November 30, 2015

November 26, 2015 "Happy Thanksgiving!!.....I am so blessed!"

Area: Anoka Minnesota

"Happy Thanksgiving!"

Companion: Sister Kiersten Mortensen 

Hometown: Driggs, Idaho

Snail Mail:                                         

Minnesota Minneapolis Mission

5931 West 96th Street

Bloomington, MN  55438-1715

Email: ashlee.young@myldsmail.net

Hey y'all!
Happy Thanksgiving from good old cold Minnesota! This week has been so wonderful! I am truly so blessed. As I have heard it said here in Minnesota a time or two, "blessed by the best!" I will report on what happened each day next week.  Today I want to share with you my testimony and the things I am grateful for. I feel like it is fitting because of it being Thanksgiving day.

      First off I want to say how grateful I am for my loving Savior, Jesus Christ. I can't express enough the love and gratitude I have for Him. He suffered so many pains, afflictions, heartache, and grief, so we wouldn't have to face those things alone. Not only is he there through all of our trials and tribulations but, he is there for all of the joy, happiness and times of love as well. He is there for it all. He has felt it all. I am so grateful that I know my Savior loves me and is always there for me. That is why I am here. I want the people here in Minnesota to feel that love that the Savior has for each and every one of them.

      I am so grateful for my family. I have the best family in the entire world. I wish I would have realized that sooner. I have been raised in Christ's true church here on the Earth today and I am so grateful I can be with my family forever. I love my family so much. I can't wait until I can see all of them but until then, I can feel their love and prayers. I am so grateful for the simple things in life. So many people in the world don't have even the simple things needed to live. I am so extremely blessed.

     I wish there was more I could do to help Heavenly Fathers children. I know God will take care of them though. I am so grateful for my mission and for all I have come in contact with because of my mission. It was the hardest decision I have ever had to make, but it has been so worth it. I have been able to feel a little bit of God’s love for his children, and that has been life changing. I know God lives and loves each and every one of us,

     I am so grateful I can share this loving message with the people of Minnesota. The time on my mission is so precious and I am so grateful for every second of it! (Even the lice and bed bugs last spring……)

      I know this gospel is true and I want to invite everyone to share it with someone you love, because you know and I know the joy and peace it can bring to our lives.  I leave these things with you in the sacred name of Jesus Christ, amen.

     I hope you all have a hap hap happy thanksgiving!!!
Lots of love,
Sister Young

November 17, 2015 “our purpose as Missionaries… ”

"President's Fireside with Richard Paul Evans"

Area: Anoka Minnesota

Companion: Sister Kiersten Mortensen 

Hometown: Driggs, Idaho 

Snail Mail:                                         

Minnesota Minneapolis Mission

5931 West 96th Street

Bloomington, MN  55438-1715

Email: ashlee.young@myldsmail.net

Howdy peeps!

      So, I just fell asleep sitting here writing this.  That means I don't have much time left to write an extravagant letter this week.  I will give you a quick run-down of what happened :)

Monday:

After we went to the Sisters P-day activity, we went and saw Peggy with the Elders. She asked for a priesthood blessing, so we brought them. It was so funny because she thought they were sooo cute, ha-ha! Peggy started fanning herself when Elders Johnston and Fabrizio took off their hats! She told them they should be male models! Sister Mortensen and I just sat there and died laughing! I am pretty sure the Elders were loving it though, ha-ha!

Tuesday:

Happy "39th" Birthday Mom!!!! We had district meeting and we talked about having appropriate

"Bacon Wrapped Squirrel!"

invitations for individuals that we are teaching. For lunch, Elders Dygert and Oldroyd fed us squirrel again! I am getting used to eating the little buggers. This one tasted a lot better than the first one.  It had more meat, and seasoning, (which seemed to help) but, I will say squirrel is just greasy chicken. I never thought I would see a squirrel running around outside and think "I could eat that for lunch!" I guess a lot of things have changed about me on my mission ;)  We also went to the doctor to see if they could get me some anti-biotics. The Doctor we saw I must say I was not too impressed with.   All he said was that I had asthma!  I am thinking no kidding; I know I have asthma!  Oh, and by the way, I am so-o-o sick! So I made an appointment with another Doctor that I have seen before for Thursday. Hopefully we can get some answers there.  Later, we had a lesson with Gladys and her girls. While there we felt inspired to re-establish our purpose as missionaries.  We felt we needed to basically refresh in their minds why they want the

missionaries in their home. It went really well.  We were able to promise them some very inspired blessings.  I know that it will be hard for Gladys, but if she simply does what the Lord has asked of her, He will bless her with so much!  I have never had the Spirit prompt me to promise more powerful blessings on my mission. I pray that she will heed our council and do as the Lord has asked so that she can receive the special blessings He has in store for them.

