May 26 - I AM TRAINING AGAIN

Dear family and friends,

Hi there! Breaking news: I am being transferred! I will miss the beautiful Napa valley, but I'm excited for the change.

I will be serving in Vallejo in da ghetto. I am PUMPED. Not only that, but I am also with child...again! I will be training a new missionary.
And whitewashing Napa 4th YSA. It's in the Napa Stake, still, but we live and work mostly in Vallejo.

Interesting story about this:
I had prayed to Heavenly Father last Monday evening, and as I was praying, I was thinking about how I feel I need to progress more. And with that, I asked for something I haven't asked for before. I asked for a challenge!

So. Then on Thursday, I got an answer! Sis. Alba called and told me that I am training again, but also whitewashing an area where elders have been serving. So! I have my challenge! Haha God really does answer prayers. I am really nervous to go into an area and train a new missionary when I myself don't know what's going on, but I am excited and looking forward to the challenge. "The greater the struggle, the more glorious the triumph" (The Butterfly Circus).

I am so excited for Sis. Petersen to move on and be amazing, too! She already is, but she is such an incredible missionary and I can't wait to see where she goes on the rest of her mission. She has grown SO much. This last week we have been bickering like an old married couple, though, so it's a healthy thing that we're moving on haha.

Funny story about the bickering:
One day we were driving to Napa and it looked really hazy outside, so I said, "Man, it must be really dusty outside!"
Sis. Petersen said, "Nah, I'm pretty sure it's smoke from the fires in San Diego."
Me: "What?! Those are so far away from here! It must be dust."
Sis. P: "Well, it looks like it does in St. George when fires go on."
Me: "It also looks like Arizona in the summertime when it hasn't rained for a while."
Sis. P: "Pretty sure it's smoke."
Me: "Alright, this is stupid. It's probably a combination of smoke AND dust."
Sis. P: "Yeah, probably."

So funny. It reminds me of when Alicia Ferrin and I used to argue over the dumbest things haha. I sure love Sis. Petersen and will miss her very much.

I've also noticed how much I have grown these past 3 months with Sister Petersen!
1. Grown in patience 2. Grown in love - everyone has worth in the sight of God 3. Grown in selflessness 4. Grown in self-confidence 5. Grown in my ability to lead 6. Grown in positive thoughts 7. Grown in purity 8. Grown in ability to see others through God's eyes 9. Grown in sense of humor 10. Grown in my love for nature 11. Grown in my appreciation for the simple things 12. Grown in my knowledge of the Gospel 13. Grown in my testimony of the Savior and His Atonement.

I love it. I feel so close to God.

I am going to miss our investigators! We had a neat lesson with Nestor this week, and I will miss him, but am so proud of him for the changes he is making in his life. We found out earlier this week that Nestor went to court and turned himself in because he broke his probation, so he was in the Napa County Jail.

Which now makes sense why he wasn't answering his phone or showing up to appointments! So we went to visit him during visiting hours on Wednesday and it was so good to see him! It was also rather heart wrenching. I have never taught anyone in jail before, but it was just like the movie! They brought him out and he was in handcuffs, and the guards chained him to the chair. He picked up the phone and we talked through the plexi-glass on the phone. We taught about faith in Jesus Christ and repentance, and he told us the neatest story of how his faith grew in God when he went to court.

He knew he needed to do what was right, so he went into court, and knew that his officer would try to give him 4 1/2 more months in jail.  He said broke probation before we started teaching him and that he is trying to change, but people just won't let him. :( Sad day. So before he went into court, that day he said 5 prayers asking God to please help him not have to stay in jail that long. Instead of getting 4 1/2 months, he got 30 days of jail time for having good behavior thus far.  He teared up and said he just knows God listens to him. At the end of the lesson he gave the sweetest, most sincere prayer :) Gonna miss him a lot!

I'm going to miss Teresa, too. She is so sweet...well, and sassy! Love her to death :)

One more miracle: we were walking down the street across the road from the high school and a Calistoga Police car pulled up beside us. Sis. Petersen and I were afraid he was going to tell us we couldn't contact people or something, but instead he rolled down his window and said, "Excuse me, do you have any literature I can read?" We gave him a Book of Mormon and briefly introduced it. Then he looked around and asked us, "Can I pull over and talk to you both for a few minutes?"

We were so surprised! That NEVER happens in Calistoga haha. He got out and ended up asking is SO many questions about the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints. What we believed about smoking and drinking, tattoos, etc. He also asked us what parts of the Book of Mormon were good for people to read when they go through troubled times, because as a police officer, work is very demanding and sad at times. He told us he wants to go to church, too! We found out he lives in Middletown, so we got a solid referral for the sisters.

