I LOVE BEING A MISSIONARY!‏

Bonjour!!!

Yah, that's pretty much all I know besides my missionary purpose [in French]! But I'm getting there. Heavenly Father has other things he needs me to work on and learning French isn't necessarily the priority. It's really funny though because I can always pinpoint who is French!

The French flag

We'll just be walking through the Square and in my mind I will be like "Oh, they are French." Five seconds later my companion says "Bonjour!!" and then before you know it they are having a conversation in French and I'm just standing there looking like a deer in the headlights hoping I can understand what is being said. But it's really neat because we do role plays every morning and we are really practicing on how we can be more balanced when it comes to giving our tours in French.

Yesterday we had a really neat experience. We were in the Tabernacle and my companion started speaking to two couples in French. I was getting slightly annoyed because I strongly dislike not knowing what's happening. But then my companion translated to me "They don't understand why if God loves us so much why he allows people to just suffer. Why would a God who loves his children allow them to all suffer?" HAHA...little did they know I was just going through this. It was super neat because it was exactly what I could testify on and it was exactly what I was experiencing. I was able to testify to them on how suffering is a blessing. That when we suffer, when we experience trials and adversity it's because our Heavenly Father wants to see us grow. He loves us so much that He wants to see us grow, he wants us to achieve our potential. The only way that is possible is if we are given trials to help us learn and to grow. I was able to explain that these past couple of weeks I have experienced sooo many trials, more than I thought I could ever handle. But that it was just a blessing, my Heavenly Father didn't want me to suffer but He wanted me to learn and to grow, to become the missionary he needs me to be. The couples afterwards saw a different light on it. It was neat for me personally because I was able to share with them something that I knew to be true. Even though I was speaking in a language they didn't fully understand they were able to still feel of the spirit.

Another similar experience happened with another family from France the other day as well. My companion was just speaking to them and I was completely zoning off, when out of nowhere she is like "Do you want to bear your testimony on how we can receive answers to our prays?" Apparently this family had prayed before but never received an answer. The thing that is really neat is you learn to lean on the spirit more than ever, because you have no idea what is being said, then you get asked a question and then you have a matter of seconds to listen to the spirit and reply back. Since I don't know what is being said I can't think beforehand what I want to say. Anyways, I started talking about how I prayed years ago to know how I could help Michael [my brother] out when he was being bullied at school and church. And how for months I never received an answer. Then one day I desperately pleaded for an answer asking for understanding on how I can help Michael. I proceeded to tell them that I was reminded of a verse from D&C 98:2. I told them that I was reminded that I must be patient on the Lord and his timing, that He will answer us but that it's His will. I told them that months later I received an answer that I was to just love him and to just be there for him. That was all my Heavenly Father needed me to do. Giving tours in different languages is challenging, but it's such a blessing!! It's neat to see that even though I'm speaking in a different language they can still feel the spirit, I love that I'm learning to just lean on the spirit and not on what I want to say.


I LOVE it here!! It's such a unique place and it's definitely a challenging mission but I love the things I am learning. I love the people that I get to meet on a daily basis and I love the things the people are teaching me.

One of my challenges....putting on a sweatshirt
without catching it on my name tag!

 

 

Just this morning I met such an amazing man!! Today was the first day he has been able to leave the hospital since getting a kidney transplant last week. 4 out of the 5 siblings flew in to be with him for the week as he was getting his transplant. The thing that was even more amazing was his younger sister was a perfect match for him. So they came to the Square this morning to get fresh air. We started talking to him and he was saying that he was so grateful for the gospel. That it's because of the gospel in his life that he has more comfort and support. He has gone through so much in his life but he is still so happy. His wife, 14 years ago, was in an accident and became paralyzed from the neck down. But he was just so positive about everything. He mentioned his mission and how he served in the Ventura, CA mission. He was mentioning the blessing it was to serve a mission. He said, "Thank you so much for serving a mission, for the faith you have to come out here. Your parents must be so proud of you. I'm grateful for the faith your parents have to send you out on a mission. It goes by so fast. You're going to want to stay. Thank you so much." Here this man just one week ago underwent a kidney transplant, his wife is paralyzed and he has experienced so many more trials and yet he was thanking us for what we are doing. He was sharing with us his testimony of the gospel. I hope someday I can be grateful like this man was towards life, trials and the gospel. We take advantage far too often for the things we have. Meeting this man and his story is just a fragment of the stories and things I see everyday here. I love being a missionary and I love this gospel!

 

My companion is amazing! She is the most loving, kind hearted, and service oriented person I know! Literally everyday is a new day with her. I love being with her! She is always finding new ways to serve me. I'm starting to feel bad because I can't keep up with her!!

EVERY NIGHT when we go back to the apartment she makes me the MOST AMAZING pancakes!!   

