May 10, 2015 "Mother's Day Skype"

"Mother's Day...Skype. What a Blessing to see your missionary and talk!!"

Sister Young Skyped from the Edgington home, THANK YOU Edgington's!!

"A long awaited happy face to see!!"

Ashlee's view of two happy parents!

The Whole Crew had been waiting FOREVER to see her.....

The Skyping did not disappoint

Sisters Young and Hunt
"So happy together!"

Seeing us was FUN?? for them too.....

Smiles all around

Great Day! 

You can try, but you won't get any closer.....

Little kiss please?

"The Claw!!" Our Little buddy is in Minnesota with Sister Young!

Letter from May 4, 2015 " 7 Months!!!!"

"7 Months!!! "

Tripanion: Sister Hunt, Sister Zimmerman

Hometown: Mesa, Arizona – Northern California

Snail Mail:

Minnesota Minneapolis Mission

5931 West 96th Street

Bloomington, MN  55438-1715

Hey Ya'll!!!!! 

Monday 4/27/15: Today was zone P-day. We went to Eden Prairie to go bowling. It was really fun. After that we went to a park and played some football, basketball, tennis etc.

"Zone P-day!"

We had dinner with a nice lady in our ward who made some delicious fish tacos. She told us about her life and some trials that she has had to face. We shared some scriptures with her that hopefully helped her realize that God is in control, that he is aware of her and he loves her very much.

Tuesday 4/28/15:  Today was insane! We went on exchanges with the Minnetonka Sisters. Sister Larson came here to Mpls. We had to drive to Chanhassen to pick them up so it took a lot of miles! (Their car was in the shop so they couldn't drive) Sister Larson is super nice. She is 27, but doesn't look like it at all! It was fun to learn some things from her. We went and saw a lady in our ward and her daughter.  She is not a member and lives in Chicago. She came to church and she had written down some questions she had. The Spirit was so strong as we answered what had been going through her head.  It all made sense to her. She expressed that she would like to take the discussions here and back home in Chicago. So, we have to call the missionaries in IL! Kinda cool!!!! We then had a lesson at Annika's with Sarah.  Annika's sister Bergin asked if she could join us! It was such a cool experience!  She answered all of our questions!!!!

Wednesday 4/29/15: Today we are going to the Temple! I am so excited!  I absolutely love the temple! The Elders picked us up. So our whole district rode in the” Vanimal.”  The AP's drove. Elder Marshall Henrie and I had a fun time chatting about peeps at Brighton. Then Elder King and I had fun chatting about Perry Taylor! We went to the temple and had a great time.  I liked being reunited with Sister Hunt and Zimmerman; I missed them.

While at the temple this week I was so grateful to have that time to receive personal revelation from my Heavenly Father. He has so much in store for me if I am faithful and work hard on my mission to help his children come closer to him. I received some answers to questions I have had while I was there. I went through for a lady named Minnie! I thought that was so fun! I love how thin the veil is when we go to the house of the Lord. After the session, we went to Sister Bennett's for dinner.  After, we had a lesson with “Mom” and Auntie.  We talked about Alma 32! After that we got a text saying we needed to get home because there are riots in Minneapolis!  It said if we can't get home safely to drive to the Mission Home. Don't worry Mom, we got home just fine and locked the door:)

Thursday 4/30/15: We had an awesome lesson with Hope this morning on temples….. Shocker!  We are on a temple "high". We then went to District meeting. We talked a lot about studies and light. We watched Elder Bednard's Patterns of Light videos I invite you all to watch them. He shows us a different perspective on light. We had lunch at the famous Minnesotan “Raising Cane's”. It has good chicken. We then taught Shania about the Prophets. Speaking of that, Mom some people want to see the Brigham Young couch... could you send me a picture?  

