The Ups and Downs

Hello Everyone!

 I will tell you about some of the most joyful days on my mission, so far! We really felt and saw the Lord showing us what we need to do here. I am so glad that we are finally seeing the work move! This week after district meeting, I love district meeting, we just got really pumped and excited! So we kept that positive outlook on life and started moving forward. We went to visit M, the Spanish speaking lady that we met, but she wasn't home. :( Bummer. But we did find another family, randomly this week. We were looking for a Less Active, and he didn't live there anymore but the family that answered the door said that the daughter had been baptized when she was little but wasn't going anymore but I don't think the rest of the family is baptized. But they told us to come back and they were really excited. So we stopped by with a member of the ward that speaks spanish, and they were having a family BBQ but they set up another time for us to come back for this week! So I will let you know how it goes. The kids speak English but the parents do not. Also that same night we saw a  cute family outside raking and ended up driving by them multiple times trying to find another house. But we felt like we needed to go talk to them, but awkward, we had just driven by a ton of times and waved at them. But despite the awkwardness we parked our car and went over to talk to them. We just told them how great their family seemed and that we wanted to share a message on how their family could be strengthened an eternal. She was so touched by us stopping by and she said yes and we are going back this week. Also, randomly tracted into a lady who was an assistant secretary at GRHS my Senior year, she accepted a copy of the Book of Mormon. Crazy awesome connections. 

Also, I don't know if I have told you before but we have a little town called Sinclair in our ward boundaries, so we go out there about once or twice a week and spend some time. This week we were able to contact the H family.  We had just heard from another family that they had been invited to hear the gospel a little bit ago and said no but I just have been feeling pretty strongly about them. So this week we went over to their house. They let us in an we got talking and I told them that I went to school with their daughter and right then, she called her mom on the phone.(Weird things had been happening like that all day.)  Haha. After she hung up we were able to just talk and get to know her and her family more. It's interesting how natural and normal we can make discussions about the gospel. We talked about her religious background and their family goals, her daughters baptism, her views on religion. And shared with them how the gospel can bless their family basically. Then we asked if she wanted to know more about what we believe. Right away she said yes! So we are going to work to schedule a set time to go back and start teaching her. It was so neat to see her heart softened. Pray really hard for this family! It would bless all of them so much. They are so neat. 

Along with that neat experience, we have been finding tons of part member families! On the ward list, they only have a few listed but we have been finding more and more as we have been visiting people on the ward list that no one knows about. One day we literally found out about 4 or 5 part member families in a row just by stopping by. And if we didn't get them home, we used our detective skills and saw that they were married or had kids. One family that we found that is a part member family is the S family. 

We caught them at home, which is a huge deal here in Rawlins, (hard to get people home, on any day of the week.) but they were all home. The mom of the family just barely started going back to church in March. She has been very less active for many years and went back on her own a couple months ago. Super neat story. She has 4 kids, 12, 10,6 and 2 and is married to a non-member. She really wants us to come over and teach her kids so that they can know the gospel better. She wants them to grow up with the church. She also wants her husband to start learning, but she says it will take baby steps. But we have a dinner/lesson set up with them this week. Should be super exciting! It is so neat to see the work moving forward! So many miracles every day! We were floating on air when we got home on a few of the days this week! It has been so neat to finally see what he has in store. 

Our week at church was quite eventful. We performed, "Savior, Redeemer of My Soul" I sang, Sister Z played the piano, then we taught gospel principles, and then did singing time in primary again. I was worn out! But the church was so full this week that they had to open the back part, which never happens. We had a lot of Less actives there and also our investigator Sarah was there with her family. It was a good Sunday. Then we had an interesting experience. We met a lady who was a Born Again Christian, this week and set up an appointment with her for Sunday. Well, that was fun...haha. It's interesting to hear what they believe but it's hard for the spirit to teach and be there when the hearts of the individuals are not open. I've had some experiences like this before and was kind of prepared for what was going to happen, but it still was exhausting. They pretty much just grilled us with questions and didn't really listen to the answers. A bit frustrating just because they would disagree but then later they would basically say they believed in something so similar but didn't think that it was. Surprisingly I didn't get frustrated though. I just felt content and asked them a few questions too. I guess that is the closest situation to bible bashing I have encountered thus far though. But we didn't get contentious, but we knew we needed to just get out of there. But there were a few times that I felt the spirit speaking through me and they felt it too, I know they did. We can learn from all kinds of people though and their diligence in developing a relationship with our Savior. It made me think more deeply about my relationship with my Savior. 

Well, I have typed a ton of random stuff today...I hope it somewhat made sense. Ups and downs happened all the time. Some times I wonder if I can really do this for 14 more months:)But then I think of my Savior and all He has done for me. Or I think of my family and how happy I am to be with the family I am with, or I think of the joy that I have found through the Atonement and covenants and it makes it all worth it. One thing that I have been doing in my personal studies every day is studying a Christlike Attribute in chapter 6 of Preach My Gospel. That has been really great for me. I am working on a lot of things and getting better little my little. I still have a long ways to go though. But it really helps me to get to know my Savior more and more. I think that there is no better way to get to know someone than by trying to become like them and emulate their traits. We can study and study all about our Savior but we won't truly know Him until we follow His perfect life and example. 

