Hi everyone! This is OLIVIA, Isabelle's sister. I administer her blog and she wanted me to tell everyone thank you so much for the great comments and feedback. She loves what she is doing and is so happy she could help you all out! The question she has received the most is IF people should serve. Here is her advice!

Ok soooo I gave my 50 cents to those who are preparing for a mission...

This week I got some sweet letters from a few readers who have been deciding whether or not to serve.

Super. Duper. Normal

I had the same problem. 

Growing up I was convinced sister missionaries were not the coolest things going. If it wasnt the 6:30 am wakeup call that scared me, it was the wardrobe. The life of a missionary looked wayyy too stressful and too much for me to handle.

I wasn't one who could quote scripture, I'd normally choose to recite the 1st article of faith if I had to read one. My testimony was strong and personal, but not one that I shared too often.

The best advice I can give anyone who is thinking of serving or concerned is..

The lord sometimes does not need to command us in all things. 

There is a power in us as young women ( and men if reading this) with the ability to decide for ourselves. 

We know what's right for us and the lord knows that! Our service would OF COURSE be supported and admired by him.

Sometimes we don't need a message from heaven to help motivate us to serve.

If anyone has fears of serving... don't.

Missions are not scary.. Hair pulling.. What in the world am I doing here experiences!!

There are absolutely no negative results of a mission unless you are disobedient.

There is nothing more valuable and important in life that I know I could be doing right now.

I put alot of things on hold to serve..a great job.. relationships..school..dance.

Yes, alot of those things I've lost along the way.

However, I know that god has and will bless me even more for my service.

Things I've learned out here are lessons I could learn in no other place than on a mission. 

Times where I maybe needed to be alone to learn to draw closer to no one but the lord.

Missions are hard..no doubt about that. 
But you WILL experience more TRUE JOY then you knew possible. 

Everyday is exciting in someway when you count the little miracles. 

Fear is not a attribute of the holy ghost. If you have bad feelings towards serving..that may not be your answer. 

Service isn't for everyone.. 

I know multiple people that prayed and knew that god had other plans for them
Suppose you decide not to go. Have a ring on your finger or something just didn't work out. 

That does not mean you cannot be a missionary.

Anyone that has served a mission can tell you.

.the missionary spirit does not stop when you remove your name tag at the end of two years. 

The lord asks us all to do missionary work before, during and after a mission.

How?
Give referrals to the missionaries
Invite non member or less active frends to come to dinner and meet with the missionaries
Bring friends to mutual or institute
Post your testimony on imamormon.org
Volunteer at the MTC
Go on joint teaches with missionaries

Every member a missionary
Tag or no tag  

xo, Sister D

Street Smart

Being a sister missionary comes with a many special little moments that I have come to appreciate and laugh about. 

I'm beginning discussing this post about elders. 

Love em. Can't do it without em. Super duper great guys. 

But their questions sometimes...haha

I've compiled a list of my all time favorite questions elders have asked me throughout my last 9 months....enjoy

" it's 100%cotton.. will it shrink?"
" how do you make an omelet?"
" if you could be a exotic tropical animal what would you be?"
" is preparation-h a girl product?"

'' does ham fried rice require ham?"
" can you bake brownies for a baptism....by tomorrow?"
" does blue and black go together?"
" how do I chop a carrot?"
" (at mtc) my companions parents were killed in a freak fire accident, 

he's homeless and doesn't smile but he would smile if you wrote him..

well his parents are alive but he would still smile if you would"
" can you do something useful for District Meeting like play the piano..or bake?"
" Suppose I was going to buy a facial mask..which would I buy?"
" have you ever heard of my band? The nephitez"
- Yes... Nephitez with a Z
" what about brown and black?"
" do you think she will wait for me?"
" if you were one.. what would girls like for birthday gifts?.."

'' did i tell you my marching band won state?.... 4 times''
" what does this tie say about me?"
" I see your getting lucky charms for breakfast.. Does that make your lucky? I think so..because we just met"
" if a dragon attacked the MTC right now what would you do?? Baptize as many people as you can before he catches you?"
-....I replied....I would probably walk home!

Bless their hearts. 

Haha but for real elders really are a big blessing in this work! 

Working side by side with them I've learned so much. 

