12-31-12 Skype/Facetime/ichat/etc= God given gift to man and missionary

DAD MOM RY RASH LIZA DONG and my dear friends

I LOVE YOU ALL! Christmas was absolutely wonderful. I cannot even begin to describe how overcome with joy and love Sister Evans and I were. Thank you. I will never forget this Christmas. What a marvelous gift of friends and family that Heavenly Father has blessed me with, He has so graciously blessed me with so very much more than I could ever deserve. It was perfect. And I am so grateful for the Christmas miracles He allowed us to be apart of in sharing His love to those in need. I will always cherish 

FAMILY! YOU ARE SOO BEAUTIFUL! Skype/Facetime/ichat/etc = God given gift to man and missionary. I love you with ALL my heart, might, mind, and strength, with ALL the energy of my soul. I wish I could better describe and show just how much I love you. Love is not had unless we truly live the way we feel. Words are not enough, but it is our thoughts, our motives, our actions, and our deeds that demonstrate the pure love of Jesus Christ. 

Ok. I have been called to repentance! I guess I get too devotionalesk-like and tell too few a stories. The great Brother Fajardo referred to my letters as "epistles" because of the length and content haha. 

A story: We had Sister Emord with us to teach our investigator Ben, but he wasn't home. So we brought her with us to go see another investigator Ken - whom we felt prompted to plan for as back up the night before. Ken's been way busy with work during the Christmas season, so we've only seen him for brief visits, delivering cookies and stopping by, never being able to set up an appointment with him. To our surprise, but surely to Heavenly Father's design, Ken's brother answered the door. He told us Ken was on his way home from picking up Chinese for dinner and that he and some more of the extended family were visiting for a few days. So... we asked if we could come in to wait for him! haha. We visited with them and got to know them, a lovely family from Massachusetts, until Ken arrived. It was so perfect. We set up a time with him to come back, and later had an incredible lesson with him. I love our Father in Heaven. Glory and honor is His! 

Lexi and Trevor are off to the MTC! I love them. I'm so excited for them. This work is truly the work of God, Almighty and His Son, our Savior and Redeemer. Oh what miracles are ahead of them. 

LOVE SISTER JULIA JEPPSEN

Christmas!!!! 

Face-timing the Fambly

12-24-12 Christ's Selfless Character, His Love always had Action!

DAD MOM RYAN RACHELLE LIZA EMMDONG, my beloved family and friends.

MERRY CHRISTMAS!!!!!!!!! WOOHOOO!! I cannot explain just how wonderful this Christmas has been. I am blessed far greater than I will ever deserve. And I am forever grateful. Oh how incredible are each of the people Sister Evans and I are so privileged to know, to learn from, to serve beside, and to grow with. The Belyeas, the Garfields, the Knuttis, the Headricks, the Emords, the Starks, dear Peter and Von, Erica and Laura, Ben and Terrance. And to have the love and support of each of you. My dear friends. I love you truly. I thank Him for blessing me with your friendship, your love and your example. I deserve hell! But look how great and marvelous are my blessings, my friends, my dear family. I love you. So so very much! 

Through our dear mission president, Heavenly Father opened my eyes more fully to Christ's perfect and selfless character. How saddened and how brokenhearted was Jesus upon hearing that His dear cousin and trusted friend, John the Baptist was beheaded (Matthew 14). John, his loyal and faithful disciple, his family and kin, whom as a baby, lept in Elisabeth's womb when Christ came near to him, even as an unborn babe; John, whom was His chosen messenger to go before Him and prepare the way, whom Jesus said: "Among them that are born of women there hath not risen a greater than John the Baptist." When Jesus heard of his death, he departed by ship to be alone, to mourn the murder of his beloved friend. Can you imagine - if your dearest friend was killed in your behalf, how heavy your heart would be and how you would so desperately need to be alone, to pray and be comforted by Heavenly Father. But, when Jesus saw a multitude of people following Him, he was "moved with compassion toward them" and instead of leaving them that he might be alone, he spend the day, healing their sick, comforting them. The apostles, knowing of the great pain he felt for the loss of his dear cousin, and seeing that the people were becoming hungry, saw that it was a perfect opportunity for them to break away so that Christ could be alone. I could imagine them saying, "Master, it's been a long day. The people are growing hungry, so why don't we send them away that they might return to the village to buy some food, and then you will be able to go to be alone, for you have suffered a great loss today, Lord." But Jesus said, "They need not depart, give ye them to eat." And there he preformed yet another incredible miracle, feeding the multitude of five thousand with only five loaves and two fishes. It wasn't until the multitude was filled did he depart into the mountains to pray by Himself. Our perfect and merciful Savior sought to bless and lift others, even in his time of mourning. How often do we put our own needs and wants first, whether we might be ignoring the needs of others or perhaps too self-absorbed to even notice? The compassion and love that Christ felt never went without action. He acted upon the love that He felt. The pure love of Christ is not charity unless it be put to action. 

Sister Belyea taught an incredible lesson in church about the people foreordained to bring the Savior into the world. Heavenly Father prepared perfectly those who would be receiving His Only Begotten Son, l the Savior and Redeemer of the world. Nothing was done by chance. If you were to pick someone to raise your son, wouldn't you choose someone faithful and righteous, patient and loving, someone who was a good teacher and who lived the gospel. The Father sent His Son to whom He trusted. How incredible and remarkable are each of these people, privileged and chosen to welcome Christ to the earth - Zacharias and Elisabeth, Mary and Joseph, John, the shepherd, the wisemen, Simeon. Each are remarkable and it has been such a wonderful and enlightening experience to study each of these people.

