Repentance & Pig Noses

HELLO!!! :)) 

Guess what?? 3 more days until Christmas!!! Just thought I'd help you count down :) 

Alright. Now let's get serious :)

Being a servant of the lord 24/7 for 3 months has really expanded my knowledge of the gospel. Duh, right? Even though I wear Jesus Christ's name on my shirt everywhere I go, I am human; I still have reason to repent. Whether it's because I'm lazy, unmotivated, don't follow a prompting, or seriously lack charity for an elder I serve around, I have reason to repent. 

I get to study on my own for an hour every morning, and this week I came across a talk from October 2013 conference by president Boyd k. Packer, The Key to Spiritual Protection. In it he mentioned a short story that I'd like to share :) He said,

"President Joseph F. Smith was five years old when his father, Hyrum, was killed in Carthage Jail. Later, Joseph crossed the plains with his widowed mother.At age 15 he was called on a mission to Hawaii. He felt lost and alone and said: “I was very much oppressed. … I felt as if I was so debased in my condition of poverty, lack of intelligence and knowledge, just a boy, that I hardly dared look [anyone] in the face.

While pondering his plight one night, young Joseph dreamed he was on a journey, rushing as fast as he possibly could. He carried with him a small bundle. Finally, he came to a wonderful mansion, which was his destination. As he approached, he saw a sign which read, “Bath.” He quickly went in and washed himself. He opened his little bundle and found clean white clothing--“a thing,” he said, “I had not seen for a long time.” He put them on and rushed to the door of the mansion.

“I knocked,” he said, “and the door opened, and the man who stood there was the Prophet Joseph Smith. He looked at me a little reprovingly, and the first words he said [were]: ‘Joseph, you are late.’ Yet I took confidence and said:

“‘Yes, but I am clean--I am clean!’"

This made me realize that it's never too late to repent. Better to do it right away, yes, but never too late. I had always known that, but I love that Joseph is confident and joyful because he knows he is clean! Never mind that it took him a little longer than others; he made it, didn't he? 

I am so thankful for a merciful, just, loving father in heaven who gives us a trillion second chances. Despite the disappointment and sorrow He may feel when we mess up, His arm is continuously outstretched and His love is ours to feel if we but come unto Him.

Something about the LDS faith that I love, is the knowledge we have that children, even babies, that die before the age of accountability are safe. In the Book of Mormon, Mosiah chapter 3 verse. 18 tells us, "... And the infant perisheth not that dies in his infancy; but men drink damnation to their own souls except they humble themselves and become as little children...".

One of my all time favorite scriptures is Mosiah 3:19 which says, 

"For the natural man is an enemy to God, and has been from the fall of Adam, and will be forever and ever, UNLESS he yields to the enticings of the Holy Spirit, and putteth off the natural man and becometh a saint through the atonement of Christ the Lord, and becometh as a child, submissive, meek, humble, patient, full of love, willing to submit to all things which the Lord seeth fit to inflict upon him, even as a child doth submit to his father". 

Repentance simply means change. If God is on the left and you're walking in the opposite direction, turn around. Put off the natural man and come unto your Heavenly Father. If it's not easy, you're doing it right :)

In other news....

This week wasn't all that exciting, although, sister Lewis and I did get matching pajamas. And we also had a little extra time left to ourselves after dinner one day, so we thought we would make pig noses and take pictures... The entertainment you find when you're a missionary... Hahah :) 

We helped a sister clean and organize her home again. That was sweet because she repeatedly expressed her appreciation and love for us :) we love to serve :) 

On Wednesday we learned that one of our investigators fell :( she is 85 years old, so sweet, and definitely very witty. We went to visit her at the hospital and it was fun talking with her. She went home the next day. BUT, while we were there everyone thought sister Lewis and I were sisters or twins!?! Yeah, what?? So weird. Every nurse that we passed or talked to asked us if we were sisters, or twins :) 

