My Testimony :) - February 24, 2014

Hi everyone! 

This week has been the best ever! Many things have happened! I just want to take this time that I have to share my testimony with you. Of course all the fun stuff I do is interesting and it's fun to read about that but I just want to let you know that I know the Church of Jesus Christ has the fullness of the gospel and that it is true! I know that the priesthood has been restored back onto this earth for us to use! We don't use it enough!! Always ask for blessings when you need them. They are for us to have direct communication with our Father in Heaven. He loves us so much! He has blessed us with families and many other things! He loves us so much that he sent His Son to die for us. The Savior suffered for us so we wouldn't have to. Use the Atonement. Use it to get rid of your burdens and most importantly, Forgive Yourself. The Savior suffered for us already. He has already paid the price. Lean on him. Give up the stress that you are going through and be happy! God wants us all to be happy and have a good life. Hold to the rod. Keep yourself on the path to righteousness and by your example, others WILL follow! They will see the happiness in your life and want the same. I know the Book of Mormon is the word of God. It is true and has been given to us to read. Read it! Through the scriptures, Heavenly Father can talk to us and give us revelation, along with prayer. My challenge to you is also for myself. Each night, kneel down and pray and at the end of each prayer, (before closing it) tell Heavenly Father and Jesus what you have learned about the gospel or Him that day. He wants us to talk to Him. Along with that, have faith that he is listening. Have faith that he will help you. Faith without works is dead. Show your faith and he will bless you. I love you all so much and I love the gospel and being a missionary is the best!!!! EVER!

Sister Svedin :)

Fiber One Bar, and other stuff! - February 18, 2014

Okay so this past week is week 2 in my planner and I went to my first Zone Conference!! There is a family here, well there are alot of families here and they are all awesome! Specifically though, I have grown close to the Faria family. They are the best! They tell us to try to stay away from party homes but we can't do that if we get to go to dinner with them :) I am so grateful for that! Also, I have no idea why I can't say their last name right. I know how to say it but everytime I do, I say Ferrari. Which is really bad during prayers cause then we just end up laughing during the prayer. I've decided, although its not gonna happen all the time... That since our Heavenly Father has a sense of humor, it's okay when something funny happens during the prayer and we chuckle a little. Not recommended though. But I have realized its not something to be worried about. It happens :) On Thursday we called our dinner appointment to make sure it was still okay for us to come over and then we showed up that night and she had totally forgot! We had grilled cheese sandwiches and applesauce! Best meal! Ha! Friday I went to the Follow up trainers meeting and that was AWESOME! I got to see all my MTC sisters and...elders.

One thing that we always do during dinner appointments is leave them with a message. This week, Sister Ladle and I were directed more towards our weaknesses and as we come closer to Christ we see them more and how we need His help to help our weaknesses grow strong! Also the commitment that we left with them was to start to develop a Christlike Attribute. I have been working on Humility. And boy do I still need to work on it. I have been learning more and more each day and have started to see that it makes sense that as I strive for humility to also have diligence and to be patient and they all work together! So pick up a Preach my Gospel and look at chapter 6. Read through it and see what you need to work on. Be honest with yourself and as you work on it, youll grow closer to Christ and you will develop that attribute. Pray for help and He will help you. He is always there, waiting for you to turn to Him so He can help you with your every day needs! He loves you and I love you too!

HAHA okay one last thing.... so there are 5 missionary curses that I have learned: 1) peeing your pants 2) #2 in your pants 3) hugged by opposite gender 4) kissed by opposite gender and 5) unknown. It'll just be something bad.

But I have gone a whole month and the only thing that has happened is hugged by opposite gender. It wasnt bad though. The old bishop of the ward I am in just gives hugs all the time. I walked into their house and he just gave me a side hug. And it didn't even bother me. It was good. It was like getting a side hug from a family member. So technically it doesn't count. But yup. Anyways the work is progressing, my companion is the best ever and I am having the best time.

