I love being a missionary!!

Hello everyone!!

Wow, this week has been so great! First off, let me just say how grateful I am to be with my companion!! I love her so much and we work great together!!  And it helps too that we are laughing almost all the time!

Zone Training Meeting outside!

A few cool things happened this week!  We taught Austin the Restoration this week and it went really well!  He took the lesson to heart and wants to learn more.  It's such a pleasure to teach him because of how sincerely interested he is!  And we also have a guy we are teaching in Haiti! His name is Colson and his friend Alex, who met him while doing a service project there or something, referred him to Sister Occolier about a month ago.  She had been teaching him with her previous companion, but now I get to be a part of it! :) So we have taught Colson on the phone twice in the past week with Alex as a member present and it's all in French/ Creole!  Sister Occolier knows both, but the member chose to be the translator for me and translate whatever I share into Haitian Creole-the native language there.  So many languages!  :)  I sure do love teaching the world at Temple Square.

Also, I have started reading the Book of Mormon in English and French to try and brush up on the 2 years of French that I took in high school.  I had always heard that if you read the Book of Mormon in a certain language, that you will be able to learn that language faster.  It first took me an hour to get through one chapter, and then the next day it took me about 25 minutes!  I still don't understand 98% of the language, but it's getting better!

Oh and guess what?!? Jerrica (the less active I was teaching who isn't less active anymore took the sacrament for the first time this past Sunday!!!  It has been 7 years since she last took it! It was amazing because we got permission for her to come to our Temple Square ward and Sister Jones (who has met Jerrica before) and I sat on either side of her.  Jerrica was so excited to be there!  But while they were preparing for the sacrament, she started getting pretty nervous so I leaned over and gave the advice for her to think about how much the Savior loves her and she looked at me with tears in her eyes and said, "I am".  When she said that it hit me just how powerful the love of our Savior is!  Then the bread and water were passed around :)  Once the first speaker stood up to continue the meeting, I whispered to her "You did it!!" and we both had the biggest smiles on our faces!!  She looked SO happy!!!  I can't even explain how much it meant to me to be there with her while she renewed the promises with God that she had made when she was baptized.  I definitely teared up! 

Jerrica at Sacrament Meeting! :)

Something I have really learned on my mission is pure love, Christ-like love.  Before my mission I used to trust people and then love them.  Now, it seems that I just love everyone instantly!  Then the trust grows as I get to know them.  Sister Occolier pointed out this week that this is when we are really fulfilling our calling as representatives of Jesus Christ.  When we love as He does.  And it's true!  We learn how to care about everyone and TRULY love them.  We learn to love without even thinking about it.  I meet people on tours and after just a few minutes I really care about who they are and how they got there.  The love our Savior has for each of us is so powerful and definitely shows through his missionaries!

This week has been pretty great!  Lots of tours and so many opportunities to share my testimony.  I'm grateful to be serving a full-time mission and learning how to be my best self while helping others come closer to Jesus Christ!  I know that this Gospel brings true happiness!

Love you all!!

Sister Asay

Summer Sunshine

Wow.....summer is EXHAUSTING on Temple Square! Gosh. I don't think I have walked so much in my life. We are on our feet 7-9 hours a day- no sitting.  The first few days of our new schedules was pretty tough on my feet, knees, and back but now I am adjusting and I'm trying to go to bed around 9:45pm which helps! But something I do love about being on the Square so much is all of the miracles that we have seen!! I'll share a few…

Sister Occolier and I were walking out of the Tabernacle and we saw this man standing by the Flagpole.  I looked at him and felt we should talk to him, then looked at my companion who was looking at him so I said, "Let's go talk to him".  We turned around and walked over to him and started up a conversation. Turns out he was just traveling and thought he would stop by Temple Square.  We talked about the Temple a bit and then I mentioned how there was a Temple Model in the South Visitor's Center and that we could walk him there and help explain more about it and he agreed.  We chatted on the way over and found that he was somewhat religious and that he rode a scooter all the way from California to Oregon and was now going back! So cool right?  So we showed and explained the Temple Model, then I bridged from the Temple Model to the Assembly Hall (one of the first church's in SLC valley) and we went there to share about the history and also about church services.  We ended up also going to the Tabernacle and then to the Christus.  At the Tabernacle though we explained about prophets and the Spirit was just so strong! He was so willing to learn and when I started testifying and sharing a personal experience of mine and I started tearing up....which I don't do often on tours (unless maybe it's God's Plan, ha) but in the buildings I rarely cry.  He believes that there could be a prophet called of God today and it makes sense to him that God actually would call a prophet.  Then Sister Occolier also shared her experience (she's a convert of 4 years) and it was so powerful! Then, while at the Christus, we shared our testimonies about Jesus Christ and the Book of Mormon, and he was willing and wanted to stay in touch! We gave him a copy of the Book of Mormon and two days later we emailed him and he had already read the first book! Ah, it was just such a wonderful tour and I know he will progress! He didn't give his phone number at first, but I'm hoping we can call and teach him on the phone this week! Definitely a miracle tour, and it was our companionship's first one together! 