ESP. How to ask insanely weird questions. 

Well now onto the next one 
Ohhhhh this week was a beautiful mess. 

This week holds the record for scariest mission experience yet!!

So sister Warncke and I were heading back from the church late Saturday night and waiting at the old hauptbahnhopf for our train home.

I noticed an Indian man staring..smiling being as creepy as possible. 

So we walked down the track a ways..only to have him follow.

 He got on his phone and began walking closer to us.

We didn't wanna wait another second with that creepercreep. So we said forgggeeeet it and started hauling and hopped on a random train headed the same direction as home. I was sitting on the train and looked out my window and...HES STANDING RIGHT THERE DIRECTLY 2 feet from the window staring at me. FREAKING MICHAEL MEYERS STATUS

We stand up and ran to the end of the train and got a new seat. 

But to our luck the train just sat there...chillin

Once the doors shut coincidentally in walked 2 big Indian men and looked around then walked towards us, 

and sat right DIRECTLY across from us in the row.

We decided to see what would happen if we faked to get off the train and see if anyone followed. We stood by the door and faked to leave the train but hopped back in at last second. 

My companion and I looked back in a mirror and noticed those two Indian men quickly stand up, 

and walk to the back of the train.
To the FIRST MAN! SNEAKY BUGGER! He was hiding..

they signaled him and they all hopped off the train together..

We totally dodged and watched as they hopped out of the train door and looked around.. One noticed we were still in the train and tapped the other two.. they didn't look very amused that we outsmarted them..

SHOOT

Sooo sketchy. That's like Taken part 2. German style right there. OrIndian style.. I wondered what BIG HOW would do as the father in that situation.... Well thank goodness nothing happened. Love you dad!

Either way I'm super glad all of my cop t.v series watching paid off and avoided having our faces on a milk carton.

Street smart 

It was a hard one this week! But that's becoming quite ordinary for me..

This week held lots of new challenges but I'm embracing and learning more and more daily how to draw nearer to god during times of trial. 

I truly felt all of the prayers in behalf of my health this week. 

Im getting great help from the doctors here and my compycomp is playing mom!

I knowwwwww and testify that God answers prayers.

One very critical thing I've had to learn is to not pray for things to change...

but pray for the strength to carry on and to accept new challenges..

Accepting the will of God in all things and trusting in him has made all the difference in my life and my mission. 

The work is going so great here! We have been spending alot of time strengthening our new members and getting them integrated into the gemeinde (ward) and callings in the church. We did lots of finding this week and found a few solid people were super excited to get working with! There are soooooo many people prepared and waiting to hear the gospel... now we just gotta find them..

Line of the week:

Me: Were from the church of jesus christ of...

Man: Utah

Me: Excuse me!?

Man: Your from Utah

Comp: I'm from Germany

Man: but she is from Utah

Me: NO were from the church of jesus christ of latter day saints

Man:  English speaker

Comp: I speak German

Me: Me too

Man: I don't want your book

THEN WHY DID YOU NOT SAY THAT SOONER!?

--Bella

(p.s. these blog posts are not posted by Sister D they are posted by her sis Olivia )

 there are some days you will catch the elders and find it better not to ask questions...

Things I Wish I Would've Known: Part 2

I'm a little in shock I was able to go viral with that last blog post!! 

I know I needed all the advice I could get before I left!

And now that I know it helped over 18,000 of you ladies out there getting ready to serve the Lord I'd be happy to add some more!! 

Tide to go pen. 
If your anywhere near as clumsy as I am..it'll feel like you bought clothes pre-stained. 
There are days you won't make it home or to a bathroom till 930pm. These little geniuses save your life..

Keep your "DORK DOT" you will soon learn what that is and the significance of it upon arrival in the MTC! 
This convenient neon orange dot will be placed on your name tag within seconds of arriving. Notifying everyone on campus 
" I'M NEW AND I'M FREAKING OUT". In turn you get 2,000 friendly waves and lots of help. Stick it on the back of your badge at the end of the day as a fun reminder of your first day! 

Or..... Re-stick it on the front of your name tag every Wednesday when new missionaries arrive again..to feel special and get help from people like I did....every Wednesday...for 9 weeks. 

