hump day!!!

This beauty is half way done!! Make sure you send her some love and encouragement!

message Liv's FB account or her sister Mia for her email if you feel so inclined:)

Blessings on blessings!!

hello! what a great week here in Rancho Cordova! we were super blessed this week! so we had a zone training on strengthening our weaker parts and making them stronger so that our over all being can be stronger. It was really good for me because sometimes i think i get content with where i am and how i am doing but i really can be better! We can all choose things that we can strengthen and work on! Sadly, we have to push k's baptism. but i think in the long run, it will be best for her and her family! Really i have learned a lot about the importance of constant church attendance. It is sooo important! These are covenants that we have made! COVENANTS. promises with the highest most powerful being! we promised him! I dont know i think it is interesting and sad that it becomes not important to some. just go. once you dont go once, it becomes even less of a priority the next week. I think it is silly to not go. We have readily available to us every blessing that God has to offer so why wouldnt we take him up on that?! I am thankful for parents who have taught me the importance of church attendance. I cant remember one time that i wasnt sick or out of town that i didnt go to church. thanks ma and pa for the constant quiet example that you have always set for me :)

     This week has been soooo rainy! and, mom this will come as no surprise to you, i left my coat in the STLs car.. okay meh. but hermana vergaray has been kind enough to let me borrow. although she is little so the sleeves go to like my elbows... anyway it will make its way back to me soon. also i left my umbrella in Sac.. im an idiot.. 

     We have really been super blessed this week. We have found and found and found! So we went on splits with the sister training leaders and Hermana Clark and I found a guy who was nice but didnt seem very interested. he said he was always busy but we could try his wife someday. so we went back and found his wife and she is super cool and very interested! so we have an appointment with them today. 

     We have been trying to find one of our investigators this past little while her name is M. We found her husband and he said sunday would be a good day to go back. We went back yesterday and we found m, her husband J, her son L and their friend G. We talked about mormons for a little bit and you know things that people hear about mormons and all of that fun jazz. Then we taught the restoration. It was easily one of the most spiritual lessons that i have been in on my mission and i knew who we were there for. Words were flowing from my mouth and i conjugated my words better than i ever have been able to before. at the end of the lesson, hermana Vergaray asked them; "if you knew that this message was true, would you be baptized by someone who hold the priesthood authority?" it was silent for a minute and then G spoke up. he said "I gave up on believing in God 7 years ago. I havent listened to anyone like you or tried anything spiritual this whole time and after listening to you, i feel really good. i feel really peaceful and if i knew it was true, of course i would get baptized. I would love to keep learning from you." I almost cried. I have never heard anyone answer like that before. He said he would read and pray and also attend our english classes. He is a super cool guy we are really excited to work with him! sorry my letters are always so short. everyone knows that i dont expand ever so i am doing my best. anyway it was a great week here! Its cooling down quick. in fact its freezing. but really. thanks for everything! :) much love!

Hermana Stevens

Transferred! And other Exciting Things:)

October 20
"Okay so as you probably know, transfers were yesterday and..... Drum
roll please! Sac sent me away. I am now serving in an area called
Rancho Cordova. Our branch is la riviera branch. And my new companion
is Hermana Vergaray. (Pronounced like you're saying "very good eye" )
I actually came to the field with her but she knew some Spanish
already so she went to Provo. She is from Washington and she is super
cute! I am very excited to be with her! Our area is the area just
north of sac and we cover Rancho Cordova, Folsom a bit of Sacramento
and el dorado. I am excited to try something new but let me tell you,
saying goodbye was SO hard! Basically I cried and cried through out
sacrament meeting. When presidente lemon found out I was leaving, he
said "okay then you're singing." Pick a song. So I sang I know that my
redeemer lives which was kind of like my last testimony to the branch.
Also J came! Right after sacrament meeting, she hugged me and
started sobbing. When we went over later, she said "if I choose to be
baptized, I want you to be there" and I said " of course! Just tell
the missionaries that you want to invite Hermana Stevens and I will be
there!" And she said "that will be the first thing out of my mouth" :)
I said goodbye to her and also  a and A. It was sad but I will
visit again! I am so grateful for the time o had to be with all those
people and those in the ward. They are so amazing. And that's another
reason why the mission is hard! It's like you're constantly saying
goodbye to people you learn to love as if you're leaving on another
mission! Ah!
     Also this week was my little friend, B (the girl in the
orange dress if you remember) got baptized his week :)
I also had to say goodbye to S and her family this week. They
took it okay but it's because I promised to come back in February for
her baptism BECAUSE she chose a day to be baptized! On February 26! :D
last week we went to the funeral for her brother. It was really sad.
It made me vey grateful for my knowledge of Gods plan of salvation!
Even though we have to all part at one time, it is only for a short
while. We will all be able to see everyone again! And that is so
amazing to me. I will try my best to send some pictures of this week
because I took a lot but a lot of them but most of them are on my
camera and I may or may not be able to get on a computer today. Well
love you al! :)
Love,
 Hermana Stevens"

