Miracles!

Dearest Family,

It has been a good and crazy week. CRAZY!

So last Thursday was transfer day. We weren't transferred, but I still had to do a lot personally to prepare the center for it. Little scheduling details to get everyone where they needed to go. It was a bit stressful, but it all worked out.

Then last Friday we gave a Friday morning training on women in the scriptures. We talked about 8 women from the scriptures and their gifts and had the sisters pick which they most related to, and talked about how they saw some of those qualities in the other sisters. It went well. The goal was to have the sisters think about their own gifts and what they have to offer in the center. They said I was most like Mother Eve. haha, maybe because I am the mom of the center (the old sister that runs the place. Or something). It was good, if a bit thrown together because of everything else going on in a matter of a few days.

So I mentioned to you last week that President Keyes closed a VC area so we are down to 14 sisters in the center. Well, Sister Hansen and I came up with a solution we thought would work. On Friday we sat down to actually make the schedule and see if it would work in action. We worked on that schedule for FIVE HOURS. It fried my brain. It was slow progress. Part of the problem is that we try to make everything fair so everyone has the same number of mornings and evenings in the center. It is a lot tricker when you are working with a prime number of sisters=7companionships. Pretty soon I was pulling out my problem solving skills I had learned in Linear Algebra and Differential Equations. I am not even kidding. It wasn't a problem I would have ever seen in that class, but we were trying to come up with a formula that would be the best fit to the fairness graph using a matrix. Wrap your brain around that. Add that to Sister Hansen's background in accounting--her skills on Excell and her drive for perfection--and we were a dynamic duo. I know that the Lord put us there together for this time at the center. No other sisters had the background for that kind of problem solving, and no one else would have the drive to do it. Anyone else would have given up and written in random names with no care for fairness. But fairness is important because it affects 7 proselyting areas. We want to optimize the production of every area involved. Anyway, there is your nerd out moment for the day.

And we didn't really get anywhere on the actual schedule on Friday. We did get the formula worked out (kind of), but nothing else.

Then on Saturday, the Independence Stake asked Sister Hansen and I to do a class on missionary work at the Stake Young Women's Conference. They had a series of classes they went to, and ours was one of them. In light of the fact that we had been working on transfers, doing exchanges, preparing for our Friday Morning Training, and working on the schedule, we hadn't had a ton of time to work on what we would say. But the Lord took what we had, and he magnified it. It was a miracle. We were able to have a good time and a good experience. We asked how many of them were planning on serving missions and it was well over half. Crazy times!

Then we got back and had 3 hours to finish the schedule and a long list of to-do's. I told Sister Hansen it would take a miracle to get the schedule done in 3 hours. We knelt and prayed and asked for a miracle, and we got it done in 45 minutes. Wow. God expands our time and quickens our minds sometimes. It was a miracle.

Also, I can't even tell you about all of the other miracles that have happened recently. Over the last 4 days we have found 6 new investigators, which is more than I have ever found (I'm sure Willie has, but we are working on 3 hours a day here). One of them is a couple named Steve and Danielle. Our map is bad so it took us forever to find our way there, but it was meant to be. We brought Alaina with us--a 18 year old that joined the church a month ago. She is planning on going on a mission in a year. She is amazing. She knew Danielle, and we were able to teach an awesome short lesson on prayer and got Steve to kneel and pray for the first time ever. It was amazing. We woke him up the next day to take him on a church tour, which was another miracle. He is really interested and really nice, and so in Danielle. We hope to teach her tomorrow.

We also got a text referral for a woman who wanted a bible. We only got half of the text, so we didn't know she wanted a bible (and we didn't have one with us) but we were right in her neighborhood when we got it, so we were there 5 minutes later. She was excited when we told her there are 12 apostles today, and she took a Book of Mormon while she is waiting for us to get her her bible in a couple of days. Awesome! We have so many people we have invited to church! I am so excited!

So, I'm sorry that this is the abreviate version, but life is good. Miracles are happening. Things are turning out. God knows how much I have on my plate, and He is making impossible things possible. I don't know how else I handled everything that happened last weekend. Life is good.

I love you!

 

Love,

Sister Atkin

 

Kansas City, MO LDS Temple

 

Unexpected Baptism

Dearest Family,

What a happy week! Life never slows down as a missionary.

Last P-Day we took a ton of fun pictures. I will try to send you some. Maybe this week, but maybe next week. Also, mom, I gave a neat training at our VC sisters training meeting on building confidence and a true identity. I am attaching a copy (I wrote it on the VC computer, so I have a digital version). I put a lot of time into it, so hopefully you like it. DiMK stands for Daughters in My Kingdom. BD stands for Bible Dictionary. PMG stands for Preach My Gospel.