We didn't take many pictures this week, but we snagged this one! We match, but only because our apartment is pretty warm so she took off the cardigan she was wearing and I had taken off the flowy blue shirt I had worn. #twins

Last Friday, Sis. Occolier and I were walking past the reflection pool. I saw this guy wearing a suit and a tie and I thought he was a member.  I walked by him and felt I should say hello. I then found out that he was from TEXAS! Woo! And I also noticed his luggage around him so I asked "What brings you to Temple Square today?" and he told me that he was in town for 24 hrs for a job interview and just wanted to look at the building right there (and pointed to the temple) before he left.  When he said "building" that's when I realized he wasn't a member like I had thought. We started talking more about temples and the church and I found out he had a Jewish background. Also, turns out, he had a good friend growing up who was Mormon who had served a mission and had gone to BYU.  I asked if his friend ever shared the Book of Mormon with him, and from there we then explained more about the Book of Mormon and ended up talking all about the Restoration of the Gospel.  It was pretty amazing!! He wanted the copy of the BoM that we offered him, so we all walked to the S. Visitor's Center to go get one.  We read Moroni 10:3-5 with him and when he finished he said, "Wow, that is so powerful" in such a reverent voice.  We then shared our testimonies and experiences that we know that reading the Book of Mormon and praying was how one can find out if it's really true or not.  After, we asked him if we could stay in touch and teach him more about it, and while he was filling out the referral card, he stopped at the part where you could put what religion you are.  He wasn't sure what to put. His words were, "I'm not sure what to put here, but I just know that I have to read this book".  He picked up the Book of Mormon and just looked at it for a second.  You could tell that he felt the Spirit that was present. Once again, another miracle experience! 

So, many miracles have happened on the Square! Those two are just a few! This week there was also a guy, Clay, who I met on chat who was recently baptized! And we also have a baptismal date for a man, Michael, who called in last week with a few questions and I had offered to share more to help him understand what we believe and we have had 2 lessons so far, not including the original phone call.  He is so willing to learn, but just wants to make sure that whatever he does that it's what's right in the eyes of God- which I totally agree with and understand!

And yesterday, I met with Jerrica who I have been teaching almost my whole mission and have been helping her get re-activated, and guess what?? She wants to go to the temple!!! She told me that it was her highest priority and top goal and that she absolutely had to go to the temple. I just started crying! I have come to love her so much and I am just so happy for her!! She wrote me the sweetest card too (because she thought I was going Outbound, haha, but gave it to me anyway) and I am just so grateful I am able to serve! God is so good.

Also, we had a mission tour with Elder Clarke yesterday and it was amazing!  He taught us how to be even better missionaries and it was just such a great, edifying experience!  I have lots of notes!

Well, this week has been pretty crazy and the first few days I thought my body would break, but I am doing great and I love my companion! Took a few days for us to get to know each other, but we laugh so much!  We had District Meeting a few days ago and she went around saying all of the nice things about others, because she didn't want to say things about herself (we were introducing ourselves), and she got to me and said "Sis. Asay is REALLY fun and truly loves the people".  It meant a lot since we were still in the beginning of getting to know each other! Sister Occolier is so nice, really funny, and a good worker. I'm looking forward to spending this transfer together as companions!

Well, gotta run! Have a wonderful week!! :)

Love,

Sister Asay

A Mother's Love is Like No Other

Hello everyone!