Oh the things we can learn from them!! Here's something that really touched my heart and filled my vision about just one attribute of the woman chosen to be the mother of Jesus Christ. Luke 2:19 reads: "But Mary kept all these things and pondered them in her heart." Unless we ponder and reflect the things we experience, we will not keep them. They will be lost and forgotten. Elder Holland said, "None of us could have imagined such a few short months ago, the miracles we have seen and the divinity we have enjoyed. We have talked with, prayed with, and labored with the very Son of God Himself. We have walked with Him and wept with Him" Unless we look back and see the miracles, unless we ponder in our hearts the divinity we have enjoyed - we will not keep them. They will be lost. And may we not forget those "seemingly small, sometimes overlooked" miracles that we experience day be day. President Monson said that we have "countless experiences... [that] were not necessarily those one would consider extraordinary.. [that even] at the time they transpired... [they] often seemed unremarkable and even ordinary... yet in retrospect (as he pondered and reflected0 they enriched and blessed lives - not the least of which was my own." Does the Lord have to shake me loudly in order for me to see His hand? Must His love and His power be made manifest dramatically in order for me to recognize it? Are my eyes so out of focus and my ears so out of tune that I cannot see not hear His voice? If our eye is out of focus, we will not be able to see the abounding miracles. We may only recognize the big miracles placed directly in front of us; and even then, we may not even see those. But if our eye is single to the glory of God, our view is clear and we will see His hand in EVERY aspect of our lives. Let us remember, reflect, and keep the miracles, the divinity, and the precious gifts He has so graciously given us... Let us repent! I love repentance!!!! I am so excited and grateful that we can change.

My dear Lexi, I love you. Ryan and Heffrie, welcome home. Melniff, Chloe, Alyssa, Ethan, Bret, my dear ward family, ALL of you, my friends, I love you. MERRY CHRISTMAS!!!!!!! Christ, our Lord, our Savior and King, He lives!!

LOVE SISTER JULIA JEPPSEN

Elder Gronning (our amazing district leader) hosting a lovely white elephant/secret santa gift exchange for our district meeting

Yay for Christmas!!

The wonderful Laura Chenette - who's heart is so big and mind so inquisitive, and Sister Belyea - scholar of the scriptures and boldness comparable to Elder Holland

Von Christiansen :) I love him

Our very well-gifted Christmas tree. Thank you all SOO very much!! I wish I could give to you as you so generously have given to me. I deserve hell! But our merciful Father has given us each so much. Oh how he blesses us, and how he has so graciously blessed me with friends and family as you. Thank you. I am forever grateful for your friendship.

12-17-12 Christmas Conference! I love Jesus Christ!

DAD MOM RYAN SHELLY LIZA EMMA and my dear lovely friends

Its crazy to think that Heffrie and Ryan are returning home this week.. or they may have already returned!! I have no idea! CRAZY! Tell them I love them. I can only imagine how incredible their reunion will be with each of you, but at the same time - how difficult it must be for them to leave. My heart aches at the thought of returning home. There is nowhere else I would rather be but here.

Has Lexi left?! Oh my dearest Lexi. I love her! I am so excited. And I'm sure Heavenly Father is too. He knows perfectly the miracles He will be able to perform through her, the hearts He will be able to touch because of who she is and all that she willingly gives to Him. I'm.. soo.. HAPPAY! 

This week, our entire mission came together for a Christmas conference. After having a fun talent show, a beautiful devotional and testimony meeting, and a delicious lunch, I had the precious opportunity to follow President and Sister Riggs around, carrying their boxes full of Christmas gifts, as they delivered a present to each missionary. It was remarkable to see my dear president, as a true representative of our Savior, Jesus Christ, as he went one by one to each of us, his children. One by one he embraced them, he let them see and feel the love he has for each of them. I felt as one of the apostles, amazed and in awe of His great and unconditional love for us individually. He let each missionary experience and feel of their importance and great worth, to experience for themselves the love he and our Father in Heaven has for them. I saw as he took each missionary into his arms, knowing each by name. To every one he told them "I love you." Never once was it mundane or insincere, but to each, he sincerely meant it. After having visited with each missionary, he turned to me and held my hand in his and expressed his love and appreciation. He genuinely cares and knows each one of us, and today I surely did see my Savior in his countenance and did feel of His love- for me and for each of the missionaries. It was as though I had experienced a tiny glimpse of Christ's coming to the ancient Americas in 3 Nephi 11. I will always treasure that moment. 

We received an incredible talk by Elder Neal A Maxwell entitled "Jesus of Nazareth, Savior and King" and it has been so very enlightening to slowly study each word and paragraph. I love Jesus Christ. My understanding of Him and all that He has done for us is so small, but I am grateful for what I have felt, what I have learned, and what I know of Him and His perfect character. I look forward to the lifetime we have and the eternities beyond that of which we have to grow in our knowledge and our understanding, and to become even as He through His grace and mercy. 

Sister Evans is absolutely incredible. I am so happy, so very blessed to have her as my companion. To learn with and from her. Transfers are this week which is so strange because we were just barely reunited. Regardless, we are still seeing bounteous miracles and I never cease to be amazed of His great love and power. 

MERRY CHRISTMAS!

LOVE SISTER JULIA JEPPSEN

Sister Evans and I reunited!

Christmas Conference with the whole mission!!!

President and Sister Riggs

12-11-12 DESIRE to do the Lord's will!!!

DAD MOM RYAN RACHELLE CINDYLOOWHO DONG and my other fellow disciples

Why hello! MELISSA WHAT?!?!?! AHHHH!!! I wanna meet him! Someone, tell him to write me a letter! Marriage trumps mission if God tells you so.  

One of Peter's biggest concerns is prayer. And in studying and reflecting upon prayer, I have come to feel such gratitude for the relationship I have been able to develop with by Beloved Father in Heaven. I love Him. I feel so close to Him and to His Son, my Savior. President Monson said, "Not a day has gone by that I have not communicated with my Father in Heaven through prayer. It is a relationship I cherish - one I would literally be lost without. If you do not now have such a relationship with your Father in Heaven, I urge you to work toward that goal. As you do so, you will be entitled to His inspiration and guidance in your life." I am so grateful that I can continue in learning more about Him, in coming to truly know Him and love Him, and in striving to become more like Him through the incredible and "sacred privilege" of prayer. Oh how great is our Father in Heaven! What an honor it is that we can talk to Him. And what's most humbling of all, He, the Creator of Heaven and Earth, the Almighty God, He who governs the universe and the stars, He, the Omnipotent, Omniscient One, He is listening. And He listens with the all encompassing love of a perfect and loving parent. "Compared to God, man is nothing; yet we are everything to God" (Dieter F. Uchtdorf).

