August 25th - EARTHQUAKE! The cherry on top of a crazy week haha

Dear family and friends,

Hi from Vallejo!  This week was psycho haha.

So I'm sure most of you heard, but I'll just update y'all anyway: there was a 6.1 earthquake Sunday morning at 3:20am here in my area.  Craziness.

It was my first earthquake!  Well, technically, in St. Helena Sister Petersen and I felt one, but it was a tiny little 2.5 and lasted for about 2 seconds and it just made us lose our balance and get dizzy.

This one was MUCH bigger!  It was rather disorienting waking up like that, but we are safe!  So, I woke up to a big jolt, and then all of a sudden everything started shaking like crazy for about 15 seconds.  I ran and hid under Sister Naqia's bed (apparently I was supposed to run to a doorway...I don't know what to do in an earthquake!  Oh well) and then we said a little prayer together while it was still shaking.  

When we ended the prayer the shaking stopped and then for some reason I started crying - guess it just shook me up...pun intended ;)  Our district leader and our zone leaders called us and checked on us, and then President Alba called us and made sure we were okay, and many members called us and made sure we were okay.

Since our apartment is on the further side from American Canyon and Napa, we didn't have any damage - only a few things fell over in our apartment.

After the bigger shake, we tried to go back to sleep (lol) but there were a few aftershocks so Sis. Naqia and I just laid in bed until 6:30.

Our bishop, Bishop Judd, texted us and said that we weren't going to have church today - we were just going to meet in Napa and divide up and help everyone out with the damage.  So that's what we did!  We got ready and ended up going to Sacrament Meeting in Vallejo (they just held the first hour and Sis. Naqia and I wanted to partake of the Sacrament before we headed out into the craziness), then headed to Napa with our ward missionary, Kristen Parker.

Vallejo only has a little damage in the older part of town.  And a lot of the stores got messed up - things falling of the shelves, broken glass from windows and bottles, etc.  But it wasn't too bad.  In American Canyon and Napa (where the epicenter of the earthquake was), the damage was pretty bad.  Many older buildings had a lot of structural damage, especially brick buildings.  There were also some huge cracks in the roads - it almost reminded me a zombie apocalypse in the downtown Napa area.  But for the most part, structural damage was minimal.  It was mostly just the inside of people's houses that got destroyed.  We went to a few members who were assigned to us and helped them out, then we went to neighborhoods closer to the epicenter and helped move all the debris in and out their homes.  

It was really fun to help people out all day!  We were helping people from 9am-8pm last night (with an hour break for dinner) and it has made me TIRED.  Whew.  So so so tired.  But really happy.  It felt good to just work and serve and help people out.  It also opened up and softened many hearts of nonmembers to just have us show up and ask how we could help.

As far as I know, there were few fatalities, so that is really good.  There weren't too many fires, either, and the gas, water, and electricity was back up by the end of the day.  I am so grateful we live in America where we can recover quickly from natural disasters.

Being in that earthquake, though, really made me reflect and think of how dependent on God we truly are.  We think we are in charge, but sitting there during that earthquake while everything was shaking so hard and hearing things fall and crash around me and hoping nothing fell on me...it was pretty helpless.  Made me realize that we are not in charge at all.  There really is nothing we can do when things like that happen but ask Heavenly Father for protection and for strength.  I am so grateful for a merciful and loving Heavenly Father who hears and answers our prayers.  I am so thankful I was able to help out the people whose homes were hurt from the earthquake as well and really be like Christ yesterday.

Super weird thing that went along with that: In St. Helena, when I was with Sister Petersen, I had multiple dreams that we were involved in an earthquake and that I had the opportunity to help people out.  And lo and behold, I WAS involved in an earthquake and I DID have the opportunity (and still do until everything is cleared up in Napa and AmCan) to help people out!  #callmelehi #visionarywoman ;)

But I am perfectly fine besides being tired :)  Life is good.

Okay!  So, now for the rest of the week! :) 

So, Sister Harmer and I finished strong on our last day together (Monday) by picking up a new investigator Jeremy!  Jeremy  is so cool.  He is 29 and lives in Benicia.  He is going to school to become a police officer.  He was in the Navy for 5 years and has been out of it for 4 years.  He LOVES the Giants and the 49'ers.  He also loves the Book of Mormon!  He told us whenever he reads he feels all warm inside and very peaceful.  He accepted a date to be baptized on September 27th :)  So pray we will be able to meet with him often and prepare him for that date.

Ah man.  Sister Harmer and I dealed with some deadly Thai curry Monday, though....whew!  It hurt our tummies real good haha.  Keep that in mind, because it connects to later in the week...

