Crazy Week!

Can I just say that I LOVE WISCONSIN?!?!?! I do, I really do! It's so pretty here, and fall is DEFINITELY on its way. The past few days have been all cloudy and rainy and it feels like a personal gift from Heavenly Father. I have needed that for sure, since this has been one of the most stressful weeks of my life!

So Sister Hunter left, Sister Decker is with us now and we are covering Kettle Moraine and Waukesha. That makes for 6 hours of church which is another huge blessing. Church is the best place to be! I love the wholesome spirit of the meetings we have each week, and the people we meet. If I haven't been clear on this, let me say it now: the people here are amazing!!!!! I know that in my emails I haven't been giving them enough credit. This week I was really struggling with the stress of handling two areas, and it was the incredible ward members and people we are teaching who really got me through. I can't say enough how wonderful these people are; sometimes I am surprised by how much I feel towards them, but I am so grateful to feel it and I think it's a gift of the Spirit for sure!!!

We are at a standstill with a few of our investigators since we haven't been able to meet with them, but hopefully this week we will be able to find a balance between both areas that allows us to get some good work done.

With all the craziness going on I have learned so much about the power and peace that comes from prayer. It's so true that prayer changes things, but I think it mostly changes people. Because I don't know how to describe what's happening to me exactly, but I feel more vulnerable than I have ever felt before; like I am in God's hands and He is shaping me into what I need to be, whether or not I want to be shaped!!! Every day I see more of my weaknesses, but every day I learn more about how I can overcome them. I am so grateful for the Atonement, that lifts and strengthens me beyond anything I can comprehend!

I hope you are all well and happy :) Good luck starting school!

xoxo

Sister K.

P.S. I'll be sending lots of photos from the past few weeks!

A Week in Wisconsin

Hey Folks! 

There have been some tough moments this week as well as some really good ones. First of all, Althea's mom (Althea is the 14 year old we are trying to teach) refuses to meet with us and refuses to give Althea permission to be baptized. So we are back to square 1 with that one. Second of all, we dropped Starlita because we are pretty certain she is "loco in the coco," to steal a phrase from Giuliana Gillespie. (Note: I heard a rumor that in Wisconsin 50 PERCENT of the people have mental illnesses of some kind, making it the #1 state as far as crazies go. Can anyone look that up to confirm that rumor for me?! Not that it would give me peace of mind or anything. I just wanna know.) 

As for Teri, well... she is still difficult. I really feel strongly that she is my purpose in being here in the Waukesha area, but she has so many hang-ups and downright weird theologies that it is SO HARD to teach her. But we are still trying. We are going to show her Tad Callister's "The Blueprint of Christ's Church" BYU devotional video today and if that doesn't clarify things for her I don't know what will! 

We have been doing more street contacting and I actually like it a lot. It feels so much more productive than knocking on doors. So that's a miracle!!!! :D 

Sister Hunter goes home this week. I am freaking out about that just a little. She has been so good for me! And she's been so instrumental in getting the work in Waukesha going stronger. I've been so blessed with my companions so far! 

We found out that after Sister Hunter leaves, Sister Decker will be coming and joining us from Kettle Moraine and we will be covering both areas again, like we did a few weeks ago. Sister Decker came out one transfer after me, so there is a pretty high likelihood that I will end up finishing her training next transfer. I don't feel ready to train by any means, but at least I had one more transfer to prepare than McKenna Floyd did! Training after 6 weeks, that is crazy!!! Haha. But probably the BEST thing about being on a mission in my mind is that you always, ALWAYS know that you are in the right place with the right companion at the right time. So things work out just the way they are supposed to. I'm so grateful to know that!!!!! 

Miracle of the week: We had the opportunity to teach Joni Neugebauer the Plan of Salvation this week! Joni's husband is Brother Neugebauer, who is an awesome active member in the ward, and Joni came to church for the first time ever yesterday! It was incredible! I was actually surprised by the intensity of the joy I felt in seeing her there. I had always been told about the joy of missionary work, and I have felt it a little here and there, but that was my first real taste of it and I'm so SO grateful for that. It was exactly what I needed!!!! Funny how Heavenly Father gives us what we need at just the right time, eh? :) 

I will try to send some of the pictures that I forgot from last week (oops!). Hope you are all well and enjoying the summer while it lasts! Love you so much! 

xoxo 

Sister K. 

Cultural Blitz!

This was my favorite week yet when it comes to Wisconsin culture!!! Last p-day after emailing we got to go to Holy Hills, which is a pretty hike up to a Catholic church and the view looks JUST LIKE Germany. What a tender mercy!!!! I loved it so much. We also got to go shopping at Woodman's, which is just a Wisconsin thing I think... They had an entire aisle just for cheese. Like, a whole big long stretch of nothing but cheese... incredible! And I am really getting a feel for the heat and humidity everyone had been warning me about... the air is like a wall of water. I feel like I'm living in Jell-O. I don't know how else to describe it but it is actually a pretty remarkable sensation. Also, we had a CRAZY thunderstorm a few nights ago and the sky was green! And the lightning was purple! I loved it :)

Last Saturday one of the ladies we are working with invited us to a Laotian festival-type-thing at a Buddhist temple in Waukesha. The Buddhist temple was so legit and we were the only white people there. A bunch of kids danced and sang in Laotian and played awesome Asian instruments. It was SO cool. I felt like I was serving my mission in Asia for a minute, which was nice little reminder of how grateful I am to be serving in the states because all those Laotian people spoke English just fine and I was still scared of them! And I was like 2 feet taller than everyone else! Haha it was great.

