3/27/2017

Hello wonderful people! I just wanted to let you all know that I am home and doing really well!! Being with my family has been really awesome and exactly what I needed. I know that the Lord has a plan for each of us and we just have to put our faith in him. Life can be hard and without the knowledge of God and his love it can seem hopeless. I can testify to all of you that there can be hope in this crazy world trough the atonement of Jesus Christ. Turn to him whenever you need a friend. He is always there! 

Serving in Sacramento was the best thing I've ever done. I learned so much and grew so much! I wouldn't trade it for the world. Sac will always have a piece of my heart ❤️ 

My homecoming will be on Easter Sunday at 11! 

My new email is hmunk@outlook.com 

Have a good week! 

Love,

Sister Harley Munk ❤️️

SHE'S HOME 3/23/2017

Sister Munk has retired home from her Mission.

So proud of her for all she has accomplished.

Her homecoming will be April 16th.

Womans Conference with the girls 

3/20/2017 PLOT TWIST

Holy Cannoli. I have a trillion things I want to say but never enough time. Alright to start off this week was a struggle!! You all know me pretty well so I'm gonna be 100% honest and real with ya haha I have been really having a hard time. I have been really struggling feeling depressed and just a little overwhelmed. It takes a lot to lead an area, help out other sisters and deal with everything else that's going on with me. I finally broke and realized that I may not be as strong as I thought I was. I finally realized that maybe my plate is too full and I can't take on anymore. Realizing that sucks and it's hard! Thank goodness for an amazing companion, understanding mission president, and pretty much everyone else that has been helping me out. After a talk with president we both decided it would probably be best to take a break from being a sister training leader and allow myself some time to help myself. So the big plot twist is..... I will be transferring BACK to Rancho Cordova!!!!!! I will be serving in the Rossmoor Ward with TWO companions! I will be in a trio with Sister Hudson and Sister Brown :) I'm a little nervous but also just relieved. It will be a huge load off my shoulders! The best part is that Sister Davis and Sister Beck will be my sister training leaders!!!! LOL I'm excited for this change and although I'm super sad it happened this way I know that the Lord has a plan. He is very aware of all of us and sometimes all we can do is just have faith. I will really miss this Ward, area, zone, all of it really. It's definitely bitter sweet. I promised them I would be back to visit soon :) 

Sister Barnes will be staying here with her new companion Hermana Morriss. AND they are shot gunning the elders area!! Legit it has been an insane few days. 

With all of this craziness happening I can't stop thinking about how much love and support I know I have from all of you. Thank you for the prayers and love. I really appreciate it! Keep them coming :) 

On the bright side....I hit my 16 month mark which means I have one transfer left. Which is a really weird thing to think about. I'm excited to end my mission where it began in Rancho :) I am excited to work hard and find miracles!! 

Well, folks that's pretty much it for this week. I love you all and I know that it's only through the atonement of Jesus Christ that all sadness and every trial can be taken from us. I know Christ lives and loves us. Have a great week everyone!!
Sister Harley Munk

All the sisters that live in our complex. I'm gonna miss them!!

Sister Barnes had never gotten her nails done and we knew it

would be our last pDay together so......

I love this girl even if it was short being companions

with her it was the bomb.com

16 MONTHS!!

3/14/2017 Transfers

Hello!! 

To start off I can't thank all of you who reached out to me and Sister Moffett enough. Seriously!! I have felt so much love from my Father in Heaven and from my amazing family and friends. This week was a trillion and a half times better than the last :) 

So please excuse this super short email... there is never enough time to type these things up! 

This week we had transfers!! I'm super sad that Sister Moffett is leaving me but I am really excited to be companions with Sister Barnes :) She is super sweet and hard working!! She came out with Sister Moffett in fact they were MTC companions. Fun stuff! Anyways Sister Barnes is from Rigby Idaho and she has been out for about 13 months. We are both serving as sister training leaders and we are really excited to start seeing some miracles here in Elk Grove! 

It's so crazy to think about how fast the last transfer went... I only have 12 weeks people!!! I'm so excited to work the hardest I've ever worked and finish strong :) I'm gonna be honest I don't really remember what happened this week lol so hopefully the pictures will jog my memory... 

Love you all so much!! Have a great week :)  

Happy Birthday shoutout to BERKLIE, LINKEN, STOCKTON, EMMA, AND SISTER KARA JO POLATIS!!!!!! (Sorry if it's your birthday and I missed it....)  I LOVE YOU GUYS AND HOPE YOUR BIRTHDAY IS/WAS AS AWESOME AS YOU ARE 😘😘😘
Love
Sister Munk

Lunch with the sisters in my zone

We had a funeral for Shina on Wednesday. It was beautiful and 

hopeful and I hope her family felt the peace that the gospel brings us.

She was definitely a light to everyone and I know that she is busy working

hard on the other side.

My incredible Mission President and his wife sent Sister Moffet and I

to Carmichael last Day so that we could go to Deseret Book and buy a picture.

