Sunday, August 31, 2008

Called to Serve Him!

This video was recorded at Zone Conference in Wichita. I have been a slacker and I haven't posted this video yet, or have I blogged my feelings of the conference. So here goes my feeble attempt to put my feelings into words.

Awesome! There I did it! Okay so really, I love being with the missionaries, that is not a secret. Everyone I know, has at least a slight idea of my love for missionary work and being with the Sisters. So, throw in a few Elders and a 8 hour conference centered around missionary work then you have one very happy Jessica! The whole thing was just amazing, I owe a lot of my passion for missionary work to Zone Conference, they really amp a person up for the work, in fact it was the Zone Conference I attended in April that jump started me on a mission path again. I love them I really do, as for the Missouri Independence Mission, we have a new mission President, President Van Komen. I have been worried that he wouldn't meet the standards that President Hacking set forth, and well I met him and his wife at ZC. I must tell you that I KNOW with no doubts that he was called by Heavenly Father to lead and guide this mission for the next 3 years. I look forward to the work he does here with the Elders/Sisters under his belt. A lot of great teachings took place, but I must say my favorite was President Van Komens talk in the P.M. session that really touched me. He was talking about our missions and how many of us wonder how our families/friends/ancestors feel about us serving. He and his wife were discussing this one day and realized and had a strong feeling that he knew his ancestors knew he was called to serve as the mission president for the MIM and that they were proud of him. And what gave me the chills was this "I know Elders/Sisters that our ancestors are aware of us on a mission, and not only are they aware of us and the missions we are serving, they are with us, they are lining the streets of the areas we work." That right there was engouh to give my soul peace, knowing that my Grandparents on back that are not members (to my knowledge) will be proud of me serving, and will be right there with me on the streets I will walk, cheering me on. They will be following me with a chariot of fire, helping us to teach. The Holy Spirit was so strong, it could bring tears to your eyes. It was AMAZING.

I have been blessed to have the oppurutnity to expirence Zone Conference as a Ward Missionary in preperation for my own full-time mission. I look forward to serving a full-time mission when the time is right and to be able to feel the Spirit that strong for 18 months of my life.

So here is a little video I recorded at lunch time, the Elders/Sisters sing to the ladies whom prepare all of us lunch. It truely is something to see/hear. I love it very much and listen to it almost daily if I have the time! I hope you all enjoy and can understand how important Missionary Work truely is in this day and age.


Thursday, August 28, 2008

Animal Noises...

So this is a little video of Sister Madsen and Sister Higbee playing this game that Sister Madsen thinks is awesome. What it entails is a person says a kind of animal and the other person has to make the first noise that pops into their head. Hermana Madsen has tried to get me to play but I laugh to hard to get any noises out. So here you go, laugh and let loose with the girls!


Wednesday, August 27, 2008

Sometimes I wonder....

Why good people die and the bad people taking our tax dollars get to live on knowing they will never get out of prison.

The reason I am questioning this is because one of my teachers from High School passes away Monday from double pneumonia. It was sudden and there was really no warning, at the age of 45 with 2 children to finish raising. Just hard for me to wrap my brain around. I know about the plan of salvation and where she will be now but I still wonder why. Why? Anyone have any idea? Mrs. Poland was an amazing teacher, she touched my life for sure, I mean she hasn't taught at GBHS since my junior year which was 6 years ago and she still remembered me when she saw me out and about the town. Now she was the principal of Claflin High school and leaves at last 300 kids with out their leader which they have depeneded on for 6 years. Just a sad story, tomorrow I will go to her funeral since it happens to be my day off, and well I just hope she is alright up there in the Spirit World being taught by the missionaries.

But here is to you Mrs. Poland and to your awesome ways. Thanks for being a dedicated teacher to really touched my life in the short time you were my teacher. I love you and will miss seing your smiling face.

Sunday, August 24, 2008

Bowling!

Well, this happened last week but well I just now have time to get these pictures/videos posted. I took the Missionaries from Hays/Great Bend bowling before we left for Zone Conference in Wichita. It was a stinking blast. I love bowling and I love the Sisters so of course we had a few laughs!


Above: Sister Ayala (Guatemala) and Sister Madsen (California) singing Sponge Bob Square Pants theme song in Spanish. Sister Ayala loves that back home!


Sister Higbee (Nevada) whom serves in Hays right now doing a little Moon Walk for us!


Sister Madsen (California) went bowling with me a couple months ago on a P-day and well she was doing awesome and I hadn't hit my mark yet, so well after a strike I shot her this look, and I guess she grabbed my camera and made this video. I used to have a really bad temper but I am so much better now! Funny stuff indeed!

Friday, August 22, 2008

Road Trip to Wichita

So, I had the great oppurtunity to drive the Sister missionaries from Hays/Great Bend to Wichita for Zone Conference. I happened to be off so it worked out PERFECT! I think it goes down as the greatest car ride in my history of car rides. We did a lot of singing of hymns, but we put a few twist on it. Check out the videos, one is of Sister Higbee whom is from Nevada then we have one of Sister Madsen from California.

P.S. I about died laughing while driving due to having a sweet asthma laugh and well I couldn't breathe and then I couldn't see due to me crying from laughing so hard.





