Hello everyone! I'm so sorry it's been a while since I've written. It's been so busy around here. I can't quite remember everything I have said so far so I'm sorry if it's a bit repetitive. Also, once again if you are reading this and not a member of the LDS faith, please do not get offended when I may say things like I know this gospel is true, this is just my story of my experiences here and I know that what you believe is just as true to you. I love you all!
So it has been a crazy first two weeks. I have the coolest cat around as a companion she is so funny. She reminds me so much of McCall. We take the work very seriously as we should be we know how to have fun. This message we have to share with others- that God lives and the gospel of Jesus Christ is on the earth today- is a glorious message. We should be smiling when we speak of it and there's no reason to be absolutely happy. We do however see hard things everyday, difficult things going around everywhere wherever we go we see poverty and crime but we carry a message of hope so we don't allow ourselves to get discouraged. Christ has said that everyone will get a chance to hear of the gospel and to accept or reject it. Time to humans is a funny thing. Just because they haven't heard or accepted it today or even tomorrow all is well. In due time they will and no one will be deprived of that chance to hear about it. So all we can do is try to share this message with everyone we meet and someday all will know. Missions are wonderful. I've been thinking that to people that are not LDS and maybe even to some who are a year and a half to two years to be doing this may seem like a long time. And yes, it is a fraction of "the time of our lives" our prime or what have you. This is the exact time to be going to school, deciding what we want to do with our lives and everything like that. So why "so long"? (It really isn't THAT long). Well here's the thing, we're not just "going" on a mission or "serving" a mission. We are set apart as disciples of Christ for a period of our lives to be his disciples full time. What good would it do us to do it for a day or a week or even a couple months. We'd just come and go and it'd be over. But this a serious cause. The greatest cause in the whole universe to be a part of- sharing that message I mentioned above. To be that voice of hope and to change lives. So here's why it has to be 18 or 24 months. It takes time to change lives. People don't just go to bed as one person and wake up a new one. It takes the atonement (faith, repentance, baptism & sacrament, and enduring to the end) and enduring to the end doesn't mean just for now, this is a life long thing! The people that we meet and teach need time to learn and to grow in faith as do we. And that's really the whole point I am trying to make here is that last sentence- it takes time to change, heal, grow in faith. Really, it takes our whole lives. But this time now a mission is the catylist. It's where growth takes place the fastest to change who we are and to become who we will be for the rest of our lives. I see this each day in myself and others. I get frustrated with myself because I know the Sister Fjeldsted I should be isn't the one I am today. I am no where near that. I'm bad at listening, talking, expressing myself, being confident, being charitable. I'm human and I'm bad at these things. But I know that I have a year and a half as well as the rest of my life to get there so in the mean time I just have to focus on the thing I need to do each day to get there and it will come with time. I know the Lord trusts me though. I'm the only one out of everyone who came who got a trainer that's been out for 6 weeks. That does not happen. We have no clue what we're doing most of the time to be honest haha. We are babies in things pertaining to the mission. I have seen though that our reliance on the Lord and on the Holy Ghost is very strong which has been a blessing. We also have a wonderful district, district leader, ward mission leader, and mission president and we couldn't do things if it wasn't for them. sister Baum's last companion/ trainer is also amazing so sometimes we bug her and call her up if we have questions. After all, she is her "mom" and my "grandma" haha. (since she trained sister Baum and sister Baum is training me). Her name is Sister Flemming and she is also from Minnesota and also went to BYU-Idaho. How funny is that!
Okay now missionary work. We have a baptism! As of right now it should be this Saturday! Her name is Alexzandria and she is amazing. She is 22 and grew up in fostercare and homeless at times too. She has such great faith and a sweet spirit. It hasn't been easy but life isn't easy. I taught her starting my first full day in the mission field and loved her the day I met her. I'm so proud of her and so excited for what her future now holds. We also had an interesting episode teaching people in a mental institution. Let's just say we love them dearly as we love everyone but things didn't go over so well and we won't be able to teach them any more. People in those places have the sweetest spirits and I'm so excited for them to learn about the gospel in the next life if they have limitations now in fully comprehending and accepting it now. We see miracles each and every day and are so very blessed. Sister Baum and I pray all the time through out the day and it has been such a blessing. I feel so guilty of not praying as much before going on my mission. I was proud of myself before if I remembered both morning and night but that isn't how it's supposed to be. We're supposed to pray all the time through out the day thanking our Heavenly Father and asking him for guidance every step of the way throughout all the day. Routine prayers just aren't enough.
