Week 41: Watch out, Nevada! Another Hermana Underly is on her way:)

Hi fam! 

SHOUTOUT: to my sister Cassie for getting her call to NEVADA LAS VEGAS SPANISH SPEAKING MISSION! I cried and laughed and could NOT believe it. I am so happy for you cass! You will work wonders kid! 

This was a great week! I am still freaking out about Cassie and her mission call. I love how Heavenly Father works.

Monday we went bowling with our district. Only in Nevada would you bowl at a casino...Don't worry there was a separate entrance and it was only $1 SCORE...#poormissionaryprobs We had a ton of fun. We have an awesome district: super obedient and they all work so hard!

Tuesday we had an awesome lesson with Dalia and Sister Baldwin came with us and apparently Dalia had already been to our church before when she was about 5 years old and knew a member family from the ward!!! She even remembered the little pieces of bread and miniature cups of water!!! How cool that she remembered something so significant when she was so young! We met with a new investigator named Maria and she totally accepted the Book of Mormon. She was a student from our class but could not come because she was going through some difficult times. She invited us over because she knew we were spiritual and she was willing to listen to us and the message that we had to share! She was super sweet!  We also had dinner with the english sisters - Sister Grandy and Sister Stevenson. They rock. So we teach this english class at the church building in a classroom. We teach people from Nicaragua and Mexico! They love starting and ending each class with a prayer. One time we almost started a class without a prayer and one speaks up and says "wait shouldn't we pray before we start?" It was great. They are super curious to know what we believe. Wednesday we taught and taught and it was so hot! It was great!  Plans never go the way we want but we know that we are supposed to meet certain people- that Heavenly Father will place people in our paths or we will be placed in their path! 

Also....MY SISTER GOT HER MISSION CALL. I was so overjoyed! I will see you soon kid. 

Thursday we planned and planned. We just want to get this area rolling! We can feel that there are truly people prepared to accept the restored gospel! We had dinner with an investigator Cristina and her husband Jose and her brother Luis who actually moved to Nevada from TEXAS. That was pretty rad! They are HUGE Dallas Cowboys fans. There is only one other person I know who is the biggest dallas cowboys fan. Thursday we contacted a lot. If they were not interested we were like okay next. We just know that there are people ready to receive the blessings from the gospel! We just try to talk to everyone even if we may seem annoying but really we just love everyone and know the importance of this work and this gospel.

Friday we had our english class. One student named Edwin from Nicaragua was asking question after question: tithing and what we do as missionaries and about the church and what our chapel looks like. He asked to see it after class. So we did a church tour with them and they loved the chapel. They felt really at peace. They asked why we don't have images of Mary or Christ on the cross. They liked the fact that we focus more on how Christ lives! It was awesome! We are going to have dinner with one of our students this week!

Saturday we met this girl on the street. Her name is Sam and she is 17. She told us about her beliefs and how her dad passed away when she was younger. She wanted to know what happens. She was very receptive. We prayed with her and right after we prayed we were surrounded by Jehovah witnesses....I mean everywhere. We started walking away and prayed that Sam would be alright. We started to walk with people and talk with them all. It was great. We had a full day of finding and teaching. We had dinner with Hermana Hernandez. She is such an example of strength to me. 

Then we stopped by this boy Sebastian who is 15. He let us hold these cute puppies that were like 4 weeks old! So adorable! He is super receptive and wants to learn more! Sunday we had lunch with the Lopez family. A lot of our appointments fell through but we strive to stay positive! That is all we can do.

Also, President Hermansen is leaving tomorrow. Today was the last day to write him. I am so sad. But it is just a see you later. 

Something that I learned this week was about Jesus Christ and when he was teaching his apostles the sacrament. The last thing that he taught them before he went into the Garden of Gethsemane was to be converted and to strengthen thy brethren. LUKE 22:32

As members of the church WE must become more converted. The brethren in the church today are telling us to be more converted! Then as we are converted we are to strengthen others and lift them up in the gospel. I love that. Let us become more converted in the gospel of the TRUTH- the gospel of Jesus Christ! I know that when we have diligent daily scripture study and prayer and faithfully attend church that we may be more fully converted in the gospel of our Savior Jesus Christ. 

Until next week! 

Hermana Underly 

​Week 40-week full of miracles with Hermana Underly

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HOLA familia! 