Saturday, August 16, 2008

Awkward....

Freaking awkward...that is me in one well shoot two words.... Okay so let me expound upon that in this certain blog it means that I am awkward when it comes to missionaries. So it is no huge secret, my best friends the past 4 years have been the missionaries whom serve in the Missouri Independence Mission. Well, so I meet and know these awesome people as either Elder or Sister, and that is all I ever call them for either 2 years or 18 months. Yes I learn most of their first names while they are serving but that is odd in its own. Especially odd when I start e-mailing or writing letters to their families and they write back by calling the missionary by their first name.

But what happens after they go home? Well, they lose that Elder or Sister title and become their normal self and are typically called by their first name. Except when it comes to me. I just CAN'T get over that little leap. Just can not make that step from the ever presitgous call of Elder or Sister to them being "normal" again. So hard for me, shoot even a couple of them have got married and I still can't call them by that new last name.

I am so awkard and I don't understand it...but that is me..and the reason this comes up is because I was talking to one of the RM's and well I called her by her first name and it freaked me out and her out, she said it was a bit weird...so I think I will always call her Gurr Mommasita in which I called her while she was in Great Bend as a greenie...

Monday, August 11, 2008

Spanish

So, wierd title right? Well I have a perfectly good reason for it! I am learning Spanish. I must say I am being forced but I love it non the less! Here goes the breakdown as to why I am learning and what not. Obviously everyone that reads this knows my life is church. And with that I help Missionaries all the time. I get off work and usually go with them for the remainder of their night, plus on weekends I usuaully spend all day Saturday/Sunday with them. Well, we now have 2 Spanish speaking Sisters here. Hermana Madsen, whom is from San Diego was called to the Missouri Independence Mission to speak Spanish. She had to learn it in 10 weeks at the Missionary Training Center. Thursday we received Sister Ayala, she is from Guatemala. The funny thing is that the white girl was called to speak Spanish and the girl from Guatemala was called to speak English. So I am constantly subjected to the Spanish and well I have been picking up on it quite quickly. In hopes to be able to speak/comprehend it.

Those of you who have known me for a good portion of my life should know that I used to despise the Spanish Culture. I coudln't stand the Hispanics in Great Bend really, I talked to a few here and there at school but that was the extent of that. I was raised with parents who were raised in a town that didn't allow anyone but whites in, so therefore they were not used to it either. But life has lead me to a different path, I am loving the Spanish culture and loving the people themselves. Heavenly Father has worked miracles in my life and this is one of the many. I think it is his weird way of getting me ready to serve a mission to where I will ahve to know Spanish. I am excited, so excited that I ordered some material to help me learn quicker, and plus the Missioanries are making me learn 10 words a day.

Sunday, August 10, 2008

Olympics

I knew I loved this country. I too knew I loved sports. But I never knew how much till this year. Watching the Olympics wishing I was there to use my voice to cheer, but alas I am sitting in my living room yelling at the television like the atheletes could hear me as if I were there.



I love the feeling I get when the National Anthem is being played as our atheletes are standing there with the biggest smile on their faces and tears in their eyes. I am proud to be an American, I know I am free, I know I have my own agency, and I know this will always be the case. In which I am proud. We unite when it comes down to the line.

So here is to the greatest country ever!

Saturday, August 2, 2008

Mission Moocher!

I was called a Mission Moocher today. It was a joke but in all honesty I think that is about correct. I love being with the Sisters/Elders. I wouldn't trade it for the world. I love every second of the time I get to spend with them.

Thinking back on it, I think I can say I am a Mission Moocher, I haven't yet been able to afford to go on my own so I just soak up the experiences from the girls that have served in Great Bend since I joined the church 4 years ago. I mooch off of their spirtual highs, and I mooch of their trials and their learning points.

When I actually can afford to go on a mission I will have pretty close to all the expierence one could probably need in a lifetime!

So from this moment on, I will be known as the Mission Moocher, and I am darn proud of it too! Wouldn't trade for nothing! It has taught me a lot and helped me to know that I belong on a mission myself!

Ether 12

Ever have the most spirtual high then hit the biggest low? Well, I have those all the time and this last weekend was not an exception.

I was really dreading reading scriptures and saying my nightly prayers on Sunday night so I passed it by, but Monday night I was doing a lot better thanks to the help of MommaMadsen and Natalie Gurr. So I picked up my scriptures and started reading where I left off which happened to be Ether 12. I must tell you that both Gurr and MommaMadsen told me it came down to faith. I have heard that before, I mean everytime I get upset about something someone always says where is your faith. We learn line by line precept by precept and well here is what Ether 12 says (I am posting al ink to the actual chapter...so check it out)

http://scriptures.lds.org/en/ether/12

I truely love my Heavenly Father. I love how he uses the Holy Ghost to guide us and our feelings. I was in the dumps but the scriptures always knows how to pick me up. I don't think it was a coincidence that I was reading in Ether this past week. Now I know a fair amount of you out there are not LDS and have no interest in it, but please take the time to read that chapter, I guarantee and promise that you will learn from it and its principles are correct.