So last Thursday was a crazy one. We took a bunch of fun pictures. I will hopefully have time to send you some.

Then that night we had a lesson with a part member family--Cecelia, the one that doesn't really know english. Well, we didn't have a car that night, so we did some crazy stuff to get some rides. But the lesson went really well. We read from the Book of Mormon with her, and she really got a lot out of it. She read in Spanish, of course. After the lesson we saw we had a missed call from our Ward Mission Leader, but we didn't listen to the voicemail until much later--our mistake!

It turned out that Bishop Vance and Brother Hermann (Bishop and ward mission leader) went out together to visit some people. Then Bishop Vance got the impression that now was the time to go visit Sandy and invite her to be baptized (she is our investigator. Her husband joined in February. We have taught her twice since the elders turned her over to us, but we like her a lot). So our bishop in his street clothes headed over. When they were almost there, he called to let them know he was coming. They crawled out of bed to see him. When he knocked on the door, he said, "Sandy, you know why I am here."

"Yes, I do." She said. They both knew he was there to get her baptized.

So they started with an opening prayer to bring the spirit and read 2 Nephi 31 together. After they read it, Bishop Vance told Sandy that it was time for her to pray about baptism. She agreed. They knelt down, and she started to pray. In her prayer she said, "I am praying to know if I should be baptized...I already know. In the name of Jesus Christ, Amen." They got up, and agreed that she should be baptized. Also, they didn't want to wait. She was ready NOW, and the elder that baptized her husband is going home this week, so if she wanted him to do it (he's an Assistant now), they had to do it that weekend (remember, this was Thursday).

So after a crazy amount of phone calls, everything was arranged. We met with her on Saturday to cover a couple of commandments, and then she was interviewed by our District Leader. It almost didn't happen because her grandson broke his shoulder really badly and she had to go to the hospital with him, but everyone was flexible, so it still happened. It was crazy because we randomly were at the church, where the lesson and interview were going to take place, a half an hour early (we were going to study there). Right as we pulled in she called to ask if we were there yet because of the whole situation with her grandson--she needed to meet with us NOW. So we did.

The night before our Relief Society President gave us a list of team ups we could invite to that lesson, and at the bottom of the list of 10 names was Sister Stewart. I just felt right about her. So did Sister Harding. We didn't even talk about it or stop to consider it was the spirit guiding us, we just did it because it was right. So we called her, and she could come.

Of course she was late to our moved up lesson, but she was able to share her story at the end of the lesson. Turns out she is a convert (we had never met her before, so we knew nothing about her), had been Methodist (Sandy was Methodist), and had followed her husband to baptism (so is Sandy). To top it off, they both are married to men named Jim and are about the same age. It was too coincidental to be accidental. That was a miracle. It was excactly what Sandy needed.

So the baptism happened Sunday morning before church. She was baptized at 9am and confirmed at 11 am. Elder Sanders--her original missionary--even got to do it. The baptism was packed. It was perfect.

I had a moment when I worried that we had rushed into it too much--we couldn't even personal vouch for the fact that she knew what the Word of Wisdom was--but then I thought back over all of the miracles that happened that made it possible, and I realized that if God hadn't wanted it to happen, He wouldn't have provided such a miraculous way.

So what a weekend. Everything was done on the fly, but no one but us and a few others knew. It was perfect.

Then on Sunday was President's Devotional and I got to hear the testimony of David Thacker from Overland Park. He bore his powerful testimony. It was amazing. He has truly been changed, and already is going out with the missionaries to teach. He gave me a hug, which was super awkward.

On Monday I did an exchange back to Lee's Summit! It was really fun to see that I still know my way around there. I was with Sister Wilson, a new missionary. She reminds me of myself and we taught really well together. We had a great day. Her companion is a lot like Sister Harding, so they had a great day, too. It was interesting to see that it would be easier for everyone of our companionships were switched, but we are learning so much more this way. It was still a fun day, and I was able to encourage Sister Wilson and help her see how well she is doing.

On Tuesday Sandy did baptisms for the dead! wow! How neat. :)

Yesterday we had another awesome night. We are flooded with referrals at the moment, and we were able to contact two yesterday.

The other big news is that transfer calls came this week, and of course, Sister Harding and I are staying. BUT, they closed a sister area in the VC, leaving us with only 14 sisters! That has never been done before, and I can't even start to explain to you how much that impacts scheduling. We had a meeting with the Assistants about it and how we would make it work, and they got to see the whole process of us digesting the news and processing all of the impacts it would have. They looked a bit in shock. They have no idea how much goes into scheduling the center. We are going to bring in a full-proselyting set of sisters to help on the weekends, and we literally are going to be short staffed for most of the rest of the week.