October 26
"What a good week! It has been different for sure but good! We have
been working with a couple of people and it's been good. It has been
fun to kind of get to know this new area and the people that we get to
work with. We did a "blitz" yesterday where four sets of missionaries
came and worked in our area to expand our teaching pool. It went well!
Each companionship got a couple returns so we are going to have a busy
week! Hermana Vergaray and I went to Folsom and el dorado to do some
work over there. We don't get over there a lot because we have 0
members there, it's a nicer area and it's pretty far but it's pretty!
It's really hilly and nice. I like it over there. We found a former
who wants us to come back so we will be teaching her again! Right now
we are teaching two girls who's family's are members but now they are
going to get baptized in November!
Honestly not a lot to report on this week. It has been going well
though! Hermana Vergaray is a hoot :) we have lots of fun.
I love this area. I have had a pretty good transition I really like
it. I love being a missionary. I love sharing the gospel all day. I
love the restored truths that it contains and that I get the
opportunity to share that with other people so that they can partake
of the blessings I have been able to see in my life. Thanks for all
you do! I love you all very much! :)
Sorry it's so short.
The church is true.
Hermana Stevens"

November 2
"Hello all! This has been a good week with a lot of finding and good
lessons. We are expanding our teaching pool strengthening the one we
have :) one of the things I really want to do here is strengthen the
branch! The branch is pretty small and there are a lot of less
actives. It's really sad. When we started sacrament meeting yesterday,
there was 15 adults there.. It's pretty sad. Just as the general
authorities have have been focusing on keeping the sabbath day holy,
we as a mission have been too. It has really made me think. We had a
training on the sabbath and the sacrament and it was brought up the if
people more fully understood he atonement and the importance of the
sacrament, they would understand keeping the sabbath day holy and we
wouldn't even have to push the actually coming to church part. Truly
the sacrament one of the most important ordinances we have. And it is
the only one that we get to repeat for ourselves. The symbolism of the
sacrament is incredible. I think when we truly think about Christ and
his very real sacrifice that he performed for us, and what it means to
us, it can bring a different kind and very deserving reverence to
sacrament meeting. Which leads me to my next point: thanksgiving plan!
I am going to choose one I got to be thankful for each day. Then think
about why. So yesterday, I chose the sacrament :) I am truly thankful
for what my savior has done for me. The way he has made up for all of
my shortcomings. I am thankful I have the opportunity to think about
his sacrifice ever week and renew those promises I have made. I would
like to encourage everyone who is reading this to think about what
they can do to make the sacrament more meaningful to them whether it
is just to think of Christ more or make it a goal to see what you can
do to better yourself. Prepare yourself before to make sure you are
worthy and open your mind to the whispering of the spirit to see what
you can do better the following week. Also, read what lack I yet from
conference, make it a day for the Lord and enjoy your sabbath! :)
My second thing that I am thankful for is my sister! :) today is her
birthday and I am thankful that she was born! She has always been such
an amazing example to me. I am so grateful that I have her to help me
through hard times. Her testimony has always strengthened mine. She is
a perfect example of a faithful daughter of God. She knows who she is.
She is funny, she laughs at me. She has put up with me for almost 20
years. Love you Mia :)
Thanks for the letters and emails. I hope you have a really good
November. Much love!"

"I just love the culture. It's too bad I can't ever be Mexican" and other Livi-isms

September 14

"so this week we honestly didn't get a whole lot of time to do your average missionary work but as for investigators, J is doing super well and A and A are too! We committed A to read chapter 2 in the book of Mormon and when we followed up and she had read 13 chapters! which if you know anything about trying to get people to read the book of Mormon is incredible! especially because when we first tried to give it to her, she said "just take it. I wont ever read it." they are doing super well! we love them! Monday and Tuesday and Wednesday consisted of a whole lot of cleaning our new apartment and getting settled in. Its nice. it style of the one I lived in when I lived with the ASL sisters. we like it. then on Friday, we had a service project that took up most of our day. We built and painted a playground which was fun and exhausting but I really like doing service like that! The other thing we did this week was setting up our church event we had on Saturday which was a multicultural activity. We had the branches and wards from all of the greater sacramento area (including Roseville. shout out to Elder Kelly) so there was a ton of food and a ton of people and then they did a really fun program with all of their cultural music and dancing. I just love the culture. its too bad I cant ever be Mexican.. they do it better. I really do love these people and I am finally feeling like I can communicate to them pretty well! sorry this one is so short.. I have never been very detail oriented. but I did take a billion pictures this week so that will have to make up for the lack of writing. but a pictures worth a thousand words so I think I should be let off the hook. thanks for everything! love you all very much! :)

Hermana Stevens"

September 30

Hello! this week was a whole lot of finding. We have really great people that we are working with but we need to find more! on tuesday we went on exchanges. I was with sister Diamond. it was a good experience for me because I stayed in my area and Sister Diamond doesnt speak spanish so i was kind of on my own sometimes but it was really good! 

