Happy Holidays!

Hello Friends and Family!

This week was amazing! I loved being able to Skype my family. We had a great week. Really tried hard to build relationships and find. We went finding yesterday for 2 hours and it was great! We taught a miracle 5 lessons! We were able to make our goal of lessons taught and exceeded the zone goal of 20 by one. So it was awesome! We have a full week ahead of us and have planned 30 lessons! It'll be interesting to see how it all pans out. I know we'll be able to make it. Even if we only have a few finding lessons, we'll be able to see the area grow. I'm excited for this week. Especially on Wednesday. We're going through the Temple with a sister who was baptized a year ago in Frankfort (Sister Simmons' last area) and we are invited to go with her! It's going to be wonderful. I love going to the Temple. :)

We were invited to our investigator's house for Christmas Eve and Day. She spoiled us with cute gifts and we just had a blast. Got to talk to the family of course. Watched a part of inside out (Because we can on Christmas) and had a great time relaxing all day. It was very needed. :) I loved being able to just relax. Back to the grind then. :) This week we have New Years. (Happy Early Birthday Mom!) It's 2016? Like what?! Really? So soon?! It was just 2014! AND yesterday was 16 months in the field. O.O Say what?!?!?!?!

Time keeps going faster and faster. Don't know what to do with all of it! Haha jk. Work! And that's what we've been doing! Lot's of work. Going to keep going until the end. :) Love you all!!!!!

Love,

Sister Halverson

This is the Place!

Hello Friends and Family!

I've found Zion!!! Haha. :) I'm here in the lovely Zionsville with Sister Simmons from Alpine, UT. :) We've had so much fun together and have seen MIRACLES!!!! Within the first 5 days we found a new investigator and have made contact with the Branch Mission Leader and Relief Society President. Branch President Hansen is really busy so we understand why we haven't met with him yet. We're still planning on meeting with him. We have been involved in so much so fast and we're loving it.

We found a family!!!! OF 6!!!!!!!!!!!!!!! We're praying for them to have a soft heart and it was incredible how we met them. We tracted into Kelly (the Dad) and met one of his daughters. He invited us in with his wife upstairs and we shared A Savior is Born card. He loved it and invited us to come back. We set up an appointment for the next night but they were busy with a dinner party. We met the wife though! And two more of his girls! She said to come back tonight around 5 pm and we're going to go back with a member from the Branch! We've had such great blessings and we're praying this lesson goes well! I'm so so so excited for the work that we're doing here in Zionsville. I love this place. :)

It's been so great and I can't wait for this area to explode with all the work we're planning. :) There's another investigator named Nicole who wants to be baptized and we're going to help her and her daughter come to be baptized. We want to share with the the Book of Mormon and strengthen her testimony of it's truth and divinity. We've been able to get so close to them within literally 24 hours. We've been able to build that relationship up and she invited us over for Christmas Eve AND Day! It's been a blast being around her and seeing the kind giving heart she has. She's been in a terrible Semi Accident and has been able to recover the best she possibly can from that. It's still a struggle for her but she's a true example of Christ-Like Hope and Love.

I love Sister Neuton! She's so sweet. We want to help her build a testimony of the Church and of the Book of Mormon. She's very close to the Spirit and loves to pray and fast. She's so close to Heavenly Father. We want to see her come to church. This first week flew by. I can't wait to get to work now that we have a vision and a plan. I love Sister Simmons and we have SO MUCH FUN! She and I just want to work and have fun while doing it and working hard with members. :) It's great. I'm really happy in the area. :)

We've already had adventures like B-Dubs on Thursday after weekly planning with the Carmel Missionaries, serving at the Ronald McDonald House in Indianapolis, Riley's Children's Hospital, decorating a Christmas tree in our apartment literally the very first second we walked in the door, and  the list goes on. It's been such a blast here. :) I'm so excited for Christmas and to be able to see mi familia again before coming home in a few months. That's weird to say it like that... Gonna fight to the very end!!!!! Love you all!!!! See you soon!

Love,

Sister Halverson

 

Sister Simmons and I

 

Transfer Time Is Here Again

Hello Friends and Family!

Wow. This transfer ZOOMED by. I'm so not looking forward to the last two but it'll be good. I've only got 2 more left. Can you believe that? 12 weeks! Not thinking about it. :) Hahaha.

This week was hard. We still pushed for those lessons. Only one door opened to us and we shared the "A Savior is Born" card and she loved it! No interest in learning more but it was a heart softener. Well, like my Title, I'm being transferred! No idea where to! Hopefully up north! That would be AMAZING!!!!! I loved Elkhart. I would love to go back to that Zone. :) I'm sad to leave Fishers and had a hard time saying goodbye to some of the members yesterday. They really opened up to us and we saw miracles. I made my goal. I got 20 lessons every week except the one. That was incredible. I'm going to rock it in my next area.

