Jan 5, 2014: A Week of Joy

Hey everyone. Thanks for still being alive.

I've felt so many different versions of joy this week, that I don't even know where to start.

New Years Eve:

Joy is looking up from personal study and seeing snow. Yes. Snow. In Las Vegas. It lasted a total of five minutes. But I touched snow! Needless to say, I had a very hard time focusing for the rest of studies because I was hoping that it would snow again.

Saturday night:

We are teaching a family of three. M, T (14), and A (7). Their dad was a member and he died about a year ago. We don't know how active the dad was or anything. We got them as a referral from a bishop. M went to the bishop and got food and he gave her a BOM and referred her to us. A is very anti-us. Really he just wants the attention. He complains and says that our games are stupid and that we won't read, but he really likes us. We can tell. T is along those same lines. Always busy, always wants to leave, and never says he'll read or pray. But on Saturday, HE TOLD US HE READ. THREE CHAPTERS OF THE BOM. We did not see that coming. That was joy.

Monday:

You guys are alive. That's joy.

What else happened this week? A lot. We'll start with the car. But that takes some backtracking.

So wayyyyyy back in November, we had to get a smog check for our car. When we did that the guy told us that our fan was really loud and going on for a really long time and that we should get that checked. We called Elder B (who's in charge of car-ness) and he told us to just get our smog checked. So we just got our smog checked. Then a notification came up that the AC was turned off due to engine temperatures (the AC wasn't on). We were like, well, they are going to check the car soon so we don't need to worry about it. But we worried. We called Elder B a little while later and he freaked out and told us to put water in the radiator. He told us not to drive it and put water in it. We were like, how are we getting home . . .? So we found some nice guys to put water in it. They might have been a bit drunk. We're not sure. (Oh ya, this was back with Hermana S by the way.) Anyway, Elder B told us to take the car in. Down in Henderson. So we drove alllll the way down to Henderson, sat in the dealership for like four hours, for them to tell us they could not find a leak. Elder B told us to keep an eye on the car. So, fast forward to this week. We had to fill the radiator again. So, Elder B told us to take the car in again (this time close by, thank goodness!). They told us that the water pump is leaking and something else needed to be fixed that was making a mysterious clicking noise. They shuttled us home and we called them later and they told us, that IF they have the parts, we can get it back Tuesday. This was Friday. A.K.A we were going to be without a car until Tuesday. At the earliest. So guess what we did. We biked! But when our district leader saw us biking down the road, and the members found out that we were biking, they decided that that was an abomination. They took it as a personal offence. So Saturday, we borrowed the district leader's car when he had members who were driving him around, and we got a lot of rides from members. Yesterday all of our appointments were close enough to walk, so we walked around. Except for when we needed to go to the projects, then we got a ride. Today the sister training leaders are driving us around so we can go shopping and email and stuff. We haven't quite figured out what is happening tonight. The problem is that if we bike for part of the day, we either have to go ALL the way back to our apartment to drop off the bikes or leave them somewhere when a member gives us a ride. So it's really not effective to do that. So we have to figure out the perfect balance of walking, biking, and rides. It's quite complicated.

For New Years Eve we had to be in our apartments by 6 o'clock. I had plans to be super productive and organize and all this stuff, but, I was super tired. So I watched like an hour of Bible Videos and then went to bed. I took like two mini naps in there too.

I think New Years Day is my new favorite holiday. People were home because it's a holiday, but they weren't busy because they did all their celebrating the night before. It was great!

Well. I think that's all I got for right now. Please don't die in the next week. That would be greatly appreciated.

Hermana Leete

A Scary Experience

Melissa,

To stop the suspense, I'll tell you what happened right away. Friday afternoon, Kevin, Rebecca, and I left to go back to school. We were planning on stopping at Aunt Lynn's in Boise that night, but we didn't make it since we kinda wrecked our car. Don't worry, everyone is absolutely fine. Here's what happened.