     One of my favorite moments of this week was on thursday. Hermana Bowen and i were driving and she said "i want to try that apartment complex one day" so we put it in our plans for the next day to do some contacting. When we went there, and the only person outside was an old member and she didnt know any of her neighbors so we went around the corner and we saw a door that looked slightly spanish. We decided to knock. No answer. so we started to walk away and i saw a mop upside down on the balcony (which is a "sign" of a spanish house) and i knew we had to go there so i said lets go try that one. so we went and a little girl answered. We peeked inside and there was two women and two little girls. We started to share with them our message. Hermana Bowen asked if we could come in for a minute. The woman said yes. We sat on the couch and they turned on the tv. When we started giving the lesson, it was very very dry. no participation. no comments. nothing. so we went on. When we were starting talk about Joseph Smith, we decided to share the video clip. Hermana Bowen said "can we show you a short video real quick?" and she said "that video?" and her daughter was holding up the restoration video. I was very confused. then she pointed in my bag and said "ive already read some of that book too" turns out she was taught about a year and a half ago. she was taught just about everything. she had a really good relationship with the missionaries that were teaching but we dont really know why she was dropped. We talked about the book of mormon a lot and asked her about church and she expressed her concerns. We asked her if we could come back and she said "i want to try it again". I know we were supposed to meet her. we were so guided to her house and we are very excited to go back to visit her.

     We have been working a lot with our members about the importance of missionary work through the members. and we have seen a lot of good results. people are inviting their friends to go to conference and we have had a lot of people go to lessons with us. 

     another cool experience we had this week i dont know if i told you all before but s has been going through some things and didnt want us to come by for a while. We were really concerned about her and how we could help her. her kids still came to church but she stayed at home with the little ones. Well, she came back to church yesterday! and she gave us a giant hug and said "that talk in there was for me! when can you come back?" so we are going to be visiting with her again! we are very thankful for all of the seemingly small but great blessings from the Lord. I love this work. i love watching the spirit touch peoples lives whether or not they choose to be baptized. thanks for everything! oh and dad, i have enough winter stuff, in fact that is about all that i packed so i should be good! thanks! love you all very much! :) have a happy week!

-Hermana Stevens

oh also i failed at taking pictures but Elder Gove and his fiance came back for a baptism so i will send those pictures but please ignore the fact that i look like i just got back from a 30 day roadtrip..."

October 5

"Hola! So actually this week there isn't a whole lot to talk about but

I did take pictures! So I'm working on equaling it out. But this week,
we did get one of our investigators on date to be baptized! Her name
is M and she has a date for October 30'so hopefully everything
goes smoothly! Oh one thing I didn't mention last week because I
didn't know how it was going to go is that One of our investigators
started to read antimormon literature... She told us that she had a
list of questions and we she wanted us to answer them. I didn't say
anything because I didn't know how it would go but she is doing so
well! She is not afraid to ask us anything and she knows that the
things online aren't true but they still raise questions so we are
answering all of her questions. The good thing is she is will I to
hear us out and she takes what we have to say. She also has been
reading in the Book of Mormon a lot! She is doing really well in
trying to find an answer. She is super cool we love working with her!
    General conference was this weekend! I mean general conference has
always been great but I found as a missionary, it is like another
Christmas! We were so excited like counting down the days excited!
What a great session! I loved how they focused on the family as
individuals and as a unit. It's sad to see how Satan attacks the
family in so many different ways. Ultimate if God is always number one
priority in our lives, I think we would see a lot less heartache. We
were talking with a couple the other day about well, God hah but
anyway we were talking about how in a marriage, it's not 50% 50%. Both
husband and wife have to give 100% and keep their eyes on God. I know
I know, I'm not married and all but this is what I have learned
through observation. Thanks mom and dad for being a perfect example of
serving God and keeping an eternal perspective. You have helped me
understand the things that are important in this life and it turns
out, those are the things that we get to take to the next life as
well!i am so grateful  for this opportunity I have to be a full time
missionary. This time I get to serve my Heavenly Father and at the
same time build my relationship with him. I am grateful I get this
time to be molded into a better disciple, daughter, sister, friend and
eventually wife and mother. I have seen my testimony grow out here
more than it has in my 19.8 years of life and I want to share that
with you. I know that our Savior lives. I know that he literally has
felt everything we ever have or will feel. I know that Joseph Smith
was a true prophet of God and I will forever defend him. I know that
he translated the Book of Mormon and that the Book of Mormon is the
pure word of God. I know that the plan of salvation was created so
that we can be the happiest we could ever be with our families I know
that as a part of that, we are here on earth to live, grow and
sometimes be uncomfortably molded into our best selves and although it
is often difficult, because he lived it alone, we never ever have to.
I know that the church of Jesus Christ of Latter Day Saints is the
church of Jesus Christ restored on the earth. I know that more than
ever. I know that the prophets and apostles we have today are of God
and the doctrine they teach is the doctrine of Jesus Christ and by
living it, we can reach our full potential. Thank you everyone who has
helped make my mission possible, I can't believe this experience is
already almost halfway over. I am so excited and looking forward to
the things to come in the next 9 months. I love you all and I would
love it if you would send me your thoughts on conference. Thanks for
everything everyone! I love you! :)
Hermana Stevens"

October 12

"Hola todos! okay to this week was a weirdy. first on tuesday, one of the other hermanas who we live with started throwing up and so she had the flu and since they had lessons planned and we did too, i went out with her companion and hermana Bowen stayed home with her. First we went to an appointment with a new investigator named N. It went really well! she understood and took in everything that we talked about! On wednesday, we had a lesson with A and A and we were able to get a member with us. We are really trying to help them come to church so that they can see how it is and really receive an answer. We were talking about it and then when A prayed, he said that "the sisters really want us to come to church and we will see if we will be able to do that. we will try our best". We love them so much they are so funny! This sunday, we were waiting outside for J so we could walk into church with her and A and A pulled in and our jaws dropped! We were shocked that they were there but they really were just dropping J off... but they promised us that they would come next week! They had re promised us multiple times that they will come! we are suuuper excited! 