Honestly though, I am excited about it. It is a big challenge, but it is a chance for the sisters in the center to step it up and be better. We have to do better and be better this next transfer. We also had two of our really awesome sisters brought back into the center. Two of the three difficult sisters were transferred out. So I really think things will go well.

Well, I am out of time, but I love you. :)

 

Love,

Sister Atkin

There is Sunshine in My Soul Today!

Hello Family,

Life is good here. :) I am very happy! Crazy to hear that Willie is still staying in Joplin! I like having him there, because it means that we are always in the same state, which is fun. Our mission is getting 50 more missionaries (ending with over 300 missionaries. We already are the largest mission in the world as far as numbers of missionaries go, but now we will be easily the size of two missions!) including 30 more sisters!! The work is going forward. :)

I am doing a lot better as far as stress goes this week. Most the time I am doing great--there are just certain days that are not good. In general, I really love my calling as a Visitors' Center Sister Trainer. I feel like I am making a difference, and I enjoy being a leader. I think it is one of my talents. I am much better at leading than I am at executing tiny details like making the bajillion phone calls we need to make every day. haha. I do have a cheerful heart, mom. Life is good in the Inde-hood.

So last Thursday we had an appointment with one of our investigators named Cecelia. We had dinner together in a member's home, and then taught her. The members were awesome and the perfect team ups. They said all of the right things. Also, Cecelia mostly speaks spanish, so they helped translate. (Her husband mostly speaks English, so it bothers him when people speak spanish to her, but he will have to get over that. What a crazy marriage.) We taught the first lesson, even though she has been taught for years, and it went well. It came out that really the reason she hasn't seriously investigated the church is because of her husband, who is a member. He doesn't want her to. We asked him about when he joined the church 5 years ago, and it turns out that he has never read the Book of Mormon, and he never prayed about joining the the church. He just liked the people, and that is the only reason he joined our church rather than someone elses. So it makes him mad whenever we ask his wife to do anything because he doesn't understand the importance. So really, we have to teach one person in english to gain a conversion, and another in spanish to learn the gospel (she already has felt the spirit and knows it is true). Weird that it is the member we need to convert.

The other investigator we have been working with is named Sandy. She is great. Her husband also is a recent convert. They are great, and she knows that she will be baptized eventually, it is just hard to give up her old church that she loves so much. She just doesn't feel in a hurry. She wants to be sure before she joins, but she is expecting that to come--and actually was pretty casual about it.

I am so grateful that we already have two such solid investigators. It is really hard to open an area, actually. It was really hard on Sister Harding for a while to not be teaching anyone and to have only 2-3 hours a day to try to find anyone because we were at the VC the other hours, or studying. Things are so much better. :)

Last week, two of the sisters at the center had their car broken into, and their backpacks stolen with everything in them. They were just grabbing a bite to eat and had parked in front of the main window of the restaurant in broad daylight in a busy parkinglot. But someone busted in the windows of their car and took their backpacks=everything. planners, wallets with social security cards, credit cards, and driver's licenses, scriptures, cameras, journals, everything. Not only did that ruin their weekend as they canceled all cards and couldn't drive or really teach, but the VC was down a car that we all share, so we all had to take no car days. That is really hard when you don't live in your area. Some of us don't even live in our zone. Craziness. THEN, one of the cars got a completely flat tire. So for a few hours until we got the other car back, we only had 2 cars for 8 companionships. Great. Talk about stressful for the people in charge (pointing at self). but everyone was super nice about it, so it all turned out (we did have one sister whose response to me asking them to take a no car day was "It would have been nice to have more advance warning." like it was my fault. My response, "Well, I would have loved to have advance warning, too. I think those sisters whose bags were stolen would have especially liked advance warning." She then realized that she was not the only one that this was hard for. Then she was nice about it.)

Last Friday we had interviews with President Keyes. Because of recent drama at the VC I have prayed for days about what I could do to help these sisters and what I could be doing better. None of the drama is my fault or in any way related to me, but I want to be able to fix it. So we started the interview and he joked around a bit with me about how great I was. He was looking over the questionaire they always have us fill out. On it you can write a question. The question I wrote was "How can I help the sisters at the center? What is my role? How can I help?". He skimmed over the whole page and said, almost casually, "Sister Atkin, you're perfect. Don't worry about it." Then he paused and looked up to see me staring at him intently, tearing up. (for some reason, I always cry when I talk to him).

He said, "Do you want to know what you can do to help these sisters?" I knodded quickly.

"If I tell you what you should do, will you listen with real intent? Meaning, planning to act?"

