Baptisms!!!!!!

April 11, 2016

Hey Friends and Family how's it going?

This week I will share one story with you. Much like my mission farewell talk, there will be “flashbacks” to explain it all.  So….pay attention!

It was a Thursday, March 24^th to be more precise, that my companion and I were going to go visit a less active member that we hadn't met before.  We were just going to visit with him for a bit.  As we were walking, we saw a young girl walking her little Chihuahua and we decided we were going to stop for a bit and talk to her. So we approached her and ask her name (N) and where she was from and what her dogs name was (Jo Jo)... all the get to know you questions. Then we went on to talk about the Book of Mormon and the Restoration and about baptism and she was actually really interested. We then asked her if we were to come back and teach her more and she found what we taught to be true if she would be baptized. She said she would if her foster mom would let her. Then we asked if we could come back tomorrow and visit with her and her foster mom. She told us that she wouldn't be there the following day, but her foster mom would and she would like that.

That next day happened to be exchanges, so I didn't get to go over because I was with Sister Williams (who is one of the STL's—Sister Training Leaders and is from Rexburg Idaho and is SUPER AWESOME!!). Sister Filigrana( from Connecticut)   was the one who was with my companion Sister Tafua.  Those were the two who went over to N.K.’s house but no one was home.  Remember the less active person we originally were going to visit before we ran into N.K. and her Chihuahua?  He was home, so Sister Tafua and Sister Filigrana went to talk to him and they talked for a while but he wasn't really interested in coming back to church right then but thanked them for coming by. When they turned around there was a car in N's driveway so they went over and knocked on the door. A lady, “K”, answered and Sister Filigrana and Sister Tafua start talking to her about our church and asked if she had ever talked to missionaries before. She said, “No,” but her Aunt in Cunningham was a member...

Now for a little back story. Sister Tafua before she came to the Wichita Rolling Hills ward served in the Pratt Branch and Cunningham was part of the Pratt Branch. Sister Tafua was like, "WHO?????" and K said, “Sister Mayne,” and sister Tafua was like, "SISTER MAYNE! I LOVE SISTER MAYNE!!" K said, "I was just about to call her before you stopped by!" So my companion, Sister Tafua, her exchange companion for the day, Sister Filigrana and K talked to Sister Mayne  (K’s aunt) for a little bit. Then afterward the Sisters talked to K about the church. K replied that she had always wanted to go to church with her Aunt Mayne but she always seemed to get sick when she was visiting and they couldn't go.

Sister Tafua and Filigrana invited "K" to come on a church tour and go to the General Woman's Broadcast at the 29th street building and she said she would love to. The next day I was back with my companion and we gave her and her other foster daughter “J” a church tour, enjoyed a dinner before the broadcast and then we all watched the broadcast.  They loved it! (“J” is only 13 yrs., so you could tell 1 ½ hrs were a little long for her, but she still liked it.) “N”—the first foster daughter that we met who had the Chihuahua, was at work so she couldn't come that day.

The next thing we did was to invite them to Church at 9:00 am the next day.  The mom, “K,” said she would love to come. So on Easter Sunday we woke up and saw SNOW EVERYWHERE!! Right away we were a little worried. We waited and waited at the church but she didn't come which was so sad because she was so excited. So we called her after sacrament meeting and she said she was so tired because she had to pick “N” up from work at midnight and didn’t get to bed until 3 in the morning. We asked her if she could make the 12:00 pm sacrament meeting even though it was a different ward and she said she would. The time ticked along and we waited and waited and right at 11:50am ... THEY PULL IN!! Sister Tafua and I were so happy and she really liked it! “K”, “N”, and “J’ decided that they wanted to be baptized on April 9^th which was two weeks from then!

Of course, the next week was full of trials... We taught them some more and on Wednesday we get a call from “K” saying her foster daughter, “N” was in the hospital with three Blood Clots in her lungs! So we prayed and prayed for “N” and continued to call and talk with “K.” “N” got better and came out of the hospital and then got bad again and had to go back into the hospital. Eventually “N” came out of the hospital for good and was doing a whole lot better. The only concern was she couldn't walk that much. Then, the week before the baptism, “ J” said she didn't understand baptism and wasn't sure if she wanted to get baptized. So we talked to her and taught her about baptism and she said that she would pray about it and decide on Wednesday if she would. Wednesday they had their baptismal interview and all of them EVEN “J” decided to be baptized!!!  

