December 14th--
We had our mission Christmas party in Tacoma yesterday. We had a dinner and sang some silly songs and then they gave us each a fleece blanket that had WA-TAC MISSION embroidered on it. It was way fun to see everyone..sometimes I feel that I've forgotten how to have fun so I felt really out of place for the first part of it haha..And after all that we went to the chapel (we met at the Stake Center in Tacoma) and had a more spiritual meeting for about an hour. Then it was time to go back to our areas so we lined up and they gave us our packages from home. I thought I'd just open it and kinda see what was inside but I ended up going through everything and trying it on/eating it/reading the cards ..so Sister Oehler and I kind of celebrated Christmas yesterday I guess (:
The weather in Elma has been crazy .. it rained so much that it flooded in several areas, where now it looks like there are trees just growing in the middle of lakes. Hopefully it'll dry up before it freezes! Sister Oehler and I have a baptism this Friday! We have been meeting with Will for a few months. He is just really searching for truth. He's really come to recognize the Spirit and how to receive personal revelation through prayer. He was really struggling to understand why he needed to be baptized again (since he has been in a few other churches) but we explained the Priesthood authority to him and he went home and prayed about it and came back and said "I know without a doubt in my mind that I need to be baptized and I want the Holy Ghost". He even prayed about what day and time to be baptized and somehow came to the conclusion that he needed to be baptized on December 17th at 7:45 AM!
Yesterday at the Christmas party, I talked to the Sisters who are now serving in Sequim and I asked them about a family I taught there. Sequim was the first area I served in and while I was there, we tracted into this family and taught them the gospel. The mother, Kim, was first baptized and then her husband, Michael, and the following week he baptized his two children, Dylan and Alex. It was incredible to see the Spirit touch their hearts and give them the strength to progress towards baptism and to remain active. Yesterday, I learned that Dylan was ordained to the Priesthood last Sunday and will now be passing the sacrament! If my whole mission were just for that family, I would know the 18 months were worth it. I know that Heavenly Father has people, just like them, prepared for the gospel in every part of the world.
Stand in holy places!
Read your scriptures and say your prayers!
LOVE
Sister Luke
Monday, December 20, 2010
Monday, November 15, 2010
Tuesday, July 20, 2010
Yesterday was transfers! Sister Willardson and I are staying in Olympia!
My trainer, Sister Gainer, and then the second companion I had, Sister Lawrence, both are going home today. In transfer meeting, the departing missionaries always give a final testimony for just five minutes or so. Both expressed deep gratitude for the opportunity they had to serve a mission, for the restoration of the gospel, and for Jesus Christ. In reading Sister Gainer's final report, I found this quote by Sister Dew.
My trainer, Sister Gainer, and then the second companion I had, Sister Lawrence, both are going home today. In transfer meeting, the departing missionaries always give a final testimony for just five minutes or so. Both expressed deep gratitude for the opportunity they had to serve a mission, for the restoration of the gospel, and for Jesus Christ. In reading Sister Gainer's final report, I found this quote by Sister Dew.
"The Savior isn't our last chance; He is our only chance. Our only chance to overcome self-doubt and catch a vision of who we may become. Our only chance to repent and have our sins washed clean. Our only chance to purify our hearts, subdue our weaknesses, and avoid the adversary. Our only chance to obtain redemption and exaltation. Our only chance to find peace and happiness in this life and eternal life in the world to come."
-- Sister Sheri Dew
My trainer was an example to me that I will always remember. She was one of the most focused persons I have ever met. Her actions and her words all communicate that she not only understands the gospel but that she truly knows Jesus Christ. In every lesson we taught together, she bore testimony of Him. The Spirit was always the most powerful when talking about the Savior. I know that we can truly be guided by the Spirit in all things. If you want to feel the love the Savior has for you more powerfully in your life and more frequently than you currently do, you can! An elder spoke in transfer meeting yesterday also. He said, "If you feel this is a bad day for you, go out and help someone else! When we choose right, we feel right."
