YSA and Clear Lake Week 2 November 18 letter

This week has been another building week for us.

Sister Wolfgramm and I are working on a lot of different things and slowly we are becoming more unified in our work. 

I forgot to mention last week that I got my Tiwi card! So now I can actually drive the mission vehicles. I have been driving all over Houston. From Sugarland to Clearlake.:) It is super fun I wonder why I didn't try to get the card earlier! :) 

This week we got to teach a girl named Krista. She has a Baptismal date for the 14th of next month! We are excited for her! :) 

We had Zone Conference this week and it was an answer to my prayers. All the things we talked about really address all the things we need to be better at in our area. I was grateful for the help. God really understands what I need. Its awesome. 

This week I talked Sister Wolfgramm into going biking for an afternoon. We actually talked to a lot of people who were interested in learning more! Sometimes all God needs is for us to make an effort. When we try then he can really bless our efforts so that we meet the people who are really searching. :) I am so glad that I am here and that I have the blessing of being a missionary. People really need this gospel. It makes all of life so much better. I love my Savior. :)

Sorry this is short! Not much time today!

I love all ya'll! Have a great week!

-Sister Earl

November 11 Letter YSA Ward Transfer

So last Tuesday  at 8 30 pm Sister Bearnson and I get a call.

Sister B grabs the phone to silence it since we are teaching at a members home, but changes her mind when she saw that it was the Assistants to the Mission President.

"Hello, this is Sister Bearnson," she says a little wary of what was going to be said in the next couple minutes.

"Hello Sister Bearnson this is Elder Case. How are you doing tonight?"

"uhh Great! What can I do for you?"

"Actually is Sister Earl there? We need to talk to her."

"Uh yes. She is right here..."

I heard this whole thing and at this point I am trying to figure out what might be possibly happening. Getting a call from the Assistants is either really bad news.. or just something crazy. 

"Hello Elder Case! This is Sister Earl!..." (trying not to sound super nervous or anything.)

"Sister Earl I am sorry that this is super last minute, but you will be transferred tomorrow. Please be packed up and at transfer meeting by 12:45pm tomorrow."

WHAT!!!! The first thought I had was pure excitement. Then I started to feel really sad that I would not get to say goodbye to anyone in Silverlake. I had been there for 3 transfers and had really grown to love that ward. I still feel a little sad when I think of Megan Aikens and her family getting so close to baptism!!! AHH! 

So we sped home on the bikes, so I could start packing up my life! 

The next day I found out that I was going to be moved to the Clear lake 2nd ward and the Armond Bayou YSA Branch. I am now Sr companion and my companion is Sister Wolfgramm. She got here last transfer and that is when they added the Armond Bayou Branch to this area. Needless to say they are still trying to figure out what is going on when I got put here. 

I had an interview with my Mission President after transfer meeting and he told me that this area is having severe obedience problems. He had been praying on what to do, but couldn't quite figure it out. When he prayed for who would be able to help Sister Wolfgramm the only person that kept coming to mind.. was me. No pressure right?

I said that to President and he laughed and said that all I needed to do was to be myself and follow God. So that is what I am going to do. Hopefully God shows me how to be the kind of missionary I need to be in order to understand and effectively lift this area up. 

My companion is really awesome. She is Tongan, but mainly grew up in Salt Lake City, UT. She loves to sing and can do all the traditional Polynesian dances. (I told her she needs to teach me sometime :)) She came out the same day as me and I am glad to be her companion. :) 

Ever since Wednesday life has been moving at a different pace. I am in an entirely new area with new people and I am trying to be the Sr. companion. :) It is interesting, but really fun. God knows me better than I give Him credit for. This will take more prayers and faith, but I am willing to give it if that is what will help this area and show these people how much God loves them. 

So, here goes nothing. :D

-Sister Earl

602 Eldridge Rd

Sugarland TX 77478

write me!! 

November 4th Email Transfers again??

Yes, another transfer is happening this week. I can hardly believe it!! It comes so fast. I found out this morning that both Sister Bearnson and I are staying in Silverlake!! This will be my 4th transfer here and this is her 6th!! haha And now this will be our 4th transfer together! :) Good thing I like her because if I didn't this would be a little hard! I am so happy to be here still though! There is so much that needs to be done and we get to do it together!! YAY!

This week was Halloween!! At first our Mission President was having everyone go inside at 7, but then we were told to do a training at the church on Sunday. The training took about an hour so afterwards we got to play board games! It was actually really fun! Our district is really cool. 

One of the highlights of this week was the chance to have interviews with our mission president. I know everyone says that their mission president is the best, but our president is one of my favorite people ever!! He knows when to work and when to relax and he always makes you feel like you are doing good, but helps you know where you can improve. President Ashton is awesome!!

