Rattlesnakes, Bread, and BAPTISMS!

 A girl does what she must to stay cool.

Howdy, Partners!

Gotta cool/scary story about the elders. Last Monday, they all decided to go on a hike up in the mountains. On their hike, they came to a point where they had to jump from one rock to another with a 3-foot gap, only a couple feet off the ground. After each one made it safely across, an elder heard and noticed something within the gap of the two rocks. He leaned in a little closer. A rattlesnake! If any of them had slipped and fell, there would've been some bad news. Luckily, they were all okay.

Every Tuesday, after District Meeting, we get to go to Aspen Mills, a sandwich shop, for free! The owner, M---, is LDS, and this is his way of serving the missionaries. He's seriously the nicest guy I've ever met in my life. He lets us get whatever we want, and serves a sample of brownies to everyone who walks through the door. It's also great because Sister W--- can't have gluten, but there's gluten-free bread! Hooray! A couple weeks ago, he gave us three whole loaves! He greets everyone with the biggest smile, and talks to you like he's known you his whole life. We need more people like M---.

A couple weeks ago, when we were in Aspen Mills, this guy walks over to the elder's table and asks, 
"Hey, are you Jehovah's Witness's?" 
"Umm...no, we're LDS."
"Oh, you shouldn't go to that church! Do you know what kind of stuff they teach there?"
The elders had no idea what to say, and looked at each other, hoping one of them would have a good response.
"Hahaha! I'm just teasing, I'm a member."

Without us knowing what just happened, the same guy came to our table and started asking us if we had a little money to spare. Oh boy...PLEASE not again.
"Hahaha! Just kidding, I'm a member."
The elders watched the whole scene and we were all laughing afterwards. :)

She's a Wonder...

Our investigator, P---, is getting baptized this weekend! Woohoo! :) She's the girlfriend of a member. She'll become a member, and he'll be getting the priesthood soon. Exciting times! Oh yeah, and J---, C---, and I will be singing "I'm Trying to be Like Jesus" while M--- plays the guitar. I can't remember if I said anything about singing at J---'s baptism. Well if I didn't, Sister P--- and I sang "If the Savior Stood Beside Me" while Sister R--- played the piano. I don't know how people rope me into these things.

Until next time, that's all folks! Y'all come back now, ya hear?

Sister Sommers

...and she's a nut!    (Taking advantage of the random carts that are everywhere in SoCal)

GREAT FAITH and MIGHTY PRAYER

Hello friends and family!

My week started in a thrift shop called "Gypsyland". Pretty snazzy name, right? We went shopping there last Monday, and I found a super cute purple skirt WITH POCKETS for only 19 cents! STEAL! As the lady was ringing my skirt up, she started talking with us and asked questions about what we do as missionaries. As we were talking, she had obviously used the term "Mormons". Another lady looking at clothes near the register, turned around and shouted, "MORMONS?!" She stared at us, then at our name tags, then back to our faces, giving us the most disturbed look. We just looked at her and smiled. It's so sad when people judge you for who they think you are. If only everyone truly understood what we were all about. She then proceeded to strip down so she could try the clothes on she had just taken off the rack. That's DHS for ya! It was comforting to know we weren't the only "crazies" in there.

Surviving on these because it's 120 degrees!!!

Tuesday, we came back to the house to get some lunch. I was eating my delicious corn dog with about a million calories, kicking back in my recliner, minding my own business when suddenly, I heard banging on the sliding glass door. I jumped and turned to see a man standing on the other side of the glass. It scared me out of my whits, until I realized it was just Brother S---. He drove himself all the way back from Utah to check on the water because another pipe had busted. He was TICKED when he found out the sprinklers had been running nonstop for two weeks. We had no idea they were running that long because we're hardly ever home. Because California is in a drought, people here get fined if they use too much water. It would've been helpful to know what time the sprinklers were supposed to kick on and off. So that was an unpleasant surprise.

We threw a surprise birthday party for Elder C--- this week... well, I guess just "birthday party". This Ward isn't very good at keeping secrets. Haha! When the Elders found out, they didn't tell us, they just asked a bunch of weird questions about what we were doing Friday night. Then an hour before the party, they called telling us Elder C--- was being emergency transferred. Of course that was a big, fat lie because they showed up a half-hour early to the party! Those punk faces! Haha! At least we weren't uninvited to this one like we were in La Quinta. We actually had investigators there, so it was all good. It was a great time.

Stake Conference was yesterday, and that was super good! They talked about how important the member's roles are in missionary work. EVERYONE PLEASE WORK WITH YOUR MISSIONARIES!!! You're the reason we get things done. You make missionary work successful and effective. Please just do it, and your missionaries will love you forever. I promise.

