Visitors!!

Look who visited our favorite missionary!!  Mitch & Debbie Hill and their wonderful family!!  We loved hearing how Sister Asay is doing and I know that Sister Asay LOVED seeing some of our favorite people in the whole wide world!!

The Hill Family visit The Beehive House!

Funny Dreams

So, apparently I talk in my sleep....A LOT. Haha. The other night I had a dream that Sister Carvalho and I were teaching a man about the Church and then he asked me what I was called to do here at Temple Square. I told him, "Well, I'm called here as a missionary...."  I pointed at my name tag in my dream and realized I wasn't wearing it!  Annnd woke up my companion up by exclaiming "I forgot my name tag!", haha.  Whoops.  Good thing I haven't done that in real life yet!
 

Also, my companion had a dream about a giant chicken attacking people....what??  Hahah. And she wouldn't get into an escape car because she wasn't with her companion.  I probably had gotten eaten or lost or something. Haha.  So many crazy dreams here on the mish!

Anyway, this week has been WONDERFUL! So many great experiences have happened! I have been helping one investigator in particular with problems he is having and he has been able to push through and stay obedient! I'm so proud of him!  Also, on the Square the other day, Sister Carvalho and I were walking around and talking to people.  I saw a boy sitting on a bench by himself reading a book and thought "Oh, we should talk to him" and right at that moment Sis. Carvalho changed her mind about what direction we were going to take to get to our destination and started walking down a path that went by the boy.  It was perfect!  We started talking to him and had a conversation about his family struggles and his decision to go on a mission.  At the end, I felt prompted to tell him that Heavenly Father knows what's going on in His life and is proud of him and loves him very much.  He teared up!  While saying goodbye, I expressed that it had been great talking to him and he told us that he was grateful we did. This is just an example to me that Heavenly Father is aware of EVERYONE. 

Family Home Evening with the Zone

Carvalho and I were walking by the fountain and we saw a guy in a military uniform on a bench. I had the feeling we should go talk to him, so we started walking that way. We made our way over, and right when I was about to say hello that feeling immediately went away and I kept my mouth shut. We continued walking past and my companion looked at me so confused.  However, literally the second after that happened, two other sisters walked out of a building nearby and I turned around to watch them as they went over and introduced themselves to the gentleman.   Throughout the next hour I saw him with those two sisters all over Temple Square.  I was so happy for them!  I know Carvalho and I could have had at least some connection with that man, but I know that without a doubt those sisters, for whatever reason, had the background or life history to have an even greater connection with him.  God is aware of everyone's needs and I felt the Spirit there guiding me to let the sisters who were best fit for him step in.  Being a missionary is the best!

I'm loving all of the sisters here and I'm so happy to be serving. The mission is tough, but I'm learning and growing so much from those tough times that I can't help but love it!  My faith in Jesus Christ continues to grow and I'm so grateful for the Bible and for Joseph Smith and all that he endured so that we could have another testament of Jesus Christ, the Book of Mormon, to read from and receive guidance. 

I love you all!

Sister Asay

Temple Session with the District

Arrived on Temple Square!

One week complete! I can't believe it! So I want to share a funny moment from the week in each email...this one is short, but I still got a good laugh!

Sister Carvalho and I had TC (Teaching Center) time where we get on chat and answer questions from people all around the world who get on Mormon.org. This one guy gets on and says "hello" and Sister Carvalho and I each greet him back. He responds with surprise, saying "oh, there's two of you?" We laugh and answer "Yes! We work in companionships.  How are you today?"  We all start chatting a little bit about where he's from and then we ask him a question about his relationship with God.  It took him a while to respond and finally he says "wait....this isn't a dating website?"  I about died laughing. Hahaha.  Once we told him we were missionaries, he immediately signed off, haha.  No wonder he was surprised there were two of us!

So this week has been a big learning week!  I'm learning all about the history of the different buildings on Temple Square! It's crazy how much there is to know about each place and it's all so interesting!  My zone is serving in the Beehive House this transfer and I've probably given about 30 tours so far.  My first day there, I had to learn all of the information in about 2 hours so I could start giving tours.  Also, for those of you who have never heard of the Beehive House, like me before I got to T-Square, it's the home of Brigham Young who was our second prophet.  It's such a beautiful home and quite large, too! And I have one experience I HAVE to tell you guys!