On the way to the Square with Sister Lopez to get our new companions, I got stuck in the elevator!  We were taking some things down (since we both have to move apartments) and when we got to the first floor Sister Lopez walked out and I was in the process of picking up my things to walk out when the door started to close. Sister Lopez put her foot in between to make it open again, buuuut the doors froze.  She could take her foot out, but the doors wouldn't open again! We pulled them, but the doors wouldn't budge.  We pressed the buttons, but nope.  So I just stood there and then Sister Lopez decided we should take a picture....hahah, of course.  And then I used the emergency button inside and they said they would send over a mechanic and that I should keep pressing the alarm button so people would know where I was.  I was stuck about 15 minutes before someone was able to come and let me out, haha.  It was kinda creepy for the first few seconds, but then it was just funny.  And I had my pillow and my lunch with me so if I was stuck for a long time, I would have been set! 

Help! ;)

Sister Lopez and I were walking home the other night and it started raining! I had a hood on my coat, but she didn't so she took her coat off and put it over her head.  It was so hilarious to see because it was this big coat and little legs running next to me, haha. She reminded me of E.T. and I think I laughed the whole way home.   

 E.T. like when he had the ghost costume on. :)

TRANSFERS!  Like I mentioned last week, I'm not going Outbound.  President wanted as many sisters here for summer as possible, so he only sent 4 out.  Sister Lopez and I sadly won't be staying together. We had a great two transfers together though! 12 weeks ago, before we knew who was training who, President asked all of us what we wanted in our trainee or trainer.  Sister Lopez had said she wanted someone who was loving and patient and I had said I wanted someone who was ready to work and willing to learn.  And last night we were talking about it and we both agreed that we each fit what the other had wanted! Cool, right? Love that girl! 

Sister Lopez is wonderful!  I will miss my little Compy! 

And guess what? My new companion is Sister Occolier from Martinique! Woohoo- French tours!! :)  Haha. I'm still in North 1 so I will be on the Square the majority of the time. My favorite :)

A few days ago, I was walking with Sister Lopez by some of the Old Testament paintings.  I saw this family and had the thought to talk to them, but kept walking.  But I have really been working on being more in-tune with the Spirit and acting on it, so after we took a few more steps, I stopped and said "we need to go talk to them" and we turned around. We went over and said hello and started chatting. We then invited them to watch the presentation about families and they accepted.  It was so powerful! At the end, the mother was crying a lot and told me that their family had just gotten sealed in the temple 4 years ago.  The dad and the two teenage daughters were all crying too.  Also, I could tell from the beginning that maybe the teenage sisters didn't always get along and so I shared my own experience about how I used to constantly fight with my little brother, but that how having patience with him was what resulted in my little brother becoming one of my best friends.  Then the dad and one of the daughters shared their testimonies and it was just such neat experience! And it definitely affirmed my desire to continually be aware of impressions that I feel even if I'm not always completely sure it's a prompting from the Holy Ghost.

This week we were also were "contactors" for a Mandarin tour. Meaning that if a tour is over 30 people that the sisters who are taking it will have contactors to help talk to the group while walking place to place, find new investigators, and also keep everyone together. And contacting for the Mandarin group was SO fun!! They are all so interested and LOVE taking pictures, especially with the sisters.  It was also really cool to hear the testimonies of 4 missionaries in one tour since usually it's just you and your companion. Then at the end we sang "I am a Child of God" in Chinese. One lady said we sounded like angels. Music definitely has a special way of touching people, and many people referred after that tour!

Also, it was so great calling home on Mother's day!! I just love my family so much and what luck that they are some of my best friends too!  And since it was Mother's Day, I thought about how I'm so grateful for my mother who loves and cares about me no matter what.  I read this quote by Marjorie Hinckley and I thought of her :)

“MOTHERS ARE ENDOWED WITH A LOVE THAT IS UNLIKE ANY OTHER LOVE ON THE FACE OF THE EARTH.”

I believe that the love a mother had for her child is one of the most powerful things on earth! I also read this description about motherhood on lds.org and loved it!  "It’s the highest, holiest service assumed by humankind. It’s the definition of selfless service. It’s both a daunting responsibility and a glorious opportunity. The divine role of motherhood is a gift from God, and key to His plan of happiness for all His children."

I love you, mom! You are such a wonderful example to me and I hope I can be as wonderful of a mother as you are one day :)

Well, you are all wonderful! Have a great day! :)

Sister Asay

Last Full Week of the Transfer

Hello everyone!

