f0e89a04-4500-4f2b-ab37-6ea8b9d4b87b Sister Malia McOmie Back to Missionary Letters WELP... IM BACK QUE PASO AMIGOS?! I debated on writing an email this week... but i wanted to hop on this before all the other talk did cause yk lol <3 #ALLNIGHTER Tuesday at 11pm me and Hermana Longhurst went to the hospital, it was a literal fever dream. We were there until 4pm on Wednesday. staying in the ER all night long is no joke, it was like a simulation or something. We are HIGHKEY paying the price still to this day for that all nighter, missionary work is exhausting as it is haha. The hospital didnt find much, and I wasnt getting much better. SLC, the mission president & doctors decided it was best if I came home and got it all figured out. ET ET ET Emergency transfers aren't fun... my poor mission president had 2 of us... FROM ONTARIO leave today. This whole week is just a blur... I got told yesterday I was coming home, packed up last night and left today, it's been crazy. Im so sad I didnt get to say goodbye to like anyone. But don't worry yall! It is just a TEMPORARY return home, and I plan to get back as soon as I can! #cantgetridofmethateasy READ THIS X100 the last week was DEFINETLY a rollercoaster of emotions. & I definitely said "if only I could BEGIN to see God's plan" about a million times. I think sometimes there are things in life that make it HARD to be submissive and willing to follow God's plan. Things we don't want, things we don't get, things we miss out on, things that suck, things we never expected, A MILLION THINGS. But I was reading in Ether and found this gem of a story. Yall know the brother of Jared, the boats, the rocks that God lit with his hand... thats where we are at in the scriptures. Well this is after they had gotten the cool rock lights, made the boat and now they are on the way to their promised land. Ether 6:5 "And it came to pass that the Lord God caused that there should be a furious wind blow upon the face of the waters, towards the promised land ; and thus they were tossed upon the waves of the sea before the wind." HOLD UP, HOLD UP, reread that... I love love love the wording on this. It is SO applicable to trials that just happen, sometimes for no rhyme or reason . God could have just let the boat move slowly and calmly. But no, He CAUSED the winds to blow (aka our hard times) the next few verses explain how terrible of a storm it was. But, I love that He did it to move them TOWARDS the promised land. There is always a reason for the things that happen. Sometimes we might know that, sometimes we might forget it, or we might not even realize it at all!!! I know that sometimes life will toss ya around. But I also know that God is in control of everything . God is loving, He is the author of everything, and I KNOW He wants what's best for everyONE. Personally, I dont understand right now why I had to come all the way home when i like just got started. There could be a million reasons why. But I do know that this storm will pass and will lead me to my promised land, even if I don't know exactly what that looks like. God has a plan for you, even if it doesn't match your plan! Keep sailing cause it'll end for your benefit eventually. Trust in God and His eternal perspective & who knows I might see yall soon :P MUCHA AMOR -Hermana McOmie Previous Letter Next Letter

e54b5183-1bdd-47da-ad60-13eb43f354d0 Sister Dantzel Paek Back to Missionary Letters Abeja Apis Mellifera YES, WE WERE CHASED BY ONE OF THESE THIS WEEK… I have never been afraid of bugs before. This was the first time and for good reason. If you make it a spiritual thought you will learn more! Anyways how are you guys!?! Thanks for all the emails this week :) You’re all the best and I love hearing about your lives. A lot happened this week and I hope to cover it all… let's get into it :) Bullet Points <3 Happy late Valentine's day! The day of Love and Friendship <3 <3 We had another service project! It was super fun :) We had to prepare another house to be painted. Guess what my job was… watering the walls! You get the walls completely wet then scrape the paint off. Super fun and super effective!! <3 My hands got destroyed from watering the walls. I have the pictures to prove it… No worries they feel better now haha. But, they will have scars for a bit :) <3 The giant bee that chased us…. That was a first! It chased us IN OUR HOUSE! If you want to see more I took a video, go check out my google photos :) <3 The busiest day of my life. Well at least it felt like it. The day of the service project we also had a meeting at the stake center for the missionaries in Ilo, a family history activity, and a missionary night (in our area) we were in charge of. <3 We ended up leaving the family history early to make it to the meeting in the stake center which we left early to go to the missionary night and we were late to that too. It all worked out. <3 We had an awesome Lesson with Monica! We taught the Plan of Salvation and she was very interested. She has a lot of good questions and I am super excited to see her progress. <3 District council (this is when all the missionaries in a specific área get together and have a meeting about how we can do better) We had the LZ's and the AP's!?! There were so many people in our district council! <3 Liahonas with mamita… this was really effective for our area! Our pension had an old Liahona she wanted to give to her neighbors and we found a few new people :) <3 Stopped by the Cops… we got stopped by a cop for the first time since I have been here. Nothing crazy happened but I just thought that was a cool first to add :) <3 We had a new friend at church named Alexis. I am super excited to start teaching him. We have a lesson tonight :) Spiritual thought Whelp… of course I try to relate my most interesting thing that happened during the week to something spiritual. So here we go. A giant bee! Sometimes things come flying at us with high speeds and they are bigger than we thought they would be. Trials, opposition, temptation, distracciones, and much more can be hard to avoid in today's world. Even if you can't see it you can hear it rustling around in the corner, you can't avoid it forever. But, how can we deal with these problems without getting stung? We can try all sorts of things, using a bucket, a shoe, swatting it out the window, throwing things. All of which are in the video btw HAHA. But we can’t just put our phones under a bucket. Hit our temptations with a shoe or swat them out the window. We can't just throw words at people we don't get along with either. So what do we do? Yes, when bad things happen it's okay to do a little freak out dance. And maybe we are freaking out the whole time (with composure of course…) But, we have to deal with the problem head on. You can't just leave it hiding in the corner. We are blessed enough to know how to deal with these GIANT bees. We have the gospel of Jesus Christ! We can battle the temptations of Satan with the scriptures, general conference talks, prayer, and our testimonies. The best part about this gospel is that even when we are stung by the GIANT bees we can be healed by the saving power of the atonement of Jesus Christ. No matter what is flying around, if it's chasing you or not. We have an answer. Turn to Jesus Christ. He will help you in your deepest despair. But, I still recommend trying to stay away from the giant bees… they are pretty scary :) I've had experience! Love you guys, stay safe out there! I will try to get to everyone's emails this week. Sorry I've been slaking… now for the real reason you read this email. To see the pictures :) It's okay I understand I do it too haha! p.s. FELIZ CUMPLEAÑOS BREA!!! I am so proud of you for making it to State for Robotics!?! Okay now it's picture time :) google photo link https://photos.app.goo.gl/cTuE5yJgGCQYuGqN7 Previous Letter Next Letter

4fd1f254-3419-4f34-816c-46d746491a1d Sister Jamie Bundy Back to Missionary Letters Quarantine Week 6: Facebook finding Hello again all. This week had its ups and downs. Just like every other week I guess. It was mostly good though. The biggest highlight of our week was finding someone new to teach named Andrew! I don't know if any of ya'll saw the awkward video I made and that my mom posted on her Facebook but Andrew saw it and really liked it! He commented that he was interested in learning more. My mom got him reading from the Book of Mormon and before she got me to set a lesson up with him he was already through the first book of Nephi. So that was just way cool. We had my mom join us for our first lesson with him and it went awesome! He had so many great questions and was just really interested. We committed him to pray about baptism because he said that he already knew that the Book of Mormon was true. Which was just amazing. We set up a return appt with him and we also took a virtual Priesthood Restoration Site tour with him! It was just awesome!! (I encourage you all to go take one as well. It's a once in a lifetime opportunity and completely free! go email chloe.shepherd@gmail.com to set one up;) You won't regret it) We got ahold of the Elders that live in his area and we had them join our lesson. They were very good and bold teachers and just within that lesson, they had him committed to being baptized on May 17th. Wow. It was