IM 20!!

I'M 20
This week was crazy. We saw so many miracles despite the changes in what we planned. Turns out that Jennifer did not get baptized on Saturday. She still wants to be baptized but she needs more time to make this commitment. We have been visiting Jennifer every single day to help her feel the spirit and strengthen her testimony of the gospel of Jesus Christ. She didn't feel like coming to church this Sunday but she came! I'm so grateful for what she told us afterward. She said that this Sunday was one of her best experiences at church that she ever had! Jennifer said she felt the love from every member and she felt the spirit so strong. We had the opportunity to teach Relief Society this Sunday and we kinda put Jennifer on the spot. We called her up to sit in a chair and we tried to lift her up (literally). Then we called up the relief society presidency, then all of the sisters to help us lift her up high in the air. We taught them that we need the help of every member! President Thomas S. Monson said that "Now is the time for members and missionaries to come together." Rylee also came to church and although she was very nervous and overwhelmed, she LOVED it. She leaned over to me and Sister Duering saying, "Sisters, I am so happy!" The gospel brings joy!

Thank you for all the birthday wishes! It has been a great!
I know that the gospel can heal us. Jesus Christ is the Savior and Redeemer of the world. If we are ever feeling unhappy, stressed, or alone, CALL UPON THE LORD. Prayer is real. If you pray for desire, keep the commandments, pray for inspiration, and COURAGEOUSLY ACT...to share the gospel, you will see miracles. It is so important to share our light with others. There are others out there who truly need the gospel. Reach out to them!! Share the joy that you feel with them. I testify that Joseph Smith was a prophet who did in fact see God the Father and Jesus Christ. He got on his knees and prayed out loud. He took a simple step of faith, he courageously acted. I know that we can do the same thing. We are loved. We are children of God. We can make a difference.
Remember to:
PRAY FOR DESIRE
KEEP THE COMMANDMENTS
PRAY FOR INSPIRATION
COURAGEOUSLY ACT
I love you all.
--
♥ Sister Alexis Skabelund
451 W Bobier Dr
Vista CA 92083-1906
United States

I got a pickle, I got a pickle, I got a pickle, hey hey hey hey

This week at Zone Conference, President Thomas shared one of his precious memories of when he pickled cucumbers as a kid. He was so amazed when he heard this talk by Elder Bednar because he connected with it so well. We discussed the importance of having our investigators be completely and totally immersed in the gospel. Not one foot in and one foot out, but experiencing the complete conversion. Conversion, like the steps of becoming a pickle, does not happen over night. It takes time, diligence, and faith. President and Sister Thomas even gave each companionship a huge jar of pickles to remind us of the importance of our conversion!
"A cucumber becomes a pickle as it is prepared and cleaned, immersed in and saturated with salt brine, and sealed in a sterilized container. This procedure requires time and cannot be hurried, and none of the essential steps can be ignored or avoided. My beloved brothers and sisters, I pray this parable of the pickle may help us to evaluate our lives and to better understand the eternal importance of spiritual rebirth. I witness the reality and divinity of a living Savior who invites us to come unto Him and be transformed. Through faith in Christ, we can be spiritually prepared and cleansed from sin, immersed in and saturated with His gospel, and purified and sealed by the Holy Spirit of Promise- even born again" Elder David A. Bednar "Ye Must Be Born Again" May 2007.
I had an awesome experience this week! On Wednesday morning, I prayed that we would be able to hand out a Book of Mormon and share the restoration with someone who needs it that day. I had never prayed for something specific like that before. At lunch time, Sister Duering suggested that we have a picnic at the "Hasta La Vista Park," and I exclaimed that that is a great idea! Immediately after getting out of the car, the spirit guided me to open the trunk and grab an extra Book of Mormon. Just seconds after, we were greeted by a yappy chihuahua and his friend Jermell. He was kind and willing to hear our message. As we testified of the blessings of the restoration, he listened intently and asked us sincere questions. He didn't want to give us his number or address but he wanted to keep the Book of Mormon. I hope that he will come in contact with missionaries again! That was a great experience for us!
We also found another little miracle and her name is Rylee. Rylee came up to the sisters booth at MeraCosta College and was seeking truth. We picked her up as an investigator a few days later and have found so much joy in teaching her! Rylee is definitely very unique. She has gone through a lot of hard things in the past and wonders whats the point of even living. She has attempted suicide before, has a baby at a very young age, suffers depression, and just needs peace. "Something told me to talk to you sisters, and I hope you can help me," she said as were teaching her the Plan of Salvation. I know that this is what she needs. She needs the knowledge of a loving Heavenly Father and of the Saviors atoning sacrafice for her. She needs to know that she is here on earth for a reason, she is important and precious in God's eyes.
I love sharing the gospel, it brings me so much joy! If you read anything from my email, read this: I KNOW THAT CHRIST LIVES! HE LOVES YOU! YOU HAVE ACCESS TO THE ENABLING POWER OF HIS ATONEMENT IN YOUR LIFE.
-- p.s. it was raining so hard. the storm was actually called "Lucifer."
♥ Sister Alexis Skabelund
451 W Bobier Dr
Vista CA 92083-1906
United States