We were so happy. So we fitted into the white jumpsuits and then we got the program set up and Saturday at 9:00am they came and were BAPTIZED!!!!! It was the most amazing thing ever! Then, Sunday they came to church and got confirmed and they received the most amazing blessings I’ve ever heard. “N” had to take “K” home but “J” stayed for all 3 hours and loved it! Sister Tafua jumped into Sunday school for the 12 and 13 year olds and taught them the 10 commandments and now when we see them we quiz them and they always get it right. Then she didn't even wait for us and just followed everyone to Young Women’s and then went home and told her foster mom, “K” all about it. 

So that's the story about the past two weeks and the baptism. “K”, “N”, and “J” are such amazing women they have changed so much since the first day we met them and the whole ward absolutely loves them! 

Funny Story:  we were over at “K’s” house and Sister Tafua's mom (from Laie, Hawaii) sent Lei's to give to people who are getting baptized and so she told them this.   “J” then asked why would your mom send you chips?....hahahaha  (Lays.  Get it.  Lays Potato Chips.  Ha. Ha. Ha.)

Well I love all of you so much!

Sister Alisha Magda

Bowlin' bowlin' bowlin'...

 

Rooibos!

Sister Magda and her Special Friend

Conferences, April Fool's and White Mice

April 4, 2016

Dear Friends and Family,

This week was a roller-coaster week. We had a zone training on Tuesday and then District Meeting on Wednesday and then we also had Sister's conference on Friday (which was also April Fool’s Day—interesting in and of itself!) so all in all it was another week of meetings. 

Monday was really meh. It was just a low key P-day. We got up gave Sister Maxwell our laundry (we are spoiled!) and then went shopping... DO NOT GO TO WALMART ON AN EMPTY STOMACH!!!!!! We were so hungry and everything looked so good that we ended up buying a bunch of crappy food like Oreo Pop Tarts and other  foods I know my mom has told me to stay away from....like…Captain Crunch cereal, hehehehehehe. Then to top it off we were walking to the check out and smelled FREAKING SUBWAY! So, like any normal hungry human we got lunch to go. Then, because it was April Fool’s weekend coming up, we had to go and buy a prank item we had planned to prank the elders with, so we went to... Petsmart!  hehehe we were going to put a live mouse in the car, so when the elder’s borrowed it, it would scare them. Who would have thought that Petsmart wouldn’t carry live white mice? (You know the ones that you would feed to snakes that are like $1?) I asked the lady where she carried the "live" white feeder mice and the girl looked at me with an appalled expression and said with her nose in the air, "We don't DO that here.  They're frozen because that’s better for the snakes anyway." I just thought to myself, "You still have Kill the mice for them to be frozen woman. How is THAT any better?"  Instead of saying any of that, I just smiled and replied, “Ok, where are THOSE?” We then bought a FROZEN mouse (which was $3. They are more expensive when dead.  Who knew?)

While we were driving home, I tried to put the frozen mouse up in the sun visor but it kept FALLING ONTO ME !!!!!!!! IT WAS SO GROSS!!!! I finally got it to stay.... not saying HOW though. There’s a video of it but it’s too long to send. The elder's didn't end up finding it until 12 hours later so it was pretty thawed out. Through the whole week they teased us with it because they kept it and would put things that looked like a thawed mouse but wasn't really into our stuff and then would be like, ”Where's Richard ?(that’s the name of the mouse) Squeak, Squeak!”  Then we got it back ... again not saying how.  But let’s just say it went on for the rest of the week. 