Thank you all for all you do. Your prayers, love, and support. I truly love each of you and hope life is going well for you. Let the Lord be an active part of your life and He will make more out of it than you could by yourself! 

Love,

Sister Young

A song that Moose wrote for us...

Cont...song Moose wrote for us.

Moose signing my copy of the song he wrote.

"Postcard" from Rawlins!

For District Meeting - we had Ugly Sweater Day :)

Random document found while doing service at Rawlins Museum - Dudley's name in 1980.

Quick E-mail

My time is short today because I had to do this survey thing for the mission, so I don't know how long I will have to type. 
This week we were able to get our feet under us once again. I have truly been learning the importance of obeying with exactness, the best that you can, and that it brings peace and miracles. The first week here I struggled getting into a schedule and routine, especially living with 3 other missionaries. I had started to feel a bit off by the end of the week, and I knew it was because my obedience was lacking. So as soon as I realized that, I talked to Sister Z and she and I agreed to work extra hard to get back into an obedient schedule since we were finally getting our feet on the ground. So this week has been a lot better. I am so blessed with a great companion who is teaching me so much. We both cover the areas where the other person falls short. It is neat to see why the Lord puts us with the companions we have. Sister Z and I have a lot of fun while we are working. Let me tell you though, missionaries have allll sorts of fun awkward moments. Good thing I am the queen of accepting awkwardness and making it normal. 
Let me just tell you, some of my favorite parts about being a missionary, is visiting those who are struggling and supporting those who are having tough times. I can truly feel our Savior's love for the people around me. Everyone is so unique and different. Here in Rawlins there is such a variety of people and many struggle with word of wisdom problems, because of how many bars are here. 
This week we were able to set up a ton of appointments for this coming week. We even met a few families. One family we met because we saw them moving some stuff out of their house. I just felt like we should talk to them and I'm learning to not push those feelings away. Just DO IT!! haha. So we went up and started talking to them. The lady didn't speak any english, but her ex-husband translated for us and she said she would love us to come back and bring someone who spoke spanish with us. I wish I spoke spanish a bit better! We also have knocked some doors with people who speak spanish and that has been tough to try to communicate. But we have a couple families in the ward that speak spanish. 

This week the Lord has been letting me know, little by little why I am here in Rawlins. I am sure more reasons will come up but there are so many random connections I have with people here. People that went to Western the same time as me, families of friends of mine that got baptized, families that know the same people that I do in GR. It is great to be able to relate to some many people, and Wyoming people tend to click well with "their own people". Haha. So it's been a good week. Also some hard days. We have been trying to figure out the best route to go to do the Lord's work

. Some days we knocked door after door of Less-actives and former investigators and NO one answered. But the Lord always provides miracles in some way. Like, one day the weather was really bad and it was raining/hailing off and on, but everytime we went to get out of the car or leave a porch, the rain would stop for a little bit and then start right back up again when we got to the next porch or the car. So great. We also, yesterday, had some random man and his son stop and help us shovel snow from our walkway. He wasn't a member just a random man driving around with his son and they stopped to help. 
We are getting more involved with the youth here, really helping them to do their missionary work. We are also trying to get more involved with the community by finding service opportunities. At the museum, the old folks home, the animal shelter, the penitentiary, the downtown district restoration, just so we can get out there and meet new people, find new people, soften hearts. It works! Get involved in your community! Sister Z and I also got to do singing time for primary this Sunday for Mother's Day. It was so much fun! And we are singing in church next Sunday as well. I really love the ward here and the people we work with. My time is running short. Keep praying for us to find new investigators and that we will be prepared to teach them when we do find them. I know prayers work. My time is almost up! I love you allllll!
Love,Sister Karissa Young

P.S- I promise I will write more next week. 

Fun Companion Jumping Picture!

The Wilderness District!

Us eating breakfast together on P-Day

Rawlins!!

Hello!

Wow! I don't even know how to start or what to say this week. I mean, I have sooo much to say that I don't know how to fit it all in! 

I love being here in Rawlins! Never thought I would say that;) (Those of you from WY will know why)  But this week has been so neat. So I guess I will start at the beginning of my time here and tell you some of what my experience has been like. 

Transfer day came and it was a bit of a long day. Instead of riding the "transfer bus" I had to drive to Cheyenne with a Sister, pick up my companion, and drop the other sister off, and then drive all the way to Rawlins. Plus we didn't have a phone the whole time, and just like every transfer day, the weather was pretty bad out. But it was just fine and quite the adventure. That is the number one word that I can use to describe this week. One of the biggest adventures of my life! 

So I picked up my companion, Sister Zvirzdin(I'm still learning how to say it. I call her Sister Z.) She is great! She only has 2 transfers left but is excited to work hard and do her best and not let anyone know she is almost done with her mission. I have learned a lot from her already. She is very good with talking to everyone and including gospel principles in every conversation. She is great with talking to people and inviting. I'm excited to be able to work with her. 

So we got to Rawlins, and didn't have a CLUE where we were living, who to contact, where the church was, and we didn't have a phone! haha. So we found the police station and got the address to the church and hoped and prayed someone was there who knew more than we did. We got to the church and the Bishop of our ward just happened to be just about to leave the building. So his counselor drove us to where our house was. There are 2 wards in Rawlins. Oh and just so you know, they literally JUST changed the ward boundaries, changed the names of the wards, and sent Sisters into Rawlins for the very first time. So many amazing changes going on! 

