Psychology of social media week 2

This week in class we focused a lot on the history and evolution of social media over time. It's crazy how much things have changed in just my lifetime! I was born in the 1991. I can remember a time where no one in my family had a cell phone. I can remember when my dad had a clunky computer with a tiny screen that only worked with floppy disks. Then I remember when I was 11 and my parents saved up their money to purchase a computer for the family. It was Santa's gift to all of us that year. Then I remember a few years after that when we got AOL on the computer. At the time I remember not really understanding the point of Internet or the web. A few years after that my family moved and AOL Instant Messenger became my favorite after school pastime. I was always chatting away to my friends and thinking of clever "away messages". That was my beginning to social media. I told told my first big crush I liked him over AIM. After middle school ended I created a MySpace account to stay connected with my friends. That lasted about a year or two. In between that time I got my own first cell phone. It was a tiny little blue flip phone. I remember texting my friends while I was standing next to them, just because I could text them. Towards the end of High School I signed up for Facebook and that was a great way to keep track of friends after I graduated and moved to Hawaii. Around that same time I bought myself my first iPhone. I was the first person in my family to get a smartphone. Needless to say shortly after that we ended up with 4 other smartphones in the family. With my smart phone in Hawaii I learned I could take some pretty great pictures of my beautiful new home. Instagram was the obvious best way to share those pictures with my famil and friends. I also found Skype the best cure for missing home and I still video call home to my family almost every Sunday afternoon. Eventually I got a snapchat, I even got asked to a Fall Ball via snap chat once. 

Then I went on a mission. 

Silence. 

Emails once a week, with very limited time. 2 video calls. 1 phone call. That's it. 

I thought I would miss it more than I did. I really didn't miss it at all. 

My mom posted my emails on this blog but I never touched it. 

When I got home I was reluctant to jump back into social media. I knew it had pros but felt that the cons may out way the pros. However I leaned that the best way to communicate with friends in Australia and all over the world was through Facebook and Facebook messenger, so I jumped back on that. My mission president reminded us that if President Monson and the other general authorities can manage social media and spread positivity and the gospel so can we. I still love taking pretty pictures. So Instagram came back in as well. I'm still not convinced social media is really healthy for my spirit. I'm trying to work that out and think of ways I can use it for good; not just in my life but also for my friends and followers. 

Here is my personal social media history. It's interesting to reflect back on all the experiences in my life that social media facilitated. The good and the bad. I know social media won't stop playing a part in my life and it's proved already that it will continue to adapt and change over time. I'll adapt and change along with it and I know everything will be ok as long as my overall goals don't change: to uplift and inspire myself and others. 

Post Mission Life, Psychology of Social Media

So this blog is my mission blog, and I was just going to keep it that way and never touch it again. Then I signed up with a psychology of social media class at school and a requirement is that I blog about my reflections on social media. So here goes:
This week in class we watched a TED Talk entitled "connected, but alone?" here's a link: http://www.ted.com/talks/sherry_turkle_alone_together#t-1167812 
Anyways this woman is talking about how with the rise of social media we are keeping each other at a safe distance. We don't lose track of each other, but we don't really interact either. Something this TED talk brought to mind for me was the difference I've had trying to make friends when I first arrived at BYUH compared to returning to BYUH after my mission.
See when I came here in 2010 as a freshman, social media was certainly a thing, but not in the way it is now. A lot has changed in 5 years. When I got here, the friends I made, I made in person. The girls lived in my hallway and dorm, or were friends of friends that I met. Guys I met in my classes or in the school cafeteria, library, hallways, classes or really anywhere where students congregate. I had close friends fast! It was some of the most fun days of my life.
Upon my return from my mission I've found making friends does not come as easily as it did. This TED talk along with our class discussion helped me realize one possible reason why. Normal times when students congregate, are not about congregating anymore. When a student is in a place where they aren't among anyone they know, or actively engaged doing something, they are on their phones. People make themselves unapproachable to anyone let alone to people they don't know. I find myself doing the same thing, getting onto my phone and looking at whatever social media is available to fill the void of interacting with people, when really I should just get up and interact with some people that are right around me. I'm going to try that out more this semester. I'm going to put my phone down and force some strangers to put theirs down to so that I can have a conversation and make some new friends.

The Last Days

Hello,

Well it's my last P-day. That is super weird. 

I won't have to communicate solely via email any more, except to all my missionary friends that will still be here in the field. I guess I'll still be in the field too though, just a different field than Australia, and I won't have entirely the same role in the field, but a very similar one. We are all in the field really. 

