Sister Savannah Cannon Back to Missionary Letters Aussie for life 🥲 G'day friends!! This is my last email 😥 My heart hurts thinking about leaving Australia and the beautiful people I've met here. But I am excited to give my family a big hug. Last update: 》lots of lasts.. Which just broke my heart 💔 》a lot of teaching opportunites on the go this week! 》last few lessons with my best friends Raph, and Ata. I'm going to miss them! I know they will both be baptized so soon 🤟 》dinner with our new bestie, Lori! She is a BYU professor living in Aus for a bit. Been fun to teach her about the crazy australians 😜 》felt the australian ocean breeze one last time 》on P-day we last minute decided we wanted to do a little look out walk, we ended up doing like three hikes in our dresses in the heat of the day hahah it was so fun! 🌞 》met two guys on the street who told us they are in their church choir. So of course we asked them to sing us a song, and we returned the favor and sang I am a child of God for them. So fun haha I love it 😁 》last dinner appiontment with the Tahiti family. My fav people ever! One of my fav things on my mission has been being in the members homes..i will miss it 》took a crocadile tour today and they are officially my biggest nightmare. So so freaky. The words of our tour guide "you just have to be faster than your mates" But I did hold a baby crocadile today! 😅 》just want to say how grateful I am for my companion, Sister Fang. She has been a huge blessing to me and i'm going to miss her more than she knows 💖 My mission has been one of the greatest experiences of my life! When I decided to serve a mission I thought of it being a big sacrifice. I now see it as a huge blessing! I could not tell you all the things I learned, but know that they all helped me to be more aware of the love Heavenly Father has for each of His children. There were many challenges along the way, but I'm so grateful I chose to keep going and moving forward even when I didn't understand everything. I have been able to look back on experiences and see how God was helping me grow to become more like the Savior. I know God has a perfect plan for each of us, and Jesus Christ is the center of that plan. I'm so grateful to know that families can be together forever! I know Joseph Smith was a true prophet that restored the true Church of Jesus Christ back to the earth. I know the Book of Mormon is the word of God. It teaches and testifies of Christ, and we can grow closer to Him as we read and strive to live by it. I know Jesus Christ lives, and His Atonement is a gift for each of us. He is my strength and I know it is through Him that we find true peace and happiness in this life. I leave these things and the last 18 months with you all in the name of Jesus Christ, Amen. MY HOMECOMING IS THIS WEEK!!!! I'd love to see you there! March 10th @ 10:30am Address: 355 Virgin St, Bunkerville, NV 89007, United States I love you all! Thanks for supporting me throughout my mission. I feel so blessed to know each of you. JESUS LOVES YOU!! See you soon 🥰🥰 Love, Sister Cannon Previous Letter Next Letter

Elder Andrew Maxfield Back to Missionary Letters Una Bautismo!!!! Okay here we go.... I'll be caught up, this just might be short and the next one long😁 This week (Feb 12- 18) was intense! So intense that I don't remember much of it😅 I'll do my best to remember🤷‍♂️ - We had our multi-district P Day and played volleyball for 3 straight hours. Not joking. It was soooooo much fun😱 volleyball is aweosle once you understand a little bit about it😌 - The most epic 11:30pm tired P Day breakfast burritos somebody could have😂 We gave 2 blessings earlier but after P Day so we were exhausted and just wanted to eat our first food of the day🥲😂 - THE PRANKS! We pranked the Sisters car with saran wrap and lots of random things😁 it's always too much fun. It was their Valentines Day surprise, along with a couple nicer things🤷‍♂️ - We drove to the top of our area, which was the LAKEEEEE!! We got a wayyyy better view of it from further north and it was soooo pretty🥹 def a must go back! - We had a weird Saturday😂 we were challenged by the STLs to see who could talk to more people. Let's just say we won the battle but they won the war. We talked to 56 people and it was a great time. We also got to help with JOHNSON CITY'S BAPTISM! It was epic, one of the best I've been too😌 THATS ABOUT IT! NEXT WEEK IS CRAZY! I know because I've already experienced it, it kinda sucked but we're going strong😁 Please let me know if there's anything you wanna talk about! I love youuuu!!! Another email coming very shortly😘🧡🥱👌🤷‍♂️ - Elder Mayfield🐿 Previous Letter Next Letter

