Random Stories Week

Dearest Family,

What a week. I don't even know how to describe it.

So last week for Preparation Day we went and toured all of the stuff across the street from the Visitors' Center. It was a really fun day. It actually was pretty warm, so it was a good day to do it.

We started out at the white church on the lot that has the original cornerstones--The Church of Christ Temple Lot. They have a small "Visitors' Center" room on the back of their church about the history. We wandered around on the grass and found the marker-stones (above where the cornerstones are believed to be), which were all very close together. One of them had a packet of paper encased in plastic lying next to it. The paper was titled, "Baptism for the Dead Availeth Nothing". I think they know that those evil Mormons would be wondering around to look at those cornerstones=perfect place to leave anti stuff lying around. How subtle.

Then we went in the Visitors' Center and met the famous Apostle Sheldon that runs the place. He's 90. We had fun talking to him. He taught history mingled with comments about how false our church is and how true their church is. Whenever he went off on a tangent of how false we were, we didn't want to argue with him, but we didn't want to smile and nod either, so we just stared at him. Sister Harding awkwardly laughed a few times, which made it even better. But we smiled and made kind comments whenever we could, so he actually really liked us. In a glass case were the stones found in excavation. They had letters carved into them to indicate that one was the SWCT (south west corner temple) and one was forty feet west of it (40W). The letters were actually carved into the rock, but Apostle Sheldon wanted them to be more visible, so he painted on the rocks personally to show the lettering. I almost died. Painting on an artifact like this one. Crazy.

He gave us each for free 3 postcards that were labelled 15 cents, and we took some free brochures about the site. His ride came to pick him up, so he put on his hat and his coat. Then we asked if we could get a picture with him. He agreed and asked if it was okay if he put his arms around us. We reluctantly agreed and got an awkward picture. Priceless. I'll send it next week.

Then we headed over to the Community of Christ Temple. I had been there before, but Sister Harding hadn't. It was cool. No apostles this time. Dwight, our tour guide, was stony, but actually pretty funny.

The reason our Preparation Day moved was because last Thursday was Zone Meeting, which was exactly what I needed. It was a good recharge and a good lift. I learned a lot and felt the power to do it.

I also have been thinking a lot recently about how blessed I am to have had such a stable childhood. There is no way that I could do what I am doing now--being a missionary, training, being sister leader, etc.--without that. I have been working a lot recently with sisters that didn't have the childhood that I did, and if I didn't have that background of strength, I couldn't do it. Their burdens would knock me over. But because of a happy childhood, I can help lift the hands that hang down. It is still hard and it hurts some days, but I can help! Thank you mom and dad!

On Sunday we had a miracle. We got to our dinner appointment early, so we parked and walked down the street a little ways. We knocked one door--nope. I looked and said, "that house," pointing off down the street a ways.

So we knocked it. The man who opened the door is Patrick. His coworker is LDS and has given him all the pamphlets and a Book of Mormon. He has lds.org pages saved as bookmarks on his laptop. He even promised to go to church once, but never went.

"I guess that this is a sign that I actually should. Okay. We'll go next Sunday. God has given me enough hints. I need to check this out." Miracle!

Monday was also an interesting day. We tried Terry, a former investigator. Turns out that she lives in a trailer park we didn't know existed. "Wildwood Mobile Estates" or something like that. "Estates." hm.

We knocked on her door and after telling us she didn't want to join our church, she let us in. It was a small place and he husband was smoking, so it was a bit hard to breathe. Her rat-dog didn't like us much. We had the strangest conversation for an hour. By the end of it, I was glad to be able to go out and breathe again. Smoking is bad for you.

We testified of the gospel as she lit up and drank her coffee. She told us the full lot of a movie, about her rough past, and about her entire lengthy medical history which is too graphic to share. Sister Harding and I did not look at each other the whole time. She barely held herself together. For some reason I don't understand, Sister Harding set up a time for us to go back. So this adventure will have a part two.

That same day we met two homeless guys. They didn't really look all that homeless--no plastic bags or shopping carts and they were fairly clean--but on closer look, they were wearing about 4 jackets each to stay warm. Poor guys. They were brothers. It was such a strange conversation. But we gave them pamphlets and copies of the Book of Mormon. We gave their phone number to the elders in the area where they "lived". We'll just have to wait and see.

