Hauoli Makahiki Hou - Happy New Year!

Dear everyone:

HAPPY NEW YEAR!!!  I can't believe it's already 2013!

This past week was the best & almost worst week ever.

It was the best because of Christmas Eve (p-day & dinner with a part-member family), Christmas Day (Skyping my family & a slough of meals & parties), our double-zone missionary Christmas party on Saturday (food, games, white elephant), & teaching a new investigator.  It was the worst because almost everyone we tried visiting was out of town, sick, or busy, so we only taught a couple people during the week.

But!  It's ok because our newest investigator makes the down times of the mission so worth it--he is a really nice guy who wants to start a new life & have God in his life more.  He brought himself to church 2 weeks in a row, he asked if he could take the lessons, & is a very dedicated person!  I was one told that it's after a little bit of downtime that you're springboarded to new heights, and it's true!  I look forward to this week & the new people we'll find!

In other news, transfers are tomorrow & Wednesday; all of us are staying where we are except for Elder Moyle, who has been called to be a traveling Zone Leader, which means he & Elder Sanft (my previous District Leader & the other traveling Zone Leader) get to work with every companionship of Elders in the mission!  Sisters Firmage & Nunn were also called as traveling Sisters to work with all of us Sisters in our missionary work--it's very exciting & I can't wait to see them!  While it is a bummer to see the last of my first District leave, I wish Elder Moyle the very best as he continues working hard & being an awesome example to those he serves!

Hope you all have a safe & Happy New Year!

Be strong & faithful because He was!

~Sister San Diego

missionary snow angel (p-day)

It snowed actual flakes!!! (usually it's just snow crystals)

Mele Kalikimaka - Merry Christmas!

Hi everyone!

Hope you had a Happy End-of-the-World Day!!  ;)

This week, I would like for you to focus on something--what is the most valuable thing that you have?  A smartphone (with facebook)?  A car?  A ring?  The temple?

These are all nice things, but they actually aren't the most valuable thing in your life. 

I encourage each of you to read this article before continuing to read this post:

http://www.lds.org/ensign/2012/12/latter-day-saint-voices?lang=eng (the one titled "I Hope Someone Will Love Her")

John 3:16--

16 For God so loved the world, that he gave his only begotten Son, that whosoever believeth in him should not perish, but have everlasting life.

Tomorrow, we celebrate the birth of our Savior Jesus Christ--he and His Atonement are the Most valuable gifts any one of us could ever receive.  Our Heavenly Father gave his only perfect Son so that all of us, His imperfect children, could have the opportunity to return to Him.  Christ gave all for the same purpose, and He did so willingly because He loves us so much.

Are you willing to receive these gifts in your lives?  What gifts can you give in return?

I hope you all have a very Mele Kalikimaka, and may you cherish the time with your families & remember the reason for the season :)

Love ya much!

Be strong & faithful because Jesus was!

~Sister San Diego

Merry Christmas from our 2 districts

Only in Northern Nevada, lol...hanging a deer from a tree
(they do that after getting their deer/elk hunt)

Happy 29th Birthday, Mom!!!

Hi All!

First off, I would like to wish a HAPPY BIRTHDAY!!!!! to my Mom, who will be "29" tomorrow!  ;D

Tomorrow also is my 5-month mark since I came out into the mission field!  It's crazy how quickly time flies by!  13 months to go...!

Quick bit of news for any future Sister Missionary--lds.org has awesome tips on the main page!  Hopefully they will still be there by the time you read this :)

This week we got our car back on Wednesday!  The best part was that it snowed the day after--we were SO grateful the snow was held off until we had the car again!

We have still been having a little bit of a hard time in scheduling appointments & helping people to progress & come to church to be spiritually strengthened, but it's ok because this is a new week & it will be better!  And even though we've been having some difficulties, we have met a lot of people who may be interested in learning about the gospel!

CHRISTMAS IS A WEEK & A DAY AWAY!!!!!
Remember the reason for the season!  =)

Be strong & faithful because Jesus Christ, the Savior & Redeemer of the world, and our Exemplar, was!

