Such a Good Week!

Hey Hey Everyone :) 

***S H O U T  O U T***

My best friend in the whole wide world has been called to serve in the New York, Rochester mission, in addition the the Hill Cumorah Visitors Center and I am IMMENSELY ecstatic for you, Katy!! :)) Those people totally need you. You will be an amazing missionary! :) 

Okay, now that the exciting news has been covered,
I guess we can talk about how great my week was :) 

On Monday when it was time to hit the streets, we went straight to T-'s because we haven't seen her for a while, and we heard she wasn't doing well. This was such a spiritually packed evening!! She listed a bunch of things she felt she was lacking in life, and she kept saying she didn't know why she felt the way she did. All I could think about was how the fullness of the restored gospel fixes every single thing she feels she is missing. So I told her. I was blunt, Frank, straight forward, didn't beat around the bush; (however you want to say it) and the spirit was so strong. It brought both of us to tears! The love that I have for T-  is massive, and she has a magnificent tool that she can physically hold in her hands that will answer all of her problems... and she's not reading it. Agency kills me sometimes. But! Nonetheless, we did what we could. It was good :) 

On Tuesday we went to district meeting and it was okay. Afterwards everyone in the apartment went home and slept, which was MUCH needed, and I think Heavenly Father knew that. We all woke up feeling so much better and definitely rejuvenated :) so much that we decided making no-bake cookies was a good idea! We made around 20, and at the end of the night there were 4 left; I'm pretty sure I had at least 8. Whoops :) 

Later we had a lesson with a recent convert, then dinner with a member, then another lesson with a member which was more of a scripture study with him and it was so fun! I LOVE the Book of Mormon SO much! We read Ether 12 and it was great :) 

We tried to find D- because we haven't seen him for a week and a half, and we ran into J-! A friend who was also looking for D-! Apparently D-'s phone has been stolen, and he has been trying to get a hold of us but doesn't know our number. We called his girlfriend to see if he was with her and that's what she told us, but she didn't know where he was. So we talked to J-! He's super funny, from Congo, and a new investigator. We made a return appointment for the following Friday :) 

When we got home the sisters we live with were itching like crazy because of all the mosquito bites they have. I grabbed a pen (so we wouldn't count the same bite twice) and lightly numbered all of Sister Williams' bites on her legs; she had 38, and she got more throughout the week!! I have been so blessed. I have gotten maybe one the whole summer so far.  K N O C K  O N  W O O D. 

Guess who we saw on Wednesday?! A-! We haven't taught her for 3 weeks, so we hadn't talked with her about her cold feet before baptism up until this point. Our plan was to follow up and see how she is doing with the word of wisdom, and to see if she had tried fasting, and then just listen. We wanted to really know how she feels and what she thinks when it comes to baptism; what's holding her back, why doesn't she feel ready, etc. oh my goodness. This was the coolest lesson ever! 

Apparently A- got sick and went to the doctor a week after the lesson on the word of wisdom, and he told her to stay away from caffeinated drinks; this includes the tea that would be the hardest for her to give up. So she gave away all of her tea that wasn't herbal, and she has zero desire to drink coffee, too! Then we learned that she was fasting last Sunday! We didn't even know! But she had a really good day, so that was sweet. Also, she told us she gave her Book of Mormon away to a friend, but she has another copy so she didn't need another one :) This girl. She rocks my world. God is totally preparing her!! In His time. In His way, and we need to be patient. Nothing is really holding her back from baptism, although she did mention that she wants to see one first. We've invited her to multiple before but she hasn't been able to make it to any of them, so hopefully we can get her to one soon! It was such a good lesson. We went over the baptismal interview questions with her, too and that went super well! I love that girl. I'll be so sad to leave the people here in a couple weeks :( 

Do you remember a while ago, the man Sister Morris and I met in the elevator who asked us to teach him? But then straight up told us he wouldn't read the Book of Mormon with real intent, so we dropped him? Well, he texted Sister Jones and I the other day asking how we were and if we could meet with him. So we went out to lunch with Elevator V- on Thursday! It was good :) He just needed some spiritual uplifting; still set in his ways, but we were happy to help meet his needs :) 

Right after that we walked over to a bench outside for a lesson with a recent convert. You guys. The weather on Thursday was GORGEOUS! It wasn't humid at all, probably around 75 degrees with a little breeze, and sunny :) Oh I loved it! Anyway, that lesson went well! Later we had a lesson with a member and went to check on some people. We ran into D-  and Lizo, his friend who wants to come to church! We talked with them for a short minute before we had to go home because guess who was sick again? Nope, not me :) Sister Williams! She got a blessing and felt a lot better, but didn't want to push it, so Sister Jones stayed home while Sister Liu came out with me so she wasn't stuck inside all day! 

