Ginbaton ko ang VISA ko!! (I got my visa)

Yuuhuuu family!

My VISA CAME! 

For everyone that fasted last week THANK YOU! What a miracle :) 

I'm honestly really sad to have to leave California. I have experienced so many incredible miracles here and have made forever friends. It's really bitter-sweet. But I am so so happy to be finally going to the Philippines! I know the Lord's timing is always the perfect timing. So if He's ready I am too! 

This week was fantastic! (I held at least 5 dogs and 1 bird. :)) 

We met so so many new people! We met a guy that we were able to start teaching on his doorstep- he said that everything we had said was really powerful and he took a Book of Mormon. We're hoping to be able to meet up with him again to teach the lessons! Then while we were out tracting we met Patricia- her family dog had just passed away and they were preparing to lose their other dog as well. They was really upset and S. Western felt prompted to ask if we could pray with her. So we all held hands on her doorstep and prayed for comfort and peace for Patricia and her family. I'd never done anything like that before. 

I had exchanges on Wednesday with Sister Boyd and Sister Conder (my part-time companions) They came with me to a lesson with my adopted grandpa Jacobson and his wife Madi (the non-member who agreed to read from the Book of Mormon for the first time ever last week!) We talked with them about the importance of having the gospel in such a crazy world. We shared Helaman 5:12 and Brother Jacobson shared his testimony of how the gospel has blessed his life. The spirit was amazing- Madi got pretty teary. It was a really tender moment. They accepted our invite to pray every night together as a couple. I'm going to miss them so much! Keep them in your prayers!

We had a lesson with Alexis and Isabell on Friday on the importance of the Sabbath Day. They said they wanted to commit to keeping the Sabbath Day holy because they wanted to show Heavenly Father that they are getting ready to promise to believe in Him and Jesus Christ forever! It was so precious. It is so beautiful to see their testimonies growing. 

Saturday Sister Thedell and I taught Oca again!! This time when we showed up he said "wait my friend is interested!" !!! Then his friend Jospeh came in from outside and joined in on the lesson! But he speaks Tagalog NOT Hiligaynon. Sister Thedell and I struggled a bit to be honest because we were trying to teach in Hiligaynon but Joseph couldn't understand! But then Joseph said 'Just speak english' so we did. We taught the Plan of Salvation and they were both really receptive. We invited them to be baptized- they said they wanted more time and to keep learning. ALSO Oca gave me referrals for the Philippines! Some of his family still lives in Bacolod and he wants me to go meet them!  We're going to see him again tomorrow! 

Sunday was really bitter sweet- my last Sunday with the amazing Alicia Park ward. They are all really happy for me but also really sad to say goodbye. I told them I would come back to visit after my mission and I had a few families in the ward tell me to come stay with them. It  has been so so amazing to see this area grow. 9 weeks ago we were at ground 0. Now we're teaching and working with so many people, our ward members are excited about missionary work, and we still have so much more work to do! They thanked me for everything I had done but really it was what they were doing for me that made the miracles happen. Sunday night we got to go with Sister Western to support a recent convert who got her patriarchal blessing!  Sister Taylor and I sat in a different room but the spirit was incredible- How wonderful is it that Heavenly Father still talks directly to His children and wants them to know what he has in store for them. 

The California Irvine Mission (Christ In Me) will always always have my heart. I wouldn't trade my time here for anything in the world.

Bacolod here I come!! 

Sister Zollinger 

I lurv California!

Yuuhuuuu! 

We had Zone Conference this week! I love zone conference! We focused a lot on how we can work more with the members and help the members get excited about missionary work! We had a lot of really amazing ideas and we're already seeing the benefits! Our ward is amazing right now with missionary work! This Sunday we had a whole missionary work ward council and then a missionary sacrament meeting! All three of us Sisters spoke and the 2nd counselor in the mission presidency and his wife spoke as well! It's so much fun to see people get excited and happy about missionary work! And it brings so many blessings and miracles! 

Also at zone conference one of our senior sisters told me I have a great smile- but it's a sly smile like I have a secret! haha! Since y'all know me can you confirm? I've never had someone say that before but I loved it. 

