Hump Day!!! (5/12/14)

^Screamers! A delicacy in Richmond = Soft serve + slushy

It was my Hump Day treat :)

 

The one and only Emily!

 

 

^Dried squid...tastes...Interesting....

 

This past week has been so crazy awesome, I don't even know where to start!

On Monday, we still had Sister Li with us so we went to the Asian market instead of the normal grocery store. I was in heaven! We bought weird Asian vegetables, dumplings, noodles. It was awesome! We also went to the Asian mall. I love being one of 2 white people in the whole mall! hahaha. We had a lesson with Abi on Monday as well. Her whole family is coming over to my mission present's house for dinner tonight, so pray that all goes well for us! We're so excited!

On Tuesday, we went on splits and I got to hang out with the mission nurse and help her unpack. She and her husband have just moved closer to the church which is awesome. I love her! She's like my grandma away from home. We did lots of street contacting on Tuesday as well; it's very efficient with the three of us because we can all talk to different people! 

Then on Wednesday we had a lesson but it fell through :( It's so hard when we show up and nobody is home! We just keep trying, because then we realize if people are actually interested or not. So we knocked on a few doors before going to zone meeting. Oh, and also WEDNESDAY WAS MY HUMP DAY! WOOT WOOT! I'm halfway done! Y'all will see me in no time ;) Anyways, back to zone meeting. It was awesome! We are really trying to focus on getting more baptismal dates and the only way we can do that is by inviting more people to be baptized. It's so crazy how different I am from the beginning of my mission. I'm not afraid to talk to random strangers now. I'm not afraid to offer to help someone carry something. I'm not afraid to call people to repentance! I'm not afraid of inviting people to be baptized! This week is going to be awesome, that's all I gotta say :) Oh, and Sister Li got her companion so we're not in a tri anymore. I miss her! She's awesome! :) I'm glad she's still close by!!

 

Then on Wednesday night, we had a lesson with Emily and Brad (in the pictures above) with President Tilleman's family. Turns out, SHE ALREADY ASKED HER HUSBAND IF SHE CAN BE BAPTIZED! So we don't even need to worry anymore! I'm so excited for Emily and Brad to become members of the church. It was such a spiritual experience being with them and my mission president's family. 

 

Thursday was weekly planning and we had an appointment with a member for just a quick visit. Turns out she made us home-made chicken noodle soup! It was delish! And Filipino style :) I love all of the Filipinos in our ward!! 

Then on Friday, we went and dropped by to see some people and it was actually pretty successful. We actually knocked on a random door and found a less active member that we didn't even know about! She wasn't interested in talking to us, but it's so cool to see those little miracles every day. We also had dinner with Maricel and her husband. Maricel is planning on getting baptized with Emily and Brad this Sunday! It's going to be a day of PENTICOST! hahaha. Maricel made this awesome stuffed, baked fish. I love trying new food! We also got to teach this girl from Hong Kong and her friend at the library. It was pretty awesome, but they had never heard anything about the restoration before so they were pretty hesitant. We gave them both a Book of Mormon and testified of it's truthfulness! We're going to contact them next week, so hopefully they'll still be interested!

Saturday we decided to go through our area book and pick out some people who have been interested in the past. Sometimes, people just need a break before they are ready to be baptized and make commitments. So we did that a lot, as well as finding new people as usual.

Sunday was amazing! Mother's Day :) I can't wait to be a mom one day. The talks were really good and all the women in the ward got a really cool book mark. After getting home from church Sister Petersen and I got to talk to our families! Ahhh! I love you guys and miss y'all so much! It was so wonderful! Following that, we got to teach Emily and Brad at the park! We had some food, taught a lesson, and even threw a Frisbee around for a bit. It was probably one of the greatest lessons I've ever had! Sister Peteresen and I also taught Emily how to make funny faces, and that was hilarious! :)

We ended our Mother's Day by stopping by a few people we taught when we first got here. Brenda got her knee surgery, and we stopped by and gave her some chocolates. She was smoking when we got there and she told us she'll quit eventually, hahaha. Then, MIRACLE, we stopped by Moyette. She knows she needs to get baptized, and she's leaving to go back home to New York in 6 weeks or so. We told her about how 3 people are getting baptized next Sunday, and she said she would also like to be baptized next Sunday! Everyone, PLEASE PRAY FOR MOYETTE! She needs this in her life! We're so excited for her and hopefully all will go well with that.