~Sister San Diego

Nativities from the Creche

Santa Nativity 

We had to bike it last week,
sure glad we got our car back!!

Pieces Of Our Testimony Are Like Popsicle Sticks

Hi Everyone!

This week has been pretty good, considering we were without a car!  I don't recommend biking in the winter--it's bloom'in cold!!

Back in September, our car had a not-so-friendly encounter with a coyote, & the coyote ripped out a few cosmetic pieces.  We finally got to take it in for repair last week Monday, and we will get it back either later today or tomorrow (Yay).  In the meantime, we have done a combination of walking, biking, & catching rides w/ members & the other Sister Missionaries.  It was definitely an experience that made the two of us extra grateful for our car!!!  And like my brother ( http://eldersandiego.blogspot.com ), I can say that my mission has had an "impact" on me--I was biking, wrecked on a curb, & hit the top of my knees on the road.  I'm ok & can walk fine, but I now have a nice "battle wound." (Elder San Diego got a baseball-ankle)

Now as I said, despite us being car-less, it was a good week!  Even though a few appointments fell through, we have still met a bunch of people & had some good lessons with those we are teaching!  We also got to help with a service project for a family whose mom recently passed on--that was one of my favorite parts :)

We've been working with 2 brothers, JJ & Chris--they are awesome kids & are really good at reading the Book of Mormon & praying!  We meet with them every night to teach their lessons & read with them.  Their family is awesome :)

Another investigator named Ray came to church with his roommate yesterday!  They really felt that it was good for them to be there, especially on that day

We also are working with several others who are either investigators, part-member families, or people who may be interested in learning more about the gospel--I wish I could tell you about each of them, but I am running out of time!  I will let you know more about them next week :)

The work is good, the people are great, & I hope to serve my calling as best as I can while here!

Yesterday, Sis. Michaud & I had the opportunity to speak in church--our topics were about why Jesus Christ was born & why He was born in the circumstances He was, and about the shepherds & the wise men coming to see the Baby Jesus, & how we can relate their story to us.

I chose the latter topic & related us to the shepherds & wise men, the star to the Gospel, & the angels to prophets, including several other traits of those people & ways we can come to/find Christ as they did.  I will see about taking my notes & actually writing them into a talk for my family to post.

On Friday, we had a visit from our Mission President & Mission Mom, Pres. & Sis. Hermansen.  Sis. Hermansen gave a nice lesson on how pieces of our testimonies are like Popsicle/craft sticks--the more pieces we have, the stronger they are together & the more difficult it is to break our testimonies.

I encourage you all to continue building your testimonies, even if it's about one principle of the gospel at a time!  I promise that when you do, you will have greater spiritual strength & you will know the truthfulness of the gospel even more!

Hope all is well with you & that you are having a good week!

Be strong & faithful because He was!

~Sister San Diego

Sis. Michaud & Sis. San Diego

OUCH!

Happy December!!!

Hi there!  How is your December going so far?

This week we spent most of our time visiting part-member families & tracting, telling everyone about the Christmas Creche, which was last Thursday-Sunday.  The Creche is an event where most of the local Christian religions come together to display hundreds of Nativity scenes, tree toppers, and other artwork of the virgin Mary & baby Jesus.  Several musical performances also go on during the Creche.  It was an awesome sight to see all the displays!

In our visiting different people, we found a few who have been very nice & willing to have us over again!  We hope to have a few more solid investigators from these people we have met :)

Last night was the First Presidency Christmas Devotional-- the music was beautiful, and I loved the messages from each of the Presidency about graciously receiving gifts, treasuring our families, & giving of ourselves.  Watch it at http://www.lds.org !

Hope you are all having a good week, and that you & your families are having a good time together as we approach Christmas!

Be faithful & strong because the Savior was!

Love,
~Sister San Diego

Christmas Creche

It was an awesome sight to see all the displays!

Nativities from Mexico

"Tofa Sister Felagai!!"

Hi!!