There is just a feeling in the air here that the work truly is hastening! I can't even describe it. There is so much work to do here and it is exciting! I've never thought of Rawlins like this before. Like you all said, I have grown up coming to Rawlins, so to be here on my mission is just super crazy to me. Sorry, I keep going on tangents. So, we got to our apartment. And let's just say....Elders have been living at this apartment for a LOOOONG time. Haha. It was a mess. They had tried to clean it up but it was pretty gross. But the previous Elders had been really nice and left us a ton of food, and sticky notes randomly all over the apartment. Also, a family had brought over a ton of food that night too. Let's just say, we haven't had to shop at all this week and won't be doing too much for the next few weeks. The members here really take care of us and are SOOO excited to have Sisters. So the apartment was pretty messy, the heater was broken so it was freezing, (we just barely got it fixed today:)) but we were all just so excited to be here. There are 4 of us living in this apartment and I just love all the sisters that are here. We are all so up for the adventure of Rawlins and so excited to be here. There is Sister Waite, Sister Hoer, Sister Zvirzdin, and me. We have really cleaned up the apartment over the week and made it super nice. It's nice living on my own again. I love living with members but I also am grateful for this chance to live in a real "missionary apartment" haha. Woah! I have written so much and this is only the first day! There are some very unique people here in Rawlins. I love it! The first day we met a man named Moose who just loves missionaries. He buys us dinner and lunch a lot and plays his guitar for us with songs he has written. He is from Louisiana originally. He is quite a hoot but he loves missionaries. He comes up with nick names for all the missionaries. I am Steve! Ha. After Steve Young. We even did some service for him this week. While he was gone with went and cleaned up his house because he has trouble getting around. He was so happy when he found out. 

So, being "swept" into an area (when both you and your companion are new to an area) is quite an interesting challenge. You don't know anything except what the Elders left in the Area Book. Which...wasn't too much. Haha. And a lot of our investigators are now in the other ward boundaries so the other sisters have a tons of investigators right now and we are working to find more. First we met with our ward mission leader and then we just started meeting with all the members that we could to let them get familiar with us and start getting them involved. Since Rawlins is a small town, word spreads fast and everyone knows what we are doing every day. 

 We come home every night and share the miracles that we saw during the day. I love it.I feel so humbled  to be in place like Rawlins. A place that most missionaries have called "outer darkness" over the years. This place is SO ready for the gospel. We have already seen this in the first week we have been here. I love Wyoming! So glad to be back. 

We do service at the Old Wyoming State Penitentiary every Wednesday. This week we swept the floors of the prison. Ha. Never thought I would be doing service there! There are a ton of trailer parks here in our area. More than I have ever seen in one town in my life. There are a lot of humble people here. Also, I am grateful for the time that I spent working at a Residential Treatment Center before my mission because, (not to scare you all) but there are some people I have met this week that have had some pretty rough pasts. 

We are learning how to work in this area and what ways the Lord wants us to be most effective. We have found that we are most effective when we walk around instead of driving and we just talk to everyone that we meet. We met this young couple on a walk and they invited us to walk to a park with them. They have had some rough pasts, in and out of jails, and searching for hope that they lack. We shared with them the knowledge we have of the atonement and how God wants us to have joy. They said that they felt hope finally while they were talking to us and they set up an appointment with us for the next day to be taught more. We didn't end up getting to teach them and they "dropped us" within 24 hours, but it was a neat experience. We have met sooo many random people and there are so many hearts that are softened and ready to hear the words. We are giving out as many pamphlets, Books of Mormon, mormon.org cards, everything we can, just so people know we are here in Rawlins now! The word is spreading. There are other stories of random people we have met here in Rawlins too. Maybe I will share more over Skype next week. Even though there are some sketchy places and people here, I feel very safe and protected here. 

We taught our one investigator the other day and met their family. They are a Part member family and they have a cute little girl and they have been wanting her to have a foundation on Christ so they have started coming to church. We are teaching their family now and we had a really great discussion with them this week, asking them a lot of questions and seeing where they are at. We are going to officially start the lessons with them this week. They are such a great family. We also have been meeting a lot of Less Actives here in Rawlins. People come to Rawlins to "get lost" so there is a lot of reactivation work here. We are going to be helping several families prepare to go to the temple to get sealed! There is so much work to do here and we are so excited for all of it. There is so much to write about and I haven't even told you the half of all the adventures that we have been through this week. Just know that I am safe, happy, and so excited for missionary work right now! I haven't felt excitement like this for the work in a really long time! We have been taking a ton of pictures this week so I will send a few. The sisters I live with are super fun and goofy too, so having positive attitudes around is really fun. We work really well together and we just love each other. We pull some fun pranks on each other too. Like hiding an antelope antler in random places around the house, changing their morning alarms to our voices, just fun stuff like that. It makes life fun, even on the hard days. We are still trying to adjust and some days we really have no idea what the Lord wants us to do and how to be most effective, but we are learning little by little and have set a goal to be more spontaneous with our missionary work. It is a lot more effective here. The people here are wonderful. I love Wyoming a lot. Always have. People are so surprised to hear that I grew up in Green River. Oh! I have the Bank's daughter and her family in my ward! They came up to me yesterday and said, "The 5th Ward warned us to look out for you!!" Ha. 

