SHARE COOKIES NOW!

Hello Everyone!

So to start off... I think you should all turn to your Doctrine & Covenants and read 39:14, 38:32, & 60:6. I read these scriptures this week and they are awesome and you will soon see why.

Just want to let you know that this letter may not end up being very long today as I am running short on time -- but I will try to hit at least some of the highlights of the week. Sunday was absolutely A M A Z I N G ! I sang in the choir (who would've ever thought I'd be in a choir? lol) and it was AWESOME.

My favorite sisters and I at choir on Sunday

We then heard from Brother Lloyd Newell for our devotional and he talked about how with God, we shouldn't FEAR! Which is exactly what missionaries need to hear:). Fun fact: Brother Newell is the guy who does the voice that introduces general conference! He recited it for us and it was funny! He said that it's his calling "until further notice"... haha!

After that we were privileged to watch the video of Elder David A Bednar's Character of Christ talk (which I highly recommend you all read) and in it he spoke about the importance of looking outward and serving others rather than looking inward and thinking only of yourself! He said it reminded him of the cookie monster whose attitude and demeanor is "ME want cookie NOW!" Elder Sawej, my district leader, later shared his testimony with our district and said, "We need to share our cookies... and cultivate the 'SHARE COOKIES NOW!' mentality." Just some food for thought...

Selfie with some of our elders

We played some volleyball this week with people from our zone and it was wayyyyy fun. Yesterday was 'in field' orientation, where we learned and practiced effective ways of talking with strangers because THAT IS WHAT WE WILL BE DOING SOON SOON SOON! It was a very good day and I feel like I learned a lot. One of the girls teaching us looked very familiar to me, so I talked to her afterwards and we discovered that we were in the same Astronomy class during winter semester at BYU... Haha! I love those kind of connections!!!!

Most of our zone on our temple walk this past Sunday...

We are such a serious bunch!

Anyways, last night was incredible. Sister Clark and I extended the invitation to our investigator to be baptized and it was the first time we had done so and it was very POWERFUL! I got so happy because we literally will have the opportunity to do that our entire missions! I love this gospel and I love that I get to teach others about how it blesses lives! This gospel is truly amazing, and without it I know I'd be lost. The church is true, the book is blue! Read it! Every day! We NEED the gospel in our lives.

Have a blessed week!

Love, Sister Feil

PS - BTW I AM SO BEYOND EXCITED TO BE HEADING OUT TO OHIO ON MONDAY... WOOHOO!!!!

PPS - I was totally sick with a runny nose and bad cough this past week - but am finally getting over it and was even well enough to be able to get my flu shot today - YAY!

Sister Clark and I "twinning!"

Thanks for the 'golden' treats sweet family of mine...

Me and the roomies...

First name Sister. Last name Feil.

Hello family and friends! 

So, I have successfully made it through the first 48-ish hours of the MTC... Woohoo! And I am happy to report that it has been a great experience so far! When I first said goodbye to my family at the curb, I admit that I might have felt a little sad and may have teared up just a bit. However, right as I was walking in, I saw one of my friends from my freshman ward at BYU and that instantly made me feel better - it was so good to see a familiar face! 

I have been blessed with an awesome companion, Sister Clark, who is from Kaysville, Utah. She has an amazing testimony and is already an incredible missionary (interesting side note: she went to high school with my cousins Christian and Kaela)! The other two sisters that live with us, Sister Pavone (from SoCal) and Sister Slavens (from Idaho Falls), are also way cool. We all get along extremely well and that has helped us all transition better to missionary life! The nice thing is that it is just the four of us in our room, so we have two extra beds for storage of random stuff. (: 

Sister Clark, me, Sister Slavens, and Sister Pavone on our first day.

Our Zone is AMAZING! I don't know how I got so lucky, but I can't even imagine having a better zone than the one I have! The other four sisters are super sweet and sooooooooo fun! We also get along really well. And the Elders are very funny and they have given us lots of reasons to laugh! It's only been not even three full days, but by the time we leave here we will probably be super close to each other. 

My zone sisters... they are the BEST!

