Monday, July 28, 2014

The End of July?!

 Here's a photo from way back when in Shoreline. Not sure if you have it or not...

My district in Shoreline.

 Our Italian feast.
 Fiorella
One of the families in Shoreline.


She let us come and pick blueberries!
 Sister Anderson, our Relief Society president
 Washing our car.
Sketchy car wash

Dear Family,

Hello! I got the letters from the family at the family reunion. Made me so happy. Thank you everyone for writing. I love getting mail so much! 

This was a wonderful week. Do you remember me telling you about Gina last week? Basically she's the most incredible gator ever. She is so, so prepared. I just love her so much. We met with her multiple times this week. She loves reading from the Book of Mormon. She has a gift for likening the scriptures to herself. It's awesome. I feel like I learn so much from her when we teach her. She wants this so badly. She is getting baptized on August 16. We've made a baptismal calendar with everything outlined that needs to happen before that day and she is so committed. I'm sad because it's a week after Sister Dobbins leaves. Gina is just special. I can't even express how wonderful she is. I feel so incredibly blessed to get to serve her. Her little daughter Zeylin (she's 18 months) is the cutest thing! She loves when we sing to her. They came to church on Sunday and the entire ward fell in love with her. She was waving to everyone and shaking people's hands. It was just so adorable. During Sacrament Meeting I was trying to keep her entertained so Gina could listen. This resulted in my right sleeve of my cardigan being covered with chapstick. haha. But both of them loved church. We're meeting with them again tonight. I honestly feel like Gina is one of the reasons I'm here on my mission. I want to share a cool story with you though that reminded me to not be discouraged in tracting situations. When Gina was thirteen years old she was living with her Mom. Mormon missionaries would come around and her mom didn't like them. She'd tell Gina to avoid them. One time her mom wasn't there so Gina talked to them. She was introduced to the Book of Mormon and said she just felt so good when they were talking to her. Then she went to foster care. For twelve years she's been looking for a church and a place she belongs. She said that her interaction with the missionaries and the Book of Mormon were always in the back of her mind. That it really left an impression on her. Now she's finally learning more about the church and she loves it. She loves the Book of Mormon. She reads it everyday on the bus and she bears her testimony to us. She takes notes during her readings, during our lessons, and during church. She's made me realize how much I've taken my life and my testimony for granted. We're so blessed to have this gospel. We need to make sure and appreciate it everyday. 

Also, we had Napi (one of the Samoan YW) with us on Saturday for Gina's lesson and it was just so cute. We were walking into the church and Napi turns to me and says, "Sister White, I want to serve a mission because of you. You always taking me out and letting me do missionary work, it meant a lot to me." That warmed my heart! I'm so grateful for the people I've met on my mission.

On a side note. Sister Dobbins and I were tracting and we came upon this super sketchy house. We knocked on the door once and then felt like we should turn around. As were almost at the gate this mean old man yells "Get 'em!" and unleashes this big, black dog on us. It was the scariest thing! The dog came at us and I had the gate in my hand and I was shaking so bad. Luckily Sister Dobbins steadied the gate and we secured it and walked away. I may or may not have been crying a little bit. haha. It's fine. 

Also, keep me in and Sister Dobbins in your prayers, please. We're both really sick. We ate something bad on Friday night. Saturday night our throats were hurting. And today I can't even hear or breathe or swallow. It feels like I'm underwater. 

Well I love you all so much! Sorry if this is long. I'm praying for you all everyday. Read your scriptures, watch Mormon Messages, listen to General Conference talks, pray. CTR! 

Love,
Sister Veronica White

Monday, July 21, 2014

God is Light!

Hello family. 

Another week gone by. They pass so quickly. It was a great week though. Lots of miracles. We had a really amazing Zone Conference. President Choi is just the best ever. Sister Dobbins and I had to perform a musical number. We put it together that morning. It was a little scary, but it turned our alright, so all is well. We went on an Exchange this week. I was with Hermana Boley. She is so great. I love getting to serve with her. We saw so many miracles! As we were going about our day I felt like we needed to visit Jina (one of our gators who we'd been having a hard time getting a hold of). Heavenly Father is just so cool! He times things just perfectly. We couldn't find a parking spot in her complex so we had to go to the neighboring one and park. Then along the way we met a Born Again lady who told us about how we need to find the real Jesus. And then walking into her complex we passed her in the parking lot. It was such a miracle! Because she lives in a locked apartment complex so it's really hard to try and go visit her. Anyway, we ended up being able to have a really awesome lesson with her where she really opened up. She has the most beautiful little 18 month old daughter and she really wants the gospel in her life. We had a church tour with her this weekend and she is on date for baptism! The Spirit was so strong. She was in tears in the chapel and just talked about how this is what she's been looking for. She's the one I mentioned about a month ago or so. Anyway, please pray for her. I just love her so much! I can't wait to continue working with her. 

