Okay so this letter is pretty much going to be addressed to everyone! I've realized that email time is a SUPER SACRED TIME haha so I'm trying to type as fast as I can. Okay, well I'm in a tri-companionship. Something I wasn't really expecting, but definitely a learning experience that I'm ready to tackle. We get along pretty well, I think our biggest focus is learning the language and trying to communicate with each other. So how's the language going you may ask? haha next question. haha no it's definitely a learning experience and I'm definitely learning patience. One of the girls in my companionship has taken Spanish for 10 years so when Hermana Stevens and I are struggling she fills in for us. BUT I've made a deal with one of the Latina girls that I would help her with her English if she'd help me with my Spanish. I DO know how bear my testimony, pray, and say Our Purpose in Spanish. I also know how to say "Hola Mormones" and a bunch of other stuff that's very salvation ;) haha not, but it's fun I love it. Let's see...what's happening in my District...um....oh! One of the Elders was playing Ultimate frisbee and got a concussion and is in the hospital, so he get's to miss his first P-day, but I'm guessing he got to call home. I should have played to so I could have called home, buuut ain't nobody got time for that :). GUESS WHO I SAY DAY 5 at the CCM??? ELDER AND HERMANA HART! I recognized them as my companions and I were running so I stopped to talk to them. I don't think they recognized me at first because it's been SOOO long since we've lived in CO, but they said HI to ya'll and took a picture that you should get eventually. Ah!! I can't really think of anything else to say, um the people here are super nice and funny. The food is definitely different. They do have brownies for breakfast and didn't eat one until today, because I saw that they were the Gharadelli chocolate brownies haha so that's fun. Um....DEFINITELY eat butt loads of rice. Something I haven't experienced, but what others have told me is a banana a day keeps your poop like clay and a banana a meal makes it hard to steal. Probably something you didn't want to hear, but I got a good kick out of that. Bah! I almost forgot you know how Casey and Carlie will say all the time "Sweet mother". I did learn that on day one. It's a popular phrase here so every time I say "AH mi madre" I always think of you Case and Carlie. My duffel bag DID make it the next day in the evening and thank heavens it did because it had all my makeup in it. So the pictures you got from Hermana and President Freestone, yeah I was lookin' like a crusty mess haha. My favorite part of the week would probably be sitting in for Elder Bednars devo. He taught us that we to go and not to wait for a prompting from the Holy Ghost. Look up the talk 20 Marks...I think it was a devo given at BYUI. Anyway he just said "Be a good girl (boy), keep the commandments, and act when prompted." He also said the language will come. I think that's getting to a lot of people here. Day 3 of being here we taught our first lesson and a lot of the Hermana's and even the Elders were crying because they were frustrated. Haven't cried yet haha, but when it comes to the language I'm taking it one day at a time and definitely learning patience. Not my favorite word, but it will be when I get out of here. Sorry this letter is everywhere! My brain is just going 100mph! Okay love ya'll, be safe, remember who you are, and most importantly KEEP ME IN THE SIBLING GOSSIP :) haha  Don't forget you're always in my prayers! 