Elder Braden Harris Back to Missionary Letters One Month > One month in the field is kinda nuts to see. I'd like to say it went by fast but unfortunately time is relative and theres so much time left haha. A great thing that's been working for me is changing the mindset from "I still have 22 months left" to "I only have 22 months left." It's given me the perspective to make the most of every opportunity I can and take the time to grow the most I can. When we teach the Plan of Salvation, a main point we focus on is that our purpose here on earth is to grow and learn. While taking this perspective, every hard thing that goes on your life is then seen through a different light. Instead of thinking about how bad things are, you are thankful for them, and embrace them; because you know that you are growing and becoming the person God needs you to be. > I have seen this in one of our friends that we had the wonderful opportunity to tract into this week. Before we go tracting, we always start with a prayer so that we can feel impressed by the spirit to choose the right area to knock doors. Normally I don't feel any sort of promoting, but this one was different. I knew that wherever Elder Athay would choose to find, he would lead me to the right person. So we then chose an apartment complex and parked the car. We walk directly to the other side of the complex with no hesitation; directly to an apartment door. We knock on the door and immediately see a smile on the person's face. We give him our normal introduction and then he goes on to say that he used to be a member. He left because of the things that happened in his life. He was treated terribly by his parents in ways that I can even write in this email. His whole life has been a trial since he came into this world. Yet somehow, he's the most loving person I have ever met. Elder Athay led me to that door, not knowing who was on the other side because the spirit told him to. It turned out that I was the only one with the recourses to connect with Adam because of his past. I know that he has become a beautiful soul because of what he has gone though. He has become strengthened by his trials and it is something that we can all learn from. I know that he has much more in store but he has not yet found his purpose. He struggles with the idea of a Loving Heavenly Father because of his past; which lead him away from the church and religionas a whole. I just need to get him to see that Heavenly Father gives his children trials and hardships because he loves them. Loving someone enough to hurt them is a hard thing to comprehend and I do not blame Adam at all. > God has not left him stranded though. No matter what Adam thinks, God is still there, knocking at his door. After he shared his life experience, he then shared something that can only be described as a miracle. He said to us, that every time he agrees with a friend to go to their church to check it out, the missionaries end up knocking at his door. Turns out earlier that day, his girlfriend invited him to their families church and he agreed to go. It is no coincidence that my companion and I were lead directly to that door. God still cares. God still works. God is still present. No matter what feelings Adam has had towards God; He still shows love for him. He is not done with Adam, just like how He is not done with anyone of us. Miracles have always happened, they still happen, and they will continue to happen. > I can't help but see God's love for each and everyone of His children. I just wish that everyone could see his everlasting grace. You cannot run from Him. He will always be there. He loves all of you, and I love all of you as well. ❤️ Previous Letter Next Letter

Sister Elspeth and Elder Francis Kuta and Sister Jerusha Bundy Back to Missionary Letters Sister Elspeth and Elder Francis Kuta said Sister Jerusha Bundy came into the office and they enjoyed seeing each other. Sister Bundy was there on a leadership meeting. Canada BC Previous Letter Next Letter

Elder Talon Easton Back to Missionary Letters Hey everyone! Just wanted to let you all know that after 6.5 months of missionary service in the Colorado Denver North Mission, I am being sent home to receive medical treatment (stomach stuff, ill be good). But no matter what happens in these next few months Colorado will always have a place in my heart, and I just wanted to say thank you to all the people who made these last 6.5 months special🤍 Previous Letter Next Letter

Elder Jaeger Lee Back to Missionary Letters 日本 Hello everyone! This week was pretty good. And P-day was lit! Previous Letter Next Letter