     We have been visiting S lot this week because her brother just passed away. She is going through a lot so we have been trying to offer her extra support so keep her and her family in her prayers! 

     on Thursday, the other hermanas car broke again so we had to go with them to the mission office to pick up another car. the regularly 45 min drive combined with the california rush hour traffic made this about a 3 hour ordeal but we are happy to help. We have learned a lot about charity and flexibility this transfer. its all good :) 

     okay remember J? well we finally found her again and she still wants to meet with us. We had the most tender lesson with her and her little boy yesterday. We were talking with her about baptism and her little boy (who is 7 by the way) was doing homework at the table. Then he shouted "I dont want to get baptized because i dont even know anything about God." So we started to talk to him about God. we told him that God knows him personally and perfect and that God loves him. it was followed by "Wait does God watch me all the time?" "is the devil real?" and "God is strong?" we told him that he can talk to God whenever he wants. then he said "how do you know so much about God?" and i thought "because i was born of goodly parents ;)" but really! Everyday i am grateful for the family i was born into and the opportunity that i have had to learn about God and know that he knows and loves me personally. It was really so precious to watch this little boy take interest in God and try to understand everything about him. Then he closed with a prayer :) 

     on sunday, like i said before, J came to church again! she loves fast and testimony meeting. one of the members also brought a friend! Her name is C and she is super interested! she wants us to come over and said that she is pretty sure that she will come to church next week! this was a miracle for sure! we had a lot of miracles this week! we were able to find a bunch of new potentials which was a blessing for sure!

     also i found out this week, this is just a side note, but one of the members in my ward was the runner up on the mexican equivalent of  american idol! look him up on youtube! Alejandro Sanchez. pretty sweet huh? hes a cool guy.

     well i need to apologize because in my last email, i said "i cant wait to see what this next 9 months has for me" and this is because i counted wrong.. sorry.. im still an idiot. i havent been to school in a long time.. anyway thanks for everything! love you all!

Hermana Stevens"

the last 4 weeks

August 18, 2015
"Another great week here in Sacramento! But I'm pretty sure they all are going to be because I'm a missionary. And being a missionary is the greatest! We were able to get 4 new investigators this week! Well one of them is an old one if you remember M? She stopped inviting us over for a couple months and wouldn't answer our calls but we finally found her this week and wants us to come back! She has been going through a lot with her family and her land lord doesn't like us and so she is VERY mean to M. But we are excited to be meeting with her again! We also have been meeting with J quite often!

    J has been progressing very well and we have had lots of lessons with her this week. We brought R to one of our lessons and while we were there, J looked down the hallway and said "come on! Come out here!" I said "is it your husband?" And she said " my daughter. I told her you were coming and she said she wanted to listen" (which by the way is a miracle because her daughters have always been rude to us!) then she came and sat in and listened! We decided to go on with our lesson pla that we had for J. A little later into the lesson, her daughter asked " who is Joseph smith?" So we were able to teach her about the restoration. Also in this lesson, Josephina told us that she knows the Book of Mormon is true! When we were leaving the house, we got the chance to talk to her other daughter and we gave both of the Book of Mormon books! Slowly but surely her family is getting more and more involved and honestly I think that they are all interested but don't know how to act about it. I think they feel uncomfortable asking to join or to learn. J still doesn't feel ready to be baptized and we think she is waiting for her family. Keep her and her family in your prayers so they can all be on board and feel the spirit! 

     Yesterday we had a really cool lesson with some potentials. We had talked to the husband, P, before and he said they might be home on Sunday. When we went by, he wife, L, after a little convincing, invited us in. We shared with the. The message of the restoration. When it was time to talk about the first vision, we decided to show the video. The spirit was incredibly thick and they watched so intently. After the video, we asked them how the felt while they watched. P said"bien!" And L said "wow. I felt like I was in a completely different dimension. That was beautiful" we then asked them that if they knew it was true if they would be baptized? P sadly said he was raised in his church and he was not willing to change. But L said yes! So we plan on going back this week because I know he felt the spirit! But that was just a nice moment I wanted to share!