Hope yall had a wonderful week full of bearing testimony and sharing your light with others! Also, I hope yall had a splendid Sunday celebrating Fathers and their divine purpose. :)

This week was seriously a week just packed with miracles!

Monday: We actually had an FHE movie night with some members of the Spanish group. We watched Meet the Mormons. That was the first time I had seen it. It was awesome! I loved what people said about us. That was funny. Also, I loved how it went throughout the world and the church is the SAME. My testimony of the church grew immensely. The church is the same in whatever part of the world you are. How AMAZING and INCREDIBLE is that? I love this gospel. It is so wonderful. So after the movie we had root beer floats and hot dogs. Adriana came and she loved it! She was so happy. It is so marvelous seeing how the gospel changes lives! 

Tuesday: WE had some amazing lessons with a man names Jose. He loves the Book of Mormon. He understands it super well. It is exciting to see someone read the Book of Mormon and just see their face light up when they understand it and when they apply it to their own lives! We also ran across some young girls about 8 and 9 years old. They had such great questions about the Creation and God. It was super neat to talk with them. They told us that they do not understand why people think we are annoying (haha, I laughed at that)...when we only share a message about Jesus Christ.

I love little children. I have come to understand more and more how Jesus Christ wants us to become like little children: meek and humble and submissive. That was a great experience. 

Wednesday: We did intercambios (exchanges). I was with Sister Christensen. She is super nice and positive. She had actually been in Carson the transfer before and so she knew where a lot of places were! I actually was not feeling too well so we went home for a bit. Then when I felt a little better, we decided to contact a referral that we received. As we knocked on the door a girl pulled up to the house. It was the girl that we were looking for: Mireya! She had actually just come home for a few minutes and had gotten off of work early.  So it was a total fluke that she was home when we were there! She was super receptive! She wanted to learn more! I was so excited after that. miracle! 

We then visited a recent convert named Gabe who is 18 and is the only member in his family. The rest of his family are Jehovah's witnesses. Crazy right? He has the strongest testimony. He told us he wants to bear his testimony at the next fast and testimony meeting! 

Thursday: We did some service for our investigator Adriana! We then taught this incredible investigator, Olga! She knows the Book of Mormon is true! She has so much faith. We see so much potential in her. We also had dinner with a recent convert, Filemon! We had dinner at Jack in the Box.(yum. You are right Uncle Bo those breakfast jacks are the best.) We read in 1 Nephi 8 about the tree of life! If you have not read that chapter in a while you should totally go read that. It is so powerful. 

Friday: We had another miracle! We met this awesome family. The kids are all baptized and strong in the gospel but the mom is not. They were so happy to see the sister missionaries and get to know us. We will be working with them more and more. The 10 year old boy said the most amazing prayer that I will never forget. The simplicity of a child never ceases to amaze me.

Saturday: A DAY FULL OF MIRACLES. We went out with Sister Shaffer! We met a ton of people and had some great lessons! We met this one lady Dalia. She wondered about death and where we go! Sister Shaffer prayed and by the end Dalia was in tears because she knew that God sent us to her! That was way neat. 

Also we went to the park to do some finding. There was a wedding, a birthday, and a volleyball tournament. Score! We talked with a ton of people there. We met this lady named Maria. She loved us from the moment we started talking to her. She began to cry because she too knew that we were sent by God to her. She said she liked to read. I gave her a Book of Mormon. She wanted God to teach her to know more! She was amazing. We shared such a special moment. 

Then we had a church tour with Adriana and her mom. We committed them both to be baptized. They are beyond prepared. They are both so excited to follow Jesus Christ in their lives. Denise (the mom) said that this is what has been missing from her life. Then we went to Hermana Hernandez! she made us homemade Pupusas! They are the best! Then we had english class! 

Sunday: Father's Day. Happy Birthday dad! I love you. This young boy spoke in sacrament on his father. It was the most beautiful talk I had ever heard. I did not translate it justice. Then we had Sunday school on prayer 100% service. We then taught Relief Society on prophets! We then went over to Adriana's for dinner. We had a great church tour with another super solid investigator, Jenifer! She loved it. We had a recent convert come with us. It is always amazing to talk about baptism and the sacrament. 

