Crazy Busy Good

Us and the Hermanas

Hello there!

What a crazy, exhausting, lots of meetings, running around like we were chickens with our heads cut off week! I am not even sure how to express to you how tired we are. BUT The Lord is so incredibly good and has given us so many wonderful people to work with and lots of good things to do!

There were just a lot of meetings and planning this week. Life of a mission leader. But if it helps everyone else's mission go smoothly then I am willing and happy to do it! We seriously did not have time to study and read the Book of Mormon for like 3 days in a row... let me tell you that is not fun! PLEASE read the Book of Mormon, you feel like a total bum and the spirit is not there. For realz.

We found lots of new investigators just by talking to everyone! E is super searching for answers and for God. He did not know how to pray so we taught him, and then he gave one of the sweetest prayers. The spirit just lit up the room! It was amazing. We are having a church tour with him tomorrow and he is coming to church Sunday!!! Another great family we are teaching are just amazing too! they were totally kind of not wanting to hear about it at all at first. But we shared the Book of Mormon with them and the mom pulled out her highlighters and a note book and everything. It was SOOO cool! Why is God so good? :)

We went on exchanges with the Hermanas as well! (added to the stress too but they are fantastic so it was actually a great blessing during this crazy week!) They are just stellar missionaries - doing the good work of the Lord!

We did some yard work too! We have been doing lots of that lately. Which brings me to how grateful I am for the earth - for the plants that produce such wonderful food for us. The Hermanas have inspired us to eat super healthy! We were doing pretty well but it was getting boring. Salad after salad. They introduced us to some creative fun healthy and easy recipies! Wahooo so if y'all have any of those please send them our way!

We got the wonderful privilege to speak on the Fort Eustis base on Sunday. What a great group of guys meet there! I spoke about gratitude and just how amazing it is! When we are grateful we can truly see the hand of God more fully in our lives! Its incredible! So many wonderful blessing await us when we are grateful!

Well, hopefully this week should not be too crazy! After zone conference we should be in the clear and be able to give all our focus to our area again! Newport News is a wonderful place, how I love it!!

Thought for the Week: Are you the kind of person that someone else would want to be? WOAH. Yeah deep right? It blows my mind. I really do want to be a good enough person that someone else would think that. I know that as we turn to our Savior, He can help us become that person. That person that will lift and bless others. So goal for the week... actually no goal for LIFE, have Jesus Christ turn me into the person that He would have me be and help me to help others to find their true potential as well.

LOVE YOU ALL! Thanks for you support, it really means A LOT
Be blessed
Sista Poulsen

Bonus peek into a Sister Training Leader's life from the Questions email:
So yeah. Super looooooong exhausting week. We are now not having zone meetings anymore only zone conferences. That is 3 zones combines. And we and the Zone Leaders have to plan them and do like 35 minute trainings in them........ We were dying because we had to plan for a 35 minute training at our last zone meeting, plan out 20 minute talks for sacrament, plan our training for this Wednesday (35 minutes) and then call all the people that we want to participate in zone conference... also our area is still on fire so there are SOOO many people to see and just zero time so let's just say I am falling a sleep at the computer today. After emailing I am literally just going to go lie down until 2:30 when a sister that is here visiting the mission that was comps with Sister Nelson takes us to get Tropical Smoothie and hang out... man oh man. I hope this next week goes by faster. #tears
so yeah that's our lives right now. But soooo many miracles don't worry! I will write all about them in a minute.