Wednesday:

We had our usual day of ACBC, which is always entertaining.  After the food bank, we went to Bishop's for our meeting. It went well. He showed me a sneak peek of Bette's funeral program. It has been nice to be able to talk about her with so many people in the ward. We have heard such wonderful fond memories of her. Afterwards Sister Petersen made a delicious dinner of chicken pot pie, warm rolls, and Oreo cream pie for dessert. Seriously, her food is the BEST!  It is the definition of a "home cooked meal."

Everyone around here just raves about her cooking.  To top it off, she is such a sweet lady. We are so lucky because we get to eat there every Wednesday :) We also had our “Preach my Gospel “class with the Elders. It went well. We talked about the Plan of Salvation. We had invited some members to role play with us so that we missionaries could practice teaching in a non-threatening situation.  They did really well and it was fun besides!

Thursday:

Nothing too exciting today, except the fact that it was dang COLD! We were doing service, raking outside with the Elders and I thought I was going to freeze to death, no joke. The wind went straight through me. I realized once again that I really am "up north" in Minnesota! We also went and visited Tina tonight.  We talked to her about the one and only awesome President Dieter Uchtdorf!  He is has such a special ability when it comes to capturing people’s attention!

Friday:

 Today, we went to the Doctor again. I found out I needed some anti-biotics. She doesn't think I have pneumonia or bronchitis, but she wanted to see me next week just to make sure. The weird thing is the Elders also had a Dr.'s appointment at the same place at the same time. So, we all walked in together and when we were in the back I could occasionally hear their voices.  It was really funny! We had weekly planning which is always.......long, but it was really good.  We were able to plan according to the direction the Spirit.  Sister Mortensen is able to help more now that she has been here for a while and knows a lot more people! We practiced singing "Choose the Right" for Bette's funeral tomorrow. Hopefully my voice will be more healed by then. We had dinner with the Anderson's.  They are the best! Sister Anderson is our "Mom" when we need something.  We just call her and ask or if we just need to talk we call her. It is so nice to be able to do that since we can't call our Moms. It is so nice to have her to talk to for a listening ear. We then met up with the Sisters to practice the song.  When we finished practicing the song, we decided we should clean up the church for Bette's funeral in the morning.  So, Sister Mortensen and I stayed after and cleaned the church. I had a throwback moment. It felt like I was back at Beehive Brick cleaning away!

Saturday:

Sweet Bette Rinke! What a joy it was to go to a celebration of her life. I loved seeing the flawless

pictures of her in her youth. It was amazing to see how many people loved this little woman. She did so much for so many people. She will forever leave a mark here on the earth. We sang “Choose The Right” and my voice healed during the song so that I could sing! Thank goodness for prayers, lemon and honey! We then went to Zone service, which was raking again. It was so good.  We raked with Sister Hunt. I just love spending time with her! I can't believe she goes home in ONE transfer! The Sisters asked us to do a “blitz” with them. We went over to their apartment and talked for a while. Then after, we had dinner out.  Sister Mortensen and I felt impressed to write Christmas cards to injured soldiers that were put on a table for people to write. It was really cool!  A guy who worked there gave me a free drink! That was nice to get a fresh Diet Coke! We then went to Stake Conference! Elder Sitati of the Seventy was presiding.  He had Elder Allen who is an area Seventy with him.

"Sister Hunt"

They asked all of the missionaries to stand up then they invited us to join them on the stand.  It was really cool because they kept turning around and talking right to us. It was really cool! They talked a lot about the importance of Ward Council. They also talked about feeding your personal sheep. They had us make a list of our personal sheep. I want to let you all know if there is anything you ever need or anything I can do for you, please let me know. Elder Allen promised everyone there that if they invite the missionaries into their home they will know who out of their friends who are ready to receive the gospel. They will be able to help them come to Christ's church. It was so cool! After the meeting we were able to shake their hands.  Elder Allen showed Sister Mortensen and I some cool things that will be coming up soon for missionaries. He told us we can't tell anyone, so I can't tell you but can I just say, IT IS FLIPPIN COOL!!!!!!

Sunday:

We had Stake Conference where they announced our new Stake President.  I have no idea who he is but, I know that he is called of God to serve over the people here in the Anoka Minnesota Stake. Elder Sitati shared wonderful advice to families about scripture study. He said; “Parents don't be frustrated with children asleep on the couch during scripture study. Wake them up for their 5 minute turn and then let them sleep and feel the spirit. Those 5 minutes of peace and the Spirit will affect them even if they are not functioning to their fullest.”  I thought that was pretty cool! We went to President's Fireside with Sister Anderson.  Richard Paul Evans spoke to us. It was a very inspirational fireside. We were really able to feel the Spirit. It was fun to see some people from Lake Nokomis, Stillwater, and of course my MTC peeps! Anyways, it was a really good night! I will tell you about yesterday next week! I need to go now.  I love you all and wish you the best this week!

Love you all to the Moonisota and Back!

