Keep Calm and Press On

Hello my wonderful family!!

          So, I realized after I sent my last email that it didn't have a subject line...oops :) Those things are really hard to think of!! So, I am doing really good actually. I heard that the first six weeks are the roughest and then it gets better, and especially after training, and I believe it! I have felt, deep in my heart and soul, the sanctity of this mission and call to serve and I am very proud to say that I am 100% committed to seeing this mission through to the end! Sometimes I'm not quite sure how I'm going to make it there, but the one thing that I know is that I will because He is with me always and He will never let me fall without being there to pick me up again. :) It has been a good week--can ya tell??

        I came across a quote while I was on exchanges in Brownfield this week (more on that later) and I really loved it:

"You will come to know that what appears today as a sacrifice

 will prove instead to be the greatest investment you will ever make."
 -President Hinckley

     I've heard quotes like that before, but I never appreciated them until I was actually living it. We may go to an MTC in order to prepare for our missions, but the mission is the MTC for life! I have only been out for three months, but I can already see the eternal blessings that will eventually come from serving a mission.

This week I had my first zone conference! It was amazing and I got to see Hermana Russell! Every single thing that we were taught at zone conference seemed like it was geared directly towards me and, honestly, it was a spiritual feast. One thing though, that I liked a lot that one of the AP's said was "We can be people who pound the pavement, or we can be missionaries."

      So, when my companions went to MLC, I went to Brownfield again. Luckily, it was with the same sisters that were there before, so I knew them! It was an interesting experience, because every companionship does things differently. The thing most of note though, is that we did service at an asylum. Yes, you heard me, a legit asylum. :O I played dominoes with Sister Turner and a couple of the residents while Sister Jenkins talked with one of the other residents. I still can't believe that it actually happened. :I

      We are teaching a boy named Damian, I don't know if I've mentioned him before, and he is starting to progress! It's just a teeny tiny bit, but we will take what we can get! He seems to be really interested in the Book of Mormon, and he said that although he has read it a few times before (but not really searching) he is willing to do it one more time. We have a lot of hope for him :)

       So, my companions are awesome! We have gotten really close the past week, and we have started teaching in unity more often as well! It's going good! One thing that I noticed though, is that each companion that I have seems to teach me something specific. So far, I have determined that from my companions I have learned: the sanctity of my calling, just keep swimming, the importance of obedience, charity and love, and how to be a leader. It's amazing that I have already had 5 companions, but I am so excited to meet the rest of them!

     Okay, last thing, I wanted to share a scripture that I came across as I was studying the blessings we receive from keeping the commandments:

JOHN 14:21

"He that hath my commandments, and keepeth them,

 he it is that loveth me: and he that loveth me shall be loved of my Father

 and I will love him, and will manifest myself unto him."

     That is the whole reason why we keep the commandments--Because we love our Savior and our Father in Heaven.

I love you all soo much! and I hope y'all have a HAPPY HAPPY DAY!

LOVE,

Hermana Tycksen

Hello Family!!

Hello Family!!

     I hope that you're all doing super well :) I just wanted to take a second and tell you all that I love you so, so much and I miss you a whole lot--YOU ARE VERY MUCH LOVED!!! 

     This week was fun and also interesting :) My clumsiness has followed me to New Mexico! On the 11th, we played soccer as a district, which was fun!, and I totally biffed it and landed on my bottom. I discovered that there is a reason that I did not play soccer ;) Then, on Monday, we were playing pigskin (like ultimate frisbee, but with a football or rugby ball) and it landed on the stage in the cultural hall, so I went to close the curtains and I smacked my knee on the edge of the stage--I got a pretty gnarly bruise-- On Wednesday, we were playing pigskin again and I was down the line, and an elder threw the ball long-distance to me. Well, let's just say, there is a reason that I don't play sports where you throw and catch balls--it hit me in the face :) SO, that is a rough summary of my week! I've been accident free the past few days, so here's hoping it will last!

     On Tuesday we dropped off Sister Slade and picked up our new companion. Her name is Sister Affleck, and she is absolutely hilarious! She is an amazing singer (Mom, she sings Italian!) and she can beat-box too (she was trying to teach me yesterday) and she is helping me to see the humor and joy in every day :)

Last Thursday I had my first legitimate bike day! I discovered that not all skirts are biking skirts, and that I have to be careful how I do my hair because otherwise my helmet won't fit! (I have a lot of hair :3) Biking made me really nervous the night before, but it was actually really fun, and it was a good experience.

        We had the opportunity to go to the temple on Saturday with a couple of members and it was absolutely AMAZING. The Lubbock temple is really small--it reminds me a lot of the Newport Beach temple--and so after you change, you go directly into the ordinance room instead of into the chapel. When I was sitting there, waiting for the session to start, I felt so much peace. I was so happy to be there and I felt like I had come home, I'm pretty sure that I was grinning from ear to ear! Also, the session was absolutely HUGE! and it was half Spanish!! That was so interesting to experience!

