Short on Time!

Hello family,

Once again another crazy week. Let me fill you in on a few details. So last you heard I was on a temporary exchange with Sister Nudd. We thought that was supposed to last just a few days. Well we didn't exchange back until Saturday night. So a ten day exchange. I was back in Burien with Sister Dobbins for Sunday and most of Monday and then... SURPRISE! Another temporary exchange with Sister Nudd in the Myers Way Tongan ward. 

And guess what? It's another indefinite exchange. Would I expect any less? Sister Nudd and I have been together a third of this transfer so far. I love Sister Nudd. So much. We are good friends. But I'm not going to lie, these have been really hard. It's just hard to not be in my area and to not be with Sister Dobbins and have no idea when I will be in my area. Plus we have other sisters who we still are trying to serve but it's just extra hard to try and help them with the problems they're facing while dealing with this huge problem. But all is well. I really am grateful for this. It is so hard. This has been probably some of the hardest and longest six weeks of my life. I am so tired. But it's also been filled with a lot of happiness and spiritual growth. My testimony has been strengthened so much. I love this gospel with all of my heart. And I'm getting really good at living out of a suit case and plastic bags!

We had the opportunity to go to the temple today. I was very grateful to be in the house of the Lord. The Spirit was so strong and it really is a holy place for us to go and receive revelation. Please attend the temple as often as you can! It is so peaceful and it's so beautiful to know that you're serving Heavenly Father. I had the opportunity to bear my testimony at the beginning of the devotional. I just love this gospel! 

I've been singing "I'll Go Where You Want Me To Go" a lot this week. haha. But I love it. I know that Heavenly Father loves us all so much. He is aware of us and He asks us to trust in Him. I don't always understand why I'm asked to do all the things that I am but I guess that's where faith comes in. Jesus Christ is our Savior. I love Him. I love all of you. Please keep me in your prayers. Have a beautiful week!

Love,
Sister Veronica White

Oh! Mission Life

Hello family! 

Well this has been quite the interesting transfer. Nothing really ever goes according to plan. At the beginning of this week Sister Dobbins was sick for the day so we had to stay inside. Poor Sister Dobbins. I was able to catch up on my journal and get a lot of cleaning done but I was happy to get out and work the next day. Too much staying inside. But it was really funny. There was this knock on our door and there was this tiny little Hispanic man yelling "Tamales! Caliente!" I looked through the peep hole and couldn't see anything. So then I looked down and saw the top of his head. He was selling tamales door to door from his blue cooler. Oh, Burien.

We had a special zone conference with Elder Hansen that was good. And then President and Sister Choi asked us to go on exchanges with the Myers Way sisters. (Sister Nudd and Sister Smalley) It was supposed to be just through the weekend, but alas, we are still on exchanges. I've never been on so many temporary, indefinite exchanges. This time I'm with Sister Nudd in the Myers Way Tongan ward. So I'm sick off Poly food again. I thought I was done with that. I've eaten so much the last five days, it's gross. But Sister Nudd and I figured out that we've been together ten days of this transfer. Like I said, this has been an interesting transfer. It's a little bit hard just because we still have two other sets of sisters that we're supposed to go on exchanges with that keep being postponed because of other things that pop up. But oh well. All is well. Sister Nudd and I have seen a lot of miracles together in the last five days. They're running out of miles so we've been doing a lot of walking which has been fun. We've walked approximately fifteen miles in the last few days in the pouring rain. But we've been able to talk to people. I've gotten a lot more bold lately. And I love it! It's finally clicking in my brain that this is people's eternal life and I just want to share with them what I know to be true and what I know will bring them so much joy. I just love this gospel so much. I'm a little bit sad because I've been missing out on my area. I missed Hector's lesson and the other people that we are working with. But I know that President Choi receives revelation from God. So I don't have to understand everything. I just have to be obedient. But keep Hector in your prayers. He's talked to his boss and he's trying to work something out where he could get a crew together and they could do night shifts and that way he'd be able to come to church.

This week I've really learned how important it is who you associate with. The people you spend your time with affect who you are and who you become. 

Also, I just love The Book of Mormon so much! I'm reading Alma right now and I just can't stop myself. I am so sad personal study is only an hour. I love The Book of Mormon. Make sure and read it everyday!
I love you all and pray for you! 

Love,

Sister Veronica White

Miracles!

Hello family! 

First off, let me just thank you from the very bottom of my heart for the CDs that you sent me. I love Mormon Tabernacle Choir and those songs are all Hymns and Sister Dobbins and I are just in heaven having new music to listen to. So thank you so very much. Plus one of the CDs has Adam-Ondi-Ahman which is one of my very favorite songs ever. 