Love you all and I hope all is super well at home :)

Sister Svedin :)

p.s. Dont eat Fiber One bars.... They may taste good but it left me all bloated and my stummy didn't feel good. Other than that... Read the scriptures and pray and your life will be blessed :)

Explanation of "It's Just Kinda Perfect" - February 10, 2014

(Handwritten letter)

I guess I didn't explain my subject title from the email. By that I was meaning, EVERYTHING that happens ends up being perfect.

The other day we went to dinner at a members home and we really lost track of time because we were laughing and having such an awesome time. That night we had two appointments after dinner. We realized the time, taught a lesson (which was basically a short message on how to become better and closer to Christ), and then left. We got to the car (cause we have a car!) and I looked a the phone expecting missed calls from our appointments BUT there were only text messages from them saying they couldn't have us over and the other was they came down with the flu and that we really shouldn't come over. That was all a miracle. It's funny how it worked out though. Heavenly Father and Jesus loves us so much. All of us and when we aren't paying attention, He is and He takes care of us. Of course, we learned to really be obedient but everything that happened was just kind of perfect!

So my companion, Sister Ladle, like a soup ladle, has been having a rough time. This whole week we have been together, she has asked for 3 blessings. She has anxiety and has been really anxious and some more stuff and it really worries me. There are some nights where she can't fall asleep and I tell her to wake me up, but she is just too kind for that and says I look too peaceful. anyways, tonight was really good. Today was rough for her and tonight she asked for a blessing of healing. All she wants is to be healed and not have to deal with everything. (It makes me uber sad) But tonight was amazing. the spirit in the room felt so good and the blessing was beautiful. the Elder that did't give the blessing said "I call the next one". But it's not really up to him on that but how amazing right? It's so amazing to see the power of God through immature/mature Elders. It's another one of those kind of perfect things. My respect for the Priesthood holders has grown more today. I'm thinking my companion will sleep well tonight! I hope she does! Anyways...that's that :)

Love you all and miss you! I get mom/grandma/sister/friend hugs here every single day. There's a little old lady - 91 years old! She said to me today, "Whenever you need a mom hug come to me." I seriously LOVE her hugs because it reminds me of all of you! :)

Love,
Sister Svedin

Its Just Kind Of PERFECT! - February 10, 2014

Okay so this past week has been cool! I am going to apologize now because I have a feeling "cool" might pop up a lot because as a missionary my vocab goes down in worldly words to churchy words! Its cool though because its like a veil has been put over my mind. No joke. I cant remember any songs besides the "Frozen" soundtrack and any song that someone else sings or song that is playing in a store. Mission life is great! I have been feed by the members every single night. They ALWAYS give us dessert too. and its usually brownies. MY FAVORITE!! There is just something about a brownie that is hard to resist. This week, Sister Ladle and I got in 21 lessons! We are pretty cool and our awkward moments are continuing. And my funny stupidity also! ha so this morning I said to Sister Ladle, "I'm not really a sleep deeper". She busted up laughing and then I realized what I said and well yah... I think we laugh more than we work out. Which is cool because laughing works the core right?

I have had a tremendous growth also. I'm constantly learning more and I love this article that we read. It's called the 4th Missionary. READ IT! It's pretty cool! No worries about me, I'm striving to be the 4th missionary! I have learned a lot about agency and how we have the agency to give our agency to the Lord. It's so cool!! Really read the article. It will help you in your life. Just think of it as a member and not a missionary! BE THE 4TH MEMBER!!! It will bless your life if you do! I promise you that it will :) It's suppose to warm up this week and I am super glad! Love you all and I hope all of you, whoever is reading this, is having a great life! Look for the blessings in your life! Be Grateful! and Love life because life is worth loving! Even through rough patches! 

Over and out!

