Jan 18 email

Transfer 11: 1 week down, 5 to go! & I couldn't be happier to be spending it with my bff, Sister Bergstrom. Okay, I know I said last week how awesome I thought this transfer was going to be, but I had no clue. This was quite literally a match made in heaven -- thank you President!

So many wonderful things happened this week!

 

Thursday was awesome because we got an extra leadership training for ZLs & STLs in the desert--aka just Sis Bergstrom & I. It's always great to hear from President & Sister Hobbs.  And we got into see K & S, who are twins & potential investigators. They're pretty interested in coming to church! 

Friday was great! lots of planning & such.

Saturday was the BEST! We went on splits with Hanna & Kelsey. We saw so many miracles! I went with Hanna & we got turned down a lot & were about to retreat, but then we were driving down the road & Hanna got the prompting to stop at a house. We did & miraculously a girl came out of her garage just as we were walking up. Her name is C & we had a lesson about the Book of Mormon right there & then. She wants to strengthen her faith in Christ. & meanwhile Sis Bergstrom & Kelsey found like 5 potential investigators & set up appointments with them.

Splits with Hanna and Kelsey

 

AHHH, MISSIONARY WORK IS THE BEST. I love everything about it.

 

In church on Sunday one speaker talked about how the most important thing we can do on earth is to recognize the promptings of the Spirit. I agree 100%. If there's ONE thing I can say I've learned on my mission it's how to recognize the Spirit & how crucial He is in our lives.

I'm truly sorry this email is so lame. For some reason I can't put my thoughts together & time is running low. 

xoxo Sister Viraldo

I LOVE LIFE (Jan 11 email)

First things first, transfers are today & I got a new companion, Sister Bergstrom, whom I adore. Sister Wood got her dream call, white wash training! She's now serving down the hill in Alta Loma. This last transfer was so great & I'm sooo excited to see what good things will come this transfer! LIFE IS SO GOOD.

My new companion, Sister Bergstrom

This week was a really good week! We found 3 new investigators!!

One is M. M has been taught before by other missionaries & a few of her children were baptized last year, but she chose not to be baptized. She even started avoiding the Sisters. The ward wanted us to go by & see how she was doing (I'm telling you, this ward is amazingly caring & they're willing to help anyone & everyone). We went by to drop off some recycling for her & usually when we do that her kids answer the door & take the bottles from us, but this time she came down stairs & said "come on in". We were able to share a short message with her & ask if she'd be open to taking the lessons again & she agreed! ANSWER TO OUR PRAYER. 

Last week I talked about how we had a teaching appointment set up with a potential family, M & A. We DID have a lesson with them & it was soooo good! We pretty much got to know where they're at with religion & testify of God's love. M is unsure what he believes about God, but is open to finding out if He is there. A was crying almost the whole time & she was practically bearing her testimony to him "M, there's something missing" she would say. And before we left she mentioned how we brought so much peace into their home. It was so amazing. They are both wanting to learn more & hopefully their children will join in on the lessons as well. We have an appointment with them tonight! 

We went on 1 1/2 exchanges this week hahaha. First, on Thursday I stayed in Apple Valley with Sister Thomason. We set up a booth (aka a table & chairs & a few Book of Mormons & pamphlets) at Victor Valley College & it ROCKED. We made up a little survey asking questions such as "Do you have a belief in God?", "Do you feel like God has a plan for you?" "How do you find peace & joy in life?". As people would answer, we would ask subsequent questions & testify of God's plan for them. And then we'd ask if they're interested in learning more. It worked super well! 

