December 15, 2014

Let me just start out my apologizing. This letter is going to be kind of short this week. Not too much happened missionary work wise due to transfers.

Well, on Monday we picked up all of the new missionaries. It is so fun picking them all up! They all are glowing with the greenie fire. We spent like five or six hours going through orientation with them. All of the sudden one of the new sisters puked every where. Poor girl wasn't feeling too good, so for the next couple hours I rubbed her head and assured her that everything would be okay until she fell asleep. We then had a testimony meeting and got to bed!

Tuesday was transfer day! Holy macaroni was it crazy! We were up at 5:45. We did some more new missionary training for like 3 hours, had lunch, went to transfer meeting, picked up food to cook, ran people like 50 places, had dinner and were in charge of Sister's training that evening. The spirit was so strong! It was amazing. We talked about Elder Klebengat's talk, "Approaching the throne of God with confidence." You should all read it! After Sister Training we went to the mission home where we got to send off all of the departing missionaries. We were still running people's bags to the airport until like 12:30. All of the zone leaders, us, Sister Dall and Johstun and the AP's all stayed at the mission home that night. We were all up until like 1:30 / 2 am planning things for the next day.

Wednesday was Missionary Leadership Council. We focused all of discipleship and gave two training meetings there. It was amazing to sit with a council of missionaries the same age as me and discuss the needs of the mission. I always learn so much!

The rest of the week was missionary work. We are working with C, our investigator still. Sadly, I think she is liking the Lutheran church more. I feel like she has kind of lost the "fire." She did come to church this Sunday, so that is good. I think we are arranging for some Christmas surprises to show up at her door this next week, so that should be happy!

We met with a few less actives. One is reading the Book of Mormon to help her overcome her fears. She is in love with it and is amazed how much it is changing her life. The Book of Mormon has an incredible power that is undeniable. I love seeing peoples lives change because of the spirit that comes into their lives from reading it.

We had a few less actives at church which was great! We also went caroling with some of the ward members on Sunday. That was a great way to fellowship others.

I love you all! Remember the reason for the Christmas season. Please share the, "He is the Gift" video with as many people as you can! I love you!!!!

Sister Morrison

Picking up all the new missionaries from the airport.

Sister Morrison and Ogden at the Anchorage temple.

Sister Bunn from the ward.

December 8, 2014

Well, it's official. Another transfer in Anchorage with Sister Ogden. I am pretty excited to work another transfer with the ward, the sisters and the Robinsons.

This week we were able to meet with a less active. She has been involved with a LOT of drugs and has had a very hard life. I feel so bad for her. We were able to show her the, "He is the gift" video that brought the spirit like no other! I think it is amazing the see the power that comes from the Savior Jesus Christ. Anytime we teach about him, no matter the environment, the spirit comes racing into the room. I just love it!

Here is another miracle with the, "He is the Gift" video. Sister Ogden and I have been praying for opportunities to be able to talk to people about our Savior this Christmas season. Well, an opportunity definitely presented itself. On Saturday night we were waiting at the temple for a group of missionaries to go caroling with when lo and behold a man walking is dog approached us. He asked us the difference between a church and the temple, because they are both in the same parking lot. We were able to teach him about it, invite him to church and invited him to watch, "He is the Gift." Talk about a miracle moment!

On Wednesday night a lady in our ward planned a missionary night for us. She invited like 15 people over to her house. Three were non-members, five were less-actives and seven were active. We all worked together to make blankets for babies that passed away at birth. It was a great service opportunity for the hospitals that we got to be a part of. One of the non-members said she would like to be involved in more service that our church is doing. Miracle!

This week we had a lesson with our investigator C. She told us that she wants to go to another church with her friend. It's super sad, but she told us that we can still come by and teach her. Hopefully, she will begin to realize the truthfulness of the gospel.

Today, we are picking up the new missionaries at the airport and will spend the day with them. Tuesday is transfer meeting and sister training that evening. Wednesday is Mission Leadership Council all day. It should be a fun busy week!

So sorry I don't have much to report on. 17 days until Christmas! Love you guys!

Sister Morrison

Matching Missionaries!

