I Know I Will See Her Again

First of all, let me say that I had a wonderful Christmas. Thank you to all that thought about me and made it so special. I am so thankful for that celebration of the Savior, the time to really remember Him, especially as the events of the week unfolded. My best friend, Chelsea Larsen, passed away this week in a car accident. In many ways it still seems so unreal. I love her so much and miss her tremendously. We were 10 years old and in the 4th grade when we met. We became friends really quickly. We even lived in the same neighborhood and rode the bus to and from school together. Throughout the years, she was an amazing friend and example to me. We took on the world together... elementary school, junior high, high school. We conquered together... graduated high school. We travelled... we took that road trip we'd planned for so long. I am so grateful for the time that Heavenly Father gave me with her. I know that she was truly a gift from Him to me, Chelsea B, and Hayley and all else who knew her. As I've been reflecting the past few days, I am simply filled with gratitude. I have been so blessed. I miss her, but I KNOW that I will see her again. I know this with all my heart. This knowledge brings so much joy and I feel excited for that day when we will be reunited. She may not physically be there when I come home in 13 months, but she is with me now. I will always carry the memories of her with me and all the things that I have learned from her. I know that she will be there waiting for me when my work here on this earth is done as well. I know she's here beside me supporting me now. I know she is with her mother, something that she really looked forward to. I know that through the Atonement of Jesus Christ, Him suffering for each of us, we can push through this time. I know that He has felt any pain or sorrow that you or I are now feeling. I know that as we reach out to Him and Heavenly Father in prayer, that they will support us and take away some of the pain. They have already done this for me. This has been reconfirmed to me as I've studied Luke 22 and 23 in the Bible and also Alma 7:11-12 in the Book of Mormon... "And he shall go forth, suffering pains and afflictions and temptations of every kind; and this that the word might be fulfilled which saith he will take upon him the pains and the sicknesses of his people. And he will take upon him death, that he may loose the bands of death which bind his people; and he will take upon him their infirmities, that his bowels may be filled with mercy, according to the flesh, that he may know according to the flesh how to succor his people according to their infirmities." I know because of what Jesus Christ did, Chelsea and each of us will overcome death. I am filled with peace at this time because of Him and the knowledge I have of Him. Yes, this is hard, but I also know that it's necessary, and that it's okay because Heavenly Father has a plan for each of us. This is part of the plan and it will all be okay. I WILL see her again. I will, I will, I will. I know that when Chelsea, Hayley, and I are reunited that she'll be right there too. I know that when we put our arm out for her in pictures, as we so often do for whoever is missing, she'll fill it even if we can't see her there. How amazing are the works of God. I can really see His hand in my life preparing me for all the events of this week. He's taking care of me and I know He will take care of each of us as we move forward, making it possible to endure whatever comes our way. I know we will each see Chelsea again.

 

All My Love,
Sister Shipp

Merry Christmas!

What a crazy time of year! It really has been an amazing week. I've seen Heavenly Father blessing us in so many ways. I am so grateful for all the love that has been extended to me by each of you this Christmas season as well. There was one night I came home to 3 packages. It's going to be a good week! We get to open all those packages Wednesday and then Thursday we are going to the LA temple for my companion's birthday. YEAH. Best place ever :)
 

I wish I could just take all my experiences and put them in this email! It's so hard to describe everything in words. Here we go.
 

We found a new investigator Tuesday. He's a high school student. The Spirit was so strong as we talked about the Restoration.
 

We had our mission Christmas devotional on Wednesday. Only part of the mission was there, but I was able to see a lot of missionaries from my last district in Ventura. My companion and I also sang with 2 other sisters. Talk about nerve-racking... We made it through though! There is such strength that comes from missionaries gathering together, especially as we remembered the Savior and His life.
 

Our investigator, Sharron, came to Relief Society activity this week. It was a really nice dinner. It was a miracle she came. Really. We were so grateful to see her there and enjoy the evening with her.
 

