Week 65-June 9, 2014

We had our last exchanges for the transfer on Tuesday. I'm glad those are done! haha. My exchange with Sister Crandall went really well. We went on campus for most of the day. Sister Gil and I have been trying something new to get more member present lessons. We bring members with us on campus to go contact people. The members are so great at it! Two times this week I went out with a girl in our ward who is working on her papers. She did so awesome! I definitely never would have done something like this before the mission.

So Wednesday I kind of exploded.....The rest of the day was pretty miserable. Sister Gil told me that I needed to get a blessing and I wanted to but for whatever reason I wasn't rushing it. I had told the ZL about two weeks ago that I didn't really like being on campus because I just felt like I didn't have the personality for a campus missionary. Well on Thursday one of them asked me how I was doing. I kind of told him what I was going through. The issue I've been having is the way to contact people on a campus is to just strike up a casual conversation with them and then gradually start teaching doctrine. Well I just stink at doing that. This elders knows that I'm pretty quite and reserved. However, I explained to him that I'm no longer afraid to go up and talk to people, I worry about not making it super awkward and weird. I have no problem approaching people and immediately beginning to teach people doctrine. He helped me see that that is a strength. Because he can talk to anyone but sometime he has a difficult time teaching doctrine. Thursday evening we had Book of Mormon class and we read different versus about prayer. Someone said something along the lines of we have to give specific prayers if we want specific answers. I thought about that as I was saying my personal prayers. A luckily, a specific answer came. I thought about Ether 12:27 "I will make weak things become strong". For the last 21 years of my life I thought that my personality (being more reserved) was always a weakness and that I needed to change in order to become a stronger person. However, that's not true. Being reserved, quite, shy, whatever you want to say is a quality that I have. I've always thought of it as a weakness. This scriptures isn't saying to change completely who we are, rather we have to learn how to make those innate qualities that may seem like weaknesses become strengths. What that elder told me on Wednesday helped me see that. I realized I still needed a blessing, but not for the same reason. I needed direction from my Heavenly Father of what I needed to do to help my qualities become strengths.

I was originally going to have the ZL do it but Friday morning Sister Gil gave me another suggestion. We had Mission Leadership Council up in Fishers that day. So instead I called an elder who I've only met once and asked him to give me a blessing. That reason I felt like this was what I needed was because this elder had no idea what I had been thinking the last couple days. The blessing was perfect. It was more evidence to me that the priesthood is very real. He told me everything that I needed to here. I'm in this area for a very specific reason.

MLC was great! President Cleveland gave a wonderful training on revelation through prayer. Yep! I definitely need to work on saying more sincere prayers. Being in a leadership position is providing me opportunities to learn things that I wouldn't have learned another wise. Once a month we meet with President Cleveland, the stake president, and the ZL's and discuss missionary work on the stake level. That meeting was yesterday. I'm learning how important coordination between the missionaries and the stake is. Our stake president truly cares about the work and I've never known how involved they actually are.

As a campus missionary we usually don't prayer as a companionship very often during the day. Basically we jsut pray before we leave and that's it. However, Sister Gil and I are trying to change that! Thursday we were walking outside and there wasn't many people outside. We decided to sit on some steps for a moment and just pray and ask Heavenly Father to help us find someone to baptize. We did that, the elders walked up and we talked to them for a moment and then we were off! We saw a guy and a girl not too far apart from each other. Sister Gil asked me which one I wanted to talk to. My first thought was the girl, because I don't like talking to guys. But then I changed my mind and said we should talk to the guy. Right as I said that the girl got up and walked away. The guy it was! We definitely frightened as we approached him. He's pretty shy. We talked to him for about 10 minutes. He claims he's an atheist, but I don't really believe that. We set up a return appointment but he said himself he said yes just because he was looking for more friends. We text-ed him on Saturday just to get to know him a little better. Then! We had stake conference yesterday so church started at 10 am instead of 1. We were teaching another investigator right after conference. When we were wrapping up the lesson the Spanish elders kept peaking in the window and being really obnoxious. We got out and they told us a guy named Timmy had shown up for church at 1. Yep, I forgot to tell him! We ran outside to catch him. We brought him back in the church and started introducing him to some of the members that were still there and took him on a little church tour. IT WAS SUCH A MIRACLE!!!! No one shows up to church after talking to us on campus for 10 minutes. We walked him out to the car and he expressed to us that he doesn't want to waste our time because he's an atheist, etc. I definitely don't believe him. He wouldn't show up to church and look up the church on the Internet if there wasn't something there. I'm really excited to meet with him on Tuesday.