"Yes!" I replied, with real intent, excited to do whatever he asked me to do.

"Be yourself. Be you. That is what you can do. Just be yourself. That will help the sisters the most."

The rest of the interview continued that way. He told me that I was great and that since there are going to be so many more sisters in the mission, the role of a Sister Trainer was going to be a bigger role in the future.

I am just amazed at the trust President Keyes has in me. It blows me away. I don't entirely understand it. I am not perfect at all, but somehow he trusts me anyway. I realized that perhaps he knows that that is the best way for me personally to learn. If he told me how to be good, I would do it. But if he just shows me that he trusts me and thinks I am wonderful, I thrive. I feel like I have really blossomed under his trust. He gives me room to learn on my own because he knows that I am going to try my very hardest, and perhaps the standard I hold myself to is even higher because it is self imposed instead of external. I truly enjoy being accountable to him. I know I am not perfect, but I feel confident and comfortable telling him about what I have done. I don't feel ashamed.

In a way, President Keyes represents Jesus Christ to me, in the same way that I represent Jesus Christ to those we are teaching. I have felt that as my understanding of my relationship to my mission president has grown, my relationship and understanding of my Savior has grown, too. I am very happy. I know I was supposed to serve here with President Keyes.

On Sunday we had a great day, too. We had an appointment with a 13 year old and her family that we brought a young woman with us to, and it turned out super awkward, but funny. I'm still glad we went. We met with the bishop and he is awesome. He really has confidence in us, too.

Yesterday was Halloween. We just stayed home and planned because we had no one to see, and we weren't allowed to tract (for obvious reasons). So totally noneventful.

Life is good! Transfers are next week, but there is no way I will get moved. It does mean that my P-Day might change, so just be warned. I think it might stay Thursday, but I am sure that it won't be Monday. Beyond that, no gaurantees on when I will be emailing.

I love you all!

Love,

Sister Atkin

 

Humid

Hello Family!

I am so happy to be emailing. Life is good. :)

I am trying to figure out how to capture everything that happened this last week. We'll see how it goes.

Last Friday we had our first district meeting and our district is huge! We have 7 companionships, and two of them are trios. I think it is the biggest district in the mission. Our District Leader is a young, shy, good missionary. He is doing well, and I am glad to have him. He is humble and close to the spirit. He also makes Sister Harding feel more comfortable because she can relate to him.

Saturday night was really unique. There is a recent convert in the ward that is really sweet, but perhaps a little too attached to the elders, so the bishop has advised them to limit their contact with her. So she is our responsibility now. This Saturday, her mother was passing away, and the elders couldn't go because they want to help her attach to other people. So we went. It was crazy because she invited us into her mother's home with her whole extended family. We were the only nonfamily members besides the nurse. The mother was on a hospital bed in the living room, and was unconscious. It was clear that every breath was difficult, and every breath look like it would be the last one. We were there to comfort. We talked about the plan of salvation in a simple way, especially about God's Love for us in the plan. The nurse for some reason looked to me a leadership person, and when talking to the group about the condition of their mother, was looking and talking at me. It was strange.

We went outside and prayed with this recent convert and cried with her. A half an hour after we left to go home that night, her mother passed away. It was really sobering. We were almost there when it happened, and the family would have been fine with it. We were welcome as religious figures. I looked at that old woman and thought about how she must be feeling right now. She was traveling along the transition between this phase of the plan of salvation and the next. Did she feel nervous? Excited? I can't imagine how I will feel when I get there someday...

On a more cheerful note, Sunday was fun because we got to go to Relief Society for the first time since we came to this new ward. Everyone was so friendly. I really like this ward. We had dinner with the Relief Society President. She was wonderful. She is in her late 20s, and is president over a full family ward with much older, more experienced women in it. Her husband is in dental school, she has two kids, and she works from home part time on the computer. I don't know how she does it all. She is so calm and put together, though. She says the Lord is really helping her. I am so impressed. There are so many people in the church carrying heavy burdens that I didn't even recognize before. I am so grateful for their service. She gave us a list of names to visit, and we are excited to do it and build her trust. We have already hit some this week.

On Monday we visited a less active part member family. They were so nice. The mom is a convert of a few years, and her kids don't even know about it! So we ended up teaching her daughter was baptism was. It turns out that later that day, the elders visited her, too! They had no idea that we had been there. But they ended up teaching her boyfriend (who we hadn't even met) and got a new investigator! We were super jealous. Funny that the spirit led both of us the same place that day. :)

Tuesday we did exchanges, and I learned a lot from the other sister. It was a good perspective change for both Sister Harding and I. Sometimes I just get so serious and concentrated that I forget to laugh and be carefree. The Lord has got this. But I do still have a lot to worry about it. I just need to be more peppy some days, I guess.

