The End.

Nicole's Letter: 

April 23, 2018

"The End"  

I can't believe that this is the very end. How??

I will keep this email short since there aren't the words to describe what I am feeling. Let's just say I am so grateful for my mission. Each mission is unique and different and I am just so glad about mine. One night as I was praying I was just thanking Heavenly Father for letting me come on a mission and I was like "thank you so much and I don't know why I loved it so much because it was pretty terrible at times" heavenly father is very smart and tricky. How does you do that? The hardest moments of my life have been on my mission yet I have loved it so much! 

This week couldn't have gone any better. I am serious! We have never been so busy until this week. We had so many leasons, found amazing new people to teach, drove to Clarkfork and Spokane  and sweet little Hannah got baptized! It was the best week ever.

The baptism was the smoothest baptism I have been to. It was so sweet and lovely. The only thing that wasn't the greatest was that I had to speak. But it's what Hannah wanted. It was really bittersweet.

It was so fun! And the last p-day was so fun! We went to Kathy and Joel and had a water balloon fight! 

Week 1

Nicole's Letter:

April 16, 2018

"Week 1"

Last week of the mission. Who knew that I would ever get to the point. I don't even know what to think. 

We had zone conference this week. Last one of the mission. It is weird to think that was the last one I will ever go to. The biggest surprise ever was that Jen from Post Falls surprised me at lunch! The missionaries in post falls are teaching her husband again since he can now get baptized and they were talking about me during a lesson. They told them that they were going to see me at zone conference which was on Hayden. So she drove up and surprised me! It was crazy to see her! I love that family so much! Things are going great for her and Tom! I am glad that I could help the sister missionary reputation for them. I remember that it was the first week of my third transfer and the elders told us about this family that just moved into our ward. The elders explained that they hated sisters. I was so scared walking in. Little did I know how close we would get! They are just the greatest! It was cool to see how far they have come.  After zone conference I was just so happy! I thought I would be sad since it was my last one and I had to say goodbye to more people but I just couldn't help be happy.  A lesson that I have learned is that there are many things in our life that we just can't control and we might as well roll with it! I mean April 25th is going to come whether I want it to or not.  I can't do anything about it so might as well be happy that I have loved my mission rather than being sad or scared or nervous about it ending.  It was a pivotal moment when I realized that I had actually learned that since I feel like I struggled with being okay with things that I couldn't control but I have realized that it is a much happier way to live.  Enjoy the moment.  It goes back to my favorite quote.  Come what may and love it! 

Hannah might be getting baptized this week. She is so determined to even though she is getting a procedure done today. We haven't told her all transfer that I would be going home since I didn't really feel like it was necessary. We were planning her baptism for the 28th and she asked if we could be a part of the program. We thought that we were in the clear to tell her that I wasn't going to be there. It was the saddest thing to watch when we told her that I was going home. She started crying and asked me how I was feeling. I explained that it was bitter sweet and how much I have loved all the people I have met. She told us how much she loved us with tears in her eyes. You can't help but just love Hannah with your whole heart when you meet her. It is like walking in the rain without getting wet. It is impossible for you not to just love Hannah. She has the biggest heart ever. We told her that she didn't have to push herself and that we would still make arrangements for the 28th but she stop and wrote down the 21st on the paper and was like "Nope it is already in pen. And besides how are you going to speak if you aren't there?"  So pray that all goes well this week! And hopefully my talk at her baptism will go well since her kids are coming and they are anti, so pray for all of us! Hannah is the greatest!

Also it has rained for three weeks straight! It rained for three weeks straight when I got to the mission.  Guess God is sending me home the same way I came out.  Just this time we have a car! (literally makes a world of a difference)

YSA FHE--had a potato pine wood derby 

district pday in priest river/newport area

jen!! and all the missionaries that she knows

 the district from grangeville

MLC pictures

sis mitchell

sister packer

keeping it real with our emotions with all this rain!

18 months

Sorry don't have time to re read this email so hopefully it makes sense!

This week started some of the lasts for me.