Happy Mother's Day

What a wonderful Mother's Day I had! Top on the list was definitely talking to the fam... LOVE Y'ALL SO MUCH! After we ate at a members and skyped, we heart attacked people to wish them a Happy Mother Day! As Sister Smith would say, "We got in our James Bond moment!" Good stuff :)

Other than that just transfers happened! Sister Everett is home now! I heard from her today and she is doing FANTASTIC!!!! SOOOO happy for her! LOVE YOU GIRL! I worked in another area for a few days till I got Sister Nelson Wednesday night. We were riding bikes in Poquoson, VA Super fun :)

Sister Nelson is super great! We both have similar personalities, except for the reason that she is a runner so she is helping me get back into that! We have just been working hard though! Lots of people to go and see and lots of  work to do! It is kind of stressful taking over that area and helping her take the ropes but she is STELLAR at getting it down fast! We were running around meeting all the members Sunday and it was great! Excited to do some great work with her! There was an activity we went to with the Relief Society getting to know each other better, that was super helpful too!

Thought for the week: It came from a talk on Sunday given by a stellar member! He said "The words mother and love just go together." AMEN. Mom, I love you so much! Thanks for showing me so much love and being such an excellent example of charity. Also for all those other mother figures in my life, thank you as well! I owe you lots for the person I have come to realize that God wants me to be!

Love y'all, have a super blessed week! This next week if full of meetings and stuff for us so that should be fun :) PEACE
Sista Poulsen

Last Call

#LoveNN

Hello one and all!

Man did this transfer go by quick! Sister Everett hits the plane tomorrow!!!! WHAT? And my next companion also is going home in 6 weeks! Her name is Sister Nelson, we are gonna have a great time because Newport News is amazing!!! I am so sad to see my dear Sister Everett go... she is amazing and she is going places in life!! I love her :)

I forgot to tell you something super cool last week!!! The Fort Eustis military base is in our area so we get to work on it! Last Sunday we went there for sacrament meeting and it was super spiritual and awesome to see all these tough military guys bearing their testimonies and stuff. They also have an FHE each week that we will be attending too so that will be great! The senior couple that works with them are great! The Larsen's, they have done so much for us! Can't wait to work more with them and Fort Eustis!!

So we moved!! Don't worry mom, those elders were stellar and cleaned that apartment soooo good! It even smelled nice :) It is great. Yes it's on the 3rd floor but I don't care - it has carpet so my feet and knees are feeling so much better. #blessed

We then went on exchanges with the Hermana's!!! WOW! They are amazing! Spanish work is so very different from English! They just tract and stuff, but they have a lot of success by doing that! Hispanics are a lot different and nicer than everyone else. But we had a super good time, she is a great teacher and super loving to everyone! I love exchanges!

Our Ward Mission Leader is AMAZING. We finally had a meeting this week with him and he totally gets it! He understands the fact that members find people for us to teach. We are full time teachers NOT finders. It's awesome. He's awesome. It's super amazing!!!! I can't express it... he has been a big help to the work. We could not do it without him.

Best part by far though.... B GOT BAPTIZED!?!?!?!? WOW We found the most beautiful dress for her baptism!!! She looked like she was going into the temple - it was so great! The spirit that was there that night was indescribable. There was literally not a dry eye in the room. Everyone was so touched. And because it was a Stake Conference weekend we got permission to have her confirmation the same day so the spirit was magnified ten times!! She is the sweetest and she is so excited to be on this path now! It has literally changed her whole life. It was such an honor to watch her go through that change. We love her dearly and can't wait to keep working with her and her sister.

Stake conference was great! It was really special because it was actually a broadcast from Salt Lake to this area of the world! So like 20 stakes were all tuned into the same thing! Elder Gong spoke, a  few other authorities, and then Elder Oaks spoke to us! WOW it was incredible to hear from them! So many good things to help us! My thought for the week comes from Elder Oaks actually. He said, "The Gospel of Jesus Christ tells us who we are." WOAH. It really does. God is really good at changing us, but we have to be willing. The last 6 weeks for me have been transforming. Sister Everett and Newport News have really helped me feel the spirit of the work and helped me to understand my divine potential. I feel closer to my Heavenly Father and My Savior. I know that through them I can do all things. So this Gospel has literally changed me. And I still have a lot more changing to do! But I have seen what it can do , and I am excited to see how it will continue to change me for the better. And as you open your heart He can change you to who He wants you to be too.

