Season 10, Episode 3, The One With Sombreros, Service, and Sunburns

 Hey Folks! 

   This week was good! Obviously from my title of my email, there needs to be some explaining. This past week we had Zone Conference and so many good things happened there. It was up in my old area and I got to see and hug some of my old members. I got to see my old compo Sis Merkley. It was President and Sister Goalslind's 40th wedding anniversary! We got to get a pic with them. And during lunch they had sombreros so the obvious choice is to wear it. I wore the one on my table and eventually President Goaslind was even wearing one. That was a good day. We also got to do different service like helping pass out food from a food bank and doing a car wash. I did get sunburned at the car wash though... made the classic mistake of not wearing my bucket hat. I know, shame on me. But doing service was a lot of fun and I didn't get burned too badly. So overall it was a good week. 

  You guys. General Conference is this next weekend!!! I AM SO EXCITED. They joke that General Conference is the Superbowl for missionaries. It definitely is by the way. But it should be like that for all of us!! Don't get me wrong, I love the Superbowl. But what am I more excited for? I get to hear from the Prophet of God. Listen. I know that every time General Conference rolls around I use my weekly email to hype it up. But that's because it is INCREDIBLE that we get the opportunity to receive personal revelation. When Jeffrey R Holland was talking about Conference at Conference he said "Such a quest for faith and conviction is our purpose in these conferences, and by joining with us today, you will realize that this search is a broadly shared endeavor." I hope that you all will have a quest for faith and conviction. This weekend is an opportunity to listen to the voice of the Lord and have Him talk to you. Prepare now to be spiritually fed and uplifted. IT'S GOING TO BE SO AWESOME!!! 

                Love, Sister Yates :) 

Season 10, Episode 2, The One With Girl Power

 Hey folks!

   Ok this week was a lot of fun. Not too many crazy things happened, we just had a lot of fun. We had St. Patrick's Day, exchanges, we helped someone move, and had a crazy awesome Sunday. While we were helping someone move, we were the only sister missionaries there and we did about 60% of the job. So all I'm saying is #girlpower. Yesterday we got to go up to Chandler and then Tempe later on in the day and I got to see so many friends and people that I love. Both missionaries and even people I have met at various times throughout my mission. I was really happy yesterday. I have come to realize how powerful smiling and laughing is. It seriously makes such a difference. We are meant to be here to have joy so enjoy it!

   Anyways, yesterday for Come Follow Me I had an interesting thought about the Armor of God that I would like to share with you guys. In Doctrine and Covenants 27:15-18 it talks about putting on the armor of God. If you think about armor, it's thick, heavy, uncomfortable, and yet it protects the individual that's wearing it. If you go back to one of the first major battles between the Nephites and the Lamanites, the Nephites are protected with a lot of armor. When the Lamanites have only a loincloth on. They can move a lot easier and are more comfortable but they are unprotected and vulnerable. Sometimes being a member of this church can seem really hard. It can be uncomfortable and heavy. Sometimes we just want to not deal with it and wear a loincloth. I hope you all know that there is a serious battle going on and it continues to get worse. So many things are attacking us every single day. I know that it is hard. But just think about this. Would you rather be uncomfortable but protected or be comfortable but unprotected? I don't know about y'all but I want to be as protected as I possibly can. I want to be prepared and shielded. I am going to attach one of my favorite pictures of a girl with armor on. I want to be like her. Fearless, courageous, determined, strong, and protected. I know my armor is heavy but it is saving my life. Friends and family please put on the armor of God everyday of your lives. Protect yourself with the greatest strength and armor that you will ever find. I love you all, have an amazing week! 

                  Love, Sister Yates :)

 

Season 10, Episode 1, The One With the Rainbow

 Hey folks! 

  My week has been crazy awesome. On Tuesday it was a really sad goodbye with all of my good friends in my wards in San Tan. I got to see almost all of the incredible young women that I got to work with and say goodbye to them. I seriously miss them a lot already. And saying goodbye to Sis Merkley was also pretty hard. We became really good friends. But that's ok because I'm becoming friends with my new comp Sis Curry! She is from Idaho and has so much energy for the work. It's awesome. We laugh a lot so that's good. Anyways, being here in Casa Grande has been awesome! Everyone here is so welcoming and I have seen some MIRACLES!!! It is amazing. I am really excited to be serving in Casa Grande. It's like when it rains. Rain can be sad and gloomy but at the end, there is always a rainbow. (Cheesey I know, but I used this analogy because it rained in Casa Grande and I saw a rainbow!!)