The roads were perfectly clear the whole way, even as we got up into the blue mountains. We started going downhill a bit and as we turned a right corner, there was a large patch of ice. We started fishtailing, but with the downhill Kevin couldn't slow down and get it under control fast enough and it just got worse. The back left  of the car hit the cement median, sending the back sliding harder to the right. The back of the car slid in front of us, turning us around. The cement median had stopped, but we hit the snow bank on the median with the passenger side of the car. We then rolled over into the snow and slid backwards and upside down for about 20-30 feet. No one was hurt, but we were a bit shaken up and trapped in the car since the snow was so deep. Kevin couldn't find his phone, but I had mine in my pocket so I called 911. Kevin wasn't sure if we were in the median or the other side of the street, so he turned on all the outside lights and started honking the horn, but we were safe in the median. Some nice people had stopped as soon as they saw us crash and helped dig us out. We all got out ok and got safely to the other side of the street. where Rebecca and I sat in the car of one of the people who had stopped to help. They were a nice couple heading back to OSU. He used to be an EMT so he checked us for concussions. Kevin dealt with the police and stuff.

The whole experience was terrifying, but so much went right to keep us safe.  There wasn't any front impact, so the airbags didn't go off (saving our noses) and none of the stuff from the back of the car flew forward and hit us (the car was packed to the roof!). The jam jars in the back didn't even break! There was no shattered glass to deal with. The puppy was fine even though he wasn't secured to anything. Rebecca says she was able to grab him before we rolled.  Nice people got there really quick to help.  Dad had been meaning to change the car insurance to a cheaper plan that wouldn't cover this, but forgot so we are covered. But most importantly, no one was hurt. Well, Kevin stubbed his toe and Rebecca's shoulder is a bit sore, but that is it.God was watching over us, I'm sure He was.

So after the police came and checked everything out and righted the car, we got all our valuables and important things like purses and laptops out and one of the truck drivers gave us a ride to a hotel in Pendleton. We stayed there for the night, although no one got much sleep. We just talked and tried to calm each other down. There were no car rental places open on Saturday, So mom and dad came and gave us a ride (We were only about 3 hours from home). On Saturday we got the rest of the stuff from the car. In the daylight, the car didn't look so bad from some angles. The passenger door didn't close anymore, I'm not sure if that was from the roof being dented or the door misshapen. There was a fist sized dent in the back bumper from where we hit the median, and the roof above the driver's seat had really bent in. And the glass sunroof was gone. It's a good thing the cover was closed to keep the glass out when we were stuck in the car. After we got everything out of the wrecked car, we drove to Boise where Aunt Lynn made some great soup and we all went to bed early. Then on Sunday we drove to Provo. So you're not going to get an email from mom. They're staying at a hotel overnight then driving all the way home tomorrow.

Back tracking to earlier in the week, it was pretty chill. We saw The Hobbit, the Battle of the Five Armies, which was enjoyable - although Dad is very glad it's over. New Year's eve was fun. Linnea joined us and we stayed up playing games and watched the ball drop in Times Square. The next day she came over and we had a knitting party! Later the family saw the Imitation Game. It's about Alan Turing, a mathematician who broke the German enigma machine during the WWII. The enigma machine was how the Germans encoded all their messages, so by breaking the code, historians estimate that the war ended two years earlier and saved millions of lives. Everyone liked it, the movie was beautifully done.

That's about it for the update! I hope everything is going well over there. I'm all settled in and ready for the new semester tomorrow.  This week I learned without a doubt that the Lord is watching over us. If we are follow his commandments and keeping our covenants, He will protect us when needed. He truly loves us and wants the best for us.

I also learned the importance of seat belts. They kept us in our seats while we rolled and then we were hanging by them afterward. Things would have been much worse if we hadn't been wearing seat belts. ALWAYS ALWAYS ALWAYS WEAR A SEAT BELT. God is less likely to help out if you're an idiot who doesn't wear a seat belt.

Love you lots.

Jessica 

P.S. Here's a picture Kevin took of our car upside down in the snow. The rut in the snow in front of it is where we slid.

P.P.S On a happier note, I tried taking some selfies with Brahms in the car. Here's two that I got.  He's so cute!

News from Melissa

Hey all!

Melissa is doing great on her mission. Most of her letters to me are pretty short, but here's some great snippets from them.

To read more of Melissa's letters home, go here!

Querida Jessica,

July 31

I love the feeling you get when you walk into the Celestial room. I love the peace in the temple. I love the Spirit there. I feel the Spirit different in the temple than I do anywhere else. It feels like it's too big for me. Like I'm so full. I think of the Grinch and how his heart grew three sizes, and that's how it feels. It's amazing. I love that you get to serve other people. I love how you can always learn. I love the symbolism and the feeling of truth. I am so glad for temples and really sad that I haven't been in six weeks! I know, I'm doing other important stuff, and I got to go to the visitor's center, but it's not quite the same. I hope I get to go again when I'm in Vegas.