We had a lesson with my adopted Boston grandpa and his wife this week- He's a member of the church and she's not. We talked to them a lot about the nature of Heavenly Father and how we've seen His hand in our lives. We asked them to read 3 Nephi 12 together as a couple and they said yes! Then on Sunday before church started I went and sat by Brother Jacobson and he was so happy and teary and he told me that in their 48 years of marriage his wife has never once agreed to read from the Book of Mormon before! My heart was overflowing! What a precious miracle. 

We had exchanges again this week and Sister Taylor and I spent the day in our area with Sister Conder! (Sister Conder is basically my part-time companion we work together so much)  It was a miracle day! The windows of heaven were open for us! We found this amazing street and 5 people that were all neighbors accepted a Book of Mormon from us and invited us to come back again! And then we got a referral from Sister Conder's ward for a family! We're meeting with them on Tuesday! So we found 11 new people that we might be able to teach all in about 3 hours! It was incredible! 

Saturday was one of the happiest best most wonderful days of my whole life. Sister Thedell was with my companionship because we had an appointment with Oca! (the hiligaynon speaker) We met Oca on Thursday for the first time and he

asked us to come back for a lesson on Saturday. We did some service for pioneer day in the morning and helped out with a 5k. Then after studies we headed over to Oca's house. When we got there there were 2 people standing outside his door. We quickly found out that they were also from the Philippines and they also speak HILIGAYNON!! Leo is from Bacolod and his girlfriend is from Iloilo! Divine Design!! Sister Thedell and I talked to Leo and Oca for like an hour! Mostly in Hiligaynon. They were so amazed that we had only been learning for 3 months! They kept asking how and we just kept saying it was a gift from God. It was one of the coolest experiences of my whole life! It was so much fun. They want to help us learn more. Leo had to leave but Oca invited us in for the lesson. Sister Thedell and I were able to teach Oca the entire restoration in Hiligaynon. The gift of tongues is SO real. The spirit was amazing. I gave Oca a Hiligaynon Book of Mormon on Thursday with my testimony in it and he read it out loud before we started the lesson. He told me my grammar was almost perfect :') (Thank you Brother Adamson & Brother Mariano). At the end of the lesson Oca asked us where we wanted him to read in the Book of Mormon. He said he believed in it and if he didn't believe it he wouldn't read it. It was so amazing. Then he prayed for the first time and in his prayer he said he wanted to know if the Book of Mormon was true. My heart is still overflowing!!! I cannot believe how blessed I am. It makes me weak like Ammon.  Oca said we can come back and teach more on Saturdays. I have so much love for him already. 

Also that night was our stake pioneer day party. It was such a blast. They had all the missionaries play tug-of-war and my district won twice! We had a lot of ward members bring their neighbors too which was awesome! I love our ward family. 

I am so happy to be here in the California Irvine Mission- I know I'm here for a reason. I did fast for my VISA this week but I have so much peace that it's all in Heavenly Father's hands and timing. In the mean time I'm going to have Oca introduce me to all of his Hiligaynon friends and we'll just teach them all! 

Palangga ko kamo!!  (I love you)

Kita-kits!  (See you later)

Sister Zollinger 

The Lord is with Us!!

I think this week was actually 3 weeks stuffed into one week. 

We are officially a trio! Monday and Tuesday we were with Sister Clarke while we were all waiting to pick up our new missionaries. We got to go to empty nesters FHE again which is always a hoot! I love our ward members. We also got to teach the lesson there and we talked about the importance of daily scripture study and how we can make in fun and continue to grow and learn new things from the scriptures. 

Tuesday night the new missionaries got here!! We got to the mission office and President and Sister Clark came up to me so excited and said there was another Hiligaynon VISA waiter! They asked me to go into their new missionary meeting dinner and talk to him! I think it caught him a little off guard but it was so fun! Hiligaynon experiences are always a miracle. The elders name is Elder Nail- going to Iloilo! He also had Brother Adamson and Mariano as mga maestro at the MTC! (Shout out to the best teachers ever!) Sister Thedell and I face-timed him into our weekly language study meeting. 