Having roommates has been such a blessing the past couple transfers! AND it was a sweet tender mercy that Sister Liu and I got to be companions for an evening again :) We visited with a less active and read from the Book of Mormon with her; she's having a hard time, so we read what we felt would meet her needs. I love doing what I do :) 

I feel like it's just my life now. I feel like life before my mission was a completely different lifetime ago! Every day is the same routine, but for some reason it hasn't gotten old yet! I used to cringe when we would knock 3 or 4 times on one door because I didn't want to bother anyone or be a pain, but now I don't even care because there isn't anything that they're doing on the other side of that door that is more important than hearing the message we have for them. Also I'm just used to knocking that many times now :) Going back to normal life will be so weird, but I'm just going to live in the moment and absorb the beauty of a mission experience :) I love it!! 

Friday was my 10 month mark! 

Can we just stop and think about that for a minute?? 10 whole months already.
Where on earth did time go?? I thought I hit 9 months last week?? 

I'm grateful for the change and growth I've experienced thus far, and I'm so exited for it to continue throughout the rest of my life! I was going to say mission, but it doesn't stop there :) I'll continue to change and grow for the rest of my life :) 

We had a lesson with J- in the afternoon, but got kicked out when his dad got home. That's never happened to me before! Weird. Also super funny because when he walked us out, we started talking about how we are created in Gods image, and how he believes that he is a God. Ah. So close. He also said he used to be able to fly, and then we realized that the drink in his cup was beer...

Every appointment we had scheduled for the rest of the day fell through, but it was still a fun night :) We met some cool people and Sister Jones is really good at being happy all the time, so despite the disappointment and rejection that night, we were able to see past it and have a good time :) I sure do love that sister, and I am super sad our time together is coming to an end :( 

Saturday was awesome! It started out on a good note because we got to wear jeans again :) We helped clean the church in the morning, and you bet we took pictures, so I'll attach some of those :) The evening was the coolest though!! We had a lesson with a member and it was exactly what she needed, then we had an appointment with D- but it fell through. While checking on some less actives and potentials, every single person we ran into spoke only Spanish. It's times like that where I wish I was an Hermana! Oh well, English is good too :) 

Randomly we thought of a potential investigator who happened to live on the complete opposite side of the city from where we were, and he really doesn't have even a tiny desire to do anything when it comes to church, reading scripture, etc. so we didn't think we'd see him that night. Instead, we went to see a girl who took the lessons for a while and was golden, but stopped opening the door and answering the elder's phone calls. So random. As we were driving to her house, we realized that somehow we were now on the other side of the city, right where that potential lived! I have no doubt that God took over and directed us to where we needed to be. Because we weren't going to go see this guy! But we knew at that point that we needed to, so we went over! 

We asked if he had read the Book of Mormon and he said he hadn't, then we started talking about his lack of drive to do anything religious, and THEN he started telling stories of when he and his friends would experiment with the scriptures when he was younger. Weird, creepy experiments, but we took that and said, "You know what you really should experiment on??" 

"Scripture?", He said.

"Yep! So there's this guy, he's the last prophet that wrote in the Book of Mormon, and he invites everybody to test God. He tells everybody to experiment and ask God if this stuff isn't true!" 

Earlier in the conversation we told him we send out daily scriptures to people we teach, and asked if he would read them if we sent some to him. He said he would try, but that he wouldn't make any promises. WELL!! By the end of the conversation his heart was softened, and he said, "I will read those scriptures you send me! I'm looking forward to it, and I will make time to see you Friday evening". 

Um, WHAT?!?

Basically sister Jones and I danced in the car the whole way home. God is SO COOL!!! 

I KNOW without a doubt that Heavenly Father hears our prayers and he most definitely answers them in his own time, and in his own way. His hand is in ALL things! 

I bet if you sat down and thought about your week, you would be able to see His hand in every day. I love my Father in Heaven more than I love ice cream. That's a lot. 

• I've learned this week that when we submit to His will, letting go of all pride and selfishness, that he takes the reins. He literally directs us to where we need to be, and oh how much easier that makes things! It's so much harder when we try to do things our way. If we just let Him do His thing, we will find so much more joy in our lives, and things become so much easier. I testify that is true, and though submitting our will to His is difficult, it is SO incredibly worth it. 