So transfers!  I am now with Sister Amelia Naqia.  She is from Fiji and is 22.  She has been out for 4 1/2 months and this is her 2nd area.  She is basically hilarious haha.  I'll tell you about her in some bullets:

-She is SO bold!  I love it!

-She speaks amazing English!  She has only been speaking for 4 1/2 months but speaks like a native!  It's fun because we do language study every morning for her English, and in return she teaches me a little Fijian!  "Bula, na yacagu (pronounced yathagoo) o Sista Decka!" (Hi, my name is Sister Decker!)

-She likes running!!! Yay!!

-She laughs like ca-razy at everything and it is awesome

-She ran track!  She did the same events I ran: 400m and 800m

-She is a convert to the church: her and her family joined when she was 12

-She rode a HORSE to school.  What? #Fiji

-She loves the movie the Expendables...and Sylvester Stalone (Alexandria Adair, you'd love her haha)

-She worked on a farm her whole life and grew bananas, mangos, coconuts, papayas, tomatoes, lettuce, cucumbers, kasava, sweet potatoes, oranges, etc.

-She is deathly afraid of lizards

-She eats BATS!  Like the kind that fly.  Quote from this week, "Sista Decka, do you eat bats here?"  Me, "No...? Do you?" Sister Naqia, "Yeah, it tastes like chicken!  It's so good!"  Haha.

-She always laughs at random things and I love it

-She has 3 siblings - an 11-year-old sister and a 28-year-old brother and a brother who passed away when she was 8.

-She sleeps underneath the bed lol.  In Fiji, they sleep on mats, not on beds, so she doesn't like the bed and chooses to sleep on the carpet underneath the bed haha.  So when the earthquake hit and I ran under Sis. Naqia's bed, I ran to where she was sleeping haha.

And funny story for the week: Sis. Naqia looked through our fridge and asked me if she could eat the leftover Thai curry.  I said, "sure!"  Dun dun DUN!  It was the deadly curry...I forgot it was deadly.  And poor Sister Naqia had some tummy problems the first day we were together as a result of that haha.  And she was SUPER sore from running the hills here in Vallejo so she couldn't walk very well either.  Poor girl.  She's such a good sport.  We had to walk up a TON of stairs that day as well.  At one set she goes, "Another stairs?  Oh no.  Sista Decka.  Help me."  Haha I love her accent.  It's so cool.

So random facts about Fiji I learned this week:

1.  They speak British English.  Hence her cool accent.  And she always says cool British words.  At the grocery store she asked where the trolleys are instead of carts haha.  She also says things in kilometers and degrees Celsius :P

2.  In Fiji, the diet is fish, vegetables, and fruit.

3.  The "Fiji" water is actually from Fiji!  Looky-there.

4.  They sleep on mats, not on beds

5.  Biggest sports are rugby, volleyball, and netball (yeah...still don't get what netball is from her explaining. Oh well)

Our first day together we also ate with our Fijian less-active member, Kesa Nakatouga!  It was fun and cool to hear them speaking Fijian together.  

The week went well despite the craziness.  Whew.  Lots of craziness...our phone broke, our area book on our ipads weren't working, and we had an earthquake!  But we are alive and doing well!  So take that Satan!

Haha I love you all, choose the right this week and remember how much God loves you!

Love,

Sister Kolee Decker

August 18th - RQ GOT BAPTIZED!

Dear friends and family,

Hi!! 

So guess what?!  RQLin got baptized this weekend!  It was such a good experience.  Everything ran super smoothly...except for the actual ordinance haha.  We made sure EVERYTHING was perfect.  We got to the church 2 1/2 hours early to fill up the font and made SURE it was nice and high and the water was warm, since he isn't a fan of water.  We kept turning off the water and watching it to make sure we had plugged the font correctly, and it wasn't draining at all, so we felt really confident.

The programs were beautiful - our ward missionary, Kristen, made them for us.  Everyone in the program came and many of the ward members came to support RQ.  He said he was a little nervous, but excited. 

The program started and everything was perfect, and then the doors to the baptismal font opened...the font had drained to about a foot and a half of water!!!  Oh man.  So, the actual ordinance was rough.  He ended up getting baptized 3 times so he could make it under the water all the way.  Whew.  The first time, Harrison - who baptized him - kept him under water so long haha.  Oh man.  He kept trying to fully submerge him since the water was so shallow and almost drowned him!!  When he finally let RQ come up for air RQ took a breath and asked if he was fine...and nope!  He had to go two more times.  The last time he went under, they had to do it on his knees haha.  The water was SO low.

