Happy Valentines Day 2/13/2017

Hello all you wonderful people! 

This week was a pretty ok week. We had a few miracles happen and a few not so amazing things happened but Sister Moffett and I made the best of it :) 

First off investigator report... 

Khalida is no longer on date for the 18th (not so amazing) She told us she is just feeling a little bit rushed and scared so she wants to push it back to March 4th. So we talked about it with her a little bit and made an appointment to really talk with her but then she cancelled it so honestly we don't know what to do about her. She needs prayers! 

David is a referral we got from the Spanish branch and he was progressing pretty nicely while the Spanish elders were teaching him but due to boundary issues they had to refer him to us and now we can't get ahold of him. So we are kind of bummed about that but hopefully his girlfriend who is a member will be able to help us out :) 

Billy Jean! Oh my Billy Jean is hilarious :) She was a former investigator but randomly we stopped by her house one day and invited her to come to church and guess what...she actually came!!! Crazy right? It was awesome :) Also she told us she was going to be at fhe tonight so we are really pumped about it. 

Other hand that we don't have very many investigators and like always we are really working his week to find a new investigator!! This morning I was reading in pmg and laughed when I read the line that says "Nothing happens in missionary work until you find people to teach." I know! We are working on it ;) 

So yeah also this week we had MLC (mission leadership council) and it was seriously so fun to see Sister Polatis, Sister Cundick, Hermana Woodbury, and all my other cool mission friends all together :) We also took what we learned at MLC and had a pretty awesome zone training. The training was based on becoming better teachers of repentance. Good stuff!! 

We also spent a lot of time with the other sisters that serve in our zone. Sister Hanekamp and Sister Cha :) We woke up super early (ok it was only 6am) and drove to their apartments and went running with them for morning glory. Yes I went running... haha it was super fun! I love those two sisters. They are super hardworking missionaries. 

Sister Moffett and I also had the privilege of doing team ups with our wonderful sisters. First we went with Sister Johansen and Sister Thomas and worked with them in their area for a few hours. It was really fun! Then we had team ups with Sister Cha and Hanekamp :) Not to brag or anything but we have some stellar sisters here in Sacramento!! I learned a lot from each of those sisters this week :) But I totally spaced taking pics with them so sorry.... next time! 

We also had interviews this week! It seems like we just did that because haha we did! They changed the way that they do interviews and zone conferences. They happen every transfer now :) I love it!! I get to talk to president and see all my friends a lot more and it's super nice. 

This weekend was my cousin Andrews birthday :) I spent all day thinking about him and trying to remember funny memories which is hard to do because my brain has replaced everything with gospel knowledge haha it's called mission brain and its real. But anyways, I just really miss that kid and wish I knew him better. He was a good guy and we always had fun even if we got in trouble for it :) Love you Andrew 💙 

Also happy birthday shout out to the following wonderful people: 

Taylor!!!Glad you had a fun party in Peru :) 🇵🇪 

Savana!!! Your getting old... lol hope you party it up! Ps how was London?? 

Ellie!!! I miss you :) Have fun with the fam! 😘love you 

Karadie!!! Happy Birthday girl!!! You better email me and tell me all about the fun things you do. 

Oh yeah and Happy Valentines everyone I hope your day is full of pink, chocolate, and love 😉(because mine won't be lol) 

Just want to leave you all with my testimony of eternal families and the plan of salvation. I know that Gods plan is perfect and that it is centered on Christ. I am so eternally grateful for my savior. Thanks to him I will one day see my cousin, great grandparents, and other loved ones again. Because of Him I can find joy in this really hard and trying life. I know that he lives and that he loves me. I know that he loves all of you too. If you have a minute read over the relief society lesson from Sunday...I think it's chapter 3 in the Gordon B. Hinckley Book :) Its good stuff! 

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

Love,

Sister Harley Munk 

I love this girl!!

LOL Happy Valentines Day everyone!!

We made protein treats with the sisters. YUM, it hit me

that I only have a couple months left I need to eat healthier.

2/6/2017 It's Already February

Hello wonderful people!! 

