Good Friends

“Good friends lift you up when you feel like you've had enough, and help you through the thick and thin." 

One thing that I've been thinking about a lot lately is the power of good friends. Of course, our very best friend is, and will always be our Savior Jesus Christ, but good friends are the ones who help you realize that. I challenge you all to strive to find good friends and become a good friend yourself.

Sunny Days are THE BEST!!

Hello Friends and Family, 

I'm so sorry that I did not send an email out last week. It was transfer day and kinda crazy. I promise you did not miss much. We said goodbye to my dear dear Sister Black last week. She is doing well and just celebrated her birthday at home with her family. She made a coming home video on Facebook that made me cry for days but hey what's new.

This week Sister Robertson and I have been walking outside a lot. It's been such nice weather and we have loved every second of it. We love walking outside because then you get to talk to people on the sidewalk. It's honestly the closest thing to street contacting so I love it. I don't know if I've said this before but there really is not a lot of opportunities to street contact in Idaho. I mean I'm sure you all assumed that already haha, but there are a lot of missionaries that come home from CA missions and tell us all about their street contacting stories. I am always so jealous. 

Anyway, I love you all and I'm so thankful for the prayers. Sister Robertson and I are still working really hard and one of these days something big will happen. We can feel it in our bones haha.

Sister Aase 

Easter Sunday & General Conference - a great pair!!

Wonderful Easter Conference Sunday! Nick Rinker made an amazing Eggs Benedict with stuffed crab cakes stacked on a scone base! And Misty Albertson made her traditional "conference scones" with a side of mint-chocolate truffles -Yummy! We were blessed to share our breakfast with the sister missionaries from our ward and the Elders from Misty's ward. It was a great day!

SURPRISE!! I Have a New Companion

Wow, it's been a week. Let me take you back to the very beginning (a very good place to start). So here I was Monday afternoon Nerf Gun in my hand, war paint on my face (our Nerf wars are very intense here in the Nampa mission) when Sister Black comes running to me with her phone and tells me that President wants to talk to me. It doesn't matter if you are the best missionary in the field or the downright worst, whenever you hear you have a call from President you break out in a sweat. So I awkwardly grab the phone and ran into an empty room and say "Hello?". He then proceeds to tell me that this new sister was coming into the mission on Wednesday and that I was going to be her new companion. Of course, my first thought was "yea I'm so excited" but then I realized "THE TRIO IS DEAD!" It's quite depressing actually. Trio life is awesome. You can go anywhere, you can see anyone, and life is just pretty entertaining. The great news though is that I still am living with Sister Black and Pace, so I’m sure we will still have many good adventures together.

So on Wednesday, I left the mission (dah dah dah daaaaaahhhh) to go to the Boise Airport to pick up Sister Robertson. That was a fun time. i got to meet a bunch of families who had their daughters and sons coming home from their missions. They were all so excited and I cried literally EVERY TIME they came through the gates. Oh goodness, I'm going to be a wreck when I come home. Sister Robertson's flight was also way delayed so I was companion-less for like two hours. I thought I was going to die. I was so glad when she finally showed up. 

Sister Robertson is the sweetest person in the world. The reason why she awkwardly came in the middle of a transfer is because she was assigned to serve a mini-mission before. She has now been out for about 4 months and she is so amazing at missionary work. We are going to baptize nations, my friends. (not really but we are gonna work really hard and I'm excited). 

Another great thing that happened this week is we had Elder Natrice come and speak to our mission. He is amazing and taught us so many things. After the big surprise of me being emergency transferred, you would think that I would get a break for a while hahaha but no. So while we were eating lunch, President came over and pulled me aside (the sweating again ensued) and he told me that Elder Natrice wanted to interview me. Apparently wherever he goes out into the mission field, he chooses a couple missionaries and just talks to them and councils them on what they need to do in their life. Wow so that was neat. I talked with him and his wife for about 20 minutes. I told them about my life and they told me about theirs and then Elder Natrice proceeded to promise me blessings if I would do certain things. It was amazing and if any of you know me I was definitely in a puddle of tears. He is just a very inspired man and he knew exactly what I needed to hear to calm my fears.

So now with two huge surprises, surely you would think "Sister Aase there just can not be anymore" but alas I have not even told you the best one. After we got home from Elder Natrice's amazing meeting, the phone rang and immediately I started sweating because I just assumed it was President, but it wasn't this time hooray. It was this man who told us his girlfriend wanted to take the missionary lessons. Dah. That never happens. So we went over there and she is golden. Like really golden. Her name is Bekkah and we are so excited to teach her. 