On Tuesday we had Zone Conference with President Bell and learned about helping members and investigators see how the adversary will try to prevent our path to happiness and how we can help them notice it and prevent that from happening.  It was really a good lesson that they gave us with really good examples to teach.  One was on keeping your eyes focused on Christ like how Peter did when he jumped out of the boat and was walking towards Christ on the water. When he looked down and saw how great the waves were and took his eyes off of the Savior and started to fear, he began to sink. Then he looked back to Christ and called out for rescue. I know this happens to all of us at one point or another but we shouldn't let that hold us back. Our goal is to continue to strengthen our faith in Christ and to not let hard times define us. Another lesson was on Lehi's dream of the Tree of Life and how the mists of darkness lead the people away from the tree. Even some who held fast to the iron rod while traveling toward the Tree, doubted or were tempted away and they let go of the rod of iron.  Some even partook of the fruit and then heard the voices of the people from the great and spacious building laughing and pointing their mocking fingers at them and the people felt ashamed and left towards the mist of darkness. Despite this, all is not lost.  They CAN turn back.  We must be there for them.

On Thursday we did a service project for Sister Maxwell and helped her make a baby blanket and clean her house.

Then on April 1st we had our Sister’s Conference.  That is where ALL the sisters in the WHOLE mission get together and have workshops and speakers. We also had Zumba in the morning.  The shocker is…I actually participated in the Zumba and was in the front row! This, of course, was not by my choice.  I was just trying to show my companion that I can do things out of my comfort zone.  It was actually pretty fun.  Then, we had workshops lead by the STL's (Sister Training Leaders) and they were all really awesome and inspiring. I got to see my MTC companion Sister Radford and all of my roommates from the MTC!!!

My MTC Sisters!

It was so awesome! And I got to meet my mission grandma and great grandma and we had a picture taken.

Mission  Mom, Grandma and Great-Grandma!

My mission grandma is Sister Peterson and she serves in the Lawrence 2nd ward and she KNOWS TERESA KELLEY!!!!!! Ahhhh that was the coolest part!!!  I met someone who knows a family member of mine!

After that, we had dinner at the Couch's house and then visited more people.

Happy Birthday Brother Couch!

When we got home, the elders were going to pick up the car so we decided our prank was going to be Saran wrapping the car and taking all the music out. When we got to our house there was a picture on the door and that’s when we knew the elders got into our apartment. We opened the door and they had flipped all of the couches over and put 200 little cups filled with water all over the house and put goldfish in our bathtub and sink and then knocked on the door and threw a bag of flour at Sister Tafua!  I have never seen her move so fast!  It was like a gazelle fleeing a lion on the Serengeti!  So funny!

Wow!

On Saturday we watched General Conference on TV at a less active family’s home. Throughout the first session, the mom kept saying how happy she was and how good it felt to be so obedient and she was tearing up. It made me feel so good to know that we could help her have those feelings. I have never been the one to watch General Conference at home.  I was the one with the snuggie on the couch snoring.  Now that I am on my mission, I really regret not listening to all of the speakers.  I realize now that if you truly listen to every single talk, you will find so many answers to questions you might have. It will help to guide you to be a better person and to make good decisions. One of my favorite talks was the one about Fathers. I am truly blessed to have such a loving Dad. I am so thankful for how hard he works for us and how he is always there for me when I am sad or angry or frustrated. I am so thankful for how he has been an example of helping others—especially  missionaries when they are in need and dropping what he was doing to help them out and taking them places. He has been a great example of a loving father and I couldn't ask for a better dad and would never trade him for any other dad. He has helped me be the person I am today! I love you with all of my heart dad, and am so grateful for what you do.

There were so many amazing talks I could talk all day about every single one but there just isn't enough time so if you haven't watched General Conference, I would really encourage you to watch all four sessions and to take notes and listen with a sincere heart. I love this Gospel so much. It is the true Gospel of Jesus Christ and the true church and has blessed me and my family so many ways.

Now to answer questions :

Mom asked: What kind of car do you drive?  Have you driven it yet?

The car we drive is a silver Toyota with a bike rack on the back, I cannot drive the car yet until I memorize all 5 lessons and watch a video and get my twee card.

Mom: You have received so many packages so far.  Are you the “package queen” there?

Yes, I am the package queen of the mission hahaha !

Mom: Can I send you the Ensign magazines?  Are you all allowed to read those?

 Yes please send me Ensigns.

