Monday, April 18, 2016

LAST Letter April 18, 2016 "Minnesota Forever in my heart!!"

Sister Ashlee Young has her final transfer
 April 20 to Sandy Utah!!
Area: Shingle Creek Minnesota
Companion: Sister Natasha Neville
Hometown: Bakersfield California
Minnesota Minneapolis Mission
5931 West 96th Street
Bloomington, MN  55438-1715
April 18, 2016


                                “Minnesota Forever in my heart!” 
Hey guys,
     I just want to share with you how grateful I am for all of the support you have given me through, prayers, emails, letters, packages and love for the past 18 months. I can't thank you enough. Without each one of you I couldn't have done this. My mission has been the hardest; yet most rewarding thing I could have ever done on this Earth!  It has been worth every second. I do not regret my decision to serve the Lord for 18 months. In reality He served me. The people here taught me more than I could ever teach them. I have come to know my Heavenly Father and Savior, Jesus Christ on a personal level. I have made many friends that I will hold dear to my heart forever. I know that this is the Lord's true church here on the earth today.  This gospel is perfect. The Lord re-established His church through the prophet Joseph Smith. I know he truly saw God the Father and His Son. I know that President Thomas Spencer Monson is the living prophet today. He can help us come closer to our Heavenly Father and return to our heavenly home. I am so grateful for eternal families, so that I will be with my brother and my other family members forever. I know that God hears our prayers and answers them. We must open our hearts and let Him in. My testimony is simple, but, I now know it without a shadow of a doubt that it is TRUE. I say all these things in the sacred name of Jesus Christ, Amen.

Signing off for the last time....
I Love you to the Moonisota and Back!

Sister Young


“Remember, you are a child of God and you are LOVED!”


Twins game!!

Twins Game April 14, 2016


"Last Dinner with Christy!!"




Monday, April 11, 2016

April 11, 2016 “Hello, my name is Sister Young. I am running around Minnesota like a chicken with its head cut off!”


Area: Shingle Creek Minnesota
"Pizza night, Bittner, Moore, Young, Neville"

Companion: Sister Natasha Neville
Hometown: Bakersfield California
Hey'a folks! 
     Sorry for the hefty title of this week’s letter, but you will soon see that it fits perfectly. So, this is instead of doing a play by play for each day. Let's be honest, aint’ nobody got time for that!
Earlier this week the weather was absolutely fabulous, I had the windows down in the car and it was great to be outside walking “outside”!  Later on guess what happened.... “You betcha' “it was pounding snow! “ What in the world, Minnesota?” The next night, we got a call from the Hermanas saying their car wasn't working and they needed us to come rescue them. We had to empty the entire thing out in the freezing cold wind. If you have ever been up North you will know what kind of wind I am speaking about! We were home when they called so I was in basketball shorts and a sweatshirt.  We ran out the door to go save them. When we got there,  we were trying to jam all their stuff in our car.  Meanwhile, I looked like a frozen goob!
In the morning, President told us to go try to get the car started and see if we could drive it to the
"BROOKLYN Blvd. Love ya fishy!!"
dealership that was only a couple miles away. After a few test runs down the block we decided it was safe to drive there. So we went and dropped it off. After, we all drove to Bloomington to get them another car that they could borrow. While we were there we picked my bike up which was good! We loaded it onto the car. We were also so happy to be able to see Sister Steadman and Dumas. It was really good to see them! I have missed those two! We really were like the 3 Musketeers!
When we left it was like 1pm and we were starving! Sister Neville has never had Chick-Fil-A!!  Since we were near one I made an executive decision to expose her to the wonderfully addicting chicken there.   
I changed her life!!  She is in love with Chick-fil-a sauce. I told her she couldn't eat it plain because that is just too messy and frankly I would gag if she did that in front of me, lol! On our way to Champlain to drop my bike off, it looked like we were driving into a flipping tornado! Next thing I know, it started  to hail really hard sideways! I thought my bike was going to fly off! Luckily it didn't. When we got out of the car my dang skirt decided to go all Marilyn Monroe on me so that was interesting.  Luckily I was wearing leggings!  To add to the craziness of the week Hermana Brittner broke her foot playing soccer.... ya,  keep her in your prayers. Oh, and the car that they were
"Pretty Sunset"
borrowing ; it had electrical issues!
We had an awesome lesson with Fefe and Isha this week. That was so good! John and Martha moved out of the ward. That was sad . We have a “pass off lesson” with the new sisters on Tuesday. Sunday was so awesome! It made me want to be a missionary forever! So after church we went to have a lesson with Jayson and Jamilla but their Aunt wasn't home so we couldn't teach them inside.  Luckily, the crazy weather was sunny and just a little windy.  We decided to bear through it and do the lesson on the grass at the park. Sadly, Jayson talked to his parents this week (who are still in Africa) and they told him that he is no longer allowed to talk to us or go to any church activities. That was really sad. I pray that he will grow his testimony, strengthen it, and when he is 18 he can find the church again. We still had a lesson with Jamilla about Nephi building a ship! She had a hard time focusing but all in all it went well. Afterwards,  we had like 45 minutes until our dinner appointment so we decided we would go finding. I am the designated driver and I decided we would just drive around and get lost and when we found a street that we felt good about we would stop. When we were driving I saw this house, and the Spirit was like go there.  I kept driving because it looked as though no one was home. The thought came again; you should really go to that house! So I turned the car around and told Sister Neville what I was feeling.  When we parked the car,  we prayed, and just as we were getting out...a car pulled up into the driveway! My jaw dropped! I was like, oh my heck! This is so crazy! We then went up to the driveway where 2 little girls and a mom hop out of the car. I struck up a conversation with them and found out the mothers name was Dow. ( I have no idea how to spell it, she is Hmong) She shared with us that she had grown up with a Christian background but that her
husband was very traditional in their Hmong culture. We talked to her about how we have Elders that speak Hmong in our mission and we shared the Book of Mormon with her. She said she would pray about it and she seemed really excited to learn more about the gospel! I pray that her husband will let her meet with us!
"the delicious grill thing!"
After that we were able to drive and I had another prompting where I turned the car around and went to knock on another house. No one answered the door but we decided to walk across the street to a cul-de-sac where almost everyone opened the door! Best of all,  those that did open the door were NICE! We met a man named Brett.  He has met with Elders before! It was so cool to see the church recognized in a positive way! We then went to dinner at the Kirkham's home! They are so cute! Sister Kirkham is from Germany and we had this delicious meal where you cook on what is called a "Rachlette" I will send a pic of it anyways; it was my favorite dinner on my mission. I need to buy one of those things when I get home! After that, Brother Kirkham followed us to the Barbly's home. They are a less active part member family. When we got there the kids answered the door and the dad let us in! It was so cool because the Lord truly blessed us. We have been trying really hard to get into their home since the dad is not a member. Brother Kirkham shared an awesome testimony with Brother Barbly.  I really feel like he wants to come closer to Christ! I am so grateful for the blessings that the Lord gives us when we show him just a little bit of faith. I know that if we face our fears and if we do what he has asked us to, he will bless us. He will bless us so much that we won't be able to receive all of them. I am so grateful for the opportunity I have to serve the Lord at this time. It has blessed me more than I could have ever imagined. 
Follow your promptings, it is worth it.
Love you all to the Moonisota and Back!
Sister Young