 

Well that was my week! Pretty exciting, eh? 

Love you all!

Sister Struempler

Richmond Taxi Services! (5/5/14)

So this week was transfers...and since Sister Petersen and I serve in Richmond where the mission office is, we has a busy week. I'm still exhausted!

Monday we picked up two sisters (one of them trained Sister Petersen) and they stayed with us that night. Then we took them to the office so they could go to the temple on Tuesday. We picked them up Tuesday night and then took them to the airport on Wednesday to go HOME. Sister Petersen and I were both feeling kinda trunky after that, so good thing we had a service project to do Wednesday morning to distract us. A family in the ward is moving and the mother is pregnant so she needed help packing all of her heavy books. Sister missionaries can lift heavy things just as much as Elders! Just sayin'...

We had a few lessons on Wednesday. Then we picked up the Prince George sisters from the airport and the new sisters that just came out. We had 5 sisters stay with us wednesday night! I got to go on splits with one of them and we taught this man named Sid. His common law wife has been less active for a while, so we're working on helping them both gain testimonies of the church so that Sid can be baptized and then they can be sealed! I'm so grateful that my family is sealed together forever <3

Then on thursday we went to transfer meeting, because we got permission. We had to leave for a little bit though because we had a lesson with this one crazy-awesome hippy lady. She's one of those people who's like "God is in all of us, and around all of us, and outside of us." She's super nice, but likes to talk a lot. Hopefully we will be able to keep teaching her!

Thursday we got our new companion...Sister Li! She's in the Richmond Chinese Branch but she's training. Her trainee hasn't come yet (she comes this Wednesday), so she's in a tri with us. Since Thursday, we've had to combine our plans so that we can cover the English lessons and the Chinese lessons. It's been SO fun! Jiao Hui! I'm learning! Hehe. Then we had to take sisters to the airport on Thursday. Then Thursday night, we had the Sister Training Leaders from Prince George stay with us. They stayed with us Friday night as well. We've had some pretty awesome lessons in the middle of all this. On Saturday, we got to have interviews with the President. It was so spiritual and sacred. I love my mission president and mission mom. They are so inspired and are such wonderful people!

On Sunday, we went to the English ward and the Chinese branch. Emily, Brad, and Maricel came to church! They are all 3 planning on getting baptized on May 18th! Pray for them please! This Filipino family invited us over for dinner Sunday night with Maricel and her husband (who is a member). We got to eat the BEST FOOD! I loved it! I love trying all different types of food. We shared a message about obedience and how important it is to follow God's commandments. 

Then last night, we had the Vernon sisters stay with us and we had to wake up at 5am to take them to the greyhoud that will drive them to the Okanagin. It's been a long, but very fun week!

I love you all so much and please write me letters! They are my favorite!

Love,

Sister Struempler

p.s. On monday we got to go to Granville Island in Vancouver! I love Vancouver but it makes me SO HOMESICK for Seattle.

 

Sister Li is in the middle! Sister Wang in the green skirt is going to Burnaby and Sister Leung is staying in White Rock...she's been there for 10.5 months! After this transfer she'll have served there for 12 months! THAT'S A LONG TIME!

 

 Wednesday night! we had a party in our apartment! haha

 

Granville Island!