pretty cool and we are SO excited for Andrew and hope that he continues progressing. We were sad to have to let the elders take over with his teaching because it was really great getting to know Andrew and teach him, but we know that he is in good hands now:) His missionaries will take good care of him and I know they'll do great. It was all such a miracle! I KNOW, that through all the interactions that my video got, both the good and the bad, that it was meant specifically for Andrew. There's no way it wasn't. It strengthened my testimony that the Lord is preparing people always, and all places. He can use the light we shine to find them. And I was grateful to have been a part of that finding process for Andrew. He told us that he had been a part of a lot of different Christian churches but didn't know anything about our faith and just wanted to know and wanted to know what it would take to become a part of it. It was really cool experience and I hope he continues accepting the Gospel into his life. Another tender mercy and miracle that happened this week also happened because of something really small. So we went out to get some fresh air. I remembered that the car needed gas so suggested that we go fill it up. As I was coming up to get in the drivers seat, there was a lady sitting in the car next to ours with her window rolled down. I didn't notice her at first so when she said "I like that picture of Jesus you have in your window" It kind of startled me haha. I don't know why this is a thing, but a lot of the missionaries will stick a pass along card in the driver seat window. I didn't ever think that anything would come of it, but I did the same to be cool and fit in;) So this lady noticed it and liked it I asked her if she wanted one for herself. She said that she would love one. Thankfully, I had a whole stack of different Jesus cards in our cup holder. I not only gave her one but I gave her a couple different ones. She said that she was the only "believer" in her house and that she plans on hanging those nice cards up around her house. I thought that was so awesome. She was really sweet and I guess she lives in our apartment complex so we will probably see her again. It was really cool to me to see how something seriously so small could have had an impact like that. I can't count how many times I've had the cards I've offered people be rejected, or how many times I'd have to convince people to take one. The Lord is in charge of this work. And He's a lot better at doing it than any of us are hahaha. He knows the ones He is preparing and He knows the best timing of everything. We just have to be doing our best and following the Spirit and He'll put us at the right place, at the right time. So, something that one Zone has been doing to try to help us all stay busy and have something to look forward to is by giving us different challenges every day. And if we do these challenges then we get a certain amount of points. At the end of the transfer, whoever gets the most points, gets a prize hahaha. So these challenges are pretty simple but some of them have been pretty fun. One of the ones from this week was to recreate and film a scripture story and keep it under a minute long hahahaha. We all had too much fun with that. I would say that my personal favorite was the Zone leaders recreation of David and Goliath hahahaha. I think it was just a good excuse to throw rocks at each other It was very entertaining to watch hahahahaha. We did Samuel the Lamanite. Basically just an excuse for me to stand up on a wall while I let my companion throw sticks at me hahahaha. It was too much fun. Those were just some of the little miracles I saw from this week:) Its been really nice to be able to have more time to learn and study the gospel as well. My studies have been more fruitful for sure and it has been a great way to receive personal revelation. Something that I've been trying to do more is have a question in mind before I study. There was something really cool that I learned from one of my studies that I wanted to share with you all. So the question I had in mind was "Everyone seems to have a different definition of 'exact obedience', Why? How can I know if I am being 'exactly obedient'? So I wrote this question down and everything and began my studies. Guess where I happened to be reading that day? hahahah thats right, the war chapters yesssss. So, in Alma 53 the people of Ammon, who had made a covenant with the Lord that they would never again take up arms to fight and kill, saw all the war and bloodshed that was happening around them and felt a need to help defend their country. They were planning on