Let's get to the real stuff! Teri still has a lot of concerns we are trying to work with. Her assignment for this weekend is to watch a talk by President Monson and pray about it. I KNOW that if she has real intent as she does this, she WILL know for herself that we have a prophet! I think back to my first semester at BYU when President Monson came for Kevin Worthen's inauguration ( I think...), and the second he stepped into the room... Whoompf! the Spirit! He really is a prophet. I know that's true!

We are working with some others too but they are not as promising. Starlita, one of our investigators with a baptism date, hasn't been returning our calls or showing up to appointments so that's a downer. We're still doing a lot of finding and trying to get to know the ward members better.

GUESS WHAT?! I have come up with an awesome plan to get my new song to you guys. Next time I'm at a member's house with a guitar, I'm going to have Sister Hunter film me singing it and put it on a drive or dvd or something then have Sister Hunter take it to Kayli in Logan. Man, I love it when my companions go home to Utah! Haha. (Not that I love it when they leave, or anything.)

What else? Hmm, I had my first Zone Conference on Friday! it was absolutely incredible. I love the way the Spirit can call me to repentance and build me up/inspire me all at the same time. 

Sorry my emails are becoming so lengthy. I guess I mostly want you all to know that I am really loving Wisconsin. It took me a while to appreciate it really but I do love it!

Love all you, too! hope this email finds you well :)

Have a great week! 

xoxo

Sister K.

p.s. the first picture is one we took on exchanges with sister casas, me, and sister tenney. the second is at the buddhist temple! I'll try to send one of me with sister hunter :)

August in Wisconsin

Hey Everyone!

This week was great. I can't believe how fast time is going, and yet so slow all at once... every day feels like a new eternity, but it has been more than 2 months since I went into the MTC! I feel lucky every day to be where I am. Lately I have been studying a talk called "the Fourth Missionary" (don't remember who it's by) that is incredible. It says that our hearts and our minds are the only things we can give to the Lord, since everything else we could give Him (our time, our efforts, our talents) already came from Him. I am realizing just how much better I could be at dedicating my heart to the work. A lot of the time my heart is back home with you folks and my guitar, and while that's not a bad place for my heart to be, that's not where it should be right now! So I am working on that :)

This week a lot of our lessons fell through. I am realizing that okay, tracting can get you some new investigators, but rarely do they actually remember the appointments you set up!! The only lessons that really worked out were with Teri and Althea, when members were there with us. This is why member missionary work is the bomb!

Speaking of Teri, she has been studying the Plan of Salvation pretty thoroughly and now her main issue with our church is the Apostasy. Again. She doesn't understand why God would take His Priesthood away from the earth for such a long span of time and let His children live without it. Also, she wonders why Joseph Smith was the one selected to be a prophet when there were many other truth seekers throughout history who could have been called. Tough questions, but we're doing our best to bear testimony of the Book of Mormon as the best way we can receive our witness of Joseph Smith and the restored Priesthood authority.

And speaking of the Book of Mormon, I had my first real Bible Bash a couple days ago! We were on exchanges so Sister Hunter was gone, but it allowed me the opportunity to step up and try to answer questions and testify of what I knew. I left that experience with an even stronger testimony of the Book of Mormon and the fact that it is ABSOLUTELY CRUCIAL in clarifying the gospel of Jesus Christ as well as His nature. I love that book and I love being able to defend it with all that I have.

Well I can't think of anything else worth mentioning! The Tripanionship is great, but I am scared for Sister Hunter to leave. She's a pro!

Love you all! Have a great week :)

xoxo

Sister K.

A Great Week!!

So this week I got my two new companions and they are awesome. Learning how to balance teaching in a trio is always pretty weird but we're doing alright so far. Sister Hunter is my trainer and she is absolutely amazing, but she leaves for home two weeks early this transfer to make it to school, so Sister Casas will become my trainer! After that, who knows what will happen!! I will have had 3 trainers in 2 transfers and killed off 2 of them. Sad day! Haha. 

We are still working with Teri and trying to resolve her concerns about the Fall of Adam and Eve. That's some tricky business right there! I guess I find a lot of comfort in the fact that we don't HAVE to understand everything to know the gospel is true. If we read the Book of Mormon and know that it is God's word and scripture, the entire Restoration falls into place. I hope Teri can make that leap of faith and continue learning about the Plan! 

We also set a date with an awesome black lady named Starlita. She is incredible! All in all this week we have 7 new investigators which is just insanely awesome!  the work is picking up a ton now in Waukesha. What a blessing! 

I'm still improving at tracting! This week I had someone actually give me back a Book of Mormon that she had been given a month or so ago, and I was like, "I don't want this! This will save your soul!" But she wouldn't keep it! 

 For the first time this week we went street contacting downtown, and THAT is my new least favorite activity! SO awkward! But I have this theory that THAT's why missionaries are so awkward when they get home... because the awkward has become normal! I can't wait to reach that point, YAY! 

This week I have been studying "The Blueprint of Christ's Church" by Tad R. Callister and I encourage everyone to look that up! It is truly incredible how we have the exact same church today that Christ built while He was on the earth. I am reading the New Testament and finding all the gaps that are filled in by the Book of Mormon. I LOVE THAT BOOK! 

Love you all! Have a great week :) 

xoxo 

Sister K.