      Speaking of Spanish, I am now a solo Spanish sister :I and we've taught two lessons in Spanish in the past week. My comprehension still isn't as good as I would like it to be, but my pronunciation is getting better! I read the Book of Mormon out loud in Spanish during language study, and it has helped A LOT.

      We have started teaching a fifteen year old boy named Damian who is the grandson of some members in the ward. He comes from a rough background, and he doesn't believe that God cares or that He's even there, BUT we are in the process of changing that! :D He's really hesitant to believe in something new, but he agreed to read the Book of Mormon! We are so excited to teach him again.

      One last thing: Thank you all so much for your letters and emails. They mean so much to me, and they seem to come right when I need them!

LES AMO MUCHO MUCHO!!!!!

LOVE, Your missionary :)

LOVE, Your missionary :)

SIX MORE WEEKS IN ROSWELL!!

Hello my AWESOME family!!!

      So, to start off, I will say that I am staying in Roswell with Sister Villondo (yay!) and we are getting another sister, who's named Sister Affleck. She is English speaking, and so I will be solo on the spanish front (yikes!) but it'll be okay because there's a sister in Carlsbad who I can call if I need help with my spanish :)
So, since last writing, I have seen 3 lizards and .... I SAW A SCORPION!!!! We were sharing a thought at a member's house after they fed us dinner and then it was on the curtain behind us !!! :O It was about 2 1/2 inches long and it was literally right behind me (aahhhhh!) I'm okay though, we got it in a jar and then flushed it down the toilet :)
       I met a Jehovah's Witness yesterday! First time in my life! It was really interesting because he asked us a lot of questions, and I was preparing to feel like I was on the defensive, but I never felt that way. I was able to bear testimony about the truth of the Book of Mormon, and it was one of the coolest experiences of my mission so far. When he said that he was a Jehovah's Witness, I immediately thought about Mom's friend from college that converted to the church from there and I thought "Well, it could happen!" We invited him to read the Book of Mormon and he said that he'd like to study it side by side with the Bible and compare the two :D (If he reads it, he might be hooked!)

      Fermin's baptism was AMAZING!! So many people showed up to support him and his dad and sister, who aren't members, came to support him! I was so happy the whole time, but when he got up to go into the font and then he went down into the water, I had the BIGGEST smile on my face! It was so amazing!! And then yesterday he was confirmed, and the spirit was SOOOOO strong! The feeling that I got reminded me of how I feel the spirit in the temple. :)

      So, I made it through my first transfer! Yay! AND I would like to say that I am 100% committed to this mission and although it's going to be long, I KNOW I can do it. So, thank you so much for all of your support and emails! It means so much to me!

I love you!!

LOVE,

Hermana Tycksen

P.S. HAPPY BIRTHDAY JAK!!!! I LOVE YOU SO MUCH!!! and also, my companions want to wish you a Happy Birthday too!! :D

Here's a picture of us with Fermin at his baptism!

And also an Alien picture for Dad :)

My Cup Overfloweth

Hello dear Family!!!!

  So, to start off with, my 4th of July was pretty fun!! We proselyted until 6, but then we had a huge potluck with the other missionaries in Roswell (There's 11 of us and there was a TON of food!). We were able to see fireworks from our apartment too!

  This week I was able to go with Sister Villondo to Carlsbad for exchanges. There, we taught an investigator named Joe, and it was the most spiritual experience I've had since I left the MTC. I was troubled that I've been in the field for almost 6 weeks, and I've only had one or two of those kind of experiences. I know, I know, I need to be patient, and these things take time, but I actually learned something that helped me a lot. 

  So, in our every day life, and before a mission, we have a cup that is a certain size. Sometimes it grows, when we have trials that help us to learn and grow, but it never shrinks. Flowing into the cup is a steady waterfall of spiritual blessings, promptings, and experiences. Sometimes it's a lot, and sometimes it's a small trickle, but it never stops. When you go to the MTC, your cup stays the same size that it was before, but the waterfall is HUGE. This results in your cup overflowing, and that's why you have so many learning and spiritual experiences. When you get out into the field, the waterfall stays the same, but your cup grows bigger. You now have a greater capacity to receive those spiritual experiences. And so, it takes some time, but you cup WILL overflow, and you WILL have those amazing experiences.

That analogy helped me so much, and it helped me to put myself into perspective and to, kind of, have more patience with myself ;) I'm workin' on it :D

  Our baptism with Fermin is set to be this Saturday, the 11th, and we are SO excited! He's progressing really well, and we can tell that the Lord has prepared him for baptism.

  We had an interesting experience yesterday while we were visiting Paula and Larry, the couple who fed us last week. Their kids were there, and only one of them is a member, but she's been inactive for basically her whole life. We were able to talk with her, and she had some questions about our missions and what we did as missionaries, and THEN, we got into the doctrine!! It was really incredible, because it was totally a casual conversation, but we were teaching and testifying about basically EVERY gospel principle there is!! We have an appointment to talk to her next week and we are SOOOO excited!!!

  Thank you so much for your letters and packages!!! They mean so much to me, and they brighten up my day AND my week!

I love you all SOOOOOOO much!!!!!

Love, Hermana Tycksen