December 1, 2014

Hello hello! Happy Turkey day! I hope everyone had a wonderful Thanksgiving. Hopefully, you were able to ponder about what you were grateful for. I know I sure did.

Well, this week started off attempting to summit Half Top Mountain again for Pday. This week we were able to summit with ice cleats and the whole shebang! It was definitely an adventure. As I was climbing the last stretch of the mountain. I looked down to see some of the other mission missionaries making their way up the mountain. I could see the difficulties that lay ahead for them that they could not. I had a pretty cool impression. Life is like a mountain. Heavenly Father is at the top looking down. He knows the trials that we may face right around the corner of the trail, but he also leading and protecting you from dangers. I don't know... maybe that makes sense to you guys. It made sense to me :)

Well, we had a surprise this week. We went over to an active members house for dinner and guess who they invited? C and her family. It was so exciting. The husband even came! The P's told us that we as missionaries deserve at least one surprise a week. We were able to teach them about prayer and the power of it in a members home! Man that was the best ever. Nothing better that having great fellow shippers for an investigator.

This week Sister Ogden and I went on two exchanges this week. I went to the Jewel Lake ward to be with Sister Honey for the day. It was a day full of miracles. Well, let me tell you about a huge miracle. We were teaching a lady, named M, the Restoration. She loved it so much. As we testified of the Joseph Smith story her face lit up bigger than anyone's I have ever seen. As we were ending the lesson she kept saying, "Teach me more, teach me more!" That is what missionary work is about. That was so happy. Okay, and here is the other miracle that happened at M's. She knows we can only drink herbal tea. Well, she gave everyone herbal tea except for me on accident. She accidently gave me black tea. I didn't want to be rude and not drink it, but I was no way no how breaking the word of wisdom. I was praying so hard the entire lesson for an opportunity to some how get rid of the tea without her noticing. Well, half way through the lesson the Lord answered my prayer in a way I did not expect at all. Mary has a giant pitbull that was laying under the table when all of the sudden the dog had a giant twitch launching it into the air resulting it to bang its body on the table perfectly underneath my cup, knocking my cup of black tea all over me and the table. Funny thing is... no one else's cups knocked over. Just mine. The Lord really does answer prayers. So... I taught the rest of the lesson  gladly with a soaking wet dress. Pretty cool right?

I was also able to go on exchanges with Sister Harrison. You all know that is always a good time. We always have so many miracles happen and just have the best days ever. I sure hope we are companions one day. Well, here are so miracles that happened. We decided that we were going tracting early in the morning telling people about the new Christmas video that the church has put out. It is called, He is the gift. You should all watch it. Anyway! I felt really inspired that we needed to go to a certain street to tract. Lo and behold, on the second to last door a man answered in tears. He explained that he was going through a really hard time and didn't really want to talk. We told him we would pray for him and shared with him the, He is the gift video. Who knows if anything will ever come of it, but it truly amazing to see the Lord leading us to the right doors at the right times.

This week we met with a less active in our ward that suffers from severe anxiety. Last week we were able to have a lesson about the Book of Mormon with her. We taught her that the Book of Mormon can solve any problem that we are facing. Well, this week she had a fear of heights and was anxious at work thinking about the giant hill she had to drive down to get home from work. She was so anxious she could barely function until she remembered the promise we had given her about the Book of Mormon. She pulled the Book of Mormon out from under her desk and read the introduction page. A line stuck out to her that promised everlasting peace. She was then able to drive home with that everlasting peace the Book of Mormon promised without any anxiety. True blessings come from reading the Book of Mormon.

Thanksgiving was kinda a bummer, but that is okay. We spent the morning handing out "Thank you" cards to the ward council and then my companion got really sick. She had to stay in bed until dinner. It gave me the opportunity to organize our files and clean the apartment. We then were able to go to the M's for dinner. It was a fancy feast. We had a lot of fun. After dinner we then continued to pass out more cards.

It snowed in Anchorage and sadly it is sticking. Watch out Anchorage! Here comes a California driver!

Hope all is well! Make sure to check out Christmas.mormon.org :) Share it with everyone! Can't wait to Skype in 24 days. Can you all believe it is already December?