Well, I want you to know that this is the truth. This is the gospel of Jesus Christ. This is the way back to our Father in Heaven. I love this gospel with all my heart. I hope I am doing all I can to help Heavenly Father's children come unto Christ. I know we have a Prophet on the earth today who leads and guides us. I know that the Book of Mormon is true. I love you

Hermana Underly 

Sister Christensen

Week 39: Bittersweet Week with Hermana Underly

'Merica!

But, Texas forever!!!!!!  

HELLO HOLA mi familia y amigos

This week was such a bittersweet week. 

I will go over highlights from this week. 

Monday: we hung out with a recent convert, Ileana, on P-Day. We watched mormon messages like all day! It was a dream! She is super awesome. She is 21 and is so strong. Hermana Pearson, my CCM companion, taught and baptized her. 

Tuesday:  (ha, I'm not sure what happened to Tuesday's events...guess Hermana Underly got distracted:)  

Wednesday:  We helped Ileana move out and make some great changes in her life even when they are a bit difficult. I learned so much about the power of prayer and how aware Heavenly Father is of each and every one of us. It is truly marvelous to feel His love in those moments where we feel like we can't go on. I am grateful for Ileana and he example she is to me of strength and having courage. We then went over to this couple's home for dinner (we had breakfast for dinner!) They both served their missions. She served in Chile and he served in Spokane Washington! They both speak spanish!! It was super cool so see their relationship and just the way they were after they had both served missions. It gave me hope one day I can hopefully find someone (preferably RM) with that foundation.

Then we had Mama Hernandez come our with us and we went to visit some great families that we are teaching. The Cid family: mom, dad, 13 year old boy, Ramses, and 16 year old girl, Galilea. They are awesome! Then we taught another woman- Rosa. Mama Hernandez cleaned the dishes and served while we taught. She is so cute. She is so strong. Hermana Hernandez has a son serving his mission in Africa! We then went over to a less actives home to read the Book of Mormon.

He was reading in chapter 16 of 1st Nephi inthe Book of Mormon.   As we read I really had a change of heart. I am truly thankful for the example of Nephi as he responded when things got difficult. 

18 And it came to pass that as I, Nephi, went forth to slay food, behold, I did break my bow, which was made of fine steel; and after I did break my bow, behold, my brethren were angry with me because of the loss of my bow, for we did obtain no food.

 19 And it came to pass that we did return without food to our families, and being much fatigued, because of their journeying, they did suffer much for the want of food.

 20 And it came to pass that Laman and Lemuel and the sons of Ishmael did begin to murmur exceedingly, because of their sufferings and afflictions in the wilderness; and also my father began to murmur against the Lord his God; yea, and they were all exceedingly sorrowful, even that they did murmur against the Lord.

 21 Now it came to pass that I, Nephi, having been afflicted with my brethren because of the loss of my bow, and their bows having lost their springs, it began to be exceedingly difficult, yea, insomuch that we could obtain no food.

 22 And it came to pass that I, Nephi, did speak much unto my brethren, because they had hardened their hearts again, even unto complaining against the Lord their God.

 23 And it came to pass that I, Nephi, did make out of wood a bow, and out of a straight stick, an arrow; wherefore, I did arm myself with a bow and an arrow, with a sling and with stones. And I said unto my father: Whither shall I go to obtain food?

I love Nephi's positive attitude and faith that he had and continued to have during all of his afflictions. The Spirit touched my heart as we read those verses. 

Thursday: We had a great zone training. It was so powerful and I really learned a lot about how we can become truly converted and disciples of Christ. Zone trainings are the best! I feel so pumped every time. Ileana came with us to zone training. We talked about making the sabbath day a sacred day and delight. I learned even more about the atonement and how the sacrament is so sacred; how it's between us and Heavenly Father. It was incredible. 

After the zone training we had lunch. Then...we had to say goodbye to President and Sister Hermansen. This was very difficult for me. So their names are Dave and Cheryl...my own parents' names. They have taught me so much and shown such a tremendous amount of love to us missionaries. They called us one by one and gave us a letter and then we got to give our President and Sister Hermansen a hug. I love them so dearly. I will miss them. But it is only a see ya later. They are moving to Utah so it won't be too long until I can see them again. 

After that, we had an Hermana come out with us. Hermana Shaffer. She just got back from her mission the night before from... Oaxaca, Mexico!!! It was awesome to have her come out with us and teach! It was a great and bittersweet day. 

