Endure!

Hello!

It is seriously so mind blowing the experience you have on a mission. The people you meet the things you learn. I look back to who I was 7 months ago and just feel so blessed that I have had the chance to grow so much. I can only imagine what the next 11 months have in store for me. Yesterday at church it was just one of those days that every meeting seemed planned for me. In sacrament meeting the theme was missionary work. As I sat there listening to the speakers I couldn't help but smile because I am a full time missionary. I am one of the Lords full time servant at this time. What a blessing it is to serve. In gospel principles we talked about enduring to the end. What does it mean to endure? In zone conference President Ol explained that the word endure is often overlooked. We commit ourselves to "endure to the end" but what does that really mean? He said that when we endure we work to remain in the clean state that we were at after the ordinance of baptism and progress toward our full potential. Enduring is "real growth". It is becoming more like the Savior. It is not allowing the trials we face to become an excuse to sin. It means coming to understand the Doctrine of Christ better. It means developing a stronger relationship with our Heavenly Father. It means taking what is thrown at us and doing our best. God didn't promise that life would be easy but we know that all things are possible as we put our faith in the Lord. I think that endurance is linked closely with goal setting. If we don't have something we are working toward what is the point of enduring. We all have the ultimate goal to return to live with Heavenly Father and Jesus Christ. But how are we going to get there? What daily, weekly, monthly, annual goals are we setting to make it happen and to help gage our progress. Are we praying each day? Are we reading our scriptures? Are we serving others? These are a few of the things that popped into my head. As a missionary it is built in my daily schedule to do each of the things i just mentioned. But I realized that I am not going to be on a mission forever. It made me think, why do I do these things each day? Why are they commandments? It is simple. They are ways we can strengthen our faith and receive blessings in return. A win win situation. Finally we had the opportunity to teach young womens the third hour. Sister MC (a hilarious older lady from England) the YW president asked if we would fill in for her so she could be there for her grandsons first time passing the sacrament. Of course the lesson topic was on "Becoming a Righteous Mother and Wife". We laughed because a missionaries we're told to lock our hearts but at the same time we are told that a mission is the best marriage prep around. We focused on motherhood and the importance of developing the attributes we need to be a good mother now. I had the opportunity to talk about the influence my mom has had on me. I shared how grateful I am to have a mother that regularly shared her testimony with me. I told the girls that I didn't always appreciate the gospel twist my mom seemed to be able to put on everything until I can to understand who I truly was. Being a member of this church is not a lifestyle it is the core of who you are. My mom was never afraid to share that with me. And I appreciate it so much now. Being an example is truly one of the best ways to teach your kids the gospel. I love Sundays. I love the Spirit of being with other members. I love partaking of the sacrament and renewing my covenants. I love worshipping and learning more about my Savior and His plan of happiness. I love it all.

I don't have time to make any alterations so here is a chunck from my weekly letter to President O to give you a little update on some of the people I am working with:

We had the opportunity to work with many less actives this week. It has been so wonderful. I love seeing the light bulb go off in peoples minds and truth enter into their hearts from the influence of the Holy Ghost. The Lord truly does prepare people. Even if these people are already baptized members. 

As we met with G this week she expressed to us how much she needed a refresher in the gospel. Nothing that we shared with her was new but it made more sense and she is at a point in her life where she is ready to act upon the teachings. To keep the commandments and follow Christ. We are still waiting for the bishopric to extend her a calling. We think a little responsibility would help her feel even more involved and needed in the ward. She committed to paying her tithing and fast offerings. She said it would be difficult but that she knew she couldn't live without the blessings. I have grown to love and care for Gaby very deeply. She has incredible faith and courage. I know she will continue to grow in the gospel with the help of the Spirit.

D came to church a week ago Sunday. It was inspired to say the least. A member of the bishopric asked if I would bear my testimony since the youth speaker was a no show. Of course I accepted the invitation. I was prompted to share my testimony on the importance of gratitude and giving thanks to the Lord at all times and in all things. I wasn't quite sure why I had shared that particular message. Yesterday when we had the chance to meet with D he talked about how glad he was that he was there for my talk and I knew in that moment that I shared what I did for him. The Lord is incredible. D continues to be torn between the need for success in the movie industry and coming back to church. He wants both but they don't support each other very well. His intentions are good but his actions not so good sometimes. We are working to understand what will help him see that developing a deeper relationship with his Savior is way more valuable and will bring much more happiness than any career success. He loves when we visit because we bring the Spirit. He wants so badly to have that Spirit with him. We are in the process of helping him see that he can he just has to be willing to make changes and prioritize.