So yep, life is good. We had a couple of rough moments this week, but we don't need to get into that. I had a really cool experience where the spirit was not there, and I prayed and prayed and had the impression to sing. Random. I didn't really want to do it, but I sang I Believe in Christ and I Stand All Amazed from memory. By the end, the spirit was so strong that my voice was horrible, but it was still a cool experience. So I have learned that if I ever get discouraged or have negative feelings about anything, if I sing the spirit will come back, no matter how horrible my voice sounds.

Well, I love you all. Have a wonderful week!

 

Love,

Sister Atkin

Another Week as a Missionary

Dearest Family,

Another week as a missionary! I love being here.

So last Thursday I don't know if I mentioned it, but Sister Harding got a really bad cold. It's been going around a lot out here, and three of the sisters at the Visitors' Center got it. Don't worry, I didn't get it. I never get sick anymore.

Well, she didn't sleep at all on P-day and stayed up to write letters, so I figured that she must be good enough to go out. So we did. We went and visited and taught two people that night. We probably shouldn't have. She was not in good shape. When we got home I told her to skip planning--we were staying in the next day--and she should go to bed. So she did. The next day we had Friday Morning Training Meeting at the VC, which I can't miss because I am the main act, so she got up to come and sleep in the VC. I don't understand her because she did her hair and makeup and got all dressed and everything, knowing that she would just be sleeping all day. Girls... haha, jk

Friday Morning Training is always fun. I look forward to it every week. We do some really cool stuff, like scavenger hunts and large timelines and Christmas trees... This time we just set goals as a center and wrote notes to our 2014 selves, which is going to be very interesting to read. We also presented our new theme scripture: D&C 123:17. So good. :)

That morning I left Sister Harding asleep at the VC and took another sister (that was on shift) with me so that I could go to District Meeting. It was actually really fun. Then we came back, I took my companion to the store to buy medicine, and then I took her home. She took some time to wind down, but ended up sleeping from 5 until 6:30 the next morning. I got a lot of stuff done. Our Area Book looks great now. :)

Sunday was also an unusual day because we missed church! Weird! Sister Harding was better by then, but the VC schedule for Sundays had to change for the new year to accommodate everyone's new church times. The problem is that our church is usually at 1, so we are on the morning shift, but we had combined Ward Conference at 10:30 that morning, so we totally missed it. We snuck into the back of another ward to take the sacrament so we didn't miss that at least. It was crazy because the ward we snuck into was probably 90% polynesian, mostly Samoan. Headsets were available to anyone who needed the meeting translated into Samoan. I felt like we were in a foreign country. The elders were white as white could be, too. haha.

Sunday night we had a lot of success meeting people. I like that, but none of our appointments go through anymore. It's frustrating because real missionary work is consistent lessons, not squeezing in a message when you finally catch someone at home. We'll keep trying, though.

Yesterday I did an exchange, with Sisters serving in the Lee's Summit 2nd area. It was cool, because that is where I was born. But the spirit directed the exchange in weird way. Sister Harding went out with the new sister in her area, and I went out with Sister Wilson in my area. Usually I would go with the new sister. But it turned out great, and Sister Harding had a great time. I'm glad.

Sister Wilson and I had no appointments and no one to see--no investigators, potentials, formers, or even less actives. We have burned out the little Area Book we have. So we wrote down areas we wanted to go to and basically tracted the whole time. Great. We taught one guy that wants missionaries, but he lives in Overland Park (oh, the irony). We'll send it out. We also met some other cool people, and it was a fun morning.

The funnest part of our day is that we decided to go on an adventure and check out a tiny town in the boonies that we have never been to before: Birmingham, Missouri, probably population 102. On our way out we passed this sign that advertised the largest underground business district in the world. Sure enough, the largest hill in the area had random semi truck-docks sticking out the bottom. It was huge! And very random... Apparently it's a big deal.

But then we drove over a small rise topped by train tracks and Birmingham came into view. I felt like we had just driven fifty years into the past. In front of the town was a large, tilled field obviously used for crops in non-winter months. The street plan of the town was maybe 6 clustered, small blocks. It had a real eery feel to it. We knocked a few doors, but the only lady that answered was baptist and not interested. We also tried a house that had roughly nine cats lounging around on the front porch--which quickly scattered when we walked up. There were a ton of little cat houses all lined up on the porch, and American flags plastering everything. It was weird. we walked about half of the town in 10 minutes and decided it probably wasn't worth our time. But it was a good adventure.