C has been struggling a lot because her mom will basically disown her if she gets baptized, but she knows this is what she needs to do, so it's a big emotional battle. She's decided to wait until January so R (her husband) can baptize her, which we think will be better because at this point there is too much stress and contention. She's super strong though, and we still meet with her, so it's just all in the Lords timing :)

Fun fact: Virginia has zero street lights. ZERO. Okay maybe like 2 per neighborhood, but seriously. It's so dark at night!! They really should invest in street lights for idk... Safety!? Sheesh. Also, u-turns are legal pretty much everywhere here, which is new to me because in Idaho they aren't :)

Questions? Comments? Concerns? Email me! Or shoot me a message on my Facebook account; Sister Kailey Chandler.

Did I mention that I LOVE being a missionary?! If anyone is even considering it, I highly recommend putting those papers in :) best decision of my life. 

Thanks for... Everything!! Have a merry Christmas!!! :))
Sister Chandler

Week 10: Paper chains, parties, and patience

Hello!! :) 

Wow I had such a good week!! I'll do my best to recap :) 

C has decided to be baptized on the 27th! So we made her a paper chain count down with scriptures and quotes written on them :) she is going through a lot of struggle right now and if you could keep her in your prayers, that would be so great! My sister got me hooked on the paper chain idea after I made one to count down to my mission, so sister Lewis and I made one for Christmas :) it's almost here!!!! :))

We taught the lesson on Sunday and it went so well! The spirit was really strong, and I learned a lot while preparing for it! My mom was blessed with the gift of teaching; she is such a good teacher, especially when it comes to the gospel. I am discovering my own love for teaching as I am out here :) the spirit has been so strong for me this week and I think it's because I am applying the following principles in my life: 

On a mission you are encouraged to set goals, and do all you can to accomplish them. Goals that are set for both personal reasons and as a companionship. During the Christmas party this week, we had a member of the 70 come speak, and stressed the blessings that come from doing ALL you can do and trusting God to do the rest. In high school I really stuck to this, and out here on a mission it brings that phrase to a whole other level! In the Book of Mormon, 2 Nephi 25:23 tells us that, "... We know that it is by grace that we are saved AFTER ALL WE CAN DO". 

Sister Lewis and I set a goal to talk to everyone we see. Everyone! So we do! We talk to the people behind us in line at the post office, or at target. We talk to the guy smoking on his porch, and the lady in the computer room in our complex.

We never know what will come of it, if anything at all, but we know that God will bless us with finding someone who wants to hear the gospel after we do ALL we can do; after we do our part.

This can apply in anything! Whether it's studying for a test, practicing your tail off for a basketball game, memorizing a speech, running 2.6 miles, etc. as long as you do your part the best you can, Heavenly Father WILL take care of the rest :) BUT you have to ask for help, and have faith that He will help you. I testify that he will :) 

There were a couple other phrases that were said that day that I want to share:

"God has all power over us, yet still lets us choose"

This is so special to me! I was blessed with parents that gave me guidelines, but still let me figure things out on my own. Our Heavenly Father is the same way! He gives us scriptures, prophets, prayer, and church leaders (as well as parents) to guide us throughout this earthly life, but still lets us choose the path we take, and lets us figure things out. 

"Fear and faith cannot dwell in the same heart" 

As a missionary, you can't have 100% faith that you're going to find someone while knocking doors if you're too scared to approach people and knock doors! 

"All the blessings of the Lord are yours if you call upon him, and you CAN call upon Him". 

