Feb 17 at 1:35 PM

Hey Everyone,

Ok so I don't really know what happened this week... we are in the finding process and all I remember is talking to people about our LA English class. haha which is good, cause it gets them into the church building where they can feel the spirit. 

I went on exchanges with Sister Lyman this week and she is from Cedar. We have a lot in common so it was fun to spend some time with her. While I was with her I went to their Eternally Linked class. Which is a family history class they are doing to also get people into the church. It was cool to see non-members there getting in the spirit of finding their family. While we were there the ASL Elders came and I signed the few things that I know to Elder Josh Johnson who is deaf and is so sweet. He was teaching me some new signs while we were talking. Well come to find out, he is from Riverton, and he had a friend that he would go see horses with when he was little. Then when they were in second grade, his friend moved to St George. SO long story short, we found out it was tanner!!! He could not believe I was his cousin. He said he had been looking for tanner right before he come out on his mission after he graduated this last may, but couldn't find him. His mom was looking on facebook and had just told him a couple weeks ago that she still hadn't found him. So we were both crying. I don't really know why, But it was an answer to his prayer and it was so cool to see how sweetly he talked about Tanner, it made me miss him :) So me and elder Johnson are now best friends and I am learning more sign language :)

Also yesterday, fernando was confirmed! He is the sweetest guy I've ever met. He was so excited and so happy after. he is already getting ready for the priesthood and has a goal to get to the temple in a year. 

On Valentines Day we had Zone Conference and it was amazing! I always learn so much. I'm super grateful for all the missionaries that I get to learn from and for President Weidman.

I'm LOVING being back in spanish! I've missed the culture and the people so much, and the FOOD! haha It's been so much fun. I'm for sure latina :) 

Well I Love you all so much. Thanks for all the love! I LOVE YOU THE MOST!

Kiera lynn 

Hi Everyone!

 

Well it has been amazing to be back with sister Warner!!!!!!!! We are doing so great and love being together. I feel so blessed to have my best friend out on a mission with me. She has helped me so much and has taught me even more. :)

Ok so this week I was still getting over being sick, whatever it was hit me hard, but I'm all better now.

I am in the Torrance North Stake in the Hermosa Liahona Ward. I LOVE this ward. We have the best ward mission leader ever! Hermano Romero. Me and sister Warner are the only sisters in the ward and so he calls us his angleitas :) H

Mini missionary...Mitzy:)

Sister Warner

e is also from Peru, so we instanly became best friends when he heard about Dad and went and got us Peruvian food the next day! haha

We are teaching LA English here and I love it!!!! I love teaching english, plus it is the best finding tool ever!

We also had a baptism yesterday. His name is Fernando, I met him tuesday, and it was amzing to see how prepared he was to be baptized. the sisters had only been working with him for a month and he was ready. So it just shows that the lord is preparing people to be baptized.

Fernando's two aunts and grandma, that also live in our area are so amazing and so much fun! They got baptized in September and got their patriarchal blessings yesterday! So yesterday was just a super special day for them. And Mercedes, one of the aunts, is a chef! And has things at California Pizza Factory, Trader Joes, and Ruby tuesdays! Her recipies. So she was super excited when I told her I love to back and that I had done a wedding cake. She has to make a cupcake this week that tastes like Honeynut Cherrios, so we were talking about that and trying to figure it out :)

Then this weekend we got a Mini Missionary!!! Her name was Mitzy, she's 16, and she has only been a member for 8 months. She has an incredible story. Her and her mom were the first ones to get baptized, now her sister was in january, her aunt is getting baptized this week, and she has four other cousins and a grandma that are taking the disscusions! It was amazing to hear her story. She will be a great missionary someday.

Well I love you all so much. Thank you for the love and support, I wouldn't be here without it.

I LOVE YOU THE MOST!

 kiera lynn

 

p.s. Guess what is in my area and where we ate on friday... CAFE RIO!!! I was so happy that day

Today at 1:48 PM

Hey everyone!

 

Wow this week for sure had it's UP's and DOWNS!

