Tuesday, February 28, 2017

February 27, 2017

Companions, even if it was just for a day on exchanges
Seriously pretty sure we are a match made in heaven.
Accidentally twinning !!!! I sure love my companion ❤
We are FIT FOR THE KINGDOM 😂😂. We figured this would be a good place for our cookie.
Jessica!!!
MIDWEST HAS THE BEST SKIES!
Hermana Gowens ❤
Some of the STL (Sister Training Leaders) and Sister Griffin.
We might have a little bit too much fun together ...
Aren't they all so precious???? ❤❤❤ these are some of our investigators.
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We decided to try a new finding idea. We wrote on a chalk board "Honk if you love Jesus, stop if you want a picture of Him". We didn't have much luck with it but we had fun doing it!



I was reading in the Book of Mormon this week (hah more like everyday) and came across this verse and I really liked-- I know what it says is true. I KNOW as we keep the commandments of God we WON'T even have to worry about breaking the laws of man or getting in trouble. It's simple. I'm SO grateful for commandments and rules and guidelines. I know they keep us grounded on a firm foundation. 
Mosiah 2:31
31 And now, my brethren, I would that ye should do as ye have hitherto done. As ye have kept my commandments, and also the commandments of my father, and have prospered, and have been kept from falling into the hands of your enemies, even so if ye shall keep the commandments of my son, or the commandments of God which shall be delivered unto you by him, ye shall prosper in the land, and your enemies shall have no power over you.

We really are happier when we do what God asks. I KNOW it. I've seen both sides, and I can promise, you'll be sooooo much happier if you just keep the Lords commandments. 
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.


I miss the corn soooo much!!!! Someone please Take me back to the corn. 🌽 I really am enjoying it here, but it's soooo different than the corn people in my other area. Not all, but many people I've met here are soooo stuck up and snotty. Most people don't feel like they need to change or need God in their life. So many are caught up in their ways. The corn people are just so humble and willing to listen. They're so kind.  Even in this hardship, I am soooo grateful to have been rejected sooooo much on my mission, because it's helped my testimony grow. It doesn't feel good of course. It does bruise my spirit, but not enough to give up or leave the church.   I KNOW this IS the ONE & ONLY true church upon the earth, now and forever. I just miss my corn people, that's all. 


Okay Illinois has some interesting weather. It has been sooooo nice! So sunny and bright. And then it'll snow a little.  The other night it was dumping buckets of hail in the middle of night. It just needs to make up its mind. Haha!  The nice thing is that it hasn't snowed hard for months now. It's soooo nice to walk outside even with a bit of sunshine. I am soaking it all up. 


TIC TACS SAVE SISTERS From HANGER
We were driving back from a long MLC (Missionary Leadership Council). It's where, as leaders of the mission, we get to voice things to help our missionaries and mission. It's really cool to be apart of. I still CANNOT believe I'm where i am today.  I'm grateful Heavenly Father knows what's best for me. And for all of us. I've really enjoyed training and am very grateful that I've had those opportunities my whole mission. After MLC, we were driving home and realized the GPS  took us outside of our area... an hour away the other direction. We didn't have time to eat  dinner because of another meeting.  Luckily we had a bazillion TicTacs to hold us over. Any flavor...you name it ... we had it. I felt like Violet off of "Charlie & the Chocolate Factory"  As I ate the different Tic Tacs, I imagined I was eating some wayyyy good food. haha. Tic Tacs do save sisters from hanger. 😂😂😂😂 #DONTMESSWITHHANGRYSISTERS  


At MLC we learned Pres Griffin has called two elders to be "specialized training assistants".  These elders don't have a set area. They go around the mission on exchanges with elders & help them not only find people to teach but teach people. We've done soooooo well in our mission finding people, but most of those people haven't been going anywhere.  Since elders can't go on exchanges with sisters, we STL's were trained @ MLC & now will be going on a second exchange with the sisters. And this exchange will be to simply FOCUS on helping them FIND & TEACH. WE as a mission are working on getting into the TEACHING MODE.  I'm super pumped about this. It's gonna be extra stressful I'm sure 😂😂😂 but that's missionary work for ya. I'm just excited to be able to do more for the sisters and help them so much more. 