This week was also exchanges! I was able to be companions with Sister Randall for 24 hours. It was amazing. I learned a lot from her as we worked together and discussed missionary work :)
 

I received flowers from my family on Friday, which was a nice surprise! That night we had a Family Home Evening with a couple about Patriarchal blessings. It was amazing. I was able to testify to them that I know Heavenly Father knows each one of us and loves us. He wants us to succeed and He will help us!
 

We had a good lesson about prophets with one of our other investigators! Yay! Her daughter was also there who is investigating the church as well.
 

My mission President, President Castro, and his family surprised us by attending our ward's Sacrament Meeting yesterday. It is always such a treat to see him and his family. They are some of the best people I know.
 

Today, we were blessed to go to the 99 cent store just as one of the men in our ward was there. He was baptized a month ago. We were able to talk with him and found out his father passed away last night.
 

Heavenly Father directs our lives if we allow Him to. I know that we were led to that store so we could comfort our brother. I know that He's led me to California for a reason, I see it more and more each day. I know He will lead you as well.
 

Merry Christmas everyone!
 

Love,

Sister Shipp

The Greatest Gift

It's been a good, but also a little bit of a trying week! I've been pretty stressed with getting things together for Christmas, it's something I really enjoy, but also something very hard to accomplish as a missionary. I've definitely found strength in a message that my dad shared with me and also the words from the Christmas devotional last Sunday. The best gift we can give to anyone is a knowledge of Heavenly Father and Jesus Christ. This is a gift that will last forever. Other presents and gifts will fade, but that testimony of who Jesus Christ is, can last forever and can carry us through everything. That is what I am striving to do this Christmas as a missionary, and that is the best thing I could be doing at this time.

 

The fun times and miracles of the week...

-I got a few packages! One of which was a small Christmas tree from my family. One of the other packages was coconut bread, ornaments, a star, and even a fancy looking cloth to cover the base of the tree. It really meant a lot to me. Sister Casper and I had quite a bit of fun decorating the tree during lunch :)

 

-A family from this ward went with us to visit an investigator who has really been going through a lot of trials. They sang a few songs to her (they are incredibly talented!) It really really touched our investigator, Sharon. One of the songs they sang was "Don't sit under the apple tree" which Sharon's husband who recently passed away used to sing to her. I know it wasn't coincidence they picked that song. Through them and our message about Jesus Christ, Sharon was really able to feel of Heavenly Father's love for her. We were so so grateful for Heavenly Father's hand in arranging this little gift for her!

 

-There's a restaurant called Texas Cattle Company in our area! We ate there Saturday night. I walked in and I was home :) no really, they have Texas license plates and lots of cute decorations. It was so fun and a little taste of home.

 

-We've been working a lot with members this week to help them put together a "Family Mission Plan." When we do this, we go over the message of the Restoration with them and invite them to act as investigators. It has been amazing and we've really had some incredible experiences. Nothing brings the Spirit quite like the message of the Restoration does.

 

Each and every week I reflect and write my emails, I am amazed and humbled by the amazing experiences that has really built me as a missionary and a person. I am so blessed by all the experiences and companions I have had.  I know that Heavenly Father knows me and loves me. I know that Jesus Christ knows and has experienced all that I have and will. I know that He is able to carry us through every single thing that we go through if we turn to Him. I know that He lives today.

 

Love,

Sister Shipp

My Heart is Full

I am so blessed to be here in Camarillo, CA! Really. We've had an incredible week.

 

My companion is Sister Casper! She's from West Jordan, Utah. She's studied 3 years at the U and has 1 more semester until she will begin working on her master's in Occupational Therapy (all my in-field companions.... from Salt Lake City area and have either attended or are fans of the U.....). She will be turning 22 on December 26 :) She's great. We've adjusted really quickly to each other and have really started to teach in unity.

