PJ Pic

hahaha this ones for you mandi (;

New Mission Pictures

We saw a ZEDONK!!!
It's a mix between a freaking Zebra and a Donkey. Coolest thing ever!!!!!!!!!!

me and sister ricks! 

cheeseeee

more pics from MTC
hahaha I love Sister Steadman, we get along so well

haha awkward elder pics

me and elder lewis! He's in france!

my awesome companions!

Sister Menlove is next to me and Sister Howard on the far right.

it was raining so we ran out of our classroom to have fun! hahaha

philly four

Mervin St. Todd!
ahhh so cute

provo temple!

YOSO

It's p-day already?? I literally have no sense of time here. I never know what day of the week or month it is. It all like blends together. The days feel like forever, but before I know it, it's already p-day again! This is gonna be a short email because we're going to PHILLY in like an hour. I'm way excited (:

Sidenote: I'm sorry for not replying to everyone's email! it's like impossible to read everyone's emails to me and reply back, I will try though! Send me letters instead though, because I have time to read them longer and really think about what to say.

#SendMeALetter

Here's what I do everyday:

6:25am wake up, make bed, and try not to fall back asleep during personal prayer

then I change and exercise for like 30 minutes

7:00am get dressed for the day

8:00am personal study

9:00am companion study (usually since I'm new we have it for 2 hours, but sometimes we only do comp study for an hour because we have stuff to do haha)

10:00am-9:00pm we're out doing stuff! teaching a ton of people/lessons, stopping by members houses, talking, driving, eating, reading etc...

then we plan for a half hour for the next day and I take a shower and try to be in bed by 10! Because I'm so exhausted haha but lights are officially out at 1030.

andd REPEAT

I'm learning more and more how much I really need to start forgetting about myself and working hard. It's really cool when I actually think about it. Right now I literally have NO WORRIES about anything, like school or homework, or money, or a job, or a relationship, or sports, etc... All of the members and investigators here have so much TRUST in us missionaries. It blows my mind. They open up so much to us and tell us all about their struggles and problems and issues they're facing right now. At first it was really overwhelming, it felt like everyone was dumping their problems on me! I want to help them so much, but I know I can't. All I can do is serve them, love them, and share the gospel and Jesus Christ's love for them.

The beginning of last week was rough...but I'm starting to see the joy and happiness that comes from being a missionary! Serving them has really helped me see that. I end everynight in my journal with "I love my mission because....."

It helps me realize all the blessing I've received!

hahahaha alright. East coast people < West coast people

IDK. the east coast people are all just a little off.....hahaha I'll leave it at that. I always wanted to live on the East coast. Not anymore! Yeah it's pretty here, but the west coast has sane normal people. hahaha but they're still children of heavenly father, gotta keep reminding myself that!

"Imperfect people are ALL God has ever had to work with. That must be terribly frustrating to him, but He DEALS with it. So should we"

We helped this lady clean her house the other day and she gave us BAGS and BAGS of food! In one of the bags we pulled out a bag of already opened half eaten pretzels. The pretzel bag had spiderwebs instead, along with a cute little green CATERPILLAR!! So I scooped him up and now he's our pet chillin in a container at our apartment. hahahaha I'm so excited to see him cocoon into a butterfly!
His name is Mervin St. Todd. hahahahah oh....yes.

I thought yesterday was fast Sunday, so my companions and I fasted and I fasted to be happy, because I wasn't really feeling it. I was happy, but not truely happy you know? and to help me love my mission. Got to church and found out it wasn't fast Sunday hahah oh well. It was good I fasted because it was answered! I taught my first lesson last night! Like taking the lead and talking the whole time! I was so proud of myself! We talked about the Plan of Salvation and what our purpose on earth is. I really felt the spirit strongly and was prompted to ask him questions and say certain things I never thought of before while I was studying the lesson. My testimony was strengthen of how I really am called of God and set apart as a missionary! I am really beginning to love missionary work and the people here in Jersey!

It's so important for me to remember the feelings I felt last night. So when I start to doubt or feel discouraged, I can remember how great it feels to share the love of Christ with everyone!

