Home

July 30, 2017

Well I guess you can say that this week was crazy. I had to return home early for my health and I'm not sure if I'm going back out or not. I was released as a full time missionary Thursday night. That was the hardest thing to do. To take off my name tag. That ment the whole world to me. But as D&C 4 states "if ye have desires to serve God, ye are called to the work." I have such a strong desire to serve God, so without my name tag or not, I will serve God.  I am so grateful for this 8 month journey I had as a full time missionary.  Thank you all for the support. If you fellow missionaries want to add me on your email list with my home email, that would be awesome! My email is taetae1107@gmail.com :) I love you all!

We went to the St George temple when I got back and we got to talk to Elder Dallin H. Oaks that's as super cool! And Elder Hollands came through to do a sealing. Didn't get to talk to him but that was was a blessing.:)

Transfers, New gator, and i tried roping

Transfers are this week and i got the call that im leaving! so yeah, if you are planning on sending me a letter, wait til next week for my new address!:) I wont be finding out where im going until i basically get there on Thursday. so its kinda like Christmas! 

This week went by so fast.. like where does time go!? We got to teach Domingo again!! we taught him the restoration. so that was cool! We took Sister Crippen to the church again to do family history! its so cool that she is coming with us! Since she has autism she gets frustrated easily, so as she was trying to figure something out she started to panic and then Sister Will tried to teach her how to do something and then they got into a argument. and meanwhile im just watching and thinking "just stop, oh my.." haha  but things went back to normal.. that was awkward......

After we met with sister Owen i went and played some hymns on the Piano for the senior home! That was soo fun! i love doing that and bring some nice hymns there. 

We went and tried a potential Investigator. Her name is Mckayla!! It was so cool cause we just sat outside and talked for a while. She then took a Book of Mormon and wants us to come back! so we get to go Wednesday! i cant wait to see how that goes! We then tracted the apt. building that Victor lives in. This Lady let us in, BUT she is  Jehovahs Witness. its was weird, but she basically taught us about them and gave us a pamphlet and a booklet. kinda pointless but after she gave us them i took a restoration pamphlet and said "well, since you gave us one of ours heres one of ours!" haha she kindly took it. that was fun! once we left, we bumped into a drunk Victor. hah we was like "im drunk, but i can do that cause ive been working all day. so i got my orange juice and vodka." ummmmm Word or Wisdom?.... no, but he was cool, he basically gave us this drunk pump up speech to go keep knocking doors.. so that was interesting!

District Meeting was fun! BUT something funny that happened.. When we were saying Hi Elder  Whitaker and I shook hands.. like normal people... right? and Elder Madsen started yellling "Im going to call president and tell him they were holding hands in District meeting!!" Oh my.. so much sass! For lunch we made pancakes and eggs. we forgot cooking spray, but Elder Whitaker decided it was ok to cook the eggs without it.. lets just say it wasnt.. haha i wish i took pictures of it. 

We did some service at the Tri-State Museum this weekend. it was fun! we helped at a fundraiser there. We basically took down tables and stacked chairs.. BUT the lady there gave us free things from the gift shop! so that was awesome!:) They also had a bar there, but this old man came up to us and said, "let me buy you a drink." we were like "Sure okay, wed like water!!!" he kinda laughed and gave us water bottles. haha we Got to Practice roping with those dummies.. lets just say i shouldnt do that for a career.. We got to ride in a horse drawn carriage around Belle too!:) 

A family from back at home(the Mechams) came and visited! that was so fun to see them! finally members fed us!!! JKKKK But that was really fun!! Bro. Mecham made us bread! he would do that for my family and I(if i shared) back at home:) 

At church i said goodbye to my favorite members! We saw Victoria, Amie and Spencer and the Oaks yesterday too!  ill miss them all!

In my studies ive been pondering alot about trying to find people to teach and i feel like it all comes down to faith and diligence and just doing good where ever i am! Our faith to find people to teach is demonstrated through our actions! during Christ mortal ministry, the Savior went about doing good, and preaching the gospel. As we follow His example and do service those who are prepared for the restored gospel come. Service involves listening to the spirit to recognize opportunities for small, simple acts of kindness that we can offer to Gods Children. As we seek to do good, we will be led to people who are being prepared for this special message. 

i love you all!!

Pictures:

Corey and I

The Oaks and I

Anna and Hannah

The Mcmillans

from the museum!

