Miracle March!!

Hola Familia!

We are now in the full last week of March and I am freaking out. The months go by so fast, we are already halfway through the transfer. I wish that I could slow it down but I am just so busy and having fun that it is impossible. I would rather it go by really fast, filled with fun and baptisms and hard work, than it go by really slow with nothing to do.

Thank you for the emails! What did Sister Wishart say to you? I was on an exchange with Sister Zhao, the sister who I came into the field with. She had been asked to come in to do the role play and I didn't know until I came to her area that morning. It is amazing how the Spirit helps you, even though it is only a role play. I was nervous, sitting there in front of a bunch of Senior couples and President Moffat, role-playing to his First counselor. But when I started the role play, I just go into teaching mode and taught, asked questions, invited and I resolved his concern about church with Jacob 2:8.  Heavenly Father really helped me in that role-play. 

President did my endorsement. He even texted me on Friday or Saturday, telling me that he did it. He didn't have a problem with it when I talked about it with him in interviews. He was more than willing. So don't worry about anything :) President loves his Sisters :)

I got my Ipad on Thursday! It is awesome because there are so many resources we can use to help our investigators and to teach and study with. When Jenna gets her call, you can just email me and I can read it on P-day. I am so excited for her.

Jenna: Remember that you have been called by a prophet and assigned by an apostle. The Lord inspired your call and there are people that you are supposed to meet and teach and help and love. It doesn't matter if you baptize a lot of people or not, the Lord wants you to represent him and love those people. Memorize "My Missionary Commission" by Elder McKonkie. That is the best thing to memorize. I am so proud of you and love you so much. You will NEVER regret serving a mission. 

Gerson was baptized on Saturday. I NEVER thought that I would see him in the baptism font but it happened! The Lord truly does answer prayers and it has strengthened my testimony of prayer and also helped me to focus a lot on prayer with the people that I am teaching right now. When people receive their answer and are willing to act on it, they are willing to keep all of their commitments and overcome the trials they will face before baptism. 

We also had a cool experience with a family that we are teaching. On saturday, we had scheduled a chapel tour for 6 pm
. Chapel tours help our investigators feel better about coming to church. At 5:50, she texted us and said that they wouldn't be able to meet with us and that they would see us at church on Sunday. I knew that they wouldn't come if we didn't have contact so we still went over with a member, not responding to their text. We knocked on the door and the mom answered, on her way out to go to Walmart. She asked us if we got her text and, applying what I have learned from Zone Conference trainings, said that we received their text and came by to see if everything was ok. 

(Sometimes I say that we didn't get the text, when we really did, but President told us that there is no point in lying, just tell them that you saw it and still came by anyways.) 

She told us that one of her daughters was sick and had a fever and they didn't know why. We came in and talked to her and asked her if she would like a blessing, after explaining it to her. She said yes, so our district leader came over with a member and they gave her a blessing. After the blessing, she said that she felt good and then we shared a quick message about the restoration and the Priesthood. We committed them to church and all 3 of them came. I know that we shouldn't give us so easily when our investigators cancel. It would have been so easy to say, "ok, see you tomorrow" but we need to fight for our investigators, because we love them. We wouldn't have been able to help her if we hadn't gone over.

This week was great and we worked so hard. I am so tired every day when I wake up but as I lose myself in the work and find and teach and baptize, the Lord helps me and I somehow have enough energy to keep going until 10:30. I sleep like a baby every night haha :)

I am excited for the General Womens Conference. I remember the conference last year, and crying as I thought about you all watching it with me :) This will be my last General Conference as a missionary :(

This Church is true! The Lord loves His children. I have felt the love he has for his children as I teach them and serve them. There is nothing better in the world than seeing someone you have taught, receive the Priesthood and pass the sacrament, or receive a calling and take attendance in Sunday school. This week, the Roman family can go to the temple to be sealed and I will be able to go with them when they are ready :) I have never been happier. I am not saying that I am not sad some days. Sometimes people are so RUDE to you and you feel so dumb and weak and you get mad when people make dumb choices BUT it is all worth it :)

 Les amo much! 

