Merry Christmas Y'all!

Huzzah for snow! It happened. Snow really happened! It might be a white Christmas after all!

I was laughing with my companion at all of the emotions we experienced this week. It was somewhat of a roller coaster. My companion was sick so that meant cabin fever. I went crazy being held up in the house for days. Especially as a missionary because there is only so much you can do indoors to fulfill your purpose. I know sometimes it is required to slow down and take care of yourself, but I couldn’t shake the feeling that I was fine and healthy and I couldn’t do anything about it and our area really needs work done. And then I had to learn that hard lesson that it really is not all about me. Then I started to look at the bright side, I discovered that I had the opportunity to have some really neat studies that helped me strengthen my testimony in the Savior, and His gospel.

We’ve met some really awesome people that…… are leaving for the holidays. So we have some really solid people to visit in 5 weeks. Ha!  Last night was an amazing night. We met three new people who are so prepared to hear the gospel. Our first new friend was taught by some missionaries in New Mexico and has moved home for the holidays. He was raised heavily involved in another church, and his father is a minister there. He talked to us about how hard it is going to be to leave what he has been taught in the past. We explained to him that he will only build on his faith, not leave it all behind. He found a General Conference talk by Elder Eyring. In that, he talks about President Hinckley’s experience with a new convert from China who was moving home. President Hinckley asked him what kind of trials he would have to face now that he is a member of the church. The young man told him that he would probably be disowned by his family, and all opportunities would be taken away from him. President Hinckley said, “Are you willing to make that kind of sacrifice?” the young man responded, “It’s true isn’t it?” Our friend told us that he has been thinking a lot about this experience and is preparing himself to be baptized. Man. God really does prepare people for us to teach.

We also sat down with another fellow. He is dating a member of our ward and he called us up to meet with him. He has met with missionaries in the past so in my little optimistic mind, I thought…. “He got his answer that the church is true and he really wants to learn more!” Well…. Turns out that was not the case. He is in fact an atheist and told us that he has never been happier. He grew up trying to have a relationship with God and said he never got answers to his prayers. My companion and I were shocked. Then he proceeded to ask us a series of intense questions all aimed at understanding why we could believe in God. It was a unique experience to say the least. We learned that his Book of Mormon hero is Nehor. Really, what do you say to that? I have spent a lot of time thinking about this experience. There has to be a bigger underlying reason why he questioned God in the first place. I have been studying a lot out of the Book of Mormon about how Alma talked to Nehor. I feel like this isn’t going to be the last time I encounter a situation like that. In the end we just basically bore our testimonies of the gospel and how it can bring everlasting happiness. Because having no hope, faith or an understanding of your divine potential, where is the happiness in that? Life has no purpose. You know, growing up I remember my family, parents and teachers always telling me that prayer and scripture study is “your armor” as you live your day to day life. I really understand this a whole lot more. Satan is going to throw his “fiery darts” at you. The only protection you have is the scriptures, prayer and your testimony.

To be honest, we’ve met with a lot of interesting people here that have really made me think about charity; having that pure love of Christ for everyone. Whether a person attacks your beliefs or a complete stranger screams at you for no reason. This week has been a good week for me to practice charity. 

Love, Sister Luke

Hi there family!

We had our Christmas conference yesterday so our Pday was pushed back to today! At Christmas Conference, I received your packages! Our Christmas conference was awesome and went by too quickly in my opinion. It was fun to see the missionaries that are back in Amarillo (they drove in for the conference).