I really like Sister Wilson. I feel like we have the same life. Her mission mirrors mine, and her brother is on a mission and sends her hilarious emails, too. I like her a lot.

Well, sorry that I don't have more news this week, but life is good. I am happy, healthy, and busy. I have a lot of events coming up in the next few weeks that I am really enjoying planning for. I love this kind of thing! Honestly, I think I live for my calling as Sister Trainer. It gives me something to be excited about that I feel like I am good at and is helping a lot of people. It is my joy when I am otherwise discouraged. Funny how what could be a stress causer is a real stress relief because they are problems I can fix, things I can control. It is great.

I love you!

 

Love,
Sister Atkin

The End of the World Didn't Come

Dearest family,

Another good week as a missionary!

First of all mom, I DID get my package. :) Thank you so much! It arrived last Saturday. Apparently, my package, and one other Sister's package were miss-sent by the postal service, and arrived together (they were sent the same day from SLC). I am just glad to have it. I love the two cardigans! They are really cute. :) As soon as I opened it at the VC, I put the maroon one on. Thank you!

Sister Harding and I have already listened to the CD at least 10 times. We really like it a lot. The whole package was good! Dad, thank you for the flower. :) I like it a lot. :) The necklace is adorable (already worn it), the scarf is cute, and I hung the banner up above my bed even though Christmas is over. The Chex Mix and Oreos are delicious, and a pair of socks is required for it to be Christmas. Really, it was the perfect package. Enough to know that you love me, and not too much stuff to pack home in a couple of months. Thank you so much. :) In a way, it was kinda fun to have my own Christmas. :)

This week it snowed again! It was more snow than last time, but less icy  so we weren't snowed in. It's pretty. Not as cold as home, though. ;)

Yesterday we had two big miracles. On Sunday I was fasting that we would be able to find a family. I realized that PMG advises us to look for families to teach, and I have never taught a family on my entire mission! So under that inspiration, I decided to fast and pray for it.

Then yesterday we first went to a Part Member Family that the ward told us to visit. The dad works from home, so he was there. He is maybe in his late 20s and is from Utah. I don't know if he served a mission, but when he answered the door, he was very nice to us. He sounded up for us coming and visiting him and his wife. He gave us his number, but called us a few hours later to set up an appointment for tomorrow! She's RLDS, and they have a 3 year old daughter and another one on the way, due end of January. He was happy to see us and everything. Then our bishop texted to say that he talked to him on the phone, and he is really "receptive". We're excited!

Then we went to contact a referral we've had for a while but haven't been able to contact. We finally got to see him! His name is Nik, and he went to the Polynesian Cultural Center and took the tram tour, which is taken by sister missionaries, and includes the temple visitors' center in the tour. He loved it. His daughter is 8 and she loved it so much she went twice. He was really impressed by the temple. He is Hawaiian and was raised Catholic. He hasn't been to any church for 8 years. He seems really open and receptive. I told him our purpose, and he agreed to investigate and come to church! He is married and has a daughter, so it is a family! We are excited to meet his wife. His daughter is cute. We left in shock of how open he is. When we mentioned the spirit and asked him if he knew what that felt like, he immediately told us a story of the last time he went to church, which was right before he went to Iraq. He felt so much peace, and left feeling like everything was perfect, like he was on top of the world in that calmness.That feeling stayed with him for a long time and gave him a lot of peace in Iraq. His description of the spirit was right on. He knows exactly what that feels like and he would like to feel it again. We're seeing him on Saturday. :) wahoo!

Still no word from Kris, but I still have hope. Just in the Lord's timing.

As far as food news, we tried Waffle House, a fast food breakfast place that is in the Midwest and east. Really good food. Really greasy, but really good. I got a plain waffle with extra butter, and Sister Harding got a Pecan Waffle with melty chocolate chips, peanut butter chips, and syrup on top. I also got bacon. Shows our personalities, I guess.

Sister Harding has a really bad cold today. I hope she gets feeling better. Whenever anyone has something at the Visitors' Center, she gets it. I feel bad. I almost never get sick (knock on wood).

Also, Dad, you are the best. You definitly deserve the best dad award. Mom, you get the best mom award. I just feel so blessed. Thank you for everything!

Did you get my package to you? I think after you have downloaded those pictures you should send that camera card back out (with the pictures still on it) so that I can have those pictures. I need some of them still. Thanks!