Then last night we had a miracle night in our area. We went to a street Sister Harding felt good about and we tracted and met a ton of people that were willing to listen. It was awesome. Sister Harding and I really clicked in our teaching styles, and it felt so good. We came home on fire and full of the spirit and joy. It was awesome. She is really growing recently. It is crazy to see that sometimes satan is really working on us to make us frustrated or grouchy, but when we overcome it, miracles happy. He's so sneaky. But we are determined to be better. I really do like her. She can be really funny. All of her clothes are cute, which makes me look bad, but who cares. haha. :)

Of course, not all is carefree. I have been faced with some pretty serious issues in my calling as a Sister Trainer at the VC. Please just pray for me to have the inspiration to do the Lord's will. Sometimes I don't know the right thing to do to help these sisters. A leader has a heavy weight to bear, especially when they know confidential stuff they can't tell their companion. I am doing well and handling it well, but I would appreciate some prayers that way.

I did get your mail--thank you! I wish it would snow here, too! That is awesome that you went to Flagstaff this week. I am sure you made a huge difference. :)

I love you all!

Love,

Sister Atkin

P.S. Also, It has been super humid this week. I am sticky! It has been hot and cold. I would just like it to snow...

Fall in Missouri

Dearest Family,

What a beautiful day! It is officially officially fall here. It is beautiful. There are so many trees, and they are all changing colors. I get to wear jackets again, which I love. Yay to not being hot anymore!

On Saturday was our Gladys Knight event. It was a smashing success. She brought out a huge crowd and a ton of referrals were sent out from it. What a blessing to have that here in our mission.

Missionaries could only go if they had investigators, but we don't really have real investigators yet. We tried and invited a bunch of people up to the last minute, but no one could/would go. So we didn't get to go. Sister Harding was a little disappointed. I was, too. But for the past few days I had had a feeling that not only would we not go, but that we shouldn't go. I let Sister Harding invite a bunch of people over the phone, but I just knew we weren't supposed to go. I still don't know all why, but I think the Lord gave me that so that we could be comforted about not being able to go. We had dinner with a member instead, and she had had bad experiences with the missionaries recently, so I think we needed to go comfort her and help her like us again. Maybe that's why. But we also didn't get any referrals from it. Some of the sisters got up to 14! Again, I just feel peace about it. This event was important, but it wasn't for us.

We did get lost for roughly 2 hours this week. I was really frustrating, especially because we were using up our miles and time--both precious commodities. The elders finally let us borrow their map, so we have a map of our area (if outdated in the boundaries). They also let us borrow their GPS, which has been a life saver. Hopefully things get better from here on out.

Our Ward Mission Leader and his wife have been wonderful. They feed us and buy us groceries and tell us we are great. I don't know what we would do if we didn't have their support. This ward is great.

By now you surely know that Margo Ahnder came to the Visitors' Center. It was Sunday, and I am only at the VC for three hours on Sunday. She came in and I was even the next up to take a group through! I was so happy to see her. They are so sweet. I was able to thank her for teaching me piano, which has been a very useful skill on my mission. It was a real blessing to see them

This Sunday was Stake Conference. I met someone visiting from Logan--Hugie (however you spell it) originally from College Ward. They wondered if they could bring you anything back from me, but I had nothing to send. Sorry! But I do love you!

Stake Conference was so good! Elder Baxter of the Seventy came and spoke. He's amazing. He told us that the MTC is going to cut the length of time missionaries stay there by 1/3. So Willie would have only stayed 2 weeks! Language missionaries staying 9 weeks will now only have 6. The idea is pump more missionaries through, and have them do more in-field training.

We did exchanges yesterday with sister in the Independence 1st Ward. Since I am Sister Leader, we get to do 4 this transfer--one every week. It's a lot, but it is good. It is one of the hardest things the Lord could ask Sister Harding to do, but it is probably the best thing she could do. She did great. She did it and faced her fears. I'm proud of her. Exchanges are interesting to see how everyone does things a little differently. These sisters are great planners and studiers. I am learning a lot from them. It is interesting to see how everyone has different teaching styles, though. I guess my style is a little...more passionate than some other sisters. Depending on the part of the lesson, I can get very animated. I try to have ebbs and flows in the lesson. I guess I am not a stiff missionary. This sister was so sweet, and talked slowly and quietly through the lesson. I am not like that at all. I get excited. I want an interesting discussion. But the work needs all kinds--some people will definitely respond better to her quietness. And some people will need my passion. Just interesting to see the differences in action.

