Goodbye, Kettle Moraine!!

Family!!!!

AHHHHHHH I am freaking out so much right now!!!! I spent all of last week ABSOLUTELY POSITIVE that I wouldn't be transferred, because we have FIVE baptisms happening in Kettle Moraine next transfer. I've been in Kettle Moraine for so long, I LOVE the people and I've waited for such a long time to see these baptisms happen. But you know how Heavenly Father works... as soon as we're comfortable somewhere, we get booted out! :P I was completely shocked and so so humbled when we logged in a few minutes ago to check the transfer board... I am moving to the Milwaukee YSA ward, and I'm going to be a Sister Training Leader!!!!!!!! AHhhhh!!!!!!!!!! Ahhh!!!!!!! I don't even know what to do with myself!!!!!!!!!!!

Quick Question: did any of you get the email I sent out last week? I'll send it again! I tried resending it last week but Myldsmail accounts have been spotty lately.

Anywho, this week was great! We set a baptism date with our investigator Gary! He is going to prepare for April 9th. I love that man so much. He said he would come to church yesterday, but bailed out at the last minute. I know Satan is working on him big time! I can honestly say we did everything we could to get Gary to church... called to remind him, gave him directions, offered to find him a ride, bought him a couple ties and doorbell ditched him, called him the morning of. He was planning on it right up until the very last minute, and that's the moment I realized that the biggest enemy of missionary work is AGENCY! However, agency is also the reason we are here on earth! So while it's frustrating when others don't choose what we want them to, that's the beautiful part of God's plan! We do all we can to invite and help others make the right choices... and then we allow them to choose. When they choose obedience and righteousness for themselves, that's when they are blessed and the Spirit confirms to them that their choice was a good one!

Sorry if none of this makes sense. I still can't believe I'm being transferred! I feel so beyond inadequate for all that lies ahead! But I am excited to push myself, meet new people, and be in a "growth zone" once again. I can't even say how much I have learned in Kettle and on my mission in general... I've met so many amazing people, had the BEST companions, been blessed with great (mild) weather and seen so many beautiful sides of the state of Wisconsin!

Wish me luck as I pack up all my junk! :P

I hope you all are doing well! Love you much!

xoxo

Sister K.

Hey All!!

This was a great and busy week! Zone training, exchanges, interviews with President Cutler, and the community blood drive on Saturday! There is so much I want to share with you, but I'll hit the main points to save on time!

First of all, February 13th was my YEAR MARK from the day I opened my mission call!!!! Ahhhh! I can't even believe it! Time flies!

Second of all, the blood drive! It was awesome! Our ward mission leader is Brother Bonner and he is the ABSOLUTE best! He organized the event as a way to invite people from the community into our church building. We had 5 or 6 nonmembers come in, and more than 40 donors total including ward members, so the turnout was great! Sister Tidwell and I were able to give 2 chapel tours to non-members, and they were both received very well. We're excited to see if anything more will come from those contacts! (Funny story: we wrote thank-you notes to give to all the donors at the drive, and if it was someone we knew we wrote "roses are red, violets are blue" poems! My favorites were "Roses are Red, Violets are Blue, Some people need blood a LOT more than you!" and "Platelets are Red, Veins are Blue, donating blood was a swell thing to do!" haha.)

We had probably my favorite lesson yet with a nice older man named Gary. Gary is so sweet, he has the strongest love of Christ and Heavenly Father and a great desire to follow and please Them. We started teaching him the Restoration, but both felt prompted to teach the Plan of Salvation instead, and I think the Spirit really touched him. He's the kind of person who does the kindest things for the people around him just because he loves his neighbors. What a great example! It's a much-needed reminder to me to do things out of genuine love and compassion. In the past I have felt like sharing the gospel is my duty and responsibility, but lately I have realized that I really DO want to share the gospel with people because it's true, and it blesses lives, and I want everyone to have it! We're so lucky to know what we know!

Church yesterday was a merciful pat on the back from Heavenly Father, because both part-member families we are teaching were there, and several returning less actives were there. It was incredible! Such an outpouring of the Spirit and the deep love I have for the people in this ward. It's so cool to see the gospel uniting families, and such great things are happening in Kettle Moraine! Transfers are next week, and I've been here over 7 months now... pretty much my whole mission. In interviews, President kept joking that "everyone has a right to be nervous about transfers... except for me, because I NEVER get transferred"! Haha. All I know is that I have loved it here tremendously, and whether I stay or go, I will feel so happy and blessed!

One more thing: at church yesterday, I got the greatest compliment from a dear ward member, and I want to share it with you because it meant so much to me. This Brother is an older gentleman, and always pretends that he doesn't like the Sister missionaries even though he really does, and he came up to me and said; "I've been watching you for a while now, and you have about you the essence of womanhood and motherhood." It was the sweetest thing! I may have teared up a little. If I've learned anything on my mission thus far, it's that God knows each of us so intimately, far better than we know ourselves. He knows exactly what I need to hear, and sends someone to say it to me :) God is so good!