I love you all! (sorry I don't have more to say)

Love,

Sister Atkin

A Wonderful Christmas

Dear Family,

It was so good to talk to you the other day. It just felt so natural and normal. Like I left yesterday. I couldn't ask for a better family back home to support me. You are loving and not distracting, and very supportive. Thank you so much. :) (I still haven't received my package yet, but maybe today. I hope you sent it to the right address 517 W Walnut St. It's not a big deal, though. Stop worrying about it mom. I love you. :) ) Also, it was great to talk to Willie. He's the best. :) We really get what the other is doing right now. I love it.

 The storm hasn't gotten here yet, so I don't know if it will, but it is still VERY cold here in Missouri! Good thing that I have always been pretty good at being cold (not so much being hot...). Yesterday I wore socks over my tights, two jackets, gloves, scarf, and a hat. I was roasty toasty. I love bundling up.

For mom: The biggest thing I have learned about the atonement is that it applies to everything. It is the how for every part of the gospel. How do we forgive (he pays their debt to us and heals those wounds), how do we heal, how do we feel charity for others, how do we have faith to pay tithing(the atonement shows he is all powerful and has our best interests at heart so we can trust Him), how we have the power to do good things, how we have strength, how we serve=the atonement.

Charity is actually what I have been studying this week. I was thinking about it and realized that in the scriptures it never describes Charity as "Christ-like love" but always as the pure love of Christ. So it isn't even our love that we feel for them, but His love. We pray to be filled with His love for others, and that is how we have charity. And that is why we have to be pure to feel charity. The love Christ felt for each person in performing the atonement for them is Charity. And we have been promised that if we pray to be filled with that love (and we are commanded to do it), we can have it. How neat. I don't know if that paragraph made any sense, but just know I am learning a lot out here. Perhaps even someday I will learn to express what I am learning in a way that makes sense. (haha jk).

So Kris is officially avoiding us, which is really sad. We have tried our best. I know that Heavenly Father knows Kris and will take care of him. When the timing is right, God will know. We just have to trust Kris to God at this point. We hope he recontacts us soon.

This week we have been able to connect with some less active part member families, which has been really good. They are both letting us come back. Maybe it is finally the right timing for them.

Christmas Eve and Christmas day were great. We didn't really have appointments for those evenings, so we went out to try less actives and investigators. On Christmas Eve we were able to reconnect with Steve! He was a little drunk, but he said we could come back and he was interested in investigating again. His friend is interested, too (and he was sober). We are excited about that.

Actually, how that happened is a funny story. We knocked his door, and as we were walking away, Steve and two of his friends (Mack and Josh) came out the back door to see who it was. Steve had a beer in his hand, and one of his friends (Mack) had a very filthy mouth. I don't think he knew we were missionaries at first, but I am not one to beat around the bush. I explained very bluntly that we were basically nuns for a year and a half. I don't think that sunk in because he shouted out the window later for his friend to get Sister Harding's number because she was cute. We were glad when he went inside. (He also was yelling stuff about how he worshiped the devil like a 10 year old boy trying to mess with his sister. It was so immature).

After the annoying friend went inside we set up a return appointment with Steve, and then he went inside so we were just talking to the more seriously minded, sober friend Josh. He actually asked some legitimate questions and said he was willing to sit in our next appointment with Steve. It was cool. Meanwhile we could see the two drunk friends (Steve and Mack) "sneakily" peaking out the window through the curtains. Drunk people are so weird. When we looked up they literally dropped to the ground, giggling. It was weird.

As we walked away from the door, we could see Mack leaning out the back door with something in his hand that was on fire, yelling something more about the Devil. What a weirdo. Man, I just have to say that it is important to have good friends. Poor Steve. He's a good guy, but he has a dumb friend that was getting him to act rediculous. I don't know if that story makes any sense either, but Sister Harding and I got a good laugh out of it in the car.

Christmas Day we were able to drop by on Cecelia, which was good. She is so kind. We sung for them, which was alright. Sister Harding is tone deaf, and I am just average as you all know, so we really didn't sound good. When I tried to sing just one song by myself, I think I hurt her feelings. Oops. Cecelia still seemed to like it.

Yesterday I saw the dentist and....I have no cavities! Yay! He said that I just had some staining from having my retainer for so long, which is normal because it is hard to clean down there. He polished me up and cleaned the glue off and I am good to go. My mouth feels so clean. :) I don't know if I should see an Orthodontist out here or just wait 2 1/2 months...

