Short Lived

 Family and friends,

Well, this week was good up until we got transfer text last night.... Sister VanDenakker is getting transferred😭. It was so fun being back together and I learned so much from her in the short time we were together, but I guess 3 weeks was how long the Lord needed us together. She's amazing and literally going to kill it wherever she goes!

☀️Highlights☀️

- We helped an elderly couple move and in return she gave us chicken bakes and a tube of elk meat! We have no idea what to do with it...

- We had Zone Conference and that was so fun! We went to Oak Harbor first and then got to stop in Anacortes to get lunch! That was way fun. Then we went to Mt. Vernon for part 2 of Zone Conference. It was a blast!

- We had a lesson with our friend who is a preacher's daughter and it went...well... she has a lot of questions which it good. We just didn't plan very well, but don't worry we are going to do better next time. 

- We had a super awesome lesson with some members down in Seattle! They are so amazing!

- We got to see some good friends from when we served in Anacortes!

🥤Spiritual Juices🥤

You are a child of God. He loves you more than you could ever imagine! This truth is something I hold so dear to my heart and know with ever fiber of my being. In my darkest moments, this is the one thing that I knew I could hold onto. And what is so amazing is the opportunity that we all have to be able to feel His love not only for ourselves and for others. We are all His children and more than anything, He wants us to love each other. So take time this week to love others! I love you all and hope you all have the best week!

Kia Kaha,

Sister Twede:)

Us and Sulemma

More kittens!

Fanny Pack Friday!

Meme of the week

Pam and Hannah

Attack of the Blackberry Bush

Family and friends!

Well is was kind of a crazy, but good, week up here in Burlington! 

☀️Highlights☀️

- We made a new friend!! She's super nice and she seems pretty open. When we asked her about her religious background she said "I'm a preacher's kid". I instantly thought "oh boy this will be fun", but we'll see how it goes! We have another lesson with her this week. She also brought out some super cute kittens for us to see!

- We had MLC (Mission Leaders Conference) and it was so good! So much spiritual knowledge gained and testimony-strengthening moments! 

- We helped our friend Joyce clean out a chicken coop that was literally being taken over by blackberry bushes. For those of you who may not know this, up here in good old Washington blackberry bushes literally grow on the side of the road EVERYWHERE! Yes, they give some pretty great berries, but they are like the weed of all weeds. They just grow and grow and once the touch the ground they grow a whole new set of roots PLUS they have nasty thorns that hurt so bad! So we chopped down a ton of those and by the end you could actually see the coop! 

- We also witnessed some cops take down a guy one night...haha.

🥤Spiritual Juices🥤

This week we had MLC and we talked about the Atonement. Now there are two parts of the Atonement: the redeeming power (this is what we use when we repent), and the enabling power (this is for pretty much everything else). We don't talk about the enabling power a whole lot but let me tell you this: the enabling power of the Atonement helps us more than we could ever imagine! Elder Bednar has said:

"The enabling power of the Atonement of Christ strengthens us to do things we could never do on our own." 

I would even add that it also helps us become who we never could imagine we could become on our own. 

I love this gospel and I know from the bottom of my heart that it is New Testament church Christ restored here on the earth. How do I know this? Because of the person I have become and the joy I have felt through living it everyday! This is the true church and if you aren't sure or want to know for yourself, get on your knees and ask God. I know He will answer you because He has answered me time and time again. I love and miss you all!!

Kia Kaha,

Sister Twede:)

Pday with the Sisters

Selfie on our walk

Cafe Rio with Sister Inskeep and Sister Cole

Fanny Pack Friday

Kitty!

The sky is on fire!

MLC

Look Who's Back! Back Again!

 Friends and family!

Well yup, transfers happened and you'll never guess what happened (unless you've been on Facebook then you probably can... haha)! Sister VanDenakker and I are back together!!! Yup, we have been reunited after 9 months! We are up in the Mt. Vernon area in the Bow Hill Ward. I already love it! So here's what went down this week

☀️Highlights☀️

- Transfers were on Tuesday. It was sad to leave Armar and Sis Inskeep but this is going to be way fun up here in Bow Hill!

- The ward is awesome and so missionary minded!

- We got to help clean an elderly lady's windows and her house looked liked time stood still from when she decorated it in the 70's. 

- I got to hang out with the sisters in my last zone before transfers.