Mom: What kind of service projects have you been doing lately? 

We have been helping people move lately and cleaning houses.  That’s been our service so far. 

Mom: Have you noticed people there referring to soda as “pop?”

Almost everyone calls soda “pop”

Mom: “I’ve heard that Californians talk really fast.  Do Kansans talk slower than Californians?

 You know, I have noticed that some of the people here talk a little bit slower paced, but what I’ve really liked is that the people in Kansas have a more friendly feeling about them than Californian's. Ah, but man do I miss California and its crazy people.

I love everyone so much I miss you guys a lot.

Love,

 Sister Magda

  

A Growing Season

March 28, 2016

Hello Friends and Family!

I hope everyone is doing awesome! I loved everyone's packages! I want to thank Sister Marshall for the See's Candy and popcorn and hot coco,

The Kempter's sent "Missionary Minion" Twinkies!

and Sister Kempter for the missionary minion Twinkies, and Sister Dunham for both packages (the Greenie one and the Easter one.) I loved them both and they came at such a perfect time. I am sorry I’ve been really bad with sending letters lately it’s been CRAZY haha but I will be sending letters very soon, and thank you mom for the Easter baggies and the stuff I left at home and the card.  I just got the package from the Bryan's today and I loved it thank you so much!

                So last week Monday after I emailed home, my companion and Elder Shumway, Elder Call, Elder Daily, and Elder Moss and I went to “Worlds of Fun” (an amusement park with arcades like Six Flags) and played mini golf, go karting, and laser tagging. It was so much fun!! We just had a blast! It was Elder Call, and Elder Moss and I on a team, and Sister Tafua, Elder Shumway, and Elder Daily on a team for mini golfing and my team won because we were awesome that way. I came in first place on the go karts (thank you Need for Speed haha) and Sister Tafua came first in laser tagging, but I came second to her so she barely won. I got my Laser Tagging skills from Sam Shear man if Sam and I were on a team we would demolish them all hahaha :P.

Easter Sunday in Wichita

                After last Monday everything changed for me. It seemedlike everything that I was getting used to suddenly become extremely challenging. Heavenly Father has been working really hard on me and taking everything I was used to and stripping it away from me and really making rely on Him. It has been the most challenging week of my life. I started to realize that I wasn't doing what I needed to. I wasn't opening my mouth and was relying on my companion for everything and while that’s ok in the beginning, it isn’t as time goes by. I have been out for a little over a month and realized I needed to pull more of my own weight so my companion and I could work as one unit. I must not allow Sister Tafua do all the work. I have really had to learn how to forget myself and stop thinking of how I sound to others or how others will see me. That’s not important. None of that is important. I am doing the Lord’s work and all that matters is how well I am serving Him and how I am showing my love for Him by loving others and bringing them closer to Him and helping them to gain more knowledge of how He can change their lives and bring their families together for eternity.

Happy Easter!

That is all that matters. As soon as I realized that and focused on the Lord and kept my eyes on Him, everything changed. I started to truly listen to others and their concerns and needs and felt the love Heavenly Father has for them. It was then when Heavenly Father granted me with the words to say and the courage to say them. I am still not perfect but every day I am changing—hopefully for the better.

It’s through the challenges Heavenly Father gives you that you learn who you are and how you can change to become who He wants you to be and who He knows you can be. I love my Savior and my Heavenly Father more than words can ever describe and I am so blessed to be on a mission where I can serve Him.

I love everyone that has been such a support for me and I promise I will be sending a lot of letters out to people. 

Love,

Sister Magda

Missionary Pranks

P.S.  The elders left some of their clothes in our car.  We decided to wrap them up in plastic and LOTS of tape.  Then...we slathered them with Icy Hot rub.  Heh heh heh...

Bwah ha ha ha!

Zone Conference, Temple Trip, and Chihuahuas!

Kansas Sky

Hi Friends and Family!