Sister Svedin :) :) :)

MTC Experience

Saturday, January 25, 2014
Hi mom! So my first day was good! But the second not so much and the 3rd day.... boy oh boy. Hopefully Monday is wayyyyyy easier! I wrote letters today so you will get them next week! My Patriarchal blessing is in my journal which I put in one of my boxes of clothing! I think. But I really need you to send me that! also, I have some money that I forgot to pay for tithing. So maybe I could send you it? or I could just have you take 11 dollars out of the bank and write up a tithing slip. I will get the thank yous done. I'm thinking I'll have time for that on the plane or next p day when I actually know what I am doing. 

I had a really hard day on Friday. I kept thinking because I was going to be practicing how to teach and it was going to be towards someone that was pretending to be an investigator. That was so hard for me. I can't just pretend to do that. And it was hard. I felt so lame because my comp was doing just fine! Her name is Sister Wilde. I cried. It was hard. My teachers gave me a blessing though, and that was what helped me soooo much. I'm totally okay with it now because I don't have to do it again. But I'm thankful for it because it taught me. I've noticed that the morning is super difficult and then at night its way easy. I am more confident at night! Which is good!

I'm way excited to just get out into the field and start teaching the gospel to those that have never heard of what I am teaching them! I am doing way good! and I will have a pday before I get on the plane! My pdays are Saturdays! Well here they are! Anyways! I just want to make sure that the family is striving to be good! It is so important to pray. Prayer is so essential. I pray before I do everything basically! even before I played volleyball. Weird but do it! Thats one thing I want the family to start doing. Pray in the morning. Pray at night. Pray alone. Pray before meals! Talk with Heavenly Father. He is there wanting to know about what we are going through and He is wanting to help. We just have to ask. 

I love you so much mom! Have a good week! Don't miss me much because it's like I'm at school for church! I am learning so much! This next week, I get to teach real investigators that have been taught before or they are recently baptized! So it will be way easier than someone that has been on a mission and knows the gospel! 

Love you! 

Sister Svedin :)

Also, Have Grandma email me. I dont know her address... Thank her for the cookies! because you'll talk to her before I get the chance! Tell her that I haven't taken the ring off besides when I work out because they don't allow us to have rings on! But it gets put in a safe place! I won't lose it :) and let grandma and grandpa know that I love them! Well, let everyone know that I love them and tomorrow won't be the same. But my family (disrict) here will just be a substitute until I come back home which will be in August actually! 

Love ya! 

Sister Svedin :)

Saturday, February 1, 2014
Okay mom! I'm here! The MTC is the best! I told all my teachers that I was excited to get out into the field and they didn't think I was being serious! Being here is just like being at home! The Sisters treat me just like anyone would at home. They always joke around and make fun of me and I love it because it creates good giggles! One of the funniest things was one of my teachers really just struggled with saying my name and every time he would say it he would ask if it was right and it never was so I wrote out a pronunciation for him (sss-fuh-dean) and he still couldn't get it. He always said zvedin. and so I said "Say snake!" and all the sisters just started laughing. I guess snake wasn't the best way to help him get the SV part down. So another teacher Brother Welch said say "sphere" so that one helped more. Ha I just thought snake would work because snakes make the ssss sound. Anyways, I don't even know how to say the teachers name. Its Brother Pinnock. I never said it cause i didn't wanna mess it up. Anyways! So, I had a couple of teachers, Bro. Pinnock, Bro. Belliston, and Bro. Holmquist, and then some others that were there. Bro. Johnson and Bro. Rasmussen. They were all cool and very caring! I love my district also! We have giggle attacks and that's the best! 

I wrote a letter but saved this story for email! This happened Thursday the last day I had with all my teachers! and Bro. Pinnock gave us all a situation and it was that we had been teaching lessons to an investigator and they called us and said sorry, I just don't want to meet with the missionaries anymore. You can come by and pick up the Book of Mormon you gave me and we can talk for a little bit but ya.... So this lesson was to help us as missionaries listen to the spirit to help the investigator remember all that they have felt and learned. And it was the best experience I have had here at the MTC with the Spirit! I had to really rely on the Spirit to tell me what to ask and what to say. And It was amazing! 