Last Monday was a busy busy day! Since Sister X and I were both being transferred, there were tons of packing to do! We managed to find a little time for ourselves and go to Ventura Harbor to watch the sunset. It was beautiful! One day, I'm going to go back and watch the sunset standing on the sand. We also did a little shopping! I got a Ventura shirt and a small California flag (never did I think this day would come...). The rest of the night was frantically packing. We managed to fit both of our numerous things in our small car (mini miracle!) and headed to transfer meeting. It was bitter sweet leaving, but I got to see Sisters Cusick and Anderson at the meeting. I tackled them in a hug as they entered the church building. I am so grateful I was able to see them! I got to catch up a little with Sister Anderson which is such a blessing. I miss her. And now I miss Sister X, but I know I'm forming friendships that will definitely last forever :) Sister Bennett went home to Minnesota this week. She is so grately missed! I am so grateful for the wonderful example she has been to me and the influence she has had on the whole mission as a Sister Training Leader.

 

I met Sister Casper and we headed to Camarillo. We ate lunch with a member. As we ate, the sister randomly exclaimed, "I know why you're here! Ana!" I guess there is a lady here from Portugal who is started to come back to church. It looks like she will be able to help me with my Portuguese and all I can talk about is the gospel... so it'll be great! After settling in, we made contact with a few people, one of which was Hugo. We taught him a brief Restoration lesson and set a return appointment. We've taught him once more since then and we are excited to continue to teach him!

 

The highlight of Wednesday was meeting Asayo. We taught him a brief Restoration as well. When it was time to talk about Joseph Smith, my companion turned to me. Now, you have to understand, I've never recited the First Vision to an investigator in english before, my companion somehow always did that. I took a deep breath, and the words just came out. After I finished, Asayo said, "Wow. That's so cool." I thought, "Yes. It really, really is, isn't it?" We are hoping to meet with him this week!

 

Thursday, we had dinner with the Torgerson family. The parents grew up in Springville and actually know some of my relatives. It was so fun to figure out the relations between everyone.

The greatest miracle was Saturday. Earlier Saturday, we decided to knock a few doors. We met Maria, who is young and really open about religion. We were just finishing talking about the First Vision when her neighbor opened her door. We thought she was going to come out and leave to go somewhere. Instead, she looked straight at us and said "I'm done. Don't knock on my door, I don't want to hear it. Take it to the streets, I'm done." and slammed the door. My oh my, people's reactions... Our last stop before our ward party that night was to see Lorena, who has had a lot of interactions with the church. A family friend of hers, William, was also there. We found out Will has a lot of questions about religion! We began to answer some of them. I always get excited when people ask questions we have the answer to. We ended up having a really great talk. We are hoping to work with William and answer the rest of his questions. In the middle of all of this as well, we found out that Lorena's hold up about joining our church is her belief in the Trinity. I guess the missionaries here have been trying to figure out her concern for quite a while, and now we know :)

 

Church was really great yesterday. Seems like an awesome ward.
I am so incredibly grateful to be here! This may be my favorite area :)

 

Love y'all!

Sister Shipp

Third Transfer, Third Area

Third Transfer, Third Area

Transfers are tomorrow! I am being transferred again! So far I haven't missed a transfer meeting yet! I am going to the Camarillo 5th Ward. It's just like a 15 minute drive west of here I think! Sister Xayadeth was in Camarillo a couple transfers ago! It seems I am following in my companion's footsteps! She is going to Newberry Park. Ready for a new adventure!

Last P-Day, we went to Ventura Harbor! It was us and the 6 other Sister missionaries in my district! It was so fun! We took some fun pictures :)

We've had some disappointments this week, but I won't dwell on those. Our investigator, Jessie, is really determined to be baptized. We teach her quite a few times each week. The nurses always notice us and some have started to ask questions. They see how often we visit Jessie and they are curious to learn more! I think we're definitely making a little difference there.

