That Moment When You Turn 20

Hello Friends and Family!

Um... Can we talk about this for a sec here? I mean I'm glad I'll be forever out of the Teens and we are never ever ever getting back together, like ever. But STILL! I don't know about you, but I'm not feeling Twenty. It's weird. Just a bunch of blank space and I ain't about that style man. Lol sorry bout that. I had to get it out of my system. I've been on a T Swizzle rampage and I can't seem to shake it off. Lol ok NOW I'm done. Maybe.... Anyways, other than the fact that I miss music other than Christian stuff, I'm turning 20 this week. And a month from today I hit my year mark. WHERE IS THE TIME GOING PEOPLE?!?!?!? Anyway.

We had a pretty good week this week! We were able to teach a lot of people at the Temple as well as help get our Ward Council on track with our plans to help this area. They'll get us a map of our ward boundaries with points for everyone who lives in it and then we're going to go out and help them and they'll help us as we go and contact these members! It's been way cool praying about it and planning it as we've been helping in the Temple. The Spirit is so so strong and the people are so sweet. I spent some time with a tour guide while the hallway at the temple was backed up and we talked to the group about to leave. It was funny hearing how small our world is especially in the Church. We had fun though and the Spirit was definitely there. :) We had a great time even though we worked all day Saturday and enjoyed being so close to so many sisters and so many people excited about seeing the House of the Lord.

It was a pretty good week. We're on the mend and have been working on the little things we can do and being the best we can be given the time we have and the little things we do for this area. I'm excited to see what happens next transfer. Time is literally flying and I want to make the best of it at this point in time. It's been great to be serving in Crawfordsville and personally I would love to be here for a while whether it's with a new companion, Sister Anderson, or even training a new missionary. Whatever happens I'm excited to see this line of work get underway and take off. It'll be an adventure. :) I would love to train haha. It would be fun. Especially because we have a fun zone and amazing district. The elders have helped us so much and we feel like we can trust them tremendously. It's been great to have such amazing unity and have so much fun with them at zone meetings and district meetings. I would love to be here for a while with them but again, whatever happens happens. It'll be a great thing and this area needs it.

We do have a miracle this week! The sisters here before me gave a temple card to a random couple when they were tracting one day and the couple CAME to the temple! We didn't meet up with them again but the Sisters in the reception Tent told us about it and we were all like, "THOSE CARDS ACTUALLY WORK?!?!?" So it was amazing! I hope we can meet them again soon and actually help them progress! We have an idea as to who it is so hopefully Sister Anderson will remember! That would be the coolest thing ever! We're hoping it will work and praying for a miracle in Crawfordsville. :) I'm excited for this area. It's a different line of work we're doing and I'm STOKED to see what happens next!

Love,
Sister Halverson

Busy Bees!

Hello Friends and Family!

This week was EPIC! Like holy hannah! It was insane! It's been such a blessing working the Temple Open House Tours! We've already seen miracles especially in our own area. We took an investigator and his wife through last Sunday and then had a lesson again with them this last Thursday. It was so cool to hear their experience! Jim, our investigator, told us that when he saw the baptismal font he wanted to jump in right then! It was the coolest thing ever! We are so excited for them. We've been praying about a baptismal date for them and feel like August 8th would be good. However we still want them to set a date for themselves. That would be the best for this amazing couple. His wife Este loves the church and the message we bring and we have good conversations every time we go over and teach them. It's a learning experience for all of us involved. :)

Also when we were in the reception tent, a man and his wife approached us about being involved for the temple dedication. His wife had just been baptized the year before and the day the Temple is dedicated it will be her one year mark. They're so excited to be sealed in the Temple and are from Louisville, KY. It was nice to talk to them and help them. She seemed thrilled and he was so happy they were able to come up and see the temple.

In the Video room, I was watching a woman and her three children while they were watching the video. She teared up at a couple of things mentioned in the video and it was so wonderful to see the Spirit touch her. I don't know what happened to her afterwards but I'm positive she loved what she saw and was touched further. I hope she'll be inspired and follow her heart wherever it takes her. :)

It was wonderful this week to be at the temple so many times. It's been wonderful and crazy and exciting and a whole mess of emotions. But such a wonderful thing and I'm so so so excited to keep working there. It will be dedicated 4 days before I hit my year mark. That's unbelievable that time has passed so quickly. I'm still reeling from it. Sister Anderson just hit 8 months and that's been wild! She's grown so much and I feel like we work really well together. It's just a matter of getting better and handling the situation here in Crawfordsville. I feel like we need to get out and work but the work we need to do isn't what this area needs if that makes sense. We're going around and talking to our members and trying to find them as well as knocking on their neighbors doors. Several of the families here are taking friends and loved ones to the temple tour and we're going to be helping them so that's even better. The Temple is helping us in more ways than one and that's what's really special about it. I'm so happy for this. Also, the portrait of the African woman kneeling in prayer is the same one that is in my temple back home in Ogden. I love that portrait so so much. It's a special connection for me to see it. :) I'm super happy to keep on working here and things are getting super busy. I'm sure it can only mean to get out and go. It's good. :)

I love and miss you all!