 

We'll start with an UP. So monday night, we had a lesson with Kate, ans we had planned to talk about the Book of mormon and the Restoration and see if she had a testimony of either. So we started talking and then SHE started talking about baptism. So here is her story. When she was in the islands, she had the lessons from the missionaries with her sister. She remembered them always talking about baptism and baptism and baptism, but she didn't join the church. But she felt the spirit when they were there and knew they were different. When she came to the states a little over a year ago, she remembered what the elders had always said about the need to be baptized, and she believed that. Her sister would also always talk about how wonderful she felt after her baptism and that she felt different after. And kate wanted that. So when she got here, she had no idea where she was or where a church was. So she found the closest 'church of christ' and went and signed up to be baptized. And a week later she was. she said that when she was changing in to the clothing, she didn't feel anything. then when she was baptized and cam up out of the water, again, she flet nothing. no happiness or feeling clean or anything. nothign like her sister had talked about.   The next week, the elders knocked on her door, and then she told them that she had just gotten baptized. SO we arent' sure what happened after this, but they lost contact and then found her again about 7 months later, which was in November right before i got here to the area. So Sister Johnson and I are sitting there just amazed at what we are hearing! so we explain a little bit of the priesthood and that is what we need in order for a baptism to be valid. and then asked her if she wanted to be baptized but the authority of God, and she said yes! she was crying and the spirit was so strong.

I felt so blessed to have been a part of that and to help her and just love her and Richard! We meet with them again tonight, so we will set a date for sure.

Tuesday and Wedensady were normal days, we had a little birthday party for brother Kovacs after coordination, there was lots of yummy food :)

and then Thursday morning I woke up sick. SO sick. I was throwing up ALL day, I slept on the bathroom floor most of the day and just wanted to die. I couldn't walk, or eat or sleep or do anything but hug the toilet. It was not fun. But there is a cool story. We asked our Zone Leaders to come and give me blessing, and they came later that night When I had stopped throwing up. Elder Roberts gave me a blessing, and it was beautiful and so powerful. He commanded my body and cells to re-order themselves and function properly. I had nver had a blessing like that. Right after they left I felt so dizzy and thought I was going to pass out. I layed down, and the wierdest feeling came, and it lasted for about 2 minutes, and then the nausea was gone, the headach was gone. It was amazing. I was able to sleep through the night. I was so weak the next day that I just slept all day and most of saturday too. Sunday I finally felt good enough to go out and we went to church, and last night I was back to me.

I am so grateful for the power of the priesthood. I KNOW that it is real and that God know us and loves us.

SO that was our week. And yes we have transfers this week, and yes I'm leaving.

I'm going to North Torrance, Spanish, And you will never guess who my comp is... Sister Warner! haha no joke!

So that's what's happening. I love you all so much! thank you for all the letters this week, and for the movie pictures! I will write back soon :)

I love you all so much! I LOVE YOU THE MOST

 

Kiera Lynn

 

January 27th

 

Hi Everyone!

 

We had a really great week! We found a former investigator earlier this week. Her name in Kate and her 7 yr old son Richard. When we knocked on her door, she let us in and we were able to meet her. Her cousin was there too, who is a member of the Church. So we had a lesson with her and invited her to church, and guess who was a church yesterday!!? Kate, Richard and her cousin. It was so great to watch them walk in. She seemed relly happy. I little overwhelmed at times, but happy. We have another meeting with them tonight. Say a prayer that she has an open heart.

Also earlier this week, we got a referral from Head Quarters for a man named Kenneth. We called him up and set up a time to come by. We brought Sister Sagers with us (the Sagers are ex- mission presidents in Texas). When we got to the address, if was for a care center... I was very worried that the person we were about to go teach was going to.. not be all there. But we went in and met Kenneth. And he is one of the sweetest people I have ever met. He is in the care center because He had to have back surgery and now has to re-learn how to walk. He was taught by other missionaries in the hospital and wanted to keep learning, so that's how we got his info. He's read in the Book of Mormon and believes that it's true and wants to be baptized. He can't leave the center yet, and when he does he will move to Inglewood. So we won't be here forever, and it will take him a while to be able to go to church, but when he can, I know that he will be baptized. I'm so grateful that we met him and that we get to teach him while he is hear. He has so much faith and is so strong.

