Week 14

So it's been quite the week. We found out that Evan is going to a blind rehabilitation thing for 6 weeks in Chicago. He leaves this week and then he's not really sure what will happen after that. So that COMPLETELY broke my heart. So here's the story.. his dad is his official caregiver right now. But... he's not really doing his job. He gets drunk A LOT and then just yells at Evan and kind of takes things out on him. So Evan wants to get out of here, but just doesn't really know where to go after he gets back form Chicago. But he LOVES the gospel! Everything is just making sense to him. We taught him the Plan of Salvation this last week and he was really into it! Then he agreed to listening to the whole Book of Mormon during the time he's gone. And Sister Goaslind is going to keep in touch with him during that time as well. So that's great! I'm grateful for the opportunity that I had to teach Evan. I know that he'll get baptized sometime soon. And I just hope and pray that it's somewhere in our mission so that I'll be able to attend :) But please continue to pray for him!! He's got a lot of things in his life that just aren't working out for him. 

Well... my life is officially over. I'm getting transferred. :'( Transfer calls came on Sunday night and our zone leaders told me that I was being transferred out of the area. I just sat there and stared at the phone and then handed it back to Sister Goaslind. Then I just walked out of the room. Haha I didn't even say a word to the zone leaders.. so they probably thought that I was super upset or something. Which I kind of was! But only because I really love Enumclaw. SO many things are happening and now I have to leave!! Dahhhh... it's my worst day. Ha. But it'll all work out :) I'm being transferred to Federal Way! And I'm going to be in a tri-partnership with Sisterr Muir and Kirschner. So this is going to be completely different! So please pray for me... Hopefully I survive. ;)

I hope everyone else had a great week! Ha I love you all so much :) Everyone that told me they know people in Federal Way, let me know again! And I'll go track them down. :) I'll talk to you guys next week! (If I survive until then.. ;)

This is Evan. He's THE BEST!!!! 

Sister Legas.. Haha she's like the funniest lady ever :) She's the first lesson I had when I got here! She was less active and now she has a calling in the ward

Love,

Sister Maurcine Flamm

Week 13

Hey! How is everyone? :)  

A few weeks ago while I was on exchanges, we ran into a former investigator named Ed. Ed is 70 years old, has a hoop earring in his left ear, and looks big and bad. ;) Haha. But he's actually a really nice man! So we introduced ourselves to him and he told us how he wanted to make God apart of his life. We told him that we'd love to set up another time to meet with him and teach him more about what we believe and he agreed to it! So last Tuesday we met with Ed and taught him about the Restoration. He loved it and told us that he knows that this is what he needs to do. So at the end of the lesson.. I asked him to be baptized. And guess what?! He said YES!! It. Was. AWESOME! I always thought that committing someone to be baptized on the first lesson was absolutely crazy. But when the Spirit prompts you to do it, it's the right time. Everything just falls into place when people are ready for the gospel! So now we have Evan on date for July 12th and Ed on date for July 19th! So please pray for them!! 

We had another lesson with Ed the other day and introduced the Book of Mormon to him. But guess what? He had already been reading and was on chapter 10! He told us that he reads every morning and every night. And whenever he has a question, he goes over to his neighbor's house and asks them! His neighbors are the Burdette's who live in our ward. They are a young family and have been amazing fellowship for Ed! They've been friends to him throughout the years that they've lived there and have been a great example. They sat in on our first lesson with him and then brought him to church with them yesterday!! So things are looking great :) We're really excited! 

We also had a church tour with Evan and it went great as well. His dad, who's not a member, also came! So we showed them around the church and talked about what we do in each part of the building. Evan wasn't able to come to church on Sunday though. Apparently his family bought him tickets to go to a Mariner's game for his birthday. But... he's blind. So I bet that was fun for him! Ha pretty sure his family just really wanted to go to the game. But he had a good laugh about it. He has a great attitude about things :) 

So things are really starting to pick up around here! We have a new Ward Mission Leader and he is awesome!! He's so excited and just wants to go, go, go! He told us that we're going to be here for a while. Apparently he contacted one of the counselors in the mission presidency and told them that he needs us here. So hopefully I'll get to stay here for at least another transfer! But we'll see :) 

Well I hope you guys have a great week! Please keep Evan and Ed in your prayers. :) I love you all so much!! :) 

P.S. P-day is on Tuesday next week because of transfers. :) 

-Sister Maurcine Flamm 

Week 12

Why Hello! 

