Brrrrrr!!!

Its been a cold, snowy week! Luckily we have awesome ward members who are willing to drive us everywhere! Its been a great week!, Sister Kitchen and I gave talks in sacrament meeting yesterday. We got only a couple days notice, but we both did a good job. We spoke on keeping the sabbath day holy. I've learned a lot from preparing my talk. the Lord only wants one day out of our week for us to worship him. It is his day,, we should direct our thoughts and actions toward him on that day. But I was able to share a lot of my experiences and many of the members complimented me saying it was such a good sacrament meeting! haha 

Rodney V

We had dinner with a family in our ward, the Christophersons. They own a big gun store in town. They invited one of their non member customers over for dinner. His name is Rodney. Rodney is a 60 year old single man, who attends some pentacostal church. He shared a lot of his beliefs about God and we shared some of ours. He said that there was something different about us and then he excused himself from the table and said God was prompting him to go do something. We continued to visit with the members and as we were leaving, Rodney came back with two envolopes. He gave each of us one. As we were heading home we opened up the envolope to find $200 in each of them. We went back to return the money but he refused. We both decided to donate our money to the church's missionary fund. 

Study Group

Every Wednesday Sister Kitchen and I hold a study group class. We usually just read in the scriptures and follow the study guide and discuss what we've read. Its pretty fun. this week we had 4 people show up. We studied in Mosiah chpt 3-4 about King Benjamin talking to his people. 

Brother White

Brother White is a less active member in our ward. Him and his wife are in their 70s. He served a mission and and served in the bishopric with L Tom Perry. He stopped going to church because he hates little kids. He calls them crumb crotchers lol But we went and visited him and he said that the church is actually not true. He said that we don't know anything because we are too young and that Joseph Smith is of the devil. He is kinda crazy and we think he's lost his mind. He said that the church changed since he was younger. But it was really sad visiting with him. He has fallen completely away from the church. I pray that he will come back and that he will soften his heart! :(

Jimmy! 

Jimmy is doing awesome!! We watched the Restoration video with him and he loved it! He is reading the Book of Mormon everyday. He said he knows that its true. He talked to the bishop about getting baptized but the only thing thats holding him back is his parole. He cant get baptized until next year. But he said he would wait! Jimmy is so awesome and his faith is so strong! 

Thank you Jaylynn and Mika for the flowers! It made my day! :)

My Ward Mission leader, Brother Sharp bought me a cake!

The Klein family in our ward own a big farm!

Happy 7 Months! its a beautiful snowy day here in Fallon! This week is so fun! 

Zone Conference! 

We got to travel with the Hermanas down to Carson City for Zone Conference! We had trainings from our mission president on using technology! I am excited to be able to have a smartphone! and to learn how to use technology for good! We also had trainings on how to better teach as missionaries which really helped. I was happy to see my trainer, Sister Murdock at Zone Conference!! It was so food to catch up with her! She goes home in 2 months!! 

Exchanges! 

We went on another exchange this week! I got to serve a day with Hermana Ortiz who lives in South Salt Lake, but she grew up in Mexico. She didn't speak english when she started her mission (a year ago), but her english is awesome! She is teaching me Spanish and Im teaching her English. (Ive realized that English is hard to teach)  We had so much fun! We taught Jimmy more about the importance of the Book of Mormon. We also taught what the Gospel of Jesus Christ is and how important it is to live it. He came to church on Sunday and met with Bishop asking if he could get baptized! He is on Parole for murder so the process will take a year. Our goal is to help him gain his own testimony and prepare him for when he gets baptized. 

Pascales

The Pascales are a less active family in our ward. The parents are not members. They both have an addiction with smoking. The Mother, Sarah told us that she is trying so hard to quit smoking so that she can live to see her grandkids. She said she has tried everything to quit. She has 5 kids who are all baptized. (ages 18-8) We had dinner with them and we shared 2 Nephi 21:20. We invited them to Press forward with a steadfastness in Christ. We bore our testimonies that Christ is who they need to go to to help them. It will be easier to overcome our addictions with Christ! 

