"Missionary Mom"

Hello!!

Transfers were last week and I am, once again, TRAINING. However, this time it's a sister who is straight out of the MTC.  Here we call them our "babies" or our "daughters"....so, I'm a mom! Woo! Haha, jokes. But it is kind of like being a mother.  Once I found out I was training, I set the goal that I would always teach her with patience and love.  The few days before she arrived I prayed for an increase in those attributes and for guidance from Heavenly Father.  And you know what?  I have had so much patience, more than I thought I would, and I have loved her from the start!  I truly know that as we try to better ourselves for the benefit of others, we do receive strength and guidance from God.  Also, she is from Mexico and is adorable!  I will be fluent in Spanish by the time our two transfers together are over...right? :)

My new companion, Sister Lopez :)

                Also, the weather here has been amazing for the past 2 days and I don't even need to wear tights or a coat when I go outside!  I love the sunshine so much!  It's funny because I am back in the Beehive House, where I first started my mission, and we are just inside most of the time so I get a little antsy when I'm on the front desk and there aren't any tours to give.  I just want to run outside for a few hours, haha. 

                Awesome news!  Dana was baptized two weeks ago!!  It was so great! It was crazy though when driving to her baptism because we received the wrong directions, so we only made it to her baptism for the closing song...bummer.  BUT she was shining and I was so happy for her!  She made a promise with Heavenly Father to always follow Christ and remember Him, and by doing that act, she was also cleansed of all of her sins.  I couldn't have been happier for her!

Dana's baptism!!

                Something I have learned this week is that Heavenly Father truly does send us guidance and love through other people.  The past few weeks have been tough ones for me, but I have been able to talk to people that have truly lifted my spirits!  And sometimes it was people that I didn't even know who mentioned things or gave a talk in church that I felt was particularly directed to me.  It's amazing how when we are really trying to do our best and praying to receive guidance, that it DOES come.  I can count at least 4 people that touched my life the past few weeks and were little angels doing God's errand without even knowing it.  I promise that God is watching over us and that it's so important for us to be listening to the small promptings that come to us to help family, friends, and other children of God. 

One of our last nights as companions!

                One of my favorite experiences before the new transfer started was when Sister Mathias and I gave a tour to a Mormon family and their 2 exchange students from France who were unfamiliar with the church and are staying with the family for about a year.   It is always amazing to teach the Gospel, but there was one particular part of the tour that meant a lot to me.  We were downstairs in the North Visitor's Center talking about the Restoration of the Gospel, when I was impressed to share a certain topic at a time different than when I usually do and it was cool to see how doing that really affected the 2 listening exchange students.  They had many questions and when I shared my testimony, I felt that the Spirit was working directly through me.  It was one of those many experiences I've had here where I don't know what I'm saying....like I don't know where the words are coming from.  That's when I know I'm saying something that they needed to hear that was specific to and for them.  I have learned that as we let go of control on tours and let the Spirit guide, miracles happen.  They both accepted a Book of Mormon and are willing to read it to see if it's true!  After the tour, the mom came up to me and said "thank you....so much", and it looked like she was about to tear up.

Look who I saw!! My second family :)

                Being a missionary is such an enriching and edifying experience.  We are truly in the refiner's fire and our faith and trust in the Lord is tested and strengthened.   I am so grateful that I decided to sacrifice 18 months to serve the Lord.  We gave a tour to a family today whose son is reporting to the MTC tomorrow.  He said he was excited, but I could tell he was pretty nervous.  And that's okay!... a mission can be a scary thought because of how big the commitment is.  But, I promise, it is so worth it! Nothing can bless your life more than deciding to serve a mission!  You will have the opportunity to help those you meet come closer to Christ and feel a greater sense of happiness and joy in their life that they couldn't find anywhere else.  If you are doubting whether to go, don't doubt.  Doubts are never from God.  God only brings clarity.  "Sacrifice brings blessings" and that statement couldn't be more correct. 

I know this Gospel is the true Gospel of Jesus Christ restored to the church today.  I know that Jesus is the Christ and that He is our Lord and Savior. 

I love you all!!

Sister Asay

Share the Love

Hello everyone!!

This week has been pretty great and I can't believe that transfers are NEXT WEEK.  I am not going outbound yet, so we will see what's in store for me here at Temple Square!!  I will miss Sister Mathias and our good laughs and wonderful teaching experiences, but I am excited for what the new transfer will bring! 

