This work really is a miracle! June 24, 2013

Hello family!!! Wow are you guys as pumped for missionary work as i am from that broadcast. That had to be one of the coolest things in the world. Wow this work really is a miracle. That was the coolest thing to hear all the apostles and prophets (i love them so so much) talking about missionary. And those videos. The church is so tech savy these days and its so amazing. SO AMAZING all the missionaries singing called to serve. The spirit was so strong and it made me so pumped to be a missionary. This is really is the Work of Salvation and Heavenly Father knows all His children and loves them so now we have to go find them and teach and baptize! how amazing. also when they showed the video with the song i hope they call me on a mission with the little kid and then all the process of growing up until they were set apart as amissionary. wow. i felt like that was exactly me and i was-am so thankful for everything in my life that has prepared me to be a missionary. I am so thankful for amazing parents who raised me in the gospel and taught me so many things and then YW leaders who also taught me so much and gave amazing lessons. and girls camps and treks and my ward and everything. and then i just starting crying in the video when the kids got their mission calls and were set apart and said bye to their families. wow haha i remeber exaclty when all those things happened to me. And now it really feel like we are the army of Helamen, just all over the world telling people about the truh. So amazing. Also my love for the apostles and the prohpet grow everytime i listen to them. They are seriously amazing and men of God. I know they are the prophets and apostles of the Lord. How amazing that we live in a time with the true gospel. and everytime the prophets talk i just can sense the urgency in their voices because they know that the Lord is hastening His work for a reason. I loved every second of it but i estched in spanish so i didnt pick up everything but i cuold still feel the spirit. But if they print all those talks could you maybe print them off and send them to me? But yeah i dont know about you guys but i am pumped to be a missionary. When we left the meeting i contacted the bus and i just was feeling so excited about missionary work and just bore my testimony to the whole bus and was so happy to be a missionary haha.

Okay so also this week Elder Duncan came to our mission! He gave us some great ideas and i also felt the spirit so strong when i got to talk to him and shake his hand. The spirit was so strong and yes learned lots of things to imrove on. 

We didnt make too much progress with any investigaors this week so we are going to work hard this week! And changes are wednesday so i will find out tongiht if i am staying in San Pedro of if i am off to a differtent area of Guatemala!

Thank you so much for all your love and support. When i miss home i can feel your love and prayers. I know i say this every email but i really am just so thankaful for my family. I love you all so so much and am so thankful for you all. This truly is the Work of the Lord. It is up to us to bring the world His truth. I am so thankful to be part of this miracle of missionary work at this time. How amazing it is to be serving at this time. The Lord is in the details of our lives and love us all with perfect love. 

Specail thanks to Sister Palmer, Porter and Larson for the letters! and the HV ward beehives! they were inspiring and i am so thankful for the support!

I love you all so much and have a great week!

Hermana Skousen

Walk fast, contact everyone, be clear, invite, testify, promise blessings, and have confidence. June 18, 2013

Hello family! How are we doing this week? I am glad everyone made it back home safely and had so much fun on the vacation! 

This week was the best! WE HAD OUR FIRST BAPTISM! Her name is Paola and she is 19 and has a little baby Diana and her husband is a member but he is less active! But now they are all members and are going to be a strong family in the church and i am so excited! It was the coolest thing ever to see. She was nervous but excited and it was the best feeling ever. It is like a different kind of happiness that you cant describe because you are just so happy for another person to make these covenants with Heavenly Father. She had a dream Monday night that she was in white and in water and then her uncle had the same dream so that sold her. I am so happy that Heavenly Father prepared her to be baptized and we got to see this miracle. The Patriarch led the baptism and he did amazing and then me and hna garcia and hna Turley and hna Blandino sang the primary song when i am baptized. It was so awesome. So yes i am so happy for her! and i was going to send so many pictures home today but we left the house in a hurry and i forgot to bring my camera so i will send those next week! But yes we are so happy!

On Tuesday i got to do changes with Hermana Alvarado. She is one of the "Training Sisters" (there are 4 in the mission) and we do changes with them so learn how to be better and i learned so much! i was nervous at first because i was going to be starting all the lessons and for some reason that really scares me. But i prayed so hard the night before that the spirit would just fill my mouth with the words and that we would find all of our appointments. And Heavenly Father answered my prayer. It really was a miracle day. We invited like everyone to get baptized and literally all of our appointments were home and accepted our visits! and i learned so much from hna Alvarado. walk fast, contact everyone, be clear and direct, invite everyone to be baptized, testify, promise blessings and have confidence. She is an amazing teacher and i am thankful for the time i got to be with her.

Also we had our last new missionary training meeting! We got put with other new missionaries and had to teach trainers and president and the assistants walked around and watched us teach. haha when president was standing in front of me my mind was racing with everything i have learned but don't worry my legs were glued together with my feet flat on the floor (He is big on how you sit when you teach) and i read a scripture and i think it went pretty well haha. so yes that was great and this is my last week of training! changes are next week!