Another awesome story!!! I went to gym yesterday and they have a board with records and girls didn't have one for bench press of push-ups so I did it!! and it has to hold for a week then I will get a certificate!!!!! and my name up on the board. I set the record at 40 push-ups and 23 reps for 50 pounds on the bench press. Except it shouldn't be called bench press because its a shoulder press.... different muscles. But yah!!! I love you!!! and I am way excited to go out and serve Denver!!! I got my Patriachal blessing and I bought a call card so I'll be calling you sometime in the morning on Monday. My flight leaves at 7 am and I leave the MTC at 3:30 am so sometime between then. Get everybody up when I call!!! And answer my call cause it cuts minutes off the card for every call I make! so Answer!!!!!

Love ya!

Sister Svedin :)

Feb. 4, 2014 1st Email!

Hey there!

It's Sister Svedin and this is my first official email to you. I flew on an airplane for the first time taking my mission adventure to Denver, Colorado (in case you forgot that I am here and not there). The flight really messed with my head and made me feel all weird the whole day but it was my first time... probably happens to everyone. I got to the airport and walking from the airplane to the building... I saw my breathe. It is freezing here and all snow-like. Good thing for heat and warm jackets and a car instead of a bike! Appreciate the warm weather and warm hot sun in the summer cause I am wanting that right now! So my adventure through the airport was great. I got on a subway thing to go and get my baggage in another building and almost fell over when it started going. Holding on is important sometimes! Especially if its the Iron Rod! *singing* Hold to the rod, the iron rod! The Elders are really helpful! They are constantly wanting to take things and do things for the Sisters and it is so kind! So boys, men, brethren, Do things for girls! It shows that you care and I am pretty sure it is part of a Christlike attribute! I met my Mission President and wife and then met the AP missionaries. (I' not actually sure what they are called, I'm still getting used to this whole mission life) We went to the mission home and learned some more stuff. Orientation stuff. Great stuff like being proper and all etiquette at the table and members homes because missionaries here stay at members homes and eat dinner everyday with a member or someone else that is so caring to feed us! I have made really good friendships with my Sistrect (District full of Sisters) :). We all separated yesterday and that was fun but sad. I have gotten to go through the most craziest awesome life blessing experiences of change in a matter of 2 weeks. Would I do it again?? Ill tell you in a month. Its hard to get settled in. Most of you know my life, and I have never gone through dramatic changes. BUT, I wont be coming home to get away from these dramatic changes because they are for the good! I get to bring others unto Christ and share the gospel with them! I get to rely everything I have on Our Heavenly Father and Jesus Christ. I get to have the constant companionship with the Holy Ghost and I love it! At times, its hard to remember all of that because I start to think of myself and everything I am going through but then I just stop thinking and just really stop thinking. Thinking is my worst friend besides when its about the gospel :) I have learned a lot! One thing that Satan can do is get into our thoughts and put us down and direct us in a path that we shouldn't be going in. That's why we should all just stop thinking about ourselves ;) and Hold to the ROD!!! But really. Take a day, or a week and don't do anything for yourself. In your prayers, pray for others and things that others need. Do small things for others.

One of the excited tasks I get to do is Service! There is a program here that the missionaries are involved in called JustServe. So each week we as missionaries are all challenged to do 10 hours of service and I am just so excited! We cant share the gospel while doing the service but we go with our name tags and serve being examples of Christ! Hopefully planting that seed in the people of Denvers hearts that this church, The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-Day Saints, is true and that we are service-oriented! and that they'll want to learn more of the oriented things. Its like a multi-vitamin church. You take in the church and you get a lot of things out of it! so I guess the church is Multi-oriented in everything that will get us to live for eternity!

