I love the people in Searcy! How can i ever leave?

Well it won't let me "reply to all" so mom I am leaving it in your hands to spread the word! Well first I just wanna squash the rumor that may be floating around that missions are stress free! This week has been crazy with stress for people that I have gotten close too. Every bit of that stress and worrying and praying and working is worth it though. It is amazing watching this cycle that takes place with everyone! The worst trials and feelings and stress comes right before the craziest miracles. I like to think that in Lehi's vision, right before the people get to the tree of life and partake of that amazing fruit, thats when the darkness is the thickest. Thats when the trail gets bumpy, but man is the fruit worth it!!

This week we went on exchanges in Clinton and I went to Clinton with Elder Farnsworth. It was a good time! Clinton is a really small town and the closest church to them is 40 minutes away so they struggle with that sometimes but we were able to have some good experiences on the exchange. That night it was about 8:45 and we had nothing else to do, we were near our apartment and the Elder I was with suggested we just call it a night. Well we still had a good 15 minutes so I told him that we could just go walk and see what we could find. So we did and absolutely no one was outside. It was about 12 degrees and windy so we were not really expecting anything but then what do ya know! A woman comes to take her trash out! So we offer to help and talk to her and set up a return appt. to go teach! She seems really prepared!

BRANDEN AND SIERRA GOT BAPTIZED! Hallelujah! It was awesome. I baptized Sierra and Kevin Berkheimer baptized Branden.  Jessica spoke on the Holy Ghost at the baptism and it was one of the best talks I have ever heard! You would think she was a member her whole life! She had everyone crying. There was so many people from our ward there we had to move it to the chapel and even then it was full! We accidentally forgot to turn off the font water so it over filled into the bathrooms.

Ok one last experience because I am sick of typing! Last week we had dinner with some members,  and we asked if they knew anyone we could teach and they said nothing good has ever come from sharing the gospel after all these years (and they are pretty seasoned), so they have just kind of gave up. I promised them if they would pray for a missionary experience that night that the Lord would put someone in their path. Well 3 days later a man came and knocked on their door and said he was a direct descendant of Brigham Young, he wasn't a member of the church but wants to no more and he heard they were members so he was wondering if they could teach him! He came to church this sunday and now we are going to teach him! Crazy stuff! Too many things have happened this week. I cant write it all! Anyways thanks for everything!

ya!! man mom.......i m most likely getting transferred, says Bishop. which sucks but its ok. All my companions are great but Elder Soelberg has been my favorite companion by far.

 

ya this is like home. i dont know how i'm going to leave! I love the ward and everyone I teach. I never thought I had the ability to care about people like I do right now. I used to hate people! But now all I want is for them to live this gospel. Mosiah 28:3 status. Missions are crazy. I know Kylie is the best sister missionary out there right now.

 

 I love you mom. Every night I pray for you by name. (I use mom not rita don't worry) I would never have came out here without you. This mission has already changed my life so much. I am so grateful for how much you love me.

Week of January 27th

This week has been the busiest week ever. It has been crazy!! So we went on a couple of exchanges with some district leaders in the zone.

First I went to Heber Springs with Elder Blocker, who is actually a visa waiter thats going to Australia today. I went with him and man we had a wild time. We had a lady pull up in a hippie van when we were walking to an appointment, she said that God told her to stop and talk to us, so we started talking to her and I asked what role the Savior played in her life, She said "O thats my husband!" Well I will let you imagine how the rest of that conversation went. Basically she was on drugs.

Anyways before Elder Blocker and I went out that day we made 2 goals: to talk to everyone, and to set a baptismal date! We were able to accomplish both. It was great stuff. That night we went hometeaching with a member. His name was Dusty Sherwood! So naturally we had our little  sherwood "Who's who" conversations. He was a way cool guy! He invited me to go ride horses with him on a P-day but unfotunately i cant do that. 

So the next day I went on exchanges again in Jonesboro. This time I was with Elder Reid! He is awesome. He is from Montana, he is a red head, and he loves hunting, sports and country music. He actually quoted the song "Pick-up Man" and Joe Diffie at the beginning of the exchange. So I knew it was going to be a good one. And it was! I got to interview some of their baptismal candidates. I love doing interviews. It was a god time.

 So on Saturday night we had the night session of Stake conference and they wanted all missionaries to go. Elder William R. Walker of the 70 was there. Chris, Jessica, and Brandon sat on the 2nd row. They loved it! After the session we walked up to talk to them and they were talking Chris and Brandon were talking with Elder Walker and President Petersen!  A couple minutes after that ELder Walker walked up to me and Elder Soelberg and shook our hand and told us how much he appreciated us. It was cool stuuf. But ya the next day we had stake conference again but it was in the Lonoke high school basketball gym. There was so many people there. They split the stake! And guess what the new stake is called, the Searcy Stake! O ya! But ya that was a cool little deal.