On Tuesday we had MLC and it was good to see so many of my companions and friends! We did have to wake up super early to get there in time. We got a ride with one of the ysa bishopric member. He is just super funny Northern Idaho old man. So it was just us, the elders and brother L. Brother L bought us Jack in the Box as well for breakfast. 

At MLC the departing missionaries always bear there testimonies at the end. I never thought it would be my turn. Sister Mitchell (my MTC) companion went first and then i was after. She talked about how when we landed in Spokane. We looked at each other and didn't have to say anything to know what we were thinking. We went straight for the bathroom and just started hyperfelating wondering what we had signed up for! And now to see where we are. Both bearing our testimonies about how much we have loved our missions and how it will be hard to leave it. 

So many of my companions were at MLC and I just love them all so much! And all the missionaries that I have served around. I am going to miss them! 

We had a lesson with Hannah again and she is such an amazing lady! She is such a woman of faith. When we were leaving she was like "girls, can I tell you a blessing? I have a friend that borrows money from me and I give it to her not thinking that I will actually get it back but yesterday I saw an envelope on my doorstep with the money that she borrowed from me. It was $60. Girls, that is $20 short of what I need to pay tithing. This month I just have to give up a couple of things at the grocery store."  

If you don't remember she is the lady that when we taught her tithing she said that she was willing to give up her TV even though it would be hard. TITHING BLESSINGS are real! God does bless our willing heart. It just reminds me of the rich man again. God asks us to give everything to him but the blessings are always greater. 

We had stake correlation this week as well. That is the meeting with the stake President and President Dymock. It was good. Good thing we have Sister Bradshaw. The elders and I wrote up all the reports and let me tell you, it showed that I hadn't been in school for a while. So Sister Bradshaw saved us by editing it all. Haha it was funny since I just didn't reread the report but the elders were like what, there are mistakes, we even reread all of it haha 

The YSA beach found out that I am going home soon so they asked me to speak and there is this one really recently RM that got super excited and started to tell me how weird to is to adjust. 

We are teaching this senior in high school. It was a member referral and we started teaching him the first week I got here. Last night we had a powerful lesson about the gospel of Jesus Christ. It is my favorite thing on a mission to see the first steps of faith taken. When someone starts praying and reading the scriptures. It is my favorite because it is such a pure sincere desire and the spirit starts working in their life.  Kyle is beginning to recognize the spirit.  He calls them nudges.  At the beginning of our lesson we asked him if he had prayed at all this week and most times the answer is no but he was like "Actually I prayed a lot this week".  He was visiting a college this week to see if he wanted to go there and told us that he was continually asking Heavenly Father what would be best for him.  He then said "Yep, Heavenly Father and I made a decision together and I won't be going to that college."  I loved how simple he put it and what a good example of what prayer can be.  So many times we forget what prayer is there for.  I love a sentence in the Bible Dictionary. 

"As soon as we learn the true relationship in which we stand toward God (namely, God is our Father, and we are His children), then at once prayer becomes natural and instinctive on our part (Matt. 7:7–11). Many of the so-called difficulties about prayer arise from forgetting this relationship. Prayer is the act by which the will of the Father and the will of the child are brought into correspondence with each other. The object of prayer is not to change the will of God but to secure for ourselves and for others blessings that God is already willing to grant but that are made conditional on our asking for them."He is our Father and He loves us!!!

Made pizza!​​

!8 months picture in its glory

I don't know if this picture does my toe justice but I got frostbite on my mission and my toe is now super purple. Let's hope it stays on for another couple weeks ;)

Found Sasquatch

CRAZY HAIR

and the statue of liberty 

Hannah made us beet eggs and lots of other food

Easter and Conference and Montana

Hello!

Highlights from the week:

Monday we went to Schweitzer which is the ski resort up here and it was a little snowglobe! It was so pretty! We just got hot chocolate and enjoyed it, even if we looked super weird in dresses at a ski resort :)

It is still a little cold and snowy, a nice Easter treat for us. 

