Newport Beach is Where It's At!!!! :D (Week 51)

Hola Hola! :D

Hope you guys had a wonderful week! 

Great news!  I'm so excited to shared it all with you!!!!

I'M IN NEWPORT!!!!!! :D

I'm serving in the Newport Beach Zone in the University Park Ward with...

SISTER JENSEN!!!!!!

If only you all knew how happy I am!!!

So.  A little background information!  Sister Jensen came into the field the same transfer I did.  We were like immediate best friends because we didn't know anyone else!  We always joked around saying we always wanted to be together, but we knew that was IMPOSSIBLE because I was in Spanish and she was in English.  We were very fortunate enough when we were roommates when we both were in San Clamente though!  It was the best! :D  (That was the same time we had the whole lice thing go down... She and I were the only ones who didn't have it!)  So at transfer meetings, I had to give some stuff to the office missionaries since our area was closing down.  I gave Elder Degner the car keys and looked down at the table a noticed all these different plastic bags with pieces of paper in them indicating who they were coming from and who they were going to.  I noticed Sister Jensen's name and it said Uniersity Park.  I was like "Oh wow!  She will do great there!  I'm so excited to hear who her new companion is!"  Before the meeting I saw her and gave her a huge hug and told her that I knew where she was going and she said, "How do you know?"  I didn't tell her of course!  The meeting began and the were done assigning the new missionaries to their trainers and then they started with the Newport Beach Zone.  I wasn't really paying attention because I thought I was possibly going to Spanish... *cough-cough*  Then President Orgill said, "Now this is a new companionship covering the University Park Ward..."  I was like, "OH!

​I better pay attention so I know who Sister Jensen's companion is!"

"....... Hermana Duncan......

I MIGHT OR MIGHT NOT HAVE IMMEDIATELY STARTED SCREAMING....

*YEAHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHH!!!!!!!!!*

I started running towards her even before he said Sister Jensen's name!!!!​

".....And Sister Jensen."

She wasn't paying attention because she already served in Newport and didn't think she would go back. Haha :)

Finally she caught on and started screaming too and we gave each other a huge hug and everyone was laughing and we turned around towards Pres. Orgill and the look on his face was between puzzlement and amusement, haha :)  We were then like

"....SORRY." haha :)

It was really funny, haha :)

I love sister Jensen!  We have been having way too much fun!  haha :)  She seriously is probably my best friend!  A little about her!  She is from Mesa, AZ and she graduated from Cordon Bleu Culinary School as a pastry chef! :D  She is 23 and she is awesome! :)

The ward here is awesome too.  I already love it here!  The members are awesome and we are having lots of fun!

REALLY LOOKING FORWARD TO THIS TRANSFER!!!! AHHHHH!!!

Not much more to say really!  I'll have more for you all next week! :)

Again.. Call Me Job. (Week 50...Dang.)

HOLA TODOS!

So.  I am just an accident waiting to happen.

You know how I had that horrible infection in my kidneys?  I now have ANOTHER infection!  But this one is different! :P  (I'm going to spare you the details, TRUST ME.)  I had to go to the doctor and get prescribed on some MORE meds... GUH. So... With me taking so many different medications, I have been experiencing some HORRIBLE migrains and have had the hardest time waking up and sleeping.  UGH.  But I am feeling much better.. 

 *Knock on wood*

​So.  I went on exchanges with the AMAZING Phinney this week (Sister Phinney, but Phinney just sounds better)  She is from Canada (EH.) and I freaking love her.  If I could be her companion, we would cause a lot of trouble... In a good way, of course.  :)  Anyways!  We were finishing up Temple Tours and I got in the car and shut the door and realized that my seatbelt was stuck in the door!  So I open the door and put my LEFT HAND on the top of the door (Remember this part, it is very important...) and buckled my seatbelt... And slammed the door..

OW.

OW.

HOLY COW.

I slammed my pointer finger in the door!  D:

:'(

IT REALLY HURT. :(  I thought I lost my finger!  But I didn't! :)

Phinney laughed at me.  Actually, we were both laughing. ​

Now on to the crazy stuff!