Things are slowing down at the Visitors' Center. All of the major events in the mission (conference, Gladys Knight, History trip) are out of the way, so the schedule is much less stressful. It is making my life much easier. Some of the sisters were really struggling at first, but they seem to be doing better. I really am starting to appreciate all that our mission president does. I wasn't really as aware of it until I had this chance to see all of the details he takes care of, and all of the struggling missionaries he helps. He really is an angel. I am so grateful to be serving with President Keyes. This last week he has taken the time personally to help some of the sisters at the center who were struggling, and it has made a real difference. He loves us. He has given this mission everything. I am so grateful for all that he does.

Well, I'm sorry I don't have cooler stories, but know that I am happy. Life is good here. I can't imagine ever leaving, so I won't.

I love you all!

Love,

Sister Atkin

Another Week in Independence

Dearest Family,

I guess you didn't get the memo, but my Preparation Day is now on Thursdays. We'll usually email before noon. I'm sorry no pictures made it to you last time. I sent them, and right before we left the library I realized that none of my emails had made it to you because they were too big. I will try to send pictures today. I'm just glad I got my email to you last week!

So last Friday we got to go on a history trip. Around general conference time, they take all of the sisters who haven't been before, and show us Liberty Jail, Far West, and Adam-Ondi-Ohman. It was really cool. I am going to be sending a lot of pictures today. There is this cute little bed and breakfast in the middle of nowhere near Adam-Ondi-Ohman that feed the sisters lunch every time we go. It was wonderful and so homey. I don't know how expensive it is, but maybe we will spend a night there someday. Adorable.

General Conference was so good this week. I agree with everything Willie said about conference. Jefery R. Holland's talks are always my favorites. His talk actually was really similar to my Good Friday Sermon I gave. Do you remember that? That was a while ago, but really, I loved his talk. Uchtdorf's was good, too.

About the announcement of age changes, man we were shocked. We were watching at the VC when it was announced, and all of the sisters were like, "WHAT?!!" We were trying to be quiet, but we were really shocked. I will have to reread that session of conference because it was hard to listen after that.

My first reaction was, "Should I feel jipped?" And I thought about it, and I don't regret a thing. I know that if I could have, I would have gone at 19, but the Lord had a plan for me waiting a few more years, or it would have been announced sooner. I needed those experiences I had, so I don't regret it. Still crazy. I agree with all of Willie's conclusions. There are going to be a ton more sister missionaries serving in general. I could train a 19 year-old sister before I go home! Crazy.

Sunday was a long day. General Conference was really good. As a mission we were fasting out of gratitude for the success of the mission. I was glad to do it. The problem is, we had to run from conference to a meeting with our bishop and straight to being on shift at the VC. We were hoping to get dinner then, but the center was very busy because there was a President's Devotional that I was in charge of planning going on. So I was taking a presentation, worrying about how our devotional was going, and starving at the same time. But it all worked out. After accidentally fasting for 26 hours, we got to eat at 8pm. We didn't die. It worked out. We are never doing that again.

Oh, on Saturday, we had dinner with some members. It turns out (and I had found this out at church) that the wife is Claire's sister-in-law (you know, my roommate and best friend Claire?). Her mother had been at church my first Sunday when I bore my testimony, and had recognized me as one of the bridesmaids at her son's wedding. In fact, do you remember how the groom's mother tried to set me up with her nephew? Yep, same person. (we did go on a few dates, but clearly, I am on a mission now). So it was fun to talk about people we knew in common, and she even called Claire right after I left. She ran after the car (still on the phone) to tell me that Claire loved me and had made my pumpkin bread recently. I could hear Claire talking. It was crazy! It is a small world. It was fun to talk to them and see Claire's wedding announcement pinned in a collage on her wall. By the way, Claire is going to have her baby soon. How fun!

This week hasn't been that exciting. We have been able to slowly meet all of the people that the elders and bishop recommended for us to visit. Some of them are really pleased by the idea that we are sisters, so that is good. None of them have really progressed yet, and there are so many names that I will talk more about them as I get to know them better.

Working as a Sister Trainer in the VC has been fun, challenging, and hard. We still haven't found the magic Sunday Schedule that seems to be alluding us (there is no solution that we can find), and I am hearing about some of the things that most sisters had no idea happen in the center. We find out the problems and try to figure it out before anyone else has to know about it. A few the sisters have been very difficult to work with, but we are praying for them. I have found myself praying for all 15 other sisters individually every day, and it has really helped ease my burden and helped me love them even more. I feel like this is great training for the rest of my life serving in the church.

