PRAISE

 Hellooo everyone! Guess what?! Transfers are this Friday! I feel like this transfer flew by. I have no idea what's happening with me so next week will be a surprise I guess! I'm a little nervous, but I know I'll be sent where I'm supposed to be. I'll just miss my friends a lot here if I leave Paso Robles.

This week we went on three exchanges, so it was really busy but super fun!

On Wednesday, I was with Sister Ferre! She's awesome and so easy to talk to! Fun fact: She like lives like 5 minutes away from Post Malone in Utah! She said she sees his car all over the place and he's friends with some of the kids she knows in that area and will just go hang out in the Target parking lot with them sometimes when he's bored. So that's crazyyy! We had a lot of miracles during our exchange. There were a few people I wouldn't have even seen, but Sister Ferre pointed them out and we went out of our way to talk to them. They ended up being AWESOME! One of them, Carlos, came to church on Sunday! We talked to another guy named Pedro who I definitely thought spoke Engish, but once we started talking to him, he said he didn't speak our language. I started talking to him in Spanish and his face lit up! It was such a good feeling to be able to communicate with him, and he seemed so happy and excited to learn more. We also had one lesson that we were running late to, but we had an important call we had to take first. We took the call and then went to the lesson right after, and when we knocked the door, no one answered. Just as we were walking away, our friend pulled up on his bike, ready for the lesson. It was such perfect timing, and the call ended up being a blessing because we caught him at the right time!

On Thursday, Hermana Moon and I were asked to be in a recorded interview with a couple here in central California who's in the church's family history department. They asked us about the Mixteco people and about what it's like finding and teaching them. It was a really cool experience, and it's fun to share things about their culture and learning the language!

On Friday, I was on exchanges in Santa Maria with Hermana Andrews! The best part is that it was in MY old area, where I was trained and served for 4 and a half months! We were on bikes again and I got to see a few people from when I was there. It was soooo fun and I miss being on bikes soooo much! I feel like it gives me the energy and motivation I need between lessons. We taught a super cute family, and the Holy Ghost was so strong. The mom was talking about how at first she was embarrassed to have us enter her tiny home because they didn't have much, but she felt so much love from us. It was so sweet to hear and we talked about how amazing her family is and how there are so many things more precious than a nice home. I also got to see Jorge, who was a new member when I was in Santa Maria. He talks really fast in Spanish, so I struggled understanding him sometimes before haha, but he was always so kind and has the strongest testimony. It was awesome to talk with him again and actually understand his Spanish!! He prayed for me as I left and it was the sweetest thing ever. It was such a fun day with Hermana Andrews!

On Saturday, I was with Hermana Buhrley!! I love Hermana Buhrley tons and we had so much fun together! It always feels nice to be with her because she's such a good companion and friend, and it's fun to talk about memories we had together before our missions. She and I saw lots of miracles too! We had a little pizza party at the church, and our new member Brayan came and brought his younger brother, Carlos! It was exciting to meet him for the first time. Brayan is already being such a missionary! We were also able to start teaching a woman named Marta, who let us inside her trailer and really took us seriously as we spoke. She talked about her family's catholic traditions, and we were able to help show her respect while testifying of the blessing it is to find our own personal answers from God. We also had a good member dinner with three really cute older ladies. They made us the best rasberry cheescake I've ever had, but we were both so full by the end haha. It was such a good day!

SPIRITUAL THOUGHT:

Today I want to talk about a word that's been crossing my mind a lot lately. It was used multiple times by Elder Bragg when he visited for zone conference.

PRAISE.

He talked about how important it is to praise our friends, to praise our members, and to praise other missionaries. He told a story that he'd heard a long time ago from Elder Renlund. He had just become a Bishop in a little ward in Baltimore, and the missionaries came to him, asking how they could help. Elder Renlund was overwhelmed and didn't handle the situation as well as he'd wished or given them many suggestions. He said that the next Sunday, he walked into church and an incative member walked up to him and shook his hand excitedly. She said that she had come to church because the missionaries had visited and told her how much her Bishop loved her, and how he wanted to meet her. Elder Renlund was shocked. He felt like he hadn't given the best impression of help to the missionaries, but still, they chose to PRAISE him as they visited inactive members. The woman's love grew for her Bishop. The Bishop's love grew for the missionaries. And all because they chose to praise him as they spoke with others.