I'M GETTING TRANSFERRED!.... AND SO IS SISTER SMITH!

WHITE WASH! :O

Apparently I didn't do a good enough job to stay, haha. (I'm just kidding...)

I'm going to miss the people in Marina Hills!  They are all wonderful people, and I wish I could have gotten to know them all more!  But it is what is it! :P  I look forward to working in my new area! :)

Oh!  We made our goal by the way! 51 Book of Mormons! :)

What is possible to the Lord? EVERYTHING. :)

​Love you guys! :)

Sorry this is short, but I gots to go!!!​

YEAR DOWN AND BOMS DROPPED! (Week 49/YEAR MARK)

MIRACLES!!! SO MANY MIRACLES!!! :D

So.  As you know, my week last week could have been better.. BUT! I really worked hard this week with Sister Smith, and we were so blessed by our efforts!  It all started out last Wednesday at District Meeting - As a district we have a goal of handing out a Book of Mormon every day per each companionship.  That in total is 168 Book of Mormons by the end of the transfer.  Last week we were going over our goals... And... Well.. We are not doing so well with handing them out... We were short by 100... Ha. :P  So, Elder White was being funny and challenged the elders and us (Marina Hills ward)  to hand out 50 Book of Mormons by the following District Meeting (Wed.)  if we did, he would throw us a party and buy a cake and banners and balloons...  We of course, took the challenge!  At first my attitude about it was simply to prove him that we can do it.  But as the past couple of days have gone by, it is completely different!  So: just a re-cap of this week!

Wed:  After District Meeting Sister Smith and I went contacting after trying to visit less actives and we handed out 4 BOMs.  We contacted two kids maybe 16 years old and gave them both a Book of Mormon and they gave us their info., but we think it may be incorrect.  Elder Forthman showed me a cool trick to see if someone gives us the wrong number or address:  If you write down whatever info they give you and repeat it back to them but say one number off, they will either correct you or say, "Yeah, that's it."  So we did that and they gave us the wrong number.. But we are going to try it anyways, haha. :)  Why not?!

Thurs:  Handed out 4 more BOMs!  We were contacting in the Hidden Hills apartments and we contacted this lady named Bertha.  She was clearly about to leave because she was putting her kids in her car, but we offered our serviced to help because one of the kids is in a wheelchair.  We talked to her for a little bit and gave her a Book of Mormon and she said she would be open to hearing our message! :D  Yay!  So we are going to give it a shot and visit her this next week! :)

Fri:  Friday was a CRAZY day!  had so much to do!  We had the ward Trunk of Treat activity that night and we had quite a few set appointments. (Yay!)  We visited Jennifer and she said that she wouldn't be coming to the activity, but her daughter and Ex-Mother in Law would be going!  :)  We did share a message with her though on the Savior and the Great Commandment.  It was great! :)  later that night we had to go set up and help at the activity.  Sister Smith and I were in charge of the Bouncy House and making sure kids were being safe and all that good stuff.  Lillian, Jennifer's daughter came over to the Bouncy House and we asked her if her grandma was there and she was!  We tried catching her and talking to her but we were always asked to go do something or caught up talking to other people.  But I do know that they did have a great time! :)  Later during the actualy Trunk or treat, the Elders and us put our cars together and put a table out in front and put two pumpkins we carved (I carved one, Elder Holland carved the other) and put some Book of Mormons on it and we handed out candy and talked to everyone. It was HILARIOUS.  Elder Holland was making BALLOON ANIMALS for the little kids!  They LOVED it! haha :) It was so awesome! :)  Anyways, as we were talking to people and handing out candy, and lady came up and started talking to us about our pumpkins and how they looked so cool and how we did a good job.  I talked to her a little bit more and turns out, she wasn't a member!  I offered her a Book of Mormon and she took it and she said she would call us if she had questions. :) YAY!  By the end of the night, we had handed out 2. :)

Sat:  HAPPY BE-LATED HALLOWEEN! :)  Friday was so crazy.  We had so much to do!  So many people called us or texted us asking us if we could help them with service and it went together perfectly.  We helped Sister Shin with her garage and get it more organized. :)  It iselping her out!  I love her! :)  Then we went over to another Sister's house and put some stuff in a storage compartment and ate Beef enchiladas.  They were good. :)    Then we had the Zone Activity!  It was really fun! :) I always love getting together with the missionaries in our zone and getting to know one another better! :) But no, we didn't get any BOMs handed out that day!  But that is okay because..

