Incredible

Friends, Family, Strangers... Hello! :)

Have I ever mentioned how amazing it is to serve a mission?? 

My heart is LOADED with gratitude for the work and this experience in total :) Sister Donato and I are working our tails off, seeing a lot of less actives and part member families, as well as our investigators. I thought training was exhausting, but being a Sister Training Leader is even more so! But it's a good exhaustion and I don't ever want it to end :) 

Monday was Pday, and quite relaxing! 

• We took a 2 hour nap because the late night baseball game was still taking a toll on our bodies. Much needed! :) 
• we had a member come out with us to check on some people; we ran into a couple investigators whom the sisters haven't seen in a while, and made appointments with them for later in the week. 
• THEN, we ended the night with a part-member family. Ready for the coolest story ever? 

Two seconds before we knocked on the door, the father of the home had just gotten the mail. By the time we got up to the door to knock, it flew open and a big envelope was launched into our faces as a giddy parent exclaimed, "Is this what it looks like?!" The oldest son of the family was currently out of state, but his mission call had arrived! The dad isn't a member, so he asked us tons of questions regarding a mission. We were able to testify of the blessings that come to both the missionary, and the missionary's family while one is in the field. It was... adorable, really :) to see the countless number of emotions run through these parents. It's a big deal for them! They don't really come to church a whole lot, so it was super fun to witness and experience with them :) They invited us over for dinner this coming week :)

Tuesday morning we went to MLC (Mission Leadership Conference). 

• It's a conference held once or twice a transfer with president huntsman and the leadership of the mission; zone leaders, district leaders, and sister training leaders. We spent a good amount of time discussing changes to be made regarding transfer meeting, and even the length of a transfer. Currently a transfer is 6 weeks long, but President Huntsman opened discussion on the topic because his handbook mentions having 6-8 month transfers. Eek! We made a good chunk of changes for transfer meetings, but the length of a transfer is still 6 weeks as of right now. It will probably change. 
• After lunch we received some spiritual, enlightening edification and the spirit was so strong. Later in the day we taught English to a woman who escaped Isis!! Yeah. Super cool. She showed us scars from her escape. We love her :) for exercise every day, she does the hula-hoop :) 
• We also visited with a sister in our ward who lives with her inactive daughter and her family. We shared a message and were invited over for dinner with all of them this coming week. 
• When we were walking to our car, we stopped a guy who was in the middle of an evening run. I felt a little bad, because I personally hate when I have to completely stop in the middle of my momentum, but at the same time I didn't feel bad because the gospel provides lasting happiness while running is only temporary happiness ;) While testifying of modern day prophets, a couple members of our ward happened to be walking their dog right by us! So they stopped, bore testimony as well, and kept on walking. How stinking cool is that?? Heavenly fathers hand is in ALL things :) 

Wednesday was jam packed!

• We had district meeting,
• and then after lunch we went to help a less active move out of his house. 
• When we were done there, we went to a women's shelter where we volunteer weekly. The project they had for us was to organize a closet full of school supplies! It wasn't until that moment that I realized how much I truly am my mothers daughter; I found an immense amount of satisfaction and joy in organizing! It was therapeutic! :) 
• when we finished it was time for dinner. The day just flew by! Our evening was packed full of lessons with recent converts, less actives, and members. The spirit was so strong in each lesson, and it was amazing to hear the testimonies of the individuals that we met with. 

Each time I teach, I learn that much more and I can literally feel my testimony being strengthened :) 

Thursday morning we went to a meeting with our zone leaders and district leaders to plan some major events taking place this transfer. 

• Our zone leaders are stellar! I love working with them because they are on their A-game, always trying to be creative and productive, and their focus is on unifying the members and missionaries. We talked about how we can help members strengthen their conversion and testimonies of the Atonement, because it's at that moment that the gospel becomes something one strongly desires to share. We have a lot of fun things planned and I'm excited to write about them when they draw closer :) 
• We had a couple lessons in the afternoon, and taught English to our middle eastern friend again :) we will call her A :) 
• Our bishop gave us a couple people to check on, so we started with P! He didn't answer the door until after the second time we knocked, and when he did open it he didn't seem super happy. We told him we were new to the ward and our intention was simply to become better acquainted with the members. He was definitely closed off and hard hearted for the first 5 minutes, but eventually he softened up. So much so that he decided to step outside to sit on the porch and talk to us! But before that, he pulled a gun out of his backside and set it on the table inside. Apparently he doesn't get many visitors, so when we knocked twice he got suspicious. His interest in the church is nonexistent; he doesn't want anything to do with God or church, but he is so bored most of the time so he enjoys going to social events that the church puts together. We are going to make him cookies and bring them over tomorrow. He needs friends. And God :) 
• After meeting P, we went to a lesson with a less active and her children who are all over the age of 8 and not baptized yet! One of the daughters is 13 and asked the sisters when she could be baptized; we are waiting for the mothers approval :) so we taught the gospel of Jesus Christ! We had the relief society president with us, and the spirit touched all who were present. This family is coming back into activity, and it's so neat to see the blessings they encounter as they do so :) please keep J and her family in your prayers! They are progressing and hopefully we will be able to assist her daughter to the waters of baptism soon! 

Usually Friday's are pretty relaxed because it's weekly planning, 

• So we stay home all afternoon in our most comfy dresses and sit on the couch while we plan the up coming week! However, this Friday was not so relaxing. We were going going going from lesson to lesson with members and less active members, so by the time we got home to breath, we had about an hour and a half to plan. Which is totally fine! :) 
• After dinner we checked on some referrals and then had a lesson with our investigator, C. We had the lesson in a member's home, and it went SO great! C mentioned again that he can't stop thinking about our discussions, and he knows the spirit keeps strongly prompting him to continue to meet with us. He still thinks it's because he needs to convert us, but we are getting there :) Sister Donato taught a brother in another area who had the same motives, but eventually softened up and found the truth for himself! He was baptized and is now the strongest member of that ward, so, there is hope :) 
• Anyway, we answered a ton of questions that he had about the Book of Mormon and baptism. He said he finds a lot of red flags while reading the Book of Mormon because they contradict what he understands to be true from the bible. He apologized for asking so many questions, but we explained that the gospel is designed for us to question! 

Questioning is a GOOD thing because Heavenly Father wants us to truly seek Him out! He wants us to FIND the truth, and that comes from asking questions :) 

• Lessons with Craig are my favorite. They are challenging because I'm not a scholar in history, and I don't know the exact everything about the gospel, but I learn SO much from our discussions. My testimony is strengthened every time we meet, and it's never a contentious environment. Both parties are respectful and try to understand one another's point of view, which makes for a wonderful learning environment! :) he keeps all of his commitments, so he is progressing :) I truly have a gigantic amount of charity for that guy. That's just something I've been blessed with on my mission; an immediate genuine love for people we simply say, "Hello" to. 

Saturday morning we went to our Bishops house for the weekly breakfast and correlation with him! 