So this week was so busy. We had a lot of exchanges. I had the opportunity to be with Sister Batton (my MTC companion) in the Highline Samoan ward. It was really fun to be together and back in Samoa for the day. We worked so hard and sang to absolutely everyone we saw that would let us. We met an incredible man named Anthony who is so prepared for the gospel. We were talking to everyone that we saw and we were leaving a complex and he was in a moving van with the window rolled down. He left Detroit a few months ago and is working and changing his life. His kids are going to come from Detroit to be with him in a few months and he was just so prepared. We taught him the Restoration and he wants to be baptized. Sadly for us he lives in Federal Way so he's out of our mission. But he will make some missionaries over there really happy. Best referral ever. Also, I don't remember if I told you with all the crazy things happening the last few weeks but Sister Salabao (my former comp) is in the Highline ward too. I have STL serving every single one of my past companions. I'm grateful for it, though, because I love them all so much.

I also had the opportunity to go on exchanges with Hermana Boley in the Seahurst branch. So I got a day of Spanish which was fun. It made me so tired though because I was concentrating so much. But I actually understood a lot more than I thought I would. We also saw a lot of miracles. We were driving down this road and there was this green house that I had tracted before when I was in the Samoan ward. I told Hermana Boley that they had been Hispanic so we decided to try it. We met a man named Luis who really needs the gospel. He works on the boat as a fisherman and he had just gotten back that morning and was asking himself what he was doing with his life. What his purpose was. We sang I Am a Child of God (we do that a lot as missionaries. It's so powerful, I love it!) and we taught him a little bit and he wants to be baptized too. Wahoo! Hermana Boley and I were just so grateful after as we recognized how good God really is. He has prepared Luis to accept the gospel and he knew that six months ago or so when I was tracting that street looking for Samoans that he was preparing me for the future to remember that house. God's plan and timing of things just amazes me. I love him so much. 

We had a great Zone Meeting this week. Sister Dobbins and I gave training about repentance. I'm so grateful for repentance. We are so lame and make so many mistakes but if we repent daily we can be forgiven and move forward and progress. All because of our Savior, Jesus Christ and what He's done for us. It's incredible. We had interviews with President and Sister Choi which is great. Mine are always so short. They've always been shorter than any of my comps. But it was cute. At the end of my two minute interview President just said: You are happy, yeah? I told him I was so happy. And he said: Good, when you are happy I am happy. It was just really sweet. I love President and Sister Choi so much.

This month our mission has a goal of 100 baptisms as a mission. It's been incredible the miracles we've seen as we've all gone out and worked harder than ever before. I am literally talking to everyone and singing and teaching and it just feels so good. I love it. Sometimes it is hard, but lately I've been really pondering about how I am a representative of Jesus Christ. That means that I am supposed to be doing what he would do. I realized that I have so much to work on. I've been trying to have the attitude lately of what would I do if the Savior were my missionary companion. And I've been seeing so many miracles.

I want to tell you about two really fast. Sorry this letter this week is so long. But first let me tell you about Connor. So on Wednesday night we were dropping off our member fellowship and it was about 8:55--almost curfew. There was this guy who was on the phone but I gave him a card and told him to check out the Because of Him video and he said he would and then walked away. We walked our member up to her door and then as we were turning the corner Sister Dobbins and I saw that the guy was off his phone. He was about two blocks away. She looked at me and hesitated and I was just like: Yeah! So I hurried and grabbed my stuff from the car and we started walking very briskly towards him. He turned around and we waved and started running to him. Most people would have started running away. But guess what? He turned around and started walking towards us and then started running too. It was the most ridiculous scene ever. I was laughing so hard. Here are two missionaries in the streets of Burien, WA running to this random guy and he's running back. I still laugh. I wish someone could have recorded it. Anyway, we sang to him and told him about how there's one path back to God. We didn't have a lot of time but we put him on date for baptism and set up a church tour for the next day. 

The next day we have an amazing church tour and the Spirit was so strong. After the church tour we were eating the dinner we had packed really fast because we didn't have time to go home and eat. All of a sudden we see this guy's face through the kitchen window. He opened the door and he said, "I'm looking for Jesus. I'm looking for a church home. God led me here." Then he stopped and looked at us for a sec and was like, "Wait, I've met you before." We had met him at the bus stop a month earlier and said a prayer with him but he was not interested at the time. Anyway, what happened next was one of the most spiritual, powerful church tours I've ever had. His name was Zezzlet (yes, that was his name) and he was so ready to change and it was just incredible. He said the prayer at the end in the chapel and I know without a doubt that he knew this was right. We had a lesson scheduled with him for the next day. About ten minutes after it was supposed to start he called us and told us he's not coming. He said he's had a change of heart. We didn't even understand. He said that he had been doing some research and he didn't want to be a part of the Mormon church. It was really sad. He came across some anti stuff. He told us to never contact him again. It's really sad that he's using his agency in that way. But I know that he felt the Spirit and I hope that he can remember that eventually. It made me think about how heartbroken Heavenly Father must feel. And that it made me think about how many times I must break Heavenly Father's heart when I do something I know I shouldn't do or when I'm really rude to myself, etc. I don't ever want to break Heavenly Father's heart. I love him so much. I am so grateful for Him and the plan that He has for each one of us. I love this gospel with all of my heart. The month of June is going to be a beautiful month. Jesus Christ is our Savior and He lives. I am so happy! I'm sorry this is so long and probably boring. I'm not a very good story teller. But just know that I love you all and pray for you everyday. Read the Book of Mormon and CTR! 