Elder Packer (President Packer's son) and his lovely wife and companion spoke to our mission yesterday! And guess what! He remembers Grandpa Jeppsen :) He laughed and said he loved him and that he was their doctor for years. Oh how I wish I could describe just how powerful the Spirit was as they spoke. One of the many things I learned that I feel so prompted to write has to do with always keeping our hearts and minds open to the Spirit. Though we close our prayers, we should "pray unto the Lord [our] God continually" (Alma 62:21). We must never close our hearts and our minds to the Lord, but we must keep the channels open. We must learn the language of the Spirit and hear, understand, remember, act, and become as the signals come. 

I love Lexi. I am so grateful to be blessed by my Father in Heaven with such wonderful friends and family who are so close to Him and so active in following the direction He gives them through the power of the Holy Ghost. She sent me an incredible talk by Lawrence E Corbridge (entitled "The Fourth Missionary") of which was I am so thankful for. Everyone, READ IT! Its a gazillion glorious pages, of scriptures expounded. He said, "You can't be happy if you don't WANT to do the things that lead to happiness, even if you do those very things." 

Upon pondering about where I would be if I were not here serving a mission, I felt absolutely horrid. There is no other place I would rather be than here, no other work I would rather be doing. I want to do the Lord's will. Tho often I forget and become prideful, selfish, and foolish - I am so grateful for the power of the Atonement. I can change and I can align my will with the Lord's. 

Elder Bednar said, "..Our rather routine emphasis on GOING misses the mark. The issue is not going to church, the issue is worshiping and renewing covenants as we attend church. The issue is not going to or through the temple, rather the issue is having in our hearts the spirit, the covenants, and the ordinances of the Lord's house. The issue is not going on a mission, rather the issue is becoming a missionary and serving throughout our entire life with all of our heart, might, mind, and strength. It is possible for a young man to go on a mission and not become a missionary, and this is not what the Lord requires or what the church needs." 

This applies with everything we do, with everything that the Lords asks of us. Just to go and do is not enough. But we must do so with all of our mind, with all of our might and strength, and with all of our heart. If we do not desire to be doing the Lord's will, though we still do it, it will profit us nothing.

Miracles? Of course! Heavenly Father is a God of miracles! So the evening before in nightly planning, I felt that we should go visit Afifa and Hebba after conference. But Sister Evans reminded me that we hadn't yet planned our study time. But after conference, I felt again that we needed to go check on Afifa and Hebba - so we started for their home. We saw this man out walking his dog and tho it was far from Afifa's place, we parked and hopped out to talk to him. We walked with him and through us, Heavenly Father was able to give dear Roger hope and comfort. And along the way to his home, Roger stopped to talk to his neighbor Erica - who is this adorable Brazilian mother of which we asked if we could come back after walking with Roger and she kindly agreed. Not only will we have the opportunity to teach Roger, but we were welcomed into Erica's home and had an INCREDIBLE and POWERFUL lesson! I love our dear Father in Heaven. This is His work and His glory, and I am so forever grateful to be apart of it. 

LOVE SISTER JULIA JEPPSEN 

12-3-12 Don't we love miracles in our life!

DAD MOM RYAN SHELLY ELIZA DONG and guests/beloved ones

Hello! 

Does anyone in my family even read these emails? 

Hi mom and dad, you seem to be the only ones reading my emails!!   :) lol Just kidding

Miracle with member revelation! Dear Sister Knutti has been such an incredible help these past few transfers. When we first popped the question (Q: What revelation have you received on how we can help you?) many many weeks ago, she felt she needed to make as much time as possible to come teach with us. And surely God could trust her with this revelation, for she really intended to do whatever it was He would say. As she has come out with us countless times, we continued to encourage her to seek revelation. And again, Heavenly Father gave unto her as she asked, for He knew that she would receive. He trusts her. How great! This time she felt we needed to visit her neighbors down the street, the Rodriguez family. Oh how prepared are they! The mother expressed having felt something was missing in her life, that something was incomplete. And the daughters have been flat out frustrated with their church and were seeking to find the right one. Heavenly Father is wonderful. This family is absolutely incredible! I love them.

Though there are many more miracles I could write.. "if they should be written every one, I suppose that even the world itself could not contain the books that should be written" (John 21:25)  Don't we love miracles in our life!!!! 

"That'll do donkey. that'll do" - Shrek

MERRY CHRISTMAS!

LOVE SISTER JULIA JEPPSEN

11-26-12 150 Members to NJ to Help This Weekend!! Sister Evans Again!!!

DAD MOM BALD MAN RACHELLE LIZA EMM and my other fellow friends whom I love

SISTER EVANS (my mtc companion) IS MY NEW COMPANERA!!!! OOdaLalleY!!! I absolutely love her! I am so stinkin excited. I can't even tell you. We've already had a miraculous 3 days of missionarying around. Lots of new investigators who have been so prepared to hear this gospel. And Peter is progressing ever so beautifully. And Laura and Ken and Von. I love each of them so much.

Oh how much we have to be grateful for! Never will we be able to repay our dear Savior for what He has done for us. How wonderful, how marvelous, how magnificent is He! He lives. And because of Him, we can repent. I am so grateful for repentance. I am so grateful for each of my many many weaknesses, for I have been so blessed to experience the power of the Atonement, the transforming, strengthening power of His love and grace. I love Him. And I'm doing all that I can to show Him that I do. Tho still, I fall short. But I repent. I am working hard to never be the person I once was. To push forward and upward. To reach outward and heavenward. I will continue to give all that I receive and receive as I ask.

Our stake sent over 150 members to help the people in New Jersey this weekend. Its so humbling to serve among so many incredible disciples of our Lord and Redeemer. I am forever grateful for our dear Father. How great is our reason to rejoice. Glory to God, our all knowing, all powerful, all loving Father and Maker. I will praise Him and His Son forever.

LOVE SISTER JEPPSEN

11-19-12 Thanksgiving

DAD MOM RYAN RACHELLEY ELIZA EDONG and my other beloved friends

Hello! So Mom and Dad are travelling the world right now. What are the rest of you doing? What are you guys doing for Thanksgiving? Where are you staying? What are you doing? 