So we taught Evan about the Book of Mormon this last week and it was great! Remember how I told you that we left him a CD of the Book of Mormon on the lesson before? Yeah. So he went out and bought a CD player so that he could listen to it! So that right there shows that he's interested and actually wants to learn more! Cool, huh. :) We were pretty dang excited. He's just eating it up! We're giving him a church tour tomorrow and we're really excited. We're going to take him around and help him feel his way around the building and then talk to him about what we do in each area of the church. I've never given a church tour before, so it's going to be a cool experience to give it to a blind guy! Cause we're going to have to really help him understand and feel the Spirit. So pray that all goes well and that we'll be able to help him to feel the Spirit strongly! :) 

We had exchanges this week and I stayed here in Enumclaw and Sister Goaslind went to Kent. So since I stayed here I got to drive! It was kind of weird because I haven't driven in like 3 months... but don't you worry! I didn't even crash or get pulled over. :) I miss being able to drive my truck though! (Yes, I'm still claiming it as mine. ;) Ha 

Well I love you all SO much. Thank you for all of the love and support. I couldn't do this without all of you! I'm just going to leave you with this quote from Elder Richard G. Scott. He says,

 “Just when all seems to be going right, challenges often come in multiple doses applied simultaneously. When those trials are not consequences of your disobedience, they are evidence that the Lord feels you are prepared to grow more. He therefore gives you experiences that stimulate growth, understanding and compassion, which polish you for your everlasting benefit. To get you from where you are to where He wants you to be requires a lot of stretching, and that generally entails discomfort and pain” 

I know that sometimes things don't always work out like we want them to. I've found that a lot on mission so far! But I know that God is mindful of us. He wants us to grow and become. I know that we're all sturggling with one thing or another, but only as we rely on the Atonement of Jesus Christ can we be comforted. 

I love you guys and you'll always be in my prayers! 

Love, 

Sister Maurcine Flamm 

Week 11

I can't even begin to tell you how excited I am right now. So I told you a little bit about Evan in my letter home last week, but I'll give you the run down again. Evan is the injured war veteran who is blind. He's in his 20's and is SUPER cool. We were actually trying to meet his grandma (who was a former investigator) and then ended up meeting him instead! He lives with his dad and his grandma. And a week or 2 ago we tried talking to his grandma and dad, but they weren't interested. So as we were going to leave, Evan pretty much just walked right up to us and started a conversation. (And yes, he's completely blind!) We got to know him a little bit and he told us that he was in Afghanistan and got blown up. So anyways, we sat there and talked to him for a good hour! And then he told us that he didn't know how people could go to church every week and just read and re-read from the Bible. So we told him about continued revelation and scripture that we have. And he was super interested! So we told him that we'd get him a copy of The Book of Mormon on CD so that he could listen to it. And then we were able to set up an appointment to teach him! 

So on Saturday we taught Evan the Restoration. It was the most amazing lesson that I've ever taught. Everything about it was perfect! We taught him about Joseph Smith and then he said, "Wow. That's amazing! I've never heard that before." So we bore our testimony to him and then told him if he wanted to know if what we told him was true, he needed to ask God. So we invited him to pray and he did!! And he gave one of the most sincere prayers I've ever heard. He asked God whether or not our message was true and then thanked Him for sending us to him. After the prayer we sat in silence for a minute and then asked Evan how he was feeling. And he just smiled and said, "I feel good." The Spirit was SO strong!! Then we did it... we asked him to baptized and HE SAID YES!!!! EVAN COMMITTED TO BE BAPTIZED ON THE FIRST LESSON!!!! Oh my goodness. I'm still just dying!!! I KNOW that God truly does prepare His children to hear the gospel. And Evan is definitely prepared!! :) But if you could still keep him in your prayers, that would be fantastic. :) He's on date for July 12th! :) 