 

We are the Richmond Sicksters! (4/28/14)

Seriously though!! On Tuesday, I got a cold after suffering from stinkin' allergies the week before. When will this ever end? I'm taking about 4 different vitamins and I'm turning into a germ freak. Well, whatever will keep me healthy, I'll do! Despite me having a cold, we were able to work, work, work! I decided that I would be miserable inside or outside, so might as well be outside and doing things. We did a lot of finding this week, because a lot of our lessons fell through. That was really sad. It all started out on Monday...dun dun DUNN! We were heading over to Abi's place to teach her. We weren't able to figure out what we wanted to teach her during studies, so we were trying to think all day about what we could teach her. Then, at 5:45 we got a text from Chris saying that Angie doesn't want Abi to be a Mormon! He said that Angie didn't like us teaching Abi about tithing and fasting, and that she thought that Abi was too young to learn about it. WHAT? We were devastated. We begged Chris for Angie's number and decided to call her the next day. We called her and she was busy. After much contemplation, we decided to commence "Operation Cookie Love." We got a plate of cookies, chocolates, etc and decided to stop by on Thursday (when we normally see Abi). We were really nervous, but Angie opened the door and just let us right in! It was like nothing happened! She told us that she doesn't want us talking about a few of the commandments anymore, which is totally understandable. Plus we taught her everything, so we're basically just re-teaching now. It was such a miracle! We are now teaching Abi again! She didn't come to church on Easter, but hopefully she'll start coming soon. Plus Angie (Abi's mom) dyed the underside of her hair hot pink and that made me really happy & reminded me of my freshman year when I did that. :)

Then, on Tuesday we had a lesson with Emily and her son Brad. They are seriously the cutest! We were meeting Emily and Brad at the church and so we waited inside...and waited...and waited...and then were freaking out because she wasn't showing up...then called...and texted...and called...finally Emily called us and said that she came to the church but nobody was there! She said that she left her phone at home, so she couldn't call us and tell us to let us in. She knocked and knocked, but we didn't hear her . . . AHH! We were at the other parking lot! It was just a misunderstanding. Thank goodness. So we rescheduled for Friday and apologized profusely for all of the confusion.

Tuesday night we stopped by this member's house who hasn't been to church in a long time. We'd never met her before and the Elder's had set up the appointment for us. We found her house and knocked, and she let us right in! She's the cutest lady ever! She's from the Philippines and had all this awesome Filipino food for us to try. Oh my goodness, I was in heaven! Then she told us her whole conversion story about how her family joined the church. After her dad died, her other two brothers finally joined so now their whole family will be together forever! We don't quite understand why she doesn't come to church, because she is super awesome. I guess it will take a few more visits and investigation to figure out, which is fine by me because Filipinos love sharing their food ;)

Then on Wednesday we had district meeting, which was awesome as usual! Sister Petersen and I talked about how we can use the Bible and the Book of Mormon together to support one another. It's really important to do this because a lot of people are familiar with the Bible. What people don't understand scares them, so if we help them understand the Book of Mormon and how it works together with the Bible, then I think it will help a lot of the people that we are teaching about the church. We went tracting from 5-7pm as usual and then had a couple visits with some members. The second member that we visited told us to go visit this less active member she had visit taught years ago, so we did, and . . . MIRACLE! We were able to meet her and her common law husband. Her husband isn't a member, and he was totally cool with us coming over again and teaching them both more about the gospel. It was such a little miracle to find this family to teach! And all because a member told us to stop by and visit :) Missionaries can do a lot, but it's when the members and the missionaries work together that miracles happen!

We had weekly planning on Thursday. We dropped by Angie's and, as I said above, that went so well! We also visited this member and her mother and shared a message with them. We have really been trying to get to know our members better, considering that we've been in this ward for 3 months now, they need to know us! 