Not everyone in the world has the same gifts. I wish I could sing like my sweet companion, but.. No such luck. Something I've always wanted to try was softball! But I'm sort of scared of the ball, and for some reason I can't seem to ever hit it with the bat, so that talent skipped me. We all wish we were more patient, or loving, or motivated, or this, or that, but guess what?? Something I've learned while being on my mission is that you can ask Heavenly Father for these gifts and you can receive them! Like mentioned before, you have to work at it and try your best, but God will always help you out :) This week I invite you to put your trust in God while making any decision! Test it out! You will find just how much you really can do with the Lords help :) 

On Tuesday we had the usual district meeting, but we practice-taught and focused on teaching with the power of the Holy Ghost. I had SUCH a good experience!! I taught boldly but with love, and it was to another missionary but it was SO effective! Loved it. 

Earlier this week when sister Lewis and I came back from the gym, it was so cold outside that the stairs to our apartment had a nice slippery sheet of ice covering them, but we didn't know that until we stepped on them and slipped into each other. I got a cute bruise on my ankle for a few days :P oh my! And sister Lewis is a beast! An elder in our district can break an apple perfectly in half with his hands, so she tried it and after about 5 minutes she did it! I was impressed :) 

Another thing that impressed me was the fact that I ran 2.6 miles one morning!! I haven't done that since college this summer, so I was feeling great!

And then I got a package from my mom full of fudge and my favorite Italian cookies EVER!!! So much for running :) haha I LOVED this package!! Thank you to everyone who wrote me a Christmas card!! That made my day, and the stocking!!? Where on earth did you find such an adorable stocking, mother?!? SO cute!! :) I hung up my garland and stocking above my bed. Our apartment is looking more and more like Christmas every week!! 

On Friday we had a mission Christmas party!! :) this was so fun! All 250 missionaries got together and had a talent show in the beginning. But it wasn't a cheesy talent show at all! The people in my mission are sooo talented!! Oh it was so much fun :) we had good food and goodies served to us, and a wonderful spiritual message. I'll share it later :) 

Every year president Riggs likes to make a "yearbook" for the mission so that people can find someone they were attracted to when they go home. President likes to play match maker, but tells you to lock your heart while you're here. He is funny, but the point to this is that you know how it's extremely rare for anyone to take a decent yearbook picture?? Ya. Same goes for this mission yearbook picture! Sister Lewis and I look like we just woke up... From the dead. hahaha good thing everyone else does too ;) 

I love being a missionary. I love my family and I am so grateful for the knowledge that I have that families can be sealed together for time and eternity. I know my savior lives, and I need Him EVERY. HOUR. of every day. 

I hope you have a fantastic week!! Merry Christmas!!! :) 

Sister Chandler 

Pictures: 

The first one is all the places that people that I've met/taught come from. 

The second is a picture with all those important people when they pushed the button at the temple to turn the lights on. (From left to right: mr. And mrs. Marriott- the guy who owns the hotels, yours truly ;), the member of the 70 that spoke, I don't have a clue who that girl is.. Maybe his wife?, ambassador of Bulgaria and her husband, then just people in my ward, including sister Lewis) 

And then the typical selfie for the week! 

Week 8: Turkeys, Snow, & Yarn

Happy (late) Thanksgiving. I had such a good week!

Last Monday we walked past a man who was sitting in his car with the window rolled down, so we said hi and asked how he was doing. We started talking, and then he asked if we had a card! He said we'd be hearing from him after Thanksgiving week so cross your fingers that that means this week! :) 

Later that night we taught a family home evening lesson with a family of 8 kids. We taught being thankful during trials and based it off of the story when Nephi's older brothers tie him to the boat. He was tied up for 4 days straight, and when they let him go his wrists and ankles were swollen! BUT Nephi is such a good example. He didn't complain or murmur even a little bit the entire time; he just thanked God for his blessings and praised Him all the day long. Anyway, while teaching this, we had the kids act it out and it was so fun :)

When serving a mission in the states, it's easy to get fat :( so you really have to watch how much you eat, and how much you exercise. I kept limiting myself to running a mile every morning, but Sister Lewis had the brilliant idea of using my jacket to cover up the numbers on the treadmill so that I couldn't see how far I'd gone. I did just that and had to stop because it was time to go home, so when I took my jacket off of the numbers, I found that I easily ran over a mile and a half- almost 2 miles! So now that's how I run :) We can apply this to a lot of things in life; limiting ourselves. We can all reach so much further if we stop putting limits on the things we do! This includes missionary work.