Sun:  YESTERDAY WAS SO FREAKING AWESOME!!!!! :D  Okay, so.  I don't even really know where to begin... So much happened!  We ended up handing out 8 BOMS!!!  We were trying to visit some people but things were falling through.  Sister Smith felt prompted to go to a park in our area and we went and there were TONS of people!  We got out of the car and immediately I felt prompted we needed to talk to a group of people playing basketball.  because we didn't want to be awkward, we walked away and we were going to talk to them when they were leaving, but I knew we needed to contact them NOW.   We started walking away and I turned around and they were LEAVING!! So I turn around and started chasing them!  :P  Eventually I had to make up the courage and yell at them! :P  I said:

"HEY!!! CAN WE ASK YOU A FEW QUESTIONS?!"  One the guys replied, "Can you walk and talk at the same time?"  and we were like... "YEAHHHHHH!"  So we went up and started talking to them and turns out the guy, Chris, is super interested!  We got his info,and it was CORRECT!  yay! :D  We are going to visit him later this week with his friends!  We spent a good 1 1/2 hours at this park talking to people!  It came to a certain point that a lady came up to us and ASKED for a Book of Mormon and asked us if her friend could have one too!!!!! AHHHHHHHH!!!!  So the moral of the story is... PRAYER. WORKS.  Every single prayer we said individually or together we prayed for opportunities to share a Book of Mormon. :)

So... How many Book of Mormons have we given, including the Elders?

33 BOOK OF MORMONS.
In 4 days.

yep. We are pretty awesome! :)

I love you All!

Hermana Rachel Duncan

JUST CALL ME JOB! :P (Week 48/the worst week of my whole life...)

Well... This week was... fun... Kind of..

So, if you have not heard... I got really sick this week...

It started on Monday night, I had this horrible throbbing pain in my upper abdomen, right below my right rib.  It happened just before I went to bed, and I didn't sleep at all because of the pain, despite the pain relievers I took. 

Woke up the next morning, I wasn't feeling any better, and I went down to the Gym with my companion and just laid on the floor while she worked out.  I went to go lay down for a little bit, hoping sleep might make it a little better... Woke up at around 9 AM and still was in pain.  Finally, I called one of the mission nurses and she recommended that I go to an Urgent Care.  We went to an urgent care, they took my blood and I did a urine test, and they scheduled to get an ultrasound done to check out my gallbladder for potential gallstones.  Fun. 

Next morning, did the ultrasound.  They didn't say a word to me regarding the ultrasound, and told me I would find out IN A COUPLE OF DAYS.. I had a follow-up appointment at the same Urgent care that I needed to go to, I unfortunately missed district meeting.. :(  So, went to the Dr. and they encouraged me to go to the ER because of the pain that I was in, and to top it all off, I was really sick to my stomach.  I didn't go to the ER though, because I didn't feel it was necessary... Not yet anyways...

