Welcomed Home

I could hear her shouting my name down the hallway

Daddy!

NICK GOT SO TALL!

Look at these girls!

with mis padres

reunited with the kiddos! <3

success!

Home in ONE WEEK!

Hey familia!

This has been a good week. We've been working on our finding skills and trying to find the elect. We don't' have many in our investigator pool but we know our time is dedicated and available to those who need this gospel and the Lord will put them in our path!

The Lord puts the people in your life when you most need them, and he knows which people and talents and skills to use--and His timing is perfect! Anyway, during Knock Out we ran into some cute youth-- one has been struggling with the desire to go to church etc. and the other is thinking about preparing for his mission! It's been really cool working with them :) Hopefully we'll keep seeing them this week! It's awesome being able to testify of the restoration and importance of scripture study, church, and prayer :)

My mission life is coming to an end... it's strange but I know there's good times ahead. Wrote down a really good testimony the other day and going to share it with ya'll. 

I know with an overpowering Spirit the love of Heavenly Father and the trust He has in each one of us. We've been given and called before this opportunity to live and love the gospel and be examples of our Savior. I've been grateful for this knowledge all my life. I came to know the gospel truths through learning simple doctrine and putting it in action. The examples in my life were key and influential. At the deepest darkest times I felt alone, I learned the reality of the LIGHT the Savior has. Of the reality that He is indeed right by my side. He sends angels to comfort and guide us. He sends answers to our greatest yearnings in prayer through the scriptures and the temple. He cares for all the infinite details of our lives and has planned happiness and success for us daily -- through the gospel! I know the Priesthood authority has been restored and I'm ever grateful to be living in these latter days with instant access to the power of the covenants I've made with heaven. Jesus Christ is my Savior and Redeemer. Through His grace and mercy and the Plan of Happiness, I can have the confidence to stand in their presence and lead on them for support and enabling power, so one day I can receive exaltation with my greatest loved ones ♥ The key is to have the constant companionship of the Holy Ghost and to use the atonement. It's not easy, but the all Omnipotent Lord is on our side, so it is possible. I testify of the love He has for you, of the specific plan he needs of you, and that it doesn't end after his mortal life. He trust/cares for you and it proud of your example and true discipleship. 'Never forsake!' True joy and happiness is ONLY found through His restored gospel. I know it; I'm living it; I love it!

This mission has been one of the greatest miracles of my life. What a confirming witness of the truth. Take joy in this journey as we move forward, as defenders of truth and light! Les quiero muchisimo!

See ya'll soon...con carino, hermana day 

If—

BY RUDYARD KIPLING

If you can keep your head when all about you

Are losing theirs and blaming it on you,

If you can trust yourself when all men doubt you,

But make allowance for their doubting too;

If you can wait and not be tired by waiting,

Or being lied about, don’t deal in lies,

Or being hated, don’t give way to hating,

And yet don’t look too good, nor talk too wise:

If you can dream—and not make dreams your master;

If you can think—and not make thoughts your aim;

If you can meet with Triumph and Disaster

And treat those two impostors just the same;

If you can bear to hear the truth you’ve spoken

Twisted by knaves to make a trap for fools,

Or watch the things you gave your life to, broken,

And stoop and build ’em up with worn-out tools:

If you can make one heap of all your winnings

And risk it on one turn of pitch-and-toss,

And lose, and start again at your beginnings

And never breathe a word about your loss;

If you can force your heart and nerve and sinew

To serve your turn long after they are gone,

And so hold on when there is nothing in you

Except the Will which says to them: ‘Hold on!’

If you can talk with crowds and keep your virtue,

Or walk with Kings—nor lose the common touch,

If neither foes nor loving friends can hurt you,

If all men count with you, but none too much;

If you can fill the unforgiving minute

With sixty seconds’ worth of distance run,

Yours is the Earth and everything that’s in it,

And—which is more—you’ll be a Man, my son!

Source: A Choice of Kipling's Verse (1943)

Starting my Last 2 weeks in the Sunshine State as a missionary!

On top of the building

President and Sister Henrie

Rowr! My dino sweatshirt!

Selfies!

Bear Grylls would say, "It's a jungle out there!"

Knockout!

Feb 29^th-March 14^th, 2016

Hey familia!

The last couple weeks have been full of missionary adventures -- as always! A cute little girl was baptized yesterday and we got to bear our testimonies and sing some songs. Also got to sing in ward conference and continued with my piano playing. We did some community service this week and we talked to another 1,000+ people this month! Pretty epic! 

We had an amazing dinner -- Korean barbeque -- with the Sevilla family the other night, they are so amazing and their desire to go to the temple and be able to raise a good family is exemplar! Oh and I could pretty much study the scriptures all day if I could.