Friday 5/1/2015: I have been out 7 MONTHS!!!!  How did that happen??? Today we had a lesson with Summer. We felt prompted to share Elder Bednar's “Patterns of Light” videos. We next had to go to Physical Therapy for Sister Zimmerman’s knee. When she was doing that a guy asked us if we were missionaries.  We said yes, and long story short he wants to know more about the Book of Mormon! It was such an amazing experience to see how Heavenly Father really prepares people to meet us, so they can come closer to him. We then had a lesson with Rachelle, which was so awesome!  She asked so many questions and we were able to answer all of them and relate them back to her Native American ancestry. She loved it! We then went and had a lesson with Desirae and her munchkins. 

 

"The joys of being Sister missionaries!!"

Saturday, May 2, 2015: This morning my hair has been driving me crazy! It is so itchy! I asked the Sisters to look at my hair. Guess what we found.....Head LICE!!!! EEEWWWWWW! All three of us have them!!!! I started having a panic attack! It is so gross….. seriously, first bed bugs, now lice! You have got to be kidding me! We called Elder Graff and then immediately went to the store to buy the Nix medicated lice treatment! We spent all day shampooing our hair and picking out lice and eggs! The whole mission pretty much knows about it too; it's really bad! We had to clean our apartment by taking all of our clothes and bedding to be washed. Then we set off a “bug bomb” in our apartment.  We left to go to the mission home to sit in the back yard and pick bugs out of our hair!!!!! Honestly, it is just so nasty. So, on our way there, in the middle of the road I had to stop because I saw a turtle crossing

"be free little friend!"

the road. So what do I do? Pull over and move the little guy. He was hissing,  hahaha! What a cute little friend! It made my day a little better knowing I saved a life. Lol! Sister Forbes is so cute! She made us some dinner and brought it outside to us. Haha… She is so darling; she gave me my favorite... WATERMELON! It made the nightmare of a day a little better! We then had to go to Stake Conference to the Saturday night session. All three of us had our hair up in buns, which was funny,  haha. 

Sunday May 3, 2015: So, we heard that hair dye also helps kill lice.  So we bought some yesterday and all dyed our hair today.  Sister Hunt's hair color is the only one that looks different. We had Stake Conference with Elder Spackman of Seventy! He shared some really cool experiences! We did some stop byes today after conference.  Nothing too exciting happened. 

And May the 4th be with you:)

Moral of this week:  Go to the temple, Don't get head lice, Read Alma 32, Watch Elder Bednar's “Patterns of Light” video, and last but not least…..Save turtles. (Link at bottom of blog post)

Love you all to the Moonisota and Back!

Sister Ashlee Young

April 27, 2015 "Busy as a Bee...."

Chilly at the game!

Tripanion: Sister Hunt, Sister Zimmerman

Hometown: Mesa, Arizona – Northern California
Snail Mail:
Minnesota Minneapolis Mission
5931 West 96th Street
Bloomington, MN  55438-1715

Hey Ya'll!!!!

 Monday, April 20, 2015:

    Today we didn't do a whole lot of fun stuff. We are still trying to get our apartment in order, so to help Sister Hunt went through her clothes and tried EVERYTHING on! Sister Zimmerman and I laid on our beds and were the judges of the outfits.  Both of us fell asleep while she was modeling! That was funny! Oh my, we had dinner with the cutest couple today named the Murrays! They are having a baby girl on Cinco de Mayo! Seriously they are just so adorbs and so vintage. Their little house is decorated so cute! We love them! Her belly is so adorable too! We kinda have a little battle with the Elders to see who can get the cutest families; we beat them, big time. After, we went to someone’s house who was in a really bad mood. To make a long story short, the three of us left pretty upset. (possibly in tears)  It's hard when people are hurtful. So, we went to McDonalds after that appointment to get an ice-cream and a DC. #itwasaroughnight

Tuesday, April 21, 2015:

Faith's Softball game!

    Today we did some service for Sister Lucianne E. We then had the opportunity to go to Faith's softball game with her Mom, Charity. It was fun to see her play and to be able to support her! Except for the fact Minnesota decided to be bi-polar and start snowing super hard! On top of that the wind was blowing. We were all f r e e z i n g!!!!!  Faith's team won! (Of course) We then went to Desirae's and had a little lesson on the priesthood. She made us some dessert. nachos #delicious  After that we went to Annika's house to teach her about the ten commandments! It was a really fun lesson! I think this is one of my faves to teach besides chastity ;) Teaching about chastity is always such a crack up with the youth! While we were with Annika, we asked her if she had been praying about baptism. She told us she had, and that she felt good about May 9^th!!!