President Jardine told me whenever I get sad or feel stressed to look at this

and he promised me that I would feel peace. I can testify that when we turn to the 

savior we will feel love.

The atonement is real and it is the only way we can move past hard

things and become better and happier.

Everyone needs some puppy love in their lives.

Love these Sisters

Temple Trip

My NEW Companion

3/6/2017 March ;)

Happy March everyone. It's hard to believe it's already march... I feel like time is getting faster and faster every month. 

This week has been a week I never want to repeat again for as long as I live. It's been full of emotions and panic and fear. It has also been a week of love and hugs and laughter. What a week. 

Monday we had a good day! We didn't have any lessons so we did some finding and then had a really good leadership meeting with the zone leaders and with the district leaders. 

Tuesday we had MLC. It was amazing as usual! Our mission president is just so in tune with the spirit and with all of us missionaries. It's really cool :) We talked about a lot of things but one thing I loved was when we did some role plays. I only loved that part because I was the one being taught not actually teaching in front of everyone 😂 The missionaries teaching first were not aloud to testify and the next set of missionaries were. As they were teaching I could feel he difference. When we testify of the things we know are true the spirit is so much stronger. That goes for every member of the church I think. Our testimonies are powerful!! 

Wednesday we did tons of finding!! It was great :) 

Thursday we had did a blitz on the waterman sisters area and went on teamups with them. I went with Sister Hanekamp :) I love that girl!! We have to much fun together lol 

Friday we had zone training! I was really nervous for it but we were very well prepared :) Our zone is really good at participating so that is always nice. I feel like the training went well and I hope each missionary felt the spirit and learned something. I know I did! The purpose for our zone training was to become a master teacher by spiritual preparation, testifying frequently, and extending bold and loving commitments. We talked about how doing all of those things ties into charity. It was really awesome! After zone training we went to lunch with some of the sisters and then out finding. 

The rest of our weekend took a sad turn for the worse. I am not going to go into major detail.. but Friday, our amazing recent convert Shina took her life. We talked to her on Friday, she called us in desperation. So that day was spent contacting family and the police and trying to do what we could to locate her. We got the news on Saturday that she had passed away and so we spent time with her family, helping them through this process and working through funeral arrangements. Shina was the only member of her family, but they respected her decision to be LDS so much that they have decided to do a "Mormon funeral", despite their catholic and other religious backgrounds. 

I just want to say thank you to everyone who has reached out to Sister Moffett and I over the past few days. We have a testimony that the atonement is very real and that Shina is busy working hard and that we will see her again. But to be very honest, that doesn't make this in any way easy. It has been so hard! So I appreciate the love and prayers. 

Our lovely bishop and his wife have allowed us to stay in their home for the past few days so we aren't alone. Our mission president and his wife are also doing all they can to help us heal and grieve. 

Please pray for Shina's family. They are hurting and need the extra heavenly help. Also please go tell everyone you love that you love them. Life is crazy and you just never know. 

I want to leave you with my testimony. I know that Jesus Christ lives. I know that He is my savior. I know that his atoning sacrifice is very real and it is for everyone. I can testify that God has a plan for each of us. He loves us and wants us to be happy. I don't know for sure why bad things sometimes happen but I can only guess that it is because we are here on earth to be shaped and refined and molded into amazing people. Sometimes it hurts but like my mission president told me it will get better. I know that Shina is busy! She is very much alive in spirit. I know that my cousin Andrew and that Annie are also very busy. They have a work to do :) I love this gospel and I love being a missionary. 

Have a good week! Be safe and know that I love you guys! 

Love,

Sister Harley Munk 

Jesus Is coming repent sign...

Krispie Kreme with my friends

I found my DREAM home....

City of Allergies is what I should say.

2/27/2017 Zone Conference

Hey! 

I feel like every time I sit down to type this up I have so many things I want to tell you! Unfortunately I only have a short amount of time so I'll do my best. Y'all are troopers for actually reading these! 

Ok to start off this week we had zone conference. That is where a few different zones meet together and have trainings with president and sister Jardine and the assistants. The zone leaders and sister training leaders also give some trainings for their zones. It was super awesome :) Our zone met with only a few others so the whole mission wasn't together but I did get to see a lot of my friends. It was the best! .The spirit was definitely there and I learned a lot! I was asked to be the chorister and as I was standing up there leading I couldn't help but get a little choked up. I have made some really amazing friends out here. The spirit hit me so strong and it just reminded me that I am super blessed to be here surrounded by amazing people. 

The purpose for our training was to learn how to become a Master Student and a Master Teacher by successfully studying and applying principles from the scriptures and Preach My Gospel Every Day. President Jardine brought up 3 things that we need to do as teachers. Love. Listen. and Level. 

Then we all broke off into our zones and had some more training. Our zone split in half and Sister Moffett and I gave a training on asking questions and the zone leaders gave a training on listening. It was awesome :) We did tons of role plays and learned a lot! 