Then on Friday, we WENT ON EXCHANGES! Sister Petersen went with Sister Wang and Sister Li came with me. It was SOO FUN! In the morning we stopped by to see a few people who we had talked to earlier in the month; they weren't interested. Then we ate lunch and Sister Li made this weird Asian soup with ketchup. It was weird, but not bad. I wish I could look like the Chinese sisters do. Then, we went to go help this member peel potatoes and carrots for this giant dinner they're having for all the young women in the stake. That was fun! Then we visited this member who has been coming back to church for months now, which is such a miracle. She had surgery, so we were making sure that she was okay! Then, we went street contacting all afternoon to try to talk to lots of people. That was fun! Except I couldn't breathe through my nose so Sister Li did most of the talking. Then, the cutest member ever named Sister Fang (she's from Taiwan) invited us over for dinner! I was so thrilled! First dinner appointment I've had in Richmond, and I've been here for 3 months! Well, little did I know that it was an investigator's house. AND the Chinese Branch President and his wife were there. Long story short, I was the only white person at the dinner table and was trying to stay focused as everyone was speaking in mandarin and I had no idea what was going on. We had a Hot Pot dinner and it was so stinkin' good. I love Asian food. Then Sister Li shared a message in mandarin and I just smiled, and then we had to go. It was such a wonderful day!

On Saturday, we exchanged back, then Sister Petersen and I decided to go to this part of our area that is about 20 minutes away. None of the missionaries have ever really been there before, so it's awesome that people have never had missionaries knock on their door before. They were pretty receptive, except for the people who spoke Punjabi and couldn't understand us. Did you know that there isn't any literature in Punjabi except for the Joseph Smith Pamphlet? Crazy! We had a lot of great experiences and talked to a lot of wonderful people that night. HaHa, funny story: We were dropping by this former investigator and the gate in front of their house was locked. We could see lights on so we looked around for a stick and had to reach through the gate with the stick to finally ring the door bell. It was hilarious. They didn't answer the door, but Sister Petersen and I knew that they were home. Oh well!

On Sunday, we tried to talk to as many people as possible! We have a goal every week to have 140 quality gospel conversations. So it can't just be a "not interested, bye" type of thing, but we try to share our testimonies and teach a principle to 140 people each week. Well, on Sunday we had to have 34 QGC's to reach 140 and we were determined! We went out street contacting in the afternoon and started talking to this guy that was handing out pizza flyers. He said he was interested in learning more, so we tried saying a prayer, and people would walk by and take the flyer's out of his hand while we were praying with him. I was trying not to laugh, it was just so odd! haha. But he's coming to church on Sunday, so pray for him. We were able to have 34 quality gospel conversations and were able to reach our goal of 140 for the week! woot woot! Even while I was sick!! It was awesome!

Then this morning, I GOT TO GO TO GRANVILLE ISLAND! It's this super cool artsy place right by the water in Vancouver. It was so fun. Here's some pictures:

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Well, that's pretty much it! Only got one letter this past week... please write me! Letters are 2nd best to witnessing a baptism. That's how important they are to us missionaries! I love you all!

Sister Struempler

 

 

 

 

 

Happy Easter! (4/21/14)

This week was so great! We went to Stantly Park last week! Here are a few of the MANY pictures that we took:

 

 

 

 

Boats need gas stations too!! hahaha

 

 

 

 

I had to get a penny!!

 

 

seafood poutine! delish!!

 

 

SOO! Fun!! :)

 

 

WHY are there PALM TREES in Vancouver? It makes no sense to me...

 

 

Driving in Vancouver to get to Stantly park!

 

So yeah, that was SUPER fun! I loved going there. (Family: we need to go again after my mission, because we didn't even get to see half of what was there!!!)

 

This week we got to teach some awesome people! Abi, was her cute, crazy self as usual. We finished teaching her so hopefully she'll be baptized in May! Then, we also taught this eleven-year-old girl named Shaylin. She's super cute as well! Their house has TONS of animals! Birds, chinchillas, dogs, cats, bunnies, etc. It was awesome! But not awesome for my allergies! So maybe we will go on splits with the Chinese sisters when we teach her :p

We also have been teaching the CUTEST Taiwanese lady ever! She is planning on getting baptized as well! We are SO EXCITED for her and her son.

 



Sister Tilleman, me, Sister Petersen, Sister Kurd, Emily, and Sister Hogg!

 

She's so nice and calls us her angels, haha. I'm so happy to teach her and see her face light up as she learns more and more about the restored gospel of Jesus Christ. 