Sister Ashlee Young

"God cares a lot more about who we are, and who we are becoming than about who we once were, he cares that we keep on trying."   -Elder Dale G. Renlund

November 9, 2015 “Prepare to take the Sacrament”

Area: Anoka Minnesota

Companion: Sister Kiersten Mortensen 

Hometown: Driggs, Idaho 

Snail Mail:                                         

Minnesota Minneapolis Mission

5931 West 96th Street

Bloomington, MN  55438-1715

Email: ashlee.young@myldsmail.net

Hey!!! 

 Here's a quick rundown of what happened this week :)

Monday: We cleaned, shopped, emailed and then went with Mazie to “Two Scoops”. It was kind of a bummer because all of our appointments fell through; but hey it was still a great day!

Tuesday:  Happy 24th Birthday Sister Mortensen!!! First, I made her some breakfast then I made her bed to surprise her! I also bought a birthday card without her knowing………that's kind of hard to do when you are with someone 24/7! We then went to District meeting where we had the best training on the sacrament and what it truly means to us. I couldn't help but think about our dear Bette as she

partook of the sacrament for the last time on her birthday. The Spirit that I was able to feel there was so strong. Partaking of the sacrament should always be a sacred and reverent time for us. I know that too many times in my life I have taken the sacrament for granted and that is not ok. I want to live each moment preparing myself to partake of that sacred ordinance. The Spirit is amazing. The Holy Ghost can speak to each of us individually.  l encourage all of you to listen to the Spirit and prepare yourself each day to partake of the sacrament. I promise it will strengthen your relationship with your Father in Heaven, Savior and those around you each day.

After District meeting we celebrated Elder Johnston’s and Sister Mortensen’s birthdays. I had made a birthday cake for Sister Mortensen and Elder Johnston. (even though his birthday was the first)  We put 19 candles on, then after singing to him we added 5 more for Sister M. It was so funny! She had a hard time blowing out all her candles! Then we gave Elder Johnston his present from us. It was a “beach in a bottle” because he loves the ocean and warm weather. It's really funny to see him get cold and grumpy! We took a jar with a label and wrote Beach in a Bottle.  Then we put some little sea creatures inside with sand. We also got him a card that was a scuba mask! He loved it! It was really funny watching him get all excited about the gift. So…. then for lunch we ate squirrel. Yes, you read that right.  SQUIRREL. The Elders killed a squirrel and decided to cook it for lunch. It smelled so weird..... They wrapped it in bacon, and tossed it in the oven at church. I couldn't help but laugh at the thought of the Relief Society President

walking in and seeing a dead squirrel being cooked! So after it was done we all ate some. It was pretty good.  It tasted like greasy chicken! It also could have used some spices….. but hey, it was free meat! We then went to the Library. Then, to Sister B. and Pats for Birthday dinner! It was a lot of fun being together and celebrating her birthday! They are like my 60 year old bff's haha! We then went and saw Gladys and her girls! It was really fun! Then the Andover Elders Oldroyd and Dygert called us and said they needed us to come to an appointment with them to a woman's home named Denice. We had a lesson about the Book of Mormon, which was really great. She said she would be baptized if she knew it was true. It was really amazing to see this woman who has been through so many trials in her life light up so much to read the Book of Mormon and ask us “what is my next step?” We then finished off the night with hot chocolate and presents from home.

Wednesday: We went to ACBC as usual then the Bishops house. The Elders in Anoka, Johnston and Coon, got a call from the Mission office. Elder Coon was being ET'd to Lake Nokomis tomorrow. He has only been out 7 weeks so he was pretty sad to go. I told him that he would love the ward and I printed off a LN ward list and wrote notes by people to help him get around. Elder Johnston’s new companion would be coming from the airport, Elder Fabrizio. He had been out previously but had to go home because he tore his ACL. A funny thing is that he and Elder Johnston were best friends back home and they are both committed to play football for the U of U. So he was way pumped to see him. Sister Jacklin and I went on exchanges. We saw Peggy, Pat, and Sister B. She had previously served in Anoka.  We felt that it would be good to go see the people she had really connected with. We also raked with the Elders. It was really good.  After, we taught the Preach my Gospel class on the Book of Mormon. It was really good.

Saturday: We filled the font to be ready for Gladys's baptism, but she didn't show up. She ended up being too sick to come. L  I have been sick also. I have been coughing up who knows what and so has Sister Mortensen. Don't worry!!  I will get better.  We're going to be at Bette's funeral most of Saturday. Please pray that we can do that.  The Elders have been teasing me that I sound like I smoke 6 packs a day. It's super nice outside. Oh by the way, Elder Johnston was kicking rocks and he kicked so hard, his shoe flew off! It seriously went about 50 feet up in the air! It got stuck in a tree so we tried throwing things at it. It wasn't moving at all, so I suggested we pray. We said a prayer and then threw rocks at it again, this time it came down!! So, after that we said a thank you prayer.

 I love you all to the Moonisota and back! Have a great week in the 801!

Sister Aunt Ashlee Young