Let me introduce you to Peter Koranteng. We found him last week, walkin around talking to all the world around us. And he is absolutely wonderful! He is from Ghana and tho he looks like he is in his 30s, he is 50 years old. Oh how prepared is he! He is wonderful. We've seen him three times this week and we are having dinner with him tonight at the Starks. I love him so much. He is hilarious, and is always equipped with some sort of clever joke.  

So something that I've been struggling with is remembering and applying all the things I have been so abundantly blessed with. Heavenly Father has opened the heavens to me, He has given me so much - and now it is up to me to put my knowledge to action. I have gained a testimony, I have developed a greater knowledge of His divinity and of the character of our Savior. But now is my opportunity and responsibility to fully receive these precious truths by applying them, by living and becoming as our Savior. These last few weeks I have been frustrated with myself for not constantly remembering and living all the things I have learned. As I went to Stake Conference this weekend, I asked Heavenly Father how I can remember to live the things that He has taught me. And oh how grateful I am, for surely as we ask, we do receive - as long as we are willing and striving to receive. Something that I have learned is that it is important that we learn to receive when we ask, for so often I find myself becoming distracted and forgetful to think, ponder, search, and listen when I do inquire of the Lord. Well, Heavenly Father opened my eyes and He gave unto me as I asked. My thoughts have been so consumed and concerned about forgetting the things I have learned that there has been no time for me to remember! This surely is a ploy of the adversary that keeps us from progressing. In Proverbs 23:5, 7 it says: "Wilt thou set thine eyes upon that which is not? For as he thinketh in his heart, so is he." What we think is what we become. My thoughts have been set upon forgetting, and so I forgot. How silly of me! And I am so grateful to be able to repent, to change, and by the grace of my Savior to apply, live and become all that He has so abundantly given me. 

Mom, you have a wonderful friend, Ron Darmawan - who sent me a package from Hawaii! I have no idea who he is, but he was very generous in his gift. I am so honored to have the love and support of each of our dear friends. Thank you. I am forever grateful to our Father in Heaven to be blessed with such incredible people in my life. 

Sitting in Stake Conference this week, I could not help but feel at home. We are brothers and sisters. We are children of God. We are family, here to support, to lift, to protect, to learn from, to grow with, to practice and prepare to live with our Father in Heaven again one day. 

Sister Carter is leaving Wednesday morning and I will be getting a new companion! I have loved every moment with her and look forward to what Heavenly Father has in store for me. How marvelous it has been to be companions with Sister Carter

LOVE SISTER JULIA

Peter!! 

 The Garfields (They are related to the Stewarts!!) We love them

Former Bishop Walter. He is absolutely fantastic. 

11-13-12 Arnold got Baptized and Gift of the Holy Ghost for His Birthday!!

DAD MOM RYAN SHELLY LIZA EMMDONG

HAPPY BIRTHDAY!!!!!!! LIZA IS 18 YEARS OLD!! OODALALLEY!! And she got a brand new BICYCLE!?!?! Road bike = the greatest gift a mortal father can give to his daughter. haha. Well done pops and momdre. I reserve the family vacation of biking the Californian coast for when I return home. 

Arnold is baptized :) It was so wonderful! He is extremelely accomplished, and yet he is so humble and so polite. The entire ward was so supportive; the youth made it their week's activity to attend and participate. And to celebrate both his and Liza's birthdays (spiritual and physical), Arnold recieved the gift of the Holy Ghost! Afterward, beaming - he said he's felt happier, more energetic, and absolutely wonderful ever since his baptism. This gospel surely is true. 

The night before his baptism, the oh so incredible Stark family invited Arnold, Luis, and we sisters over for dinner and a lesson :) I cannot even describe how perfect the evening was. We were so happy! I was surrounded by these remarkable people who I love and treasure, these people who I have grown spiritually with, who I have sacrificed everything for and who have sacrificed just as much, if not more, for me. I love Arnold. I love Luis. I love Brother and Sister Stark.

Miracle: With our member revelation work, Brother Stark had referred us to one of his neighbors. We felt like we should stop by their home one day, and when we did, George, the man of the house was absolutely pleasant and friendly. But he had guests over at his home so he pointed us to another home further down the street and told us to knock on their door. So we did! And this beautiful girl, our age, opened the door. Her name is Laura and she welcomed us in and she was so prepared! She is so inquisitive and so sincere. She's great.

Another Miracle: Great day, out walking on a street of which we felt so prompted to walk. Beatrice, a 17 year old girl from our ward was out with us for the day. It was an incredible day. I started talking to this wonderful man, now investigator, Steven. He's black, baptist, and the happiest most positive and energetic man ever. He is so sincere too. He asked so many questions about the Book of Mormon and the Spirit touched his heart upon hearing the First Vision. While I was talking to him, Sister Carter and Beatrice talked to Peter, a great man from Ghana. We set up a time with them and taught him Sunday with the Starks. He is so prepared too! And so humble. Gosh. I love this work!! I am so grateful to be part of this work.

LOVE SISTER JULIA

Our new coats!

Arnold's baptism :)

I love them!

                              Our district

11-5-12 Hurricane Sandy was not so bad for us in DC!!

DAD MOM RYAN RACHELLE LIZA DONG and my fellow friends

Hello!! Hurricane Sandy was not nearly as bad as we had prepared for here in DC, which was a blessing. The hurricane was basically just really windy and rainy. We didn't get hit hard at all.   But those in New York and New Jersey didn't  fair as well. Our stake is sending coats, clothes, boots, and gift cards - of which the missionaries will have the opportunity to hand out to both members and nonmembers in need. We weren't allowed to work while the storm was passing through, and after sitting in our apartment too long for sanity, we escaped to the Starks home where we were able to teach their two darling grandchildren (both who aren't members) about our Savior.

I love this work. Our teaching pool was starting to look rather slim this week, so Sister Carter and I knelt down in prayer to our dear Father in Heaven, asking and pleading that He would guide us to those who He had prepared, those ready to receive this gospel. It was so remarkable. We went out, bundled up in our wonderful new eskimo coats. God led us, clearly and gently, guiding us to the houses and the streets we needed to go to. Our righteous desires to find and teach were answered. We were welcomed into several homes where we were able to teach some incredible people! It was miraculous. They were each so prepared. How marvelous is our Father!