breaking their covenant with God so that they could do this. Helaman stops them because he knows they would be better off staying in a good standing with the Lord than breaking covenants with Him. So then they're like "Ok, well our sons didn't make those covenants. Lets send them to war." So then their sons, also known as the two thousand stripling warriors, also makes a covenant with the Lord to defend their country. I compared these two covenants. Verse 11 says: they had taken an oath that they never would shed blood more; and according to their oath they would have perished; yea, they would have suffered themselves to have fallen into the hands of their brethren And verse 17 says: And they entered into a covenant to fight for the liberty of the Nephites, yea, to protect the land unto the laying down of their lives; yea, even they covenanted that they never would give up their liberty, but they would fight in all cases to protect the Nephites and themselves from bondage. Soooo, I don't know about you guys but, I've personally never seen, heard, or read anything more opposite of each other. Both groups of people clung to their covenants, and BOTH were exactly obedient my doing so. There were a couple things I learned from this: 1) Sometimes it can feel like "rules" or "commandments" can be a roadbock and can hinder our progression or our aid in furthering the work. But the Lord has promised that He provides a way. He always does and I've learned that His way always turns out better in the end. 2) Because we all are different, our relationships with the Lord are also DIFFERENT. The callings we have, the things we are expected to do, certain promises or covenants we all make with the Lord are different, therefore requiring our performance in keeping those different covenants to be, that's right, different! Even the universal covenants we make at baptism and in the temple have different meanings to us all, and yet, if we all are doing our best to keep those covenants the best way we know how and understand, we are being exactly obedient. 3) Our leaders are here to help us and remind us of our individual covenants. I, Of course there's more that can be learned here but I thought it was pretty cool have my question be answered like that. I hope you all take time to ask questions and seek personal revelation in your scripture studies and other in other ways. I promise He will speak to you, if you listen. I love you!! Have a great week! Mission office: 721 Paxon Hollow Rd Ste B Broomall PA 19008 My address: 716 Wharton Dr Newark DE 19711 -Sister Bundy Previous Letter Next Letter

929a47cf-9ef7-42f7-8d75-a8bff37a9535 Sister Kylie Cannon Back to Missionary Letters I’m Home Hey everybody it's been a couple weeks. I didn't think I would write another weekly email. But might as well end one with a bang right?! so guess whatttttt... I finished the "last lap" of my mission pretty quick. 6 weeks early. You didn't know I was so fast huh ;).Here is the low down. My pops decided to finish his "race" of life quicker than we all thought too. My dad gave his whole heart to my family and I. He worked his tail off to support us and teach us how to work hard. March 8th 2021 we finished his time here on earth and i'm sure he ran right into the embrace of his momma on the other side of the veil. My dad got really sick the past month and it was his time to go. Let me tell ya I LOVE MY DAD! I also love my heavenly father who sent me to my mom and dad. I am grateful for Jesus Christ. Because of his life, death and resurrection I know I can see my dad again. You can if you have lost a loved one. I LOVED MY MISSION. I HAVE LOVED MY COMPANIONS AND MISSION PRESIDENTS. It has been the greatest learning experience of my life so far. I have met lovely people and have made some lasting friendships. I have witnessed the power that comes into people's lives as they love and serve God with their whole might, mind and strength. I know the Book of Mormon is the Word of God. I know God lives. I know angels are real. I know life is hard but our burdens can be made lighter as we turn to Him who knows all. I am grateful for the time I have had to be a representative of Jesus Christ and teach others about His gospel in the Perth Australia mission and the Tempe Arizona Mission. A pic of my family and I at the funeral. They are some good looking people whooyee. I love yall. Hope yall are well. God Loves You. love, Kylie Cannon kyliecannon8@gmail.com Previous Letter Next Letter