So this past week has been a whirl wind! I can’t believe I’ve been here for a week already! When we got off the bus in Lubbock, we were greeted by the Assistants to the President. Their area is also college park. I guess because of their responsibilities (they have to travel all over the mission, and the mission is HUGE so they are gone a lot), they haven’t been able to give the ward enough attention. So that’s where we come in. The Assistants told us that we are basically opening up a new area. They didn’t really have much information for us, so we are starting from scratch. On our first day, we went to the institute building and we saw a handful of people there. They were really excited to have sisters in their ward and a lot of people have told us that they really want to come out and teach with us. It really means a lot when people are excited to see you and to see missionary work get done again. After the institute building, we went on campus to go email our mission president and I had a ridiculous smile on my face the whole time. I just loved being back on a college campus, in an awesome ward that is totally focused on missionary work. It definitely made it easier to leave Amarillo. We actually live 20 minutes’ drive from campus, which isn’t the most ideal. But technically, we cover the whole city of Lubbock, so it doesn’t matter where we live. We have this monster of a truck to drive around. My companion and I look absolutely ridiculous in it. We feel like we are going to run over small cars in it.

There are some really great perks to living in Lubbock over the Holidays.  Every year, the stake puts together this huge, and when I say huge, I mean HUGE nativity exhibit. Members put in ridiculous amounts of time in this. There are about 350 people on a committee to put this all together. They plan this a year in advance, and were up till 3 a.m. last week setting up. Out of control. They have members of all faiths coming in to preform, like a Baptist choir, and Methodist pianists. The Nativity goes on for four nights and then concludes with the Christmas devotional. Pretty neat. Since we live in Lubbock, we were allowed to come and see it. And They had a missionary room where a set of missionaries stayed in case any member not of our faith had questions. They asked my companion and I to participate in this. Unfortunately, no awesome stories with that. We just sat in a room for hours and hours. Ha but we read a good deal of Genesis. Another perk is that we get to be

close to the mission home. I love that. It just gives me a little taste of home whenever I’m there. This morning all the missionaries in Lubbock helped decorate the mission home. It was so much fun!

The ward here is so awesome. We meet in the stake center and the chapel was pretty much full. A member walked up to me and said “Sister Luke, I was supposed to look out for you. My aunt is Kaye  and she told me you were coming to this mission.” And then he asked me how I knew Chelsea Kasen. I was completely shocked that someone knew who I was. And I had to have him reiterate what he said. Small world, right? When I was leaving, and everyone was telling me that I needed to look out for this person in this city, I thought, “yeah right, like I’ll ever meet them….” But happens!

Now I may be making it sound like butterflies and rainbows here in Lubbock but there is a catch. It’s a student ward, and the holidays are coming up…. So after this week (finals week), our ward and the student population in Lubbock is reduced to half. I am hoping and praying that we can stay busy and find some people to teach. Because when you aren’t busy as a missionary and constantly feeling like you aren't fulfilling your purpose, it’s the pits.

I better go. But I am so grateful for this opportunity to be a missionary. I feel my testimony strengthened every time I pray, study, and teach. Through the experiences I am having, I am creating firm foundation for the rest of my life. I love this gospel and day by day, my gratitude for my Savior increases. I love y’all! Have a splendid week!

Family!

It seems that my journeys in Amarillo are coming to a close. My companion and I got our transfer call on Saturday night and we are both headed to Lubbock! We will be serving in college park, so that means we work with the young single adults. I am definitely feeling bittersweet about this transfer. I am thrilled to go and work with the singles ward there and to be going with my companion. I’ve just established some roots here in Amarillo and it’s hard to leave the people I care about. 

Probably the hardest person to leave is the last sister who was baptized. On Sunday, we couldn’t look at each other without tearing up. Finally after Relief Society, she came up to me and we both just cried. (I’m such a crybaby, I know. I get it from my grandpa!) She is amazing. We talked about how potentially the next time I will see her will be when she goes through the temple! Since our temple is so small, they are not equipped to have missionaries go through. But if you have a recent convert going through, Our Mission President will be sure that we are there.  I love the idea of being there with her. She came out to teach with us this week and when we took her home she said, “Is that it? I was prepared to go out with y’all all day.” I recently heard a quote that says “You can count the number of seeds in an apple, but you can’t count the number of apples in a seed.” I definitely see that in her. She has an amazing testimony and shares it with everyone. Even in opposition, she still holds true to the gospel!

