W.o.W.

Gooooood Morning!

Remember how it was supposed to snow a lot last week? It didn't snow AT ALL! It got a lot colder, but not a flake of snow hit the ground in New Brighton. Apparently other areas of the mission got almost 2 feet of snow, but we were blessed with none! I almost feel like I'm missing out, but then I remember how much I actually don't like snow and I'm super grateful this winter has been mild for me! I was super scared to come to Minnesota because everyone made it sound way colder than it actually is, so I'm happy. I love Minnesota.

This week we set a baptism date with Steeeeeeve! I'm super excited for him. He is such a nice guy and has a real desire to learn and grow closer to God and our Savior, Jesus Christ. We taught him the Word of Wisdom and we brought up alcohol and he said, "That won't be a problem. I haven't drank in 30 years." Then we brought up smoking, "That won't be a problem. I quit smoking when I stopped drinking." Then we brought up illegal drugs, "Oh that's no problem. I've never gotten into those." Then tea, "Oh no problem, I have never been a tea drinker." Then coffee, "Oh boy, that's going to be hard. I used to drink about 15 cups a day, but I've cut down to about 5 a day already so it shouldn't be too hard. I'll do it." What? This guy is awesome. So that was on Tuesday, and we saw him again on Thursday and we asked how it was going and he said, "Well I'm down to one cup a day so I'm just going to stop." He cut down to only one a day in 2 days! We told Steve that when God commands us to do something, He will ALWAYS provide a way for us to do it. We told him that he will receive help with this, and it sounds like he already has! His baptism is scheduled for March 25th, so hopefully things keep going well for him!

Well I don't really know what else to write about. We've just been doing lots of tracting, planting seeds hopefully! 

I love being a missionary and getting to bring the happiness and joy that I have from the gospel to others. Sometimes it's discouraging when no one wants to talk to you, but the little moments that we get to share our testimony with people makes it all worth it. I can't believe how blessed I am to have been born into a family that already had this knowledge of the restored gospel. So many people are not blessed with this privilege. I'm so grateful for this opportunity that I have each day to go out and tell people this knowledge and how it can bless their life. 

Love and miss you all!  Sorry for no pictures this week!

NO PICTURES??? We can't have that. I've gone back through some pictures she's sent me in the past so we can add some to the blog this week.  :)

I sent her a picture of our snow this morning on my way home from running errands. 

Monday, February 27th, 2017

She sent me a snapshot of their weather.....whaaaat? Where is her snow? hahaha

I read on the MMM facebook group that other areas in her mission got so much snow they had to stay inside. Brooklyn must really be praying hard for a milder winter! 

The following pictures are what she probably should be getting. 

These were taken when she was in Rochester in December.

It's hard to see in this light but there's a huge tower of snow behind her!

Cute missionaries having a little snowball fun!

Brooklyn sent me a picture showing she made meatballs from scratch and said they turned out yummy. All I can see, as a mom, is how old and rusty the pan they have to use is! I asked her about it and she said, "Yeah, most of our cooking stuff is not in the best shape." I've already ordered some silicone mats she can easily take with her to each area and place on top of whatever pans she has to use! hahaha

Frat Houses and Weird Bikes!

Well well well! Here we are again, another week down, time is going by waaaay too quick!! This week was super eventful! Right now we are in the process of dropping people that aren't super interested or making any progress, and trying to find new people to teach that are ready for the gospel. This means tracting! Lots and lots of knocking on doors! And so far, it's been pretty successful!! Also, the last couple of days have been in the 60's!! The flippin' 60's!! In MINNESOTA!! No one can believe it! The natives say this NEVER happens. My prayers have been answered. Except it's supposed to snow 7 inches on Friday... (I checked the weather and the high will be around 32 degrees that day)

Anywayyyyyyy, this week, one day that we went tracting, we talked to a total of 9 people, (which is actually more than normal for an hour of tracting here) and 6 out of the 9 actually talked to us and let us share a message! We will see if any of the 6 become new investigators! It was pretty cool though.