7a29227b-e05f-49bf-88d6-153570623493 Elder Isaac Iverson Back to Missionary Letters The Place of My Rest That's right folks! I got transferred out of Scenic Oaks. I miss that area so much, BUT now I finally get to serve in the city! I'm in an area called Culebra Creek/Wildhorse. I'm still a zone leader (unfortunately) and even more unfortunate I'm in a biking area. My companion and roommates are super cool though! I have 4 months left of my mission and this is quite possibly my last area. My times in Scenic Oaks with Elder Taylor have been awesome! The people we had to teach and the work we got done were the happiest times of my mission. Its really too bad that I'm as close as I am to the end of my mission. ⭐ BUT here's some AMAZING news! I had the most spiritual experience of my mission yesterday. Someone I'd found and taught in Scenic Oaks chose to be baptized yesterday. I had the opportunity to go back and be a part of it. Before the baptism she pulled Elder Taylor and me aside and said, "Elders (starts crying), thank you so much for showing up that first day, and giving my family the opportunity to do this" and she gave us both hugs. I about lost it right there, but I held strong. The baptismal service itself was very beautiful, but the ordinance of baptism filled my soul with more joy than I thought I could have. Collin baptized his wife Karin, and the Spirit was so strong in that gym. I don't cry, but that experience even drew a tear or two from me. That is the most wonderful memory of my mission so far. One I'll never forget. I love Karin and the Degge family so much! Culebra Creek/Wildhorse is really cool! We had a baptism for a 9 year old last Saturday and have another baptism of a sweet old lady on June 12th! Her name is Lola and she is the sweetest lady. She gives us new ideas of what we can include in her baptismal program everytime we see her. She is very ready! I'm doing well. Lovin life. My testimony of the gospel brings me SO much joy! What more do I need? For today I'll just throw in my favorite scripture for today: Enos 1:27 And I soon go to the place of my rest, which is with my Redeemer; for I know that in him I shall rest. And I rejoice in the day when my mortal shall put on immortality, and shall stand before him; then shall I see his face with pleasure, and he will say unto me: Come unto me, ye blessed, there is a place prepared for you in the mansions of my Father. Amen. The Degges are the picture of the 6'9 man. They are my favorite! Collin is a member and Karin is the one who was just baptized. I love them so much!!! Previous Letter Next Letter

1df2eb91-3a2e-4a3f-a36e-553e2411a356 Sister Hanna Haviland Back to Missionary Letters How COVID affected my mission I have loved having the chance to really focused on how my experiences as a missionary have strengthened my testimony of the Restoration. In this time of doubt and question, I have had great peace of mind and have never had much of a doubt that God is using this to build His kingdom here on Earth. I love getting to see families spend more time together and people start to realize what they really need to prioritize just strengthens my testimony that YES! the Lord really can turn anything into an experience for our good. We really do have a living prophet and God, through him, has been preparing us for this time when we can not gather together physically as Saints. But this is a new generation and time to become spiritually strong as we learn together how to have a more home centered and church supported learning system. I have loved being able to still keep the sabbath day holy and hold our own Church Service. As I sat down to write this, I had all of these wonderful moments of revelation flood back to my memory and a sincere appreciation for my mission and the restored Church and Gospel of Jesus Chriest fell over my heart. One of the most important truths that I have come to realize is the importance of the sacrament. My first sunday being home for quarantine, I showed up to our "church service" an hour early to prepare spiritually. It felt wonderful to have a sacrament meeting. It has been two Sundays since I have been able to take the sacrament and oh how I have missed it. but it didn't hit me hard until we started to sing the sacrament hymn and my Dad started to prepare the sacrament. My voice was lost in the tears that streamed down my face and I had an overwhelming portion of the spirit engulf my soul in a wave of love, forgiveness, peace and understanding. The understanding of how important the sacrament, priesthood, living prophets, and the restoration really is. I have had many of these witnesses within the first 14 months of my mission but none of them had ever hit me quite this strong. I am so grateful for the priesthood and the fact that God loves His Children enough that He allows