Last night was Why I Believe. Once again I tried to learn a song 15 minutes before and accompany a sister who played the violin. It was a train wreck!!! Oh well. The cool thing was a sister who got baptized in the Franklin ward last week. When I was there I got a HQ referral to drop off a Restoration dvd and Nauvoo pageant. We dropped it off and she didn't want us to come back. I was so disappointed. Well I guess about six weeks ago her son called the mission office asking to send missionaries to see her and she got baptized within five weeks. Unfortunately I missed her testimony because I was too busy practicing the song! But President Hilton introduced me to her afterwards and she gave me a huge hug! It's all about the timing sometimes.

We aren't here on earth to change, but to become refined. I guess one reason I came to this area is to be able to learn that. Something else that Sister Gil has helped me see is that someone can be outgoing but also quiet at the same time. I didn't think that was ever possible. Because things ALWAYS come up we didn't get to companionship inventory until this morning. She told me that being reserved is one of my strengths because I'm able to be sincere in one on one situations. So now I'm learning how to make the qualities I have become strengths instead of trying to change. I think that has been a common theme throughout my mission. So this week is going to be good! I can't believe it's already week six again!!!

Love, Kyla

The district

Week 64-June 3, 2014

Wednesday I stayed on campus for exchanges with Sister Christensen! We had a lot of fun. So I'm still super terrified to contact guys, but I got up enough courage to do it with Sister Christensen. Turns out the guy's mom was raised Mormon but has since fallen away. Then on Thursday almost all of our lessons fell through so we spent a ton of time pcing. I contacted a guy by myself! He's a non-practiciting Muslim. I mentioned prophets and he got really interested! I probably talked to him for about 20 minutes, all by myself :) Sister Gil was close by talking to other people. Anyways, fingers crossed he keeps our appointment for tomorrow. With three sets of missionaries on campus we are beginning to talk to the same people; it stinks. Later on Thursday I met a girl who the elders had already talked to, but I taught her anyways. She's totally all about playing a prank on them when she meets with them this week.

Church yesterday was incredible. After this week, I needed to be able to fast. Sister Gil and I have no progressing investigators and nobody with a date. It stinks. Luckily this week we were able to teach a lot of finding lessons and found new investigators. Also, I miss family wards. I've been struggling with being in this area because I feel very out of place. Anyways, I needed a spiritual experience to happen yesterday during church and it did. Fast and testimony meeting went 20 minutes over because so many people wanted to talk. Right now about half our branch is summer boys, basically guys from Utah who are selling this summer. One got up and spoke about how we aren't going to be in this branch for forever so we have to take advantage of the opportunity that we have to be here. Another talked about how we have to choose to be happy now. Heavenly Father doesn't expect us to be perfect tomorrow, only a little bit better than we were the previous day. Oh! Saturday we were doing some service for Sister Leonard (the member we live with). Sister Gil was expressing some of her frustrations with the area and Sister Leonard said "it sounds like something you are going to have to talk to Father about". The way she said it just touched me. Our Heavenly Father wants us to be happy because He loves us so much.

Exchanges and a YSA activity down in Bloomington. It was so pretty!!!!

Week 63

This is going to have to be SUPER quick. Last Monday we went to the zoo; We went with the spanish elders in our zone. It was so fun! I touched a shark!!!!!!!!