• His wife makes a big breakfast; this week it was French toast with fresh, orchard picked peaches :)
• when we finished updating him on the work, we went home to study and weekly plan! I am so grateful for my companion! I have been incredibly blessed with each and every one of my companions. I was pondering that thought earlier in the week and came to this realization: on my mission I have recognized my weaknesses. We all do. But I have been praying for help to develop the Christ like attributes that I lack, and I notice that in every single one of my companionships so far, my companion possesses every quality that I lack. In turn, I recognize that I possess every quality that she (all of my companions) lack. Throughout my entire mission thus far, Heavenly Father has stuck someone with me who balances me out, and teaches me by example how to develop the qualities that I so badly desire to cultivate. Heavenly Father is so smart ;) It's taken me 11 months plus to figure out how to develop those qualities, but hey, some of us are slow learners and we do have eternity to master them ;) 
• For dinner a recent convert took us out to a restaurant called BJ's. It's a lot like T.G.I Friday's and Texas Road house; yummmm :) this sister who took us has a very small testimony of the Book of Mormon, and she doesn't agree with a few principles taught in the gospel, but she holds on to what she does know which is what matters most :) this is the same sister who lost her dog last week, so she is slightly depressed :/ we are going to see her again this coming week :) The rest of our evening was spent checking on referrals. It was successful in that we did everything we could/were supposed to do. 

On Sunday morning the YSA committee had a breakfast that we went to so we could get to know the YSA in our ward. There are like... 3 :) haha but it was fun! 

• Then we went to church and it was so good! When we walked into the chapel I saw the father of a family who I ADORED in centreville, my first area. He shook sister Donato's hand and looked for my name on my name tag without even looking up at my face! My hair was covering it though, so while shaking my hand and searching for my name, he looked up with a big surprise on his face and I just bursted inside with so much joy! I love love love his family. We talked for a bit and caught up. I met them almost a year ago! It's crazy how time flies. 
• We had 2 investigators at church and 3 less actives! It was so great! :) 
• We had dinner with 2 member families in one home, and didn't get out of there for a while because there was so much going on. Even while sharing our message, people (including the adults) were talking over us. Super weird and disrespectful. We left as soon as we could and checked on a couple people before we went home. 
• Just as we were climbing in bed, we received a text from our bishop saying he invited a less active/part member family to his home for FHE tonight and asked us to come share a message for the lesson portion! What a rock star :) 2 members of that family are our investigators :) 

Something I've been learning recently is living in the moment. On a mission it is inevitably easy to reflect back to your past, or day dream ahead into your possible future. Sister Donato only has a couple months left on her mission, and one of her goals is to truly live in the moment. As her companion it's my job to help her in any way that I can to accomplish that goal! So I've been trying to do that as well, and not talk about anything back home or anything in the possible future. It's helped me see the joy that I do have right now, and I appreciate every small moment of every day so much more. Duh, right? :) I've developed a testimony of the importance of living in the moment; if you find that you reflect or day dream of future possibilities a lot more often than you live in the moment, you should try it some time :) 

Thank you so much for the emails, letters, pictures, and prayers. I am full of gratitude for, well, everything :) have a superb week! 

Oh, one other thing that I find super amusing: my companion's first name is legitimately, "Princess". I guess it's a common name in the Philippines, like the name, "Sara" is common in America! 

Remember who you are. Remember why you're here. Stay classy. Love you :) 

Sister Chandler

Ps. I have a solid ZERO pictures from this week. We didn't take any because we were so stinking busy! Maybe next week :) sorry, mom :/

Service, miracles, and bliss

Hello Hello!! :)

Good morning! :) I hope you had a wonderful week! Mine was pretty wonderfully amazing :)

Nothing super special happened on Monday; 

just the usual zone BBQ/volleyball game in the afternoon. 

Tuesday, however, was so good!

• After studies we went to the post office to grab a big box (that I could throw my winter things in) to send home. I'm pretty sure I'll have too much to pack for transfers, so sending things home for a bit will be MUCH helpful! 

This is how the box arrived at home. Unbelievable!
It looks like the UPS truck ran over it.

• After lunch Sister Jones and I went to a homeless shelter to see what we could do to help! We called beforehand and were told they needed help in the garden that they have! So we threw on some grubs and pulled weeds/watered the garden all afternoon! That place was L O A D E D with weeds! I couldn't help but think about the parable of the wheat and tares :) we didn't get them all, but we cleaned up over half of the garden, and it was looking good! Mosquitos were everywhere and I was sure I would have a million mosquito bites later, but I walked away with one! How?! I don't even know. Heavenly Father has my back ;) There was a lady there who has a green thumb, and gave us a lesson on male and female tomatoes! Did you know there was such thing?? We didn't! 
• Afterwards we definitely went home to shower and get ready to go out with a member! Traffic was super bad! It's amazing what rain does to the traffic over here; nobody knows how to drive in it. 
• So we checked on two people before we went to institute with A! :) guess who else was there?! C! Our inactive atheist friend :) During the class, we studied a talk by President Uchtdorf entitled, "On Being Genuine". There was one particular paragraph that stood out to me more than anything. The spirit was overwhelming when I read it, and when the teacher asked for thoughts/comments, C shot his hand up!? The paragraph talked about how if the Savior sat down with us, he wouldn't focus on our statistics or programs, but more-so the condition of our hearts. He would, "want to know how we love and minister to those in our care". When C shared his thoughts, he explained his situation; a former member of the church who is now atheist and hasn't stepped foot into a church building since he was 14, and mentioned how when he left the church, nobody in his ward seemed to notice. Nobody reached out, no one seemed to care. Then when he came here and met us, along with everyone in both our ward and the other sister's ward, he felt welcomed/accepted/cared about. He said it makes a huge difference; the way we genuinely care. I loved that! He is so right! It makes a massive difference!! Whether we know it or not. Whether we see it or not! It's so incredibly important to be genuine with everyone around us. That whole talk was so good! We also learned that C is praying and is in the book of alma in the Book of Mormon. I didn't even know he was reading it!? God is so good :) 

Wednesday and Thursday 

• were supposed to be the most humid days of the year, but they weren't bad at all! we have been super lucky thus far when it comes to humidity; I feel like this summer has been beautiful! #blessing :) 
• In the afternoon Sister Jones and I went to help at AFAC, the food bank over here in Arlington, and it was so fun! We organized all different sorts of breads and pastries. We didn't think we would be able to fit everything on the shelves, but somehow we did and it looked good! :) 
• Our evening was pretty uneventful. We checked on a lot of people, and while we did that we received a text from a member asking if we had a Portuguese Book of Mormon to give to her roommate! So we grabbed one from our zone leaders and headed over to her house. The roommate wasn't home, but her brother was! He spoke super little English and really didn't understand us at all. So he pulled out his phone, spoke Portuguese in it, and the phone translated in English out loud for us to understand what he was saying :) smart guy ;) hahah it was funny :)
• Eventually it was time to go home. We really hadn't talked to anyone, and I always feel unaccomplished when that happens. I was downloading my feelings and thoughts in a silent prayer to my Heavenly Father, when suddenly the phone rang! It was our district leaders who said, "We have 2 solid investigators for you. Both of them are seeking truth and are willing to do whatever we ask them to do in order for them to find out for themselves. Please don't say you have an appointment on Friday at 8...". Ah. We do! But that's the beauty of splits with members :) we decided since sister Jones will be here longer, she should go to that lesson, and I went to a different one with another investigator and a member. 

Heavenly Father sees our efforts. Not only missionary efforts, but YOUR efforts in whatever you're doing. Blessings... Even miracles... come, we just need to be diligent and patient :) So just because we haven't met anyone ourselves who is prepared for the gospel, we have been doing all we can do each and every day, and because of that Heavenly Father blesses us with prepared people that we can teach :) even if it happened through other missionaries. Answers to prayers come in all different kinds of ways :) He is always looking out for us.

