Hello.  Life is very, very good. :)

Gabriel got baptized last week!!  He is soooooooo awesome, hahaha.  He was so excited to be baptized, he could not stop talking about it.  So many people came to support him for his baptism and the spirit was very strong.  As he was walking to the font he put up 2 peace signs and said "Let's do thiiiisss" ..... he is 18, we are still working on teaching him reverence. :)

We went on 2 exchanges this week so it was a little crazy, but one of them was a biking area and we got to bike in the rain and it was sooo fun!  Sadly, I have ridden my bike for the first time my whole mission these last couple of weeks, but I don't know why I haven't been doing it this whole time because I love it! (excuse my sentence fluency)

Last week I got to go on exchanges to my first area that I served in, Ely!!  It was the best, ever.  I got to go see some people that were baptized there and are still progressing so well.  It was such a tender mercy. 

So... the lady we live with has chickens and usually grandma feeds them but she had to do something in the morning and so she left a note for us to feed them...  It was the day we were on exchanges and so I had Sister Moses with me and I think she thinks I am nuts at this point.  I have pretty much gotten over my fear of animals but for some reason I just cannot get over my fear of chickens.  So I go to get the chicken food to bring it into the pen and I had to like put half my body into the little chicken house thing to hook the food container and the chickens kept following me and really wanted the food and I dropped it like 4 times and long story short my companion for the day ended up having to come do it so that was my scare for the week.

Ok...  Coolest thing ever.  A couple weeks ago we noticed that a girl from the branch had brought a friend to church and so we went and introduced ourselves and said what we do and asked her if she'd be interested in learning more.  She said yes and we talked to the friend before the lesson and she had no idea what to expect, but it ended up being the best lesson!  We taught the restoration and the spirit was very strong, we committed her to read Moroni 10 and were anxious to meet with her again.  The next time we met with her, we followed up with her Book of Mormon reading and her response was amazing!  She said that she's felt the spirit before, but as she was reading the Book of Mormon, she got this overwhelming feeling unlike anything she's every felt before.  She explained it like, "it felt like I had a cup, and it was full, and then it was like overflowing everywhere!!" She said she was holding the book in her hand and thinking, where has this been my whole life? why do we need anything else?  So cool because the first lesson one of her first questions was why we needed the Book of Mormon.  She anxiously accepted to be baptized on October 15 and is so so excited to do so!!  She has gone through a lot that has enabled her to be humble and have a true desire to know what is true and what the Lord wants for her.  This was just one of many testimonies to me that the Book of Mormon is true and it has the power to heal hearts and answer questions.  Ahh, I love this work!  

I hope you all have a wonderful week and enjoy watching General Conference this week.  Tell me about your fav talks!!

Love,

Sister Paul

Hello from Elko, Nevada :)

I was so so super sad to leave Carson last week, but oh man.  I love this place!  My companion, Hermana Daniels is wonderful.  We have been working hard and also eating better/exercising more so I am feeling very grateful for that.  Also very grateful for how hard previous sisters have worked here because there are miracles out the wazoo!

I lovveeeee YSA.  I think Heavenly Father is awesome and qualified me to be able to talk to people my own age without being awkward so I am very happy about that and have loved every second here!  Let me tell you about a few investigators-

Geoffery got baptized on Saturday, he is a ballroom dancer and is the coolest.  He was so excited to be baptized and the night before his baptism we got a text from him with his testimony written out which he then shared at his baptism the next day.  He was so nervous but did so good!  So cute.

Gabriel is getting baptized this Saturday-  He is 18 and is like a little kid.  Hahah so fun and goofy but he is so prepared!  He has been super involved and is always correcting nonmembers and members around him if they are not living the gospel to its fullest- its awesome.

Tevin... hahah oh man.  He has an afro and wears a pick and it has been so cool to see him progress.  As he has started reading the Book of Mormon and getting involved he has mellowed out a lot and hungers for the spirit.  He is preparing to be baptized at the end of this month! 

