El Fin

Hello my dear family!

         Wow, who would've thought that in less than 48 hours I will be on a plane headed for Utah?? I'm coming home!! I want to shout it from the rooftops, but at the same time I want to hold onto the TLM with everything I've got!

        This week was a tough one. It's strange to think that my mission is over, but I've prayed and thought about this decision a TON and I know that it's what I need to do. The Lord called me on this mission, and now He's calling me home. I wish that I could share the tremendous feeling of peace that I have right now. It makes no logical sense, but I know that my mission not only is over, but it's complete.

          I have gained a testimony of the Lord's promises. They are REAL! He always, always keeps his promises. In the scriptures there are countless verses that talk about enduring to the end and the blessings that await us there. They always have seems so out of reach to me. But I tell you, I know for myself that they are real. 

            I imagine that coming to the end of a mission is much like completing our mortal journey here on the earth. We don't know if we'll be ready when that day comes, so we just work as hard and as long as we can, serving with all our heart, might, mind, and strength, and hope and pray that it is enough. Well, it is enough. That is all that the Lord asks of us is to give him everything we have. He asks us to make a sacrifice of our time, our sleep, of our lives, and then He returns that investment an hundred-fold. He loves us, He is real, and He keeps His promises.

I love you all so much and I am so excited to see all of you on Wednesday! :D

Can't wait!

Love, Sister Tycksen

This is actually a street sign in Carlsbad ;) too funny

Blowing bubbles helps with stress :)

Dear to the Heart of the Shepherd

Hello my dear family!

     So sorry this email is a day late. Yesterday our companionship got hit pretty hard with a stomach bug, but never fear! We're up and running again :)

     Transfer calls were this weekend, and Sister Russell and I are both staying in Carlsbad!

Easter on the mission might be my favorite holiday so far :) We were able to share the #Hallelujah message with so many people. I just love those videos! They bring the Spirit so fast, and so simply. I usually don't want to say anything after because I don't want to take away from the Spirit! We had a pretty cool Easter weekend. On Saturday we were out and about ALL DAY LONG. We were exhausted the next day, but it was so worth it! We took around the easter eggs that Mom sent in a package and we had a pretty cool experience. Sister Russell and I both felt strongly that we should take eggs to a certain members' home. They have six little kids and we just love them all to death. So, we pulled up to the house and they saw us! So, we tried to hurry over sneakily, but then a couple of the boys came outside so we said "We have a surprise for you! Go back inside!" So, they turned around right away and went back inside. We hid the eggs in the yard and then knocked on the door. They kids came out and we told them there were 12 eggs hidden in their yard. They were so excited! They searched and searched until they found them all. We didn't find out until later, but they hadn't been able to have an egg hunt that year. It was so special to be able to provide that for them :)

      I was studying yesterday about Christ and how He is the Good Shepherd, and I read a story from James E Faust about a lamb that he had when he was young. One night there was a thunderstorm and although he could hear his lamb bleating outside, because it was scared, he didn't want to go out into the cold, rainy night. The next morning, he found that a dog had heard his lamb too, and it had killed it. He was heartbroken, but he felt even worse when his father said, "Son, couldn't I trust you to take care of just one lamb?" 

        This hit me hard. As a missionary, I've had a few hard times when all I wanted was to be able to spend a Sunday at home with my family, like before, but then I've been reminded that I'm only here for a short time, and there are a whole lot of other people who are like that lamb, lost in the storm. So, we go out. We go out and we search and search until we find them, and then we bring them back home to the fold, to stay--safe and warm. I've enjoyed the light of the gospel for my entire life, it's a privilege to be able to bring it to others. 

I love you all so much! I hope you're as stoked for General Conference as I am! :D

 It's going to be so great.

Love y'all! Have a great week !

Love, Sister Tycksen

St Patrick's day!

Some members took us out for sushi :D

St Patricks Day

Green Jello for RS Activity - everyone LOVED it!

Ekder Minion--he is pretty chill!

Sushi for St. Patricks!

The wonders of the mission

Hello my dear family!

My, how the days fly by!

       This week was a little slow, but fast at the same time. How does that work???

On Monday we went out to the McCutcheon's ranch for a few hours. It was so fun! It was relaxing (well, there were three little boys running around) and the spirit that is in members' homes is amazing. That was the best part for me. 

        We had an investigator drop us Monday night. :( It was really sad, but Sister Russell and I had both been feeling like it was going to happen. He wouldn't keep his commitments and so he just wasn't progressing. She was pretty disheartened that night. She had so much hope for him.

The next morning, I felt motivation to do the work like never before. I strongly felt like we were going to find a new investigator that day. During companion study, Sister Russell shared with me an experience she had during personal study: she was praying about finding new investigators and she saw this house in her mind. It was white and it had a big tree out front. We laughed about it and were like "wouldn't that be crazy if...?"  So we went on our way. We were picking up trash in a field near our apartment when this guy (probably in his late 30s-40s) pulls over and asks us what we're doing. We said "We're picking up trash! We're missionaries and we love to do service." He pulled into a parking lot nearby and we got to talk to him for a little bit. He told us about his family and how they attended church and three of them had just been baptized. We asked if we could come share a message later that day, he said sure. So, we go to the street and we're walking down, talking to people, and I see a white house with a tree out front. We look up his address, and sure enough, it's his house. We were thunderstruck. We met his wife and two of his kids, but we haven't been able to share a message quite yet. I was amazed. Faith and obedience truly work wonders.

        And one more update, Lizeth's baptismal date has been pushed back a couple weeks. We want to make sure that we're not rushing her and that she truly does know that the gospel is true.

Also, I was a little sick this week. No worries, it's nothing serious, just stomach bug type things.

But the miracle is that despite the time we had to take for me to get better, the Lord more than made up for it on the days that we were out and about. :) He takes care of His missionaries.

I love you all and I hope you're having a great day!!

Love, Sister Tycksen

Green jello we made for a Relief Society dinner