Love you all!

Sister Morrison

Half Top Mountain Summit with Sister Ogden

Head Stand on the top of the Mountain

The missionaries showing their appreciation for their President

Sister Morrison's zone.

November 24, 2014

Well hello friends and family!

This week has flown by. I seriously cannot believe it is Monday again. My prayers are  still being answered. It still hasn't snowed in Anchorage. hallelujah!!!! It is only about 30 degrees everyday, but I will take it. I heard a lady a little earlier in the library say that this is the warmest winter that she has seen in 30 years. I am more than happy about that! Watch me get transferred to Fairbanks next transfer because I am basking in the Anchorage warmth.

Well, we had our last lesson with J for the winter :( He is going down south for the winter to be with some of his family. I guess since he is 85, he has the right to go wherever he wants, but we will miss him. We taught an awesome lesson about family history and challenged him to find out some more information about his family history when he went to his brother's 95th birthday party. haha I will miss teaching J the gospel each week.

Wednesday Sister Ogden and I jumped in the car with President, Sister Robinson and the AP's. We drove up to Wasilla for their zone conference. Sister Ogden and I did a training on receiving Christ's image in our countenance. I think it went over pretty well. It fun being with the Wasilla zone for the day. We were able to be with all the sisters and see how they were doing. That night we headed back to Anchorage and as soon as we arrived Sister Ogden and I hit the road for Soldotna to do exchanges with them. Sister Hallmark got to come back to Anchorage with me for the day. It was a great day! We saw lots of miracles.

While with Sister Ogden we had to opportunity to spend part of the day with a sister in our ward that just got back from serving in the one and only Carlsbad, California mission. She talked all about California, and it did make me miss home a little, but that is okay. We were able to learn a lot about finding from her so that was super happy!

On Friday, Sister Ogden and I asked C and T if they wanted to be baptized and follow the example of Jesus Christ. There is always a special spirit within the walls of someone's home when you ask that question. They both said YES!!! They just want to learn more about the religion before they decide an official date. We were beaming with Joy! Miracles are happening.

We had a few miracles with some less active people, so that is really happy! We had a whole less active family come back to church. Nothing is better than looking down a bench at church seeing a family come closer to the Savior. Two ladies that have recently been coming back to church got callings on Sunday. They are both very excited. It is fun seeing people progress in the gospel!

31 days until Christmas. I cannot wait to see you all! This whole Mother's Day to Christmas gap has been way too long.

Love you all! On November 28th check out the new website the church is putting out... Christmas.mormon.org :) Share it with everyone you know! You will love it!

Love,

Sister Morrison

November 17, 2014

Apparently the Lord likes to answer my prayers. Who would have thought? Surprisingly, it is November 17th and it still has not snowed. It is seriously a miracle. It is getting pretty cold outside, but I can deal with that. He must be keeping the roads pretty clear because he knows that people from California cannot drive in the snow.

Life is pretty great as a missionary. Are you all ready for some miracles?

1. We are teaching a lady C and her kids. This week we taught her the Gospel of Jesus Christ. Right before the lesson she texted us asking us if her sister-in-law, T could sit in on the lessons too. We of course said yes! The spirit was so strong in the lesson. C is loving the Book of Mormon and the gospel. T and her kids all came again to church this Sunday. C told us this week that she just feels like she in on the right path. We assured her that she totally was. Things are happy with C! Turns out that T had a friend that was less active living in our ward boundaries. Because of T we were able to find A and invite her to come back to church. It is really cool how non-members can be source of referrals. It is the best.

2. Our investigator J came to church again!

3. We were told like a month ago by some elders in a different ward to go and visit what we thought was a less active family. We have been trying to get in with them for weeks. Finally we were able to yesterday. Turns out they are not even members! We were able to teach the Restoration to the mom, M. It was so cool! The Lord truly prepares you for miracles. We are now teaching M and she is coming to church with her two sons on Sunday.