We have visited with a lady named A J a few times in the past. She is married to a guy from New Zealand. Both less active. I know they have had some marital issues in the past but don't know details. They have 3 kids and live with A's mom. We had the chance to visit with A and her two daughters this week. The older of the two daughters (10 I believe) hasn't been baptized so we talked about why baptism is important. A is always very nice and listens to what we have to say but flakes out on us a lot. As we were wrapping up our visit she stopped us and asked if she could receive a priesthood blessing. I was kind of taken aback for a second. It is in moments like these that I see the true nature of Heavenly Fathers children. They know that He is real and loves them. A knows that the gospel is true and there is power in the priesthood. She expressed the need for her family to come back to church. It is just so hard to act sometimes. We are excited for the opportunity to go visit this week with some priesthood holders. I am hoping as A feels of her Heavenly Fathers love she will be more committed to make a change. 

Our visits with other less actives went well. We continue to invite others to come unto Christ and testify of the blessings that will come as they do so. There is nothing more powerful than being filled with Spirit and promising blessings. :)

Our investigator M is progressing well to a certain extent. He is full of faith. He want to know the truth. He reads from the Book of Mormon. He prays. He keeps appointments with us. But he is not receiving an answer. At our last lesson we shared a message on the Holy Ghost and recognizing the Spirit. M agreed with everything we shared. He said that he is just waiting. My concern is that he is receiving an answer and not aware of it. Do you have any suggestions on how we could help him to know that his answer can come quickly? Since he works on Sundays coming to church hasn't been possible. He told us that once he knows that the things we are teaching him are true he will make sure he is at church. I invited him to put faith in God and come to church before he receives an answer because he might need the experiences of keeping the sabbath day holy. He didn't refuse but said he needed to wait until the end of the month. I am hoping he will keep his word and come to church this Sunday. I see so much potential in M. He would be such an asset to our ward. 

The Newport Coast YSA ward elders had a baptism on Saturday and we had the awesome opportunity to invite our investigator Sister B to join us. She is married to a member and has been coming to church for years but is closer to getting baptized than ever. She is probably 65 and hispanic. We had Brother and Sister H from our ward drive them and work to help fellowship her. After the baptism Brother B told me that they had been to a lot of baptisms before but there was something special about this one. I agreed. The Spirit was very strong. Mormon messages played as Whitney (the young woman that got baptized) changed. Sister B said that they touched her and she loved watching them. After the baptism I asked Sister B, "when do we get to celebrate you and your baptism day?" She responded, "Soon. I think it's almost time." We are meeting to have lunch with her tomorrow. I can't wait to talk more with her and answer her questions. She is full of faith and desire to follow Christ.

Overall it was a great week. The work is moving forward. We are still struggling but doing our best to find new investigators. I love my companions. I love the ward I am in. I love my area. I love being a missionary. I love the people I am working with. I love the Lord. 

I hope you all have an awesome week! Thanks for all your love and support!

Sister Kimball :)

7 Month Mark!

Friends and Family!

Wow the good weeks just keep coming. I am telling you a reset button is key. Getting stuck in a rut and a routine that isn't bad but not very successful is no beuno. This week like last week was filled with a lot of miracles. It is amazing the blessings that are all around us all the time that we don't take the time to notice or be grateful for. Just like we need to recognize the promptings and witness of the Spirit we also need to recognize the Lords hand in our lives. Sometimes these miracles aren't grand but a small sign that Heavenly Father is aware of us. I love the quote by one of the apostles that states that "a lot of times answers to our prayers come through someone else". It is so true. People are placed in our lives just when we need them. And on the flip side, we are placed in other peoples lives just when they need us. We just have to follow through on impressions we receive from the Holy Ghost.