Wednesday, April 22, 2015:

Trying to keep warm!  

      Today I had a really bad headache. Let's just say I did not function my best during the day time! We had a lesson with Shania and Faith tonight. Faith wanted to do my eyebrows, so I told her she could if she listened really good during the lesson! It was great! We had a good lesson on the Plan of Happiness and then I got my eyebrows done! Win!!!! Win!!!! We taught Shania who is 11, “chastity” on the simplest level and she was soooo squirmy. It was HILARIOUS! She was hiding behind her sweatshirt and we just couldn't help but laugh! I love being a missionary haha!!!

Thursday, April 23, 2015:

"Chastity lessons!"

    This morning we had a lesson with Hope. We talked about the priesthood and the important role that it plays in our lives. I have come to realize the importance of the priesthood in a home as I have been on my mission. I am grateful for the worthy priesthood holders that I have grown up with like my Daddy and Bryan! I hope that when I get home and find an eternal companion that I may find one that honors his priesthood, who realizes he holds the authority to act in God's name. We had district meeting today which was really good. We talked a lot about the planning, charity, and goals. There is so much that we can improve on, but we need to remember that as long as we try our best Heavenly Father will take care of us. After that Sister Hunt and I went to Bishop's meeting with the Elders. It takes a long time to talk about what happens here in the Lake NoCHAOS  Ward!

Afterwards, we went to Bloomington to pick up Sister Zimmerman. We then drove over to Christina's house to have a lesson with her. She walked in, sat down, opened her Book of Mormon and was like "this is what I thought about what I read..." she loved it and dove right into the scriptures…… it was awesome! We had to stop her so we could say a prayer! The Spirit is so strong! When she asks questions you can tell she sincerely has a desire to know the truth!!!! I know it's not the best to say it; but she IS GOLDEN!!!!

Friday, April 24, 2015:

     Today when we went into the office Sister Graff handed me two packages!!!! Thanks Parentals!!!!! Also, big shout outs to my Munchkins!!!! And the Reese's for writing me all the time, President Hilton,  Aunt Sue for the emails and the cute Easter card, Ann Pettit for the continual cuteness in the mail, Kim Osborne for the adorable package, Bailee Seguin for the letters, Randi Hulet for the cute letters,  bracelet, Denice for the cards, and so many others! I really appreciate all the support I am receiving via prayer, email, letters, packages, and love!  I need to be better at writing ya'll back.... I will work on it this week...hopefully:)  Oh anyways, back to Friday... we went and visited Sister Page and had a great discussion on the temple! I love that place!!!! Then we got stuck in rush hour traffic in downtown Mpls.....  I hate traffic. We get stuck in it too often if you ask me. We went after we picked up Sis. Zimmerman from Bloomington to have a lesson with Summer!!! It went fabulous, as usual.  Then Hope came to the church with Charity to have her Baptismal Interview!!!!!! IT WAS AWESOME! She passed!!!!!!!! I AM SO EXCITED #THECHURCHISTRUE!!!!!!! She set May 5 for her baptism! To top the night off, we had another lesson with Desirae and her kiddos tonight about the prophet. It was awesome!

Saturday, April 25, 2015:

    Today we did a ton of service. Saturday is definitely a great day to have people take us up on our invitation to help with any service they need. We went to “the girls” today to help Charity get ready to put their house on the market. She can't do all the stairs in their house, so they are looking for a one level instead of a three story. We helped put books in boxes, cleaned shelves, dusted, organized their movies and cd's, then we went through a bucket of socks to find any that matched. Next, we patched holes in the wall. That was really fun! We took a lunch break and went outside only to see hobos in the park. We called the cops because it is a private park and they should not have been there. It was fun to see them come get the guys!!!!! We finished the night by having a lesson with Mykea tonight using Jenga! It was great!