Almost Died and Zone Conference

This week was crazy and I felt like so much happened. Monday night it was about 2am, and there was a lightning and thunder storm going on.. like usual. BUT lightning decided to strike right outside our bedroom window. I was suprised that the window didn't break.. and I sleep, or i used to, sleep under the window.  I saw the light of it, it was red and hot. and the thunder was so loud!! haha scary! the next morning we went out behind our apt. where it hit and there was a big hole in the rocks where it hit. haha

We went and saw Chris cause he called us Sunday wanting us to come over. he told us that he could feel the difference when he was meeting with us and not. So that was pretty cool! we read 1Nephi 3-6 with him. He hasn't been reading so it was good to continue that and to help him understand!  The spirit was so strong! I felt impressed to testify to him about the love the savior has for ALL of us!  I told him about my diabetes and jazz and how the Savior has strengthened me through my trials.  After that he gave a closing prayer and it was so sweet. He sincerely prayed for strength and help. He prayed for me and my health too.  That was so nice and sweet. The spirit was so strong in that lesson! 

 

So we went and saw sister Crippen.  The lesson went good but holy cow! she doesn't have air conditioning. I feel so bad cause its so hard for her.  She hurt her foot to so its hard for her to walk.  I just pray and hope she can get cool!

 

We had dinner with a member named Sister Abell. We were having a normal convo about lightning and thundering and then she decided it would be a good idea to tell us that in Rapid City, they have lightning that comes from the ground up!  She also showed us a video!! THAT was not comforting for my soul.. lol #paranoid. 

 

Zone Conference was so good!! Saw a lot of familiar faces and friends! The training our Zone Leaders gave was so awesome!! The spirit was so strong.  All of us were tearing up. It was like a devotional/testimony meeting. They talked a lot about how important our individual testimonies are and that through our love for the Savior, they can become more.  They shared Helaman 5:6

and how we have been given Christ name to go out and do the apostolic work. We have been given His name. We wear it on our chest everyday!   We need to represent Him and be worthy of it. And through our trials we can overcome them through Christ and his atonement. He wont leave us alone!  We need to stay centered on Christ, cause we will always find joy in Him. 

Sister Will and I saved an hour of our pday so that we could go to the mall in Rapid City.  It was so awesome to see a mall again!!  like for real! 

We went on exchanges this week for 48hrs. It was rough but great! I went to Rapid City to be with Sister Larson.  It was fun! She's the best!  We did a lot of tracting and walking!  On Saturdays we have a new thing in our mission called a "car fast". So that means on Saturdays, unless we have set appointments, we walk or bike.  So that's what we did.  We walked in 105 degrees and got super sunburned. But it was so great!  I loved it cause we got to talk to a lot of people and be out there WORKING!!  So many miracles come from it! We also got ice cream at this new  hip ice cream shop. They make it right in front of you!  Its call 'Silver Linings' if you ever happen to find yourself in Rapid City, I would make your way over there.  We went to the library and there were so many different cultures there. There were so many Natives(native Americans) there.  For a second there I thought I was on a reservation. But there are a lot of those in our mission, so I shouldn't be shocked. (like Pine Ridge:)) 

Sunday was awesome!!! Elder and Sister Crockett, the cute senior couple that is in Minot, drove through and surprised us with a visit!!  It was so good to see them again!  I love them! so yeah, that was a good moment!  Also a member made us home made strawberry ice cream!  It was so much better and healthier than regular icecream!! 

We said goodbye to the Wehrungs!  They left for a loooonng trip back east! So I wasn't sure if I was going to see them again. WE got a picture with Bro and Sis Wehrung and two of their boys, Ammon and Boon. 

In my studies I have been focusing on Christ as the Prince of Peace. Not that we can ever really become just like Christ. but as we commit ourselves to Him, spiritually, physically, and emotionally, He blesses our lives with loving direction. Every decision we make from that time on is affected, because there are certain things a man or woman of Christ simply will not do. our actions become more disciplined, our relationships become more righteous; even our language becomes more pure as we live a life that is centered on Jesus Christ and His teachings. The best thing about living a Christ-centered life is how it makes you feel inside. its hard to have a negative attitude about things if and when your life is focused on the Prince of Peace.

 

Pictures:

1. the Wehrungs

2. a member gave us so much watermelon!!
3. Elder and SIster Crockett

4. Sister Will and I

5. ME

 

 

 

1. Elder Larson and I at ZC 

2. elder and sister crockett again! 

3-5 Elder Madsen made my planner for next transfer 

 

Fish Fry, 110degrees,4th of july parades!

July 10, 2017

Well,,, we had a conversation last night with our DL Elder Madsen and it was kinda funny! 

sister Will and i started laughing cause i got sharpie on my face and E. Madsen said "Hey sister Florek, what color is your hair?" 

me"uh....... blonde?"