Our Dental Assistant was named Julio and he happens to live in North Kansas City (the dentist was in Independence). He was really nice, so we gave him our card. He had never heard of mormons before. The Dentist is mormon, which is why the mission nurse recommended him to me. So when he came in, he was chatting to us all about the VC and the sisters in his ward. I am sure Julio knows now that the dentist is a member, too. He had a really curious look on his face. I hope he contacts us. They also had a bulletin board for business cards in the waiting room, so we put up a mormon.org card with our number on it. :) That made my day.

The other nice thing is that I gave them our insurance and they looked at it, and took my information, but as I was leaving, no one said anything about me paying or how to do that. So I rung the bell, and Julio popped right out of no where, excited and curious to answer my question.

"So how do I pay for this? What do I do?"
"The Dentist says not to worry about it."

"What? Really?"

Knodding.
"Thank you so much!!!"

So, my dental visit is free. I think that is a good Christmas present for you, dad. A cavity free, happy daughter with no bill attached. yay! (Not that you haven't paid any bills for me recently. Thank you so much! Thank you for paying for my mission! This means the world to me.)

Well, I can't think of much else to tell you. I am very happy, healthy, stable, stress free(ish), and I love my mission. Thank you for this gift of my mission.

Well, I hope you have a happy new year with plenty of 7 layer bean dip. I love you all.

Love,

Sister Atkin

It's the Most Wonderful Time of the Year

Dearest Family,
I am so happy today. :)
So the reason that I am emailing so late is because we had our first snow storm of the season last night! It started out as rain, but when we woke up, it was a blustery storm outside! It snowed 1-3 inches, depending on where you are, but it basically shut down our mission. We weren't allowed to drive. So we finally got permission to drive just to the VC to email, and that is probably the extent of our day. We did laundry in our complex, which was super expensive, but whatever. The snow is fun. :)
Actually, it was a big deal because today is transfer day, and they had to delay transfers because no one can drive, including the transfer bus! So everyone will stay where they are for at least one day. The new missionaries get to hang out at the mission home for a day, waiting. That sounds exciting. Poor President Keyes.
Well, I don't have too much news, but life is good around these parts. Transfers were this week and Sister Harding and I are staying together. I am so glad. I feel like I am not finished training her. We will use the next 6 weeks to finish everything up. We also are staying on Thursday P-Day, so look for my email next Thursday. Sister Hansen, my co-Sister Trainer was transferred to the Liberty Jail (we knew it was coming) so, the new Sister Trainer is Sister Sant. I was so nervous about who it would be, but the Lord always comes through. I am so grateful. She is so great! I don't have to worry about fighting her about everything! She is humble and learns fast, so we will work well together. We already basically finished the schedule for next transfer. yay. :)
The other news is that Sister Hodson is training! So I now have 3 daughters and 2 grand-daughters. I am just so proud I could burst. I love Sister Hodson so much. She wrote me and is a little nervous, but she is excited. She will do great. I am just so proud of how far she has come from the awkward and quiet sister she was when she came out. She'll be great. I met my grand daughter last night, and she seems really sweet.
Last Saturday was the Ward Christmas Party, which was a hit. So many people came! The food was great (they had ham catered, and the whole ward signed up to bring a million different kinds of mac and cheese. What a cool idea. And salads, rolls, and desserts. What else do you need?) The Primary did a huge nativity with everyone involved. There were about 15 shepherds, 20 angels, 1 Mary, 1 Joseph, 7 wise men, and 1 cow. It was awesome. There were kids who listened and did what they were told, but there were kids who were dancing in the middle of the stage. Best Christmas Party Ever. :)
This week the VC got three brand new 2013 Chevy Cruz's (I think that is how you spell it. I dunno). They are awesome. I love them so much! Man, if only I could buy this nice of a car after my mission. They drive like a dream.
Okay, I have some bad news. On Friday last week I was flossing. I was trying really hard to do a good job. But the floss got stuck, and I pulled...and my bottom retainer popped right off. oops. I was upset about it, but then looking closer, I am worried that I might have gotten a cavity under my retainer because it has been sitting there for 7 years. So I set up a dentist appointment for next week to get it checked out. I don't know what else to do. Our home insurance will have to pay for it. I'm sorry. I'll see if he is willing to glue my retainer back on (it is all in one piece and not bent and I kept it) or I might have to go see an orthodontist here. I just hope my teeth don't move first.
Last Friday we saw Kris again and taught him the Restoration officially, even though he already knew it. It went great. Every lesson with him is the best lesson ever. We used a 19 year old boy in the ward as a team up, and he was great. They hit it off right away.
But then, on Sunday, we called Josh (the team up) to double check that he was giving Kris a ride to church. Turned out that Kris had told him that he wasn't coming because of his work, but neither of them thought to tell us. We were upset. It was no fun to sit alone at church. Kris worked 15 hours at his job Friday, Saturday and Sunday nights, so he was too tired to come to church. I guess I kind of understand, but I was really sad. Then he didn't respond to anything for 3 days, which is eternity in missionary world. But now we have an appointment for tomorrow like nothing happened. Man, I don't think he realizes how much we care. We might have to move back his baptism date so that he has time to learn everything. And I would prefer for him to come to church more than twice. So we'll see.
On Tuesday I did an exchange with a new missionary. Going in she said, "Maybe you can help us crack these investigators. We've been seeing them forever, and they aren't really progressing." The first one we taught the Law of Chastity (which he previously had a ton of questions about) and the Plan of Salvation. It went great and he really loved it. All of his questions were answered, and he got really excited about the Celestial Kingdom. It was awesome.
Side note: recently I have tried a new way of teaching the Plan of Salvation. I explain it differently and more simply and draw the diagram --in color-- we have all seen before with a few of my own adaptations as we teach it. Then when we leave, I leave them with my drawing as a gift for them to study along with the pamphlet. Every time we do that, the lesson goes great and they really understand. Everyone has been excited to keep my drawing. We taught it to Sandy, our recent convert, yesterday, and she loved it. She said, "I vaguely remember the elders teaching me this, but it made no sense. This was SO much better." :)
Anyway, then we went to see their eternigator. As soon as we said the prayer he asked, "So, who is going to baptize me?" We explained who could, confused because baptism was a touchy subject. "I want the Bishop to baptize me. I want to be baptized before the beginning of the year as a new start. I am doing this for Jesus. He has done so much for me, so I am doing this for him." He had tears in his eyes. It was a miracle!!! We hadn't even started to teach him anything! Then he asked what the requirements were for him to be baptized. He had forgotten about the Word of Wisdom, but just hadn't felt like drinking coffee for the last 5 days, so he can still be baptized on the 29th before the end of the year even though it is less than 2 weeks away! Miracle!
Anyway, it has been a good week. I love you! Talk to you on Tuesday!
Love,
Sister Atkin