"We each have moments of spiritual power, moments of inspiration and revelation. We must sink them deep into the chambers of our souls. As we do, we prepare our spiritual home storage for moments of personal difficulty...Fear and faith cannot coexist in our hearts at the same time, "Be not afraid only believe Mark 5:36" "

I'm so grateful for my opportunity to serve wholeheartedly. Literally when am I ever getting the chance to do this again?? NEVER. There will never be a time in my life where I am solely focused on service, and Jesus Christ. Everything I'm doing and will be doing for the next 18 months 24/7 is service and teaching the gospel of Jesus Christ to everyone here. I don't have to balance a job, or time, or money, or school or anything that would keep me from that. I don't have to worry about anything, except to work hard and teach and love these people!

I came up with my own motto for this....hahahahahahah
YOSO- You only serve once!
So make it count (;

Love and miss everyone!

Love Sister Manson

More Mission Pics

crazy pjs

companion and stuffed animal prayer

philly peeps!

i made us all match hahaa black red and white!

stuck in a bathroom stale......haahaha

at the airport

me and steadman!

me with the mission president and his wife

WOODER Ice

IT'S FINALLY PDAY!!

IDK even where to start....alright.

Tuesday we left the MTC at 2:30am! I go to the airport and my suitcase decided to go all suicidal on me and it's handle broke!! It sucked because I had to carry it/make the elders carry it for me.......hahaha. I called home before leaving on the plane and it was nice to get a couple minutes and talk. Okay so on the airplane the flight attendants came around and asked what we wanted to drink, here's what went down.........

Elder: Water

Sister: Apple Juice

Sister: Cranberry Juice

Elder: Water

Sister: Lemonade

Elder: Apple Juice

Me: ....BRING ME SOME COKE!!!!!! 

hahahahahahah...I had no caffeine for 12 days, I had to get some the first chance I got! I had like 3 more through out the duration of our 2 flights..haha

We flew from Utah to Minnesota, and then to Philly!! When we landed we got picked up by our mission president and then went over to the mission home and ate and talked, and then I went with my Philly 4 crew (Sisters Cox, Reyes, & Steadman) to a members house and we spent the night. Then the dreaded & anticipated day arrived....TRANSFER DAY! I was excited to see where I would be serving but a little sad to say goodbye to my companion Sister Steadman

Anyways Sister Diederich described transfer day like the Reaping Day in the Hunger Games....hahahaha #SoTrue 

Lemme create an image for you.

We went into the gym and there was about like 80+ missionaries and we were placed in two different sides. One side was the group of missionaries staying in their area, and the other were all the ones being transferred. They put up a slideshow and they would announce the area and then show your picture and when your picture was shown you would go stand in the middle and meet with your new companion. hahaha I was so nervous, and anxious as I waited to see my picture pop up..

"Sister Howard & Sister Menlove will be training.....Sister Manson!!!" my picture popped up and I got my companions, we're a trio!!

So where am I????
Moorestown.....NEW JERSEY!!!!!!!

Here's my address, and I want everyone and their moms to write me!!!

Sister Manson

315 Lippincott Ave 2nd Floor

Riverside, NJ 08075

Our apartment is pretty humbling to say the least...It's really run down and old. All 3 of us are crammed in a tiny room hahaha it's great.

We taught an older lady the other day and get this! OK her dad is an Indian, and her mom is Chinese, which makes her a....CHINESE-INDIAN!!!!!!!! haahaahah...couldn't get over that!

People here in Jersey pronounce things way weird, like water....they pronounce it WOODer haha my comps make fun of me because I try to say it like a true new jersey person, but it comes out weird...haha. Everyone here goes nuts for this thing called water ice (pronounced wooder ice) and its pretty good! we got some the other day, it's like shaved ice and ice cream mixed together, pretty legit. Then they have this drink called "Boost" and basically its non carbonated coke with citrus in it......ITS DISGUSTING and tastes like cough syrup.