Along with the many great days I have had there have been several bad days also, but I try not to let those bad days distance me from feeling the Spirit. The hardest thing for me is probably learning to be disciplined. Following the missionary schedule is difficult, but I have felt the strength of the Lord help me to stay focused and to have energy even when I feel that all my energy is spent. Heavenly Father never gives a commandment without providing a way for us to accomplish that thing that He has asked of us, and with our obedience to those commandments, there are always promised blessings that come.
The greatest blessing of all has been for me to
deepen my own faith in Jesus Christ...
"And now, my beloved brethren and also Jew, and all ye ends of the earth, hearken unto these words and believe in Christ; and if ye believe not in these words believe in Christ. And if ye shall believe in Christ ye will believe in these words, for they are the words of Christ, and he hath given them unto me; and they teach all men that they should do good."
-- 2 Nephi 33:10
I know there is a true strength that will come into our lives by reading the Book of Mormon, the words of Christ.
Love you all!
Sister Luke
Monday, June 21, 2010
...greetings from...OLYMPIA! granola, hippies, and summer sunshine!
we're in the capital of washington..so the city is quite a bit bigger than sequim. sister willardson is my new companion and we got doubled into olympia so everything is new to both of us. it has been an elders' area for a while. we just got here yesterday evening and besides knowing how to get to target and the church building, we'll have some great times getting lost and trying to learn the area and the two wards that we're over. we have veronica..our GPS..to help us find our way around and our district leader is a great help too. the elders before us left tons of notes to look at and we have a few appointments set up but for the most part we still have a lot to figure out. sister willardson has been doubled into an area before so this isn't her first time doing it. her and i are so much alike..it's crazy. yesterday we got to our apartment..which used to be lived in by the elders..and besides finding old socks and cases of mountain dew and needing to clean up a bit it's a super nice apartment. we have heard excellent things about the wards here and that the work in olympia really has great potential to explode!
we're in the capital of washington..so the city is quite a bit bigger than sequim. sister willardson is my new companion and we got doubled into olympia so everything is new to both of us. it has been an elders' area for a while. we just got here yesterday evening and besides knowing how to get to target and the church building, we'll have some great times getting lost and trying to learn the area and the two wards that we're over. we have veronica..our GPS..to help us find our way around and our district leader is a great help too. the elders before us left tons of notes to look at and we have a few appointments set up but for the most part we still have a lot to figure out. sister willardson has been doubled into an area before so this isn't her first time doing it. her and i are so much alike..it's crazy. yesterday we got to our apartment..which used to be lived in by the elders..and besides finding old socks and cases of mountain dew and needing to clean up a bit it's a super nice apartment. we have heard excellent things about the wards here and that the work in olympia really has great potential to explode!
Wednesday, June 2, 2010
Date: May 10, 2010
Area: Sequim, Washington
Companion: Sister Lawrence
Another P-day after another great weekend -- we had two baptisms yesterday and other than it being another crazy Sunday for us, it went perfectly. Sister Lawrence and I are over two wards so we are at the church from 7:30 in the morning until 4:30 (we have meetings before and in between) so Sundays are the busiest days for us but at the same time it's a nice relief cause we get to be on the other side of the lesson where WE are being taught haha
As a mission, we get to go the Seattle Temple once a year and last Thursday was the day! There are around 180 missionaries in the WATAC mission so half of us went Weds and then other half on Thursday. I'm really glad that I got to go to the temple so many times before I left because once a year is not enough! If there are people that I teach/reactivate and they go to the temple, then I am able to go with them (: ..so there's a chance I will go again before next year.
And if you haven't already heard, last Saturday was the annual Irrigation Festival for the great northwest! haha it's okay I'm still not really sure what it was celebrating..I think just the lavendar blooming and the plants and ....things. There were activities like tractor races and logging and the carnival came into town. Since the
main street was closed off and a lot of people were at the parade or either left town, it was difficult to get around so we spent some time with the DePrati's and with Lisa, who will be baptized this Sunday. Saturday was definitely the sunniest day I have seen in Sequim!