First off, I MISS CARLIN & EUREKA!!!!!  I love you all very much!  I will return someday :)

This last week has been crazy!

Monday & Tuesday were full of trying to set appointments, saying goodbyes, & packing (fun.)

Wednesday was Transfer Day & Sister Felagai got split up & Sister Michaud (mi-Show) became my new companion (one of the sweetest Sisters ever)!  We spent the day getting settled, unpacking, & going around with the Zone Leaders to visit different people (it was formerly their area).

Our new missionaries are Elders Stene & Weed, who took over Carlin/Eureka, Elder Gellert, who is being trained by Elder Altamirano, & Elder Haynes, who is finishing Elder Clunas' training.

Thursday was Thanksgiving!  We had a good afternoon dinner with the family we now live with & did more unpacking, visiting people, etc.

Friday we met one of our first investigators!!  I'll call her Dina.  She is a super nice lady, & her daughter is so funny!  They believe in God & Christ and are open to learning!  We can't wait to continue teaching them the lessons.

We've also met several other people who we will be working with & teaching--it is very exciting to have so much work to do right off the bat!

Saturday & Sunday we continued visiting more people that the Elders had been working with.

Last night we also went to a special nighttime church meeting for miners.  During the service, a man who was taught by other Elders was confirmed a member of the church & received the gift of the Holy Ghost.  The Spirit was so strong there!

I look forward to what this next week brings!  Take care til next Monday!

Be faithful & strong because He was!

Luv,
~Sister San Diego

p.s. to you (mom n dad)--Elder Gellert is from Laie!  He said Willie is in his Ward back home--not sure if it's family ward or ysa.  I met a family by the last name of Carroll, & Bro. Carroll served in Grampa & Gramma Ching's area in 2001--he said he thinks he knew them :)

Transfer Day - Saying our goodbyes to Sister Felagai

Tofa Sister Felagai - You will be missed!!!

Thanksgiving Dinner at the Hastings'

The food looks awesome - let's eat!!!

Same District....Different Ward

Howdy!

I forgot to mention last week that in Zone Conference, President Hermansen informed us that the Nevada Reno Mission will eventually reach a complement of 250 missionaries, increased from the original goal of 190!!!  That's enough to have a companionship in every Ward and every Branch, with extra to spare for large-area Wards!  We will also have Senior Couple Missionaries here soon!

Sis. Felagai & I got our call from the Zone Leaders on Saturday, aaaand........we're BOTH being transferred this Wednesday!!  Sis. Felagai will stay with the Sisters in Reno (her last companion, Sis. Wood, & my last companion, Sis. Moore) for the next 3 weeks until she goes home to Samoa on 12/12/12!  I am getting transferred to a different Ward in my District, and my new companion will be Sis. Michaud from the Sparks area.  Also, our District is getting split!  It's crazy how quickly this area of the mission is growing!  I'm sad to leave my beloved small towns, but at least I'll be close enough to run into the people every once in a while :)  I wish the new Elders in the area the best, and I can't wait to hear how the work progresses there!!

Elders Cruz & Martindale are also transferring, and training new missionaries too!  I'm so proud of them :)

Well, the next couple days will be filled with saying goodbyes, setting appointments with investigators, & everything that comes with transfers, woohoo!

With Thanksgiving approaching, I would like to encourage each of you to watch this video: http://youtu.be/Tuwid8_O8dk
Among the turkey dinner & family time, let us recognize all that our Heavenly Father has blessed us with, and let us remember to be grateful to Him for all that we have, both temporal & spiritual.

I am grateful for each of you and for the support and love you have shown me!  I am grateful for this Gospel and our Savior's Atonement, which makes it possible for us to overcome all & to become more like Him.

I hope you all have a wonderful & safe Thanksgiving week!

Be strong & faithful because Christ was!

Love,
~Sister San Diego

p.s. Oh one more thing!  I forgot to mention Sis. Felagai & I sang in church yesterday!  We sang our own twist of "As Sisters In Zion/We'll Bring the World His Truth" using Samoan & English lyrics :)