Hiiii

 

Just a quick start, my P-DAY is usually Monday....but we got to go to the TEMPLE today!!!!!!!!!!!! Best day EVER. It's gorgeous! These trips only happen once every 3 months...I came at the right time! :)

Well, Welcome to Abbotsford, B.C., home of coffee dates, Santa stalkers, police encounters and people who eat raw eggs!!

Yes, all of those did happen this week. Mom, don't be worried, I'm still alive and kickin'.

Well, like I said, here I sit in Abbotsford, British Columbia. It's a GORGEOUS town...like a mix of Kaysville, Park City, Bountiful and Forks, WA....no vampires yet though. ;) I'm seriously loving it here. Before I forget, here's my address so you ALL can write me...I miss letters. ;)

33981 Car-lin Lane

Abbotsford, BC

V2S 2L3

Okay. Where to begin. The last week of the MTC was seriously some of the best times of my whole life. I LOVE MY DISTRICT. Gah. I miss them already and it's been like a week. We said goodbye to the Ohio elders last Tuesday (#WDE) and then headed off bright and early Wednesday morning. Being in the real world as a missionary was WEEEEEEIRD at the beginning. I feel like I looked like a zoo animal in the airport...probably did. I was SO happy to be able to talk to the family....I miss you guys like crazy. Glad to hear you're doing well! :) After we talked, I hopped on the plane and headed to VANCOUVER! We were in the airport in BC for like 5465405 hours going through customs...the Proposal depicted it well. I pretty much had to trade in my first child to enter this country...but GOOD NEWS! I'm here to stay. :)

After the airport, we went to the mission office and met the Tilleman's! Pres. and Sis. Tilleman are THE coolest people I've ever met. They are so inspired and so kind and so loving. We ended up sleeping in a hotel that night, awaiting our assignments at transfer conference the next day.......that was killer. No sleep that night for sure. :) At transfer conference, we were interviewed and it was determined that I was to spend at least the next 6 weeks in ABBOTSFORD with Sister Bowman. SHE IS THE BEST. I love her....she's so patient, bless her soul. I'm learning more day by day thanks to her awesome example. We live in a basement apartment of this young couple named the Gurrs....they are awesome. Fun fact? Brother Gurr served his mission with Ash's uncle Andy! And Taylor Bybee's brother! Small world. He said they're both way neat.

Every single day here has been an adventure. There is SO much work to do, so missionary life is pretty hard, but it's SO worth it. Feeling the spirit that can enter a home that's never had it before is SUCH an amazing feeling. My first night, we taught a couple former investigators that hadn't really been receptive before...and we have two return appts! The Lord works miracles here in Abbotsford, because of EXACT obedience. That's also sort of hard...EXACTLY obedient, but I can testify that it truly brings forth miracles.

Like not dying for example....Sunday night we went for a walk with a less active lady named Sis Nice. As we were walking past this school, we walk past a teenage boy sitting propped up against the school, gun in hand and video camera pointed at him.....we walked past calmly, then sis Nice called the cops......I don't think I've ever prayed so hard in my life...but it worked, because I'm still here. There were like 6 cops though...I can't seem to get away. ;) Hahahahahahaha. 

Street contacting stories? Alright. We gave a mormon.org card to a man who looked like Santa, thinking he'd be nice. Instead he goes, "Why isn't your picture on this card? I'd take it if it had your picture...how old are you?" Emi would have said, "Ew, too young for you, sicko." but since I'm Sis Facer now I had to say, "I'm flattered, but this message is not about me...but I encourage you to check out this website!" EW EW EW EW EW. Creepy old men scare me. But he took the card? I'll be handing that referral off to the elders.