We met with M this week and he is progressing well. We followed up on our last lesson where we taught the restoration with focus on the priesthood. We asked him to pray about Joseph Smith and the Book of Mormon. He said he had been praying to know the truth and to be guided. We were able to teach him the importance of praying specifically to know if the things we were teaching him were true and promised him that the Lord would answer him with a specific and personal answer. We asked if he would offer the closing prayer. He accepted as usual. He then asked if he could sing...what do you say to that? I looked at my companions and we all were at a loss. Finally, I just said "okay". Woah was that a weird prayer. At the beginning it was hard to take things seriously and keep from giggling but the sincerity was there. As he began to ask about Joseph Smith and the Book of Mormon the Spirit was present. He was in a hurry so after he closed we didn't have a lot of time to ask him how he was feeling. We have a few things we need to work on but M is great. His intentions are all good. I know that Heavenly Father answers prayers. Even weird song prayers. Our next plan of attack is to help him take the time not only to ask but to listen and ponder. I think sometimes the act of praying the way that he does distracts him from the witness the holy Ghost might be giving to him.

We had the opportunity to meet with G this week. We went over the Word of Wisdom and the Law of Chastity. G has twin daughters that are 4 years old. We don't know a lot of the background story with the father. What we do know is that they were never married, he's not in the picture, and it doesn't sound like he was a very nice guy. Anyways, we thought that the law of chastity might be hard for her and turns out we were right. But Heavenly Father works in mysterious ways. As we shared the importance of staying clean and saving ourselves for after marriage she began to cry. Instantly we knew that there was still a lot of guilt from some of her past decisions. The lesson turned into this beautiful conversation about the atonement and forgiveness. She felt that the law of chastity didn't apply to her anymore and we taught her it was just the opposite. Heavenly Father is a God of mercy and new beginnings. He wants us to change and be better. We talked about how forgiving ourselves is sometimes the hardest part. We encouraged her to study the atonement so she could understand it better. G is incredible. The changes she is making, the dedication that she has, the faith she has put in the Lord is an inspiration to me. She is one of those people that I know I was meant to meet. She has changed my life. Baptisms are amazing but seeing someone that strayed return to the gospel is just as sweet and miraculous.

Leave it to me to run out of time. These are just the beginning of the amazing miracles and expereinces I have had this week. I wish I could share the rest with you. I will throw them in next week if I have time! Sorry to cut this eamil short. Bottom line, miracles are everywhere we just have to look for them. I will be sure to do my weekly email first next week. I have just been behind on personal emails and didn't want to go another week without responding!

Anyways, the church is true! :) I miss you all. Have a fabulous week!

With all my love,

Sister Kimball 

The Three Nephites

LONG TIME NO TALK EVERYONE!

Sorry for being lame. Some weeks I just sit infront of the computer and feel zero inspiration whatsoever. It's a lame excuse I know but I don't want to just write a bunch of stuff for the heck of it that would just be a waste of everyones time. Anyways, this past week was awesome! I actually have things to report on. It has been kind of a frustrating time. All of our previous investigators dropped us. We have been having a hard time finding new investigators. People on our potentials list from the area book never seemed to be home. Things were just blah. It was time to set the reset button. This week was full of training and firesides and opportunities to learn new ideas and apply them. Thank goodness for mission conferences and visits from CC to help get the motivation back. It is nice having an outgoing mission president with friends from all over the world with different experiences. We have been very blessed by the opportunities we have been given.

