November 25, 2013

HAPPPPPYYYYYY THANNNKKKSSGGGIIIVVVINNNG! 

FELIZ DIA DE ACTION DE GRACIASSSSS!!!

So, I only have a half an hour to write this week but hey, this week has been crazy awesome! The weather here is a nice sunny 14 degrees and our nose hairs are starting to freeze when we breathe in. so here in Minnesota Jack Frost bites your nose hairs. hahaha okay so I have to tell you this my companion is the best haha so we had just woke up and she asked me if i had any dreams and I said yea it was all about teaching lessons, I remember that I was teaching about the plan of salvation and for some reason I was holding a pan. She said it was the "pan" of salvation hahaha okay okay so here's another one of our treasured conversations we had this week. So we were in the car driving home and we somehow got on the conversation of Christmas and how we should get a leg lamp like on the Christmas story haha but Herm. Peterson was like "no! it's immodest!" so I said that we'll just put a skirt on it! haha okay it's alot funnier if you are a missionary haha im just imagining this modest leg lamp in our window and our jesus picture on our door. Yep, that's the missionaries!

So that's the fun stuff that's been going on this week, we laugh a lot haha there are so many great things about Hermana Peterson. We also have great sister roommates, Sister Toone and Sister Ballif! They are both awesome examples to me! Sister Toone has the voice of an angel and so she makes our morning songs so great. and Sister Ballif is super funny haha but at the same time super spiritual. You need both of those to be a missionary. I'm greatful for a lot of things this week. I'm grateful for my family for one. LOVE YOU GUYS! and I'm grateful to have this gospel. This week at church I had to bear my testimony in spanish in my ward of hispanics haha they are great I love them! Even though my spanish is still improving they are so supportive and so I'm greatful for my ward and I'm so grateful Heavenly Father sent me here to get to know and serve them! les quiero!! I'm greatful for this opportunity to serve a mission, because I am going to be a totally different person for the rest of my life. And it is definitely a life changing experience let me tell ya! and I'm only 4 months in! But I have seen more miracles here than I've ever seen in my life. One of them is seeing how true this church really is and how it changes lives. 

I dont have much time left BUT! I want to tell you about one of our investigators we are teaching. She is a single mom who is really searching for the truth in this world. and she wants to be able to give her daughter the answers to her questions when she grows up. We just taught her this week  about prophets and recieving personal revelation to know what is true in this life even though there is so much confusion. It was one of those "earthquake" lessons where the truth just shakes you to the core and the Holy Ghost is just so present that all you can feel is love and comfort. ya, it was one of those. We had the Elders over as well and Elder Buchanon told his conversion story and it was amazing! We then simply bore our testimonies of how we have all personally come to know that this church is true.

Missions are the best! It's a two way conversion. You learn just as much as you teach and everyday you find out how happy this gospel makes you and everyone around you.

                          THIS CHURCH IS TRUE! 

I'm grateful for a loving Heavenly Father who has given me a great family, the opportunity to serve a mission, to have trials, and opposition, and to have the opportunity to learn and grow and love others! I am SO grateful for Jesus Christ and what he has done for us and how much he really really really really does love us!!!!! 

                             LOVE YOU ALLLLL!

                    HAVE A HAPPY THANKSGIVING! 

                        LOVE HERMANA FICKLIN! <3

November 18, 2013

Okay I need to say first off... MY FAMILY ROCKS. Thanks for that awesome package you sent me with five million cookie/brownie/muffin mixes so that we can make them for our investigators. My roomates sister Ballif and Sister Curtis say hi and they said that I have an awesome family. I said 'YA I do!' and thanks so much for all you do fam! I can feel the love here in Minnesota! I LOVE YOU GUYS SO MUCH! That being said, the plan of salvation is the bomb. I'm happy to report that my family is gonna be stuck with me for eternity!! haha so thanks guys! LOVE YA!

Some fun stories this week!