You feel so close to God in the temple. You get to experience, just a bit, what it's like to be in heaven. You feel so much love. It's so amazing!

I like to look back on my life and remember those experiences that strengthened my testimony. I feel extremely blessed because I don't think I leaned on Mom and Dad for too long. I found out for myself. Which is one reason I love this church so much. I could find out for myself! I didn't have to listen to everyone else's testimonies or just read the Bible or something like that. I could ask God for myself and find out that this church is true. I know that it is true. I know because I asked. I know because I have read the scriptures. I know because the Holy Ghost has told me, again and again, that it is true. I can't deny it. I am excited to have the opportunity to tell the people of Las Vegas that we have the truth. Not only that, but that they don't have to believe me. They can find out for themselves! Not by searching the internet, not by asking out people, but by asking the one who knows all things, but asking God. And if they ask God, with a sincere heart, truly wanting to know the truth, they will know. They will know that the Book of Mormon in the word of God, Joseph Smith was a prophet, and that The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-Day Saints is God's true church once again restored to this earth. It's amazing. You can know this, with all your heart, with all your soul, and with all your being. I know it and I cannot deny it. I would rather deny gravity than to deny this church. I know that this church is true, better than I know that. It is true.

Aug 11

You know I've been thinking about the whole "real world" thing. We watched a devotional in the CCM, I think it was by Elder Holland, and he mentioned how people are always like, "when I get back to real life" and he's like "what's more real than missionary work?" That really stuck with me. What is more real than the gospel? What is more real than studying the gospel and preaching the gospel? That's what I got to do in the CCM, study and practice preaching. What could possibly be more real than that? Whether in the CCM or out of it, this is real stuff. This is the important stuff in life. But ya, I know what  you mean. It's kinda scary to talk to real investigators in Spanish and members who aren't my teachers. Scary. I only understand a tiny portion of what I hear and I usually am to frightened to respond. But, I'm working on it.

Aug 18

The thing I've learned this week is that teaching people the gospel takes time. It's hard for me to not get impatient. I meet a person who is interested, and I want to teach them every day. But they're busy. They don't yet fully realize how important this is, and they have work and other things that they have to schedule around. However, this is my life, all day, everyday, so it's hard because I feel like it's been forever since we've talked, and it's really only been like two days. Also, we talk to people who have talked to missionaries before, and sometimes they don't really remember it. It's like, these people are such a big part of the missionary's life, we keep track of them, we pray for them, all these things, but sometimes, they don't let the gospel into their life, so it doesn't change them. It could help them so much! But they don't let it, and that's sad.

Aug 25

What made me laugh the most . . . I don't know. My companion. Hermana D gets so worked up and excited about things. I feel like I almost am overly not excited just to balance it out. So she makes me laugh.

Sep 1

I had this thought the other day. We all know that the temple is the end goal, it's not baptism. And it just makes sense! Because if not, why are we baptized at 8? You are not accountable until then, so why be baptized the second you can, if you don't really have sin until then? It doesn't make sense. In theory, you would want to be baptized later in life, to get rid of your sins right before you die, right? But, that's not so! Baptism is only the gate to eternal life. The gate to other covenants. And through those other covenants and being obedient and enduring to the end, you become clean, not just once, but over and over and over again. Hence baptism at 8. We need a lot of time to accomplish that. It's amazing how everything fits together. It's not just one event, you need so much in order to live with God again!

(What was the saddest part of your week? The happiest?)

Sad stuff. Investigators standing us up on our appointments and not coming to church and not being able to contact them. I just want to save your soul! BE THERE!!!!! Especially when you have a member there. It's sad.

Happy stuff! AWESOME NEW INVESTIGATORS! I feel like they are golden. Like they're gonna be baptized. I can't wait to teach them.

Sep 15

We're going to start teaching an English class sometime soon. That'll be scary. Apparently I just have to talk to people in English, which sounds pretty easy. But we'll see. Hermana D and I were laughing at how everyone is going to end up having a southern accent because both Hermana D and Elder B have southern accents. All the people I teach will sound normal though!

(Who is the strangest person you've met?)

I talked to someone who was kind of green. That was weird.

Sep 29

You should send me food. If that's possible. I like food. But not as much as Hispanics. SO MUCH FOOD. The plate is like full, with the food just heaped up on it. And you have to eat it all so you don't offend anyone. I have no idea how to serve myself anymore. There is no way I am not going to gain weight. AAAAHHHHHHH. At least the food tastes good. But you get to a point where everything tastes bad once you've eaten too much.

