May 30th, 2011 Email

Well i made it to California and i have officially been here for one whole week!!! :):) Wow i have so much to say too and i'm SO GRATEFUL that i dont have a dumb little countdown at the top of my screen! Haha i have about an hour to write so i'm pretty sure i'll be able to get everything out safely :)

 

Mmk so.......HELLO i'm in CALIFORNIA!!

 Tuesday was quite the rush! haha Hma Young and I almost missed the bus to get to the airport and it was just CRAZY. I had one of my poor luggage wheels break on my new big bag. :( A sweet Elder was trying to help me and get my luggage to the bus, and it was raining and dark, and he thought he could jump down a little drop off instead of going down the stairs... and he jumped with my luggage.... and ya toppled on the ground and thats how my wheel broke. :/ i didnt notice it at the time, but when i got the airport i realized how heavy my bags were and it felt like i was just dragging my bags. hahaha turns out i kinda was :P But it still works fine its just hard when you are trying to DRAG about 100 lbs with one hand. :)

 

But either way we were able to get to the airport and to Cali just fine. :) When we got to Cali we met President Donaldson and his wife, then spent the day with them at their house. BEST DAY!! holy moly. First of all we got there and i came with about 14 other elders and sisters. There were 3 sisters then the rest Elders. We ate lunch at their house and it was so awesome to have REAL food! haha no more MTC stuff :) And then we had some meetings/ getting to know you in the Family room. It was kinda hustle and bustle to make sure that we were getting everything that the president needed done: like pictures, health forms, Licenses, paperwork etc etc. Then after all that guess what we got to do!? :) TAKE A NAP!!! hahaha i never thought I'd get to use that word my entire mission!! :)

 

So we separated and us Sisters got to sleep on the couches and the Elders were kicked somehwere else? But we were able to take an hour and half nap!! :) BOOO YAA!!  best nap of my life prob! Pretty sure i completely LOVE President and Sister Donaldson already :) After our LOVELY naps we watched a talk by Elder Holland about missinoary work. <3 It was OUTSTANDING!! I cannot tell you how much i learned just from that talk!! :) I love Elder Holland! It was the best way to continue to our discussion on how to be a missionary and the desires that we need to have and how this mision HAS to CHANGE our lives FOREVER. <3 it was SO powerful.

 

The night just kept getting better from that point on!!  President Donaldson is INCREDIBLE!!! I dont think i've ever met someone with so much knowledge about the gospel!! :) haha remember how i always talk about Hno Gillon and how powerful he was and how muc he knows?! YA... President is a GROWN Hno Gillon!! :):) ahhhhh it was soooo awesome!! my mind WAS EXPLODING with excitement and just expanding with so much information! But it i couldnt get enought of it! i could listent to him talk all night long! :) I wish I could explain everything i learned, but one i forgot my notebook with my like 5 pgs of notes! and two I dont think it would sound as good having me say it :P But all i know is that this Gospel is Incredible!! Heavenly Father is so AMAZING and he definitely knows what he is doing :) The Atonement is CENTERAL to everything in the Gospel, and i absolutely LOVE learning about it!!!! :):)

 

Ok so now time to explain the rest of my week!! :D My comp. is Hma. L <3 She is awesome :) i'm so lucky to have such great comps! Her spanish is Legit and i'm so excited for the day i'll be able to talk like her :) The first day we met we went to the MoBat. (Mormon Battalion) and had a short mtg there, and the first day was a lot of transfer stuff and just going from building to buidling to be trained. Wednesdays are transfer days so we had to go through all that for the rest of the Elders and Sisters. But after all that we were able to get to work! The first day we had three apts lined up so i was able to meet all of them! hahaha everyone here speaks SO FAST!!!! :) i pretty much dont understand anything and i can hardly say anything either :P but everyone is so nice to me and tells me to keep practicing :) I love all of the people already though. Thats  one of the huge blessings i've seen since having this name tag and being set apart as a missionary. I LOVE the people so much!! i couldnt even understand them, but i love them with all my heart and just want to teach them!! I'm so excited to keep learning spanish so i can talk to them and love them even more!! :)