Purchase PREACH MY GOSPEL in your native language right away and begin studying. I'd like to introduce you to your new best friend for the next 18 months. 

This is one book that you can not put off studying and spark note the answers the day of the test like I managed to do through all of schooling. 
(there is also no Internet use as a missionary:) ) 

Study it. Learn it. Apply it. Love it

Memorize " Our Purpose" in the first chapter. You will be asked to memorize it on your mission! Get a head start 

Go to bed at 10:30pm for a month leading up to your mission to help your body adjust to the new time. It avoids you sitting staring at those MTC cement ceilings counting sheep, naming apostles and counting how many times the book of mormon says " and it came to pass" ...like I did. You will appreciate every single second of sleep 

Be OBEDIENT...need I say more? EXACT obedience brings SPECIFIC blessings. 
We only have 18 months to serve..but eternity to think about it 

Dry shampoo... Better known as a gift from heaven for women none the less sister missionaries. Germany is humid.. or let's face it.. there are some mornings your desire to shower is that of laman and lemuels desire to be righteous. 

Spray a little Dry Shampoo on your roots and your set. FOOL PROOF.. What others know won't hurt em. 

When you go to the temple..bring a few dollars and eat in the temple cafe.. The food is way good and sometimes you'll need to mix it up

Go to the salad bar line in the MTC ...order a tortilla...just put cheese on it and microwave it..my genius invention and life saver when they serve hamburgers ( which is 6 out of 7 days)

Hand Sanitizer.. Go to bath and body works and purchase a few mini hand sanitizers. You will shake on average of 100 hands a day in the field with NoOoOoOoOoOo idea where they've been. Keepin it clean

Icy hot..used as much as normal lotion

If your a caffeine/diet coke addict........begin the detox asap. This will avoid lots of problems with receiving packages that get caught in the mail room from friends trying to sneak you in your daily dosage.
And migraines 

If your learning a language and have a while to wait..start learning. Buy Rosetta stone, find a Russian for dummies book. The second you walk into your MTC classroom you'll wonder whether your in the Chinese or Albanian classroom and have no idea what's up or down. 

Go buy a small pocket dictionary in the language your learning. I started from page 1 and slowly put a dash through words I learn! 

Also... Find and download Disney movie songs in your language or Christmas music. You already know all the words in the English version.. It helps your vocab and grammar etc! And who doesn't love some Disney.. avoid love songs..= trunky

Buy a fresh new set of scriptures for your mission. I love my set I grew up with. But some days my Dr. Seuss looking flowers i drew in it and 8 year old thoughts don't really...move me. 
It's been inspiring to write down new thoughts and inspiration that I received from the second I was set apart as missionary. 

Forget yourself. This work isn't about you...it's about the Lord and his children. It's not about learning a new language, going to a cool tropical place or getting an 18 month break from drama and boys...or are those the same thing? 

Moving on

A small to do..
My MTC teacher said something that really stuck with me. There will be no time in your life than RIGHT NOW that you are closer to God, and know better or more clear what you want to do. Write down somewhere ideas, dreams and goals you have for both mission and post mission life. Having such a list helps keep an RM busy and not going stir crazy wondering what to do next. I tried it and am already to 100! Don't worry mom...getting married made the list

You do not need to purchase anything on the allowed reading list ( unless you want to mark and personally own it). EVERY apartment I've lived it on the mission has owned 10 Jesus the Christ's.. 7 my heritage etc..

And how I look at it...less books more room for clothes. 

Lose yourself. This work is not one that you can wade your feet in. You'll soon realize that everyday demands your very best. Be prepared to give your all..and some. In doing so the satisfaction that will come I can promise you will be unmeasurable. 

Write in the back of your Book of Mormon the date of every time you began and finished it on your mission. A friend referred this tip to me. And I've loved also adding a sentence or two about how my testimony was strengthened each time. 

A nice water bottle..or if your going somewhere where the water is skeptical buy a water bottle with a filter! I have a " bobble" water bottle or " Purita" also works great! You can find them at target, bed bath and beyond etc..

The name of the store I mentioned in last weeks post is in Draper, Utah is called The Sweetest Thingz (416 East 12300 South) this is where you can find the extender slips with lace to add length to any dress or skirt! 