Well, this week is going to be interesting! I am not getting my new comp till Wednesday night so I will be with some other sisters for a few days! Then meetings galore and sister leader stuff... should be busy! Oh and Mothers Day is also this week HUH???? So HAPPY MOTHER'S DAY!!!! Thanks for all you wonderful mothers out there! You are all amazing and have been great examples to me and all those around you!

Have a blessed week!!! LOVE YOU
Sista Poulsen

I Love Life... Like A Lot :)

HEY HEY!!! I love life... like a lot :)

What a week! Man this transfer is almost over I cannot even believe it. We will get the call this week to see who The Lord has called to be my new companion! Sister Everett will be flying out Monday :( I WILL MISS HER SO MUCH SHE IS AMAZING!!! She is really going places :)

M (newly baptized) is doing sooo well! He just radiates with the spirit! We are re-teaching the lessons right now. That is super important because it not only helps him remember and learn, but we do too!

Remember the lady I told you about that can't speak? We taught her and her home care helper on Tuesday with Sister Varney! (We were on exchanges) at the end we asked who wanted to say the prayer, and she pointed at her self, raised her hand and closed her eyes. We all folded our arms and bowed our heads, but kept an eye open. As soon as she opened her eyes we all said "AMEN"! It was super neat! Even though you could not physically hear her, the spirit was there, and God could hear her which is all that matters.

We had interviews with the mission president and his wife! THEY ARE AMAZING. I love and sustain them with all of my heart. We talked about how studying out of Preach My Gospel everyday is so important and how to help others know that they are consecrated missionaries. That is our focus for this transfer. To turn your whole heart to the Lord. As leaders, we are supposed to help others recognize that. So I talked to them about that as well. I am not perfect at all, but I feel that I am improving and understanding a little bit more about how to be a Christlike leader.

WE had a neat FHE lesson with a recent convert family! One of the older girls prepared the lesson, we provided the activity and the treat. We talked about testimonies, and we read Moroni 10:3-5. Then we all bore our testimonies! It was super powerful and the spirit was great!

[That scripture reads:
"Behold, I would exhort you that when ye shall read these things, if it be wisdom in God that ye should read them, that ye would remember how merciful the Lord hath been unto the children of men, from the creation of Adam even down until the time that ye shall receive these things, and ponder it in your hearts.
 And when ye shall receive these things, I would exhort you that ye would ask God, the Eternal Father, in the name of Christ, if these things are not true; and if ye shall ask with a sincere heart, with real intent, having faith in Christ, he will manifest the truth of it unto you, by the power of the Holy Ghost.
And by the power of the Holy Ghost ye may know the truth of all things."]

I WENT ON A BOAT... "Wait, Sister Poulsen," you say,  "Isn't that against the mission rules?!?!?" Yes, it is. But we got permission because there are some members that live on one... SO COOL. They are great people and they love their boat. It reminded me you, Grandma and Grandpa C  :)

B passed her interview and is preparing to be baptized on Friday night at 6:30! WAHOOOOO! So stay tuned for that next week :D

HAPPY CINCO DE MAYO! The only reason I know that it is this week is because our ward had a party this last week about it! LOTS of delicious Mexican food :) It was a good time!

This Saturday we helped some members weed their garden! I felt right at home :) Brother C gave us all these neat plant facts and he told me to eat a dandelion leaf so I did... it was bitter... but awesome :) He is all into survival in the woods and stuff. Stick with him and you'll be good.

Other than that, God is just so good to us. We have found so many new people by simply just being obedient and working hard! We still make mistakes all the time so we don't understand why He blesses us! But that is where my thought for the week comes in... FACT: We don't have to be perfect to receive all the blessings God has in store for us. NOPE. He LOVES to bless us... He really does. When we are trying, yeah just TRY, He will gladly give us those blessings. Now lots of those blessings come in disguise. We have been trying to be really humble lately and relating everything back to God, and by doing that we have been seeing His tender mercies A TON more. Not all of them I'm sure, but lots!  Example: When we listen to music, we like to listen line by line and talk about how it related to the gospel. It works  every time. That helps us see Him more through out our day. IT's awesome you should try it :)

Be blessed y'all! Hope you have a fabulous week! Hope you don't have 91 degree weather with 80% humidity this week... phew let's just say I do a lot more laundry now...