Man, so much happened this week.. but Evan was definitely the highlight. :) There was a horrible thing that happened though.. want to hear about it? Good, cause I'm going to tell you. ;) Haha. So on Friday we tried to contact a referral of a less active that was given to us by President Eaton. So we go by the house and the guy that we were looking for wasn't home, but his dad was. We started talking to this guy, Chad, for a few minutes and tried talking to him about the gospel. But he just wasn't very interested.. So we were like, " Ok. Well good to meet you Chad! See you later!" And then he opened up his arms and pulled Sister Goaslind and I in for a big ole HUG! I was like oh my gosh! I'm not supposed to hug guys!! But that wasn't even the worst part... he then KISSED SISTER GOASLIND AND I ON THE HEAD!!!!! I was completely freaked out.We ran out of there as fast as we could... It was HORRIBLE!! And this wasn't some cute old man.. this was a creepy middle aged buff guy. I thought I was going to throw up. SO GROSS! I'm not supposed to be kissed on my mission.. but it just happened.. Haha it was my worst day. 

But anyways! Besides creeper Chad, my week was fantastic. :) The weather has been good and things are going great with our investigators!  I know that as we open our mouths, great things will happen. People truly are just waiting to hear the gospel! We just have to have the faith to find those people. :) 

I hope you all have a great week! Oh, and Happy Birthday (On the 4th) Chantell!! You're SO old!! ;) Haha. And happy 10 year anniversary to me! Wasn't it ten years ago on the 4th that I got hit by a car? I'm pretty sure it was. I'm glad that I got to share that day with such a cool sister like you, Chantell. ;) Haha. I love you all! Talk to you next week! :) 

Check out our cute rides! Yep. I rode a bike in a skirt. And guess what? It decided to dump buckets of rain on us that day! Haha it was insane.. and very difficult. I was sure sore the next day! ;) 

After being drenched by the rain.. haha my makeup was going everywhere. It was the best. ;) 

Week 10

Well.. I almost died this week! 

Alright. So yesterday we did some service for a less active lady in our ward. We helped her clean up and organize her craft room! It was a big job, but super fun. I just wanted to sit there all day long and make crafts with her!! But I didn't. ;) So anyways.. as we were unpacking boxes, we spotted this HUGE spider in the corner of her ceiling. So Sister Legas (the less active) grabbed some bug killer and sprayed that thing for a good 30 seconds. So the spider shriveled up and we were sure it was dead! So we continued working, but I kept an eye on that monster. And guess what? It started crawling around!! So I screamed... and then it fell from the ceiling onto the floor! And to make things worse, it started running towards me!!! No joke. So as I'm screaming, I jumped onto a desk so that it wouldn't attack me. Then Sister Legas came to the rescue and killed him!! Oh my gosh. I seriously thought I was going to die. Haha that thing was SO BIG!!! So then we all started laughing and Sister Legas and Sister Goaslind made fun of me... But you know what happened after that? We found that monster's mate! Sister Legas was moving some things and she almost grabbed it! So I screamed again and then she stomped on it. Oh man.. I just wish we had all of this on video! It was so funny. So I pretty much almost died from a spider and from laughing so hard. Haha 

On a more serious note, we met a new family that moved into our ward this last week. The dad is a member but the mom isn't, and then they have a 5 year old little girl. But this family moved here from California where they were homeless. They've definitely been through a lot! So we've been trying to help them out lately. They told us that they needed a bed for their daughter. All that she had been sleeping on was like this old little hospital cot! When they told us of their need though, we knew we could help. Another less active lady in our ward (Sis. Land) told us that she had a double sized bed that she was trying to get rid of, so she told us to keep our eyes out for someone that could use it! And sure enough we had just found someone. :) So we were able to get the bed all loaded up and brought it to this family's house. When Sis. Land found out who were were giving the bed to, she went all out. She gave us sheets, a comforter, and a stuffed animal to give to them as well. The Christlike love of some people truly amaze me! It made me think, am I one that just gets the job done? Or do I go that extra mile like the Savior would?

It's such a blessing to be able to serve at this time. I'm not the perfect missionary and I have SO many things that I need to improve on. But I'm so thankful that my Heavenly Father is so patient with me. I know that He is patient with all of us and love us perfectly! But we still need to do our best. We need to work hard and invite others to come unto Christ. :)  He will strengthen us! We just need to have the faith. 

Well I better go. The lady that does our laundry is in Hawaii.... so now we have to do it on our own. Haha hopefully we still remember how to do it! ;)

I love you all and I will talk to you soon! :)

Love,

Sister Maurcine Flamm 

Week 9

Why hello everyone! 