Love,

Hermana Van Woerkom 

First week in the MTC

Okay so this letter is pretty much going to be addressed to everyone! I've realized that email time is a SUPER SACRED TIME haha so I'm trying to type as fast as I can. Okay, well I'm in a tri-companionship. Something I wasn't really expecting, but definitely a learning experience that I'm ready to tackle. We get along pretty well, I think our biggest focus is learning the language and trying to communicate with each other. So how's the language going you may ask? haha next question. haha no it's definitely a learning experience and I'm definitely learning patience. One of the girls in my companionship has taken Spanish for 10 years so when Hermana Stevens and I are struggling she fills in for us. BUT I've made a deal with one of the Latina girls that I would help her with her English if she'd help me with my Spanish. I DO know how bear my testimony, pray, and say Our Purpose in Spanish. I also know how to say "Hola Mormones" and a bunch of other stuff that's very salvation ;) haha not, but it's fun I love it. Let's see...what's happening in my District...um....oh! One of the Elders was playing Ultimate frisbee and got a concussion and is in the hospital, so he get's to miss his first P-day, but I'm guessing he got to call home. I should have played to so I could have called home, buuut ain't nobody got time for that :). GUESS WHO I SAY DAY 5 at the CCM??? ELDER AND HERMANA HART! I recognized them as my companions and I were running so I stopped to talk to them. I don't think they recognized me at first because it's been SOOO long since we've lived in CO, but they said HI to ya'll and took a picture that you should get eventually. Ah!! I can't really think of anything else to say, um the people here are super nice and funny. The food is definitely different. They do have brownies for breakfast and didn't eat one until today, because I saw that they were the Gharadelli chocolate brownies haha so that's fun. Um....DEFINITELY eat butt loads of rice. Something I haven't experienced, but what others have told me is a banana a day keeps your poop like clay and a banana a meal makes it hard to steal. Probably something you didn't want to hear, but I got a good kick out of that. Bah! I almost forgot you know how Casey and Carlie will say all the time "Sweet mother". I did learn that on day one. It's a popular phrase here so every time I say "AH mi madre" I always think of you Case and Carlie. My duffel bag DID make it the next day in the evening and thank heavens it did because it had all my makeup in it. So the pictures you got from Hermana and President Freestone, yeah I was lookin' like a crusty mess haha. My favorite part of the week would probably be sitting in for Elder Bednars devo. He taught us that we to go and not to wait for a prompting from the Holy Ghost. Look up the talk 20 Marks...I think it was a devo given at BYUI. Anyway he just said "Be a good girl (boy), keep the commandments, and act when prompted." He also said the language will come. I think that's getting to a lot of people here. Day 3 of being here we taught our first lesson and a lot of the Hermana's and even the Elders were crying because they were frustrated. Haven't cried yet haha, but when it comes to the language I'm taking it one day at a time and definitely learning patience. Not my favorite word, but it will be when I get out of here. Sorry this letter is everywhere! My brain is just going 100mph! Okay love ya'll, be safe, remember who you are, and most importantly KEEP ME IN THE SIBLING GOSSIP :) haha  Don't forget you're always in my prayers! 

Love,

Hermana Van Woerkom 

Hermana Van Woerkom's first morning at the MTC in the Dominican Republic with her District, Mission President, and his wife. After a long trip, SHE MADE IT!

"Ye have done it unto me"-Matthew 25:40

This will be my last post before I head out to serve the people of the Dominican Republic for 18 months! The next posts on here will be my letters AND pictures that I will be sending to my family! Instead of copying and pasting my farewell talk on this page I’ll just share bits and pieces of my talk. My topic that I was given was the ninth article of faith which states: “We believe all that God has revealed, all that He does now reveal, and we believe that He will yet reveal many great and important things pertaining to the Kingdom of God”.  Revelation is the communication between God to us as His children here on earth. From the scriptures we know that God has revealed many things to his children in ancient times. As we read the scriptures we also understand that Revelation comes in many ways such as dreams, visions, and visitations from angles. Through these channels, the Lord has restored His gospel in the latter-days and revealed many truths. We are blessed today to have a prophet on the earth that leads and guides the Lords church and gives us direction.

Although we can’t receive revelation for the church as a prophet can, we can receive personal revelation for our own lives. As we pray to our Father in Heaven and according to our own faithfulness, we can receive revelation to help us with our unique and specific personal needs, responsibilities, and questions we may have. ”. It is important to remember that we must communicate with God before we will receive an answer, but it is vital that we keep in mind that answers to our prayers come on the Lord’s timetable and in ways we might not expect. In a world where the natural man in us wants that instant gratification, not receiving that answer can be frustrating and sometimes even disappointing. So I’ve stated some ways we receive answers from our Father in Heaven, but I’d like to talk about a way I usually receive those answers, and I’m sure you’ve experienced as well.

Just to give you a background: Going to school up in Rexburg I worked on campus at the ticket office. My boss had a quote that she read to us frequently. It’s a quote from Spencer W. Kimball which states, “God does notice us, and watches over us. But it is usually through another person that He meets our needs. Therefore, it is vital that we serve each other”. I love this quote because it has come to help me recognize that when I pray for answers or specific blessings and don’t get an answer write away God isn’t ignoring me. I have come to learn that he gives us an opportunity as His children to be the answer to someone’s prayer.

I shared two examples from my talk, one on the serving end and one on the receiving end of service. Instead of writing out both of my experiences, I found this video that fits SO WELL with President Kimballs quote. PLEASE watch it! It’s SO GOOD!

I love it when she says, “A lot of times, I pray to my Father in Heaven to have my burdens made light or to receive help. And it always comes in the form of HIS SERVANTS, of them being instruments in His hands. Sometimes it comes in large ways. More often than not it comes in small and simple ways. And yet each time, I feel my Saviors embrace”.