Our Zone has missionaries going to a variety of places. There are four sisters and two elders going to Ohio Cincinnati (me and my roomies and Elders Swainston and Howland - who are our favorites!), and then the rest of the sisters are going to New Mexico Albuquerque, and the other Elders are going to either the Washington Federal Way Mission or the California Irvine Mission. Super cool! And our zone has the amazing opportunity of using iPads! To my understanding, we are the only English-speaking MTC zone to use them. The Japanese speaking missionaries get to use them as well, but I believe that's all. And one of our branch leaders said there is a good chance that we will be using them in the field as well. 

Sister Clark and I have received our assignment for Sunday, aaaaaaaaand...... we are the Music Coordinators! Sister Clark is a great singer, and so we were thinking I could (attempt to) play I am a Child of God on the piano while she sang, but Elder Swainston suggested we do the EFY medley, which is a combo of As Sisters of Zion and Bring the world His Truth. So Sister Clark and I are trying to get the materials so that our entire Zone can sing that for our special musical number. It should be beautiful!

I'm loving the name tag! Sometimes I just have to look down at it to remind me that my mission has begun. It still feels slightly surreal that I am here. I have to remind myself that I am in Provo, because the MTC feels like it's own little world. We have attended some of the best workshops ever though! Yesterday, we were instructed by Sister Porter (not to be confused with our mission president's wife - two completely different people) and after those wonderful two hours, I felt like I was on cloud 9. She testified of the Atonement and of the importance of really understanding and loving people, and trying to see them through God's eyes. If we can view all of the people that we will come in contact with through God's eyes, then it will be more easy to love them and to teach them. Understanding the people we teach will be essential to our missionary work. Sister Porter also emphasized that the only way we can access the full Atonement is by baptism. That is why we aim to baptize others; we want them to have that full access because they can not receive it any other way. When she shared that, I immediately had an over-whelming urge to go straight to Ohio and begin teaching... Only TEN days more and then I CAN!!!

Sister Clark and I are preparing to teach our first lesson to our investigator today. Her name is Davia, and she doesn't believe in God so we are going to try to help her understand and recognize God's hand in her life, in an effort to help her come to a knowledge of the truth. We will see how that goes! We are kind of nervous to teach someone who doesn't believe that there is a God, but it is perfect because this practice will be great for us! We will probably be in this same (or at least similar) situation many times in the field! 

Anyways, those are my thoughts and feeling of the first 48 hours of missionary life. I know that I am in the right place, and there is nowhere else I'd rather be than here. I miss my family LIKE CRAZY but I am happy and truly feel their love and support.

Love you all!

Sister Feil

P.S. Okay, so for some reason this computer will not let me upload any more pictures... I am so sorry but I will have to send the rest of them next week! 

Let's not say goodbye... Let's just say, Au Revoir.

Ten points if you know what movie I'm referencing in the post title! Haha. 

My parents, sister, and I went to Newport Beach on Friday and Saturday, as a sort of "last hurrah" before I leave. While there, my parents and I got to go do a session at the Newport temple! I think that might be my favorite temple. It was beautiful!

My cute parents!

Kissy lips!

Family Selfie!

More kissy lips!

Selfie because my sister and I like to be silly.

Okay, so goodbyes are hard. This morning I had to say goodbye to my dad and sister for eighteen months. I thought I would be able to control myself and not cry, but no. I shed some tears, they shed some tears, so needless to say there was a cry-fest going on in the Feil home today.

My dad made me blueberry pancakes! He's my pancake buddy.

I love these two! <3

I was trying really hard to hold back tears!

Here I was also trying really hard to hold back tears. I'll miss my beijo!

I will miss them so much, but I'll see them again in eighteen months, and I know when that time comes it'll seem like it just flew by!

Anyways, I have been set apart as a missionary (so it's official!) and my mom and I are preparing to leave for Utah as we speak. Au Revoir!

My grandpa, Stake President, me, and my dad right after I was set apart last night!

Meet... Sister Feil!

This past Monday, I decided it was probably time to take a few missionary pictures. And it cracks me up because I just look like such a sister missionary and it is making it super real that I am going to be one in SIX DAYS! Haha.
Anyways, I thought I'd share my excitement by posting some of the pictures!

Photo creds: Stan Feil, my father, and the best guy ever.