We met a man this week that increased my testimony that this gospel is true and the Lord is truly preparing people to receive the gospel. He was a referral from some other missionaries. He has been taught two years before and then moved. We sat down with him on Tuesday night. The conversations started out with small talk and just getting to know him. When we asked about being taught previously, he bore a powerful testimony that he knows that the church is true and he wants to be baptized. He expressed how dark his life has been without the gospel in his life and he wants the continual companionship of the Holy Ghost. He even has a testimony of tithing. I was pretty much speechless the whole time. Let me tell you how many people sit down with us and ask to be baptized, none. So I didn’t know what to say. Luckily my companion took over and we went through the baptismal questions to find out where he still had questions. We found out that he has already read the Book of Mormon through till Alma.

Oh and Thanksgiving was fun! We have 6 turkey dinners still in our refrigerator. Ha! We stayed at a members home and played a game called Mexican train. So fun! We are playing when I get home. I’m sad to leave Amarillo before the Holidays. But it will be nice to be close to the mission home. 

Love, Sister Luke

Laura's parents note:

One of Laura's investigators was involved in a bullet bike accident and passed away a couple of weeks ago.  He had become a friend so his loss was very hard on her. She was able to attend his funeral. The following is her email the following week. 

Hello family & friends,

Well after Tuesday, we were kept busy which was truly a blessing from the Lord. Our investigator's service was performed in a nondenominational church which was a new experience for me. I was a little bothered when the only speaker was a preacher that didn't even know him. He started talking about how Adam and Eve ruined everything for us. But regardless, I was still able to feel the spirit there. I remembered our investigator telling us that he felt like he was being called to a “ministry or missionary work”. At the time, I understood it as he was going to go on a mission after he gets baptized. That feeling impressed upon me again. I realized how much missionary work needs to be done in the spirit world. After he gets baptized, I know that his calling is to do missionary work among the people there. I found that really comforting.

We have met a lot of people this week that has made the week cruise on by. I want to tell you about a new friend. I met her a couple weeks ago when her friend brought her to church. She is so warm and friendly and inviting. When we knocked on her door late one night she immediately let us in, so thrilled that we came to see her. She is one of those people that are good to the core. She is one of the most honest people I have ever met and finds joy in seeing others happy. Last night when we went to visit her, she fed us ribs. So delicious.

One of our most recent baptisms is more faithful than ever. She has started temple preparation classes and is so anxious to go! She just got her first calling, ward missionary. You should have seen her smile just beaming when she got out of the bishops office. I’m telling you, recent converts just have this fire about them. I feel so blessed to have been a part of her life.

We have a lot of appointments lined up this week, so this week is going to be good. I can tell. Thanks for all the love and support! Love you all thanks for your examples!

Love, Sister Luke

I

Hi Family!

Thanks for the updates on life back in Salt Lake City! It’s getting cold here so I’m just hoping and praying that I don’t have to face a “Logan Winter” here. Although everyone say’s Amarillo has pretty fierce winters. So…. If you want, you could send me some of my warmer clothes. Thursday was an exceptionally cold day (ok, ok I know that I have friends that are serving in ridiculous weather conditions…. Like Canada and Russia…. But just bare with me here) and yes, you guessed it, it was bike day. So we braved the icy wind, I put on some of my companion's tights and rode our bikes. We knocked a street with some success but frozen nonetheless. We walked to this house and my companion said, “This is the one, they are going to be nice and let us in”. And can you believe it, they did! This person currently goes to another Church. After getting to know him a little bit, we asked what he likes about his church. He sat there thinking about it for a little bit then said, “To be honest, I can’t think of anything.” I’ve learned out here that people are just generally creatures of habit. We continue to do things because that is where we are comfortable. But I feel like the gospel has so much more to offer our new friend. Not just regularity but progression! We are meeting again this week so I am praying that everything will go well. So…. Meeting with our new friend was so worth it even though we froze our faces off.

