Hey everyone!
This was the week of the visitors' center Christmas gala, and I will never stop being grateful I had the experience to sing there. I love singing, and that's something I don't give myself enough credit for. Performing is something I enjoy doing, but not as a full-time gig. But since it's something I love to do, and I come from a family of performers (my siblings are on TikTok @jacobslitstuff and @emily.dimond and they are AMAZING actors/singers/creators), a lot of the time people assume that is something I love to do full-time. And it's something I surely love to do--I love to create and singing and performing is an awesome way of storytelling--but I'm not great at it, and I don't intend to do it for the rest of my life. A lot of the time people assume I'm better than I am or that I'm more into music and acting than I am. So I spend a lot of time saying I'm not a performer just to get people off my back. I spend so much time trying to convince people that singing is not what I do. And honestly, I'm at a point in my life where I finally fully realize that it's hurt me a lot. Because it it is what I do! And now I struggle to get people to see value in my performances because I spend so much time convincing them that they shouldn't. I don't blame myself for this, because I really have had a lot of negative experience with people assuming that I am going into the full-time performing business like my sister and brother. But here's the truth of the matter: I don't have to be a professional singer or actress. Not my job. But I'm allowed to like it, and I'm allowed to be an amateur at it. That is allowed. So I'm a singer! I'm an actress! I'm a performer! And I love doing those things.
Needless to say, more than even that I'm grateful to have had the opportunity to be in the mission octet for the wonderful experiences it gave me in some of the most beautiful places in Los Angeles, and that I got to get so much closer to my dear missionary friends. I love them with all my heart.
Enjoy!
This was the week of the visitors' center Christmas gala, and I will never stop being grateful I had the experience to sing there. I love singing, and that's something I don't give myself enough credit for. Performing is something I enjoy doing, but not as a full-time gig. But since it's something I love to do, and I come from a family of performers (my siblings are on TikTok @jacobslitstuff and @emily.dimond and they are AMAZING actors/singers/creators), a lot of the time people assume that is something I love to do full-time. And it's something I surely love to do--I love to create and singing and performing is an awesome way of storytelling--but I'm not great at it, and I don't intend to do it for the rest of my life. A lot of the time people assume I'm better than I am or that I'm more into music and acting than I am. So I spend a lot of time saying I'm not a performer just to get people off my back. I spend so much time trying to convince people that singing is not what I do. And honestly, I'm at a point in my life where I finally fully realize that it's hurt me a lot. Because it it is what I do! And now I struggle to get people to see value in my performances because I spend so much time convincing them that they shouldn't. I don't blame myself for this, because I really have had a lot of negative experience with people assuming that I am going into the full-time performing business like my sister and brother. But here's the truth of the matter: I don't have to be a professional singer or actress. Not my job. But I'm allowed to like it, and I'm allowed to be an amateur at it. That is allowed. So I'm a singer! I'm an actress! I'm a performer! And I love doing those things.
Needless to say, more than even that I'm grateful to have had the opportunity to be in the mission octet for the wonderful experiences it gave me in some of the most beautiful places in Los Angeles, and that I got to get so much closer to my dear missionary friends. I love them with all my heart.
Enjoy!
Hello one and all!
LA LOVE:
We had a final dinner with the Di Niros before they go out of town for about two months. Ir was actually pretty bittersweet because the transfer is coming up so we don't know what is going to happen. We ate with them and the elders in the kitchen of our church at like 6:30 when no one else was there and it was pretty dang cute. Wow we love them and we will miss them.
EVENTS OF THE WEEK:
On p-day we had our final practice for the gala! We had a super magical moment where we got to practice in the Christus room of the visitors' center, singing at the Savior's feet. A favorite song of mine that we sing is "The First Noel". "Noel is a word referring to a song sang at the birth of royalty. This first noel was sung to shepherds by angels, breaking "a cold winter's night that was so deep"--the winter of sin. The world was finally free of that. And thus the first noel was sung. Preparing for the gala was super amazing and gave me an opportunity to see many familiar Christmas songs in a different way, more worshipfully.
District council was super fun seeing as it was the day of the gala and every companionship in our district was participating in the gala in some way. We learned about how to make our daily planning effective, particularly by planning a day ahead and making our areas balanced.
The night of the gala finally came! We did some warm-ups and performed for the people and missionaries in the family history library before we had a dinner break and got to talk together about what we've learned and felt and observed as we prepared for this event. Finally we got to go out to the front of the visitors' center to sing for all the guests! They loved it. We had many fans, cameras were on us and everything. We even had someone stop and start singing with us--only to find out it was Pat Boone! Gentri was doing a concert at the event and we sang for the guests ten minutes before the concert started--so yes I opened for a Gentri concert. We sang as the guests left the gala as well, and then we sang for Gentri while they were greeting their fans as well. It was an awesome night and we all had a great time singing together.