I had my second exchange on Tuesday. It was way exhausting and I was very happy to come back to campus afterwards. Exchanges make you miss your companion. We are doing another one tomorrow but I'm staying on campus this time.

President and Sister Cleveland came to our district meeting on Friday. The first time ever! An elder did a rap as part of his training, look for it on the Facebook page for sure! It's pretty good.

Being on campus has been pretty difficult, not going to lie. This area is a lot different from the last time I was here. There are also two sets of elders on campus so we seem them multiple times a day. I'm not used to being around missionaries so much! We have 0 progressing investigators right now so we are spending a lot of time talking to people on campus. Oddly enough, it's easier for me to talk to people on my own instead of with Sister Gil. I never thought I would say that. Just a few minutes ago we were downstairs (we are emailing on campus) and I saw this girl and I told Sister Gil I was going to go talk to her. There were definitely some awkward moments, but I got a return appointment! I love being able to teach so much. The advantage of being a campus missionary is that you feel like you are ALWAYS being a missionary. 

A member came with us to a lesson today and then afterwards he took us out to lunch. I always find it interesting how the Lord uses people to help us find answers This member was telling us about an experience that happened last summer and what he said was exactly what I needed to hear. I actually told him that I started crying a bit as I talked, super embarrassing but whatever. Luckily we see this member all the time so hopefully he didn't think I was too weird. Anyways, moral of the story Heavenly Father uses other people to answer our prayers and to tell us the things we need to hear at exactly the right moment.

Week 62-May 19th

I never have time to write in my journal anymore. I was doing so good for my entire mission! Between exchanges and making phone calls at night it just doesn't happen.

Tuesday during he day we were able to meet with a few of our investigators. I love teaching! Since this was the second time I was meeting with them I felt way more comfortable and felt like I could actually talk. Then Tuesday evening I went on my first exchange. I was so nervous!!!! In the car I straight up told Sister Bulman I was nervous. Luckily she's a very sweet sister and definitely not intimidating at all. I had a lot of fun with her and the exchange felt very different being in the leadership position.

Thursday we had zone conference, which was obviously wonderful. Last Sunday I had met President Cowley, the stake president. President Cleveland had invited him to speak for part of the conference. He stood up and said how he had met Sister Mayberry the pervious week and told me to come up. I kind of started freaking out because I didn't know what he was going to do. He handed me a "Mayberry in the Midwest" festival guide that was happening that weekend. He said that the first thing he thought of when he met me was the Andy Griffith show (always happens) and that Danville IN was having a festival that weekend. He said that if he were President Cleveland he would let me go.

The afternoon session was all about how to become powerful missionaries. It helped me realize how I need to get back to some of the basics of missionary work. The key to being a powerful missionary is exercising faith. Also, being confident. Which honestly, I still struggle with every.single.stinkin.day. Friday night we went out to eat as part of a zone. An elder in our zone had to go home on Sunday because he's lost 50% of his blood and they don't know what's wrong. So it was kind of a farewell part. It was so sad even though I don't even know him. It's super hard to see missionaries go home early, especially when they don't want to.

President Cleveland let us go to the Mayberry festival! We didn't have as much luck PCing as we were hoping. But we did get to meet some members from that family ward! We also had a regional YSA activity that evening. We met at this sport complex and played games all night, well we left before 9:00. I learned that I'm definitely not very good at sand volleyball. I also realized that I'm still not a very social person haha. All the people just kind of overwhelmed me a little bit. It was fun to see YSA people from the Purdue ward that I had met though.

