Hey Mama!

So happy to hear that you get to spend time with you family and have a little pioneer day fun! Thank you sooo much for the package! The oreos will be coming to district p-day with us to give us a little something to snack on as we play frisbee as a district down in Plaquemine. Its a small town across the Mississippi river and normally the elders down there have to come up to BR to hang out on p-day or for district meeting. So we decided that us BR missionaries would ride the ferry over to Plaquemine and spend p-day down there. I'm excited to get out of the city and go down to the ghetto/farmland/country. Last transfer we went down one time to visit some senior single sisters who the elders couldn't visit but who needed some TLC and it's awesome. I've been spoiled in Baton Rouge - most of Louisiana is in branches instead of wards and most members of those branches are converts with only a few life long members. Our ward up here is very much like a Utah ward since it's so many families that have moved here for school or who have moved here from other places. But yeah, I'm excited for a change of scenery :)

 It's been pretty hot down here too, and the mugginess is ever present. I feel so bad for the Elders who are on bikes. Did I tell you that mission presidents are now strongly discouraged from putting sisters in biking areas, and are supposed to put them in car areas wherever possible? My bike is getting used though, don't worry. The Elders in our ward, Elder Asuao and Elder Bennett, have both been having bike troubles so I've been letting them borrow mine. We call it Big Red, because this bike is BIG and it's very red! lol. Seriously, I love that bike but I'm happy that it is being put to use in the service of the Lord.

That's so nice of people to ask about me! Tell everyone that I say hello and that I miss them! Debbie Wehrhahn sent me a super cute package and I haven't written her to say thank you yet, but it seriously brightened my week. I've rationed the m&m's she sent and I am still enjoying them two weeks later! 

Here's something weird - in the MTC, the missionaries who are going to Louisiana are often put in the district with missionaries who are going to either Milwaukee, Philadelphia, or Pittsburg. So you should ask any greenies that come into the ward if they were with Louisiana missionaries in the MTC. Sister Tuft and Sister Jones knew Elder Campbell in the MTC - crazy!

Thanks again for the package! If you have time, could you keep looking for different arrangements of Savior Redeemer of my Soul? The one you sent isn't quite the right one, but it is still beautiful! I love it and I'm excited to play around with it! :) Also, there's this CD called "Poly Praise" that I would love - it's floating around the mission but I'd love to have my own copy. Also if you see any music by "Lower Lights" they are an awesome LDS bluegrass band that does hymn arrangements.

So I'm having less and less time to email/write letters, so I'm hoping that you are just editing my emails and posting them on my blog for Gramps and Nana and Chuck and Lovely  and everyone else to see. I need to to do better but P-Day is really only 8 hours long (10am to 6pm) and we barely have enough time to get everything done that we are supposed to before we have to start proselyting at 6pm. I'm not complaining, just saying that it gets tricky and I don't want to offend anyone.

K, I love you tons! Sorry this wasn't a super spiritual email! I just miss you and love you and I'm so so so grateful that I have you. Other missionaries moms are not even close to as awesome as you and I'm so grateful.

Hugs hugs hugs!

-Johanna

PS: This is a picture of me, Sister Tuft, Sister Olsen, and Kenny after Kenny's baptism! We got there late so I didn't get the traditional dressed in white picture, and it's a little awkward since as Sisters we can't touch guys, but Kenny is the one standing next to me and Corey Jackson, the ward mission leader and Kenny's best friend and the one who baptized/confirmed Kenny, is standing between him and Sister Olsen. So great! The whole picture is a little discombobulated but I love it because that's pretty much how the whole mission is - one big awkward moment with smaller moments of joy and love!

July 15th

Mom!

Geez I miss you. Thanks for holding back on the packages. I know it makes it easier on my companion for sure. That being said, next time you do send a package, do you think you could send me some colored pens? Black, blue, red, pink, purple, I need pens! Haha, besides the Spirit and her companion, a missionary's best friend is a good writing pen. Those pens you sent in the sunshine box are PHENOMENAL but I lost one and I am clinging to the other one because it is so awesome and I don't want to lose it. 

Also, I was wondering if you could find sheet music for this song I've really become attached to. It's called "Savior Redeemer of My Soul." I've been listening to it and singing it all the time because it is really helping me to stay focused.  I would love to play it on the piano or sing it at Zone Training Meeting or something. I tried to find it on lds.org, but they only have the hymn version. Someone rewrote the melody and it's freaking beautiful. It's like the new "Come Thou Fount" :)

Thanks for the updates, I love hearing about the fam.