Expect answers. He has promised that He WILL answer. "If ye will not harden your hearts and ask me in faith, BELIEVING THAT YE SHALL RECEIVE, with diligence in keeping my commandments, SURELY these things shall be made known unto you." (1 Nephi 15). I love our dear Father in Heaven. He lives and He loves us. I will serve Him forever.

LOVE SISTER JULIA JEPPSEN

10-29-12 Hurricane Sandy is Coming! Thanks for Gifts!

DAD MOM RYAN RACHELLE LIZA EMMA DONG and my incredible friends

Hello! I cannot even begin to describe just how loved I have felt - especially this past week. I have received so many packages and letters my entire mission without fail, and it brings such a great assurance to know that Heavenly Father has blessed me with family and friends that care about me and think of me, when really I deserve none of your love. How grateful I am for each of you! Thank you for the blanket, the McDonald's gift card, the candy and mints, the food, the vitamins, the pictures, the letters of love and encouragement, the updates and jokes, the stories and miracles. Thank you thank you thank you, each and every one of you! Melissa, Lexi, my dear sweet ward, brother Givens, my beloved mother and family, my dear friends. All of you. Thank you. And I never cease to be amazed of God's great mercy and love, for He still continues to place His incredible, selfless, and valiant children along my path. The members and investigators here treat me as if I were their own and they show deep and genuine concern and love for us. I am in awe. For Christ's love is evident by each of your actions and I am humbled to be the recipient of such charity. I know that I will never be able to make up for all the sacrifices you have made for me, but I hope I will be able to show just how much I appreciate and love each of you one day - tho I am aware it will take the eternities to do it. 

Ok, now the latest weather update here in Northern Virginia. HURRICANE!!  Its about to hit.   Hurricane Sandy/Frankenstorm. It is going to be Crazy! We've had a dozen phone calls from our dear ward members concerned about our well being - making sure we have food storage, 72 hour packs, coats, equipment, radios, and all the survival necessities. I love the members here. They are so fantastic. I am not kidding, we've had a gabilllion phone calls from different members making sure we're all prepared and safe. They really are such incredible people, especially the Starks. We're so blessed to know them.  We are in our apartment and are all prepared.  We will let you know how it goes!!  We pray everyone will be safe!  

So Arnold is a super hero. He went from smoking 30 cigs and drinking 5 cups a coffee a day to smoking 4 cigs and 1 cup of coffee a day in just 2 weeks. But, Sister Carter and I realized that in order to be baptized the 7th, he has to be completely clean a week before - which happens to be this Wednesday. We called our dear friend Arnold and told him the situation, and he said "Ok. I will do it." When he came to church the next day, he told us he threw out all his cigarettes and coffee and committed himself to being perfectly clean, and perfectly obedient :) Oh, he is so great! His poor head pounding with a headache, he never once complained. His smile was as big as ever for he was so excited to be living the Word of Wisdom in its fullness. We had a lesson with him after church where he had a priesthood blessing. While watching the Joseph Smith: Prophet of the Restoration movie with him a few weeks earlier, he was most powerfully struck by the Spirit when he witnessed Joseph Smith healing the sick by the power of God. I love our Father in Heaven. As soon as Brother Zeledon placed his hands on his head, his headache stopped, his body no longer aching in withdrawal. In awe and great gratitude, Arnold was able to testify that he knew that this church does in deed have the power and authority our Lord and Savior, Jesus Christ. He lives and He loves us. How honored I am to witness His power, I will forever praise and glorify Him.

Guess what! For halloween we get to watch a disney movie!!!!!! :D Hazah!

LOVE SISTER JULIA JEPPSEN

10-22-12 Thank you for being "His" hands, freshman volleyball girls!!!

DAD MOM RY RACHELLE LIZA EMMA and fellow friends that I love so dearly

Emma, I cannot even begin to describe how amazed I am by you and your team. For not only looking outward and recognizing our sweet and most beloved and precious friend Aubrey, but for reaching out to her and making her feel just how loved and important she is. Thank you for being like our Savior. Thank you for being His hands! I am in awe and I truly am honored to be your sister. And how great is our Heavenly Father - when we follow His example, we are so very blessed! FRESHMAN CHAMPIONS!!! OODALLALEY!! And someone tell Aubrey I love her and miss her and that she's the greatest volleyball coach/player/inspiration in the whole wide world. 

So lots of parties this week! Well this entire month actually. The Emords, this wonderful family in our ward, basically threw down a couple grand on this giant Halloween party where the whole ward came along with all their non member friends. It was great! We met lots of great people and potential investigators. Then the Saturday was Centreville Day - where different businesses and churches open little booths and everyone walks around. Kinda like Art in the Park... but less artsy. Brother and Sister Stark are wonderful. And so are the Nantos. We had our little booth set up where we offered free family pictures (of which we will gladly deliver to their homes) and candy and tons of flyers and things for our church. Heavenly Father is so wonderful, a few especially prepared people were sent to us and we were able to talk with them. God is great!

We love Binh so much. He took us out to some fancy restaurant - of which we are certain that was extremely expensive and we felt very bad and grateful all at the same time. Then the next day we went to the temple with him and the Elders of the singles ward. We feel at peace passing him, tho its hard to let him go. But Heavenly Father knows what he needs and we're excited to do His will. The temple was marvelous. He couldn't stop saying just how incredible he felt. The spirit was so powerful and he felt it. Something really cool that Sister Carter's dad told her is that if you are feeling the spirit, point it out to them. And if they aren't feeling it, then command them to feel it - for you have the authority to do so. It's been incredible to be able to experience this power of our dear Father several times this week. How great is our God!

Zone conference was incredible. President Riggs so boldly and lovingly told us, "I have had a vision of us teaching by the Spirit. Without a doubt, I have had a vision." As his sons and daughters, as his Elders and Sisters, it is our opportunity to receive the same vision as he - just as Nephi did with his father's vision. 1 Nephi 10:17-19; 11:1. Nephi desired that he might see, hear and know the things which his father saw. He believed that the Lord was able to make it known unto him by the power of the Holy Ghost, so he sought diligently, reading the scriptures, remembering the Lord's dealings with those that had gone before him, earnestly praying, pondering. How wonderful it is that we can see, hear, and know, that we can understand the interpretation of his vision, that we can know how we can help our members seek and receive revelation from God, to help them in their efforts to bless the lives of those that they know and love. And how wondrous it has been! 