This week has probably been one of the fastest weeks on my mission. I swear I just blinked and boom the week was over! I have a ton of things to tell you all :) 

So first off this new area is absolutely giant compared to my past areas. We cover the entire Sacramento stake while the elders cover the Elk Grove stake. It's kind of confusing even for me still but the YSA Ward is 2 stakes combined so we share it with the elders. Of course our half of the Ward is the most ghetto part while the elders have the nice, pretty area but hey no complaining! Haha 

Sister Moffett has been here for like 6 months so she knows the area pretty well which is super nice for me because holy smokes I'm so lost! There are freeways and like a trillion little streets and neighborhoods...but don't worry I'll figure it out soon enough :) 

The nice thing about a huge area is that we are basically full time car :) We get 1600 miles a month and it is the best. Assuming this will be my last area I'm really excited about not having to bike in the heat of the summer :) 

So this week we had a few really awesome lessons with some really cool college kids. It so nice being able to teach people my age. It's my favorite! It feels so much more natural and more like a conversation. I feel like it's just easier for me to relate to them so teaching is so fun! Plus Sister Moffett is a really awesome teacher and we have been getting pretty good at teaching together. Just the whole YSA thing is so fun! Contacting people on campus is absolutely terrifying but I love it!! The downside is young college students tend to be a little flaky so we find a lot of people but getting solid return appointments where they actually show up is harder. But those who are truly prepared are out there and we are gonna find them!! 

Funny Contacting on campus story: 

So we were walking around on campus trying to talk to not be awkward lol (contacting college students here is always awkward....but we try) And all of a sudden this girl comes up to us and she starts contacting us! She was a missionary from a non denominational church and she was just going around inviting people to a bible study on campus. It was super funny! We told her that we were also missionaries and we were going around talking to people about Jesus Christ and repentance and she just didn't get it. She was doing a good job contacting us and we could tell she was trying so we just let her talk and then we tried explaining it again but somehow we ended up holding hands praying together. So I guess even though she didn't fully understand who we were at least we were able to strengthen her faith. She was so cute and gave us hugs. After that Sister Moffett and I were just busting up. That was the first time I had ever been on the "other side" of a real life contact! It gave me some new perspective:) 

Crazy story of the week:

One of the amazing recent converts in the Ward took us to lunch on Thursday after district meeting. She took us to this really yummy sushi place and it just happened to be an all you can eat day. So she went crazy and was ordering like one of everything haha But it was all super good :) Anyways, she ordered some octopus and she told us that we HAD to eat one.... so we did. It was so weird!! I'll send the video of me eating it :) 

Also we have this week my testimony was strengthened so much! We had some crazy cool miracles happen :) 

First off we have this investigator named Khalida and she comes from a Muslim background but she is dating a member of the church. He actually just got home from his mission. So thanks to him she already knows a lot! Sister Moffett had been teaching her before I came so we got the ok from our mission president so we invited her to be baptized on the 18th. She is crazy prepared :) When we were teaching the plan of salvation she was already so familiar with it and she kept finishing our sentences hahaha She loves the idea of repentance. It was so sad when she was telling us what she grew up thinking. She said "Well I already know I'm going to hell anyways so why even bother trying?" It's so sad to me that people truly believe that there is no hope. The fact that we can make it back to our Heavenly Father by repenting and using the gift that Christ gave us (the atonement) has changed Khalida's whole life. So keep her in your prayers! She will be interviewed this week :) 

Next miracle! We got a referral from the Spanish elders of a YSA who is also already praying about the baptismal date of February 25!! We met him in Sunday at church and he is really nice. His girlfriend is a member, recent convert in the Spanish branch and she is a huge support to him. Flirt to convert. It works ;) So ya we have a lesson with him this week and we will see what he is thinking! 

Ok last one!! The zone leaders texted us last night saying "You have an appointment Saturday at 3" haha so we are super excited and hoping that whoever it is with is interested :) 

Well this thing is long enough!! Sorry I keep blabbing away. I just love being a missionary. It's the greatest and I am really going to miss it. These last few months are going to be amazing and I can't wait to see more miracles here in Elk Grove! 

I hope you all have a fantastic week! Go serve someone :) Help them to feel Gods love!

Love you all,

Sister Harley Munk ❤️

 The sushi Spread

 We found a pretty rainbow the other day while trying to

find someone.

 The rainbow was supposed to be behind us....whoops

 So there is a neighborhood in the nice part of town that legit has a little

lake in the center of it. Everyone that lives there has cute little paddle

boats.......goals.

My cute mission president and his amazing wife. I can't express in words

how much I love and respect these two. I look up to them in every way.

1/31/2017 Transfers

Hello beautiful people! I hope everyone has had a great week full of fun :) All week I have been thinking about how blessed and lucky I am to be here on a mission. I know I say this all the time, but time flies by so fast on a mission and it's starting to hit me that my time left is short. I can't help but reflect on all the amazing people I have met, things I have learned, and experiences I have had. This week I have learned to enjoy every minute and to be grateful for what I have! 