Sister Kaylee Sonnenberg Back to Missionary Letters 9 meses en Carolina del norte!! Una parte de mi corazón esta aqui para siempre Sé que la verdadera iglesia ha sido restaurada en la tierra otra vez y estoy muy agradecida por este tiempo que tenga para ayudar a otros a encontrar y experimentar este mismo gozo y paz que he sentido a través de Jesucristo! I know that the church of Jesus christ has been restored on the earth again and I am forever grateful for this time I have to help others find & experience the same joy and peace that I have felt through Jesus Christ! 9 months in North Carolina!!A part of my heart is here forever I know the true church has been restored on earth again and I am so thankful for this time I have to help others find and experience this same joy and peace I have felt through Jesus Christ!I know that the church of Jesus christ has been restored on the earth again and I am forever grateful for this time I have to help others find & experience the same joy and peace that I have felt through Jesus Christ! Previous Letter Next Letter

Mesquite West Stake Mesquite East Stake

Elder Christian Martinez Back to Missionary Letters "When you struggle, when you are rejected, when you are spit upon and cast out and made a hiss and a byword, you are standing shoulder to shoulder with the best life this world has ever known, the only pure and perfect life ever lived. You have reason to stand tall and be grateful that the Living Son of the Living God knows all about your sorrows and afflictions. The only way to salvation is through Gethsemane and on to Calvary. The only way to eternity is through Him —the Way, the Truth, and the Life."-Elder Jeffrey R. Holland As we begin the New Year, may we always remember that God loves all of His children, and that He will always be by our side. The Atonement will carry all of us, I know that to be true, may we always remember Christs Atoning sacrifice as we begin this new year. Happy New Year! 12-30-2019 Hey everyone! Hope you all have been great! I apologize for not sending an email last week, my pday was Christmas and I was all over the place. Christmas was great, we went to the Sanders family's home and had breakfast. They have 6 wild funny kids. They showed us all their presents, they were very excited. We then went to the Rambo family home, they gave us gifts, they gave us a ginger bread house, and a painting that one of their kids made, it was great! We then hung out with our District, we made gingerbread houses and played spikeball, it was really fun 😆 afterwards we had dinner with the Webster family, they're a great family. This will be a shorter email because 1. We have a really busy pday today and 2. it's new Years eve. A talk I read this week is from the March 2001 Ensign by Elder Holland titled missionary Work and the Atonement. A quote I love from it is "The Atonement will carry the missionaries perhaps even more importantly than it will carry the investigators. When you struggle, when you are rejected, when you are spit upon and cast out and made a hiss and a byword, you are standing shoulder to shoulder with the best life this world has ever known, the only pure and perfect life ever lived. You have reason to stand tall and be grateful that the Living Son of the Living God knows all about your sorrows and afflictions. The only way to salvation is through Gethsemane and on to Calvary. The only way to eternity is through Him —the Way, the Truth, and the Life." The Atonement will carry all of us, I know that to be true, may we always remember His Atoning sacrifice as we begin this new year. Have a wonderful New Year everyone! Love, Elder Martinez Previous Letter Next Letter