This week our ward hosted a Wild Game Dinner. Basically, we all know that everyone hunts and fishes and all that jazz. Well, Tuesday night was the night that everyone brought their best Wild Game food dish that they could make from this past hunting, fishing or gathering road kill season. Guess what I got to eat? bear, dall sheep, wild boar, caribou, moose, duck (nasty), deer, and salmon. I think my favorite was the bear. It was delicious. By the time we got to the line all of the porcupine meatballs were gone. That would have been really cool to try. We also had 14 non-members there! It was the best seeing everyone fellowshipping each other in the ward!

This past Monday we climbed a famous mountain called, Flat Top. Well, almost climbed. We had to turn around towards the top because there was too much snow. As we were coming down the mountain, a rock flew from the top and came rolling / flying  onto my little finger. Man, I thought I broke my finger. It is doing a lot better, but still hurts pretty bad. It has been black, blue and swollen all week.

This week we also had Zone Conference. We focused on the theme, "Don't just walk where the Savior walked, walk as he walked." We talked a lot about becoming a consecrated missionary. I am excited to put this into action this week and for the rest of my mission. If anyone wants to read a super good talk, read, "Becoming a Consecrated Missionary" by Tad R. Callister. It will changed your life. This week we are traveling to Wasilla and possibly Juneau for Zone Conferences there. It should be a busy week. We are also doing exchanges with the Palmer and Soldotna sisters.

Well, that is the week for me and Sister Ogden!

Hope you all had a fabulous week. Remember to look for opportunities to become the Lord's servants in your life.

Love you all to pieces!

Sister Morrison

Hiking up Flat Top

Sunset from the top of Flat Top

Flat Top Mountain

Sister Morrison's poor finger 

Sister Morrison and Ogden

The beautiful sunset that Sister Morrison gets to see every night!

November 10, 2014

Hello friends and family !

What a busy week it has been. This week Sister Ogden and I spent many hours at the mission home with the AP's and President planning zone conference. The first zone conference is this Wednesday. The theme is, "Don't just walk where the Savior walked. Walk as the Savior walked." I think it is going to be a great theme for our mission to follow. We then were able to spend all day Thursday participating in missionary leadership council. We all discussed different ways our mission could improve and how we could implement the needs into the mission. It just amazes me every time a group of missionaries between the ages of 19 and 23 get together and discuss gospel topics. Where else in the world does this happen? No where! Truly an amazing opportunity to be able to serve a mission.

We were able to teach our investigator C the message of the Restoration. She is amazing! She loved it so much. She is Native Alaskan and so when we told her that the Book of Mormon was an ancient record of her ancestors she was filled with joy and could not wait to read it. We saw her again later in the week and informed us that she had been reading and had lots of questions. I cannot wait to meet with her again this week.

Our investigator G is doing super well. She can't wait to get baptized on Dec 6th! It is fun to see the enthusiasm for the gospel that converts have.

We also, met with J, our investigator who came to church on Sunday. That was a big miracle. We are grateful for his efforts he is making to progress!

Okay, we had an awesome experience last night. The kids of a family in our ward attend a Catholic school. I am not really sure why, but they do. Well, this family being awesome missionaries decided that they would invite one of the Catholic teachers over to have a discussion about our views of life after death. They invited us over to lead that discussion. It was incredible to see as we were testifying of the truthfulness of the gospel these people started to have a change of heart. Things were starting to make sense to them. Questions were being answered that they had had their whole lives. I just know it!

I had the wonderful opportunity to go on exchanges with the lovely Sister Dill. I surprised her by arranging for the K's to be at the temple on our exchange. Sister Dill and I were able to go to the temple with the K's to go baptisms for the dead. Seriously, one of the best experiences of my whole entire life. The spirit was so strong, the smiles were so big and I know there were angles around us rejoicing. Nothing better than seeing a convert family walk into the doors of the temple. This is what the work is about!!! They loved it so much. M, just emailed me this morning telling me that she got her first calling. She is 2nd counselor in the Mia Maids. I can't stop smiling.

The work is true! The gospel is true. God is preparing individuals for us to find and bring to the knowledge of the truth. I love being a missionary so much. Nothing could be better! The spirit is working in our lives. Are you paying attention to it and following its guidance?

I love you!!!!!

Sister Morrison

Sister Morrison with her convert family at the temple!

Sister Morrison and Sister Dill.