Sister Taylor is finally here and she is so awesome!! She's training me I think! She's so brave and always has excellent ideas and is so excited to do the work. Every time we contact a new person she shares her testimony it's inspiring. Our trio is so much fun. I know we're going to see so many miracles this transfer. She also got to teach her first lesson this week to Alexis! We taught the Restoration! The Spirit was there in abundance. I love to see young eyes light up when we say the First Vision. So powerful.  

Something I was thinking about this week 

Alma 26:12 vs Helaman 4:13

Alma 26:12 Yea, I know that I am nothing' as to my strength I am weak; therefore I will not boast of myself, but I will boast of my God, for in his strength I can do all things; yea, behold, many mighty miracles we have wrought in this land, for which we will praise his name forever.

Helaman 4:13 And because of this their great wickedness, and their boastings in their own strength, they were left in their own strength; therefore they did not prosper, but were afflicted and smitten, and driven before the Lamanites, until they had lost possession of almost all their lands.

If we boast of our own strength and tell Heavenly Father we can do it without Him- He'll let us. And it won't turn out so great. It's so important to rely on the Lord in all things.

We met an adorable Chinese man the other day named Ho. He was born on Christmas. Everyone calls him Ho- Ho- Ho.... True story :)  

CRAZY MIRACLE- I got a Hiligaynon referral!! Sister Conder and Sister Boyd came out of a lesson and saw this guy on the street and both felt prompted to talk to him so they did! He is from the Philippines and speaks Hiligaynon and when they told him about me he said he wanted to meet! I'm so excited I could cry. The Lord is With Us!! His name is Oca. I will keep you updated :) 

Well about ten thousand more things happened and Sister Zollinger got a run for her money this week but my motto is still #NoBadDays ! and I haven't had one yet. I'm so so blessed to be here in the Irvine California mission. Heavenly Father loves you. You have a Savior Jesus Christ who is always always reaching out for you. Turn to Him and watch how many amazing things can happen! It's real & I see it bless my life every single day. 

Palangga ko kamo!!! Dios mangin sa inyo!

Sister Zollinger

It's A Girl!!

Kamusta Kamo!!!! 

I have never been so happy in my life :) I'm never coming home sorry ..

I kind of hit a wall with language study last week so I threw my regular language study plan in the trash and started over! It was the best thing ever. I have a renewed excitement! I'm going to go through our last general conference and print off talks in Hiligaynon and read them out-loud and translate them for language study- I was really struggling with practicing speaking out loud because I felt like I was forever talking to myself and it just got too awkward. :) But I finally feel like I am progressing again! Yay! Palannga ko ang Hiligaynon para sa wala'y katapusan! Also I got to talk to a returned missionary that served in Iloilo on the phone the other night- she was the niece of one of our members! It was so fun! ​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​

We had an amazing week with the people we are teaching! We have two 10 & 12 year old girls we are teaching and their progress this week was incredible. We read a chapter with them in the Book of Mormon and then a few days later we taught them the Plan of Salvation at a member's home- Our youngest one Izzy was on the edge of her seat the whole time. Her eyes were like sparkling and she couldn't stop smiling. It was like her spirit was listening. It was the happiest moment of my life- I prayed after and asked God if I could remember it forever. AND THEN THEY CAME TO CHURCH THE NEXT DAY! Miracle!! We got to go to primary! In Izzy's class there was 12 boys.. Izzy..and us! haha! Also Sister Western couldn't stop laughing because I was sitting right in the middle of all of them and they were all taller than me! It was terrible! (Not really it was great). I asked Izzy if she liked it when we showed videos in her lessons and she was like "Ya but I like the book better." !!!! What an amazing 10 year old to prefer the Book of Mormon over cute vidoes! 

Another person we're teaching- Nick- has been texting us everyday! With thoughts and comments and questions about Christ! It is fantastic. No one ever texts us so this is really a miracle! He is amazing and he has the cutest family so we are so so happy to be blessed to be working with him.

ALSO one of our people we're teaching came to our 4th of July ward event! I can't explain how spoiled we were this week it has been incredible. I've said SO many gratitude prayers. Heavenly Father LOVES His children- Never forget it. 

