It's My Party and I'll Wear Jeans if I Want To

WHello beautiful friends and family!

I imagine people back home are dreading today because it's Monday. Another round of school and work. For some missionaries, it's quite opposite; HOORAY FOR MONDAY'S BECAUSE IT'S P-DAY! But today I'm all like HOORAY FOR MONDAY BECAUSE IT'S P-DAY AND MY BIRTHDAY!!! [and she gets to wear jeans for Preparation Day]

Yes, today is the day I become one year older and wiser too. I am now 21-years-old! That is so weird. I feel like I JUST had my birthday, so it doesn't really feel like it's my birthday today.

Thank you for all the presents, letters, hugs, texts, emails, and phone calls! I received a special phone call from the R--- this morning with special permission from President! They were the Senior Couple Missionaries who served with me a few months back here in the YSA Ward! It was so good to hear from them! For more celebration, we will be bowling with a few other sisters today.

Wednesday was a pretty special day. That morning, we got to watch a Worldwide Mission Conference. It was pretty great and inspiring hearing from our apostles and other her church leaders. Later, we went to Cal State and found a ton of people who wanted copies of The Book of Mormon and who wanted to take the lessons. What a blessing! That evening, we gave our investigator R--- a temple tour before he moved to San Fransisco. Lastly, we got to go inside the temple to see A---, and three other recent converts perform baptisms. It was definitely one of the coolest experiences I've ever had.

Thursday evening, we had our Mormon 101 class at our Ward Mission Leader's house, and had three potentials show up! It was awesome. So happy we're finding those prepared people I always pray for.

HAVE AN AWESOME WEEK!

Sister Emily Sommers

I Will Boast of My God

Hey everyone!

Happy MLK Day! I just love that man. God is the artist of diversity, but we are all equal in His eyes.

Sister A--- had her birthday this week! She turned 85-years old! 85 and still hauling wood into the house, and still driving her tractor around. She's a total beast.

Last spring, Sister P--- and I encountered a guy on campus who all he wanted to do was bash on us. Just last Thursday, Sister B--- and I were in Wendy's, making birthday cards, (and I guess I have to admit we were eating too) when all of a sudden, the same guy walks in. He ordered his food and sat RIGHT next to us. We kept glancing at him, wondering if we should say anything. 

Sister B--- then turns to him and asks, "Hey, don't you set up a booth on campus?" I expected the worst. And well...we sure did get a piece of his mind. I don't think he was trying to be mean, but it was pretty rude. He basically told us we were going to hell because we believed in a "false Christ", Joseph Smith was an "antichrist", and the Book of Mormon was "deceiving" us. Clearly, he was concerned for our salvation. He would ramble with what seemed like no breaths in between. I just stared at him while my legs shook uncontrollably. 

I was praying the whole time that I would be able to somehow love this man, but also defend my beliefs. After about an eternity of half-listening to his preaching, I wasn't about to argue; I just simply testified that I knew that Joseph Smith was a true prophet who was called of God, that the Book of Mormon was true and has immensely blessed my life, and that I know that our Savior lives. He stared at me for a few quiet seconds, then stuttered over his argumentative comment. 

After about an hour, I was wondering if we were ever going to make it to just a nice, pleasant conversation. So I asked him about his family, work, and his hobbies. He later asked what iexactly we did as missionaries. He then asked how much we got paid for doing this. We told him that we didn't get paid anything, other than blessings. We had to pay to come here (with some helps from friends and family :)) Once he realized we didn't get paid, his expression changed dramatically. He became humbled.

I think Ammon said it best when he said, "Yea, I know that I am nothing; as to my strength I am weak; therefore I will not boast of myself, but I will boast of my God, for in his strength I can do all things; yea, behold, many mighty miracles we have wrought in this land, for which we will praise his name forever."

Well, there was a bajillion other things I wanted to share, but I'm running out of time.

Have a glorious week!

Sister Sommers

HELLO OUT THERE!!!