I had a proud moment in District meeting on Tuesday. In elementary school I would always win when we played limbo in music class, and this week we did an object lesson for district meeting. We split the zone up in districts and needed one person per task to perform. I chose the limbo (which represented reaching/stretching/growing) and am happy to report that I kicked butt :)

Wednesday was fun! We helped a sister organize her house after she moved in, and then IT SNOWED!!! My FIRST snow away from home and it was.... pathetic. It was wet and only stuck to the grass, which we counted as a blessing because when it snows here people just stop their cars, get out, and walk. (that's what we hear anyway) But I love snow! It was gone the next day, and today it's like 73 degrees. Oh well.

Thursday was Thanksgiving! Funny story. As missionaries, we have to be awake by 6:30. Sister Lewis naturally woke up around 6:05 and thought to herself, "Heavenly Father. I am not feelin' it today. Im going to need some help waking up this morning". Then the next thing she knows, I'm shooting up out of bed saying, "Sister Lewis! We forgot to set an alarm!!" Luckily it was only 6:45, but still. Her response after processing what was happening, "Whoops! Happy Thanksgiving!" hahah then we sat there and laughed for a good 3 minutes before we got up. After studies we went to a members home and made pies, as well as veggie trays that looked like turkeys! That was so fun! :) 

For dinner we went to an investigators home. We talked about the plan of salvation (because it just came up in conversation) and ate a wonderful dinner with them! It was so great :) EXCEPT!! NO rolls!! WHAT?! Ya. Lame. Thanksgiving is not Thanksgiving for me without rolls. I thought of Grandpa and how he would be just as devastated as I was. But don't worry, we had another dinner right after that with a member family and they had rolls :) We also shared a message with both families... As always :) We also took some dinner over to an older lady. She's sweet :) It was such a great Thanksgiving! I hope yours was just as good :)

Sister Lewis and I were dropped a couple weeks ago by an investigator, but we thought it would be nice to make him cookies for the Holiday, so we texted him and asked if we could bring them by. It was snowing that day, so he replied with, "You don't need to bring me a plate of cookies in this weather. How about I get them from you at church on Sunday?" ..... um.... YES!? So he came! Along with 4 investigators and 1 less active! Sister Lewis and I were shocked! There were also a few members who happened to bring non member friends to church on the same day so we were so busy! It was such a good day!!

Sister Lewis also taught me how to crochet, so I totally made an infinity scarf and now I'm slightly addicted. I feel like an old lady in my spare time but its fine ;)

Random fun fact: Every so often I will have a dream where I come home for the weekend and see my family or friends, and then go back out on my mission? haha

Happy Holidays!! :))) This is my favorite time of year!! God is good and I love Christmas :)

Sister Chandler

Week 7: Everyone can be a missionary. Be Bold!

It feels like I've been out here for 6 months, but at the same time 2 months flew by!! :)

On Monday we taught a family home evening lesson with a member who's house is MASSIVE. Their home has 8 living rooms and about 3-4 kitchens. So many tv's and dear goodness it's so big! The owner is a convert and is a rockstar member missionary! She invited one of her friends (who isn't of our faith) over to hear the lesson! We taught the plan of salvation, and when we were wrapping up towards the end, I asked if she would be interested in hearing more about the gospel of Jesus Christ. My companion looked at me like, "what are you doing?!" Because later I found out that sister Lewis wasn't planning on that, so she thought I was crazy, butthe woman said, "yeah, I'd like that :)".