Last night, we went to visit a referral that we got about a month ago. But every time we go to visit her she is never home. Never. I’m not kidding you; we have tried her like 10 times and nothing. So last night, we felt like we needed to go and try her. And can you believe it her light was on and car was there. I started to get nervous because it was late and I hate knocking on doors late. But before we could even introduce ourselves, she opened the door right up to let us in. I stood there in shock and said is now a good time? And she was like of course! Then I blurted out, “I’m sorry, I’m just not used to people letting us in to their homes.” She just laughed. She is pretty much awesome. She had so many good questions about the church and told us that every member that she has met has been “different.” She said they are always happy and always have a positive attitude. So remember, your example is the BEST missionary tool. People do notice and it plants seeds for others to desire to learn more about the gospel. We were able to talk about the Book of Mormon and the Restoration and she wanted a copy of the Book of Mormon. She told us as we were leaving, “I will definitely read and pray about this.” Neat right? She just gets it.

For Halloween, the missionaries aren’t allowed to work past 6. So we are all planning on getting together with the other missionaries at the church.  My companion and I have been thinking about our costumes…. And I won’t give it away, but I think we might win the costume contest. We are going to work on them today. You’ll just have to wait till next week when I can send you pictures.

This Sunday we talked about Families and naturally, I told the story about how we went camping at cedar breaks. They all laughed when I described Johanna bouncing around the tent trying to knock off all the water that was caving our tent in. And then how we tried to dig trenches around Dave and Flo’s tent so they didn’t have a “water bed” anymore. And while this was going on…. The boys slept. This is one of my most favorite memories. Not that it was the most perfect vacation ( I think that was the trip Jer singed his eyebrows off...) But because I was with y’all. I love that we can laugh at those experiences now. I’ve got a pretty amazing family.

Love y’all so much! I’m always praying for you! Thanks for loving and supporting me!

Love, Sister Luke

Family!

Today I am emailing you from Amarillo College Library. Kinda fun! I am having flash backs of my beloved Utah State campus. I really love that place. (I never knew I had so much school pride…) Dad, thanks for keeping me posted on how awesome they are doing!

Momma and Pa, Thank you so much for the package. I absolutely loved it. All the missionaries are envious of my Halloween decorations! I loved all my little bats the grandkids sent! They are hanging in my window! And don’t even get me started on the salsa and dried apples. Seriously, those are some of my most favorite things. I think I like dried apples as much as my new companion likes candy.

Emily, I got your letter and I promise. I will write you back TODAY! I can just get so distracted on Pdays!

Johanna, some advice for missionary friends would be to study Preach my Gospel. I know if I would have started that earlier, I would have been so much more prepared.

So…. Here’s what is going on in my neck of the woods.

I’ve found that change is good. Especially in missionary work. I think I can do this for 14 months. My new companion is an amazing missionary and I’ve already learned so much from her. She is actually Filipino, small world! She was looking at my family picture and she picked out Flo as a Filipino too.  She is super patient (luckily) and likes to work hard. We have pretty similar personalities. I just wish I was tan like her. So I had to navigate her around town the first couple days…. Let’s just say, do to my poor directions we’ve had to do a lot of U-turns…. I think Brandon should send me some math jokes and analogies…. She would love that.

Well, a week ago, our friend's brother passed away. The brother’s death involved drugs and was really devastating for the family. We haven’t been able to see our friend much because our friend has been trying to take care of the situation so the parents don’t have to. We were able to talk last night and our friend told us that prayer has been a great strength. Our friend has such a strong testimony of prayer.  That is something I really admire.