 

So thats kinda how the whole week was. I've met quite a few people and i love them all!! I was able to teach a lesson yesterday in English and it was SO GREAT!!! ahhhh the spirit was so strong and this woman is so strong! she is so sweet and is doing everything she needs to do to be baptized. But she doesnt want to make that step yet. I think she needs to have her own testimony of the Book of Mormon. So asked to to pray and and find out for herself :) I'm so excited to hear how it goes :):) I love teaching and testifying!!! :):)

 

Ok so i'm getting low on time so i'm sorry i dont get to share all the details right now :/ So the Battalion... is so great!! i have the BEST MISSION EVER!!!!! and i get the best of both worlds!! :) i get to go to the MoBat everyday for either a 3-9 shift of 9-3 shift and its so fun!!!! This place is so awesome and i HIGHLY recommend everyone to come see it if you ever come to San Diego!!!  :) I do a lot of English tours and i've done a few spanish tours. We only do the Spanish tours when there is a group that wants it :) But its so fun!!! Kids absolutely love and so do the Adults! :) Its such a great way to touch peoples lives and share important history of our Religion <3

 

Gosh i love this mission!!!!! :):) i am so blessed to be doing this and i wake up every morning with so much excitement to go out and teach!!! :) I see SO many blessings that have come from serving <3 The Lord is so mindful of all of us and wants us to be happy, and he is SO willing to bless us when are doing what we are supposed to. :) I love this Gospel so much!!! We are SO BLESSED TO HAVE WHAT WE HAVE!! :):) I already know that this mission is going to go by SO FAST and so i dont want to ever take a day for granted! I want to serve everyday with all my heart might mind and strenth!! :):) I love you all so much!! Thanks for all the love and support!! :):) The Church is True and thats ALL that MATTERS!! :):) <3

 

MUCHO HUGS AND KISSES COMIN YOUR WAY!! :):)

xoxoxoxxo, Hermana Stevens :)

Sorry this is late! E-mail May 20, 2011 She left the MTC TODAY.

Hello my dear family and friends!! :)

welp! i'm goin to Cali on tuesday!! :) and can i just tell you i'm SO READY!!!! i never thought id really be ready to leave the MTC, but the Lord knew exactly how to make me want to leave, and thats by making my district leave first. Everyone but my comp has left for their missions and is super lonely now :( I love my comp and we still have good times but its just not the same without your family here. I'm so happy for them to get out to the field but i miss them like crazy! I'm already looking forward to our reunion in 2 years :P This weekend was so crazy with everyone getting ready to leave, having our in field orentation and all that fun stuff. We had a little going away testimony meeting that was really good :) and before that we spent time together as a district recording funny songs on my recorder. haha that was the best idea to have one of those! so worth the money! :)

Um back to leaving on Tuesday, i get to call home!!!! EEEEEeeeee!!! i'm so excited to call home!! :D I dont really know the exact time that i'll be calling....:-/ I leave the MTC at 5 am and head to SLC. My flight leaves at like 8 so i'm guessing that i'll be calling you around 7?? So just be ready for something like that :) i'll be sure to call the home phone first, and if no one answers i'm calling cell phones ;) so be ready!! :) I think i can buy a calling card or something at the book store here so i'll have lots of minutes to talk :):) i cant wait!! :D

So This week i started visitor center training!! hahaha oh boy. not what i was expecting but its getting better and better every day thank goodness :) haha VC training has increased my desire to leave here too :P Something about being in a class room with 31 girls for 6 hours just makes me ready to bounce! ;) haha oh its an adventure!! i have more of that in the letter that i sent you. :)

The best day that i've had this week was tuedsy for sure! Its was our last day with Hmno Gillion and it was just him, Hma Young & I :) it was the best way to end the MTC with him as our teacher! We just got to talk to him for 3 hours and ask him questions about anything! :) and then we spent some of the time teaching our investigator, but he was so awesome and encouraged us so much to get out to the field and work hard and give our all to the mission. :) he has inspired me SO MUCH here at the mtc!! And he makes me feel like my spanish is the bomb... haha even though its not quite there. He's nice to get such great compliments :)

