There is sunshine in my soul today! --beach p-day!

Hello all!

We just spent 3 hours (well 2---I got lost on the way. oops.) at the beach with 2 other zones playing volleyball and such! So fun! (we get to go once a year with President and Sister Baker. So fun.) I'm finally getting to know more and more missionaries in the mission, and the friendships you form on the mission are so fun. Love California's sunshine, but when Mom told me there are already lightning bugs back home I remembered why nothing compares to my WV green hills.

This week was great! Thursday night, Sister Oldham got sick and then Friday almost all of our appointments fell through :( but when you keep pressing forwarddddd---the miracle is around the corner!!!

Saturday night we meant to knock on a member's door in the UCLA married housing, but accidentally knocked on the wrong one. Low and behold, we met Shaelynn. She is a nonmember but grew up in Draper, Utah and her husband is a less active. She has tried to read the Book of Mormon a couple times, but said we can come back and talk more. COINCIDENCE? OBVIOUSLY NOT. These frequent moments are when I KNOW that this is the Lord's work and He is very aware of me individually in ol' Los Angeles, CA.

Other miracles---
Megan. Megan is always a miracle. She's praying about a baptismal date. And she's bringing her new boyfriend to a lesson this week.

Brian and Tiffany. Have I told you about them before? His girlfriend Tiffany started coming back to church a while back and he has been taking the lessons. We finallllly had a breakthrough last night! He said "I'm definitely moving towards yes." We've seen a transformation in Tiffany the past couple months. They have been through so many awful trials recently, but she prays on her knees every morning (I could've cried when she told us) and receives personal revelation through the Book of Mormon. ah, so good.

Oscar. He's a newer investigator who has been struggling with the concept of prayer. He texted us yesterday and wondered why he's getting this calm feeling after he's trying to pray. AH. YES.

UCLA ward had their open house yesterday!!! 15 nonmembers came!!! It was a great experience for everyone. We have lessons scheduled from a few of them!!!!! And some of them said they are coming again next week!

Patrick. He's someone we have been working with since my first week. He started coming back to church a month before we got here. He gave a talk yesterday!! Another less active we have been working with is teaching at family home evening tonight. And another went and did baptisms in the temple last week.

These small miracles are worth everything! I find myself getting impatient wanting to see baptisms from all the work we are doing. But I need to be patient and trust that this is the Lord's work. I'm learning SO much about myself and from the Lord from training. There's a lot of pressure to get everything done and to explain everything and teach every little thing, but I keep reminding myself to laugh and have fun. Oh oh oh, we had a mini missionary [Note from Dawn: a local young woman who stays with them and lives like a missionary for a weekend] this weekend from Inglewood Stake (I want to serve in Inglewood so badly. I went to Capital. I can handle it, right?). She's only been a member 3 months! She was hilarious. She taught us a cheer. She accidentally broke our showerhead (it's now a waterfall that mats my hair down, hahaha. I really shouldn't complain. I could be in the Philippines or something.) [Note: Philippines: where her brother John-Mark served without a running water shower or hot water for many months. He used a bucket for a shower head] She said, "I didn't realize how much work ya'll do." Win. Oh and Mormon helping Hands was this weekend! (Mormons all over California do service.) We worked at an innercity school. I painted a classroom. We attempted to.... It was fun though! Got a yellow vest. SO MUCH WIN.

I'm legitimately so happy. Yes there are frustrating and hard moments, but I am spending 18 months of my life telling God's children about His eternal plan of happiness. I can't believe it's May. LOVE YOU ALL SO SO SO MUCH! THANKS FOR ALL YOU DO!

Sister Atkinson

We'll singgggg and we'll shout with the armies of heaven, Hosanna! Hosanna to God and the Lamb :)

HELLO HELLO HELLO!
CONGRATS HANNAH! BEAUTIFUL BABY BOY! My mom forwarded me some pics!
Heather---the Chinese elders said that you said hello :) love you!
We got temporary companions on Wednesday until President Baker could finish all the interviews. Mine was an innocent little 19 year old lamb from Kentucky, Sister Harrison. She's super sweet, but to my surprise I got a different permanent companion on Thursday!
My new companion is Sister Oldham! She turned 19 two weeks after the announcement was made in October. She graduated in '12 and did one semester at BYU. Her Dad is in the Air Force so she has moved all over the world, but they currently live in Alaska. She was assigned Spanish speaking, so it is pretty weird that they put her in an English area with an English-speaking companion for her first area. She teaches me a new phrase everyday, haha. No me gusta el mundo is what I say when I accidentally hit the radio button instead of the church music ipod or when we drive past the naughty stores in Hollywood. She has to do an extra hour of studies for language study, but I don't mind because I make calls and update our area books and stuff during that hour. Quite convenient. She is very young and very much a chatterbox and she has so much energy and is here to work! Yay! We made our transfer goals and her 'greenie fire' is pushing me. YES. Lets be serious, I still feel like a greenie. Training has been very humbling and very good for me so far. It requires a lot of patience and love and excitement. So much fun. In the MTC she only introduced herself as Hermana Oldham because she is Spanish speaking, but in this area she has to introduce herself as Sister Oldham. She isn't used to it. Her first name is Cisalee and so it starts the same as Sister. Lets just say she has introduced herself as Cisalee a couple times. Bless her heart, it is hilarious.