And it just gets better! Church was magical. Seriously. A- came to church and in Gospel Principles the comments that were made were beyond perfect for her! They were on point as to what A- needed to hear. Members invited her to institute on Tuesday, she signed up to feed us on Friday, and then we invited her to a fireside on Sunday where new members share their stories and how the gospel has blessed their lives since they've been baptized. It will be SO good!! 

We saw Je-, a less active, later in the evening and invited her to it, too. Next Sunday will be a good day :) Sunday, yesterday, was a good day :) I love this place! I love the people I meet, the sisters I work with, the area that I'm in, and serving in a singles ward! It is wonderful!! If I could serve in a singles ward for the rest of my mission I would be in heaven. Families are great, too :), but currently I'm pretty biased ;) 

Welp! I had a super good week :)

I am loving every second of my mission, including the challenges because that's how we grow! If we didn't have obstacles in the way, we wouldn't progress. Life wasn't really meant to be convenient. I'm grateful for the precious gift of agency and the ability that we have to use it wisely. I love my Savior, and my Father in Heaven. I'm grateful to have a body that functions properly and the gift of the Holy Ghost to lead me where I need to be. 

Life is SWEET. 

• There is so much to be grateful for, and I had a thought the other day; why do we, as Latter Day Saints, let Satan get us down? Why do I let myself feel sad/bummed/down... ever? We have the fullness of the gospel of Jesus Christ! Hello!? Do we forget what that entails?? I think we do sometimes. #guilty.... but! There is no reason to not be happy :) So have a good week :) Remember who you are, and who you represent.

Let your light so shine before this people, 

that they may see your good works and glorify your Father who is in Heaven
{3 Nephi 12:16}

Love you all :) 

Sister Kailey 

Hot and Broken

Hello!! :) Happy Monday! :) 

Last Monday was superb!  We did the basic necessities and then relaxed until it was time to be busy again :) Dinner was delicious! Pulled pork on rolls with some yummy sides and ice cream for dessert! Then we witnessed miracle after miracle. Of every house we went to, usually nobody is home when we check on them, but every single door opened that night! It was so successful! We ended the evening with a less active member who wants to return. It will take baby steps, but we are happy to help! :) 

Tuesday morning I ran... Ready for it... 4 miles!  Usually I run 3 every morning, but I felt like I could have ran at least 6! But time wouldn't permit; It was awesome :) so was the rest of our day! We had a lesson with a member and before hand I felt prompted to text and ask if there was anything specific she was needing to discuss, and there was! :) the spirit is the coolest. So we talked about the Book of Mormon, and it was great. A member brought us dinner that day but it was awesome because we got to create our own salad. It was delicious!! 

        After dinner we had a lesson with a recent convert who had requested a lesson on the priesthood. I don't even know a ton about the details of it, so we learned together! And it was awesome! :)  (How many times have I said awesome already?? :P)

We wrote on the chalk board to list out the responsibilities and duties of elders, priests, etc. too fun :) We ended the evening with T and her neighbor who is in need of the gospel, so we made a return appointment for Friday! T'was a good day :) 

On Wednesday after zone training, we exchanged! I stayed in Alexandria while sister Jones went to different ward boundaries; it was fun! 

Guess what I learned??
President Huntsman rocks my socks!

1. When it comes to music, we are allowed to listen to anything that we feel is uplifting and that will bring the spirit-- this now includes Disney!! It doesn't even have to be Christian music. So like Rascal Flatts "He ain't the leaving kind" is totally A-okay! Also Carrie Underwood sings some good uplifting ones, too, so feel free to send some new music my way ;)
2. We can write letters in our down time, even if it's not P-day!
3. The NATS baseball game on is a GO! My entire mission, along with the DC North mission, is getting tickets for the game :) Basically, I'm PUMPED! :) 

President Huntsman has full confidence/faith/trust in us. So did President Riggs :) but it's nice to see someone so new with so much responsibility let us be responsible. It reminds me so much of how my parents raised me! I had a lot of freedom as long as I was obedient and respectful to their wishes (such as being home on time). Strict rules didn't really come unless I did something that broke the trust bond, which never really happened because I like my freedom ;) It's the same with President Huntsman! And I am so grateful. He put a strong focus on

"Enjoying to the End" vs. "Enduring to the End" 

Missions are hard, that's a given, but they are meant to be enjoyed! Heavenly fathers plan is a plan of HAPPINESS! So he really wants us to remember to live in the moment and enjoy every second of it :) That's what I've learned about him so far.