One thing I love about being a mission is that 100% of my time is literally dedicated to OTHERS! I love being able to drop everything about myself and just SERVE! I feel as if I'm always "on call" to go give a hug, a pep talk, advice, spiritual uplifting, shoulder to lean on, or someone to listen to. I really love it! I feel like my gifts and talents are truly being used to help others and strengthen me to the divine potential and plan I know the Lord has! 

We had a really amazing conversation with someone, we knocked his door the other day. He was quite intelligent and had some amazing insights. I learned that spirituality is mental and inner strength. I also learned that sometimes we are asking and asking and asking for an answer or comfort, etc., and we're looking at only one angle or directions -- we need to take a step back and look left and right and see the whole picture. That's when we realize that the answer is right in front of us! ​

Love ya'll! See you soon.....

Con carino,

Hermana Day

Some other things I've learned and thought I'd share:

Safe-guards:

·         Be in-tune with spiritual promptings and aware of what will draw you away from the Holy Ghost. Act upon promptings!

·         Be focused with your purpose. To serve and to be a disciple of Christ!

·         Be disciplined and accountable to yourself. Make and follow guidelines. Stay away from potential danger! Be disciplined and have self-control.

·         Be one with Heavenly Father and Jesus Christ's purpose. Let devices help not distract.

Process for Overcoming Temptation when you feel vulnerable:

·         Be aware and acknowledge 

·         Choose to act

·         Learn and improve

Making Plans

Hermanas Nelson and Day Tracting

Choco Cake from Elders

Fort Fun

Hola Hola Familia!

There's a course on-line called "my plan for soon to be returning missionaries" and we do like little studies and come up with goals and plans ch so we can still remember how amazing our missions are but also be able to live life toward "the best to come." It's still strange to think that I'm at this stage! 

I'm really glad the BYU apartment worked out! :) I've finished the scholarship forms and I've been looking at classes for fall semester. The Lord truly does guide our steps!

Dina was confirmed yesterday by the elders and she's super amazing! I love her so much and she's so grateful for the gospel in her life and is already preparing and excited for the temple! 

On Saturday the Relief Society called and told us to come over for the activity to help them out -- we were thinking food or something. But then I walked in and they were all like "yay our pianist!"

It's been an odd week work wise and we've had a lot of ups and downs every day. On Saturday the Lord sent us someone to help us out.... we were sooooo done with contacting and being rejected and didn't know what to do to boost each other up and right as we were pushed to our limits....we knocked on a door and met a large, semi-high, Jewish Nazarene. He let us in the complex....pointed us to all his neighbors that spoke Spanish...and watched us go and contact them and then he would contact them after us and tell them to visit the website and listen to us more. Then he even ended up knocking doors with us as we would say , "Hi....we're the missionaries from the church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints ... and we're here to share a message of his restored gospel…and this is…guy . . . "  It was hilarious! He filled our bags up with candy and chocolates too. It was super funy and just what we needed to get through the final hour of knock-out! 

Yesterday at church I become best friends with a little 9yr old investigator in the ward and helped him get to class. Gave him some paper and stuff to color on and I got like a notebook full of doodles back ;) the Lord knows how to make each of us smile and what we need! 

I'm putting together a post-mission notebook thing and wanted to share some goals I have. A lot of people return from their missions and reflect back on how amazing it was and how boring/different/weird life is as a returned missionary. I don't want to be stuck there. So I'm making some decisions now -- because we all know, to make decisions before is what puts them into action and leads to accomplishment!

Anyway, post mission: 

-I will have an amazing friendship circle like I do here

-I will strengthen my relationship with my family

-I will continue to feel good as an individual

-I will accomplish my dreams and goals and align my will with the lord's

-I will continue to be faithful

-I will continue to be happy and have adventures every day

Okay, okay, enough is enough.

Love ya'll! Con carino, Hermana Day 

Roller Coasters!

Burbank Overlook

Canolli

Dina's Baptism

Helen

Happy Valentines Day

Heyo familia!

Everything's been rocking it over here. Hermana Nelson and I have had quite an amazing week! We're talking to everyone, teaching up the wall, and .... we had a baptism! The lovely peruana Dina got baptized on Sunday! 

It was quite the roller coaster ride to get her there though, but she's been doing AMAZING!

Sunday comes along....and she calls to tell us she can't make it tochurch. She's too nervous. We try to call everyone for a ride and everyone is super sick. We rush over to her and say a prayer and are blessed with a calming spirit. A ride is found and she makes it to church. We push her baptism out an hour so she can still have dinner with her sister and all is well. We show up at the baptism and....nothing has been done like we planned! But that's okay, because I take after mom when it comes to doing things on the spots. We quickly put together a program, got someone to share a testimony about baptism, we gave the talk on the Holy Ghost, the Elders gave a "missionary minute".....it all worked out and was wonderful.

Oh but here comes the best part.