We had a sweet training by our dear zone leaders and sister training leaders on how we can use goals, plans, and accountability to help us with Light the World this Christmas season, and with all of our missionary work!
The gala octet also got invited to sing at the Swiss-American Chamber of Commerce. It was an event at the Beverly Hills Hotel and let me tell ya it was amazing. We got to walk around the hotel (let me tell you this hotel is famous and beautiful), sing and talk together, and perform for the people as they socialized around the cocktail bar, and as they walked intot he ballroom for the event. Everyone loved it again, and we also got to do some missionary work by talking to some less active members! It was a great time with my dear friends of the octet, and our last adventure with Elder Bishop and Sister Bishop before they go home. We will miss them dearly but are grateful for this great opportunity to work with them!
We had our zone interviews this week. There isn't really anything cooler than first hearing your mission president pray for you and your specific needs and second counseling with him about the work that can be done in your area. I love President Cordon and I am so grateful to have him and Sister Cordon as my mission leaders.
Our ward had a super adorable Christmas party called "Let's Taco Bout Christmas!" Tacos and the Christ Child video, all with the amazing members of the Wilshire ward? It doesn't really get better than that.
FRIENDS:
We had an incredible experience with Destiny this week. We walked into the lesson planning to teach about baptism and confirmation, and define a tentative time that Destiny thought she would be able to be baptized. Well, in the middle of the lesson, as we talked about it, the Spirit impressed very clearly on the minds of both me and Sister Birch that we needed to set a solid baptismal date with this woman NOW. I pulled out my calendar and upon looking at it, I knew that day needed to be February first. Destiny committed to prepare herself to be baptized on that date, and we are so happy for her.
Rhona learned about the Restoration of the gospel of Jesus Christ this week. It all made perfect sense to her. She says when she reads the Book of Mormon, she knows it is true because it is a confirmation of the Bible to her. Her testimony is growing rapidly. We are so happy for her too.
Abulla is amazing! We taught him about temples and family history and how he will soon be able to help his ancestors be baptized and feel the happiness he feels, as well as bless him and his family on earth. This made him very happy because he said he knows his family will accept the gospel because they were very good people, they just never got that chance. He also helped pass the sacrament for the first time this Sunday! We love him and are so happy about the joy he has found in the gospel.
We had a lesson with Alex, someone we met on the street on the way out of a lesson. Honestly we didn't know much about him except that he was interested in learning more about the gospel. He told us he is going through a hard time in his life and is looking for a purpose and a way to happiness--that is exactly what we teach about! On one of his saddest days, that was the day we contacted him to set up a lesson. What a miracle. He is awesome and we are so excited for him to learn more about the gospel.
We shared "The Christ Child" with Brittany and Kyle, a part-member family in our ward! It gave them a great opportunity to feel the Spirit and learn more about the gospel. We had never met them before, but they were so nice! Gave us dinner and everything. We look forward to seeing them again.
To close, I want to share with you something that means a lot to me, something I shared with my dad after he talked about wanting the youth to know the joy they can receive from serving a mission. I was talking to an elder who is a dear friend of mine about why we served missions, and for him he said honestly because he was supposed to, but it was starting to be for the right reason (this elder is new), becoming a closer disciple of Jesus Christ. I hope the youth know this is true for many missionaries. And that they should not think the situation for elders and sisters is more different than it is. Many sisters and elders alike knew they needed to serve a mission before they wanted to, but like the elder in this story, and myself, and many of my other friends on the mission, they took a leap of faith, doing what they knew Heavenly Father needed them to do, and shortly after their desire followed. I hope elders and sisters alike also know that they can ALL receive personal revelation regarding their decision to serve a mission. That is not a sisters-exclusive thing. Every young missionary can receive that answer. Even with every worthy young priesthood bearer needing to serve a mission, they can also plead with the Lord to help them feel and understand the need to fulfill THEIR personal mission, to help them see why they need to go as they proceed in faith. This is an experience they will find joy in, and it really can be theirs.
Heavenly Father has a way for everyone to serve Him--counsel with Him and find out His way for you!
Thanks and much love!
--Sister Day
LA LOVE:
We had a final dinner with the Di Niros before they go out of town for about two months. Ir was actually pretty bittersweet because the transfer is coming up so we don't know what is going to happen. We ate with them and the elders in the kitchen of our church at like 6:30 when no one else was there and it was pretty dang cute. Wow we love them and we will miss them.
EVENTS OF THE WEEK:
On p-day we had our final practice for the gala! We had a super magical moment where we got to practice in the Christus room of the visitors' center, singing at the Savior's feet. A favorite song of mine that we sing is "The First Noel". "Noel is a word referring to a song sang at the birth of royalty. This first noel was sung to shepherds by angels, breaking "a cold winter's night that was so deep"--the winter of sin. The world was finally free of that. And thus the first noel was sung. Preparing for the gala was super amazing and gave me an opportunity to see many familiar Christmas songs in a different way, more worshipfully.