I don't really talk about it very often, but since it came up in my interview and a bunch of people are probably a little curious I will give the update on the status of my Visa. President Ashton said that he had his people contact the travel people and they said that recently the travel office had to send out for updated documents (since the last ones I sent were in January!!!) The travel people predict that since this recent set back there will be no Visa in the near future. President also asked me to start thinking about and praying about staying in Texas. If it takes much longer he said an option would be to just choose to stay in Texas. I don't know how I feel about that.. He said I didn't have to make a decision now, but that I should just keep it in mind and pray about it.... So ya. That's where that sits.

So there you go. I will be here in Texas at least for a little while longer! :) Its a good thing I am doing pretty good. I truly love Texas. I love my companion and I trust God. I don't know why He would give me a call for Brazil and then send me to Texas.. but He knows. I guess it is always the safer decision to trust Him and make the best of what comes along. :) So I am doing my best and allowing the Atonement to take away all the disappointment. Since I really turned over my feelings to Him I can honestly say He has taken the sting away. Some days I find myself thinking about what Sister Lillian is doing in Brazil.. or Elder Bybee.. or Elder Miller.. Elder Park .. Elder Nielson, Elder Crapo, Sister Peterson, Elder Stilson, Elder Sewell...or Sister Parks and Sister Jones (Moyle)... But mainly I am just curious as to what wonderful things are going on in their lives. Most days I feel excited and ready! God can do that for us. Even when things are not 100% easy He can make up the difference. 

Sigh, Thank goodness for that. 

This week we got a HQ referral for a girl in high school. She was just researching religion online and came across some Mormon blogs. From there she went to Mormon.org and somehow requested the missionaries to come visit her! She is very cool and has a lot of questions. She actually grew up in an Atheist home and so she decided that she wanted to check out the religion thing for herself. We are excited to teach her and know that God is really looking out for her. :) 

We were teaching this older guy who really does want to know more about the gospel, but this week he actually asked Sister Bearnson on a date.. :/ So now we are letting the Elders teach him. Hahaha. Poor Sister B went bright red and we both didn't know what to say. What makes it even funnier was that it was after church.. in the hallway... with a bunch of members standing there. It was so painfully awkward, but now it makes for a great story. Hahaha.:P

Anway, This gospel is true. There is nothing else I would rather be doing. I love being a missionary!! Have a great week everyone! Eu Amo VOCES!! 

Oh and Happy Halloween!

-Sister Earl

Silverlake week?...uh ya time flies!!

This week has been a whirlwind of crazy. The highlight was definitely helping Megan Aikens to get baptized. She is a 13 year old who really wanted nothing to do with us at the beginning. Slowly she warmed up and the gospel has made her one of the happiest girls I know. Before she was pretty negative and slightly mean... but now she is always smiling and giving people compliments. The gospel has completely changed her life and I have had the blessing of watching it happen. :)

Sometimes the evidence of Gods love for his children is a little overwhelming. Usually I feel it for others, but sometimes He takes the time to remind me that I am His. :) The joy that comes from this message is nothing that I can describe but when you see a beautiful Daughter of God coming to know who she really is.. well that is just about as close as you can get. 

Besides the baptism we really have not focused on many other things. 

The trunk or treat was this week. We went and dressed up as... Elders!! haha It was fun and we got a couple laughs which was what we hoped for. There were some pretty good costumes and a lot of members invited their friends to come so we got to meet a couple people. :) 

We fully decorated our door in preparation for Halloween this week. (all of it came from my momma so Thank you momma!!) And momma, when it comes to Christmas I really have no idea what I want.. Any ideas? 

Cassidy!! I finally got your letter with the bacon chapstick and gorgeous picture of you!! I don't know why it took more than a month to get here but I was so excited when I got it!! Thank you. :) As for quotes this is all I have for today.

"Ask God to put you just where he wants you, and tell you what he wants you to do, and feel that you are on hand to do it"-Brigham Young

I will gather some better ones soon I promise. :) 

In closing I just want to say that I know this gospel is true. The best indication of whether or not something is true is what comes of it. As people learn about the gospel and act on it they change for the better! There are some people who ask for a sign from God telling them which way to go. He gives us signs! They just come when we choose to act and actively ask him what we should do. 

God lives and He is a great listener. Don't forget to talk to Him. 

Have a great week all you crazy people! 

-Sister Earl

                                                       Trunk or Treat

                                                 Megan Aikin's Baptism

                                             Carving pumpkins at the Mach family home!!

 

 

Singing at Megan's baptism!!

Thanks to Jason Baum who emailed this to me!!