Making new friends

Our Church Guest

A while ago, our recent convert, P---, went back to drinking coffee. Last night, we were visiting with her, her daughter who is also a recent convert, and her son-in-law. At the end of our lesson, her son-in-law suggested we kneel down in prayer for P--- about gaining a testimony of not drinking coffee. He was pretty much asking for a miracle. After the prayer, we all had a strong feeling that something was going to happen the next day, even P---. This morning, we called her up, asking if we could do our laundry at her house. When we got there, P--- was so full of energy! Haha, it was pretty cute. :) What was happening? "Sisters! I woke up this morning, and for the first time, I had absolutely no desire to drink my morning coffee. I had so much energy, I didn't know what to do with it all, so I cleaned the house and moved all the junk from my front porch." Cute P--- experienced a miracle. That miracle only happened through prayer and great faith. At the end of every weekly letter President sends to us, it always ends in something to do with "GREAT FAITH and MIGHTY PRAYER".

Through "GREAT FAITH and MIGHTY PRAYER" miracles can happen.

Sister Sommers

Short & Sweet

Hey folks!

Umm...not too much happened this week...but please keep reading because missionary life is filled with nothing but pure awesomeness.

Congratulations to my Aunt Caitlin who got married last week! Welcome to the family, Dave number three! To make things clear, no she did not get married to three different Dave's. My mom and two of her sisters are all married to Dave's. My Aunt Courtney will be getting married in October to "not Dave."

Happy almost Birthday to my girl/adopted sista/favorite mermaid princess, Tristan! AHHH! You gonna be 18! YOU SO OLD! And you're one of my California buddies right now! Wouldn't it be crazy if we
"accidentally" ran into each other? ;)

Quick, cool story. We were driving the other day, and I looked up and saw this hawk flying above our car with a huge snake in its mouth. I love snakes, but that was just too dang cool!

I forgot to mention, a few weeks ago, I was totally deaf in my left ear for a whole week! Then, I got some ear drops, so all is well.

Another miracle happened yesterday! Remember last week, I was talking about how a member's inactive son came to church and bore his testimony? Yesterday, he AND his older inactive brother came to church, along with the member's non-member husband, which we're teaching! How wonderful it was to see that family sitting together at church.

Well, sorry, not too much to write about, but there's your weekly update!

Have a marvelous week, you all!

Sister Sommers

I Know Who I Am, I Know God's Plan, I'll Follow Him in Faith

Hello out there!

This week was interesting...

Saturday, our investigator, J---, invited us to a Catholic mass. I was pretty excited to go, considering I had never been to one. Some of the people were super nice and inviting, but I didn't feel the most comfortable. It was interesting...and that's all I have to say about that.

Our recent convert's neighbor tried giving her some anti last week. "I've only been a member for two months, and I already know this is junk!" hehe :)

Tuesday, we tried visiting an inactive member. Found out he's an anti-Christ. All you can really do is testify of what you know to be true...until they cut you off, and pray hard for a softened heart.

 And so it begins...

As you can see, our week has been filled with anti's and apostates. It's okay though, it has not weakened my testimony. In fact, my testimony has grown so much! I realize that if they don't have a change of heart, they can't have the happiness that I have. They can't experience that pure love and eternal joy!

We had been waiting for a miracle all week, and it finally happened on Sunday. A member's inactive son, who she had been praying for everyday, came to church and bore his testimony. He said he had been inactive for a while, and his life had kind of gone down the drain, so he thought it would be a good idea to come back to church. The whole congregation was SOBBING. They knew how much it meant to his mom, and to Heavenly Father.  

It's sad, but sometimes we have to go through devastation to remember our Heavenly Father. We go through trials and we make mistakes; that's why we had a Savior come to this earth and take away all of those pains and mistakes from us so we could live with Him and our Heavenly Father again. He paid the price, but we need to keep His commandments. You are never alone through your trials; Christ knows exactly what you're going through because He has experienced it. We need to turn to Him so he can help us and make our burdens become light.

"...God cares a lot more about who we are and who we are becoming than about who we once were.⁴ He cares that we keep on trying.

The comedy As You Like It, written by the English playwright William Shakespeare, depicts a dramatic change in a character’s life. An older brother attempts to have his younger brother killed. Even knowing this, the younger brother saves his wicked brother from certain death. When the older brother learns of this undeserved compassion, he is totally and forever changed and has what he calls a “conversion.” Later several women approach the older brother and ask, “Was’t you that did so oft contrive to kill [your brother]?”

The older brother answers, “’Twas I; but ’tis not I: I do not shame to tell you what I was, since my conversion so sweetly tastes, being the thing I am.”⁵

For us, because of God’s mercy and the Atonement ofJesus Christ, such a change is not just literary fiction.

In His mercy, God promises forgiveness when we repent and turn from wickedness—so much so that our sins will not even be mentioned to us. For us, because of the Atonement of Christ and our repentance, we can look at our past deeds and say, “’Twas I; but ’tis not I.” No matter how wicked, we can say, “That’s who I was. But that past wicked self is no longer who I am.”⁷ - Elder Dale G. Renlund

I am so happy and so blessed to be a member of The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints!

Sister Sommers 

Out in the desert they wandered, hungry, and helpless, and SUPER HOT!

Just kidding...but really, it's super hot!

Hey there, everyone!