Another man we tracted said I was one of the best salespeople he'd ever met. After we had a conversation about business and the church, he offered to take me out for coffee after we were done around 5. He was also old. I said sorry, but no........ (NOT EVER) (EVEN POST MISSIONARY)......I'm certainly not in Kaysville anymore. (But I'm being safe Mom and Dad, I promise! :)

Yesterday, we went over to a member's house for dinner! It's hard, because I don't think the members like the missionaries too much....there's like 5 people I've met that love us. THANK HEAVENS FOR THEM. :) Anyway, their Japanese foreign exchange student made us this rice and chicken plate. He asked us if we wanted egg on it, to which I was like, "Yeah, eggs are good."

CRACK. The raw egg is on my plate. And you'll be so proud of me I ATE THE WHOLE THING WITHOUT GAGGING. Miracles, I tell you. We tried teaching him the plan of Salvation after......it was hard, but so good. 

I have to run, but I love you all to death. Seriously miss you all. I hope Kels and Zach are having a fantastic time at school, and I look forward to hearing from you soon! Sure love you guys!! WRITE ME TONS. :) XOXOXO.

Sister Emi

P.S. Everyone here says EH. It's so true. And "Oat and a boat." instead of out and about. How different, but I like it!!!

P.P.S. THE CHURCH IS TRUE. Sure love you! :)

Canada Missionary Arrival Letter

Dear Brother and Sister Facer,

 

Attached is a picture of your wonderful missionary with President and Sister Tilleman at their recent arrival in the Canada Vancouver Mission.  They have been assigned to a new companion and new area.  Monday is Preparation Day when they will email you their new address.  Emailing your missionary is the most effective way of consistent communication with your missionary in Canada. 

Sincerely,

 

Elder and Sister Harding

Canada Vancouver Mission Office

 

 

I'm Alive

HELLO FAMILY AND FRIENDS!

This is truly the best day of my whole LIFEEEEEEE. Hi. Okay. Where to begin.

First off, thanks to Mom and Dad for the packages...you guys rock! The greenie one was adorable, and I got the PJs today. THANK YOU THANK YOU! The dearelders from the Marks,  Dede, Maddy, Kenz and Mom and Dad were also amazing. Thank you so much! Mail is literally the lifeblood of the MTC...keep it coming!! :)

ALRIGHT. Let me start by saying that I'm literally the happiest I've ever been at this given moment. The MTC is such an amazing place! I love it here. In the matter of a week, I've grown more spiritually than I can ever imagine.....and I've gained 9 new best friends. My district rocks. Lemme tell you about them!

My comp is Sister Williams.....she's way funny! We have so much fun. She has pretty much the same humor as me.....so we get along GREAT. She's from Idaho and went to BYU-I....she's a blast to be around. My other roommates are Sis Nelson and Smith. They're from Idaho and Oklahoma...Sister Nelson is 25! I respect her a ton for coming so late.....she's such a great example. They're coming to VANCOUVER! We all have such a fun time together. We're the only sisters in our district. The elders are E. Leavitt and Greenland, E. Boothe and Cummins and E. Englestead and Alldredge....only the last two elders are coming with us to Canada, so it's way sad! But we already have a quote wall and such...too much fun. Our teacher's name is Brother Adjei....he's from GHANA!! He has THEE sickest accent. He also is way cool. I JUST LOVE IT HERE.

The second day I was here we got progressing investigators to teach that we've been working with almost everyday....it's our teacher, but they act like someone they met on their mission. It's a wayyyy intense schedule, but it's a blast. Teaching is WAY hard. A lot harder than I thought. It's crazy to begin to get in this mindset where you have to simplify the gospel down to like a Primary level. I'm learning so much, because there is so much time TO learn so much! My testimony while I've been here has grown monumentally....you feel the Spirit pretty much every second of every day. It's such a great environment. I love it!

Yesterday we had a devotional in the Marriott Center like I guess they do every Wednesday...but guess who was the speaker!? RICHARD G SCOTT. The feeling of the Holy Ghost in the air was literally tangible. He got talking about his wife and paused. He then said, "I know that the Lord has permitted her to be with us today."

