One Month Down!!

I can't believe it has already been a month. I'm not going to lie, it's been a long month, but great month as well. This week hasn't really been any different. The people actually have been a little nicer ( I thank the weather for that ). It was 85 for the last couple days and now it has turned really rainy and cold..brrr! I am freezing lol. Thank you Aunt Lisa for scanning all of the pics, I knew you could do it!!!

The Tacoma mission is famous for starting the church tours. We take people there for the first lesson instead of there home, so they can see what the church looks like, less distractions, and of course the great spirit that is in the chapel. I almost had my first one!!! Then...he kept texting us weird texts and wanting to know what sister he was talking to and he didn't show up to his appt. rrrr... my heart was broke! We will get one this week though, I can feel it! We also met a "nudist budist", this guy was crazy. He was just feeding us a bunch of ham so we wouldnt come back to his house. He said he only put on clothes because we were girls, but other wise he roams around his house naked. haha he probably went off on this tangent for 15 min. He couldn't fool us though!

We are working with the Laititi family. They are 100% polenisan. I love them. We are trying to help the dad understand that there is only 1 true church. He just says "It doesn't matter where you go to praise Jesus, just as long as you go", it is good that he is going somewhere, but it doesn't do a lot if your not going to the right place. He has this son AL who I just know wants to get baptised. We have been praying for him a lot, so hopefully something happens with that family. We are also going to be teaching the Green family. Wil Green is not a member and he wants to take the lessons, but he doesn't get home from Iraq until next week. He is in the special forces. It will be fun to meet him. There are a lot of Army people here and sometimes there the nicest ones, they just don't want anything to do with the church. Our Singles ward that we are over is great. They are a lot of fun. It makes me miss my ward back home though. Yesterday they told me that they had temple night this week and they do sealings. I was a little shocked. I said you do what? Instead of going to an endowment session, they do sealings. haha I laughed pretty hard. I guess it makes sense. They said they were focusing on the goal-marriage! lol Maybe our ward could look into that!

Well we got to go to Tacoma a whole 2 times this week...yahoo! I love being able to see our mission pres and his wife. They spoil us to death. I love them! We had a training for all of the newbies and on mormon.org and of course the most important our mission goal. Our goal this month is for 200 baptisms. That means each area has to have 2 baptisms to reach that goal. The Tacoma area is trying to break the record and have 54 baptims in there area..show offs! We are working on some potential investigators and are hoping they will commit to baptism soon. We also have been working with members a lot to get referals and help them use mormon.org the right way. If you haven't been on the web site I urge you go check it out. Mormon.org is doing a blitz in the Tacoma/Seattle area, which means there will be commercials, billboards, signs on buses etc...I am excited to see what it will bring to our area. They are hoping it will get people to come to us more and help them understand that Mormon's are REAL people.

Did you all watch the Relief Society Braodcast last saturday??? I loved it. Specifically Pres. Uchtdorfs talk. My fav part was when he talked about "Do not forget the "why" of the Gospel" We tend to focus so much on "what" and "how" the Lord wants us to do things and tend to forget about the "why". In the end it's only the "why" that will matter. The one I needed to heard was, "forget not to be patient with yourself", God is fully aware that we are not perfect, but if we stay on the road of discipleship, one day we will. I have to remind my self of that everyday! If you didn't get to watch it, you should get on lds.org and look it up. It should be online to watch.

I heard that BYU got demolished and then buried into the groud last week. Whats there problem???

That is the good thing about being around members, they update me on that kind of stuff :)

I hope I have more interesting things to tell you next week....like I got a church tour or new investigators!!!! Pray for us. Missionary work is the greatest work on Earth. It's amazing how much closer you can draw near to the Savior when all distractions are set aside. I have learned a lot about the wisodom of God. Sometimes It's hard for me to understand why people wont just accept this message. It will CHANGE there life. I have had to learn a great deal of patience and come to learn that the Lord prepares the people we teach, He knows all, not me! He tends to remind me we work for him in gathering the kingdom on zion every single day and that we have to truly become disciples of Christ to do so. I wish somedays I could just climb on top of Mt. Rainier and scream to the top of my lungs " THE CHURCH IS TRUE PEOPLE" I know it. That is one thing I do know out here in this foreign place. The Savior lives and he loves all of his children, no matter who they are or what they have done. There is always a way to come back to him. Thank you for all of the support I have back at home and everywhere, I am so lucky!!

I miss you all,

xoxoxoxoxo

Sister Phillips

MTC Collage

I Survived My First Week!!

I would have to officially say this has been the longest week of my life. The days are long and cold and all mesh together. If you were to ask me what I did last tuesday, I would have no idea. haha. I truly believe nothing prepares you for missionary work. IT IS HARD WORK. There is nothinge easy about it. I can handle the physical enduarnce, it's the emotional side that gets to you and drains you. Somehow, I wake up in the morning and make it another day. I really believe the Lord is carrying me for these first couple of weeks until you get used to the "new" way of living.