Friday: we planned. FUN. Then we went to find this new girl that we had met earlier this week. The girl's friend was over at her house. We started talking to her about the gospel. She seemed pretty interested. She had never seen missionaries like us before. Her name is Adriana. She is 15. She said that we could come over that night and teach her. WE were STUNNED. So, that night we taught her the restoration. She understood everything...very simply. It was great. She has always believed in God but never read the bible or anything. She wanted to get baptized in the catholic church because her boyfriends family is catholic.... We invited her to church. She really wanted to come.  She said that she had never felt this way before. Like she had had other church people come up to her and invite her to church but she never wanted to go. But with us she felt that it was different. She came to church Sunday. She LOVED it. She went to young womens and loved it. She felt that this church was real. She said that people came up to her and said hi to her. We visited Adriana that night with Ileana. Adriana's mom told us that Adriana was glowing when she got home from church. We invited her to be baptized. She accepted. July 18th. Adriana is super excited. MIRACLE. There really are people prepared to receive this gospel. 

Saturday: We biked ALL day. We had an awesome english class. This student of ours, Edwin, who is from Nicaragua, brought us pupusas! 

Also, Sunday: we went out with the English sister missionaries to do kind of a hand off lesson. Her name is Olga. She knows that the Book of Mormon is true. We invited her to be baptized. She said she would need to learn more but she would prepare to be baptized. It was AWESOME. She was impressed with our spanish. The english missionaries said that they would bring spanish missionaries. But when we showed up, Olga was thinking that we were going to be actual spanish speaking missionaries...not some gringas haha 

wow. halfway into the mission. I would not trade this experience for the world. 

I love you all

I love my Savior. 

Hermana Underly 

Love Hermana Lopez

the beauty of small and simple things

Hermana Barker and sister who came home from Mexico mission:)

Week 38...Just keep workin...Just keep workin... with Hermana Underly

 Silly girl...Texas girl at heart:) 

Hi! 

So this week on Pday we went and hiked "C-hill". It has a huge American flag. We went with Elders Gallini and Quinton and Ernesto and Ileana (recent convert). It was super fun. It was so hot and it is a desert here. Its great. We taught the Cuevas family that night about the Book of Mormon and why it is so important that we read it as a family and how we can come closer to God, our Heavenly Father.

Tuesday we had our district meeting. Elder Gallini, my friend from Texas, is my district leader. Weird. But cool. We then visited this awesome guy, Alejandro. He totally gets it which is cool! We then had a fondu patio party with the RS. That was awesome getting to know all the sisters in the ward. We then taught an english class at the church to some great people, members and non-members, the basics of english. It was really interesting and fun teaching these wonderful people english. I feel that english is more difficult to learn than spanish but I LOVE spanish.  

Anyways. tangent. We talked with everyone this week. I mean EVERYONE. It was super fun because we started knocking on some doors and I thought when am I ever going to get the chance to say "Hi I am a missionary from the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter Day Saints" NEVER. IT was so fun. Every time someone shut the door fairly quickly, my testimony just solidified more and more. It was great. Sister Barker and I had so much fun. 

Cool Story: we were trying to find this investigator of ours who is just AMAZING. She always works and we could never reach here. So we said a prayer right then and there in the middle of the street and prayed for a miracle. We did not find her that day. But the next day we were walking in the same spot where we prayed and she drove right by us and stopped. We got to talk with her, Genesis, and made an appointment! It was really a miracle. 

This other investigator that we have calls me and sister Barker Rapunzel and Belle and it basically makes our day. She is so sweet. We are teaching her, Monique, and her sisters Gracelyn and Elonia and their mom, Antoinette. We met them the day they moved in and they did not know why they moved to Carson....WE KNOW WHY. haha We went to visit them with Sister Hermansen and it was GREAT. 

Antoinette even stopped by the church on her way to work to check it out. Sunday was good. We had to cancel our spanish group and just combine. I translated. Then we had Sunday School  and then Relief Society (the women's meeting)  

I know that this gospel is true. This is what people are thirsting for. IMAGINE YOURSELF IN THE MIDDLE OF NEVADA AND YOU WANT WATER... the gospel is that water to quench your thirst and you need it now. you cannot wait any longer or else you will die. same concept. 

That is really all for this week. 