Sister Alyson Cook Back to Missionary Letters Decision making Good (Insert time of day you are reading this) Everyone! I hope you're having a fantastic time wherever you are. And if you're not, I hope that you can change it! This week has felt like I ran a marathon spiritually/mentally. We are so blessed to be busy in this area. We are all so tired, and it feels so good! It means Ive been accomplishing the task of serving the Lord with all my heart might mind and strength and there is truly no better feeling than that. Ive decided I want to have a berry farm. In our outside time, we have been exploring the wooded PA terrain, and with me being a desert dweller, I am largely captivated by the lush foliage that seems to grow on every surface that holds still long enough. (My companions laugh at me during walks because I'm picking flowers and leaves to press) One of the many miracles of nature is wild berries! We've found wild black raspberries, wild black berries, and wild strawberries. And with a bag of frozen berries costing close to $8 at wally world, we've taken it upon ourselves to take advantage of what God has given us. Ive been living my best hunter-gatherer life and picking berries! (Before anyone emails me yelling at me to be careful about what I eat in nature, I promise these berries are good. We've eaten so many we surly would have been dead by now if they were poisonous.) Ive also decided I want to be as cool as the dude we saw on our way to the store. Everything was normal expect one thing. This man had an iguana just chillin on his arm out of the open window. Just sitting there basking. When asked what the name of the said iguana, he replied "I don't know. I call him a different name everyday." Ive decided that I need to have more Charity. I was reading in 1 Corinthians 13, and the first verse really packed a punch. "1 Though I speak with the tongues of men and of angels, and have not a charity , I am become as sounding brass, or a tinkling cymbal." Nothing I say as a missionary matters unless I have Charity. That's some pretty powerful stuff! It legit felt like I had been slapped across the face. It's something I need to have more of, for the rest of my life! Thank you all for all your support and patience. I love you all! Previous Letter Next Letter

Sister Kallie Grave Back to Missionary Letters Mailbox Backstory: Every day between the hours of 10:30 and 12, Denise (the mail woman) comes. This also means at around 10 we go to the mail to drop stuff off. Then again at 11:30 to pick stuff up... then again at 5 just to make sure we didn't forgot anything. We were Facebook finding and contacted a man who said "I live on Valley ct. I see yall walk to the mailbox all the time." I don't mean to brag here but... we're making quite the name for ourselves here in Gatesville. "The weird barefoot ones that are always in dresses and go to the mailbox 100 times a day." Sorry world but that title is already taken. One thing that I love about the Book of Mormon is that it focuses on the resurrection more than anything else and in Mosiah 16:8 it says "But there is a resurrection." How simple it really is. Why do we follow Christ? Why do we sometimes go through trials and persecution for our beliefs? Why does it matter what we do here? Why do we even have the other parts of the atonement? Because of the resurrection. You will live again. You will have a perfect immortal body at some point and because of that you will have to look Christ in the eye and receive your reward for your actions. Why do we have purpose? Because of the resurrection. I invite you this week that while you are reading the Book of Mormon mark every time it mentions the word or concept of the resurrection. You will be surprised. I know that when we come to understand the full effects of the resurrection, we will have a stronger desire to follow God and be obedient. I know that we will be resurrected and we will live again. We get to choose now what that resurrected life will look like. Love you almost as much as Sister Eckhardt and I love Denise. If only we knew her actual name. -Sister Graves Previous Letter Next Letter

Elder Keith Rushto Back to Missionary Letters Singing and snoring Hey everyone! Hope all is going well and you have had a good week! This week has been pretty good for me! So this Thursday we had the elders from St. Cloud come to stay for a few days, they are the ones that speak the Karen language. They are some good guys but unfortunately they always sleep in the same room as us but just on the floor, and one of them literally snores louder than the trains that go by our apartment! I honestly have no idea how he even makes a snoring noise that loud or how it doesn't wake him up! It's almost violent how loud it is! And its constant too through the whole night, like 10 minutes after he lays down hes snoring until the alarm goes off at 6:30. It's pretty ridiculous. So this past couple days have been a little extra tiresome 😂 Yesterday our little branch had their primary program! It was supposed to be in like November of last year but kept getting pushed back cause of different things that came up. But it ended up being pretty good! There aren't very many kids in our branch so the primary President asked us to help out with it! Elder Hulse did all of the "narrating" while I pretty much just read different scriptures! But they still sang lots of songs and did a great job! There are some pretty awesome kiddos in our primary! Sorry about the short email this week but j hope that everyone has a great week and remembers to follow the Lord in all you do! Thank you for all of your love and support! Have a wonderful week! ~Elder Rushton Picture Us and the Appleton Chuukese people Previous Letter Next Letter