     Also this week we had zone conference which was wonderful! It was on charity! These past couple of transfers, I have been trying to focus myself on Christlike attributes and how I can better myself and become more like Christ so I was really happy to talk about charity! We read some scripture and I wanted to share some thoughts with you! Okay so first is the definition of charity Is The highest, noblest, strongest kind of love not merely affection. And the question that they posed to us was "does charitable love have an exception?" Obviously because charity is the pure love of Christ and Christ loves us all perfectly, of course not. And then they shared s scripture ether 12:34 "And now I know that this love which thou hast had for the children of men is charity; wherefore, except men shall have charity they cannot inherit that place which thou hast prepared in the mansions of thy Father." Unless a man have charity, he cannot enter into the kingdom of God! So I have just thought about that a lot lately. Makes me want to be nicer :) hehe 

      Another thing we learned this week was the perfect timing of God! We went by to see a member and like every complex in California... Probably outside of Utah actually not sure... There is a big gate and fence. We waited outside the gate to see if someone would come in so we could get in after we waited a minute, we decided to say a prayer that someone would come by soon. After we prayed, someone showed up at a house next to the complex. we were able to talk with him and share a message with him. Sadly, he wasn't interested but we went in. Then our member showed up and opened the gate for us! If we would have got in earlier, she wouldn't have been there and we would have left but the lord knew :) this is just a small example but I have seen the lords perfect timing in my mission a ton. I know that everything is in his time and according to his plan so trust in him! He is always right! He knows us better! :) 

Sorry this was ages long but I guess it kind of makes up for my last couple! Love you all!

Love,

     Hermana Stevens"

"all the hermanas minus 4:)"

August 24, 2015

"okay this week was a kind of slow one because Hermana Bowen got sick so we spent some time home. but it was a good week! and a sad week. we had to drop K. which is really sad because we were really good friends with her but we can still be friends! :) we have been doing a lot of family history here because I guess 4 years ago, the church put a push on indexing and the sacramento stake indexed one million names in one month! so the church has reached out to the sacramento stake to do a program called "SI" for Spanish indexing. I guess there are like 20X more English names indexed than Spanish so our whole stake is trying to learn how to do indexing in Spanish. so since our branch is the Spanish branch, we have to teach all of our members how to index and since we are bilingual, we have to help out a lot with it. the project actually starts in October and our goal is 500000 names in October! its pretty amazing! even before all of this though, we were helping R and G do some family history work so that we could take them to the temple to do baptisms for the dead. so we have been working with them on that and R especially has been loving it! we helped her find an old census record of her family and she found out about some family members she didn't know she had. when we found the record, she yelled "I KNEW I NEEDED TO BE A MORMON!" haha she is so awesome! other news, G passed the sacrament yesterday! I wish I could have taken a picture of his face! he was beaming! he is such a good boy from a good family that has done so well becoming one with the branch! we love them!

     A lot of this week was finding and we did find a few more so we hope they start progressing pretty well here soon! 

     J is doing very well as well! She still has a couple of fears about getting baptized but every time we leave her with a commitment, we say "when you are baptized, will you follow this commandment?" and she says yes. we had a lesson with her on Friday about the prophet. at the end I asked "so J\ after you are baptized, will you follow the prophet?" and she said "well after I am baptized I will follow all of the commandments. its just a matter of when." we tried to help her choose a date but wouldn't pick one. but she is still progressing and we can see her faith strengthen so we know that she is doing well!

     in other crazy news I have a nice story. so we were visiting J this week (she is doing well by the way!) and as we were leaving her neighborhood, we saw a man on a bike get hit by a car! so we pulled over to make sure that he was okay and he was he was just scraped up a ton but the woman driving the car didn't speak any English! only Spanish! so we helped them exchange information and everything and we got her address and she said we could come by sometime! so that's just another example of the Lords timing and sometimes weird situations :)

     oh also on Tuesday I received a package of food!! dad tell your friend thanks so much! we actually have no food right now so it has been awesome!! :) also thanks for the letters! :) love you all! 

-Hermana Stevens"

August 31. 2015

"Somos misioneras! Being a missionary is the greatest. Everyone should try it. On Tuesday we went on exchanges and I went with drumroll please.............. My best friend Hermana Clark!! It was so fun to be with her again. We have so much fun together and get lots of work done in the meantime ;) I went up to north sac zone which is the first exchange I have been out of my area since my first transfer! It was lots of fun! We haut know we are going to be back together for Christmas :) on Wednesday I made a blanket like my pink one for sister Kirby (mom and dad I am going to be rich for them). Then the best: we went to the temple on Friday! We went with r to do baptisms for the dead! We have been doing a lot of family history work with her and H was able to be baptized for her grandma, mom, and sister and also her father was baptized too! She absolutely loved it! When we were leaving, she said "I could do this everyday!" And we showed her the waiting room and she said "do you think hey would let me live here?" She is so awesome! She loves the temple and already knows that the temple is such a huge goal for her! She has a plan to go through next August so that I can go through with her! So this is what she is working toward now! She's is wonderful! We have been able to take her to a couple of lessons and she just loves missionary work! She wants to do it full time! So that was the highlight of the week! 

     we had a lot of other great things happens his week! When we were on exchanges, Hermana Bowen and Hermana shawcroft found a lot of new people! So we have some really solid appointments set up for this coming week! One of them, I don't think I have mentioned him but his name is J and he is super great! He loves to read and we left him one chapter in the Book of Mormon to read and he ended up reading for three hours! Crazy right?! He is super cool! Then we had a lesson with J and she is progressing a lot still! We fasted with her this week and it was her first time fasting and she loved it! When we went by to see if she fasted, she was cooking and she said "I haven't eaten or drank anything all day! I didn't even take my allergy medication so I wouldn't have to drink!" Then she invited us to stay for dinner! It was awesome! She taught us how to cook Mexican rice and also salsa! Then we had a really nice lesson with her. 