So yes, long crazy busy exciting shocking week, but I have loved it. I know that my Heavenly Father knows and loves each of us perfectly. He knew that I needed to be with Sister Robertson and He knew that I needed to meet Bekkah and He definitely knew I needed to be uplifted by Elder Natrice this week. I promise He loves us, and I promise He knows us, and I promise that through the inspired and holy scriptures we can learn to love and know Him too. 

Sister Aase   

When in doubt Cowboy it out

If I’ve learned anything this week it is that I should be a farm girl. But maybe not, because chickens absolutely terrify me. So I go back to my title, I should probably just be a COWgirl. I love cows so much! This last Monday, our zone went to a farm to do service. I loved every second of it.... well there was one second that my companions dragged me into a chicken coop that I thoroughly did not enjoy... I literally cried... and screamed... until they let me go... and then I ran. I honestly don't know why they scare me so much, but they just do. Anyway, back to the cute cows. I got to feed baby cows, I got to pet them, I got to herd goats, I watched someone (still a bit bitter about that) milk a cow. I honestly couldn't ask for "mooooo"re. haha. 

  

We also tracked into so many “redneck” families this week and I loved every second of it. This one family, instead of going to the store to buy onions, just drives their truck really slowly on this one road and looks for onions on the SIDE OF THE ROAD to eat. Apparently, this onion truck drives down this road and onions just roll off the bed of his truck and land on the street, so their philosophy is "why let a perfectly good onion go to waste?". HAHA I was dying. 

I love Idaho and the Idahoan people. They are just the best.  

Sister Aase​

 Meanwhile down on the farm

Easter Photos

 Sister Pace, Sister Black & Sister Aase

Exchanging all the time

Hello.

Is anyone in need of a potato joke ‘cause I know I am... What do you call a potato that is hesitant to get into a pot of hot water? A HEZA -TATOR.... pretty bad but hey I'll get better at them.

Wow, this week we had a lot of exchanges (this is when companionship switch companions for the day). Sister Black is an STL (Sister Training Leader) so as her companions we get to do a lot of exchanges. They are always stressful... but always a BLAST. For example, we made banana bread with Hermana Patterson this week. Super fun. She is just the funniest sister I know. We also got to go to a baptism... wait for it... IN NAMPA! while we were with Sister Filmore. I got to see a bunch of my people that I have missed dearly and of course got to go to Chick-fil-a!! It was a good exchange.

Sorry for the shorter email but it really was a fun week with exchanges. One thing you learn from exchanges is that this really is the Lord's work. when you are with a brand new companion, it can be pretty awkward and uncomfortable during lessons because you don't really have the flow that your companionship usually does, but the Lord and the Spirit always pull through and make it a great lesson.

I love being a missionary and I love Idaho... even though it snows randomly and then gives us 60-degree weather shortly after. Idaho is a great place and I'm most definitely living here someday.

I love you all

Sister Aase

Lots of Laughter

Thursday: It was Sister Pace's Birthday today! We threw a surprise Zone Lunch for her - it was the best. We told her that we were doing a tracting activity together as a zone and Sister Pace, just like every Missionary serving in Meridian hates tracting. Needless to say, it was a great surprise. 

Friday: Normal missionary day. Lots of laughing. Sister Pace and I received a "very accurate" revelation on how Sister Black will meet her husband when she gets home. You know normal missionary stuff haha. 

Saturday: We actually did go on a tracting activity with our whole zone. It was actually really fun. Sister Pace and Sister Temple and I were all put back together #flashbacktoMTCdays. It was the best. We found ten potential investigators all in one ward. We are pretty excited. Also, I had my first lesson with one of our investigators in this area. He is amazing! He found out all about the Church through a program that they had in the prison he was in, in Salt Lake City. He didn't have much else to do, so he studied the Bible and the Book of Mormon like crazy. He blew my mind with all his scriptural knowledge. He taught us more than we taught him. He is so amazing and we are praying every day that he will be able to be baptized by the end of the year.  

Sunday: Sundays are crazy... and I become a little crazy on Sundays. I was told multiple times that I was an "odd little missionary" by both Sister Pace and Sister Black. I don't disagree with them. Haha. I am completely convinced one of the biggest reasons God sent me on a mission was for pure entertainment for my companions, because in the wise words of Bro.Whitemyer "Laughter is the best medicine...besides Advil". I miss him. 

Anyway, not a crazy interesting week but a good one none the less.

I love you all and hope you are getting excited for General Conference, Easter, and April Fool’s Day (I have a very good prank in the works... I'll send pictures) 

Love,

The odd little missionary (Sister Aase)