  

Take it. It'll change your life.

SEVEN. DAYS.

Well! By this time next week I will be in the MTC! I can't even believe my report date is finally approaching... I mean, I received my call on May 8, and I remember thinking at the time,
Holy cow, I have to wait four months?! Guess thats to be expected when you don't turn 19 until late August and you turn your papers in AS SOON AS POSSIBLE!
And now it's so close I can almost taste it. Yay! (:

Receiving a call to be a missionary for The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints was a wonderful experience! I had been attending BYU in Provo since Fall 2014, and decided to continue taking classes during Spring and Summer terms as well, so that's where I was when my call arrived! After only 12 days from the time I submitted my papers.... it came! MY CALL. I couldn't believe it was actually HERE! I had just gotten home from work and was planning on doing homework except I couldn't really concentrate because I was so excited! I was so so SO impatient to open it, that I immediately called my two brothers (both RM's and also attending school at the Y) and asked them to hurry quick to my apartment! Then we face-timed my parents, my little sister, my brother Josh and his wife (who are attending Law School in Iowa), and as soon as we were all there I opened that envelope right up... It was so exhilarating! I had been talking to my mom earlier in the day and remembered that she had said something to the effect that whatever place is written in that letter will stay connected with me for the rest of my life... And at that point, I was beyond excited to learn exactly where that place would be. And not going to lie, it was a little unexpected! I saw Ohio and my first thought was, "oh my!" as I am a die-hard Michigan wolverines fan. And then I saw Cincinnati and I was completely excited! Ohio might have been one of the last places I ever expected to get assigned, but once I read it I could just feel that the Ohio Cincinnati Mission (OCM) was the right place for me!

Going through the temple for the first time was absolutely wonderful! I was extremely lucky because my entire immediate family was able to all be together in Utah at that particular time and come with me! And the Oquirrh Mountain Temple is gorgeous - but isn't every temple, really? I am very thankful for the experience I had there that day and for the incredible work that is performed in temples in general.

ONE of my favorites... Shout out to my SIL Kayla who looks fabulous in this photo. (;

After finishing Summer Term at BYU, I moved back home to Visalia, CA and was able to go on vacation with my ENTIRE family for a week... Can I just say that we had SO. MUCH. FUN. all being together?!

The Sunday we got back (Aug. 23rd) I gave my farewell talk because my older brothers Sam and Nate were still in town (they were headed back to BYU later that week for fall quarter) and I really wanted them to be there. Of course, no farewell talk is complete without family pics afterwards!

Me and my girls.

Almost all of my siblings... really missed Josh, Kayla and Noah!

We are all models...

Aren't we cute?

The day after my talk, I got my wisdom teeth out, and the day after that I started working at my father's office, and since then I have basically just been packing and getting things ready for when I leave. I have also enjoyed helping my mom out with various projects and hanging out with my family, as well as eating certain meals "for the last time" (that sounds so horrible haha! But really - I have been kind of spoiled because I get to request ALL my favorite meals & family activities since I won't be doing that for at least the next 18 months... and it's probably the only time it'll ever be like that in my life - lol!)

I am very excited to begin this new chapter and know it is going to be one of the greatest (and possibly one of the hardest) things I've done so far in my life, but I also know it is going to be
SO WORTH IT!

Really quick, I want to share a favorite scripture of mine, which you can find in
Doctrine and Covenants, Section 80, verses 3-5:

"Wherefore, go ye and preach my gospel, whether to the north or to the south, to the east or to the west, it mattereth not, for ye cannot go amiss. Therefore, declare the things which ye have heard, and verily believe, and know to be true. Behold, this is the will of him who hath called you, your Redeemer, even Jesus Christ. Amen."

I have wanted to serve a mission for several years now and am humbled by this amazing opportunity to finally do so... what a great blessing to be able to share the restored gospel with the wonderful people of the OCM; the very same gospel that has brought me so much happiness and joy.  I truly desire others to be able to experience that same happiness and joy in their lives, and it is for this reason I will be spending the next year and a half serving my Heavenly Father as a missionary for The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints!

OCM for life! (:

The Book of Mormon. Read it people! Best book on Earth! #twinning #thugmormon

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