One of the members used this analogy the other day at church ....
Water cup vs. air (empty) cup 
The first cup is filled with water. When asked what is in the cup the person says "water".  When asked what's in the other cup the person says "nothing". This is, in fact, incorrect, BECAUSE it's filled with air. It's just like Satan. He fills the void with air--pointless stuff in our lives to distract us from having a strong relationship with Heavenly Father. We must fill our lives  with pure righteous things
WHAT WILL YOU DO TO HAVE THE GREATEST RELATIONSHIP W/ HEAVENLY FATHER??? With WHAT WILL YOU FILL YOUR VOID? With WHAT ARE YOU CURRENTLY FILLING IT? Is it good or bad? 

Something I've been thinking a LOT about recently is.... DON'T TAKE the GOSPEL FOR GRANTED.  DON'T take ppl for granted. Recently, my GG passed.  Phyllis was so fun and sassy. Everyone loved her! JUST SPEND IT WITH THEMWhat's 5 more minutes gonna hurt with those you  love?

Just as you get excited about the Super Bowl or March Madness, do you think ...."WOW. it's Sunday! I get to take the sacrament!!!!"???? Or do you drag your feet and just go because you know you're supposed to or because someone you love drags you there ?  If you're not having a great attitude about church, there's room to change and let go of that toxic attitude.  My cousin has a member in her mission who travels 2 1/2 hours to get to church EVERY Sunday! I've met members here in the great land of Lincoln who travel great lengths and make huge sacrifices to get to church and even  the temple. 

And get this.... some of our members who recently moved here, met people while they were living in temporary housing.  They invited them to church AND THEY came and have been coming for a couple weeks. The COOLEST PART is...They told the members they could've slept in yesterday, but they were SOOOOO excited to come to church. They felt they had purpose. They were so excited to get up.  Isn't that sooo cool ??? And in Gospel Principles class,  the husband was participating left and right.  They just soak it up. At the end of class,  this member bore his testimony of how he knows this church is true. OH MY GOODNESS, THE SPIRIT WAS SO STRONG. It was definitely UNDENIABLE-- one of the strongest I've felt on my mission.  I am amazed by people's desires to come to church. I wanna be as excited as they were to come every week. I get soooo happy seeing people so happy. This gospel is just amazing ! 

We went on exchanges with the Frankfort sisters this week. It was so fun. I got to go with Sister Havey. We finally got to be companions, even if it was just for a day. We got to get sushi...fun. Like old Times in the MTC. SHES AWESOME! And its so awesome to see Sister Campbell and all the changes and progress she's made since I trained her 10 months ago or so..... wow time sure flies. 

I SAID A PRAYER IN SPANISH THIS WEEK!!!! So basically I'm an Hermana now😂.... so I guess you could say it's getting pretty serious 😂

Miracles:
  • Walgreens family  
We were at Walgreens waiting for customer service. A family was sitting there, and we were able to talk to them about the gospel. We started off just talking friendly about stuff, and it lead to  the gospel. It's been soooo cool for me to see that really any conversation can lead to the gospel. You just gotta be listening to what will interest people and what they need. 
  • Jessica 
She's a Muslim woman who is one of the kindest I've met on my mission. She let us in and made us these Indian turnover things. She wanted to be a great hostess and was so cute running around trying to do stuff for us, even though we told her not to worry about it. She had Mormon friends growing up who brought her to church.  It made a huge impact on her. She's open to learning more and is so awesome. We found her by dropping by a less active. We didn't get to talk to the member and we wanted to figure out why we were in the area.  We felt promoted to knock on Jessica's door. Unfortunately, her husband doesn't want her learning. But she is still open to readng the Book of Mormon and will let us know if she has any questions. Even though we are bummed  we can't keep teaching her, we see it more as how cool we got the opportunity to find her and be even a small piece in her coming closer to Heavenly Father and Jesus Christ. She has such a sweet spirit and I KNOW one day she'll join the church. She has an incredible soul. Muslim people really are SO kind!!!!!! So get rid of those prejudices !!!! 

We Had a legit Japanese meal from a member from Japan 
  • I am sooooo beyond  tired when I wake up, yet I'm so amazed to see HF help me as I just keep on keeping on. 
  • Erika.... oh my goodness, this was sooo cool! We have been working on cleaning out our area book. We felt promoted to stop by a former investigators home, but he has since moved.  BUT we met this lady who now lives there from  TEGUCIGALPA Honduras !!!! 🇭🇳 🇭🇳 DRUM ROLL PLEASE!!!!! 😻she's from the land of my people, and I just love it there. It's one of my home lands! My companion, Sister Nogueira, speaks fluent Spanish. It's soooo meant to be. We will be teaching her this week. 
Seriously I'm tellin y'all, God really is soooo mindful of us. I love my mission. I love the gospel. I just love everything I'm doing. I've never been happier or felt so good on my entire life! I hope y'all each find the happiness I am feeling. 


