8 Month Mark!!

Greeting from LB!

Today is my 8 month mark! Can you believe it? Only one more month and I will be half way done. It is so bittersweet. I still feel like I have so much to learn and so many people to meet. As time passes me by it has become a good motivator to keep me focused and encourage me to work hard. 

It was a good week. Work is a little slow in Laguna right now but if I'm being honest, work is a little slow everywhere right now. It's the end of summer. Everyone just started school. So now is the perfect time for work to pick up again. We have one solid investigator right now. Her name is J. She is 50 something years old (although you'd think she was in her 30's). And she is so golden. She was a referral from a couple ladies in the church that met her at an exercise class. She has the same morals and agrees with everything that we have taught her. She has been stressed out moving and is involved in a legal trial this week but things should be calming down. We are hoping to baptize her on September 28th. We know what a blessing the constant companionship of the Holy Ghost will be for her as she deals with all the trials and tests of life. It is amazing how fast I have learned to love people. My ability to look past faults has increased so much over the past few months. I truly see people as they can become and not as they are now. I am so grateful for this. It is a blessing. It makes transitioning to a new area and working with new people a lot smoother and easier. I just have a genuine concern and care for people from the get-go. 

So it is one of those weeks where I don't feel like I have a lot to report. We worked hard this week but it just doesn't feel like we have a lot to show for it. I think this is the case more than not in missionary work. You set up appointments you drop by countless peoples homes. You talk to hundreds of people. But in the end nothing really comes from any of it. A lot of times this is frustrating. I know it was especially difficult to deal with at the beginning of my mission. But then I came to understand my purpose better. i was touched by a part in my brother Spencer's weekly email home from the MTC where he talked about how he and his companion had discovered that missionary work has little to do with the missionary and a lot to do with helping others come unto Christ by inviting the Spirit to be where we are at all times and in all situations. I was impressed that Elder Kimball picked up on this so quickly. Because it is one of the keys to truly becoming a successful missionary. It is so neat to read his emails each week. It takes me back to my own experience in the MTC. I can relate so well to many of the things he has been going through. I remember too having the same realizations. It also makes me realize just how happy I am to be in an English speaking mission. I am so proud of him for working so hard on his Polish. What a champ. 

I continue to learn that we much have faith in all things. We must trust that our Heavenly Father has a plan for us. We must believe that our Savior will help us through those times of despair. If we plant ourselves firmly in the gospel then we will find happiness. 

I have been thinking of many scriptures as I have been typing this quick email and I would like to share a few with you. They are all scriptures that have helped to uplift and motivate me to be better, understand my purpose more clearly, and grow closer to my Father in Heaven. I would invite you all to study and ponder what they might mean for you. 

Ether 12:27

2 Nephi 31:20 

Moroni 7:12-13

Proverbs 3: 5-6

John 14:26

I wish I had time to go through each scripture and explain why it is so important to me and what it has taught me but I don't. I just want you all to know that this church is true. God lives and He loves us. Jesus Christ is the son of God and the Savior of the world. he atoned for our sins. We have so much potential. I pray that each of you will ponder on that potential and do something this week to be better!

I love you all! 

Sister Kimball