SLY!

Hermana Warren

Notification of Tentative Release Date

March 17, 2015

Mr. & Mrs. Daniel J. Warren,

232 Wright Avenue,

Richland, WA 99352

Re:  Release Date

Dear Brother & Sister Warren,

 Sister Warren’s normal release date from the Utah Salt Lake City Central Mission is July 8^th, 2015. However, our mission is being consolidated into two other missions on July 1^st with possible different release dates.  So it is likely that your missionaries release date will change and we won’t know the new release date until June 1^st.  We will notify you then.

This is a critical time for Sister Warren’s mission. She has the experience and tools that, if properly employed, will allow her to be extremely effective during these final weeks and months in inviting others to come unto Christ.  How a missionary finishes the last few months is often how they remember their entire mission.

 We appreciate the support you have given her during her mission, but in order to finish strong she needs your help.  Please continue to send Sister Warren positive emails or letters encouraging her to be obedient and work hard until the end.  Please avoid referring to any post-mission plans or activities, including school and vacations, as that often directs their focus away from the work and causes a missionary to become “trunky.”  Such distractions not only negatively impact your missionary but other missionaries as well.

A Certificate of Release will be mailed to President Don E. Powell  so that he may present it to Sister Warren in her release interview. 

We have enjoyed working with your daughter and appreciate your support in insuring that she endures to the end so that you can enjoy a happy and well-deserved reunion.  May you continue to receive the blessings of having a missionary in the field.

All the best,

Richard W. Moffat

President, Utah Salt Lake City Central Mission   

I love Teaching the Gospel!!

Hola Familia!

This week was a great week, the weather was awesome and it will stay awesome  :) I am so excited to not wear a jacket and tights. I love biking in the sun, with my sun glasses and my flats and feeling myself get tan :) I might need new flats because mine are falling apart haha but I am going to try and endure so I can save the money for when I go home. 

Jenna took my crimper?! What?! Can you send me the same one that I had? That one is the best. Thanks Jess and Jordan for getting my boxes, I didn't want to try to take all those home. 

President will do the BYU endorsement this week when I have interviews with him on Thursday. 

 I can't believe that everyone is getting home from their missions. Conner and Cameron were over for pizza?  Wow! Time goes by so fast.

Feliz Cumpleanos MAMA! Voy a mandar una carta hoy :) Lo siento, no tengo dinero para comprar algo pero puedo darle un bautismo este fin de semana! (Happy Birthday Mother, I don't have money for a gift but what I can give you for your birthday is a baptism)  :) His name is Gerson and he is the husband of a member who NEVER thought that it was going to happen. Now they will be able to go to the temple!!! YAY!! I love completing families! I will send a picture next week.

Maria and Jordan were baptized this week! They were so happy for their baptism. We gave them "Takis", spicy chips. I thought of Lydia the whole time. I miss my sisters :)

I have gone on two exchanges this last week, they were both great. I love helping the sisters, serving people is really the best. We helped our investigator clean their apartment and it was great. 

We had a busy week, so busy that I can't think of anything that we did :) haha

WE are finding a lot of people to teach, but we are still looking. I really enjoy each day as a missionary, I don't really want to go to bed :) Some days are hard and you just want to go into a closet and cry but it all depends on your attitude. Things are usually better the next day. I love how the Lord gives us the opportunity to be better each day. I re-read my Farewell talk that I gave more than a year ago and I really like the quote from President Snow:

“Do not expect to become perfect at once. If you do, you will be disappointed. Be better today than you were yesterday, and be better tomorrow than you are today.”

​That is my favorite part about the atonement, we have the opportunity and the blessing​ to improve. I love my Savior and I am so grateful for what he has done for me and my investigators. We have hope through him.

I love you all so much! 

I love you all and

Keep sending me pictures! 

SLY!

Hermana Warren

"It's beginning to look a lot like......".......SPRING!!

Hola Familia!