• District meeting was on Thursday this week because our district leader had a departing meeting on Tuesday. It was so good! I loved district meeting this week; we played a game where we had random note cards with a situation and background. Whoever grabbed the card first was the investigator and the other person was the missionary. We had to act the whole situation out, but the teaching was all on the missionary. It was a fun practice teach :)
• Later in the afternoon, the sisters we live with came with us to an assisted living center where we painted old lady's nails! :) There was a sweet, younger lady from Brazil; I painted her nails :) she kept saying that she liked to shake her bum, but reassured me multiple times that she wasn't a prostitute, and then she said she was 28! Later in the conversation she mentioned that she was born in 1984, so this was our conversation :) 

Me: Wait, I thought you said you were 28? But you were born in 1984?
Her: ... How old am I?
Me: you're 31 :)
Her: I'm 31?! I'm old!
Me: that's not old! You're still young and beautiful :)
(Not even a full 60 seconds later)
Me: how old do you think is old?
Her: umm I don't know, but I'm not old. I'm 28!
Me: but we just figured out you're 31! :)
Her: oh yeah, I forgot. 31, 31, 31, 31... How am I going to remember that??

It was so cute :) haha I loved it :)

Dinner was at a members home and went so well! There were a few people from another ward there, too and we talked a lot about missionary work. I love the singles!! I'm secretly begging Heavenly Father to let me stay one more transfer :) Then we went to pick a member up to come out with us. After prayer and pondering, everyone we thought of to check on felt wrong. After driving around and listening to our sweet member download, it was clear that we needed to be with her that night :) it was good :)

Good ol' weekly planning happened on Friday! 

• We went to the church so we weren't stuck in the apartment all day. It was good! It went quick because we already had a ton planned, so that was nice :) Every companion I've had (except sister Lewis) for comp inventory on our last weekly planning, we write each other letters! I have LOVED this! It's so nice to go back on a hard day and read about how cool you actually are to someone else ;) haha seriously though! It helps! And I love love love complimenting/uplifting others, so writing a letter like that for someone else brings my soul an enormous amount of genuine joy :) 
• Anyway, later in the evening we went on splits with members! Sister Jones went to the lesson with a member to meet some new investigators; the elders are passing them to us, while I went to a different side of town to a lesson with another member and investigator! It was so fun! The lesson I taught went super well. Ch, whom we met with last week, had a rough week. We talked about how if he would have read from the Book of Mormon he would have had a better week, and we also talked about prayer! He feels like the majority of his prayers are never really answered, so he doesn't see the point in praying; therefore, he hasn't prayed in a long time. We invited him to pray and read 2 pages of the Book of Mormon before bed. He has a lot of questions! We explained that through prayer, the Book of Mormon, and meeting with us, he would find the answers. It was good :) 
• We didn't get home til like, 10:00... Whoops! And then when we started talking to the sisters we live with, we ended up climbing in bed around 11:50! I don't think I've ever gone to bed that late on my mission, and we woke up at 6. I decided the conversations we had needed to happen though; I mostly just listened, and Heavenly Father blessed me with the energy that I needed in the morning! I didn't even feel the lack of sleep affect me :) #blessingsagain

Saturday was an adventure! 

• Right after studies sister jones and I went through a list of members in our ward and she took notes on all of them from my memory :P 
• My stomach has been having some serious issues for the past month, so we called the mission doctor to see where to go to be tested for food allergies. She gave us a couple addresses, and so we went! The first place was 20 minutes away and when we got there, they said they didn't test for allergies. The second place was 10 minutes further and when we got there, they were closed. Lame! 
• So we drove to a lesson with T, but 10 minutes before we were supposed to meet with her she texted us saying she wasn't home because she forgot. Sweet. So then we see if D is home; we tried to call him, but no answer. Suddenly we remember L, the sweet old woman who is like my grandma out here. We went to see her, and she WAS home! She's the cutest. I love her :) she invited us over for dinner tomorrow night because I told her I was most likely leaving the area, but also said that I would come see her again before I go home to Idaho. She was SO sad! 
• Eventually it was time to go to dinner with a less active. She taught us how to make fried chicken because we told her we'd never had it home made. It tasted just like KFC :) super easy! Also I felt like my insides were going to deteriorate just looking at the oil they are soaked in. Why is yummy food so bad for you?! Oh well. It was fun :) we invited her to a fireside Sunday evening and she said she would go :) 
• When dinner was over we headed to a lesson with one of the investigators that sister jones met on Friday. He isn't currently practicing any religion, and is seriously seeking for truth. So much that his questions are SO good and SO hard to answer! That was probably the hardest lesson I've ever taught. We tried to answer his questions the best we could, and he is reading the Book of Mormon. We see him again on Wednesday and we are bringing someone who knows their religious history :) I haven't felt so inadequate in a long time! It was hard, and frustrating, but we kept calm and patient; as did he, and it ended on a good note :) he asked if he was hard, and we explained that his questions were hard to answer because we aren't perfect teachers, and we don't know everything, but they were good questions and we will do our best to help him find answers. Ah. Keep him in your prayers! And us :) haha 
• Before the night ended we received a phone call from D! He said he was coming to church and he already arranged a ride with a member of our ward. What?! Okay. That's cool :) also incredibly confusing because of how unresponsive and flakey he has been lately, but we aren't complaining :) 

Sunday was miraculous!! Sunday's are always so good :)

• D never showed; we aren't sure what happened, A is still sick :( she was on her way to church but turned around because she wasn't feeling well. We called her on Friday and she sounded super congested :( but C (atheist friend) came! He even stayed for the second hour, and because we are anticipating my departure from the area this week, he said he had something he wanted to tell me that he hasn't told anyone else yet. The suspense! So right after class he had to go, but wrote something on his hand to show me. "Thank you. God is real". That's what our dear friend had to tell me. How did he find God? He prayed, and he read the Book of Mormon. How does anyone draw closer to God? By praying and reading the scriptures!! It was so cool :) I was at a loss for words, so I just smiled and nodded my head :) he went to a fireside that we also attended later that night. 
• Our ward mission leader rocks my world. I appreciate him so much! I'm so sad I've only had a couple weeks serving with him, but also grateful for that short time :) He is so ambitious about missionary work and getting on top of things! It's great :) 
• After church we had a couple voice mails to listen to from a sister at the temple visitors center who gave us a solid referral! So we called the referral and set up an appointment for Wednesday morning! Heavenly Father is taking such good care of us :) 
• To top off the evening, our ward mission leader took us to a fireside that a less active met us at. It was for new and returning members to bear their testimonies and tell their stories. AND it was in Centreville!! :) my first area! We walked in a little late, and when we sat down I looked over to find SISTER LEWIS mouthing words at me like, "I love you" and , "Marry me" ;) hahah I haven't seen her in what feels like forever! It was such a tender mercy :) a ton of people I feel like I haven't seen forever were there! It was so nice :) 

• The spirit was strong as new members told their stories and bore testimony. 

Lately I have been hearing a ton of people say that a huge part of the reason they joined the church was because of the genuine fellowshipping they experienced. I testify that what you say and do inside and outside of church MATTERS. People are watching! It pleases me, and I know it pleases God, to know that members of the church live what they believe and keep their baptismal covenants. I love this gospel. 

I don't know what I would do if the fullness of the gospel wasn't on the earth or in my life. I'm grateful to have been raised in the gospel, and to be able to partake of the precious blessings that will lead me to eternal life. It's true people :)

I know it.
I live it.
I love it. 