So one of the members we've been visiting is our dear stake president, President Hilton is so wonderful. I am in awe of his great love for each of us and for the Lord. Each week we come, they have more revelation to give us. Its wonderful to see them so excited about this work and to see their great faith in God's promise that when we ask, we will receive. They expect and know that they will have revelation for us each week. Well, they felt like they should have us visit the McIntyre family. We had been trying to catch them, and finally were able to this week. And surely it was revelation from God that President and Sister Hilton had received to refer them to us, for they were so prepared! Jim had actually read some of the Book of Mormon this month while staying at the Marriot and both him and his wife were eager (and when I say eager and mean really eager) to meet with us. They are going to be out of town for a while, Jim will be back the 15th but Maureen - who will be returning the 30th of this month asked if she could see us even before Jim returns! How glorious! I will never cease to be amazed by the great goodness and love of our God. 

I love you each so very much. My dear 

LOVE SISTER JULIA

APs Elder Mackwenkwe and Westover

The Temple

Temple visit with Binh

Bear Grills

10-15-12 Luis/ Live as if everything is a miracle!

DAD MOM RYAN RACHELLE LIZA DONG and friends

Hello again my fellow loved ones :) LUIS WAS BAPTIZED!! OODALALLEY!!! I love Luis So much! It really has been such a privilege to be able to witness his conversion, to watch his countenance change completely. There were countless miracles God performed every step of the way. And it was really amazing to see him change. When we first started seeing him, he was into a lot anti-mormon literature and caught up in different things of the world. We could tell when he had spent his time on the internet, for his eyes were dark, they appeared cloudy even. But how great is our Father in Heaven! The power of the Holy Ghost is so incredible, it is penetrating and transforming. As he cleaved to the Book of Mormon, as he cried unto the Father for forgiveness and for strength, as he opened his heart and his mind, letting go of every doubt and gratification, his eyes became brighter and brighter, and this weekend, as he came out of the waters, his entire countenance seemed to be radiating light! He is so happy, so grateful, so excited and eager to serve, to help, to lift, and to love. Our ward is fantastic. I love them so much. I really am so grateful to our Father in Heaven to have been so graciously welcomed into their arms. And not only me, but Luis and Arnold, and Sue, and Binh. They are so kind, so loving, so giving - and surely they have opened their eyes to observe, then serve, offering everything they can to help. I love them. And I love Luis.

Miracle lesson with Sue - our wonderful Chinese friend!! Its been a real struggle teaching her, for reasons that need not be explained. But oh how we love her! She is so great. She is always so excited and eager to come to any and every activity we invite her to. We felt prompted to watch Joseph: Prophet of the Restoration with her (thanks to you Momma for sending it to us via the Starks) and afterward, we taught the Restoration again - but this time using paper and pen, drawing out the things we were teaching her. And she got it!! She didn't get distracted once!!! It really was such a miracle!! She's been very afraid and confused about baptism, but she's getting it and she said in church after watching Luis both be baptized then confirmed - "I need to prepare myself for this!!" haha Heavenly Father knows and loves His children!! 

Oh, and I love Arnold. SOOO much! 

I wanted to share with you a thought inspired by my former AP, Elder Johnson. When we consider our bodies, our movement, our speech, our minds, our eyes, our hearts - though they appear to function effortlessly and with ease, its marvelous to consider just how complex and incredible they are! Every heart beat is a miracle, and yet so easily overlooked and forgotten. But just because people aren't anxiously awaiting in eager anticipation for the next move a heart will make, is it any less of a miracle? Albert Einstein once said "There are only two ways to live your life. One is as though nothing is a miracle. The other is as though everything is a miracle." How often do we treat our days like a heartbeat? How often do we overlook the miracles around us because we aren't humble enough to open our eyes and see? 

In chapter 29, Alma cries out, saying "O that I were an angel, and could have the wish of mine heart, that I might go forth and speak with the trump of God, with a voice to shake the earth, and cry repentance unto EVERY people! Yea, I would declare unto EVERY soul, as with the voice of thunder, repentance and the plan of redemption, that they should repent and come unto our God, that there might not be more sorrow upon all the face of the earth. But behold, I am a man, and do sin in my wish; for I ought to be content with the things which the Lord hath allotted unto me." Elder Johnson said, "I sin in my wish to do more than I am able; to expect over bearing miracles at every corner. I have come to realize that every person I talk to and every door I knock is a heartbeat; easily forgotten, but a miracle that keeps me going."

Its sad, that people don't seem to appreciate the quiet, but steady beat their heart makes until it beats no more. One day, my mission will end. One day, Liza, you'll no longer be at home, with the family we love so dearly. One day, Emma, you won't have a wonderful piano teacher - patiently working with you, shaping you into the incredible pianist you have become. One day Ryan, Shelly, you'll no longer be in dental school, no longer with the family. Dad, Mom, one day your house will be empty and your children grown. This doesn't mean we should look to the future with lamenting, but rather the opposite! We should look forward with excitement and with hope, for how great are the miracles and the blessings we have now, how great are the miracles and the blessings to come!

President Riggs is having us rely heavily on the members. With our new and marvelous commandment given us by President from our Father in Heaven, we are sacrificing much of our tracting time in order to visit the members of our ward, following up with them every week to see what revelation they have received as to how we can help them in their efforts to bless the lives of their friends and family with this incredible gospel. Fear and doubt are definitely big factors that keep us from doing the Lord's work. But if you love our Father in Heaven, if you truly appreciate all that our Savior has done for us, we won't hesitate, we won't return to our comfortable and original ways, but we will pray for revelation and go about, doing good and inviting others to learn. We can't let Satan keep us back, we can't let him lull us into a sense of security. Seek for revelation, and act on it! Heavenly Father can't trust us with the eternal salvation of His precious children if we have not the faith or the willingness to act. And its ok if you are rejected, Christ was too. Our beloved Apostle, Elder Holland said, "Don't you quit. You keep walking. You keep trying. There is help and happiness ahead. Some blessings come soon, some come late, and some don't come until heaven. But for those who embrace the gospel of Jesus Christ they come. It will be all right in the end. Trust God and believe in the good things to come..." "So we have neighbors to bless, children to protect, the poor to lift up, and the truth to defend. We have wrongs to make right, truths to share, and good to do. In short we have a life of devoted discipleship to give in demonstrating our love of the Lord. We can't quit and we can't go back. After and encounter with the living Son of the living God, nothing is ever again to be as it was before... Having set our hand to the plough, we will never look back until this work is finished and love of God and neighbor rules the world." This work, missionary work, is the MOST IMPORTANT work we can be doing. Members and missionaries work hand in hand. Cast in your lines everyone as Elder Heffrie Dunn said. And together we will do the work of our Father, bringing in thousands through the net we have formed.