I'm so excited for Sister Eralie to take care of this area. She and I have set up goals and plans and she's taking off. It's awesome to watch her go. She's such a great missionary and loves to teach. She's fearless and fabulous and would be a great trainer. We both love to work and that's something that I've valued with her being my companion.

It was so much fun in Fishers. I feel like we were able to see miracles as well as see the ward turn around. They opened up to us and we've been given assignments by the Bishop. It was inspired by Elder Nash to talk about how to help the Bishop. That's what we've been doing this entire transfer! He gave us an assignment that we've been plugging away at and it's been great to see that trust being built. I'm so grateful for the time I got to spend here in Fishers and I'm so looking forward to tomorrow too. It'll be interesting that's for sure. :)

I love you all! Hope your week is wonderful!

Love,

Sister Halverson

Last picture with Sister Eralie before transfer

Christmas Lights and Foggy Nights

Hello Friends and Family!

This week we saw miracles. The ward is beginning to open up to us and we're seeing people willingly come out with us. We have time set aside on Thursday to go tracting with a member. We're going to introduce the Cookies and Caroling initiative and we've already found a sister who wants us to go with her. :) We're seeing people we've had on our lists and radars and we're seeing so many of our plans come to fruition. I'm so excited too. Cheyenne is praying for a date!!!!! She wants to find out for herself and that's what we want! She's coming to church and wants to keep meeting with us. :) I love being around her. She's become so happy and energetic and not at all like she was. It's been great to see the change in her. :)

Things are going well. We're doing what we can and improving where we can't. We stand at the doors each Sunday and hand out the programs. To start it was very cold and no one really talked to us. But now it's becoming a staple and they're very friendly and we talk to them. The members are actually in good moods now in the mornings for church! I'm so happy that it's been working out as well as it has been. We're going to keep going and do what we can to change this ward. They're beginning to give us referrals!!! They have been working with a few people and the trust is there!

It's been a great great great week! I'm getting better too. I feel more energized and I feel like I can do it. It's been a good week and I have felt it. My studies are taking off and I love the Isaiah Chapters in 2 Ne.

I'm looking forward to working hard my last two transfers and getting as much done for the Lord as I can with my remaining time. :)

We're working hard with less actives and recent converts. We have a meeting with a set of converts tonight and we're going to help people come closer to Christ. That's what I was called to do. So that's what I'm going to do with my last two transfers. It'll be interesting to see how things go once I get home. :)

I'm currently rereading the BOM and am in 2 Ne 12. I love the Isaiah chapters. I feel like I can really get into it and I actually learn better in metaphors and I can see how the all fit together. It's so wonderful and I think in pictures anyway. Isaiah talks in pictures. :) It's a ton of fun. I love 2 Ne. 8 : 3. It has become my new favorite. It's so beautiful and an amazing promise that shows the power of God and His love for us. :)

Sister Eralie and I went to the Nickle Plate District on Saturday night and walked around. They had live music, a petting zoo with adorable creatures, and a light display that they turned on around 7. It was cute and small but a ton of fun. Oh and don't tell the elders but we're sending them on a treasure hunt tonight. :) It's going to be GREAT.

Hope you all have a great week! Love and miss you all!!!!! See you sooner than you think!

Love,

Sister Halverson

The only Lamp Post in Indiana. They seriously don't have very many out here.

And I think it's supposed to be Jeep upside down but it really isn't. So yeah.... Hoosiers. LOVE THEM! :D

Ward Christmas Party

Turkey Day!

Hello Friends and Family!

Happy Thanksgiving to you all! Even though it's a few days late! :) It's almost December. O.O Time is flying by. This week was good. Lot's of turkey dinners (6) and tons of time with members. It was really cool seeing it all work out this week. Hopefully this week will be more of tracting and finding new investigators and getting the ball moving again. We've been pretty good. Twenty lessons each week except the week when we were both so so sick. It's an improvement than what it has been. It goes to show that Fishers is capable of great things. :)

We went tracting and found that people are more open than not. They have conversations with us and we've had a lot of success getting the word out. So it's been fun to see and hopefully we can see more of that. Most of the investigators we get come through the members. So this Thursday we're going to see a girl who works with a Recent Convert. It's really cool to see people so new to the Gospel branch out and meet more people and share a love of the Gospel with them. :)

I love being here in Fishers and helping people open up more. I feel like we've seen that. But we are still having a hard time finding service. We offer everything known to man to do for the members or anyone else in the area but no one is taking us up on our offers. I just wonder what we could do more to help them trust us more to serve them. I know it's hard to find in affluent areas but it would be nice if our members would let us help them. The only form of service we do is for the community and that's for two hours each week. It's been getting at me and I would like to know more of what I can do to help.

I'm sure it will get better and it takes time. So we'll keep asking and building the relationships that we can. It'll be good.

Love and miss you all!

Love,

Sister Halverson