Burnt or not, they are delicious!

Whole wheat pancakes with honey is to die for!! I can never go back to regular pancakes! My kids, someday, are going to hate me cause that will be the main staple for breakfast in my house. Hahaha -- do I care? Not really -- it's good and healthy!! I can taste them in my mouth as I type this right now!

These whole wheat pancakes are the best!



I burned them while I was saying my prayers...

Everyday she is like "You're so good, I'm going to make you pancakes tonight!" Hey, I don't complain, that's for sure. She is always asking "How can I help you in the morning?" or "What can I do to help you be a better missionary?" "What am I doing wrong that will help you be better?" She amazes me everyday!! Ohh and I'm learning to be HEALTHY!! My new favorite snack is Nature Valley Blueberry Breakfast Bars dipped in Almond Milk. And did I mention Almond Milk is sooo good! Where has it been all my life?! Oreo's and milk are nasty compared to the breakfast bars with Almond Milk. We had it last night. Yah, I kind of had 8 bars. Don't judge me... I was hungry! I can't believe I'm becoming healthy...

 

 

I can't believe I'm going to admit this but I love working out now! Did I really just say that??? Every morning it's mandatory to workout for 30 minutes. We usually run or go to a nearby track. Just depends. But it feels so good! And I actually have more energy to get through my day. This morning when I was getting ready I'm like "I'm excited for tomorrow I get to work out again. Haha. My parents are going to laugh today when they hear I'm excited to work out." It's also super neat because we get to see the Temple EVERY morning when we workout!

 

The Schedule is actually getting pretty easy. My alarm goes off at 6:15 and I immediately get up and start my day. And going to bed at 10:15 isn't that hard as well. When you tell yourself it's easy and when you make the effort Heavenly Father really does help you!

 

The funny thing about this mission is 19 year olds are a minority. MAJORITY of the sisters here are older than 21. Most of them are between the age of 21-26. I know several who are 28 and then another sister is in her late 30's. It's funny because I feel like most of the other missions just have 19-21 year old sisters and then here we have like NO 19 year old sisters. We are an old mission. [She better watch who she's calling OLD, right?] Right now I'm the second youngest but in 3 weeks I wont be anymore!!

 

Mom, your cookies are to die for!!

Mom's cookies!!!

I have one left now! Every sister was wanting more! They were like "Can your mom make this a weekly thing." I'm like "Haha. Making cookies for 180 sisters a week? Yah, that's going to be costly with shipping." Could I get the recipe?? But if you are ever bored....there are 180 sisters who would love to get cookies! [Looks like I'll be busy making cookies now, huh?] Oh, Sister Desjourdy asked if she could get cookies especially for her, for her birthday in 3 weeks. [Shhh.....don't tell Jennifer but I think I'll make those cookies for Sis. Desjourdy!] LOL gotta love her! She is obsessed with your cookies. THANK YOU times a million for sending the package and cookies!! Love you mom!! You're the best mom in the world, even if you didn't send cookies!

 

One thing that is super neat about here is we get to go to Music and the Spoken Word once a transfer. 

Music and the Spoken Word

So this Sunday Sister Casagrande and I went. It was the last Sunday they were holding it in the Conference Center since summer is coming to an end. So we decided we would go see it. I love the Mormon Tabernacle Choir! If you have never seen Music and The Spoken Word I STRONGLY encourage you to watch it!! Oh, so embarrassing story....we were going to sit down in our seats and as we were walking in front of this couple in the row, I tripped over my companions foot and pretty much fell on this ladies lap. Yah, it was embarrassing, especially being a sister missionary!

 

The thing that I find really interesting about a mission is just how easy it has been so far, well for the most part, to let go of the things that we have been asked to give up. Getting rid of my phone hasn't been hard. Getting rid of the things that I used to be addicted to - aka gum hasn't been hard and my addiction to IN-N-OUT hasn't been hard.

My In-N-Out days with the gang

I'm not going to lie, not knowing what is going on in the world has been a struggle. We have no clue what's happening out in the world. If you asked me "What's happening in the world right now?" I would say "Ummm, we have 88,000 missionaries sharing the gospel of Jesus Christ to the world. That's what's happening in the world." I have heard through the grapevine tid bits of what's happening. But I'm coming to realize that not knowing is such a blessing!! You know, I have no need to know. My time is with the Lord right now. I shouldn't be worrying about what's happening, but worrying about preparing His children. You know he has trusted me enough, and all of my friends as well, to send us out on missions to help his children come home and if I get so distracted with whats happening in society I'm going to miss an opportunity to help a child of His. Also, I feel so depressed, too, when I hear from the people all the disasters etc. that's happening around the world.