Stickers....lots of stickers. Children flock to you every Sunday and on the streets asking for stickers. Deseret book, scrapbook store

If you wanna get fancy get a stamp for your return address of your mission home for your letters you send. 

A photo a day. I take a photo a day on my mission. Fun way to know what happened

A sister gave me this tip.. If you have a difficult companion sometimes, speaking up or having a dreadful comp inventory can seem impossible. Carry around tic tacs and every time your companion gets a little stressed, irritated, mean,  just offer her a tic tac and she will eventually catch on! And everyone likes good breath 

Put sticky notes in the back of your planner. Every time you make out an appointment, give an investigator a reading assignment or commitment write it down for them! Ive had companions do this one and now I do. Some people forget the second you walk out the door, they show up on Tuesday at 1 when you told them Saturday at 7. 

Put chocolate in your mailbox when you leave in the morning... So that you never walk away unhappy! And at the end of the day when you reach inside your mailbox there is always something in there for you! Whoever said happiness cannot be bought...has never eaten German chocolate. 

Exercise in the 2M gym under the bookstore. It's a little more private and alot nicer! With treadmills etc! They also play the Joseph Smith movie on repeat! You can run and get in a workout or lay lifeless on a yoga mat like me and enjoy the show with some popcorn!

Reading:
David A Bednar " Revelation"
Turning outwards

Begin your Mormon.org profile. It's a requirement to make one in the MTC. It would've been helpful to get started earlier and have time to really say what I wanted. 

If your name is Marlin...please do me a favor and write:
Hi...my name Is Marlin.. I'm a clownfish..and a Mormon  
   
Stay away from the MTC orange juice..it gives everyone crazy nightmares and makes ya ill 

When in a crowded group of missionaries at the MTC yell out " ELDERRRRR" and just watch...and enjoy. 

Find missionaries in your area and request to be a joint teach! They will not say no! We beg for joint teaches! The best thing to do... Is DO IT

I've noticed on my mission..Satan truly works the hardest on those that he knows is capable of making the biggest difference in building this kingdom..but you know who also knows that?

Your father in heaven. He called you to do his work because he TRUSTS YOU 

A few years back I was someone who would have bet everything I owned that I would not be where I am today. I made so many mistakes...spent more time running from seminary teachers ( literally) than learning from them. But I know the atonement is REAL. My words I felt would never be enough to describe what this beautiful message deserves...

God does not ask us to be perfect. But to give our best..and he fills in the rest. 

Last...don't freak out!!! The set preparation isn't accomplished by packing perfectly or being prepared with everything from bandages to 18 months worth of toothpaste. 
The best preparation you can do for your mission is prepare spiritually..

Girls we runnnnnn thiss...

I Don't Speak English

There's no more awkward of a feeling then going out tracting and speaking to someone on the street who speaks 

no German, no English or any other neighboring language. 

But Spanish..

And your german companion rather fluently shows a hidden freak talent, and gives the 1st lesson in Spanish and you just sit there..

Smiling

Nodding

Saying "SI" when I felt it was necessary to contribute....

Well on the bright side. If anybody asks what the theme song for TRIX cereal is or wants to know the American Pledge of Allegiance in Spanish. I got em. 

Team America

Thanks for nothing High School Spanish education program 

Well I do take fault... You do have to go to class in order to learn yayayaaaaaaa whatevvva


Moving forward.

This week it was an Elders Birthday and to celebrate on pday we all went to an old castle looking place and ate at a cool medieval cellar.  

The menu was in old German which made it hard to read... So I just pointed and ordered. 

Only to find out I ordered and ate......baby cow. Crap. 

So sad. 
Well It could've been worse. I realized the other one I would've picked would've been liver..

A small ice age hit Germany! So cold outside.. 

Tracting is kindof hysterical.. People look at us like were crazy people when we stop them on the street... just wanting to chit chat about God. 
I can only imagine how weird I look with only my eyes visible, walking backwards to avoid wind chill, 
jumping up and down to find circulation in my feet and waddling like a duck because I have so many layers on. 

I had to resort to wearing sweatpants under a skirt this week!! 