I love the temple!!!!! I wish I could go all the time! But I gotta focus on the living right now, so later in my life I'll worry about the dead.

This week was pretty unexciting so I don't really have anything to say. 'Cept Jesus the Christ is boss. Is that disrespectful? I really love reading it. I am so close to finishing it. I just get sucked in and I don't want to stop. I highly recommend it for a little light reading. (Ha! Everyone knows that is not light reading.)

Nov 3

I love your costume and your decorations. They are fantastic. We actually had a mission party. We went to the mission office, ate food, watched skits about the worst first member present lesson, and watched 17 miracles. It was pretty fun. So no, I didn't really see any costumes. But I switched name tags with Hermana S for the party. People kept on giving us funny looks.

Mish is pretty good. Nothing terrible has happened yet. You know, nothing worse than the usual, people calling us fools, trying to tell us that we are solicitors, being rude. But I'm used to that now. It has given me a better perspective on people of other faiths. Like, how hypocritical I am. For example, people will tell us that we are wrong, and I'll think, but you know nothing about our religion. But, that's what I think about other people. So, I'm trying to fix that. I would love to learn about other religions, I just don't really have a means to at the moment. I think it's super interesting. Basically, I'm starting to see more and more what it's like to be on the other side of the missionary-normal person conversation. The more I talk to people as a missionary, the more I see what it's like from their point of view. Then, I try to stop being so stupid and judgmental. It's a process though.

Nov 10

There are rabbits everywhere here. I think of you when I see them. I really want to pick them up, but I'm pretty sure that's a really ​really bad idea. Even if I could catch them.

Love you!

Hermana Leete

The Worth of Souls: July 17, 2014

Jessica!

Exact obedience is hard. Really hard. I'm trying so hard but I fail all the time. But, I'm trying. I want to be obedient. Not just conveniently obedient, but exactly obedient. It is the only way I can be more Christlike, and that exactly what I want to be. 

I love what you said about that. I can't believe people think that this church is sexist. In no way do I feel like I am prevented from receiving blessings because I am a girl. It's ridiculous! The Elders are so nice, they always let you go first in line. Some people would think that is sexist in itself, but I think it shows respect. It is telling us that they respect us enough to put aside their own feelings of hunger so that we can satisfy our hunger. It's charity, it's love, it's respect. I have the opportunity here to have the priesthood authority to preach the gospel. It's amazing! I may not hold the priesthood, but I can still serve. I couldn't give my companion a blessing when she was sick, but they could. She, and I, could still be blessed by the priesthood without holding it. I don't think I can express my feelings well enough. Here, we work together. I, as a Sister Training Leader, work with the District and Zone Leaders to make sure the needs of the hermanas are met. We work together. That is how it is supposed to be. I don't need to do what they do to have worth. I don't need to be a man to have worth. That idea is ridiculous. We're not the same, and there is a reason for that. We can't have 7 billion architects in the world, it just doesn't make sense! I hope that people some day will be able to understand that. I know I have worth, I know you have worth. I don't think I am worth more than any man, nor is any man worth more than me. We are all children of God. We all have separate roles. These roles even change from sister to sister and brother to brother. It's ridiculous to  think one person is worth more than another, simple because of gender.

This is something that has slowly been working it's way into my heart over the past years. Everyone, and I mean EVERYone is worth more than anything in this world in the sight of God. It is only us who don't see it that way. It is us to say, "oh he's righteous he's worth more" or "she's so pretty so she's better". That's a lie. Let me say that again. THAT IS A LIE. Satan wants us to think that way. Satan wants us to judge and demean other people, other children of God. But we can't let him. We need to let everyone know that they have worth. We need to tell everyone their true identity. We are children of God! What greater knowledge can we have than that. He loves us, he has a plan for us so that we can live with him, and our families for eternity! What a blessing it is to learn more about this and to have the opportunity to share it with the world. To share it to people in their own tongue. What other church sends a bunch of 18 and 19 year-olds to learn a foreign language so that they can teach people the truth, in their own tongue. It's amazing. 

I hope school is going well for you. I hope you know that you are loved and that you have great worth, to God, to this world, and to those around you. You can do great things with your life.

I love you,

Hermana Leete

How Women are Viewed

Sister Leete!