 

A couple funny stories:

 

So we were tracting and we were approaching this super fancy house. Well, those always have gates that you have to open to get to the front door. The gate was partially open, so we just go in. Out of habit, I shut the door (so that animals don't escape, etc.). Turns out nobody was home. As we walk back to the gate, we found out that IT WAS LOCKED! We ended up hopping over the fence to get out, skirts and all. It was SO FUNNY! We couldn't stop laughing.

We were tracting and knocked on this guys door. He was atheist, so we started asking him why to just get talking. His 8-month-old puppy runs out of the house to say "hi" to us. So, I pet him and then continue talking. Then I feel Sister Petersen's hand on my back. Apparently, the dog thought that Sister Petersen's skirt was a tug-o-war rope and was pulling on her skirt. She was frantically trying to twist and turn so the dog would let go. Finally the owner noticed and had to open his jaws so that he would let go of her skirt. Again, we couldn't stop laughing!

Things that happen to us missionaries are so strange, but I wouldn't trade my experiences for anything in the world! 

On Saturday, we had a ward pancake breakfast and Easter egg hunt! That was super fun, and we even had some investigators there. We got to know the ward better, and it was just great! 

Sunday was one of the best Easters ever! We had a wonderful church meeting and 5 of our friends that we're teaching were able to come. If you haven't seen this video, PLEASE watch it! It's amazing!

http://easter.mormon.org/?cid=HPTU041514694

It's just a wonderful message about the true meaning of Easter. I now realize how important Easter is because Christ was Resurrected. We know that we will see our family and friends again after we die because we too will be Resurrected! 

Then, we got to go to Anne's baptism! We taught her the first lesson, and then she decided to go to YSA in Vancouver instead of the family ward here in Richmond. So, we passed her off to the YSA elders, but were able to go to her baptism! I love her and I loved going to her baptism! It was probably one of the most spiritual experiences on my mission so far. Baptism is so simple, yet it is so essential to our eternal salvation.

 

 

We also got to met Jimmy, who's Anne's sister. She is so cute and hopefully will start coming to church with Anne!

Then, Sister Petersen's friends in her first area, Langley, invited us over for dinner. We got permission and headed over to a wonderful Easter feast!

 

 

What a wonderful way to end such a great week! I know that this gospel is true and that we're all here for a reason. I know that Jesus Christ lives and that He knows everyone of us personally. I love you all!

Until next week,

Sister Struempler

 

There is Sunshine in my Soul Today! (4/14/14)

This week was so wonderful! The sun was shining, the birds were singing, what more could you ask for? So last P-day was pretty relaxed. We went to the mall for a bit and that was about all. Today we are going to go to Vancouver to visit Stantly Park! We're so excited! I won't be able to write any letters today, but next week I'll send you some for sure. Make sure to write me! I really love hearing from everyone :) Happy Almost Easter!!

Then on Tuesday, we went on exchanges! Sister Ding and Sister Wang came with me, and Sister Petersen went with Sister Li. I was privileged to be companions with Sister Ding for her LAST day of her mission! She went home on Wednesday morning to China. I'm going to miss her so much!!

 

 

Sister Ding is on the left and Sister Wang is on the right. :) 

 

 

We did some tracting, and it was awesome because I could talk to the English people and they could talk to the Chinese people. I felt like it was so efficient! Except I always had to ask them what happened after a door because I don't speak Mandarin. It was pretty funny.

Then on Tuesday we had some lessons that we went to together. We also went street contacting, and that was so fun! We went to the Richmond public market for dinner, and it was only Asian stuff! It was awesome. We had to do that for Sister Ding's last dinner. 

We were able to teach this girl named Amra from Mongolia. It was so interesting because she's never even heard of God or Jesus Christ. I was so glad to have the Chinese sisters with me because they always teach people who don't know about God. Most people from the Asian countries are Buddhist. We taught her the plan of salvation and she loved it. It makes me so happy to teach people about this plan because it's true! We know why we're here on this Earth, where we go after we die, and where we came from.