Here's some cool mish slang:

CPR: church, pray, read

BPF: black people food

BIBLE: brief instructions before leaving earth

MOR: message of the restoration

POS: plan of salvation

I'm gonna be really honest right now...serving a mission is SO HARD. We are constantly going and going and going with no breaks! Usually when I'm stressed I just go for a run or put a movie on, but I can't do that here. No netflix, no swimming, no sleeping in, or staying up late...The first 2 days were really rough, because it's all new and I'm having to adjust, but it's soooo good. I really love being a missionary.
Being able to go into peoples homes and share the gospel and Jesus Christ with them! Some people don't even believe in God, which makes me so sad..

I've learned so much about Christ, and have gained a deeper knowledge & testimony of Him and Joseph Smith and the Book of Mormon. It's hard, but going to be so worth it! I've gotten used to being tired all the time so that's good! And dad you should be so proud of me because I wear my seatbelt everytime we're in the car! haha anyways, I'm doing so good though! Just have to keep working hard and turn everything to the Lord and trust he'll take care of me!

We de-horded a members house the other day....I kid you not we were there for 4 HOURS. hahaha she's an old crazy lady and she makes me laugh. We were getting up to go leave when she yells "MOVE OUT OF THE WAY!!" and I turn around and she's booking it with her walker to the bathroom......hahahahaha I almost peed my pants from laughing...#SheReallyHadToGooooooo

We ate lunch after church at a members house and I seriously thought it was thanksgiving that day. She made:

Mashed potatoes

Turkey

Gravy

Beans

Corn

Homemade Applesauce

Pie

Fudge

I was so happy!! and really full by the time we left haha

Anyways, I hope I didn't freak anyone out, I'm having a great time, and I think with time I will get used to everything. And when I really and truly loose myself in the work and stop worrying or thinking about whats going on at home I will be able to be a better tool for the Lord!

I need to get busy and go to work! Mormon 9:27 really has helped me! "Doubt no, but be believing and begin in time of old and come unto the Lord with all ou ea and work"

Line of the week:

An Elder's note in my MTC district to me:

"When you get back from you mish all those return missionaries will want to take you you on dates haha seriously tho! So stay nice and you will get married to someone nice."

Oh Elders.......

The first 2 days out in the field were ROUGH, holy cow. but I made it a habit in the MTC to start my mornings off with a question and WITHOUT FAIL, they are always answered by the end of that same day...#TestimonyBuilder So i started off that 3rd day with the question of how to see the joy of being a missionary because I wasn't seeing it. We met with like 5 or 6 different people and after talking and discussing I started to develop love for each of them! Getting to know REAL people with REAL issues melted my heart. Heavenly Father answers my prayers "time after time" #Quietdrive...that's a band. Missionary work is hard! But I'm way happy, I wasn't at first..but after turning outward instead of focusing on myself and my needs, hat's when the real joy comes!

Love and miss you all!

Love Sister Manson

MTC life

My MTC experience has consisted of the following:

Countless jolly ranchers

Waking up every single day at or before 6:30 (you should be proud!!)

Not being able to see my knees

Feeling the spirit 24/7

Filled with happiness

Refraining from calling my companion dude

Forgetting I have a first name

Waking up tired

Sitting & eating...sitting & eating...sitting & eating....

Teaching investigators

Laughing and crying with Sister Steadman

Pulling pranks on Sister Cox, Reyes and the Elders

Having no sense of time of what day it is

Complaining how taking selfies with a camera isn't the same as my iPhone

Hahaha...okay some of those were ridiculous, but I am seriously way bummed to leave! I'm gonna miss my Zone, District, and especially my comp...she's become my best friend!!!!

It's pretty cool I've never been able to speak by the spirit until now! All my church talks sucked...but now I don't even know what I'm saying but somehow it makes sense and sounds good! Increases my testimony that I am called of God and really am set apart as a MISSIONARY.

Me and Sister Steadman like to refer to ourselves as "Sister Steadmanson" hahahahahha

Mission Pictures

ONE WEEK DOWN!!!

HELLO EVERYBODY!!! :) how are you! I'm so good, I survived my first week at the MTC! It's been the longest week of my life haha but probably the most beneficial. It also went by super fast. I'll just start at last week and tell you everything that's happened!