Love,

Sister Veronica White

It's June!

District from last transfer.

 My ghetto hair cut. Sister Dobbins took a pair of scissors one night and cut the bottom layer of my hair and some of the dead ends into a box. haha. 

Hello Family,

How are you? Thanks for the pictures and emails and letters this week. I'm so grateful for your support. I really love you. 

So Sister Dobbins and I are back together now. It's been a busy week... I think I was more tired this week than I have ever felt on my mission. But I'm grateful to be back with Sister Dobbins and share the responsibility of six companionships again. I feel as though I have aged five years in the last week. haha. Maybe now when I go home people will actually think I'm my age and not a fourteen year old girl. 

We're having to drop a lot of our gators right now. They're either not willing to progress or are just kind of creepy and we don't feel comfortable around them. But we are trying to find the elect--those who are prepared and willing to repent and progress so we just have to keep working hard and finding them. Please pray for our area. Thanks!

We are still working with Hector. He, for real, is one of my very favorite people I've ever met. He still can't get Sundays off though. Ugh. But he works so much and still reads and puts God first. He's in 2 Nephi right now. He says it's really long. Oh Isaiah chapters. He came to a fireside last night, though, put on by the mission. New converts bore their testimonies and shared their experiences and then President Choi spoke. He had already worked a really long shift and he was so tired but he really wanted to come. He loved it. It's so funny... whenever he feels the Spirit he just kind of shakes his head and body like he's got the chills and says he feels "weird." It's hilarious. 

President Choi is incredible. I'm so grateful for him. I love him so much. I'm grateful for this opportunity that I have to be a STL. I'm so grateful to be a missionary. I love it so much. Heavenly Father loves us. Read your scriptures. 
Love you! 
Love,
Sister Veronica White

What a Week!

Hello family. 

This was quite the week. Let me start by talking about our incredible zone conference. It was so amazing. Sister Dobbins and I had to role play in front of everyone. Four zones... over 100 missionaries. It was so stressful and scary but all went well. That night we found out that we're serving six companionships. 12 sisters. Wow. It's a lot of responsibility but the Lord will bless me if I'm faithful. 

I don't have much time and I don't even know how to explain this week anyway. But because of some mistakes and bad decisions of other missionaries Sister Dobbins and I are split up for an indefinite exchange. It's supposed to be temporary. Life is in a bit of limbo right now. There's a lot of stuff and emotions and, yeah. I've never had to be so strong. But I know with all of my heart that Heavenly Father answers prayers. He loves us all so much and strengthens us. I've never had such meaningful, powerful prayers. I know that Heavenly Father answers prayers. I know with all of my heart that this gospel is true. Don't doubt it. Strengthen your testimonies everyday. I love you all! 

Love,

Sister Veronica White

Another Transfer!

Dear family,

I am staying here in Burien with Sister Dobbins! I have had a grin on my face ever since last night when we found out. I can't take it off my face. I'm just so happy to be here in Burien for another transfer and to continue to work with these people. And to be with Sister Dobbins. We get along so well and I'm just so grateful for her. She's a huge blessing! 

So... this week was fun. Lots of really funny things happened. I'm not the best story teller so I don't know whether I'll be able to adequately get the humor of this week across but I shall attempt to. So the UVU dancers came to our stake and did a performance and we have an investigator who loves that type of thing so we invited her. They did all these different cultural dances. Basically though, it was all the same moves. Whether it was Tahitian, Native American, or Latino they all looked the same. Sister Dobbins and I decided that we could easily get a dance scholarship to UVU if our lives came to that. Family, remember that awful Miss UVU pageant thing. This was a very similar experience. It was one of the worst things of my life, but so funny and entertaining. And our investigator loved it, so I guess that's good. Too much immodesty, though. Shirtless dancer men trying to do the haka and look intimidating but completely failing... no thanks.