Picture taken by Yours Truly :)

But anyway, the sisters we live with went to AFAC with us all afternoon for service, and then later my sister training leader and I met at a members home because she took us and a recent convert (who is less active) to the Temple Visitors Center! Oh how peaceful that was. We walked around the temple, and the weather was perfect!! Sallieu, the less active with us, kept thanking us for bringing him. He thoroughly enjoyed the peace :) Then we went in the visitors center and walked around. The model of the DC temple is there and shows the interior of it.

It even has little tiny people on the outside! Super cool :) I can't express how peaceful that evening was. Sooo needed for everyone involved! I am grateful for the temple :) I LOVE the temple! I hope you make it a priority in your lives to attend as frequently as possible :) If not, repentance is real ;) 

  

Hmmm, not a whole lot happened on Thursday

• We exchanged back in the afternoon and had a lesson with another recent convert. In the evening we had dinner with a member at Chipotle! Yumm :) The weather has been beautiful. The humidity hasn't been bad at all, and it almost felt like a warm fall... Until Thursday. Now it's super hot! 
• The evening was uneventful after that, until we were walking up the steps to our apartment and passed a woman sitting on them smoking. We said hello and, "it's a nice night to be out, isn't it?! :)" and boom. This lady tells us her life story, mentioning that she wants to know her purpose in life, and then throws in the fact that she is 50 (which shocked us because she looked 37). But it was so fun talking to her! We told her what we did and what we taught about, and then she asked if we could exchange numbers. So we did :) She's fun :) 
• Right after that we were walking down the hall to our apartment and ran into a man that always calls us "Elderetts" :) He mentioned that he'd been to seminary and shunned us for believing in polygamy, and then asked why we were on a mission because he thought we were supposed to be married :) After correcting the polygamy comment, we explained the age change and our desire to serve the lord. He softened up a lot and by the end we were friends :) In the beginning we asked for his name and he said, "Oh I'm a Gentile, you don't want to talk to me". But when we left he said, "I'm M-, and it was a pleasure talking with you sisters :)" 

Heavenly Father places certain people in our path for a reason. 

There is always some good to be done, seeds to plant, and lessons to learn. 

I am so thankful for my mission experience! I have met the coolest people out here, filled with ambition, and they are SO close to the fullness of the gospel. You can see that there is something missing just by talking to these people, and they don't know how truly happy they can be! Even if they think they're already as happy as it gets. 

With the restored gospel in their lives, their joy would be WAY more than they knew was possible. I know that because I'm living it! We all want peace in this world, and eternal life in the world to come, but many of the children of God are, "kept from the truth, because they know not where to find it" (D&C 123:12). That's why I'm on a mission. And I love it :) 

This just reminded me of Kat, an investigator we passed recently. She said she had searched for happiness in every place the world offers it, but it wasn't lasting happiness. The gospel of Jesus Christ fills that void, and provides lasting happiness :) 

Random updates::

• Remember when my ankle was swollen for like... Ever? Well, now my other ankle is swollen. I just can't catch a break! 
• The Aspen is holding up well, nothing crazy to report yet. 
• We haven't taught A- for 3 weeks because of multiple reasons. We are trying though! She came to church on Sunday, so that was good.
• I'm still pretty excited that we can listen to Disney music!
• My trainer, Sister Lewis, has less than 6 months left! What?! Time is flying!! I love this woman :) 

 

Weekly planning, one of my top 3 favorite days ever, was Friday :) 

• We had a couple appointments and things to do in the afternoon though so we didn't finish in one day. Sister Jones and I were jammin' to The Lion King all day, so that was wonderful :)
   
• Dinner was with a member at this super cute middle eastern restaurant! I can't eat anything too crazy or my stomach gets upset, so I played it safe and went with a salad. BUT!! I learned that the menus for places like this aren't correct. I got a salad but it was not what I ordered, and I guess that's typical! It was kind of funny :) also, it was the last day of the Muslim fast, so everyone in there was dressed in their super nice, gorgeous Muslim attire, eating everything they could get their hands on. It was fun :)
• Then we went to see L-, T-'s neighbor that we talked to Tuesday. We shared the video, "Because He Lives" and also the Book of Mormon! While Sister Jones mentioned it and read a scripture from Mosiah, L- shook her head like she knew what that was. I asked if she had heard of the Book of Mormon before and she said she used to go to church with her cousin back in El Salvador when she was 11! She watched her cousin get baptized even! What are the odds?! So we invited her to read the book, and pray about it, and go to church :) She said we can come back this Friday :) 

