I'm So Happy!

 Me and Sister Nelson after the Member and Missionary fireside last night. We look a little washed out. But Dad will be so happy. You can't tell in this photo but I got a haircut. 

Windows from a little Mexican shop around the corner from our apartment.

Dear Family,

I am just so happy. I feel so blessed to be a missionary. I LOVE it! Sister Nelson is wonderful. I love being with her. She is a great missionary and I feel like we're really helping each other to reach our potential. We are working so hard! 

I love being a STL. I'm exhausted. But it's the best kind of exhausted. I love each one of our sisters and I feel very humbled to be able to help them in any way I can. 

Do you remember me telling you about Brandon last week? He's the kid we met in our last ten minutes? We taught him the Restoration last week and at the end we asked him if he had any questions. He said he wanted to be sure he understood it so he started teaching it back to us. It was so awesome. He's such a good kid. He loved church on Sunday! Keep him in your prayers, please. He's so great. We didn't meet with Gina this week. Pray for her too. She's been really busy lately but hopefully we'll be able to meet with her this coming week. I feel like I pour my heart out to Heavenly Father every evening for Gina. I know that everything will work out according to God's will. She's so good at identifying the Holy Ghost and she just loved everything we taught her. This trial will just make her stronger. Me too.

 I am so grateful for prayer. I know Heavenly Father hears us. He loves us and wants us to pray. The other night I decided to just say a prayer of gratitude. I went through every family member, Sister Nelson, President and Sister Choi, each one of my sisters, and my investigators and expressed how grateful I was for them and things I've learned from them. Wow. It was a neat experience. I'm convinced I'm one of the most blessed people to have ever lived. I have the restored gospel of Jesus Christ in my life and I get to be out here in Seattle sharing my testimony with others everyday. There is nothing better.

I love this gospel. I love the Book of Mormon. Read it. Everyday. So many blessings come from daily study. (I just finished reading PMG Ch. 2--Effective Study. So good! You all should read it.) Studying the gospel is so important. It is a commandment from God. And with every commandment He gives us there are so many blessings He gives us for keeping it. (Mosiah 2:24). I know that obedience really does bring blessings. I love being a missionary! I can't say it enough. I love you all so much.

Love,
Sister Veronica White

What a Week!

Hello family!

 I don't even know where to begin to tell you about all of the miracles we've seen this week. I can't even remember them all. Ah, where to start?

I absolutely love Sister Nelson. She is a great missionary. Really enthusiastic about the work and about being a Sister Training Leader. She is so cute and so much fun. I'm so excited to be her companion. This transfer is going to be incredible. We worked so hard this week. Harder than either of us have ever worked before. Every night come 10:30 we just fall into our beds, completely exhausted. But it's a good kind of exhausted. We are serving five companionships again this transfer but two sets are in the Seattle North zone and one set is in the Bellevue zone, so that'll be fun. We're trying to be really organized and top of things, which we all know I love! haha. 

On Wednesday we had a really good Zone Conference where we talked about how we need to be inviting EVERYONE to be baptized. I'm good at talking with everyone I see but I realized I could be a lot better at making our conversations effective and inviting them to be baptized. So ever since Thursday we've been talking to everyone about baptism. It's been so incredible to see the results. God has just poured down blessings on us! Let me tell you about just a few. 

We are teaching Melissa now. She has three boys--6, 8, 13. She is very sincere. We had a good church tour with her too. We have a family to teach! I'm so happy. Her boys were kind of in and out the first lesson but she's on date for the thirteenth of September for baptism and hopefully we can help her boys have that goal too. Please keep her in your prayers. She just lost her job and she's going through a rough time.

We finally saw Gina again! Her family and close friend had said some really negative things to her about the church and she got nervous because she felt like she couldn't really defend her new faith. She didn't know what to say. The last couple weeks have been really hard for her and we were able to help her identify that the last time she remembers being really happy and at peace was her church tour and her last lesson with us where Bishop's wife came with us. Gina loves the Book of Mormon, but had stopped studying it. It was a good reminder to me about the importance of reading the Book of Mormon everyday. It's what gives us the strength to face everyday and to be happy. Gina got a promotion at work so she'll now be working every other weekend. That's too bad... But she wants to start having lessons again. We watched "Lord, I Believe" with her by Elder Holland. It was so powerful and perfect for her. Watch that talk. So good! All of our prayers and fasting on her behalf are working. Keep praying, please. I love her so much! 

And the last miracle I want to share. We were driving home and it was 8:50 when we got there. We had ten more minutes so we decided to walk out to the street and street contact. On our way out of the parking lot we met Brandon. He told us he had been walking around for no reason. He just felt like he should go walk outside. We were able to testify of the Book of Mormon and he wants to get baptized on the thirteenth. We're meeting with him tomorrow. His family previously had talked to missionaries before but they weren't interested anymore. But he is. Wow! Such a miracle! It would have been so easy for us to go inside a few minutes early that night. We were so tired and had already worked so hard and seen a lot of blessings. But we knew if we were obedient, the Lord would bless us. And He did. And now Brandon has the opportunity to accept the restored gospel of Jesus Christ in his life. 