We taught him about the Restoration of the Gospel of Jesus Christ right there and he was stoked! He told us his grandpa was a member and had recently passed away. He has been praying to God to find the right church and now he keeps running into LDS missionaries or members of the Church! His name is Mark, and it was such a privilege to talk to him :) He has a wife and 2 kids - a 17-year-old son and a 10-month-old surprise baby daughter. I am excited to see what happens there. He seems so ready for the Gospel. Miracles happen :)

And to end my e-mail this week, I wanted to share a song Sis. Petersen and I wrote! It's called, for lack of a more creative title, "The Yountville Song."

We wrote a song! It was so cool. We were driving home from Yountville last week and I just had these lyrics from the chorus pop into my head! It's an original tune...so...sorry you won't know how it goes, but here are the lyrics:

Yountville Song

Verse 1:
Woke up this morning and there was no milk Hopped in the shower, the hot water broke Walk down the street, and people just stare Fill me with self doubt, loathing, despair

I look up above me, see the birds flying high Yell to the birdies, I want to try

Chorus 1:
Oh
Birdy in the sky-y-y
How do you fly-y-y
Cuz I just wanna be up there
Where I can feel the wind in my hair
Oh
Birdy in the sky-y-y
Can you hear my cry-y-y
Cuz I need someone to listen
Everyone else feels distant

Verse 2:
I continue through my day, things still look real gray They ask me paper or plastic, the paper bags rip My groceries spill out all over the floor I gather them quickly and head out the door

I look up above me, see the birds flying high Yell to the birdies, I want to try

Chorus 2:
Oh
Birdy in the sky-y-y
How do you fly-y-y
Cuz I just wanna be up there
Where I can feel the wind in my hair
Oh
Birdy in the sky-y-y
Why can't I fly-y-y
I feel stuck on the ground now
Glued to the floor and I don't know how

Verse 3:
Got home this evening, choose to do a good deed Make a homeless man dinner, pull my neighbor's weeds Smile at someone who looks even more sad And slowly my day didn't seem all too bad

I look up above me see the stars in the sky Smile to the heavens, I want to try

Chorus 3:
Oh
Daddy in the sky-y-y
I'm glad I didn't die-e-e
Today was hard but it's okay
Cuz tomorrow will be a better day
Oh
Daddy in the sky-y-y
Please help me to fly-y-y
All things are possible with you
Oh Daddy how I lo-o-ove you
Oh Daddy how I lo-o-ove you

Let me know what you think!

Well, I love you fambam and amigos! Choose the right this week and remember that life isn't so much about the number of breaths you take, but the moments that take your breath away. :)

Love,

Sister Kolee Decker

May 19th - I'm 20!

Dear family and friends,

On Saturday, I exited my teenage years!  I am now a 20-year-old!  Thanks for the birthday package, family!  I love it all - Sister Petersen especially loves the "flicken chicken" things haha. She always attacks everyone with them.

One favor to ask of mi madre: could you send me my 4-generation pedigree chart?  Thank you!

As for this week, it went great!   The work was a little slow this week in our area - appointment after appointment fell through.  But we were able to put in some solid online work, including work in our own area, and that was really great. 

My studies have been especially awesome.  I read into pleasure vs. happiness in Jesus the Christ (it's one of the notes at the end of ch.17) and it really hit me how God works versus Satan.  God's ways are higher, better, stronger, more fulfilling, lasting, eternal, blissful, innocent, pure.  Whereas Satan's are slippery, momentary, in-the-moment, regret-filled, shameful, sinful.  I already knew that, of course, but it just stood out to me even more :) 

Zone conference was also a highlight!  President Alba showed us this AMAZING video called "The Butterfly Circus" about our potential.  If you haven't seen it before, WATCH IT!  It's on YouTube.  It is amazing.  Also, the conference helped me renew the reason I'm out here.  One of the Assistants to the President, Elder Greenwood, asked us, "What are your motives for being here?"  I really started thinking about that and it just hit me again why I am out here:  I love Jesus Christ.  I have felt Him make me clean, and I want EVERYONE to have that feeling.  No matter what they think, they have limitless potential.  We ALL have limitless potential.