Love takes
the bad with the good
and makes it all
very special.
STUART AND LINDA MACFARLANE

Going to the doctors isn't my thing. Besides the simple, basic check ups that is needed and also making sure I'm ok. I really don't like visiting them at all! Why? Because I don't like spending money when I don't have too and I just hate being there!

Growing up for me wasn't sunshine and rainbows like other kids. Majority of the time I was in and out of the hospital. Dealing with health issues all my life prevented me from having a comfortable childhood. My amazing mom did her best to give me a good childhood regardless of my health problems. She didn't want me to feel more miserable than I should at that age but honestly, I didn't really felt that way. She made every moment an adventure. Thanks Mom!

 As I got older my health got a bit better but I still had to visit the hospital more than I would like to. From heart problems, back issues, skin/allergy irritations and other random sickness I had, I felt that no matter what my health problems were, I was going to live a happier and fun life. And I did!

Not many people knew that I had problems. Actually I didn't want them to know besides my family. If you knew me back then, you would think that I looked healthy. But I wasn't. Even my mom had major health issues but she kept it in because she didn't want unnecessary sympathy or judgments from others. I felt the same way. At first it wasn't easy to keep it from my friends, but my mom told me that I need support and positivity from others besides family. And she was right! I had great friends who didn't treat me like a lab rat but they gave me the strength I needed growing up. 

To my good friends who knew me during my sickly hospital days, Thank You for being my true friend and my amazing support! Luv you guys!!

It was never hard for me to help others. I know from experience. Plus my Mom was my main example of helping others. And I wanted to emulate those attributes in my life. When I can help, I'll help. Whenever I know someone who is having health issues or going through problems, I would give the support, care and love they need to over come it. Not everyone likes that but I understand how they feel. I know when to help and when not to. So with all that being said, I'm a caring & loving person that has so many internal health issues! Yup I'm a gentle nutcase!?! hehehe Just kidding! I do my best everyday to live a good life, a healthy life to the best of my abilities. I dont ask for help unless I really need it, which is a rare thing. I'm doing this right now, by making an awareness to everyone and anyone who are dealing with personal health issues alone and not too sure who or where to turn to. 

If you have insurance, then go see your primary care doctor. Talk to them and let them know what you are dealing with. By going to someone with better knowledge of many different health problems people go through on the daily, they can help you or recommend other doctors that you assist you in more depth about your health issues. Don't delay and go see the doctor!

But if none of these options are available to you, then look through your local free health clinics and get the help that they can help you with. At many cases, financial problems are usually the reason why many people to dont seek for help. I was like that in my adult years. :(

Many jobs don't give you the best health coverages, by going to a free clinic could help you solve any health issues that you have. Just a heads up, many free clinics can do so much and they are sometimes limited with resources. If that is the case, then you might have to go to the emergency room. I know, I know, going to the emergency room is expensive, but you might not have any other options. I hope thats not the case. But it dose happen from time to time. If you don't have to go to the Emergency room then thats great. Hopefully there are other free clinics near your area that could provide the help that you need!

Please don't wait til its too late to fix an issue that could have been prevented! Healing and Medications do take time to work. Dont expect quick results when you had issues prior to your visit to the doctors. If you can take better care of yourself, you can have a healthier and happier life. Remember its worth the check up!

As for me, I'm slowly dealing with some of my older health issues and handling my newer ones with tons of patience. As much as I hate seeing the doctors, its for the best, in my case. I want to continue living. I want to enjoy life even through my hardships. It's not easy, but I'm doing my best to incorporate more good and healthy things so I can be a support to my family, friends and anyone who needs help both spiritually and physically. By the way I'm not rich, so don't ask for money because I don't have any! heheheh

Take good care of yourself and remember don't let your pride get in the way of a healthier life!

If you need a friend to talk to, I'm here for you too!

Much luv,

Jay

Congrats to my sister Cortney, she's given birth to twin girls and I'm so proud of her. I know my nephew Armoni and niece Anayah will be great big siblings to the babies! I love you and take good care of yourself.

