Happy Easter! 3.27.2013

Hello!

#1: Surprise change with the email rule. We can email everyone, which is pretty awesome. 

#2: I love you... That should probably be #1, right? :)

We've had an awesome week, although it was a hard one. I feel like that's usually how the weeks are in the mission. :) 

Wednesday night, we went and ate dinner with the Morgans and Melissa (AKA: Sister Sanders). It was wonderful! Just had a nice visit, caught up, and shared stories again. It was really great. 

Thursday we worked so hard and had planned to meet with six or seven people, and no one was home. That was rough. Friday, we had a zone activity to help all the new missionaries. The majority of the missionaries in our zone have been here for about a month or two. We went through the ward list to make sure that every name had a set of missionaries. It was good, but it took all day. 

A big chunk of our area was given to the Sisters, so that they could have more Spanish people to work with. It was necessary, but it was hard. We had three investigators in that area, and a few less-actives that were coming back. We really took a hit, but it helps us to focus on the area that we should focus on. The Lord is preparing people! :)

The most exciting news that we have is that A**** has accepted a baptismal date! He is getting baptized on April 13th. This man is incredible, and is thrilled to be getting baptized. Last night as we extended this date, and asked him to end our lesson with a prayer, He thanked the Lord for this chance to change his life and be happier and better. 

I love this gospel! It is so wonderful! I love you too!

Happy Easter! This Easter we are going to be joining the ward choir and singing " I know that my Redeemer Lives." So, exciting. :)

Love ya!

Hermana Kin

3/20/2013 Pop Rocks and Primary

So, with the email policy, it has changed. But in a different way. President has asked us to limit our time on the computer, so he has asked that we don't email siblings either. Only our parents... It's a hard sacrifice, but I know that I can do it. That just will motivate me to write more letters than anything.

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We are still taking a lot of pictures. It's hard to send them over library computers, and that has been the issue more than anything. Sorry about that. I've tried several times to send them over email. :(

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S*** is doing great. She came to church on Sunday, and felt the Spirit really strong. She is really progressing and making changes in her life. Her husband refused to meet with us when we went over, he just sat in the other room. We just continue to hope and prayer. We taught S*** about fasting, and read Alma 6:6 with her. It was a beautiful lesson. We all fasted together and then she was able to find the strength to come to church.

Also, A***** came too! He went missing for a week, but is back. He is amazing. We've seen him offer his first prayer. The Spirit is working in him and he has the desire to be baptized. We gave him the date of April 6th, and he is really studying it out right now. I know that he could be ready.

O****** is an 11 year old that we are teaching. Her mom is less-active, but has come to church 3 times! While we were over at her house, she begged her mom that she could be baptized. She asked her mom "In April, mom?" She is really looking forward to it. Our next lesson for her is baptism. We are so excited.

We continue to work with less active members. This week, we are expecting to have three re-activated members. The growth of this ward is obvious. And I love that. It truly has grown so much. We are teaching lessons more than ever, seeing more people attending and participating in the sacrament. It's wonderful!

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On Sunday, before Relief Society, we went to check on S***'s kids in Primary. And we saw 25 kids in one classroom, with one teacher. That is how much growth we have seen. So Sister Cole and I stayed in primary and helped teach those kids (they were naughty). It's an interesting class, because the children prefer English, but the lessons must be taught in Spanish.

Anyway, we are planning on assisting the primary every week and helping the teachers develop their classes so that the children can learn, even if there is a slight language barrier. Any ideas would be awesome!

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Also... is there anyway you could send some PopRocks? HAha, weird right? You can't buy them here, and J***** is a youth in the ward that absolutely loves them.

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We had an amazing meal the other night. It was like Navajo Tacos, but instead of tortilla chips... plantain chips. It was amazing. plaintains, hamburger, cilantro, green pepper, tomatoes, cheese....hmmm, lovely.

We also tried some bread from Ecuador. It had Guava baked into it. It was so delicious!

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I forgot to tell you.... keep your eye on the church news in between conference sessions. :) Sister Cole and I had a unique opportunity to stand as "models" for a short clip that they may use. Two conferences in a row!! :) They may not even use it, but it's just two missionaries teaching a lesson in the crazy streets of New York.