I want to work on praising others. I want to be the kind of person that talks good to people when they're with me, and even BETTER about them when they aren't. I know it's easier said than done, but I know it's possible for each of us! Whether we agree with how a leader, a member, or a friend acts, we can always choose to find the good in them. And when we talk about them with the enthusiasm that we would a dear friend, people will recognize a different feeling of love when they're around us.

I want to invite each of you to praise this week! Get excited as you talk about loved-ones, friends, coworkers, and classmates! Help other people see how much you love them!

I love each of you so much!

-Hermana DeMordaunt

Included below are phots with Jorge as well as Teresa's cute family

Brayan's Baptism

 Helloooo everyone!! Happy Monday!

BRAYAN WAS BAPTIZED ON SATURDAY!!! He and the other Hermanas' friend, Alfredo, were baptized and then confirmed during church yesterday. The baptismal service was so beautiful and I feel so grateful to be a part of Brayan's conversion story. He has so much faith and has been so willing and ready to hear what we have had to say from the very start.

When we asked Brayan if he'd like us to bring any specific treat for his baptism, he decided on manzanas (apples). Definitely not the request we expected haha:) It was cute how easy it was to please him.

On Thursday we had a mission tour (basically a cool zone conference) with Elder and Sister Bragg! We got to drive to Santa Barbara for that, which was awesome because Santa Barbara is GORGEOUS. Elder Bragg is in the 70 and he's over our mission. If you remember the general conference talk, "Christlike Poise," it's by him and it's one of my favs ever. He and his wife shared some amazing insights and the Spirit was so strong in that meeting. Right after, we had a mini MLC with them and it was so good!

We had our first in-person lesson with a friend named Eddy this week and he is SO cool!!! He was found through Facebook a little while ago and we had a video call lesson with him, but this week he met us at the church and we taught him about the restoration of the gospel! We gave him a church tour and he talked about how good and peaceful he felt during it. THEN on Saturday he came to Brayan's baptism! And after, he texted us and told us how much he loved it and asked what you have to do to be baptized! He's progressing so well and I'm super excited for him! Just pray he can make it to church this next Sunday.

We had a few good meals with members this week. I'm so grateful to our stake president for passing a sign-up sheet in the English ward for the Spanish-speaking missionaries, because it definitely helps us get fed a lot more than we normally would be haha. He said that it's because his daughter is serving Spanish-speaking in Texas and hardly gets fed so he wanted to do us all a favor! Member meals are the best so moral of the story is: feed the missionaries! ;)

SPIRITUAL THOUGHT:

I just want to share a quick thought from our zone conference from Elder Bragg. One of his main themes was "conquer the morning."

We talked a lot about the importance of starting off our day on the right foot. We want to be spiritually prepared for the rest of the day, and if we want that, we need to be INTENTIONAL with the way we spend our time.

President Holland once said, "You make or break your mission every morning."

I have been realizing how important it is to the Lord that I start my day with Him in mind. If I prepare myself early on, I can be more receptive to the Spirit's guidance instead of missing impressions throughout the day.

Ways missionaries and EVERYONE can conquer the morning:

 - more intentional prayers

 - praying for people by name

 - having personal study time (focusing on the scriptures)

 - sharing things you learn and impressions you have with others!

 - writing down goals for the day

My invitation for all of you is to CONQUER THE MORNING! If we find a way to prepare more intentionally for the day, even if it's something simple, God will be able to work with us.

I love you all!

-Hermana DeMordaunt

Halfway

 Hey everyone! Happy (late) Mother's Day to all the mom's out there!!! You've each influenced my life for so much good. And shoutout to you, mom!! I love you & I'm so grateful for you!