 

The one thing I know though to be true is the Gospel of Jesus Christ!! I'm so grateful for this opportunity I have been given to share His gospel to the world! For the 18 months I have been given to completely put everything aside to just serve Him and his children. This gospel is so amazing! I feel so blessed to have it in my life! To have an understanding of who I am, and an understanding of my purpose as a daughter of God! I know with my whole heart that this gospel truly is true! If it wasn't true I would not be giving up my whole life for 18 months to serve my Heavenly Father and Savior Jesus Christ!!

 

I love you all so much! I feel so blessed to have such amazing examples in my life!! Hope EVERYONE is doing well! I know ALOT is happening right now around the world, I'm not that clueless even though I should be. Just remember to stay close to the gospel of Jesus Christ. As you do so everything will be okay, I promise! Just stay true to who you are, and stay true to the Gospel of Jesus Christ, as you do so everything will be okay. Happiness, true happiness, comes from the Gospel of Jesus Christ!

 

WITH ALL MY LOVE!!

 

Sister Skaggs!!

Because of Him

 

So I totally forgot to mention this last week but HAPPY ANNIVERSARY Mom and Dad!!!

I feel soooo blessed to have such incredible parents in my life and such great examples! I love you soooo much!! It has been really neat this past week when we were giving tours of Temple Square. I was able to testify of Eternal Families when we got to the Temple and Temple Model I was able to share with people that 23 years ago, almost to the day, my parents made the choice to be sealed for time and all eternity.  

 

I was able to share with everyone about how much that means to me and the opportunity I have to be with my mom, dad and two younger brothers for ETERNITY because my parents made that simple choice. So, thank you so much!! I hope I can raise a family someday like you two have been able to raise the three of us!

 

 

 

It's funny I say this EVERY WEEK but I really don't know where to start off. So I guess I will start off with all of the funny and really neat stories first!

MODELS 'R' US.COM:

There is a man that comes to Temple Square EVERYDAY his name is Bob but I call him "Bob my Best Friend". I just love him to death!! 

He is super funny. Kind of reminds me of Grandma Susan and her jokes. Anyways, Bob and I love to just joke with each other and make each other laugh. We just have such a great friendship. I was walking across the Square last week and we stopped and just started talking to each other. He grabbed my hand and was like "you know who you look like?" I was like "Who do I look like?" He said, "You look like a model from models 'r' us.com." I was like "You're funny. No I don't." He said, "No but you do." He was dead serious about it. It was really funny. I got a good laugh out if when I walked away.

BLESSED BY A MINISTER:

The other day my companion and I gave a tour to this 21 year old girl. We finished at "God's Plan for His Family" and started to talk to her about Eternal Families. She asked us other questions about our faith and then she thanked us for our time. As she was walking away she turned around and said, "You know, do you mind if I bless you?" We can't really say no I guess when people ask to bless us so we said yes. There was nothing too extreme about it. It was just interesting because I never in a million years expected to have a 21 female minister bless me especially while I'm on a mission. But she was super neat and was grateful for the time we took to help answer her questions and to help her understand the importance of the Book of Mormon, etc.

  

APOSTLES:

So this past Thursday I was on exchanges with my district leader. We were heading down to the lounge to eat lunch when at the last minute we decided to head to the COB (Church Office Building) for lunch. They have a cafeteria downstairs that we are allowed to go to eat lunch. As we were coming to the entrance of the parking garage, we were about 15 feet I would guess from the entrance, we looked out and saw a security guard standing in front of the entrance. My District Leader whispered to me, "The General Authorities must be near because they only have security out like that when they are near by." I immediately went on high alert and was like "Wait. What?" Not even 5 seconds later we see, about 10 feet in front of us, 5 of the Apostles walk by. When we entered the garage we noticed it was Elder Oaks, Elder Bednar, Elder Cook, Elder Nelson, and Elder Ballard. I cannot explain how strong the spirit was being that close to 5 of the 12 apostles. Elder Nelson ended up stopping to talk to this couple in front of us. He made eye contact with us but that was about it. We were kind of on cloud 9. But then as we walked into the cafeteria we almost ran into Sister Oscarsen, the Relief Society General President. We were walking in and she quickly walked right past us with her food. We could tell she definitely had somewhere to be. So we quickly ate and as we were walking back we came near the entrance of the Temple (underground) and we saw that security was still there. One of the Security guards stopped to talk with us and mentioned how we missed Elder Holland by about 2 minutes and that there were still 2 more brethren to come out. We waited about 5 minutes but we needed to be exactly obedient so we had to leave. So that was a little different of a day. That was my fan girl moment of the week. lol! I need to work on that... I learned that Thursday's are the BEST days to go to the COB to eat lunch! ;)

   

LESSONS LEARNED:

Saturday morning I woke up with a sore throat. Not fun, I know, especially while being out on a mission. A simple sore throat turned into everything else. Long story short, I have been out of commission since Saturday now. They had me pretty much just rest down in the lounge Saturday. I was frustrated at first as to why I was sick when there was so much I needed to do. I quickly learned that my Heavenly Father allowed me to get sick so that he could teach me a lesson. With being sick these past couple of days and not being able to work he has allowed me to reflect on these past couple of weeks and on all the many lessons he has tried to teach me. I have learned that it is only through our Savior Jesus Christ that we can become who he needs us to become. Our Father in Heaven and Savior Jesus Christ love us so much that they put various trials in our way to help us grow and become the individuals they need us to become. The one scripture that I have really treasured these past couple weeks is Ether 12:27 [from the Book of Mormon]. I have been given so many weakness's not as burdens but as blessings. As we take each weakness he has given us and turn to him for help and truly have that desire to grow and be strengthened, that through him we will see our weakness's turn into strengths, our faith & love for him will greatly increase and more than ever we will feel of his love. I have come to realize that I don't like to be taught. And so being out of commission these past couple of days was more or less his way of taking control of the situation for him giving me the chance to see who he needed me to become instead of who I wanted to become. He has been trying to teach me so much these past couple of weeks and I haven't really allowed myself to take in all of the things he has been trying to teach me. With being down it's allowed me to reflect on all the things he has been teaching me this past month.
 

I first was looking at it from the point of he is breaking me down so that he can build me back up into the missionary he needs me to be. But I was talking to Sister Brigg's (one of the AP's) on Sunday and she said, "You know I don't like to think of it as he his breaking us down but I like to think of it as an arrow.  He is still holding on to us and we are still pointing in the right direction but he is just pulling us back just a bit that way we can go further."  With all the things he is teaching me he is just pulling me back and soon he will have given me the strength I need to be able to have him let go for just a bit.  You think about it.  An arrow pulled back a long ways pointed in the right direction can go a long ways.  But an arrow not being pulled back can't go anywhere. 


When he is pulling us back we are allowing him to teach us the things he needs us to learn.  The more we allow him to teach us the further we will be able to go, the more we will be able to accomplish.....compared to if we don't allow him to teach us.

 

I also like to think of that with the atonement.  How the arrow, in order to go a greater distance, needs to lean on the person behind it pulling the string back, pulling the arrow back. That's like the atonement. As we apply the atonement in our lives, as we lean on our Savior Jesus Christ at all times, we will be able to accomplish so much more with our lives.  We may think our lives are perfectly fine.  Funny, that's what I thought.  But, there is soooo much more we can learn, that we can become if we just lean on the Atonement and our Savior Jesus Christ.

We had zone training this morning and several things really stood out to me that I would invite you to think about for yourself.  What do these questions mean to you individually?

How are we becoming like him?

What does the Atonement do for you?

How are we remembering him?

I would also invite you to watch the video clip, it can be found on youtube, called "Missionary Work and the Atonement" by Elder Bednar and Holland. It's one of my all time favorite videos. As you watch, really think for yourself what your Savior, Jesus Christ, has done for you personally.

I just want you to know, that our Savior Jesus Christ lives. That it is through him and his Atonement that we can become who our Father in Heaven and Savior, Jesus Christ, need us to become. I'm so grateful to my Savior, Jesus Christ, and his sacrifice for me, for all that he went through because he loved me so much.

I love you all!! And I hope everyone is doing well!!

 

Sister Skaggs

Additional pictures below:

Sister Skaggs companion makes yummy Brazillian desserts!

The sisters taking 'selfies' in the middle of a dust/rain storm at Walmart!

 

A Place of Miracles!‏

To All I love (which is anyone who reads this),

So I literally have NO IDEA where to begin!!  You know how I am going to be gone till Feb. 2016? Well, apparently this mission president prefers to keep the sisters out for close to 19 months.  So if you are coming to Temple Square under this Mission Presidents direction you will more than likely serve just shy of 19 months. I was a little shocked but I LOVE it here so I'm not complaining.   I wanted to be home in time for Christmas and other 'reasons' ;) but I can wait 6 more weeks! I only get the chance to do this once. 

 

You're probably all wondering what's been happening this past week. Well this past Wednesday, Aug. 6th, we woke up literally at the crack of dawn. I was so tired by the end of the day. When we arrived to Temple Square we were greeted by the AP's (Assistant to the President) and OA's (Office Assistants). Dad, guess who was one of the first sisters I had the chance to meet?? Sister Briggs!!! I love her to death!!!

 

 

She is the sweetest person ever! I hope you don't mind but I told her about how we would follow her blog and there would be times you would say "Jen did you read what happened to Sister Briggs's this week??" She got a good laugh out of it. They then took us to the mission office which, for our mission, is under Temple Square. They gathered together all 11 of us newbies. We just filled out a bunch of paperwork and then we had interviews. Nothing all that special happened there. Can I just tell you though, I love my Mission President and his wife! They are so sweet. I have only met Sister Poulsen once (this morning), because she fell earlier last week and broke her wrist and will go in Thursday for surgery. They are ALWAYS so happy and so concerned!