Gennifer is the cutest in the world.  Her boyfriend is a member and she is soooo prepared.  She loves learning about the gospel and she has had so many experiences with the spirit reassuring her that what she is doing is right.  She is preparing to be baptized on the 23rd.

All of our investigators are best friends and they are also best friends with some of the members as well.  Earlier this week we had planned a lesson with Gabe and 2 other investigators showed up and it was so fun to do a scripture study with all of them!!  They are all helping each other out and are finding so much joy in the gospel. 

Last all of our lessons in church were about marriage..... the only part that wasn't was sacrament and thats because my companion and I spoke.  I have a feeling that might be a reoccurring topic in this branch so that will be interesting!  I love this work and I love my Savior Jesus Christ.  I'm grateful for the healing power of the atonement as I have seen the power of it a lot this week.  We are so blessed to have this gospel!! I love you all and hope you have a wonderful week :)

Love,

Sister Paul

P.S. My new address is 3356 Bell Ave, Elko, NV 89801

Hello :)

     We got transfer calls yesterday.... I am getting transferred back to the east side, Elkoooo!  My emotions are a little whack about this.  It's pretty weird because I was in both my first two areas for 6 months and so I feel like I have not been here in Carson for long enough at all, I may have shed a couple tears when we got the call. haha.  I love Carson and I love my companion SOOO much, but I guess the Lord has something else in store.  I am happy I am getting to go to Elko though, my new companion Hermana Daniels is the coolest and we cover the girls in Ely so I will get to go on exchanges there ;').  I will be serving in a YSA ward though so I am a little bit nervous about that because my communication skills with people my age are like.. gone. completely.  So that will be interesting and a great learning experience :)

     Cool story for the week:  One of our recent converts struggles with schizophrenia, she has been doing super well lately especially as she has been actively living the gospel but she has been getting a bit off track lately and they put her on some new meds and they did not work out too well.  She was having a lot of crazy hallucinations and was constantly feeling like there were tons of people around her saying things she couldn't understand.  So she checked herself into the mental hospital to get everything figured out.  A couple days in we went to see her there and we were able to pray and read the Book of Mormon with her which she said helped lift her spirits so much and bring the peace she needed. She started getting back into reading and praying and the second time we came she told us that she had a dream that all the people she felt like were around her were people waiting for her to go do their work in the temple... She's amazing.  Since then, the hallucinations have gone down shes back to her good habits and she is doing all that she can to get to the temple to do their work.  Aaahhhh I love that girl so much.

     Yesterday I was sitting at church by one of our investigators and she leaned over to me and said "I was in so much pain today, I did not want to come to church today but God told me I needed to.  I now know why, he helped me realize today that even though my family at home is dysfunctional, I have a family here that I can rely on.  I am going to set up an appointment this week to meet with bishop and then get baptized the next day if he lets me!" So cool because we were getting worried about her because we weren't able to meet with her once this last week.  I'm so excited to hear about her progress. 

     OK so I have been like pretty emotionless my whole mission, like I have honestly been wishing I could just cry during spiritual things but I have not been able to!  Anyways- I don't know if its because I am getting closer to the end or what but the emotions are deciding to creep on in now, or at least in the last week.  We were talking to this 18 yr old girl and I started talking about this recently activated guy and recent convert girl who just got engaged and who will be sealed in the temple and totally started crying in the middle of the street.  And theeenn, in a DLC meeting we were talking about some speakers for an upcoming fireside and one of the elders mentioned how they have a guy who was baptized a year ago, just had a baby and will be getting sealed to all of his family this week and I lost it.  So weird???  Super great too because it was us and 5 other elders so I have been hearing all about it from them this last week. ohhh well.

     I want to testify to you of the power of the Book of Mormon.  I know now more than I ever have that it truly is the word of God.  I know that if we are struggling with a particular sin or are faced with temptation that if we turn to the Book of Mormon it WILL give us the power to resist.  I invite all of you to turn to it when you are feeling extra burdened.  I recently have been studying it by people, using the index to follow their stories and it is the best!  I am learning so much and it has helped me to understand the stories and significance of individuals in it so much more.  Ok, this is long.  I love being a missionary and I love you all! Have a wonderful week :)

Hola mi familia y amigos :) 

That might be wrong.. who knows.  There are so many hispanic people here so we get to practice our limited spanish a lot, it is always interesting but we have found the spanish elders a couple new investigators from it! Ok so this was the coolest week ever.  We saw sooo many miracles!  So I am just going to tell you some stories.