Sister Baum and I have had some disappointments and gone through some hard times since we've been here but remembering what it is we are out here for gets us through it all. East L.A. is a ROUGH place to be. When I got my call I admittedly was a bit disappointed that I wasn't sent foreign because I wanted a huge trial. I wanted something tough. I wanted to be stuck in a jungle not knowing how to speak the language. But then I realized that's an adventurous trial. Not one of struggling with helping people receive the gospel of Jesus Christ. This is so much more difficult. Hard is telling someone they have to do things they never could imagine to chance their lives around to follow Christ. Hard is telling them these things when I have a roof over my head and I don't deserve this. Hard means telling them these things when I'm younger than them and inexperienced in the eyes of the world. Hard is telling them things that you don't want to but the Holy Ghost is telling you they need to hear these things if they are ever going to change. Hard is telling this all to someone out side their home on a busy sidewalk in the dark in East L.A. because everyone else they live with is smoking pot inside. That's rough. Going to a jungle wouldn't be as hard for me. It would be more like an adventure and a vacation. And we still do deal with some things like that. We got bed bugs but all is well. When we say at night sleep tight don't let the bed bugs bite we actually mean it haha. But amist all this this is the best thing that has ever happened to me. Living the Doctrine of Christ (faith, repentance, baptism & taking the sacrament & renewing/ keeping our covenants, and enduring to the end) and sharing this with others and serving them is the ONLY way to find joy and happiness. So even when things are absolutely rough and it seems like things are difficult somehow you're happy and it doesn't feel so hard because Christ is there with you every step of the way.
One more thing I thought of today. I think I am the first Sister Fjeldsted of this generation. We have a sister Rackleff and have had a sister McKinley but I think I'm the first sister Fjeldsted and if madison doesn't serve a mission I will also be the first the last and the only haha. Kind of funny. I guess that makes me the first one since Aunt Christa. It's a blessing to be more than just Chelsey but Sister Fjeldsted, a disciple of God. I also know I couldn't have served a mission because almost NO ONE here can even say my name. Imagine being in Africa or Korea with the name like Fjeldsted. Yeah right. Americans can't even do it. I had a teacher though in the MTC that served in Norway and she knew how to say my name and even knew what it meant! How awesome! It made my day. I tell people here I'm either Sister Fjeldsted the way we grew up saying it- like "Fell-sted" or sometimes I try to say it the "right way" like "Fee-yell-sted". So half of the people I meet hear me say my name one way and the other I say it differently. It's probably really annoying and they probably think I have an identity crisis I try to always say it the way I think it is more correct but since I grew up saying it differently, out of habit I don't always remember. Oh well. Maybe I'll get it down by the time I come home. And then hopefully I'll get married and I'll never have to worry about it ever again. Haha. Just kidding I do love our last name.
Well my time is very much up but I will write again next week. I love and miss you all. Christ loves you and he lives so smile today and help someone else smile. Love you,
So it has been a crazy first two weeks. I have the coolest cat around as a companion she is so funny. She reminds me so much of McCall. We take the work very seriously as we should be we know how to have fun. This message we have to share with others- that God lives and the gospel of Jesus Christ is on the earth today- is a glorious message. We should be smiling when we speak of it and there's no reason to be absolutely happy. We do however see hard things everyday, difficult things going around everywhere wherever we go we see poverty and crime but we carry a message of hope so we don't allow ourselves to get discouraged. Christ has said that everyone will get a chance to hear of the gospel and to accept or reject it. Time to humans is a funny thing. Just because they haven't heard or accepted it today or even tomorrow all is well. In due time they will and no one will be deprived of that chance to hear about it. So all we can do is try to share this message with everyone we meet and someday all will know. Missions are wonderful. I've been thinking that to people that are not LDS and maybe even to some who are a year and a half to two years to be doing this may seem like a long time. And yes, it is a fraction of "the time of our lives" our prime or what have you. This is the exact time to be going to school, deciding what we want to do with our lives and everything like that. So why "so long"? (It really isn't THAT long). Well here's the thing, we're not just "going" on a mission or "serving" a mission. We are set apart as disciples of Christ for a period of our lives to be his disciples full time. What good would it do us to do it for a day or a week or even a couple months. We'd just come and go and it'd be over. But this a serious cause. The greatest cause in the whole universe to be a part of- sharing that message I mentioned above. To be that voice of hope and to change lives. So here's why it has to be 18 or 24 months. It takes time to change lives. People don't just go to bed as one person and wake up a new one. It takes the atonement (faith, repentance, baptism & sacrament, and enduring to the end) and enduring to the end doesn't mean just for now, this is a life long thing! The people that we meet and teach need time to learn and to grow in faith as do we. And that's really the whole point I am trying to make here is that last sentence- it takes time to change, heal, grow in faith. Really, it takes our whole lives. But this time now a mission is the catylist. It's where growth takes place the fastest to change who we are and to become who we will be for the rest of our lives. I see this each day in myself and others. I get frustrated with myself because I know the Sister Fjeldsted I should be isn't the one I am today. I am no where near that. I'm bad at listening, talking, expressing myself, being confident, being charitable. I'm human and I'm bad at these things. But I know that I have a year and a half as well as the rest of my life to get there so in the mean time I just have to focus on the thing I need to do each day to get there and it will come with time. I know the Lord trusts me though. I'm the only one out of everyone who came who got a trainer that's been out for 6 weeks. That does not happen. We have no clue what we're doing most of the time to be honest haha. We are babies in things pertaining to the mission. I have seen though that our reliance on the Lord and on the Holy Ghost is very strong which has been a blessing. We also have a wonderful district, district leader, ward mission leader, and mission president and we couldn't do things if it wasn't for them. sister Baum's last companion/ trainer is also amazing so sometimes we bug her and call her up if we have questions. After all, she is her "mom" and my "grandma" haha. (since she trained sister Baum and sister Baum is training me). Her name is Sister Flemming and she is also from Minnesota and also went to BYU-Idaho. How funny is that!