Also, we get transfer doctrine this Friday!  So next Monday I'll let you know if I'm moving or not :)

Remember this week: do not judge.  "Judge not, that ye be not judged" (somewhere in Matthew...can't think of the exact reference right now and I'm running low on time...so...sorry)

Also, pray together as a family this week!  Jesus commands us to, actually, in 3 Nephi 18:21: "Pray in your families unto the Father, always in my name, that your wives and your children may be blessed."  I promise that you will grow closer together and have an even better week :)

Love you all!  Remember, that one day to God is 1000 years to us, so if you live to be 100 you are only 2.4 hours old in God's eyes.  No wonder He says "thine afflictions shall be but a small moment."  Enduring to the end really isn't too bad, then, huh? (Which makes my mission only 2.16 minutes long in God's eyes)

Choose the right!  And please please PLEASE remember: "You are magnificent" (The Butterfly Circus).

Love,

Sister Nikole Decker

May 12 - Nestor didn't go to Jail!

Dear family and friends,

Hello! All is going super well here in St. Helena.

And it was great to see you, fambam, yesterday!! See you at Christmas!
Time will fly, I'm sure of it.

We went to the temple as a zone on Thursday and it was great. I love the temple - all my concerns go away and I just feel at peace.
Everything makes sense. I know this Church truly is Jesus Christ's church on the Earth today. I KNOW it.

So.

Good news! Nestor didn't go to jail!! Huzzah! We taught him last night, and he said the sweetest prayer. He was holding his little sister in his arms as he said the prayer and he said, "I'm grateful for my sister Monce, even though she's a little monkey." Haha it was so cute. He is a good older brother to that sweet girl. He told us yesterday that since he has been praying and reading the Book of Mormon and Bible, his relationship with his family has improved.

I think we simultaneously scared and impressed a member on Wednesday.
She and her son fed us and later that night she came to an appointment with us. The appointment fell through, so we asked if she could go to a potential investigator's house with us, and she agreed. Walking over, however, there were five men standing around and talking, so we started talking to them. Sis. Morgan was sooo scared to talk to them!
She hid behind a car while we taught them about eternal families and faith in Jesus Christ. Finally, I asked, "Sis. Morgan, could you please bear your testimony on how the Gospel has helped your family be closer to one another?" She looked really nervous, but bore a sweet, simple testimony. Then she relaxed and was talking with them and teaching them as well! She did great! As we walked away after getting their contact information to teach them more, she let out a sigh and said, "Oh man, that is SCARY. But it's exciting too!"

We also found out some amazing news: Teresa, one of our investigators, quit her job so that she can come to church!!! It was so exciting to hear :) She hasn't been able to come to church, but she should be able to come, now. I can't wait for her to enter into the waters of baptism. She has such a sweet spirit and is so genuine and kind. At first when we taught her, she was super sassy, but the longer we've been teaching her the restored Gospel of Jesus Christ, the softer her heart has become. It is so true that the Gospel makes bad men good and good men better.

Whew, I will say this week I have eaten more fried food than my entire life together. On Friday, a less-active member, Conrad, fed us lunch at the veteran's home. He fed us French fries, fried scallops, and fried shrimp. Later that day, Sis. Taylor fed us and made us fried chicken! Whew.  I felt like I had grease coming out of my face by the end of the day, but it made for one interesting experience ha. Oh goodness. I also remembered how much I dislike scallops. I bit into one and it spurted out this greasy slimey goop...whew. Rough. I felt so sick after.

Funny moments of the week:
1. Sis. Petersen ran smack into a wet tree branch  and then got the deathly hiccups. We've realized the hiccups only occur after we suddenly die laughing about something.

2. Luke: "He is half monkey half man. You see him at the pool and are scarred for life."
Sis. Morgan: "Man, A Midnight Summer's Dream...he was flouncing around with a loincloth...it was scary."
Talking about the elementary school principal. Haha.

Love you all! Choose the right this week, and remember God loves you!

Love,

Sister Kolee Decker

Pic: what the vineyards look like right now. It has suddenly taken a turn of HEAT and is in the 90's.

April 28 - CDA Cares :)

Dear family and friends,

This week was great!  All weeks are great, of course, but I had an especially good week :)

Honestly, we struggled lesson-wise.  We got at least 1 lesson every day, but our investigators disappeared from the face of the Earth!  We've been trying our best to get members to lessons, and when we show up for the investigators' appointments, they are not home.  That has been hard, but Sis. Petersen and I have been keeping positive and doing our best to keep working hard and being exactly obedient.

We had a funny situation happen to us the other day: we needed to watch videos for 12-week and were in St. Helena.  We stopped into the St. Helena library and asked the library lady if we could use some headphones.  She replied, "That's creepy."  Well.  Sorry we are poor and can't afford any of our own!  So we watched our 12-week training videos in silence.  It was probably more fun than hearing it, to be honest.  (Oh,and 12-week is an extra hour of studies that we do when we are either being trained or training)

Then, when we walked off, this boy walked by and took a giant bite out of the hugest chocolate bunny I have ever laid my eyes on!  Odd situations in the St. Helena library.  They're the best.