Well, I guess I better end this novel! I have met so many wonderful people here already and I am so excited to get my feet underneath me all the way so I can keep up with what is going on. The Lord has GREAT plans for this area and I am so honored to be a part of it. I love teaching with Sister Z. We are still learning how to communicate all the way but when we teach we feel the spirit guiding us, and that is what I have been searching for. I will keep you all posted!! The Lord loves each of you so much and I love each of you too! Keep shining your light of example. You never know who is going to be effected by it in the long run. 

Love you all!

Love,

Sister Young

Rawlins!

Moose playing his guitar

Us on the first night in our apartment with lamp shades on our heads

ME freezing cold without our heater all week

T'was My Last Week in Berthoud!‏

Soooo the moment you all have been waiting for, even though you might have already heard, because somehow I have spies all over! Goodness:)! haha. I am going back to WYOMING! Haha. RAWLINS 1st Ward to be exact. I am pretty excited about it. My companion's name is Sister Zvirzdin. I still don't know how to pronounce it all the way but that's ok:) I've heard good things about her and I am excited!  I think that we are the first sister missionaries in Rawlins. Or second transfer of sisters. I just know they have had elders there and everyone was surprised to hear that sisters were going there. So that is super exciting!! I am going to be so close to GR though. Weird huh? Oh well, I can handle it:) I just think it  is funny how we joked about me getting sent to Rawlins but I never thought I really would. But it feels right and it feels like it is time to leave. I have loved Berthoud and have been able to move the work along here.

That is a goal that I have. When I leave every area I want to be able to say that I helped to make the area better then when I found. I can say that with Berthoud. We may not have been able to baptize anyone during my time here, but the area is being prepared and I was an instrument in the Lord's hand to help with that. We helped move the members forward in their work, we helped less-actives move forward towards Christ, we helped find multiple new potential investigators, served, blessed, strengthened. I don't feel disappointed with the work that has been done here. I am excited to hear about Berthoud more as the time goes forward. Sister M is staying here for another transfer. That will be 4 transfers for her in one area! Crazy huh? 

Last P-day was super fun! We all go to the Stake Center for P-day and this past Monday the Elders had brought giant foam swords. Elders...haha. Then they would battle with them. I watched for a bit and then I just had to join in! It was so much fun! I have made some really good friends in this zone. We have had some excellent Zone Leaders and District Leader. They truly have Charity and really use that Charity to help us be obedient. They have been really strict with enforcing the white handbook but it is in a very loving way. We have great zone unity right now because we are all moving forward with the work in the Lord's way. I am including pictures of our District, and also our Zone Leaders. I am going to miss Loveland Zone a lot. 

We have had a few neat experiences this week. A few weeks ago we were going through our phone contacts and found a name in there with no number but the missionaries had put an address. So we decided to go and stop by and see who this person was and get in contact. A lady came to the door and we asked if she was Alison. She said she wasn't but then she started talking to us and asking who we were. Then when she found out that we were from the church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints, she got really excited! She said she knew some Mormons and loved them. She said that the night we stopped by was perfect because things were crazy and she had been needing some peace. She then asked if we had any literature. Well, of course we have literature! So we pulled out a Book of Mormon and introduced her to it and told her how it came about and what it was about. She said she would start reading it that night. She was so excited and we left her with a prayer and said we would stop by next week. We walked away completely dumbfounded. We don't get experiences like that very often. The Lord's hand was in that  occurrence 100%. The joy that filled my soul was amazing and I realized, once again, the joy that comes from being an instrument in the hands of the Lord. We pulled the car over on the side of a Berthoud country road and thanked Heavenly Father. Experiences like that make it all worth it. 

We had a ward potluck this week. We invited so many people to it but we only had 25 people come:( That is such a tough thing in this town. We can invite and invite and invite, but it is always up to the individual. There are a lot of hard hearted people in the world. But one thing that I have realized is that love can soften hearts. I have seen the hearts of so many soften while I have been here. Love is such a powerful thing. Once someone understands their Heavenly Father's love, through you, they start to make changes. This week the less-active I was talking about who we did service for last week, his wife has asked us to ask him if we can teach him the lessons again. She says that she thinks now his heart will be softened enough to accept. 

This weekend we also had the opportunity to go to a memorial service for a member's son who passed away last year. They are some of the most well-known people in Berthoud and there were many individuals that were in attendance at the service. A less-active came to it that had never been to the Berthoud church building and we were able to sit by her. They focused a lot on the Plan of Salvation and the hope it brings. You could just tell those members of the family who didn't know about the Plan of Salvation and how they were so weighed down with sorrow. My heart hurt for them and I was able to weep with them. Mourning with those that mourn. I had a neat opportunity to be there as the Savior would be. Weeping with them. But I am so grateful for the knowledge we have of the Plan of Salvation and that we know we can be with our families for eternity through the power of the priesthood. 

.Alma 34: 32 For behold, this ^alife is the time for men to ^bprepare to meet God; yea, behold the day of ^cthis life is the day for men to perform their ^dlabors.

