Time flies by

This week seemed like it FLEW by but it also seems like it was an eternity. Don't know how that works but it happens a lot out here!! Wednesday was Sister Tidwell's birthday and it was GREAT!!! We got to attend the worldwide Missionary Broadcast from the church's mission department. When we were watching Elder Bednar speak, I had such a strong image in my head of the Apostles back in the time of Christ - specifically Peter - and how COOL it is that our beloved modern Apostles... have the SAME calling, the SAME authority, the SAME powerful witness of Christ! There is no question in my mind that these men are men of God!

We had a lesson with Paul, an investigator, which was totally cool because the lesson started off with him being kinda hardened and anti-ed against our message, but he softened by the end of it and even committed to reading the Book of Mormon for his answers instead of going online! He's great!

Oh and GUESS WHAT?!?! AUTUMN IS GETTING BAPTIZED!!!!! She's my investigator in Waukesha ward! She'll be baptized tomorrow, and Sister Tidwell and I get to go, and I can't wait to see her and all my favorite people again!!!! AHHHH it's just the best :) :) :)

We met another investigator Aaron - he's 19 - and he seems to be solid as well. Miracles are happening and it's great to see!

Well sorry folks, that's all I have time/energy for! Hopefully the pictures compensate! Just know things are great and I love and miss you all!

xoxo

Sister K.

Our Hearts are Warm!!!

It seems to be getting colder by the day here (solidly in the negatives now, even not counting the windchill) but our hearts are WARM because guess what?!?!?! A part-member family we are working with now have baptism dates!!!!!!! The two kids, Noah and Sara, are preparing to be baptized on February 27th, and because of the miraculous 7 week transfer, Sister Tidwell and I will still both definitely be here for it!!! :D Those kids are the greatest, and the family is awesome. We are so excited for the decision they have made and I feel so lucky to be a part of this loving/teaching/learning process!

Unfortunately we got dropped by a couple of my favorite people this week. It's always so sad when that happens because I always feel like there was more I could have done for them; been a little bolder, testified more often, invited with more love or passion or whatever. But sometimes people just aren't prepared or willing to change, and we can't force it on them. Of course, we need to be doing EVERYTHING we can as missionaries to get them there, but sometimes they will still turn the opposite direction. And that's okay, because I know that even when we aren't teaching them anymore they are never actually forgotten. Someday other missionaries will find them, or ward members will find them, or they will find us. And maybe when that happens, they'll be ready! Until then, we love them and we wait!

Lately a big problem we have been facing when we meet with people is the question of being saved by faith rather than by works. It sounds good, doesn't it? The idea that we are already saved through the grace of Christ and nothing we will ever do or not do will prevent that from happening? Folks, I have been studying about it and pondering about it for quite some time now, and I just want to say for the record that faith without works truly IS dead!! "Let us hear the conclusion of the whole matter: Fear God, and keep his commandments: for this is the whole duty of man" (Eccl. 12:13). We are given the commandments and we keep them because it brings the power of the Atonement into our lives; keeping the commandments is a catalyst for true faith and not simply the byproduct of it. Repentance IS the Plan of Salvation for every person; without it, agency would be pointless, and the Atonement of Christ ineffectual. We are here to make choices, to bring forth works, and to repent. "God shall bring every work into judgment, with every secret thing, whether it be good, or whether it be evil" (Eccl. 12:14). 

That is all!!!

Hope your week was great! Bundle up! Love ya! :)

xoxo

Sister K.

Getting Frigid!!

Hey all!

It's cooling down here in the Cheese State! Lately it's been in the single digits, windchill taking it below zero. Luckily though, this week Sister Tidwell and I had a TON of meetings to get to as well as several teaching appointments so we weren't exposed to the arctic air too bad! This week may be a different story though!

Transfer news came out today, and (surprise, surprise) I'll be staying in Kettle Moraine with Sister Tidwell! It's my dream come true! I love this ward and I love Sister Tidwell, and the work is picking up and I couldn't be happier :) 

So, we got dropped by a couple of new investigators from last week (one of them left the Book of Mormon we gave her in a Ziploc bag out on the front porch when we came to our teaching appointment)... but we also got KEPT by several of them! We're super excited to keep teaching these folks! Some of them seem SO prepared to accept the restored gospel. It's cool how God prepares his children to receive more. Reminds me of Alma 16:16; "the Lord did pour out his Spirit on all the face of the land to prepare the minds of the children of men, or to prepare their hearts to receive the word which should be taught among them at the time of his coming." There's a recent convert in the ward named Marie who is TOTAL proof of that scripture. Her testimony is so strong, and her thirst to know the word and will of God and to follow it is insatiable. She has changed my life in these past couple months and I am so grateful to know her! Because of Marie and many others, I am gaining so much faith that there ARE people here who are "honest seekers of truth" who have serious questions of the soul! And we have the answers! We are so lucky!

We also went on exchanges this week and I got to go to Kenosha! It's pretty far down south in the state and is right next to Lake Michigan, so I GOT TO SEE THE LAKE!!!!! AHHHH!!!!! It was awesome! So big and icy cold and I even saw a lighthouse! I'll send pictures :) I LOVE THIS STATE!!!!!!!!

Sister Tidwell's New Missionary Training Meeting was on Friday, and President and Sister Cutler were there. This is their quote of the day:

President: "We've been married almost 40 years now. Sister Cutler, what has come from that?"

Sis. Cutler: "Well, we've definitely multiplied."

President: "Yes, we have replenished the earth. There are 40 of us where there used to be 2. We've done better than most rabbits!"

Haha. I love them!

Hope you're having a great week! Stay warm!

xoxo

Sister K.

Freues Neues Jahr!!

The new year started off with a bang this week! We were SUPER blessed in our finding and contacting efforts to find SEVEN new investigators in three days!!!!! I've never experienced anything like it!!! After weeks and weeks of seemingly nothing but finding activities, we are finally going to be able to teach!!! :D It's funny because I don't really get nervous about talking in front of crowds, but teaching two on one or two on two terrifies me to death. It's these peoples' salvation on the line, and my personal worthiness and preparation will determine how much they understand the importance of making and keeping commitments and preparing for baptism. Kind of some heavy stuff! But I am excited for the opportunity to improve my teaching skills. I've done a lot of things on my mission so far (yesterday was my 7 month mark! Ahh!) but teaching actual lessons hasn't happened consistently enough for me to get all the practice I want and need! So this is an answer to prayer, folks! (on many levels!)

As part of my goals for the new year, I have decided to study one new Christlike attribute per month and record in a journal every day what I learned that day, how I saw that Christlike attribute in someone else, and how I saw it in myself. This month is FAITH (because everything begins with faith) and it has already been enlightening. Just yesterday I learned that true faith isn't contingent on results... In other words, having faith means having a belief and a hope that is independent of the outcome of a situation. If I really have faith in the conversion process, then I believe that the process will work for all of our investigators... regardless of whether or not they actually accept and become converted to the gospel in the end. If that makes sense. So basically, I just want to say that I do have faith in the conversion process. Not necessarily because I have seen it in others yet, but because I have seen it in myself!!! I know that the gospel - especially repentance through the Atonement of Jesus Christ - can and does change us for the better, if we let it!

It's been a whirlwind week but I don't know what else to tell you! Hope you are all setting some great goals! As for me, I'm calling 2016 "The Year of the Harvest." (My companion came up with that but I think it fits perfectly!) 

Have a great week!

xoxo

Sister K.