Sister Fisher is a great trainer. She is so mild and meek and you all know me, I am loud and express my opinion most often...eek! Thats what I need though, I need someone to teach me humility and diligence, oh and patience. She is going home in December, so I will (in missionary terms) "kill her off", which just means I am her last comp. and will be sending her home. Sister Fisher is also a very hard worker. I seriously would be lost without her. Puyallup grid system is crazy. Its like they had a grid system and then cut it all up. Thankfully she has "tom tom" her GPS or we would spend half the day lost in action. Mom-Dad I may need to put one of those on my christmas list, just sayin!

I am conviced that the baptist and penticostal churches have anit-mormon sermons, no joke! They actually give out anit-mormon dvd's. Who would ever go to a church who preaches bad things about other religions?? Sign? I think so! People are sosososo mean to us. That has been really hard for me. Coming from somewhere where everyone loves you and then because of a name badge people wont even look at you in the eyes or say hello. It's rediculous. When I am married, I will treat missionaries like GOLD!!!! We will knock on peoples doors and they wont even open the door they just yell "I'm christian, go away" or "I go to church, Im saved".People, people, people! OH, but thats not even the best part. Yesterday we asked a lady if she had a church she went to and she came back with this response, "the church I go to is very personal to me and I would appreciate it if you wouldn't ask me those questions", WHAT? It says in the scriptures that we are not suppose to hide our religion or our beliefs, but to share them with the world, (like me :D). Then we met this guy name Nick. He just got out of prison hehe, but was super nice to talk to. He wanted to know more about the "mormons' because he said if he knew more he would be able to relate to others a little more. Well, we chatted with him for a bit, gave him a Book of Mormon and our card and were on our way. Saturday we decided we would go follow up with Nick and see if he had any questions from what he read. A girl answered the door and we asked for Nick. She got all defensive and said they didn't have time because she had to leave, yadee yadee ya. We said okay no problem and we left. We are now at a members house eating dinner and I get this call from a girl named, natalie. It was Nicks girlfriend calling wanting to know why we were at her house and what we wanted with her "man". She was not happy! I had to explain to her that we were just missionaries and were following up. I think she thought we were just two girls coming to hit on her boyfriend haha! I died. Then Nick called us and appoligized up and down for her behavior. It was a pretty funny experience.

The work is really slow. The sisters before us were working on a lost of less actives and recent coverts, so they didn't really leave us much to work with. Yesterday at chuch we were able to talk to both of the wards we are over and get them excited about missonary work. Eighty percent of our referals comes from members and recent coverts, so at the same time we work with members as well. The sunrise ward's bishp is a Nielson. Do you remember Dr. Nielson from Vernal and Natalie Nielson his daughter I used to be freinds with? Same family. He is doing his residency here on the base for Med School. His wife is a Larsen. Like Tyler Larsen's parents (hockey-live in dry fork). Brother Larsen (I dont know his first name) is her brother. Kinda crazy there both from Vernal and im in there ward. We are also over a Young Single Adult branch. They are pretty fun, but no where near as cool as the Vernal singles ward. haha jk. I am excited to get to know all of the members and there families.

We met this lady the other day that is an endowed member of the church (means she's went through the temple) and has turned totally anti. She tried to tell us that things didnt make sense about Joseph Smith and that the Book of Mormon was false. She believes in recanation (that means that we will have another chance on this earth, so if we mess up here now, we can make up for it later) and that she had turned over to budism. It was an amazing experience acutally. The whole time she was telling us these things my heart ached for her. I was so sad that she let herself be overcome by the teachings of the world. The spirit was so strong in my heart and even though she was talking badly about the church, she didn't phase my testimony at all, only strengthened it. I learned that day that I was stronger than I thought. I came out of that knowing even more that this church is truly the only true church on the face of the Earth. Why would 53,000 19 and 21 year old girls and boys want to volunteer to share something with people who deny them all day long. It's because when you find that one person that the Lord has prepared for you, nothing else matters. All of those long days trackting in the rain and cold are worth it. This is why I'm here. I love my Savior Jesus Christ and am SO thankful we have prophets on this Earth to lead and guide us in these last days. Stay strong to what you believe and always try to life where you stand!!!

I miss you all so very much!

xoxoxoxoxox

Lakyn

Hola from Tacoma!!

Hello,

We landed in Tacoma around 9:30 and our Mission President, his wife and the AP's (assistants to the pres) were waiting to greet us. They are A-M-A-Z-I-N-G. I feel like I already have this wonderful connection with them. He even gives side hugs :D (mission pres. shouldn't do that, but he does...YES). They call it the WA-TAC mission. They are prideful of their great success of baptisms. It's kinda fun! I cried like a little baby when I had to leave my companions from the MTC. We were all just coming to really love each other and get used to everything and then we have to leave each other. My new companions name is Sister Fisher. She is from Falon, Nevada. She will be going home in December. We are pretty much complete opposites, but we both have a love for the work, so we will get through it. Missionary work is so hard. And it's not that it is so much physically hard (besides the 4 hours of sleep I got last night) it's just emotionally draining. Everyone say's after the first week it will get better and I know it will, I just have to keep moving forward taking it day by day. My testimony has grown a ton already. I love the gospel. I can't wait to meet the first person who I will be able to teach and help them come closer to Christ. I know that through obedience, miracles will occur even if your not a missionary!