Love Hermana Ällowitz 

Monday, February 20, 2017

February 20, 2017






Crazy Chicago wind. 💨

Don't mess with Sharko here .....🦈🦈🦈🦈🦈🦈🦈
New investigator ??..
I got to see Sister Lynette!!!!

My beautiful and wonderful companion, Sister Nogueira! ❤❤These two 20 year olds might have a little too much fun....... 😂#doubletrouble 
Gorgeous weather we are having!

Members made us Valentine's Day meal! Breakfast for dinner...one of
my favorites !!!!
I totally missed the "wear red" memo. 😂😂😂😂😂
One of these things is not like the other ....
I have the BEST companion ever haha.




HAPPY PRESIDENTS DAY everyone!!!!!! 
Hello y'all! It's been another awesome week. In the mission we've really been focusing on finding new investigators. Aka, more people to teach about the gospel cause it's been a big struggle for us. We had a mission fast a little while ago.  Also we, as a whole mission, have done the 40 day fast (thanks to Kieran sharing it with me)!!!! It has skyrocketed and made a HUGE difference in our mission. We have found so many people. Missionaries are changing for the better left and right. THANK YOU KIERAN for inviting us to do this. The mission couldn't be better. I am sooo grateful for the opportunity to become better personally and in the mission as a whole. It's been sooooooo cool to see the positive change within this area of the Lords vineyard. 
D&C 33:6-10

During our Zone Conference,  all missionaries got to do the "happy walk" with President Griffin around the building. #best role play ever. I am very grateful for President & Sister Griffin, because they're such great examples of smiling and being happy. And of course this gospel IS HAPPINESS. It should make us smile and shout for joy. I mean it did when we each chose to come here. So why not now? Exactly...SMILE! BE HAPPY! 


Sister Nogueira and I have been having so much fun talking to everyone, meeting new people, and learning new things. The weather has been ABSOLUTELY beautiful this last weekend--in the 50-60s!!! Oh my goodness, Heavenly Father really loves me. It's a miracle !!!! 



SHEILA GOT BAPTIZED!!!! She's so amazing And I super love her. She's progressed so far and is such an example to her family, especially since she's the only member right now. 
I know she's gonna be a missionary someday. People will follow her example and come to the church. I know it. She's such an inspiration, and I don't know what I'd do without her. It was soooo wonderful cause we got permission to go back to Bourbonnais for the baptism. It was weird being back, but also so wonderful to see my Bourb peeps. And, of course, witness Sheila being baptized. This is what I live for--seeing people have desires to change their lives and be baptized. image3.JPG





Claim to fameSISTERS MOVE UP IN ROYALTY , GOING TO THE OSCARS OR .....OSCARSONS???
This week we met Bonnie L. Oscarsons nephew. So that was pretty cool. I guess you could say we're royalty now. 😂 #movingupintheworld


We knocked on a couple doors we felt we needed to.  It was pitch black outside and this man yelled, "get off my porch!!!" It was super sketchy, so we BOOKED it and jumped in the car. We ran for our lives, and it was some great exercise haha. It's sad to see people reject the gospel and yet ...When people do this kinda stuff i think really it's just one more door closer to person who are ready to listen. 😊  So I just laugh it off and move forward. 

Not everyone's gonna say yes to the gospel or have a desire to learn during our time on earth, but I DO know that every time we share the gospel we are blessed and it builds our testimonies and faith. I know it can be scary to share he gospel cause I've been there. There's even times now when I feel scared to share the gospel. BUT I KNOW as we just OPEN our mouths the Lord WILL fill it. I know as we stand up and have courage to say something about the gospel we WILL appreciate it more. I know that to be true because it's a promise given from God. I have felt it within my own life. 

I have never loved the gospel so much in my entire life. I love it so much. I love the Book of Mormon. I love that I am a missionary because missionary work is the best. I just love doing what I'm doing. I KNOW WITH EVERYTHING I have that The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter Day Saints IS TRUE. I KNOW that Joseph Smith saw what he saw. 