 37 And now, my beloved brethren, I desire that ye should remember these things, and that ye should ^awork out your salvation with fear before God, and that ye should no more deny the coming of Christ;

 38 That ye ^acontend no more against the Holy Ghost, but that ye receive it, and take upon you the ^bname of Christ; that ye humble yourselves even to the dust, and ^cworship God, in whatsoever place ye may be in, in spirit and in truth; and that ye live in ^dthanksgiving daily, for the many ^emercies and blessings which he doth bestow upon you.

 39 Yea, and I also ^aexhort you, my brethren, that ye be ^bwatchful unto prayer continually, that ye may not be led away by the ^ctemptations of the devil, that he may not overpower you, that ye may not become his subjects at the last day; for behold, he rewardeth you ^dno good thing.

 40 And now my beloved brethren, I would exhort you to have ^apatience, and that ye bear with all manner of ^bafflictions; that ye do not ^crevile against those who do cast you out because of your ^dexceeding poverty, lest ye become sinners like unto them;

 41 But that ye have ^apatience, and bear with those ^bafflictions, with a firm hope that ye shall one day rest from all your afflictions.

I don't share these verses to bring a feeling of guilt or call you to repentance but to show what the purpose of this life is. And then focusing on the last couple verses, we have many mercies and blessing given to us and one day, we can rest from all our afflictions. We must come to know our Savior and continually be doing the things we need to to come unto our Savior. Lean on Him when times get tough. Don't be afraid, only believe!  

I am sad to leave Berthoud but so excited for this next transfer! I feel a confirmation already that the Lord needs me in Rawlins, WY and I am at peace. My testimony that the Lord truly knows what He is doing, has been strengthened. Every transfer is what He wants done. Also, all you Wyoming people, I know it might be tempting to come and visit me since you are so close, but resist;) You can still wave "at me" as you pass through Rawlins though. I love you all and hope all is well back home. I'm coming back Wyoming!!! Look out!

Love,

Sister Young

Easter time eggs

District

Zone Leaders/Berthoud Elders

The Witness

Hello Everyone!

 Easter was just a great day. People took care of us here and we were able to visit a few sisters in the ward that were spending Easter alone. I felt prompted that we really needed to spend time with those who were alone. The Savior would not want them to feel alone. That is the whole reason why he Atoned for us. So we wouldn't have to feel alone. So my Easter day went a little like this! First we went to church. I got to be a part of the Berthoud Ward Choir. There was an Easter program that consisted of some talks and music. It was a beautiful program. We sang an arrangement of Abide with Me, then He Sent His Son (with the primary kids), and There is a Green Hill Far Away. I love music! Then we went to Sunday school and Relief Society where we talked more about Christ. My testimony has grown even more through this week about how real our Savior is. I've become more familiar with his wonderful example and life that he lead. After church we went to visit some potential investigators, no one was home. But we took our lunch hour back home with the E family. She made a quiche and we did a Bulgarian egg game:) Then we took time for our personal and companionship studies, where I got to spend time reading about our Savior. It was so wonderful. Then we went to visit a lady whose husband is spending some time in jail right now and she is feeling very alone. She is a less-active member with lots of questions. We were able to visit with her and share a message. Then we went to have dinner with a single sister in the ward who was spending Easter alone. And after that we went to a youth choir production, in the church building right across from where the temple is being built. We have been inviting people for weeks to come this this choir concert all about Christ. It was packed! It was all the Loveland and Fort Collins stakes.. That was my wonderful Easter! I felt very close my my Savior and felt what a great honor it is to wear His name every day. 

The rest of my week was actually a really good one. While last week was the trial of my faith, this week we were able to receive the witness we are promised in the scriptures. We were able to teach Bro. F twice this week. The first lesson was a little tricky, as always, because he talks and talks and talks and we don't get a word in. But as he was talking I had a thought come to mind and when it got quiet for a second(literally like a second) I jumped in and asked "What do you know about Jesus Christ?" We then came to find out that he really hardly has any knowledge of our Savior! How can he follow Jesus Christ's example and be a member of his church, unless he knows him? So we set a time to come back and watch the Finding Faith in Christ movie. Which is one way we knew he would not be able to talk and talk:) So we came back and watched the movie with him and then we were able to answer his questions after. He is slowly, slowly progressing, but now we know what he really needs! 

We were also able to teach M more this week. The older lady that we had dinner with. While she has told us that she doesn't want to change, she still likes us sharing messages with her. And she has questions that we answer. This week we actually got her to pray at the end of our lesson. She struggles praying out loud but she gave a beautiful prayer. I just love her tons! Then we came back and helped her garden later in the week. I don't know if I told you but she brought out a yellow sweater last week and said, "Whenever I look at this sweater, I just think of you." And she gave it to me. She is the sweetest. I know if she doesn't accept the gospel in this life, she will in the next. But we want to help her get to that point before that. Love and service. 

We also have received a lot of referrals this week. Randomly too! One was a lady who just moved to Berthoud who the Elders from another area told us about and said she wants to be taught. She is hard of hearing, which is neat because Sister Mathews knows sign language. We have been trying to contact her but haven't found her home yet. We also have a family in the ward, the B, who I love dearly. When ever I go to their house I feel very at home. They are the best. But their daughter had a random religious talk with a friend the other night and her friend said that she would love to meet with the missionaries to learn more. Awesome right?! Little things are happening. 