Then the other 1/2 of the exchange was on Saturday with Sister Slater & Boswell. I went to their area & stayed with Sister Slater. It was a crazy day, because we got transfer calls at about 12:30pm. & they did transfers WAY different this time around. This time the only call we got was if you're leaving you need to pack your bags & you'd find out later where you're going. We found out Sister Slater was leaving & Sister Wood was leaving, so we exchanged back around 1:00. BUT while I was in Maple with Sis Slater, we saw a MIRACLE! We were trying a less active they're working with & no one answered. We were about to leave just as a girl pulled up in the driveway "ahh we love when this happens. it's so awkward." Sister Slater is just such a boss missionary, she said "well, can we come in & talk with you?" She agreed! Wendy is her name & she is a super sweet girl & is super interested in the gospel! We read the intro to the BoM with her, we asked her what it mean & she said "if you live the gospel, you'll know it's true" GOLD. She wants to read the BoM & better yet, she's interested in the YSA ward! SCORE!

Well, 

that's about it for this week. 'twas a good one!

LOVE YOU SO MUCH.

xoxo Sister Viraldo

January 4 Email

Ahh my mind is going crazy for so many reasons! I just feel so great today & I'm not sure why...it may be because I took the sacrament twice yesterday. 

But it's also going crazy because a couple old companions who I haven't heard from in a LONG time emailed me (sis Otuafi & sis Kroff), college application!, ahhh, & I have to use the bathroom, but cannot because it is being cleaned....so sorry in advance for this email being all over the place.

This week was a pretty great week! I'm sorry I haven't been talking much about our investigators, because we really don't have many, & the ones we do have haven't met with us in a long time. A couple I've never even met. So we're really working on finding new ones & meeting with the ones we have. I'm really excited about the potential family we have, M & A. We have an appointment set up with them this Wednesday. 

This was a very different week than most. The whole month of December in general is quite different, but oh so good. 

New Year's Eve was a wonderful day. We had a STL meeting with President & Sister Hobbs for an hour before we had MLC. I think my favorite part about being an STL is the chance I have to go to MLC & learn soooo much! A few changes are being made to the mission: after this transfer there will be no more departing devotionals. I don't know if I ever explained what those were, but to make a long story short, it was a devotional put on for the missionaries going home & they would invite their favorite people from all their past areas to come to the mission office. No more of those. Also there will be no more transfer meetings, aka swaps, aka the best part of transfers. President isn't even sure how we will transfer, but it will be different! Also, on Jan. 20th the Missionary executive committee from Salt Lake is putting on a worldwide missionary devotional. It's gonna be great! 

 

After MLC we had about 1 hour before we had to be in at 6. So we went finding! It was incredible because out of the few houses we knocked on, all people we met were really friendly & a couple we even interested! One doesn't live in our area, but one does! We have an appointment set up with him tomorrow.

So we came home at 6 & watched The Testaments with the sisters & made goals for 2016. It was really strange to have most of my goals be for when I'm no longer a missionary. ahhhh

So it is the new year! 2016. A year I never imagined would come, but now it is in our midst. My thought from this week comes from a BYU devotional talk by Elder Holland called "Remember Lot's Wife". This is a new year of new opportunities. Let us all not look back & yearn for the past, but look forward to the future of possibilities. Let us use the Atonement to forgive & forget things of the past & start anew. Jesus Christ didn't sacrifice His life for us to be yearning for things of the past. His gospel is one of hope & joy. 

I love you & am so grateful for all you've done for me. I hope to be a better daughter, sister, aunt, & friend when I return home. :)

xoxo Sister Viraldo

p.s. I GOT TO GO ON EXCHANGES IN WRIGHTWOOD THIS WEEK & IT WAS THE BESTEST THING EVER!!!!!!!

 

 

Happy 7 months, Sister Wagner! Ahhh I feel so old. It's true, when your children grow up that means you're getting older. I was her age (7 months) when I trained her. :')

Merry Christmas and Happy New Year! (Email from 12-28)

Oh man, I cannot believe Christmas has come & gone in the blink of an eye and now it's almost 2016!