Hey Yall!

Soo hey yall. The sound of the water running in the font is a great sound. After searching through "secret tunnels" in the sketchy Escondido church buildings (the Washington building in particular) we finally found a white jumper that would fit Marilyn. We showed up to the Bear Valley building a couple hours early to set up for Marilyn's baptism...we were so excited and smiling from ear to ear. This was such a special day for Marilyn.
It was already ten minutes past 5:00pm and there were still a ton of people filing in. We had to move to the chapel!! There were so many people there in support of Marilyn and her boyfriend Chandler (the one baptizing her). This was Chandlers first time baptizing anyone (they're both 18) and he was extremely nervous. To top it off, he forgot to bring a white suit, so we quickly went in search for a suit his size. Turns out there wasn't one his size, so he had to wear a ginormous suit but it worked out. Marilyn was baptized two times because of a mistake, but hey, double the blessings...I was baptized twice too.
We all felt the spirit so strongly. Especially when we were able to share the Restoration with all her friends and family. I love it when we can testify of the fullness of the gospel. This was my first time doing it at a baptism; it was very special. Marilyn is the only member in her family, but her parents and sister came! I know that they felt the spirit!
Our investigator, Jennifer, is ready to get dipped on the 25th! We are so excited for her. She came to Marilyn's baptism and said that she can't wait for her own baptism! She was a little scared to tell her whole family that she is going to be baptized, but she has so much faith and love for the gospel. I know that she can do anything with that testimony of hers! It's so cool to see her growth not only in the gospel, but as a person. She is much happier! I can see it. Jennifer is such an amazing missionary already. And she's only been investigating for three weeks! She was so good at helping Rebecca feel comfortable at church.
YES. Rebecca came to church for the first time on Sunday! Our investigator was fellow-shipping our other investigator. It was awesome. "Do you have any questions? Did you like the sacrament? How are you doing so far?" are some of the questions that Jennifer was asking Becca. Becca responded that it is very weird and still something to get used to. Quickly, Jennifer told her that that's exactly how she felt when she first came to church! "But it gets better, it gets easier!" said Jennifer. I'm so grateful. Rebecca stayed for ALL three hours! During Sunday school, Becca was reading ahead in the gospel principles book and studying all the footnotes. She even had to borrow my triple combination so that she could look up scriptures in D&C. Rebecca has strong desire to learn.
Becca grew up being an atheist and not believing in hardly anything. Her faith has grown incredibly over the past two weeks. After teaching her the Plan of Salvation, she was filled with peace and even said that she would be willing to be baptized when she receives the truth! Becca is preparing herself to be baptized on March 4th! This is a miracle. Although she knows very little about the gospel, very little about Jesus Christ, and about this church, she has faith that she will receive an answer to her prayers. YES. She prayed! I love her so much and I know for a fact that Heavenly Father loves her.
Also, we met an awesome girl in our complex named Allie. She is actually a member but her entire family is less active. She let us come in and get to know her a little more. After teaching her the restoration, Allie asked us if we could come over every other day to read the Book of Mormon with her! "I know that this church is true, but if you asked me what my testimony is, I couldn't tell you. I don't know hardly anything, but I know it is true," she said. She feels the spirit when we come over and she misses that feeling. Allie wants to come back to church and to learn more about the gospel. I'm so grateful for that cute girl. I love hear already and I know that we will be best friends after the mission. ♥
Anyways, it was a great week.
Remember this:
"19 And now, my beloved brethren, after ye have gotten into this strait and narrow path, I would ask if all is done? Behold, I say unto you, Nay; for ye have not come thus far save it were by the word of Christ with unshaken faith in him, relying wholly upon the merits of him who is mighty to save.
20 Wherefore, ye must press forward with a steadfastness in Christ, having a perfect brightness of hope, and a love of God and of all men. Wherefore, if ye shall press forward, feasting upon the word of Christ, and endure to the end, behold, thus saith the Father: Ye shall have eternal life.
21 And now, behold, my beloved brethren, this is the way; and there is none other way nor name given under heaven whereby man can be saved in the kingdom of God. And now, behold, this is the doctrine of Christ, and the only and true doctrine of the Father, and of the Son, and of the Holy Ghost, which is one God, without end. Amen." - 2 Nephi 31:19-21
I LOVE YOU ALL.
ps. the cute curly hair girl is Marilyn, right after her baptism!
and this is our group at FHE, we made spider man out of tape. each part of spider man includes a part of us. (MY feet, Rebecca's leg & waist, kid's head, Sis Duering's neck, Zion's arm, Jack's butt & arm). lol fun stuff.
--
♥ Sister Alexis Skabelund
451 W Bobier Dr
Vista CA 92083-1906
United States