November 3, 2014

Happy I hit 13 months. I feel like after 9 months time has just flown by!

Okay, so this week started out crazy. It was transfer week. Sister Hallmark, me, President and Sister Robinson and the AP's all met at the airport to greet the new 7 missionaries. It was so fun welcoming them to Alaska. They all had the greenie fire , but looked scared to death. It was pretty funny. We spent all day with them going through orientation and all that jazz. There was only one new sister, so we got to sleep at the mission home with her that night. It was pretty fun! We then woke up the next morning and headed over to the transfer meeting. It was really fun seeing everyone, sad to say goodbye to the departing missionaries, and pretty stressful organizing all of the sister's luggage. After transfer meeting Sister Ogden and I were responsible for putting on a two hour sister training. It was all about integrity and went super well.

Okay, so Sister Ogden. She has been out for about 4.5 months. She is from Layton, Utah.  She is 19. She has blond hair and super cute clothes which I love to borrow. :) She is a fabulous missionary and is excited to work. We are already best friends. Sadly, she does snore at night which kinda disrupts my sleep, but that is what ear plugs are for right? 

On Wednesday we met with Sister Robinson, President and the A.P.'s. We planned Zone Conference and exchanges. Turns out with everything that we have to do this transfer we are going to only have one normal missionary day. It is just crazy busy, but I love it so much.

Okay, lets move away from all the organizing stuff and get to the good stuff! MIRACLES!!!!!

We recently started teaching a mom and her four kids. On Thursday we had a lesson where we taught the Plan of Salvation. The spirit was seriously so strong. C's dad is about to die and we were able to teach her that her family can be together forever! She started to cry and we were able to testify of the love that she was feeling from her Father in Heaven. We invited her to church and sure enough her and her four kids showed up. It was just fabulous. The Lord really does prepare people. It was really cool to see that all of the lessons were on family at church. It was seriously just what she needed. Miracles!!!!!!!

We got a new ward mission leader this week who is just fabulous. He has the missionary fire and wants to help our ward as much as possible. He is great at sharing the gospel and we are excited to the ball rolling!

Halloween was kinda the pits. We had to be in at 7 so we didn't run over little kids. We had a big list of scriptures to read and went to bed early. It was funny how it didn't even feel like Halloween... Oh well! On the bright side. 53 days until I can see you all at Christmas!

Sorry, I don't have much to report on, but I love you all! Keep working to be the example Christ and our Heavenly Father would have you be.

I love you!

Sister Morrison

Sister Ogden and Morrison

Happy Halloween!

October 27, 2014

Hi Folks,

I am staying in the Ocean View ward here in Anchorage for another transfer, but my companion is changing. I am going to be with Sister Ogden. And yes... she is from Utah. That is about all I know about her. She has been out for 4.5 months. She came out with Sister Dall, so it should be fun being with her. We are still the Sister Training Leaders for all the sisters in the mission except for Fairbanks. Sister Dall (my trainee) and her companion are going to be STL's up there. I am so proud of her! It will be fun getting to work closely with her again. I am sad to see Sister Hallmark go to Soldotna, but I know the Lord is calling her there for her last transfer.

This week we did not  have exchanges. It felt a little weird not having a crazy week, but some amazing miracles happened that made it so so busy!

1. We are teaching this man named J. We have had a hard time having him open up about how he really feels about the church. We were finally able to help him open up and share his desires with us! He still wants to learn and asked us to teach him about specific subjects. That was really great thing to get out of him.

2. The Elders called us this week with a referral. Her name is C and she has four cute kids. We knocked on her door and asked if she wanted to learn more about the church. She said yes and we taught the first part of the Restoration. She loved it! We are going back Wednesday to teach her about the Plan of Salvation. She seems golden to me! I cannot wait for another family to enter the waters of baptism!!!! 

3. We had the most tender lesson with an old lady named I who is dying. She told us about how she feels like God doesn't hear all of her prayers. We were able to boldly testify that He does and that He knows her and He cares deeply for her. It was one of the most spiritual lessons I've had on my mission. It was incredible. The spirit was there so strong testifying of God's love for each of His children. Later that day we were able to have the same lesson with another lady in our ward that was admitted to a crisis center.  There is no denying the power of God's love!

