To All I Love,
Well this week has been filled with a lot of really random things. So bear with me in regards to this email because there really isn't a consistent flow.
Saying Goodbye:
In last weeks email I briefly mentioned to
you about how President & Sister Poulsen were ending their missions this
week. It was really sad and hard for a lot of Sisters, including them, to say
goodbye. On Sunday they gave their departing talks to the mission. It was really
sad to start to recognize the fact that they really are getting ready to leave.
When change is getting ready to happen in your life you don't really expect it,
it just happens. Yesterday we did all of our goodbye stuff with them. The
mission gathered during lunch and we were able to talk to them, take pictures
and eat lunch together. The hardest part was towards the end of the night as we
watched them walk out of the doors and it was then that it hit us that, that's
it. We will no longer see them on Temple Square. They have a rule that they
aren't allowed to step on to Temple Square for the next year and a half or until
every sister they have worked with has gone home, which is sad to think about
but it makes sense. I will forever be grateful for being able to serve under
them. The two of them and their examples have changed who I am and allowed me
to see things that the Lord needed me to change. They truly love the Lord first
and it is special to see that, to see how together they have grown and have
truly devoted their entire lives to their Savior Jesus Christ and Father in
Heaven. Something President Poulsen invited us to do is when we go off our
missions to NEVER miss a day of reading the scriptures. He shared of an
experience that I will go more in depth after my mission, mainly because I don't
have a whole lot of time. In a nutshell, a General Authority met with a group of
missionaries when President Poulsen presided over a mission in South Africa and
this General Authority was able to, without hesitation, answer every
missionaries question, all kinds of questions with a scripture. He said that he
did that because he knows his scriptures and it has come because he hadn't
missed a day of scripture study since he had been home from his mission, which,
at that point, was over 40 years ago. As we feast upon the scriptures and take
the time to do so that is when our knowledge and understanding of them will
grow. I will miss them so much but look forward to seeing them again.
President already commented that when he has his Family Reunion in August in
Oceanside that we are all going to gather together - Sis Brooks, Sughroue and I
and other Southern California sisters - to have lunch. That will be really
exciting and special to see them again.
Meeting President & Sister Risenmay:
They are amazing! I'm really grateful that Heavenly
Father has allowed me to be able to serve with them even if it's just a short
amount of time. We had the opportunity to gather with them as a mission this
morning and to hear from the two of them. They shared with us as a mission how
they got called. It is pretty funny, actually. President Risenmay had been
serving as an Area Seventy and last January he had an area council meeting where
Elder Rasband was attending. At the end he pulled him to the side and asked how
he would feel about leaving this assignment and changing to a different one. He
mentioned that him and Sister Risenmay were in a position that they could
change. Well 3 weeks later he received a call from Elder Don R. Clarke from
Seventy who did a preliminary interview with him over the phone. Most Area
Seventy get called to then be MTC Presidents. So he and Sister Risenmay both
thought that they were probably getting called to preside over an MTC, they
knew, though, that they would be called to an English speaking assignment which
meant either Ghana or South Africa. It is interesting because immediately after
that thought Sister Risenmay said "We are not going there. We will be called to
Salt Lake City." President Risenmay said that when his wife made that comment
the spirit immediately bore a strong witness to him that they would be called to
Salt Lake City. They didn't know anything for about 3 months. In June they
received a phone call from President Eyring's secretary asking if they could
video conference President Eyring. As they did so that is when he extended to
them the call to be the Mission President and Wife for the Utah Salt Lake City
Temple Square Mission. He then went on to share with us what took place in that
call. The spirit bore a powerful witness to me, personally, in that moment that
this is where I have been called to and the sacred calling it is to be a
missionary. The Lord entrusts us missionaries in general with such a sacred
assignment to be able to proclaim this eternal message to the world. And how he
takes ordinary young men and women and gives them the opportunity to take this
message to all corners of the world.
President Risenmay made some comments to us about being missionaries and I'm going to just briefly type those out.
- Every Missionary has a cross to bear as they represent Jesus Christ
- During these times we are taken doing to the very core, at this moment is when the Lord can humble us to change us.
- Christ can fix the dents and make us each into a new creature.
- Complete conversion comes after many trials and much testing.
- The Savior suffered for us one by one. And paid in full, the price for each of us.
I don't have much time left because I need to be going but know I know this Gospel to be true with everything I have. It is a privilege to stand as a representative of our Savior Jesus Christ and to bear my witness of him each and everyday whether in person, on the phone or in a chat. To be able to boldly declare to people the love that he has for them is priceless and to help others recognize that true joy only can come as we learn to take upon ourselves the name of Jesus Christ. Tomorrow in Africa over 30 of our Father in Heavens children will make that sacred covenant with him and promise to take upon themselves the name of Jesus Christ. I have seen over and over again as I have been given the opportunity to prepare them for this moment the deep love they have for their Savior and the desire they have to seek to follow him. They are testimonies that really show to me the conversion they have of this Gospel.
Know I love you and hope you have a great week!! Seek to find ways to help the Lord hasten his work in all that you do.
Love Always,
Sister Skaggs
 |
| "Twins" Sister Sindylkova and me! |
To All I Love,
Well this week has been filled with a lot of really random things. So bear with me in regards to this email because there really isn't a consistent flow.