You have NO idea how happy I am about the weather! It changes everything when the weather is nice and the sun is out. Before my mission, I loved the cloudy days when it was dark and made being inside more cozy and the sun would always give me a headache. NOW, when I have to be outside all day on my bike, I love the sun! The weather is going to be beautiful this week :)

Time out for Women sounds fun! Hank Smith talked at my EFY when I went to BYU. He is so funny. I would have loved to see John Bythway. I will have to go when I have to chance :)

Thanks for the letters this week!

 I got the letter with the endorsement and the letters from Mom, Shonna,and Lydia. I just emailed President about the Endorsement, which I'm sure he can do. I am getting letters in the mail for Shonna and Lydia.

This week was pretty good! We had transfers, special training for Sister Training Leaders, Zone training meeting ( I had to "role-play" a lesson situation in front of the zone. It was scary but we did a great job!) and then yesterday, we had a special Mission Leadership Council meeting where we started the Ipad process. I will let them know that we are just borrowing the Ipad, I forgot that I will need a laptop when I get home. We don't have the Ipads yet, we had a problem with apple not letting us make our Apple IDs all at once so it was a pain, but President figured out the problem so we will be getting those soon, maybe this week.

It has been a painful experience for me, being a Sister Training Leader. I see more of the behind-the-scene work and the state of the mission. I also see a lot of the true feelings of President Moffat. I think we both feel the same way, how we want to leave the mission better than we found it but it "seems" like many of the missionaries don't really care. It gets really frustrating for me, but if they choose to slack off, I can't do anything about that. I am just going to baptize and baptize before I go home. 

We have two baptisms this week! Maria is 10 and Jordan in 13 and they are getting baptized. We have Gerson on date still and he is doing great! He has changed so much. It is amazing for me. 

​We had all of them at church, which was awesome! We also saw how the Lord answers prayers because we had been praying all week to find new people to teach and on sunday night, we picked up two new people! Sometimes the Lord takes a little while to answer our prayers, he wants to see if we are willing to look and do our part. 

We took the family we are teaching to Temple Square on Saturday! It was so fun :) I love taking people to temple square! 

Everyone was SO surprised when I came to church. My Ward mission leader had actually planned a surprise "Good-bye" party for me on Tuesday night. When I walked in on Tuesday night without Sister Banka, they thought that we were playing a joke. We had to tell them MANY times that Sister Banka got transferred and had already left. Everyone was really surprised! I guess the Lord needs me here for another transfer, I haven't gotten tired of the area yet, which is really good. There are so many places to go and so many people to contact. When I was in Murray, I felt like there was no work for me there......but I still have more work to do here :)

I can't think of anything SUPER cool that happened this week. I did knock on someone's door yesterday and a guy opened the door who was 6'10! He was so tall! That was also the first thing that came out of my mouth haha, but he laughed so I guess it was ok :)

I will get everything figured out about the Endorsement. We have interviews on the 19th so that is when the endorsement will be completed. 

I am glad that you liked the clothes, I am going to have Jess bring a few boxes of memory things that I don't want to drag with me through transfers. I met Sister Hartelius at Chick-fil-a! I guess it was a blessing because I don't know how else I would have met her. It is a small world! I will try to send as much home as possible so I only come home with my 2 suitcases and carry on. I would like to have my bike when I go home, but we will see how that works out :)

I love you all so much! Thanks for all that you do for me and thanks for your prayers. I have been super tired all week, daylight savings is hard on a mission. But I can feel your prayers each day. I love you all!

I am not ready to come home yet though, just talking about school makes me want to throw up haha, I love being a missionary :) 

Have a great week!!! 

SLY!

Hermana Warren

"If the Grape is on the vine too long, it begins to rot!"‏

Hola Familia!

