Tracting Miracles!!

This week was busy and full and there are so many things to be excited about. We finally were able to meet with the mom of a part-member family that we've been working with, and both of her kids really want to be baptized!!! They are 11 and 8 years old and are both so cute :) We haven't been able to meet with Teri at all, but hopefully we will soon! 

The most incredible miracle happened while we were tracting! Sister Decker and I had pretty much been knocking on doors all day (we've fortunately been busy enough lately that we don't have much open space, but that day everything fell through and the whole day was wide open!) and we were starting to lose faith because people rarely answer the door when they see it's us, and if they do they only tell us to go away. Well we knocked on a door and a sweet 16 year old girl opened up and started talking to us and she was AMAZING!!!! She offered to pray for both of us at once and then she prayed for both of us individually, and then she let us in to her house and we talked for more than an hour about our relationship with God and about the Book of Mormon and the Bible. Her dad had a guitar, too, and I was able to play the Nazarene song I wrote!!!! Made my day! :D We have an appointment with her a couple weeks from now and we are really excited about it. It's cool to feel like we are making connections with people and making a real difference, even if we only touched one person that whole day. And I keep being called to repentance about my attitude towards tracting; I don't really mind it much anymore, but I always think of it as a time-filler and not real missionary work. Well, not anymore! Amazing things happen when you put your shoulder to the wheel and do what you don't want to do but what needs to be done!!

I've been thinking a lot lately about my relationship with God. I feel like whenever I'm in a time of struggle or trial I stubbornly try to find ways to deal with it besides calling on God; for example, before my mission it was songwriting. I would go insane if I didn't have my guitar readily available so I could vent and get out my feelings and deal with things that way. Or it used to be running, too, or calling Mom or talking to Kayli or my roommates and friends about how I felt. But out here, I can't really do any of those things!!! So I am literally in the position where the ONLY thing I can do that will actually help me to cope is to get on my knees and put all my worries on Heavenly Father. I'm learning how important it is to turn to Him FIRST, before trying any other way to de-stress or vent. It's been a learning experience but I'm trying my best!!!!!

Love you all! Hope your week was great! HAPPY HALLOWEEN!!!!!!!!!!!

(I tried to be all fancy with my Halloween typeface but that's as good as it will get!)

xoxo

Sister K.

Transfer News!!

Hey Everyone!

I can't believe my third transfer is practically over! We got the transfer board in our emails today and... drumroll please... Sister Decker and I are staying together, and we will still be covering both areas!!!! Ahhh!!!! I don't even know what to think. I guess I am grateful that neither area will be closed for sisters, because that was my worst fear! I am finding that I seriously REALLY care about all these people and leaving would hurt a lot. And it looks like I will pretty much be in Waukesha or Kettle Moraine (or both!!) at least until Christmas... a weird thought!

As far as the work goes, we had a great lesson with Teri, and later with Autumn and Althea. We taught them the Plan of Salvation and really emphasized the fact that our choices in this life really do matter; they have eternal significance!! I am so grateful to know that I am a daughter of God, that I lived before coming to this earth, and that I will live long after. Having that knowledge changes the way I make my daily decisions because I understand that there are consequences and blessings to everything we do/ don't do. I also have a whole different perspective knowing that I am entirely responsible for the kind of person I become in this life, and that whatever I become will be the only thing I take with me when I depart this life. Deep stuff, right? Yeah, I like to ponder about the Plan of Salvation!! Haha.

Really though, I was reading a talk this week by Lawrence Corbridge (of the Seventy I think) and he said that our whole purpose in being here on this earth is to CHANGE. To become more like our Savior, to experience life, to be shaped into something much better than we were before. That gives me hope and makes trials seem much less painful. Well, they are still painful but there is a real purpose to them! I don't know if I have changed much yet as far as actions go, but inwardly I feel the changes every day. I hope you all are feeling yourself grow and change for the better too! :D

Well that seems to be all I have to report. Basically all our appointments lately have been falling through, and so we are now tracting missionaries more than ever before!!! Also, we are always and forever short on miles and so we try to walk/bike more, especially while the weather is still decent. Apparently it is supposed to snow in a week or so! Ahh! Winter is a-coming! But the fall is SO beautiful while it's here! I will try to send pictures:)

Love you all! Hope you are well!

xoxo

Sister K.

P.S. MIRACLE OF THE WEEK!!!! I almost forgot!!! Kaylee Crossley and Lauren Case (now Hancock) came to visit the Waukesha ward!!! They are my good friends from my student ward at BYU. It was so great to see them, I almost died of happiness!!!!!!!! :D :D :D

Temple Day!!!!!!

Family and Friends!