Also, please pray for Blanca. We had a great lesson this week and she is really searching for truth. She just feels like she hasn't gotten an answer about Joseph Smith. She is such a sweet person and is really trying to do what's right. She was able to come to the Member and Missionary fireside the mission does once a month and she really felt the Spirit. It's a meeting where recent converts get to share their testimonies and their conversion experiences and then there's music. They are amazing! There were some things that were said just for her. She is taking this week to really study the Book of Mormon and wants to meet with us next Monday. Please, please pray for her to be able to receive an answer and recognize that answer that The Book of Mormon is true, that Joseph Smith is a prophet and that this is the restored gospel of Jesus Christ. Everyday my testimony grows about the truthfulness of those statements. This gospel is the best thing ever. I read a really great talk from President Uchtdort from the Spring 2013 General Conference about light. You should all look it up. I love scriptures and quotes that talk about light. In closing I want to share a scripture with you. 1 John 1:5 "God is light, and in him is no darkness at all." 
I know that is true. Turn to God everyday and allow Him to chase out the darkness and despair. I love Heavenly Father and Jesus Christ. They love us. They want us to return to them. Choose the right. Read your scriptures and pray everyday. I love you!

Love,
Sister Veronica White

Monday, July 14, 2014

You Got My Release Papers... What? AHHH!!!

 Well this picture happened in the early hours of 6 AM so forgive the fact that I look dead. But the shirt and the background are cool.

Here's a studying photo from Exchanges with Sister Salabao. She thinks she is so funny because she always tries to snap photos of me when I don't know.


Hello family.

First off I would like to say that I am super jealous that I missed the family reunion. It sounds like it was so fun. Thank you for sending me pics, though. At least I sort of got to live it through photos. I really miss all of you so much. I'm so grateful for families. Lately I've just been overwhelmed with gratitude for my life. For my family. For my siblings, parents, grandparents, cousins, aunts and uncles. I am just so blessed. I'm really grateful for my life. And I love being out here on a mission and seeing how different life experiences that Heavenly Father blessed me with have helped specific people out here on my mission. So neat. Sometimes it blows my mind because I just love all of you so much... how my heart is so full and feels like it might burst. And then I think about how much Heavenly Father loves us. So much more than we can ever comprehend. He is a perfect Being and therefore loves us with a perfect and pure love. I know that He loves us. It's so important to do things in our lives that allow us to feel that love. Satan also knows how much God loves us and that is why he does absolutely everything in his power to distract us from that love. My mission has taught me how much Satan gets to us through distractions and worldly things. Make sure that everyday you turn of the TV, computer, music, or noise of the world and take time to read your scriptures or a conference talk or watch a Mormon Message. Take time to feel Heavenly Father's love and to be strengthened. I just love Heavenly Father so much! 

Also, you got my release papers? Oh my goodness. That is gross. I only have five months left. That is so crazy. Time is such a weird thing. It goes by slow at times but really so fast. Sister Dobbins is almost done with her mission. Ah! 

This week I went on three exchanges. All out of my area. I have not been in Burien for a long time. But it's okay. Heavenly Father will bless Sister Dobbins and me for our service, even though it is hard at times. The three exchanges were lots of fun. It's fun to get to know sisters better and learn from them and help them. Plus I got to be with two of my past companions (Sister Salabao and Sister McBride.) It's crazy... I have now been STL serving every single companion I've ever been with. Please keep me in your prayers. I am so, so tired and I feel like sometimes it affects the work just because I'm so exhausted. But I just try to remain diligent. 

I'm learning so much about the gospel. I love it more and more everyday. I love studying the gospel. I love learning about our Savior, Jesus Christ. He is real. He lived a perfect life. He is the perfect example. He is real. He performed the Atonement. He was resurrected and we can all have the opportunity to live with Heavenly Father and Jesus Christ again because of His sacrifice. Live the gospel. Keep the commandments. Repent every day. And SMILE! Because all of us have the restored gospel of Jesus Christ in our lives. We are so blessed. I love you all so much! 

Love,
Sister Veronica White

Monday, July 7, 2014

What A Week!

























Hello Family,

Well this was quite the busy week. First off, Sister Dobbins and I are back to being companions--just the two of us. (Yes, Savannah. I just started singing the Will Smith song in my head for a sec. Then I repented and started singing a hymn. If I'm going to sing a Babylonian song I don't want to waste it on that one.) 

This week was good. We had a really good Mission Leadership Council. This time it included all the Zone Leaders, Sister Training Leaders, and District Leaders. The meeting was really good and I just have such a strong desire to go out and be the best missionary I can be. I really love President and Sister Choi. Our goal this month is to have 100 baptisms in the month of July. Last month that was our goal. We reached 42 baptisms which is the highest the mission has achieved in a really long time. So we just have to keep working hard and reaching our High Expectations and continually improve. We only have five companionships this transfer... so, tender mercy of the Lord! 