Those are President Moffat's words to me last night when he called me on the phone and told me that he wanted me to stay in Union Fort ONE MORE TRANSFER! I guess I am not rotten enough yet haha! By the end of this transfer, I will have spent HALF of my time in the mission field in Union Fort Rama 10. I am so blessed to have served in this branch, I am so excited to come back after my mission and party with all of these latinos. I bore my testimony in Sacrament meeting, saying goodbye and everything because I was 100% sure that I was leaving. Everyone was coming up to me, telling me that they would miss me and loved me. One of the counselors said that he was going to call President Moffat and demand that I stay in the branch until I finish my mission. Who knows right?

But I was very flattered to have President call me last night to tell me about my transfer situation. He said that he had put a lot of prayer into this decision because he said that I had done such an amazing job in Union Fort, he used the words "marvelous" and "magical" to explain what I have been doing. He is scared to take me out because this ward is on fire and he knows that the ward and stake members love me and he is amazed at how well I am working with them to have so much success. I don't tell you this to brag or anything....I was just very surprised to have him call and tell me this and it shows that with Obedience, diligence, and a lot of prayer, you can CHANGE an area. I am happy to  be here for one more transfer. I will still be here with Sister Montoya, Sister Banka is going to Taylorsville.

We had a ton of snow this morning, it was amazing, but now it is all melting. I am SO excited for spring, you have NO idea. I am ready to bike without my coat and gloves. I was blessed with a very mild winter. Heavenly Father answers prayers. 

Everyone sounds like they are doing great! I am so excited for Jenna!!!!  serving a mission. Jess, congratulations getting that job!! I wish I could play more sports like the girls, I need to lose some weight haha. If you send anything in a package, send healthy food, I want to be able to wear a swimming suit when I come home.

There is a lady here in Utah that is going to the Tri-Cities this weekend. She has a red Prius and she will be dropping off a box and a bag of clothes. The bag is for the girls, the box has clothes in it for me when I come home. ENJOY!!

We had a meeting last thursday with Elder Clark, from the missionary department and he introduced the I-pad and how our mission would be getting those in a couple of weeks. I heard that the mission was going to buy some loaner I-pads for those going home in the next 4 months, so I am included in that but I can also buy one if I want. I wouldn't mind bringing home an ipad but it is up to you.

I love how they are doing this, even though I was a little hesitant about the Ipad at first because I know that it will be a distraction at first but the way the authority explained, they want to teach missionaries how to protect themselves from pornography while they are on their mission, so they can know how to avoid it when they go home. They are focusing on working inside - out...changing the hearts and minds of the missionary, which will them help them use technology during and after their mission. I am very excited for the i-pad and the leaders of the mission are going to have to train on how to use the ipad when doing missionary work. 

Yesterday we had an amazing experience. We are teaching someone, who has fallen on and off date because of word of wisdom problems or church and he wasn't really sure if he wanted to be baptized because he hadn't received an answer. He read the Book of Mormon with his member wife and he said that he had prayed but didn't feel anything. So, about last friday, when he was running out the door to play soccer, I committed him to pray OUT LOUD in the car and to ask God if this was all true. We didn't ever have a chance to follow up about the pray until last night, when we were in a lesson. We asked him about it and he said he did pray and that he cried! He felt the Spirit and we asked him what that means for him and he said that he needs to keep following the path that he is on. To check for understanding, we asked him what THAT meant, and he said that it means that he needs to keep coming to church and be baptized. We committed him to be baptized on the 21st and he excepted. His wife was about to pass out because she was so happy. We then asked another question, asking him what changes he is going to have to make to be baptized and he instantly answered with "I need to stop drinking." He gave us his beer that he had in his frig and we threw it all in the dumpster. That was an amazing experience for me because we have been praying that he would receive and RECOGNIZE his answer and that his heart would soften. God is a God of miracles!

I love being a missionary and I plan on living up these next 4 months! In a leadership meeting we had last week, I told president that I want to leave the mission better than I found it, because I am "dying" with the mission. He loved the phrase so now, he is using it in everything he talks about

"Leave the mission better than we found it."