So, guess what? I am not going Outbound yet! Ha. A bunch of sisters thought I would since I'm American and it's summer (lots of tours) and all of the sisters here speak English, but I'm actually pretty grateful I'm staying! I have many new investigators who are starting to progress and I was worried about what I would do if I had to leave!  So, at least one more awesome transfer at Temple Square :)

Also, I saw my brother Daniel on Saturday!! Ahh, it was so wonderful to see him!! I walked into the Visitor Center and we saw each other and he ran up to me and gave me the biggest hug! I was a waterfall of tears, of course, haha.  I think I hugged him at least 20 times!  I was able to go to lunch with him and take him on a tour! Hunter was there too and everyone thought we were all siblings, like always, haha. But I was so proud and happy to introduce my brother to the other sisters we saw! It was such a blessing to be with my brother again :)

First hug!

One of the others! 

Temple shot!

Okay, a really cool thing happened on Sunday! It was Fast and Testimony meeting and I felt like I should go up and share my testimony.  I started off by mentioning that I had been sick for a week, but that the blessing of that was realizing how much I LOVE being a missionary!  I also said how we all need to make sure we take advantage of being Temple Square missionaries because of the opportunities we have to teach constantly throughout the day and share the Gospel with people from all around the world!  I bore my testimony about the power of scriptures, the blessing of prayer, and that I know Christ is my Savior. Then sat down. And guess who was there? Elder Quentin L. Cook!! I was able to share my testimony with one of the apostles being present! Ahh. So cool!!

Music and the Spoken Word!

So, a few days ago, Sister Lopez and I were walking on the Square and I felt that we should walk towards the fountain (the one to the side of the temple) and I felt we should go to the left of it, but I didn't see anyone there so I walked to the right towards a group of people. But as we started walking right, I noticed three people had just turned the corner and were on the other side of the fountain.  I felt then that those were the people we needed to talk to! So, we just kinda walked past the group on the right, haha, and made our way to the others.  We started talking and it was grandparents and their grandson.  When I asked the initial questions like where they were from, the grandma would answer but then would quickly look away.  I could tell she didn't want to talk, but I knew I felt a prompting earlier so I persisted.  After a few more Q's, I think she accepted that I wasn't going away, haha, so we then started chatting about their trip and how they were traveling in an RV across the U.S.  The conversation eventually came to discussion about the Church and she said she had to take her grandson to Temple Square because of how beautiful it was. I then talked briefly about temples, and she shared with us how she has heard many things about "the Mormons" and so I inquired if she had any questions she would like for me to answer. Turns out she had questions about our basic beliefs, like if we believe Christ is the Son of God and our Savior, as well as other things.  She sincerely wanted to know and seemed so relieved and happy from the answers we gave. After having the rumors she heard dispelled, she became so friendly!  I had hoped to stay in touch, but gave her one of our cards that has the mormon.org website on it 

This week has been pretty crazy with tours and there was one day this week that we took 3 tours in 3 hours!! It was so awesome!! All different stories and backgrounds- I love it! One group was from Texas! They had just been traveling and felt like they should stop at Temple Square even though it wasn't a part of their plans.  They has just barely walked onto Temple Square and had taken a picture when Sister Lopez and I walked by :) It was a great tour and the Spirit was definitely there! 

Photo taken by an "Ensign" magazine photographer

And the guy we met at Conference came to the Square on Saturday for us to teach him! We gave him a tour and went downstairs of the North and taught the Restoration using some of the displays. He had many questions and was interested in so many different aspects of our religion. It was funny though because at the end, Sister Lopez invited him to pray to know if what we shared was true and he flat-out said "No". Haha. It took both of us by surprise since he seemed so willing to learn.  He then added "sorry, it that was kinda blunt".  I asked him, "Greg, do you have a desire to find truth?" He said yes.  I then said "Well, then that means you are going to have to act. And we would like to invite you to read a part of the Book of Mormon, Alma 32." He agreed and said he would read it, so we are hoping to follow up with him and meet again this weekend!

Well, that's about it!! Have a wonderful day everyone! :)

Sister Asay

Oh, and this week I was asked by a 3 year old if I was a princess and if the temple was my castle. Haha. Day made.

Sunshine in my Soul

Hello everyone!!

Can I just tell y'all how happy I am to be healthy again!!  I have missed the Square SO much and it felt great to be able to talk to people, teach, take tours, and everything else again!  Ah!  I was seriously on Cloud 9 for dayysss! Being sick really helped me realize how much I just adore being a missionary and how little time I actually have serving!

Some funny things this week:

1 - Sister Bailey, my previous District Leader, and I were talking in the kitchen and then we realized we had ended up by the trash can to get out of the way of other sisters coming in.  We started joking that we were "trash talkers". Super corny, but I was cracking up!