LOVE YOU TO VA, BACK TO UTAH, AND BACK TO VIRGINIA AGAIN! Yup
Sista Poulsen

Photos:Our adventures at the Yorktown beach this morning with the other sister in our zone! We got up at 5 to be there by 6... phew taking a nap today... after we pack up our stuff! We went to Ihop after and I got pancakes with banana INSIDE the pancake... it's my new favorite thing... *DROOL*
Also us going onto that members boat!!! It is the sail boat in the left of the picture, with the blue sail! So fun :)

{Bonus from Question Email:]
Q: How are your shoes holding up?
A:Shoes are still good as ever! I am sending my winter boots home (tall and short ones) and another box of clothes and my coat. It made a lot of room for our move this Tuesday so that was nice :)

Q: When are you moving to the new apartment?
A: So yeah, we are moving in this Tuesday! Then in a few weeks after Sister Everett leaves my new comp and I will go and deep clean the apartment real nice.

Q: What is the story with  the chicken feet photos from last week?
A: HAHA oh boy. They were just helping a member kill his chickens and they asked if we wanted some feet and we were all "sure!" They gave us like 10 of them though... we hung them on our back porch to dry out... but the bugs have really gotten to them. It also makes us look like we practice vudo or something so we are going to throw them away. Bye bye chicken feet!  [Lisa says.. Eww gross!]

Holy Ghost as the Co-Pilot

Another whirlwind week!

The highlight was definitely M's baptism!!! The service was simply and wonderful! So glad they called a ward mission leader that Sunday because we would have been sooo stressed without him! God is good. M seemed just so happy! M used to be a drug addict. He drank, smoked etc. He had a horrible accident as a teen that he lost one of his eyes. But he loves Jesus Christ and wanted to change, and he did! What a great guy! He is so happy to have the Holy Ghost as his "co-pilot", as he would say!

We taught M about family history and had him start a FamilySearch account! And we taught B about the temple and family history too! It is such an important work! It's probably my favorite thing to teach people!

 www.familysearch.org

My first exchange was great! Went to the cute little town of Poquoson. We had a good time, met some nice people, and had some good lessons! There is one lady the sisters are teaching there that does not have a religious background at all but wants to learn! They are helping her really establish a testimony in Christ - that is the key. Oh and we got to ride bikes! I miss bike riding!

We met a really neat lady named J! We were trying to find a former investigator, when we knocked on her door. We were talking to her at the door and she beckoned us in. Soon we realized that she actually was paralyzed, and could not speak. She pulled out this neat computer that spoke for her, it was so neat! The spirit was also helping us decipher what she was trying to say to us. There was a lot of hand gesturing - like charades. But she had just the sweetest smile, and we got to do just a simple bit of service for her and helped her with her dinner. I feel so blessed for the many amazing people I have met on my mission. God is so good and kind to let us meet these people.

On Saturday, the youth had a HUGE activity! It was 3 stakes combined! They had what they called a Missionary Race! Everyone was split into "countries", and they went around from station to station and played these timed games. At the end, they added up the times and whoever had the lowest time won! We helped out at the bubble gum station. We timed them to see how fast 5 people can blow a bubble. The fastest was 58 seconds! But Sister Everett and I were all, "What does this have to do with missionary work???  Nothing... missionaries cannot chew gum in public..." HAHA it was just so funny! We told each group that and had a discussion about how we are representing The Savior, and he would not chew gum :) Then they had a dance after, good times! We didn't stay, so, no worries... even though I would have loved to show off my moves!