Much luv,

your big Sister JayLynn

Okay I'm very interested in trying out this new free product and see if it really cover some of my grey hairs and receding hair lines. This box couldn't come anytime sooner. I've notice that with all the little stress that I have been going through I really need to cover some of my whining and receding hair line. I will post some photos of my before and after photos which I will give you more of my thoughts. I got the color Medium brown and its in a little compact container. It has a small brush and the temporary color touch up is in a powder form. It kind of remind me of eyeshadow powder. Its smooth to the touch and packs on lightly which you can build it up to make it darker or lighter to your preference. This looks pretty cool and its making me eager to try it right now.

I hope it works!

This week was so fun! Sister Kitchen and I were able to see many miracles!! 

NEW INVESTIGATOR!

We met Jimmy on our way to a less active members home. He was standing outside his apartment smoking. He is a member of the Nazarine church but grew up Catholic. He is in his 50's. We asked him if he would be interested in learning about what we believed in. He hesitated at first but then said yes! We set up a time to meet him.

We had our first lesson with him on Thursday at his home. We brought our Ward Mission Leader and his wife (Brother and Sister Sharp) with us to meet him and we had an awesome lesson. He told us that he was skeptical about meeting with us but that he was glad he did because he got a lot of his questions answered. He had many questions about Joseph Smith. He grew up being taught that Joseph Smith was hallucinating when he had his first vision because he did mushrooms. LOL

We were able to clarify his concerns about Mormons. He thought that we are forced to go on missions. And that we are not allowed to have Facebook. He had pictures of his son who passed away on his wall and asked us if it was okay to have pictures of him on his wall. haha it was so funny! Like who do you think we are?? But we were able to teach about how God loves all of us and he wants us to be happy. He has given us families and prophets to help us be happy. He found it fascinating that we believe there is a living prophet today. We also taught about the Great Apostasy which led to many different churches being formed after the death of Jesus Christ. And then we taught about Joseph Smith restoring Christ's gospel and church back on the earth. We invited Jimmy to come to church with us and to read and pray about the Book of Mormon. And he did!! He came with us to church (all 3 hours) and he said he read the first chapter of 1 Nephi!! He is so awesome and we are excited to continue teaching him! I know that the Lord prepared him and put him in our path! 

Yesslith

Elliot and Lavinia Yesslith are a Native American couple in the 50's who live out on the Reservation. Lavinia is Paiute and Elliot is half Shoshone/half Navajo. They don;t have any kids. They have been members of the church all of their life. But are less active and come to sacrament meeting every once in a while. Their goal is to be sealed in temple. The Vaa'ivaka's invited us and the Yesslith's to their home for dinner. It was a buffet!! Sister Vaa'ivaka loves to cook! We had ribs, fried chicken, hamburgers, casserole, banana bread and pani po po! Brother Yesslith was in heaven! haha The Yesslith's invited us to a Pow Wow that will be in the Summer. Its a Native American Festival and it looks so fun! They showed us videos of the dances they do at the Pow Wow. I want to go so bad! haha but we had a good time! 

Exchanges!

We went on exchanges this week! Which means we switch companions for a day. I had the opportunity to go to the Fallon Spanish Branch with my Sister Training Leader, Hermana Servin from Mexico! I had a blast trying to learn Spanish! We had dinner with Carmela and Nacho. Carmela is from Peru and Nacho is from Puerto Rico. They don't speak english. They made Cau Cau which is a Peruvian dish Which basically means, Cow stomach. Its a long process to make because you need to clean out the cows stomach so its edible. But it was sooo good! After we ate, we sang, "I Believe in Christ" in Spanish. I had no idea what they were saying but it was so cool to experience. 

Mariaelena Ugalde

Mariaelena is a Recent Convert who speaks a little bit of english. She is so funny even though I have no idea what she was saying. But we had a lesson with her and We taught the importance of going to church. I was able to teach and bare testimony in the lesson while Hermana Servin translated! haha but you better watch out because I will be coming back speaking Spanish! All those times listening to Selena is paying off! Como la flooorrr haha just kidding. 

Becca!

We had two lessons with Becca Mcknight this week! She is a New Investiagor who we started teaching last week! She is so ready to be baptized! But she wants to make sure she understands everything. She loves meeting with us and loves learning about the gospel! We taught her the Plan of Salvation this week! She is going through a lot of hard times right now in her life. which I believe has prepared her to hear the gospel! But she is awesome! And I look forward to teaching her more!! 