To start off I'm sure most of you have heard all about the new missionary schedule. Let me just tell ya it is the best!! We still wake up at 6:30 am but we get to choose when we want to work out, plan, and do personal study. It makes the mornings so much nicer!! And I love planning in the morning. :) The other changes are that companionship study is now only 30 min and it can be whenever we decide to do it. Lunch is also only 30 minutes which means no more 20 minute power naps....but we are in by 9:00 and we don't have to plan at night anymore so we get to go to bed earlier!!! Well I guess I should say we are in bed earlier but Sister Polatis and I still talk each others ears off until 10:30 haha But the changes have been really nice :) In preparation for the missionary broadcast that we had (which is when we found out about all the changes) our mission president had us study D&C 58:27-28 which talks about how we are agents to act for ourselves. The idea is that we are accountable and can make our own decisions. If we are anxiously engaged in our missionary efforts then we are given more flexibility throughout our day. Also they gave us more time on preparation day so we can actually rest and relax :) I just love being a missionary!!! 

The missionary broadcast was awesome :) It was just basically a recap of the one we had a year ago. It was all about teaching repentance and baptizing converts. This week during my studies I have tried to focus on repentance. One of my favorite quotes in PMG is that "As we learn more about what the Savior expects of us, we will want to show our love by obeying Him. Thus, as we repent daily, we will find that our lives will change and improve. Our hearts and our behavior will become more Christlike. We will come to feel great joy in repenting daily." It changes the way I think and feel about repentance. In the broadcast I also was reminded of the importance of the order the gospel principles are. First faith then repentance, baptism, gift of the Holy Ghost, and enduring to the end. It was a super good broadcast! :) 

Then the rest of the week consisted of visiting potentials and less active Members. Funny story! So sister Polatis and I realized we have a problem. We are addicted to sugar. Like for real haha so we decided we were going to avoid sugar. Well after like 2 days of going strong I was craving chocolate so bad haha So as we were walking to this persons house I stopped and right in front of me was this beautiful, unwrapped chocolate bar. It was hilarious because I was just telling sister Polatis that I wanted some chocolate! Don't worry I left it there. But the next day I gave in and I have gladly welcomed sugar back into my life ;) 

Another exciting thing happened! The Northridge sisters have is awesome investigator named Bill and he has been dating a less active member of their Ward named Amanda. Well Bill really wants to get baptized :) He has a testimony and a desire! So they got married so that he could take the next step of baptism. I had met them a few times and they are just so awesome!! Anyways they invited us to their wedding so we went! They are so happy and he is really excited to be baptized soon :) 

Now onto the sad, sad, heartbreaking news...... I got transferred 😢 I am now serving in the Cosumnes River YSA Ward in the Elk Grove zone with Sister Moffett 😀 Sister Polatis is staying in Carmichael and her new companion is Sister Cundick!! 

Leaving Fair Oaks 3rd and College Oak was super sad but leaving Sister Polatis was the worst thing in the world. Oh my goodness. I am going to miss her so much but luckily I'll see her all the time and we will hang out when we get home. Also sister Moffett is super super nice and fun so all is well :) I am really excited to be here! This YSA Ward is huge and has 2 college campuses so the first thing we did was go to campus and talk to people. THERE ARE SO MANY PEOPLE ON CAMPUS TO TALK TO ITS INSANE. Not gonna lie I was a little overwhelmed but it was super fun :) we got a new investigator and invited everyone we talked to repent! I am really excited for this transfer. It was so sad though because as I was packing up my stuff Sister Polatis said, "Sister Munk next time you pack you will probably be going home." 😭😭 what in the world?!! Haha but it's true I think I will stay here for the rest of my mission. Weird. 

Well I hope you all have a good week! I want you all to know that I know this gospel is true. Jesus Christ is our Savior and his plan is perfect. Do all you can to become more like him and your life will be significantly happier. This gospel will bring you so much joy as you follow it's teachings. Love you all!! 

No more sugar!!

Four generations of awesome!!! (I trained sister Cundick who trained sister Cha who trained sister Wilkins)  

Weddings!!

Sister Polatis captured this picture of me trying to get rid of a headache and I thought my family would enjoy it. And yes. It is dr. Pepper 

Saying goodbye to the Harris family

Saying goodbye to bishop Sprague and his sweet family! 

Last day with Sister Polatis! 

 Sister Moffett!! She is super sweet :) She is from Layton, Utah. She is 24 and has been out for a year. 

exciting stuff!!