Y'all stay safe. Stay rad. Go spread the gospel. 


Your Chicago fav,
Sister karigan Ällowitz 

Monday, February 13, 2017

Feb 13, 2017

Saw Howie at transfers. He cracks me up!
Saw Sister Garcia @ transfers too!! She's so awesome.
Hermana Nogueira's friend Lacy who took us to Texas Roadhouse. #sooooogood
Althea is from Trinidad and Rose is so funny! They're wonderful. They are at a place we do service at once a week. They make life better.
My hilariously gorgeous companion! ❤❤
My kinda nights ❤
I Love to See the Temple
1.I love to see the temple.
I’m going there someday
To feel the Holy Spirit,
To listen and to pray.
For the temple is a house of God,
A place of love and beauty.
I’ll prepare myself while I am young;
This is my sacred duty.
2.I love to see the temple.
I’ll go inside someday.
I’ll cov’nant with my Father;
I’ll promise to obey.
For the temple is a holy place
Where we are sealed together.
As a child of God, I’ve learned this truth:
A fam’ly is forever.

CLOUDS ARE THE GREATEST !!!! These are my kinda clouds. ❤❤❤
ICE CREAM FOREVER. Or I SCREAM FOREVER ! 🍦 ice cream !!!!! ❤ DID YOU KNOW .... ice cream on healthy chips is actually SUPER good ????
WELCOME TO MY CRIB #billiondollarhome


MIRACLE:
 Hermana Nogueira is my new companion! She's from Perú!!!! She's my first comp NOT from Utah or Idaho. It's been great practicing our Spanish together. We have heard so many fun and good stories about each other over the WHOLE time we've been on our missions but haven't ever been able to serve around each other. And BOOM.... now we get to be companions ! 
It's seriously the BEST thing EVER !!!! I don't think I've laughed so much in my ENTIRE life. And that's a lot since all y'all know how much I'm always laughing. From the minute we get up til the minute we go to bed we are laughing til our abs hurt and we are crying. She is so hilarious. We are hilarious together. Double trouble is what we are. It's the best. Missionary work has never been so fun. And I've for reals never been happier. 
I say stuff and she always laughs and says " you're so hilarious!" .... wow maybe I really should be a comedian when I grow up. Jajaja jk. 
#doubletrouble ...idk if President knows what he did here 😂😂😂😏😬just kidding. 



Advice for You men.... please open your woman's door! Seriously. Just do it. That's all I gotta say. #realmen 

Sacrament meeting for me now is like when ppl try to talk to me during Saturday night basketball..... I'm all, "seriously Willis , No talking ! Or else ..." 
I just LOVE sacrament meeting!!!! I don't think I could ever get enough. It's a very special experience to come closer to Jesus Christ and work on decluttering our personal lives spiritually. 
So this next week in sacrament meeting ..... especially while actual sacrament is being past be quiet. Silence yourselves. Ask ," LORD, WHAT LACK I YET¿?¿" and really seek through the spirit how you can improve. He will help you. I promise. 


In Relief Society we had an awesome lesson about positivity and happiness.  
One thing that was said was ," SILENCE YOUR NEGATIVITY !" And I love that.  
It's easier said than done, but definitely possible, with the Lords help. 
You can Spin anything negative into a positive. I do it everyday with my companions or people we meet on the streets. It's so fun! 
It was super cool cause we taught Gospel Principles and gave the  invite to look for positives everyday this week and rise above to better. And the  same invitation was given  in Relief Society  so I think it was really important for us all to hear. 
In Gospel Principles right before we were to say the prayer, I felt I really needed to invite them to look for the positives. I felt super awkward cause the person was right about to say the prayer. But I know Heavenly Father helped me muster the courage to speak those words. And it reminded me to follow the Spirit even when it's awkward or we don't want to because out of the mouth of 2 or 3 witnesses it will be heard. And that's exactly what happened yesterday. 
I am so grateful for the Holy Ghost in our lives, and that I've really been learning how to recognize it in my own life. 