The best thing that happened last week though... was the fraternity!! We had a media referral for this guy named Karl. It said that he requested a Book of Mormon. We have been trying to get a hold of him for a while but his number didn't work. One night we went to his address and it was a frat house! There was a guy coming outside so we asked him if Karl was there and he said, "He lives here but he's not home. He's usually home around 11-1 for lunch." So we came back the next day, knocked on the door, no one came. So we went to the door on the other side and no one came. So we moved down to a side door where we could see a ton of guys in there and they all pointed to the back. So we went around to the back and this guy says, "Sorry we have to leave those doors closed for the winter, come in." So we walk into this frat house full of guys eating lunch and they're all just staring at us. Not gonna lie, it was super intimidating! We asked if Karl was there and one of the guys was like "uhhh yeah that's me..." We asked if he requested a Book or Mormon and he looked super confused so we said, "Maybe it was a prank...." and he said, "I think it was a prank...." So Sister Ching says, "Well, do any of you want some pamphlets or a Book of Mormon or our card?" And a bunch of them said yes and then started asking us a ton of questions about what we believe!! It was super cool! Who knows, maybe 20 years down the road some of them will run into missionaries again and remember when we came to their frat house!

Remember Steve that I talked about last week? Well we met with him last Tuesday and he said he still has a desire to be baptized! So hopefully we will have a baptism date for him in the next little while! I'm super excited for him! 

I forgot to write about the Chinese New Year party that we went to last week, so I'll include some pictures from that!

The church is true! I love you all! 

Minneapolis is a weird place... This dude was just riding around on this bike!

They were invited to a Chinese New Year Celebration because her companion is Asian.

Sister Hermansen and Sister Ching

So much yummy food, but Brooklyn said she still likes Panda Express better!

Mom notes: On a side note I sent Brooklyn a picture of some darling twin babies wearing cabbage patch hair hats that had been crocheted. I thought they were so funny and she loves babies. I said if anyone in our family has twin girls I would have these hats made for them. We were able to email back and forth today and she replied, "I have decided since being on my mission that I want like 10 kids hahahaha so maybe I'll have twins!" This happy grandma just wanted to put that in writing! hahahaha 

Then Brooklyn said, "I'm learning so much about what kind of parent I want to be and how I want to keep my house and everything. Oh and I'm learning what kind of husband I want and how I want to be as a wife! I'm so glad that I made the decision to serve a mission. (We are too) Every day it helps me realize how truly blessed I am, and how much this time is going to bless my whole life." Things we as parents only hope to have our kids realize sooner than later! hahaha

I then asked her if she had other things she had to get done today, she said "Yeah we have to clean the whole apartment because it's getting checked tomorrow." Yay, for cleaning without being told to....sort of! 

Besides the obvious reasons of why it's a good thing to serve a mission, I think all of the above reasons are pretty great, too!

It feels like summer! February 13, 2017

Hello! The last few days it's been over 40 degrees and it feels soooo warm! We can go out with out jackets and there's tons of people walking around in shorts and t-shirts! Minnesota is a weird place! I never thought I would feel warm in 40 degree weather. 

Anyway, a lot has gone on in the last couple of weeks! Last Wednesday Sister Woo flew back home to Hong Kong! I'm still in New Brighton, and my new companion is Sister Ching! She was in my district in Rochester, then when I came up to New Brighton she came up to Blaine which is in my district too, and now we're companions! So I've served around her my whole mission so far! We have a lot of fun together. :)

Now for some stories. 

One day we felt like we should go to an apartment building, but the building we had planned to go to was a lock-out apartment. We prayed that a way for us to be able to get in would be provided. We got out of the car and started walking to the door. Right as we got there, a guy came out of the building. Then we decided to start tracting on the bottom floor. We didn't have much success though. But funny story, a lady came down to go into her apartment and it was one of the doors that a lady had answered and shut the door on us. We could hear them talking and then we heard, "I don't know but there's two more outside. I wasn't going to let them in." We were confused of what she was talking about until we walked up the stairs and saw the elders in our area standing at the door trying to get in. Hahaha in the month and a half I've been in this area, we have never run into the elders. Anyway, the mailboxes had names on them and almost all of them were hispanic names and the elders are Spanish speaking so we told them they could just tract the building. But then I decided to try one last door. I picked a Native American name from the mailboxes. When we knocked on the door a little Native American woman answered the door and let us right in. We were able to have a first lesson with her and it went really well! 