Here's a couple excerpts from my letter to President Wall-

Exchanges are going great. I loved my time with Sister Tuft. We both needed some time to just work hard and have fun, and it was so cool- when we established that purpose at the beginning of the exchange (we pretty much both said that we needed to both chill out) the Lord provided a way for us to work super hard but have fun doing it. We went and fed ducks with a less active, and talked about joy and finding God's hand in our lives. We served an investigator by pulling weeds while wearing her funny sun hats, we ate a delicious meal at a returning member's house, we laughed and served with a member, our weekly planning was a revelatory experience (accompanied by a bag of doritos and icees) and we went and tracked down some less actives that I've never met before, all while telling funny stories in the car about how being a missionary is like one big awkward moment that lasts a year and a half. My spirits felt lifted, and I think Sister Tuft felt lifted too. The Spirit told me and Sister Palmer pretty strongly who should go where for our exchange with LSU, and I'm glad we listened.

Thanks for all the love and support! I love you more than words can say!

Love,

-Johanna

July 8th

Hey Mom!

I have had a pretty good week, we taught 16 people so that was awesome. Our mission goal is to teach 20 lessons/people a week, and the closest I've ever made it is 18, and me and Sister Palmer are working back up to that. Sister Palmer, my new companion is great, I love her. She turned out to be a lot different than I initially thought. She goes home at the end of this transfer, so hopefully we can make the next 6 weeks the best we can since we only have 6 weeks together. We are both working on being more loving and being obedient out of love for God, not just because we have to. President Wall said something cool about obedience last week at Mission Leader Council. He said, "I have no disobedient missionaries in this mission. I only have some missionaries who are missing out on some blessings and other missionaries who are working hard to receive as many blessings as possible." And I love that. It's true- just by being here on a mission, you are being obedient. But as levels of exact obedience vary, so do amounts of blessings received.

Thanks for that awesome counsel from Elder Bednar! I'm studying a talk by him about the Atonement and last week I read a talk by him on Chastity and the Plan of Salvation. He is seriously the best ever.

To answer your questions...

Question Time!

1.) Grandmother Lovely told me I was sending too many packages and that I was going to make you homesick. So I want to know, truthfully, if the packages are hurting more then they are helping….be honest!! I want to help you however best that I can!!!

 No way Jose, I am not homesick when you send packages, honest. I love it. But maybe no more than one package month would be easier on my companions. But seriously, I love getting packages!!!! :) Letters are great too. Thanks soooooo much by the way for all the half tees. They are awesome. And I loved the puffed rice balls! Sister Palmer loves them too!

2.)How is it going with the new companion? Do you need to vent……

No, Sister Palmer is awesome. 

3.) Are you getting enough sleep and drinking enough water?

Kind of and sort of. You know how much I like to sleep in, but Sister Palmer is big on getting enough sleep so we got permission to take naps during lunch or dinner break, and we try to be really diligent about getting to bed on time. I need to do better with the Water thing, but I'm trying. Especially after getting dehydrated that one time.

4.) Did your tooth situation get better? Is it still bothering you?

It comes and goes. The x-ray showed that my tooth is perfectly healthy, so the dentist thought I should try a night guard because maybe my clenching and grinding is causing the pain. To be honest the pain is more in my jaw than in my tooth, but it's not as intense as it was before (the dentist did a bite adjustment) so I'm just going with it. I really really really don't want to get a root canal, especially if that's not what's causing the problem.

5.) Are you loving your haircut? No remorse? We all thought you looked darling!!

Love it! So easy and fast! And it's long enough thtat I can pull it up. Here's another picture with Sister Palmer so you can see her.

K, sorry this letter was jumbly. Hopefully I can take a nap today. ;-)

-JoBiz

July 1, 2013 Answering more of Mom's questions!

Hey mama!

Thanks for all the family updates! 

To answer your questions...

1. How is the new comp? Does she "get" our sense of dysfunctional humor? 

She has her own unique sense of humor, but we are working together and thankfully we have the gospel to unite us and bring us together. She goes home at the end of this transfer, so we will only be together six weeks. But I'm praying for strength and to love her and I can feel it coming. She really is wonderful and I'm so grateful that I get to learn from her before she goes home.

2. Is the weather nasty? Are your "glaayses" still fogging up when you step out of your apartment each day? 

Yes and yes! Our little chevy malibu's air conditioner has a hard time battling the heat. It hasn't gotten over 100 yet but with the humidity it gets pretty sticky.

3. Are you still getting enough dinner appt.?

 It slowed down a little bit because it's summer and because we weren't at church last week to pass around the dinner calendar because Sister Jones was sick, but people are always ready and willing to help us. I am really coming to love this ward, and they are really make an effort to be more involved with missionary work and home/visiting teaching (which is really just member missionary work).

4. Are you making sure to drink enough water and not get heat exhaustion?

 Yes! Thank you soooooooooooooooooooooooooooo much for sending that water bottle! The new one I bought just didn't cut it. So glad I have my little Brita bottle wherever I go. I'm trying to drink at least 3 bottles a day, and gradually move that up to 4 and maybe 5. Apparently September is the hottest month.