I really don't have much to report on this week since I got to SKYPE MY FAMILY on Christmas day, which was the best ever! Being on a mission, away from your family for so long makes it a very strange experience when you have the chance to talk to them face to face, even over skype. Although it was strange, it was the best strange I could've asked for. That was my 3rd time skyping my family on my mission & I don't know about you, but that was my FAVORITE. Just one more skype session to go & I'll see you all in person a couple weeks later :)

Sister Helms

Hermana Whitten

We went on a couple exchanges this week, which were AWESOME!

Wednesday I stayed in my area for the first time with Sister Helms, who was Sister Anderson's MTC companion. She is SO SWEET. I just love her & really enjoyed the day with her. & on Saturday I was in my area with Hermana Whitten. She's sooo funny. I'm really liking going on exchanges with the sisters :)

Christmas eve was so great! during the day we were able to find an old folk's home to carol to. They brought some of them (just about 10) in the dining hall & we sang for about 20 minutes. It was the toughest crowd I've ever sung to. We found out as we were leaving that it was not your ordinary old folks' home, but a home for those who have mental deterioration such as Alzheimer's or Dementia. After we knew that, we understood why the audience was the way they were.

Later our recent convert in YSA, (Young Single Adult ward) Desiree, texted us & asked if we could have a lesson with her. We took Hanna Schulthess & after the lesson Hanna brought Desiree back to her house & we had Christmas Eve dinner with the Schulthess' & the Schaeffer's (bishop, his wife & 2 kids)

My little spiritual thought for the week is about repentance & the sacrament.

I was reading from an old ensign this week--the April 2007 general conference edition. I read "I Am Clean" by President Hinckley. In it he tells a story from Joseph F. Smith & a lesson that he learned--cleanliness is next to godliness. And he quoted this scripture that really hit home for me.

“Wash you, make you clean; put away the evil of your doings from before mine eyes; cease to do evil;

“Learn to do well; …

“Come now, and let us reason together, saith the Lord:though your sins be as scarlet, they shall be as white as snow; though they be red like crimson, they shall be as wool” (Isaiah 1:16–18).

Sometimes as a missionary you feel as though you need to be perfect. We're held to very high standards & sometimes it's a daunting task to measure up. When we fall short we can easily become discouraged & feel that we could've done better. This is kind of the way I was feeling at one point this week. But I know that the Lord loves me & will forgive me & strengthen me when I come to Him. I know it's the same for you. He doesn't expect us to be perfect now. He does expect us to do our best, but He knows we will fall, we will fail. With our fallings & our failings comes feelings of guilt & sorrow. However, this scripture states it perfectly. The Lord wants us to come to Him & reason with Him. The best way to do this is through sincere prayer & partaking of the sacrament. The Sacrament is the Lord's way in telling us our sins are forgiven. I'm sooo beyond grateful for the sacrament. It meant more to me this week, as I've been studying repentance, than in recent weeks. 

A challenge to all: the next time you feel down & out because of a mistake you made, a harsh word you said, a thought you might've had, stop & pray & ask the Lord to forgive you & help you be better. I promise He will. Then take the sacrament knowing He has forgiven you & not only that, but He strengthens you to do better & to be better. 

Welll, I think that's about it for this week. I'll talk to you in a quick week when it is WEEK 6. Can you believe it? only 2 more weeks of this transfer! ahhhh.

talk to you next week!

Until then, stay gold.

xoxo Sister Viraldo

MERRRY CHRISTMAS!!! (Email from 12-21)

It's that time of year again...CHRISTMAS!

This whole past week has been full of Christmas cheer. I feel like missionary time is back to normal--flying by! This week happened in a blink of an eye, I swear...maybe it's because I've been sick. Yes, Tuesday evening I started getting a sore throat. Wednesday morning I woke up with a terrible sore throat I wanted to die. 

Well, Tuesday morning Sister Hobbs called us & asked if we would sing "While Shepherds watched their flocks by night" at the desert Christmas devotional the next day. So when I woke up Wednesday sick I was worried I wouldn't be able to sing. But I just figured I'd save my voice & give it my all when it was our time. It worked out pretty well. 