Our investigator Lee, (the glass-eye guy) dropped us this week. :( We set up an appointment for just a couple hours later and we went and he told us to leave. We left and called him like 5 minutes later and he told us he just doesn't want to see us again. We think someone told him to tell us to leave. He said we are still friends though and we can still call him sometimes. It was sad but we have faith that things will work out for him when the time is right. 

When I first got here there was an investigator Steve, who had a baptism date-set. We tried going to his apartment but someone told us that he got put into the hospital. We didn't have any way to get a hold of him so we were super sad. Then someone told us that he got moved to a care facility, but didn't know which one. So again, we had no way of getting a hold of him. One of the members sent him a card hoping to get a return address back, but had no success. We thought we had lost Steve forever. Until Brother Matthews, the member who sent him a letter, got a call from Steve! Apparently he's been in the hospital for weeks but is back at his new apartment! We're super excited to meet him and hopefully set a new baptism date with him! We are seeing him tomorrow so hopefully I'll have an update next week! 

I'm so grateful for this gospel. Since being on my mission I have realized how much this gospel has blessed me in all aspects of my life, and how much it will bless everyone's lives who choose to follow it. I know the gospel is true and I love it will all of my heart. I know that God is our Heavenly Father and His son, Jesus Christ is our Savior. He lived and died for you, and for me. I know that because of Christ, we will NEVER be alone. Christ is always here for us and he knows exactly what we've been through and how we feel. It is through Him, that we can receive comfort and happiness during hard times. He wants to help us. Let Him help you in your life, and you will be the happiest you have ever been. 

I love you all so much! Have a great week! 

Last district breakfast before Sister Woo left and transfers. The sister next to Sister Woo is my new companion, Sister Ching.

Pretty picture of the city.

Transfers this week! February 6, 2017

Mom notes: Brooklyn has not been taking the time to write much, I think I need to talk to her about that! I'll let you know what she did share with us. Her companion, Sister Woo is completing her mission this week and returning home to Hong Kong. The language barrier has been tough, but it sounds like they've still had a good time. Brooklyn has been learning Mandarin, just for fun--I'm not quite sure how that's going for her. Since Sister Woo is going to the mission home tomorrow, Brooklyn will be in a trio until Wednesday. Then she'll be with her new companion, Sister Ching. She has worked with Sister Ching before, so she is thrilled to already know her and she seems excited about the change. Sister Ching is from California. Brooklyn will continue to learn Mandarin, but at least she'll be able to communicate with Sister Ching more easily.

Remember the lost name tag.....she got a new one--it's in Mandarin Chinese! This picture is with Sister Wilcox, one of her companions in the MTC.

Some awesome members fed them dinner with a whole emoji theme! She said they get fed dinner every night. They are lucky (or spoiled!) haha

She had a tri-zone conference on Thursday where she was able to see her MTC companion, Sister Wilcox. I know that made her very happy!

Sister Woo and Brooklyn in matching outfits on their last day together!

Brooklyn wrote this, it says "I love you".

Mall of America! January 30, 2017

Since Sister Woo is dying next week, (completing her mission) we got to go to the Mall of America today! We're there right now, taking a break from rides so our lunch can settle, so I only have a few minutes to email. I'm just going to send some pictures and a video of us on a ride! Love you all and hope you have a great day! The gospel is true!  (Pretty cool that their Mission President lets them do this right before they leave and since Brooklyn is Sister Woo's companion, she got to go along. It will be interesting to see if her new Mission President will do the same. They get a new one in July this year.)

I'll bet she had Panda, she loves Chinese food!

The Elders with the member that drove them there.

Brooklyn sent us a note saying she had lost her missionary name tag on one of the rides and she felt naked! I asked her if she could go back and find it and she said she didn't have time. They had to leave and she had to be done emailing. I hope she has an extra one, not sure if she does! I guess we'll find out next Monday what happened.