We even had a small mission meeting before we met with Elder Clark and we focused on that theme as a mission. Then he asked me to bear my testimony to the entire mission! He didn't tell me before hand so I was completely thrown off but I got up there and told them that we are hear to baptize and that the Lord will help us. I want to be a good sister training leader and be more confident in myself. There is a lot of responsibility but the Lord has helped me this whole time and I know that he will keep helping me. I want to help these sisters baptize.

This is the Lord's work. We need to WORK if we want to get anything done, that is why it is called Missionary WORK. If we aren't working hard, we are just being
tourists :)

thank you for everything that you have done for me. I talk about you all ALL the time, the Lord has blessed me with such an amazing family. Keep sharing the gospel, the lord will put someone in your path.

SLY!
Hermana Warren

It was a CHEESECAKE week!

​Hola Familia!!

Thanks for the emails and the pictures, I love getting pictures from you all. Getting those pictures with Jenna and her boyfriend was really weird but I got over it. I hope that she still is home when I get there, can't she put her availability date for after July 8th? That is when I come home, I know that for sure.​

​Sounds like a busy week for you guys, this week went by super fast again, I can't believe that this transfer is almost over. I think each month goes faster and faster​ and I will be home sooner than I think. I have this fear that when I go home, my mission will seem like a dream and that I will go back to how I was before, I don't want that to happen, I want my mission to change me. This is reality for me :)

Alisha and her husband

We had two baptisms this week and they were awesome! They were so spiritual and I just wanted to cry, I was so happy. There is nothing more satisfying than to see someone get baptized who you love and have worked with and gone through so much with. Alisha was crying when she came out of the water and Kayla, who is Shonna's age, was so happy and pretty. I sang at both baptisms and one man came up to me after, asking me if I took singing lessons, which I told him that I never took lessons. He was really surprised :) My weekend was crazy but amazing. We are teaching a family of 4 kids and they are so cute, I love teaching them. Children are so receptive to the spirit and they teach me so much. There is a reason that the Savior wants us to be like little children.

Kayla

My Sunday went really well! An investigator just showed up to church! That was a miracle! and the members are amazing in this branch. I keep feeling like I am going to get transferred but I can't really know until next week. I don't want to leave the ward but at the same time, it is time to be somewhere new. I can't believe that I have been here for 7 months. I am definitely coming back here when I come down for school. These members are like my family.

We hit our "Standard of Excellence" this week which are the goals that President Moffat has set for the key indicators. When you reach them, he takes you to "The Cheesecake Factory"   YAY!   so that is why it was a cheesecake week.  Lunch with President Moffat is really fun. 

I got to spend the whole day yesterday with President Moffat at our Leadership council. I feel like he is my dad, who corrects me when I need correction but he is so loving and only wants the best for us. He just wants to baptize before the mission ends, and I do too!

Being a Sister Training Leader is fun but stressful, we have a lot more responsibility but it helps me to grow. I am trying to love my sisters that I am over but sometimes they don't love me back, which I know happens a lot. I just want them to know that I am only here to help them and support them, not to judge them or criticize them. Hopefully their hearts can soften.

RANDOM INFO:

-I need to buy a new backpack but it has to be cute. That is sister Moffat's requirement. I might just buy something from DI that can last me for the rest of my mission and then buy something cute when I come home. My backpack always ends up smelling like peoples' houses and stuff :) SO I might need like 20 dollars for that. I had to buy a new watch and sticky notes and stuff today, which is why I spent money at Walmart from my card. 

-I deferred my spot in BYU for the fall of 2015. I already have a spot and 14 credits is fine. Just do general classes but make sure that they use any AP credits that I earned. Maybe sign up for an interior design class, just in case I want to go into Wedding planning haha

Someone sent me a card with $20 in it! There was no name but if they are reading this, THANK YOU SO MUCH!! That was so kind and I will use that money for something very special. 

I might need some new shirts soon but I will just wait until it is warm again, This week is supposed to get chilly but the members help us a ton.