Ok, now that I have all of your attention, I can now tell you that I didn't get transferred like President said I was going to. President changes his mind all the time, so I'm really not surprised. But I am so happy I get to stay another six weeks and hang out with all the YSA here! This is my fifth transfer here! Man, I've been here for an eternity! That's ok, he can keep me here as long as he wants. :)

Wednesday morning, my companion and I woke up to another earthquake! We definitely didn't feel it as much as the one last week because this time, it happened in Banning. It was a 4.8 earthquake! Sister A--- told us they only get earthquakes like this once every 3-4 years! Now we've had two fairly big ones within two weeks. After that first one, I had a feeling that wasn't going to be the only one I would experience.

Tuesday, I still had an awful cold. I basically looked like a breathing corpse. And then on Saturday, I had the worst migraine in the world, and my companion spent most of her time Friday evening throwing her guts up. My goodness, we're like the next season of "The Walking Dead". But we are feeling MUCH better. Hopefully, it will stay like that for at least the rest of my mission. That would be great, thanks.

School is FINALLY in session! HALLELUJAH! That means we will find more people to teach and baptize! School breaks are no bueno for the YSA sisters. We can finally start to build our teaching pool.

So that was about my week. Hope yours is going just swimmingly!

Love you all!

Sister Sommers

Dancing With the Earth

Hello out there!

Boy, was this week filled with all sorts of excitement! Let me tell you!

HAPPY NEW YEAR!!! WOOHOO 2016!

The other day, we were at our Bishop's house, and we met his quite flirtatious 9-year-old nephew with some of the best pickup lines he was using on us. "Are you a racer? 'Cause you've been running through my mind all day." Or "Have you ever been to Tennessee? 'Cause you're the only ten-I-see." That kid will have you going for days! "Yeah, I had a girl once upon a time. And she was CRAZY! Get me this, buy me that. GET ME OUTTA HERE!"

HAHAHAHAHA! At least he's a little prepared for what's coming. :)

Tuesday, we were at the house, just finishing dinner, when all of a sudden, a huge giant outside picked up the house and began to shake it. Or so it was in my imagination, for a split second, before I realized what was really going on. My companion and I stared at each other, while she grabbed my hand. "IT'S AN EARTHQUAKE!" Things fell off the walls and off the shelves. We were a bit shaken up for a while. It seemed as though all of Southern California called us to make sure we were ok, afterwards. We later found out it was a 4.4 earthquake, and we were just three miles from the epicenter. A lot of people that had called us (mostly elderly people) said they had lived here their whole lives and never experienced an earthquake that dramatic. Don't think I would ever wanna do it again, but it was an adventure alright!

My companion explains that day pretty well in her epistle:

1 And behold it came to pass that on the second day of the week in the fourth week of the month in the twelfth month of the year in the year of two thousand and fifteen, while two missionaries were thus in the act of preparing for the week that was to come, behold the earth did begin to shake with great force. Yea, insomuch that the two missionaries that dwelt among those people living in the land of Devore did fear exceedingly for their lives. 

2 For behold the shaking did shake their house even so much as to make the more part of the things on the walls fall from their original places. And the shaking did continue as if to tear down every part of the house of which these two missionaries were in. And it came to pass that they did still fear. Yea, even more so than they had when the shaking had begun. 

3 But behold, they did not think to call upon the lord their God until the shaking had ceased. 

But behold, when the shaking did cease, their hearts were immediately turned to their God. And they did repent speedily of all their wrong doings and did pray fervently for fear that the shaking might return. 

4 And behold they did also rejoice greatly that the shaking had ceased. And what added more to their joy was that they were also safe and that their lives had been spared by the tender mercy and greatness of their God. 

5 And it came to pass that while they were in the act of sincere prayer and repentance, behold the spirit of the Lord came upon them and they were comforted immensely. 

Yea even so much that as the aftershocks commenced and continued on through the night and even into the next day, behold, they were comforted.