Okay so this week was really good! Brayan is getting baptized THIS Saturday! He had his interview yesterday and he's ready! He's so cool and lessons with him bring me sooo much joy. Every time, he carries in his Book of Mormon with him and loves reading it with us. I'm so excited for him!

On Tuesday I hit my halfway mark on the mission!!! Aaahh I can't believe it. Time feels so weird on the mission. It seems like it's moving slow, and then all of a sudden you're looking back and it's flown by. I had a dream the other night that I got home from my mission and I literally woke myself up out of it because I got so sad in the dream. Not because I'm excited for the day I get to see everyone at home again, but just because I will miss this phase of my life SO much, and I'll never get it back again! It's so nice to have this opportunity to fully dedicate my time to the Lord and learn how to recognize the Spirit in my life. It's so cool to get to be unplugged from the chaos of the world, of media, and to just focus on what really matters. I woke up relieved that it was just a dream hahaha.

On Wednesday I had exchanges with Hermana Matson in Santa Maria! Hermana Matson is SO fun and we've served around each other before, so it was awesome getting to be together for a day. I loved getting to be in my old area again and had so many flashbacks from when I was serving there!! One of my favorite lessons was with a family whose son, Cornelio, was baptized about about a year ago. He just recently left to serve a mission (he's in Salt Lake City learning English)! And now they're taking lessons from the missionaries. It was cute to see the photos of Cornelio hung up on their fridge. I know that he is being such a powerful influence for good on his family because he's serving a mission. Some family members have already been baptized since he's been out, but not all of them. As I was sitting in their house, the Spirit was so strong, and I felt like I was witnessing the miracle coming out of Cornelio's mission. It was cool to think that I was one of the missionaries getting to teach his family while he's out serving the Lord.

On Friday we had another exchange, this time with Hermana Nielson in my area! She actually was an English-speaking sister missionary up until this last transfer, when she suddenly got called to learn Spanish, which is crazyyy. She's absolutely killing it though!!! She has the best attitude and she's so funny. We had some amazing lessons that day. One of our friends, Eddy, had a video-call lesson with us. The Spirit was SO strong in that call. He talked about how he felt so good as he was talking with us and wanted to keep learning. I explained to him that that feeling is the Holy Ghost. Our last lesson of the night was with a friend we've been teaching for a while, and we invited an English-speaking member to join us for fellowship. Whenever we do that, we translate their comments into Spanish for our friends. Well during the lesson, all of a sudden, our friend started talking to the member in PERFECT ENGLISH and I was so shocked hahaha. Apparently this entire time he's spoken English and Spanish, but it took like 10 lessons with him for me to figure that out lol. 

On Saturday, we had interviews with President Rodriguez! I love President and Hermana Rodriguez with my whole entire heart. While we were waiting for our interviews, we got to make waffles at the church:) We also had a powerful discussion with President Rodriguez about testifying of Joseph Smith, and I want to get better at doing that in my lessons. I know that Joseph Smith was a prophet called of God, and I am grateful for the part he played in restoring the Jesus Christ's Church.

SPIRITUAL THOUGHT:

This week, I feel like we ran into so many people who said the same thing. They each talked about how they don't feel like we need an organized church to be doing what the Lord has asked.

And to some extent, they have a point. We don't have to be part of an organized church to be good people. I've met lots of great people who don't go to church.

So I had to ask myself a lot this week, WHY is it so important that we testify of THIS Church and Christ's gospel?

The first important truth I've been reminded of is that God loves His children so much. All of us, no matter what. But, He loves us way too much to let us stay the way we are.

Jesus Christ DID organize a church. And He DOES expect us to follow His teachings. I know that He had authority to organize the Church, and that that authority has been restored to the earth today.

It got confusing for me to hear people tell me that they didn't think God really has a specific expectation for us. But as I was reading the scriptures this week, I ran into a verse that explained that the law of justice and mercy brought "remorse of conscience" unto man (Alma 42:18).