Then, we went and visited Molly so Sister Ding could say goodbye to her. John doesn't want to meet with us any more, which is super sad. Hopefully some missionaries in the future will be able to teach him again!

We also saw cute little Abi and we watched the restoration DVD with her. I know that Joseph Smith was called by God to be a prophet in this last dispensation!

Then, we exchanged back on Tuesday night. We dropped the Chinese sisters off at the mission home on Wednesday morning and said good bye to Sister Ding one last time. We had a Zone meeting which was really good. We talked about how we can use the Book of Mormon more in our missions. By sharing the words of the Book of Mormon more and testifying of its truthfulness, we can help people gain a stronger testimony of it.

We tried to teach Moyett one last time, but she wasn't home. It's so sad when we have to stop teaching people for a while. I'm going to miss teaching her, but she isn't ready and isn't willing to make the time for it right now. I know she'll be baptized in the future.   

We taught some more pretty awesome people this week. We have been trying to meet with the members more and even some less active members. We taught Sachi again and she's so awesome! She had so many questions, so we taught her the plan of salvation. We asked her to read the first chapter of the Book of Mormon and she thought that it was too short when she looked at it. So she read the ENTIRE FIRST BOOK OF NEPHI! It was crazy! We had to explain the whole thing to her. It was pretty funny actually.

We also have been working with this less active lady who has three little boys. We've been trying to get her to church for the past month or two and she finally agreed to come this Sunday. We were running around with our heads cut off trying to find 3 car seats for her boys because she doesn't have a car or car seats. With the Lord's help, we were able to get the car seats and someone with a van to pick her and her boys up. It was such a miracle to see them there! Everyone is welcome at church, members, non-members, and people who haven't come in years! I love this gospel and I know that it's true!!

So here is an example of some of the houses we knock on:

 

 

Huge mansions! It's crazy. Richmond is full of them. But it isn't like there is a neighbourhood of mansions. You'll see a normal house, and then this giant thing, and then a normal house. Then a couple mansions, then a normal house. It's crazy how diverse Richmond is!

This is my companion and I's motto:

 

 

Here's a beautiful picture:

 

 

and lastly, this is what I do to my companion at night. I give her giant corn rows:

 

 

hahaha - that was fun! I love you all and have a wonderful Easter! I know that Christ was resurrected and that He Lives. 

Sincerely,

Sister Struempler

 

 

 

Today I've been out for 8 months! (4/7/14)

Woot woot!

So, last pday we got to go to a Buddhist temple! It was SO FUN!

 

 

 

Then, we taught Abi again. She is seriously the cutest thing. We were able to teach her the ten commandments this week, and we did it by making a puzzle. Every time she put a piece of the puzzle together, we taught her the commandment that was on that piece. Then we taught her hymn 303 "Keep the Commandments" because she loves singing. It was probably one of the most creative lessons my companion and I have ever come up with!

Then...John and Molly. We finished teaching John about the plan of salvation. So, we decided to teach him the Law of Chastity so that John could get baptised. I guess he isn't as solid as we thought. Needless to say, he took great offence to the Law of Chastity and I don't know if we will be meeting with him again. It's so sad! I want them to get sealed in the temple for time and all eternity! If only he could just understand the eternal importance.

After the awkward Law of Chastity lesson, my comp and I decided to drop by the office before going in to eat dinner. We had some thank you cards that we wanted to give to the office couples. When we dropped in, an investigator named Malcolm showed up and nobody was there to teach him. The Elders were suppost to teach him, but they had to reschedule. They tried calling him, but he ended up showing up for his lesson anyway. We gave him a tour of the church with the Nickels and then taught him the entire restoration and invited him to be baptised!!! IT WAS SUCH A TENDER MERCY AFTER SUCH AWFUL LESSON! It was so good. He is going to be baptised on April 27th! yayyy!!!!