That afternoon, we were getting Subway, and a member just so happened to be there and paid for our food! Again! We should go there more often. :) Then on Thursday, while we were weekly planning, we fast-food-hopped around to four different places because they don't like you being in there for over an hour. When we got to McDonalds, the girl taking our order was a member and paid for our food, and when we went to Denny's, the lady taking our order said, "Sisters, I have wonderful news! I'm a member, so I was going to pay for your food, but this gentlemen over here is also a member, and insisted that he pay the bill!" We could not believe it. We were so blessed that week! Being in a YSA Ward has really taught me how to dislike fast food, but now I'm not so sure anymore... I know what you're all thinking, "Wow, Sister Sommers, you're gonna get fat and die of a heart attack at an early age." Calm down, if it's my decision, I hardly ever eat out. So there. Plus, we weren't feeling so hot by the end of the day, so we'll probably never do that again. 

For New Year's Eve and New Year's Day, President let us stay in the whole time so we could read the Book of Mormon cover to cover. I didn't quite make it through the whole thing, (I still had Mosiah and Alma) but I did finish it from where I was originally. That was a total of 17 hours of reading! Whew! But it was awesome. I have gained new knowledge, and a greater testimony of the Book of Mormon. I have really come to truly love it.

Yesterday, we taught Priesthood. Haha, I know, right? The Elder's Quorum President wanted us to train all the guys on how to hand out copies of The Book of Mormon. It was a pretty bomb-awesome lesson, for only knowing an hour in advance. We weren't exactly sure how well they were going to participate, but all of them were trying to be involved. We even got a few of them to do some role plays! Awesome.

Last night I went to bed and woke up so sick with this nasty cold. NOOOO! D: I've been doing so well my whole mission to avoid it! But now it's here. Sister B--- and Sister A--- have been taking care of me by giving me all sorts of oils to put on my feet, my nose, and to inhale. Don't worry, they're not drugs. (I know you were thinking that.) This morning, I thought my brain was going to ooze out of my ears and nose. Sorry. Too graphic? But I'm feeling much better now.

Transfers are this week. Ahh, yes, the "T" word that we all love. Just kidding, no one really likes transfers. A couple transfers ago, President actually told me what the rest of my mission was basically going to look like. He said I would stay here in the YSA Ward to train Sister Bates for a transfer, then he's going to send me off to a family ward and leave me there for the rest of my mission! Sometimes it's just better when you can actually know what the heck is going on. But who knows, he's always changing his mind about stuff, but only because it's inspired. He actually said I could request an area to be in. Doesn't mean it's actually going to happen, but it gives him a good idea where he wants to put me. So I expressed my love for La Quinta. :) I HAVE been known to go back to old areas. We will find out tonight, so I'll update you next week.

Later, skaters!

Sister Sommers

Faith

         by Alex Serrano

The Rain in SoCal Stays Mainly in My Shoes

Hello out there!

This week, it rained! Good. SoCal needs it. Funny story about that, though. Last night, we had parked by the curb of the road, leaving about a foot between the car and the curb. It was super dark, so when I stepped out, I stepped into this huge puddle of water. I gasped and then squealed from the cold water. Sister B---, not knowing what had just happened, ran to the other side to make sure I was ok. I looked at her with big eyes, took my right shoe off, and turned it upside down, letting a good handful of rainwater trickle to the ground. We were laughing SO hard! :)

Tuesday, we went to go set up our booth at Valley College, and we saw the News van there. They are still interviewing people about the shootings that happened last week. I feel for the families who were affected by this, and I pray for them a lot, but I honestly can't wait for all of it to be over with.

At the beginning of the week, while we were at the store, a lady saw us and said, "Hey, could I get I picture with you guys?" Sister B--- and I looked at each other, and back to her. "Umm...sure!" Turns out, her sister had been a recent convert, and she thought it would be cool to send her sister a selfie of the three of us. Yeah, that was a cool idea. Now, if she got baptized, her coolness rating would be a good solid 10.

Speaking of baptism...A--- GOT BAPTIZED!!! :) WOOHOO! We are so dang proud of him! The very next day, he received the Gift of the Holy Ghost and the Priesthood. Also, our recent convert E--- passed the sacrament for the first time. *sniff, sniff :')

Have all of you seen the new video the church has put out? "A Savior is Born" is SO GOOD! If you haven't seen it, I invite you to watch it. If you've already seen it, then GO WATCH IT AGAIN because it's so beautiful! 

https://www.mormon.org/christmas?cid=HP_SU_11-29-2015_dMIS_fSPC_xLIDyL1-A_

Have a great week!