So we've asked some of our investigators what their stories of personal conversion and trusting in the lord have been. What they told us had to do with floating across the river on a tire, helicopter chases, and starving in the desert. These people have a testimony. One of our investigators told us of how he was going to Texas with a group of men and they traveled through the desert and this is a very dangerous thing. I don't know how long they were there but they were dying of thirst, and he said he was just praying to God the whole time to get him through this because he needed to feed his family. well they made it to a cattle ranch and they found a trough full of water. the whole group dying of thirst just started drinking and just not caring if the water had bugs or parasites in it they were so thirsty. but our investigator said that he got the prompting by the holy ghost not to drink the water that way but to filter it, so he filled up his water bottle and put his shirt over the opening so that he wouldn't drink any of the bugs or parasites in this water. He said that after a half hour of walking after drinking everyone started getting sick and throwing up everywhere and it was really bad. But he was fine because he had filtered it. and he prayed all day and night thanking God that he had kept him safe and healthy. He also said that after that he knew that he was going to be alright, even when at night he could hear rattle snakes around them as they walked he was calm and knew the Lord was guiding him. and he ended up making it safely. 

The rest of the stories you'll have to ask me about later. (: But I know that these people know that Jesus Christ is truely there for us and that He loves us all.

So, since I didn't have the time to write a letter last week, I'll fill ya in this week. so... before I got here the sisters that we live with backed into our car and left a dent in it. That being said, we had to bring in the car to get that fixed and it was going to take three days they said. Which leaves us without a car. No prob. Because we have bikes! I'll leave two notes

1. It's November in Minnesota

2. Our spanish area we have covers 10 other areas. That does not deter the missionaries from riding bikes. because we are awesome.

The day was actually pretty warm as we headed out but I brought my big coat anyways because hey, it's november in Minnesota. So we ended up biking more than I've ever biked in my life. 

 Probably 30 miles. like 70 miles or so if we are going by how I felt by the end of the day.

  I ended up getting super hot in my big winter coat so I tied it around my neck like a cape because there was no where else to put it. I've got a super dorky picture of it don't worry.

And! the best part is a classic! the investigator that we biked all the way to go see called in and cancelled. I was going to cry. Actually I did a little bit (on the inside, real missionaries only cry in lessons and baptisms) haha so we went away that day with a lot of biking and not a lot of teaching. But I'm not telling you this because the day was terrible and I biked so much and this is the life of a missionary. I'm telling you because I got the opportunity to be diligent no matter what happens in my life. Whether it's me not being able to breathe after biking up hill after hill or day to day things that are small and simple.

I've realized that God is making me a better person through the hard stuff. First off, I am going to have killer thigh muscles. That's a blessing. Second, me and my companion bonded, never hurts to make your relationships stronger through the tough times. and Third, I'm learning to rely on God and truely learn to say I will do anything that you want me to do, I will literally get on my bike and ride all day with little success because that's what you need me to do to prepare me for something later. 

And let me tell you that is nothing compared to the trials others have. The missionaries in the Philippines are awesome. If you don't know about the typhoon in the Philippines, look it up. 

http://www.deseretnews.com/article/865590735/Surviving-the-typhoon-A-story-of-fear-faith-and-what-it-means-to-be-prepared.html

These last two weeks we have been hearing about the Typhoon there and we have parents with missionaries there and they hadn't been accounted for yet. we heard them bear their testimonies about how they know that whatever happens to their sons or daughters they will always rely on the Lord. What a strength to know that our Heavenly Father can get us through anything.

This last week we heard that all of the missionaries were accounted for and they are all well. God provides. Sister Ballif told us about an article from deseret news about some of the missionaries there and their trials and experiences (if you can find that and attatch it that would be great) So. what I want to say about this is see the bigger picture and thank God for your trials. They are a blessing in disguise and they make us stronger than we ever would have been without them. And also we need to realize that we all go through trials, though little to others, are big to us, and visa versa, and if we come to see that through all this we can be happy we are golden. There is nothing that can shake us from our rock! 

There is a Mormon message I want you to watch from Jeffrey R. Holland called the wrong road on lds.org (mom if you could do the honors of finding that and putting it on my blog. you are so great! love you!)

http://www.lds.org/pages/mormon-messages

this is so awesome. So I've always had the question of why do I make wrong choices when I've felt it's right, or sometimes why do we make wrong choices and bad things happen when we are doing all we can to be good and do what's right? Jeffrey R. Holland is the best and this went straight to my heart and I want everyone to see this. 

It's all about trusting in God, no matter what happens. HE HAS A REASON FOR EVERYTHING. Really. Truely. I don't know how many times Heavenly Father has to get that through to me but He does. Everything is for me and my betterment, yup. even the bad stuff.

one of my favorite scriptures is Ether 12:27 which talks about how God gives us weaknesses to that we may have strength.