I survived my first week in the summer So Cal desert. It's super dry, but it's still hotter than the east side. The sad part is everyone says it's not even hot yet. Yes, mom, I'm drinking lots of water. It's also SUPER WINDY, holy cannoli!!! I feel like I'm gonna fly away half the time. You wanna wear something light because it's so hot, but because it's so windy, your skirt wants to dance around more than you would like it to. #socalsistaprobs #arehashtagsevenstillathing

We live in a home share with this cute couple, the S---'s. I didn't think I would like it at first, but it's actually pretty nice. They have two trailers on their property, so they live in one, and we stay in the other. It's the cutest trailer, with the biggest front porch. It was nice to come home and talk to the S---'s about our day, and say goodnight, but they abandoned us a few days ago to Utah. :( This is their first year trying to be snowbirds, and we might not see them again until next transfer.

This morning, we were taking the trash out, when we noticed the S---'s whole back porch, and some of their basement was covered in water. A water pipe totally busted, and was spraying water everywhere! Of course it had to be the first week they left. No agua for us this morning. Thankfully, their son knows a thing or two about pipes, so he's working on it now.

We have a couple of fun investigators! We're teaching this lady who used to be a JC Penny's model, and knows all sorts of people like Jay Lenno, John Travolta, Betty White, John Wayne, and ton of others. She proudly showed and gave us pictures and autographs. I guess she was also a bodyguard for John Wayne while he was "shooting" one of his movies. Haha, get it? :) There's another lady that we might teach, J--- T---. She's a professional singer, and was married to Ike Turner, Tina Turner's ex-husband. Crazy!

So, that was my exciting week! Hope you all have a magical week!

Sister Sommers

This flower only blooms once a year and lasts only a minute.

Round Two

Hey Guys and Gals!

First things first...J---'s baptism....
HE DID IT! After 2.5 years of investigating the church, J--- finally got baptized! It took six hours to fill the dang font, but that's ok, anything to help that kid become a member. :) For a long time, he had some doubts, but it just took one lesson with that helped drastically progress. A couple days before he was baptized, he shared the most powerful testimony with us about the Spirit. He knew that the Spirit dwelt here, and that's how he came to know for himself that this gospel is so true! After his baptism, his countenance totally changed, and he is so, so happy! On Sunday, he was able to receive the gift of the Holy Ghost, and was also able to receive the priesthood. We are so proud of him. He had to make a lot of changes, but he knew it was worth it.
"Seek ye first the kingdom of God, and all things shall be added unto you."



This is a pine cone?!?!

Transfers are this week...and I'm getting transferred! :( I'll be serving in Desert Hot Springs, so back to the desert I go...but in the summer. Oh dear. The best part was when the AP's called yesterday, and
told me I had to leave the very next day. So right after I'm done writing y'all, I'll be leaving for the desert. The crazy part is my companion is Sister W---! AGAIN! WHUUUUT? That is such a relief though, I know exactly who she is, and we get along quite well. :) I'm really going to miss serving in the Northpark YSA Ward with Sister P--- and Sister R---. They are amazing! I'm pretty sure there was
a reason Sister R--- and I were together for only four weeks. We are so CRAZY together! :) It's ok though, Sister P---'s sanity balanced us out well. Sister P--- will be staying here at Northpark, and will be doing some follow-up training. Sister R---...well, she's going home! Her 18 months are all up! So weird that will be me someday.

Well, that's all the time I really have. Have an amazing week!

Sister Sommers

Bowling, last day in San Bernardino.

Rest in Peas

Why hello, my cute friends and family!

Here's the scoop on this week.

Monday, we had dinner with our Ward Mission Leader, Lorenzo. His mom made these really yummy tostadas. Into my third bite, I noticed that little green monster. "Umm...Are there peas on this?"
Everyone's eyes got real big. "Oh no, don't tell me you're allergic to peas!" Lorenzo responded. He felt so bad, and made me another plate with everything but peas. It was kinda scary when I could start to feel my throat swell up a little. Thankfully, the swelling went down before too long. So glad it wasn't like my first experience. That was just terrible.

These past few weeks have been great, but also so exhausting! We are constantly going up and down the hill; it takes so much out of you. The nice thing is if we're doing a lot of work in the mountains, we
stay in Sister Robert's condo and drive the Jeep. So we have an apartment and a condo, and a Jeep and a Corolla. So we have like a billion miles to spare. Covering three wards, Northpark, Lake Arrowhead, and Running Springs, has been interesting too. We've been going to two different wards every week. I guess President doesn't think three hours is long enough.

There's this kid, John, that we've been teaching, who has been investigating the church for two years! Some of the members already thought he was a member and asked us why we were teaching him the
lessons. Haha! We've had some pretty awesome lessons with him. Our favorite is when he taught us back the Restoration. It was so powerful, we knew we needed to put him on date. But instead of us
putting him on date, we asked him when he thought he would be ready to be baptized. He chose July 18! Perfect timing before transfers and before Sister Roberts goes home! Everyone is so excited and so proud of him. :)

That's all folks! Have a marvelous week! Love you all!
Sister Sommers