This week has felt like seconds it’s so weird! So this week has been really busy since we had zone conference and the Temple trip that took two full days but it was so worth it! Tuesday was Zone Conference from 8:00am to 5:00pm.  When we arrived we had breakfast and hung out for a bit, and then we went into the chapel for a devotional with the AP’s (Assistant to the Mission President.)It was really cool. The AP's talked about being Lovingly Bold to investigators because there is no other way for those investigating our church to understand just how important our message is and how much we care for them. Next, President Bell talked about the Elect and how we need to go through the chaff to find them. What he meant was that we have to talk to every single person we see and leave no one out! He also talked about how we are the descendants of Israel.  Teaching and Proclaiming the Gospel is in our blood and we need to Teach, Teach, Teach, because that is our calling. It was such an inspiring zone conference! We also got to do my least favorite thing which is role playing EWW!!!!  It’s so awkward for me but so useful.

Bus Ride to Oklahoma City!

We were all so excited because the next day we got to go to the
TEMPLE!!!!!!! All of us got on a huge bus and drove for THREE HOURS to Oklahoma City. Imagine what 50 missionaries do on a three hour bus ride with iPads. Wellllll…it’s taking and sending videos and photos to each other the whole time! If you fall asleep you are fair game—so everyone falls asleep with one eye open.

Clearly he does NOT have one eye open.

When we got to the Oklahoma City, Ok Temple we had a lunch and a testimony meeting while we were waiting to go in. It was such an amazing experience and it was so beautiful. After serving in the temple, we got to talk to the temple president. He answered some questions and talked with us for an hour. Then we drove three hours back to Wichita, KS (taking more pictures) with more one—eyed sleep.

Oklahoma City Temple

All of us at the Oklahoma City Temple

My Sisters!

We had to make up those two days by working our butts off! One night we had a lesson with an investigator that took us past 9:30 so we had to race home!  But its ok, we got home in like 8 min because they didn’t live that far away. On Saturday we have morning sports so we get up at 5:30am instead of6:30am so that we can play sports at the church. This past Saturday we ended up making silly music videos and playing slaughter ball. Hahaha! The result of having an iPad and being tired because we were up at such an early time—we got a little crazy!

These are the crazy videos!  One is Mormon Sista Rap and the other is Mormon Elder Rap!

He Will Carry Our Burdens With Us

March 14, 2016

Hello from Wichita!

 

What are THOSE? Clearly I'm not in California anymore.

So this week just FLEW BY!! It feels like just yesterday I was sending my last email to you. This email is going to be short because we have a VERY short P-day and that's because we are going to the Oklahoma Temple on Wednesday!!!!!

We Sisters have FUN!

I'm super excited but that means this week we have to cram a lot in just a few days because we are missing one full day of missionary work. We had District meeting today instead of tomorrow and we have Zone Conference tomorrow and that's from 8:00am-5:00pm and then off to the temple. That means today we only get to email, do laundry and shop and then it's off to work.

This crazy building made me laugh.

 So this week my companion and I did a lot of service with the Young Women. They were doing their fundraiser for girl’s camp. It’s a Garage Sale! The young women call people in the ward to see if they have anything they would like to donate to their Garage Sale. A LOT of people donated! So my companion and I went to the Kitchen's house where the garage sale was and helped organize and sell the stuff (Thank you DI). Mom’s note: Alisha worked at Deseret Industries (An LDS thrift and job training store) before she left on her mission and became quite the expert in pricing and organizing used items. We did that for two of the three days (Thursday and Friday.)

Somehow this sign does not give me comfort.

We also met with a lot of inactive members because sister Tafua loves to show me off to everyone cuz i'm AMAZING!!! you know it's true... lol ;) Then we did a lot of tracting and encountered some awesome people. We met this really cool lady who has a Huge Macaw!

Huge Macaw!

I have a picture with it that I will send you.

Super Cool Sister and her Macaw!

Then we met this older man and got to talking to him about how he loves to work on cars and that's all he wants to do. So we talked to him a little bit about what he did for a living. He worked with planes of some sort but now he's retired and works on his own cars as a hobby. He had a mouth like a sailor though hahaha. After that we met with another member who has been to Citrus Heights CA!!!! Her mom and dad used to be in the Citrus Heights 4th ward. She told us her brother or someone in the family made an Arch for some park in Citrus Heights so I thought that was super cool. She also knows a family with the last name Burke in the Wichita Derby Stake.