It’s amazing what happens when we stop for a minute and instead of focusing on ourselves and waiting for our answers to our problems or questions, we can focus on and serve those who are visibly or internally struggling as well.  . Elder Holland states, “Are we not all beggars? Don’t we all cry out for help and hope and answers to prayers?” Although we may not be our brother’s keeper we are our brother’s brother. In Matthew 25:40 it states, “And the King shall answer and say unto them, Verily I say unto you, Inasmuch as ye have done it unto one of the least of these my brethren, ye have done it unto me.”

-          “As we give we find that SACRIFICE brings forth the BLESSINGS of heaven and in the end we learn it was no SACRIFICE at all.” Spencer W. Kimball 

Come and See: Capturing General Conference

If someone asked a member of our church what they did this past weekend, most of us would say we watched General Conference. During this past weekend especially, you’ll see members of the church flooding the internet with posts about General Conference. It’s because we LOVE listening and hearing from the prophet and other church leaders speak to us! You may have seen posts from members “prepping” for Conference. 

                                  Here are a couple examples from my family

 

Here's a post from my brother of him with my adorable niece prepping for General conference by making no-bake cookies at their house  :)

 And here's a post I shared on my Facebook page capturing the exact same feeling I get when it's General Conference weekend! 
                                                  (And even my dogs are catching a snooze inbetween sessions)  

Some may have seen posts on the internet being invited by their LDS friends to watch General Conference. For those who don't know what this meeting is let me explain. General Conference is an event that members of the church worldwide gather to watch twice a year (April and October) that consist of 5, two hour meetings that are held over two days. Members of the church from all around the world watch Conference take place in Utah from their homes via satellite, internet, or from local church buildings. During Conference, church leaders are asked to speak on a variety of topics. They are not assigned a topic and the length of each talk varies. Most talks usually focus on principles of the gospel and ways to help us become better examples and followers of Christ. I would encourage you to watch this years General Conference if you are interested in hearing these beautiful messages. But, if you don't have the time to listen to all of them, I would encourage you to watch this video. This is just one of the talks that was given this year by one of the apostles of the Lord, Elder Bednar. In his talk, he specifically speaks to people not of our faith concerning questions that you may have about us!    

My Forever Family

              ( We Can Live with God Again- Mormon Message) 


With any righteous decision a person makes there will always be opposition. Good things always come with some type of price involving faith, humility, and hard work.Satan does not want us to be happy and will do anything in his power to make you miserable. Misery loves company! With my mission drawing closer I have been able to experience a little of what this means. After my semester ended, I was able to go back home to finish my mission paperwork and wait for my mission call to arrive. During that time my grandpa was able to fly in and stay with us for a couple months. While he was here he was very dependent on my parents and I to help him with basic necessities. Because my parents were gone during the mornings and afternoon I would need to help out more then I did in the evenings. I'm embarrassed that I didn't have the best attitude at first. Of course there were other things I would rather do, but I didn't realize how important it was to serve, help, and love my grandpa. Although it was hard, working on my attitude became a constant every day job. As I slowly changed my attitude I realized how important it was that I was there because he really needed me. Over time, his health began to decline to the point where my parents decided he needed the 24 hour medical care of a nursing home. I was able to help him one last time and fly him back to his home where he could get the medical assistance from his healthcare specialists he needed. That was in July and a couple weeks ago my Grandpa Mel passed away. There are so many emotions that someone can experience with a passing and so many ways Satan will try to make you feel hopeless and helpless. I'm grateful for the opportunity I had to serve my grandpa and love him when a lot of his other family wouldn't. I'm grateful that he was there to share in my special moment when I opened my call and thankful for his support on my decision. This experience has only drawn me closer to my Heavenly Father and immediate family. I know I'll see him again. We all will see our loved ones again. This earth life is so short and I can't wait to spend part of my earth life serving a full time mission. I'm anxious for the opportunity to tell others of the love  our Heavenly Father and Savior has for them. I look forward to sacrificing my time with my eternal family so that those I teach can have forever families too!

                      (all of my siblings minus one of my brothers, parents, niece, nephew, and I)

I've learned that we all are going to experience hardships and struggles in life during our time on earth. I hope that we can all focus on others during those times instead of ourselves and reach out to those in need.



                    Supposing today were your last day on earth, the last mile of the journey you've trod; after all of your struggles, how much are you worth, how much can you take home to God? Don't count as possessions your silver and gold, tomorrow you leave these behind, and all that is yours to have and to hold is the service you've given mankind. - Anonymous