E. Madsen"OH yeah, thats right.. "  noob

ANYWAYYSS, This week was full of walking and walking. in 110 degree weather. it was so hot, it is already 90 once it hits 9. we are melting. also my camera did too.  We did some service at the museum again aswell. thats always fun. If you ever by chance find yourself in Belle Fourche, SD you should go to the Center of the Nation museum. its great!  

We saw a few members this week, there was a stake temple trip so most of the were gone, and sadly we couldnt go with them on that trip. But thats all good. we Saw Leslie and Teresa! They both came to church yesterday! so that was awesome! the whole time ive been here ive seen Teresa at church once! so i was so excited to see her! We had dinner with Sister Deems, the baileys and the Wehrungs! i love the Wehrungs and all of their crazy kids! At the Wehrungs we were all just talking, as you do, and the Wehrungs started talking about a 3 week trip that they are taking next summer and ask me to watch their kids for them. i was like oh yea!! so that might happen next year.. We also had an awesome fish fry with the Stednicks! they caught a whole bunch of Catfish and Walleye and fried it up for us! sooo yummy!! 

For the 4th of July we got to watch the Belle Fourche city parade! it was so fun and long! so many people too! like i have never seen so many people before. There was a car that drove by that was just TRUMP... yep. that night at like 945 we called our DL cause we had a question. Turns out we were allowed to stay out til 1030 that night to watch fire works, but no one decided to tell us so we just were like oh.. well.. we cant now. we just watched them from afar from our window. 

We tracted alot. we froze some water bottles so that we wouldnt die, of course. I spilt salt all over the Asparagus i was cooking the other day too. 

We got sister crippen to come to the church for our lesson this time! so that  was an accomplishment! 

something in my studies i have been studying alot, as you may know, is Christlike attributes! and something that i learned is that if we really concentrate on trying to walk the way He walked, loving, caring, serving, and obeying each step of the way, one day we'll look up and discover that His path has led us directly to the throne of God! how cool is that. As we just focus on Him and fully submitting our will to Him we will find our selves "at the throne of God" As we do that we will see that our actions become more disciplined, our relationships become more righteous; even our language becomes more pure as we live a life that is centered on Jesus Christ and His teachings!

Our hope and faith are rooted in the profound understanding that He lives today, and that He continues to lead and guide us and His church through His spirit.

I hope you guys have a great week! i love and miss you all!

PICTURES:

1. a cool mailbox. 

2. and 3. we tracted all of Fruitdale

4. my camera melted in the heat

5. proof

its an Olympic for cowboys!

July 3, 2017

Words of Wisdom from Elder Madsen(x2) : "No like, this dudes really not that important. Less-active with a bunch of cats and ive already told you what i think about cats. Tells ya a little bit about what i think of this guy" (he was kidding of course;))

​

Any-ways... with that, this week was great! We went to Rapid City for a Dr.s appointment. ​We dug up some trees, dusted at the museum for service! we saw Domingo!

We met with a couple of members this week. The Oaks, Steinbachs, Hoffmans, and the Langfitts! They are a bunch of my favorite! and not just because they fed us;) no but really, the members here are great.

We tracted alot this week! im loving tracting! its so fun/funny to see the people and to see their reactions that they have when they see that we are missionaries.. its so great. some doors slammed, some take BOMs and some kinda listen but not really. If they listen, they listen, if not.. oh well. haha 

While tracting the other day, we were in Spearfish. Spearfish has some big houses on the side of the mt. so we thought wed go there. as were walking a flippen snake slithers by.. ehhhhh sooo gross!! haha i just quickly ran to the door and knocked.. as im doing that, sister Will was laughing at me in the drive way! a "good" way to start talking to people at the door i tell ya!

Black Hills round up is going on and its like the Olympics for cowboys! HAHA ITS SO GREAT! SO MANY PEOPLE are here. we had alot of visitors at church and that was so fun to meet them! oh lady said she was from provo, so i was like "oh that cool! im from LEHI!" then she replied to me with "oh cool, we were just there yesterday for a BBQ. just so you know, its looking great! ok ok good to know.... i think? haha 

One night, we were think about what we should do cause some apts. fell through. i just had this feeling that we should go stop by Victor and Destinys.(our new investigators) so we did. we had an appointment set for tonight but we went anyways. ANYWAYS we got there and short story, so much crap has happened to them and their family. like so many! but the cool thing is that they have so much faith in God that its not letting them get down. They have a strong testimony of families and how important they are. They are ordained of God, they are the most important unit in all eternity! God gave us families to bring us happiness and joy. i know my family brings me so much happiness and joy! i love them so much! The home is the best place to teach, learn, and apply principles of the gospel. A home established on gospel principles will be a place of refuge and safety.. It will be a place where the spirit can abide, blessing family members with peace, joy, and happiness. Satan is making a concentrated attak on families. like now with Victor and Destinys. Family prayer and scripture study are some ways to help us strengthen our families. Heaven is a continuation of the ideal home. 