 

You are probably wanting to know about my companion (trainer). After a good 5 hour wait, we were paired up with our Trainers. My trainer is Sister Casagrande from FRANCE!!

She is soooo sweet!!! She is always saying "You are so good." LITERALLY I hear it about 30x a day. It's funny - I'm like "umm no I'm not" and her reply is "No, but you are so good." It's really quite funny. She is from Djon (the city of mustard). And get this, she played the harp just about everyday for 6-7 hours a day! Yah, I would die if I had to play an instrument that long. But she played with an Orchestra there for a long time so that makes sense. She is always finding ways to do things for me. She bought me a bunt cake the other day cause she is like "you are just so good. I'm going to buy you a bunt cake." She made me banana pancakes the other day for companionship study. That is good especially with honey on top!

And then this morning she made my bed for me. I just love her. She reminds me a lot of Josh. Veryyyy very patient with me! Since my companion is from France she obviously speaks French fluently which means WE get to take about 3 French tours a day!! Now that is hard. I have no idea how to speak French. The first day was a tad rough. Just imagine Sister Skaggs standing there in front of a family of 5 looking like a deer in the headlights with my companion just talking away. That describes the scene perfectly!  

 

 

Every night we talk about the day and so I finally asked if she could start teaching me French. The first night she taught me the missionary purpose in French and the very next day I was able to share it with a family of 5 and they actually understood me! By the end of this transfer my goal is to learn my testimony in French. And that will be the same from here on out with every foreign speaking sister I have as a companion.

 

 

When I got here all the Sisters asked where I was from. All I said was "You know Sister Tiritilli (a sister serving here that I have known my whole life) I live in her stake". Such an easy answer! EVERYONE knows and LOVES Sister Tiritilli! She came back from outbound last Thursday (August 7th). When we saw each other we both ran to each other and just hugged. It was exactly what I needed. She is like a big sister I never had! When she sees me she asks how I'm doing and is always making sure I'm doing okay. We are sooooo EXCITED to have Sister Sughroue join us next transfer! It's been such a blessing to have Sister Tiritilli here. And guess what??? She is in my District!! Out of 200 Sisters, 9 zones and about 20 or so Districts she is in my District.

 

Our days are pretty crazy! I'm on the early schedule which means I have a 6:15 a.m. wake up call. That means I have to go to bed at 10:15. We have gym time from 6:15-6:45 and then we get ready and eat for an hour and then personal study and companionship study for 2 hours. Then we hit the square! My companion has to attend English class every morning for 2 hours so I go on exchanges with other sisters each morning till noon. Then up until about 7:30 or so every night we have various assignments on Temple Square. Our main assignment is Temple Square so we just wander around. Then since I'm getting trained I have another hour of companionship study each night for an hour and then of course daily planning for 30 minutes and then an hour to get ready for bed.

 

In regards to how many people we see! It is busy. I missed lunch on Sunday because we had no time. I went a good 8 hours without being able to eat. But it's all good. I would rather be out working than wasting time eating. We get A LOT of '9999' texts which means they are in desperate need of sisters taking tours. Which means if you get a text and you are not at an assignment, on a telephone call in the TC (teaching center) or on a tour you are to take the tour. If you are eating you stop eating and you take the tour. We get 30 minutes to eat lunch and an hour for dinner.

 

FUNNY STORY:

So yesterday I was talking to this man at the miniature replica of Jerusalem when I look out of the corner of my eye and see sisters waving to me. When we finished talking I started walking over to the desk where the sisters were. All I hear is "yah that's Sister Skaggs." A group of 4 people turn around and this lady SCREAMS super LOUD, while she is running to me "Sister Skaggs!!!!" It was an EXACT RECREATION of what you would do mom!! NO JOKE! It creeped me out with how PERFECT she pulled off you! I was praying so hard while she was running to me because I had never seen these people before. And so I was trying to figure out who they were, how did they know me and what I would say to them while trying to be polite that I didn't remember them. Well the lady, Mcat is her name, while she was hugging me whispered into my ear "You have no idea who I am so don't worry. I'm friends with your mom." She kept saying to her friends "take a picture! I have to post this on Instagram and facebook!" It was one of the best things to have happened so far on my mission. Besides my first baptism, but I will get to that later! Anyways they explained to me that they met you through MMM (Middleaged Mormon Man). By the way mom, I thought you were doing better in regards to me being gone... I heard otherwise. Anyways I know you love me so that's all that matters! With Mcat there were three others, 2 of whom you know via facebook (Monique and David). It was SOOO FUNNY!