Pumpkin spiced chocolete chip cookies

This week Sister Bearnson and I decided we needed some Pumpkin spice chocolate chip cookies. Sooo last Monday when we went shopping we got the stuff and decided to make them the morning of weekly planning day so we could have something to munch on as we talk about all the people in our area.

So Thursday morning we mix it up. Little did we know that we were making enough cookies to build a house with!! We have been eating cookies for days now and trying to give them away to anyone that will take some. haha Then today just as we were down to our last 10 or so.. a member gives us a plate of snickerdootles.. and there are about 20 cookies on the plate!! haha 

And people wonder why missionaries gain weight! They get stuff from members... and they make a fair amount of sweets themselves. haha I better start learning some portion control tactics though.. :/ haha.. 

Anyway, along with the cookie explosion we have had an awesome week!! 

At church on Sunday a member ended up inviting one of her newly found friends to church. This friend was sooo excited to be there!! She was introducing herself to everyone and telling everyone how good it felt to be here. She even asked if we could come over so she could cook for us and we could share a "thought" with her. :) We are so excited!!! She is so cool and she already loves church. :) Member missionary work is the best thing ever!! 

I forgot to tell everyone that last week I went on exchange to the southern part of our mission. I went to Lake Jackson! It is essentially a swamp with a bunch of wide open spaces and broken down buildings. 

The street names are crazy there. They had a "this way" "that way" "his way" "her way" they even had a "What happened was" and "It's complicated" that intersected so they were on the same street sign...it was pretty funny. :D

While we were there a member took us to a seafood restaurant where the food was actually not expensive! I asked where the fish all came from and what was the fresh-est fish and they said that their catfish was the best... soooo I got some catfish!! It was delicious! :P 

The rest of the week has flown by so fast I really don't even know what has happened. I know it was good... just can't think of the specifics. :)

This work is the best thing I have ever taken the time to do. I love being a missionary because I see people change. I see people become what God already knows they can be. :) 

I testify that God lives and if you let Him He will help you be better than you ever thought you could be. :) 

Stay positive everyone! 

Love, Sister Earl

changes

This week as jam packed with awesome news.

First of all Elder Golden from the first Quorum of the 70 came to visit our mission. He spoke to all of us on Thursday from 8 to 1:30 with one 15 min break! Haha It was so awesome though I hardly realized what time it was besides the fact that my tummy was super hungry! 

He gave us a bunch of things to focus on and really brought the spirit to the day. He told us that our mission was one of the best missions he has visited. He was impressed with our obedience and our reverence in everything we were doing. He told us that our mission is going to baptize a ton more in the coming months because of our increased faith and dedication. :) It was a great thing to be a part of. He also took the time to shake each of our hands and talk to us for a couple seconds. :) I love the leaders of this church. They are not perfect, but everything they do points you to Christ. It is wonderful.

I also found out this week that we are going to be rolling out the Facebook/Social Media and opening the churches up for tours in the next month or so!! We are working with our wards to figure out the best things to do in the church and how to get people to "Come and see" what we are all about. I am really excited to be a part of this new way of doing things. I don't know all the details yet.. but they should be coming in the next little while. 

This week we have been teaching Haleys family a lot. Megan and Tyler both have baptismal dates in the next couple weeks and the parents are loving the gospel truths more and more. 

Last night we had a Missionary Devotional where a bunch of recent converts bear their testimony of how they came to know the church was true. We arranged it so Haley would be able to speak and her family came to watch!! She bore a beautiful testimony about how she knew this is what she was looking for. She is turning 16 next week, but her testimony sounded like one from a much more experienced member. She was really searching for the truth. She said that ever since she was 12 she was super interested in religion. If a 12 year old girl can be so concerned about the welfare of her soul then why is it so weird for a 14 year old boy to be concerned as well. Joseph Smith didn't know what church to join. Much like Haley he search for a lonnng time! He asked all sorts of preachers how to know what was right.. but they never could fully answer his questions. 

He went to the Bible trying to study it out for himself and read a verse in James 1:5 which says, "If any of you lack wisdom, let him ask of God; which giveth to all men liberally and upbraideth not and it shall be given him."

He realized God was the only one who could give him this answer he so desperately needed. So one morning he got up and went out into a grove of trees so he could be alone. He knelt down and offered up his first vocal prayer with all the questions that had been weighing on his mind. 

As he was praying something incredible happened. In his own words he said, "I saw a pillar of light exactly over my head, above the brightness of the sun, which descended gradually until it fell upon me. It no sooner appeared than I found myself delivered from the enemy which held me bound. When the light rested upon me I saw two Personages, whose brightness and glory defy all description, standing above me in the air. One of them spake unto me, calling me by name and said, pointing to the other—This is My Beloved Son. Hear Him!”