The biggest highlight from this past week was this amazing thing called CDA Cares (California Dental Association).  It was so neat!  It was a huge, state-wide free dental clinic in Vallejo, CA for two solid days from5am-8pm.  It is 100% volunteer-run.  Dentists, dental hygienists, everyone was a volunteer!  The clinic provided free dental care for anyone who usually cannot afford it.  The clinic provided fillings, extractions, cleanings, x-rays, even dentures.  There was even a sterilizing crew cleaning equipment consistently throughout the day.  

Sister Petersen and I had the privilege of escorting patients out to the exit when they were completely done with their treatment.  We volunteered from 1-7pm on Saturday, and I loved it so much!  I have never seen so many gauze-stuffed mouths smiling so big.  Even though everyone was sore or numb or plain in pain, they were so grateful.  One man said to me, "Next time I'm going to come back and be a volunteer.  Give back a little bit."  We received many hugs and smiles and some teary-eyed thank-yous, and all we were doing was escorting them out!  One man and his wife came out and his wife was crying.  She said, "My husband got his front teeth knocked out when he was 9, and now he is 60.  We could never afford to get him two front teeth.  But they gave him two today, for free!"  He smiled and had such a pretty smile, with two new dentures in the front :)  I had a smile pasted on my face the entire time we volunteered there.  I am so thankful I had the opportunity to help my fellow brothers and sisters.

So...yeah!  It was a slower week, but such a good one :)  I love you all and hope you make good decisions this week.  Remember that God loves you!  Just as Alma 41:10 says that wickedness never was happiness, the opposite is true: righteousness ALWAYS brings happiness.  Remember to CTR this week and be truly happy :)

Love,

Sister Nikole Decker

April 21 - Happy Easter!! And .... a surprise!

Dear friends and family,

Happy Easter!!  I hope you had the most amazing Easter and were able to remember out Savior yesterday and this past Passover week.

If you didn't get a chance to see the video I posted on my Facebook page, here's the link: 

mormon.org/easter

It's the first video called "Because of Him."  PLEASE watch it!  It is the most breath-taking, beautiful, incredible 2 1/2 minute video about Jesus Christ.  

For this week's news:

I CHOPPED MY HAIR OFF!!  Last night actually.  Sister Petersen has really long hair and decided she was going to cut it off.   She took the scissors and cut off a whole 12 inches of her hair!  Then I decided, "Why not?!"  And she cut my hair off too!  Pictures to come :)  I feel so FREE!  I love it.  Of course...it's not super professional.  My companion cut it.  But she cut it even and straight, and that's all that matters.

We had a miraculous, weird, hilarious, and toasty (it's getting pretty warm) week!!

Here's a funny story I included to President Alba this week about a new investigator we picked up:

We met Raz, this 20-year-old guy who works at his parents' winery, on the street walking back to our apartment and ended up teaching him the restoration. He loved hearing about prophets and wanted to know how he could hear one speak, and we told about lds.org and how to look up the General Conference talks. We left him with a pamphlet with our number on it but didn't get his. We realized that and prayed he would get back to us, and later that evening, we got a call!

"Hi, this is Sister Decker and Sister Petersen!"
"Hi, when can we meet again?"
"May I ask who is calling?"
"Raz."

SO COOL! Then...he texted us and asked us out on a date. Both of us. It was sad. He said he would come to church yesterday, too, but he did not. We were going to meet with him again last night but I think because we told him no and that we are servants of Jesus Christ, he doesn't want to meet. It was pretty sad because he seemed really elect. Ha maybe it sounds weird, but is it possible to get the Spirit mixed up with other feelings? Because when we were teaching Raz, the Spirit was there so powerfully and he really seemed enlightened.  Sister Nimmer is so funny.  When we told her the story, she said, "Maybe he confused the feelings he had for you for the Spirit and you can help him recognize what he is feeling."  ...Yup.  I guess we'll see what happens!  But if he really is ready, things will work out just fine, I know it.
Here's another cool story this week:

We also picked up this guy, Nestor! He is so cool. He is also 20 years old, and is friends with Christian, another one of our investigators. We went by Christian's and Nestor was there as well. We ended up teaching them, of all things, the Word of Wisdom! It was neat, though - they both committed to live it. They wanted to meet the next day, so we did, and it was awesome! We taught where we came from from the Plan of Salvation pamphlet. Nestor especially was just eating it up. He kept saying to us, "This is answering all my questions."