the priesthood into each of our homes. Is is so important to live worthy of this blessing in each of our lives. I know President Russel M. Nelson is a prophet of God. I know the Book of Mormon is true and through it we learn many more restored truths. I know that Jesus Christ is still guiding His people and He will never leave us aimless. This is His plan, and we are a part of it. He is still leading us home. I was blessed to serve in the two places that I needed the most. The Philippines will always be my mission, but the lessons I learned and the people I met while serving in Iowa will forever hold a special place in my heart. Even before I got my reassignment, I knew that my mission was not over. I was so close to the deadline that I really thought that I might not go back, but the spirit testified to me otherwise. He was preparing my heart to serve the Lord’s children in Iowa from the moment I learned we would be leaving the Philippines. I was only there for a short twelve weeks, but the moment I met my new companion I knew that I was where I needed to be. It wasn’t until I went home that I realized WHY I needed to be in Iowa, but God knew the whole time. I was learning line upon line but God was guiding ever step. COVID changed my mission because it changed how I did missionary work. From knocking doors 24/7 to sitting behind one, I learned that no matter the place, no matter the circumstances, The Lords work will go forward boldly, nobly and to all nations. Our missions do not start when we put on a tag and stop when we take it off. Each of us has the responsibility to gather Zion however and whenever we can. The spirit will always whisper to us how we can take part in, what our dear prophet refers to, as the greatest work. There is no greater work especially in these last days. COVID is our Father’s wake up call to us to stand up, get out and go to work. The time is not far distant that our Savior will return to call upon His sheep. So the question we must as ourselves is “am I ready?”. There is no greater way to prepare ourselves that to help others be prepared as well. Through teaching we learn, and by giving we receive. How we react to this challenge will greatly reflect our level of conversion. Have faith. Forsake pride. Repent. Forgiveness freely. Be more careful and less casual in covenant keeping. Follow the prophet. Read the scriptures. And do it all little by little in the strength of the Lord. I testify that these things are the things that will help us to have happier lives and bring us closer to our Father in Heaven. This is our Savior's Church. I testify these things are true in His name, Jesus Christ, Amen. -Sister Haviland Previous Letter Next Letter

d315a5d1-9e6b-4030-bbfd-76768588a7ab Elder Andrew Maxfield Back to Missionary Letters Sitting On The Right Hand of God 25 Brown Estates Dr. Lafayette, GA 30728 Baptism Mania🌊🌊🌊 https://photos.app.goo.gl/6eFoMLcxApcTof8c7 Hey yall! How was the week?!?! That's GREAT TO HEAR😱😱 I'm doing great and it's been a great/stressful/hectic/🫠🫠🫠 week. First of all, I just want to say thank you. Your prayers worked. JACKIE GOT BAPTIZED!! It was sooooo good!! It was such a happy day!! She was late and was anxious but as soon as she got into the building, she felt peace and it all went smoothly🙂 Here's my super duper donut hole week! - For P Day we played Topgolf, ate Chipotle, walked the Walnut Street Bridge, and ate ice cream. It was so much fun, a repeat of one of my favorite P Days! After the Sisters split, we saw a carousel and it was FREE! You know we had to hop on that sheesh it was living childhood dreams😌 That night we watched Prezzy Nelson's 100th birthday celebration! It was a lot of fun to see him in action. My personal favorite was the Elder Eyring/Elder Oaks podcast. We need more of those it was very entertaining😂 - Not too many pictures but I'll try to take a picture with Katelynn, Isabell, and Kae-Lei so yall can see the awesome little rebels I'm teaching rn! They're so much fun😂 - We had a great Wednesday we had our first big lesson with Kae-Lei! She's so mature for being 16, she knows and wants so much more than I did at 16 it's wild! We taught about the Plan of Salvation and pray next time we'll set a date for baptism🙏 - Also Wednesday was Jackie's Baptismal Interview. We(I) was kinda nervous since it was with our mission president and I've been the one to teach her all I know, so I had to trust what I know. But she PASSED and President said she was so unbelievably prepared so yayyyyy😁 -Friday we had another exchange with the ZLs! I was in Lafayette again(still haven't gone to Chattanooga) but I was with Elder Shelley again!! A