Christmas is Coming...

Family!

Guess what? I get to talk to you soon! I just realized that! Anyway, we'll talk about that next time.

Life is great. :)

Last Saturday we had some members set up a last minute lesson with their friend for us. We went and taught him and had no time, and it was actually pretty awkward. He's single and in his late 20's. We'll have the elders teach that one. But it was still cool that the members would make the effort and help out the missionary work--and were willing to share the gospel with their friend. Even though we are not the right fit for him, the spirit was in the lesson. It was good.

Kris, our miracle new investigator, forgot his appointment this weekend. He called us later and felt really bad--he had been at the movies with his 9 year old autistic niece. We couldn't be mad at him. But he came to church on Sunday in his best jeans and a shirt that had a collar and buttoned up. He even took out his earring! We were so proud. Everyone was so nice, and he had a great time. At first he looked a little anxious, but he calmed down and had a good time. He even participated in class, and apparently the bishop caught him the hall and had a chat with him after elders quorum. Twenty minutes after church, Kris called us just to say he had a great time and he was so excited about everything and thank you. It was awesome.

Then we saw him again yesterday and taught him the Plan of Salvation and the Word of Wisdom. It went great. He just really gets it and is super excited about it. He really glows. It is so weird because I never thought I would connect so quickly with a guy with tattoos and earrings, but we are friends. I can't even really describe it because he is just 25 (he looks 19), but we just can teach in a way he understands and I just feel the Saviors love for him.  It is funny because things were so awkward with the members' friend, but things are not awkward at all with Kris. He's awesome. You'll have to meet him someday when he's a member and we come to visit my mission. I just know that both Sister Harding and I together were the ones who were supposed to teach him.

Monday was another awesome day. We had an appointment with Kylee, our other investigator that is married to an inactive member. It was the best lesson we have ever had with her. The Plan of Salvation again--now one of my favorite things to teach. Before it was intimidating, but now it is my favorite.