Im so thankful for the gospel of Jesus Christ. without him, i dont even know where i would be. Im so thankful for families and to have the one i have! 

1. Since Elder Madsen and I both went to lehi we decided to show our LHS pride in DM

2. our phones walpaper

3. It was so hot while tracting

4. we found the coolest bench, i think, in spearfish

Words of Wisdom from Elder Madsen, scary cows, Black Hills

Jun 26, 2017

words of wisdom from Elder Madsen(DL):

*after District meeting* *our conversation at culvers*

E. Madsen: im swimming in money so i treated myself! (pays 12.00$ for food)

Me: WOw, then you should have bought my food!

E Madsen: no! cause that would mean this was a date!

oh my haha

We got a new investigator! His name is Victor. He was the one that we met cause of the snake that decided to slither infront of us. yep so being afraid of snakes is a good thing.. :) 

After our visit with sister Owen this week, i decided to be brave and played the piano that the nursing home has. granted im not that good but i can play a few hymns.. and the titanic song.. lol BUT i mostly played hymns. :) it was so awesome and uplifting. the spirit that comes from music is so awesome and strengthening. 

we went out of our mission this week.. well, for like 30 min BUT we did! we drove to Alzada MT. to do some service for a member of our ward there. She had us dust and do all that fun stuff in her home. it was pretty fun tho. i just love doing service no matter what kind. funny story: it takes us an 1 hour to get home from there so we left at 8. but as soon as we got 10 min into wyoming we realized we forgot our phone! OH MY good job Sister Florek.. :) so we quickly drove back. their driveway is 1 mile long , and as soo as we got onto their driveway a mama cow and her 2 babies stared walking on it. we would try to drive them off but the mom was scary and would stop, turn around like she was going to charge into our car and just stared at us. so me not caring i honked the horn and started driving. short story, they ran and ran and went off the road about 10 min later. we got home right at 930!

We taught Austin again!! this lesson went so good! we taught the Plan of Salvation. that is one of my favorite things to teach, cause it just shows the love that our Father in Heaven has for us. At the end of the lesson we committed him to a baptism date!! so that is exciting! we set it for July 22! im so excited cause you can just see that the Lord is working on him. We feel the spirit and he does too. im so excited for him!

We went to a funeral for a Inactive member. it was kinda weird, but so sad. This family lost their dad in a car accident. the kids went up to talk about a memory that they had of their dad but it was so hard for them. i teared up a bit cause it made me think of my family and how grateful i am for them, and how much i love them. i hope they know that. 

District meeting was super great! those days are my favorite days. there were alot of funny moments too.  like the one from the beginning.  haha:) we talked alot about Christlike attributes. i love this topic! The Restored gospel enables us to become like Heavenly Father and Jesus Christ. The savior has shown the way, He has set the perfect example, and He commands us to become as He is. 3Nephi27:27 "And know ye that ye shall be judges of this people, according to the judgment which I shall give unto you, which shall be just. Therefore, what manner of men ought ye to be? Verily I say unto you, even as I am." We need to Learn of Him and seek to incorporate His attributes into our lives. Through the power of Christ atonement, we can achieve this goal! because as we strive to belike Him, we are changing and repenting. Christlike attributes are gifts from God! They come as we use our agency righteously. 

We went to a baptism saturday for Taylor Tennant. shes such a funny and cute 8yr old.  I gave a talk of the Holy Ghost. that was okay.. haha i didnt think i did well, but oh well. 

Sunday was mostly okay. we had Ward counsel. usually that goes okay but i guess this time there was a theme. and the theme was:yell at sister Florek. i dont even know what was wrong. im trying to do the best i can at the work. there were rude comments made to. like "you should pay attention to the spirit more" "any info on bobbi? who? maybe you should check you records more." "your LA is not going to make it to the temple trip." and other things like that. it was just awful. ive been stressing about taking over the area forever and then this happens. it was hard for me to not doubt my efforts. but oh well. 

Yesterday sister Stednick had us come help her walk her dogs in the Black Hills. it was so beautiful up there. We walked on a "trail" or "some sort of path". nature is so beautiful. i forgot my camera, but im sure that wouldnt have done any justice. if you ever have a chance to go up to the Black Hills, do it! 