SEPTEMBER 4th
The longest day of my life...I got up at 2:40 am to catch my early morning flight and didn't go to bed until 11 pm that night! I slept on the plane so that was cool.When I landed in Utah it was so cool to see all the other missionaries there heading over to the MTC, like there was about 40 or so kids in suits and dresses, it made me feel cool to see them haha. I wish you all could have seen me trying to roll my luggage around. I only have 2 arms and had 3 huge suitcases...they kept tipping & falling over. I just had to laugh at myself because I looked ridiculous..haha whatevs I'm over it. Anyways I get dropped off at the MTC and start my hectic first day! I got my name tag and I almost cried when I put it on, it's so special to see the words "SISTER MANSON" and "JESUS CHRIST" like right next to each other. After that I was lead to my classroom and met all the missionaries that I would be spending time with until we leave. There's 4 Elders, and 4 Sisters total. The Sisters in my District are so great. Perfect for me!! Sister Steadman, Sister Cox, & Sister Reyes. Hahaha we refer to ourselves as the PHILLY FOUR. Because we're all going to PHILLY!!!!Sister Steadman is my companion, and all my prayers paid off!!! Because she is exactly like me!! Picture the brunette version of me, and BAM, that's Sister Steadman. We're always laughing when we're together, and we're together literally 24/7 because that's the rules, so its been fun! We wear this orange dot on our name tag to let everyone know we're the new kidz on the block, and everyone who sees you says "Welcome to the MTC!" The first like 6 were great, but after hearing it like 40 times, it got annoying....haha. We ate dinner at 4:30 pm....who the heck eats dinner that early?? Me now. Haha. So apparently my alarm was set to eastern standard time and it goes off at what I think to be like 6:30 am so I get up and get ready, but no one is up!! I then realized it was 4 haha I felt so dumb.

SEPTEMBER 5th
First full day at the MTC..so long!! They days go by SO SLOW....but I love every minute but was very exhausted and it felt like a week long. They say that the days are like weeks, and the weeks are like days. #TrueStory We were taught how to view the investigators how God sees them and what their potential is. Got me thinking about myself, and how I should also view myself how God sees me and my potential to be a great missionary. Crazy news I have only been in the MTC for literally a day and a freaking half and I already have a calling!!! Whaaaat?! Seriously? Yes. I was called to be the "Sister Training Leader" Basically I help the new sisters that come Wednesday and teach and help them out and be their friend. #PieceOfCake But it's kinda a big leadership calling and I was surprised and humbled to be called.Me and Sister Steadman had our first teaching assignment today!! We planned a lesson and taught a "fake" investigator. It'll be neat to see him grow closer to Christ as well as see myself and Sister Steadman grow closer to Christ and be better teachers. Our first lesson went well! I was so scared, but we said a prayer before we went in, and it was so cool to be able to speak by the Spirit!! I've never been able to do that in my life, so to me it just shows how I really am called of God, and set apart as a missionary! Haha we invited him to pray and be baptized...on the first lesson! So crazy but so good. Later today I was getting discouraged and doubting myself, but then Sister Looney (our teacher) taught us a lesson on revelation through prayer. My comp and I started freaking out and we both realized how blessed we were, and how often Heavenly Father has answered our prayers. This is my 2nd full day here and I can already say & tell that I am such a different person now than before entering the MTC. I literally feel the spirit 24/7 here. It's awesome. I've never experienced that before. We have 2 classes that were each 3 hours long!! Being at the MTC makes going to school, and going to church for 3 hours like a freaking PLAYGROUND and a walk in the park. Hahaha I thought 3 hours of church was rough...I'm in church clothes 24/7!! haha I'm learning so much here, and my knowledge and love of Christ continues to deepen daily! I've never said so many prayers in my life before, and never been so sincere with them..

