Sister Ashli Nicole Stringer

The time has finally come! Sister Slade and I will be flying to Honolulu tomorrow morning and we are SO excited. Christmas was amazing this year and it will be one that I always remember. Thank you for all gifts, love, and support!

I don't have much time but I had a really great experience this week. On Saturday I was able to go up to Temple Square and be companions with a missionary up there for the day. I knew that the Lord wanted me to learn things from that experience and so I was praying to meet people that would benefit from my testimony and experiences and that I would be able to learn from as well. We talked to so many people but one person specifically stood out to me. She was with her boyfriend and we were asking her questions about Jesus Christ and Christmas. As we continued talking and bearing testimony, she told us that she was planning on getting baptized in January. Then she just started crying. I felt impressed to ask her what part of the gospel meant the most to her as she prepared to be baptized. She continued to cry as she told me how her life had been blessed by the gospel. I was able to bear my testimony to her of the truthfulness of the Church of Jesus Christ...the spirit was so strong! She gave me a big hug before she left and expressed her gratitude to missionaries who bring people closer to Christ.

This is something that I carry around in my scriptures that I read everyday as a reminder of my purpose.
My Commission
I AM CALLED OF GOD
My Authority is above that of the kings of the earth.
By revelation I have been selected as the personal representative of the Lord Jesus Christ.
He is my Master and He has chose me to represent Him; to stand in His place; to say and do what He himself would say and do if He personally were ministering unto the very people to whom He has sent me.
My voice is His voice, and my acts are His acts; my words are His words, and my doctrine is His doctrine- for I am His agent.
My commission is to do what He wants done, to say what He wants said, to be a living modern witness- in word and in deed- of the divinity of His great and marvelous latter-day work.
And he that receiveth me, receiveth Him, while he that rejecteth me rejecteth Him that sent me.
How great is my calling!

How true that is! I can feel it each and everyday as I put my whole heart into the work. I can feel the Lord reach His children through me by the spirit. My words are His words and it is an amazing feeling to know that the kingdom of God is moving forward on the earth. This really is the gospel of true happiness, joy, and peace.

The next time I write I will be on a little island in the Pacific. Thanks for all the prayers and letters. I can't wait to preach the gospel to all the world!

Love, Sister Stringer

I can't believe that Christmas is in a couple of days! To be honest, it doesn't really feel like Christmas time at all because I am in a completely different world here at the MTC.

The Elders in our district left today for Canada. We all cried...it was a sad goodbye. I sure love them and I know that they will change the world through their examples and their testimonies. Elder Iosefa gave me a couple of referrals in Laie and then before he left he made me promise that I would convert all of Hawaii. I'll try my best! 

God has a sense of humor. Each week we are assigned an area of the MTC to clean for a service assignment. The 4 sisters in my district are assigned to clean the residence hall bathrooms. Last week we all prayed that we wouldn't actually have to clean the bathrooms because it is absolutely disgusting (think cat-sized hairballs in the showers haha). So we get to the office where they assign out the jobs and the lady tells us that its our lucky day because they want us to help move chairs in another building. We were so happy!! So we went back to our room to get our jackets and decided to say a thank you prayer to Heavenly Father for not making us clean the bathrooms. Right as we started to fold our arms and say the prayer, there was a knock on the door. It was the lady who makes the assignments and she told us that there was a change of plans and that we actually did have to clean the bathrooms!!! Hahahahaha we should have said our thank you prayer faster. It was really gross but Sister Brox and I got some good pictures of us cleaning the hair out of the showers and almost throwing up.... 

I want to wish everybody a very Merry Christmas! Don't worry about me, I am so happy to be here. I think it might just be the best Christmas ever. The Savior has given the ultimate gift...His life. I will never be able to repay Him for that. For the first time in my life I feel like I am giving Him the best gift I can....my life and service for the next 18 months. I know that it is still not enough but its the best I can do. This gospel is so true. It continues to change my life everyday as I come to know my Savior. He is the light in a darkened world, He is the way to salvation, He is my King. I can't wait to proclaim my testimony to the world! 

Love, 

Sister Stringer 

Remember, "Don't ask God to guide your footsteps if you're not willing to move your feet."

Alright first of all I have to say that it is ridiculous that we only get 30 minutes on the computer. I feel like I'm going to have a heart attack each time I sign on cuz I never have enough to do all that I want to do!