It was Sister Opeda's (middle sister) birthday this past week, so we went to Tucano's! Soo good!

Sister Mathias and I have taken many tours this week and they have all been amazing!!!  We gave one tour to this group of 4 ladies who were absolutely wonderful!  They asked us so many questions and were sincerely interested in learning and knowing more about what we believe.  I think we covered almost all of the principles of the Gospel!  The tour was TWO hours long, when they are normally 30-45 minutes, because of how interested and curious they were!  I seriously love each of them so much!  It was cool, too, because when we were in the Tabernacle, we offered to show them an acoustics demonstration.  One asked if we would sing!  I laughed and gestured to Sister Mathias saying that she was the singer between the two of us, but the ladies convinced us both to do it. We went up to the front of the Tabernacle and sang the first verse of "I am a Child of God".  The Spirit was so strong and when we finished they told us how much they loved it!  Music really does bring in the Spirit and I'm grateful we could take those great ladies around the Square for 2 hours.  Time flew by and when the tour was over we each couldn't believe how quickly the time passed.  They also opened up to us even more at the end and shared that they were a little intimidated coming here for the first time, but that we were both so sweet, friendly, and open that they instantly weren't nervous anymore and that they felt like they could truly ask us anything.  One lady even said that she could see "a glow" about us and that she wanted to "pack us in her suitcase and take us home to Wisconsin", haha.  That light is the light of Christ!  We have this light within every single one of us and we nourish it by learning about and living the Gospel.  It meant so much to me that we could make it a comfortable tour for them and that, as representatives of Jesus Christ, they really could see that light of Christ within us.

Most of our zone at our zone activity on P-day!! We watched Rio!

Another tour with was a couple who was a bit older and they were very strong in their faith.  They were such a sweet, kind couple!  We took them around and we ended at the Christus.  Here, I shared my testimony for a few minutes that Christ is my Savior and Redeemer and His impact on my life.  Once finished, the wife just looked at me and said, "Wow, that was a beautiful testimony".  The husband then looked at both of us and said that he was very impressed by both of us because we have testimonies and that took them years to get.  This really struck a chord with me because I guess I never thought about that....that it could take someone a lifetime to gain that testimony.  Later, I was thinking about this, and a sentence came to my mind that Sister Mathias shared with me from the Bible Dictionary a few days earlier.  "All true faith must be based upon correct knowledge or it cannot produce the desired result".   My faith has grown because I have been blessed to base it off correct principles my entire life.  That is why it grew so quickly!  We, as children of God, seek for truth whether we know it or not and when we do find that truth it grows within us every single day.  On my mission, I have been able to look inside my heart and see my faith grow stronger and stronger.  Yes, I had faith before, but as I have nourished it, read scriptures, prayed daily, taught others the Gospel, I have really been able to understand that faith = action.  Faith is something we have to work on, not something that just happens to us if we wish for it.  We have to act!

Temple Square Visitors!!!

The Romneys!!!!  I was so excited that I was able to see my second mom!!  (Editor's Note: I am sure lots of happy tears were shed from Ella and Catherine.) 

Cute story!  I was walking in the North Visitor's Center yesterday and this cute 2 year-old Samoan boy saw me, and ran over to me and wrapped his arms around my legs and gave me the biggest hug! Haha, it just touched my heart and it was the sweetest thing!  I don't even know this boy, but he was just so happy to share the love that he felt.  I guess that could be the theme for this email.  SHARE THE LOVE! Haha. His sweet 2 year-old hug made my day :)

Speaking of love, here is a Valentine’s poem by Sister Mathias, Catherine’s mission companion.

Roses are Red,

Violets are Blue,

“May our hearts be knit together”

Colossians 2 verse 2

I hope everyone has a fantastic week and that you remember who you are and to make good choices (to quote my mom)!

Love y'all, miss y'all. :)

Sister Asay 

Keeping the Commandments

Hello!!

This week has been super busy and so great!  We have given many tours and have so many wonderful investigators to stay in contact with and teach!!

We went to the Church History Museum last p-day and this is me trying to get out of a pioneer bunk bed.  haha

Cool fact about Temple Square! Our mission gave over 1,000 tours during the month of January ALONE. Pretty neat, huh??