General Conference was amazing! I loved so many of the talks. I can't believe that I never used to get anything out of general conference. Probably because I used to always just be asleep, how sad! General conference is an amazing event. I'm glad it's every 6 months. 

Thanks for the birthday wishes, it didn't even feel like it was my birthday really. I don't know how I feel about being 23...

We had our miracles from last week come to general conference this past weekend. And we've been teaching them a lot. It's been incredible. It was so good to see the young couple come as a family to church. The other family that I wrote about last week, we are teaching and they are so great. We set a date for them to be baptised this next weekend. I would normally say that I'll email pictures next week..... anyways they are the coolest kids ever, 14 and 12 and just soaking the gospel up like little sponges. They ask the best questions and we've really been having a fun time teaching them. 

It's really surreal to be coming home. I won't try and summarize or compile all the reasons I thank God every day for directing me to come on a mission, but this is the best thing I've ever done with my life and the reasons are many. I think it's been the hardest thing I've ever done too. That's okay though, I've learned more in this 1.5 years than in the all the 21 years before it even with going to church regularly. Just goes to show that you can go to church ready to receive revelation from God or you can go with a hard heart and get nothing. I'm grateful that I had enough of a little faith to prompt me to at least come out here, and I attribute that pretty much entirely to my parents, grandparents, church leaders, and good friends that I've had through my life. I can't thank Heavenly Father enough for sending me to a place where I would have people around me I could spiritually rely on because I was too weak to support my own testimony, and then thank Him again for helping me come here on a mission so I could find my own testimony and strengthen it, even to the point of being able to help others. "I Stand All Amazed" comes to mind. I know that Heavenly Father really does have a plan for each of us. I don't know what the rest of His plan for me is, but I don't mind because He's been doing a really good job of taking care of me so far and I haven't even been listening most of the time. I know that the Atonement of Jesus Christ is real, because I have felt it change me. Can't wait to see you all! although I'm not going to lie I'm pretty nervous too...

It's going to be weird. 

Love you all!

Sister Rasmussen

Sprinting to the Finish!!

Aloha family!

Well this week has been a week of craziness, and also miracles! I will write all about it to make up for my lack of good emails lately. 

First of all we got a mini missionary for the week. That is when the youth here in Queensland from a particular stake give up a whole week out of their two week school holidays to go and live and work with the missionaries throughout Brisbane. They arrive on Saturday morning and then stay until the next Saturday. We knew before hand we would be getting one, but the other two sisters in our flat received a surprise when another mini missionary showed up at our flat on Saturday morning. So we had 6 people living in our tiny flat. We have a five seater car. We have only one bathroom. It was great! 

We also went up to the Sunshine coast for my last trip up there to see the sisters and go on exchanges with them. It was a lot of fun. While I was with one of the sisters in Gympie and our mini missionary we were knocking on some doors and walking down the street and we saw a mother on the street ahead of us pushing a pram with a big plastic container in it, holding a screaming baby, and struggling with her bags. She was a pretty far way off but the sister I was with told me to go talk to her so I said yup and ran over to where she was, grabbed her pram and asked if I could push it for her to her house. As we walked to her house I told her who we were and what we do and asked her about her belief in God and about her life. When we got to her house I asked if we could come in and teach her a little bit about God and she said that normally she's say no but she felt a different "vibe" with us and it seems good so she let us in and we taught her how to pray. It was so great! When we went down to Kawana Waters we went talking to people at this lighthouse and down the cliffs from us was the ocean and there were all these people surfing! The waves were really choppy and not the best but it was still cool. I was just trying to speak to al the surfers and tie the gospel into surfing and give them cards before they ran over to shower. It's good because it's warming up so not everyone was in wet suits. So that was exciting, the problem with those two days is that it was warm and we were out in the sun working hard all day and our poor little mini missionary just couldn't handle it so she got really sick and had to go home :( sad. I think girls need to realize that part of missionary preparation is being physically fit, we don't walk around in our pretty skirts all day and stay pretty. We come home every night hot sweaty dirty and exhausted.  It's very physically demanding work. 

When we returned to our area on Thursday we had to work double time to make up for the time we had lost. We did witness some amazing things though! So Friday night we went over to a families house who we have been teaching for a while. They are a young couple with three young children, who aren't married. The man is a less active member, and his partner grew up going to church occasionally but was never baptised. We planned to have family home evening with them. We planned to read through Lehi's dream and to draw pictures of it as we read to show each other at the end. When we got there He told us that earlier that week he had an amazing experience where he decided he should truly repent so he looked up the steps of repentance and applied them, and he had the most amazing feeling. He'd since cut down his smoking considerably and started to read the Book of Mormon everyday. He had just finished reading about Lehi's dream and had prayed and asked Heavenly Father to help him understand it better and apply it into his life. Then we came with that lesson planned! We asked him something our mission president asked us in our recent zone conference "where are you in Lehi's drea?" He said last week I was in the building, a few days ago I was drowning in the river, but now I think I'm at the end of the rod in the mist trying to hold on. It was awesome. They told us they are committed to coming to church and to really living the gospel and changing their lives. They went to church on Sunday and he bore his testimony of repentance and his experience this past week. 