Wednesday night we were supposed to exchange with the Ranchos sisters. I still wasn't feeling well so after dinner we went home to rest before exchanges. I got up at 8pm & wasn't feeling well at all, so we cancelled the exchange & said we'll see how I'm feeling in the morning & maybe exchange then. 

Woke up Thursday morning with a slight sore throat, but mostly I was just congested, but I felt good enough to go on exchanges. So I went to the Ranchos area with Sister Stallings, who came out 1 transfer after me. It was a pretty good day besides the fact I was incredibly congested & whenever I talked I sounded like I was wearing nose plugs or something.

 

We ended up exchanging back a little early so we could have dinner then go to institute. It was the last institute class of the semester & a really good one at that. It was interesting because one thing that President Gibbons (the institute teacher) talked about was exactly what my email last week consisted of: the importance of feeling the spirit every day of our lives. 

 

Friday we weekly planned & took a lunch break to eat with the Silver Lakes & Mesa Linda sisters in Victorville, just a little sister bonding time :)  Friday night we went on exchanges with the spanish sisters in La Paz! I got to go to their area & learn spanish ;) I was with Hermana Ivey, who is definitely one of my favorite missionaries ever. We've actually served around each other a long time. Let's go back to April in Phelan. Hermana Ivey was in my zone for about 4 weeks. Left for a couple transfers then came back to the VVB zone. I never knew her much at all, but always wanted to get to know here better, so going on exchanges was great! We got to visit lots of people & I heard lots of spanish, but most of them spoke some english as well. 

The best day of the week I'd have to say though was yesterday, Sunday, aka my first Sunday at the Mojave Narrows ward. THIS WARD IS AMAZING. It was the Christmas program & we were lucky enough to be part of that. Sister Wood & I sang "Away in a Manger". Everyone was sooo kind & told us how great we sounded. The YW Pres, Sister Bell, asked us to come into YW & sing, the RS Pres asked us to sing at the end of RS, Sister Curry asked us if we could come to her home sometime before Christmas to sing so she could record us & add it to her playlist, & during church Landon Ebmeyer (who is in our YSA ward & his dad is the Apple Valley Stake President) texted us & said his dad wants us to come sing for his family after church. After church we went to the Ebmeyer's & turns out there was about 30 people there. They were having their annual Christmas family party. President Ebmeyer said "Last Sunday I had the privilege of being in the YSA ward & these two sisters sang & I swear the angels themselves stopped to listen. I came home to tell my wife about it. My sons Landon & Dallon both came home & were telling their mom about their song. & Tory (his nephew) went home & told his mom about them." So pretty much he was hyping us up SOOO much which made us pretty nervous haha. 

ANNELISE HELPED YOU MAKE PUMPKIN BREAD?!? that is just tooooo cute! did you get any pictures?!?! I'll tell you what it means to be an STL when we skype, so remind me! haha

LOVE YOU SO MUCH SEE YOU ON CHRISTMAS!!

Email from 12/14

I'm feeling SO OLD!! Ah, I never thought I'd live to see the day I'd be 21...

This week was a really good week, but it was one of the longest weeks of my life & I couldn't tell you why. 

Tuesday we had zone meeting. So at the last transfer, President made a bunch of changes in the mission, including combining zones. In the past there were 2 Apple Valley zones, but now we're all one BIG zone. It's pretty great though. 

Wednesday at 10am we had a meeting with the zone leaders & President & Sister Hobbs--for the leaders in the Apple Valley zone. It was a great meeting packed full of information. Afterward we had our individual interviews with President Hobbs. The first question he asked me was "When was the last time you felt the spirit?" For some reason, I KNEW he was going to ask that question. Luckily I was able to say the last time I felt the spirit was that morning in my studies.