Speaking of Spanish, yeah i'm SUPER scared to get out there and not understand practically what anyone is saying.. BUT at the same time, i know this will be the best thing for me! i need to be as imersed in Spanish as i can get, so i'm forced to speak it ALL the time! I'm so hoping for a good trainer that is completely flutent and will only speak spanish to me. I want to work hard and getting this language down and i know that its by speaking it every day! :) I'm learning to show more trust in the Lord and relying on him for comfort and strength when i feel like its overwhelming. I'm excited. its time to get to Cali and start getting some PUEBLOS BAPTIZED!!! :):)

Well this is my last email sent from the MTC!! thank you all for your love and support while i've been here!! thank you for the Sweet packages, picts, letters, and dear elders!! the last day i'll be able to recieve dear elders is monday just so ya know :):) I love you all so much!! 

This Church is true and the more that i continue to study and learn about it, the more i have that desire to share it with everyone!! :):) I love my Savior Jesus Christ! I know that he lives and loves everyone one of us! i'm so grateful for the relationship ive been able to develop with him through this MTC experience :) I look forward to developing it more throughout my mission :):) I'm so happy to be here and wouldn't change that for the world!!! love you all! Hugs and Kisses comin your way!! :):)

xoxoxox Hma Stevens :)

Friday May 13th, 2011 Email

So i got travel plans this week!!!!! bahhhhh!!! :):):) I'm going to be in california on may 24!! :)  That's when I'll get to talk to you! ahhhhh!!! i'm sooooo happy!! :):)

I have so many mixed emotions about leaving the mtc... I never thought the day would come when i was going to actually leave this place. I'm now in my comfort zone here and so its time to kick me out! ;)

haha but i feel such an urge to get to San Diego as well!! This past week i just feel like this huge amount of faith and trust that the Lord knows my abilities and everthing is going to be ok in the field. So thats what makes me excited :90

I'm not so excited to leave my WONDERFUL district!! Oh man they are so the bomb and its going to be super bitter sweet leaving all of them. Even my comp. i'm sure we will see each other a lot but i'll miss having her as such a strong companion.

 

Two of the Elders leave for Chile this coming Monday. They are the first to go for the week, then on tuesday everyone else but me and hma y leave. Her and i are going to have all of tuesday to be with our teachers! I wont lie that'll be pretty bomb :) hahaha i think we are going to be translated... soo..... see ya in Heaven?? ;) hahaha just kidding. But we do get a really cool opportunity to teach our investigators and hopefully get some good feed back about our teaching and how to become better :) Its gonna be a sweet adventure!

 

Today we have been doing field training and thats why this email is coming to you so late. Our pday is actually tomorrow but its like a 1/2 pday?? i dunno its just kinda weird. but today we have been in seminars and classes talking about how to be efficient missionaries. how to plan,how to excercise faith, etc etc. Its actually pretty sweet :) I wasn't looking forward to it because today was supposed to be our pday but it ended up being really cool and spiritually uplifitng. Its getting me more and more excited to get out into the field!! BAH i'm going to CALIFORNIA!!! :) haha just had to throw in that burst of excitement :)

 

This week has been pretty awesome. Like i said earlier i really feel like im starting to really SHOW my Faith in Christ, and Heavenly Father and really trust that he knows the plan for me and his plan is way better than any plan than i could come up with. I'm really trying to focus on BEING the missionary and letting this mission go through me. I dont want to come home and be the old me. I dont want to be Shaley Stevens anymore. Because right now i'm Sister Stevens and when i come home i want to be Sister Shaley Stevens :) So i've been trying really hard to soak up that concept and internalize my purpose as a missionary. :) Its been really great and I feel like i'm coming to know my Savior more and more. I have such a desire to really get to know him. Personally, so i can go through this mission knowing what even obstacles come in my way, NONE of them are too great to go through with the Saviors help :) Its been a fun journey finding that out :)

 