On Monday, we were walking down a street and we saw a man who was baptized about a year ago and has gone less active riding his bike across the street, when he saw us he immediately came over to talk.  He told us he has been going through a super tough time and just barely had broken his sobriety for the last 8 months and drunken (no clue what the right word is here) 2 beers. WE talked to him a little bit and testified of the atonement.  We asked if we could say a prayer for him and afterwards when we looked up he was sitting there bawling like a little baby as he said "Sisters, I know Heavenly Father knows and loves me because he placed you in my path when I needed it most."  Might I add that hes a big tough guy with a lot of tattoos, so this was probably one of the most tender moments on my mission.

We have been going through our ward list lately and we knocked on this door the other day.. This shirtless man with tattoos all over answered and I saw "God" on one of his tattoos and so we started talking about that... little did I know, after talking for a second and focusing that tattoo said "God hates us all".  This man was a member but with many experiences has turned away from the church and God completely.  We talked a bit and noticed that his little son was sitting in the front room and so I asked if he believed in God.  He called him out and we talked for a little bit to him (we could just feel the dads heart softening), he told us he believed in God and why.  After a little bit longer the wife came up and we asked her, she said that she was not allowed to bring up religion in her home growing up so she didnt really know.  Her and her son took a pamphlet and said they would read it together to see what they think.  They agreed to have us back over and even invited us over for dinner this Sunday!  As we were getting ready to go, the husband asked if he could have a pamphlet!!!  He said that we shouldnt expect anything out of it but that he would take a look and think about it. SSooooosososo cool.  It is amazing how the spirit can soften hearts.  I love them. 

We do a scripture study every week and this last week we talked about faith.  An investigator made a comment that really stood out to me so I wanted to share- she talked about a man who has riden across a single string across the grand canyon on a motorcycle.  She said that he asked a man if he believed he could do it again after witnessing it once, the man agreed without hesitation.  The guy then said, "well, how bout you hop on the back then".  She related this to faith and how we can say we believe in God and in his power, but that means nothing if were not willing to act and take those leaps of faith.  My explanation may have not made sense.. but it was cool!  I want to be better at taking leaps of faith.  

The other morning I was eating oatmeal with grandpa and grandma walked in to join us, grandpa had made her a bowl and she asked him is he had put sugar in it already and he said "no, I thought you were already sweet enough" hahaha sly dog. 

I hope that all is going well with all of you.  You are wonderful and I hope that you have a great week!

Love,

Sister Paul xoxo

Hello. :)

First off- there are fires out the wazoo here.  Some mornings we cant even see the mountains because there is smoke everywhere and then yesterday there were 2 here in Carson!  There were airplanes dropping this red stuff on them and there gone now but the mountains are black.. its nutso.

Cool story-  we shared this movie about John Tanner with 2 of our investigators.  I didn't know who John Tanner was before my mission but he is awesome and gave up everything to serve the Lord.  One of my favorite quotes from the movie that basically sums it all up is by Neal A Maxwell- "Consecration is the only surrender which is also a victory."  I love it.   So we shared this with 2 different investigators and then asked them what are some sacrifices they can make to show their love for the Lord.  One of them- Stana said I think I need to stop drinking coffee and make it a priority to go to at least one hour of church.  The other- Billy, said that he needs to start putting th gospel first and be baptized.  You wont be able to tell through these words on the screen but both of those things are like a huuuggee deal for them!  It was way cool.  They committed themselves to do exactly what they need to do :)

One our investigators who is preparing to be baptized in a couple weeks told us that she already has plans to bring all of her grandchildren to church and she wants all her family and friends to experience the blessings and changes that she has seen. :') i love her.