1/23/2017 Sinus Infection and Hives

Hello everyone :) I hope that you have had an awesome week!! Sister Polatis and I had a pretty interesting week haha it started out pretty normal. We went on exchanges when the lovely Northridge sisters (Sister McDonald and Sister Jorgensen) We are doing exchanges differently now so we ask stayed in our area and split of during the day and for dinner then at night we all stayed at our house. It was like a giant sleepover!! So fun :) Sister Polatis' mom sent her a super fun snow package with white styrofoam snow balls. So Sister Polatis and I had a snowball fight hahaha it was super fun :) Poor Sister Jorgensen got a migraine so we stayed inside for most of the day. I got a bunch of Book of Mormon reading done! I figured out that if I read about 2 pages everyday I will be able to finish the Book of Mormon by June 3. Hooray!! I think one of the biggest changes I have seen in myself so far is my love for the Book of Mormon. It's the greatest :) 

Then when I woke up in Tuesday I had a massive headache and my nose and right under my eyes were swollen :( My throat hurt pretty bad too so we called the mission doctor and he told me to go get musinex. So for most of that day I was not feeling good and we came home a little early so I could sleep it off. Well that lasted and turned into a Sinus Infection :( But I am feeling a lot better now!! Funniest thing happened though!! Sister Polatis was also not feeling good and bad some Sinus problems too so I graciously offered her some musinex and about an hour after she took it she turned to me and said oh no sister Munk. Oh my goodness she was bright red, like super super red and covered in hives!!! She had an allergic reaction to the medicine so we had to call the doctor again (poor guy hears from us way to much lol) We got her some benadryl and waited for her to turn back to normal. It was actually pretty scary at the time because she was super itchy and the doctor kept asking if she was breathing or if her throat was closing and you know me I don't do well in those kinds of situations but looking back at it, it was pretty funny! 

This week or stake had a family festival and it was super fun! We handed out invitations to everyone we could!!! The gym was transformed into a carnival with booths of different kinds of food from all over the world. Sister Polatis and I were in charge of doing Chapel this. Not a ton of people showed up to that part unfortunately but it was still super fun :) 

Transfers are this weekend and I'm feeling a change coming in which is super sad because I love Sister Polatis! She had easily become one of my best friends and I am super pumped to hang out with her when we get home :) 

Well enjoy the pictures and have a great rest of your week :) Love you all!! 

1/16/2017 Brother and Sister Renlund

Hello everyone! This week was a super awesome one :) The special visitor I talked about last week was Elder Renlund and his wife Sister Renlund, the area seventy Elder Dorius and another seventy Elder Ardurn. It was so awesome to meet an apostle! We each got to shake their hands and then they spoke to all the missionaries. So cool :) There was also a women's session for a bunch of the stakes in the area. It was up at the church building next to the temple called the Mormon center. Unfortunately we missed most of the women's session because there were tons and tons of people there! We sat in traffic waiting and waiting and then once we got there we had to park and wait in line for about 20 minutes to be shuttled up to the building. It was super freezing too. But by the time we got to the front of the line they said "Sorry no more room you will have to go to a different building where they will broadcast it." We were bummed so we drove to the other building but even that building was packed full so we got a seat in the back! Then they were having technical difficulties so we caught the last part. Kind of a bummer! 

There was one specific thing that I really loved and took to heart from what Elder Renlund said to all of us during the mission meeting. He drew on the board a picture and it looked like this

He told us that to get to the miracle zone we need to have a positive attitude and a positive and diligent effort. It made me think of which box my natural man is and he gave me hope that I can move to that miracle zone by choosing to be there and doing all I can to get there. Kind of a cool concept for me. And really it applies to everything we do. When we have a positive attitude and we put forth effort we find joy and success but when we have a negative attitude, even if we put forth a lot of effort we won't have joy. 

Anyways, this week it has been rainy but it's starting to warm up just a tad. There hadn't been much flooding here but I know in some parts of Sacramento there has been tons of flooding. 

I just miss the warm sunshine hahaha oh well! 

I'm pretty sure that is everything! Sister Polatis and I are working hard and we have faith that a miracle is just around the corner :) love you all and hope the rest of your week is awesome!! 

I got to see another California cousin waiting in line at the Mormon center :) So fun to see her! 

rain rain go away

I took accept stalker photo of Elder Renlund and his wife lol It was so cool to meet them! They are so spiritual but also just so real and hilarious. It was an amazing experience! 

