Answers to Prayer-- July 25, 2012

It's good to hear from you, as always. I got your letter. Thanks so much! You should be getting a postcard from me soon. I'm glad that Dad's trip went well. I hope he will send some pictures! I'd love to see those beautiful mountains. I hope Nikki comes back sun burnt, exhausted, and happy. 

Sister Sanders love peanut butter and chocolate. She likes pineapple and coconut too. Although she is trying to lose weight right now. Maybe some water guns? One for me and one for her... so I can protect myself. :) She'll be thrilled to get anything. It's been great to work with her. I'm going to miss her a lot. She's taught me a lot. I'm going to ask each companion for a scripture of advice/encouragement throughout my mission. Sister Sanders chose 2 Nephi 33: 3-4. 

 3 But I, Nephi, have written what I have written, and I esteem it as of great ^aworth, and especially unto my people. For I ^bpraycontinually for them by day, and mine ^ceyes water my pillow by night, because of them; and I cry unto my God in faith, and I know that he will hear my cry.

 4 And I know that the Lord God will consecrate my prayers for the gain of my people. And the words which I have written in weakness will be made strong unto them; for it ^apersuadeth them to do good; it maketh known unto them of their fathers; and it speaketh of Jesus, and persuadeth them to believe in him, and to endure to the end, which is life ^beternal.

She's really lived that scripture too. I've seen how much she loves the people we teach and work with. She truly is amazing!

Today for P-day, I'm on a split with Sister Pipes. Sister Ortega and Sanders are going to try and see a Broadway play. We are just hanging out in the Bronx. We played board games with the elders from the Kingsbridge Zone, we're going to go to a museum later on, and maybe do a little bit of shopping or something.

What a cool story about Zach! What a good kid! I'm excited to hear all his stories. Basic sounds rough! But I know he can do it... He's a tough kid. 

We had a good week over here! We had a service project on Saturday. Mormon Helping Hands (Is that what it's called in English?). We went to a park and painted and weeded. We aren't just talking little weeding... Trees. We took out a bunch of trees. Well, we didn't. Sister Sanders and I ended up with the best job of all. We were in charge of check in and food. Some elders got poison ivy and almost all had blisters and scratches... I sat in the shade. Although I did get my hands dirty for a little bit. 

We had three investigators at church! It was a memorable Sunday. Sister Sanders spoke about remembering covenants. Beautiful, beautiful talk that she gave in a different language. Her Spanish skills never cease to amaze me. Elder Dilling and Elder Irizarry spoke as well. The pianist didn't show up. So my first time playing the piano for sacrament meeting was done in Spanish and with 3 minutes warning. Needless to say, it wasn't my best. I messed up like crazy! We changed the hymns on the spot, but we made it work. 

A*** and his mom, N****, were some of our investigators at church on Sunday. A*** has been having a hard time making friends. He's only been in this country for one month. But on Sunday, a miracle happened. R***** is a friend of his from the ward in the Dominican Republic. R***** just moved here too, and he is in our ward! Not only that... But N**** knows R*****'s mom, Ru**. Ru**was in the DR with N**** when her daughter passed away. They have been friends for years. They both cried as they were reunited. N**** knows that this was no coincidence. What's amazing to me, is that God knew when he first brought N**** and Ru** together, that years later they would have this encounter. And that it would be an answer to prayers for several people. Amazing, right?

I taught district meeting on Monday. It was about the Atonement. Preach My Gospel says:

As your understanding of the Atonement of Jesus Christ grows, your desire to share

the gospel will increase. (2)

I decided to take this as a challenge. I've been studying the Atonement for the last few days and really applying what I've learned. There has been a huge change! I definitely have felt the Spirit more. My desire has increased, and I have felt happier. I'm finally understanding how God's will is the best option. He knows what I don't. It's hard to submit to His will, but as I have made more of an effort to do so, I have felt myself becoming that missionary that I want to be. 

Above all of this... We have another baptismal date for August 11. I know that our investigator is ready for this step. They have been ready for years. Now they are finally going to do it! August 11th is Sister Sanders last Saturday in the mission. We are excited!

I love you. I'm glad you are doing well. Thanks for your support and your prayers. They've been making a difference here. You're wonderful!

Love, 

La Hermana Kindlespire

Hermana Tranquila - July 18, 2012

We have had a lot of success this last week. We have never worked so hard...We were teaching lessons on the streets all week long, and everyone we would share the gospel with would be from the Bronx or New Jersey or simply out of our area. But we kept going. I know that we reap what we sow... We didn't have to wait too long to see that that is true. We received four referrals last week... That is unheard of! Four referrals?? And from those referrals and our efforts, we now have three new investigators. A*** is 15, and he met with the missionaries in the Dominican Republic. His mom, N****, is really open to our message and is looking for the true church. And M***** is great as well. We still need to meet with her and get to know her more, but I was really impressed with her from the beginning. 

Other than missionary work, I don't have too much to report. I ate chicharron. I think it's pork, but it has layers of fried bread, meat, and fat. It was disgusting. Don't make it, Daddy. I gagged... I had to eat six of them. I had to say a desperate prayer to swallow them. 

English class is going well, we have students every class and they are hard workers. I am really impressed. English is a very hard language to learn. 

Sister Sanders got her haircut by a Domincian, which is a scary thing to do, but Angela Familia did a wonderful job. Her hair looks beautiful!