HOW. COOL. IS. THAT. It was dead silent in the room. We had a chance to bear our testimonies as a district after and all of us mentioned how that was one of the most spiritual experiences of our whole life. :)

Earlier this week, on Sunday we got to watch a Christmas Day devo by Elder Bednar that he gave at the MTC about the character of Christ....literally the best talk I've ever heard and you can ONLY HEAR IT IN THE MTC....SO sorry. The main point was to put off the natural man and reach outward...and the only way we can do that is true conversion. He had a quote that I really loved. He said:

"Testimony is knowing what is true. Conversion is being true to what you know."

Isn't that awesome!?

So for those of you who were worried, I'm still the same old Emi. There's this drinking fountain right outside the cafeteria that I went to go drink from on my second day....yeah. It was one of the ones that sprays WAY far....I WAS SOAKED IN THE FACE. I had like 4 senior couples ROLLING....how awkward. I've tripped about 180000 times too....this whole "ALL skirt ALL the time" thing takes some getting used to. Also, one of the Elders is named Boothe, right? One morning Sister Nelson went, "Hey Elder, do you ever watch Bones?" ALL of the sisters in our district then screamed, "AGENT BOOTHE!" So Mom? I've made friends. No worries. ;)

Here's also some points of interest for the week! :)

1. One of our zone leaders was Canadian...he left, he didn't die....hahaha. Anyway he would always say "Go study in the foyer" but pronounce it foy-YAY...like the French. (S/O to Hai Henson!) I can't go back, so don't judge me if I say foyeur when I get home.

2. Bishop Law's nephew is in my zone. He's going to Denver! Small world.

3. You literally see everyone in the MTC. I've seen people that went to DHS and Utah State that I had NO idea knew me and they all say hi. It's the friendliest place.

4. Everyone here stops you as you're walking and bears their testimony in the language they are learning. So far I've heard Japanese, Korean, French and Portuguese. It really hit me this week how universal this church is....it's truly amazing.

5. One sister said "Poke the bear" and I laughed for DAYS.

6. All my roommates frequently quote Nacho Libre. HAHAHA. Best day EVER.

7. The orange juice does nothing to you. That was quite a relief. The MTC food is actually really good!

Hmmmmm.....what else. WE GOT TO GO TO THE TEMPLE TODAY! It was beyond awesome. It's gorgeous on the inside and out...just as it should be. :)

 I'll write more in letters and such, but I just wanted to let you know that I'm safe and SO happy. This place is truly an amazing place. In the short seven days I've been here, I've learned so much about this gospel, my Savior and myself. I encourage all who are even thinking about a mission to go. It's hard, every single day is hard....but I wouldn't be anywhere else right now.

I miss you all and love you so much! I'll talk to you soon! :)

XOXO

Sister Emi

As sisters in Zion, we'll bring the world his truth.

If you are above the age of fourteen, a member of the Church, and especially privy to 24/7 spirituality for one week and cliche microrelationships that blossom from literally nothing to full-fledged "dating" in less than a week, chances are you attended at least one EFY program in your youth.

Let me explain.

The Especially for Youth program, or EFY, is a program organized by the Church to get the youth more engaged in activities that invite the spirit, encourage good habits of reading scriptures and writing in a journal and to develop relationships with other teens who believe in the same things.

I think the EFY program gets a lot of flack, especially from those who have been, loved it, but don't want to admit it. Everyone's all, "EFY? Pff. I went to that, like, once in junior high. It was soooooo awkward and long. Definitely not my favorite."

Riiiiiiiiiiiight. Quit kidding yourself. Unless you're like my friend who almost got kicked out for wearing a Shade shirt. Then keep on keeping on. (Weird, right?)

I had a lot of fun.....I don't know. Maybe I'm just....different. (Fantastic Mr. Fox, anyone?)

Well, as I was perusing iTunes today to start building up my mission music library, I came across the EFY medley, which contains the songs "As Sisters in Zion" and "We'll Bring the World His Truth." Watch it here.