First of all JT (a friend of President and Sister O's who wrote a book about missionary work) came and gave a mission wide conference on "opening windows" and "making appointments with the Lord" in our efforts to find the ELECT. She has created a program that has helped missions throughout the world have more success in finding people to teach. Her method is simple but very powerful. She taught us that we need to include the Lord in the work we are doing. We must pray to know where to go find people and receive confirmation from the Spirit that we have planned according to Gods will. As we do this we are "making an appointment with the Lord". We are promising Him that we will be where we promised when we promised. In return Heavenly Father will provide us with the truth seekers that are ready to hear the message of the restored gospel. As we open these "windows" or time slots the Lord will provide us with His elect. We had the opportunity to put Sister T's method to work twice this week. It was interesting because the basic outline of her method are things we already do but putting everything together made so much sense. Our first experience was not what we were hoping for. I think we psyched ourselves out and our expectations were too high and we put too much pressure on ourselves and the situation. We were all feeling a little bummed and frustrated but then realized that it is a process. When we put our trust in the Lord and know we are where we need to be when we need to be there, He will provide us with the 'elect' we need to find. We also need to truly understand and feel comfortable with the method before we use it. We talked about why things didn't work and what we can do to solve the problem. After that our desire and excitement to try again was back. The second time we "opened a window" was Saturday while Sister T and I were on exchanges with Sister W. We decided to go contacting outside of a grocery store. This time the miracles were numerous. We were able to talk to many people and see the difference between those that are truth seekers and those that are not. We left that "window" with a new investigator (K) with a baptismal date for August 31st and an appointment for Tuesday and a referral (J) for the spanish missionaries. It was incredible to find people that were ready to drop what they were doing and listen to a 'special' message that has the potential to 'change' their lives because it has 'changed' our lives. I gained a testimony in that experience that Sister T's method is inspired. When we truly involve the Lord in the work miracles happen. This was proof to me that changing things up and learning a new way of doing things can help us get out of the rut that might be keeping us from finding those that need to be found. Change is good. Never thought you'd hear me say that, huh? It's not always easy or fun but it is important and helps us grow and progress.

Exchanges are always great. It was so good to learn from Sister W (she is a Sister Trainer Leader) and ask her questions and get her insights on certain things. Another miracle that happened while on exchanges was meeting with M. M is a former investigator. He is from Ghana and moved to California with his wife and 3 kids a few years back. He is a well educated man and loves the Lord. I have felt the prompting to get in touch with him and we were able to teach him at the church on Saturday. I had taught him the first three lessons before with my previous companion. He enjoyed us coming over but was always in a rush. I could tell that he liked what we were saying and he agreed with it but he wasn't understanding the importance of priesthood and the fact that our church is different. We focused out lesson on authority and taught the second half of the first lesson. It was so powerful. I could see a difference in his reactions. Being at the church, with little distraction helped him think about the things we were sharing with him. He works on Sundays and said that he would cancel work to come to church but not until the first week in September. We challenged him to pray to know if the things we were teaching are true and to act on the answer as he got it. He said he would get baptized when he received that answer and would do the things he needed to in order to do it. We are meeting with him tomorrow. I am anxious to know if he has received an answer. We promised him that God would provide a way if he would put his trust in Him. He agreed and said that he would be a missionary to his family if he knew it was true. M is incredible. The Lord has been preparing him. I know it. 

Our work with less actives continues to go well. We picked up two new people this week which is wonderful. People are afraid of change. I think a message of faith is what majority of them need and a reminder that they have not been forgotten. Brother C taught in his fireside that a lot of times people don't have a need for the church but the church has a need for them. We just have to help them realize it. He also focused on the importance of questions. Instead of just sharing the basics of what you know ask them what things they are specifically curious about. Then use the scriptures and your testimony to answer those questions or concerns.

As for my companions...being in a trio is not always easy but I feel like we have grown so close. For some reason I was worried that Sister J would come back from exchanges and wish we were more like the other sisters she was with. She said that she had a good time but missed being with us. It made me feel so good to know that she is comfortable with us. Sister J is such an awesome addition. She has that greenie fire that is just so contagious. She makes me want to be better. I want to teach her and help her in any way that I can. I have grown to love my companions so much. I just care for them and want them to succeed and feel successful. Sister T is doing great. She is such an amazing missionary. I think she gets down on herself sometimes. I am trying to help her see that practice and expereince really is key. The only way we can grow is if we try. I have a very dominant personality and I am learning that sometimes it interferes with my companions ability to progress. I am trying to step back a little and not be the one to suggest ideas all the time, or lead the discussion. Balance is important and sometimes I struggle to find it. I just hope that I am giving them the help and strength that they need. I have been blessed with two incredible companions. I love them and look up to them more than I think they realize. I know that Heavenly Father has put us together for a reason. I have so much to learn from them. I just hope that they will stop to recognize how amazing they are instead of comparing their abilities to mine. We all have different strengths not to mention I have been out a lot longer than both of them. I try to help them see that I was very similar to them when I was brand new. I had many of the same concerns and worries. I am just grateful that they are patient while I try to figure things out. Oh and we just have a blast together. We laugh and have fun and just enjoy being around each other. Whoever says you can't be a missionary and have fun has got it all wrong. If you're not having fun as you do missionary work, you aren't doing it right!