I'm glad everything is going well in the MTC and that you are enjoying learning Spanish! I especially liked what you said about exact obedience. I was at a Relief Society fireside this week and one of the members of my stake presidency said that too often we want to obey the Lord, but we want to do it our way. I know I'm guilty of this, but that's not really obedience is it? Obedience is much more about humility and putting aside what we want for what God knows is better for us. And that's the truly great thing about it, what God says is best for us truly is because He loves us and knows more than us. That makes Him brilliant at giving guidance and direction.

One thing that has been on my mind a lot lately is how the world views women versus how the church views women. So much of the world right now is pushing women to be seen for only their beauty and how they can please men, or is on the other side of the spectrum saying that the only way to have equality is for women to be exactly like men. Either way, the world places a woman's worth in what men think of her. Currently, my biggest issue with it is how women are portrayed in the media. Even in books with a female protagonist, so many play out the same story line. A young women feels worthless even though there is something special about her (such as magic powers, super strength, having cancer, or having blood that smells really good to vampires). Then a boy comes along that falls in love with her - specifically because of a physical feature, which one varies between books - and throughout their journey teaches her to love herself. And him. The writing style varies, the genre varies, the other themes explored varies, but this doesn't. I'm sick of these girls having to wait around for a man to tell her that she has worth.

That's not how it is in the church. The other day I had a bit of an epiphany. The world tells us we are only worth something when we are with a man, but the church tells us that we can be exalted with one. Nowhere in church doctrine are women belittled or put below men. Everywhere we are valued, loved, and respected. We are children of God, just as much as men are. We are given leadership roles in the church and encouraged to teach, expound, and serve. You right now are serving as a representative for the church and of Jesus Christ and will be doing His work in bringing others to the truth. Women are beloved daughters of God and important members of the church. Even if we don't hold offices in the priesthood, we are still blessed by its power just as much as men, and act under with its authority when we serve in callings. (For more information about the priesthood see this talk from General Conference). More than that, God allows men and women to progress further together when sealed in eternal marriage in the temple. Though men and women are different, God gives both an equal opportunity to progress together.

So there's some thoughts that have been bouncing around my head for a while. I've been wanting to talk to someone about it. What do you think about this?

Love you! Have a great week!

Jessica

Week 2: July 10, 2014

Hey Jessica,

I feel like I just told everything to Mom, so I won't give you the day by day play of my week and talk to you about other stuff. That's more fun anyway, right?

I've learned that my Spanish sucks. I got to talk to a member from here this week. We had a hard time communicating. Ya. That was a blow to my ego. Which was good. It's better to get that now rather than the second I get into the mission field.

I'm finding it kind of hard to be exactly obedient. It's not like I'm rebellious or anything, it's just that sometimes I want to study in my own way, but they tell me to learn these things this way, or whatever. But I'm working hard on changing that. I want to be exactly obedient; I don't know everything and the Lord does, and if he inspired people to have us study in a certain way, I need to study that way. Sometimes it's hard, but I'm working on it.

I'm so glad you are enjoying school again. One funny thing, Hermana J (my companion) is a Recreational Therapy major at BYU, she's one semester away from graduating, so she takes a lot of psychology classes. It's cool to be paired with her, we know and are interested in a lot of the same stuff. I can't wait until I can go back and learn more! However, now is the time for learning Spanish, and how to use a Spanish keyboard, and how to teach the gospel (knowing the stuff is not quite enough), and  how to talk to people, and how to get along with people, and so many other social skills which I do not possess. It's just different. A good different, but different.

It's amazing to see everyone progress in their Spanish. A lot of these missionaries never spoke a lick of Spanish before they came here, and now, after two weeks, they are bearing their testimonies and teaching lessons in Spanish. No, their Spanish is not perfect, for some people, not even close, but they can still do it. It's really amazing. Everyday I am astounded by what everyone can do. I hope they notice it too.

In order to save me time, here is an excerpt from my letter to Mom:

"Fourth of July was definitely a highlight. I swear, I have never seen so many people wearing red, white, and blue as I did that day. It was ridiculous. The kitchen staff was so nice too! For lunch we had BBQ sandwiches, corn on the cob, apple pie, and french fries! One hermana wanted to sing the national anthem, so they let her. We all sang along. I was really touched at the effort that they went to to make us feel at home. They even put red, white, and blue table clothes on all the tables! It was pretty amazing."

Anyway, I'm not sure what else to say. I hope all is well.

Love you!

Hermana Leete

**To see more of Melissa's letters click on the link in the side bar to Called to Serve: Las Vegas Nevada.**