This is what 2 hrs playing Volleyball on a P-day looks like!

The members in the Rolling Hills ward are the best people ever. It’s like home to me now. They are such AMAZING people that care so much for the missionaries and do so much for us. It’s going to be the hardest thing when I have to leave them. I am just super glad that won't be for a while! Even though this week has been fun it has also been super challenging for me to come out of my comfort zone and tell people what I know to be true. And once I started to trust in the Lord and have faith that only through my willingness to open my mouth and bare my testimony will He grant me the words to say through the Spirit. It has been the MOST challenging thing I have ever done in my life but the most rewarding thing as well. I leave you with my testimony that I know the Savior lives and that through the Atonement we can return to our Heavenly Father again. And as we practice faith and trust in the lord with all of our hearts, He will guide us through our challenges. He won't take them away, but He will help us to grow from them and become stronger and better people. He will carry our burdens with us. I love my Savior so much and couldn't do this without His help. I can be reluctant to listen but He still doesn't give up and is always there whenever we decide to listen.

Please take some time to visit this link and enjoy a beautiful Easter message.

https://www.lds.org/media-library/video/2016-02-1000-hallelujah-an-easter-message-about-jesus-christ?lang=eng

Love from the Midwest,

After the storm comes the Sun!

Sister Alisha Magda

Foggy Kansas Morning (8:00 am) 

I Made It To Kansas!

March 7, 2016

Dear Family and Friends,

I made it to Kansas!! Man, was it an eventful and stressful trip. It all began last Monday. My companion and I and the two other sisters in my room were all going to Kansas the next morning and had to leave at 2:30 am. We put our alarm on for 1:30am so that it would give us time to get ready and to get to the travel office on time. Well we were woken up by a loud banging noise outside our door and it was a security guard telling us that we better hurry or the bus is going to leave us... IT WAS 2:45 AM!!!! WE HAD SLEPT IN WAY TOO LATE!!!! So like a “tornado” we were super-fast and made it there with only seconds to spare.

 We then took a huge bus and drove to Salt Lake and made it to our gate. This gave us 30 min to rest or call home. Just my luck, everyone else got to the pay phones before I did. I wasn’t too upset because we had an hour layover in Dallas,Texas where I could use my calling card and call home. This really nice man saw that we were new missionaries and that I had no chance at the pay phones, so he gave me his cell phone to use for as long as I wanted so that I didn't have to use minutes on my phone card which was AWESOME!!!! And it gave me a chance to speak to my Dad before he went to work (because it was like 4:00am in Cali hehehe) (Mom’s note: This nice person not only let Alisha use his cell phone, but he took pictures of all of the missionaries leaving for Wichita and texted it to their moms.)

The next thing I knew is we were on the plane. I got to sit by the window and sleep for an hour and it was NICE very NICE! As we were flying over Texas I thought DAANNGGG THAT’S ONE UNATTRACTIVE STATE hahahaha. We then landed in Dallas where I was able to call home for 45min and talk to my mom. It was then that I noticed there were some missionaries who hadn’t yet got to use the pay phones.  I realized I needed to give up the rest of my time so some other missionary could also call home. ( pfft they were lucky I was so nice ... :P)   Our last plane out of Dallas to Wichita was so small that it only had two seats on the right side and only one seat on the left for a total of 24 seats. Once we were over Kansas I looked out the window and LAUGHED... IT’S SO FLAT!!!!! (Welcome to Kansas Sister Magda!)

We met the mission president and his wife and they are so sweet. Then we took pictures and had a snack at the mission office. The next thing we knew, they shoved two greenies and two “non” greenie missionaries in a car to go tracting for 4 hours. It was a cool experience. I was able to bare my testimony a lot. At one home I asked this one lady that was sitting on her porch with her dog if she would take the lessons. I asked if she found it to be true would she follow the example of Jesus Christ and be baptized by someone holding the priesthood authority of God. She said YES! The best part is that despite not being Latino, she could speak Spanish fluently and my companion for the day was a Spanish speaking sister. My “non” greenie training companion for the day could then go back with her regular companion and teach her the lessons.  So cool!   Next we had interviews and then bed (the mission president’s home is sooo nice!!! it was like a dream home.)