Saturday morning we got to slip into our jeans and help a sister in our ward move out! I love jeans :) When we got home it was lunch/nap time ;) When I woke up we did some weekly planning until dinner with a member. Afterwards we checked on some people and had a lesson with R-, an investigator from Africa :) We helped answer questions and taught him more about the restoration, as well as the Book of Mormon. He kept thanking us for, "providing him with that important information" :) It was sweet and exciting to see that he understood the importance of this glad message! He works on Sunday so he can't come to church, but he is getting a new job soon so hopefully his schedule will allow for it :) 

A- came to church on Sunday!! (as already mentioned above) and it was good :) We will see her again on Wednesday. Also, guess what? We got a new ward mission leader :) Whoop whoop! He is so on top of things, and I am so excited to work with him for the next 3 weeks. 

In the evening our dinner canceled and our kitchen was down right E M P T Y. Luckily, there was a ward party for the purpose of feeding bellies and fellowshipping, so we went. Because we were starving. And we were able to strengthen a lot of relationships with newer members of the ward, so it was good :) We invited investigators and less actives but nobody could make it. 

Today is already P-Day again!! How in the world?! I don't even know. 

I hope everyone had a good week! Choose the right :) Go to the temple :) Pray for my ankle.

Sister Kailey 

Livin' on a prayer and priesthood blessings

Another week in good ol' Alexandria! 

Missionary work is exhausting! I come home every night and sleep like a rock, and I'm STILL tired all day! I must be doing something right ;) I wouldn't have it any other way :) 

Last week sister jones and I set specific goals of how many new investigators we want, progressing investigators, and people at church per week for the rest of the transfer. We haven't seen any of our investigators for 2 weeks!! Not good! It's not for a lack of trying though; we do what we can. This week I was sick and home for 3 days straight, but so determined to reach our goals! Sister Jones and I prayerfully considered the goals we set, and when we had finished our thoughts were something along the lines of, "how on earth are we going to do that?! We don't even have that many people close to progressing!" But with faith all things are possible, and we know that :) so, that being said, here was our week :)

Monday was pretty great! 

We didn't do much and it was wonderful, and then we had dinner with a member at a hamburger place called, "Holy Cow" which was super good! After dinner we just checked on some investigators and potentials but nobody was home. When we got home we went down stairs to the library to sync our iPads and ran into a lady we see every now and again. We always have super good discussions! In moments like those, I remember that simply being a friend and showing genuine interest in someone else's life can make a huge impact. Love, people! Love is the key :)

We were the first zone to have personal interviews with president huntsman on Tuesday! He is just getting the hang of things and asked questions to get to know me. It was good! I love his wife :) the whole day I was having hot and cold flashes and felt really prompted to rest. I haven't felt good for a while, but Ive always been able to push through and I've never felt too sick to stay home all day, but 

Tuesday was rough. 

So I stayed home and slept, went to dinner and a members for like 20 minutes and headed back home. There must be something going around because a lot of missionaries have been sick lately! 

I wish I could say that I woke up the next day right back on my feet, but it wasn't so. I went to district meeting Wednesday morning only to discover that I had a fever! Lame sauce! So I went home and slept. 

All.

Day.

Then around 5:00 I woke up and decided if I continued to sleep, I wouldn't sleep all night! So sister Jones and I watched some church movies and then the life of our Prophet, Thomas S. Monson, which was super good :) Being sick on a mission is awful. You feel the need to suck it up and continue working, but you also know that the smarter decision is to rest so that you can be more effective in the Lords hands. It's a constant mental battle (for me at least) and I go stir crazy when I'm awake! Good thing I slept most of the time :)

Thursday rolled around and I managed to get dressed and ready for the day... But that's it. 

I still felt pretty sick :/ so I got a blessing from our district leader and went to a lesson with a recent convert (because I refuse to stay in the Aspen for a full 24 hours) but then I stayed home for the rest of the night with sister Liu, while sister Jones and sister Williams went to the appointments we had for the night. I asked sister Liu if she had any Chinese secrets to making tummies feel better and she said rice and water, so she made me some :) being sick is the worst! I was praying hard that I'd feel better by Friday so I could get back to work, and thanks to multiple prayers, hours upon hours of sleep, and a priesthood blessing, I did! :)

And boy was I ready to work! 