We met with a Pastor at a little church last week. My companion and I left a Book of Mormon and asked the Pastor to read the Introduction and 3 Nephi 11. The Pastor seemed genuinely interested so we were thrilled to teach more. Well, we met at the Pastor's church to talk about what we read. The Pastor talked about how something in the introduction was bothersome. At the end of the fifth paragraph, it says something to the effect of if we obey the laws, we will be saved. When I’ve read the introduction, I have not given much thought.to this section, but I could tell that this was a huge stumbling block. The Pastor told us that Christ died on the cross so that we wouldn't have to obey the laws (the 10 commandments). To be honest, I couldn’t answer because I had never thought that much on the topic of grace. But luckily, My companion was well equipped to answer. She asked if the Pastor tells the congregation that they don’t need to go to church. And the reply of course was,  “no.” She explained that the commandments are all things that Jesus taught on the Sermon on the Mount. At the close of our meeting, the Pastor agreed to read another chapter out of the Book of Mormon if we will read Ephesians. We gladly accepted. In the 2^nd chapter, it talks all about how the church needs to be built upon apostles and prophets.

Well, know that I am doing well! I promise! I am happy and working hard. And have learned so much and can’t wait to learn more.

Love y’all! Take Care!

Love, Sister Luke

Hi Mama and Papa and family,

I’m sad to hear about Grandpa. I know that must be very discouraging for him. I love my grandpa so much! I’m always going to be proud of my tittle “little blonde” I’ll never forget it. I’m not going to lie, this news makes me a little homesick (basically the first time since I’ve been out), and in situations like this it’s nice to be with your family. You are all in my prayers, especially Grandpa and mom. It’s times like these that I just wish I could be with you and give you a hug and maybe cry a little. If you need to relay any information to me, you can always call the mission home.

This week has been pretty good. We got a call Saturday night telling us that my companion is leaving and I am staying in Amarillo and getting a new companion. The only things I know about her is she is really good at math and super smart, and Asian.  I’m really sad to see my old companion go. She has been an awesome trainer. We’ve had so many great memories! I am excited to have some great experiences with my new companion also. If my biggest fear is change, I’m going to be getting over that quick here on the mission.

Our friend has been really busy this week. We’ve only had really short lessons. It doesn’t really give us the opportunity to feel the spirit. Our friend knows everything we have taught is true; but still struggles with a modern day prophet. I asked if our friend has listened to him speak and our friend reluctantly stated “no”. I said that in our next lesson, we are going to watch a talk given by our prophet in this past General Conference.  I told our friend that you cannot judge whether or not our prophet is called of God without even listening to him! This drives me nuts. So many people here just discredit the prophet or Book of Mormon based on hearsay or what their preacher tells them. How many of these people actually pick up the Book of Mormon and follow Moroni’s promise and read the book and pray about it? Few to none. The only way you are going to know is to experiment upon the words.  

We’ve spent a lot of time knocking and finding new investigators. I think I am really starting to get the hang of this. On Saturday, my companion and I were testifying to all that would open their door! We were able to leave a lot of Book of Mormons and make some follow up appointments. Such a blessing! A member brought her friend to church. She walked right up to me and said “I would like you all to come over to have a bible study”. We said, “Well, if we have to….” Just kidding! We were thrilled!! The Lord is preparing people!

On Sunday, I had to give a talk. I have been pondering and praying about what subject to speak about. I asked the 1st councilor what he wanted me to speak on, and he said missionary work. So I decided to speak on my most favorite sentence out of Peach my Gospel. “When your understanding of the atonement increases, so does your desire to share the gospel.” I truly felt guided on the things I needed to say. Man, I’m ashamed that I am just now figuring this out, but the spirit is the best study guide and testifier. When I spoke, the spirit prompted me to say things that I did not plan on saying. One of my investigators said that he could feel the spirit in sacrament meeting. It’s amazing what can happen when everyone is in tune with the spirit!  

Thanks for your letters. I love reading them! I love y’all! 

Love,

Sister Luke