They were like "We need to take selfies right now with you and post it and send it to your parents!" (Thank you to the three of you for making my day). They said they follow my blog so that's why I put the shout-out.

 

First off, a mission is DEFINITELY not easy! Heavenly Father just LOVES to give me BLESSINGS (trials). It's a good thing I love Him! It's taken a little bit to adjust to being with a companion. It's mainly just the difference in culture and things like that, that I'm just adjusting to. I now realize why people say this mission is so hard! We meet different people ALL the time, we testify of the things we know are true, we give them tours, we answer their questions and we mainly give it all we have......and at the end they don't refer. It's hard to see this because we don't know what will ever come of these individuals. But they have their agency. In Preach my Gospel there is a section that talks about being a successful missionary. I just tell myself "You did what you were asked. You testified, you brought the spirit, you invited, now they have their agency to accept or reject the message you share. The seed has been planted in them and it's just not the right time for the seed to grow." I know Heavenly Father has a plan for them and the seed and it will take time.

 

Sister Skaggs "out of popcorn"!!

 

This past Sunday we had a baptism! It was my companions investigators. I don't think of it as one of MY baptisms but she, along with the other sisters, gets 'mad' when I say that. Super neat story!! So his name is Jean Herod from Haiti. I don't know all the logistics but I know he came back here to be baptized and then he will head back to Haiti tomorrow. He was baptized, confirmed and, get this, ordained a priest all in about 10 minutes. The Stake President said he felt very strongly that he needed to be ordained a priest right then and there. I think it was because of logistics etc. of where he lived in Haiti. That was such a neat blessing of being able to attend his baptism down in South Jordan.

 

The people are AMAZING here. Like I said earlier, it's really rough when people don't refer but I know they will be ready someday. We have about 8 new investigators all within a week. Super neat story! So this morning I was on exchanges with another sister and we were giving a tour to a member family of 5 and their non-member cousin. She has been attending church but hasn't met with the missionaries yet. As we were finishing the tour we invited her to read the Book of Mormon and to find out for herself if the things we have taught her and the things her family believes was true. She looked at me and was like "umm, I'm already one step ahead of you, I am already reading the Book of Mormon." Totally caught me off guard! We asked if we could stay in contact and she gladly agreed! She knows that God has a plan for her and that He will guide her in the direction she needs to go. We have had so many similar experiences with people like that! This place is filled with miracles! I LOVE IT HERE! I wouldn't trade being on a mission for the world.

 

It is hard, definitely hard, but I love it! Like I said before, Heavenly Father is just building me into the person he needs me to become. It's funny how all the weakness's that I have that will cause issues when I'm married (like patience etc.) He is really helping me now, which I'm grateful for it!

 

 

Elder Sandstrom, Sister Skaggs & Elder Isom - childhood/teenage friends -

in the MTC

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

I LOVE YOU ALL and feel SOOO blessed to be apart of such a great family! Boys I love you! Please continue to behave and to be the good righteous brothers I know you to be! Prepare yourselves for a mission! IT IS SUCH A GREAT THING! Mom and Dad, I love you! Thank you for everything! To everyone else, I love you too! Please continue to just trust in your Father in Heaven and do all that he needs you to do. Don't give up! We are given trials and weakness's so we can grow, my favorite scripture right now, that I'm more than cherishing, is Ether 12:27 [talks about having faith and being humble in our weaknesses and the Lord will make our weaknesses our strengths].

 

Until next week!

 

Sister Skaggs

Tomorrow is the BIG DAY!‏

[A few things from Sis. Skaggs mom -
Some of you may wonder why I don't edit Jennifer's e-mails to make her blog entries shorter.  If I did then it would ruin the integrity of what she is sharing -- you may miss out on the ENTIRE experience (spiritual, funny or otherwise).  I take the liberty of correcting her spelling and punctuation - at her request - and adding pictures.
She is loving her mission....we are able to experience just a tiny bit of her mission by the e-mails she sends home.  I'm sorry if the length is too much for some but I do hope you will continue to follow "Jen's Journey through Temple Square" for the next 18 months!!]

Here's her letter:


I love you all!

Can you believe it? The day I have been waiting for is less than 24 hours away!!!!! I'm sooo excited - you have nooo idea! I'm nervous, scared, petrified, excited etc. I will enter the mission field tomorrow morning! We leave the MTC at 6 AM. We will drop people off at the airport and then will head to Temple Square! The Branch presidency gave us permission to email right now because we don't know when we will be able to write again and because we are one of the only missions who doesn't get to call home before entering our mission.