We also had the chance to do some service for a member family. The lady who conducts music I told you about. Her husband is a less-active member but last time we went over for dinner we really connected with him. She had us come over and help her sort through her food storage and then we had dinner. Her husband really opened up and he is such a great guy! It is neat to see his heart softening little by little. We will continue to try to teach him. We also have been teaching another member's husband. We just found out that he was excommunicated a while ago and hasn't wanted anything with the church but recently, we met him and he told his wife to invite us over for dinner. Then he has been asking us to come back every week and teach them. His wife yesterday at church said that he has been asking when we are coming back and that we have really touched his heart. It is neat to see people's hearts soften through love and the Holy Ghost. The work is moving forward!

We also got the chance to stop by the S house and talk to her. We cleared up some misconceptions she had about the church and told her more about the Book of Mormon and she accepted a copy and said she would read it. She really opened up to us too about her husband and his struggles. She told us to continue to stop by. 

Fun story of the week. On Saturday, we went over to a member's house to do some service and have dinner, and share a message. Now, this lady is very sweet. She and her husband and recently reactivated and working towards the temple. They love to talk, but she is the sweetest lady. Before we came we found out that she had called Sister E to "Extend our curfew" and make sure she knew we were going to be home later. Haha! (Don't worry, we still made it home by the time the white handbook says.) But we get there and she tells us that she spent 2 hours that day getting together an Easter game for us after we did service and had dinner. We dusted her house for service, and then ate chicken. Then her game was called, "Build Your Easter Basket," She had clues and had hidden candy and prizes around her whole house for us to race and go find:) It was super fun and really sweet of her to do for us. She loves giving missionaries socks too. Because she had a sister over one time with mismatched socks, so she figured she needed new socks. So I got 3 new pairs of socks:) And a cute rooster statue, candy, pinwheels, Bible word searches, bubbles, fresh eggs from her farm, hay from her farm. All sorts of stuff. Super sweet of her:) I really do love the people here in Berthoud. 

We find out about transfers this coming Saturday. We have heard that president might keep all the sisters in the exact same situations. So I might be here again, with Sister M. Who knows what is going to happen! We will be moving from the E's house though. We are moving to Bishop A's house. I am sad to leave the E's but I love the A family too, so it should be fun. 

I love you all soooooo much!!! Thanks for your letters, prayers, and diligence. Keep me posted on you all and your lives. I miss you! Can't wait to talk to you all on mother's day!

Love, 

Karissa

This is Brother and Sister E.  She made this beautiful Easter dress and wears hats like this to church every week!  I just love them both

Bother and Sister B before we searched the house for the prizes to fill our baskets with.

Trial of Faith

Hello Everyone!

It's been of week of trials of our faith. We got the lowest number of total lessons that I have gotten my whole mission. We only had 10 total lessons. There were days when we went through all of our plans, backup plans, and backup backup plans, and nothing came from them. Also, I have been writing about M, the bishop's referral and how a couple weeks ago she was so excited and wanted to be baptized and have her husband learn too. Well, we hadn't heard from her in about a week and a half and we were pretty worried and knew something was up. We called a few times during the week and stopped by and left a sticky note on her door and such. But still nothing, until yesterday. She called us and said that she had talked to her husband and they felt like they were comfortable in the church they are in right now. They have friends and a way of life with the church they have now. She was very kind about it all and thanked us, and she said she felt guilty calling us to tell us that they weren't interested in learning more. It was really tough and the first time I have been "dropped" on my mission so far. But I just have this feeling inside that she knows that it is true and that this is just the beginning for her. I was strangely calm when I heard because the spirit whispered to me that she would be back. This is not the end. She felt it and wants it but needs to realize it. I still invited her to continue to read the Book of Mormon and to call us is she needed us ever. I'm not giving up on her. We did exchanges this week, so I went to Loveland and the sisters there are actually living with T! My 2nd or 3rd cousin! Crazy huh? The one that we ate dinner with that one night. So that was kinda fun. I loved being with Sister Cardon for a day. It was the first time that I have gotten to ride a bike on my mission:) I LOVE riding bikes, even in a skirt. So we rode around and did missionary work and I got sunburned but it was a great day!

The next day I was with Sister Christensen in Berthoud and that was probably one of the toughest days doing missionary work. That was a day when I literally tried EVERYTHING, and it felt like nothing happened. We stopped by potentials, less-actives, we tracted, I called a ton of people we have been trying to set up appointments with, and nothing. Until the end of the day, when a small little miracle happened, that I am so grateful for. I had felt prompted all day to go and visit a less-active but we knew she wasn't home until later at night, but we tracted up her street for a bit and then when we got to her house, she had just gotten home. We talked to her, I had met her before. She asked if we were going to the Relief Society activity that night and we said we were and she said that someone invited her but she didn't think she was going to go. We told her we would miss her and talked a bit longer and then headed off to the activity. We got to the activity and a few minutes later she walks into the church! Somehow she had decided to come that night. Small and simple things...even after alll the effort that I could put forth. 

One of my biggest problems this week is wondering if I really am doing the best I can, or giving it my all, because I am not seeing anything come. So I start questioning if I am really doing my part. I feel like I really am giving it my all, but that is when Satan kicks in and starts telling me that it wasn't good enough. I know there is always more that I can do but how can I know if my best really is my best?