We met Lisa when we were knocking doors a few weeks ago. She is a single mother and has two little girls, 5 and 2. She was taught by missionaries about two years ago but moved and lost contact. Since we
found her, we've been able to teach her all the lessons and she is progressing and excited for her baptism on the 16th! She is so faithful and really recognizes this as a way to bring direction, peace, and support into her life.
And now let me tell you about the miracle of Seth! It's been about four weeks since Sister Gainer and I met him so I am sorry i have been keeping this story from you! ha One day, Sister Gainer and I were driving and trying to choose a place to tract that we hadn't been to yet. We saw this little mobile home park that we'd driven past like a million times but never really noticed before..so we decided to go tracting in there that day. we weren't having much luck until we came to Seth's door. When he opened the door, we said that we were from the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter Day Saints and we introduced ourselves and then he did what
most people don't usually do -- he kept the door open! AND he put his hand out to shake ours! haha We then learned just a few things about him and set up a time to meet with him the next day. here's what he
told us:
he was living in California with his dad but then went to live in Utah with some friends.. he was still in high school and since it's UT, he was given the option to either take seminary in school or another elective. he thought that seminary looked interesting so he signed up for it and ended up attending seminary for a few months until he came to Washington to live with his grandma. no one in his family is Mormon and he was never raised in a church or anything and really knew very little about it even when Sister Gainer and I knocked on his door. But the week before we met him, he decided that he wanted to learn more about the things he learned in seminary so he went online to mormon.org where he was able to chat with a missionary (elder Saben) in the MTC about the gospel. The day before Sister Gainer and I met Seth, Elder Saben had emailed Seth one of thelessons and challenged him to pray to know if this was true and if he should be baptized. So that night, Seth prayed about what elder Saben had taught him and the very next day sister gainer and i met him and invited him to come to the church so he could learn more. He took that as an answer to his prayers and he decided to be baptized. Yesterday, Seth was baptized! A month ago, he knew something was missing in his life and he was truly searching for what it was -- for what he now knows is the true gospel of Jesus Christ. Seth has such great faith -- it really shows that there is no substitute for the true happiness that comes from living the gospel.
..And there is no substitute for talking to family! Yesterday we were allowed to call home since it was Mother's Day. I wish I could have called all of you!
Area: Sequim, Washington
Companion: Sister Lawrence
Another P-day after another great weekend -- we had two baptisms yesterday and other than it being another crazy Sunday for us, it went perfectly. Sister Lawrence and I are over two wards so we are at the church from 7:30 in the morning until 4:30 (we have meetings before and in between) so Sundays are the busiest days for us but at the same time it's a nice relief cause we get to be on the other side of the lesson where WE are being taught haha
As a mission, we get to go the Seattle Temple once a year and last Thursday was the day! There are around 180 missionaries in the WATAC mission so half of us went Weds and then other half on Thursday. I'm really glad that I got to go to the temple so many times before I left because once a year is not enough! If there are people that I teach/reactivate and they go to the temple, then I am able to go with them (: ..so there's a chance I will go again before next year.
And if you haven't already heard, last Saturday was the annual Irrigation Festival for the great northwest! haha it's okay I'm still not really sure what it was celebrating..I think just the lavendar blooming and the plants and ....things. There were activities like tractor races and logging and the carnival came into town. Since the
main street was closed off and a lot of people were at the parade or either left town, it was difficult to get around so we spent some time with the DePrati's and with Lisa, who will be baptized this Sunday. Saturday was definitely the sunniest day I have seen in Sequim!
We met Lisa when we were knocking doors a few weeks ago. She is a single mother and has two little girls, 5 and 2. She was taught by missionaries about two years ago but moved and lost contact. Since we
found her, we've been able to teach her all the lessons and she is progressing and excited for her baptism on the 16th! She is so faithful and really recognizes this as a way to bring direction, peace, and support into her life.