I hope everyone had a good Thanksgiving! I definitely had fun :) We had district meeting! It's always amazing to be around other missionaries. This district meeting was definitely inspired. We talked about how important it is to be your best TODAY. It's always tempting to feel like you won't reach your potential until a later date, but you can be your best today and that's what Heavenly Father wants. Not only is that what He wants, it's what the people around you NEED. Decide now to be your best today! We went over to the Jones home for Thanksgiving which is our stake president! There were a lot of people. They made us feel so welcome. We stuck around for a while and even played a game! It reminded me of home a little bit and playing catch phrase with the family, John, Alice, Grant and Thomas. Know that I miss y'all! It definitely wasn't the same, but it was a good kind of different.

I'm really going to miss this area! Our investigator, the ward, and MY COMPANION. I know I'm needed elsewhere though and I have things to learn from my new companion.

I could go through the rest of the week, but I'd rather say a few things I've learned or had brought to my mind this week.

-The reason Jesus Christ went through with His sacrifice was because of us. The way we let Him down is when we don't remember or use His sacrifice.

-Family is so important and is a blessing from God. It takes lots of work to make a good family, though. It is worth all the effort.

-Love everyone, especially those who live different lifestyles than you. They are the ones who probably need that love the most.

-I have been called to preach the gospel, just like all missionaries from this church. Trust them with your family and friends. No matter where I end up for the remainder of my mission, that call is the same. I will preach the gospel wherever I am.I hit my 4 month mark a couple days ago. As I see some of the amazing Elders and Sisters I have worked with go home tomorrow, it reminds me of just how quickly time really does go. Seize today! Make it count!

Love,

Sister Shipp

The Work Goes On!

Going into the last week of this transfer! WHAT?!?! Where did the time go! I'll find out in a week if I'm going or staying. I hope I stay.

I keep forgetting it's Thanksgiving! The life of a missionary. It's all the same, year round. Plus it's like 60-80 degrees everyday, so it's hard to remember it's the end of November! Plans just changed with transfers being next week; President is really busy trying to figure out where each missionary will go, so we are going to spend Thanksgiving with the Stake President and his family instead! They are super super nice so we are excited :)

