot, and this morning I realized that every day I have received answers to my prayers in a similar way to Enos, when he said, "...and the words which I had often heard my father speak concerning eternal life, and the joy of the saints, sunk deep into my heart..." This has very literally happened to me this past week. Many of my prayers regarding questions that have been troubling me have been answered in the form of hearing what Mommy and Daddy have taught me in the past. I am SO grateful for loving parents who have raised me in the gospel. It is their words who come to my mind when I am struggling with something. "Families are ordained of God, they are the most important social unit in time and in eternity... The home is the best place to teach, learn, and apply principles of the gospel of Jesus Christ." I am so grateful I was raised in a home that was centered on these principles, and by loving parents who taught me truth and whose words come to my mind as I strive to help others and strengthen my own testimony.
I miss you all and love you. I feel so blessed to have all of you. THANK YOU for so many emails!!!  It feels like months pass between each P-day, so write write write please.
I know my Savior lives. I am so grateful for His guidance. I am so thankful for the angels I feel around me bearing me up and giving me courage and strength. I am so extremely grateful for the Book of Mormon. The scriptures can provide us with so much strength as we follow its teachings. I am so grateful for the knowledge I have of the power of prayer and of the power of the atonement. What a special thing to know that we don't have to carry the load of our burdens. Mosiah 24:13-15.
I love you all and miss you. You are all a part of me wherever I go. :)

Aloha from Aloha!

Aloha from Aloha! -(Sister Kerr came up with that haha)
Because we didn't get P-day yesterday President Morby is letting us have it today!!! But normally it will be on Mondays.
I am here in Oregon! I have been assigned to a town called Aloha.  Sister Kerr is my trainer and we have one ward that we are over.  Sister Kerr and I live in an apartment. In this ward, Aloha 2nd ward, there are two sets of missionaries assigned to it.  Elder Allred and Elder Freshour are also in our ward, so we will work with them. There are 500 members in the ward and about 400 are inactive. So lots of work to be done!  But we also have a lot of investigators and we have a few lessons set up already for this week.  Tonight we are going to meet some of the former investigators in the area book and see what happens there.  I am so scared haha-I haven't taught real investigators yet.  But it is exciting.  
Last night we went to dinner at the members house who the Elders in our ward live with, the Reids.  They are such lovely people!  Sister Reid sent Sister Kerr and I home with a lot of food and necessities to get through the night.  It was so nice of her!  
Sister Kerr and I are living in a brand new apartment since this is the first time they are having two sets of missionaries in this ward.  We also have a brand new car!  After dinner last night we went to see our Bishop who coincidentally is Bishop Brown.  Sister Brown from SAT Mission who served in our ward-it's her dad. So random! She was there and I saw her and she said Sister Meyers lives nearby and is married so I will probably see her too! That was a fun surprise.
Sister Kerr is so sweet. She looks a lot like Meagan which is so fun! When we were getting ready for the day this morning she just reminded me so much of Meag and it was funny. She is really sweet. It is scary to be with the same person for 24 hours a day for 3 months, just because that is not an easy thing to do!  But we are having lots of fun so far and love the area and are really excited for the investigators the elders left us with.
Yesterday morning we got up at 2:30 because we had to be to the travel office at 3:30. We had said goodbye to the Elders in our district the night before because none of them would be there in the morning except for Elder Cashmore who is going to the New York Rochester Mission.  However, we didn't get to ride on the same bus as Elder Cashmore because we were going to separate places but he came and found all of us on the bus to give us pass-along cards and give us all one last handshake goodbye.  We took the Frontrunner (train) to the airport and our flight left at 8:30. It was a really short flight. When we landed all the missionaries were super excited and I was too actually, but in a much more quiet way. haha  It just felt so right to be in Oregon.  I am where the Lord wants me to be, and that overtook my heart as I looked out the window of the airplane.  Sister Magnusson and I are fast walkers so we were the first ones to get to President and Sister Morby, who were waiting for us.  They are so sweet, I love them already so much.
Oregon is BEAUTIFUL. I can tell why everyone is always saying that. It is SO green and just so breathtaking. The leaves are all different colors for fall and there are trees everywhere. It was cloudy and foggy yesterday but today it is sunny, but either way Oregon is beautiful. 
After meeting President and Sister Morby, we got our luggage and went to the temple and took pictures. The temple is SO GORGEOUS! It is one of the prettiest temples I have ever seen.  Like so so so pretty.  It is amazing. Then we went to a stake center next to the temple and did some orientation stuff and had lunch.  Then we went in the RS room and there were missionaries sitting in there and we all sat down and President Morby called our names one by one and who our companion was.  When I walked in to the room at first and sat down I looked over at the sisters and Sister Kerr was sitting there with a huge smile on her face and I just knew that she was going to be my companion.   When President called all of our names each companionship hugged each other and sat down together.  Sister Kerr gave me a big hug and I felt better just having her next to me. Companions really are a huge blessing.  But it is also one of the hardest things!!! haha  After all the companionships were called we went to the chapel and got our areas assigned and then got our apartment keys and phones and area book and everything.  Then we went to our apartment, dropped our stuff off, then went to dinner at the Reids.  It was such a long day.

Sunday was our very last day in the MTC. Relief Society was amazing.  The musical number was so beautiful and I closed my eyes and cried as a thought about my district and how much I would miss the MTC.  I thought of everything that had happened there.  At my interview with President McMullin he pointed to the light streaming through the window next to us and he said, "See that light? That's you.  That is how I am going to remember you."  My district had so much fun just being together all day on Sunday and enjoying our last day together. Before the fireside began that night all the missionaries sang "We'll bring the world his truth" and it was so powerful. That was family I would have to say bye to and probably might never see again. Then we went to the film together, "Becoming a Missionary" by Elder Bednar.  After the film my district went back to our classroom where we stood in a circle in the middle of   prayer together. We all knelt down and the Spirit was so strong in the room.  Afterwards Elder Cash said that there was a reason we were all on our missions at that time and entered the day we did and one of those reasons was so that we could all be in that district together.  My feelings exactly. Then we all gave a ton of good-bye handshakes.  My district made my MTC experience amazing.  But the Lord made my MTC experience life-changing.
I am so grateful to be here on a mission at this time.  I am supposed to be here right now.  I feel so beyond blessed to have had such a special time at the MTC.  I had countless spiritual experiences there that I could never repay Heavenly Father for letting me have.  The Lord lives.  He lives.  He has set a straight and narrow path for us to be happy, so that we don't have to be left lost and confused.  Straight and narrow is the way, and what a blessing that is.  What a blessing it is to have commandments from God that are the means of telling us exactly what we need to do to have joy.  I pray that I can use this time of my life that I have dedicated to the Lord in a manner that will please Him.  I pray that I can be the means of bringing some soul to repentance- to pure, peaceful joy.  I feel so blessed to have the gospel in my life. Life is so hard, but it is worth it.  As we follow the Lords will for us, He blesses us beyond measure.  I look forward to the day that I can forever live with Him and be surrounded by my family for eternity.  I miss you all so much.
Write me letters please!!! 

14924 SW Scholls Ferry Rd, Beaverton, Oregon 97007

I love you all. Thank you for your support and prayers.