I honestly had forgotten about how much I truly love this song. I don't know what it is really, but I think ever since I've gotten my call, anything and everything having to do with missionary work either brings me to happy tears or has me checking up on my little portal countdown thing (84 DAYS WOOP WOOP)....this song is basically a timeless example of a perfect missionary song.

My favorite line out of the whole song is simply, "And we will be the Lord's missionaries, To bring the world His truth."

It's incredible to me to see the influx of missionaries that are truly going out to bring the world His truth. By the end of this year, a large majority of my friends will all be out serving, and those who aren't, I know are definitely playing a huge part on the homefront. I'm so grateful to be surrounded by countless examples and wonderful people who are willing to sacrifice 18 months to 2 years in order to help bring the light of this gospel to people all over this world. The church is true, ladies and gentlemen, and I absolutely love it with my whole heart.

In the words of one of my favorite people, the prophet Joseph Smith,

"The Standard of Truth has been erected;

no unhallowed hand can stop the work from progressing;

persecutions may rage, mobs may combine, armies may assemble, calumny may defame,

but the truth of God will go forth boldly, nobly, and independent,

till it has penetrated every continent, visited every clime, swept every country,

and sounded in every ear, till the purposes of God shall be accomplished,

and the Great Jehovah shall say

the work is done."

Wandering thoughts.

Thought of the day, brought to you by Pinterest and Roald Dahl. Stay curious.

The darndest things.

Kids these days. I love 'em.

I work at an elementary school in the summertime, and it makes my heart sing. The children are incredibly sweet, and their innocence continues to amaze me every single day. Love your job and you never have to work a day in your life, yeah? Every day without fail I have those moments where I see all of these kids and think to myself, "I couldn't have been this small in the third grade" or "Has it really been SEVEN YEARS since I was in elementary school?!"

In the immortal words of Nationwide Insurance: Life comes at you fast.

While I was pondering this a little bit at school, I was in charge of the third graders for an hour. Naturally, I did what I do best with an hour to kill....make the children craft. Mother's Day is Sunday, obviously, so a Mother's Day card was in order. As the boys and girls started to cut out the fragile paper circles that would soon transform into some kind of flower for the card, I walked around to see if anyone needed any help. I pulled up a chair next to a table of little girls, and we quickly got talking about the new puppies that had been born this morning and the birthday party of a girl in their class.

Suddenly, one of the girls looked at me and said, "Miss Emi, are you going to be here next year?"

I smiled and replied, "I really wish I could, hon, but I'm going to be gone next year!"

After much interrogation of why I had to leave and where I was going, I explained to them that I was going on a mission. One of the other group leaders these kids knew just left a few weeks ago, so I explained that I was doing the same thing as she did. The girl that asked the question got dead silent and looked at me with these huge eyes full of curiosity and wonder. As she opened her mouth to speak, I knew that there was some kind of Mormon myth that I may have to dispel, so I was equally as curious to hear what she had to say.

With a voice that half whispered her words, she stated in all seriousness this question:

"Miss Emi, are you a Moron?"

I can honestly say that I've never had to hold back a laugh as hard as I did in that second. I promptly told her that although I am indeed a moron, the word she was probably looking for was Mormon...and I was that too. I changed the subject to avoid much discussion about religion in the school, but I silently laughed for the entire rest of the day.

I am a moron. I know it, I live it, I love it.

I'll call it mission prep.

Hi. I'm back. If I've learned one thing about myself in the past four years, it's that I am probably the worst blogger that has ever graced this earth. I only wish I was exaggerating. After trying to extensively redo my last one (HA NOPE), I decided I might as well start my cliche "going-on-a-mission" blog now....why? I've only got 91 days to make the best of it, that's why. So strap in, buckle down, and get ready for a whirlwind of flurry and fun. I'm gonna be better. I pinky promise.