This week went pretty well! We have some good things starting to happen here in Enumclaw. :) We did about 10 hours of service this week! So that was super nice. We were able to be outside a lot in our JEANS! I was pretty pumped about that. Because being in a skirt all the time is kind of the pits... because I'm pretty much sick of all of my clothes already. Ha it's a problem! So if anyone wants to send me some cute clothes I will gladly accept them. ;) 

So we were able to do a lot of yard work this week! I'm going to be a pro at planting flowers :) My biggest struggle is getting my hands dirty though... Haha I hate it when dirt gets in my fingernails! But it's fine, I'll get over it. ;) We showed up at a less active's house the other day and she had a bunch of flowers that she was starting to plant throughout her yard. So we offered to help her! She turned us down though because she didn't want us to get our skirts all dirty and stuff. But guess what! We had jeans in our car. :) Great idea, huh! Then we can give service to people right then and there! Ha. We also keep our poop covered rain boots in the trunk as well. Just in case we have to shovel horse stalls. ;) So it all just works out. Doing service is a great thing :) Most of the people that we gave service to were less actives. But I know that they are just as important as non-members. We are all God's children and he wants everyone to come back to him! 

Everyday we recite "Our Purpose" as missionaries. It says, Our purpose is to "Invite others to come unto Christ by helping them receive the restored gospel through faith in Jesus Christ and His Atonement, repentance, baptism, receiving the gift of the Holy Ghost, and enduring to the end." So as missionaries and member missionaries, our purpose is to invite and help. And the investigator's role is tocome and receive. Our role really isn't that hard! We don't need to baptize everyone that we see, but we do need to invite them!! We need to help them to come to know and have a relationship with their Heavenly Father and Savior Jesus Christ. We can all do it!! So I challenge all of you to find those people that you can help and invite. And then allow the full time missionaries to teach them. :) 

Well I love you all so much! I hope you have a fantastic week. Look for ways to serve and bless the lives of others. And in return, you will be blessed as well. :) 

Love, 

Sister Maurcine Flamm 

Ps. Check out my friend Bruce! He's a pretty cool little turtle. And he's actually pretty fast!

Week 8

Good Mormon Everyone! (Haha that's what an elderly lady said to us the other day. She's a pretty recent convert and she's hilarious. :) 

How is everyone doing? :) It was so good to be able to hear from all of you the other day! So I'm a horrible person and I'm not even sure if I told you Happy Mother's Day, mom! I know that I did in my letter to you, but did I tell you while we were Skyping? If not, HAPPY MOTHER'S DAY!!! To the greatest mom in the entire world. I love you so much!!! :)

Hmm.. So I feel like I told you everything that's been going on here lately. Yesterday was pretty funny though! We met with this lady who told us that she's "eternally engaged". And she has been for like 12 years! So that was interesting. I don't know why she doesn't just get married to the guy! But whatever. Ha he asked Sister Goaslind and I if we were sisters and I was like yep! Uhh.. actually no. Not real sisters. But we're sister missionaries! Haha. Everyone thinks we look alike.. but I don't see it. It's just because we have the same eye color! Ha. But after we got done meeting with this lady we asked her if there was any service that we could do for her. So she asked us if we could watch her 80 something year old mom while her and her "husband" went out. I was like what in the world?! People don't even know us and they're asking us to babysit for them. Hahah. Weird. We told her we'd have to see.. ha. 

I found a scripture the other day that I really like. It's John 19:26-27. It talks about how Christ was on the cross and how is mother was there watching him suffer. Christ told his disciple, John, to take his mother to his house and care for her. Christ is just always the perfect example. He loved and cared for his mom, as well as everyone else, so much! He didn't want his mom to watch him suffer. If it was me, I think I'd want my mom there to comfort me and help me get through the pain! Ahh.. He's just such an amazing person. I love my Savior! And I know that he perfectly loves each and every one of us. So remember that! And apply his Atonement in your life. :) 

I love you all so much! I will talk to you next week :) 

Love, 

Sister Maurcine Flamm 

P.S. I'm staying in Enumclaw with Sister Goaslind!

P.P.S. HAPPY BIRTHDAY NATASHA!! :)