Smile as you go and YAY!!! BAPTISM WEEK!

April 20

Hey Everyone! I hope you weeks have all been great! I don't have a ton of time today but I wanted to share a really cool experience with you all! :)

Yesterday Sister Chugg and I were out door knocking trying to find people to teach and we have really been trying to use pamphlets at door steps! Throughout my mission I have gotten in a terrible habit of not teaching as much as I could when I am on door steps sometimes I get nervous of what they are going to say or I just can't think of the words to say, so I have really been working hard and praying a lot about using the pamphlets so that we can teach when we find more fully. Anyways we were out door knocking and I jus kept praying please let me be able to use the pamphlet and share my testimony with at least one person on this street. So we kept knocking and people were not being very receptive, we kept sharing our testimonies and testifying of the Book of Mormon and also of Joseph Smith but I still didn't get the opportunity to use the pamphlet on any of the doors. Finally we were just about to leave to get to our dinner appointment and as we walked up to the last door I prayed in my heart that this person would let us teach them just a little bit at least. This old man opened the door and he we started talking to him and I asked him, why he thought there were so many churchs and he said, I don't know why?! And right then I pulled out the pamphlet and started teaching him about the priesthood and Christ establishing a church. Now this story doesn't have a fairy tale ending, the man still didn't want to listen to us, but as we walked away I felt the spirit so strongly testify to me that my Heavenly Father loves me, that he answers our prayers, even if they are little! :)

My testimony to you all today is that our Savior Lives, he loves us and he wants us to be happy! Our Father in Heaven has so many blessings he wants to bestow upon us all we need to do is ask! :) The gospel is true, it's been restored by a prophet of God and it is here in fullness today! I love you all and I hope you have a fantastic week!!

Love Sister Chisholm! <3

My favorite flower... :) Yellow Roses!! :D  

April 27 2015

Hey Everyone!! This week was AMAZING!! I mean we had a baptism of the most prepared person I have ever met in my life, but on top of that we saw some incredible miracles and we were able to fulfill our callings of being called to serve! :D Here's some of the miracles this week!

Karenn was able to be baptized and it was an incredible ceremony, it didn't go perfectly ,the water happened to be cold, we served at a huge family history seminar all day so all the members were super tired but it was amazing!!! There were more then 55 people there, the most I have ever seen at a baptism and she was just glowing. I may have cried more then once that day. Truly baptism is the first covenant we make with our Heavenly Father and being able to see someone that you taught, and helped make that commitment is the most fulfilling feeling. In our car letters it says, More happiness and joy await you.. And honestly this week I felt that, Karenns baptism was just one of the many times my Heavenly Father showed me that this truly is where I am supposed to be and what I am supposed to be doing.

I read an amazing scripture this week at the beginning of the Book of Mormon, I have just recently started it again and this time I am looking for all the times that the people are obedient and the blessings that they receive and holy cow, there are SO many times especially in the beginning with Nephi going and getting the plates and even when Lehi is obedient and actually takes his family into the wilderness, can you even imagine? Leaving everything and going to the unknown? A year ago this week I received my mission call to come to Michigan and I can tell you that I felt a bit that way, I was nervous up until the day that I got into the MTC, it terrified me to leave everything I knew, loved and cared about for a year and a half. However, it is all worth it! In the movie 17 miracles.. One of my favorites.. Sarah Franks says "It will all be worth it!" And I can truly say that my mission is so SO worth leaving everything even wakeboarding and running for a year and half, it's the best decision I have made so far in my life! :D anyways, little tangent, but truly we must be obedient even when we think it's something we can't handle! Obedience brings blessings, exact obedience brings miracles!! :D

We were serving at this great family history seminar and pretty much our job was to take down chairs and put up new chairs, it seems to be the trend with the church the joke was that as soon as we are members we get the chance to put up and take down chairs, oh and make food of course! I mean we even pray over the cookies and ice cream! :) haha I love it!!! :D Also this elder shot a water bottle cap at this eldery lady while we were directing people to classrooms.. that was pretty funny!

Anyways, this week the greatest thing I think I learned was how thankful I truly am for the prophet Joseph Smith! I am so thankful he had a question and that he turned to the Lord for helped. He was used as an instrument in restoring the gospel and because of him and his obedience and hard work the gospel in it's fullness is on the earth. I am thankful to testify of this wonderful truth every single day!!! :D the gospel is true, I LOVE MY MISSION!!! :D

Love Sister Chisholm! <3

Karenn, doesn't she just glow??! :D

A very Happy Happy Baptism Day for Karenn!

 Hooray for Springtime!

 A gorgeous Michigan sky! The road the mission home is on in Lansing.

 This is someone they have been working with a lot to help her stop smoking. They spend a lot of time with her and love her so much!

A great P-day activity was going to a butterfly farm!

Easter, Conference, Rain and teaching!

April 13 2015

Our cute girl is doing great! We got some great letters from her these last few weeks. This excerpt was from one, I LOVE how she is so bold and not nervous to testify to anyone about the gospel!