              

A man and his wife requested to see The Testaments movie and they were so sweet! We gladly took them to the theater and explained the Book of Mormon before starting the movie.  Before we left, he asked if we could come back afterwards.  Their movie ended and we came back as they wished and I asked if he liked it....he told me "Yes, but I didn't really see the point".  Which is odd, because it's pretty easy to understand and I personally think it's a powerful movie.  We then explained the movie and testified about the Book of Mormon and how we know it to be true scripture because we have found out for ourselves through scripture study and prayer.  I offered him a Book of Mormon and he took it without even glancing at it and handed it to his wife. (Which I thought also was odd, because usually people, even if they don't believe in something, will still be respectful and will show some sort of acknowledgement). Anyway, that was another red flag. Then he started asking questions, which we answered, but then he started asking some doctrinal questions, which was great, but he would NOT listen to my answers.  I would start to explain and then he would cut me off.  I started getting really impatient and I knew that we needed to leave. I told him we needed to go, but then he attacked even more.  I got pretty angry on the inside, but did my best to keep calm, and answer the questions.  I finally testified, said have a great day, shook their hands, and left.  He was so closed off to everything we said!  I feel like I'm a pretty chill person, but I got pretty angry and had to vent to my companion afterwards. Ha, sorry companion.  But this experience helped me understand what I already know, that the Spirit can only help us know truth if we are sincerely searching for it and we are open to the small and simple promptings of the Holy Ghost.  He had never read the Book of Mormon all the way through and never prayed about it.  THAT is the one sure way that someone can know for themselves if it's true or not and then everything will fall into place.  Anyway, I found a really cool Mormon.org profile the other day about a guy who was previously "anti" towards the church and was affiliated with all sorts of anti-organizations.  However, it was once he finally prayed about the Book of Mormon that he knew the church was true.  It's a pretty interesting story and shows how important it is to pray!

http://mormon.org/me/3HTQ/VictorGarcia

Chinese New Year! We have so many sisters who celebrate it so there have been a ton of decorations downstairs in our mission office!  What a wonderful treat to experience all of the different cultures at Temple Square with missionaries from all over the world!

My companion and I met a couple who was visiting from Montana. They were an older couple, engaged, and so sweet! I asked her when they were getting married and she told me "in November, if it all works out as we hope". The lady then told us that her fiancé was just barely diagnosed with terminal cancer about an hour ago, and they decided to come to Temple Square for some peace and comfort.  I shared with her how we can be together forever with our loved ones through marriage in the temple.  I then testified that we all have different circumstances, but that it's such a blessing to know that if we keep our promise to God to stay true to our spouse and to live righteously, that He will keep His side of the promise and will enable us to live with our families forever after this life.  They loved the concept and told me that had taken pictures of other parts of the Visitor Center that talked about how families can be together forever.  They eventually had to get going, but after talking with them I realized how truly grateful I am for the knowledge I have that I can be with my family always and that death will not separate me from the ones I love.  Through the blessing of the temple, we don't need to fear death and we can feel the security in our lives of being able to see our family members again one day.  I love teaching. I love sharing the Gospel. I love reading the scriptures. And I love seeing my testimony grow each day!

Here is my favorite scripture from this week!

Mosiah 2:41 "And moreover, I would desire that ye should consider on the blessed and happy state of those that keep the commandments of God. For behold, they are blessed in all things, both temporal and spiritual; and if they hold out faithful to the end they are received into heaven, that thereby they may dwell with God in a state of never-ending happiness. O remember, remember that these things are true; for the Lord God hath spoken it." 

Bob gave us Valentine heart cookies :)

Keeping the commandments of God (not just the 10 commandments, but also others like praying daily, going to church, reading the scriptures, etc) brings so much happiness into our lives! TRUE happiness! :)

I love you all!! Do good and be good!

Sister Asay

**Editor's Note - a.k.a. Mom - Bro. Jack Meager, a good friend of the family, was in Utah for family business and he was so kind to make a special delivery from mom to our favorite missionary on Temple Square.  Thanks Jack!  She was so happy to get fresh homemade cookies from home.     

Baptisms!

Hello!!