In my personal study , i have been reading the BOM all the way through. im almost done! #3Nephi!
i have noticed that as we study the BOM it draws us nearer to God. Joseph Smith said this about the BOM "A man would get nearer to God by abiding by its precepts, that by any other book." The BOM is a spring board to testimony and personal revelation. As we consistently invite people to live the principles found in the BOM, we help them develop faith in Jesus Christ and draw nearer to God. it also helps us. Nephi, like us, was faced with difficult challenges. But as He exercised faith to "Go and Do" what the Lord commanded him, he was able to succeed. so as we have faith in Christ, we will be given the strength to face our lifes challenges. 

Sister WIll!! Trio for a day

Well, my new companion is sister Will!!! yep, the same one i was with in the MTC!!! this transfer is going to be boss! i just love her! It was so funny, when i walked out the the church to see who my comp was, i was like NO WAY!!!!! so #Thankspres  We have had so much fun so far! ill try so send a funny video we made!.. or i made... lol

We went and saw that lady from last week who took a BOM and told us to come back, well we did and she said she had a dream 3 times that was just like the vision that Joseph Smith had.. lol and then further told us, or hinted at us, she wasnt interested.. oh well, we tried. 

We(sister Weeks) helped sister Crippen de-barricade her car.. long story.. that includes bugs(yes i know.. baby) but it was good! and fun to talk to her and help her. she is an amazing lady! 

Sister Weeks and i had dinner with Brother Cook and Sister (grandma) Carr!! they say they arnt dating, but they really are. they sit next to eachother at church and hold hands.. like come on!! we ate at Perkins, and Brother Cook was like "its like one big happy family!" how tender!! that comment made my day. lol  and not gonna lie, having breakfast for dinner was sooo good! 

we saw sister Owen again.:) We talked about the saviors last days. On easter my amazing mother sent me this cute easter basket with eggs! the eggs included things about the saviors last days and it was so fun to get. so we used that to uplift her and bring the spirit to her. it was so cool. She opened up about alot of things. we took her out to the piano and she played some hymns for us and we sang to them. Sister weeks also played beautiful on the piano too! 

We also got another new gator! he is 15 years old and is a members grandson who is now going to be living with him! he is so cool! the lesson was so cool too. the spirit was so strong! we invited him to be baptized and he said yes! we dont have a date yet though. but im so excited! His name is Austin!

 

Thursday i sent off Sister Weeks:(  im not sure where she went but im sure she is doing awesome where ever she is! so with that happening i was put into a trio with the STLs! sisters Larson and Feeny!! they are so great! Sister Larson is like my twin!  WE had to drop sister weeks off at 545am so we went and got smoothies before going home. we waited 30 min outisde the store until it opened at 7 lol #dedication We had so much fun that day! after i picked up sister will it took us 20 min to find the freeway.. we have no GPS and i was rarely in rapid.. sister weeks took the GPS..But we found out way out!!

 

We have DM every friday right, we used to do it with the Sturgis Elders but they got taken out so we are in a "double date" district again.. lol but with the Black Hills elders.. they are in rapid.. so now we have to drive all the way to rapid(1 hour!) for DM. But thankfully Elder madsen has a soft heart, and said he wants to do District meetings every other area. so one week in rapid and the other in Belle. WE were going to do it in Belle this week but he ended up calling us like 1 hour before district meeting changing it to rapid.. lol  But for sure this week it will be in Belle! 

We tracted alot this week. its so much fun! im trying new ways to talk to people and trying new questions to ask. its interesting. 

We got a call from Chris. He dropped us. He didnt want to continue with the lessons at the moment. so that was sad. then the member he is living with called us and started yelling at us. it was interesting.. lol

Fathers day was sorta hard.. but great, cause i got to reflect on my Father and what he has taught me through out my life. My dad is amazing and im so thankful for him and all that he has done! He truly was sent to my family to help me! 

I have been studying alot these past few days on the Holy Ghost. I was asked to speak at a little girls baptism this saturday on the Holy Ghost.. im thankful cause these studies have helped me ! i love how the witness that comes to sincere investigators before baptism comes through the power of the holy ghost. The holy ghost testifies of truth. All people can know the truthfulness of the BOM through the power of the Holy Ghost. "By the power of the Holy Ghost ye may know the truth of all things." The Gift of the Holy Ghost comes after baptism.  As a member of the church, we have received the gift of the Holy Ghost by the proper authority, priesthood authority. it entitles us to the constant companionship of the Holy Ghost. as we remain worthy. Im so thankful for him and for the comfort, guidance, and testimony it gives me. 

Thank you all for the support! love you! 

also we made a cigarette box that says CTR on it for Chris(before he dropped us) and the when he would have, or any one would have a craving, to pull one of the cigarettes out and there would be a scripture on it.