Ummmm I love this work!! what can i say!? :) then more and more i'm really learning and living the gospel principles, the more i have this desire and URGE to go and share it!! :) I have some PUEBLOS to baptize!!  :) OHHHH!!! i cant believe i almost forgot to tell you!!! ELDER ANDERSON CAME AND SPOKE TO US ON TUESDAY!!!  THAT WOULD BE APOSTLE NUMBER 3 MY FRIENDS!!! :):) ahhhh it was so awesome!!! :):):):):) I'll go into more detail about it in my letter so i can write some quotes but how bomb is that?!?! :):) I'm so hoping for one more before me and hma young leave :) i would just die :):) But i'm still so grateful for such an awesome opportunity to hear 3 Apostles of the Lord speak to us missionaries while i was here :):) To hear three witnesses bear testimony that Jesus is the Christ and that he Lives!! :) so powerful!! :) it was so cool and i cant believe i almost forgot to tell you such exciting news :) haha must be all the excitement of my travel  plans :)

 

well if i have forgotten anything else to tell you i'll be sure to include it in my letter :) i love you all sooo much!!! :):) I hope you had a super mothers day mom! i sure thought of you a lot! I'm excited to read your email and hear how you all are doing! i'll be counting down the day till i get to hear your voices!! :) bah!! I love being a missionary! The work is true! Jesus Chirst LIVES and loves us!! I know that with all my heart! have a wonderful week!! Hugs and kisses comin your way!! :):):)

 

xoxoxoxox Hermana Stevens <3

I rearraged the dates on these so now they are all in the order that they were written.  Sorry if that's confused anyone. 

There are 3 new ones that I posted today. 

May 6th Email, April 29th Email and April 21st 2011

(April 21st is AFTER the April 21st Email). 

If you are reading these posts about and from Hermana Stevens-  I hope that you will take a minute to write her.  DearElder.com is a great resource while she is still in the MTC. You just type her a quick letter, and if you send it before noon she gets it that night- if you type it in the evening she gets it the next day! :) She doesn't have much longer at the MTC.  The family doesn't have an exact date when she leaves the MTC yet- but it will be sometime mid May we are thinking.  The great thing about DearElder.com is that it's FREE!  And you could even just write her a short note- doesn't have to be long!  Think of it as texting for missionaries. :) 

She would love to hear from any and all of you!! :)  ~ Amber

E-mail May 6, 2011

So this week was pretty great! :) I have a nice little list that i wrote up so i could make sure that i didnt miss anything. Please excuse any of my spelling in this email cause i'm trying to type SUPER FAST today to get it all in! :) 

 

So Saturday we had the COOLEST lesson with Hmno. Gillon!! :) We read the story about Moses and about how he got to see God and all that awesome stuff, but the part that i wanted to share with you, and what was really significant to me, was after he saw God and the devil tempted him. In vs. 19- 23 of Moses one it says: " And now when Moses has said these words, Satan cried with a loud voice and rated upon the earth and commanded saying: i am the only begotten worship me. And it came to pass that Moses began to fear exceedingly and as he began to fear, he saw the bitterness of hell. Nevertheless, calling upon God, he recieved strength and he commanded saying: depart from me satan for this one God only will i worship which is the God of Glory and now satan began to tremble and the earth shook and moses recieved strength and called upon God saying, in the name of the only begotten depart hence Satan."  

 

AH how cool is that!?!?! so many things stood out to me in this story! It amazes me that RIGHT after Moses had seen God that he could still fall into temptation by the devil. But then it just shows to me THE POWER OF PRAYER!! :):) Thats exactly how moses gained his power over the devil is by calling upon God. and the exact same thing happened to Joseph Smith! :) So how important is it, that we pray ALWAYS that we may come off conquerers?? :) And i love a quote that bro Gillon gave us after too :) its my new motto everday :) it goes like this: " I want to live my life in such a way that when i wake up each morning Satan will see me and say: "OH NO SHE'S AWAKE!"  :):) hahah is that bomb or what?! :) i love it!!