Sister Carvalho and I were giving a tour in the Beehive House to a man who was in his late 40s or so and he was in SLC for a business trip and decided to stop by. We were going about our usual tour routine when we walked into the Reception Hall, which is near the end of tour, when I had a prompting to stop and talk about the picture of Jesus Christ on the wall that has an old Book of Mormon on a table underneath it.  We don't usually stop and talk about this part because I talk about the Book of Mormon at a different section of the tour and the picture of Christ is placed in such a way where everyone sees it when they walk by- I usually just give people a quiet moment to look at it we go through the tour, BUT I had the strongest feeling that I needed to say something about it!  So I stopped the tour by the picture and talked about Christ.  I explained how our religion is centered around Jesus Christ and His Atonement and that we are able to be completely cleansed of our sins through Him.  We then proceeded to show him the last two rooms on the tour.  Once finished we asked him if he had any questions and all he said was, "Well no, but where can I get one of those Book of Mormons?"  We were totally taken off guard!  He didn't talk much during the tour and seemed stand-offish, but we took him around front and gladly gave him a Book of Mormon.  We asked if we could stay in contact with him and he said he wanted to and gave us his info! We were so excited for him!  Also, that was my first referral ever on the mission! Woo! :)

There's a guy named Bob who got into a car accident when he was 18 and ever since he hasn't had full function of his brain. He sits in his wheelchair at one of the front desks in Temple Square every morning and we always chat with him for a bit.  He's a member and loves saying hello to people!  Yesterday morning, we walk by and ask him how he's doing, he responded with a smile and said, "I'm good, but not as great as a sister missionary with a name tag."  It was so sweet!  Later, I was still thinking about this one comment from Bob and I realized that being on a mission is one of the best things that I could be doing with my time.  Bob put it so simply, but it was exactly what I needed to hear :)   I'm so grateful for the opportunity to serve and to have Jesus Christ's name over my heart. It's an honor to spend my time teaching about the Gospel I love!  I wouldn't want to be anywhere else!

Work hard, do your best. I love you all!! 

My Trainer, Sister Carvalho!

Celebrating Brazilian Independence Day with ice cream!

2nd Week of the MTC

Hello everyone!! Finally reached another P-Day!

So this week has been pretty eventful! First of all, the Elders in our District left Tuesday morning at like 3 am to fly out to their missions in Mesa, Arizona, so our last class with them was Monday night. It was honestly pretty sad....I may or may have not cried a little....ha. We all missed our own families while being here in the MTC so I think this little District family kinda formed to make up for it. We were all so close and we had this great love for one another! It was pretty weird the next day being in class without our funny and spiritual Elders. They will be awesome missionaries out in Arizona!

The MTC District

Second, WE GOT TO TAKE A FIELD TRIP TO TEMPLE SQUARE! We went two days ago and it was such a cool experience! All the sisters who are serving there (which includes girls from China, Japan, Taiwan, Thailand, New Zealand, Switzerland, Fiji, etc) got onto a charter bus and drove to SLC. We were given a tour by some of the Temple Square sisters there and it was amazing how strong the Spirit was at the Square! It was so peaceful and I loved every single minute of it. Tomorrow we get to go back, and guess what? We will be the ones giving the tours! Holy smokes. We will be companions with a more experienced sister, but still.....nerve wracking! Haha. I can't wait!

Third, all Visitor Center sisters have the chance to chat online with people who are interested in our church or who have questions. It was seriously one of my favorite things so far! People get on chat through Mormon.org and we wait until someone connects with us to start a conversation. Sister Hansen and I chat together since we're companions and we get to use our first names. It has been great getting to teach people in this unique way. Technology is amazing.  So, cool story. Yesterday, we had a guy named John from Ireland talk to us and right off the bat he told us that he wanted to get baptized!! We immediately started asking him about the Church and what he knew and he is golden!  He has been trying to live a clean life for the past year and a half and said that the Book of Mormon was his "manual for life".  Sister Hansen and I were so pumped for him!  We found a ward close to his home that he could attend and we got his information so that the local missionaries in Ireland could speak with him.  He had been reading about our church on lds.org and mormon.org for a long time and soo badly wanted to be a "proper mormon" and get baptized!  Just 20 minutes before we started chatting with John, our teacher told us that sometimes MTC missionaries are able to take an investigator with them to the field....and low and behold, it happened with John!  We have our first investigator and we aren't even to the field yet!  It's crazy how much love you have for someone that you barely even know!  At the end of our conversation, we told him the next time we would be on chat and gave him a link so he could have us as his online missionaries again.  Man....this was one of the best experiences yet!

Sister Hansen and I were walking to class and we stopped at the water fountain to get a drink. I was talking to the other sisters around me when I heard a huge THUMP. I turned just in time to see Sister Hansen's head bouncing off the wall......She smacked her head right on her forehead! Apparently she had closed her eyes because she was so happy to drink some water and didn't look where she was going....hahah. Don't worry! She is fine and there isn't even a bruise! We all made sure she was okay afterwards and held onto her to make sure she wasn't going to pass out, but then Sister Hansen and I COULD NOT stop laughing! It was probably one of the funniest things that happened the entire day. Haha. I cried I was laughing so hard. 

Volleyball Crew

Anyway, I'm so excited to be here and to meet all of the wonderful sisters from around the world who have such strong testimonies!! I am stoked to be out in the field next week and continue my mission in SLC on Temple Square. The Church is true and the Atonement is real!  We are able to be forgiven of our sins and mistakes we make in this life and have that guilt lifted from us!  Happiness is attainable!

Work hard, enjoy life, and I love you all!!

Sister Asay