At the end of the lesson Sister Petersen asked, "Well, any questions?"
Nestor replied, "Yeah. When can we meet again?"
!!! It was neat :) However, he and Christian have fallen off the Earth the rest of the week! Calistoga is a small town and we would see them everywhere, but after that lesson we haven't seen them! We've been praying really hard to be able to meet with them. We talked to Nestor's mom the other day when we dropped by to see if he was home. His mom is very Catholic, but was very appreciative that we were meeting with him. She said he's been doing bad stuff on the streets, and feels much better knowing he is talking with us.

As for our lovely Teresa, she is doing great!  We finally started teaching her husband, Jose, this week! Woot woot!  Here's the story of Teresa:

We also taught a great lesson to Teresa, and also taught her husband, Jose! They both agreed to be baptized on May 24th!! We're working hard to help them reach that date. Jose has Word of Wisdom problems, so we need to address those, and we aren't entirely sure if they are legally married...lots of work to be done, but they are so prepared to hear the Gospel! It is so amazing to see how Teresa's attitude towards life has changed. She told us when we met with her last, "Meeting with you has given me hope." She is so much more positive and calm and happy. Her family has been praying together every night, too, and her relationships with her daughter Nayeli and her husband Jose are improving so much. The Gospel truly does bless individuals and families.
And here's my insight to President Alba that I shared about scripture study.  I just want to bear my testimony to all of you that studying the scriptures really does open up the door to personal inspiration from God.  He has put these sacred books of scripture in front of us for a reason.  So many people say, "God never answers my prayers."  But so many times we ask, "Have you ever read the scriptures to try to receive an answer?"  And they will almost always say, "No."

Read the scriptures!  The Bible and the Book of Mormon are the most amazing books in the entire world.  We can feel God's love, learn about Jesus Christ, and learn all we need to do in this life to return back to our Heavenly Father.  We can also learn from others' mistakes so that we need not make those mistakes ourselves.  See 2 Nephi 31:20 and 2 Nephi 32:3-4.  Also, for those of you who question having more book of scripture other than the Bible, I'd encourage you to read 2 Nephi 29:7-9.

Anyway, here's that insight haha:

This week I've received amazing insight on reading the scriptures. Sister Petersen and I like to call our really great studies "Loaded potato" studies. Not just a raw potato, but a feast of butter, green onions, chives, bacon, sour cream, salt and pepper...all that good stuff. 

I just feel so enlightened and hunger for more and more whenever I study. Our hour of study slips by like 5 minutes. I love studying the scriptures. It is so true that when we feast on the words of Christ, they [the words] "will tell you all things what ye should do" (2 Nephi 32:3). I have been trying personally to improve on helping investigators and less-active members understand how great and enlightening and filling "feasting" in the scriptures is.

As for Sister Petersen, this week especially I see such leadership quality in her! Honestly, at the rate she's going, she could train and be an STL at the end of this transfer, no problem. Really, though. She is so bold and has such a strong testimony. She is a natural leader, but doesn't force anything. She is exactly obedient. She works HARD. She is definitely ready to train and be a leader :) I am so proud of her! 

As for other highlights this week:

An old man talked to us for 45 minutes the other day.  He kissed my head about 4 times in that conversation.  It was weird.  Why do things like this always happen to me?

Ed Mowry - another old man and also the 98-year-old investigator we are attempting to teach - is SNEAKY!  He always gives us goldfish kisses on our hand (but really, imagine a goldfish coming up and giving you a kiss - that's what his kisses on our hands are like).  Yesterday at church I ALMOST escaped.  But then he grabbed my hand at the last minute and goldfish-kissed it.  He has crazy-fast reflexes for a 98-year-old man.  One second my hand is by my side and the next...BAM.  I've been goldfish-kissed.

Sister Petersen and I get along SO well. We teach well together, and we also are having an absolute blast out here in wine country.  We always quote The Best Two Years:

"I also know that Joseph Smith is a pamphlet...I mean, a prophet."

And lastly, this lady in our branch who will not be named is having a hysterectomy this week.  In Relief Society she compared it to In 'N' Out: "You go in, they yank it, and you go out."

Then this tiny little lady yells out, "Minus the fries!"

Haha oh Relief Society.  It's the best.

I am doing so well!  Really, though.  Sister Petersen's hips are taking a toll.  She's walking like a Grandma.  We're going to the doctor later this week to figure out what's wrong.  But as for my body and mind and spirit, and her mind and spirit, it's all good!  

I love you all so much!  Please know how much I care for all of you individually.  I pray for all of you often, and miss you all very much.  I hope you have the most amazing week.  Remember that God loves you and that forgiveness is always available for those willing to repent and move forward.  "Faith is pointed toward the future."