repeat exchange and I loveddddddd it🤩 it was much needed and we found some awesome people! - Jackie was baptized Saturday and evem though setting up the program was stressful as all get out, it was so worth it! We had amazing talks, lots of family that weren't members, and successful baptism and confirmations despite the flaws of the ones performing them(Elder Naufahu and Elder Maxfield). As I confirmed Jackie, I was filled with the Spirit. I know now what the scriptures mean when the Spirit overwhelms their body and they feel faint. I could feel my body being a literal conduit for the Priesthood of God to flow through me. I was absolutely 100% exhausted afterwards😵💫😵💫🥱🥱 The more we prepare for those feelings the more accustomed to the overpowering feeling it has on us and the better the experiences! I loved helping Jackie I any way I could and I've loved helping one more person get baptized in to Christ's restored church. Not much more excitement! Please pray for our friends we need all the help we can get sometimes! I love yall so much, please know I'm praying for yall always! I know that God's work is true. It will go forward boldly and will never stop, but will we join in the march? Ponder what you need to do to help God's work push forward! - Love yall! ELDER MAXFIELD🤙🫶🏻🧡 Previous Letter Next Letter

0e67e4ab-ee0d-4ad4-9445-628d69ec45d7 Elder Kade Haviland Back to Missionary Letters It rains every day here! I'm still alive out here and I'm completely drenched! This week has been fantastic! We had a baptism on Saturday, which was super cool. I didn't take much part in her teaching- I sat through two or three lessons where I didn't understand what was going on- but it has been awesome to see the joy that the Gospel is bringing her and the joy that it has brought to others I have taught. This week I taught someone named Francoise who has definitely recognized some of that joy. Teaching Francoise was really interesting because she is a native french speaker, but she is learning English, so any time she talked to us she spoke in English while Elder Slinn and I both would respond in French. I loved it though because it was the first lesson we taught where I wasn't completely lost. Francoise loves coming to church because she feels the genuine love that everyone has there. The people here are really are a fantastic and loving people. They really show the love of God by "loving their neighbors as themselves." They love serving each other and helping us do missionary work. They also really like serving us food. The other day Elder Slinn and me went to someone's house for Tahitian language lessons and they brought out hamburgers, sugar cane, and coconut ice cream for us to eat when the only thing we had planned with them was to learn Tahitian. With Christmas time being here, I hope that you are all looking for ways to become more like Christ. He gave his whole life to serving others and it is important that we find ways to do that too. In the recent First Presidency Christmas Message, one speaker emphasized that it is important to focus on the important things at Christmas time and not get lost in doing too many activities that could make you stressed and take away from the spirit of Christmas. This Christmas, try to do more with you family and get rid of some of the little things that could be distracting you. If you do, you'll feel the love of God in you life and get more out of this Christmas season. I love you all and I hope you find joy in this Christmas season and in Christ! Elder Haviland Elder Slinn and I with Heipua at her baptism Previous Letter Next Letter

f0199de0-6dde-486b-a43a-c07de4037d87 Elder Jeremy Perkins Back to Missionary Letters Hey guys! Hope all is going great! We had an awesome week. The fire is out and the rains have started to come. We even received an alert on our phones saying flash flood warning! My family is in Oregon! I am going to the temple tomorrow to receive my endowment! I am so excited and grateful for this opportunity and experience I will have. My mom, dad, and older brother will all be able to come. The silver lining in all of this is that my brother is able to go, in which if Covid-19 never had happened he wouldn't be. The Lords hand is in all things. It will be a memorable one for sure. Kinda weird to think that they are actually here! Sorry I know this is a short one but I will make sure to write more next week. Love you all, stay awesome! Previous Letter Next Letter