Ok, so to answer some questions!
Am I busy from wake-up to bedtime? DEFINITELY. I have never been so busy in my life. We get up at 6:15 and pretty much every minute of everyday we are sitting in class, teaching, eating, studying, etc. By the time 10:30 rolls around I am soooo excited to go to bed. We hardly even have enough time to shower haha. Am I exhausted? Yes and sometimes its a little disheartening to think that I'm not going to get a break til June 2011! Its a good exhausted though...the Lord expects a lot of us.
What things are we learning? Everything!!! I can't believe how much I have learned about the Savior, the Atonement, the Plan of Salvation, teaching, door approaches, asking questions, getting along with immature 19 year old boys....
My leaving date? I am scheduled to fly out on Tuesday December 29th!
The food? Pretty good actually. Too many choices and its weird cuz we eat dinner at 4:30.
Sister Slade's non-Samoan last name? Her grandpa was from Ireland and her grandma was Samoan so thats why she has a name that doesn't sound Samoan :)


In class this week our District Leader Elder Chadwick decided that sister missionaries are like "Mind Ninjas" because we get into people's minds and are too persuasive and know all the right things to say to get the spirit into our lessons. I thought it was funny. We sit in class all day so any excuse to laugh is good, even if its not that funny haha. I've always wanted to be a ninja.....


Sister Slade has been teaching me Samoan! I am a faifeau talai (missionary) for O le Ekalesia o Iesu Keriso o le au paia o aso e gata ai (the Church of Jesus Christ of Latterday Saints). Cool huh!


Yesterday Sister Elaine Dalton, the YW General Pres, gave our lesson in Relief Society. I LOVE the MTC and I love Sister Dalton. It was so amazing!


Know that I love you all, I wish I had more time to write everyone individually.


Love, Sister Stringer


PS - Dear Braden and Mason, Harvey Unga's little brother is at the MTC and just so happens to be serving in the Hawaii Honolulu Mission. He will be flying out with Sister Slade and I on the 29th. Just thought you'd like to know :)


PSS - Congrats Jared and Annie!!!!!

Well, I made it and its been a great week at the Missionary Training Center. I can't believe I've only been here for 6 days :) It seems like its been an eternity. I've already learned so much and I can honestly say that I've really enjoyed my mission so far.

Missionary prayers do get answered! We have been praying for snow because two members of our district have never seen snow before. Elder Iosefa is from Laie, Hawaii and Sister Slade is from Samoa. We had a great time taking pictures in the snow on Sunday by the Provo Temple and Elder Iosefa even made his very first "snow angel". We have a wonderful district. There are 6 elders that are all serving in Vancouver, Canada, 2 sisters serving in the Mesa Arizona Temple Visitor Center, and then my companion and I. Sister Slade is my companion and I love her. We've already decided that we are going to be friends forever.

It is nice being a sister missionary here at the MTC. In our orientation meetings last week, the Branch President told the elders that they have to open the doors for us, hold our trays in the lunchroom, and stand whenever we enter the classroom or sit down in the cafeteria. I've decided that my brothers should start practicing those simple acts of chivalry so that I will continue to be treated like a princess when I get home :)

I feel like I've been on a spiritual roller coaster this past week. The spirit is so strong here in the MTC but that doesn't mean that we don't have to work hard to feel and recognize it in our lives. Sometimes I have a lot of faith in the decision I've made to serve a mission, other times I am full of fear and find myself questioning my purpose. Up and down, up and down. Luckily the "ups" are good enough to offset the "downs". I have a great purpose and I know that the Lord really does walk next to His missionaries because we are doing His work.

Everytime we have to walk outside in the snow, Sister Slade and I just turn to each other and say "Hawaii, Hawaii, Hawaii!" She keeps telling me that island girls belong on the islands and I'm starting to think that Utah girls belong on the islands too. I love this work and I am praying for each and every one of you back at home!

Love,Sister Stringer

I just want to say a big thank you for everyone who came to support me on Sunday.  I can't believe the time has actually come for me to leave...it seems like I've been waiting for this day for quite some time.  Life is crazy!  I want you all to know that the Lord loves you.  He takes care of you when you do what He asks.  I have felt that many times in my life but I especially feel it right now.  Having faith can be hard.  Life never goes as planned, but I know that I would much rather have the Lord be in control of my life than having Him just leave it up to me.  I have never been disappointed as I have made an effort to recognize and act on the promptings from the Holy Ghost that I have received.

I'll be thinking of you as I enjoy the warm, tropical weather of Hawaii this winter :)  May God bless you as you make an effort to do what's right!

Sister Stringer

PS - Thanks to my sister Kayci for keeping this blog while I am gone.  Feel free to make comments, she will be sure to forward them on to me.