Sunday, April 26, 2015:

    Okay, where has the week gone?? Last night around 11:30, Charity called us saying Hope was in the hospital throwing up blood. She was really scared and asked us to pray with her on the phone. I couldn't sleep after that, so I stayed up and prayed for her. This morning we looked at our phone and saw that Hope was home and okay, she had pulled a muscle in her chest which caused her to have that weird reaction. The doctors said it was strange. Hope showed up at church with her sisters! Poor thing! She was so tired she fell asleep on me during sacrament. Apparently, she didn't get home till 4 am.  I told her to go home after sacrament meeting to rest. We had SEVEN investigators to church though, so that was really good.  We had an awesome Relief Society lesson by the Stake RS Pres. Sister Murphy. It was based on John 15:5; look it up!!!! Later in the day we went to Sarah's house to check up on her and the cutie had made us fondue!!!!! I love that kid. We went to Mykeas and had a lesson and lunch! We had dinner with the Krist family, it was fun, and it was nice enough
 

that we ate outside. Andrea Stark who is in my ward here asked if I knew people that danced.  Long story short figured out that she knows Madeleine and Chloe!!! So cool!!!! We went and visited the Kecks. They are fun to talk to. We shared a message and had a lovely time.

Happy Birthday to Ashley Schow!
Well I love you all. Thanks for all the support!!! I love you to the Moonisota and Back!!!!!!!!!

Love,

Sister Ashlee Young

April 20, 2015 "The Power of 3!! "

Tripanion: Sister Hunt, Sister Zimmerman

"The Power of 3! Sister Young, Zimmerman & Hunt"

Hometown: Mesa, Arizona – Northern California

Snail Mail:

Minnesota Minneapolis Mission

5931 West 96th Street

Bloomington, MN  55438-1715

“The Power of 3 !!!”

Hey Ya'll!!!!!

Lots has been happening this week!!!! 

Monday April 13: 1 year and I will be home! How weird is that??? Today we got a call from President Forbes. He informed us that we would be receiving a new companion! Her name is Sister Emma Zimmerman. She has a hurt knee and is on crutches. She will be an office missionary during the day, but will be with us morning, night and on the weekend. We were both really nervous to have this change, but we prayed and knew that everything will be okay. 

Tuesday April 14: Today was a really busy day. We had to go to the apartment to help the office bring another bed into the apartment and to make room for our new comp! We went teaching with Elder Stacey to Annika's lesson. He is the bomb.com! We talked about keeping the Sabbath Day holy and also his new calling as an Area Seventy. Read Luke 10! At least I think that is where it was...anyways it went really well! 

Wednesday April 15: This morning we drove to Bloomington to pick up Sister Zimmerman. We got there early so we listened to a talk by Elder Holland called;  “How do I love Thee?” It was really good I suggest you listen to it! He just has the best voice so don't read it. Watch it or listen to it! It was at a BYU conference I think....

"Elder & Sister Stacey"

     So when Elder "Fuzz" (Just for “Perrywinkle” lol….) and Elder Marshall Henrie, (the AP's) showed up we talked to them and they told us about a shoot-out that they saw this morning when they were working out. The story was pretty funny, but scary. Then we met Sister Zimmerman! We then headed to Interviews with President, which took a really long time! It was a really stressful day, to say the least. We went to see Sister Hill and she fell asleep! We were singing hymns, primary songs, snapping, and even clapping. She was out like a light. We were dying laughing! It was sad, but yet so funny! So, we said a prayer and finally we woke her up to lock the door!  We went to Desirae's to have the Elder's give her a blessing. She hasn't been doing well.  Please keep her in your prayers. 

"Elder Stacey, he is the BOMB.COM !!!!