Love,

Sister Kolee Decker

P.S.  Want a mind blowing insight on the creation of the world?  Read Genesis 1:4 about light.  God wasn't talking about day and night at that moment - He hadn't created the moon, sun, stars, or day and night as of yet - He is talking about good and evil (see Alma 32:35 and Moroni 7:15-17).

P.P.S. I LOVE YOU!!!!!

Before the haircut...

...and After!

April 14 - Staying in St. Helena

****To see the most recent pictures from Sister Decker, click on the "St. Helena Photos" tab****

Dear family and friends,

I received news that I am staying in St. Helena for another 6 weeks follow-up training Sis. Petersen!  I'm excited, especially because the work is slowly but surely speeding up in St. Helena.

I realize how important member-referrals are to successful missionary work.  One of the main reasons why the work is so slow for the English sisters (us) is because though the members are willing to come out with us to lessons for investigators we've found through our own efforts, they do not invite their nonmember friends to hear the Gospel.  We need the members' help!  It's hard to do all the finding.  As full-time missionaries, we're full-time teachers.  As members, we all covenanted to take upon us the name of Christ, which means being a full-time finder.  Find those who are ready to receive the message of the restored Gospel of Jesus Christ.  OYM!! (open your mouth)

So!

This week we met with Teresa Cervantes, who has a baptismal date for May 24th.  She's going strong!  She brought up some concerns about her family (her husband Jose and her daughter Nayeli) not getting baptized with her, but the woman in our branch fellowshipping her, Sister Baker, helped her to see what a great example she will be and that her family will follow her example.  Teresa when we left said, "You know, maybe it won't be a problem.  It'd be great to be a good example to them."  It's been really cool to see how the Gospel is already changing her and her family.  She is pretty sassy, and she still is her sassy self, but it's a more quiet, dignified sass...if that's possible haha.  Sister Petersen and I love her so much!  We are so excited for her :)  We're teaching her the Plan of Salvation when we meet with her a couple times this upcoming week - I think she'll just eat it all up.  She's already in 2 Nephi 7 after only 4 weeks of reading in the Book of Mormon, and is really understanding and comprehending it well!

We drove way out to Pope Valley on Saturday and had a MIRACLE happen!!  We were attempting to find this house for a referral the Hermanas gave us and started talking to a woman named Cassandra.  As it turns out, she is an inactive member of the branch!  She went less-active when she was 16 years old, and her mom is a member in our branch, Sis. Chaffin.  Cassandra came back to church last year about 4 times, but she said that "no one could answer my questions."  She doubts the priesthood and doubts Joseph Smith's translations of the Bible (especially Abraham and Moses).  It was really...cool, for lack of a better word, to see how listening, discerning, teaching basic doctrine, and testifying confounds the people who think they know it all.  She kept saying that our Church is a "church of man," and yet she was seeking answers from MEN and WOMEN in the Church.  She has never sought her own spiritual answers.  We found out that really, her concern is that she has never read the Book of Mormon.  We asked her, "Well, have you ever read the Book of Mormon?"  She went off about how wrong it is and how we shouldn't add to the Bible and such and such, and Sister Petersen simply asked again, "Have you ever read it?"  She replied sheepishly that she has not.  Then Sister Petersen said to her, "I know that the Book of Mormon is true.  There is no point in us coming and talking with you until you read the Book of Mormon yourself and pray to know it is true."  We introduced the Book of Mormon to her and then I bore my testimony.  We read 2 Nephi 29:8-10 with her:

"8 Wherefore murmur ye, because that ye shall receive more of my word?  Know ye not that the testimony of two nations is a witness unto you that I am God, that I remember one nation like unto another?  Wherefore, I speak the same words unto nation like unto another.  And when the two nations shall run together the testimony of the two nations shall run together also.
9 And I do this that I may prove utno many that I am the same yesterday, today, and forever; and that I speak forth my words according to mine own pleasure.  And because that I have spoken one word ye need not suppose that I cannot speak another; for my work is not yet finished; neither shall it be until the end of man, neither from the time henceforth and forever.
10 Wherefore, because that ye have a Bible ye need not suppose that it contains all my words; neither need ye suppose that I have not caused more to be written."

After that, she said to us, "Okay, I will read it."  She asked us to look into the validity of Joseph Smith's translations of Abraham and Moses.  But you know, the longer I am out here on a mission, the more I realize that when you have a solid testimony of the Book of Mormon, your testimony of the First Vision, Joseph Smith, priesthood authority, and Jesus Christ strengthens tenfold.  My testimony is unbreakable.  I do not care what anyone says - when people try to tell me the Book of Mormon is not true, I feel the Spirit burn within me and make my heart pump fast and the thought whispers in my head, "The Book of Mormon is true" over and over and over.  I know without a shadow of a doubt the Book of Mormon is true.  I want to shout it out to everyone, and we are trying to talk with everyone we see about this Restored Gospel of Jesus Christ and the beautiful proof that it is true, the Book of Mormon.