We had weekly planning in the park, and the sisters we live with were sneaky and took a super cool picture of us praying to end our planning :) I'll attach it :) I absolutely LOVE weekly planning! I love setting goals and then working every day to accomplish them. By small and simple means are great things brought to pass :) that's a quote from someone... I just don't know who. But I love it :)

After dinner that night we went to a members house to pick her up and went to check on some people. I was thinking about checking on less actives that night, but didn't say anything, and then our member asked how many less actives were in our ward. I took it as inspiration and decided to go see a few :) the first one wasn't home, so we tried someone else. 

When we pulled up to the apartment complex, guess who was standing 3 feet from our car? The less active we were looking for, whom we haven't been able to get ahold of since sister Morris was transferred! I opened the car door and yelled his name because he had head phones in :) he turned to look at us, threw his head back, got a big guilty grin on his face as if he'd been caught from doing something he knows he shouldn't, and walked over to us :) he is so funny! We talked to him for a minute and asked how some of his friends were doing. One of which is super interested in the gospel but it was impossible for us to ever teach him because of where he lived; not safe, but apparently he moved and is now this less actives neighbor!! We asked if he could show us where he lived, so he did. Long story short, we got 2 new investigators that night, they wanted to come to church on Sunday, and the temple visitors center on Wednesday this week. We also asked if we could come back the next day (Saturday), so we did :) the whole time the spirit was so strong. 

He kept saying, "you don't even know how emotional I am right now. I feel so good! My hands are tingling!" hahah :) we told him that was the spirit and he could have that with him all the time. We briefly talked about the power of the atonement and he was practically begging us to help him get there. I love being a missionary!! I love seeing God's hand in everything, and seeing how He prepares people to accept the message that we share :)

On Saturday we went to see L, the old woman who just likes our company :) it's hard to find things to do in the afternoon, and she appreciates our visits more than I appreciate ice cream on any given day. That's a lot ;) She is so great!! I love that woman! I'm amazed at how much knowledge is in her head; I feel like she remembers everything down to the detail of the things she's learned over the years. We love visiting with her :) 

Our evening was busy! We talked to loads of people, and at one point as we were walking away from talking with someone, we hear someone yelling, "Hey! Hey!" So we turned around to find the cutest African woman, "Do you teach about Jesus?? I love Jesus! Teach me!" We talked about eternal families because she is getting married in October, and she lives in Maryland, but we invited her to church and she said she'd be there! We had a ton of people lined up to come to church on Sunday, and it's always a little iffy so we hold our breath and have a lot of faith in hopes that they actually do come. We also saw a less active who was in a bad mood, but asked us to pray with her. It was cool to see the physical change of relief in her when we said amen. She said she'd come to church, too :)

Of all the people that said they would, only one actually came. That's how it usually goes though! And the overwhelming amount of joy that we felt when he walked in sacrament meeting made up for the rest of the people who didn't make it. D is the neighbor of the less active we saw on Friday night, the one that said his hands were tingling, and he came! He is so solid. I love that kid. He's going through a super rough time of life and I just want to wrap my arms around him and tell him how much Heavenly Father is there for him. But the hug is not missionary appropriate, so I just told him :) haha church was super good!! I'm excited for this week :) it will be a good one :) 

Sunday evening was fun!

We had dinner with a member (who also knows Cameron Ricker so that's cool!) and her old roommate who isn't a member :) she had a TON of questions and we LOVED it :) we taught the restoration and invited her to read the Book of Mormon. It was super good :)

Despite my illness this week, sister Jones and I reached one of our goals and were only off by one person with the rest of them :) I am so grateful for the Lords hand in my life and for this restored gospel. We see so many little miracles throughout each day of the mission, even when I was sick! I know that God qualifies whom He calls. I've seen the growth in myself over the past 9.5 months, feeling inadequate in the beginning to feeling adequate now. I know that God is our loving, merciful, forgiving Heavenly Father who is so very aware of us. I'm grateful to be here, to help hasten the work of the Lord, and to remind people how much God loves them :) 

Today is already P-Day again, and I'm sort of mind blown! It's the middle of July!! What?! Time is cruising :) I hope everyone had a wonderful week!! Stay golden :) also safe, that'd be good, too :) 

Sister Chandler


Pictures:
Sister Liu made me rice when I was sick
Weekly planning in the park! :)

Happy Birthday America!

Gooood Afternoon :) 

This week was completely opposite to last week; almost every appointment we had fell through, lots of rejection, and about zero doors opened. We were grateful for a "day off" you could say, on the 4th :) Despite the rough week, there were some highlights so I promise this won't be THAT boring of an email ;) 

Monday cruised! 