Half Way Mark!

It was really hard to leave Murrieta, but I love my new area!...Palomar YSA.
Sister Traci Rodriguez (my mom of the mission) drove me down for transfers. I'm so happy that she, being one of my favorite people, could take me to my new area. It almost felt like she was dropping me off at college or something, she agreed.
Sister Duering is my new favorite companion. She is a happy, energetic theater girl in a nutshell. I love her guts. On our very first night as companions, we taught our investigator Jennifer, without having practiced together. And we taught in so much unity!! That is something that I have struggled with on my mission...being unified with my companion. But Sister Duering and I have so much unity, which is so important in the work! Not only is she an incredible teacher with a unbelievable testimony, but she is LIGHT! If you ever need some joy and happiness in your life, come into the same room as Sister Duering; you WILL smile. She makes me laugh all the time and helps me to stay positive and happy every single day. I'm glad she is my companion.
I am super blessed to have jumped into an area with already 7 investigators, which is totally opposite of what I am used to! Marilyn is getting baptized this weekend, on the 11th! It was such a great feeling to see her after she passed her baptismal interview! Her eyes were filled with tears and she had a huge smile on her face! I could see the light and joy in her eyes! This is the joy that I want all of God's children to have. I also saw it as we were teaching Jennifer. She knows that this is the truth. She knows that Jesus Christ is the Savior and Redeemer of the world. She knows that God is our loving Heavenly Father and that Joseph Smith really did see both the Father and the Son. She know it's true and so do I.
Jennifer isn't even a member yet and she is already a bomb missionary. Although she love love loves coffee, she was so quick to quit drinking it after we taught her the word of wisdom! She is sharing her testimony with her parents and has a huge impact on her twin sister. Even though her sister isn't interested in investigating, Jennifer has influenced her to pray! She was so excited to tell us that she prayed with her sister and they both felt the spirit! I love her so much!
Rebecca, our other investigator, came to the Moore family baptism on Saturday. She had a lot of questions, and thought the baptism was really long, but we think she really enjoyed it! Rebecca is struggling right now with drugs and alcohol. On Sunday, Rebecca didn't come to church because she was going through a really rough time. She told us, over text, that she is ashamed, sad, and alone. We went over that night and "heart attacked" her door and gave her some cupcakes. She loved it. She says that she is atheist, but we know that somewhere deep inside her, she believes. She is willing to do what it takes to receive an answer. She said that she is coming to Family Home Evening tonight! We are excited!
Anyways, I am doing very well. The ward is great. I love being missionary.
THE CHURCH IS TRUE. <duhhh.
Love ya.♥♥♥
ps...sorry so many pics.
-what is this statue? can you tell me?
-we got ice cream for my 9 month mark <<halfway done
-went on a district hike this mornin
--
♥ Sister Alexis Skabelund
451 W Bobier Dr
Vista CA 92083-1906
United States