Our area is booming and we're pumped. Kent came to church FINALLY and is praying about baptism! Dennis is seriously considering baptism rather than saying "don't push me" in his thick Uzbekistanian accent.) He also said in our Word of Wisdom lesson, "so I'll only have bread and water." He's hilarious. He always gets confused about when and where we are supposed to meet. We'll text and call him 2 hours before, an hour before, 10 minutes before and he'll still be confused. We are sending missionaries to his mom this week. so excited.) Sister Barney and I had a final lesson together that was one of our favorites! (I'll miss Sister Barney of course.:) ) It was with Megan and I am so so so happy that she is back on track. We received quite a few referrals this week. A couple new investigators. A couple dropped of course :(. A less active we have been working with is going to do baptisms in the temple this week. YES. I don't know, I'm just so grateful to be where I am. This transfer is going to be all about work. We reorganized everything and I'm excited.

Driving is a hot mess. But I'm getting used to the parallel parking. Sort of. Uhmmmm lets see. Last p-day we went to "The Alley' downtown. basically a mile of gaaaahetto stores. But super bueno. I got a sweet California baseball tee. I'll be sending a bunch of pictures home today.
Did I tell you all I'm getting over my picky-ness?

We talked a lot about happiness in our lessons this week. Pray. Read the scriptures. Come to church. Keep the commandments. = BEING HAPPY. It's a full-proof formula. Everything we do in this life is us trying to find happiness. Lasting true joy can only be found in the fulness of the gospel of Jesus Christ. I see this day after day. The evidence is all around us. This scripture comes from one of my favorite parts in the Book of Mormon, "I would desire that ye should consider on the blessed and happy state of those that keep the commandments of God. For behold, they are blessed in all things, both temporal and spiritual; and if they hold out faithful to the end they are received into heaven, that thereby they may dwell with God in a state of never-ending happiness. O remember, remember that these things are true; for the Lord God hath spoken it." I promise that this is true.

LOVE YOU ALL! THANKS FOR THE PRAYERS. KEEP WRITING. MAKE IT A HAPPY WEEK! CHOOSE TO BE HAPPY!
Love, Sister Atkinson

I'll Go Where You Want Me to Go, Dear Lord, I'll ....Stay....Where You Want Me to Stay!

Note from Dawn: sorry, this week's email is a little late getting posted, again. She used some missionary lingo that is not familiar to everyone and refers to a couple of things that also required explantions so I have [inserted] explantions throughout, surrounded by brackets. I hope this helps! Oh, and transfers are when missionaries are reassigned to live and serve in new areas with new companions. She has not been transfered yet. Thanks again to all of you.   