And now let me tell you about the miracle of Seth! It's been about four weeks since Sister Gainer and I met him so I am sorry i have been keeping this story from you! ha One day, Sister Gainer and I were driving and trying to choose a place to tract that we hadn't been to yet. We saw this little mobile home park that we'd driven past like a million times but never really noticed before..so we decided to go tracting in there that day. we weren't having much luck until we came to Seth's door. When he opened the door, we said that we were from the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter Day Saints and we introduced ourselves and then he did what
most people don't usually do -- he kept the door open! AND he put his hand out to shake ours! haha We then learned just a few things about him and set up a time to meet with him the next day. here's what he
told us:
he was living in California with his dad but then went to live in Utah with some friends.. he was still in high school and since it's UT, he was given the option to either take seminary in school or another elective. he thought that seminary looked interesting so he signed up for it and ended up attending seminary for a few months until he came to Washington to live with his grandma. no one in his family is Mormon and he was never raised in a church or anything and really knew very little about it even when Sister Gainer and I knocked on his door. But the week before we met him, he decided that he wanted to learn more about the things he learned in seminary so he went online to mormon.org where he was able to chat with a missionary (elder Saben) in the MTC about the gospel. The day before Sister Gainer and I met Seth, Elder Saben had emailed Seth one of thelessons and challenged him to pray to know if this was true and if he should be baptized. So that night, Seth prayed about what elder Saben had taught him and the very next day sister gainer and i met him and invited him to come to the church so he could learn more. He took that as an answer to his prayers and he decided to be baptized. Yesterday, Seth was baptized! A month ago, he knew something was missing in his life and he was truly searching for what it was -- for what he now knows is the true gospel of Jesus Christ. Seth has such great faith -- it really shows that there is no substitute for the true happiness that comes from living the gospel.
..And there is no substitute for talking to family! Yesterday we were allowed to call home since it was Mother's Day. I wish I could have called all of you!
Friday, April 2, 2010
29 March 2010
washington is beautiful. the trees are tall..like three-colorado-trees-tall. and it take like three days for a towel to dry. i'm not in a really humid area though, and it only rains a few times a week. in the rest of washington, they get rain daily but it's really nice weather in sequim and that's why so many people come here to retire. we are over two wards: Happy Valley and Sequim Bay. the members are all about missionary work. in the tacoma mission, the area i'm in is supposed to have some of the best wards. the ward really wants to contribute so most people are really willing to go on splits with us (which we do almost every night) and come on what we call church tours, which is a new thing to missionary work i think. the tacoma mission is one of the few pilot missions, where they try everything before they introduce it to other areas. we were the first to get preach my gospel when it came out in 2004 and we're the first to do church tours, which are a great way to get investigators to come to the church so we can teach them there and show them the foyer, sacrament room, and baptismal font (and talk about each along the way). i was told that whenever the first presidency has a new idea they want to implement to missionaries (worldwide) they try it first in the Tacoma mission and there are a few other missions also that are pilot missions.
There's no other place or time in my life that I will be able to bear testimony so many times a day and be set apart solely to preach the gospel (:
Tuesday, February 23, 2010
Friday, February 19, 2010
Yep this is the real deal! On December 10th I received my mission call and later that evening I opened it. It won't be the same watching it cause you already know where I'm going but just act surprised anyways haha So click on the link below to watch it--sorry it's kind of hard to hear.
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=T-rKYkYXKjI
You can probably read my reaction pretty well just by watching the clip. Nothing could have prepared me for that moment..I think a small part of me never expected it to be in a place so close to home..TACOMA WASHINGTON!! (:
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=T-rKYkYXKjI
You can probably read my reaction pretty well just by watching the clip. Nothing could have prepared me for that moment..I think a small part of me never expected it to be in a place so close to home..TACOMA WASHINGTON!! (:
This link will lead you to a short video of me just a few minutes after I got my mission call.
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=F0s2b-Wv408
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=F0s2b-Wv408
Since I was a little girl, serving a mission was something I always wanted and hoped to do and now that I finally am it feels so completely surreal that I report to the MTC in just ten days. Our family moved to Colorado when I was nine and besides living in Rexburg while attending BYU-Idaho, I haven't been to visit many other places. I'm flying to Salt Lake from the Denver airport this Thursday so I can spend a few extra days in Utah with my aunt and uncle and my cousins.