If that doesn't make sense.... Just don't think too much about it cause I have already thought too much about it! Which reminds me of something else I have really grown a strong testimony of! Jesus died for us and He took upon Him all the sins of the world and suffered. He has already suffered for us allowing us not to have to. He wants us to return to live with Him and wants us to be happy! We all sin. All we have to do though is turn to Christ and I promise you that He will forgive you as you pray and have a change of heart to not sin again. The thing that is so special though is that if we do end up sinning that same thing again, He will forgive you. He loves you wants each one of us to turn to Him and follow His example and do the things that he has asked us to do. Ha its such a missionary thing to say but really... pretend I just got up in fast and testimony meeting and said that as a non-missionary! Cause its true whether or not I am a missionary or just Ashlee :)

I love the gospel and miss everyone! SO MUCH! even work and not having a whole meal! I miss just eating whenever and not just breakfast, lunch, and Dinner. I don't even get to have ice cream at odd hours of the night because I am sleeping so when you are eating ice cream after 9:30 (cause that's when I have to be back home no matter what. and I'm not sure if we even have the sufficient needs to buy ice cream or time to eat it) I hope you think of me and how much I would love to be there with you eating that Ice cream! I'm so glad I am here though with all of the guidelines I choose to follow! I'm planning on getting skinny ;) Its been 2 weeks and I'm still going strong so you better know I am committed to this! Love you all! Miss you!

Also! My sister Companion is Sister Ladle. Like a soup Ladle! ha and she is great! We have been learning about some same similarities that we are both blessed with like our favorite color and our awkward ways! It really is great because she can relate to me! Heavenly Father and Jesus Christ really knows who we are and who we need in our life because I just know already that Sister Ladle will be helping me a lot with everything because she has been through it!

*Mom: include the stories I wrote to you! They are funny. And it'll let everyone know I am still my awkward self!

STORIES

I made it! and the first flight experience was good. Really messed with my head but it was good. I talked way too much I guess cause Sister Hoopes said after that she tried to take a nap but couldn't because all she could hear was me. 

Sister Ashlee Svedin

Colorado Denver North Mission

6368 Iris Way

Arvada, CO 80004

That's the address. The camera is actually fine. It just has to be used the right way by someone that isn't shaky. Mom, everyone here is so happy and generous to take photos for me. But I am going to start using my camera. I just need to find the cord. I only have 4 pictures though... The weather here is so cold! It snowed last night and just sitting in the house i feel the coldness. Its actually snowing right now! My companion is Sister Ladle and guess what. She is awkward! So we connect in that way! My first awkward story of Arvada is my zone went to dinner at a members home last night and it was a "greenie" dinner. So everything was green! We had soup and it was cheesy potato ham soup! REALLY GOOD!!! and then blue and orange rolls left over from Sunday. Anyways I am eating the soup and soup drops on my chin and an Elder that I know from the MTC saw and said Sister Svedin you can take off your scarf and then you wont end up with a green scarf. I then said my scarf isn't green though. Its blue. Then I said anyways if i took it off it would require me taking off my scarf. (lazy side of me). Then like a min. later I said okay Ill take it off for you.
And the dumb Elder said OH! and then laughed and then his comp went wide eye and his comp is the Zone leader and my comp didn't hear anything and a member heard it and then we all started laughing and I was dying inside because of everything... It was awkward. And then... my 2nd story. I'm at a member families home and we are leaving and my comp hugs all of them then I just look at them all and they stand looking at me. and it was so awkward. The mom said so are you a hugger or hand shaker or nothing... after the whole awkwardness coming out of me. I hugged them. It ended good. But this change is hard. I just wish I was already into the first month of my mission because its rough having to meet everyone. I feel like I could be a convert into the church just getting to know everything and what exactly I am suppose to be doing. But I love you and I love everyone back home and MISS EVERYONE! This will be long short 18 months though! There are a lot of things I am looking forward to like basketball and doing service! We get to put in 10 hours of service a week so I am really excited about that! Love you! Sister Svedin :) 

Sister Svedin :)