Tuesday night we had a lesson with L and J who are very logical and scientific. They struggle with faith, and tend to go off on different subjects during the lesson, but they're way sweet! We decided to have a lesson with them in a member's home, where the husband is also scientific and logical. That was a big help, and the spirit was way strong! :)

We had our last district meeting before transfers (sister Lewis stayed) so we took pictures with our district.

On Saturday we moved a sister into her new home! That meant PANTS ALL DAY!!! So great :)

They had stake conference over here this weekend, and Saturday night

was AMAZING! They talked so much about missionary work, and how

everyone can do it. Whether you are wearing a name tag or not, it is

your duty to share the restored gospel of Jesus Christ. It was sweet

though because it was interactive. We got to send a scripture that we

liked (with our thoughts about it) to a certain number or email and

they would appear on the projector so everyone could read them. The

stake president would ask a question and people would be given a

microphone to answer when they raised their hand.

One young woman who is a junior in high school gave a talk and said

that she wrote her testimony in a Book of Mormon and slipped it in her

best friends bag at school one day. She didn't even have to talk to

her friend, and she still did her part in sharing the gospel. EVERYONE

CAN DO IT :)

I am a bold missionary. I do not fear in asking people to read the

Book of Mormon, or pray, or if they're religious or not. I do not

hesitate to share my testimony of Jesus Christ because the restored

gospel is not anything to be ashamed of! We have something precious

and good as members of the church; we mustn't be shy or hesitant to

share it! We are asked to be bold, but loving, because bold without

love doesn't work. I love my savior, Jesus Christ. I know that the

church he established when he was on the earth is yet again restored

to the earth in its fullness because of Joseph Smith. That same power

that Christ used to perform miracles is once again on the earth, and

we DO have a living prophet on the earth TODAY who receives direct

revelation from God to lead His children on the earth in these modern

times. I know this because I have prayed about it, and I invite you to

do the same, to know for yourself. This isn't the Church of Joseph

Smith, or the Church of Thomas S. Monson (the prophet today). This is

The Church Of Jesus Christ of Latter Day Saints, because Christ is the

head of our church.

THANKSGIVING plans: 

1. We are making pies with one of our favorite members in

the morning, and eating dinner with a member family at 4, but didn't

really know what to do with the rest of the night.

2. Sometimes you have days where you really don't want to be a missionary

anymore. I've had my fair share of those days, and one day this week

sister Lewis wasn't feeling it. Luckily I was though! I knew we needed

to find someone to talk to that night but didn't know who. We pulled

into the church parking lot, said a prayer, and looked through the

names of potentials/investigators/members. I came across Joe, the boy

we went to visit when I first got in the field and his dad wasn't very

happy at first. Though it's a 30 minute drive, it felt good. So we

went. He wasn't home but we talked to his parents on the doorstep,

just catching up. The dad then asked what we were doing for

thanksgiving! He asked if we got to spend it with our families... No

:( so they invited us to eat with them! That's why we felt the need to

drive all the way out there that night :) Heavenly Father knows best,

and the spirit never leads us astray as long as we listen :)

I am so thankful to be a missionary :)

Fun fact: my sweet companion has a bad habit. Whenever she opens anything (chips, the bread bag, a cupboard, a jar, etc.), she NEVER closes it or puts it away. It doesn't bother me, surprisingly, but I like to point it out to her every time so that one day she will change this habit :) anyway, this morning I left out the syrup because we made pancakes for breakfast, and she thought it would be funny to say something to me about it :) so she did and on her way to put it where it goes, she smacked it against the cupboard door (that she left open)and put a big hole in the bottom of the syrup, and then sat there in shock as it gushed out onto the floor! Good thing we are both pretty laid back people, so we just cracked up laughing. And THEN after she throws it away, so gets a plastic spoon to scoop it up hahah :)I took pictures of the moment for the memory :) we have great fun ;)

Thanks for the updates! I love emails and letters! 

Love,

Sister Chandler :)

Ps. Christmas lights are my FAVORITE and they are already being out up

on trees, so this made me happy :)