My companion is so tiny she will eat one oreo for lunch.. ONE. that is all, no sides.  I don't understand.  I love her so much, though.  We had a luau for our relief society activity and she danced! She is waaayy good and it was a lot of fun!

Elder Todd Larkin and Kevin W Pearson from the seventy came and trained us at MLC.. oh my goodness.  It changed my life, to say the least.  They talked about giving our all and always striving to align our will with the Saviors.  Its crazy how easy it is to get distracted by the world and to have desires that mean nothing in the eternal perspective, but I am very grateful for the gospel to help us stay on track.  Give up everything that you think you want for what Heavenly Father wants for you, my friends, because it will always be better.  I hope you have a wonderful week!  Let me know if theres anything I can do for you :)

Love,

Sister Paul

These are my two "daughters" in the mission- the 2 sisters I trained- Sister Landgrave and Sister Latu :)

Hello family!

     OK- so first of all,  I want to tell you about the people we live with.  They are cute and old and tell us to call them grandma and grandpa.  So the other night I was having some extra strong sugar cravings and I remembered we had ice cream so I went to the fridge to get some and Im walking back to our room with a bowl of it and grandpa goes, "ya know, that will make you fat!" hahah i laughed and agreed and went back to our room.  So then like 10 minutes later I go back to the kitchen to clean the bowl and Grandpa is eating ice cream!!! What a stinker.  I think that if we were both born in the same period we would have been best friends in high school.

     Anyways- let me tell you 2 experiences and reasons why the spirit is so cool.  We planned to teach one of our investigators, Teena, about tithing and fast offering.  So the first thing she says when we go to teach her is that she decided that every time she used the Lords name in vain she was going to put a dollar in a jar, and then when she finally got out of the habit she would find a way to give it to the church aka fast offering!!  The next day we had planned to teach an investigator Ashley about the word of wisdom and when we got there she said that that morning she woke up and decided that she needed to stop smoking and so she was wearing a nicotine patch and everything when we were teaching her and she had no idea about the word of wisdom beforehand!! It was the coolest thing.

     We started talking to this girl on the street and she had the cutest little girl.  The little girls name was Kylie but it was short for a longer Samoan name and then her boyfriend was a Samoan guy named Paul.. weird or what?

     I was so so sad one day this week.  A lady had stopped the elders and said that she needed to meet with missionaries because all of her friends were members, she had 25 students who gave her a Book of Mormon as a graduation present, she recently had lost 2 sons and she knew Heavenly Father was leading her to the mormon church.  So, we go to teach her and she is SO awesome. holy cow.  She had so many questions and the spirit was so strong and she was just eating everything that we shared all up.  Before we left she asked what we wanted her to read and she was so excited to read out of the Book of Mormon.  So we're basically on a spiritual high the rest of the night and then around 9 o clock we get a text from her saying that she was grateful for us but didnt want to meet again because she did some research and she had enough.  It was heartbreaking.  We prayed and prayed and tried to figure out what to do and how to reply and we have had no success since.  So i was super bummed and I usually read the Book of Mormon before I go to sleep but I was just laying on the floor staring at the ceiling feeling sad and then I realized ok what am i doing how is this going to help the situation so I opened up the Book of Mormon and it opened up to Mosiah 14 where it talks all about Christ and all that he went through with the atonement.  As I was reading it I was thinking about how Heavenly Father must have felt seeing his son go through that, and then I thought of how he must feel seeing thousands of his sons and daughters around the world get rejected and heartbroken while sharing his gospel, and THEN I thought of the fact that it is our Heavenly Fathers other sons and daughters who are the ones doing the rejecting and how hard that would be to watch that happen and to know that there was a better path for them of peace and happiness.  At that moment,  I was very grateful for the knowledge of our Savior and the wonderful opportunity it is to get a little taste of what He went through as He shared the gospel.  Being a missionary has been the best thing I have ever done in my life.  I am so grateful to be here and I LOVE this gospel.  Have a wonderful week and let me know if theres anything I can do for you :)

Love,

Sister Paul