I got so down on Saturday night and felt like I needed a blessing or else I just was going to crash. Luckily our Zone Leaders go to the Berthoud building on Sundays for the YSA ward and so I was able to ask them for a blessing. Elder Petersen gave me a blessing and it brought the peace back into my heart that I had been missing. I am so grateful for the priesthood power and that I have been blessed to grow up in a home with that priesthood power. 

Oh, speaking of the Relief Society activity, guess what?! It was an "Around the World" type activity and our ward mission leader's daughter served in Korea so she had made rice with Kimchi and Ho Duk ( Duck Do;)) I was soooo happy! I miss Korean food. Tender Mercy. 

This week with the members that we have gotten to visit and teach, we have been inviting the members to read from Preach My Gospel and working with the Bishop to get copies to members who don't have their own. We really want to emphasize what Elder Ballard talked about. 

So now that I have told you some struggles, I will tell you some miracles. There are ALWAYS miracles, even if you have to look extra hard for them sometimes. On Tuesday, we stopped by one of our potential investigators who we found while tracting a while ago. She is the one that grew up pentacostal and left that church recently and is trying to rebuild her relationship with God again from scratch. She is looking for God's truth. She is so in tune to the spirit and she has sooo many of the same beliefs and standards that we have. She seems so ready. We ended up having a really neat discussion about each member of the Godhead, our Heavenly Father, Jesus Christ, and the Holy Ghost, and each of their roles. Then we taught her about Joseph Smith and the restoration and she accepted a copy of the Book of Mormon and said she would read it. She can't see how so many people claim to be Christian but aren't willing to put forth the effort to get to know our Savior and follow his example. She seems so ready, so we will see. We set up another time to come back today, but when we stopped by she had left a note for us saying that she was so sorry but couldn't meet with us because something came up but she wanted us to try again. She really is interested and it is amazing to see how the Lord has prepared her. Keep them in your prayers! 

Another miracle of the week. Last week I talked about S, the less-active that we taught about the sacrament. She came to sacrament meeting this week, for the first time in about a year! It was so neat to have her there and she really felt the spirit strongly. 

We also had the chance to do some service this week for a lady who was effected by the flood last year. She showed us her property and the damage is crazy! We helped her replant her yard and got to know her a bit more. She is a really neat lady.

We were able to go to the temple today with Sister A, Bishop's wife, she is such a neat lady! It was a really nice trip to the temple. The Denver Temple is beautiful. We went to lunch after and just had a really great time. The peace that I was able to feel in the temple was exactly what I needed and I felt my Heavenly Father's love for not only me but everyone that we are teaching right now in Berthoud. I didn't want to leave. I didn't want to go back into the world. It is nice being in a place where Satan can not enter.

I am excited this week to be able to have a holiday where our Savior is remembered so fully. While most think of Easter as celebrating Christ's death and resurrection, we are also remembering the most important event to ever occur. The Atonement of our Savior Jesus Christ. Always remember the great sacrifice of our Savior and how much he went through for each of us. He loves us each and knows what we go through. I am so blessed to be able to have his name upon me everyday. To experience similar feelings that he did. I know I am coming to know my Savior personally, as I have taken his name upon me. I know each of you too can come to know him personally as you put his name on your heart. It's worth it.

I love you each! Hold on, even when you can't see the end. Good things are yet to come. 

Love,

Sister Karissa Young

Biking in a skirt!

Temple Day

Let Us All Press On! - April 7, 2014

Hello!!!

So, like every week, there have been some adventures. First one happened last Monday after I e-mailed all of you. We went to the Loveland stake center to be with the rest of the missionaries, and I joined in with the Elders and a few sisters in playing Gator Ball. Yeah...it was like soccer, rugby, tag, all mixed into one. Anyway, I wasn't being super aggressive or anything but I jumped up to block someone and then I came down weird on my foot and heard a distinct pop...uh oh. So I automatically got upset at myself and went and sat down. Well...it started swelling up so we went home early so I could ice it. I wasn't really sure what I had done to it and I was just praying that it wasn't anything that would keep me from doing the work. I just dealt with the pain and continued on with our normal schedule, limping around everywhere. But let me illustrate what kind of people I live with and how much I am taken care of out here. That night, we asked Bro. E, the people we live with, if he had an ACE bandage wrap, because the tiny store we checked in Berthoud was out...ha. He said he didn't but he said, "I'll go get one at Walmart." Mind you, it was 10:00 at night and Walmart is about 20 minutes away, so same distance from Green River to Rock Springs. We tried to stop him, saying that I would be ok, but he hopped in his car right that second and drove to get my an ankle brace and some wrap. He is one of the most Christ-like people I know. That is only one illustration of the kind of people that are in Berthoud. Every day this week, we have been fed not only dinners, but lunches! People here really take care of us. The Lord makes sure we are watched over. 

But, the miracle was, I was still able to do all the work. Well, I mean...I probably should have stayed off of it but you know my personality. I'm not going to let a silly sprained foot get in the way of the Lord's work. But it has healed quite nicely and besides the huge bruises all over my foot, I can walk just fine now. But...no more Gator Ball for a while. Another thing I realized this week is how much Satan is trying to stop the work from progressing, but he CANNOT win. First with my foot, and then some crazy things happened on April Fool's day. They were so crazy that we truly thought that our Zone Leaders were just pulling our legs because it was April 1st. But, nope. First we had 2 elders get separated somehow so they sent a huge message out telling us to look for him. Then that night we get a text that our Zone Leader was in the hospital. What? Come to find out later that we had like 5 or 6 emergency transfers for a couple of random reasons, so we have a totally new zone. Ha. We also have a new Elder in Berthoud. But that night, I got really down. I just felt really helpless and I was worried about our ZL and about the Elder who was lost, and just all sorts of feelings. It was not fun. Satan is trying hard with the missionaries to stop the work, but things have gotten better since that crazy April Fool's Day. 