I love being a missionary. I can't believe that I have less than a year left. I still have my hard days but they seem to leave less impact. I have come to truly understand my purpose. I have something special that has changed my life and continues to change my life and I want to share that with people. One of the biggest differences I have seen in myself is my new found ability to be assertive. I just talk to people and let them know how I am feeling. It is important to be sensitive and aware of others feelings but I am not afraid to say what needs to be said. Very unlike me for those of you who know me well. It is amazing with Heavenly Father can mold us into if we let Him. I still have MANY weaknesses to work on but I have a testimony that they have the potential to become strengths and that is what gives me the motivation to work on them and do my best with the Saviors help to change.

I hope you are all doing well! Serve others. Read your scriptures. Pray. Love people.

I miss you and love you,

Sister Kimball :)

ps You might be wondering about "The Three Nephites" thing. On our phone as missionaries we all have a signature that gets sent with all of our text messages. We tries to make a combination of all our names but that was lame and putting all our names was too long. We didn't know what to do and we were all sitting around tring to think of famous trios, so naturally we thought of 3's company, the 3 amigos, the three muskateers and then BOOM...THE THREE NEPHITES. We thought it was clever but didn't think much of it but we have gotten more comments on it than we ever would have guessed. Our members love it! A less active guy named Duke from Tonga that we are working with calls us his 3 Nephites. It has just been fun to see so many reactions. 

New

Oh transfers. I can finally say with some confidence that change is getting a little easier. I am not at the point of saying I like change but I am getting used to it. The adjusting period seems shorter and I don't seem to freak out as much. Thank goodness. Making improvement on a weakness is always nice. 

So what has the new transfer brought you might be wondering? Sister Thompson and I have a new companion. Her name is Sister J. She is a newly 19 year old from Springville, Utah. She is the youngest of 6. She has a twin sister that looks little like her. She also has 1 brother just like me and Sister T. He is serving his mission in Oregon right now. What else? She has major greenie fire which is awesome in so many ways. She knows why she is here and is ready to work. It is weird being in a trio. We have kind of just been trying different stuff out and seeing what works. It's a total trial and error thing. She isn't afraid to get out there and try things which is awesome. I think with a little more time we'll have it down. We'll have to take a companionship picture soon. 

Along with getting a new companion our area split and we now have a set of elders in our ward. Five missionaries in the ward now. What does that mean? There is a lot of work to be done. We just hope our ward will finally catch the wave. We have to leaving a challenge and commitment with each of our dinner appointments to pray for and act on missionary opportunities. We tell them we will follow up in two weeks and it's just about time for our first round of follow ups. We're excited to see what experiences and miracles our ward members had as they took the challenge. Anyways, back to the new elders and the ward being split. We are trying to figure out how to coordinate with them so we're not double visiting and things like that. It's weird. We aren't split by a geographical area. Like north/south or east/west. We all share. It will all work out!! 

We have been working on a Less Actives list as well as pulling out all the potential and former investigators out of our Area Book. We have a lot of work to do. The past few weeks have been hard. People dropping us, investigators not keeping commitments, appointments falling through, etc. But we are ready to turn things around and not let the frustration get to us. We know that as we are obedient at work hard the Lord will put us where we need to be when we need to be there. 

We found a new investigator this week as we were out tracting after an attempted visit to a referral. His name is A. He has some friends that are mormon. Doesn't know much about what we believe but is interested in learning more. He is probably in his late 20s early 30s. He has a son that is only with him part time. We assume he is divorced. Very friendly. We have an appointment with him this Wednesday and can't wait to get to know him a little better and share how the gospel that improve his life and being happiness. 

This is the beginning of an amazing transfer! I can feel it!

Love you all!

Sister Kimball