P.S. Did I mention that we had a bird build a nest in our bathroom vent? Yup, that was interesting!
"My Desk!"
Have a good week! Oh and shout out to my Brother BRYAN FOR HIS BIRTHDAY TOMORROW! HAPPY BIRTHDAY YA OLD FART!  I LOVE YA!

Monday, April 4, 2016

April 4, 2016 “Conference….18 months down & still going strong! “

Area: Shingle Creek Minnesota
Companion: Sister Natasha Neville

Hometown: Bakersfield California
Snail Mail: Minnesota Minneapolis Mission
5931 West 96th Street
Bloomington, MN 55438-1715

     “Conference….18 months down & still going strong! “
April 4, 2016
Happy Conference Week peeps!
      I left my journal at our apartment....so today's email is going to be pretty short. This weekend we were able to watch Conference at our Ward Mission Leaders home with John, Martha & baby Tremayne! My heart and spirit are so overwhelmed with gratitude to my Heavenly Father for the love He has for ALL His children. He has blessed us with a loving Prophet, President Thomas Spencer Monson. President Monson has put every ounce of his being into serving the Lord. In his biography video called "On the Lord's Errand" which can be found on the LDS Gospel Library app, he says at the end something that is so simple.  It may not seem significant to others, but when I hear our dear servant of the Lord say this, it brings tears to my eyes. He says he wants the Lord to know if he ever needs someone to run an errand for him Tom Monson will run that errand for him. It is obvious to anyone who has tried to follow God that it is not always easy.  We came here to earth knowing it wouldn't be easy to choose the right.  As President Monson said in conference; "We must choose the harder right". He also said "If we Choose Christ, we will have made the correct choice". Following the prophets’ counsel is always the correct choice because His counsel is the Lord's counsel.
I know Thomas S. Monson is the prophet on this earth today. I know he has been called of God to help direct us back to him. I promise as a representative of our Savior, Jesus Christ, that if we follow what the prophets and apostles have directed us to do we will become closer to our Heavenly Father and Jesus Christ.  Our lives will be happier and more blessed then they are now or that you could even imagine.  I know that this is Christ's true church here on the Earth today. I know God loves each and every one of us and speaks to us through his servants. Study their words and you will find answers that you have been longing to know. I say these things in the sacred name of Jesus Christ, Amen.
             Have a happy week I love you all!
             Sister Young.