Each morning when I study from Preach My Gospel and the Book of Mormon, my heart grows fuller and my spirit feels lighter.  If it were not true, I am sure I wouldn't feel that way.  But it IS true.  I am so grateful for that knowledge.

Sister Petersen is doing so well - she is improving more and more each day and helps me to tighten the screws and work a little harder every day.

Alright, I'll end with some funny/cool/random stories:

1. This lady named Sis. Nielsen is a sassy, feisty less-active member who lives at the veterans' home.  She came to church one day and we were so excited!  In the middle of a talk, she yells out, "Turn your mike on!"  We talked with her after and found out why she doesn't like to come to church - she's almost completely deaf.

2. This old guy at the vet's home always tells us this one story of when he was at church.  The pastor asked, "What song would you like to sing?"  He answered, "Rock of Ages!"  And didn't realize it was an actual hymn.  Then when they would sing, "Rock of ages," he yelled, "THROW IT THROUGH THE WINDOW!"  I didn't get it until I realized he was talking about a rock...he was cracking up with his big toothless grin haha.  What a fella. 

3. An awesome lady in our branch, Sis. Lisa Morgan, always feeds us on Wednesdays.  This week, we started talking about where she used to live in Brooklyn, New York.  She pointed at a picture of her old apartment and says all calm, "Yeah, one night a guy tried to climb through our window.  It wasn't very cool."  Then just turns the page to the next picture like it's no big deal.  Haha Sis. Morgan is hilarious and awesome.  All 4 of us St. Helena sisters absolutely love her to pieces.

4. Sis. Petersen and I went contacting down St. Helena's main street on Friday night and these two men were sitting in front of this store on a bench, so we started talking with them.  One of them stands up and then I realized from the stench and from his swaying that he is slobbering drunk.  The other less-drunk friend got up and put his arm around his dead-drunk friend to keep him from falling over and they started asking us questions about the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-Day Saints.  I bore a simple, sincere testimony about the Book of Mormon and the slobbering drunk guy looks at me, puts out his hand, and pats my head!  He did this multiple times during our 5-minute chat.  At the end of the chat, we were saying good bye and the wasted man COMPLETELY ENVELOPS ME in this sloppy embrace.  Awk.  Then, his less-drunk friend pulled both Sis. Petersen and I into a group hug...whew.  Don't drink!  It makes you look like an idiot, and makes you hug poor innocent sister missionaries.

5. The other day we were about to get in our car and I saw this pretty yellow and black butterfly on the ground.  I stooped down and put my hand out.  This butterfly walked right onto my hand and sat there for a minute, flapping its wings, then flew away.  It was majestic.  Call me the butterfly whisperer.

I love you fambam and friends!  Hope you have a wonderful week :)

Love,

Sister Kolee Decker

P.S.

Oh, I forgot!  Both my mission "mom" Sister De Rurange and my mission "dad" Sister Zenger are "dying" (going home) tomorrow!  I will be an orphan.  It's alright.  I've got my daughter haha.

April 7 - Miracles in 'Merica

Dear family and friends,

Hi from St. Helena Guess what?! I had an awesome week. But really.

AWESOME. We started teaching 5 new people!!! Jennifer Carrillo (11), Seamus Gilushenan (25), Todd Lanelli (63), Luis Hernandez (21), and Christian Guiterrez (21).

Cool story about Luis: we initially contacted him two weeks ago. We decided to walk all the way out to a former investigator's house (Ray Rader's) and see how he was doing. He was home but had to leave pretty quick to pick up a friend, so we didn't teach him a lesson or anything. We were kind of bummed, and started walking back through the trailer park we were in. Walking along the road we witnessed a sketchy drug-exchange with two Latino teenagers. One was in a white car, the other was handing him a bag with some drugs in it. I felt prompted to intervene, and Sis. Petersen followed right behind me. I went up to the two guys and asked how their night was going. They said fine and looked kind of antsy. I looked at the boy in the car and said , "Your body is a temple. You know that, right? You can do so much better than what you hold in your hand." The boy just shrugged me off. We left them both with a card and got the boy in the car's number, but nothing else came out of it. Haha it was super awkward and Sis. Petersen was saying, "Sketch." over and over when we walked away, but I followed the prompting!