We also had some really cool experiences with people that don't believe in God, we probably met 15 different atheists or agnostics this week. Usually they are pretty nice to us though, on Wednesday we met two in a row the first one we talked to for quite a while and after we talked to him about God and his plan we invited him to pray and he said he would try. I thought that was pretty neat, for someone that has never even believed a God is there to take a step and pray, I think that is pretty amazing. Then the next door the guy we met wasn't as nice but after talking to the first guy I decided I needed to do what Ammon and Aaron do in the scriptures and do my best to rely to him the Plan of Salvation and so that's what I did. Sister Chugg talked a little bit and testified that God loves him but it was amazing to teach him about the Plan of Salvation, he didn't really want anything to do with us but he listened and I felt really bold when I said, what if we are right and what if at the last day you have to stand before God and tell him how sorry you are about not believing in Him? I know that we will be judged for our works, and how blessed we are to live our lives with that in mind.

Then this is her big email to everyone from the last two weeks! She would love letters! 

Hey everyone! I hope you all had amazing Easter/ Conference weekends, and that is was focused on our Savior Jesus Christ. I sure did! :) I loved conference, isn't it amazing that we get to hear from the living prophet every 6 months and all the leaders of the church? We are so blessed to live in such a wonderful time. :D

I loved conference some of the things that I took away is that we must build our foundations on Christ and not let anything change it. When hard times come we must stick to the things we know. One of the night this week I was able to write down my testimony, and can I just tell you that there is something powerful in just writing down the things that you know to be true with all your heart. Stick to the things that you know to be true and then build off them. Sister Wixoms talk really made me rethink that things that I know to be true and that we have to build upon what we know and we don't know what we know we can find it! :) I also loved the talk about dancing and how we can teach the dance steps but we must let the music touch hearts so that they can learn themselves! I completely applied this to my life as a missionary, we can teach everyone all that we want but unless they feel the spirit they will not be converted to God.

I loved conference and I loved Easter Sunday, what an incredible day to remember our Savior Atonement for each of us. I am grateful for the Atonement every single day, it blesses my life and I know that as we rely on our Savior and are obedient to his commandments we will find peace, peace that passes all our understanding!

The work continues here in Lansing! :) Sister Chugg and I are staying together another transfer and we are excited to see miracles this transfer! Our investigators are doing great, Marji came to conference yesterday which was a tender mercy in of itself! Karen also watched conference! I am so excited to see her baptized later this month! She is incredible!! :D Our other investigators are all progressing right along as well. I know that Heavenly Father prepares his children for this gospel. It changes lives, it truly is the only way to find real peace and love! I am grateful for this gospel in my life and for this marvelous work!!! :D

I am one of the 85,00 missionaries, what an honor!! :D

Have a great week!! :D

Love Sister Chisholm <3

Sister Chizzy with her Easter basket! (her favorite color is yellow, so we sent her an all yellow basket to remind her to let the SON-shine in!

It looks like she got another cute basket from her companions family or a family in her ward, I love that other moms take care of my girl!

The cute missionaries in her district!

April 6 2015

Hey everyone! :) It's been a beautiful week here in East Lansing! We had some great rain storms, some wonderful sunshine and some amazing miracles happen! I hope you all have seen miracles in your lives as well. They truly are there and our Heavenly Father truly loves to show us tender mercies and help us see his love.

I want to share a quote with all of you, it's by Elder Holland, we can thank my amazing mother for sending me a quote book full of his quotes, anyways it says, "No one of us is less treasured or cherished of God than another. I testify that he loves each of us-insecurities, anxieties, poor self-image and all. He doesn't measure our talents or our looks; he doesn't measure our professions or our possessions. He cheers on every runner, calling out that the race is against sin, not against each other."

I love this quote, one because it talks about running, but more importantly because I have come to find for myself that this is true. I know that my Heavenly Father loves me, he wants me to succeed and he loves me more then I can even comprehend.

This morning Sister Chugg and I practice taught the Plan of Salvation during companion study and this week we have met a lot of people that either don't believe in Christ or even God in general or they don't think we need to do certain things in this life to return to Gods presence. As we practice taught this incredible Plan of Happiness that our Heavenly Father has give to us I truly thought about our Savior Jesus Christ and how it's only through his Atonement that we can be clean and return to live with him again, how wonderful it is to know this!!! I named my email Begin with the End in Mind because this week I have been saying this a lot, it works for planning lessons, talking to people on door steps, and guess what we started this life with the end in mind. Before we came to this earth our Heavenly Father gave us the choice to come to earth, we knew it wouldn't be easy but he knew we could do it, he had faith in us. We must have faith in ourselves. If we live each day with the thought, "is what I am doing right now helping me make it to my goal of living with my Heavenly Father, my family and my loved ones forever?" If the answer is yes, continue to press forward and strengthen your testimony of it. If the answer is no, then it's time to rethink our plans and try to find out where it is we need to be, and what it is we need to be doing to help us return to live with Him again.

I love this gospel because I am not perfect, I make mistakes as we all do but because of Jesus Christ and His Atonement I know that I can be made clean. I know that the race we are running in this life is against sin just as Elder Holland said and I know that we all can make it to the finish line, with our guardian angels on our sides and water and food at the end! :D

I hope you all have a wonderful week!

Love Sister Chisholm! <3

This is me in the rain!

She looks so happy and I love it!

 Sister Chizzy loves to cook, she says it's a stress relief, one of the things she loves to cook the most is Italian chicken with cheesy rolls and broccoli...and then she says she makes pancakes every Sunday she can...to honor our family tradition of pancakes every Sunday like we do every week! So sweet! So glad she's learning and using life skills as well as missionary skills!

Her cute little wall above her desk. I love seeing this because it lets us look into her life as a missionary a little more! (and PS, look at that awesome Payson temple pic....SO excited for it!)