So... this morning, I felt like I got hit by a truck.  Decided I needed to go to the ER, and went to the closest one in Laguna Hills.  We got there around 10:45ish and I didn't get admitted in until  2 or 3 PM... They hooked me up to an IV and gave me Morphine (YESSSSSSSSS!)  and pumped in a bunch of other stuff so I didn't get nauseas.  Got another Ultrasound down, blood was taken, another urine sample, and they even did a CAT Scan.  I was there for soooooo long.  My poor companion was with me and because she was stressed, she had not eaten at all that day.  I was STARVING and I couldn't eat until they got the results back.  Finally, by around 5:30 PM they came and told me that everything looked fine according to the tests... EXPECT... my urine sample.  Turns out I have a bladder infection that got up into my kidneys!  Which explains the pain! :P  YAY.   I was relieved though because I was worried they would have to take my gallbladder out of something, then I would have to go home. :P  But... THANKS TO LOTS OF PRAYERS.. I DON'T HAVE TO! :D  So thank you everyone for praying for me.  I really appreciate it.  Anyways, they had to run another thing through the IV that cleared up the infection and that took another hour and a half to do that.  Finally got out of the Er around... Eh... 7:30 PM.  :P  I WAS SO TIRED.  I could barely keep up straight because I was so weak and I had not eaten anything... A set of sisters came to pick us up and they called us saying they were outside, so we walk outside and they are not there.  Turns out... THEY WENT TO THE WRONG HOSPITAL.  So we had to wait 15 more minutes for them to get to the one that we were at... We got in the car and I was literally about to throw up.  I was shaking and breathing so hard and I was praying so hard to PLEASE not let me throw up, haha.  We had to go to Mission Viejo to drop off a set of sisters that were with us, and THEN we headed to our apartment.  By the time we got there, it was arund 8:30ish.  I got out of the car, tears streaming down my face, ready to throw up any second.  I didn't have to keys like I usually do, and the door was locked, so I just stood and leaned over the railing near our door while I waited for my companion and Sister Flora to come.  They get to the door and Sister Smith tries unlocking the door.  She turns the handle and then I hear a

*CRACK!* 

THE FREAKING... DOOR HANDLE... BROKE OFF.

I fell to the floor, and started sobbing.  I had it.  I was so done.  I was ready to throw the towel in.  I just curled up in a ball and sobbed in pain and in pity for myself.  More sisters came while my companion and Sister Flora called maintenance to get the door open.  Sister LaFluer came and sat down with me and rubbed my back and called the ZLs to see if they could come and give me a blessing.  I had to go to the pharmacy to get some meds that were prescribed for me and I needed them NOW.  So I sent some sisters to go get them while we waited, and then Sister Hall stayed with me (Bless her heart!) and we waited until maintenance came.  About 10 minutes later, they came and got the door opened.  I just fell on the couch and just laid there.  I was too exhausted to cry any longer, haha.  Eventually my roommates came home and after telling them what happened, I could actually laugh about it.  Around 9 PM someone knocked on the door and it was the Zone Leaders (Elders Dodge and Medina and their district leader Elder Norton).  Elder Norton did the anointing and Elder Medina gave me the blessing.  I honestly can't remember what he said.  All that I can remember was that he said I would be blessed with comfort and peace and that I would get feeling better very soon.  I did feel that peace immediately, and I was SO grateful.  After giving me the blessing, the ZLs asked me if I needed anything and I said, "I need some FRENCH FRIES."  (If anyone really knows me, they know I love French fries..)  I was only kidding... But about 10 minutes after they left, they came back... WITH FRENCH FRIES. :'D I wanted to give them all a hug so bad, haha.  The sisters came and gave me my medicine and... they got Cookie Dough ice cream for me!!! :')  I am so loved.

I got some pretty strong meds, haha. 

So the next few days following I just have been staying home trying to get better.. I really haven't been feeling any better.  The pain in my gallbladder area is gone, but now my tummy hurts. :(  Oh well.  I am just wanting to go back to work! :P

So... Yeah.. The moral of the story is.. Don't get sick. 

I really hope you all have a wonderful week!  Thank you all so much for your prayers and for checking up on me!  You are all the best!

I love you all! Please keep me in your prayers! PLEASE!!!

Con Mucho Amor!

​

Hermana Rachel Duncan

Droppin' BOMs Like No Tomorrow! (Week 47)

Hola Todos! :)

This week was really good!  Sister Smith and I really tried to work hard and get as much as we possibly can done this week.  We tried to visit a bunch of people, but unfortunately, no one was home, or we caught them at a bad time. :(  But it is okay!  We are still going to keep trying! :)  But the wonderful thing is that we talked to a lot of people in the process of trying to find less actives!  We handed out 6 Book of Mormons this week and we have a potential!  We contacted this guy named Brandon and we gave him a BOM, he said he wasn't interested really, but him mom might be.  She speaks Spanish, so we will try to stop by sometime th

​is​

week and if it goes well, I'm going to pass her off to the Suritas. :) (South Hermanas)

This week my health has been kind of out of whack! :P  I have been getting super tired half way through the day and I have been getting nauseas after eating.  I think it might be just a little bug, but I am just trying to stay healthy and take care of myself!  I think I will be okay though! :)

​So....