 

I pondered that question & idea throughout the week. I think back to before my mission--if I would've thought of that question & answered it, I probably would've said something like "at my baptism" or "last week at church". Both would've been true, but all too often we think of big events or conferences are where we feel the spirit. The Holy Ghost should be in every aspect of our lives; therefore, we should feel His presence each & every day. I'm SO grateful to be a missionary & to have had countless experiences with the spirit, where I now know what He feels like & how He works with me. I want everyone to have that experience. I want everyone to know & recognize the spirit's promptings in their EVERYDAY life. 

 

So my challenge to you is to slow down & use the Holy Ghost's guidance in choices you make everyday. Do things that will increase the spirit's presence, such as praying, reading the scriptures, or doing good things for other people. Too often we take for granted the greatest gift--the Holy Ghost. He should be our constant companion to warn us of dangers, to prompt us to do good, to give us feelings of love, peace & joy. 

 

After our interviews we had the wonderful privilege of taking Sister Hobbs out with us for a few hours! It was so neat to see Sister Hobbs in action & BOY does she do a good job. We went out to lunch & she talked to everyone in her sight! I knew I had to step up my game. We had to stop at Stater Bros to get Hanna Schulthess a bday cupcake. The first opportunity I had I started talking to a lady with an adorable child & gave her a Christmas card :)

Thursday was my first exchange ever as an STL (sister training leader)! I went to Victorville with Sister Carter. I knew of her before & I'd seen her around, but never really talked with her. She is adorable! She's been out about 5 months & is from Utah. Sister Wood stayed in our area with my MTC companion, Sister Dinkel. It was a good day!

Friday we had to take our car into Pep boys for an oil change & stuff. We planned on working on our area book while in there, but there's no time for that when there's friendly people to talk to. We ended up spending the whole time there talking to 2 different men. One was a man in his 70s who has been a firefighter for over 50 years & is also an ordained minister. He was super kind. Then after he left, the man that was sitting next to us struck up a conversation with us. He knows quite a bit about the church & has gone to temple square before. 

 

After we found out our car would take longer than normal, we called Sister Wagner & Hammond to pick us up. We went to Hanna Schulthess' house to weekly plan, because this girl, who just turned 18, is going to be the most prepared missionary there ever was. She comes out teaching & tracting with us about 3-4 times a week & she wanted to know how to weekly plan. We told her it's super long & pretty boring, but she didn't care. So we spent the rest of the afternoon weekly planning and then went to our ward Christmas party. Man, Mojave Narrows really knows how to throw a party! It was super fun. :)

Well, all week Sister Wood was keeping secrets from me about my bday. I was hoping that moving to a new area nobody would know when my birthday was & I could spend ONE birthday of my life not focused on me. But alas, Sister Wood is the best & made sure EVERYONE knew. She even woke up at 5am to decorate the house & make pancakes. Yeah, I know...haha

 

We got to sing in the YSA (young single adult) ward, our rendition of "Away in a Manger/Jesus Once of Humble Birth". We had dinner with the Schulthess' & they also celebrated Sister Wood's bday on the 30th. They gave us a couple gifts :)

Thanks for being the best family ever! I miss you all & love you!

xoxo

Sister Viraldo

Email from 12-7

Okay, I'll start off with answering your questions since I'm usually not the best at that.

Everything is going pretty swell. Change is always hard, but it's really good! My daily schedule is WAY crazier now than it was. I told you I'm in the Ridgecrest Young Single Adult (YSA) & the Mojave Narrows wards, & that means that we cover BOTH! But alas, we do not do it alone. We have ward mates in both wards, meaning a set of elders. So how that works is that they split up our proselyting area, so we have 1/2 & the elders have the other 1/2. But for YSA it's that we teach the girls & the elders teach the guys.