4. We were able to have a dinner and really connect with a  less active family. It was incredible. They haven't had missionaries in their home for years. The husband normally leaves the room when we came over. Here is the miracle of the dinner... he stayed to whole time and talked all about how he knows God is watching out for him. We had an incredible lesson. The Lord truly does work in mysterious ways. I love it!

5. My recent converts, the Ks came to Anchorage and we had a wonderful meal with them at Olive Garden. I seriously love them so much. They will be forever friends!!! It is so fun seeing them progress in the gospel.

6. The Lord really blessed us being busy this week. We literally felt like chickens with our heads cut off running from apt to apt. It was the best.

Okay, no for some cool things.

1. We went to Golden Corral with this little old lady. She was excited to take us. Well, Golden Corral is an all you can eat buffet. Each time we excitedly announced that we were going to get another plate she would get so excited I thought she was about to have a seizure. My companion at one point announced that she was going to get a handful of gummy bears and some cotton candy. This cute little old lady died laughing and was excited that we were having such a blast. haha

2. J our investigator and his girlfriend, S, were happy to announce when we showed up at their house that they were going to teach us how to dance. We were a little shocked because J just had knee surgery and they are both like 85. They stood up and died laughing. We didn't know what was funny. They then held hands and stretched as far away from each other as possible. They then said... do you know who is in between us? Jesus! When you go home girls always make sure there is room for Jesus when you dance. It was so cute!

3. Got my flu shot this week! I hope you all did too!

4. I have been busy planning Sister's Training which happens the night of Transfers. It has been a lot of work. The theme is football and integrity. It should be a lot of fun!

5. We are off soon to go and pick up the new missionaries at the airport. Tonight Sister Hallmark and I are staying at the mission home with the new sister. It should be a great slumber party where the lights go out at 10:30 :)

I love you! Look for opportunities to serve. As you do so you will be more in tune with the spirit and you will literally be the angles in God's hand here on Earth blessing the lives of others.

Sister Morrison!

Caroling with the zone!

October 20, 2014

Well Hello there!

I am sitting here in the Anchorage Public Library literally about to fall off my chair, curl up in a little ball and fall asleep. I don't think I have been this tired in a long time. I think 5 days of straight exchanges with other sisters was a little too much. I mean I loved it, but when you are on an exchange you have to be an emotional counselor, be the best missionary example you could possibly be while praising and correcting the sister for any obedience /disobedience.

Anyways, before we went on our exchanges we met with a few less actives and investigators. It went really well. Our investigators are progressing, so that is super exciting. We have an investigator G that wanted to be baptized on December 6th, but turns out she loves church so much she wants to be baptized sooner! Wohooooooo We are going to set an earlier baptism date this week. She doesn't really care what her family thinks about her decision. She wants to do what the Lord expects of her. I love seeing people have a desire to follow the example that Jesus Christ set for them! It's the best!

Wednesday I was with Sister Harrison in her area. She is serving in the Inlet View ward, the ward I was in last January. It was so fun to be back, yet a little sad. Literally, everyone I used to visit had either a stroke, heart attack or cancer. It was super sad to see the people I love so much struggling, but it was really good to be back in the area. I love those people so much.

Thursday, Sister Hallmark and I flew to Fairbanks and spent the day in North Pole. Oh man was it happy! It had been exactly a year since I had arrived in the area on the day I was there. So much has changed in the year. I saw a few active families that I loved so much. It was a great day with Sister Smith. We were able to teach a investigator family whose fellow-shippers used to be less active, but are now active. That was super awesome to see.

Friday, we headed back up to Fairbanks where I spent the day with Sister Moore. Just because our names were so close we instantly became pretty good friends! It was a fun day visiting lots of less actives in the freezing cold!

Saturday, I spent the day with Sister Faupula. It was so much fun seeing her again. I just love her so much! We had a grand ole time talking all about Juneau, laughing and teaching some amazing people/lessons. She goes home next week. It will be sad to see her go.