SEPTEMBER 7th
Honestly don't even remember what we did on Saturday, today's Sunday. Started off pretty cruddy. Didn't really feel the spirit at all..which sucked. Wasn't sure why..but I had a little heart to heart with Sister Steadman..love her to death. I love her so much, so grateful for her. I know I can't do it on my own, I need to rely on Heavenly Father!!Satan just works hard on me & I need to work even harder. I want to succeed and be a great/the best missionary I can be. And I hope and pray to continue to have the desire to serve and work hard.

SEPTEMBER 10
We taught a HORRIBLE lesson today...hahahaha all we could do was just laugh after we were done.... so we wouldn't get too down at ourselves. haha I'M OVER IT.Got our flight info!! We leave Tuesday morning at 2:30 for the airport! Flight leaves at 6 and then we'll be in PHILLY at 3!!! That's exciting. I'm learning and growing so much about Christ and how this gospel can really bless people's lives. I loved getting letters from my FHE family! Love you all! The rest of you....WHERE YOU AT??? Send me letters!! I miss you :(Literally never been so tired and exhausted in my life, but I'm so happy!! I pretty much look exhausted every day, but I can rock that look for the next 18 months...hahaha I'm over it. When you are in the service of your fellow men, you TRULY are in the service of the Lord. I love serving Him& sharing the gospel. Definitely this is one of the hardest things I've done so far, and I've left so many things out because I have no time to say everything...but I love it. This is what I need to be doing right now. I'm called of God and set apart as a missionary, I can do this!

Love and miss you all!Love Sister Manson

Goodbye&Hello

It felt like yesterday I got my mission call, and now today is my last day before being a missionary for a year and a half. I remember my wait being in the triple digits, and now my countdown says "1" ahhhh..

I GET SET APART TONIGHT!!

It's kinda crazy when I actually think about it! So I've been trying to not think about it too hard so I don't have a breakdown and freak out, hahaha.

We spent my last weekend in Georgia visiting my family, and I had so much fun! We went to the beach and went fishing and did other fun stuff. I have so many bug bites on my legs and arms though..it's really gross. 

Sooooo be grateful you didn't have to sit and READ a Chinese subtitled movie about Kung Fu for 2 hours like I did last night...against my will! My dad and my brothers forced me to watch it, and I just realized that this horrible awful movie I watched will be the last movie I'll see for a year and a half!!! hahaha worst movie ever. I had no idea what was going on. But we did get sushi before sooo you could say... #IWasBribed 

Haha at least it'll make for a funny memory.

I'm not sure how I'm supposed to fit my life and everything I need for 18 months in only 3 suitcases! I'm starting to pack right now, and I don't even know where to start! #IHaveSoMuchCRAP haha story of my life....

Goodbye to my first name, iPhone, Haley's/Carolyn's/Kalie's hilarious videos, Instagram, Facebook, Taylor Swift, Pretty Little Liars, Big Brother, my laptop, short running shorts, swimming, Snapchats, my family, staying up late, sleeping in, lazy-pajama-no-make-up days, midnight movie premiers, the Hunger Games, Netflix, my friends, BYUI, music, my inappropriate jokes, headphones, fun singles wards, North Carolina/Arizona/Idaho. 

Hello to SISTER MANSON, the MTC, crazy&awesome companions, 30 minute morning workouts, community showers, bunk-beds, my new best friend --> Preach My Gospel, communicating to the outside world via letters and emails, serving the Lord, memorizing all the hymns, journal writing, living out of 3 suitcases, taking selfies.....with a camera, wearing a name tag, blogging, sharing the gospel, verrrrry appropriate jokes, wearing church clothes all day ERRYDAY, reading the BOM, waking up everyday at 6:30am &going to bed at 10:30pm, amish living, the snow, Utah/PHILADELPHIA!!

I'm so excited to start my adventure of being a sister missionary! I know it'll be hard, but so worth it! I know my Heavenly Father will help me get through everything and be with me as I share the gospel to my brothers and sisters in philly!! When will I ever be able to serve the Lord like this?? Uhh probably never. I made it a goal to not slack off, and to keep pushing forward because I've been called to serve, and I will serve the Lord and Philadelphia.

Philly I'm coming for youuu because THE CHURCH IS TRUE!!!!!!