Then on Sunday we were at church and there was a new family that came in and sat at the back. The mum got up to share her testimony and she began by saying she hadn't been to church in 41 years. She has had many experiences in the past 2 months that have led her to realize she needed to return to church and bring her children into the gospel. They want to be baptised! She said "I left the church but Heavenly Father never left me, and now I'm back and I'm here to stay." We realized as she was speaking that we had received her family as a referral about 2 months ago but every time we tried to contact her we were never able to catch her at home. We know Heavenly Father was waiting for his timing to be right and now it is. We have an appointment with them tonight that we are really looking forward to. 

Later that afternoon we went out to have splits and my companion was able to find a miracle new investigator as well. And then that night we received a call from the assistants letting us know we'll be receiving a car! Which is another miracle in and of itself because we have so much going on in the next two weeks and we had no idea how we were going to manage to get to any of it. So it has truly been a week full of miracles and I am just full of gratitude to my Heavenly Father for the opportunity I have to be an instrument in his hands, and to be a very small part of his great work. 

Hope everyone's week is going great!

Much Love,

Sister Rasmussen

 P-day with my district singing Happy Birthday to Pres. Hendersen.

 Ian's baptism

Last day on the ferry going to the temple!

Iaorana!

I feel like I don't have a whole lot to report on this week. I was away from my area for like 4 days helping some of the sisters in our region sort out their lives. It definitely trips me out a bit when things like that happen and I realize that I'm the one they turn to to get help and counsel from...when did that happen? last time I checked I was the one that needed the help... it's weird to see other missionaries sort of look up to you in a way. I know I'm about to go home but in so many ways everyday I still feel brand new. It's humbling though, especially as my companion and I went to the Lord a lot in prayer asking for his direction in knowing how to help the sisters because we had absolutely no clue what to do. But we came together and petitioned the Lord, and then slept on it, pondered, and studied a bit and the impressions came.  I know we didn't do it perfectly but when we followed promptings from the Spirit we were truly able to bring the Spirit in to help the missionaries the same as we do when we help those we teach. I also really learned the value of having a companion. Because we were away from each other on an exchange when a lot of the problems began, I felt like I was so lost trying to make decisions, and give counsel on my own. I had to keep telling the sisters I'm sorry I just need to wait until I can discuss this with my companion. It's really great when you have a companion that you are equally yoked with, and especially good when you are great friends and can laugh your way through the ridiculousness of missionary life. It was pretty stressful but we got through it and then we had zone conference on Monday and went to the temple today. It's my last time going to the temple as a "normal" missionary before we go on our last day with President and Sister Henderson. It's a bit surreal. Hasn't yet hit me that things are really coming to an end. Anyways here are some pictures I've been meaning to send. 

Much love, Sister Rasmussen

You have been called to the Australia, North Pine Mission!

Aloha!

So I survived my last transfer calls and I am staying here in North Pine with Sister Tama! I am excited! Who would have thought that 7 transfers of my mission would be spent in the one area? not me. That is basically one whole year of mission life here in North Pine. The elders joke that they forgot to tell me in my mission call I was actually just called to the North Pine mission. Most of the members forget that I even left and think that I just have been here the whole time. I think they should let me give a farewell talk like I'm leaving to go on a mission from my home ward, I sort of am just in reverse. This next transfer is going to be really busy, we have zone conferences, leadership meetings, region meetings we have to organize with the sisters, zone p-days, trade-offs with the sisters and all sorts of crazy things going on so it's going to fly by I think. That's a bit sad. But throughout all the madness I know we will see plenty of miracles in our area as well. It's starting to get hot here again. Just as soon as summer comes on I'll be leaving to step into a North American winter....that's going to be rough haha Sister Walter and Sister Tobiassen both stayed in our flat as well and that is just so fun! We couldn't believe it when they told us, it is ridiculous that we are staying together again because we get along so well ha we aren't complaining it's awesome. The elders in our ward both stayed as well, which is awesome because they are great too and we are working well together. So over all things are great here. I'm enjoying my last transfer and trying not to think to much about it all ending. Love You all!

Sister Rasmussen

pictures

Pictures at the house of an inactive couple from Chile that we have been working with and who have been coming back to church.