The next day we got our iPads and more orientation. Then we met our companions... drum roll please...... My trainer is SISTER Tafua!!! She is from Laie, Hawaii and has been out for 7 months. Mom you are actually wrong. The mission president prayed about where I would go the night before and changed everything so I am not serving in Topeka but in West Wichita Rolling Hills Ward. (Mom’s note again: I talked to a friend not far from the Wichita area and they had Stake Conference this past Sunday.  My friend spoke to Alisha’s mission president and he told her Alisha had been assigned to Topeka.  Imagine my surprise when Alisha told me differently.)

It has been so awesome and yet so difficult. I have a hard time trusting myself and what to say and I keep overthinking everything. Whenever I go to a member’s home everyone picks on the “greenie” to say the prayer and I think to myself, "You don’t want me to say it. I’ve been in your home for like an hour and I still can't remember your last name."  Hahaha buts it’s been great!

The hardest part for me is getting up at 6:25am (not 6:30am) and going to the gym. Our gym is super tiny with two treadmills and weights.  We work out until 7:00am then have personal study... or at least try to.  It’s so early for me and I have to memorize stuff at such an hour. Often I end up just nodding my head for an hour until it smacks into my desk and I wake up.  My poor companion has to deal with how fast I fall asleep if I sit too long. (She must have inherited this from her mother.) I was at this family’s house and caught myself nodding off and thought to myself, "If we don't leave soon I am going to start snoring” so I tried to bite the inside of my cheek to stay awake. This has happened more than once... Fast Sunday was no exception. There’s nothing like a very hungry tummy, a soft chair, and a warm building to put you to sleep.

On the question of if I had to bare my testimony on Sunday—no I didn't! That must just be something our ward does haha. (Alisha’s family ward in California usually calls new missionaries up to the stand to bare their testimonies on Fast and Testimony Sacrament Meetings. That way the whole ward gets to see who they are and learn a bit about them.) I was leaving the chapel thinking I had just gotten away with not speaking when the bishop stopped me and asked if I would give a talk the last Sunday in April on Compassion ... so yeah, Heavenly Father didn’t let me get away with that one. Hmmmm…oh! So I found out that I am serving in the same ward as Darian Kempter did! I saw his picture on Sister Pinkerton fridge and he also signed a table cloth at the Kitchen's house. So that was really cool. 

  

I absolutely LOVE my district and the elders in our ward (there are sisters and elders in the Rolling Hills Ward.) We have Elder Shumley, who has a month and a half left and Elder Call (Who is like a guy version of SISTER CALL !!! ) 

This week we have been teaching everyone about the strength of the Atonement and how having that strength enables you to do anything. Jesus Christ did more than just atone for our sins. He also gave us strength to face our hardest trials and to have compassion for people who are struggling when we are not. He is our best example in this life and in the eternities. He died so that we could be with our Heavenly Father again and so that we can show our love and desire to come back to Him and to help others come back as well. I think of the Atonement whenever I am having a hard time and it gives me the strength to carry on and to be my best and to be the missionary he needs me to be. 

LOVE,

Sister Magda

  

1.      I'm sorry if this letter is a little scattered. We only get 2 hours to email now. To answer more questions about mail, I am not allowed to give out my address to anyone. All mail must go to the mission office but they forward it to me if you use priority mail.  Don't use UPS or Amazon as it can't be forwarded.

2.      I did get my big jacket mom and have been using the liner because it’s not that cold right now. But it is very windy!!!

3.      My IPad case didn't fit because it was for an iPad mini4 and I have a mini2 but there is a Best Buy here so I got it exchanged even though it was past 15 days. BLESSING!!! It’s the same color and keyboard but it’s a Logitech. Blessings of Wichita!

4.       My homesickness is way better now that I’m in the field and is only there for a little bit until I get out to work. Today we went to Walmart and Best Buy and then Chipotle with my companion and the two elder companions.

5.      Someone in our ward is doing our laundry for us...” we is sooo special :D” Really, we are so blessed for such a kindness.