So these awesome members who know Hermana Nogueira from back home took us to dinner and it was at TEXAS Roadhouse !!!! Oh my goodness it's been too long since I've been there. It was soooo good. And so great to make new friends. 
And then ..... 
Hermana Nogueira had a recent convert get her endowments out at the Chicago temple so.... WE GOT TO GO TO THE TEMPLE and I was sooooooo excited!!!!! 
It was my first time at the Chicago Temple, and it was such a great experience. 
It was especially special because 2 sets of my great grandparents served in that temple MANY, MANY moons ago.  So it was definitely a special time and place, as I felt them with me the whole time. I am soooo grateful for my angels on this side and on the other side. I love my angels 👼🏿 Angels! 
And to make it even BETTER....
The members who took us wanted to take us to eat afterwards to .....drum roll ....
OLIVE GARDEN. Seriously in heaven again. It's so funny though cause there's an Elder who served here whose from 🇮🇹 Italy & he said Olive Garden is the Taco Bell for Mexicans, so he probably wouldn't approve but we do what we want ..... when we want .... when of course the Lord says it's okay. 




We are Teaching a member Spanish , and last night we taught her how to to roll r's ... she finally got it. And it's so cool to see her progress in the language. 


As STLS .....aka , sister training leaders we go on exchanges with "younger" sisters in the mission. 
Which is basically a 24 hr. Sleepover where we switch comps for a day, help them set meaningful goals, and help them come up with ideas they apply in their areas and companionships; to help them grow and become the kind of missionaries, people, and members the Lord needs them to be forever. It's basically counseling. 
I love it! It's totally my element. I'm really enjoying this extra responsibility and challenge. It has really helped me buckle down the last few months of my full time mission and REALLY FOCUS.  I am so grateful the Lord  has trusted me so much with several training opportunities on my mission. They've been so awesome. 
And I've learned so much from all the experiences. 


!!!HOLA; HERMANA'S RUN LOOSE IN CEREAL ISLE. ¡¡¡
So as a missionary you get super  excited about little things like SUGAR CEREAL. 
so one day, in a galaxy very far away .... in a land called Illinois ....2 Hermanas missionaries walked down the cereal isle and spotted their favorite cereal. Loaded with sugar they packed it in the cart and went on their merry way and have lived happily ever afterwards, since enjoying their cereal every morning. 
Have you ever seen a missionary so happy ? 
Cereal + sharing the gospel = true happiness. 

HAPPY VALENTINES DAY!!!! ❤❤❤❤❤❤❤❤❤❤
Go out and show those you love that you really love them. 
It can be small and simple, just go and do it. For reals, go help others feel happy !!!! 
Make them smile and know that our loving Heavenly Father and Jesus Christ LOVE them!!!! Go love the Lord this week! 
Ask yourself tomorrow, what would Jesus do? Would he share his "share size" M&Ms .... of course he would. Don't be greedy now.... 

Peace easy. Remember who you are and what you stand for. 
The gospel of Jesus Christ IS true. I know it. I live it. I love it. 

Matthew 22 

Sincerely , 
Hermana Ällowitz 

RIDDLE OF THE WEEK: 
WHAT do you get when you put a Texan and a Peruvian together ?.....
Å= MAGIC , like a firecracker !!!! 💥💥💥💥💥💥💥💥
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Monday, February 6, 2017

February 6, 2017

Life is ALWAYS better with ice cream !
Sis. Alvarez is the greatest!
Sheila is so wonderful. Love her !
Brother Beyer always talks about the Abrahamic Covenant. And it's
really really good cause families are forever. I'm very grateful
he has helped us learn more about this and not forget it.
#brobeyer101.
Brother Beyer got me MILK CHOCOLATE ALMONDS 😻😻😻😻my fav !!!!
It's so awesome cause somehow the other night at dinner with the Beyers we talked about this. The next time BOOM here's my almonds. ❤
So funny story .... this is Hermana Noguierra. She's a sister trainer.
We've been on exchanges a couple times, and it's been a blast. I have
always felt so connected with her, as if we've known each other for
years! And everytime we'd be on exchanges or at meetings she'd say, "well, when we are companions .... or oh this is perfect for when we
become companions " 😂😂😂😂 I was like yeah that would be fun but
don't jinx me being the next sister training leader now. Ha
So the best part is ..... drum roll please ....
WE WILL BE COMPANIONS THIS TRANSFER. I AM THE NEXT SISTER TRAINING LEADER!
I am super excited. I have big shoes to fill, but I'm excited.
It's like being an assistant to the president, but on the sister side.
Did I mention I just love this woman? Cute haircut❤
Sister Havey!!!! Love her !!! ❤❤❤❤ and of course Elder Golling and Elder Wilson had to photobomb, ha.
Sis. Lynette was sick, so she gave us money to go to 5 Guys. ❤❤❤
Love her. I love his place!!!!
Sheila. Aka Sister Gaza! ❤She's an amazing investigator! She watched "The District" missionary videos ALL on her own. We were in a lesson and she said,
"I was watching 'the District' and it was cool to see I'm not alone, and that I have some of the same struggles they do. And y'all are teaching me the same things they taught their investigators"
I was Blown Away. She's seriously so great. She also said her daughter told her she's noticed a huge difference in Sheila, and that the Book of Mormon and this Restored Gospel must have a lot to do with it.
Seriously could anyone of asked for a greater investigator ?!!????
She also has expressed desires to go on a mission and do what we do.
I told her even though I'm getting transferred that I'll do whatever it takes." She said, "oh no I'll come pick you up!"
It's been such a blessing to be a part of Sheila's journey and her process of investigating the church. She's so special and has a special spot in my heart. I really love her!!!
She's such a great example and inspiration to me. I wanna be like her when I grow up.
I've never met someone who loves the Lord more.
The Navas family.