- We went to Oak Harbor yesterday and through Anacortes (my first area)!! It was pretty awesome and also weird being back there together.

🥤Spiritual Juices🥤

This week I've been thinking about trials. These are something that none of us are exempt from in life. We all have to face our fears, overcome weaknesses, and hit our breaking point. But why? Why does it have to be so hard? I thought about this for a while and it made me think back to my swimming days. Man there were some days where I would just look at a set and think "Is he trying to kill us?!" There were so many times that I thought I wasn't going to make it through it (Coach Kirsten can attest to that). It hurt so bad and I felt as though every part of my body was jello. But as time went on, by doing these hard sets again and again I was able to become stronger and stronger. All those hard sets weren't just to cause me misery (even though I thought they were in the moment). No, my coach knew what was best for me and what would be able to help me succeed. The same goes for life. Our coach, Heavenly Father, knows what is going to help us succeed in life and, yes, it's going to be hard but we don't have to do it alone. Our Savior is there to give us that extra push we need to be able to finish the race. So as we "submit cheerfully and with patience" (Mosiah 24:15), we can become champions in the end!

I love and miss you all and hope you have the best week!

Kia Kaha,

Sister Twede:)

Saying farewell to Sisters C&C

Fanny Pack Friday

The Dynamic Duo back together again!

Anacortes!

Oak Harbor Building

Sprained Ankle and Transfers

Family and friends!

Well I'm leaving the good old Armar YSA. Where am I going? I have no idea haha! We'll find out on Tuesday though! But this week was pretty wild one to end on!

☀️Highlights☀️

- We got to help can beans! So add that to my resume😉.

- We also got to give service at the food bank. 

- Saturday we went to help a family get ready for a wedding and we when we went to leave Sister Inskeep stepped off their deck and then sprained her ankle! And it was right before the rehearsal and the groom gave her a blessing! After that, we took a trip to the urgent care and she got a brace and some pretty sweet crutches!

- We received 3 referrals this week which is so awesome! But then I remembered I was leaving so that's sad, but we all play on the same team so that's great!

🥤Spiritual Juices🥤

This week I've been pondering about pondering. Pondering is awesome! For those of you that are thinking "what on earth?" Stay with me. When I think of pondering I think of thinking about what you've learned and then acting upon it. I was reading a talk called My Heart Pondereth Them Continually by Devin G. Durrant. It is so awesome! But he gives so many tips on pondering and also so many blessings! One of the biggest blessings that stuck out to me was that pondering invites the spirit to speak to you and for you to be able to receive personal revelation. And who doesn't need that? And once we receive those answers from the spirit and then act on it, we are able to receive more answers or guidance or anything! Isn't that awesome?! So I want to invite you all to take some time this week to think about what you are learning in the scriptures or talks or whatever and then act on whatever the Spirit tells you. I can promise it will change your life. 

I hope you all have the best week and feel free to shoot me an email anytime! Love and miss you all!

Kia Kaha 

Sister Twede:)

Good Thai food. The beaut Sister Inskeep.

Chinese!

At Urgent Care

Aftermath of our Urgent Care visit

Saying goodbye to Elder Garbett (he's been an AP my whole mission)

Brad Wilcox and Service Galore!

 Family and friends!

Well, this week was awesome! Let me just jump right in. oh wait side note, if you need your email changed let me know!

☀️Highlights☀️

- We got to actually go to FHE because it was service woot woot! We helped some members get ready for a wedding reception and Sister Inskeep and I picked beans. There were so many beans!!

- We got to do service at a food bank as well! 

- We walked a dog on National Dog day!

- Ok ok but the best part of the week was our weekly mission devotional. BRAD WICOX SPOKE TO US!!! Oh my goodness it was so good!! Seriously there were so many things that really hit home for me. More on that later.

- We had exchanges this week with the Lakewood sisters and that went really well! 

- We also had a pretty awesome meeting for social media stuff. There is still so much to learn and to do and it's AWESOME!! This is such an amazing time for the church! We are going to be able to reach more people than ever before with these pages, I can feel it!! 

Spiritual Juices

Ok there are so many things that I want to say so hopefully this all makes sense and that y'all can feel the spirit through these words and know how much God loves YOU!! 