Glenmoor Newsletter, January 23, 2017

Mom notes: Brooklyn didn't end up writing a general e-mail this week since she just barely had P-day 3 days ago with the Temple trip. She told me she didn't feel like she had anything new to write about. I told her I needed to turn something in for our Ward Newsletter. They have a section in the back where parents can put a paragraph or two from their missionaries emails for the ward members to read. As a parent of a missionary that's out right now, I love reading them and I send a copy to Brooklyn each month so she can see what her fellow ward missionaries are up to. She sent me the following to put in February's newsletter:

"Hello Glenmoor 8th Ward! For this newsletter I just wanted to write a little thank you to my ward family! I'm am so grateful for all of you and everything you guys have done for me through out my whole life. From primary teachers, activity days leaders, young women's leaders, Sunday school teachers, friends, and everyone else that has been a part of my life so far, you have all helped me become who I am today. I have been so blessed to have such amazing people around me. I've been a part of this ward my whole life and it will always feel like my home ward. (None of the wards out here even compare to Glenmoor 8th) ;) Thank you so much for all of your prayers and support. I know this gospel is true with all my heart. It has blessed my life in so many ways and I know it will bless every person's life who chooses to follow Christ's example and be a part of this amazing church. My advice for you, from the words of my grandma, "Remember who you are and what you stand for." I love you all!" 

It's true, we really live in a great ward and neighborhood! I also told her that Brian and I were going on our Stake's annual Laurel Retreat next weekend and since she had been at it a year ago, I wanted to know if she had any advice for the girls who where going to attend this year. This is what she wrote:

"I would tell the Laurels, Time goes by so quick, enjoy the little bit of time they have in high school left. Do fun stuff! (But not dumb stuff) For the ones that want to go on missions, don't wait to prepare. Start preparing now. Read your scriptures, say meaningful prayers, and seek guidance through your prayers and scripture study. Study the heck out of Preach My Gospel, but most importantly, pray to have missionary experiences now. Just experiences where you can share the gospel in small ways. Even if it's just being an example to those around you. Get in contact with the missionaries and see if you can help them as a joint teacher or anything. It's probably kind of difficult because it's Elders in our stake, but we take Priests out, it's just a little more complicated. Just try to have missionary experiences. I don't know what else to tell them. haha"

I thought it was excellent advice and it ended up being perfect to go along with our little Fireside. I still can't believe exactly one year ago Brooklyn was just like the girls we were talking to with so many decision and choices to be made about their futures. So much has happened since then. Time is going too fast!

Hello! January 20, 2017

Hello! Sorry for the lack of emails the last couple of weeks! Everything is going well here! I only have a little bit of time today so this email will be short!

Remember the glass eye guy Lee? We set a date for his baptism! He is scheduled to be baptized on February 18th! He is so sweet. :)

We switched our P-Day to today so we could go to them temple. Sister Richardson and Sister Ching slept over at our apartment last night and that was a lot of fun! :) We went as a district and there happened to be 3 other districts there too! It was so good. The temple is such an amazing place where the spirit is so strong. I'm so grateful for the temple. :)

The church is true! I love you all! I'll send a bunch of pictures to make up for this short email.

Sister Hermansen

2370 County Road E West, Apt #6

New Brighton, MN 55112

This random guy we contacted outside gave us this 1905 Book of Mormon! He said, "I'm an atheist. I have no use for it. And you guys are into it so you can just have it." So cool!

Mom notes: So, I want to explain more about this old Book of Mormon. Brooklyn sent us a video telling us all about it. When they were out and about they stopped and started talking to this man on the street. After a while he asked them if they were Mormons. They said yes and he told them he had been cleaning out his Aunt's apartment and there were tons of old books. One of them was a really old Book of Mormon. The girls asked if they could see it next time they were in the area. He told them if they waited he'd go get it now. He brought it out and I think he could see how excited they were and told them he wanted them to have it. He said he was an Atheist and felt like they should have it since they were into that sort of thing! They asked him if he was sure because it was worth some money. He said yes and that he had plenty of other old books he could sell and gave it to Brooklyn! She's pretty happy about it and I think she will value it as a wonderful memory of her mission. 

Glass eyes and puppies!! January 4, 2017

Happy New Year! Can you believe it's 2017?! I can't! Time is going by waaay too quick. Well, I'm here in New Brighton and it's so different than Rochester! I'm in the city now and it's super fun. This area is sooo much bigger than my last area so we have quite a bit more work to do and I love it. There are so many people here that we're working with and I'm so excited for all of them. 