Anyways last night we had a baptism for Cassie! It was so awesome! She was elect and prepared. So many things have happened this week its hard to remember all of it. I wish everyone could have the chance to see what we as missionaries get to see everyday. My understanding and testimony of the atonement has grown so much from watching it work in peoples lives. It is a literal power. It not only cleanses people it changes them! I have seen peoples desires change completely as they live the first principles and ordinances of the gospel. His grace is sufficient not only to heal us but to transform us. Thanks for all your support everyone!

Lots of Miracles this week

Hey there! How goes it?

 

Over here in good ol' Searcy things are rockin and rollin! This last week was all really good except for saturday. Saturday was not fun. But ill tell ya more about that later.

 

Last tuesday after specialized training we went on exchanges with the Batesville elders. Elder Hoggan stayed in Searcy with me. It was pretty sweet. At the beginning of the exchange we were going to visit some investigators when I had a very subtle prompting to go to this former investigators house across town. So we did, his name is Justin, he is a baptist music minister and a hard core steelers fan. Despite that he is pretty cool! He took us back into his studio for the lesson and before we could get started he hopped on his keyboard and started singing some  "soul power" tunes to us. It was kind of awkward but funny at the same time. We had a throw down lesson with him about the BOM. He was not keeping his commitments to read. So we got a little bold with him and helped him understand the importance of it. He committed to read the Book of Mormon in 30 days! It was sweet. The exchange was great.  I love being able to work with missionaries in my zone.

 

So we were planning on having a baptism this Saturday. President Petersen drove down sat. morning to interview them. The interview went well and they both passed! We just need to get them married first So we ended up having to cancel the baptism. It was depressing stuff. They are getting married this next week though so we resheduled the baptism for next friday.

 

We are also having a baptism for our investigator Cassie for next sunday. Cassie is legit! So one of my favorite things about missionary life is the whole setting goals deal. In a mission we set daily, weekly, monthly, and yearly goals. Its fun getting competitive with it! Elder Soelberg and I set a zone baptismal goal this month that we have been working like crazy to achieve. Things were looking rough at first but some crazy miracles have happened that have helped this past week in our zone! I will tell you one. A guy named John just moved into an area in our zone. He had already been to church once and wants to be baptized! He is very elect and prepared! He moved from Arizona and he was introduced to the Gospel by Monty Sherwood! I dont know who that is but thats pretty awesome! The Sherwoods were an answer to my prayers once again!

 

Other crazy miracles have been happening in the areas of the zone and things are looking great! One last story: Last night Elder Soelberg and I had an hour left on the day and we had no idea what to do. We tried everything in our planner and we were out of ideas. So we decided to do that whole praying thing thats such a fad in missionary work. After we said a prayer I opened the planner and looked at our weekly goals. We were one short of reaching our member present lesson goal for the week! So we tried to think of a part member family we could see. One came to my mind that we have tried to contact before but it never worked. So we went over there at 8 30 pm and they let us in! Its one of the nicest families I have ever met. The mom is a member is is the ward mission leaders daughter and she has not been to church in years. The dad is not a member. We talked and taught and had a great lesson! We told them that we were prompted by the spirit of the Lord to come to their house. The spirit was so evident! We are now going to teach them again next tuesday night! Prayer works! I have learned and can testify that in my experience its always the smallest most subtle promptings that bring mighty miracles.

 

 Anyways I love you family. Thanks for all your support. Thanks trevor and truse for the jerky and letters and the sexy pen. Thanks grandma and grandpa for your awesome letters. They meant a lot! Let me know how Kylie is doing! 



The gospel of Jesus Christ is comforting during trying times.

Hey family! Sorry I am so late to email today. Elder Soelberg and I went up to North Little Rock and played basketball with President Petersen and 10 other missionaries. It was sweet!

So I don't have that much time to write. If I was going to talk about all the tender mercies Elder Soelberg and i have experienced this letter would be to long anyway. I have seen miracles this week.

On tuesday we had zone meeting and it went well. We have 40 missionaries in our zone! Its twice as big as the last zone I was over. It goes from Searcy all the way up to the Missouri line! So we had some traveling to do this week.

On tuesday we went on exchanges with the Assistants on tuesday and it was awesome. Elder Armstrong stayed in Searcy with me and we had some fun! We had a lesson with a girl where we read 2 Nephi 31 and invited her to be baptized. She said she has been waiting to for a long time and she was ready! The only problem was she was living with her boyfriend who is a member but they are getting marrried by Bishop this thursday now and getting baptized on the 25th!!

David got baptized this last saturday. It was so awesome. He even shaved his scruffly beard for the baptism! This is the guy I was telling you about that has a house full of guns and explosives. He is awesome though.