 

So yes, covering 2 wards keeps us SUPER busy, which is really great a lot of times, but it also makes it VERY difficult to not just be BUSY, but to be PRODUCTIVE--meaning fulfilling our purpose as missionaries. It is very easy to get appointments with less actives & recent converts all day, even some investigators, but it leaves very little time for finding. And a missionary who is not finding is not a missionary at all. So the struggle is balancing appointments & finding time. 

 

As of right now we go to one ward's sacrament meeting one week & the other the next because they are both at 1pm, but come the new year Mojave Narrows will be at 9, so we will be in church/church meetings from 7:30am-4pm, at least, every Sunday! hahaha & people think 3 hours for church is long! It'll be really nice, though, because then we'll get to be able to know the ward better. It's tough getting to know everybody in 2 wards. I've found that it's harder in the YSA ward because they're single people--in family wards it's easy for me to group them into families then learn their names, but it's different for the singles.

 

My mailing address for letters & small packages is:

17929 Siskiyou Rd Apt #6

Apple Valley, Ca 92307

but for bigger packages send it to the mission office! You never REALLY know what will happen with transfers, but if I had to guess...I will die (finish) here, so it's pretty safe for people to send me things with that address. 

Ahh and it's SO FUN to live with Sister Wagner again! I LOVE her. I also love her wardrobe, so we share a lot.  It's just really nice to live with another set of sisters. :)

Happy together again with Sister Wagner!

Sister Wood is from Orem, Utah & is awesome. She is so hardworking & SELFLESS. If there is one word I could use it would be that. For example, she volunteered us to help someone move on PDAY! I was not too fond of the idea, since we only get from 10-6 as it is. PLUS our dinner tonight is at 4:45. After some repenting on my part, I was glad to help. She is a great example to me of selfless service & love. And yes, she is a great singer. We sing together all the time. We've been singing "Silent Night" for members/nonmembers we meet :)

So this week was a really great week! Here are some highlights:

Monday evening we had Family Home Evening at the institute with the YSAs, & we got to teach the lesson! hahaha I say that very sarcastically, because it was just sprung on us when we got there, but luckily Sister Wood is on top of things & came up with a great lesson.

 

We stopped by to see our investigator, V. She is a woman in her low 60s. She is just the SWEETEST! We watched the Restoration video with her & testified of Joseph Smith & the Book of Mormon. She says she will be baptized when she knows it's true. YAY for the Holy Ghost & how He testifies of truth!

 

Thursday I got to experience my first MLC--Mission Leadership Council. It was so great! It's a meeting that happens the first Thursday of every month for the Zone Leaders & Sister Training leaders in the mission. It is run by President & Sister Hobbs & the APs (assistants to the President). They invited the old Stake President from Chino to talk to us because this month we are studying as a mission chapter 13, Stake & Ward leaders. It was super good! It's fun to see President Hobbs in a different setting, who knew he was so funny? They also fed us lunch! When we were getting our food President asked me "do you miss Wrightwood? You did great work there." That made me happy to hear! :)

 

There was a pretty big Christmas tree lighting ceremony on Saturday where local groups set up tables & hand stuff out. Our stake set up a table & handed out cookies & pass along cards. A few missionaries went to help & Sister Wood & I ended up singing Christmas carols for 1.5 hours. It was so fun to see how it made the passerbys so happy :)

 

Sunday we went to Mojave Narrows ward council & I got to meet some of the "celestial members" as Sister Wood calls them. She has talked SO much about this ward & how great it is. I got to see a little glimpse of it so far, & it's definitely living up to its expectations. We went to church at the YSA ward & afterward had "break the fast". Yummyyy food. Then watched the Christmas devotional. 

Exchanges are coming up this week & I'm a little nervous, but it'll be great! We have one on Thursday & one on Saturday.  I love being a missionary, especially at the Christmastime because it's not weird to talk about Jesus every hour of every day!!!

 

Hope you all have a great week & THANK YOU for the birthday wishes. I feel so old.

:)

xoxo Sister Viraldo