Sunday, I was planning on going to church in North Pole, but sadly Sister Smith came down with the flu, so it was a no go. I was pretty bummed going to church in Fairbanks, but that is okay. I just had to keep reminding myself that it wasn't about me, it was about the work. We then flew home just in time to unpack and go to sleep. It was truly was a great week!

I hope all is well! This week we get transfer calls. Pray for me. You know me., always nervous. Sister Hallmark and I are pretty sure that we will be staying in the Ocean View ward. I hope that happens! We get along great and she is an incredible missionary.

Remember to constantly be looking for opportunities to share the gospel! I found this quote and feel inspired to share it with you. Maybe one of need it.

"Rather than solve the problem Himself, the Lord wants us to develop faith that will help us rely upon Him in solving our problems and trust Him. Then we can feel His love more constantly, more powerfully, more clearly and more personally. We become unified with Him, and we can become like Him. For us to be like Him is His goal. In fact, His glory as well as His work" - Elder Terence M. Vinson

Love you all!

Sister Morrison.

Sister Morrison in Fairbanks again.

All the Fairbanks sisters.

The H Family from the North Pole

Sister Thacker, Hallmark, Morrison, and Harrison

October 13, 2014

Well, winter is starting. Thankfully, there has been no snow yet, but sadly it is about to start.

This week I went down to Soldotna for an exchange with Sister Farmer. It went super good. The K's recently moved to Kenai which is right outside of Soldotna, so I got to go over to their new beautiful home right on the beach and have lunch with them. It was the best thing ever. They are so involved in the gospel and it just makes me so happy. M is going to seminary and loves it. A watches a BYU devotional every morning for her personal study. M is reading the scriptures and V just got a calling. Nothing brings me more joy than seeing that family progress in the gospel. In Soldotna it started snowing, so I know it is coming to Anchorage soon. Soldotna is like the woods of Alaska. I feel like people really go there to hide. We had to drive miles on dirt roads trying to find people's houses. It sure was adventure. While there we also got work at a food bank serving homeless people food.

On Friday it was Sister Hallmark's birthday. It was a blast!!!!!! I arranged for members in our ward to throw birthday parties and the sisters in the mission to buy her some of her favorite things. Let's just say by the end of the night we were sugar high, due to the fact that we had to eat like 7 pieces of giant cake. We did wrap a Book of Mormon as a present and left it on the table for our lunch waitress. We hope she calls us and wants to learn more.

Man oh man. This was a week of miracles!!!

1. J. He is this 70 year old man who has a girlfriend that is a member. She has introduced him to the gospel and honestly he hasn't been too interested until this week when he expressed the desire to be baptized because he wants to live with his family forever. We are so excited. He should be getting baptized here in the next few months!

2. G! She is still progressing in the gospel. This week we set a baptismal date for December 10th with her. She is very excited, but very nervous about her family rejecting her for joining the church. Pray for her if you can. She even came to church this Sunday!

3. Yesterday, was fast Sunday for us. I was fasting that we could increase our teaching pool. Well, last night at about 8:45 p.m. we got a call form the elders telling us they found us a new investigator that is golden and has been the church eight times. She is moving into our ward on Wednesday. Does fasting work or what?! It was truly an answer to our prayers. We are excited to meet M this week.

4. This week we were visiting a lady in the hospital that is on bed rest. While we were visiting her one of her friends came in. We were able to talk to S all about the gospel. Turns out she has already attended a baptism and seems pretty interested. Hopefully, we can start teaching her.

SO.. something super embarrassing happened this week. I have been a super clean freak on my mission. Always following Grandma Morrison's counsel to never let my clothes hit the floor. I always make my bed and do the dishes. Well, this week was crazy. We literally had no time at home from meetings, to exchanges to appointments, so our apartment got pretty messy. Well, lo and behold the clean check missionaries came to inspect our apartment on literally the only day it has ever been messy. Oh man. I just wanted to die. Needless to say we failed clean checks.

This Saturday we went Hymn caroling again with the Zone. it is amazing to see people feel the spirit with the Hymn "I am a child of God." The words are just amazing and pure.