Miracles are real! The Atonement is real. We can be healed through the Atonement of Jesus Christ. Our burdens can be lifted. We are never alone. I know this is true. God is aware of every singe one of us and He loves us. I love serving Him everyday. I know that the gospel is for everyone. Pray everyday. Read your scriptures. Look for opportunities to serve. Go to the temple. We are all commanded to help in the hastening of the work of salvation. The church is true! CTR! I love you!

Love,

Sister Veronica White

Another Transfer!

Hello family! 

Hope you're doing well. I feel like I have so much to tell you. I'll start with my sickness. I went to the doctor last week and he said it's probably bronchitis. But they put me on an antibiotic. I still felt pretty sick most of last week but today I'm feeling good. 

Sister Dobbins and I gave a training for our Zone in Zone Meeting this last week. It's cool to see how much I've grown. The first time I ever gave training I was terrified but I'm building more confidence which is a good thing. I know that it's because Heavenly Father is helping me. He's helped me so much on my mission but especially I've felt it the last few transfers as a STL. He's always helped me but I think I feel it more lately because my relationship with Heavenly Father is getting better and better. I still have so much work and I want to make it stronger but I love Heavenly Father so much. I KNOW that He is aware of us, our needs, our trials, our strengths and weaknesses. He loves us. (Alma 26:37) It was kinda embarrassing, though. During our training I had a cough attack and it sounded like I was dying. I finally got control but then it would just keep coming back. Yeah, gross. 

This week had some sadness. I was so sad to send Sister Dobbins off. I really love her. She is such a good friend and I learned so much from her. I am so grateful that Heavenly Father let us serve together. The other sad thing. Please pray for Gina. Our Zone theme I guess you could say this transfer is to pray unceasingly. I've been doing that for Gina. Two Sundays she wasn't able to come to church because of a wedding. Then we completely lost contact for a few days. We left her a sticky note (Miracle! She lives in a locked complex but we got in) and then that night she called us. She sounded like she was about to cry. She thanked us for the fellowship but said she wasn't expecting this to be so life-changing. The no coffee thing threw her. She also mentioned some things that peers had said that caused some questions. Basically she's receiving a LOT of opposition from her friends and Satan is really working on her. Stupid Satan. I've been praying and fasting for her. I've prayed so much. I trust Heavenly Father and  I believe that she will be able to come out of this with an even stronger testimony if she can overcome this trial and the temptations of Satan. She said that she would continue to read and pray she just needed some time to think. We haven't had contact with her since then, though. So please, please keep her in your prayers.

Thanks for all your prayers. Keep praying for Hector and Blanca. Hector has been to four or five baptisms now. He just can't get to church. But after the summer his work is supposed to slow down. He listens to the Book of Mormon now on his phone and he loves it.

Yesterday I got to spend the day with the hermanas after I dropped off Sister Dobbins. It was so fun. I love them so much. I'm so grateful for the people I've met on my mission.

I am so unbelievably excited for this upcoming transfer. I'm with Sister Nelson. She's absolutely adorable. She's from Utah. She was just called as a STL. I'm grateful we'll be together. I've wanted to be her comp since Shoreline. I don't really know her that well but I am so happy to be with her. I think we're going to get along great. The Lord is really blessing us and our area. I am so happy to be a missionary. I love this gospel so much. I love the Lord! We are all asked to help in hastening the work of salvation. Be a good example, go to the temple, read your scriptures, pray, smile! I love you all. CTR~

Sister Veronica White

Sickness is No Fun!

Hello family!

Hope you're doing well. This week was pretty good. Sister Dobbins and I were both sick most of the week. In fact I'm still pretty sick. But at least we're out working now. We were inside for the majority of the week which is no fun. I've actually learned a lot this week though. I've been very humbled and I'm learning how to grow when I mess up and don't do things as well as I should. It can be a hard lesson to learn, but I'm so grateful for church each week. That we get to go and partake of the Sacrament and repent. I am so grateful for our Savior, Jesus Christ and all that He's done for us. I love Him so much. 

We had a lot of miracles this weekend. Hector came to a baptism Saturday and Sunday night and then he came to the fireside that the stake was putting on. It was so wonderful about learning the language of the Holy Ghost. It was good to see Hector, too because it's been a long time. He's been working so much but he downloaded the Gospel Library app on his phone yesterday and he was really excited about that. I had the most people I've ever had at church yesterday. We had some LA families that we've been working with and lots of gators. We got a new gator too who is now living with a member and wants to learn more. We taught Gina the Word of Wisdom this last weekend. It is going to be very difficult for her to give up coffee but she is determined to do it. Please pray for her, though. She loves coffee and works at a bakery where she is surrounded by it all the time. So keep her in your prayers. And Marzaila (our new gator). 

Thank you for all your prayers. I really do feel them. I love you all so much and miss you. This gospel is true. The Book of Mormon is AMAZING! Read it everyday. It brings us the peace and spiritual strength we need in our life. Love you! 

Love,

Sister Veronica White

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

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

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