Then we had dinner with members, and this member is awesome. She was doing anything she could to get any of her neighbors to meet us or come to dinner with us. Finally her neighbor just randomly called after she came home from a trip and agreed to come to dinner. Her name is Nebraska, and she is awesome. I think she is coming to the Ward Christmas party this week.

THEN, we went to contact a headquarters referral. It took us forever to find it, and then he didn't live there. But the lady that did live there pointed us across the street to a man by that name that used to live there.

When we knocked on the door, the man that answered looked super surprised to see us, but went to get Carl because he did indeed live there. Carl came out and he was definitely only wearing boxers. No joke. Big beer belly, too. He looked shocked to see us and stayed standing behind the couch for decency. His friend finally got him a jacket to put on, but he just left it hanging open. We didn't let it get to us, and taught him anyway. It turned out he lives here, but works in Lawrence Kansas and stays there half the week. Last week he ran into elders out in Lawrence when he was drunk, and they gave him their number on a card--he showed it to us. What a coincidence. But he didn't recognize the name of the person that sent the referral. A member had called it in to the mission office (not the elders), but he didn't know a Lorraine. So we don't know how we found him. But we taught him about the Book of Mormon and he was interested, so we invited him to the Ward Christmas Party and set up a return appointment. So I have now found a new investigator in his underwear. Cool.

This week is going to be a good one. Tonight we are doing our Secret Sister gift exchange, and I still have to buy mine. Oops. I drew Sister Godfrey, one of the senior couple missionaries. We also have the Visitors' Center sisters musical night tomorrow when we are preforming. It should be good. The Ward Christmas Party is on Saturday, and I already know that there are going to be a ton of nonmembers there, so we are excited.

Transfers are next week, and I am just praying that Sister Harding will stay! I don't feel finished training her! I think she will stay. We'll see. I am almost positive that I will stay. Probably for the rest of my mission. Next transfer the new Visitors' Center director comes out (like a new mission president) and I really want to help him transition (because my position is like Assistant to the President to the Visitors' Center Director and I will be able to help a lot). Exciting things!

Well, I am out of time, but I love you. Thanks for your short email, mom. :)

I will talk to you soon enough! And I will have Thursday P-Day next week unless I get transferred (not likely).

I looooooooooooove you!

Love,

Sister Atkin

Miracle Monday

Dear Family,

What a good week. I do have stories to tell!

First of all, dad, I forgot to tell you about my Thanksgiving. It was alright. We had it with a few people in our ward and some old people living in a retirement community. There wasn't room for us anywhere except at a table by ourselves, and then the elders sat by us. So we had an awkward Thanksgiving with the elders. but then we went to a family in the ward's house for pie, and that was nice. It was an okay day. It was our preparation day, which was weird.

Second of all, dad, I agree. I don't want you to pick me up out here. I just want to fly home at the end of my mission and rip that bandaid fast. We can tour my mission later with Willie or something (I would love to show you the historical sites, though!). It is strange that my release date is the 15th because my ministerial certificate expires on the 13th. Oh, well. So anyway, you can fill out the paperwork that you won't be picking me up.

So. This week.

Last Thursday was a good day. We taught our spanish speaking investigator finally, and just had her read the pamphlet in spanish. I want her to be baptized someday! Man...

On Friday we tried a former investigator from three years ago, and when we knocked on the door, she let us right in like she was expecting us and we were late. She's this awesome black lady named Ms. Karen (yes, she is married). Her reaction: "They finally sent me girls!!" Her Book of Mormon and all her pamphlets were still sitting in the middle of her coffee table next to her ash tray. It was awesome. I liked her right away, although we weren't able to really talk much. She used awesome phrases like, "It's jus that simple" "Jus keepin' it real" and "see wha I'm sayin'?" The best part was Sister Harding's reaction after we left. She's never met a real black person, I guess, let alone taught one. I love it. They are great people. She told us some awesome stories. She's really good at preachin'. I laughed so hard. We really wanted to teach her, but even though we called her two hours before church and she said she would come, she never did. It turns out that her daughter told us that we thought black people were animals and wouldn't give her a ride. Hopefully she comes this Sunday, but she's moving to Oklahoma soon. We'll send missionaries there once we get her new address.