2 - Sister Lopez and I had to drive a companionship to the doctor yesterday, so we were waiting in the car during her appointment and the sun was shining right in Sister Lopez's face, so she rolled down the window, put her jacket in, and it was the plan for me to roll up the window for her, but....I rolled it up before she was ready (not a lot, just a tiny bit) and her finger got stuck! She yelled, "my finger!" and I unrolled the window as quickly as I could and then we both started dying laughing.  I was crying I was laughing so hard!  It hurt her obviously so I kept apologizing when I could get air to breathe.  Oh man, I felt so bad, but it was the funniest thing!  (And her finger is okay  :)

3 - I was on exchanges with my current District Leader last Friday and we were taking a chat with a lady named Alice.  She had many questions and she was sincerely wanting to know answers to certain parts of the Gospel she had been taught by local missionaries.  It was a great chat and at the end she asked us where we were serving.  Her nephew served so she had some knowledge about missions.  After we told her where, she was super excited because her nephew goes to the University of Utah and she said that she would text him to bring us treats to say thank you for how helpful we were to her.  Sister Dantas and I thought that was pretty cool, but didn't really think it would happen or that her nephew would find us....but he did!!  We were walking to an assignment and we saw this kid with a box and it was a box of treats for us! So legit! That has never happened before, so that made our day! 

We didn't take pictures this week, so before emailing we went over to the original cabin next to where we email and took some quick pics.  :)

 Our new apartment! Haha. 

Our reflection in the protective glass inside the cabin! Pretty cool!

This week Sister Lopez and I took our first Spanish tour!! Whoop, whoop! She had "passed off", or had been able to take Spanish tours, a few weeks ago, but then I was sick so we weren't able to take any.  But this tour went so well and I was so proud of her!  On language tours, we always try to teach balanced since that's what we are called to do...."teach two by two", so we usually prepare it beforehand.  Like I will talk about the history and she will translate and she will explain Gospel topics and then I will share my testimony, and she will once again translate.  So it's pretty cool and usually there is at least once English speaker on the tour so I just talk with them while we are walking place to place.

So the other day, we were walking through the Tabernacle and there was a sister who was seating like 60 people at the front and she was motioning for me to talk to her.  I walked down there and she told me that this group just wanted to hear the history about the Tabernacle and asked if I could do it.  My first thought was "wow, 60 people!" and then "heck yes!"  Sister Lopez and I went in the front and explained the history and shared our testimonies.  It was funny because the organist was practicing so we had to talk really loud.  I was able to learn how to project my voice from Theater classes in high school, but sweet Sister Lopez has a pretty quiet voice, so that night during the beginning of companionship study, I had her practice projecting her voice since we also have to project when we do Acoustics Demonstrations in the Tabernacle (like a pin drop) on tours.  It was pretty funny teaching her that, and she has got it down great!

Today, we were walking on the Square and I saw this couple looking at one of the statues and I felt a draw to them.  We walked over and started talking to them and turns out they were doing a huge road trip across the U.S. and were here in SLC for the day.  The wife had a lot of Mormon friends and wanted to check things out.  I offered them a tour and they accepted!  They were very nice people and we shared with them about temples and explained what we do there (sealings, baptism for family members that have passed away, and that we make higher promises with God there). We explained about church services, the Book of Mormon, and also talked a lot about families, prayer, and Jesus Christ.  It was an amazing tour and the Spirit was really strong at the Christus.  The lady told us she had lost her dad a while back and that it was only because of her faith that she was able to cope.  I then shared my testimony with her about how Christ has been a powerful influence and a source of comfort throughout my life.  She and I were both tearing up and it was such a special moment to share with her.  We then continued our tour and they didn't end up referring, but I hope that they will remember what we talked about and how they felt, and hopefully they will be more open to the Gospel in the future. 

It has been a great week and I feel so blessed to be a missionary and to be a representative of Jesus Christ!  On the tour with the couple I shared the story about the statue of Christ that was destroyed during the war in Germany and how they put it back together afterwards, but that the hands were missing and how the people decided to keep it that way.  They put "You are His hands" at the bottom.  I'm not sure if all of the details I said are correct, I can't remember the story exactly, but I love the point of it - that we are here to help each other just like Jesus Christ would.  We are His hands :) 

I love you all! Have a wonderful day!!

Sister Asay