I LOVE THIS VIEW !!!😻😻😻😻
Sis. Buhrmester!!!!


Can y'all believe it's February already? Yeah, me neither. It goes by sooooo fast when you're having a blast being a missionary. 

Question: IF THE SAVIOR STOOD BESIDE YOU would you be fluent in "whinese" or complain or murmur? Yeah EXACTLY, you better not! So how do you overcome those feelings of negativity and a super poopy attitude???? Well I got a great solution to help this problem. One of them is to wrestle And get it out. I've done that with some companions to get it out of them and help them KNOCK IT OFF. It really does work. I promise. 
And yet here's a better solution ..... ice cream. Haha okay just kidding. 
Here's the VERY  BEST SOLUTION: It's actually from the prophet which is from the Lord , so LISTEN UP YALL!...Serving and loving and helping others come unto Christ is it. I know at first it seems overwhelming but it's not if you do as the Savior did and just focus ONE BY ONE is all it takes. 
3 Nephi 18:36:
"And it came to pass that when Jesus had made an end of these sayings, he touched with his hand the disciples whom he had chosen, one by one, even until he had touched them all, and spake unto them as he touched them." 

I know life is rough because of circumstances, but we DON'T by ANY means need to make it more miserable than needed. So SMILE! Be HAPPY!!! Go lift and encourage others and see the joy and happiness it'll bring to your life and theirs. 

There's a great conference talk I came across recently entitled 
 "FINDING JOY IN THE JOURNEY". I wanna invite all of y'all to read it cause it's soon good..."not to let those most important things pass you by as you plan for that illusive and nonexistent future when you will have time to do all that you want to do. Instead, find joy in the journey--now...there is no tomorrow to remember if we don’t do something today....." 

I love how this teaches us we can and will find joy as we focus on the NOW.  If we don't then we'll CONSTANTLY be searching for it and we'll constantly be miserable. And NO ONE wants that! 


Arthur Gordon wrote in a national magazine:
      “When I was around thirteen and my brother ten, Father had promised to take us to the circus. But at lunchtime there was a phone call; some urgent business required his attention downtown. We braced ourselves for disappointment. Then we heard him say [into the phone], ‘No, I won’t be down. It’ll have to wait.’
----
I LOVE how this father is a prime example of finding joy in the now and putting his children (his priorities) first. He recognizes what's most important and ACTS on it. He's awesome! What a great example for us all. 

President Thomas S. Monson has said: “To find real happiness, we must seek for it in a focus outside ourselves. No one has learned the meaning of living until he has surrendered his ego to the service of his fellow man. Service to others is akin to duty--the fulfillment of which brings true joy.”
---
I know as we FOCUS on the ONE we will be happy. Because that's what Christ would do and continue to do. 