I love yall

Hermana Underly 

Hermana Barker!! My new Companion

Elder Gallini-my new District Leader-he's from Texas and we knew each other from EFY (Especially For Youth) a few years ago.  Small world in the Church:) 

Week 37: Farewell, Tahoe....Hello, Carson City:)

Happy Birthday mom! I love you and miss you every single day! 

Shoutout to my best friend Erika Hixon who heads to the MTC on Wednesday!! I love you and miss you but I will see you soon! 

Hello my dear friends and family whom I love, 

This was my first week here in Carson City. Well it is interesting to say the least. We live by a prison and a sewage plant. It is paradise. Mom, do not worry. My companion is Sister Barker. She is 19 years old and has 5 sisters and is the second oldest. She is from Virginia. She is 4 months into the mission. She has her cosmetology license. She is super caring and  thoughtful and way more mature than I am. She rocks. She is super patient with everyone and is such an incredible example to me.  She is very focused and obedient which I love. So she is great to say the least. 

Well we had a super busy and adventurous week here in the great land of nevada. Transfers was on Tuesday.Wednesday during personal study I had this silly thought about Elf the movie. You know when they are reciting in the classroom the rules of the elf: 1. Treat everyday like Christmas...I thought of one that relates to the Gospel. Well, everything relates to the gospel. 1. Treat everyone as Christ would 2. There's room for everyone on the nice list (celestial kingdom) 3. The best way to spread gospel cheer is bearing testimony for all to hear. So, yes it's a little lame but hey it is catchy. I am trying to live by these rules :)  

Thursday we had a ton of appointments. We did a lot of finding and found one of our cute investigators -- Giselle -- who has accepted baptism! She is 12 years old and is too sweet! That was cool going around a getting familiar with the area and meeting our wonderful brothers and sisters. 

Then on Friday we went to a funeral for someone in the ward because I had to translate. Then we we planned. I LOVE the older couple that we live with here. They are so sweet. 

Saturday we went to the park with a recent convert in the ward -- Filemon. He is way cool. We walked around the park and talked with everyone. It was super great and fun. There are so many Hispanics everywhere we go...It is awesome!

Sunday morning we found out that L. Tom Perry died and we were so sad. in studies we read through his last talk from the last general conference. He will be missed for sure. It was really sad to hear. We had stake conference here in Carson. Elder Rasband (President of the seventy) came and spoke. It was really neat. He talked about L. Tom Perry and some experiences they had together. He also talked about enthroning the Sabbath day in church and in home and families. It was such a powerful talk. 

One thing that I wanted to mention was something that our mission president said at transfers. He talked about the world and how it really cannot get any worse. The world is already awful in numerous ways. He then continues and says that we need a more righteous people. A more strong and righteous people. We are literally hastening the work of The Lord as we plant those seeds in other people. As we share our testimonies and be examples of the believers then we are hastening the work of The Lord. It is amazing!!! We are making a more righteous people as we live the gospel and bear testimony!! 

What a wonderful opportunity we have to live in these last days! I know that this gospel is true. This gospel is for everyone. It is a gospel of joy and peace in these difficult days. Let us raise up a more righteous people! 

I am actually a child at heart. 

Story: 

we were walking around this apartment complex and talking with this woman when this little girl (9) and her brother (6) walked by and I just exclaimed something like oh yay you are home! And then the little girl gave me the funniest look like I was some sort of alien. Then she walked away. Then the little girl came back. She wanted to know who we were. Her name is lexi. I told her I really liked her name :) We talked about being super heroes and saving people and bringing happiness to the world. It was great. Then she asked if we could meet her mom! So she took us to her apartment and started talking with her mom. She was super nice and open to listen to us. Then all these kids started gathering around us. We started to draw and talk about being super heroes and princesses and princes! Then we took this pic. I drew the plan of salvation and all the kids knew that we were on earth. :) 

I love kids. They are so simple. Just like the Gospel. Simple and perfect. Christ wants us to become like the children...meek submissive and humble. 

​Until next week 

Sister Underly 

alexandra.underly@myldsmail.net

NEW ADDRESS:

1533 Goldfield Ave

Carson City, NV 89701

Bishop Lewis and me...saying. "See ya later:)"

Mormon Mafia...hahaha:)  This was a great ward:)

Love them so much...Gio, Ofelia and Moises:)

I got to see Hermana P on transfer day!!

Love this Ramirez family in Tahoe