District council was super fun seeing as it was the day of the gala and every companionship in our district was participating in the gala in some way. We learned about how to make our daily planning effective, particularly by planning a day ahead and making our areas balanced.
The night of the gala finally came! We did some warm-ups and performed for the people and missionaries in the family history library before we had a dinner break and got to talk together about what we've learned and felt and observed as we prepared for this event. Finally we got to go out to the front of the visitors' center to sing for all the guests! They loved it. We had many fans, cameras were on us and everything. We even had someone stop and start singing with us--only to find out it was Pat Boone! Gentri was doing a concert at the event and we sang for the guests ten minutes before the concert started--so yes I opened for a Gentri concert. We sang as the guests left the gala as well, and then we sang for Gentri while they were greeting their fans as well. It was an awesome night and we all had a great time singing together.
We had a sweet training by our dear zone leaders and sister training leaders on how we can use goals, plans, and accountability to help us with Light the World this Christmas season, and with all of our missionary work!
The gala octet also got invited to sing at the Swiss-American Chamber of Commerce. It was an event at the Beverly Hills Hotel and let me tell ya it was amazing. We got to walk around the hotel (let me tell you this hotel is famous and beautiful), sing and talk together, and perform for the people as they socialized around the cocktail bar, and as they walked intot he ballroom for the event. Everyone loved it again, and we also got to do some missionary work by talking to some less active members! It was a great time with my dear friends of the octet, and our last adventure with Elder Bishop and Sister Bishop before they go home. We will miss them dearly but are grateful for this great opportunity to work with them!
We had our zone interviews this week. There isn't really anything cooler than first hearing your mission president pray for you and your specific needs and second counseling with him about the work that can be done in your area. I love President Cordon and I am so grateful to have him and Sister Cordon as my mission leaders.
Our ward had a super adorable Christmas party called "Let's Taco Bout Christmas!" Tacos and the Christ Child video, all with the amazing members of the Wilshire ward? It doesn't really get better than that.
FRIENDS:
We had an incredible experience with Destiny this week. We walked into the lesson planning to teach about baptism and confirmation, and define a tentative time that Destiny thought she would be able to be baptized. Well, in the middle of the lesson, as we talked about it, the Spirit impressed very clearly on the minds of both me and Sister Birch that we needed to set a solid baptismal date with this woman NOW. I pulled out my calendar and upon looking at it, I knew that day needed to be February first. Destiny committed to prepare herself to be baptized on that date, and we are so happy for her.
Rhona learned about the Restoration of the gospel of Jesus Christ this week. It all made perfect sense to her. She says when she reads the Book of Mormon, she knows it is true because it is a confirmation of the Bible to her. Her testimony is growing rapidly. We are so happy for her too.
Abulla is amazing! We taught him about temples and family history and how he will soon be able to help his ancestors be baptized and feel the happiness he feels, as well as bless him and his family on earth. This made him very happy because he said he knows his family will accept the gospel because they were very good people, they just never got that chance. He also helped pass the sacrament for the first time this Sunday! We love him and are so happy about the joy he has found in the gospel.
We had a lesson with Alex, someone we met on the street on the way out of a lesson. Honestly we didn't know much about him except that he was interested in learning more about the gospel. He told us he is going through a hard time in his life and is looking for a purpose and a way to happiness--that is exactly what we teach about! On one of his saddest days, that was the day we contacted him to set up a lesson. What a miracle. He is awesome and we are so excited for him to learn more about the gospel.
We shared "The Christ Child" with Brittany and Kyle, a part-member family in our ward! It gave them a great opportunity to feel the Spirit and learn more about the gospel. We had never met them before, but they were so nice! Gave us dinner and everything. We look forward to seeing them again.
To close, I want to share with you something that means a lot to me, something I shared with my dad after he talked about wanting the youth to know the joy they can receive from serving a mission. I was talking to an elder who is a dear friend of mine about why we served missions, and for him he said honestly because he was supposed to, but it was starting to be for the right reason (this elder is new), becoming a closer disciple of Jesus Christ. I hope the youth know this is true for many missionaries. And that they should not think the situation for elders and sisters is more different than it is. Many sisters and elders alike knew they needed to serve a mission before they wanted to, but like the elder in this story, and myself, and many of my other friends on the mission, they took a leap of faith, doing what they knew Heavenly Father needed them to do, and shortly after their desire followed. I hope elders and sisters alike also know that they can ALL receive personal revelation regarding their decision to serve a mission. That is not a sisters-exclusive thing. Every young missionary can receive that answer. Even with every worthy young priesthood bearer needing to serve a mission, they can also plead with the Lord to help them feel and understand the need to fulfill THEIR personal mission, to help them see why they need to go as they proceed in faith. This is an experience they will find joy in, and it really can be theirs.
Heavenly Father has a way for everyone to serve Him--counsel with Him and find out His way for you!
Thanks and much love!
--Sister Day
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