We wrote letters, emails, went grocery shopping, and suddenly it was 6:00!? So we went to dinner with a member and A:) it was SO good! I'm obsessed with quinoa, and that was part of the meal, so I was a happy camper :) then we had a lesson with T.. Who also made us dinner! I'm pretty sure I was going to explode afterwards, but it was super sweet of her and it was yummy :) Then that night A texted us and said she wasn't ready to be baptized. Ah. But she SO IS!! We weren't able to meet with her this week because she got sick and then went out of town for the holiday, so we haven't had a chance to talk with her yet.

Tuesday morning was district meeting with our new district! 

We have a new district leader, Elder valentine, and he did good! The spirit was definitely motivating and made me want to go work hard :) later we finished studies and did a little bit of family history before we left to check on potentials. Dinner was with the sisters we live with at a members house, because a member of our ward is dating their ward mission leader :) and he was there, too, so it was super fun! She is an event planner and had menus, napkins folded super nice, etc. :) After dinner we had a lesson with a member and headed home. That night at like 1am there was an INSANE thunder/lightening storm. The light from the lightening lit up our room and the thunder woke us up. We peeked out the blinds and it was scary! I was thankful to have a roof over my head and to be tucked in a nice warm bed :) turns out that storm caused some serious damage in parts of Alexandria :/ surprisingly the apartment is still standing :P

Wednesday was the first day of JULY!!? 

What even is this?! Gosh, time is flying. Sister Jones became my companion in May, which feels like 3 weeks ago but it wasn't! Weird. 

We went to AFAC in the afternoon and it was nice to wear pants for a while :) then our dinner canceled, so we ate at home and went to visit an old woman, L, upon request. When we walked in she said, "there's the bathroom and if you need a drink of water the kitchen is right here!" as if she'd been through the missionary routine before :) and she had :) she immediately but kindly said she wasn't interested in our religion but loves our company. She is sweet :) We stayed for a few minutes and then went to a lesson with a member! When we were done with that lesson, we walked to our car only to find... No car! I've made it half way through my mission and I finally got towed :( luckily there was a member with us, and she voluntarily split the bill with sister jones and I! So $135 went down to $45 per person, which was a massive blessing. Virginia is tow happy, and I was immensely grateful for our member :) she even offered to take us to ice cream! But we decided not to :)

Thursday was different! 

We had a few member lessons in the afternoon and then in the evening sister Williams was super sick, so we did spur of the moment splits! Last time we did that, sister Jones stayed home and I went out to work with the other sister that we live with, so this time I stayed home. It was good for Sister Jones to be able to drive around the area and familiarize herself with her surroundings, considering I'll be leaving in a few weeks :) also, she went out with sister Liu who literally chases people down so I was excited for her to spend the evening with that amazing Asian :)

Early Friday morning our zone got together with another zone and we met our new mission president!

President Huntsman and his whole family, (wife, son in law, and 8 children.. Minus one who is serving in Kalin's mission) came to meet us. It was a lot of, we're excited to be here... Please be patient with us... We love you... and everyone stood up to introduce themselves. It only lasted about an hour, and we briefly talked to them afterwards. Sister Huntsman is a lot like President Riggs, which made me realize that he is really no longer here anymore, and it made me super sad. I love president Riggs, but I know I will grow to love our new president just as much! 

For lunch we went to a members house and Kat, the non member that showed up to church last Sunday, came too! We talked about the plan of salvation, eternal families, and a lot about the Mormon culture. It was good :) we love her :) 

In the evening we checked on potentials and nobody was home, or if they were they didn't answer the door. It's been sort of a hard week, especially after having a fabulous one prior to this one, and at this point in the night I was needing a 'pick me up', so we stopped at L's; the old lady we met earlier in the week. It was about 8:30 so we weren't even sure if she would be awake, and after a couple knocks on the door we decided to go. When we turned around we saw her walking on the side of her house to check on her garden, and we were like, "L! :)" her reaction made. my. day. She turned to see us, had a pleasantly surprised look on her face, threw her arms up as if she were running and said in her sweet old lady voice, "Oooooo I am so lucky!! stay there I'll come let you inside!" :) hahaha it was ADORABLE!! 