I'm actually in a trio right now with Sister Woo and Sister Winters. Basically, it's like a party all day every day! Sister Woo is so funny and Sister Winters is great! 

Now for a few stories from the week!

One day we went to an apartment to try to find a less active member. We buzzed her number on the call box and got let in. We went to her apartment door and a super sweet guy, Lee came to the door. He told us that Lisa doesn't live there anymore. Lee has some mental disabilities and I would say he has the mentality of about a 10 year old. He was so nice to us and let us show him a video about Jesus Christ and he really liked it. We asked if he'd like to come to church with us and he said yes because he would really like some friends! He couldn't come this Sunday, but is planning to come next Sunday. At the end of the conversation he goes, "I have a glass eye. Wanna see?" and just popped out his glass eye! It was so gross/cool. hahaha

The next story is super cool. So this member signed up to feed us dinner last night, but none of us knew who he was or anything. We tried calling him a few times to see what time he wanted us to come, but he didn't answer. So we decided to just stop by. We go to his address, and it's actually just the address of a trailer park and it didn't say which trailer was his. We tried calling a few people in the ward to find out if they knew, but no one was answering! Finally we got a hold of someone and they described to us where his trailer was. We went and when I was trying to park, this other car went right in front of me so I had to back up to park somewhere else, but when I put the car in reverse, it wouldn't go into reverse. We didn't know what to do so we just kept trying different things, but nothing was working. Then a guy came out of the trailer that is the members and helped us push the car back and park it. Sister Winters asked him if we could come in for a minute and he said yes. We went in and met his teenage daughter. They are from Honduras and didn't speak much English. We showed them a video about Jesus Christ and they really liked it. We were able to talk to them in Spanish a little bit, but not very well. Luckily, I know how to ask if we can send Spanish speaking missionaries to their house so I asked them and they said yes! It turns out that the member who we were supposed to eat with lives there but wasn't home or something. We don't really know what happened. While we were in the house I said a silent prayer asking Heavenly Father to help the car work correctly. When we left we tried putting it into reverse again and sure enough, it worked!! This was definitely a miracle! I think the car wasn't working so we would have a chance to meet Alex and his daughter. 

Also, we ate at a member's house for New Year's Eve and had toooons of authentic Mexican food! But the best part, was they had 4 tiny puppies that we played with the whole time! They were the size of my hand and I loved them so much! I'll include some pictures in this email!

During this new year, set some goals for yourself to become more Christlike and to be the kind of person you want to be! It's going to be a great year. This gospel is true and I love it with all my heart. 

One of the cute puppies!

Sister Woo and I with a puppy

The Best Christmas Present Ever! December 25, 2016

Mom notes: I just had to write a bit about our Christmas Day phone call. Brooklyn's sister Candice and her husband Shane have been trying to have another baby for quite some time. Brooklyn loves babies and one of the things she was worried about missing while on her mission was new babies in the family! Shortly after she left on her mission, Candice found out she was pregnant! We were all a little worried about how Brooklyn might feel. Candice decided that she'd wait until the Christmas phone call to tell her, (or anyone else) and it would be a fun surprise, but also because we felt that by then Brooklyn would have been out on her mission long enough to not care as much about missing the newborn stage. Candice had some fun scratch cards made that revealed the gender and mailed one to Brooklyn. On the outside of the envelope it said DO NOT OPEN UNTIL OUR PHONE CALL ON CHRISTMAS DAY!!! We thought if anything she might suspect Candice was pregnant, but wouldn't suspect she already knew the gender. Our family all came to our ward's Sacrament Meeting since it was at noon. After church we went home and had an early dinner. Then we waited.....and waited....and waited for Brooklyn's Skype call. We were starting to worry when I got a phone call asking us why we weren't accepting her call? Brooklyn had used an old Skype account, not the new one we were using. We figured out what was wrong and finally connected. It was soooo fun to see her. She was giddy and silly during the call, which made us very happy to see her in such a good mood. Then we got down to business. Candice showed Brooklyn the shirt she was wearing. It said "Baby bumps first Christmas". She was so happy and told Candice she'd been praying so hard for them to have a baby! Then everyone in our house got a scratch card and we scratched them at the same time as Brooklyn. It revealed PINK underneath. We are getting another granddaughter, due June 2! Everyone had plenty of time to talk to Brooklyn and ask her questions about her mission and how she was doing. We probably should of only talked for 40 minutes, but we ended up being able to talk for about 2 hours! It was wonderful!