These past 3 weeks have been some of the most humbling, and challenging weeks of my life. But I wouldn't trade these weeks for anything. I feel so blessed for the things my Heavenly Father has taught me. My testimony of the Priesthood has strengthened so much since being here! I now that the priesthood is real. I feel so blessed to be surrounded by so many worthy priesthood holders. Dad, I just want to thank you so much for being worthy to hold the priesthood. I wish I would have taken advantage of it more often by asking you for priesthood blessings. I was always so scared to ask. That's something I regret. I don't know why I was so afraid. But I truly just want to thank you. I have come to realize these past 3 weeks just how important the priesthood really is. Michael and Brandon, please make sure you stay worthy at all times to have the Priesthood. It has been such a blessing in many of our lives here as we have been able to turn to the Elders in our zone and ask for blessings. Thank you!

Elder Sandstrom - friend from home - and his MTC companion

                   

This past Saturday they bused us back to Temple Square and we had the opportunity to go on splits with a Temple Square sister and actually give real tours! I was pretty nervous at first because this was going to be the real thing. It was such a growing experience! The sisters there were sooo excited to see us which made us even more excited to actually get out and serve!

 

This is Leah - our MTC investigator

                                 

The one thing I really learned was to just listen to the spirit. My companion and I were getting ready to go down and eat dinner, however I wasn't hungry. So I turned to her and asked if we could just continue working and I could just eat in 30 minutes when I got on the bus. We ended up walking to the Temple Model and as we were there we met this young couple. They seemed very timid at first to be talking to us. I realized that I just needed to be myself and just talk to them. I started asking them about themselves, etc. Long story short, he will leave in October for his mission and she wasn't a member of the church. She was nervous about him leaving. I was able to relate to her about when Josh left on his mission and how we went from being with each other for 3 months straight to then only one e-mail a week. We started talking more and we asked if she would be interested in staying in contact. She agreed. I will call her later on this week and start talking to her. She is so sweet. I'm so grateful we were in tune to the spirit and decided to talk to her. If we would've taken our dinner break we would never have met her. I don't know what will happen with her. But I feel so grateful for the trust Heavenly Father has put in me to talk to her and to be there for her.
 

Visitor Center sisters in the MTC

  

Temple Square training sister

                                                                                                      

Another really neat story.... Saturday my Temple Square companion answered a call from a gentleman who wanted to read the Book of Mormon and meet with the missionaries. Since she will be going outbound tomorrow she looked at me and said "He is all yours". He agreed to have me call him later on this week to see how everything is going and to see if the missionaries stopped by. I don't know why Heavenly Father has put his trust in me with these two individuals but I know there is reason they are supposed to be in my life right now.

I don't have much time. So much has happened here. I have grown so much as an individual and as a missionary. I KNOW this gospel is true! That is something I WILL NEVER deny! I feel so humbled and grateful for this opportunity I have to serve a mission. The love for my Savior has increased so much. I know without a doubt that he lives, and that it is through faith in him and the atonement that we can return to live with our Father in Heaven again someday. Mom and Dad, thank you so much for staying true to the Gospel while growing up and for being sealed in the Temple. I don't know what I would do if I couldn't be with you guys and the rest of the family for eternity. I look forward to the day when I can enter the temple and be sealed to my husband for eternity.

I hope you all know just how much your Father in Heaven loves you and knows you. I hope you NEVER DOUBT just how much he loves you. I know this journey on my mission and throughout life won't be easy but when was life ever meant to be easy? Everything will be okay as long as we are just ALWAYS having faith in our Savior Jesus Christ and his gospel and in our Father in Heaven and his plan for us.

I love you all! I feel so blessed to know each of you. I don't know who will read this but I just hope you know you are loved and that everything will be okay.


With all my love!

Sister Skaggs

 

P.S. I saw Riley Bray on Saturday!! It felt so good to see another familiar face. And i wasn't even a real Temple Square sister yet! It was good to see you Riley!

[Additional pictures attached]

One of the sister missionaries friends
sent Twinkies shaped like missionary
minions!

 

Sister Oh, teaching Sister Skaggs
how to make your face look "skinny"

Sister Skaggs written in Korean

 

                                      

Sister Skaggs and lifelong friend
- fellow sister missionary -
Sister Lundquist

                                                                                                                       

Sister Floyd - face
washing buddy - we always
seem to end up in the
bathroom washing our
faces at the same time!

Sister Brooks

Sparkling Cider celebration as these
sisters prepare for VC training!!!

                                                             
                                                                                                          
                   
          AN 18 MONTH SACRIFICE FOR A LIFETIME OF MEMORIES!

Just listen to the Spirit‏

[Note from Sis. Skaggs mom - no new pictures sent with this e-mail.  I just attached one from the MTC from her first week....just so you could have a visual of her "speaking" this post to you. Enjoy!!]

 

To those I love!

 

First off you're probably wondering why in the world I am emailing again. We received a new schedule for Visitor Center training and so on our schedule they gave today as another p-day. I have no idea why they did it. But they did :)

 

 

Where to begin in regards to VC training. I'm so excited to be a VC Sister!! You're probably wondering what in the world have I been doing?? Well let me tell you!