On the 4th of July we had a huge zone party and played lawn type games & then capture the flag! When it got dark we all sat on a wall together to watch the fireworks. We started singing America the Beautiful then The Stars-bangled banner- then God Bless the USA. It was magical I think I'll remember it forever. 

Still no word on the VISA but honestly I never worry or think much about it- I am so happy here and so busy so there's no time! I have so much trust in my Heavenly Father's plan for me. I know it will come at the right time. One of our ward members told me I had the patience of a saint- (which was the nicest compliment ever) but I think it's more just trust and I'm having the best time here! 

NEWS! Sister Western & I are training together! We're picking up a brand new missionary tomorrow! I feel so humbled to have this opportunity to be blessed by some greenie fire! Sister Western also just got assigned to be the traveling Sister Training Leader so this transfer is gonna be nuts ! :) 

Palangga ko kamo!!!!!! 

The crazy pants pictures are from thrift shopping last week. :D (Also MARYANNE- there's a DAISO here!) 

Rock 'n' Roll Missionaries!!

Someone in our ward yelled that at us this week while we were tracting ^ it was nice..

Well hello ! This week was jam packed!

Sis. Western got total heat exhaustion from our p-day activity last week and so on Tuesday she slept and drank water and that's probably it.. So I did 15 hours of Personal Study!!! Wahoooo. (If you know me you know that that is my dream come true lol) I finished reading Jesus the Christ- that book has impacted my testimony more than any other book besides the Book of Mormon. It is incredible. I came to know my Savior so much more through prayerful study of that book. If you haven't read it yet it's so incredible and you should read it. It explains every miracle that Christ has performed & it connects all the points of His life. I learned so much! 

Also I forgot to mention this last week but I finished reading the Book of Mormon for my Ministering topic. These are the highlights of what I learned 

-Ministering is missionary work- look out for the welfare of the souls of others

-The 'best' among us need to become the servants and minister to the weak and the struggling

-Personal Revelation is vital to effective ministering

-The best kings are the ones who minister and serve

-Never underestimate the power of praying for others

-Never give up on people

-Give of your substance

-Miracles and spiritual gifts are received for the benefit of others

-Prophets are full time ministers

I did my first district meeting training this week! It was on my Christlike attribute for the transfer which is Meekness. I had a lot of fun with it and it was cool to reflect on everything I have learned so far and what meekness really is. If you want a copy of my notes n such let me know and I can send it to ya! 

This week we met so many amazing new people to teach and to love. We found 2 families!!! Finding families in missionary work is like finding Willy Wonka's Golden Ticket. It's the greatest feeling in the world. One of the families we found is sooo spiritually prepared. Their the most righteous loving family ever- the dad got rid of everything in their house that didn't show that they were followers of Christ and he is so devoted to becoming more like the Savior. We are so excited to be teaching them and we feel so blessed to have the opportunity. Also if you have any good object lessons send them my way we're teaching tons of kids right now! Yippee!!

We met David Archuleta! The Devotional was phenomenal. His testimony is so pure and simple and he told everyone about the power of prayer he has seen in his life especially with the music industry. He said before he auditioned for American Idol he got this great job doing the lights at a park and he really didn't know if he should quit this job to audition for a reality tv show. He thought it was so silly and he was so embarrassed to even talk about it. But the feeling that he should audition just wouldn't leave him & he didn't know if he should pray about it but he was the shy quiet kid and he didn't think that God would care or answer the pray of a 16 year old boy wondering if he should audition for a tv

show. But it kept bugging him so he prayed anyways and God answered his prayer- and he said he got this overwhelming feeling that Heavenly Father had something for him to learn. & then he had a similar experience deciding to take a break and go on a mission. Also his voice is really amazing- beautiful. Also he sang He Lives in You (Lion King 2) which is one of our companionship songs!-We listen to it like at least once every day. We were so shocked (Might have fangirled a tiny bit don't judge me:)) After the devotional we got to meet him! We shook his hand a talked to him- he was super nice and he pronounced Zollinger right! Crazy Raisins. 

Ayos- Palangga ko kamo!!!!

Sister Zollinger