c30e07fe-3973-4c78-9571-e1b0af16194a Elder Booker Wakefielk Back to Missionary Letters First week in Salto Well our phone finally started working on Saturday. We had a few lessons drop because the streets are so messed up and we couldn't call them to find them😪. But we found a few and had some fun lessons. Elder Hopkins doesnt understand hardly any Uruguayo Spanish, but he speaks really well so I will translate for him sometimes then he can teach jaja. We took 1 whole photo since last pday so yeah. Our bishop is a police officer and he laid out all the areas where we can't be at night(like half of our area) and said to keep your phone in your pocket as much as possible. So that's been fun, we're in a pretty poor area here but the people are really humble and want to learn, it's been different than any area in my mission. I studied an awesome BYU devotional called, "Putting off the Natural man and becoming Saints." It's by Elder Cook and I love it! He relates a story about 2 horses he bought, Bob and Stubby. Bob was super friendly and stubby not so much. But after riding him for years he became a good horse and changed for the better, and how we need to be meekand to change. He tells is a LOT better than I just did so go read his talk. Have a great week!! Previous Letter Next Letter

790fb58c-36ab-4954-a97c-d7567d814e3a Sister Dantzel Price Back to Missionary Letters I send the "bubbles" when I feel awkward What a week! I hope that everyone is doing well and has found something positive in this week. This week has been just like every other week here at the MTC... In case some of you don't know the schedule, we started HSI which stands for hablo su idioma (speak your language). This means that we are only allowed to speak Spanish no English... our days start with a 3 hour class in full immersion spanish. Then we eat lunch, then have an hour tutoring session. We do our personal study, companion study and language study before dinner which takes around two and a half hours. Then we go to another 3 hour class in full immersion spanish. And we are speaking spanish constantly and yes I have a constant headache learning new words and interpreting hand motions from others. But, it is so fun to see myself progress in the language! I am starting to understand and pick up on regular phrases that people use a lot. I know how to get my idea across as long as people are paying attention. I also love talking with my hands and I look like a bird trying to fly when I am speaking in Spanish. I can confidently pray, testify, and ask to use the bathroom! All big improvements!! I sang in choir again this week for the general authority! We sang I will walk with Jesus which is one of my favorite songs. It is one of the new hymns that came out last week and singing it with so many young Elders and Sisters who chose to walk with Jesus was so powerful. If you have not heard the song before I totally recommend it because it is so comforting to know that if you choose to walk with Jesus He WILL walk with you. Not only will He walk with you but He will carry you through the hardest things you are going through or will go through. I am so grateful to be a missionary for La Iglesia de Jesucristo de los Santos de los Ultimos Dias! Yo testifico que Dios es nuestro amoroso Padre Celestial. Yo se que con Dios ayudar en nuestas vidas nosotros crecemos a ser llegar como Cristo. Yo se que con fe en Jesucristo nosotoros puedemos hablar con Dios en un oracion. digo esas cosas en el nombre de Jesucristo amen. Previous Letter Next Letter

10f10710-11de-4b3f-9fd8-c8453d36612b Elder Emmanuel Navarro-Gonzalez Back to Missionary Letters Week 15 Hola Amigos y Familia! Wow and just like that I'm getting the screwdriver to take off my training wheels! This is 15 weeks since I left for the MTC and 12 weeks in Tennessee! Last transfer I was being follow up trained by Elder Dent. He's an Arizona guy so we bond over the desert. We're staying together and in the same area for another transfer! I realize that I haven't been sending out emails the last 6 weeks. Yeah sorry about that but my mom is telling me that I probably should so here I am listening to her. Moms know best! Shout out to Ana! There is so much that has happened this last transfer that I can mention in future emails. But I just wanted to leave you all with my testimony. I know that this work and this church is true. There is nothing more miraculous than seeing people accept Jesus Christ and his Restored Gospel in their lives. This has by far been the best time of my life. Sometimes it's hard and people reject you mostly here in the south but it's worth every second. This Gospel has brought me so much joy and I know it can help each and everyone who receives this email! I love you all and I promise I will write next week! Elder Queso Navarro-Gonzalez Previous Letter Next Letter