Hermana Servin and Herman Ortiz! 

I think that every moment in your life is important, whether we think it is or not. I'm not always in the right frame of mind when it comes to certain things I sometimes take advantage of. But when I do realize those moments, its too late to take it back or fix it. At some cases I do realize what matters and make the best of it. It's important for me to alway realize the good bad and the ugly things in my life, so that I can learn from it and embrace it. Don't wait to late to fix or change what you need in your life. Pace yourself, forgive yourself, pick yourself up and have faith that you will over come whatever it is that is holding you back from being the best you! Enjoy your time with family and friends that brings you joy & happiness. Remove the trash in your life. You will see & feel the lightness of your burdens lifted from you. May you free yourself from anything that is hurting you. The Lord gave you life to live and learn not waste it away because of fear of failure. These moments in your life will strengthen you and give you experiences to become who you are meant to become! Be realistic with your goals, changes and life adjustments! One step at a time and breath or take a break when you need it. Best of luck to you all!

Much luv,

Jay

This morning I got up feeling uneasy, unsure of what Im feeling and confused to why Im feeling out of whack! So I took my medicine, drank some water and sat in bed just thinking about every thing and anything calming to relax my body. Then it hit me. Its been 5 years since the passing my my mom. Wow! Its already been 5 years? Time flew by fast but my heart still feels wounded and hurt as if you just left me. How will I ever heal? Ive tried everything to clear my mind and heart throughout the years to be fine with it but it dosent work for me. Dealing with deppression a big chunck of my life hasnt been to good for me but adding the weight of loosing a loved one especially my Mom couldnt be anymore depressing to handle. Life goes on for everyone and Ive tried to move forward but as I said before its too damn hard. I may look and be positive majority of the time but thats just to hide my true feelings and fustration I have to carry daily. I guess thats my way of moving forward not moving onwards.

Mom I really miss you! You always have the right thing to say to me. Everyone else dont give me the genguine reasurance that you would give to me. I have hope that I can get through life even though its gut renching. Please send angels to me to keep my mind, heart and soul at peace today. Please be with me, Dad, Nita, Jay and Jeri as we live our earthly lives without you. Lord please be with us!

I really like this quote...it made me think about a lot of things in my life. Lately I've been feeling really unsure about myself and my life. Majority of the time I'm not sure if this is something I want to continue doing or why do I feel uncertain about what I'm doing in my life. I guess I need to continue to brace myself in every step I take. This year so far has really hit hard for me. I hope I can get through it and see the light at the end of the tunnel.

Hello Family! 

I can't tell you how grateful I am to be serving a mission right now! Thank you all for helping me be where I am. I LOVE Fallon and everyone in it! This week was great! and the weather is beautiful! It already feels like summer!

NEW INVESTIGATOR

We got a referral from one of the youth in our ward. Her name is Becca and she is 19 years old. Her family claims to be Atheist and does not approve her meeting with us. But Becca has a lot of LDS friends and wants to learn more about our church. We had an awesome lesson with Becca at our bishops home. We taught her the Restoration and she loved it! She said she felt good during the lesson and we told her that the good feeling is the Holy Spirit. She didn't want to stop talking about the gospel. She is excited for us to continue teaching her! The Lord has definitley been preparing her to hear the message of the gospel! 

Yesslith Family

The Yesslith family are Native American (Shoshone tribe) and they live out on the Reservation. They have been members of the church all of their life but they are Less Active. We had Family Home Evening with them on Monday and the Vaa'ivakas came with us. Brother and Sister Yesslith have a goal to go to the temple but the only thing that is holding them back is tithing. We talked about the importance of paying tithing and the Vaa'ivakas bore powerful testimony about their experiences in Tonga living off of $2 every week to support their family. But they made the sacrafice to put God first and pay tithing and they were able to feed their kids on what they had. The spirit was so strong and the Yesslith family said they would pay their tithing to go to the temple. They are an awesome couple with strong testimonies of this gospel!