Alrighty, so during our weekly devotional with Brad Wilcox said this and it hit me like a ton of bricks that had fallen from the sky. He said that once we get something right the Lord counts it as perfect no matter how many times it took us to get there. Woah. There have been so many times that I have felt that if I'm going to do something I have to do it perfect the first time, which is so not true! There is no possible way we can be completely perfect all the time, yup it's literally impossible. We don't fail when we don't get it right the first time, we only fail when you give up. When we completely give up and stay down that is when we fail. So my plea to all of you is no matter what you are going through, DON'T GIVE UP!! Turn to the Savior for strength to go a little farther, turn to Him and cry for a while and tell Him how hard it is but then dust yourself off, get up, and look the storm dead in the eye and say "You can push me around but you can't tear me down!" You have an army behind you cheering you on and you can count me as one of them! The Lord will help you JUST TURN TO HIM!!! I don't know how to say that enough. He loves you and doesn't want to see you fail! Just as my grandma has said "it came to pass, it didn't come to say". Know that I love you all and I know that your Heavenly Father is mindful of you and is watching over you! Alma 26:37. Love and miss you all!

Kia Kaha (Forever Strong)

Sister Twede:)

Fanny Pack Friday!!

Exchanges!

Picking beans...lots of beans!

Brad Wilcox!

Something extra....

A Casino, A Bullet-Proof Vest, and the Book of Mormon

 Family and friends!

Well, this week was one for the books y'all! We had a whole lot of crazy, funny, spiritual, and other stuff happen this week!

☀️Highlights☀️

- We met a homeless guy that apparently lives at the church😅 (don't worry we called someone about him).

- WE ARE GOING BACK TO CHURCH!! And because we are YSA and never have more than 99 people who come to church anyway we can meet every week! That starts Sept. 13th!

- We had our dinner paid for one night! A sweet member at a restaurant we went to paid for us. Heavenly Father is always watching out for us!

- We had a lesson with a member who had not only a gun but also a knife the size of my forearm and a bullet proof vest! People are strange.....

🥤Spiritual Juices🥤

This week was also really awesome for me spiritually. This week I really gained a greater love for the Book of Mormon. This book is amazing. I have seen this book start to change my life and because of that I cannot deny that it is the word of God. I know this book is true and as we read it we can find so much love, peace, comfort, guidance, and so much more. So if you are reading it, keep reading and studying. If you haven't pick it up in a while, pick it up and read some everyday this week and see how it effects your life. If you've never read it or don't have one, let me know! I love you all and hope you have the best week!

Kia Kaha 

Sister Twede:)

Fanny Pack Friday

Lesson with Angela (formally known as Sister Walker)

The District

We live across from a casino!

Selfie

Meetings and A Baptismal Date!

 Family and friends!

This week went so fast! We had so many things come up this week that made the week fly by. 

☀️Highlights☀️

- Meetings all day on Tuesday. We had a Social Media meeting in the morning, Institute, MLC (Mission Leaders Conference), then we had a stake meeting that night. It was a crazy day! 

- We got to have Zone Conference in person!! We had to split up the zone but it was still fun to see everyone in person! For one of the meetings, we were the only sisters there😂. That was interesting!

- We put one of our friends on a baptismal date!! That was super exciting! He has been taught before by missionaries and we've had a little bit of contact with him but then he texted us and said that he wants to get baptized! Woot woot!

🥤Spiritual Juices🥤

This week we while we were at MLC and I had an mind-blowing moment. We were talking about "becoming" and we read Ether 12:27.

"And if men come unto me I will show unto them their weakness. I give unto men weakness that they may be humble; and my grace is sufficient for all men that humble themselves before me; for if they humble themselves before me, and have faith in me, then will I make weak things become strong unto them."

After reading this, it just hit me hard that we don't overcome our trials just willy-nilly. We overcome them by taking advantage of the trials that come our way. There was something that my mom said to me when I was going through something really hard. She told me that I can either let this tear me down or help build me up. I have never realized how true this is. Every single hardship, trial, heartache is there for a reason, and every time we can either give up or look up and trust that He will help us rise above it. We can become who He sees we can become as we take on these challenges and strive to rise above them all. 

I miss and love you all and hope you all have the best week! 

Kia Kaha

Sister Twede:)

Total Coverage

Zone Conference Part 1

Zone Conference Part 2

Fanny Pack Friday