Today was the best day ever because we got to go to the temple in Chicago! It takes about 2 hours to get there from Pewaukee so it was an all-day event, and now I have hardly any time to report to you for the week haha but it was SO worth it!!!! Some members from the Kettle Moraine Ward took us, and they are incredible. If there's one thing I've learned on my mission so far, it's that there are AMAZING people EVERYWHERE in this world, even in such random places as Pewaukee, Wisconsin. (But don't worry; I've learned a LOT more than just one thing!!! ;) )

We haven't been able to work with Teri this week but we have a lesson tonight we are really excited for, with our 14 year old investigator! We are hoping she will get her mom's permission to set a baptism date... I would be SO thrilled if that happened! She's the sweetest girl and I care for her so deeply!

A lot of our work this week has been with some sweet ladies in the ward who don't come to church very much anymore. Whenever I meet with them I am blown away by how amazing they are and by how much love I feel for them. I know that our church is demanding; I know it requires a lot of heart, might, mind and strength to be a member of the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-Day Saints; in fact, it requires everything we have and are to be disciples of Christ! But I know it is well worth it. This isn't just another church; it's not just another religion. This Church is Christ's Church, and through Him is the only way we can return to be with our Father in Heaven. The Gospel of Christ isn't a side dish to the way we live our lives; it's not even dessert. The Gospel is the MAIN dish!!! It should define us!!!! It should be at the center of everything!!! I am starting to see this so much clearer than I ever have before. Seeing it, intellectualizing it, is one thing, though; now I'm trying to realign myself and my actions to fit what I know. I know that God lives and loves me and is involved in my life! Just an example: yesterday I woke up feeling like I got hit by a truck - thankfully it was just the flu! - So I was praying all day yesterday that I would feel well enough to go to the temple today and actually enjoy the session, instead of feeling sick and miserable. Well, I did! I made it to the temple and felt great all through the session. Afterward the sickness came back, but I don't even care because I'm so happy I was able to go the the temple! It's just a little thing, I know, but it means the world to me that Heavenly Father cares enough about me to make me well for a few hours so I could feel the Spirit. Today was amazing and I love you all! Hope your week is going well! There will be no emails next Monday, but the Monday after that I'll have news about Transfers!!!! Crazy!

Love you!!

xoxo

Sister K.

Better than a Hallelujah!!

Hey All!

Since General Conference is so fresh on my mind, I'd like to geek out about it first thing, if you don't mind. AHHHHH IT WAS ABSOLUTELY AMAZING!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!! I've heard for years that General Conference as a missionary is pretty much like Christmas, and it definitely exceeded my expectations!!!! I had several favorite talks, but my top favorites were the ones given by President Uchtdorf, D.Todd Christofferson, Russell M. Nelson, and of course David A. Bednar. (I cried like a baby when I saw the picture of L. Tom Perry. He has a special place in my heart for many reasons, but mostly because he started the Men's Volleyball program at BYU and also because I worked in the L.Tom Perry Special Collections part of the library while I was at BYU.) Anyways, I have felt the Spirit witness to me that these men are called of God. They carry the Holy Ghost with them so strongly and speak with so much power that it can be felt even through a television set thousands of miles away. I am so grateful for their love, wisdom, and experience! And I am also blown away by the fact that, even though I know little about the three new Apostles who have been called, I already feel love and appreciation for them, and I can see how they have been prepared by God for this purpose. (Also, Elder Renlund was my mission president's mission companion!! Cool, right?)

We had another amazing lesson with Teri, with the same member we brought last time. It makes such a difference to have her there! We testified of prophets in this dispensation. Even though we have the Holy Ghost with each of us, we still need a prophet to guide us as a whole and as individuals. I know this to be true! Just speaking of the prophet Thomas S. Monson strengthened my love and testimony of him as a servant of God. It's satisfying to see that my testimony has grown to a point where I don't balk at the questions other people ask me anymore. I'm learning how not to let one doubt or concern shake everything I've built my faith on. Just a couple months ago, I kept doing just that, and it resulted in much more stress and heartache than was necessary!! I am learning how to ask questions while keeping my faith, and it's a process I am eternally grateful for!

I am also excited about Autumn, one of our 14 year old investigators. That may seem young, but 14 is the age Joseph Smith was when he was looking for truth! We were finally able to set something up with her, and watched General Conference with her too. She's amazing and understands gospel principles so well. I am excited to keep teaching her!

Haha, I just remembered! My poor companion fell into a ditch on Monday when we were riding bikes! We spent pretty much the entire day in clinics/the ER on Tuesday. Poor Sister Decker! She ended up with a concussion, which is sad but better than breaking a bone or a serious head injury. She's such a trooper! She says she now has a testimony of helmets :) (But I am starting to think I have a curse... I've already had 2 ER visits with 2 different companions!!) Haha.

Have a great week everyone! Love you all :)

xoxo

Sister K.