We went TO MONTANA this week. Since we are covering 5 areas this transfer, one of them goes into Montana and we had a lesson with someone there. It was fun and so pretty. The drive was amazing. It was right along the lake for a while and the mountains across the lake looked like glaciers (kind of). I felt like I was in Alaska- or at least what I picture Alaska to look like. 

We had to drive to Spokane as well to get our car checked. So we did lots of driving this week. 

We watched conference with our investigators which was awesome! It just made me realize how lucky we are to have a prophet on the earth today.  One talk that I loved was Massimo De Feo who talked all about love. Pure love. 

That is what the gospel of Jesus Christ is all about. I have learned that when we show pure love everything goes much better, probably cause that is the Gods way and when we do life God's way it usually goes better (not smoother necessarily  but just more joyful)!

Every conference I notice how much they talk about the spirit and receiving revelation/inspiration because it is so crucial in our lives. We need to have the spirit to guide us through our life. I love that we can receive answers for our selves and we can know truth. 

I also have such a strong testimony of being able to do anything with God. I know that God can make us into so much more than what we are right now. We just have to include him in our lives. It is sad when people don't think that it matters that much. The GOSPEL DOES MATTER!  We are blessed to have the gospel, so don't throw it away! 

We also had a lesson with Hannah. She is so cute And so amazing. We taught her tithing and her faith is incredible. She doesn't make that much and after we taught tithing so said "you know girls, I don't make that much but my tv bill is just the right amount of money for tithing. The Lord does require sacrifice and I am willing to make it, even if it will be hard" (and it will be hard to give up her t.v. since she is an older lady and house bound). It was such a testimony builder to see her faith in a principle of the Gospel.

Easter is amazing and I love my Savior! He is the reason for hope! We spent Easter at Kathy and Joels (some other investigators) and they are older as well but they bought us a ton of food like bacon, eggs, sausage and fruit and then let us cook it for all of us and then we watched general conference. It was super fun!

Conference dog 

Easter snow

Made chocolate strawberries for Easter and conference!

Found Stevenson court!

Lake ponderay 

Noxon and Schweitzer 

spring is a fantasy

We thought spring was here but than it snowed a ton this on Saturday but it melted so that is good!  Had zone p-day this Monday and it was fun, we went on a nature walk and then played basketball at the church. Then since we cover the YSA branch we went to fhe and played games.   

We are teaching this older lady named Hannah and she came to church! She hasn't been to church in over 40 years. She was so nervous so we went over before church and helped her get ready, read the Book of Mormon and prayed to calm her nerves. Her health is super poor and she hasn't been able to come since the missionaries started teaching her because she isn't well enough. So we had bishop come over and give her a blessing which really helped! She is the cutest and most positive person ever! I am so happy that I get to meet her! 

We found thai food! That will be my downfall, it was so good!!!

Had interviews this week as well. President and sister Dymock are such good people. We talked about me preparing to come home and my plans. And while I was talking to sister Dymock she just started telling me about her plans when they get home and then after she was like oh sorry this isn't about me! We are all in the same boat as, the mission coming to a close (just theirs was double the time and 10000x harder). She told me when they're speaking in church and the mission reunion, which is the weekend of October general conference and I am so sad I will be across the ocean. President and my companion were talking and he apparently told her that I had been through battle on my mission. I would have to agree with that one President. It has been a battle and I think I might come home alive, I mean I still have a couple more weeks so we will see:)

We do a lot of service here. Volunteering at an animal shelter and at an old folks home. It is a much slower pace up here. 70% is over 65 years old here. 

A thought this week:

I was just thinking about how challenges never really end and we always are changing. I read the story about the rich man in the Bible which says 

17 ¶ And when he was gone forth into the way, there came one running, and kneeled to him, and asked him, Good Master, what shall I do that I may inherit eternal life?

18 And Jesus said unto him, Why callest thou me good? there is none good but one, that is, God.

19 Thou knowest the commandments, Do not commit adultery, Do not kill, Do not steal, Do not bear false witness, Defraud not, Honour thy father and mother.

20 And he answered and said unto him, Master, all these have I observed from my youth.

21 Then Jesus beholding him loved him, and said unto him, One thing thou lackest: go thy way, sell whatsoever thou hast, and give to the poor, and thou shalt have treasure in heaven: and come, take up the cross, and follow me.