The work is going good. This Thursday, Sister Hallmark and I are flying up to Fairbanks to do exchanges with the sisters. We will be gone until Sunday night. It should be super fun. I get to go back to the North Pole ward on Sunday. It has been exactly a year since I walked into that ward. I am excited to see everyone and see how they've progressed in the gospel.

I am glad you all loved Meet the Mormons. It is a SUPER good movie. It brings the spirit. If you have more non-member friends then bring them to see it. It will change people's lives. I love you all! Keep teaching and preaching the gospel!

Sister Morrison

Outdoor activities for P-Day

The K family Sister Morrison baptized!

The start of winter in Alaska

Sister Morrison, Farmer, Ogden, and Hallmark

Walrus tusk

Sister Morrison and Hallmark also got to hold the bone inside a whale's penis!

October 6, 2014

Hello friends!!!! I am officially a year old missionary. You read that right. I am 2/3 of the way done. I will be home right after the next conference. Holy cow!!!!!! I cannot believe how quickly a year goes on a mission. I feel like Heavenly Father plays with time will you are serving him.  I have learned more in this year than I ever have in my whole life. The Lord is in our lives. He will guide and direct us. He wants to help us and all we have to do is follow His commandments. It is that easy!

This past Monday, we went with our Bishop, his wife, and their granddaughter out to a glacier. It was so beautiful. All of the trees are changing colors! I love fall, but I am getting quite worried due to the fact that it is supposed to snow this week. I am dreading the snow and the cold. I am definitely a California girl!

This week we had some amazing miracles. We re-picked up an investigator. Her name is K. Her husband is pretty less active and not very interested. We had a wonderful lesson with her about God's love. She just starting balling. It is incredible to see people feel the love of our Father in Heaven. She should be coming to church on Sunday!!!

Next Miracle. We are teaching this lady named G. She has the same kind of situation as K. We taught her the Plan of Salvation. She just loved it so much. She said that life finally makes sense to her! Wohooo That is what the gospel is all about. We committed her to baptism and she said yes!!! She should be getting baptized here in couple of weeks. I am so excited!

This week I had the privledge of cleaning the Anchorage Temple. They gave our district the assignment of cleaning the Celestial Room chandelier. Who knew those things had so many pieces. It had 6,000 pieces that had to be individually cleaned. It was amazing to spend 8 hours cleaning in the Lord's house this week. I don't think I have ever loved doing a chore more!

This week I went on an exchange with Sister Applegate in the Jewel Lake ward here in Anchorage. It was fun. We got to teach a lot of active member families about The Family: A Proclamation to the World. It was great day. On Thursday I went on an exchange with Sister Dill. That was actually super great. It was my one year mark so we went out to lunch with Sister Harrison and her companion, Sister Thacker, to Arby's. You can bet your bottom dollar I got two roast beef sandwiches with sauce. It tasted just so good!  

This week was also Zone Conference. For Zone Conference we got to watch Meet the Mormons. Guys it was just sooooo good! You have to go and see it. Bring all of your friends. It will totally convert them. and if that doesn't then give them Elder Bednar's talk from conference. Wasn't that just so good?

Okay conference. It was just sooo good! I think it was just what the church totally needed to hear. It was incredible. We watched it at the church both days. One session we had a less active family, the H's come. That was seriously a miracle. I think they got a lot out of it! Sunday afternoon a less active from Juneau that hasn't been to church in years was in town and she came to a session with us. This is the same lady who Stister Dall and I poured the alcohol down the drain for. It was seriously the best thing ever. She cried the entire time and then we taught her one of the most powerful lessons It was nice getting a little but of Juneau back. This week I am going out to Soldotna and having lunch with the K's! I am sooo pumped.

Well, I hope you all enjoyed conference as much as I did. The talks were incredible. Study them. They were so inspiring and just what we needed to hear as a church. If you haven't watched it yet go and do it!

I love you guys!!!!

Sister Morrison

Byron Glacier

Byron Glacier

Huge Snow Drift

Sister Hallmark, Morrison, and Leah

Meet the Mormons at the mission home!

Sister Morrison and Hallmark matching again!

Sister Morrison and L from Juneau at the Anchorage Temple

Sister Morrison celebrating her one year mark with her old companion, Sister DIll