Thursday April 16: Happy Birthday to Olivia and Savannah!!!! We had a lesson with Hope this morning.  It went really well.  We talked to her mom a lot and talked about baptism for Hope! I am super excited! We then took Sister Zimmerman to the office. Next, we went to the Church for Bishop's meeting. We asked the Elders for a blessing because we have both been really stressed and overwhelmed. Elder Fuller gave me a great blessing. Brother Shaffer took us to Pepitos for lunch. It was delish, especially the Nachos Lupitas!!!! Later we went to McDonalds to get some ice cream and talked to a really cool lady! Hopefully we will see her again! We picked Sister Zimmerman up from the office. I feel like a chauffeur with how much driving there is now going to Bloomington twice a day. But it is fun because it's a little road trip. Like a really little road trip! We then stopped by and met with a “media referral” we received. Her name was Rachelle. Her dog was huge and was trying to jump over the front yard fence.  We were like; “Oh no!, How are we going to get in there?”

"The Garden - Service Project!"

Luckily, she came out and told the dog to be quiet. It actually was a cute dog. She runs a women’s group that learns about religion. She loves our Family History website. She is a huge family history buff! She wants us to come to her group to teach them about our church.  She wants the information to be from the correct source. We are so stoked!!!!! We went to Mom's and had dinner with Debbie and Luis. There was a huge siren that went off outside and we were like what the heck is that? IT WAS A TORNADO WARNING!!!!!!!! AHHH, WE WERE ALL FREAKING OUT!!! (We being my Comps and I) It was the loudest siren. Apparently, a guy on the 11th floor of their building died when he heard the siren. He had a heart attack. Kind of sad and weird. But we talked about the Word of Wisdom and we did exercises together.  It was fun! Man, it is hard to go to sleep with all these Sisters! We just want to talk!

"Silly Faces!"

Friday April 17: We did a service project for Minneapolis and cleaned out the gardens by Lake Harriet.  They are so pretty. I dared Sister Fastidio to eat a worm, also Elder Tillotson. They both ate it…….. hahahhahaha gross!!!!  The garden reminded me of LaCaille, but not really. We got ice cream at DQ after; it felt so nice outside!!!!

"The Power of 3, Sisters Hunt, Zimmerman & Young!"

Saturday April 18: We went to Snuffy's for lunch which was really fun. We also helped Sister Edgington clean her garage. We then went to an appointment with Elder Ford and Fuller to a girl named Christina who they met at the drive thru at Mickey D's.  She is 18 and wants to take the lessons. The spirit was so strong when we were teaching her! She is amazing!!!! We went to McDonalds to try to have a cool experience like the Elders.... didn't happen. Instead we got Sister Hunt her first McChicken ever.  It was really fun!  We are silly together!!!

Sunday April 19: We went to church and after Sarah made dinner for us. Then we went to President's fireside. 

Love ya to the Moonisota and Back!!!

Sister Ashlee Young

"Exotic Fruit!"

"Me & Sister Hunt"

"Tender mercy, watched part of Edina's boys LAX practice!"

"I miss my stick and team!!!" Edina's boys LAX.

"Sisters with Annika"

   

April 13,2015 "It feels like the Savior is hugging me!"

"Walking around Lake Harriett with Sister Stacey this morning!!!!!
 Her Husband President Rulon Stacey is in our mission
presidency and was just made an area 70!!!! so now Elder Stacey!
My fave peeps here!"

Companion: Sister Hunt

Hometown: Mesa, Arizona

Snail Mail:                                     
Minnesota Minneapolis Mission  

5931 West 96th Street

Bloomington, MN  55438-1715

“It feels like the Savior is hugging me!”

      Can I just say how grateful I am to be serving here in the most beautiful mission, in the most beautiful area, with the most beautiful people, the most beautiful mission President and Wife, and with the best companion ever! I am so humbled as I look around at Heavenly Father's beautiful creations! I love the springtime with the renewal of all the plants, and the sunshine! Oh, the beautiful sunshine that we have seen the past week reminds me of my Savior and Redeemer. The light and the warmth that the sun gives us aren’t even comparable to the light and the warmth that “The Son” gives to us. I have been able to see the miraculous change in not only myself, but in my investigators, recent converts, and members as we have all been coming closer to The Son this past week. I feel as though everyone has been spiritually nourished this past week.  Hearing from our beloved prophet and his apostles, there is a literal glow that you can see and feel when someone has been inspired and uplifted. This week there have been many tender mercies to me, the number one tender mercy being the spring sun. As I mentioned, the sun reminds me of “The Son.” When I feel discouraged and I am doubting my ability to fulfill this calling, I notice the warm sunshine and it feels like the Savior is hugging me and saying it's okay, and that I can do it. I know that I am called here to do the Savior's work.  As I strive to humble myself I know that I can help Him with the sacred work here in MMM.