We are meeting with Blanca again. We taught the Restoration and it went really well. The Spirit was so strong. We're just trying to help her see the connection between The Book of Mormon and Joseph Smith being a prophet and how there is one true church. She is so kind. I really love her. Keep her in your prayers please. And Jina too! We weren't able to meet with her last week but hopefully this upcoming week. 

One other funny story from this week. So last night the Samoan ward had a triple baptism. We had an investigator, Tyler come to it. I met him on the street and we had a little mini lesson. He came to a church tour the next day but he was super high so he left early. Since then we've texted him and invited him to a few things. Anyway, he came to the baptism last night. So did President and Sister Choi. It was really awkward because Tyler was asking some really weird questions to me... uncomfortable questions. Like I was terrified he was going to try and ask me on a date. Anyway, after the baptism we were in front of the church and we were saying a prayer. President and Sister Choi walked out in the middle of our prayer. And then Tyler went in for the hug! Ah!!!! I've had some creepy people try and hug me on my mission.... but not in front of my mission president! Sister Dobbins was like: Oh, we just shake hands. It was so awkward. I'm just destined to have forever awkward situations. It's fine. 

Oh, and one more story. Fourth of July in the Heights (my apartment complex.) Well no one there speaks English anyway, but it was quite the adventure. Sister Dobbins and I did a lot of praying and no sleeping because everyone was lighting off fireworks. But no one used their brains. The buildings are all really close to each other. There was this group of teenagers who were lighting aerial fireworks on the ground between two buildings and a big tree. They'd light it and then yell and run away as fast as they could. It was so dangerous and stupid. It got so bad that we called the police. Anyway, about fifteen or twenty minutes later we see this huge group of teenagers running around the corner swearing and yelling, "Police, police!" Then they started hiding in the bushes next to our complex. It seriously felt like something out of a movie scene. So the bad news is we didn't get any sleep that night. It was so loud. The good news is that we didn't burn to death in our beds.  

I want to share something with you from President Eyring. I printed it out last week. I'm not sure if it's from the Ensign or what but it's titled "Come Unto Christ." So good! You should look it up on lds.org and read it. Anyway, at the end it says, "By helping others come unto Him, you will find that you have come unto Him yourself. If you want to be near Him, to feel His peace, you can do it best in His service." I loved this so much! It is so true. The last year has been about helping others come unto Christ. And I know without a doubt that in the process I have come unto Christ in the process. I have been so blessed from serving a mission. My faith in Jesus Christ has been so strengthened. I have felt His peace and been near to Him as I have served. And it's a feeling that we can all have. It's not just something we get to feel as missionaries. As we serve our brothers and sisters we will have the Spirit more fully in our lives. We will be happie

Love,
Sister Veronica White

Tuesday, July 1, 2014

Transfer 10

Hello Family.

So here comes transfer number ten. I'm so old! Before we get to that, though, I want to give you a highlight of my week. So I wasn't in the Burien ward this last week. I was in the Tongan ward. More Poly food and Chinese buffets I thought I was through with those things but apparently Heavenly Father thought otherwise. This week we were covering the Myers Way ward and then the Burien ward for set appointments because Sister Dobbins and Sister Smalley were stuck inside. It was a bit exhausting, to say the least. But all is well. I survived. This last transfer was crazy with so many exchanges and things. We figured out that I was actually with SIster Nudd 51% of the time. So I was with her more than I was with Sister Dobbins. Last transfer was hard. Probably some of the hardest six weeks of my life. So much was unknown. Being a Sister Training Leader is so much harder than I ever thought it would be. But I have also learned so much. I know that this church is true. We have the fulness of the gospel of Jesus Christ once again restored to the earth. And we are so blessed to know about it! I know that God is real. He is our Heavenly Father. He loves and cares for us as a perfect Father would. He is aware of the challenges that we go through and and that those around us go through. He places people in our lives to help us and sometimes we are the people that help those around us. I know with all of my heart that The Book of Mormon is the word of God. I love it. The reason God has commanded us to read it everyday is because it blesses our lives and gives us the strength we need to overcome the obstacles and trials in our day to day lives. Please read your scriptures everyday! 

We had the most amazing lesson with a lady named Jina. She is a referral from the Hermanas for the Burien ward. Sister Nudd and I met with her last week and we watched the Because of Him video. We found out she's actually met with missionaries when she was a teenager (she is now a young 20 something mother) and really loved the church but because of her Mom and opposition she had to stop meeting with the missionaries. She has attended other churches since then and she feels that they're just too flashy and that something is missing. The Spirit was so strong and we have a church tour scheduled for tomorrow. I am just so very excited! She is incredible! I love her. When we were leaving her little daughter she started crying because she didn't want us to go. It was just about the cutest thing ever. 

Anyway, so I am here back in Burien for another transfer. I get to kill Sister Dobbins off! I'm really excited about that. I'm so happy we get another transfer together. Especially because last transfer was just so crazy. We are in a trio right now with Sister Smalley. Please keep all of us in your prayers. I love you all!


Read your scriptures. Keep the commandments. CTR!


Love,
Sister Veronica White