This week we were able to teach some awesome people after having so many of our baptismal dates fall though for March. I know the Lord is blessing us so much! We were able to teach this girl named Sachi who is a sceptic. We thought she was going to be argumentative, but she had some really sincere questions. She wants to find God in her life, but is just very logical. We left her with a Book of Mormon and then taught her on Sunday about the restoration. She felt the spirit! I could tell that she was about to cry at one point. The gospel really changes peoples hearts, and I see this miracle every day. We invited her to be baptised, and she said if she overcame her scepticism, then she would. 

We also taught this lady named Evelyn. She is SUCH a miracle. The Chinese Sisters ran into her at a bus stop and got her number. We tried calling her but she never picked up. THEN the Vancouver Korean Elders also ran into her in Vancouver, and they talked to her again! We phoned her and phoned her until she finally called us back! We met with her last night and she is the cutest thing. She is first nations and really reminds me of Angelina (the first nations lady that I taught up in Vanderhoof). She's so in tune with the spirit and knows that the gospel can help her and her family. She's had such a rough life, like most first nations do. So, I am glad that we are able to help her and that God put her in the path of TWO sets of missionaries. We also invited her to be baptised and she said yes! She is going to be baptised on May 4th!

General conference was SO amazing! I was able to gain so much insight and revelation that I've never been able to do before. I think it was because Elder Christoffersen came to our mission a month ago, and I was able to feel so connected to the apostles and Prophet. I loved President Monson's talk about Christ-like love. I want to love everyone around me and show people that there are people who still care about them. I love this gospel! It is so true!

WRITE ME LETTERS! I only got one this week :(

Love,

Sister Struempler

As Sisters in Zion (3/31/14)

Last week, Noelle sent me some great questions. I've decided to put all the answers on my blog, so hopefully this can help people who are preparing to go on missions :) Plus it was just fun to think about all of these questions:

So far, what has been the best part of your mission?

The best part of my mission so far is the privilege to help people learn about the restored gospel of Jesus Christ. My testimony has grown so much, I can't even explain it. I know that this gospel is true with all my heart, and that just makes me so happy. I love the fact that I can just walk around smiling all day, even if people reject our message or are rude to us, because I know that it is true and it makes me happy. I love seeing the change in people as I bear my testimony to them. I can see the light of Christ in their eyes as they hear truths that they have already known before. While not everyone will accept our message, it is just wonderful to have the opportunity to help people change their lives and find joy and a purpose in their life.  

What has been the most difficult part of your mission?

The most difficult part of my mission is when people don't keep commitments or decide to reject the gospel. It just breaks my heart. I know that this gospel will help them, if they just make the time and have that desire to learn. Everyone has their agency to choose for themselves, but sometimes I just want to force them to choose the gospel. But I can't. hahaha. It's frustrating. But if someone won't accept the gospel, then we will just go out and find someone who will. 

What do you wish you had done to better prepare yourself for your mission?

I wish that I had studied "Preach My Gospel" better before my mission. I also wish that I had read and studied the New Testament and the Book of Mormon better before my mission. It's so worth it to know those things before your mission, because then you can just go straight into studying deeper doctrine once you get onto your mission. You just need to have a solid testimony going into a mission, because people will test you and try to break down your testimony every day. 

What advice would you give to my Laurels about preparing to go on a mission or preparing to go to the Temple?

I would tell them to pray to their Heavenly Father every single day and talk to Him about everything. Establish a relationship with Him, and it will help you so much for the rest of your life. I would also tell them to study the Book of Mormon. It is the keystone of our religion, and I want to make it the keystone of my life.

Do you wish that you had done anything different during High School as far as missionary work goes?

I wish I was just more educated about missionary work. I didn't know ANYTHING in High School. I wish I had known how important it was to share the gospel back then, and I would have been talking to everyone about it. I just didn't know. Priests and Laurels, GO OUT WITH THE MISSIONARIES :) Make the time. This will help you SO MUCH to be better prepared to go on a mission.

How did Seminary help to prepare you for your mission? Or did it?