Sister Kailey :)

Ps. Sister Williams had this brilliant idea of borrowing bikes from some elders to bike to DC! It's only 5 miles there and 5 back; it'll be an adventure!! :) so I'll send this email off now, but respond to individual ones later :) stay safe and have a good week!!

A select few captures of our adventure today! I don't think my butt

has ever been so sore. 10 whole miles, and then some because we biked

around DC. SO fun!!! :) also, SO burnt! We are exhausted! That's what

the picture at the end is trying to demonstrate :)

Speechless

This week was incredible.

A lot has happened within the past 7 days!

• We found 2 solid new investigators, totaling our teaching pool with a whopping 8 people coming closer to Christ. 
• We had transfers, which means there is a new sister in the apartment and sister Kennedy is deeply missed, I saw sister Lewis :) 26 missionaries departed the mission life, and 
• We heard from President Riggs and his wife for the last time. 
• Oh, also, I hit my 9 month mark on Wednesday. Minor details ;) 

already!?!?!

Holy cow!! Where do I even begin?! 

Monday. We will start with Monday :)

• DC was a blast!! The weather was beautiful, we ran into a lot of people that would say, "Hi sisters! :)" which always warms our hearts, and we saw a lot of cool things :) Because we have a car we don't walk a ton, so after a full day of being on my feet, I was pretty sure they were going to fall off. Don't worry, it got better :) 

• In the evening we went to see Terry! She is the greatest. She always texts us and asks when we can come over next, and keeps us in the loop with her day :) I love that woman! We had a lesson planned but when we got there, something else felt better and then ended up being exactly what she needed. I'm grateful for the ability to discern what the spirit says :)

Tuesday

• In the morning was our last district meeting before the new transfer, and it was super good! We talked about motivation. How are we motivated? How do we help our investigators/potentials/ less active members/ members become motivated? It all boils down to an understanding. When I understand why something is important, or why I need something in my life, then I figure out how I can get it! Because I understand the why behind it. 

• Afterwards we finished studies and watched an hour of "The District" videos for part of sister Jones' training. 

• Dinner was home made tacos with a member, and then another massive Virginia rain storm occurred :) we had a lesson with another member and when we were leaving, we opened the door to find a flood outside! That's normal. 

• L, the member we were with, insisted that she run right next to us holding an umbrella over our heads as we jump puddles to the car :) she is so funny :) at one point there was a massive river (not really, it was just the gutter on the side of the road that was pretty much like a river) and L was worried about my shoes getting wet. I told her it was fine and that I could jump over it (hoping my leaps are still as powerful as they were a year ago) in a skirt, and I totally did :) if you were there you'd be impressed ;) 

• In the midst of the rain, we called a less active to see if we could come over. She said yes :) so we shared a message with her and her roommate, who is also in our ward, before we headed home. The Lord is blessing our efforts and we are so grateful :)

On Wednesday

• we received a text from a member who needed some spiritual uplifting, so we went to her house for lunch as she unloaded and we lent a listening ear. We were there for 2 whole hours and it was so good! The food and the spirit ;) 

• After that we had a lesson with a recent convert on tithing and fast offerings. He didn't know a whole lot, so it was fun to teach! :) 

• Dinner was with one of our favorite members, and then we had some time to kill before we went to a lesson with a member of the bishopric. We went to check on a less active, but he wasn't home; however, his mother answered the door! I didn't know who she was, so we asked and then asked if we could share a 2 minute video about Christ with her. She said yes and opened the door for us to come inside. We asked if she sat in on the lessons while her children were being taught the gospel and she said no, so we then asked if she wanted to learn what they did. She said yes! Here is where it gets good :) We called the zone leaders because she is in their ward, and they were shocked because apparently missionaries in the past have been trying to get in contact with her and have been waiting for her to be interested, but haven't had any success. All we did was ask and boom! She's ready :) I LOVE being a tool in the lords hands :) we had an appointment with her two days later but she had to work later than she thought, so it didn't happen. We will see her again this week though :) 

• The rest of the evening was spent with the second counselor of our ward and his wife who are awesome! It was so fun :) I love love love my ward!!

Aaannnnddd then we have the biggest day of my mission.

Thursday.

• Transfers.

The last one with President Riggs.  

Dramatic?  

Maybe, but it was a big day!  

The entire mission was there, and it was a normal transfer meeting with a different spirit to it. There was so much love and appreciation in the room! All 26ish departing missionaries shared their testimonies which brought a spirit that lasted the rest of the day. During the closing song sister Riggs was trying to keep composed but not very well, which made the rest of the sisters lose composure :) it was a sweet, tender, amazing meeting :) I know that President Riggs was my mission president for my first 9 months for a reason. That family has helped me become the person I know Heavenly Father wants me to be, and I am so grateful for all that he has done! I love my mission president, and I'm excited to see what president Huntsman does with the mission for the rest of my time here! 

Also, sweet Sister Kennedy was transferred to a different area :( but guess who Sister Williams' new companion is??? SISTER LIU!! Ya. What?! Blessing!! It is so fun to be able to live with that amazing sister again :) I love her! 

• We didn't get out of the meeting until 4:30, and we had to cancel our dinner because traffic wouldn't allow us to make it on time, so we ate Panda before we went to go see D, one of our investigators. D is engaged to T, the sister of C who is another investigator of ours. T is always inside with her baby when we teach the guys outside on their porch, and we have only met her once. D wasn't home, but T was sitting outside! So we started talking to her while we waited for him. Eventually we asked if we could share with her what we were going to share with him, and she said yes. We shared the plan of salvation with her and she beamed :) She said, "I wish I would have come out here earlier when you were teaching the guys! I feel like I've been missing out on something my whole life!" She said she was glad we came and wants to learn more :) I LOVE HER!! 

• Every once in a while (quite often recently) Heavenly Father will give me a taste of his love for His children when I talk to them. I could feel the overwhelming amount of love that He has for her, which made me burst with that love so much to the point where I just told her! I was like, "T I love you! You're an incredible daughter of God who I know loves you. I can feel it, and I know that the messages that we have to share with you will bless your life more than you can even comprehend. I am so glad we met you!:)" it was like this precious moment of joy between everyone involved because the spirit was there :) she even said she felt super good while we taught her, and we pointed out that she was feeling the spirit, which testifies of truth :) AH!! I LOVE being a missionary!! I love T! I love this gospel!! God is SO good to us :) 

Friday was just as good, if not better! 

• I am just mind. blown. at the miracles that took place over the past few days. I literally don't even have words to express my joy/shock at the blessings Heavenly Father is laying at our feet. I shouldn't be surprised, but I am! 

• Weekly planning was SO GOOD! Sister Jones and I are going to rock it this transfer. I can feel it :) Time flew by like crazy and before we knew it we only had half an hour to eat dinner before we needed to be at a lesson. 