We tried so hard to make it perfect.  But perfection isn't in this world, I suppose.  #struggleisreal

But!  He made it though, and he felt really good. The Spirit was there so strongly - it was a sweet experience.

The most powerful part, though, was honestly when he got confirmed yesterday.  Jason Chinn confirmed RQ and gave him the most powerful blessing I have ever heard!  RQ absolutely loved it and said he just felt a burning in his chest during it.  I am so thankful to be a part of his life.  I feel so privileged to be serving the Lord in this part of His vineyard.

Disclaimer: we really had plugged the drain; the seal broke.  There was another baptism the next day and the water drained for that one, too.

I'll send some pictures :)  

And as for transfers, I am staying in Vallejo!  Sister Harmer is leaving for Vacaville.  I will be serving with Sister Naqia, a missionary who is pretty new - she's been out for 4 1/2 months.  It's going to be so nice not to train haha.  Not that I dislike training...I've just been training for 6 months and it'll be nice to have a little break.  Sis. Naqia is from Fiji!  I hear awesome things about her, so I am pumped to work with her.

I am sad Sister Harmer is leaving me, but I'm excited for her new adventure :)  She is so special and I am so thankful I got to work with her.

Funny contact story:

We contacted a crazy!  (The usual).  This guy we started talking to on a street corner was acting a little odd so we tried to say good bye and walk away, and he yeels out to us, "Next time, I'll bring the eye droppers for when the car gets close to the curb.  You know?"

...What?  Oh man.  Crazies. #vallejo #theyalsochosetocomehere We're all children of God, no matter how nutty we may act.

Oh man.  Good times.  

Well, I don't know what else to write this week.  Choose the right and have fun.  Life is already hard enough.  Laugh through it all and life gets a little easier :)  Love y'all!

Love,

Sister Nikole Decker

August 11th - BUSY week!

Dear family and friends,

Hi! This week is the last of the transfer! Sister Harmer and I find out if we get moved around or not on Friday. I don't know what's going to happen this time around...guess we'll see!

This week was great! Most of our investigators are moving to go to school elsewhere which is a bummer haha, but it's also a tender mercy because now Sister Harmer and I have more time to find new people to teach. We've been booked with teaching appointments (again, not
complaining) so it'll be fun to go out and find more people. We've also been booked with random doctor appointments and car appointments and such so we've been struggling to find new investigators in the time in-between. Again - tender mercy :)

RQ's baptism is this weekend and Sister Harmer and I are stoked! I can't wait for him to enter the gate to Celestial glory :) I know this work is true and I know that the Book of Mormon brings us close to Christ, especially because RQ didn't have much of a religious background at all and he now knows from reading and praying that Jesus is his Savior. It's so neat!

RQ is so funny. He is trying so hard to keep the Word of Wisdom for his baptism and doesn't want to mess up, so he texted us the other day and asked if lemonade is tea. We said no, but told him to take a picture and show it to us to make sure. Haha he showed us the picture and it was a bottle of "Simply Lemonade!" He is so sweet and sincere in his desire to do what is right.

He is so ready as well! He passed his interview and it made him STOKED for his baptism on Saturday :) Lots of picture to come on that.

I can't remember too many details from this week, but I do remember that Sister Harmer and I laughed TONS! It was great :) I always feel so privileged and humbled to work with her - she is an incredible missionary - she will very soon be a great leader and hopefully bring a new missionary into the field. She would be incredible at it! I love her so so much. It's a hoot and a half to be her companion!

Dad, you'll really like this news: I got my driving privileges back!!!
Just a 3-hr driving class later haha. So now I can drive in the mission field! Yay! It's a win-win. I like driving more, Sis. Harmer likes being a passenger more.

Well, sorry it's so short this week! I'll try to be more interesting next week, promise.

Love y'all, remember that you are a loved child of God :)

Love,

Sister Kolee Decker :)

August 4th - Watermelon :) And 11 Month Mark Today!

Dear family and friends,

Hi from Vallejo!  This week was full of FRUIT!  Again!  Our one and only ward missionary, Kristen, gives us so much fruit!  I'm not complaining, though.  Fruit is so tasty, especially here in northern California.  Oh man, especially watermelon.  She figured out I absolutely love watermelon and now she always makes sure if she feeds us or drops off food for us or comes out with us that I am freshly supplied with watermelon.  

I am trying to be creative and think of ways we can serve her - she is just so good and kind to us and helps us with our work so much!