     Another cool thing that happened was the elders in out branch invited a family to give away a book of mormon and so they actually invited a family over and then invited us over for dinner and we taught the message of the restoration and they took it so well! Then they set up another appointment with them and we are going to do it at the members house! It was really really great! That is what missionary work should be! I mean don't get me wrong I will try my best to find people if that's what I have to do but this is how it really should be! It was so great! 

Comments I love when knocking doors:

-when people tell me what the Mormons believe... -_- *insert willy wonka meme that says "please enlighten me"* 

-"Oh you guys don't believe in Jesus Christ."

-are you cops?

Being a missionary is wonderful

-Hermana Stevens"

September 9, 2015

"Hello! This week was transfers! Hence emails on Tuesday aaaaaaand..... We're both staying here!! I'm officially the oldest in my zone.. Actually I already was but now even more so! So here's the count down:

My 6 transfer in my mission

My 5 transfer here in sac zone

My 4 apartment... (Yes. We moved again.)

My 3 transfer with Hermana Bowen

My 2 language

My 1 mission

So yes they are doing a lot of things in my zone this transfer. They had 28 greenies come in this transfer so I'm looking pretty old! It's crazy to think though, Hermana Clark was at 7 months when she got me! I hit seven months this next week?! Man it flys... It's frightening. I have so much to do! Although I have been here in sac forever, everytime I get call to stay, I know I need to be here. Just like when my airplane touched down in sacramento, I get a feeling telling me this is where I am supposed to be. Hermana Bowen and I are the only companionship staying together! And they are "shotgunning" a bunch of areas (when two completely new missionaries take over an area). And we have a bunch of trainees here. OH! I forgot to mention, they split our area on Sunday! Our area used to be almost 25 miles tall and 10 miles wide so we had a lot of area to cover but now, the added new Hermana in our area (one is training heh heh heh shark bait whoo haha) and the elders took some of our area too so we are now probably 10x10 about! Crazy but it needed to happen! The saddest part of the week was that they are taking Kirby and Jaramillo from me :( literally the rudest thing they could've done... Then hna Clark wasn't my STL anymore... Some kind of sick joke I guess.. -_- So this transfer will be very different I guess a lot of it is what you make it! 

     I think I have talked about A and A before? A is J daughter and A is A daughter and we have been teaching then for about two weeks now! They are super cool and they always have a lot of questions. J family is funny because usually Spanish people will tell you EVERYTHING about themselves in your first visit. Their life story, their beliefs, literally everything if you want to hear it or not. But her and her family are very private and hey don't want to seem over eager about learning but it's quite obvious that they love learning it and they are progressing. But the coolest thing is remember how J fasted on Sunday? Well we told her we would text her every now and then to see how many times she smoked that day just to kind of check up on her. Well, we texted her the following Friday and asked her how many times she had smoked and she said "I haven't smoked at all since Saturday." Truly a miracle!! She is so awesome I am so glad we don't have to leave them!

     Also I mentioned that Spanish is my second language :) because some people have asked how the Spanish is going. I am getting fairly comfortable with the language! I still have a hard time with past tense (what I am currently working on most). I feel like I can ALMOST have a normal conversation But I know that it is all a process. If I do my part, the Lord will have me know what I need to know! 

     Yesterday, Hermana shawcroft joined us. We are a trio for yesterday today and tomorrow morning because she is waiting for her trainee but anyway we all went to a lesson that we had with this family. It is a family of 4 and they are all interested! They are super cool! They accepted the Book of Mormon and everything hat we have taught them! The bed news is since we reorganized our area, they are in the elders area now. The good news is the church is still the same and I just know they will get baptized! 

     So here's to 6 more in sac zone. I'm glad I am staying. I will go where he wants be to go :) 

Have a good week! Love you all!

Hermana Stevens "

wubbies and moo moos

8-0-1 Layton, UT missionaries!

Movie Star

what a great week! This week, we had a lot of success. one of the coolest things is that after about three months, J finally accepted a date to be baptized! so we are really hoping and praying that she will be able to make her date! We have been able to get members to her lessons and she is really working on living the word of wisdom! the other thing with her is she doesn't know if she has received an answer yet but we think that she just doesn't really recognize it so we are praying that she will recognize it! pray for J!!
     also this week, J had her baby so we haven't been able to see her because she has been a little occupied but we plan on seeing her this week!
     We picked up a new investigator today. The zone leaders passed her off to us. her name is J and she is really awesome. she doesn't really have a religious background so there isn't a whole lot that she has to change her belief in! We are really excited to work with her.
     S is still progressing very well! Sometimes I forget to update about her because honestly she seems like a member! G went to scout camp and so that was really good for him! they are fitting right in with the ward! S is honestly just like a member!
     Saturday was very nice because we had a baptism! R was baptized on aug 8 and the baptism was wonderful! we got so much support from the ward. It was really cute after she was baptized, her daughter ran up to her and said "mommy! youre clean!" She was confirmed as a member of the church on Sunday! we love R!
     On sunday, K came to church! K is great and she didn't even seem like she felt uncomfortable! She liked church and is progressing very well! She has been reading and praying! Also on sunday night, we had dinner with a member and his nonmember sister. Her mother just died and she told us that she had a dream that her mother came to her and told her that she needed to find a Book of Mormon in the Mormon Library. Which is really cool because her mother was catholic but we know about the teaching in the spirit world so I thought that was pretty cool! We have another appointment with her this week! overall it has been a great week!