• This is the lesson where the lady had to work longer than she thought, so we went to check on a less active. She wasn't home either, but we decided to go street contacting around her house before we had another lesson with T and D. I looked in my bag to see how many pass along cards I had left, and I only had one. So we grabbed more from the trunk and sat in the car for a minute to write on a few. I hadn't even finished writing on the first card when the less active drove up and parked next to us. About 2 months ago, sister Morris and I came to see her and she was not interested in coming back to church at all. She wasn't ready, but she was extremely kind! So sister Jones and I started talking to her for a minute and asked if she had 10 minutes. She did :) 

• We didn't really have a lesson prepared or planned for her, so we were definitely relying on the spirit to tell us what she needed to hear! We asked what she was doing for the 4th of July and she unloaded about her family. We were able to discuss how the gospel blesses families, and suddenly she brought up baptism! We asked if she remembered why she was baptized and she couldn't remember, but said that she wanted to do it again. She kept talking about the things she did with the church when she was active, and how much she loved it. Then she said she wanted to come back to church!? So she voluntarily put it in her calendar for the month of July to come to church, and invited us over to teach her a few times before the Sunday that she comes to church. I'm pretty sure my jaw hit the floor the entire time. She kept saying how she felt super good while we were talking with her, so we reminded her that was the spirit :) she is a rock star! I was and I am incredibly overwhelmed with the spirit! What just happened?! She even asked us to send scriptures to her every day! Sister Jones was ecstatic :) haha it was so funny :) MIRACLES people!! They're so real!! 

• T and D had to go to the hospital to see her mom because she isn't doing well (please keep her in your prayers) but her grandma was home! So guess what we did? Taught her :) because that's what we do :) it was amazing. Again! I'm in awe. SUCH a good day :)

Guess what happened on Saturday?? 

• MORE miracles! 

• We had a lesson with a convert to the church of about 2 years, but it was a guy so we needed a female to come with us. We only remembered that minor detail 2 hours prior to the appointment, so we started to ask around. The only person that could was N, (which is awesome) and turned out to be the perfect person for this guy! They have the same life I swear, and it was super neat to see how God's hand was in the entire thing. 

• Lately I've felt like a name or a place will pop into my head when making decisions, and I immediately, without hesitation, choose to go with my first thought. Not because I feel like it's coming from God; I just do. Every single time I've done that, things end up working out so perfectly that my jaw hits the floor 24/7 and I'm speechless!! I feel like Heavenly Father is planning everything for us and we are just there to witness it all happen. I keep thinking, "thanks, pal! :)" 

• It rained aaaallll day which was fine because sister Jones needed to write her talk for sacrament meeting. That meant more time for me to soak up the scriptures! :) also nap, because I need naps. 

• For dinner we went to "Big Buns", a hamburger place, to celebrate with a member of our ward because she received her endowments earlier that day :) 

• After our bellies were full we went to check on a couple referrals. One of them being R! He is from Africa and very interested in learning. We have a return appointment with him on Saturday! 

After studies on Sunday morning 

• we went to a lesson with A where we put her on date! A will enter the waters of baptism on Saturday, July 11th :) she is so excited! Please keep her in all of your prayers!! :) also, cool story real quick! Turns out A speaks Portuguese, English, and Amharic, and we happened to have copies of the Book of Mormon in all of those languages in our trunk! So she took them and asked if she could give them to people! How ridiculously awesome is that?! So cool :) 

• After giving those to her, she had to leave so we went back inside where we met a non member who was at church for the second time in her life. She is atheist dating a Mormon and has looked for happiness all her life in every place the world offers it, but she said she feels like she is missing something. She asked her boyfriend if he was genuinely happy most of the time, because she wasn't, and he said yes. His reasoning was because he has God in his life, so she got in her car Sunday morning and drove to the ward she thought she'd be in. The way she told her experience was funny :) 

she said she got in her car thinking, "what am I doing?!" And almost didn't come, but for some reason she did! When she walked in she asked the first person she saw where to go but that person was new too, which made her feel better knowing she wasn't the only new one :) When sacrament meeting was over she was going to go home, but asked her new friend if she was staying and she was, so she stayed too! 

We come into the picture after the second hour, and taught her about our Heavenly Father, the Book of Mormon, lasting happiness, faith, and the atonement for the entire third hour. We didn't even go to Relief Society :) My favorite was that nothing was forced. It was a relaxed but powerful conversation that was unplanned. That's one reason why it's immensely important to always be in tune with the spirit! Unfortunately we don't get to teach this sister because she isn't in our ward boundaries; she is in the other singles ward. BUT we all teach the same thing, and it doesn't really bother me because as long as SOMEONE is helping her find her Father in Heaven, that's what matters :) 

• The rest of our day was good! We had dinner with a member and checked on a couple referrals after that :) OH! And we had a lesson with a recent convert of about 3 months! She is a trooper :) her parents don't support her whatsoever, and they always bash on the church, but she endures and sticks to what she knows to be true :) people like that inspire me. It was a good day :) 

And today is P-Day!!! Again!?!? Already!!? This week flew. My heart is full of gratitude :)
Thanks for your prayers and all you do for me. I can feel and see the blessings unfold from the prayers of all those on behalf of the missionaries. We truly appreciate it :) 

Have a good week! Remember who you are and who you represent :)


Sister Kailey :)

Rainstorms and Revelation

Happy P-Day! :)

I hope all is well with everyone! I had a pretty good week :) 

Monday was fun!

• We played sand volleyball and threw a football around, which made me smile because it brought back memories of throwing one back and forth to my dad in the summer :) 

• When that was over, we went to dinner and then we went to a potentials house! His friend was there instead, and we learned that he has had all of the lessons a few times; he just doesn't have the desire to do anything with the knowledge that he has. Sad :( but it was a good conversation! We had him find his Book of Mormon and highlighted certain chapters for him to read in bright orange so he won't miss it ;) He was very kind and friendly; it's good to know people like that still exist :) 

• As soon as we were walking away from talking with that guy, we got a call from the sisters we live with saying that Sister Williams was at the doctor for her headaches because she was a hot mess, but they needed us to go get her insurance card and medicine for the doctor. So we raced home, raced to the doctors office, and said a prayer for that sweet sister to feel better. 

• Nightly planning occurred in the library in our complex, where we met our atheist inactive again :) this time he had a friend! So we had a good conversation and invited them to an activity on Sunday evening with the ward :) 

Tuesday morning we went to district meeting which was so good!! 

• My district rocks :) Our zone leader brought up a point that I've heard and seen before, but for some reason it stuck out to me a lot more this time around. It goes like this:

Hear--> remember--> understand--> DO--> become 

This can apply for anything! In my case, it applies to missionary work. I help people hear the word of God as I teach and testify with the spirit. I help them remember the feelings they've had and invite them to do things that will bring them closer to the lord. This will help them experience those feelings again, which will help their understanding increase. Then the people we teach must DO; they must act on their thoughts and feelings in order to progress. Eventually they will become! They will become full of knowledge and experience, so much that they can't doubt.

Another example could be baking cookies. In 7th grade I was like little miss Betty Crocker and made chocolate chip cookies every weekend :) I heard and observed my mom explain the ingredients as I watched her do it a few times, I remembered and understood the importance of how much of what I needed to put in the mixer, and in what order. So I did it! Multiple times! Over and over and over again until I BECAME Betty Crocker ;)

I just really love that pattern, especially when I set goals every week!

• After district meeting, we went to lunch with the sisters we live with and did some Facebook cleaning because we are back on! :) 

• Then we had a lesson with a recent convert, dinner with a member, and then a lesson with T! It was her birthday, so we brought her a baby sized ice cream carton and got ourselves a baby Ben and jerry's to celebrate :) we shared a message, and then it was time to go home! I slept like a rock that night. I've never slept as good as I do since I've been on a mission :) 

Wednesday came so fast! And it was a really good day! 

• We went to AFAC for a good chunk of our afternoon, came home for dinner and went to check on a potential before grabbing a member to go to a lesson with our investigators. 

