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

"Call me Maybe?"-- 6/26/2012

We've had a really busy week. We had Pday a day early so that we could all meet with President one last time for his final transfer. There were no changes in our district, and only a few in our zone. Sister Asregadoo is going to Kingsbridge with Sister Johnson. And Sister Lotuleilei is headed to Olmstead with Sister T.

Sister Sanders and I will be here until August 15th, and then she will be on her way home! :( I'm "killing her", as they say. But we are going to make it an amazing last transfer together!

We contacted, contacted, and contacted this weekend. It's my goal to just get really comfortable with contacting. Have you heard that new song by Carly Rae something? I never remember her last name. The chorus goes like this: "Hey, I just met you. And this is crazy, but here's my number. So call me maybe." It's all the rage out here, probably over there too. But that's what we do as missionaries. Ask random people that we just met to give us a call. Yeah... it's a little uncomfortable, but I know with time I will get good at it. And again... doing it in Spanish. That makes it tricky too. But I prefer it in Spanish more than in English. Weird, right?

M*** R**** has finally committed to a baptismal date! And what date is it? June 30th... That's right! She's getting baptized in four days! We are thrilled. She has been investigating for 10 months, and coming to church every Sunday. We are so happy that she has finally made the decision to take this leap of faith and join the church!

A quick experience we had this week. We were teaching a new investigator named A**. We were talking about Truth. A** asked us, "What is the truth?". I began thinking of big complicated answers, like "The Doctrines that Christ taught while he was here are the truth." "The revelation that we receive from the Holy Ghost is the truth." Sister Sanders, in her 17 months of missionary experience (She's such a pro) said, "I know that the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-Day Saint is true." It was amazing to me how simple her reply was. So simple! What a beautiful testimony she has. I'm grateful for her and what I have learned from her so far.

Love you all! Have a great Tuesday!

Love,

Hermana Kindlespire

Happy Birthday Hermana Kindlespire 6/20/2012

We had a pretty slow week last week. Hna Sanders caught a really bad cold that knocked her out for three days. And yet, somehow we were able to reach our goals. But, I spent a lot of time inside drawing and sleeping and decorating stuff, and reading El Libro de Mormon a lot.

Last Pday we walked the entire length of Central Park.... That's a lot of walking! We stopped and bought waffles and dinges. My waffle was delicious! Nutella, walnuts, bananas, and fudge. 
We had dinner with a Peruvian brother. He made lomo saltado. I highly recommend it. Just make it with a side of rice. Super yummy!
Our investigator, M****, has started feeding us everytime we are over at her place, which is usually three times a week. This past week, she fed us rice and shrimp, mongu, and she made habichuela con dulce for my birthday.

Speaking of my birthday! We had a great time! Sister Sanders decorated my desk with a banner and confetti. So sweet! We had zone  conference at the temple. It was our last meeting with President Smith. I got your amazing package! We went to coldstone after the meeting. We invited all the young women to the church to have pazookies with us. It was a very fun time!

Today we are heading to the Yankees/Braves game! Honestly, I'm only going for the nachos. But we are sure to have a fun time!

I love you all! Thanks for your love and support! This church is true. It just makes sense.... Being a missionary is hard work, but it's a wonderful thing to be!

Love,

Hermana Kindlespire

Pictures this week:
*C*** and I celebrating my Birthday
*Hna Sanders and I in Central Park
*Waffle & Dinges!
*People at the Birthday Party
*Pazookies
*Yankee Stadium

6/13/2012

We had a great week. It went by so fast!

We found 3 new investigators last week.... A little family. We are excited to continue to teach them. They've had a lot of experience with missionaries, but they've always made a connection with the missionaries, and never with the gospel. So that's my focus this next week.
Hna Sanders and I started a Quote Board... It is hilarious! I'm going to send an email sometime with just quotes. We have crazy experiences everyday.
We helped out some English Sisters with a booth that they set up. I went tracting down on 49th Street, on the East Side... It's a different world over there. It was Sister Lee, Sister Lavaki, and I. While we were tracting, we ran into someone that only speaks Spanish. Sister Lee and Lavaki are English sisters. I took over and contacted her in Spanish, by myself! And it went really well! It was my first time all on my own. It was good to know that I can do this!
That night, I taught an indexing class... most of it in Spanish. It was difficult, but it was a lot of fun! I could index for hours!
We played our musical number on Sunday. We hoped to have all of our investigators come, but only 2 were able to make it. But, that's 2. The number went great. My first time playing the piano in sacrament meeting! We ate dinner with The Wheelwrights again. Homemade scones that would make you drool! They were delicious!
We've been teaching a lot... and invited M**** to pray about baptism. This is a big deal! She has been nervous about baptism since we started teaching her. But she took the invitation about I'm sure she has been praying. This woman is incredible. She is the mother of C***. She reads the Book of Mormon everyday, and loves attending church.

I had a good experience with language study this week! So, I'll read el libro de mormon and when I don't recognize a word, I'll look it up in the book of mormon and write it in my spanish copy. I was reading 2 Nephi 26:22, and had to look up the word for flax, thinking... "Why would I ever need to know this word?". That night, M**** went shopping and was unpacking her groceries and she had bought "lino".... "flax". What is the chance? It was really awesome to know that I learned that word in the Book of Mormon!
The Book of Mormon teaches us things about God and teaches us things about... flax. Temporal things. You will never run out of things to learn in the Book of Mormon. That Book is not just another book. It's answers.

I love you so much! Thanks for the Birthday Wishes! I'm excited to celebrate here in New York. Thanks for the package! It should get it the day before :)

I love you!

Love,

Hna Kindlespire

Stuck in an Elevator -- 6/6/12

We are excited for our plans this week. Before English Class on Friday, we are going to teach an Indexing class! I love indexing, and I'm excited to help out. I hope that I can explain it in Spanish... and that the program hasn't changed too much since the last time that I indexed. Our invesitgator, C***, is living the Word of Wisdom (WAHOO!). We are thrilled!
So on Sunday, our dinner appointment cancelled. So the elders and us decided that we would make our own dinner. We gathered everything that we could and ate it.... Our dinner consisted of hot dogs, walnuts, mashed potatoes, tater tots, cheeseburgers, chilli, pasta, and brownies. Yeah... It took us a while to recover from that meal. It was a lot of fun though!

Yesterday was zone conference. It was awesome! We learned so much, and ate such good food! But the craziest part of the day was right before zone conference started. 12 people piled in the elevator, which should have been able to hold 20 people. But we didn't even make it down one floor before the elevator got stuck. We were stuck for about 15 minutes, before we were able to pry open the doors and get out. It was quite the experience... 10 elders.... 2 sisters in one elevator is far too many. Hna Sanders and I haven't been back in an elevator yet. Give us a few days. :)

That's about all that's happened this week. And throughout all this, we continue to teach and work hard. We find lots of people and we do most of that in Spanish. It's great!

I love you! Hope you have a good week!

Love,

Hermana Kindlespire

-dinner on Sunday
-trying to break through the elevator