     Also I got proposed to on Saturday! so I may not come home.. haha. juuuust kidding.. it was an old man.. I am pretty sure he was senile. He was telling me that he would make me a movie star and that he would buy me a house haha!! craaazy old man..

well folks that is all! have a nice week! muah!

Hermana Stevens

(I'm sorry there are no pictures, they wouldn't load for some reason. I'll load them as soon as I figure it out:) )

love, guima

hello!! 

another great week! okay lets start with R because she is getting baptized this week! we have been able to see her every day and her interview is done and everything now we are just waiting for Saturday! We got to take her to the temple this week for a temple tour. We also went to barnes and noble while we were over there so that she could buy a quad. we are so excited for her and her baptism. She has such a strong testimony and is so ready to be baptized. Her little girl is really cute and for some reason calls us "guima" at church yesterday, she was being naughty and so R put her on her lap and then she grabbed my arm and made a grumpy face at her mom and said "MY GUIMA!" haha we have no idea what it means or where it came from but its super funny. 

next story: J. okay so we have been teaching her for a long time like 4 months. Every time we have gone over, she just has kind of acted like she wants to learn but not really be baptized but then she quick coffee. then she started working on stopping smoking. and she came to church! after she came to church, her progress sky rocketed! she is so engaged in our lessons! we had one the other day and we were talking about her progress with the word of wisdom and we showed her Ether 12:27 and she was like "look! this is exactly what happened to me!" she was so excited and was engaged. she knew that she could look in the scriptures for advice and support! then she came to church again. the other really cool thing about her is her husband. he has never wanted anything to do with us. our mission leader ran into J at the dentist and talked to her. She told him about how her and her husband were talking about her meeting with us and he asked her if she was going to be baptized and she said if all goes well. and then he told her "well if you join I will probably follow you" I guess he listens in on our lessons when we teach her. Im not sure why he wont actually join though. but she is doing really well!

J. I don't remember if I talked about her last week. she is really prepared and has a lot of reason. one of the things I love about our church is that everything REALLY makes sense! and she understands it! she said that she feels super comforted that we have a living prophet to guide us. I have never understood why this is such a crazy concept for so many people. It only makes sense that we would have a prophet now if they did in the bible and book of Mormon times.

One of the things that I have come to really love is the book of Mormon. I have never been the best at studying my scriptures because I don't like to read. but I have really become to understand it more and more and the importance of it in our church! I know I say this all the time but READ YOUR SCRIPTURES! :D I have been able to discover so much! I have learned leaps and bounds out here and I love it! I love our church and our gospel and I KNOW that it is true! The Book of Mormon is the word of God and we can not have the fullness of the gospel of Jesus Christ with out it and whats the point of just having part? have  you ever tried to make cookies without flour? -it doesn't work. :) thanks so much for the emails, letters, and support. (we actually lost our mail key a week ago so I don't even know who wrote but I am sure that I will love them some day this week. probably haden and dad. thanks haden and dad) :)

love,

     Guima

Don't let the bed bugs bite. Or do... Whatever

July 20, 2015
"What a great week! We had a great week! We have really been trying to see our investigators a ton each week because in preach my gospel it says we should have daily contact with our investigators! DAILY! So we were able to see R 5 times this week! It has been awesome! Every time we see her we can see her testimony grow a ton! We can see her growing in the gospel. She understands everything we teach, she is reading the Book of Mormon. She Loves the Book of Mormon! Awe she is so awesome! We are so excited for her to be baptized. Everytime we visit her she tells us "I'm very excited to be baptized on August 8" or anything mentioning her date which is super awesome that she has that in her mind all the time! And it has really paid off! She came to church! Whoo!

We picked up someone new this week her name is K! K is super cool! When we found her, she had just been in the bathroom crying because she got in a fight and she was texting someone from her church saying that she was done with God. Then we knocked. She told us that it was like God telling her not to give up. I know we were definitely led to her that day. We taught her a quick lesson and she accepted a date! We were able to visit with her 4 times this week! She is super cool and has a lot of faith! She understands everything that we teach her and has had a bunch of questions! We actually got to meet her boyfriend the other day and he said he would be interested in learning more! So we are really excited to teach him with her! The only problem is that she is very involved in her church so pray that she will be able to gain a testimony of the Book of Mormon because hat is key!

Other highlights this week would be that J also came to church! It was crazy to have them both there but it was super awesome and I'm sure they now feel less uncomfortable being there! 

This week we had a lesson with S about the word of wisdom and she told us that she wants so stop everything so she gave us all of her addictions and she has faith that she will have to strength to avoid them! 

We have been so blessed to be working with the investigators that we have! They are progressing so well and it has just been another wonderful week!

In other news, our apartment is infested with ants and possibly bed bugs.. I have tiny bites everywhere so it is getting sprayed today. (Hence the title) 

Thanks for everything! I love being a missionary! Everyone should try it ;) *cough* member missionary work *cough*

 -Hermana Stevens"

"Also, I accidentally left these cookies in the oven for 4 hours so our house smells great..."