I love you. With all my heart. 

LOVE, SISTER JULIA JEPPSEN

 Its beginning to look a lot like CHRISTMAS!!! ok.. maybe just an extremely cold Halloween

Luis :)

Sister Nanto - the sweetest most wonderful Japanese member :) Her house is basically Japan. She's got the most incredible garden in all of Virginia! Oh and she brings us endless supplies of grapes cuz she's great

 Starks and Luis

10-8-12 Conference is Equivalent to Christmas!

DAD MOM RYAN RACHELLE LIZA EMMA DONG and friends

Why hello my lovely fambly! General Conference was INCREDIBLE!!! Conference is equivalent to Christmas as a missionary. Its so wonderful to watch the prophet, to experience the authority and power of God with these wonderful people who you have been teaching about the priesthood and about Christ's restored church. Its marvelous. And oh my goodness gracious! Liza!!! You can serve a mission in ONE YEAR!!! AHHHHHHHH!!!!! I am so excited to see what Heavenly Father has in store for you! He may call you to serve, He may not. Either way - His plan will be the very best for you :) I'll start praying that you'll know what He would have you do.

So - the Starks came by!!! I LOVE the Starks :) They are so wonderful. We love them so very much. I'm so glad you were able to meet them and that they were able to meet you! I felt so close to you as she realyed the splendid time she shared with you. She even mentioned Emma's bed/living room hut hahaha. 

Elder Holland's talk was incredible. I never want to be the person I once was. I love our Father in Heaven and I never want to go back. And how grateful I am for our Savior! Because of Him, we never have to.

Lexi and Melissa and Jimmy have all gone through the temple!! How wonderful :) I look forward to the day when we can all go through together! 

There have been so many incredible miracles!! Luis is getting baptized on Saturday - the 13th. And Satan is working extra hard on him. But Heavenly Father is aware and He has provided miracle after miracle to keep him strong, to strengthen his faith! This is His work, His glory. And how blessed an opportunity it is to witness His hand in our lives.

Have I told you about Arnold? Oh my word. I absolutely LOVE Arnold. He is this older man, half Pakistan, half European. And He is the jolliest, happiest, most positive man in the world. He works on the AutoTrain - that runs all the way to Florida so he works 3 days on, then has 2 days off. But God is so great and knew that Arnold needed to come to conference with us - so of course, God gets him Sunday work off! And the first thing Arnold does is call us :) Gosh, I adore him. How great is our Father in Heaven, how merciful and how kind! He loves us and wants the best for us. Arnold says that never before has he thought so much about God, and never before has he felt so full, so loved and so right.

Everyone - have you been praying for revelation as to what you can have the missionaries do to help bless the lives of your family, your loved ones, your neighbors, and friends? Pray, seek, observe, serve, act, do, baptize! Be the hands for our Savior in bringing His precious children home to our Father in Heaven! 

Please oh please send church music! If you could send CD's that wound be wonderful. Does David Archeletta have a CD of church hymns? or just Christmas music.

LOVE SISTER JULIA JEPPSEN

Pat was baptized!!! I love him!!!

 I love Sister Carter.

 I love Arnold

Trip To DC with Elder Gronning and Cluff

9-17-12 Powerful Word of Wisdom/ Always Reach Heavenward

DAD MOM RYAN RACHELLEY ELIZA EMMDONG... and guests :)

Another GLORIOUS week!

I love our Father in Heaven!! Sister Carter and I were really sick - and I am so very grateful! What a blessing it was that we were sick together, that we had the chance to bond with one another in unity, to suffer and endure with one another through complete exhaustion and sickness. I love her so much! It was wonderful

We had a miraculous lesson with the Seipels this week. We have been preparing for this lesson with the Seipels for weeks, studying, praying, practicing, and fasting - for we knew that the Word of Wisdom would be a very pivotal lesson for them, as we were anticipating the large possibility of getting screamed at and kicked out of their house. It was marvelous to witness the matchless power of God in EVERY aspect of the lesson! God made it possible for us to go to heir house earlier in the day to help Sharon clean out the kitchen and refrigerator. She opened up, saying it was time for a fresh start as we threw out food expired 4 years ago, when her son Sam died!!!  The house hasn't been cleaned since Sam passed away... and they have 10+ pets... Then our fabulous ward mission leader - Brother Stark (who's wife is from Boulder City!! - they're going to be visiting next month, so I gave them our address and number :D Expect a visit) had been insisting on meeting them, so we invited him and his wife to join us for the lesson, which surely was divinely arranged. The lesson was remarkable. We went into the lesson, handing everything over to God, having done all that we could, trusting in Him completely. We had no fear. God was with us, His angels were before us and round about us, bearing us up. And we knew that He would give us the words. And He did. He did not fail us. I wish I could explain everything that happened in that lesson, I wish you could have experienced it with me. But it was absolutely incredible. As we leeway-ed into the Word of Wisdom, it was as if Sharon's tongue was tied. We were able to teach John the entire thing, and he was so excited! He's been reading the Book of Mormon, he's been praying, and as we taught him this precious commandment, he eagerly and faithfully committed to changing, to living this law - even tho he knew it would be hard. Then when we turned to Sharon, to ask her if she would live the Word of Wisdom - it was as tho there had been a fog over her mind for those few minutes. She didn't remember any of it! She started yelling at us, asking us why we would bring this up all of the sudden and why we were attacking her - accusing her of drinking alcohol while John has his coffee addiction. She thought we had been talking to John behind her back, that we had been plotting against her. We were all caught a little of guard, John, Angela, Brother and Sister Stark, and us. Everyone assured her that we had just talked about this with John, that this was the first time we had ever spoken of it with him. It was crazy. And then we asked John if he would like a priesthood blessing - and he did! He lit up when we told him that he could hold God's power too, that he can bless his family and others too after he is baptized. Then Angela asked for one! She wanted a blessing so that she can know which church to be baptized in. Sharon refused. But oh how miraculous that lesson was!! There are like a million more crazy miracles God performed for that lesson too, but too little time to write them. When we got into the car, Sister Carter and I crashed. We were so weak and exhausted, our sickness bearing down heavily all at once - it was wonderful! We didn't feel sick at all through the whole thing. God is so glorious, so powerful, so merciful, so wise! I love Him with every fiber of my being.