On Tuesday, we had Zone Conference! Incredible! We did all sorts of things: President and Sister Castro spoke, we heard testimonies from the new missionaries (myself included), had lunch, had training, and got to see missionaries we don't see too often as well. It was wonderful. I learned a lot! Here are some take-aways:
-Just like Christ changed water to wine, he can change us! He didn't just turn the water into wine, but the best wine. He will transform us into our best selves if we do what He asks.
-John 4:35... The field is white already to harvest. NOW. Not in 4 months when you learn the language or the lessons.
-We are an instruments in the Lord's hand, a sickle. What kind of sickle are we? Are we sharp? Can He make a clean cut with us?
-Love the people you are talking to. Fight for them! Fighting for them means being persistent and letting them know what this message is.
It was really great seeing Hermana Coleman again. She is going home soon! Her family lives in Katy! She is the Sister I was with my first day here :) I told her to find my family. Maybe y'all can go to her homecoming? She's amazing.
We visited Jessie quite a few times this week. She is so amazing and I love her so much! She was supposed to come to church this week, but the person who was supposed to take her never came. We went by to see her that evening and she was devastated. She wants this so badly. She really loves learning and we mean a lot to her. She says that she prays for us each day: that we'll find good husbands and have good children that obey us. She's a sweetheart! She also likes to give us marriage advice (she was married 42 years).
Wednesday we saw a less active brother in our ward. He has a lot of concerns that missionaries have tried to resolve in the past. He gets hung up on little details. This was my first time meeting him, but Sister X was not excited to see him. We weren't sure exactly what we were going to do besides give him a copy of True to the Faith. I ended up just very boldly telling him that he needed to set aside time each and every day to read his scriptures and to start his study with a prayer. It suddenly became so clear to me as we talked with him. I know that his concerns will not be resolved any other way. Answers are something you have to work for. Pray and ask God, then open up the books and look. I asked him if he would and he kind of avoided the commitment, turning to my companion saying I was like an Hermana he knew a while ago. I then said, "Well, will you do it?!" He said "Wow, she really is the hammer!" He laughed and said that he would try. I promised him that as he made that time that his questions would begin to be answered and also that his relationship with his girlfriend (who is also a member) would be better. I told him we'd follow up with him as well. As soon as we got out of sight, Sister X threw her arms around me and said, "Now that's my companion!" :) We ended the night by walking through a trailer park, looking for a less active in the rain. We finally got there only to be told she didn't want anything to do with the church anymore. Really wet, we returned to the car. All you can do is laugh sometimes. We find ways to enjoy those moments.
We had the opportunity to help a Sister in our ward unload her stuff from a moving pod. Lots of heavy lifting, but it was awesome! Lots of fun.
We had lots of dinners with members this week. One family played a game with us where we drew a picture of something we were grateful for, passed it to our neighbor, and they had to guess what it was. It was a lot of fun :) Makes you feel like your home sometimes. We also had dinner with a partially less active family. The mother texted us afterward and expressed that it was a miracle that her son joined us and talked with us. She was so grateful that we had come and for the message we shared.
Saturday was an interesting day. The first man we ran into, JP, has had several missionaries come to his door. He wasn't interested, but said he'd leave us with a joke:
"It began to rain really hard, and the people began to realize there was going to be flooding. Evacuations started happening. A jeep spotted a man and told him to get in so they could leave. The man replied, "No, the Lord will provide." The water rose and the man had to go to the 2nd story of his house. A person in a boat saw him through the window. Calling to him, he told him to climb into his boat and he would take him to safety. The man replied again, "No, the Lord will provide." The water continued to rise. At this point, the man was on the highest point of his roof. A helicopter spotted him and called to him to grab the rope so they could take him to safety. Once more the man replied, "No, the Lord will provide." Well, the man drowned. He got up to the gate and met Peter. Peter asked what he was doing there. The man said "It was raining and I was waiting, I thought the Lord would provide!" Peter then said, "We send a jeep, a boat, and a helicopter! What else did you want?!" Sister X and I just laughed as we walked away. How ironic. JP is going to get there and say "Where was the truth? Why didn't you show it to me?" The response: "We sent those 16 sets of missionaries! What more did you want?"
A 12 year old in our ward took us to visit his neighbor who had asked him about the church the other day. He is going to be such a great missionary :)
I've learned a lot more about Sister Xayadeth this week! She really is incredible! We decided that after our missions, in 2015, she is going to come visit me and we are going to go to the Houston Rodeo. It'll be fun! Today, before we went grocery shopping, we took pictures in a little photo booth. It's the little things :)
Time is flying. Really, really. Thank you so much for the letters and prayers! They mean so much. I hope everyone has an amazing week. Keep trying to do and be better :)

Love,

Sister Shipp

God is Good

Highlights of the week:
We have a new investigator with a soft-set baptismal date of December 14th! Her name is Allison and she has 3 small children.

I'm getting really good at declaring (telling people briefly about the Restoration) to people in Spanish! When all else fails, hand them a mormon.org card :)

I got a package from the Valentine family :) That was so sweet!

We taught several lessons to Jessie this week and they all went well! She is continually progressing!

Speaking in Sacrament meeting! I and the other 3 sister missionaries all spoke in Sacrament meeting yesterday. It was wonderful. We saw many Less Actives we have been working with come. It was a miracle.

Lows:

We got so excited about finding a family who legitimately seemed interested. We set up a return appointment for the next day. The fiance' met us on our return appointment and said that his fiance' was not interested and that we shouldn't be doing what we're doing.

Funny moments:

We are experts at finding particular addresses! It seems we still have work to do because sometimes it seems like it takes quite a while. There's one address we are convinced doesn't exist. We'll try and find it again this week :)

We were trying to contact a less active last night. We got out of the car and a cat ran at Sister X who is allergic to cats, so she dodged it rubbing against her legs. At this point, I guess the cat decided we were playing a game. It started chasing us. It was following us and literally would not leave us alone. Sister X ran and jumped in the car and then it started chasing me! Like literally running at me. It eventually got distracted and so I ran into the car. Then I realized I had to get out and back my companion up. Luckily that cat had run down the street.