 

Also, this week we went to a BBQ for someone in our ward. This was the most awkward BBQ that has ever happened in the history of BBQs. For real. There were quite a few nonmembers that we were able to talk to, though. So our investigator that came to the BBQ. She showed up in a belly shirt with a turban around her head and then decided to smoke on the porch where the guy was BBQing. And then this realtor man came and he was not even a real person. The way he spoke. It kills me. Sister Dobbins and I have been imitating it all weekend long. It's just so funny. Just picture a horrible announcing voice that changes decibels with every syllable and then say the most cliche things you can think of and you're pretty much there. He was even wearing his realtor nametag and tried to sell Sister Dobbins and me a house in Burien. haha. No thanks. Basically this was the best BBQ I've ever been to. And it was made better by the fact that this week I had some sort of allergic reaction or something and my eyes got big and swollen and super itchy. It looked like someone had beat me up. I had little pig slit eyes. 

Also, we were out walking to this potential's house yesterday and the mailman pulls over next to us and was like: I'm sorry, I'm just curious to see who you guys are. I don't see people wear clothes like you're wearing. We gave him a mormon.org card. But it was super funny. Wearing clothes here in Burien is kind of an unusual thing. When girls are wearing dresses, they're not dresses. They're shirts.

Okay, one experience to share with you really fast that shows just how important it is to talk with everyone. Yesterday we were pulling up to the church to meet with our Relief Society president and there was this man walking on the street. I told Sister Dobbins to hurry and park so that I could go talk to this guy. I was frantically looking for a Finding Faith in Christ card from my bag but my bag had turned into a black hole. Finally I grab one but he's already past us. So I jump out of the car and kind of chase after him and just ask him if I could give him a card. He had head phones in and it scared him so bad. He jumped so high. It was hilarious. I apologized for scaring him and we had a great little lesson. He's from India and we're having a church tour tomorrow. Wahoo. Miracles. 


Keep praying for Hector to get Sundays off, please. He's wonderful and loving the Book of Mormon. But he needs to be able to come to church. 


I love you all. Hope this letter makes sense. I was writing it so fast. CTR, okay? Love you all tons!
Love,

Birthday Week!

 Boba on my birthday. So good. It was strawberry mango. Yum!

 Fuifui and Omi surprised me on my birthday with balloons and a card. The card is so cute with photos of us together and then on the back there's a "memory lane." I just love her so much! 

 And then later that night we had the Etes come to a lesson with us for Hector so they could be fellowship and they surprised me with gifts. They're so sweet! On her card she listed why each thing was there... nerf gun to relieve frustration (she bought Sister Nudd one too..) Chocolate, granola, balloon. It was so sweet! They really made my birthday. It was hard being away from you but my Samoans made up for it. They're so good to me. 

P.S. please forgive the largeness of my hair... that's what happens to it when it gets rained on and dries over and over throughout the day.

 And this is my favorite! This is the birthday card Seka sent me. It's Seka, me and Sister Dobbins in our single shelf sisterhood because our joke is that none of us are ever going to get married so we'll just be together sitting on a shelf. hahah. It probably doesn't even make sense but the card is so funny!

 Lots of photos. On the eighth Sister Smalley and Sister Nudd surprised me with a surprise birthday party in the church kitchen. They are so sweet! Here are the photos from that. 

 This is a legitimate candid shot. I was looking at Sister Nudd because she got me a mini hymnbook and even had it engraved. She's so sweet. I'm sorry my mouth is so large though.

 Isn't this card hilarious?!

 And then came the mustaches... 

We don't call ourselves the Icky Sisters for nothing.

 Serious Men

 Happy Men

 The hideousness got a little out of hand.

Well family.

It was so good to talk to you yesterday. You all look great. I can't believe what a little man Joe has become. That is not the same little brother that I left almost a year ago. Kind of makes me sad, but all is well. I feel like I pretty much caught you up on everything yesterday and I don't have much time right now.. my computer is about to kick me off. But I'll share with you just a few things.

Hector is amazing. Please keep him in your prayers that he'll be able to get Sundays off of work so he can come to church. Also that he'll be able to keep the word of wisdom. He said it was going to be hard but he has the faith tat Heavenly Father will be able to help him. He is so incredible. He just understands so much. Has such a hunger for knowledge and understanding. I've learned a lot from him. There's a YSA branch that'll be starting in June and he'd be going to that so we were able to use the Etes as fellowship for him. They are so wonderful. Any day that I get to see them is a good day. They are my family away from you guys. I love them so much.

That's one of my favorite things about being a missionary. The love! The love I have for the gospel. For my Heavenly Father and Savior, Jesus Christ. For ward members. For my companion. For investigators. For the gospel. I just love it all so much. And I even feel like I love you more even though I'm far away. I'm just so grateful for the examples that you are to me. Thank you for being such wonderful people and for being my best friend. 

Thank you for the birthday package. I loved it all! Thanks especially for the water bottle. In the last two days that I've had it I've been drinking more water which is really good. I'm 20 years old now. I've almost been away for a year. Wow. 

I love you all so much! Read your scriptures. Go to the temple. CTR!
Love,
Sister Veronica White