This week has been a week of answered prayers. Little things, but they ALL have been answered. I've really seen the blessings that come from having specific prayers and sincere prayers, it does make a difference.

Oh and me and Sister Johnson spoke in Sacrament meeting yesterday. It went really well. We have such an incredilbe ward and I'm so grateful fot their love and support. Which is why I will be a little upset if I get tranfered next week. I don't want to leave, so hopefully I won't, but I also have never been in an area longer than three months, so based on that, my time is up :) but what ever happens, I know that it's what the Lords wants and needs.

Thank you for all your love and prayers, I really can feel them every day. I LOVE YOU THE MOST

 

Kiera Lynn

January 20th

Hey guys!

So this week was a very humbling week. 

We stopped by one of our investigators because she wouldn't return our phone calls. And she was home! But she was not doing good. She is in her 70's and just lost her husband in July. She was just so sad and so lonely. She talked about how she doesn't feel complete and doesn't know what to do with herself anymore. She says some days are ok and she can get through, other days she just cries and cries. My heart just broke while we listened to her. We only stayed for about 10 mins cause she just wasn't up for a lesson. But we shared a scripture with her and prayed. When I left I just felt so grateful for the plan of salvation and the hope and peace it gives us.

Then later we did service for a member who is in a wheel chair. Then had dinner with a member who lost her husband some years ago.

Then we went to coordination, and at the end we found out that our ward mission leader, brother Kovacs has cancer. In my mind he is like superman grandpa! He can't have cancer. It just doesn't make sense.

SO after all these things this week, I just feel so blessed. I realized that life is so hard and at times, unbearable. But with the gospel, it's doable. We can get through this life with joy and peace because of the gospel. My testimony has grown so much this last week and I'm so happy. I'm so happy because I have the truth. This gospel is happiness. and we need to be grateful for all that we have and then share it that happiness. 

I'm so grateful for all of you and all your love. This life wouldn't mean much without family. 

I LOVE YOU THE MOST!  

January 13th

 

Hi guys!

 

Well this week was full of ups and downs like usual.

On tuesday we met this amazing lady named Ida. She is from Switzerland and is so cute. We offered to help her put up her Christmas decorations and got to talking. She told us how she has met tons of mormon because she is in a yolding (i don't know how to spell that) group and they preformed at Temple Square in 1999. and she also skiied there and loved it. haha, she is in her 70's! She had to go in and rest that day, but said we could come back the next day. So we did. She vacumed for her and she made us herbal tea and this dessert and this really yummy bread. I have no idea what it was but it was all so good and so fancy. We had afternoon tea! with china and the little serving tray and everything. It was quite the event and I felt like i was either in Harry Potter or Wethering Heights. It was so fun. She is Lutheran, but we talked to her about the churh while we cleaned. She said we could come back anytime, so we are going to try and get her to chruch. We'll see how it goes. :)

Our Bishop gave us a huge less active list that he wants us to check up on this month, so we have met with a ton of LA members this week. But that's kind of my favortie thing, so I don't mind. We have 3 less actives that have come back to church in the last two months, so we are making progress.

Yesterday, Sister Olsen, (who is the wife of the Stake president, and is in our ward) asked if we would come to the Stake baptism program that they have for all the 7 year olds turning 8 this year. and they talk about baptism and how they can prepare. She asked us if we would take them down to the font while the parents stayed in the chaple for more talks. So we took 23 7 years down to the font and we told them how the whole process works and what they will do the day they are baptized. We had some greta questions like, "will the water be warm?", "how many miles deep is the water?" "What if the bishop doesn't pass my interview?" "How long will the person hold me under water?" and it went on and on :) but it was so much fun! It made me miss Ty and Avery so much! I can't wait to be around kids again! But it was so special to see how excited they are to get baptized. They have such a powerful light in them. I wish all my investigators could have been there to see that.

Well family, I love you and I miss you. Thank you for all your love and support. Be safe and go out and share your testimony with someone this week! I LOVE YOU THE MOST

 

kiera lynn