​

​

... My mom emailed me about school stuff... I have only 6 months left! 

​YIKES!  Not something I want to worry about right now! :P haha :)  Where has the time gone?!

We had a lesson with Jennifer this week, and it went really well.  We showed her the video "Mountains to Climb" and we talked about Enduring to the End.  She is opening up little by little, and she even prayed!  It was great! :)  it is going to take time, but she is making small and slow progress.  Please keep her in your prayers!
Zone Conference was great this week.  I really appreciated what everyone shared.  I learned how to better manage my time for studies, and how I can receive more revelation through my studies.  We were all challenged to ask this question:  If you could ask the Savior anything right now, what would it be?  My question was:  If I were to die right now, would I make it to the Celestial Kingdom?  And if not, what do I need to do RIGHT NOW?  We were to read 3 Nephi 13 and we had to specifically pray to have a revelatory experience.  I read through the chapter, and I was amazed as to the answers that I got! :)  There are a lot of things that I need to work on still, but I was comforted in knowing that I am on the track of eternal happiness. :)  It was wonderful!

​  I challenge all of you to do the same! :)​

sister Smith is adorable and fun as usual. :)  We get along great!  She is a great strength too me! :)
I love you

​all so much

! 

​Thanks for all the emails and the great support!  :)

​Que tengan un buen semana!

Spanish of the Week:

​Eres Leche!

(Air-s-l-eh-ch-ay)

You are milk!

(Inside joke between another missionary and I....)​

Just keep pushing! :) (Week 46)

Hola Todos! Como estan?

Not mucho happened this week, so this might be a short email! :P

​This week a story that was shared with us a while ago has been on my mind, and I thought I would share it with you all!

Pushing Against the Rock - Unknown

​There once was a man who was asleep one night in his cabin when suddenly his room filled with light and the Saviour appeared to him.

The Lord told him He had a work for him to do, and showed him a large rock explaining that he was to push against the rock with all his might. This the man did, and for many days he toiled from sunup to sundown; his shoulder set squarely against the cold massive surface of the rock, pushing with all his might. Each night the man returned to his cabin sore and worn out, feeling his whole day had been spent in vain.

Seeing that the man showed signs of discouragement, Satan decided to enter the picture - placing thoughts in the man's mind, such as ``Why kill yourself over this?, you're never going to move it!'' or ``Boy, you've been at it a long time and you haven't even scratched the surface!'' etc. giving the man the impression the task was impossible and the man was an unworthy servant because he wasn't moving the massive stone.

These thoughts discouraged and disheartened the man and he started to ease up in his efforts.

​"​

Why kill myself?

​"​

he thought. ``I'll just put in my time putting forth just the minimum of effort and that will be good enough.'' And this he did or at least planned on doing until, one day, he decided to take his troubles to the Lord.

``Lord,'' he said, ``I have labored hard and long in Your service, putting forth all my strength to do that which You have asked of me. Yet after all this time, I have not even budged that rock even half a millimeter. What is wrong? Why am I failing?''

To this the Lord responded compassionately, ``My friend, when long ago I asked you to serve Me and you accepted, I told you to push against the rock with all your strength and that you have done. But never once did I mention to you that I expected you to move it. At least not by yourself. Your task was to push. And now you come to Me, your strength spent, thinking that you have failed, ready to quit. But is this really so? Look at yourself. Your arms are strong and muscled; your back sinewed and brown. Your hands are calloused from constant pressure and your legs have become massive and hard. Through opposition you have grown much and your ability now far surpasses that which you used to have. Yet still, you haven't succeeded in moving the rock; and you come to Me now with a heavy heart and your strength spent. I, my friend will move the rock. Your calling was to be obedient and push, and to exercise your faith and trust in My wisdom, and this you have done.''