It helped. It was my fault for it not helping me more. I didn't understand the importance of it in high school, and was asleep half of the time. Stay awake in seminary! Study the scriptures that you learned about in seminary at home as well, so that you gain a deeper understanding!

What are the people like? 

People are different in every area that I have served in. The trick to working with people is just loving them and serving them. If they are rude, just smile and tell them that God loves them. :)

What is your typical day like?

Typical day: I wake up, work out (I've gotten better at working out in the mornings, it's hard, but working out feels so good and I feel better during the day when I actually work out), shower, eat, start personal study at 8 am, companionship study at 9 am, out of the door by 10 am. We try to schedule appointments in the mornings because it's hard to find people in the morning; people are at work or at school. But, we have found that we can go street contacting in the morning if everything else falls through. Then we eat lunch at 12, I usually eat as fast as I can (for about 10 minutes) and then sleep for the rest of our lunch hour. Then in the afternoon we have more teaching appointments, or stop by members. Then we eat dinner at 4. Then from 5-7pm we have consecrated finding time. We knock on doors, go street contacting, etc. It is our time to find people to teach because it's when people are at home. Then from 7-9 we either have more teaching appointments or try to drop by members; if we didn't find a new investigator then we continue knocking on doors until we find one every day. We have 20 quality gospel conversations every day, which leads to us finding at least one new investigator a day. God is pouring out blessings upon the Canada Vancouver mission!

Sister Ding is going home in 8 days! I'M GOING TO MISS HER SO MUCH! (Now I have an excuse to go to China after my mission)

 

My district! Plus our two Sister Training Leaders :) I love them so much! Sister Shelley is in my district again...in a zebra companionship! Sister Leung speaks Chinese and Sister Shelley speaks English. Ah, it just sounds so fun! She's in White Rock. 

We were able to teach adorable little Abi this week. She is progressing so well! Her mom Angie sits in on the lessons, but just wants us to focus on teaching Abi. This week we were able to help Angie a little bit because she said her FIRST PRAYER! In her prayer, she even said that "I am excited for Abi to become a Mormon." It was the cutest thing that I have ever heard. :)

We were also able to go on an exchange with the Sister Training Leaders on Wednesday. I went with Sister Hobbs and Sister Petersen went with Sister VanTienderen. It was fun going out with them! We were able to teach John with Molly. John is doing bad. His depression is really weighing down on him. Please everyone, keep him in your prayers for me! The gospel is helping him, but its hard for him to feel the spirit with his depression. Molly is so strong to be able to help him all the time! She said that she couldn't be doing this without the gospel. The gospel can help everyone!

We also stopped by this ward member who has just recently started coming back to church. She is preparing to go to the temple soon! I can't wait, it's just too exciting! Making sacred covenants with God and keeping them is so important in the process of "enduring to the end" (part of the Doctrine of Christ). I am so grateful to help her become an enduring member of the church!

We also taught this 12 year old named Hiro. His mom is from Malaysia and his dad is from Japan. Only the mom is the member. The elders have been working with him for a long time, but have passed him off to us to teach. We are so excited! Sometimes, people just need sister missionaries to teach them :) 

Then on friday, a HUGE miracle happened. We went to the church to go to a return appointment that the Chinese sisters set up for us with a new investigator. We show up 10 minutes early, and she is already there hanging out in the mission office, reading an ensign! hahaha. Then we went into another room to teach her and she's just so prepared. We taught her the entire restoration and invited her to be baptised (mind you, this is the first time we met her) and she said yes! April 26th :) She has decided to go to YSA though, so we passed her off to the YSA missionaries. I'm so grateful that I was able to teach her the first lesson and help her progress towards baptism!!!

On Saturday we were able to go to the General Woman's broadcast. It was such a wonderful, unique experience. Members brought some friends and a lot of recently baptised women were able to come as well. It was so wonderful to be able to unite as sisters! <3

I am so grateful for the Book of Mormon and the doctrine of Christ. This gospel is so true! I love it!

Sister Struempler