This weekend Gladys Knight and her choir, Saints United Voices, are coming to Independence. The tickets are long gone, and we don't have any real investigators to take, so we probably won't be able to go. It still will help missionary work in the area whether or not I get to hear the beautiful soul music and be in the same room as a famous person. I'm still glad to be here. :)

My life has settled down and is less exciting. I hope all is well at home and I look forward to hearing from you soon. 

I love you!

Love,

Sister Atkin

Changes and Service

Dear Family,

I will try to fit this whole week in this email, but it will be hard to do. I love you!

Okay. So last Monday we had an awesome P-Day with the elders. We played ultimate and I got SO TIRED. We had dinner with a less active, and she told me that I needed to go home because I looked so tired. I guess I shouldn't have played so hard...

Tuesday was a good day. We worked and taught. We taught Brother Thacker, and as usual, he had no problems with it. Right after the lesson I got a phone call from President Keyes. But I will tell you that later so that I can tell you all of the big news at once. That night we were able to visit a woman whose friends are all mormon. She lives in our neighborhood. She had a bunch of questions and was very nice. She joked that the reason she wasn't mormon was because she likes her tea. She'll get baptized someday.

Then transfer calls came full of surprises (well, not in my case):

They opened Iola to sisters! The sisters going there are great. I am very happy for them. For a bunch of reasons I talked to them this week, and they said that the ward has told them all about me saying I was their first sister missionary paving the way for more sisters to come. I think it is great because the elders were emergency transferred for disobedience, so sisters are healing the ward's hurt.

Red Bridge Ward got elders, but one isn't coming for two weeks because he is in the MTC learning ASL, so the sisters might still be double covering for two weeks (which wrecks all of our plans. We got them dinners and everything. Oh, well). The other one is in a trio until then.

And finally, I was transferred to the North Kansas City Ward. When President Keyes took me aside to tell me about it, he informed me that the temple is in my area--we meet in the church that shares a parking lot with the temple, the brand new stake center they held the open house in. Exciting! They already have elders, but the work has exploded there since the temple was dedicated, so they need another set of missionaries. They specifically requested sisters. The ward is very excited to have us. The Zone Leaders are in that area with us. We are in the Liberty Zone. I will be training Sister Karlie Harding from Lehi, Utah. We will also be serving in the Independence Visitors' Center. I also received the calling to be a Sister Trainer at the VC (basically a sister Zone Leader). Wow. I can't think of anything that could be harder. I am training, opening a new area, and acting as a Sister Trainer.

Last week I told you how stressed I was for a couple of days. Well, I asked for a blessing from my Zone Leaders just for strength. I was doing well, but I felt I needed something else to help me with what was ahead. I am so glad I did. It was a beautiful blessing that just said that God and President Keyes are both aware of me and my situation. They are both proud of me and I am training again for a reason. I just need to turn to prayer and the scriptures for help. It was all stuff I already knew, but it brought me a lot of peace. One of the elders giving the blessing cried more than I did. I was glad to give them the chance to serve, too.

Sister Hodson and I ended on a high. The night before I left we stayed out teaching as late as is allowed. It was an awesome way to end. I love her so much. I think we will be friends for life after all that we went through together. It wasn't easy, but I love her SO MUCH. I can't even tell you. She's amazing.

On Thursday were transfers. We left bright and early. I cried when I said good bye to Sister Hodson. I was sad to go. But I was also excited for the new adventure and challenge. I've learned that when the Lord gives me something new and hard to do, it is the best thing ever. I grow so much, and He helps me the whole time. That is when joy happens.

Then I met Sister Harding. She is pretty shy. She hated school, so she has worked for the last few years, and now has felt she needs to be here. Admittedly, when I first met her I was nervous. We seemed to have very little in common. And with no time to do anything, we dropped our stuff off at our apartment (new to both of us) and ran to the VC to be on shift. The other Sister Trainer is Sister Hansen. She was totally overwhelmed and stressed. I felt bad about it, but I had to leave Sister Harding for a long time to go and slave over the VC schedule, which is one of our responsibilities. The center was very slow.

The schedule is crazy. It is a nightmare. We have to consider a bajillion different factors to see who can serve when and make sure we have enough sisters on shift. Excell was our life saver. Sunday is even worse because the center stays open, but everyone has to be able to go to their church meetings. That drained a lot of my time this last weekend. Also, I am becoming aware of a lot of problems that happen in the VC that I was never aware of. I thought there was no drama there, but now it is my job to know about it and stop it. Complicated.

Also, I got to give a training to all of the sisters the day after I arrived. It went well.