Ether 12:27

And if men come unto me I will show unto them their weakness. I give unto men weakness that they may be humble; and my grace is sufficient for all men that humble themselves before me, and have faith in me, then will I make weak things become strong unto them.

No one got anywhere without failing or having weaknesses. Look at anyone great and achieved and you tell me anyone who hasn't failed or has no weaknesses. The only person that did that was Jesus Christ. So, obviously he knows how to do things right. So trust in him. 

That's my weekly experience/progressing personal conversion story/testimony. 

Everyone should go on a mission. it does wonders for bringing out the weaknesses in ya (: it's so great! There isn't anything God can't strengthen you in! 
 

Love you all! Love Hermana Ficklin

November 12, 2013

What do you get when you have no time to write, and you are borrowing a member's ipad, and it's set to Spanish -- and has the auto-correct mechanism from heck?

Ha ha, you're about to find out. Here is Kaylani's letter this week:

Hay mom, Sorry today is a hola day And mi no can write on this iPad because it is auto correcting me in spanish because i am on a membretes iPad haha so... Next week i William send everyone a beatería email haha oh man. Tell everyone i love them And Ghana You so much for the packagemaker it was so awesome! I lo de it And my roomates llovedizo it! Haha godo luck understanding this but everything is grieta hére Illinois send You a letrero in the Mail a out it! Love You! 

Kaylani

November 4, 2013

 This is the abuela that is teaching me how to crochet! She crochets everything she wears.

I caught a squirrel!!! jk it was an investigators pet!

HEYYYYY everyone!

        so this week has been a good one! we have had a lot of great people to teach this week! So we had a member recently move into our ward who said that he had a room mate who wanted to know more about the gospel, so we have started teaching him this last week! It has been going great! What is even more great about it is that this member and his roomate have like 5 other room mates that live with them and I swear they always have someone new there with them everytime we go visit. so i really am not sure how many people live there... But! they all have joined in on our lessons when we come over and it's so awesome. We call them "the lost boys".  haha they are all from Mexico and they all do some kind of construction, like roofing or painting, and they are all loving the lessons! one of them really loved the law of chastity lesson we taught last time and he loves the pamphlets we have, he's always the first to grab them from us haha (guess which one that is in the picture) haha so I'm really excited to see what happens with this group! they are awesome! 

We had a district meeting and before the meeting we had a halloween lunch! we had glow in the dark witch fingers that we ate with haha it was great. gotta love the mish. Haha

So... I LOVE BEING HAPPY.  I don't know about the rest of you but being happy is the best. One thing that is the bomb about being on a mission is that you are 24/7 in the gospel. all the time. Which means you are constantly learning about nothing but the gospel! This morning I was just looking up in true to the faith about happiness because I was studying for a lesson on the plan of salvation for an investigator today.

Okay, Heavenly Father is the best. What a great guy He is that He made this whole world for us! He has made a plan for you, and me, and everyone here to just have the opportunity to be happy, and not just happy now or just happy temporally... no, its to be happy FOREVER. Just let that settle in your minds for a minute... He wants us to be happy. forever. And He hasn't left us here on earth without knowing how to be truely happy. because there is such thing as being fake happy. and you all know what I'm talking about. The empty happiness of having material things, or popularity,  or whatever it is. That is not true happiness. True happiness comes from knowing who you are. And from knowing that God knows who you are. And you become who you know you are. God wants us to be happy. He's set out a plan for us, He's given us the way to do it. 

He doesn't ask us to be perfect. He asks us to change. and to Act. One of the most important things we do, is act. Marjorie Pay Hinckley said something along the lines of "we can't till a field just by turning it over in our minds." We can't expect to be happy if we don't do anything to change.

So do it! Whether it be changing our perspective on life and then living the way God wants us to live, or quitting a job with bad influences, or just saying I love you to your parents can change a relationship for the better.

We all know how to live happy, we just have to get out there and live what we know.

Following what God not only asks us to do, but commands us to do, is all for our happiness. So follow it gosh dang it! haha I really do know that following the example of Jesus Christ in all things is the best way to go. 

So, read your scriptures, pray, go to church, serve one another, love your family, and all those simple church answers that you will come to find so important. 

As you do them, that is where you will find true happiness!!!  So be happy!!!

Love you guys!