Saying Goodbye:
 |
| Saying goodbye to President and Sister Paulsen |
In last weeks email I briefly mentioned to
you about how President & Sister Poulsen were ending their missions this
week. It was really sad and hard for a lot of Sisters, including them, to say
goodbye. On Sunday they gave their departing talks to the mission. It was really
sad to start to recognize the fact that they really are getting ready to leave.
When change is getting ready to happen in your life you don't really expect it,
it just happens. Yesterday we did all of our goodbye stuff with them. The
mission gathered during lunch and we were able to talk to them, take pictures
and eat lunch together. The hardest part was towards the end of the night as we
watched them walk out of the doors and it was then that it hit us that, that's
it. We will no longer see them on Temple Square. They have a rule that they
aren't allowed to step on to Temple Square for the next year and a half or until
every sister they have worked with has gone home, which is sad to think about
but it makes sense. I will forever be grateful for being able to serve under
them. The two of them and their examples have changed who I am and allowed me
to see things that the Lord needed me to change. They truly love the Lord first
and it is special to see that, to see how together they have grown and have
truly devoted their entire lives to their Savior Jesus Christ and Father in
Heaven. Something President Poulsen invited us to do is when we go off our
missions to NEVER miss a day of reading the scriptures. He shared of an
experience that I will go more in depth after my mission, mainly because I don't
have a whole lot of time. In a nutshell, a General Authority met with a group of
missionaries when President Poulsen presided over a mission in South Africa and
this General Authority was able to, without hesitation, answer every
missionaries question, all kinds of questions with a scripture. He said that he
did that because he knows his scriptures and it has come because he hadn't
missed a day of scripture study since he had been home from his mission, which,
at that point, was over 40 years ago. As we feast upon the scriptures and take
the time to do so that is when our knowledge and understanding of them will
grow. I will miss them so much but look forward to seeing them again.
President already commented that when he has his Family Reunion in August in
Oceanside that we are all going to gather together - Sis Brooks, Sughroue and I
and other Southern California sisters - to have lunch. That will be really
exciting and special to see them again.Meeting President & Sister Risenmay:
 |
| Former companion Sister Ferguson |
They are amazing! I'm really grateful that Heavenly
Father has allowed me to be able to serve with them even if it's just a short
amount of time. We had the opportunity to gather with them as a mission this
morning and to hear from the two of them. They shared with us as a mission how
they got called. It is pretty funny, actually. President Risenmay had been
serving as an Area Seventy and last January he had an area council meeting where
Elder Rasband was attending. At the end he pulled him to the side and asked how
he would feel about leaving this assignment and changing to a different one. He
mentioned that him and Sister Risenmay were in a position that they could
change. Well 3 weeks later he received a call from Elder Don R. Clarke from
Seventy who did a preliminary interview with him over the phone. Most Area
Seventy get called to then be MTC Presidents. So he and Sister Risenmay both
thought that they were probably getting called to preside over an MTC, they
knew, though, that they would be called to an English speaking assignment which
meant either Ghana or South Africa. It is interesting because immediately after
that thought Sister Risenmay said "We are not going there. We will be called to
Salt Lake City." President Risenmay said that when his wife made that comment
the spirit immediately bore a strong witness to him that they would be called to
Salt Lake City. They didn't know anything for about 3 months. In June they
received a phone call from President Eyring's secretary asking if they could
video conference President Eyring. As they did so that is when he extended to
them the call to be the Mission President and Wife for the Utah Salt Lake City
Temple Square Mission. He then went on to share with us what took place in that
call. The spirit bore a powerful witness to me, personally, in that moment that
this is where I have been called to and the sacred calling it is to be a
missionary. The Lord entrusts us missionaries in general with such a sacred
assignment to be able to proclaim this eternal message to the world. And how he
takes ordinary young men and women and gives them the opportunity to take this
message to all corners of the world.President Risenmay made some comments to us about being missionaries and I'm going to just briefly type those out.
- Every Missionary has a cross to bear as they represent Jesus Christ
- During these times we are taken doing to the very core, at this moment is when the Lord can humble us to change us.
- Christ can fix the dents and make us each into a new creature.
- Complete conversion comes after many trials and much testing.
- The Savior suffered for us one by one. And paid in full, the price for each of us.
I don't have much time left because I need to be going but know I know this Gospel to be true with everything I have. It is a privilege to stand as a representative of our Savior Jesus Christ and to bear my witness of him each and everyday whether in person, on the phone or in a chat. To be able to boldly declare to people the love that he has for them is priceless and to help others recognize that true joy only can come as we learn to take upon ourselves the name of Jesus Christ. Tomorrow in Africa over 30 of our Father in Heavens children will make that sacred covenant with him and promise to take upon themselves the name of Jesus Christ. I have seen over and over again as I have been given the opportunity to prepare them for this moment the deep love they have for their Savior and the desire they have to seek to follow him. They are testimonies that really show to me the conversion they have of this Gospel.
Know I love you and hope you have a great week!! Seek to find ways to help the Lord hasten his work in all that you do.
Love Always,
Sister Skaggs
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