Who am I?
I'm a freak I'm a weirdooo

I'm shoving hand warmerse.v.e.r.y.w.h.e.r.e

Francesco and Xin are both happier than ever as new members of the church! 

Yesterday Francesco received the priesthood in church and one hour later he passed the sacrament!! and lemme tell ya...

Oh. My. Gosh. 

Best thing I've ever seen. Francesco wouldn't let go of the tray! No one told him otherwise. So row by row he would squeeze past people and individually give it to everyone on the bench. 
Ahhhhh best thing ever..
so proud he killed it!  

We begun teaching his brother Ari ( pronounced in a french accent: awwwwrreee ) this week. 
In the middle of a lesson Francesco stops and looks at me and goes..

Sister Diederich......do you know who the singer 50 cent is?

Uhmm....of course but Francesco let's go back to the lesson. 

Francesco then proceeds to rap the words:
GO
GO
GO
GO
GO
SHAWTY IT'S YOUR BIRTHDAY
Well I completely lost it. 

My companion having never heard the song and being confused whether or not it was my birthday or not just sat there as I struggled to pull myself back together. Ahhh I love Francesco.

Seeing as how we baptized our only progressing investigators. Right now were in a crazy building phase.  
( Like wandering the streets, stalking members for referrals, or saying "ok well come back tomorrow when you think of someone"  hahaha )

Where's Waldo at its finest
This week we had zone training and interviews with the President Kosak.. He is such an amazing guy I always get super nervous and shaky when I'm around him and stutter in German. 

During our interview he asked the usual questions. How I'm doing?...what I'm studying?.. How's the work?... 
Then he asked me a personal question concerning how I keep motivated and what I do to strive to accomplish one baptism a transfer. 

Well.. I cannot remember what it was that I said..or how I said it. But he just sat there...staring.. Circled my name a few times and put some exclamation marks down by my name in his notebook
...( not that I was peeking )

Later when he gave his message to all of the missionaries he quoted me twice and asked me to share what I taught him. 

I was dumbstruck. 

Uhm... If anyone knows who my mission president is they know he's like the smartest gospel wiz known to mankind. 
This is like teaching yoda something! 

I was on cloud 9 all week after that! To know that something I said meant enough to him to be shared. 

After a day like that and hearing that my blog was shared with so many and enjoyed makes me know i am making a difference somehow.

That's what is beautiful about this work.. 
You may never know who your testimony influenced, or where that one Book of Mormon ended up.
But also as long as your sharing both.. There is not a single day that goes to waste when your on a misson! 

Missions and life in general have sooooo many trials and heartache.. Sometimes when we are facing
what seems to be overbearing we feel lostand on our own..

Remember.. We are never alone.. 

The Teacher is always silent during a test..


Line of the week:

Me: ( in german )
Hello were talking to people about the Book of Mormon we were wondering if you would like to learn more about the truth and message this book has to offer. 

Man: sorry I don't speak English

Me: good, that's why i just said it in German. -_-

hahaha real quick
gotta share the best quote I've heard in a long time:

" tell someone you love them today, because life is short. But shout it at them in German, because life is also terrifying and confusing"

Deceiving

That awkward moment whhhhhhhhhen your waiting at hauptbanhof in the middle of a small hurricane waiting for your street train, 
and along comes a large semi truck that drives through a backed up drain and causes atidal wave to completely knock you and your companion out. 

Hahahahahahahahhaha we were dyinggg it was the most embarrassing thing in the world but we couldn't stop laughing enough to be upset. 
So instead we took shelter and stood by filming as we watched other unknowing victims stand in the exact same spot and get taken out hahahaha 
unfortunately no other semis came alone to make a good enough splash but we got some good footage!


This week we managed to meet with lots of old investigators who went wheres waldo on us.. Chocolate appointments are always the BEST appointments!

This week we had an appointment with Karstan.
He is a bob marley loving, photography junkie, college student annnnnd a vegan. 

Trendy.

But just great and a good guy! However his favorite topic isssssnt really the gospel hahaha.... Yet

So to lure him back in to meeting us again, we invited him to our centrum to play"fussball" (that little soccer game with the rods that I hate because I always kick it in the wrong goal)

He was super stoked and pretty confident in himself. Soooooo to make it a little bit more interesting we bet him that if he lost he had to come to church next Sunday hahaha. 