• This was THE coolest night ever! Guess who we ran into? Ky! Ky had a friend who randomly asked, "So what is it that you do exactly?" After explaining, we taught the restoration! We gave him a Book of Mormon and he said, "I have Friday off! Come back at 6!" Okay! :) 

• Almost as if it was planned, as soon as we were done talking to Ky and his friend, our investigators walked right around the corner on their way home from work. God is so good :) We taught them the plan of salvation which went so well! 

• AND as soon as we were done talking to them, we turned around to find our good friend F from a few weeks ago :) after sharing a message with him, it was time to go home. Gods hand truly is in everything. There is no such thing as coincidence! 

• There's this thing called, "Return and Report" that trainers and trainees go to at the end of the trainee's first transfer. This is where we split up and get to release our struggles/frustrations with our companions if we don't want to tell them to their face. It's also a super motivational, spiritual meeting :) it was fun to go because it reminded me when I went with sister Lewis. There were so many things that stuck out to me; I'll share a couple phrases that I loved:

(Background to the first one--> in the movie, "Facing Giants", there is a scene where a football coach asks one of the players to do the death crawl blind folded. He tells him to do his very best; to not stop until he truly cannot continue. The player tells the coach he can make it to the 50 yard line without someone on his back, and this is the coaches response)

>But even if you can't, I want you to give me your very best.


>Keep up not who you used to be, but who God wants you to become.


>Have you ever thought about who might be in your great and spacious building?


>DC 3:4-10, alma 29:4-5, 2 nephi 2:16-26, 1 nephi 8:30


>Steel your mind--> keep focused, confident, determined


>Do you really want to be in the celestial kingdom? How bad? Are you doing anything right now to live a celestial life the best you can? If you really, truly want to be in the celestial kingdom, you would be making changes to line your life with the will of the Lord, and do only those things that will please him/ draw you closer to Him.

It was a really good meeting :) Also president Riggs' last one before he leaves on Thursday!

• ** Fun Fact:: I will have exactly 9 months with President Riggs, and exactly 9 months with president huntsman. Cool, huh? :) 

• Anyway, guess what was for lunch? Pizza! I think I'm going to be sick of pizza by the end of my mission. We have had it so much this past transfer. I'm grateful for food :) but I'm so done with pizza. 

• In the evening we went to a lesson with a member and it was super good! 

Friday was.... rough. 

• Everyone canceled and it was just a hard day, so the member we brought with us took us out to ice cream. Not upon request, just out of the kindness of her heart because she served in Ukraine and understands those kind of days. 

Saturday morning was... Still rough. 

I had a migraine, but was able to lay down and it went away eventually. We weren't able to finish weekly planning on Friday, so we did that in the afternoon as well as checked on a couple potentials/referrals.

Dinner was with a member and we had white bean chili :) yumm :) afterwards there was a MASSIVE storm. Like, tornado warning as well as a flash flood warning, and the power went out. We were going to leave the building but when we went outside it was nuts! So we hung out in the library all evening with our atheist friend and his friend :)

What happens when you walk from the door to your car during a Virginia rain storm... I'm soaked! 

Sunday was my favorite. I love Sundays. 

• Church was incredible; the spirit was so strong and I received a good amount of revelation for myself and our area. 

That is something that I have gained a massive love for; the spirit and personal revelation. I can confidently tell you that I know exactly how the spirit speaks to me. I know when it's the spirit speaking vs. myself, and I feel the loving, chastening when I ignore a prompting. Heavenly Father knows that I know when the spirit tells me to do or not to do something, so if and when I choose to ignore it He's like,

"?! Kailey! "

 but I love it :)

I love being able to recognize the spirit quickly and clearly. I am so blessed!! I've come to realize the importance of knowing HOW the spirit speaks to you, and even further, acting upon what it says. That guy will never tell you anything that doesn't come from God. 

• I've also gained a huge testimony of fasting! Fasting consists of going without food or water for the space of 24 hours, and we do it to grow spiritually closer to our Father in Heaven. Whenever we have a question or someone else needs a little extra divine help, we start and end with a prayer (otherwise you just starve yourself) and fast to show Heavenly Father we are serious. I've fasted multiple times in my life, especially on my mission, and I testify of the power that it does have. I fasted to feel the spirit more abundantly and clearly, and that's exactly what happened! I fasted for C to be baptized and a couple days later received a phone call informing me that she would be baptized the flowing Sunday, and she was! I've fasted to know what college to attend, some people fast for help to forgive, some people fast for something so simple as more peace in their life. It works! I testify that it does :)

• The rest of Sunday got even better. Dinner with a member was so good, and then we went to a ward munch n' mingle which we invited our atheist friend to. He came! He even beat us there, brought ice cream for everyone, and met people from his same home town who knew the same people. He really enjoyed it! Sister jones and I were speechless. He loved it and wants to hang out with the singles ward more often :) I LOVE THIS WARD!!! Seriously I could not be happier with where I am right now :) We left before our friend did, but saw him later and asked how it went. He said, "It was so weird. Today was a normal day and then everything was like coincidence after coincidence when I got to that party!" I was like, "Nothing is a coincidence :)". 

I saw the Jesus bumper sticker, and then noticed the sign off to the right a little later :) NOTHING IS A COINCIDENCE!! ;) 

• I am beyond grateful to be a tool in the Lords hands. It's truly such a humbling experience day after day. I'm so glad I'm here :) 

Today we get a private tour of the capital building because a member of our ward works there, so we get to see things that the normal tours don't show! For example, I guess there are ancient bathtubs in the building because the congressmen needed to clean up after a long travel to get there? I'll take pictures if I'm allowed to :) I hope everyone had a great week!! :)

Love you :)
Kailey

Ps.TC Williams high school from remember the Titans is totally in my area and I pass it on a regular basis :)

Idahome :)

Another week in Virginia

Gooooood Afternoon! :) 

Before I begin telling you about my week, shout out to the best human on the face of this planet (my sister) for being born today x amount of years ago :) I love you! 

Alright, so Monday was awesome :) we didn't do a THING and it was beautiful :) 

• Aside from the norm like emails, laundry, groceries, and writing a couple letters. 

• In the evening we went to dinner with a member and checked on potentials. 

• Meanwhile there was a massive storm occurring! Virginia + rain + thunder = the best summer storms I've ever seen! That's why God sent me here ;) to be able to enjoy those things :) It also makes up for the lack of sky over here. I miss my western night time sky. But it's fine :) It could be worse!! 

Tuesday was quite busy! 

• The morning began with district meeting which went super well; always does :)

• Lunch followed,

• Then we went to visit a sister in our ward who just got hip surgery! She is bedridden for a solid 2 weeks! I think I'd go insane. Actually, I know I'd go insane. She can hardly sit up, too so she has to lay down most of the time! I know. Poor thing right? She just ran way too much and busted her hip. She would run like 12 miles a day, and she always ran marathons. Not anymore! So we shared a message and kept her company for an hour :) After that we made brownies and a thank you card for the member who took us to the temple and lunch a couple weeks ago! 

• And then it was time for a lesson on preparing for the temple with a recent convert :) 

• when that was over, we went to dinner with A! :) She is DARLING! I love her so much! We learned that members of our ward have been inviting her to activities and such so that made us happy :) I'm telling you. Serving in a singles ward is one of the best things that's ever happened to me on my mission. These people are stellar. 

• The rest of the night we spent checking on potentials. 

On Wednesday we studied all morning, which was so good! 