"Blowing a kiss your way!"

 Wow, Madies letter was cool! It takes me back to the “good ole days” in the MTC, haha!!!!

I love you all sooooooo much!!!!!!!!!!!! Love you to the Moonisota and back!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!! xoxoxoxox@@@

Sister Young

Here is this week’s run down:

"Funny Faces"

Monday: We saw Desirae and her crew. They are doing really good. I have seen a change in them since I first got here. Desirae said she wants to work towards the temple, so we are going to help her prepare to go. We sang some fun songs with the kids and then played games with them.

"With Desirae's kiddos"

 Tuesday: We had an early appointment at 7:30 am with Hope. Her other sisters leave for school around this time so they aren't there to bug her. It is super early for a lesson but it seems to work out well for Hope. We taught her about the Word of Wisdom. Our District Leader wants to come to one of our lessons with her, so we actually set up another one for that day. So, Hope got two in one day! We also taught Shania and Faith. Faith actually listened during this lesson because we tried to make it more fun for her. We all drew the first vision and then had her explain what happened. It was fun to see all the pictures at the end.

"Service Project organizing the
 American Girl house dolls, & clothes  so fun!!!!

 Wednesday: We helped Sister Edgington with some service. We helped her organize her daughters' dollhouse. We organized all the “American Girl” doll clothes and accessories. We had a fun time in the little doll house. It is in the space under the stairs so it is a perfect little dollhouse. They had it set up really cute in there. They had miniature furniture and mini pictures on the wall. It brought us back to our childhood days, so we enjoyed ourselves. 

"American Girl Dolls!"

 Thursday: We had our first district meeting since the transfer. It was a good training that we received. We talked about our potential, our calling as a missionary and how we can use that to find people. We are representatives of Jesus Christ so we shouldn't be afraid to talk to people and to be bold with them; especially in finding.

We had a meeting with the bishop after our district meeting like we always do. That night we had a lesson with Annika. Summer and the Bloomington Elders (our district leader) came with us to this lesson. We usually sit on Annika's bed for the lessons because there isn't anywhere else to sit. The Elders didn't want to sit on her bed but we told them just to sit on it. They were acting a little awkward. Haha! Oh, and to make it even more awkward, we taught the law of chastity. The lesson went well. Annika was a little weirded out, but other than that it was good.

"Sister Hunt in Doll house!"

 That night we also saw a less-active couple, the Walkers. They are a cute old black couple. Summer also went with us to see them. Ed was having a hard time with his TV and thought it was broken. We tried to tell him he needed new batteries in his remote but he said he just put them in there. It was pretty funny to see my companion and him go back and forth about the remote. It was the remote that was the problem so we got it fixed.

 Friday: We had a pass off lesson with a lady named Maria with the Elders. She has been one of their investigators. This lesson was just to transition from them teaching her to us teaching her. The lesson went well. We talked about general conference and showed her the new Easter video. The Elders then came with us to Desirae's house to bless her home. They say they see evil spirits so the Elders helped with that. I guess they had their home blessed before and the kids were really crazy. They were much better this time and were quiet the whole time during the prayer. They really are improving in their behavior.

 Saturday: We stopped by a referral we received and set up a return appointment with him. His name is Win Udomlarp.  He is about 16 years old. We also helped Sister Edgington again with some cleaning in her house. That night we saw Summer and had a lesson with her.

We really have been crazy busy!!!!

"Sister Hunt is being weird!"

"writing Bryan a birthday card!!!!"

Saturday it was snowing, melted by the afternoon>

Sister Hunt, 9 months out!

XOXOXOXOXOXOXOXOXOXOXOXOXOXOX

"huge snowflakes, size of cotton balls!"

"Beautiful Lake Harriett"

"More snow!"

Saturday snow, melted fast!

 "dancing around the park with the girls"