After technical difficulties on the laptop we switched to the ipad, then switched to dad's phone and used face time. It still wasn't the greatest connection, but it was much better than just a phone call being able to see her beautiful face and smile!

 The coat Brooklyn bought in Minnesota wasn't warm enough. Luckily we were able to research lots of different ones online and after reading reviews found her one we thought would be lots warmer. Her aunt Dianna had a discount with Columbia we were able to use and we bought this coat for half the listed price! It arrived 2 days before Christmas and so far it's been better. She will be there for 2 winters, so a good warm coat is a must!

 Here she is modeling her new coat!

The fancy phone she gets to use!

 Face timing is such a blessing for missionary parents!

 Someone left a tiny tree and some gifts for the missionaries on their doorstep.

 Enjoying some Christmas gifts from members of their ward.

New Brighton, December 26, 2016

Hello hello! I hope everyone had a great Christmas! I had an amazing Christmas! Talking to my family was so good, and I got the best Christmas present ever!! My sister Candice is pregnant!!! With a baby girl!!!

First of all, thank you to everyone who sent me cards or packages! I really appreciate all of the love and support you guys give me. 

Second of all, I'm done with training! I have now been out for 3 months! Also, I'm being transferred I'm going to an area called New Brighton. My companion will be Sister Woo, she's from Hong Kong! Which means I'm probably going to learn some Mandarin and will probably have no idea what's going on in a lot of our appointments. haha I'm super sad to leave Rochester, but I'm excited to be in the city instead of in the outskirts! So, don't send any mail to my Rochester address! If you'd like to send me anything send it to the mission home. The address is: 5931 W 96th St, Bloomington, MN 55438

Love you all! 

Sorry this email is short, but here's some pictures! 

A member wanted to take professional pictures of all of the missionaries is Rochester. 

Christmas Zone activity where they all brought a white elephant gift. It had to be something they had in their apartment. Someone gave Brooklyn and her companion a set of skis! That's what they brought! hahaha  Looks like there was quite the assortment of gifts!

Missionary Nativity

MinneSNOWta December 12, 2016

Send help. I'm dying, it's so cold! It got sooo cold, so quick. Holy moly. With windchill, we're pretty much in the negatives every day. Sometimes it's really hard to go out and knock door-to-door for over an hour every day in such cold weather, but something awesome always happens. Recently I have been praying to be able to be the answer to someone's prayer. Just on Saturday, we were out going door-to-door and we had been out for an hour with no success. We decided to try one more door before going back to the car. A young woman named Mahogany answered. She said we could show her the "Light the World" video. After we watched it she said it was a really good video. Then we started talking to her a little bit about it and asked if there was a time we could come back and talk more. She acted a little hesitant and said we could come back not next weekend, but the next. Before leaving we asked if it would be okay if we said a prayer with her. She started laughing uncomfortably then apologized for laughing and said we could. After the prayer she looked like she was starting to cry. She told us, "that was just what I needed. I've been going through a lot lately. I think this is a sign or something." We were able to set up a specific return appointment and we can't wait to see her again! We have recently started praying to be able to be the answer to someone's prayers and we feel like this was an answer to our prayers and hers! 

In total for last week, we got 5 new investigators! We are working so hard to build up our teaching pool and the hard work is paying off!

Funny story of the week! We were eating dinner at a member's house and their 9 year old daughter asked me if I liked school. I said, "yeahhhh I looooved school." and their 5 year old son says, "I know why you liked school!! Because of all the booooys there!!" Hahahahaha he saw right through me. I just started laughing. Then he said, "I do the eyebrow thing, and all of the girls run away from me!" And he raised his eyebrows hahahaha it was so funny. 

Anyway, I don't want to make this too long, but I love you all and hope you have a great week! 

A fun mirror at the mall. 

District nerf war!

Swinging in -10 degree weather. This was right as the snow was starting. Now there's a good 10 inches everywhere!