• Sister Jones and I received a lot of inspiration as to how we can become better teachers and missionaries in general. I love the spirit :) 

• When that was over we did a little bit of cleaning up in the area book, and then we did some serious DEEP cleaning in our apartment. I kid you not we cleaned everything from the baseboards to the corners of the ceiling and everything in between. For like... 4 hours. With music (the uplifting, spiritual kind) blasting through the apartment. I was in love :) 

• Oh also, mom guess what? We've totally had reoccurring black mold throughout our apartment since I've been here. And everyone that's lived here for the past year has had health problems, but as soon as they're transferred they get better. But don't worry!! We called the maintenance guy for the 47th (that's a legitimate number) time and he came to paint over it :) hahah ohhhh the apartment :) There have been so many things about this apartment that have fallen apart and I have totally forgotten to mention them throughout the past 3 months!! I'll list some for you :) 

| ADVENTURES IN THE APARTMENT|
1. Our light switch in the bathroom didn't work, nor did the outlet for about 3 weeks, so we plugged a lamp in on the outside wall and stuck it in the bathroom :)
2. The carpet was disgusting and our 2 vacuums didn't work. So we got a new one about 2 months in and it's slightly better!
3. The sisters bathroom had black mold growing on their ceiling, so the maintenance guy took out the wall and put a new one in.
4. The black mold is back.
5. We have black mold inside our shower, but no worries. The instructions from our maintenance friend were to throw bleach on it and let it sit. He then told us it would come back though...
6. The air conditioning unit in the sister's room was leaking, so their carpet was wet and their room smelled like wet dog. They've been sleeping in the living room for 2 weeks :)

7. When we want a drink of water, we have to let it sit for 5 minutes so it isn't so foggy

Basically it's been an adventure!! And despite the grossness of the apartment, it's not necessarily awful. It's livable... For the most part... And we find joy in these things because it creates memories that we can laugh at later :) In fact, we laugh as they occur because it's hilariously ridiculous :) Nonetheless, we truly are grateful to have a roof over our heads, food in the kitchen, and a bed to sleep in :) Also, after the deep clean it was better :) 

• Dinner was with a member at a Peruvian restaurant which was pretty good! 

• Then we met another member at the church and went to check on potentials. It was a pretty quiet night when it came to potentials, but when it comes to the member we had with us, it was the opposite! :) haha which was perfect because we studied listening earlier in the day, which is exactly what she needed us to do :) it was fun! :)

• we were exhausted by the end of the night and slept super good :) 

Thursday morning I was not feeling well at all, 

• so after studies I took a nap for half an hour and that helped a little bit. 

• We then had to go to the mission office to take in our driving log. Elder Lowe is in charge of everything when it comes to the mission cars, and he asked if we wanted to see our driving record from the Tiwi! This thing is high tech. Elder Lowe can see when and where our car is at all times, including how long the car sits in one place! He can see where on the road we make a violation (according to the Tiwi), and the route in which we take wherever we go. If we ever lose our car we can just call elder Lowe and he can look it up :) too cool! My driving record was spotless so that was good :) 

• We did some area book mapping for a while and then went to dinner with a member! I learned so much from her while we shared a message on the spirit. I learn so much from everyone that we teach! 

• Our evening finished off with T! She is doing well :) I brought the Book of Mormon I made in college (where I wrote questions of the soul in the front and found the answers and marked/tabbed them) to show her how beneficial the book is in our lives today. She started going down the list of questions, answering them according to her knowledge, and then when she got to the question, "Does my infant need to be baptized?" She said, "oh I know this one! Absolutely!!" We just smiled and explained that we don't believe that's true. So we flipped to the answer in the Book of Mormon; Moroni 8:8-12 and even a couple verses after that, where it explains that baptism is for sinners. Repentance and baptism are for those who are accountable for their own sins, not for Adams transgression. It goes on to teach that little children are whole and not capable of committing sin, so if thy die before the age of accountability (8 yrs.) then they are golden :) 

• When we got home we found a note from the maintenance guy saying we had gotten our faucet replaced in our kitchen? Later the sisters explained that it started to gush out water and the kitchen flooded! hahaha remember everyone, adventures in the Aspen ;) 

On Friday I woke up feeling super sick, and felt like I was going to throw up all day. 

• Luckily it was weekly planning so we didn't have to go anywhere all afternoon! 

• In the evening we went to dinner with a member, but that made me more sick so we went home after so I could sleep for half an hour before we had a lesson. The enabling power of the atonement is so real. I had a prayer in my heart that I would be able to sleep off whatever bug I had, within that power nap, so that we could go teach our new investigators the message of the restored gospel! When I woke up I felt much better! 

• I could feel the Lords support as we went about the rest of that night, which was such a blessing because that lesson was so great!! When we got to their house, Dre opened the door and said with a big grin, "Oh hey, ya'll did come!!" :) he went and gathered his brother and friend (now a new investigator) to hear the message we had to share :) We asked if they had read from the Book of Mormon yet and Dre said, "Ya! I figured you gave me this for a reason, so I read a couple verses". Um, yeah! We totally did give you that for a reason! They all wanted us to text them a scripture every day, and then asked us to come back on Sunday to hear more. Two. Days. Later. 

• What if I stayed home that night?! What if I hadn't accessed the enabling power of the Atonement and just slept for the rest of the night?? Oh how good is Heavenly Father??! :) His hand is absolutely in our lives every single moment of every single day. I LOVE being a missionary :) Sister Jones was tickled :) It was so fun to experience that with her; she rocked it! She is doing so well :) 

• Sister Williams is one of the sisters we live with, and she woke up sick Saturday morning. It's gotta be the mold or something that's making us sick! Anyway, she stayed home all day so sister Jones and I took turns going on splits with Sister Kennedy, Sister William's companion, to cover the lessons they had set up. It was a good switch in routine, and gave Sister Jones more opportunities to teach! So that was awesome! :) I also think Heavenly Father needed us to be with them because all of our appointments for that day canceled. 

• I went out with her for the night and we went to dinner with a member, who lives with her brother, who has 4 kids ages 1, 5, 6, and 8 :) I wish we got our dinner conversation on video because we were crying laughing the whole time! 

Benson is the 5 year old, and he started talking about how he was married. He said he was 31 and his wife was 29. When asked what he liked about her, he said, "her cute little face!" :) hahah then we talked about ways we could be righteous. I asked if he was nice to his siblings and with the most straight face he said, "Yeah. But sometimes I want them dead". Everything that came out of this kids mouth was so funny because he's so little and we kept thinking, "Where did you come up with this?!" By the end of the night we were serenaded by little Benson singing "Let it Go". But not like a normal 5 year old would sing it; this kid had the riffs and level changes and everything! It was sooo cute :)

AND dinner itself was super good because we made our own pizzas, watermelon was the side (including yellow watermelon!), and for dessert we had a pazookie :) For those of you who don't know what that is, it's a chocolate chip cookie fresh out of the oven with vanilla ice cream on top. It's life-changing :) 

• After dinner we picked up a member and went to a lesson! But he wasn't home, 

• so we checked on a few others and they weren't home either! 

• Eventually it was time to head home, and then Sister Kennedy and I had a really cool spiritual experience. Earlier in the day we had taught N, one of her investigators. We taught about prayer and fasting. N is SO close to baptism but is, for lack of a better word, bipolar when it comes to commitment. We called him to tell him that he had a ride to church, but suddenly he didn't want to go anymore. Sister Kennedy, acting on the spirit, told him to kneel down, say a prayer, and open the Book of Mormon to a random scripture to see if it answers his question- should I go to church tomorrow? Bold, right? But even while she invited him to do that, I felt the spirit and knew that it wasn't her idea; it was Gods. He called us back to tell us the scripture he landed on- Alma 21:6 which talks about assembling ourselves together to worship God, and that its a righteous thing to do. If that's not an answer then I don't know what is! 