Thursday was a challenge but the Lord saw fit to bless us with a miracle. There has been a lot of challenges with getting some of our investigators baptized. We have been working with some them for a couple months now and obstacles/satan keeps rearing its ugly head. Thursday night though we went over for dinner and they told us they were going to get baptized on the 18th!! No matter what! The spirit confirmed their decision that night and they both looked so happy. she had tears in her eyes when she looked at me and asked if I would baptize her. Its unbelievable how involved the Lord is in our lives.

Wednesday night I was on exchanges with an Elder that was struggling and it was great. We talked for a long time that night about the power of the atonement. I know its infinite and all-encompassing. I know that the grace and mercy of our Savior is over all his children. I know that through it the plan of salvation is able to work its course. I have found so much comfort in the Book of Mormon this week as a I have studied the Plan of Salvation. I am so grateful for this gospel. I am grateful for the comfort it provides during trying time. I know and can testify of the Power of the Holy Ghost. It is the comforter (John 14:26) and is there to ease the pains of our soul when we call out to our father in humble prayer. I love Uncle Bobby and Aunt Marcie.  I am writing a letter to them today.  I am grateful for the family unit! Especially mine! I love you all. I pray for you by name daily. Thank you for everything you do.

Missionary life is so rewarding!



BUENOS DIAS MI FAMILIA!!

So little Behi is in the MTC eh? Thats crazy!! Let me know how she is doing!

Is Christie really having a boy?!! Awesome! Man I can't wait to be his favorite uncle. I can't believe Macy is coming down South. She is going to love it!

So anyways we had transfers this last week. Chris Cooksey came with us to the transfer meeting! He loved meeting all the new missionaries. Well Elder Spencer is off in Morrilton now. He is a good missionary. So I picked up Elder Soelberg!! He is the man. He is from Farmington Utah. He went to Snow college for a year. We are already pretty good friends. I know why too. He has the same personality as Shawn Lindsey! So ya he is hilarious. Speaking of which how is Shawn. I miss that guy so much. So ya Elder Soelberg was here for 7 months at the beginning of his mission. He trained my trainer. Now we are both here and I am really excited to see what happens this next transfer meeting.

So on thursday, the day after transfers, we had to go back to North Little Rock to go to Mission Council which is just like a leadership meeting. There we set our mission baptismal goal for the month and year.Those are always the best meetings. I could listen to President Petersen talk all day on the atonement. He is a boss!

But ya this week has been good. We set a date for David Carmichael to get baptized this saturday. The only thing that would keep him from doing this is his poor health. But we gave him a blessing and i'm confident that things will work out. We also are trying to get Brando and Sierra baptized this weekend! O ya! So we taught that family I was telling you about the Gomez's. I love those people. We taught them the restoration last night and it went well! i am excited to see how they progress.

Yesterday was probably the best fast and testimony meeting I have ever been too. It was awesome! Chris got up and bore his testimony!! It completely took me off guard. He bore such a powerful testimony of the power of the book of Mormon. The spirit was so strong.

So Bishop just barely told me how, since we have some general authorities coming to stake conference. So Chris He already has a calling as the guy who is in charge of cleaning the building, he has his own set of keys to the church, and we are already giving him families to hometeach! So he is pretty much a member. And Jessica is doing great too! She got a calling as a secretary in the Young womens! She loves it but she is really nervous about it all. Man things are going so good.

We have zone meeting this tuesday and then we are going to exchanges with the AP's. The next day we are doing exchanges with the Pocahontas elders. (yes that is the name of one of our areas) So ya I am excited! Anyways family I just want to let you know I love and miss ya! I pray for you by name daily and I know you do the same because I can feel it. Thank you for your prayers, patience, and packages!

Happy New Year!!! Good Luck Kylie! I love You!!!

Hey family!!

So you're in Utah right now? Crazy!! I want to talk to Kylie! How was the farewell?!! I am so excited for her. She is going to be such a great missionary.

So this week was really awesome. I cannot remember what I did and did not tell you on christmas but I will just tell you what I know. I went to the Millers for christmas eve! It was sweet because they have to family traditions that we have. 1. We ate mexican food for dinner. (very delicious) 2. They gave some pajama pants for a present. (very comfy) (I don't know if thats how you spell comfy) (I also am not sure if that's a word) But it was great. and Elder Spencer and I built a skyscraper of a gingerbread house.

So then christmas morning we woke up, opened some awesome presents (thanks for the sweater Kylie) and then went to the Souths for breakfast! Then we went to the Cookseys for lunch and then we went and worked until I got to talk to yall! It was great!

We have had some great lesson these past couple of days. My conviction that Heavenly Father has prepared specific people in every area of every mission grows stronger every day. Alma 13:24. I know there is people in Oregon waiting for Kylies sincere and unique testimony.