22 And he was sad at that saying, and went away grieved: for he had great possessions."

 Even to the bitter end we must give it all to the Savior. We all have our possessions that we hold dear whether that be our pride, our hobbies, the comfort of our weaknesses the list could go on and on. Those things, whether they be good or bad that keep us from giving our whole self to the Lord. It is a hard thing to do.  Becoming Christlike is not an easy thing that we have to do in this life. I have wondered why it has to be this hard and the thought that always comes is that what we get in return is so much more grand than any of the human weakness or activity that we have to give up. To receive all that our father has requires us to sacrifice all that we have. And to be honest it probably isn't a fair trade. We in the end will probably stand in amazement and think was that all that we had to do. I know that I don't want to regret not giving it all to my Savior. Even though each day is a struggle to give him my heart and desires and do what he would have me to.

Pictures: order mixed up

Thai food

Nature walk

Waiting for interviews

At least 2 people this week told us about their bowel movements (when you are in a place with lots of old people) so we took a picture to respond to their text. 

Views

Hannah!

A flag at a door we knocked 

The zone. 

St Patrick's day 

6 weeks.

I can't believe that I have six weeks left! It is kind of crazy. I am ending my mission in Sandpoint Idaho. Spent half my mission in Northern Idaho and the other half on the Southhill of Spokane! Sandpoint is just like Lake Tahoe/Trukee. So yes it is beautiful but being a missionary in Lake Tahoe is different than visiting it :) but it is good! My companion is Sister Bradshaw and she is from cedar city Utah. She has been out for about 7 months and is a good missionary. 

This week seems so long! On Monday we had our last zone p-day on the Southhill and it was super fun. I loved all of those missionaries so much!  They were all like family. I will miss being around missionaries. We are about 40mins to the closest missionaries, so closer than Grangeville but still far! Then on Monday Sister Lilley and I were companions. Had dinner with Manito's Bishop and then we dropped off the car to the elders and walked up the whole south hill. It was a good time. I miss the southhill so much! And then we packed Sister Lilley up since her mission ended. 

Then I was in a trio with the Moran Prairie sisters. It was super fun! I love those sisters. We spent the next few days saying goodbye to people in Manito and getting it all ready to pass off to the new sisters coming in. 

I seriously thank God every single day for the time that I got to be in Manito. That place is my home and those people will forever be my family. It was sad to say goodbye. 

The Blake's had a goodbye party and made a sign, cake and had balloons. It was so nice of them. 

Then transfers were Thursday and I got to Sandpoint. We are technically over 5 wards/branches since they just took out the elders that were in Sandpoint. It was funny, we called President because in our transfer call it said that we were over Sandpoint, YSA and Clarkfork but then we had a lesson that the elders set up in the Sunnyside ward. So we were confused if we were covering their wards as well. So when we called President he was like "oh Sister Stevenson it is good to hear your voice, isn't Sandpoint beautiful. We put you in a beautiful area" haha so I think President just put me in a beautiful area to finish my mission. The work though is a different story :). But President said that we weren't finding in all of those wards but if the members brought them to us we would teach them. The church is now cutting missionaries in the US and sending them to Africa and South America. We got cut 20 missionaries and we'll probably continue to get cut. They want the wards to step up and start finding. It will be good. We have had a couple lessons here, it has been good. 

I know that sometimes we do not see the results or affects of what we do until much later or maybe never in this life. This week was one of those moments where I saw it. The last dinner in Manito was at the Blake's and one of the Laurels from the ward was there. At the end we were all saying goodbye and she was like. "I have been deciding whether or not I should go on a mission and I just wanted to let you know that you have impacted me a lot and that my desire to go on a mission has increased so much by having you serve in our ward and seeing you as a missionary. And that I want to go on a mission now." It was one of those moments that just made me realize that even if you think no one notices, people do notice. You do affect those around you even if you feel like you aren't. I really have loved my time in Manito. It was the best! 

And here we go Sandpoint! Let's go!