5. Are you needing us to send you a GPS?

 Not yet. Sister Jones and Sister Palmer have both had them, but I will need one maybe next transfer depending on who my companion is and if she has one or not. 

Please give John and extra big hug for me. I'll be sending him and Sinos notes in the mail. Love you all so much! Thanks for taking such good care of me!

Love-

Sister Chausow

Holy Service Batman!!

Hey familia! 

I stinkin' miss all of you (or "all y'all" as they say down here) and I hope you're doing well!
Holy tomato, we have been serving like crazy this week, and our numbers weren't even way down despite how much time we spend doing yard work and cleaning. The Lord's work is truly awesome. We cleaned this lady's house, washed this other lady's dishes that have been accumulating for months, and we installed a drainage system to prevent this member's garage from flooding every time it rains. We also did yard work for this random couple and when we wouldn't take money, the old man started swearing at us. haha! So great!

 

Okay, so here are two super cool experiences-

This last week when we were on exchanges with the Gonzalez sisters, Sister Gibson and I went to see a less active member who lives in a long term care facility, and our visit lasted almost 90 minutes and it would've lasted longer if we'd let it. This sister is so lonely, and it's hard to balance the need to love and serve by spending time with her and the need to see as many people as we can. But the tender mercy comes in here - we left the care facility and I was feeling bummed because we weren't going to be able to see everyone we wanted to visit (we didn't have set appointments, but we had a list of people that needed some hope) and so we went to another less active's house, who is never home, and I really didn't think that we would get to see her. But when we got there, she was there and said, "Hey, I just got home from class, come in and talk." And if our visit with the first less active was shorter, we wouldn't have been able to see this second sister, and she actually let us in and talked to us. It was really cool, seeing how Heavenly Father uses our weaknesses to further His great work.

Also, I'm coming to understand that the Book of Mormon is truly a holy book. I have a deep testimony of that and it is only getting stronger and deeper, and we try to keep ourselves and those we work with in the Book of Mormon as much as we can. This last week we set up an "experiment" (this is our new tactic for getting people to make and keep commitments, or getting ourselves to try something new) with an eternal investigator, and we asked her to read one chapter in the Book of Mormon every day for one week. And guess what - she did it! I think she missed a day or two, but she made it up the day after, and this is the first time she's tried and kept a commitment in a long time. We asked her how she felt and how her days went, and she said that her time in the Book of Mormon brought her peace and serenity, that she felt good when she did it, and she made the connection that maybe that was the Holy Ghost. Hooray! Seeing her make those connections on her own is a miracle. Hopefully, as we continue to love, serve, and teach, and as she continues to keep the commandments, she can receive the strength and the confidence that she needs to make the decision to be baptized.

K, love you all! Watch for letters in the mail! Thanks for all your letters and support! I can feel Heavenly Father strengthening me because of your prayers and I am so grateful for that!

Love,

Sister Chausow

Happy Happenings!!

Hello to my family who I love so much!

Here's a quick update on the goings on down here in Baton Rouge-

It is hot hot hot! And it is made more so by the humidity. Seriously, my glasses fog up when I get out of the car or leave the apartment, that's how humid it is.

Also, we've been eating a ton of jambalaya - don't be alarmed if I've turn into a large bowl of jambalaya by the time I get home. It's so freakin' delicious, I might eat myself if I actually turned into jambalaya....

We had a ton of meetings this week, so we didn't get as much teaching in as we'd like, but we were definitely strengthened by our meetings. This last Zone Training Meeting was the most spiritual meeting I've been in so far, and the Spirit was so strong, you could almost cut it with a knife. Even when me and Sister Jones were instructing, we were still learning, and that's when you know the Spirit is teaching - when both the teacher and the hearer are edified.

Another highlight of the week was our 12 Week Training. For the first three months you're in the field, you are supposed to have an hour of training each day based on this 12-Week In Field Training Plan that the Missionary Department/Apostles came up with. We have been slacking off, not doing training, and yesterday we finally made time to sit down and walk through weeks 9 and 10. And even though we'd been putting it off, we actually enjoyed it and learned a ton! A ton about the Spirit, and ton about the symbols in the temple, and a ton about ourselves. It was amazing. We truly made our apartment a holy place yesterday, because we were learning from Preach My Gospel and the scriptures through the Spirit. And the funny thing was that we were learning about the Holy Ghost. It was almost as if the Holy Ghost was saying, "Hooray! You are finally making time to learn about me! Let me bless you with my presence so that you can not only learn about me, but learn about what I feel like." It was so cool to uncover the mysteries of God. I was truly humbled and felt the acceptance of the Lord during that time yesterday.