Friday night we got a ride back to Overland Park for Jesse's baptism. It was beautiful. It was packed. When I walked in, I was chatting with someone and out of no where Sister Hodson basically tackled me. I didn't see her coming. She was so glad to see me. She seems to be doing well, though. She was smiling. It was a wonderful baptism. President Keyes even came. Everything went perfectly. In a way, I was glad to have that over so I could finally 100% be here now in my new area.

Over the next few days we met with the elders serving in our area a few times. Like I said, they are our Zone Leaders. They told me about the work. They had 4 baptisms the week before we came. One of them was new to the area, so it was one elder filling the rest of us in. It was silly because Sister Harding had no idea what was going on, and his companion didn't know anything yet, so basically Elder Fulmer brain dumped on me while I asked a bajillion questions. I think I intimidate him because he has seemed extra scatterbrained recently. Oops. They are good elders, though, and I am excited to serve with them. It took a few days before we even knew where our area was, and another few days before we had any kind of area book (it is currently an Area Folder).

We also met with the Bishop and Ward Mission Leader first thing. I am so excited to be serving here. They are on FIRE. The bishop is the most fiery, missionary minded bishop I have met in my whole life. Missionary work is his thing. He wants us to text him every night a report of what we did that day so he can put it on a google doc spreadsheet online that the whole ward counsel (which is all of the auxilliaries, their counselors and secretaries) can view all of the time. Wow. He told me (and got emotional saying it) that it was an honor to have me, a trainer in their ward. He said that of all callings, being a trainer is the most honorable. I think President Keyes talked me up to him. No pressure. But I guess as far as I know, I am the only sister to have ever trained three times....that's crazy. I love training, though. I wouldn't mind doing it for the rest of my mission.

On Sunday was Fast and Testimony meeting. The Bishop informed us that all four missionaries were to sit on the stand and be the first ones to bear our testimonies. Oh, and President Keyes would be there, too. No pressure.

Sister Harding was SO nervous. She is a shy person and this kind of thing scares her to death. I was fasting for her, and for our area. Specifically that I would be able to help her and that she would gain confidence. My fast was answered. I went first, and then she bore her testimony. Her voice didn't shake, she didn't break down into tears, and she spoke clearly and with power. She sat down and whispered to me after I told her she did well, "That has never happened in my whole life. I have NEVER spoken in front of people without crying uncontrollably or my voice cracking". It was a miracle and we both recognized it. Then after our part was done, a member got up and bore her testimony of missionary work and gave us--the sisters--a referral over the pulpit. Miracle number two. God is definitely been watching out for us.

Ever since Sister Harding's miracle testimony, her whole attitude has changed. At first she talked a lot about how hard this was for her, and how far out of her comfort zone she was, but now she is on fire. Her attitude is, if it happened once, it will happen again. She is bold and confident (if still awkward sometimes. We all are. Seriously, being a missionary is just awkward). She has changed so much in a matter of days. I really like her. I think we will get along great.

Yesterday we only had twoish hours in our area. But we wanted to hit the ground running. We taught 4 lessons, found 2 new investigators and 1 probably investigator. No one rejected us. It was crazy. I am so excited to be here (I am sure we will face rejection later, but God sure is helping us start out).

We have had some drama at the VC, and I have already had to take someone aside to address some concerns, but I really feel that the Lord has prepared me for this. Everything I have experienced so far has taught me the skills I needed to be a leader here. I still have a lot left to learn, but God has prepared me.

On Saturday we watched the Relief Society General Broadcast. It was so good. As I sat and watched the new presidency get up and share their thoughts, I felt a huge connection to them. I know what they are feeling right now, at least on a lower level. I know how overwhelmed, humbled, grateful, and supported they feel. It is a lot, but they trust God to help them. They are me. I can't even describe what kinship I felt to them. And then President Eyring's talk was meant for me, too. I can't wait to read that one (maybe you could email me the text?). Loved it.

Also, since we have been so busy we came in and had no time to grocery shop and no food. The Overland Park members that drove us home found out, so they dropped us off, went and bought a ton of food and brought it to us. I was SO grateful. I don't know what we would have eaten for the next few days if they hadn't done that. I was overwhelmed with their generosity. Then this week, our Ward Mission Leader's wife has insisted on buying us groceries every week. She always has bought them for the elders and intends on doing it for us, too. We felt really bad. When she demanded a list, we gave her a few things we needed. She thought the list was too short and went all out. We have SO MUCH FOOD. We were so grateful!!! Our fridge and cupboards are full! This has never happened to me ever. We are taken care of.

So that is a rough summary of what has happened in the last 10 days. My life is turned entirely upside down. I can't believe it hasn't been a month.

I am out of time and brains, but I love you. I am very happy here. Miracles are happening right and left. I just have to sprint to keep up.

I love you!

Love,

Sister Atkin