Have I told you about Chris and Adam? (Chris Borg and Adam Pollard) They are simply wonderful. They are these two 18/19 year old boys, recently out of high school. One day, we felt impressed to go to our dinner appointment early. We did, and we found Chris across the street, watering his lawn. He was great. We set up a time, and we've been teaching him and his best friend ever since. They've come to church and have been fellow-shipped into the ward so beautifully. I love our ward! The members are fantastic. The ward had gone into a lull, where they lost their missionary focus for a few years. But its been so cool to see them change! The entire ward has just become so missionary work focused! I love them so much!! We taught them the Word of Wisdom this week too, and its wonderful to see just how prepared they are. They have been raised smoking tobacco, smoking weed, drinking alcohol - every day. Its all they know. But its so cool to see them so eagerly and willingly want to change, because they know there is more to life. They crave what we have! We went through and made goals with them for cutting back and they are excited to change. Goodness, they are great! I love them! And God loves them so much, I can feel it. Its so powerful!

Ray Royal was baptized :) And we got to go through the temple with Sister Meier and President Riggs! Oh how I love the temple. 

SPIRITUAL THOUGHT: 2 Nephi 28:20-30 We should never get comfortable with where we are at. There is so much to be had, so much room for improvement. Its exciting!! We should never stop reaching heavenward, stretching ourselves, changing ourselves, aligning ourselves with our Savior. We must never be "at ease in Zion," we must never think "we have received, and we need no more," that "we have enough." I never want to be the person I once was. And I never have to be, as long as I remember! The Book of Mormon is constantly exhorting us to remember! Do not fall back into your old ways, change - and become a new person through our Savior. Don't look back but look forward, look outward, look heavenward.

I love each and every one of you with all my heart, with all the energy of my soul. My precious family, ward family, and friends. 

Glory to God, our Eternal Father in Heaven!

LOVE SISTER JEPPSEN

Goodbye Sister Meier!

Elder Gronning! He's our wonderful district leader and he's from Vegas, from Eldorado Valley Stake!! We love him so much! He's hilarious. He's going to be the greatest Dad.

 Brother and Sister Stark! She's from Boulder City and will be visiting in October! 

Temple with President Riggs. He is so wonderful, and just so powerful! I love being near him

Chris and Adam!! They are GREAT!

                                             Ray Royal is baptized!!!!!!! WOOOHOOO! 

9-10-12 Luis / Jorge near pond / Let's Be Humble!!!

DAD MOM RYAN RACHELLE LIZA DONG and all other loved ones

Dad is an Alcatrazian swimmer man!! HOOORAY!! And Liza and Emma Dong are volleyballing winners of sorts! I'm.. so... happay! Ryan... he's a Dentist (flirtatious fat lady despicable metian smile). And Rachelle! Did you shave Chloedogs hair like that?!??! Who did it?! she looks... GREAT! 

Everyone. Spoil Dad this month! It's his month! OODALLALLEY! Birthday boy on Sunday. Someone - tell Kyle to take him on a 51 mile bike ride the day before his day of birth! And quick fetch me a tricycle! 

So I absolutely love Sister Carter and Sister Meier. I'm as happy as a clam! Sister Meier leaves us tomorrow morning tho, to start her second mission in South Carolina. Crazy! Sister Carter and I are going to get bikes tho, of which I am VERY excited!! I've missed my trusty cow. 

Miracles are still on a down pour! I need to tell you about Luis Rios. He's this short, older Puerto Rican man who has lived in New York for a long time before coming here. He is absolutely incredible. We found him tracting and he has been very interested from the moment we met him. He loves our Savior. He understands the importance of doing all that we can do, that we shouldn't passively live our life, but we must actively be seeking to learn more about our Father in Heaven. He's been devouring the Book of Mormon, just soaking it all up! And he is going to be baptized the 29th! Its been incredible to watch him grasp the truth, to see him advance in his understanding of the gospel. He's so excited to be baptized! He is wonderful because he has let God make him into the man he is and he still is letting Him continue to transform him. 

One day, God, being as great as God is, led us to this pond, where we saw this man sitting in the grass reading. We approached him and we saw that he was reading the Bible! It was such a beautiful day and this man - Jorge Campers - was so open and so prepared as he sat studying the scriptures, admiring the beauty of God's creations. It was remarkable. He is so ready! We've continued to meet with him at the pond as we've taught him, for the Spirit is just so strong there. 

In Helaman 12:3-7 it says "And thus we see that except the Lord doth chasten his people with many afflictions... they will not remember him." It is so sad to see just how forgetful we are! I do not want to wait to be compelled to humility, chastened to remember Him. But I want to choose to be humble, I don't ever want to forget the miracles I've seen, the promises He's kept, the blessings I've received! It made me think and reflect: What are I forgetting? What do I need to remember? I love personal revelation :) Don't limit yourself, but let God give every blessing He has prepared for you! Do all that you can to follow Him, to be obedient, to ask, to work, to live so that you can receive all that He has in store.

Ashley has gone missing. We can't get a hold of her and no one is ever home... We're hoping she's not back in the hospital. And pray for the Seipels.. Satan's working very hard.

Oh and Ray Royall (from Shirlington) is getting baptized on Saturday!!!!! :) 

Glory to God!

LOVE SISTER JULIA JEPPSEN

3 McDonalds Cones

Jorge Campers and the beautiful pond

 Luis Rios is amazing

Sara Muso and her granddaughter from Sudan