My companions are awesome! We are having a lot of fun together and working hard! It will be weird  to go back to just one companion, it will be too quiet :)

I love you all and I am glad to be serving here in Utah. We are reading in the Book of Mormon in 2nd Nephi, about how Utah will be upon the tops of the mountains and all nations shall flow unto it. That is so true and I know that the Lord is preparing his Children to receive the Gospel.

Have a great week! Keep sharing the Gospel!

SLY,

Hermana Warren

One Year in Salt Lake!

Hola Familia!

Thanks for the updates! 

Dad: The weather is a little bit chillier, but it is still sunny and warm. It snowed a little bit yesterday but just for like 5 minutes. We just kept on biking! I got the things on my bike fixed, which made me feel a little bit better. I might need to use the money you put in to buy a new backpack, mine is falling apart and one of our recent converts wants it, even though it smells funny and isn't as pretty as it used to be :)

I got a small package from a Sister Brinkerhoff? Apparently her son served in Duportail and she sent me a package! It was super sweet of her!! :)  THANK YOU!!!

Mark (Elder McDonald), that sounds cool, is going to have a lot of fun in Mexico. The Bueno bars are the best and he is going right when it is beautiful weather. 

Jenna! Go on the mission! Naki is your boyfriend? KEEP ME IN THE LOOP!!! I don't know anything about this kid! I want to see a picture.

MOM: Thank you for the package! It was super cute. The cookies were amazing! Can you send more? I am glad you liked the card, I really liked the one that said "Meh" or "Who farted?" hahahaha I laughed so hard when I saw it. 

When is girl's camp this year?  That's cool you are the YCL leader. I am glad that Pongo is losing weight, I need to do the same thing. I just get so hungry and I don't know how to shrink my stomach haha. I was thinking about the leaving the bike here until I come to school but I don't know if I can wait a month and a half after my mission to bike! I love it so much!

Speaking of school, have you been able to contact BYU this last week? Just applying the principle of "Following up" haha

This last week just flew by! It was really busy and fun. Valentine's day was a very interesting day. I woke up at 2am to Sister Montoya telling me that she threw up and felt really bad. Sister Banka then got up and threw up! The flu is now in our apartment! So that day was weird because I wasn't sick I was drinking airborne like Crazy! I would help them and cleaned some things, and since we are a Trio, I was able to leave and go out with some sisters to have contact with investigators and get Kayla to her baptism interview. I spent a lot of the day with other members and at home. But it was fun because I was able to show love to my companions by serving them.  

Friday was a special day because we took Mirna, our recent convert, to do baptisms for the dead! She was so excited and loved it and she wants to come back and get sealed in a year! I just need to get my converts to the temple! My first family get sealed in about a month! I hope the ward is getting them ready to go as a family. I have pictures of that :)

Things are going well as an STL, I sometimes feel clueless and unqualified to do it but I just try to help them as much as I can. I am giving a training in a special training meeting on Thursday. Thursday is a very special day! Do you know why?

IT IS MY BIRTHDAY!!! YAY!

Thursday, February 19th is my year mark in the mission FIELD! I never thought, my first day in the field, that I would be giving training to the missionaries in our mission as a training, Sister Training Leader one year later! I never imagined.

It is crazy how much I have changed this last year. I have learned so many things about myself and others and the Gospel and the Savior and about accountability and about planning and about EVERYTHING! I will never regret coming on a mission and I would encourage ALL of my sisters to go on one. It is like a refiners fire. It hurts sometimes and sometimes you want to quit and go home, but you have to endure the heat and soon, you will look back and see how much Heavenly Father has changed you. The Atonement is amazing!

We have 2 baptisms this weekend, Alisha wasn't able to get baptized last weekend due to work but Kayla and her will be baptized. I am so excited. I love them both so much.

Transfers are coming up in 2 weeks! I have the feeling that I am leaving this area...I have been here for almost 7 months. It is time for me to know MORE people and love MORE people. But I am not sure yet, I will find out in 2 weeks.

I love you all! I am so glad that we are sealed for eternity and that we all live the Gospel of Jesus Christ. Be exactly obedient in all things! keep reading together and praying together. 

SLY, Hermana Warren