Love,

Sister Harley Munk ❤️️

1/9/2017 Rain Rain Rain

Hello everyone!!! This week has been pretty good 😀 We are focusing on finding a ton right now! We made a goal to bike as much as we can but holy smokes it has been raining so much this week!! Like pouring buckets so we decided that it was OK to drive haha

So or mission does this thing called full bike day where literally all day we bike no driving. Sister Polatis and I had a great time biking all over the place! We were freezing but honestly it was fun and we totally found a new investigator!!! Miracles happen when you bike in the freezing cold!! 

We got to go on team ups with some amazing sisters this week. I got to go to east sac with Sister Cundick 😍 love that girl!! We worked hard and had fun. We also drove down a road in Ashton Park infested with peacocks 😂 of course. Then I got to go with Sister McDonald in the Northridge ward. She is hilarious and I just love being around her. Every time I get the chance to spend time with the sisters that I serve around I am reminded of how amazing these sisters serving in this mission are!! It's such a blessing being here surrounded by such incredible disciples of Christ. 

This week was pretty uneventful besides that. But I took some pics this week and made a video so sorry for the short email. I am doing awesome of here and loving life!! Sister Polatis is still making me laugh everyday and we are sad that this transfer can't last longer. Pay that we stay together!! Hahaha 

Love you all and I hope you are having a fabulous week!! Oh yah! This weekend is going to be awesome!! We have a special guest visiting the mission to talk to all of us. Can't wait!! Stay tuned folks. 

Love you!!

Beautiful Sister McDonald 😍

Bike Day

My best friend is a STREET

This was on someones door

Love this girl

We played fusseball as an activity and it was the best

1/2/2017 Happy New Years!!

Hello everyone! HAPPY NEW YEAR!!!! It is hard to believe that another year has come and gone. We had a super fun New Years :) We met as a zone and had a mini little meeting about how to use Facebook more effectively and then we spent the rest of the time playing signs. It was super fun to just hang out for a little bit! I forgot what hanging out with friends was like haha On the way home Sister Polatis looked at me and said "Sister Munk! Our full mission year is over. We go home this year!" 😕 That's a weird thought. I spent some time this week looking at old pictures and just remembering the good times and the bad times from 2016 and I was just overwhelmed with gratitude for all of it! I am a little nervous about 2017. Thinking about all the changes and decisions that are ahead are a little overwhelming but thanks to our inspired relief society president our relief society lesson on Sunday helped a lot! I decided to base my motto for 2017 off of a scripture verse. Philippians 4:13 "I can do all things through Christ, which strenghthenth me." 

I am not very good at keeping New Years resolutions or even making making them.... haha but our district leader left me with a commitment to think of some and make them stick so here it goes. 

Sister Munk's 2017 New Years Resolutions:

• Read and Study the Book of Mormon every single day! 
• Be more charitable by seeking out service opportunities. 
• Continue to strengthen my relationship with the Savior by following spiritual promptings. 

Ok so for the review of the last week! Sister Polatis and I have been biking a lot in hopes of finding some new investigators 🙂 I don't know if it is just because it is the holidays or what but NO ONE has been outside....😑 hahaha but that's ok! We did have a miracle this week though. We were going to try this potential investigator. (someone who has talked briefly with missionaries in the past) We knocked on the door and a man answered and told us that she no longer lives there but we just started talking with him and he opened up to us and told us about all of these hard things he has been through. We testified to him of the power of the atonement and the Book of Mormon and it was just a super spiritual contact. We got his phone number and set up a lesson for the next day!!!! Buuuutttt the number he gave us doesn't work and he wasn't there for the lesson hahaha but we are just hoping that it was all a mistake and we will be able to get in contact with him soon 🤞🏻 

We went on exchanges this week with sister Turner and Cundick and it was awesome! Those two are amazing missionaries and I am so glad we get to work with them! Sister Turner and I got asked if we were sisters like 3 times hahaha which is a huge compliment to me because she is gorgeous! I had a fun time with her and I learned a lot from her. 

Not a lot happened this week...pray for sister Polatis and I that we can find some new investigators!!! 

I hope you all have an awesome start to the new year! Be safe and have fun 😃 

Love you all! 

Love,

Sister Harley Munk 

Ps. lots of people have been asking so.... June 3rd is my release date. 

Our Awesome Zone

Biking in the freezing cold

Exchanges with the sisters

Huge thanks to the Polatis family for the shirt.

Reppin Idaho everywhere I go. Also thanks to Share for the cute

California necklace.