 

I have such a testimony of prayer. i KNOW that it works and i know that Heavenly Father hears every prayer that we say :) I also know that in our times of trial, when we call upon God he will be right there imediately to comfort us, I have seen this time and time again at the MTC and i know i'll see it all throughout my mission. I'm so grateful for such a LOVING Heavenly Father who cares so much for me and all of his children :) I encourage everyone to read over that story in moses! :) its so sweet!! :)

 

I'm short on time though and i didnt quite get to say all that i wanted, so i'll get a letter written about the rest! :) and I'll even throw in some spanish too!! :) I love this work and i Love my Heavenly FAther And my Savior Jesus Chirst! i know that he lives!! :) I"m so grateful to be here on this mission! even when times get tough! Its teaching me so much and i wouldnt trade it for anything!!! i love you all soooooo much!!! have a wondeful week!! hugs and kisses comin your way!!! :):)

 

xoxoxo

Hermana Stevens :)

E-Mail April 29, 2011

Um so hi i leave in like 2 1/2 weeks!! holy MOLY!!!! i'm still kinda in shock and really nervous to leave! i still have SO MUCH MORE to learn! i dont feel like my Spanish is near fluent enought, so i'm givin it all i got to put my faith in the Lord that he will look out for me and help me reach my potential. Time is going by so quick!! And i just got an email from Jackie and she is going to be hitting her 6 month mark so soon!! BLOWS my mind!

Ok so this week has been really crazy. but really good at the same time. First of all and most important, we got to hear ANOTHER apostle this week!!! :D ahhh! Elder Oaks and his wife came and spoke to us Tuesday night :) it was soooo cool! he talked about how i can be a successful misisonary. And so i've got to take all the advice i can get before i'm out in the real world! I love hearing from Apostles :) I will freak out if we get to hear anymore before i leave :) how lucky would that be!? :)

Easter was soooooo good!!!! oh man SO GOOD!! it was so awesome to  completely focus on Christ ALL DAY :) my testimony that he lives has grown so much stronger! I think i'll talk more about that in my letter thought cause it seems more spiritual on paper :) But this whole week we have set aside time as a District to talk about Christ and the Atonement. Definitely the most powerful times here at the mtc <3 so remember how i have the best district in the whole world!? :) well i do :):) And the Elders in my district are the bomb!!! They are so sweet! On easter they suprised us Hermanas with an easter egg hunt in the class room!! :) it was soooo cute! and super fun! hahaha it lasted like 30 seconds but it was still the sweetest thing!! :) they were so excited for us too that was probly the best part. It was a wonderful Easter for me :)

Ok so Even thought we have has SUPER spiritual highs as a district, we experienced our first "fight" as a district.... NO BUENO.... there was no spirit there at all and it was not a happy feeling. And the contention drug on from that night to the next day in the afternoon.... it is impossible to be a successful misisonary when you dont have the spirit... Lucky since my district is the best in the world, we were able to solve our problems, apologise to each other, forgive one another, and most importantly get the spirit back. I never want that to happen again... Its hard to admit things when you can be in the wrong, but its not worth holding on to when you dont have the Spirit anymore.

  

The Spanish is kinda a struggle for me right now. i dont always feel like my language study is affective. Mainly cause there is SO MUCH to learn and when you only have an hour a day to work on those, its rough. I'm trying hard to speak more spanish too cause thats one of my big downfalls, i'm using english as a crutch. But somedays its really overwhelming. :/ I also think thats why i've loved focusing on the Savior so much cause I have come to realize the importance of the Atonement and how PERSONAL it is. I love knowing that Christ is willing to go through these struggles with me and help me whenever i ask. I'm learning to work harder on my part cause i know that the Lord will help with the rest.

I KNOW that my Savior Jesus Christ suffered and died for ME. I know that in the Garden, he saw all of us as individuals, he saw our faces and suffered for US. I know that he was resurrected and that he lives!! :) I'm so grateful for that knowlegde i have. I'm so proud to do his work, and to help others gain a testimony of what i know. :) I wouldn't want to be anywhere else. even when the work does get really hard. REALLY HARD. I love being on the lords errand and wouldn't trade it for anything. i love you all so so much! i'm excited to write you more today! thanks for all your love and support <3 The church is TRUE so NOTHING ELSE MATTERS!! never be afraid to share this happy message!! hugs and kisses to you all!!!

xoxoxoxxo Hermana Stevens :):):)

Thursday April 21, 2011 Email

Es un dia maravilloso!