How is everyone?! So this week has been another great one!! This weekend, one my investigator's, Eric, was baptized!! We met him on chat, referred the local missionaries to him, and he has totally accepted the Gospel!  We have been talking to him for the past few weeks and we were able to go to his baptism on Saturday!  It was such a wonderful experience to see someone take the step to follow Christ and always remember Him.  Eric was SO happy and had the biggest smile on his face!  It was cool to get to meet him in person as well. I knew his voice, but not his face.  When I first met him I wasn't sure it was him, then he spoke, and I thought "Ah, yep! It's him!" 

Eric, his wife, and the missionaries!

A funny from the week:

After the baptism, we had some desserts and we were all talking in the kitchen.  After a while, everyone had left except the Elders (Elder Choe & Elder Brooks) and Sister Mathias and I.  We said bye to them, but I needed to use the restroom before we left so we walked over to the restroom.  In this building it has the baptismal font and a men's dressing room with a bathroom connected on one side and it has a women's dressing room and a bathroom connected on the other side.  I used the restroom, washed my hands, and as I was drying them I saw the sign next to the door that said "Dressing Room".  I was curious and decided to open the door.  However, right at that same moment, Elder Choe was coming in through the dressing room door from the baptismal font side...so when I opened the door we came face to face with each other and we both started screaming!  Hahah   He jumped back, I closed the door, and then, once I realized who it was, I just started laughing.  I opened the door and Elder Choe was cracking up.   Turns out, he had come in to lock all of the doors and didn't realize we were in there. Annnd all the while, Sister Mathias was using the restroom. Hahaha 

Keith and the missionaries :)

Also, Keith, who we took an investigator lesson with was baptized on Saturday too!!  We only get to go to one investigator lesson baptism per transfer and we chose him! :)  So it was double awesome on Saturday getting to go to two baptisms!!  The member who was present for that tour with Keith was Brother Taylor and I just fell in love with him!  He's in his 70s or 80s and he is so sweet!  Sister Mathias and I sat next to him during the baptism and, right after Keith was baptized, he leaned over and said "It's something so simple, but it means so much".  And you know, that is so true!  It's a very simple process to be baptized, but it is essential to be able to live with our Heavenly Father again!  I could really feel the Spirit that was present in the room and I could feel God's love for Keith.  Such an incredible experience! 

Brother Taylor....one of my new favorite people!

There's a story that I heard from another Sister in the mission a few days ago that I would like to share.  I think it's from a General Conference talk, but it's about a little girl who received a bead kit for her birthday.  She was so excited to use it and her mother suggested she make a bracelet for her aunt, who was known to be more on the grumpy side.  This little girl worked so hard and strung each bead very carefully and neatly tied it all together so that it would be perfect.  She was so proud and couldn't wait to give this gift to someone she loved!  She ran over to her aunt and presented her with the gift. The aunt held it up, looked at it, shrugged, and gave it back. The little girl was devastated and ran away with tears in her eyes. 

I wanted to share this story because it applies to principles of the Gospel.  Jesus Christ gave us the gift of the Atonement, the gift to repent and be completely cleansed of our sins, and we need to accept this gift!  So many times people think that God has bigger problems to worry about than our own or that He doesn't want or need to hear our prayers....this is not true!  God sent His Son to earth to prepare a way for us to be able to repent and draw strength from Him.  We need to be humble and willing to receive this gift and trust in our Heavenly Father.   Not using the Atonement in our lives is letting a precious gift that has already been given to us go to waste.  We are supposed to live and learn on this earth and be HAPPY!  And there is a way prepared by Christ for us to do that :)

I also wanted to share that we individually never know who we can touch as we share our own light with others :) I had an experience the other day with someone who I have been teaching almost my whole mission....she is amazing, but has made some decisions in her life that have negatively affected her.  She has had ups and downs, but I have been able to help her, pray with her, and just be a friend to her.   It's amazing to see how much simple actions on our part can help someone understand that God is a loving Heavenly Father and is watching over them.   So many times she has told me that she has been able to feel God's love through me.   It literally made me tear up and I know that as we strive to be tools in God's hands, we can do so much good.   Never underestimate the power you individually have to affect someone's life for the better. :)

Also, shout out to Miss Kailey!  My previous companion and I gave her and her family a tour of Temple Square about a month ago and she saw my blog and wrote me the sweetest letter!   You are great!!

I love you all!!

Sister Asay