Lets see what else this week.. We are working hard on trying to find new people to teach. We still have Gladis and her husband who would get baptized today but they still have to get married. and Sara we are still working with her we are aiming for this weekend so we will see what happens!

Yesterday we has pday with the district and saw some cool places in Antigua and took so many pictures and i will send some next week! mom i was looking for Beth but i don't really remember what she looks like.. but i got my sweat shirt THANK YOU SO MUCH! and tell her thank you too! they came a great week because it didn't rain to much and it was BEAUTIFUL all week! I am so excited for you guys to see this place!

And now i think thats all for this week! I hope Brooke you had so much fun in Thailand and Ryan i want to hear from you so send me a quick email! Shelby too! and Meagan keep doing your thing in Provo! and Rachel good luck with your swim and dive meets this week! love you and dad HAPPY FATHERS DAY! i sent a letter so i hope it arrives soon! and mom i love you! okay everyone have a great week! The gospel is true and amazing and changes lives! oh and tomorrow Elder Duncan from the 70 is coming so we are all so excited for that! woo go missions! i love you all so much and i love talking about eternal families in lessons because i think about how i get to live with my best family ever forever! love you all!

Hermana Skousen

"Soaking wet and pretty awesome!!" June 11, 2013

Hello family! How are we doing this week? OKAY YOU ARE ON THE COOLEST VACATION I HAVE EVER HEARD OF! haha that is so awesome that you guys are seeing all those places and having such a fun time! the pictures are beautiful and you all look great. Kyla and Rachel are so old! ahh they are going to be even bigger when i get home! cant believe it! so glad you were all safe and had a great time over there!

This week was so great! WE HAD 14 PEOPLE IN SACRAMENT MEETING!!!! It was such a miracle and the coolest thing ever. We were so grateful and so happy. We found 2 families that live in the same house and they both have like 5 kids so we taught them twice and they all came to church! so awesome! now we are going back today and we are going to invite them to be baptized! woo! I really want to see a baptism so i am praying for a miracle haha.

We have still been teaching Sara and Gladis but we havent made a ton of progress with Gladis because she still has to get married. But Sara is progressing and doing good. We were planning on having her baptism this weekend but she drank coffee yesterday so we have to wait until the next week. I really want her to get baptized and just feel all the blessings of the gospel. The poor girl is awesome and wants to change and repent and i want to help her so bad. I want her to realize how special she is to Heavenly Father and how much He loves her. For me this is what always keeps me moving forward. I just think whatever happens in life everything will be okay because we are sons and daughter of the greatest being in the universe who loves us so very much. This is what always helps me and i just want her to realize the love he has for her and then things like breaking the word of wisdom and law of chastity wont even cross our minds. So yes we are working on that and trying the get her baptized next weekend.

Paola is awesome and so funny and i love her. Her husband is a member and they got married when she was 15. She is now 18 and has a baby. She is so happy that we found her and are teaching her. We are planning to have her get baptized this weekend. We had a FHE at her house last night with one of the missionary families from Antigua. She was so happy to have a real FHE it was to cutest thing ever. The spirit was strong and it was so awesome. 

So yes we are just working hard over here trying to be the best we can. It is SO BEAUTIFUL in San Juan i need to take pictures and send them. It rains everyday at about 4. The other day it was so hard that my rain coat didnt even help and my whole body was soaking wet haha pretty awesome! So yes thats all for this week! i love you all and i am so happy you had a great time on your vacation! Brooke keep having fun in Thailand and HAPPY BIRTHDAY!!!! I sang for you and gave you a big hug in my mind! I hope everyone is doing so well! And rach congrats on the 1st places! You are so awesome! Also i was thinking about the Bawdens the other day and tell them that i love them. And shout out the Grandma and Grandpa and Grandma! i love you guys! Love everyone so much! Have a good week!!

Love Hermana Skousen 

"The words just flow out." June 4, 2013

Hola familia! How are we all doing? So great to hear from you all again! I cant wait to hear all about your trip to Pittsburg it sounds so fun! send me pictures when you get back! and Brooke going to Thailand?! that is the coolest thing i have ever heard. We met some poeple on the bus from Japan and they were talking about Thailand for some reason and i had the thought that i should go there sometime in my life haha so Brooke lets go back sometime! Have so much fun and be safe and send me pictures!

This week was great over here in the mission field. We are working hard and i feel in the groove of things. it is so crazy how fast the weeks fly by. So our investigators... sad news Jorge, how was progressing so so good and always came to every activity and church and read the Book of Mormon, went to El Salvador for 22 days for work. We tried so hard to get him to get baptzied last saturday but he didnt feel ready.. so now he is over in El Salvador and we are praying that he keeps reading and finds the church over there. He gets back the week of changes so either hna garcia or i wont see him get baptized. but i have faith in the Lords plan for Jorge. One of us will see him get baptized and it will be a great blessing for him. Gladis is still awesome and progressing. i love her so much. we still havent made much progessing on getting her married so it could still be a while until she gets married. but she comes to church and all the activities and writes on little stickys in her scpritures and marks them like me and hna garcia and it is the cutest thing ever. i cant wait for her to get baptized and then be sealed to her family. she is an amazing lady. Also sara is awesome and i love her. She is nervous to repent of all her sins so today we are going to talk about repentance and the power of the atonement. OKay cool story. Sara and Gladis have been asking for hymn books but we didnt have any big ones and the distribution center is in zona 15 so its too far away.. but we asked hna gainor to bring back 2 the other day when she went to the temple. so we wrote little notes in the cover and gave them to sara and gladis. their faces lite up when they saw them and they were so so happy. it was the best feeling in the world. then when we went to teach Gladis a few days later her kids were all singing put your shoulder to the wheel. cutest thing in the world. Also the motivation for Jose Daniel ( her 8 year old son) so go to school is so he will be able to read the hymns. best thing ever.