We are also going to go eat with President tonight. Sister Sanders is coming back to visit, so we got invited to have a nice dinner with her and the Morgan family tonight. So cool! :)

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Love you family.

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Hermana Kin

03/13/13, The field is white...

As of now, we have a baptismal date for S.... April 13th. She is amazing, but is facing the most opposition any investigator of mine has faced. Her husband is very Catholic and is threatening to leave her if she is baptized. She wants to be baptized though. We are meeting with her husband on Saturday and are hoping that the Spirit will speak to him and soften his heart. We talked to S... about how all things are possible with God, and God can soften his heart. As we give him the opportunity to feel the Spirit, I know it is possible. 

R... and his dad are planning on being baptized on May 25th, when their family will be coming to visit. We are excited for them. 

A.... is still coming to church and looking forward to baptism, but hasn't chosen a day yet. He wants to know everything first. We haven't seen him for a week. He had a surgery last week, and he hasn't returned our phone calls. We are hoping he is safe and healthy. 

We are working with five children. Two from the R...s family, and two from the C... family, and one from the C... family that are looking forward to baptism. Also the parents and older siblings from these families are remembering the covenants that they have made and attending church over again. We are so excited for the changes happening in the ward!

We received a new bishop this Sunday. Bishop Navarro and his family moved to Manhattan. Bishop Dixon was called on Sunday. He will do a great job. We are very excited.... We need to make cookies for that family. :)

Sister Cole is amazing. She is so prepared and willing to work. This last week, we taught more lessons than I have ever taught in one week. It was wonderful! President has asked that the new missionary does 75% of the work... I would guess that most missionaries are doing between 10-20%. Sister Cole is already doing about 45%-50%, and that number will just keep growing as she adjusts to missionary life and speaking Spanish. I'm really impressed with her. 

Family, I love you. Keep going forward. :) Happy St. Patrick's Day!

Love, 

Hermana Kin

Miracles in Olmstead...March 6, 2013

I'm in Olmstead still! And I'm training Hermana Cole from Meridan, Idaho. Sister Valdez went to Harlem. I'm going to miss her. When Hermana Cole walked into the chapel this morning at transfers, Sister Portugal, Sister Valdez, and I all felt that I would be training her. Out of about 8 sisters. She's adorable. I'm thrilled. 

We received 40 new missionaries today. As of now, we have 209 missionaries serving in NYNYN mission. 

This last week was wonderful. We extended five baptismal dates, and three were accepted. The other two are praying and working and bullding their testimonies, but the desire is there. 

We've seen miracles in Olmstead. Miracles that you cannot deny. Families coming back to church, the gospel changing lives and opening up new pathways. Wow. I'm so grateful for the time that I have here in Olmstead.

Thank you for the Music package. It's great! I love it. And for that cute skirt. Bien Hecho Mami!

When is Easter? It's coming up soon, right? That will be an exciting Sunday. Sister Cole is a singer! I think we will sing "I know that my Redeemer lives" at the end of this month. My first time singing in the ward. 

Let me tell you one special story that happened this week. R***** is a member. She has a friend named L***.         R***** told us about her and how she has met with missionaries before. So when we found the opportunity to serve L***, we set up a return appointment. L*** told R***** that she only set up the appointment out of obligation. She wasn't really interested. We know that we had that one appointment to prove the importance of our message. We did a lesson on the "How to Begin Teaching" Points mentioned in Preach My Gospel. Just mentioning those points, and having a sincere desire to help, L***  willingly set up a return appointment. We were able to share the restoration with her and teach her how to prayer. Her prayer was sincere and heartfelt. It was glorious. 

The gospel of Jesus Christ changes lives, and it's here free to those who are willing to accept it. We know the path, we have the steps. There is more peace available. There is the ability to be closer to God. There is hope. There is power. There is a way. The way is the gospel of Jesus Christ. 

Love you very much, my beautiful family. 

Cuidanse mucho.

Hermana Kin