April 16, 2013
Hello, hello all!
Yes, I'm staying in UCLA and in the LA stake's single's ward!! Sadly, Sister Barney is leaving. But I'm so happy that she is not going back to serve only in the Visitor's Center---she's training and whitewashing [insert from Dawn; That means newly opening an area to have missionaries assigned to those specific wards] the Santa Monica stake's Young Single Adult ward! Basically, President was pleased with our trial run in our wards that they're opening YSA wards in Santa Monica and in the Huntington stakes with full-field sisters! Woohoo!! Also, I am training! AHHHH. [insert: She will be training a sister missionary who just arrived from the MTC] I'm now more excited, than freaking out, which is good. The 12-week program that missions started using last year (an extra hour of companionship study for the first 12 weeks in the field to help the trainee review doctrine and the teaching fundamentals and such) makes training a lot easier apparently. But! I'm excited. I have to go buy a gps today though. [insert: She will be the one driving (in LA) now and Ali will definately need a GPS!] Keep me and my new companion (that I'll meet tomorrow!) in your prayers! What's mind blowing is that this is the date when I originally was supposed to come out, this transfer with these new missionaries. Trust in the Lord's timing :)
I got Alex Heywood's wedding announcement! Congrats! SO CUTE. so excited for you!!
I got lots of emails today which seriously MADE MY DAY. Thanks everyone!
We have a lot to do today (like move Sis. Barney out, etc), so this will probably be a quick one.
We went on a hike in Malibu last p-day! Mom should post pics soon. So fun! Except the snake I almost stepped on. Sister Barney swears she saw a rattle. I love the wards we are in so much. The UCLA ward is having an open house church service in two weeks that will be a very non-member friendly day. Everyone is supposed to bring a friend. There are fancy invitations and everything. So exciting.
Larry Kump, West Virginia State Legislative sent me "a thank-you for your service" card today. No idea who that is or how he knows I'm on a mission. Let alone how he got my address. But! That was nice of him. I thought I would mention it in my email so you all will vote for him. #larrykump2013. [insert: Larry is a member of our church from the Eastern Panhandle. He attends our church in Sissonville when the legislature is in town. Her contact info is posted in the church bulletin.]
We have lots of people to work with this week! We had a ton of lessons planned this past week and...most of them... didn't happen for the lots of crazy reasons. But if there is one thing I have learned thus far, when things don't work out--they do! We had a lesson cancel, and then we randomly ran into someone we've been working with who desperately needed us at that exact moment. There are no coincidences!
I just spent 5 minutes of my time talking to one of my favorite sisters who is going home. Oops. No time. Last thing!
I'm sad to hear about Grandma Atkinson and Grandma Gibson's health, but I'm really not worried (and I usually worry). I'm at peace and I know that they are in good hands. The beauty of this gospel is the perspective we have of the resurrection (we will allllll be made perfect--spirits and bodies reunited). Send them my love and testimony of that. [Insert from Dawn: Grandma Gibson was in the hospital with pneumonia and very ill but she is finally getting better and is at home now. Grandma Atkinson is living with us and her dementia has gotten much worse in the month she has been here. Last week was rough for me so I still have not posted pictures....sorry. I hope to soon...]
Family. I stinking love my family. We are all part of an eternal family and God is our Father. Recognizing that all of these people I have been working with are literally children of God and my brothers and sisters makes it so eternal and so worth it. The first thing we teach in every lesson is that we are children of God and then, that we are sent here in families to learn and grow together. The Family: A Proclamation to the World (from the modern day prophet and apostes) says something to the effect 'Happiness in family life is most likely to achieved when founded upon the teachings of Christ.' I see evidence of this, and the opposite, of this everyday. And I'm even in a student ward.
Oh! We taught my first family! An Asian couple! He is doing a PhD research program at UCLA and they have a little boy. Yayyyy!
There is an old lady sitting across from me at the Family History Library who is getting SUPER excited about family history. I'm dying trying to hold my giggles in. [insert: that must be the library where the computer is located that she uses.]
Love you! Choose to be happy!!!
Make it a great week!
Love, Sister Atkinson

fear not, though the ememy deride, courage! for the Lord is on our side :)

April 8, 2013
Hello everyone!
This week was great! Our numbers were up and we got to reconnect with some of our investigators and less actives who we haven't been able to.
General Conference was obviously my highlight. We attended sessions at member's house watching parties with a couple of our investigators. We are getting a new member of our singles ward! Julie will be baptized this weekend. The Chinese elders have been teaching her (for only a few weeks!) and she will be coming to our ward. We are so excited. It all started by her friend messaging her a Mormon Message video on facebook. Speaking of member missionary work, Elder Anderson's talk was (obviously) one of my favorites. All we have to do is invite. "Come and see" is what the Savior said. I loved that he said we can expect miracles in this day. Miracles are happening everyday, even in our little single's and student wards in LA. We just have to recognize them. I have to always remember that this work is not about me. This is the Lord's work, and I have to trust in His timing. I constantly need to be trying to improve and to work harder. So much of it is working effectively and not wasting any time. I am trying to strengthen my faith in the Lord so we can see more miracles in this area. :) Other favorites included President Monson's, President Uchtorf's, Sister Dalton's, and Elder Holland's. Actually, I loved them all. I felt right at home as I listened to the familiar voices teach simply, directly, powerfully and with love. Ah, how can you listen to them and not feel the Spirit testify of truth? The theme of conference seemed to be happiness comes from obedience and within the family. It is so so so true! We are given commandments to bless us and our families. There were a couple of people in particular that we met with this week who have struggled in the obedience department. One looked completely different from when we saw her 6 weeks ago. It was heartbreaking. But! Our Savior is there. With His outstretched hand ALWAYS. We just have to choose to grab it. Faith is an action word. Small everyday acts of obedience brings true, eternal happiness.
Hmm, I for some reason am drawing a blank for this week's email. It was all a busy blur to be honest. Sorry it's a short one!
This work is steadily moving forward :) I'm so humbled by the blessings in my life.
I miss each of you but there is nowhere I'd rather be right now than here. Thanks for your emails, letters, prayers, and love. I truly appreciate any and all of the support.
Pray. Read. Serve others. Have faith. Miracles happen, we just need to look for them.
LOVE YOU!
Sister Atkinson
PS Note from Dawn
Sorry this is late. I am going to add pictures today! If any if you would like to check out the General Conference messages of the church that Sister Atkinson referenced, they can be found at lds.org.