THEN, a miracle happened! This week we contacted into him again while we were trying to contact our referral, Seamus. We reached the complex Seamus lives at and saw three boys standing smoking in the parking lot of the complex, so Sis. Petersen and I walked back and started talking with them. Their names were Seamus (our referral!!), Luis, and Christian. We said a prayer with them and before asked what they need in their lives. The boy who introduced himself as Luis said he needed more motivation to live and move forward. So we said a prayer and asked Heavenly Father for those things. It went quiet after the prayer, and they all were very reverent and said thank you.

Right then we ended up teaching them about God being our loving Heavenly Father and invited them to be baptized! They all said yes, and we have return appointments with each of them.

When we were talking with Seamus, Seamus admitted to us, "I need help.  I'll just come out and say it: I'm high right now. But I have a wife and 3 kids and I need to stop doing things like this. I need help." We were able to tell him about the ARP (addiction recovery program) in Napa on Thursdays and he is going to come this Thursday! We're also teaching him and his wife tonight :) Then I said to him the same thing I'd said to the boy in the car-drug-exchange: "Your body is a temple."

Luis was listening - he LIT UP and said, "No way! You're the girls I talked to a couple weeks ago! I was in the car, remember?" He proceeded to tell us that he has been having a really hard life. He has depression and doesn't have much family support. He's been stuck for the past few years. He told us that that night he had been crying and when we met him, he was going to overdose on the drugs he bought and kill himself. But when I said, "your body is a temple. You can do so much better" he felt something stir inside. He told me that those words repeated over and over in his head, and he didn't go through with it. We're teaching him again on Wednesday.

Wow. I am so thankful for the Holy Ghost guiding us to help save lives. Literally. I am so excited to meet with each of them and help them taste the sweetness and peace the restored Gospel of Jesus Christ brings. I am also so thankful that things don't work out sometimes because there is a bigger plan. We were bummed we didn't get to teach Ray, but that night we ended up saving someone's life and now we're going to teach that same person. God is amazing! I don't know how He does it, but He just does. He sure loves His children. I see that more and more.

And General Conference was SO great! My favorite talks were a tie between three (can there be a tie between three? Who knows.): Robert D. Hales' on obedience, Jeffrey R. Holland's on the cost of discipleship, and Dieter F. Uchtdorf's on gratitude. It is so inspired that we meet together in the middle of the week for ward activities, once a week for the Sacrament and church, every few months for stake conference, every 6 months for a General Conference...it's so needed!  We need to constantly be "nourished by the good word of God" (Moroni 6). I think there's a reason why there's not an exact number of times we meet together - we simply need to meet together oft!

Sis. Petersen is doing wonderful - she gets better and better at being a servant of Jesus Christ and being an incredible teacher. We're teaching almost 50/50 in every lesson we teach now. Also, she's been correcting me in areas where I'm slacking...I love it though! She really is helping me to push myself to be better, and I am grateful for her "greenie fire."

Funny quote from Sis. Petersen this week. We were about to visit a potential investigator named Ian on Grant St., and Sis. Petersen says enthusiastically, "Ian on Grant here we come! Jesus wants you for a sunbeam!" Haha I love her enthusiasm and positive attitude for the work. The work really is hastening here in St. Helena.

So I also had another funny experience. We call our branch president every night to report our day of missionary work in the area and I heard his voicemail hahaha. Here it is:

Jon's chicken is cooking in the pot.

Biscuits are ready and piping hot.

So hold on a minute and pull my knot.

I'll call you back later if your number I've got.

It was epic. So happy I heard that lovely voicemail this week haha.

I'm going to send pictures of our hike we took this morning for Pday to Linda Falls! It's in Angwin, a 20-minute drive from Calistoga and St. Helena. It was so pretty! I live in paradise. It is gorgeous here.  I am so blessed to be here :)

Keep choosing the right! Remember that even though man's laws may change, God's laws stay the same. Where is your faith tied? To God, or man? I know this Church truly is Jesus Christ's church back on the Earth today and I know that Joseph Smith was called as a prophet in these last days before Jesus Christ comes again. I know that Thomas S. Monson is a prophet of God. I know the Book of Mormon is true. I also know that there is so much to live for! Don't give up, don't give up, don't give up! Someone knows exactly how you feel - Jesus Christ. He lived, died, and lives again for YOU.

Have a wonderful week, and remember that I love you :)

Love,

Sister Nikole Decker

P.S. I tried pickled beets this week...yeah. They weren't the best. My breath tasted like vinegar and something rotten for a whole day no matter how many times I brushed my teeth. It was rough.

Picture: Linda Falls! They're actually much taller than they look in the picture haha...weird angle.