   This past week we had a meeting as a zone and Brother and Sister Heirs spoke to us. They were mission President and wife in the Ogden Utah Mission a couple years ago. Anyways they spoke to us about hope and how Christ has hope in us. They also talked about how there is no mistake that we are here. At the time and place wherever you are at, there is no mistake that you are there. We are all somewhere for a reason. I am in Casa Grande for a specific reason. I might not find out until way later on but there are no mistakes that I am here. I know that my life choices and my life so far have a divine design. The experiences in my life has shaped me to a better person and I am continually being shaped today. I hope you know that things do happen for a reason. There are no coincidences. We are a part of Gods eternal and perfect plan. Of course life is going to go how it needs to go. We just have to do our best to stay on the path and a part of the plan. I want to share a scripture that I read recently in Alma 38:9. It says "And now, my son, I have told you this that ye may learn wisdom, that ye may learn of me that there is no other way or means whereby man can be saved, only in and through Christ. Behold, he is the life and the light of the world. Behold, he is the word of truth and righteousness" The only way is through Christ. He is the peace, joy, and strength that we are all searching for. I promise you that if you turn to Christ you will find what you're looking for. I hope that you all have an amazing week!

                    Love, Sister Yates :) 

Season 9, Episode 6, The One Where I leave San Tan

 Hey folks!! 

   So I got transfer news! A little bit of sad news, I am getting released as an STL. I served for 4 transfers. It was stressful but I also loved it. I'm excited to let other people have the opportunity though. Anyways, I am getting transferred to Casa Grande! It's more south and out of the Valley than I already am. I was expecting that I was going to get moved so I am excited for change! But this past week I got to go on an exchange with President and Sister Goaslind! They took us out to dinner and then went to a lesson with us. It was honestly one of the best nights ever. I love them so much. Then the next day we had MLC! It was such a good one and I got to see so many of my good friends. I seriously love the wards that I am serving in right now so much so I have been spending time with some of my favorite members. I'll miss these wards a lot. I'm also really gonna miss my companion Sister Merkley. She is awesome and I cannot tell you how many times we read each others minds. It was honestly legendary. But we look forward to the future!!! 

   For my spiritual thought I just want to leave you guys with a scripture. It is Alma 7:7 and it says "For behold, I say unto you there be many things to come; and behold, there is one thing which is of more importance than they all—for behold, the time is not far distant that the Redeemer liveth and cometh among his people." There are going to be a lot more things coming our way in this life. But the most important event that we need to prepare for is the Second Coming of our Savior. We need to do all we can to be temporally and spiritually prepared. This pandemic was just a small part to test our faith. When things like this happen are we going to move away from or closer to our savior. My friends and family, for those of you that know me well, I am all about being prepared. So let's get prepared y'all!!! We have no idea when our Savior will come again but we need to be ready. Pick one thing that you personally can do to better prepare yourself and start working on it. I'm gonna do it too, don't worry. I love you all, have an amazing week!! 

                   Love, Sister Yates :) 

Season 9, Episode 5, The One With All the Citrus

 Hey folks! 

   I had a great week. Here's why. 1) I got to do a zone service project at one of our members homes where we picked oranges from their orchard. And one of our senior missionaries is a photographer so we got some really sweet pictures out of it. 2) I got to take pictures with my mission momma Sister Goaslind. 3) I hit my 1 year since being in Arizona and my 6 months till home mark. That is a weird feeling. 4) I got to pet one of my favorite doggos Blue and had another awesome companion study with some of my favorite young women. Overall, we were able to do great service, spirit filled lessons, and fun times with fun people. Nothing too crazy, but I really liked this past week. 

   So the reason why I was able to see Sister Goaslind was because we had interviews this past week with President Goaslind. I always love talking to both of them. I get a lot of really incredible counsel. At this past interview I asked Pres Goaslind a question that I have been trying to figure out for a while. I asked him how I can come to choose faith over fear. A mission requires a lot of faith. So Satan works really hard to put fear in. When I asked him that question he didn't have an answer for me then. But he did say that he would ponder about it and get back to me. This past week we ended the faith study in our mission and it was amazing. I learned so much about my faith and where I want it to be. I also learned more about the power of faith. The last talk was by Russell M Nelson and in it he said "When we speak of faith—the faith that can move mountains—we are not speaking of faith in general but of faith in the Lord Jesus Christ." I loved that quote. Because I have been learning how incredibly powerful faith is. But it's not just faith. That power comes from faith in Jesus Christ. I am so grateful for the chance that I have to grow my faith every single day and choose faith over fear. I am still learning how to do it. So if any of you have advice for me, I would love to hear it. Keep choosing faith. Choose to be closer to your savior. It is the best thing ever. Trust me. I love you all and I want you all to have an awesome week! 

                 Love, Sister Yates :)