"I did all I could and then I did a little more"

June 29

Okay so this week was nice! one of my favorite parts was district meeting. We are really trying to find the people who are actually prepared so we have started a new contact. Way back in the day, Hermana Bowen was taught a way to contact with a baptismal invitation. at the end, you ask "if you knew without a doubt. if God told you that our message was true, would you be baptized according to the manner that Jesus Christ himself was baptized?" and if they say "no", you move on. if they say "maybe" or "yes" then you fix another appointment because a lot of time, especially with the spanish culture, they will say "yes you can come back" just to be nice. It has been very good! Elder Jaramillo talked to us a little about how in DyC 4, it says that the "field is white and ready to harvest" it doesnt say that the field is ready to be planted. Sometimes we find ourselves planting seeds but that shouldnt take long. We are not out here to be planting. We are here to harvest. The field is white and it is it time to harvest. It also made me think about something that i remember from seminary about Wheat and tares. it is in Matt 13 i believe. A tare looks just like wheat but when you get close, you realize that the tare is actually a weed. at first sight, they look the same and you cant tell the difference but when you look closely you can. in the scripture, in verse 30, it says to gather the tares first then to bring the wheat to the store house. sometimes we have to talk to the "tares" before we can harvest the "wheat". but we are pulling the tares so we will be seeing some new wheat here soon! 

     we finally found s again! she is doing super well! she is looking for a job so that she can come to church on sunday! but it is something that she really wants to do so we are praying and searching! J is great! we are having family night with her and a member family that lives across the street tonight. R is great! we had asked her to read the book of mormon and sadly a lot of the time, people really dont even when they say that they will. But she read! she read 8 chapters in one day! I have been thinking a lot about something Haden learned from Elder Kapishe of the seventy and he said that you should visit your progressing investigators 4-5 times a week! so i figure if it is from the seventy, its probably pretty good advice. so we have really been trying to visit more often. and it has been going well. Except with S. she has been sick this whole week so we havent been able to see her this week because she wouldnt let us come over. But we have been able to stay in contact with her. and besides them being sick, they are awesome! 

     I had a really cool expierence though. we went to a lesson with a family and the family was really busy but they invited us to sit down. They had some family friends sitting there too and so we asked if we could share our message with them and they said why not? We shared the message of the restoration. it was super great, toward the end, we decided to show the restoration video the spirit was super strong and they were really into the video. I started to say a prayer pleading with God that he would let them feel what i was feeling. I could see it in their faces. the spirit was super thick in the room. them i realized what i was doing. I truly cared for these people. I wanted nothing more than for them to accept our message because i know of the goodness that it can bring into our lives. two people that i had only known for 5 minutes maybe 10. This week I really was able to feel a little more of the way that our Savior Jesus Christ feels about every one of us. its amazing to see all of these people and he knows everyones name and loves them perfectly. Its incredible to think about.

     it has been a great week. I have been able to see our investigators progress and at the same time feel myself draw a lot closer to God. 

     -Hermana Stevens July 6, 2015
Honestly, not a lot has happened this week.. Right after emailing, Hermana Bowen sprained her ankle really bad and she went to the doctor on Tuesday and he said she had to stay off of it for 3 days. So we were basically confined to our apartment for 3 days. We just did a lot of updating the area book, and drove around to find Spanish houses in areas we don't work much. The good news is we found 50 potentially Spanish houses that we are going to try this week! We also had a fiesta with our Branch! Spanish ward parties are way funnier than dumb white ward parties.. Sigh.. Haha but really. Also this week, we get to start using the planner app and the area book app which is the moment I have been waiting for! *ahhhhhh! (Angel choir)* This week has been lots of ups and downs. We hardly got out so that was a down, but we found more places to progress the work! We received almost 15 referrals which for anywhere besides Utah I think is amazing so we were able to start contacting them yesterday. We had really great lessons with R and J. But M said we can't see her until next week! And then we had nobody at church when I knew we would this week. But it's okay! We had a really good work day yesterday and I have a lot of faith that the Lord is preparing people for us. We just have to find them! We had a really great zone training on Friday! The zone training along with hardly being able to work for 4 days really reminded me the type of missionary I want to be. I want to be the best! I want to be the most faithful! I want to the The most obedient! I want to be the most trustworthy so that the Lord will bring me to the people who are ready! I'm a work in progress but at least I know it! This week I am going to work extra hard to be the best that I can be! There is this song that I have been listening to forever because it is one of the only CDs I have and it is called "more". It's a terrible song I really hate it but the lyrics are true! Here is a part that says "I climbed this far, you raise the bar, you want my all" it reminds me of something of of the district leaders in my zone did. He told his district to get their hand as high as they could. They all raised their hands up, he said that's the best you can do? And they started to get on tippy toes. He said that's it?! Then they started climbing desks and chairs to get them as high as they possibly could. He said "look where you all are now. And look where you first stopped. You can always do a little bit more." And that brings me to something my dear friend Elder Langston told me. He told me that in the end he wants to say "I did all I could and then I did a little more." That's what I want to. I don't want a minute wasted. I want to be completely exhausted when I am done! Here's for a new full week! Thank you all for everything! Love you!

Hermana Stevens