​Hope you enjoyed that story!  At times all that we can do is simply push and push.  As a missionary, we tend to think that if we don't have any baptisms or investigators, we are failures.  But what really matters is if we are doing our part and trying to find them or teach them.  ​I think that is really all the Lord asks of us. :)

​So mom asked me to send out a scripture weekly for you guys all to 'poderize' and focus on, and this week I chose:

​Look unto me in every thought; doubt not, fear not.

DC 6:​​36

At times we get so caught up in the world that we forget ​about the one who created the world.  We should be turned to him always and rely on him.  Think of him, pray to him, love him.

Not much more to really update you guys on!  this week was kind of slow!

Oh!  Thanks for all the birthday wishes!  had a great Birthday!  :)  Thank you everyone!

Love you all!

Happy Birthday to Me and Merry General Conference! :) (Week 45)

Hola Todos! :)

This week has been wonderful! 

So!  I'm still in English work!  I am now serving in Marina Hills in the Laguna Niguel Stake!  Which is great because I use to cover this area in my first area! Woohoo! ;)  My companion is Sister Smith!  She is from Glendive, MT!  She lives about 3 hours East of Billings, so we are PRACTICALLY neighbors!

I have really enjoyed being with Sister Smith, and I have learned a lot from her!  I love being in this area and in this ward!  I don't know a lot of people yet, but I am really looking forward to learning everyone's names and helping everyone here! :)

General Conference was AMAZING!!!
I absolutely loved it!  I just can't put into words what I learned and the things that I need to work on!  It was such an enriching experience, and I just loved it.  I would love to share with you the things that I pulled out of Conference from those who shared such inspiring messages. (Which was pretty much EVERYONE.)

THOMAS S. MONSON - I love this man.  I love him so much.  I was praying so hard that he would be able to have the strength to finish his talk.  He looked so weak and frail, and I was begging and pleading with the Lord that we would have the strength he needed.  I am grateful for what he shared with all of us, though!  The power that was in his words truly penetrated my heart, and I know without a shadow of a doubt that he sees all of us as the way the Lord sees us.  And I'm not talking about just a small portion, but he sees us AS the Lord sees us.  Equally the same.  I felt so much love as he shared with us the things that we can do to let our light shine so forth among the darkness that so besets us.  I truly believe that we all need to be examples among the believers, and we have to set our standards so high, or else we will let others tear them down.  I loved it when he talked about charity as the pure love of Christ.  We really do need to be kind to one another.  We need to serve one another and we need to just love everyone.  Regardless of what anyone has said or done, we just need to love them.  Being an example in Spirit and in faith will be an anchor to others among all the other strengths that we have.  I really think that this was the last time we get to hear from our beloved Prophet... But I pray that whatever the Lord has in store for him and his family, will be done in love, mercy and kindness, and that once he returns to his sweet wife, we can all be assured that he fulfilled his mission and his calling on his earth.  The wonderful thing of it all is that the work does not end.  It just continues and goes on with far more greater possibilities. :)

RUSSELL M. NELSON - I absolutely loved this talk.  By the end of his talk, I felt like I have A LOT to work on, but I also felt like I am making a whole lot of progress!  I know the divine worth of women is infinite, and we are choice daughters whom are a big part of His plan.  One thing that really got to me was when he said the Lord needs our help and that without the work of women, His plan would not work.  There was just so much that I love about it!  I am running out of time! Ahh!

Last one!

JEFFERY R. HOLLAND - All I have to say is..
WOW.
After hearing this talk I just couldn't stop crying!  I owe everything to my mother!  EVERYTHING!  I don't know what I would do without her, and I just can't stand the thought of never being with her!  I am so grateful that we have mothers.  I learned a lot on how I can prepare myself to be the mother and wife that I need to be for my future family.  After hearing this talk, I immediately felt the impression that what happened to the Stripling Warriors, will happen again.  In my notes I wrote:
"I think the Second Coming is very soon.  As future mothers, we need to set our foot down and rise up because we will be the only ones left to do it."  I pray that I will be strong enough for my future family is such a situation like this, and only hope and pray that all will heed to this council.

I loved conference!  I learned so much!

Sorry this is so short guys!  I am running out of time! 

Thanks for the birthday wishes!  Can't believe my birthday is tomorrow! AHHHH! #halfwayto40

Love you!