Another happy thing is that Sister Jones and I are growing closer in companionship unity. We set goals and make plans everyday to tweak our teaching, tweak our routine, and tweak our obedience, so that we can be more aligned with the will of the Lord. One of the things that means the most to me in a friend is the ability to help me be a better person. And Sister Jones has that. I really hope we have another transfer together so that we can continue to push each other and grow together. :)

I love serving the Lord so much. We've been doing a ton of yard work, we clean peoples' houses, we help with ward activities, and we wash dishes wherever we eat. It's so true when they say that people don't care how much you know until they know how much you care. And as I've served people, I come to love them. If I have a hard time with someone, that's on me, because I haven't done my part to serve them. Heavenly Father has provided us a way to love everyone - and that way is through service. The Atonement kicks in when we serve, it heals our wounds and our sorows, and it enlarges our heart. I'm so grateful for the Atonement - it's the only way I can get up at 6:20am every morning. I rely on it for everything, and I have come to love my Savior by using it. This mission is the best thing that's ever happened to me. Seriously, why did I ever not want to serve a mission?
Love you all a bunch!

-Sister Chausow

Happy June Ya'll!!

Hello to my wonderful family who I love so much! Here's a few updates on this past week.

 

I hope everyone is sitting down as they read this, because I have some earth shattering news - I am human! Who knew, right? This has been a very human week, a little unbalanced and with some mistakes. But thankfully, I've been able to learn a ton from my experiences, and I'm excited to move forward and change.

 

One of the best things about this transfer is my companion, Sister Jones. Our unity has been phenomenal. Sister Jones is so forgiving, and loves me even when I make mistakes. She really encourages me and helps me to see the good in myself, and it's because of her positivity that I have set a goal that whenever I feel like I've messed up or didn't teach the best, to not dwell on the negative but see what I can learn and move forward. I love having a friend and a companion who inspires me.

 

Okay, we have had gajillions of tender mercies, and I started seeing them more during and after my exchange with Sister LaPorte. She is a pro at seeing and talking about all the tender mercies, and things that would seem normal or mundane she recognizes as blessings from the Lord. And I loved learning that from her! She helped me put on my "miracle glasses," and because of that, I've noticed that God blessed us with beautiful clouds and sunshine, the opportunity to meet an eternal investigator's son who has been invisible so far but has potential for conversion, to serve more than I ever had so far but to also teach more lessons than I've taught any other week on my mission. We were blessed by a member who bought us a ton of groceries, and I was able to teach, testify, and understand in Spanish when I went on exchanges with the Spanish sisters. I know this is truly is the Lord's work - I've seen too many miracles, big and small, to say otherrwise.

 

So in our mission, President Wall, has put a big emphasis on the book of Mormon. He wants us to study it more dilligently and he wants us to continually use it as we teach, invite people to read it from the beginning, and if they don't, to read with them. And I've found that I love reading it with investigators, less actives, and members because it brings some awesome experiences. Here are three quick examples:
With investigator D, we have started reading with him weekly. We started in Helaman because that's as far as he got by himself. And we are trying to enable him to read on his own by showing him what to look for and how to apply the wars and contentions of the Nephites to himself. And miracle: D's mother is devout in her religion, and she normally just sits and observes, but this time, she followed along in her own copy of the Book of Mormon as we read, and D texted us later that day and said how much she loved our visit. I think D's mom has started to feel the spirit of the Book of Mormon.

Second, we gave a less active member Alma 36 to read while she was in a detox center for acoholism, and she loved it. We read it before she went to rehab, and we invited her to read it again while she was in rehab, and her faith is really growing in the power of the atonement, which she desperately needs because she needs to use the atonement now more than ever before in her life.

And lastly, we talked about the difference in the people of Ammon before they were baptized and after (we looked at Alma 27:25 and 27) and how we can become more converted. The Book of Mormon is for everyone, and I love it so so much.

 

Lastly, I just wanted to share some word changing I did in a verse from the Book of Mormon. In Ether 6:3, which reads "And thus the Lord caused stones to shine in darkness, to give light unto men, women, and children, that they might not cross the great waters in darkness." And I realized that us missionaries, and every member of the church, is like those stones. The verse could read, "And thus the Lord caused his missionaries/saints to shine in the darkness, to give light unto men, women, and children, that they might not pass through this life in darkness." I love this! Over and over again I find that the Savior is light, and we as his representatives need to spread and shine His light. It makes me think of that hymn "There is in his sight no darkness at all." I want to continue to stay in that light and exude it by staying close to Him.

I love being here, I love serving the Lord, and I love you all! Thanks for all the letters and emails! I have the best support group anyone could ask for!
Love,

Sister Chausow