Heavenly Father and Jesus Christ came to Joseph to answer his questions. They told him that none of the churches were completely true on the earth and that he needed to bring back all the lost truths. They called him to be a prophet and gave him all the things he needed to know to bring back the same church that Christ established when He was on the earth. 

This is the blessing of the gospel! We have the truth! The full 100% of everything we need to make sure we get back to live with our Father in Heaven and become like Him. 

Haley came to know this truth by asking for herself and so can you! No matter if you have already received a witness of not God wants to let you know that this message is true. He wants you to know that He lives and He loves you. He is there for you and He has his church for you so you do not have to be confused. 

I love Him! 

In other news my brother recieved his mission call!!! He is going to the Mexico, Saltillo mission!! Reporting in February!! :) 

The way I found this out is quite funny actually. WE were at the devotional last night and President Bergeson comes up to me. (He is the 1st counselor in the mission presidency but he is also my Dads cousin. Yes I am related to everyone even outside of Moses Lake as well. haha) He said that he had gotten a text from my Dad and he found out my brother was going to Mexico!! :) I was so happy and excited I started to cry a little. I don't even know why I just couldn't help it!! I love my brother and he is going to be a fantastic missionary. I am a little sad that I won't see him for a long time, but its all for a good cause. :)

 We actually got a ride to the devotional from the Sneddons and Sister Sneddon is from Mexico. She said that Saltillo is a poor part of Mexico and the people are either really nice and humble or really mean. There is not much in the middle. haha :P So I am sure Elder Earl will be able to work with that. :P 

Missionary work is the best thing ever. :) I love all ya'll :) Have a great week

-Sister Earl

Adoro ouvir a Conferencia Geral!

Adoro ouvir a Conferencia Geral!

Conference was great right? I can't even pick a session that I liked best! It is awesome how God works. He will always give us direct revelation. We can get it ourselves and He gives it through his leaders. All we need to do is LISTEN. Listening is the key to a lot of lifes problems. 

For example, when we listen to the people we are talking to and take time to let them express how they feel then we can better understand them! Its crazy~! haha

When you listen to your companion (whether missionary or spouse) you can figure out how to work through problems and make necessary changes to yourself. 

When you listen to the teacher (whether in school or sunday school) then the information with stick and will make sense. 

When we pray and then take time to listen we can hear the things that God wants us to do. He literally can and will talk to you if you take the time to listen.

When we listen we are blessed! It doesn't matter where you are or what you are trying to accomplish. Listening is the way to understand, develop, and correctly apply things to our lives. 

For conference we had 5 of the people we are teaching watch a session in a members home! :) The spirit was there so if the people there were listening they would have felt and understood the things that God was trying to tell them. 

Earlier this week we had a really awesome experience.. and now that I think about it.. it all happened because we listened to the Spirit telling us what to do. 

Sister Hanks is a 51 year old lady who lives alone in the apartment building next to us. She was baptized in 2006, but has spent most of that time being an inactive member. We had been trying for months to talk to her, but she suffers from extreme depression and so has struggled a lot. One day she actually answered the door and let us in. We talked to her for a little while, and even set up another appointment. The next appointment she was even more depressed than the time before so we decided to challenge her to read one chapter a night from the Book of Mormon and we gave her a list of chapters to read. 

That was Sunday.. on Wednesday she texted us and said that she was being admitted to the hospital for in patient treatment. She told us she had nobody to take care of her cats so she left us a key under the doormat and asked us to go and feed them for her. 

We were happy to help her out.. but we were also sad that we were the people she had had to ask to do it. She honestly had nobody else to ask.. 

She was in the hospital for a week and when she got out she texted us and asked us to come over. We went as fast as we could and found her in much better spirits with tears of gratitude in her eyes.

We listened as she told us how when she was in the hospital she read all the chapters we had given her to read. She asked us in complete amazement how we knew to give her the chapters we did in the order we gave them. The warmest feeling came over the room and we all knew that there was higher help in this.

We are now teaching her all the things that bring joy. She is learning about the scriptures and how they really can answer the very questions in your personal soul. She is learning about prayer and how to listen for guidance. She is learning about the temple and how she can be sealed to her family for eternity. She is the only member in her family so we are teaching her how to do family history work so her ancestors can have the same joy that she is experiencing.  

This church is true, my friends. I know for a fact that God is leading me in this work. We have the true and everlasting power of the priesthood here on the earth. God has given us the blessing of having a piece of this power to seal our families together forever. We have prophets who give us the same guidance that Moses and Noah did for their people in ancient times. We have all the pieces of the puzzle to get to live with our Father again one day. The teachings will bless us then and bring real and lasting joy in this life.

Yet, he gives us the choice. Will we listen?

-Sister Earl