Love you all! Hope you had a great Valentine's Day. Stay warm! 

xoxo

Sister K.

Bloody Wisconsinites

Shoutout to my home team the Broncos for winning the Superbowl!!! Yayyy! 

Haha alright, so this week was a little slower. It was great though because we had lots of time to find new investigators and put some of our ideas into action! I tend to be all talk, no action when it comes to working with members and trying new approaches so it was a great week to experiment! And we did have a little success, but it's all trial and error!

Our ward is hosting a blood drive this Saturday and it's been a great way to talk to members of the community and invite them into our church building. It's kind of funny because when we are tracting with copies of the Book of Mormon or with Family Proclamations, people are always like, "Nope, not interested!!!" but when we go around offering flyers for blood donations, the people are like, "Wow! Thank you SO much! We really appreciate this!" haha. In my head I'm like, "You would rather have us TAKE your BLOOD than give you a gospel message?!?!" Ahh, the Wisconsinites! Hahaha. There just happens to be a rival blood drive in Mukwonago on Thursday, and they are offering a pint of Culver's custard to each person who donates a pint of blood. If I've learned anything about Wisconsin culture, it's that NOTHING sparks the attention of a Wisconsinite like a free pint of custard! So the competition will be FIERCE! But we're praying hard for our blood drive to be a success!!! And I really believe it will be. Even if there are only a few nonmembers there, I will consider it a success because the Spirit is so strong in our church buildings, and I know it will leave a lasting positive impression on anyone who comes!

Let's see, we were also able to have FHE with a part member family. The kids have baptism dates and we are so excited for them! :) The gospel is such a uniting force in families; it's a really cool thing to witness!

Since we had more time this week to go tracting and contacting and stuff, there were several moments when Sis. Tidwell and I felt like we were just drifting around from place to place. But every single day, we saw little miracles like bumping into a former investigator at a random apartment complex, or being there for a ward member who really needed somebody to listen. I am always blown away by the fact that the Spirit works in small nudges, feelings, and thoughts; often, we don't know we are being led to a place until long after we were there. It's so cool to learn how the Spirit speaks to us, and how we always end up being where we need to be, exactly when we need to be there! And so many times it feels like we are just there on "accident"! But God doesn't do random, people. That's the truth!

Love you all! Have a great week!

xoxo

Sister K.

Little Taste of Heaven!!

So Wisconsin is being all weird again and it is SUNNY and WARM outside today! I always knew I loved cloudy, overcast days, but today is a great reminder of how beautiful and welcome a sunny day can be! I am feeling SUPER fortunate because this is literally the warmest WI winter ever. Like, EVER, in State history!!!! A few days ago they were saying it would snow a couple feet this week... but now it is going to be rain! :) So many blessings!!!!!

We got a new car last Tuesday! Well, new to us! We have decided to name her Lillian Bambit the First. Haha, Sister Tidwell is the best! We're having fun together and I'm loving every minute!

Well, guess what?!?!

AUTUMN GOT BAPTIZED this week!!!!!!!! On Tuesday!!!!! I'll send a picture! It was SO MUCH FUN to be back in Waukesha ward with all those people I love!!!! It was exactly what I needed after a couple hard days, and it makes me even MORE excited for our own baptisms coming up! The Jordans are planning on being baptized on February 27th, and the Senkevitch kids in March! And BOTH families came to church yesterday, for the first time the whole time I've been here! It was incredible. SO MUCH JOY!!!!!! I never understood how much pure joy comes from seeing people come to church, but my heart was absolutely bursting. Because I know now more than ever before that on Sundays, that's where we're supposed to be! Our Father in Heaven is so pleased when we try to be exactly where He wants us, exactly when He wants us there!

I can't remember if I've mentioned Aaron or not, but he's a 19 year old investigator we found last week. We stopped by on Saturday to bump our schedule with him back a couple hours, and when he came to answer the door he was holding the Book of Mormon in his hands and had the BIGGEST smile on his face!!!! I felt so much pure joy in that moment, too. This is real, folks. It brings so much happiness! Not the kind of happiness we get from eating custard or reading Pride and Prejudice (although that's a form of happiness, too); it's more like the joy we feel when we are surrounded by people we love, trying the best we can, and allowing the Spirit to be part of our lives. THAT is happiness. :)

I love you and hope your week was great too! And make this next one a good one!

xoxo

Sister K.

P.S. I don't know if I've told you already, but WISCONSIN HAS ALDI'S!!!!!!! Just like the ones in Germany! Makes me so happy :) Today we found these little caramel waffeln things from the Netherlands that my family loves! Oh, the tender mercies :) I'll send photographic evidence!!!