Dina is deathly afraid of water. And by deathly, I mean stinking super scare, in all forms of the word. We convinced her to be able to do it just once and everything would be fine and she'll survive. Well, she did it. But they didn't use her full name. She had to do it again. She hates water and was all covered in it and etc. and starts saying right there in the font, "no puedo, no puedo, no no no" our hearts dropped and were pounding like crazy! This is quite the leap of faith and she is still put to the test! Immediately we grabbed her towel and reach our hands out to her, like the angels at the door of heaven words come to our mouths to calm her down --thanks to the Spirit. She wipes her face and we testify and she bears testimony of why she's doing this. She takes a few breaths and is back in the font. Just one more time I promise her. The audience is full of tears. The suspense is thick . . . she doesn't go all the way under. ....last time, we promise Dina! Hermana Nelson and I are literally kneeling at the edge of the water/font and praying so hard in that moment that it would be the last time and that Dina would do it. And she did!

Her faith truly had to conquer that fear of water. Afterwards she was very glad she had survived but even more glad she made the covenant with God. She bore overpowering testimony and everything worked out fine in the end. But it was a crazy roller coaster of emotions! I've learned that faith truly does conquer all and that we shouldn't let our fears get in the way of stopping us!

The end is truly worth it, and it was quite the perspective to be on the side where I knew the blessings and the ending and the whole point and knowing it would all be worth it. I realize that we have friends here in this life -- and our Heavenly Father too, of course-- who we learn from, support us, and know that "end point" and want to see us there and see us reach it and feel happy. It was a moment I've never experienced before, but one I'll never forget. I learned a lot about God's pure love and his true desire for all of us to have eternal salvation and exaltation.

I hope you all have an amazing week! I know this church is true and make sure to read scriptures and pray daily as a family!

con carino, hermana day

THE FINAL COUNTDOWN!

Zone Peeps

Camera Test

A little piggy (for Rosie)

Hola hola  familia!

I am officially in the last transfer of my mission…7 weeks! :) 

I seriously hope there's still lots of snow when I get home, or at least it's still cold! Because it's hot here again and I can't stand it! 80 degrees!

I'm excited you get to go on trek and high adventure!  I'm jealous actually!

I JUST WANT TO HUG YOU ALL SO BAD!!! :D I'm thinking those glass walls at the Manchester Airport might just be in the way.... .... .... not that I'm thinking that far ahead.

Did you know muddy buddies can be made gluten-milk-and soy free? They taste really good still, I promise!

This week has been pretty decent. Dina is getting baptized this Sunday en lugar because her work horario changed last week.... but we're still super excited and she is SOOOO prepared!

We're still searching for the elect and those others whom the Lord has prepared for us in this last transfer together. Hermana Nelson is great-- I'm super excited to finish with her and see the gospel continue to bless people's lives. Missions seriously do influence our eternities! :D

As you all know, some of my favorite moments are not just seeing the conversion of others, but studying and strengthening my testimony as well! This week I had some amazing insights and revelations -- especially about the atonement, the plan of redemption, and the power of the Holy Ghost's constant companionship in our lives.

Here's some I'll share:

·         "The purpose of the gospel is to cleanse people of their sins so that they can receive the savior's mercy" (Preach My Gospel, pg. 6). No wonder we are responsible to share this great knowledge!

·         Confidence to stand before god = having the spirit! A cleanser, the sanctifier, a witness to the Advocate... gives you confidence, ability, and change of heart necessary! (Alma 5)

·         The reason repentance is a good thing = brings the sanctifying power of the spirit! 

·         Gift of spirituality - understand the eternal perspective and improve/strive for/be blessed with/know and feel of the constant companionship of the Holy Ghost!

·         "When we live as righteously as we know how to live, He will open the way for the fulfillment of the blessings that so earnestly and diligently we seek" (President Thomas S Monson)

LOVE YOU ALL TONS!!!!!!! Aave an amazing week!! Hope you get tons of snow!!!!!! Big hugs!

con carino, Hermana day 

All is Fun and Games in Missionary Work

Service Selfies

Jedi Master

Official Service Vests

Hey fam how's it goin! I don't have many updates, all is going well. It's windy today. We talked to 1000 people this month and  there's a place that sells canolees --wait, back up, that's right--WE TALKED TO 1,000 PEOPLE THIS MONTH!!!!!!

I'm a little short on time today because we have a lot of plans and things to do, and I'm also working on scholarships and BYU housing and classes and such.

It's been a crazy week but not too busy. A wonderful family we were teaching and they were planning baptisms, changed plans and we haven't been able to connect. I hope they are all right.

We stopped by and visited with a lady who has gone back to her Catholicism. It was quite emotional testifying--and she gave us brownies. There's people out there still ready to receive us and we'll be looking.

Let me share with you what I've learned this week: Don't lose yourself in the little things.

LOVE YOU ALL!

Con carino, Hermana Day