Another exciting thing this week was going on exchanges with some sisters that we serve! I got to be with Sister Johansen and it was really fun :) She is a super sweet sister and a very hard worker. She loves musical theater so we just talked and talked all about our favorite shows! But also we did lots of missionary work ;) 

Oh yeah!! And on Friday our lovely YSA Ward had a baptism :) So the YSA Ward covers both the Elk Grove and Sacramento stakes. So the zone leaders serve in the Elk Grove stake and we serve in the sac stake. Gabe lives in the Elk Grove stake so the elders were teaching him and he was baptized on Friday! He is an awesome kid and he totally loves the gospel and he has a really strong testimony that he shared with us at his baptism. The elders asked Sister Moffett and I if we would do the missionary moment so we got up there and taught the restoration to everyone while Gabe was changing into dry clothes. It was awesome! 

On Sunday we had a recent convert dinner! It was awesome :) We invited all of the recent converts who had been baptized within the past year or two and even though not all of them came, it was really fun to see them all together. We talked a lot about progressing and enduring in the gospel. We have some awesome people over here in Elk Grove! 

This week I am studying charity and I'm trying to improve. (President Jardine always tells us there is no such thing as trying it's either do or don't lol) Loving everyone is kind of hard!! My companion is the sweetest thing ever and loves people the second she meets them. It's truly impressive and so it's my goal to be better at that. :) 

Well that's all I've got for ya right now! Love you all so much. Make this week the best week ever. :) Love you!! 
Sister Harley Munk

Sister Hanekamp, Cha and McDonald

a guy in our ward is a photographer and he sent this to me, he said

"the moment when your true character comes out"

Me and my super cute companion

exchanges with sister Johansen

Love these sweet sisters

NO I did not shave the side of my head, but I did

devour a chocolate molten cake with my favs

Found some glitter in our apartment so I gave my

Companion a pedi and did some glitter fun

Got to see Elder Dougherty and Elder Hallmark at Gabes baptism this week

2/20/17 15 Months!!

This week was a super crazy week! We found a few new investigators and were able to teach a lot of lessons :) It was awesome!! This email is gonna be a quick one, enjoy!

On Monday we had a super fun zone activity :) We played minute to win it games in the gym. Our zone leaders Elder Jermain and Maloy put it all together and everyone had so much fun :) I was going to take a bunch of fun pics and videos but of course I forgot! 

Tuesday we were going to have service but they cancelled on us so we went and got free breakfast at Chic-Fil-A with sister Hanekamp and sister Cha :) Then we went and "heart attacked a family that the sisters are teaching. It was super cute! Valentine's Day was just like any other day for us haha but Mellissa and Alex (2 members of our Ward) came and surprised us with cute presents. Those two girls rock! 

On Tuesday night we slept at sister Hanekamp and sister Cha's apartment and then we went on an exchange the next day. It was a blast! I love those two!! 

On Wednesday I woke up with just an annoying little headache but I didn't think anything of it. Then as sister Hanekamp and I went out my headache got worse and worse until it had turned into a migraine and I could even blink without wanting to throw up. So we went back to the apartment ate some lunch and then I took a nap. THEN I woke up and my vision was super blurry... like all I could see was blobs of light. I couldn't even read sister Hanekamps name tag. It was so scary!! I was freaking out. So we called the doctor and he explained that sometimes when migraines happen they can make your vision blurry or make it so you completely loose your vision for a few hours. He told me to just wait it out and that it should go away.... 😥 

Thankfully my vision went back to normal after about 2 hours but meanwhile we had to go to dinner and an appointment so that was interesting haha 

Thank goodness for sister Hanekamp! She was so nice and helpful and kept me laughing through it all :) Plus she is such an amazing missionary and has a really powerful testimony. Love her ❤️ 

Thursday we had district meeting and we talked about the power of personal testimonies. I love this quote by Elder Holland "Our personal testimonies are our timeless and ultimately undeniable weapons." Never underestimate the power that comes when you bear your simple testimonies with those around you. My life has been changed over and over as my faith has been strengthen by others powerful testimonies. 

Nothing exciting happened on Friday but on Saturday I hit my 15 month mark!! So crazy. My super sweet companion decorated the bathroom mirror with sticky notes that had 15 things that make me so awesome. She is so sweet!! 

The relief society had a sleepover on Saturday so we went and ate dinner with them and it was so much fun! Then on Sunday morning after we planned and studied we went and had breakfast with them. YSA work is the best :) 

Church was awesome as usual! The talks in sacrament were all about missionary work and then in Sunday school we talked about prayer. In relief society we had an awesome lesson on the importance of temples and family history. I don't know what it was about church but the spirit was just so strong the whole time. I'm so grateful to be out here serving! It's very humbling to know that Heavenly Father trusts me to assist in  this great work. 

I love you all and hope your Valentine's Day was awesome :) Happy Presidents Day!! Have a great week and be safe!! 

Love, 

Sister Harley Munk 

Our cute presents from Melissa and Alex

Valentine gifts

Relief Society party

love these ladies

Chillin at the church with my home girl

Happy 15 Months!!!!