Okay now missionary work. We have a baptism! As of right now it should be this Saturday! Her name is Alexzandria and she is amazing. She is 22 and grew up in fostercare and homeless at times too. She has such great faith and a sweet spirit. It hasn't been easy but life isn't easy. I taught her starting my first full day in the mission field and loved her the day I met her. I'm so proud of her and so excited for what her future now holds. We also had an interesting episode teaching people in a mental institution. Let's just say we love them dearly as we love everyone but things didn't go over so well and we won't be able to teach them any more. People in those places have the sweetest spirits and I'm so excited for them to learn about the gospel in the next life if they have limitations now in fully comprehending and accepting it now. We see miracles each and every day and are so very blessed. Sister Baum and I pray all the time through out the day and it has been such a blessing. I feel so guilty of not praying as much before going on my mission. I was proud of myself before if I remembered both morning and night but that isn't how it's supposed to be. We're supposed to pray all the time through out the day thanking our Heavenly Father and asking him for guidance every step of the way throughout all the day. Routine prayers just aren't enough.
Sister Baum and I have had some disappointments and gone through some hard times since we've been here but remembering what it is we are out here for gets us through it all. East L.A. is a ROUGH place to be. When I got my call I admittedly was a bit disappointed that I wasn't sent foreign because I wanted a huge trial. I wanted something tough. I wanted to be stuck in a jungle not knowing how to speak the language. But then I realized that's an adventurous trial. Not one of struggling with helping people receive the gospel of Jesus Christ. This is so much more difficult. Hard is telling someone they have to do things they never could imagine to chance their lives around to follow Christ. Hard is telling them these things when I have a roof over my head and I don't deserve this. Hard means telling them these things when I'm younger than them and inexperienced in the eyes of the world. Hard is telling them things that you don't want to but the Holy Ghost is telling you they need to hear these things if they are ever going to change. Hard is telling this all to someone out side their home on a busy sidewalk in the dark in East L.A. because everyone else they live with is smoking pot inside. That's rough. Going to a jungle wouldn't be as hard for me. It would be more like an adventure and a vacation. And we still do deal with some things like that. We got bed bugs but all is well. When we say at night sleep tight don't let the bed bugs bite we actually mean it haha. But amist all this this is the best thing that has ever happened to me. Living the Doctrine of Christ (faith, repentance, baptism & taking the sacrament & renewing/ keeping our covenants, and enduring to the end) and sharing this with others and serving them is the ONLY way to find joy and happiness. So even when things are absolutely rough and it seems like things are difficult somehow you're happy and it doesn't feel so hard because Christ is there with you every step of the way.
One more thing I thought of today. I think I am the first Sister Fjeldsted of this generation. We have a sister Rackleff and have had a sister McKinley but I think I'm the first sister Fjeldsted and if madison doesn't serve a mission I will also be the first the last and the only haha. Kind of funny. I guess that makes me the first one since Aunt Christa. It's a blessing to be more than just Chelsey but Sister Fjeldsted, a disciple of God. I also know I couldn't have served a mission because almost NO ONE here can even say my name. Imagine being in Africa or Korea with the name like Fjeldsted. Yeah right. Americans can't even do it. I had a teacher though in the MTC that served in Norway and she knew how to say my name and even knew what it meant! How awesome! It made my day. I tell people here I'm either Sister Fjeldsted the way we grew up saying it- like "Fell-sted" or sometimes I try to say it the "right way" like "Fee-yell-sted". So half of the people I meet hear me say my name one way and the other I say it differently. It's probably really annoying and they probably think I have an identity crisis I try to always say it the way I think it is more correct but since I grew up saying it differently, out of habit I don't always remember. Oh well. Maybe I'll get it down by the time I come home. And then hopefully I'll get married and I'll never have to worry about it ever again. Haha. Just kidding I do love our last name.
Well my time is very much up but I will write again next week. I love and miss you all. Christ loves you and he lives so smile today and help someone else smile. Love you,
Sister Fjeldsted
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