TRANSFER UPDATE

TRANSFER UPDATE: I am being transferred to the Palomar YSA (Young Single Adult) of the Escondido Zone. My new companion will be Sister Duering (Sister Fogg's MTC comp). Although I am very sad to leave my ward family here in Murrieta, I am excited to meet so many more great people in the "dirty dido." Here are some of the highlights of this week: *end of training field trip to the Mormon Battalion *biking through creeks *the warm sun came out *hiking through rivers *picked up 2 investigators *transfer calls. It was a pretty exciting week. We are so happy to be teaching Elizabeth! She wants to know that there is a God and she is willing to pray to find out. I love her enthusiasm and love of families, and her own family. I know that the gospel of Jesus Christ will bless her family and will enable them to be together forever! The gospel is such an amazing thing. It is the plan of happiness! Not only do I know it, but I believe it!

It is so hard to write this last email in Murrieta because there is so much to talk about, but I don't have any words for it. Let me just say, I am definitely coming back. These people are my family and I don't know where I would be without them. Serving these people has helped me to feel the pure love of Christ. They radiate love and light. Yesterday at the start of sacrament meeting, Sister Yoshiko Mulitalo (my favorite South Korean elderly woman) gave the opening prayer. Immediately the room was filled with a calm, silent, peaceful feeling. There is no doubt that our Heavenly Father was there with each of us. That has been one of the strongest times I have ever felt the spirit. Although almost 10 minutes long, Sister Mulitalo's soft simple testimony and prayer touched each of our hearts. You could feel that she was really talking with God, our Father in Heaven. I know that prayer is real. God hears and answers our prayers. Mormon 9:21 says, "Behold, I say unto you that whoso believeth in Christ, doubting nothing, whatsoever he shall ask the Father in the name of Christ it shall be granted him; and this promise is unto all, even unto the ends of the earth."
I can't believe that I am already half way done with my mission. This is insane. Time flies when you are serving the Lord. I LOVE YOU ALL.
here are some more people I love.
p.s. don't worry. we didn't have tequila at the tequila factory.
--
♥ Sister Alexis Skabelund
451 W Bobier Dr
Vista CA 92083-1906
United States

Rain in Murrieta

Murrieta can thank me for all my faith and prayers for this rain. muahahahaha. it won't stop. While we were sitting in Sunday School, we heard a bunch of alarms going off people's phones. "Oh don't worry you guys, it's just warning of flash floods," said the teacher. Me and Sister Fogg quickly looked at each other with big eyes of surprise and fear. Well, luckily we have our car because I'd rather not drown. We even got a text from our zone leaders saying, "Get inside now. It is not longer an option." So we had to stay inside the church until dinner, which wasn't that long. When we went home, the sisters knocked on our door drenched head to toe and asked us if we wanted to play in the rain with them. Before I could even let Foggy answer, I ran out the door without my shoes and still in my dress. We had so much fun in the "river" of our apartment complex. I knocked on the door of the Las Brisas sisters and immediately hugged them both. Against her will, I headlocked Sister Richie and pinned her down into the river. She was sopping wet. muauahaha. I am the queen of rain. Even this morning, the district leader texted us saying, "#miracle the sun is finally out!" But then with one quick prayer, the clouds covered the sky and it started pouring again. It is still raining as I write this. YAYYY!!! I love the rain and California really needs it.
GOOD NEWS: we picked up a new investigator, Elizabeth! We had to set four appointments to go on splits with the high councilmen...so we were kinda freaking out since we had 0 investigators. Thankfully we listened to the spirit and found Elizabeth. It was a great lesson and she committed to pray, read the BOM, and attend church! I'm so excited to teach her and hope that she comes to know that there is a God, a Heavenly Father who loves her.
Soo....I may be leaving Murrieta next week. okay, I pretty much know that I am because I have been here for six months! I've been getting pictures with everyone and saying goodbyes. I'm going to miss these people so much. They are my FAMILY! I know that I was sent to Murrieta for a reason, and it was to put these people in my life. Whenever I'm feeling homesick, discouraged, or upset, I know that I can just go hit up any family in this ward and they will make me feel so much better. We have been doing scripture study almost every single night with the Wrights. They are an active family but wanted to be 100% committed to reading every night, so were are helping them. We have seen so much progress in their family, along with many miracles! Their conversion to the Lord is getting stronger and stronger! They invited 3 nonmembers to church and one of them came! I'm so proud of them! I love that family. We've been having so much fun every night, studying and playing scripture charades. I did a charade with all the kids following behind me. I was Noah and they were all animals. haha. It was pretty funny.
I love the gospel. Don't forget it!
Have a great week!
♥ Sister Alexis Skabelund
451 W Bobier Dr
Vista CA 92083-1906
United States

