Big Week!

Greetings from ... (wait for it)! 

Wow has a lot happened. I apologize for not writing last week. It was quite the transition and emotional roller coaster. I thought I was pretty much over that but to my not so surprise I found that change is still hard. I got the call on Saturday that I was being transferred. I knew it was coming but it didn't make it any easier. I didn't realize just how comfortable I had become in Costa Mesa. Everything was going well and I was loving it. I have come to figure out that just when you have figured things out and know what your purpose is in an area or with a ward or companion Heavenly Father changes everything up. In all honesty it is super frustrating but I know it is because there are many more things for me to learn and people for me to meet. This time last week I was freaking out. I didn't know where I would be. Who I would be with, or anything like that. The worst part of change is when you are left in the dark. I was really struggling but as we entered the chapel and sat down for transfers on Tuesday afternoon I was overcome with a calm and the Spirit promised me that everything was going to be okay. I needed that. And I was grateful that heavenly Father blessed me with that tender mercy. 

I know you are all just dying to know what happened at transfers. :) And let me tell you. A LOT happened. So I am now serving in the Laguna Beach ward in the Laguna Niguel stake. I am literally steps from the ocean. Think of sterotype so cal and that is where I am. Everyone is tan and dressed head to toe in designer everything. At first I was freaking out thinking that everyone was going to be stuck up and closed off to the gospel but in reality it is quite the opposite. The ward members are incredible. Very involved and pumped to be included in missionary work. Taught me once again not to judge too quickly. Bishop actually drove us from transfer meeting to our apartment which was neat. He is awesome. I look forward to getting to know him better. He has 8 kids and his wife is the RS president so they have their hands full. Yet he still finds time to be involved in the missionary efforts. Laguna is beautiful and believe it or not a little hotter than one would hope. But it should be cooling off here in a few weeks. Oh and I am in the land of Kimballs, it is so weird. Every new ward member i meet hears my name and tells me how well i am going to fit into the ward. Apparently there are parents that have 7 boys 5 of which are in the ward with their families, making a total of 6 Kimball families in the ward. Woah. That is a lot. We haven't figured out exactly how we are related but we are related through both Heber C. Kimball and Spencer W. Kimball. It is fun to be surrounded by random family but so weird to hear and see my name all the time. Not to mention one of the wives is Kristin with an "i" Kimball. Small world. Her husband saw my scriptures and was super confused. He took a picture of them to show to his wife after we talked it over and I explained who I was. I am excited to get to know them all better. 

Moving on to my companions. I am in a trio again! Yay! I am actually really grateful. I like having the extra companion to relate and vent to when the other is driving you nuts. All within reason of course because you want to maintain companionship unity. I joined Sister S who is half way through training Sister K. You might be wondering why I was thrown into the mix. Seems kind of random. Now is probably as good a time as any to mention that I was called as a Sister Training Leader. Ahhh! What? Me? Yeah it happened. So now on top of everything I am trying to figure what the heck is expected of me. Don't get me wrong it is an awesome opportunity but I am kind of freaking out. Sister S was called as one as well so we are doing our best to figure things out together. We are the only companionship of STL that were both called this transfer. Not to mention our ward has us and the zone leaders in it. So there is a lot to be done here. No pressure or anything. But I am looking forward to all the Lord has in store for me. I have kind of been caught up in this inward, it's all about me web and I am so grateful that this leadership position with force me out of it. We have 4 companionships of sisters that we are responsible for. We conduct exchanges and help them with any struggles they might be facing or dealing with. It is going to be stressful and scary but I know the Lord will qualify me for the work. It is also a little unnerving knowing that all eyes are on me to be a good example but I think it will be a great way for me to constantly be aware of myself and work towards truly being my best at all times. 

We had mission leadership council this past week which was awesome to be a part of. It is fun and sad to be part of the inner workings of the mission because you get to see all the success but you also hear about all the problems. We are struggling with the motivation of the new missionaries wanting to work hard and be here. Their respect for authority is low and there is still a disconnect between what obedience truly is since the mission is still divided between Anaheim and Carlsbad ways. It is going to take some time to figure things out. We have already run into this problem in our own companionship. Sister S is Carlsbad and I'm Anaheim and our greenie is Irvine. There is a difference in how we were trained and the cultures we are used to. We have had to compromise and work on figuring out what works best for us. In the end President O taught us that the Lord isn't specific in all things. He allows us to govern ourselves and use our agency. In the end it is our responsibility to take our personal/companionship concerns to Him and allow His guidance to help us understand what is best. We have slowly seen that there is no right or wrong way there is the Lords way and that is what we want to follow. 

Change is hard but it is necessary for our growth. Although, I don't think I will ever like it. I know it is for my benefit and will get better with time and as I put my trust in the Lord. 

I feel so blessed to finally be serving with my brother Spencer. I can't believe he is officially Elder Kimball or however you say it in Polish. I'm sure you were all as impressed as I was of his first email home. He is going to be an incredible missionary. I am so proud of him. 

I hope you all have a wonderful week. Thank you for all the prayers in my behalf. I couldn't do this work without them. It is hard but it is worth it. I love being a full time representative of our Savior. Remember that He knows and loves each of you! 

:) Sister Kimball