If there was no law, there would be no difference between right and wrong. I am so grateful that there IS a law, and that we have the opportunity to choose between right and wrong.

I am grateful that God and Jesus Christ have high expectations for us because they know what we're capable of. I'm also forever grateful to my Savior, Jesus Christ, for His sacrifice, because without it, none of us would be capable of meeting God's expectations.

My invitation for you all is to read Alma 42 in the Book of Mormon! It's one of my favorite chapters about justice & mercy, and it's a good reminder why we need an organized church!

I love you all so much!

-Hermana DeMordaunt

Our Car Broke!

 Hellooo friends and family! This week feels like it's been a year! So much has happened and it's been so fun!

FIRST our friend Brayan is on date!!! He is SO cool and I'm so excited for him! He's from Guatemala and requested to come to church a few Sundays ago. When we had our lesson with him this week, we taught him about life after death and the potential we have. As we talked about the importance of baptism, I felt the Spirit so strongly. It was just a feeling of pure peace and even before he said yes, I felt so confident that the Spirit was in that room. Even if he hadn't said yes to the baptism invitation, I know for a fact that the Holy Ghost was there and that I felt it very strongly in that lesson.

Okay funny story time.. I was brushing my teeth one night and there was this SCARY spider right by the sink. So I called Hermana Moon in from the other room and asked if she could kill it because I was way too scared. But then she didn't want to kill it because it was in a really tough spot and neither of us like squishing spiders. So after literally staring at it for like 10 minutes trying to make a plan, I finally got some cleaning spray and decided trying to spray him was our best option. But when I started spraying him he ran so FAST and it was terrifying and I screamed a lot more than I should have. Anyways he died. And Hermana Moon and I bonded. And I hate killing spiders.

We had a dinner on Tuesday with the Rarig family and they have the cutest farm and garden. And their goats just had babies! Aaaahh they're so cute I'll send pictures.

On Thursday I went on an exchange with Hermana Nelson! It was fun to be on an exchange again because we went on lots of exchanges when we were both in Santa Maria. She currently switches between driving a car and biking because we're trying not to over-drive in our area. Except the one problem is that Paso Robles has a LOT of hills. So biking was tougher than Santa Maria. But it was fun and we had a great day together!

On Friday we had MLC in Oxnard! The Elders needed something in their truck fixed so I drove their truck down. I'm not the biggest fan of driving trucks it turns out haha. MLC was SOOO good and Elder Slaughter from the Area Seventy joined us! He shared some powerful insights and I am so grateful for the spiritual nourishment we got that day.

On Saturday I had another exchange, this time with Sister Coletti! She came to my area and we had lots of fun! She is the kindest person ever and I just love getting to learn from each missionary on exchanges! A few of our lessons got cancelled and we had to drive pretty far to get to them. I was feeling pretty sad about the fact that we'd driven all the way to San Miguel for no reason, but Sister Coletti said a beautiful prayer, and we decided to go finding in a lavendaria. And our friend Armando, who we've been needing to get in contact with, was showed up and came right up to us! We ended up having a good little lesson with him right there, and he came to church on Sunday! I know that the lesson was something he needed at that time and I'm thankful for all the daily miracles Heavenly Father provides us.

On Sunday, our car broke!! It wasn't letting us drive anywhere and kept beeping at us. So it got towed and now it's at a dealership. Hopefully we get it back soon...

SPIRITUAL THOUGHT:

Today I want to just share how grateful I am for simple testimonies.

Going into my mission, I couldn't speak a ton of Spanish. I learned to testify about simple but important truths. Jesus Christ is our Savior. Heavenly Father loves us.

I am so grateful that I can share much more now. I am grateful for profound thoughts and lessons.

But I want to forever remember the importance of simple testimonies. Sometimes I think we can get so caught up in having something deep to share, or all the extra little details, that we forget the POWER in the most important truths!

Jesus Christ is our Savior! Heavenly Father loves us so much! I'm thankful for these truths and the core of my testimony.

Love you all!

-Hermana DeMordaunt