He still chose not to come, but we knew God had followed through and it was up to Nick to make the decision. Sometimes agency is frustrating haha Nonetheless, it was a good day :)

On Sunday we went to church, which is always good :) 

• The Relief Society- a women's organization, that happens to be the biggest one in the world, that teaches us how to become better wives, mothers, and daughters of God. As well as focusing helping on those in need- lesson was on happiness! It was such a good lesson!! I loved it :) 

• The rest of the day our appointments fell through so we just checked on potentials with a member all night! 

Sometimes the weeks are amazing, other times they are just alright, but that's life right? :)

 I'm grateful to be here!! I love my mission and my Father in Heaven :) I'm grateful for the love, support, emails, letters, pictures, and prayers on my behalf! My heart is continuously full :) 

Happy birthday to Erica, again :) And happy birthday to my Mama on Friday! :) I love you!! 

Love,
Sister Chandler

Bring Others To Christ. Find the One

Hello :) 

**Sorry if this is a little jumbled; I wrote it throughout the week***

I wish I had exciting news to share with you for Monday, but it was pretty normal. Although, we did meet a sweet lady while checking on potentials with a member! We started talking to her and she asked, "What sets you apart from other denominations?" As we told her our belief about a modern day prophet, she seemed so genuinely interested and asked if we had a card that she could take. She is married with a baby and one on the way, so we would have to pass her, but we felt blessed to be able to introduce her to the truth :) 

Tuesday was my first ever sisters conference!! :) we had lunch and then listened to some sisters speak, as well as sister and president Riggs. The theme seemed to be, "don't be so hard on yourself, you're doing a great job, perfection is good to strive for but don't be a nazi and over do it to the point where you're feeling like a failure..." Etc. it was great :) I saw sister Lewis :) always a good time :) I also got like 7 compliments on my hair! I just curled it. No big deal, but it made me feel good :) sisters are the best when it comes to building each other up :) 

We passed our Spanish friend later that evening. We had the Spanish speaking elders teach and it was SO COOL to see him be fully engaged in the lesson because he understood it! He had so many questions, and just by observing, he seemed happy and intrigued! I love this gospel!! Being a missionary is the coolest :) 

During my studies this week I was reading over the notes I took from the Sisters Conference. One thing that really stood out to me was the phrase, 

"Our purpose, even after a mission, is to bring others closer to Christ". 

Even if you didn't serve a mission, or haven't yet, this is your purpose; especially as a Latter-Day Saint. 

Do your words, actions, thoughts, and desires bring others closer to Christ? Do they bring you closer to Christ? 

After hearing that phrase, I pondered on the things I did before my mission, and decided that I did a decent job! I feel that I tried in all I did to be christ-like, although I am mortal, so there are definitely areas I could have improved ;) Even now, as a full time servant of the Lord, I still have moments where my words or deeds or thoughts don't bring myself or others closer to Christ.

Secrets out. I'm human.

But repentance is REAL and we can always try a little harder to be a little better on a daily basis :)
Another thing I've learned recently is that God GAVE me weaknesses. Sometimes I forget that, and wonder why I'm not perfect yet ;) just kidding. But not, at the same time :) I think we can be so hard on ourselves and try to do everything the best we know how, even when sometimes the expectation for the best we know how isn't always within reach. This goes back to the theme of the sisters conference; don't be so hard on yourself, perfection isn't attainable in this life but patience in trying is. We have weaknesses so that they can become strengths as we seek help from our father in heaven. It's okay to fall short :) we are supposed to :) That's the whole purpose of the Atonement/Plan of Happiness! 

Wednesday was pretty good! We had district meeting in the morning and after that we went to AFAC with the sisters we live with for a couple hours to help out over there. Then we had dinner with a member and checked on a few people. It was a good night! 

 
Thursday wasn't too exciting, although at dinner we had cutie oranges, and later I saw this tiny, skinny, green stem looking thing moving around on my plate. Um. Worm?? Yep! That would happen to me. It's fine :) we threw him away :) 

Friday was weekly planning which went so great! I am full of gratitude and charity towards my companion. It's been a good couple months :) We had a lesson scheduled in the afternoon but it fell through, so we just planned, and then in the evening we checked on a couple people before we had a member lesson. 

Side Note:: Can you believe it's MAY already?!? What?! I'm pretty sure sister Lewis and I just got done celebrating New Years like... Yesterday! Time is cruising, I swear. In 2 months I'll be half way done with my mission, and that's going to FLY!! I love my mission though, and I'm SO grateful for the experience that it is :) I almost don't even want to ever leave :)

Saturday Sister Morris was able to go do Baptisms for the dead with her recent convert and the companion she taught him with! 

So I was with Sister Rossi for the afternoon which was SO FUN! :) We have a TON in common, and got a lot done :) She's also a dancer, and told me that their apartment complex has a studio with a ballet bar and everything!? Pretty much I died and remembered how much I love to dance :( oh well. The things we do for the God we love ;) 

We swapped back around 4pm and went to stake conference that night. The theme was on how ward council can help with retaining new members, reactivating less actives, and fellowshipping. They had multiple sets of "new member and ward council member" as well as "returning member and ward council member" sharing their stories of how the two roles worked together. It was neat to hear conversion stories, and how the ward council did their part. I love that as Latter Day Saints, we truly strive to live what we believe.

There was a video clip shared of Elder Bednar talking about an experiment he did while he was President at BYU-Idaho. About 250 students came to a devotional one day out of 1,200. President Eyring was going to be speaking the next week, and Elder Bednar knew that if the students prepared themselves spiritually and showed up in their best Sunday best, President Eyring would speak by the power of the Holy Ghost those things that they needed to hear. But he knew most of the student body would be there, and only 250 heard the promises. So he challenged the students to tell 5 people, who would then tell 4, who would then tell 3, and so on. That way the word would get out. By the time the next devotional came around, he said there were about 6 students who didn't know what was going on and went home to change because everyone else was dressed so nice for devotional :) President Eyring asked, "What is this??" Elder Bednar told him, "This is for you! We are ready to receive revelation". 

Elder Bednar continued to talk about "the one". Go and get the one, who will get the one, who will get the one, etc. 

Doctrine and Covenants 18:15 tells us, 

"And if it so be that you should labor all your days in crying repentance unto this people, and bring, save it be one soul unto me, how great shall be your joy with him in the kingdom of my Father!" 

As Latter Day Saints it is our duty to reach out to the one. We promised we would when we were baptized, and how great are the blessings from doing so :) 

Sunday was really good. We had stake conference and I am just so spiritually filled! Heavenly Father is so good to me. We fasted as a mission on Sunday for strength and consecration for something big coming up on Tuesday, and it was the easiest, most peaceful fast I've ever had. My heart is full! I am so grateful for this gospel in my life and for the happiness that it brings me. Not a lot of teaching happened this week; a lot of lessons canceled, but we did all we could, and my personal prayers were answered every day. I see the lords hand in my every day life, especially the tender mercies, and my love for my father in heaven is gigantic :) everyone needs this gospel!! And that is why I am here :) Thanks for everything :)

Love you!!
Sister Kailey 

I literally made a paper chain to count down to Mother's Day :) I'm SO excited!! :)

My awkward, "I can't believe it's already May, is this real life??" Picture :)