"All Creatures of Our God and King, Lift Up Your Voice and With Us Sing"

Hello all!
HAPPY EASTER!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!
What a beautiful holiday. The hymn I quoted is an Easter hymn that we love and Eclipse (Mormon male acapella group) does a version of it that has become Sister Barney and my car jam. #missionaryjam #embarrassing
Easter was so great! Sister Barney's Mom sent me a little goody bag which we opened yesterday and then I opened my package from Mom this morning. THANKS SO MUCH MOM!!! Seriously, my favorite package yet. I'm so grateful for all you do. Ah, THANKS. Church was great! We focused on the atonement of Jesus Christ of course, and the spirit was so strong. I read a quote from Joseph Smith yesterday morning that said something like "Our message is that Jesus Christ lives. Everything else is an appendage to that truth." It's true!! Jesus Christ is our personal Savior. He understands. He heals. He lives.
All of our UCLA investigators and such were out of town for Easter, but in the middle of the service a member came and got us because someone had wandered in to the building. His name was George (pronounced Hor-hay) and he saw Jesus Christ on the sign by the temple and said he felt in his heart drawn to the building. The visitor center sisters sent him over to church :) He felt the spirit so strongly during the first hour and cried his way through it. He was such a cool 19 year old kid and it really was an Easter miracle for me. We taught him the first lesson after Sacrament meeting. He doesn't live in our boundaries, so we have to refer him to other missionaries which is a bummer, but there is no doubt in my mind that he was led by the Spirit of God yesterday. Things like this just happen all the time. I wish I could tell you everything.
The ankle is great and healing miraculously fast. :)
Oh back to Easter, then for the singles ward we had SO many nonmembers at church! Our work with members is finally paying off. We are getting referrals from them all over the place and missionary work in that ward is exploding! It is so exciting. They are just praying we don't get transferred out, haha. We are trying not to think about it too much, because one of us is most likely leaving in two weeks. So! We're going to make the next two weeks two of the best yet. We are trying to fill every minute with productive work and lessons. So excited for UCLA to be back in session this week!
Whoever thinks that I got sent to an un-international mission is very confused. One day alone this week we had a lesson with someone from Iceland, from Turkey, from China, and Uzbekistan. We meet people from all over the world everyday and it so fun to recognize that God loves all of His children equally. So many of the people we teach are amazed and grateful that we are unique in that we teach that ALL of God's children will have the opportunity to accept the restored gospel in this life or in the life to come. I take for granted the truths we hold dear. The man from Turkey is a genius doing research at UCLA, but he doesn't speak English very well. At all. We brought him a Turkish Book of Mormon and anything we could find in Turkish, haha. I would point at the sky and say "God" then make a heart with my hands and say "loves" and then point all around us and say "everyone." It was so cool that we could feel the spirit even though we were proclaiming simple simple simple truth. He said he would read the "Mormon book" if we read the Quran. We had to explain that we can't read other religious books while we are on our mission and that we can't get emails from him, but we don't think he understood because we got in our car a few hours later and I looked at the phone and flipped. "SISTER. WE HAVE 92 TEXTS. OH MY GOSH. HE TEXTED US THE QUR'AN. WE BASICALLY HAVE A QURAN APP ON OUR PHONE." We laughed so so so hard from shock. We sent him an explanation and had to call President Baker. Whew. Great times.
Lets see what else. We went on exchanges this week again, only I stayed in the area both times this time. I was really nervous about taking the lead and actually driving in L.A. (champion parallel parker now. okay not really.), but it was really good for me. Highlight? Both dear Hermana Burr and Hermana Snyder said that I was a confident street contacter. Remember how 6 weeks ago I said I was struggling with that? It still is really hard, but the Lord truly blesses us if we just open our mouths.
This week is general conference!!!!!! SO EXCITED. Twice a year the prophet and apostles speak to the world. Check out lds.org for details! You can watch it online for free. Have you ever wondered what our prophet teaches us? Check it out! I can't believe it has been 6 months since the last general conference. My life changed forever with the announcement of the missionary age change, and I know now more than ever that Thomas S. Monson is called to be a prophet of God in these days. We have a modern day Moses to help lead and guide us. Christ's church is restored in its fulness! God is the same, yesterday, and forever. He loves all of His children. We can all know this for ourselves if we simply read a couple pages of the Book of Mormon ANDDDD pray sincerely with faith and real intent about it. God wants to answer our questions... We just need to ask them.
As we hand our lives over to the will of the Lord, He makes a whole lot more of them than we could on our own. Have faith. Be happy. Become our potential as children of divinity. Watch general conference. Ask a question when you watch it. I love all of you and am so grateful for the influence you each have had in my life.
All my love,
Sister Atkinson