I wanted to spend most of this email talking about the talk I gave in Sacrament meeting yesterday.

"I never cease to be amazed by how the Lord can motivate and direct the length and breadth of His kingdom and yet have time to provide inspiration concerning one individual."

Have we ever really though about this? This God is our loving Heavenly Father. He is literally a parent to us. We learn that we are children of God in Romans 8:16-17. Because of our heritage, we have a divine potential! We can become like our Heavenly Father! THIS is why we are here!

Any parent knows that in order to teach a child to walk, you can't keep them in their arms forever. Eventually you have to even let go of their hand and try it on their own. Through it all, though, you stay right by to give them the help that they need.

In many ways, this is our relationship with our Father in Heaven. He has sent us here to learn and to grow so that we can reach our divine potential. Like a parent following close behind their newly walking child, arms extended ready to help, so is He near to us and providing CONSTANT support.

He also provides for us the way. Just this last week, I found out I had to fill out forms and get fingerprints done to obtain an FBI clearance. Looking at the instructions from the travel office, I was getting really overwhelmed. I spent most of last Monday stressing about it. On Tuesday, I received a package from my sweet mother. She sent me addressed fed-ex envelopes that I needed to send things in, the instructions more simply explained step by step, the forms I needed which she had filled out already. She even put little sticky notes with arrows telling me where to sign. She did everything that she possibly could for me and gave me instructions on the part I needed to do myself. She knew that as a missionary, I don't have time to stress over paperwork, and she provided the way for me to accomplish what was needed.

This is what Heavenly Father does for us. He knows our circumstances and He knows what we need. He has provided the way for us to be happy in this life and the world to come. This way is found in the scriptures, words of prophets and apostles, and personal revelation we receive from Him. He has given us a way to communicate with Him. Do we really understand how amazing prayer is? We are literally talking with Him. He, the Supreme Being of the universe, listens and responds to us. It's like the first 3 weeks I was at BYU. I called my mom everyday. She knew generally what I was up to, but it was up for me to fill in the details. She wanted to know how I was doing and what I was up to. Heavenly Father wants us to communicate with Him! Anything that is important to us is important to Him.

The greatest evidence that we have of His love for us is that He sent His Son. We cannot comprehend how much He loves us. His purpose is to help us to be happy. His love is always there for us no matter what. He weeps with us when we are sad, and rejoices when we are happy.  His joy comes from us. I think this line from one of my dad's emails perfectly explains it, "One of the greatest joys as a parent is watching your children grow."

We show our love for Him and gratitude for all He has given us by our choices, by following His commandments and using the tools He has given us. One of these is families! Families are a place for children to learn and to grow. They are our greatest source of joy. They are meant to bring us joy. In 3 Nephi 22:13 we read, "And all thy children shall be taught of the Lord and great shall be the peace of thy children." They gospel of Jesus Christ is that way that "Home can be a Heaven on Earth." The key is the Spirit. When we follow Jesus Christ and have a gospel centered home, God can be with us through His Spirit. This Spirit is the source of joy, peace, and love.

Within this church is also the authority to bind or seal families together forever. Looking back at the days leading up to my departure to BYU and later to the MTC to begin my mission as well, I am reminded of the final things my family did together. Sure, we went out to eat, went to a movie, and went to a golfing range. But the nights before I left on each occasion, what did we do? We had a Family Home Evening, my father gave me a blessing, and we had a family prayer. These final things gave us the strength to say goodbye, this time for 18 months. We could do this because of the knowledge that we have that whatever happens, we WILL be together as a family forever as we live the gospel.

I know that this church is His church. I know that through this church, families can be together forever and families are blessed in countless ways. I know that Heavenly Father is our father and loves us. I know that He did send His Son here. I know these things to be true. This gospel has blessed my life and my family more than I can describe.

Love,
Sister Shipp