Hey Family

i told sister fogg, "if i wasn't a mormon, i would be a straight up hippie." its true. I love nature. i love trees. i love the ocean breeze. i love the beach. i love oregon. i love green. i love rain. i love snow. i think you get the point. Thanks to Sister Skabelund, there is a storm across the u.s. and Murrieta, California has got the most rain it has ever had in YEARS! its even flooding here! in fact, even sister fogg and I biked through basically a river... a canal in the road and got soaking wet. "HAHAH!! THAT WAS FUN!!!!" i said with a huge grin on my face. the sky is struggling so hard to snow. its almost there!! not quite, we have actually been having nice sunny days here. i love California! right after I bore my testimony about *most likely* getting transferred at the end of the month, our dinner calendar FILLED. I hope the members won't forgot me. I will definitely miss them. being here for 6 months, i've grown soo close to them all. i truly love them.
We have been struggling for awhile without any investigators, or even less-actives to teach. A few days ago, i felt like just falling down to the ground and giving up for the day. my body was screaming "rest" and my spirit was begging me to keep moving. Sometimes i get discouraged as Satan tells me, "You've been here for 1/3 of your mission, and haven't baptized anyone! You are a failure!" But then I am reminded of our purpose as missionaries, to "invite others to come unto christ." I know that I have seen so many miracles here in Murrieta that I will never forget. There have been so many people that have influenced me and strengthened my own testimony. I know that in order to help convert others, we need to be converted ourselves. "You cannot convert anyone beyond your own conversion." We must read from the Book of Mormon every single day. Don't miss a single day to any excuse! I know that if you do this, you will slowly become more and more converted to the Lord.
We had zone conference this week and we practiced teaching the restoration in four minutes. I did a role-play with Sister Richie and two elders and I was overcome with the spirit as I recited Joseph Smith's First Vision. Every time I recite his words, the spirit testifies to me of the truth. Being a missionary has literally given me a testimony of truth as I teach other. Often times i feel as if i am the investigator, and the spirit is my missionary. John 15:4-5 says, "Abide in me, and I in you. As the branch cannot bear fruit of itself, except it abide in the vine; no more can ye, except ye abide in me. I am the vine, ye are the branches: He that abideth in me, and I in him, the same bringeth forth much fruit: for without me ye can do nothing." We must be grafted to the vine, to our Savior Jesus Christ. I know that constant prayer and scripture study can help you do this! Our ward mission leader has come up with four ways that we can become converted and see the miracles of missionary work. I would like each of you to participate with us.
1) Pray for desire
2) Seek the companionship of the spirit
3) Repent every day
4) Pray for promptings
Love you guys!
here is me, just dancing as always...with a disturbed companion.
♥ Sister Alexis Skabelund
451 W Bobier Dr
Vista CA 92083-1906
United States