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

9-3-12 Three-some / Ashley / Heavenly Father's Love for us

DAD MOM RYAN RACHELLEY LIZA AND DING DONG and all my other loved ones

Hello! Our new Sister from temple square arrived Wednesday!! OODALLALEY!!! She is INCREDIBLE! And I love her so much. Her name is Sister (Victoria) Carter and she has been out for 10 months or so. She's from southern California and she is simply wonderful. Its been a ton of fun to be working in a three some. I love Sister Meier and Sister Carter so much and I thank God for allowing us to work with one another, to grow and to strengthen each other. Sister Meier gets her new mission call tomorrow!! Craziness

SOOO MANY MIRACLES!! This is God's work! We were stopping by a members home to follow up with her and see what revelation she had received from God for us, but she wasn't home. We also checked on her two neighbours that she had referred to us, but neither were home. As we were walking back to the car, all three of us were drawn to the house across the street. We knocked and spoke with the father of the house, Brian. He talked with us for a few minutes - expressing that he was far too busy to make time for church and he kindly turned us away. As we were walking away, his 24 year old daughter, Ashley Bogle, had ran from the house to meet us by the garage door. She desperately asked us if we were with a church and if we would be willing to talk to her. Let me tell you about Ashley. She has had a very, very hard life. She was just released from the psych ward, having had attempted committing suicide twice, suffering from Bipolar, depression, and many addictions and psychological ailments. She's been in a very dark, angry, miserable state for years and she was reaching out to us for help. She has never been taught about God and Jesus Christ and she craved to know more. She wants to change, she so desperately wants to be happy, and God sent us to her doorstep to help her. We sat on the doorstep and started teaching her and after the prayer, she was in tears. She she felt so different, that these tears were nothing like she had experienced before. It was such a powerful and miraculous experience. God loves her! He is aware of her and wants her to be happy. What an honor it is to be part of this work, to be able to love His precious children. 

The Seipels are struggling. When their oldest son Sam died, Sharon turned to alcohol to numb the pain. And because she is held captive by the alcohol, she and her family cannot progress. Its so heart breaking to see. If she would just turn to our Savior and let him heal her, how light will be her burden, how free from pain will she be, and how great will be the progression of their family! Keep them in your prayers. We're going to bring President Riggs with us to a lesson this week hopefully so that they can experience the power of the priesthood.

Sister Carter shared an incredible quote with us, and I couldn't help but weep as I read. Howard W Hunter said: 

"Our Father in heaven... loved his Son, Jesus Christ, better than Abraham ever loved Isaac, for our Father had with him his Son, our Redeemer, in the eternal worlds, faithful and true for ages, standing in a place of trust and honor, and the father loved him dearly and yet he allowed this well-beloved Son to descend from his place of glory and honor where millions did him homage, down to the earth, condescension that is not within the power of man to conceive. He came to receive the insult, the abuse and the crown of thorns. God heard the cry of his Son in that moment of great grief and agony, in the garden when, it is said, the pores of his body opened and drops of blood stood upon him, and he cried out "father, if thou be willing, remove this cup from me..." His Father looked on with great grief and agony over his Beloved son, until there seems to have come a moment when even our Savior cried out in despair, "My God, my God, why hast thou forsaken me?" In that hour I think I can see our dear Father behind the veil looking upon these dying struggles until even he could not endure it any longer, and, like the mother who bids farewell to her dying child, has to be taken out of the room, so as not to look upon the last struggles, so he bowed his head,, and hid in some part of the universe, his great heart, almost breaking for the love that he had for his Son. Oh , in that moment when he might have saved his Son, I thank him and praise him that he did not fail us, for he had not only love of his Son in mind, but he also had love for us. I rejoice that he did not interfere, and that his love for us made it possible for him to endure to look upon the sufferings of his Son and give him finally to us, our Savior and our Redeemer. Without him, without his sacrifice, we would have remained, and we never have come glorified into his presence. And so this is what it costs, in part, for our Father in Heaven to give the gift of his Son unto men."

I am so grateful for our Father in Heaven. My heart is so full in gratitude for His infinite love and mercy, His patience and compassion, His wisdom and power. How great is our God! Our Father in Heaven! This is His work and His glory, to bring to pass the immortality and eternal life of man. His whole purpose is for us to be happy, to have a fullness of joy! He loves us, more than we can comprehend. Pray to Him. Glorify Him. Ask for His help and His guidance. What a remarkable gift it is that we can talk to Him in prayer. This week I've really learned not to take prayer for granted. I want to be more like Enos - wrestling before God, praying all day and night, struggling in the Spirit, praying and laboring in ALL diligence (Enos 1). How many of us are praying like this? With ALL energy of heart? I know I have much to improve, and I am so grateful for our Lord, for allowing our Savior to atone for us so that we can change! I love repentance. I am so grateful for it! 

Little Thought: Many people say that they are too busy to learn more, to make time for God, to do the things He so lovingly beckons us to do. Another missionary said that BUSY stands for Bound Under Satan's Yoke. Powerful huh! We should put God first, He should be our focus, our priority. 

Good luck in school this week!! You are in my prayers. I truly do care about and love each and every one of you. I'm so excited that Sister Panda Lake will be with you soon! Love you!

Glory to God!

LOVE SISTER JULIA JEPPSEN

Sister Carter and Meier :)

This is Ashley - she is soooo great!

 I love my companions

Sharon and Angela haha.