So as far as transfers go........I AM STAYING! Can you believe it? Elder Spencer is getting transferred. I am staying and Elder Soelberg is coming over here with me! He served in Searcy the first 7 months of his mission and trained Elder Tate. I'm excited because Elder Soelberg is awesome! So ya crazy stuff. Anyways I love you all and am so grateful for all your support. I am so grateful for everything that has been sent to me! Thank you Grandma Udall, Aunt Trisha, and badger for coming and skyping with me! I love you all. Have a safe drive to Utah and back. TEAR IT UP BEHI!! HOORAH FOR ISRAEL!!

NOTE TO KYLIE:

Kylie!!! How do you feel right now?  nervous much?

KYLIE!!!!!! Yes i am staying in Searcy! its crazy. i will probably be here for the next 2 1/2 years. How was the farewell? how are you feeling right now?!!

If I had to give you one tip it would be this.....dont drink the orange juice at the mtc. but if I had to give you 2 tips.....I would also tell you to be patient with yourself. One thing I know about me and you is that we are super competitive about stuff and we are hard on ourselves. Just remember who's work you are doing and the authority of your calling! You are going to feel overwhelmed at times but keep going! Your heart is like a ball of clay. if its soft and humble the lord is going to mold you into something great and you are going to bless so many lives. if you harden your heart or settle you will just be.....a ball of clay. ha ha I love you Kylie. You are going to do awesome!! Proverbs 3:5-7

Merry Christmas!

HEEEEEY!!!

How is it going family! Man what a week! I have a lot of stuff to tell yall about this week so I will just tell you when I call you on wednesday instead of typing it all out. This week has been something else though.

 First of all we had christmas zone conference on wednesday in North Little Rock. President Petersen is awesome. He is probably the next apostle. It was a good conference. And at the end we got to watch a movie. Ephraims Rescue. Ever seen it? Its quite the flik. I would recommend it! But enough small talk lets get down to the needy greedy. (Nacho voice)

 So when it rains out in Arkansas.....it rains hard. Friday night up until saturday night it rained non-stop. We had flash flood warnings right and left. The best part about this is Elder Spencer and I are on bike week. We promised ourselves that we were not going to let the whether stop us from working. Last week when it snowed we didn't skip a beat. So whats a little rain? Well let me tell ya  this was no walk in the park. It was more like a ride in a river. But we tried to have some sunshine on our cloudy day and make the best of it. So we rode to our appointments and it was pouring. We had 3 appointments and they were no where near each other. Well.....all of the appointments dropped! No one was there when we got there.  A good mixture of cold rain and frustration was working in its way in as it seemed like nothing was going on. It felt like we didn;t get anything done that day despite us being out the whole time. The promise in Ether 12:6 rang true though as we did not recieve a "witness until AFTER the trial of our faith."

The next day was sunday and it was impossible for our hopes to be too high for our investigators to get to church since we didn't get to meet with any of them on saturday. Well sunday morning we prayed for them all by name and then got a ride to go get all of them. We were able to reach our weekly goal and get 6 investigators to church! What a blessing. Also Jessica (our new convert) gave her first talk in sacrament meeting. She sounded like she had been a member her whole life as she spoke about the Book of Mormon. It was amazing!! The spirit was so strong. I was thinking about the growth she has had as I watched and listened to her testify in front of the whole congregation that she knows the Book of Mormon is true. The real miracles happened last night though.

On the way to one of our appointments I noticed I got a little ahead of Elder Spencer. So I stopped and waited right in front of this house. Now Elder Spencer and I have tried to do things other than knock doors at night because either people don't answer or they get mad. But I felt so strongly impressed to knock on this door that I really had no other choice it felt like! So when Elder Spencer caught up we went and knocked and were immediately let in! When we got in there were 2 mexican families of good size all sitting in the living room. We stated our purpose as representatives of the Jesus Christ and asked if we could say a prayer with them. We then asked what they would ask the Savior for if he was there with us. They said jobs and physical health. We prayed and asked for those things for them and we blessed the home. I noticed after the prayer one of the fathers had tears in his eyes. We briefly taught them about the restoration and set up return appointments with both families. They were so humble and loving. I know and can testify they have been prepared by the hand of the Lord to accept the message of the restoration because it was nothing other than the spirit of the lord and led us to them. We probably pass by that house 3 or 4 times a day and last night they were ready for us.

Every obstacle we faced this week as a companionship and the riding the the rain and wind and having appointment and appointment fall through was all worth these miracles we saw yesterday! And they truly were miracles. I know just as Joseph Smith said that "Sacrifice brings forth the blessing of heaven." I love you family. Thank you for everything you do for me. Merry Christmas to everyone! I hope we all take the time to think about what the best gift would be to get Christ for his birthday. See ya in a couple of days!