I recently came across this quote & I really love it because no matter if we only have a few months left of our missions, life, a calling, a job, or whatever it might be .... we MUST press forward with firm faith and be a person of our word and DO WHAT WE SAY WE WILL DO. No one likes or benefits from one who makes a commitment and breaks it. DON'T BE A COMMITMENT BREAKER to others and especially not to our loving Father in Heaven. 
--
"Stick to your task ’til it sticks to you;
Beginners are many, but enders are few.
Honor, power, place and praise
Will always come to the one who stays. 
Stick to your task ’til it sticks to you; 
Bend at it, sweat at it, smile at it, too; 
For out of the bend and the sweat and the smile 
Will come life’s victories after a while. "
—Author Unknown 



FIRE BURNING peppers for SISTER TRAINING LEADER ..... what could be hotter than an Illinois summer ?? ... #pepper  
Serrano... have you ever had one ¿? It's literally the Hottest pepper ever  🌶 
It's so funny and awesome... so the Navas family has a tradition (since Brother Navas is from Guatemala) where the missionaries ALWAYS eat a Serrano pepper when they come over for dinner. It's basically like "initiation" to the ward. And oh my goodness that thing is soooo hot. It's the pepper from Satan it's so hot. 😂🔥
It was fun doing this challenge with the Elders...... they might've cried. 
But on a spiritual note .... this is kinda like the gospel cause this pepper makes your insides BURN.  It can be on the side of feeling the spirit and knowing the church is true and continuing to grow your testimony OR it can be like sin. Because when you sin it hurts and it's hard because you often have feelings of guilt and shame BUT THANKFULLY, we don't always have to feel that way. We can feel happiness and be light as we turn to the Savior. And the pain goes away just as I had to eat lots of burritos and drink lots of Liminada to get the spice away. I didn't cry but oh my goodness my mouth and whole soul was on FIRE. It wasn't a happy feeling. But I know through the gospel we can be happy and not have pain associated with sin. 

Storal of the mory: 
DON'T eat Serrano peppers! And always, always rely and acknowledge the Savior in your life!!!
#burninginbosom
#repentanceisreal 


Headline take 2---- 
HAVE YOU Ever  SEEN A sister training leader on fire??? Well they do call me "girl on fire" sometimes back home 😂😂😂 those peppers make you hotter than an Illinois summer. 
So President Griffin has asked me to take the assignment of being the next sister training leader ( STL ) so wahoooo! I am really excited to go from training one sister to training many sisters and to be able to participate more in what happens with the mission. I have no idea what all we do as stall's, but I'm excited to find out. 

I really feel like Heavenly Father has prepared me for this moment my whole mission. Throughout my mission he's shattered me and built me back up into something and someone even better then before. He's taken me outside my comfort zone and helped me into my growth zone.  I am grateful for all I've been asked to do cause it's helped me a LOT. I love my mission. I love being a missionary. 
I'm excited to get to know more of the missionaries through this new assignment. I am grateful the Lord has trusted me so much with his children here in this mission, because again I've learned a lot from it. 
And I'm super excited to be companions with Sister Noguierra! I've been able to go on exchanges with her a couple times, and I've heard a lot about her. Now I actually get to serve with her. Everyone's joked about me being the STL one day and here it is ....
Sister Noguierra goes home next transfer so we will be laughing and having lots of fun sharing the gospel and training together and live it up before she goes on to the afterlife. I'm excited for this next adventure. I still cannot believe this is actually happening though ...,, prayers would be great 😂😂😂

Miracles :
  • So there's a less active member in our ward whose super stubborn, and yet loves the gospel. This person has been so shut off from missionaries for a long time because of bad experiences, but it's been cooling working with them for the last couple months to work on that relationship. This last week we had the MOST powerful spiritual lesson we've had with this family. They were in tears, and we broke the ice. They said, "the missionaries who found us are pretty special and you're both right up there with them". It was such a powerful experience. We were so touched. The spirit is awesome! 
  • went to 5 Guys for dinner 
  • Sunsets and sunrises continue to be so beautiful! 
  • Members gave us Dilly Bars, and I was thinking about them ALL week haha 
  • It's been SO ☀️ SUNNY!!!! I love it. 
  • We knocked on one of our potential investigators doors (he lives in an apartment complex). He wasn't  home, so we decided to knock his neighbors door.  This woman opened and she actually let us in, which doesn't usually happen. We got to teach her the Restoration and holy cow it was so cool! 

365 things learned as a missionary .... coming later .... just wait a little longer 😂😂 keeping the suspense up..... 


I know this church is true. Joseph Smith really was a prophet called of God. And I know he saw what he saw. I know what I've been sharing with people is indeed true. 


Stay happy and go serve! 

Sincerely , 
Hermana Karigan Ä