As for the week, things went really well!  Sister Harmer and I got along very well and we did our best.  We picked up an amazing new investigator named Eliana Barriga - she is Kristen Parker's good friend and housemate.  She accepted a date for baptism as well for October 11th, so we're stoked! :)  

RQ is doing awesome as well - we only have obey and honor the law to teach him and we are going over the baptismal interview questions with him this week as well.  He is super excited for his baptism and will definitely make his date as long as he keeps the Word of Wisdom.  He can do it!  Please keep him in your prayers these next 2 weeks that he will not drink coffee.  That would be the only thing holding him back.  He has the most sincere desire to change and be better, and wants to do his best.

He gained a strong testimony of prayer this week.  He did something wrong last week that affected his parents, and he told us he was scared to tell them.  He kneeled down and asked Heavenly Father what he should do to fix the mistake he made.  RQ told us that God put into his mind the thought, "Tell your parents.  It will be alright."  He said he felt at peace, so he told his parents and his parents weren't upset, just grateful that RQ confided in them.  

He was afraid to tell his parents that he was getting baptized (they are very Catholic) but he prayed and felt at peace with the decision to tell his parents as well, and when he told them, his parents were just fine with him getting baptized into the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints!  :)  His smile when he told us that story was so sweet.  He just gets it.  He knows God loves him and that God answers prayers.  

It was Sister Harmer's birthday yesterday and it was a good one!  She went to bed early, so I had the opportunity to decorate the apartment with streamers and little sticky notes and signs.  I bought brownie mix earlier in the week on exchanges so we made those together last night as well!  Our ward mission leader, Austin, invited us over for a birthday dinner.  Kristen gave Sis. Harmer her own pink bottle of pepper spray haha AND decorated our car with balloons and that wash-off paint saying "Happy birthday!"  I gave some elders in our zone a few balloons to tape onto our door as well while we were gone during the day in Napa, so when we got home for the night at 9, there were pink balloons all over the front door as well!

Funny story about the balloons:

Sister Anderson and I went to the store really quickly during lunch on exchanges so I could pick up a few items for Sis. Harmer's birthday and not have her know about it, so when I picked balloons I just grabbed the first bunch I found.  Little did I know that I had chosen balloons with the phrase, "It's a Girl!"  On them.  Whoops.  Haha our neighbor saw the balloons taped to our door and thought one of us was having a baby!  We had to explain to her that no, it was just her birthday.  She looked kind of confused, but hopefully we explained it clearly enough. Side note on our neighbor: she was really hostile to us at first when we got there, but she's really warmed up and loves talking to us.  Hopefully we can start teaching her soon :)

Overall, it was a fun day :)

The night before Sister Harmer's birthday, on Saturday, Kristen and a recent convert in the Vallejo 2nd ward, Marguerite, and Elder and Sister Barney had us over for dinner.  We ate the most delicious salad ever - spinach, almonds, blueberries, strawberries, and poppyseed dressing.  Not only that, but of course: watermelon.  And the tastiest chicken and steak and Louisiana potato salad. Oh man.

The longer I'm out here, the more I love food.  Whew.  I just love good food.  I feel like that's all I talk about now...sorry if my e-mails are turning into me describing my favorite meals from the last week haha.  I'll try to cut the food details short.

I went to my first MLC (Missionary Leader Coordination) on Friday - all the zone leaders and STL's go once/month to be instructed on how to be better leaders and missionaries.  It was such a privilege to be taught by them all day long (from 9am-4pm) and to feel the sweet spirit they brought.  I loved being in that room with all the leaders of my mission and had this profound thought come into my head: these are not only leaders in mymission, but future leaders of the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints.  I have confidence in the rising generation :)  

I also noticed an ongoing theme in all the leaders there: humility.  The longer I'm out here, the more I realize that a great leader has quiet dignity - knows why they are here but does not have to be loud about it.  It remind me of a scripture in the New Testament:

"Therefore I take pleasure in infirmities, in reproaches, in necessities, in persecutions, in distresses for Christ's sake: for when I am weak, then am I strong" (2 Cornithians 12:10).

I can't believe 11 months are gone already.  Time keeps moving and I want it to at least slow down - but I feel good about what I have accomplished and who I have become in these past 11 months and can't wait for what the next 7 will bring.

Choose the Sprite this week when a Coke is placed before you! (Lol sorry had to put that in there)

Haha anyway, love y'all!  Remember: You are magnificent!

Have a stellar week!

Love,

Sister Kolee Decker

Picture: Us with our favorite member, Kristen Parker :)  She is the BEST.