This week i have just been on a spirital high!! :):) I have seen so many blessings from the Lord and have felt the Holy Ghost so strongly! :) In class this week we did an activity were we got to sit in class and just pray for 20 min straight. no one talked, you just got to sit there and pray as long as you wanted, then just listen to the promptings of the spirit. It was one of the most powerful things i have ever experienced in my life. I felt the spirit so strongly that night and it was wonderful cause it was all so individual and just a conversation between me and my heavenly Father. <3 I love the power of prayer and how real it is. I have never prayed so much during the day, but i love praying as much as i do. I'm learning to pray for every single thing i struggle with or need help on. I see my prayers getting answered continually too. Our Heavenly Father is so mindful of us and listens and answers our prayers i know that without a doubt. :)

Another awesome experience we had in class this week was writing down any question that we had about anything. We then passed them to someone in our class and they got to answer the question. IT was SO AWESOMe to just dive into the scriptures and find references and answers to these questions! :) I have never really done a deep scripture search by topic but it was so awesome :):) Again the spirit was so strong and it was so awesome to be able to follow those promptings and answer someones question they had. I love my teachers and how well they follow the spirit. :) I aslo learned how much i truly LOVE THE SCRIPTURES! :)

ok ok so Sunday night at dinner, my companion and i got to eat with the PRESIDENT of the MTC!! :):) President Brown came over and sat by us and talked to us through our whole evening of dinner :) He is the cutest old man!! :) he reminds me of President Hinkely! :):) It was so awesome talking to him and feeling his spirit. He asked us all sorts of questions about ourself and then at the end he called us "Princess Moroni's" :):) is that the cutest thing or what?! :) bah i love him!! it was the coolest experience to sit and talk to him!! haha i'm nervous now though cause i'm afraid at a fireside or something he'll call me up to bear my testimony or some thing :/ hahah but we'll see :) either way it was so awesome!

And then the news gets better!!! ELDER RICHARD G SCOTT came this tuesday to speak to us at the fireside!! ahhh that was sooooooooooo awesome!! MOST POWERFUL THING I'VE EVER BEEN TO! :) it was miraculous!! i'm gonna talk a lot more about that in my letter this week cause i wanna be more specific. but the spirit was sooo strong in that meeting and he was so cute when he first started his talk, he gave us all "virutal hugs" cause he couldn't stay after and shake our hands :) it was sooo awesome!! mk but i'll write more about that today:) i cant wait to tell you the details!! 

And this coming week my district will be the oldest ones in the zone!! all our oldies are leaving this week!! its crazy!! I cant believe how quick time is going! But its good for sure i'm excited for all of them to get out into the field! :) I'm gonna be a mess when its time for my district to split, we have come SO close. But i know that i wasnt meant to spend 18 months at the mtc making best friends :) i gotta get busy spreading the gospel :):)

This week was just so great :) And i want eveyone at home to know how MUCH i LOVE THIS WORK. It has really become so sacred to me. I feel so honored to be an instrument in the Lords hands to bring about this wonderful work. I have no doubt in my mind that our Savior Jesus Chirst LIVES, He died in OUR behalf and overcame all the sins of the world. I KNOW that he loves us as individuals and desires for us to return to Live with our Father in Heaven again. I KNOW that the power of the Atonement is REAL and it is for us to use always. I'm so grateful for that loving sacrifice he made for me. I love learning about this gospel. I know that it is the gospel of Jesus Christ!! The church is TRUE and we should take every opportunity that we have to share it with those around us! :):)

I'm so grateful for all of your love and support at home <3 I hope all is going well. I hope you take the time this coming Sunday, which is Easter and really take the time to forget about ourselves and really focus on the Savior. Take time to ponder the meaning of his life and how it affects ours. <3 I know that my Redeemer lives, what comfort this SWEET sentence gives! :):) I love you all hugs and kisses coming your way!! :):)

xoxoxo, Hermana Stevens <3 Give em Heaven!