Sister Sanders birthday is August 1st if you want to send her anything. :) She is an amazing companion. I  rely on her so much, and she is always there to help me. I make mistakes like crazy. I'm really really good at making mistakes. :) But she is super patient and very loving. She's always hilarious and crazy. 

Zeny Familia calls her Hermana Loca or La Loca. I'm Hermana Tranquila or "Mi Amiga Tranquila." 

OK. Well, that's all for now. I love you very much.  Love you oodles and oodles. 

Con Amor, 

La Hermana Tranquila. 

Oh Say Can You See the Statue Of Liberty? July 11, 2012

Let me tell you about my week:
For the fourth of July we had Pday until 6, and then we had to be in at 8. On our way home, we decided that it was time to run through the fire hydrants.  We made a fort too. We moved our mattresses out into the living room and made a sweet fort. We took down the fort the next day, but we've slept in the living room for almost a week now. There isn't any air-conditioning in the bedroom, and it's far too hot at night to not have air-conditioning.
On Thursday, we had a dinner appointment with a member of the ward, M****. But when we went over to her house at six, she had forgotten about us. (Sad!) She is an event planner, and she had an event that weekend. She asked us to help her. She needed us to eat half a watermelon so that she could use the green part as decoration. Well, Sister Sanders is not a picky eater. There is one thing that she just cannot eat. And that's watermelon. So I ate half a watermelon by myself. I love watermelon, but that is a lot!
I went on a split with Sister Lee this weekend. She is from Taiwan and she is learning English. We had a good time. I taught her words like "Sassy" and "Vamanos". Poor girl, sat through 3 Spanish appointments. It was good language practice for me though.
That night we had a Honduran meal, bean and egg tacos. I'm not a picky person, but there is one thing that I struggle with... Eggs. It was rough, but I did it!

On Monday, we went to the church to take a break from the sun. We saw M**** and R**** in the kitchen. We went in and found a trash can full of moldy plates! There was a quincenera in the middle of June, and they had put the plates in the custodial closet. They had been there for almost a month, unwashed! So, we washed dishes on Monday. Lots and lots of moldy dishes. It was nasty, but R**** went an bought ice cream for us afterwards.
Today.... what a day! Since Hermana Sanders is leaving at the end of this cycle, she can pretty much go anywhere she wants on the Island. And since she is the only sister leaving, I get to go with her! It's really rare for a missionary to get to do the things that I have got to do. Today, was one of those days.

We went to Battery Park, saw the Statue of Liberty, ate gyros, saw the Atlantic Ocean for the first time. It was really quite a treat! I loved today. It was an amazing, relaxing day. :)

Well, I love you. It's been a really fun week. Sister Sanders and I only have a few more together. We are really working hard. We've had a hard time finding investigators. The last few days we met five or six potential investigators who all live outside of our area. But I know that we reap what we sow. We are sowing, so it's just a matter of time until we are reaping. I love this gospel. It is true. Jesus Christ lives and He is leading our prophet Thomas S. Monson. Love you,


Hermana Kindlespire

PICTURES!
kin004 - the dishes
kin001- the statue of liberty
kin002- me pinching the statue of liberty
kin003- me being a tourist

Baptism! -- July 4, 2012

Maria was baptized on Saturday! You will probably hear about a ton of Marias. It's an extremely popular name. Maria was President Morgan's first baptism (and mine too) so he and his wife came on Saturday. We were the first missionaries that they met, besides the APs. It was wonderful! I love them so much. They are so kind and loving and personable. I collected a few hugs from Sister Morgan. She is my Mission Mom for sure. All the missionaries just want to be next to her all the time. She's very popular. Three of their sons are here. They all spoke, and they seem like a great family. They just love each other, and being together.

Maria's baptism was beautiful. Her friend Carmen that brought her to church was able to make it. We were thrilled, because we didn't think she was going to be able to come. It was a miracle to see her there. We had her say the closing prayer. Her husband, Rafael baptized Maria. And we had a few speakers. Sister Sanders and I played "I Stand All Amazed" with our piano and flute skills, and it went really well. :)

So, on my chart I've just made guesses as to where I'll be in a few cycles. But my guesses change all the time. It's weird not knowing where you are going to be in six weeks. And life is very unpredictable.

Today for P-day, we are having a zone party. Playing volleyball and eating hot dogs. Someone is bringing KFC (just like fourth of july at home!). We have to be in at 8 tonight. We are going to build a fort and have a fun party tonight!

So, Inwood. The streets are very noisy. The cars passing have loud music, and the cars parked have the doors open and loud music. We saw a guy practicing the saxophone in his car a few weeks ago. There is always music. There are tons of vendors selling shoes, watches, and jewelry. People are always on the streets, because their apartments are so hot. We tract and contact a lot. We've had more success with tracting. That's how we found Ceri and Maria.

Near our apartment? There is a 99cent store on the corner, a cafe, a Dominican restaurant, and a Dominos on the same block. But within the next block we have Chinese food, 2 grocery stores, a Rite-Aid... Everything we need is within walking distance.

We talk about how we think our families would be shocked to see what we see everyday, but it has become so normal for us.

So, I was wondering if you could possibly send me some more piano music, especially just piano solos. I was asked to play a piano solo for zone conference, but I wasn't able to because I don't have any regular piano sheet music. Sally Deford has a lot of wonderful arrangements. That would be great!

Well, I love you. Always know that I love you. You are wonderful! I've got to go... we are eating hot dogs now. :)


Hermana Kindlespire