Little did he know Sister Warncke is like reigning champion in kicker (fussball) And she kicked his butt..

See you in your Sunday finest Karstan. 

Friday night we were sitting out on our porch with a candle and like 200 blankets for fun and ended up burning the edges of my planner...
.which in turn caught it on fire...
which made me drop it onto other papers....
which caught on fire...

which created smoke that alerted our kermit crab neighbor who came running over to ask if we knew something on our porch was on fire SHOOT

However 

On the BRIGHT SIDE our neighbor who never comes out of her apartment is ironically an ex-member.....and this little encounter counts as making contact....which is progress... 

Bringing them back to the fold one fire at a time

We are seeing miracles over here in Germany!!! That german mission reputation is changin! 

We baptized Xin this weekend! He is just the sweetest little thing! His testimony is the strongest most simple thing I've ever heard.
 He was truly someone that was prepared for this gospel. 

His baptism was early Saturday morning and it was beautiful! The elders filled the font but we just couldn't figure out how to make the water warm.. 
It was bitter cold but that didn't stop Xin. 

I cant quite describe the feeling watching someone who you grew to love so much be baptized. I'll never forget these last few weeks! 

After Xin came up out of the water he stood there for one minute with his eyes shut, and stood there completely silent with the biggest grin on his face. He was just glowing! 

We took him out to get lunch after and he just kept saying how haaaappppy he was!
I just cannot wait until he becomes the Bishop in the China 1,179th ward! 

Building the kingdom!

The joy a mission brings is unlike anything in this world! Missions are HARD. 

There comes days where you physically emotionally and spiritually can NOT do it again. 
But every morning " like an army" at 6:30 in the morning when we kneel down to pray as missionaries we receive renewed strength and hope. 

We work harder, hit the pavement even harder and later that night crash harder than the night before. 

As of late I am a believer of the saying:

"Miracles do not come until after the trial of your faith.."
Everyone has hardships and everyone is fighting a battle that we don't know about. 

But its not our downfalls or trials that make us into who were meant to be.  

What defines us is how well we rise after falling


Line of the week:

Elder: Sister Warncke you are pretty smart and don't need to wear your glasses to make you look that way!

Sister Warncke: Well looks can be conceiving

Me: 




Dyyyyyiiiiiing rolling on the floor in tears not breathing laughing 

D E C E I V I N G


I discovered the communication problem between Warncke and I. Germans do nooooooot understand sarcasm. 

me: " geeez it wasn't cold outside or anything" 
warncke: what!? Yes it was I am freezing are you crazy!?



Sarcasm. I wont give up until she laughs with me! She is the best! I am blessed!

I love this work...

I sent my mom a post to put on my blog and facebook for all future sister missionaries! A helpful list of what I wish I would have known and what to bring on the mission! take a look if you would like...www.bellainberlin.blogspot.com

I Wish I Would've Known

THINGS I WISH SOMEONE WOULD'VE TOLD ME BEFORE I LEFT FOR MY MISSION




Bring:

A lanyard for the MTC.. They give you a little card to get you in and out of buildings and you use it 200 times a day. And lanyards just look cute...My mom bought me a Vera Bradley one and also she sent some to my 2 companions at the MTC. You can get them up at Bloomingsales at Foothill.

A memory USB port for pics to store from other missionaries/yourself

Good old Dr.scholls shoe inserts

Your own sheets. The ones in apartments are disgusting. And the ones at the MTC should be outlawed and burned

Nail stuff to keep your nails up/ keep you sane

A small photo book of home for your purse. EVERYONE and their dog asks to see that

A Candle. Apartments stink like prehistoric elders

Rolling luggage. You'll be alone for transfers. Luggage you can push is so helpful!

A calender with pics from home to write down birthdays since a mission is a time warp-my mom made mine at Costco online and each month has a different picture of family and friends with birthdays written in for me.

Decorations for walls. Cute quotes etc. Makes it feel like home 

A small recipe book of your FAV recipes of your moms etc. You get cravings out here and will need to know how to make them! I also have been putting in recipes that I learn here!!