Also hna Turley and hna Blandino had another baptism on saturday and i gave a talk on enduring to the end. i am so thankful for the gift of tounges because when i get up there to talk or bear my testimony of teach lessons, the words just flow out. i know with all my heart it is the Lord helping me. i am so thankful for the gift of tounges and his help everyday.

so i have been studying the conference issue ( THANK YOU SO MUCH FOR SENDING IT TO ME) and it is so amazing. Elder Hollands talk is just for me. I remember the day when i watched it and i was like a week into the field and i remember the feeling of satan attacking my faith and trying to get in my head and elder holland told me to "hold the ground i have already won and to lean on his faith" when he said that it hit me like bricks. and now looking back my faith has already grown tramendously. my testimony has grown so so much. i am so thankful for prophets and apostles. i lvoe them so much because i know they speak for God. We live in an amazing time when the gospel of Jesus Christ is restored. We have the blessing of the Book of Mormon and prophets and aposltes. Read the ensigns. study the talks and find things to apply in your daily lives. i know it will bless your lives so very much!

i love you all so much! mom dad and rach have so much fun in pittsburg! Brooke have so much fun in Thailand! be so safe! and meagan keep lovin life in Provo and Ryan and Shelby i love you both and hope your doing well too! the gospel is the best! i am so thankful we can be together forever! woo have a GREAT WEEK!!

LOVE YOU ALL!

Hermana Skousen

The Flea stuff is working!!!!! May 28, 2013

Hello family! How are we all doing? Great to hear from you all and i am so happy that everyone is happy and healthy. I pray for you all every morning. I cant believe school is already over and its summer time! Time is flying by. Cant wait to hear all about Rachels races in swim team and dive. You are going to kill it like always! And i am thinking about how tall rach is going to be when i get home and freaking out haha so awesome. And so FUN that you are going to see the Yetters! Send me pictures and tell me all about it!

SO awesome how fast the package got here!!! THANK YOU SO MUCH! I was liike Christmas morning haha. I loved the cookies and Brownies. So genuis to put those in. And yes the shoes are all great! And i am so thankful that you sent them because the rainy season has offically started! rained for 3 days straight! so its a good thing that i have 2 black shoes now. i think i am going to save the brown ones for a couple more months. But they are all so comfy and perfect. Tell Wislynn to buy Clarks before she leaves. and every girl leaving on missions because it is worth it. And yes i think the flee stuff is working! haha i put the lemon spray on everything every morning and night haha i think it is working! and also the coconut and lavendar oil is healing all my scars too! so thank you so much! and all the candy haha i was so happy about everything in the package and so so thankful!

Okay so yesterday we went to Guate because i had to take a picture for my visa so we had to wake up at 4 to get on the bus at 5 but it was fun. i got to see people from the MTC and it feels like i saw them 2 weeks ago but it has already been 2 months! so crazy. But yeah Guate is so crazy. So many people, so many buses, people selling stuff everywhere and yeah very exciting.

So our investigators. We have a lot doing really good. So Sara is 15 and is the sister of Gladis. She is preparing to be baptized on the 8th so i really hope that that happens. We had an amazing lesson with her last night. We were in her little bedroom with the candle lit and the rain outside talking about Jesus Christ and faith. the spirit was so strong. I really felt that Heavenly Father was so aware of us as his daughters and i felt His love for Sara so strong. It was so amazing. It is the coolest thing being a representative of Jesus Christ. Also we have had some good lessons with Gladis. She always reads and has questions and is so awesome. I really hope that she can get married ASAP because i  really want to see her get baptized. I love her more and more each day. Also Jorge is doing good too. For some reason he has it in his head that he wants to be baptized in July so we are still trying to work on that. But yes we are doing good with our investigators. I am getting more and more comfortable and i feel like i can express all my thoughts and feelings pretty well too so i am so thankful for the gift of tounges. I really want to see a baptizm so i know that i just need to have faith and keep working hard. And the next time you guys go to the temple can you put Sara and Gladis Hernandez on the prayers role! thanks!

so yes we are doing great over in San Juan and San Pedro. I feel the help of the Lord everyday and i know that he is aware and loves all his chilren. We are staying busy and i am really happy! Thanks for your love and prays. I know that they help me everyday so thank you so much! Have a good week! and have a fun vacation!

i love you all so so much!

love hermana Skousen