Hermana Kelsey 11:4 -email-

Dearest familia!

Mimi Momo (that is what Sister W. calls her mom) This week has been pretty great. Sister W. and I have been struggling a little bit in this area, because we have very few investigators. But we are working on it, and this week we found some really cool people that we are going to be working with. We are way excited too, because this bishop in this ward totally gets missionary work, and he is willing to do anything to help us. Missionary work is his #1 priority. That should be good. Also, the ward is very helpful in fellowshipping, and welcoming new people into the ward, which is really good. So we are excited to see the great things that are going to be happening here. 🙂

Sister W. is awesome. She goes home in May (I think I may have told you that), but she makes me laugh so much. We have kind of struggled the last couple weeks. But I feel like if we didn’t laugh all the time, like we do, we would just cry. But she definitely makes life easier and more enjoyable. 🙂

So here’s a couple things that happened this week.

Thursday: We had appt. with an investigator named L. She is really young (like 19 or 20ish), and she is way cool. So we called her before our appt. to see if she was going to be home, and she told us no. We were all sad, because we really wanted to see her, but we asked if we could reschedule for another day. She told us yeah, and that the reason she couldn’t meet with us because she was getting married! She was getting ready to live the law of chastity without us even telling her to! :):):) So she got married on Friday, and then yesterday, we were in the apartment complex she lives in with her new husband, and we were stopping by to see another investigator we have there. And all the a sudden she comes walking up with her baby and her husband. We started talking to her, and did like a contact thing where we talk a little about the “message” we share with everyone. She asked us what the message was, and we told her we wouldn’t be able to teach it all in one sitting, so we would continue to come see her. Then she’s like “Well I have time right now”. So we went in and taught her the Plan of Salvation. She is way legit! She asked really good questions, and she is very open to what we teach. She even talked about how it sounded familiar. We are way excited for her. I feel like things are definitely going to happen with her (and her husband).

Friday: We had interviews with President S. He started talking to me about my time I have had here on the mission. He said, “Sister, you’ve had about a year out in the mission right?” And when he said it I had a little heart flutter of panic and I was like, “No, President, not quite.” But it is getting close. I’m getting a little nervous. I’m not sure I want to come home. Like I kind of do, but it’s scary. Anyway, we also ate at this restaurant in H. It is seriously one of the most sketch, ghetto places I have ever been to. They have a giant clown outside of the building, and inside there are like a million little clowns parachuting from the ceiling. It was so weird, but the food was really delicious. (I also attached a picture of Sister W. and I standing by the clown. 🙂

1-How are your investigators? 1. We don’t have very many, as I have said before, but we have a few that are getting really close to baptism. There are two ladies in particular, that are cousins, and they have made a lot of big changes in their lives, and made huge steps to bring them closer to baptism. They are awesome

3-Do you feel that you have a particular spiritual gift that helps with missionary work? If so, what is it? 3. I used to joke with Sister A. about something I called “spirit guided driving”. I knew my way around my last area pretty well, but sometimes we would be going somewhere, and I wasn’t quite sure how to get there. So I would drive the way I thought we needed to go, and then when I felt like I should turn, I would turn. And we always got there. It was pretty funny. I think that the Lord just watches out for us more as his missionaries than otherwise. Also, the gift of tongues is definitely real. I have seen the help of the Lord in my situation trying to learn spanish. There is no way that anyone can learn the language as fast as we do as missionaries. It requires a lot of faith, and a lot of trust in the Lord (that he will put the words in your mouth, and cover for your shortcomings).

4-Favorite scripture of the week? 4. Doctrine and Covenants 100:4 It talks about how we were sent to this place because it was expedient for the salvation of souls. I really like it because it was hard for me to come here to H., because I didn’t want to leave my last area, but I am here to do the Lord’s work, just like I was doing in A. And I know I will grow to love this place just like I grew to love A. 🙂

Special Question: 5-How can we deal with negativity, and not let it bog us down? 5. Negativity is something I still really struggle to handle. It’s hard as a missionary to have people constantly letting you down, and still be positive and happy. But I always just remember that negativity, along with discouragement, are some of the biggest tools Satan uses against us. So in order for us to not get dragged down by him, we have to focus on the good things that are happening, and not let the things that are hard, have dominance of our lives.

Dad:

That is cool you are having good experiences with your job. You guys aren’t having any snow either? Wow, crazy. The last few days here have been in the high 60’s and 70’s. It’s so weird. It sure does not feel like winter here. But things are good. I hope your week is great. Recuerda quien eres! (Remember who you are! 🙂

Emerny:

I am really going to write you a letter today. I ran out of stamps last week, but I bought some today, so I will write you a real letter. So this is all. And also…”Stay on your side!!!”

Anyway, that is all for now. I love you all! Be good!! 🙂

Love, Kelsey XOXOXOXOXOXOXOXOXOXOXOXOXOXOX