Sunday was Fast Sunday. After thinking about it, I decided to fast to be able to find someone that was ready for baptism=a miracle. I know God can give us miracles if it is His will, and this wasn't a selfish request. I want to be able to help, and I felt like it was time. I later found out that Sister Harding was fasting for the same thing.

(oh, and the Christmas Devotional was great. :) )

So then Monday rolled around, the day after our fast. We headed out with a lot of energy. We had a former investigator that we felt really good about, but hadn't been able to find. So we called the elders so they could use their GPS to tell us where it was. We headed where they said, and it didn't exist. It was a beautiful day in the 70's, so we decided to try some doors. We met one man who wasn't interested, but when he found out that that new temple was ours, he said he wanted to check it out with his kids. We explained that he couldn't go in, but he still wants to go to the grounds and get a church tour. Sweet!

Then we tried some more doors, but no one answered. As we were leaving one door, there was a young man walking down the street. I just said hi, and when he turned to say hi, he looked excited to see us. He stopped in his tracks and stuck out his hand to shake ours. He was just coming home from work. He is a skinny white guy with a tattoo on his neck, some bling in his ear, and a flat brimmed hat, but with the light of Christ in his eyes as he was excited to see us. I asked if he had seen missionaries before, and he stared at my name tag for a second "uh... yeah!" He had met with missionaries before and even gone to church a few times, but had missed some appointments and then moved, so he had lost track of them. He wanted to come to church with us and start meeting with us again! He even still has his Gospel Principles manual. :)

I looked at him and said, "Kris, you know, you are an answer to my prayers. We know that the gospel has blessed us so much and made us so happy, and we just want people who will listen! We love sharing it! You are the answer to my prayers."

Then he said, "Yeah, you know, I was just thinking as I was walking how I wanted more religion again. In fact this last Sunday I was so deprived that I went down to that church," he said gesturing down the street with disgust. "Their bible study was just a bunch of men talking about current events."

We agreed that it was no coincidence that we had met him on the stree that day. And there was his house, across the street from us. The timing could not have been more perfect.

The spirit was prompting me to set him on a baptism date. We already had a return appointment with him in two days, but the spirit kept saying now. So I brought it up. "Did the other missionaries talk to you about baptism and what that means?"

"Oh yeah. That it isn't something you just do. There are steps you need to do to be ready for it."

"Would that be something you would be interested in?"

"Yeah, or else I wouldn't be talking to you." He was almost laughing at me.

"We are holding a baptismal service Dec. 29th. Would you prepare for that date?"

"Don't you kinda have control over when those things happen?"

"Yeah, but would you start working towards that day?"

"Yeah, sounds great."

He looked so happy. What a miracle! I wasn't there for our return appointment with him because I was on exchanges, but it sounds like it went well. He's coming to church this sunday. We are so excited!

We met some more people on that street that wanted us to come back (and one guy that was just hitting on me, but whatever. "here's a website." the end.)

Then we went to try a Part Member Family. They weren't home, but as we walked away, a dog ran up to us. It was cute so we said hi, and helped it go back to it's owner who was calling after it. It was a man named Tom. He has hit a real low in his life and realizes that he can't regain what he lost. He had a job, a wife, kids, a house, a car, and then he started using Meth, and he has lost it all. He is working on getting clean, but almost has lost hope that the future will be better. He was really humble and ready for some hope. The spirit was so strong. He asked us to pray for him, and as we did, I felt hope for him. He can do it. I am not afraid of him at all, and I really feel that he has been prepared. He's right, he will never regain what he had before, but if he turns to God, he can get something else good, and turn his life around. I believe it.

As we went home, we were both in shock about our miracle morning. The Lord answers fasts and prayers. He knows what he is doing and he loves us. When it is time for a miracle, it isn't bad to ask for one. He provides. It's His work anyway.

Tuesday I wasn't feeling so great. I almost wonder if I am reacting to my meds, so I am going to go off of them for a few days to see if it helps. Don't worry, I'm doing good.

Then yesterday we did an exchange with the full proselyting sisters in Odessa. It was a good day. They drive a truck and live in an ancient tiny house by themselve in a tiny town. It's awesome. We had a pretty good day. Except that they lost both of their progressing investigators. One is moving and the other got hit by a semi and broke his back and both legs. What a sad day!

So here we are on today. I am pretty worn out, so I am probably going to take a nap.

I love you all!

Have a great week!

 

Love,

Sister Atkin