This week, Sister M and I have been focusing on getting to the root of people's concerns. We realized that we have been beating around the bush a bit with some individuals and it is time to get bold! And we have been lead and guided as we have set this goal. Most of our lessons this week were really great with getting to their concerns and trying to resolve them. One Less-Active member, S, we have been visiting and she has not come to church in a long time. We felt recently that it was because she didn't feel worthy to partake of the sacrament. I felt prompted to read to her a section in True to the Faith talking about how we don't need to be perfect to take the sacrament, we just need a contrite spirit and being striving to do our very best. It really hit her strongly and next Sunday she said she would be there. Pray for her!!

Another thing we learned this week, people are not willing to commit to a lifetime of trying to live like our Savior. One of people's biggest concerns is that when they join the church it will take up too much of their time. It does take up a lot of time because it is not just a religion but a change of heart and mind. It is changing our lives. But the Lord WILL give us the strength that we need to be able to do our very best.

This week we have also been faced with some pretty tricky people with questions and not softened hearts to listen to the answers. One was a lady who is less-active, but who, we found out, hasn't been since she was 12. We got in to talk to her and she had some questions about doctrine and things she had heard, misconceptions, all sorts of things. We did the best we could and testified, but she wasn't taking any of our answers to heart. Times like that are so tricky! We got out and as we were driving to our dinner, we just were so frustrated. Ha but it really strengthened my testimony to have things questioned. We had another similar situation like that last night too. Woah, being a missionary is tough! I am realizing that I want to become a better teacher. I want to teach with convincing power like the missionaries and prophets in the Book of Mormon. That is my goal. It just gets tricky and I don't feel like we do a very good job sometimes. Which is frustrating. But...it's a learning experience. I just wish I didn't have to learn while someone else's salvation is at stake...but the Lord knew what he was doing when he called missionaries out from ages 18 to whenever. 

This week we also taught M and gave her a tour of the church while we taught her the Doctrine of Christ. I also felt impressed to talk about Eternal Families while we were in the Primary room with pictures of the temple. Then when we got to the font, we invited her again to be baptized and asked how she was feeling about it. She said that she wanted to be baptized but she wanted her husband to learn with her so that they both can be baptized because she wants an eternal family like we talked about. It was so neat! So this week we are praying that we will get to start teaching her husband too! 

One thing that we have been emphasizing with the members lately is to search for service opportunities around Berthoud. To have the faith that they will come about and from those service opportunities, they will find those prepared to hear the gospel. We too have been striving for that same thing and have been getting better at searching for unplanned acts of service. This week we saw a couple trying to carry a king sized mattress into their house. So I turned around the car and we went back to ask if we could help. They were very grateful and we helped them carry in the rest. We got talking and then gave them our mormon.org card with our number and we are going to stop by again this week. They just moved to town and he just quit smoking recently. They seem very neat and were very open and friendly to us. Acts of service CAN help you find those who are ready. Have the faith that the Lord will put people in your path who are ready to hear the gospel. 

General Conference was wonderful. We watched the first two sessions in Loveland an in between there was a family who fed all the missionaries in our zone. So sweet of them! Then the next day we went to the Berthoud building and the H family was there, Ward Mission Leader's family. Then they invited us over for lunch with them. It was nice to have a family that reminds me of ours a bit, to be able to watch conference with and eat lunch with. Then we watched the final session. I loved the emphasis on love. Also, did you hear how many times they said the word Empathy? I'm so grateful that that word is not new to my vocabulary. Christ truly has perfect empathy. I also loved Elder Ballard's talk on Following Up and Missionary Work. A.) Because we have been working on following up more effectively B.) It' great to hear more how to help the members get involved with missionary work! I'd love to hear what you all are studying in Preach my Gospel and I will try to share more what I am studying each week too:) That would be fun!! The Lord truly is hastening His work! Catch the wave, find the joy that comes as you invite others to hear the gospel. 

The work in Berthoud is growing, little by little. It is going to take some time but as we were setting goals, we realized how many people are ready and could potential have baptismal dates in the future. There are many! It is a slow moving process but it IS moving:) 

Next week I get to go to the Denver temple on Tuesday!! My companion is at her halfway point and I guess I am allowed to go with her:) Because who knows where I will be at my halfway point. If I am in Wyoming or anywhere further away, I won't be able to go, so I am taking the opportunity now. I am so excited!! We are going with the bishop's wife, who I love dearly. But because of that, I will not be writing until Tuesday night. So don't be worried if you don't get an e-mail on Monday. I love you alll!!! Thanks for you letters, e-mails, pictures, support, and all you do to build the Kingdom of God!! Have a great week. 

Love,

Sister Young

Cool mural in Berthoud and an old ambulance!

A&W P-day!

This is a newspaper box literally in the middle of nowhere...

Bruised foot after a few days.