Church was finally 3 hours! [Lisa's note: remember that it is a newly created ward and they have not had any callings in place yet so they have only been having sacrament meeting for the past two Sundays.] They needed help teaching the 14-17 year old class, so we stepped in. We talked about missionary work, of course, and about how to invite their friends. Then we had a great meeting with our bishop! There is us sisters, a set of elders, 2 Spanish companionships, and a senior couple. He is in charge of 5 sets! PHEW. So we met and just talked about his expectations and stuff. It was good, This ward is getting things together now! It's gonna be good!

Thought for the week: Are you following the prophets words? In Jacob 4:5 Jacob says how hard it was to write on the plates. It was REALLY difficult. And he just prays that we will read the words and get something from them. Especially come closer to Jesus Christ. I think that is what President Monson was saying when he spoke last conference. Read the Book of Mormon everyday because it will help you soooo much. It was written for our day. So if you aren't obeying the prophet, do it!! I have seen blessings from it. The spirit is so strong and you can really apply it to your life.

Phew another week down another one ahead! I hope y'all have a fabulous week.
Be blessed!!
Sista Poulsen

Photos: The elders killed chickens Saturday and brought us some feet... yum! Smoothies and also us being silly :P

P-Day Stands for Petting Zoo

HEY Y'ALL!!

Sisters p-day was a blast! We went to a petting zoo, it was super great! Pics to come. The llama spit on one of the sisters... man, that was hilarious!

Mike is being baptized this week and we are sooooo excited!!! He is just the best! We keep asking him what he wants at his baptism, and he is all "as long as I get baptized I don't really care... " He is so ready it's wonderful :)

We had to attend a FH class for the stake, so that was neat! I learned a bit more about FH, so mom, when I get back, we are going all out!

We are working with a bunch of less actives and they are doing so well! One came to church, and he loved it! The other is helping his son learn about the church too, I just love teaching little kids! They are so sweet, and when we talk about Jesus they just light up! We taught another one of our recent converts about the real reason for Easter yesterday, is was a great lesson. It was super spiritual and she now knows the true reason, it was wonderful :)

Elder Cook spoke to us on Saturday!!!!! We went back to good ol' Virginia Beach, It was amazing! The WHOLE mission was there, it was amazing! When we sang the hymns, we were so loud and full. We got to shake his hand, his wife's hand, and the area 70, Elder Caulerwood. They spoke a lot about repentance, and how because of this Easter season we even have the reason to repent. Christ is the whole reason we can return to live with God again. I felt the spirit just surrounding them so much, it was amazing. Then after, all the sister got together and we had our own mini training on how to be "certain woman" and not to compare ourselves with others. Then we had a massive clothing exchange, it was great!

There was a lady we met, that after she discovered we were Mormons, she was all "Oh I don't do Mormons!" We straight up asked her why and she said "Don't you, like, kill babies and do witchcraft?" We just looked at her, kind of chuckled, and said, "Where did you hear that? We don't do that whatsoever." We talked a bit more about false doctrine... and just cleared stuff up. Even though we didn't teach her anything and get her baptized, our purpose is to just help people understand what we are all about!

Then Easter was amazing!!!! Sunday was great, the songs are my favorite! The new bishopric spoke and they did a great job wrapping up the Easter message. We went around after and just shared the Easter message with everyone and had a delicious ham dinner with some members at this big Easter party they threw! It was a day full of love, and Jesus :)

Thought for the week: In one of the talks Sunday, the 2nd counselor said "After Christ appeared to His apostles, what did he tell them to do? "Feed my sheep" then the 2nd counselor said "So if you don't know what to do on this Easter day, and always, Christ has already told us: SERVE. LOVE. HELP." Boom, straight up. 'Nuff said.

Well, I hope you all had a wonderful Easter week, we should always celebrate Easter though! Sister Cook at our meeting said "When you testify of Christ, you are celebrating Easter."

Love you all, and have a blessed week full of sunshine and the Spirit of God!
Sista Poulsen