Sister Sommers

Praying for San Bernardino

Hello, my wonderful friends and family,

This week was definitely the craziest week of my mission.

Last Monday, we went to the mall and saw Santa! I wanted to get a picture with him so bad, but it costs $20 to get a stinkin' picture with the jolly old man. As soon as he saw us, he gasped and said, "Sisters! Santa's a Mormon too!" We almost got a free picture with him, but then a lady said we couldn't because Santa wasn't in charge. But he's Santa, of course he's in charge. He then went on to tell us that while he served his mission in Texas, he was companions with an elder whose grandmother wrote the famous primary song "I am a Child of God." He also says that while he's on "Santa duty," he lets all of the kids and their parents know that they are children of a loving Heavenly Father. WAY TO GO, SANTA!

Tuesday, we were kicked out of our apartment because the elders needed a place to live. We are now living in a home share in Devore with Sister A---. She is so cute, but very feisty. Haha! She's not afraid to tell you what's up. She is 85-years-old, but SUPER active! She's quite amazing. Her house is huge! There are so many rooms, I might have to use my new GPS to get around. That's really why I needed the GPS, mom. :) She has had three prophets, Thomas S. Monson, Gordon B. Hinkley, and Howard W. Hunter, as well as other apostles and members of the Quorums of the Seventy, stay at her house. It makes me feel very honored to live here.

Wednesday, there was quite a bit of an uproar here in San Bernardino. As many of you may know, there was a shooting that involved 3 gunmen, killing 14 people, and injuring 21. You know it's serious when your phone is being blown up all day full of text messages and phone calls, making sure you're okay. And when you realize basically the whole world knows about it, and the President of the United States is talking about it on TV. (Yes, I glimpsed the TV in our home share.)p Practically, the whole city was on lockdown. I feel very blessed knowing that all of the missionaries were kept safe. The more I thought about what had happened the previous day, the more I realized that the Lord was really protecting us. All of the missionaries have District Meeting on Tuesdays, but because some of the elders in our zone were moving into our apartment that morning, they decided to have their meeting on Wednesday. Their district meets in the Waterman building, which is on the same road the shooting happened. While the shooting occurred, their district locked themselves inside the churchp for a while. If they had decided to have their meeting on Tuesday, who knows where they could have been the next day. That same morning, we were going to pick up, K---, who was gonna go to Valley Community College with us, to help set up our booth. Instead, she said she would just meet us over there. If we would have picked her up, we would have been on Waterman the same time the shooting happened. We also weren't that excited to move out of our apartment, especially since Sister B--- had just unpacked all of her things. But thinking back on it, I now realize that it's been a huge blessing for more reasons than one. Thank you for all of your prayers!

Thursday was my baby sister, Sarah's birthday! HAPPY 19th BIRTHDAY, Sa-Rah!!! BUT GUESS WHAT, it was my birthday too! I'm officially a 1-year-old missionary! That's a big number ————>>>> ONE! Sister B was even kind enough to buy me Cold Stone. :)

Friday, our investigator, A--- told us that he wanted to get baptized! His parents aren't too thrilled about it, but he knows it makes him happy. HE WAS SO DANG PREPARED!!! He'll be getting baptized this Saturday. A--- read the Book of Mormon in three days! THREE! He's reading it a second time, only this time, he's taking notes on it. When he finished 1 Nephi, he had twelve pages of notes! TWELVE! He looked like a little boy on Christmas Day when we took him on a temple tour, and even asked if it was Fast Sunday yesterday, so he could have the chance to fast. He also wrote and shared his testimony on faith with us, and gave us a copy of it because we thought it was so beautiful. We are so excited for him.

So there's my week. I am so grateful for all of the prayers, and I'm especially grateful that the Lord keeps careful watch of His missionaries.

Have a great and safe week!

Sister Emily KaeLynn Sommers