Love,

Sister Halverson

So very happy

Sister Anderson and I

Temples and Tornadoes

Hello Friends and Family!

Well, we out ran quite the storm this morning on the way to email. We left our apartment to go to the church to make some schedule changes for our meal calendar when we found ourselves staring face to face with the scariest cloud I've ever seen. We kept driving thinking nothing of it when underneath became scarier. It was dark blue and rolling. So we decided to forgo our plans and headed right to the library to email. Turns out the area is supposed to have severe thunderstorms including tornadoes running through it. We're safe and the Lord is definitely looking out for us. :)

It was incredible going through the temple yesterday! I loved being able to go and being with our investigators Jim and Este. We had quite the miracle with them the other day too. The whole day we tried and tried to contact people and everything kept falling through. I had the feeling to go and visit them so we did. It was my first time meeting them and I was so happy to get to know them. We invited them to the temple for yesterday and we received a kind little miracle after a really hard day of no one being home. We were thankful that we had listened to the prompting and they were so excited to come. They had a great experience and we're excited to meet with them again. :)

We feel prompted to do a different kind of finding. Our area is at a point where we need to do a lot of work with the members. A 15 pg roster with only a quarter or less active. So we feel prompted to work strongly on finding and activating this area. If they aren't home, immediate back up is to 2-2-5 or tract their street. It's just something we feel is best for Crawfordsville at this time because everything else with our investigators is coming to a standstill. And so many members are part-member families. They have friends who are ready and waiting as well. We're looking forward to this and want to work really hard on finding this way. :)

Zone meeting was awesome as was being able to go to training last Wednesday. :) I'm really looking forward to serving here and doing a lot of work! Minus the tornadoes of course. :)

So that's my week in a nut shell. Still working hard. Still trying to at least. :) Haha Hope you have a great week! Love you!

Love,
Sister Halverson

Happy (late) 4th!

Hello Friends and Family!

How are things? I'm doing pretty good! I survived the week! I tweaked my ankle packing Tuesday night and then stepping off the curb in our new place I rolled it. It wasn't bad. Just hurt to walk on for the next couple of days but we iced it and it's fine now. My new companion is Sister Anderson from Lehi, Utah.  I love Sister Anderson! We get along great and have so much in common and spent last night just talking and talking. It's been great. I felt a little apprehensive at first but we're totally doing good. I have been transferred to Crawfordsville which is just outside Indianapolis.  Crawfordsville is cool! Cute apartment, awesome area, epic companionship already, and the members are SICK! I'm looking forward to working here and helping this area see a convert baptism! Which it hasn't had for like 3 years... Challenge ACCEPTED. I so want to see a baptism. Ten months a missionary and haven't had that opportunity. Hopefully my investigators in Warsaw will progress and I'll be able to go see them! That would make my LIFE!

It was hard leaving Warsaw not gonna lie. I love that place so much. I had withdrawals my first night here because it's practically isolation. The nearest missionaries are 45 minutes away. Which is lame. But we'll make it work! District meeting was a ton of fun! We have a MEGA district! It's the best! There are 10 missionaries and 1 District Leader who's also a Spanish Speaking Missionary. Can you say awesome? Yes. Yes it is. I'm also in a District with Sister Hofheins again! This is gonna be fun! She's comps with Sister Bileau who was with Sister Anderson like 2 transfers ago! Woo!

Well, this last week was a bit of a rough one. Sister Anderson and I get along GREAT. I love her so so much and we have a ton in common. I love our apartment, this area is awesome, met so many awesome people already, and I'm excited to get to work. The only draw back was Satan. I kept getting hurt this entire week, just needed to ice my ankle for a little bit, and we got dropped yesterday by one of the most solid people we had. So it stunk. We're hoping today will be a reboot and we can hit the ground hard and help this area see baptisms. We're going to drastically change that. I fasted for the new investigators and I've been praying for them at night too. I've got a lot of hope here and I'm excited to see what happens. :) We're looking forward to Specialized Training this week and seeing what work we can do to help with the Temple Open House.  We will be working at the Indianapolis Temple Open House which is a dream come true for me. 

I'm looking forward to working in Crawfordsville with Sister Anderson! Lots of Love!

Love,

Sister Halverson

Bat friend in investigator's apartment

Firefly!

Alicia and Sister Anderson and I on the 4th

10 Months Already?!?

Hello Friends and Family!

The time has come and gone for yet another transfer! All four of us are being transferred out!!! Can you believe that?! What's even crazier is that Elder Jones is training! AGAIN! Now THAT'S crazy! Anywho.  It just seems like time is passing way too quickly! By the way, I've been out 10 months...I don't want to hit my year mark! And a month from Wednesday I'll be 20! Too much time on my hands and it's sliding away too quickly to keep a hold of it!