Print out from pinterest 30 minute workouts. Morning sport can be pretty pointless if not

An alarm clock that doesn't make you want to kill yourself. Or your companion 

Bring a copy of your patriarchal blessing you can laminate and shrink it in the MTC for like .40 cents. Nice to carry in your scriptures 

An address book for home and mission people

A spiritual journal. For firesides and conference etc

Your young women medallion...it's a good conversation starter

A watch!

Have family send you your favorite snacks. If your anywhere near to as picky of an eater as I am you will get ill from 9 weeks of 19 year old boy food at the MTC.  You literally eat then sit then eat then sit at the MTC. Microwave Popcorn saved my life.. 

Or have my mom explain to yours just HOW IN THE WORLD she managed to sneak in through UPS same day MTC service, cafe rio, the dodo, blue lemon, great harvest, Pei Wei and baked goods..

A comfy blanket from home. I am always wrapped up in mine the second we get home 

A study journal for scriptures and PMG (Preach my Gospel)

Personal stationary 

A backpack AND a purse trust me!!!! Some days your back needs a break! And plus backpacks make everyone look like hobbits


Hold onto every letter! Send them home. You'll want to keep them! ESP the creepy ones

I don't know if it's just a German missionary tradition but we have these " tschuss books" and it's like a diary you give to missionaries you meet and they write in it with pics of fun memories or a cute note/ uplifting message and addresses for after mission life!!!! It's a Fun Thing to do..
start the tradition there!!!!!

SLEEPING PILLS!!!!!!  Ibuprofen PM is probably the best with no side effects.. melatonin results in insanely awful dreams.. 
those first nights at the empty sea (MTC) you will need sleeping pills! Between the mix of girls crying and panic that will keep you up all night. They will save your life! And when you go abroad it helps you adjust quicker 

Your own towels and hand towels. Once again...the ones in your apartment were most likely used by elders 20 years ago 

You can buy them at the MTC. They sell black and white tight cap sleeve shade shirts!!!!!! Buy both. !!!!!!! It'll save your life. There's so many cute tops I didn't buy that i wish I would have because  they cut down low...but these shade shirt make everything work! Hella Utah mom status

H&M ballet flats are probably the comfiest shoes I brought. They also sell some with a hard back but get them! ( if you take scissors and snip into the shoe like a half an inch right in the back stitching where the heel is it helps give it more pull and relieves chance of blisters)

A nice BIG bottle of ibuprofen

If you going abroad.....tampons. They just don't understand that in other places. God bless America  

Scarfs...they make you feel not so worthless when you have to repeat outfits over and over and over again

Learn how to sew by hand.. Everything rips chips and tears


NO you don't need those " super comfortable" Mary Jane walking shoes. These shoes eventually make you delusional to think they look cute somehow. NO. Stay AWAY. There are better options!!!! 

Write down one miracle that happens every single day

A small mirror for your bag. You go all day with just nooooo clue of what's happening

If you can play piano bring cool sheet music you like! If you don't play piano....better learn. On a mission you become the involuntary pianist if your name tag says " sister"

Best places I found stuff and skirts long enough

Anthropologie 
Lands End (ghetto but has long skirts)
Nordstrom
The Rack
H&M
Downeast... ashamed but yes
J.crew
Asos....online website my life secret but I'm willing to share it!! Best place ever
Target
Bohme 
Savers (someone elses junk can be your treasure) we found great blouses for 3.00



And last..... THE MIRACLE SLIP there is a store in draper Utah on 12300 south..
that sells a slip with lace on the bottom. Comes in cream and black. Buy both!!!!!! it makes every inappropriate skirt that barellllllly makes the cut work!! Cheatin' the system-also the Cotton Blossom clothing store in Holladay just started carrying them my mom says. They sell out fast!

And last

BREATHE. 

Remember he called you to this work because he trusts you. 18 months seriously flies byyyyyy. Do not count the time.. Make the time count!!!!!
The MTC was the hardest at first but has so far been the highlight on my mission!! There is no place in the world like it! I seriously miss it!!

I promise that as you serve the Lord, then your companion, then those around you and last yourself. You will find TRUE joy. 

If you have any other questions Facebook my mom and she will give you my email! 

Swaggggginthesisterhooooddd 

Thanks for deciding to serve. I needed help out here!!!! 

xo sister d