We are in a area called Puyallup, WA. We are over a Singles Ward Branch (haha) and the sunrise ward. Both Sister Fisher and I are new to the area. Which usually one missionary would have already have been here, and that way she knows a little more of whats going on. So we are working on getting organized, seeing what areas need work, figuring out our daily schedule and hopefully not miss any appointments. We go trackting every day from 5-7 and I have a feeling that's when the "good" stuff will happen. I live in a members home. Her name is Sister Swanson. She actually just got engaged so my guess is that sisters won’t live there very much longer.

Washington is SO beautiful. The weather has been overcast these last two days. Oh and did I mention it's freezing EVERYWHERE I go. People leave there air conditioning at 60 degrees 24/7 ( mom you would love it-me not so much). The people so far have been really nice. We went trackting yesterday, we got denied every door we knocked on, but at least they were nice...right?! Sister Fisher got bitten by a pit pull last week and has a nasty mark on her leg :/ scary! I will send you pics next monday when I have time to print them out.

.

Love you-

Sister Phillips

if you want to write Lakyn her HOUSE address is:

18806 103rd Ave. E

Puyallup, WA

98374

this address will obviously change with every area she serves in, but it will be the fastest way to get her mail and goodies :)

9/6/2011 {WEEK TWO}

Well, its my p-day again, so that means we just got back from the temple :D It was kinda sad though because who knows when we will get to go again. I'm not sure what our mission president will let us do concerning temple trips! I HOPE he lets us go!

P.S. People in V-town you can email me, if your not the writing type!!!!!!!! Just an FYI, hint-hint ;)

Where do I even start.....

This week (or since last tuesday) has flown by. We are just so busy all the time that they days acutally aren't that bad-until you get back to your room at 9:30 and realize that you want to die on your bed and never wake up!! We taught an investigator names Haly. She is the cutest little hispanic lady I have ever met. We teach her twice a week and those days we teach her me and my companion usually come out with big grins on our faces! You ask why? Well...she has been searching for a church her whole life. She was raised penacostal, but felt like there was something missing. When Sister Daines and I taught her she was amazed of how much family means in our church. She was a little iffy on Joseph Smith, but when we explained it to her, the puzzle peice started to fit together. It is amazing to see the light in peoples eyes when they get it. The spirit is so strong and they can't deny it. We then talked about the plan of salvation and explained to her that famlies can be together FOREVER. She freaked! She wanted to know all about this "so called, plan of salvation" haha. She has a handicap daughter and started crying when we told her that during the resurection our bodies will be perfect again. WOW! What an experience that was. Yesterday when we met with her, we taught her about Faith, Repentance, Baptism, Receiving the Holy Ghost, and Enduring to the End. At the end of the lesson when we invited her to follow the example of our Savior Jesus Christ and be emersed in the water of baptism...she said loudly " emerse? I will dive in the water" lol! Now do you see why we love this lady? Sister Daines and I are starting to get the hang of our teaching. We learn that we don't just teach lessons, but we teach the people. When we do that we are more likely to let the spirit guide us in teaching. If we are having expericenes like this in the MTC I can't even imagine what they will be like in the field. :D Half of our zone is leaving today for Cambodia. They have been so fun to get to know. I even know how to say hello, pinnapple head, and thank you in Cambodia.

I got a calling-kinda, they don't set you apart because we come and go so much, but I would act as if I were set apart. I am the New Coordinating Sister for our Zone. I watch over all of the sisters and make sure that they are in tip-top shape. When the new sisters get here tomorrow I take them on tours of the MTC and go over rules...ect. I am now running on 5 hours of sleep because we had two sisters run out of the building last night and one Coord.sister from the other floor break down. I think the hormones were peak high last night :/ The two sis. both came back...thank goodness :/ One wouldn't talk to anyone. She was having a really bad day and her teacher called her out of being imodest and she didn't take that very well. The other sister is deaf and is one of the most amazing girls I have met. She started loosing her hearing gradually when shew as 15 and has lost 15% more just while she has been in the MTC. :( We talked to her for a while and asked her to pray. There wasn't a dry eye (out of three of us) during that. I was very humbled to know that my life isn't so bad. I can see, hear and walk and talk. This sisters love is music and now it is just a fuzz to her, I can't imagine the heart ache and lonliness she is going through. But it was a huge blessing for me to be able to work with her and now be a new friend.

Remember our Father in Heaven is always there, we just have to open our eyes so we can see!!!

Love,

Sister Phillips

Dang this girl never ceases to amaze me! But you heard her Vernal peeps... WRITE HER! her email address is:

lakyn.phillips@myldsmail.net