Wednesday they bused the 18 of us in Visitor Center training to Temple Square to receive a tour and then to meet with the Missionary Department Visitor Center Supervisor who covers all Visitor Centers worldwide. The reason he came was to discuss with us VC Sisters the expectations they have for us, the reason we have been called to a Visitor Center and in a nutshell our responsibilities since our call is different in a lot of ways compared to the rest of the missionaries worldwide. 

 

 

It's been really intimidating because for the past two days this lady from the Missionary Department has been in our class for about 2 hours observing our class and making remarks to us about how important our call is, etc. She mentioned yesterday that she talks regularly with our mission president and that our names have come up.  If that's not scary then who knows what is.  So yah.

 

 

Wednesday night they had us start working in the Referral Center!! Can I just say how much I LOVE online missionary work!! We get to go on for several hours a day and chat with people who have questions about the church. I have only been on twice and so far I have been cussed out twice, I have been trolled, I have had a lady try and argue with me and I have had a lady come on asking me what she should do with a problem in her life. The thing that has been really neat is just how calm I have been and just how strong the spirit has been when I'm replying back to them. It has been such a neat experience!

 

 

Yesterday (Thursday) has been the best day so far! So in the morning our teacher had my companion and I go into a room and pray about who we would be teaching later on in the evening. We have no idea who will come in and talk with us. So as we were praying and trying to figure out who we should prepare for, a thought came into our minds.  We pictured a young man in his 20's attending college and had brown hair.  He was struggling in life.  We didn't think much of it.  8 PM rolled around and it was time for all of the people who sign up to come in to just be themselves as we practice on them. The first lady we had was an older lady named Dorothy. She was telling us she was just really struggling right now and she feels bad because she can't get to church as often as she would like because of her health. She was saying she just doesn't feel like she is doing all that she could.  We were talking to her and we only have 15 minutes to get to know them, gain their trust, define their needs, teach them a lesson and then invite them to do something.  Mind you, these people have been asked to be themselves.  My companion was chatting with her and I just had this thought to ask her to sincerely pray to her Father in Heaven. Out of the blue I was like, "Dorothy, I want to invite you over the next couple of days to sincerely pray to your Father in Heaven. Really just talk to him and tell him your concerns. He wants to hear from you. Will you do that?" Her demeanor completely changed and she said, "You know I haven't been doing that lately. That's exactly what I needed to hear at this moment." Later I found out the other companionships just couldn't get through to her.

 

 

Our next couple, Randy and Stephanie, came in.  We were just talking to them and getting to know them. We had less than 5 minutes to share something with them and then invite them to do something. I was starting to sweat because I couldn't figure out what I should say. Stephanie looked at us and said, "Do you have an uplifting message you could share with us? My companion looked at me and said, "Share your favorite scripture (which is Doctrine & Covenants 98:2 - it talks about waiting patiently upon the Lord)." As I was sharing the scripture with them, they both started crying. I continued to bear my testimony on how that scripture has had such an impact on my life. They looked at us and said, "That's what we needed to hear." They left and that was it. Afterwards our teacher came up to us and said, "Were you the two missionaries that talked about patience with Randy and Stephanie?" We were like, "uhh yah. Why?" She said, "I want you to know you were an answer to their prayers. They have been getting really frustrated lately because nothing is working out with getting their mission papers in, in regards to going on a couples mission. And then you shared that and it was a complete answer to their prayers." We just listened to the spirit and let the spirit do the talking.

 

 

So we had one more person. And can you guess who this person was?..... Yup...his name was Michael, in his 20's, college student at BYU with brown hair! As we were talking to him it sounded like everything was going well and he was doing all that he was supposed to be doing with his life. And so I was just praying really hard "Heavenly Father, what is it that we are supposed to say to him that he is supposed to hear?" My companion then just blurted out "Will you bear your testimony on Sunday?" I then bore my testimony on how important it is that we are bearing our testimony often. In fact, we should be bearing our testimony multiple times a day. We invited him to fast and bear his testimony. He looked at us, dropped his head then looked back at us and said, "You know, thank you. I haven't born my testimony in I believe it's been about 6 months now." We will follow up with them all on Sunday to see how it all went. The one thing I learned though was just how vital it is to be in tune to the spirit at all times.

 

 

I have so much more to say but I just don't have time!! I love this gospel so much. I thank my Father in Heaven every night for everything He has blessed me with! I hope you all know just how much this gospel means to me. I can testify it is true. There is no doubt in my mind. I would invite all those who haven't read the Book of Mormon lately to read it with a question in mind and to take Moroni's challenge. I love you all! Wish I could write more!

 

Love,

Sister Skaggs