This week we tried really hard to find a new investigator and all week it just didn't seem to pay off. Yesterday we had about 30 minutes to tract to talk to a couple more people before the week ended, trying for that new investigator. We taught a woman named Kay briefly then went to the next house. A woman named Terry opened the door and we began talking to her about the church and our beliefs. She expressed her beliefs and that she has a lot of questions. She asked us why we're called Mormons and we taught her about the Book of Mormon and invited her to learn more! She accepted the invitation and we set up an appointment for the next Thursday! We're so excited that we found a new investigator right before we'll be double transferred out of Warsaw! It showed us how God works and has his Hand in our lives! We're excited for the new missionaries to teach her!

I'm excited to see what will happen at transfers. I feel like I'm ready to leave Warsaw. Not the people we have met but I'm ready to go on to the next adventure. I feel like we've left Warsaw better than we found it and I'm grateful for the missionaries I've been able to serve with and learn from. :) It'll be a new adventure with more chances to grow and be better and that's what I'm looking forward too the most. I'm excited to see what happens and what I can do to help the next area. Of course I can really do nothing without God. He has helped me so much. Yeah times have been hard but He's still there. If it's true to teach to others who are struggling with that acceptance and knowledge, then it's true for the people who teach that principle. I'm looking forward to the change and other things that I can accomplish. 

Hope you all have a wonderful week!
Love,
Sister Halverson

Storms, Storms, and More Storms!

Hello Friends and Family!

We've had a ton of rain this past week in the Lovely Warsaw. TONS of thunderstorms too. Not my cup of tea... But I can manage. :) Pretty sure I'm going to get pro at taking Lightning pictures haha! This week was INSANE. We had Interviews and exchanges (Went up to Mishawaka with Sister Allred! It hit 101!!!!!) Zone Meeting was on Friday and we had it combined with South Bend. Had a BBQ with all the missionaries. Elder Nyman is back up in Mishawaka and he was the grill master. Kid did pretty good! It was absolutely nuts this week. Yet we still managed to do a lot of good work. :) Always the best.

So for the last few weeks I've been emailing my friend. He's about ready to go home and is working his hardest to the very end. During these conversations we've been talking a lot about time and how relative it is in the grand scheme of things. There are things we can do to either help time move forward while making the best of it, or continue to let it slip away with a little regret in each passing second. I've chosen to try and make the best of it. It's been almost 10 months since I started my mission. Ten months of trials, lessons, and miracles. Ten months of friendships, fellowship, and discipleship. It's been hard. But it's been the best thing I could have ever done in my short 19 years of life. The MTC prepares you for a mission. A Mission is the MTC for life. We learn SO MUCH in the time we're allotted to serve the Lord. And SO MUCH goes in to every single day. I've seen blessings come from walking in the rain (Like Yesterday), miracles come in the middle of lessons when an Investigator says she's received an answer that she should keep meeting with us, hardships come in the form of family issues and companionships, and lessons learned from each trial we face on a daily basis. Some days are ALWAYS better than others and Christ is always there to help us if we can be humble enough to let Him in.

It's been a great week. Busy. But great. It seems like it was a year ago now or at least in different months and not all wrapped into seven days! Zone Meeting was fun, I learned a lot from Sister Allred on our exchange, and I'm definitely looking forward to the week ahead of us. :)

Love,
Sister Halverson

Harvesting the field...literally

Daryann

6/8/15!

Hello Friends and Family!

There has been so many wonderful things going on in Warsaw! SO MANY THINGS! Always something to improve on and I'm just narrowing down the list and trying to get a reboot. Our investigators are progressing and we're helping them feel the Spirit as much as possible. Hopefully we can help them get to the point of baptism but I don't think it's going to be this transfer. Probably next or the one after. We're trying to help them to their needs and they don't need to be rushed that's for sure.

Just keeping on at this point. There's something more but I'm not quite sure what it is. Always feels like that's the case. Oh well. :) I'm sure I can use some time to ponder what it is and take it to the scriptures. :) I did have an awesome time reading the Book of Mormon all the way through. I had gone through it once before but listened to the last half to finish it. It's different when I can actually put down the last page and have finished it. I know it's true and it's so important to have. I don't think I could do it if I didn't have the Book of Mormon in my life. I've grown up with it. It wouldn't be the same WITHOUT it. It has to be true if it's that important.

I didn't have much other than we went to a garage sale for our investigator Judy. Her Boyfriend was there and they played some gospel music. She's blind but played the spoons while he strummed the guitar. She's so stinking cute. Sister Hathcock and I got these fun western pins from her. It was good. We tracted a lot. found 3 new! Woo! One man we found was named Darrell. He was run over by a truck and his feet are still working. It was a miracle. He had this rod sticking out of his leg to keep it straight. Epic. But that was a cool lesson. :) Friday was another First Friday. We gave out glow sticks to the kids and told them it was to remind them about the Light of Christ. We all have it. And it's always there when we do good things. It helps us recognize truth. So that was way fun. :) I need to update my journal. I suck at writing in it. Which is why I'm grateful I have a daily planner. Now THAT is a good daily reminder. :) I love being a missionary. It's the best in the world!

Trying. Always trying. :)

Love,
Sister Halverson

Sister Hathcock and I

Lightening from today's storm.  Tornado warnings this morning.