Well -- back to the start -- so last summer I decided to start my mission papers. I met with the bishop and told him about my desire to serve a mission and that I felt like it was the right thing for me to do. I still remember walking out of his office and the complete feeling of happiness that I had knowing I would be able to start the application process that week; it was simpler than I expected it to be. I finished my mission papers within about two weeks but held on to them until November when I was allowed to submit them (You have to wait for ninety days before your availability date to submit your papers). A lot of things seemed to go wrong when it came time to submit them: things got lost between Colorado and Idaho, my stake president in Idaho needed surgery and couldn't meet with me to submit my papers for over a week, then I think they kind of got put aside on accident and weren't submitted until nearly December (the Sunday after Thanksgiving).
My mission call came on Thursday, December 10th. The moment when I opened the mail box is one that I'll always remember -- probably even more exciting than actually opening my call haha My bishop had told me the weekend before that my call was sent from Salt Lake on Friday and that it would probably come either Monday or Tuesday, so by Thursday, I had already checked the mailbox like 67894 times. On December 10th, I just remember waiting through my usual 11 to 3 lunch shift at work so I could run back to my apartment and check the mail. I had already run home too many times just to find a mailbox stacked with coupons and catalogs so I wasn't very fast about it, but I still had my mail key in one hand and my phone in the other (I kidnapped our apartment's mail key for the week ha).
BUT this time, I opened the box and saw the thin, white envelope curled against the inside of box 53. I was alone in the mail room but could have cared less if someone was there either way--jumping up and down and calling my roommates and just thinking about how in a few short hours I would know where I would spend eighteen months of my life. I waited until 6:15 that evening to open it. I had piles of homework to do but just didn't care and couldn't have focused on it if I wanted to. I sent a short text to practically everyone I knew in Rexburg inviting them to meet me in the MC building on campus when I would open the letter. It was great to have so many of my friends there and to know that they cared about making time to be there with me.
Well -- back to the start -- so last summer I decided to start my mission papers. I met with the bishop and told him about my desire to serve a mission and that I felt like it was the right thing for me to do. I still remember walking out of his office and the complete feeling of happiness that I had knowing I would be able to start the application process that week; it was simpler than I expected it to be. I finished my mission papers within about two weeks but held on to them until November when I was allowed to submit them (You have to wait for ninety days before your availability date to submit your papers). A lot of things seemed to go wrong when it came time to submit them: things got lost between Colorado and Idaho, my stake president in Idaho needed surgery and couldn't meet with me to submit my papers for over a week, then I think they kind of got put aside on accident and weren't submitted until nearly December (the Sunday after Thanksgiving).
My mission call came on Thursday, December 10th. The moment when I opened the mail box is one that I'll always remember -- probably even more exciting than actually opening my call haha My bishop had told me the weekend before that my call was sent from Salt Lake on Friday and that it would probably come either Monday or Tuesday, so by Thursday, I had already checked the mailbox like 67894 times. On December 10th, I just remember waiting through my usual 11 to 3 lunch shift at work so I could run back to my apartment and check the mail. I had already run home too many times just to find a mailbox stacked with coupons and catalogs so I wasn't very fast about it, but I still had my mail key in one hand and my phone in the other (I kidnapped our apartment's mail key for the week ha).
BUT this time, I opened the box and saw the thin, white envelope curled against the inside of box 53. I was alone in the mail room but could have cared less if someone was there either way--jumping up and down and calling my roommates and just thinking about how in a few short hours I would know where I would spend eighteen months of my life. I waited until 6:15 that evening to open it. I had piles of homework to do but just didn't care and couldn't have focused on it if I wanted to. I sent a short text to practically everyone I knew in Rexburg inviting them to meet me in the MC building on campus when I would open the letter. It was great to have so many of my friends there and to know that they cared about making time to be there with me.
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