We talked a lot about schooling after the mission (she was a professor and administration advisor) so she gave us a lot of insight on the things we were thinking of doing, we also talked about missions and the church, and we discussed the topic of God :) she isn't sure he is really there, so that was a good conversation :) she asked if we could ever come over for ice cream, and we told her that in addition to that we would love to help her with her garden! Her gratitude melted my heart :) she is the sweetest! She even made an effort after our first visit earlier in the week to remember our names and the little facts we told her about ourselves; where we are from, what school we attended, etc. :) Too stinking cute :) on our way out she said, "You can call me Dr. D, that's what my favorite students used to call me :)" charity radiates from this woman!

Saturday was the 4th of July! :) 

we did some weekly planning until 2, then we went to a ward BBQ and our inactive atheist friend (C) came! He even showed up early and mowed the members lawn, AND he brought a truck load of potatoes that he made. This kid :) it was fun! We stayed for a couple hours and then went home to get ready for the firework show! On the metro on the way there, a random man holding the pole next to us asked where we were from and how long we had been out :) AND he was from Idaho :) I love when that happens! 

I am incredibly lucky to be serving in the area that I currently am, because we had to stay in our areas for the fireworks, and my area is the closest to DC. All we had to do was sit on the Arlington side of the Washington memorial, by the Pentagon, and we could see the fireworks super well from there! Not even the DC North mission had a better view than we did. SO blessed!! If I was serving in a different area in Virginia, I wouldn't have had that opportunity :) 

The fireworks were pretty cool! In all honesty I felt like the show in little 'ol Melba, Idaho is way better though. I think that partially because it was cloudy to begin with, and then the fireworks created a massive smoke cloud to the point where you couldn't see the fireworks anymore; just the colorful outline of the clouds from the fireworks exploding between them. Maybe it was more impressive from a different spot.. Nonetheless I had a blast! :) I was with close friends, sitting at the Pentagon, watching fireworks next to the Washington Memorial, and I laughed until I cried a handful of times throughout the day :) 'Twas a good one :)

Sunday was super good! 

Testimony meeting was amazing. I've never been to a testimony meeting that powerful before! Instead of people standing and sharing a story and bearing a little testimony before they sat down, everyone just stood up and said what they knew to be true; that's really what every testimony meeting should be like. It was incredible and the spirit was very strong :) 

Lots of new people were in Sunday school, and in the relief society lesson the sister teaching quoted something I said a couple weeks ago, so I felt pretty cool :) The topic was on deepening conversion and I learned a lot! Church is seriously the greatest :) 

After dinner that evening we talked to more people than I've ever talked to in this area! And every single person had some connection to our faith. It was way cool :) For example, while knocking on an investigators door, we turned around and saw a lady struggling to carry a heavy box to her home. The investigator wasn't home so we ran to the stranger's aid, offering to carry it for her. While walking and talking, we learned that she was from Jamaica and comes to Virginia every summer. Her son is in Jamaica and joined the church, and has been trying to get her to read the Book of Mormon for quite some time now! But she hasn't. It's amazing the people that the Lord places in our path :)

Our district leader only has 5 weeks left in his mission, so he is working his tail off and bringing us with him. He calls us throughout the week to see how we are doing with our goals, asks what he can do to help, gives us suggestions, and is super supportive; especially when we have a rough week. I love the constant accountability check and motivation throughout the week! I've never had a district leader like this before, and honestly at first I was like, "oh no" when I heard he was going to be my district leader because he is super intense. I always need a nap after he teaches us, and he just rubs me wrong for some reason so I've had to humble myself and pray hard for charity towards him. Praying for charity works, folks :) I'm grateful for all that he does for our district! Im excited to see the miracles blossom in this area :) 

Though this week was kind of a rough one, it ended on a good note, and we will continue to do what we know how to do. I know that if we do what we can, the Lord WILL do the rest. I have no doubts! Lately I've been thinking about my personal relationship with my Father in Heaven and the literal meaning to the saying, "I am a daughter of God". I'm literally His daughter. He is my dad.... How stinking cool is that?! The relationship that I have with my earthly father is awesome; he is my best friend, and I'm working on developing that relationship with my Heavenly Father, too :)

I love this gospel and the opportunity that I have to take a year and a half away from normal life to immerse myself in the spirit. I'm learning how to recognize the spirit more easily, I'm changing and becoming more Christ like, I'm losing bad habits, picking up good ones, developing friendships that will last a lifetime, and I'm in the capital of our country :) well, close enough ;) God is too good to me :) 

I hope you had a safe and happy 4th of July!! Send me pictures!! :) have a fantastic week and know that you are important :)


Sister Kailey


Pictures::
The empty spot that our car once was... #towed
4th of July with some of my favorite people :)
#myboyfriendrocks also so do my mom and sister for sending me that skirt :)