Church was great yesterday! The branch is huge with all the summer sales boys. But! I did meet a girl who is here for the summer who will be at BYUI this fall. I'm gonna have a friend!!!! We got to teach a lot. Fingers crossed we will be having a baptism next Saturday! We are very excited for Elliot and he's probably even more excited! We thought we were going to have to push his date back a week and he got very sad when we told him that. But we got everything worked out so now he's just got to keep living the commandments and he'll be good to go! I love teaching him. We taught him the gospel of Jesus Christ during part of Institute on Wednesday. It felt so perfect, like that's exactly where I wanted to be. Sister Gil and I were talking afterwards and we both thought it was probably one of the most perfect lessons ever. The member we brought with us was great, we were teaching in the church, Elliot understood what we were saying, etc. Watching people progress will never get old. Taking the sacrament never will either. Kind of a random switch but both Sister Gil and I couldn't wait for church yesterday.

It's funny how I morph into my companions. I've realized that I'm definitely a follower and will easily pick up habits from my companions. Yesterday we were talking to President Cleveland on the phone. Now I think Sister Gil's two favorite things to say are "I hate you" and "I'm going to kill you", but in a completely joking way. Well President asked how we were getting along and Sister Gil's response? "I hate her"....good thing we both just started laughing and he knew she was playing around. She helps me relax and just have fun. I'm excited for this week!!!!! I have another exchange starting tonight, we'll see how that goes. I love you all!!!

Week 61-May 12th

My last few days in West Lafayette were great; I miss my bike haha. When we went in Tuesday evening I kept riding around the parking lot because I didn't want to get off. Tuesday morning we got to pull more trees out of the ground, always super fun.

I was pretty nervous for transfers; I knew I would be going to a campus and that's why I was so nervous. I was talking to Sister Gill before transfer meeting and she said she was hoping I would go back to IUPUI with her. Well....that's what happened! I'm super excited to be back here. The branch has changed quite a bit. When I was here before we didn't go on campus very often. Now we go there everyday and are considered campus missionaries. It's been a crazy few days; I'm still not even unpacked. Getting to know the sisters in our stewardship has been pretty good. I'm way nervous to start doing exchanges this week though. We've been able to teach quite a few lessons already and have spent some time PCing campus. Working campus during the summer will be interesting because there will be a lot less people. These next two transfer I will really be able to nail down talking with everyone, some I really need to work on.

Saturday we went and got Guanajautos!!!! I was so excited and my burrito tasted as good as it did a year ago. Talking to you guys was great! Sorry about the craziness since I was doing it at the church. We also got to go to a member's house and have a cookout. I haven't eaten a smore over a fire in almost two years. Yesterday was full of a ton of meetings it felt like. That's what happens when you are in a leadership position I guess.

Summer is definitely here. It's been warm and humid these past couple of days :(. Sorry for the brief e-mail, I haven't been able to write in my journal so I don't have very many stories to share. All I know is I'm going to get a lot more experience teaching in this area which I am very excited for!

Week 60-May 6th

Tuesday I went on exchanges with Sister Blacker on Purdue campus. It was fun to be able to teach, I got overwhelmed with talking to people on campus though. Unfortunately it's dead week here so a lot of the people we talked to aren't going to be around for the summer.

Tuesday night we went to a part member's house for dinner. We walked in and we asked what we could help with. He told us he would teach us how to make sushi....Sister Hales and I just about died haha. It wasn't so bad especially since it was just crap meat. The egg rolls were good!

Wednesday morning we got to rip trees out of the ground at a member's house in the 2nd ward. Mom you should have gotten pictures e-mailed to you. Most of the missionaries in the zone were there and we are going back tomorrow morning. It's fun to do physical labor like that since it doesn't happen too often. That afternoon we went to Delphi to contact some less actives that are now in our ward from the ward realignment. We got a pretty positive response. It always makes me sad to meet people who have made covenants but no longer want to keep them :(

Friday we dressed up as nerds for zone meeting. We also blitzed campus for a little bit afterward. From zone meeting I learned that I need to step up my game with leaving commitments with people. If we don't leave commitments then we aren't helping investigators repent. 

Saturday was sweet! That morning we went to breakfast with all the sisters in the stake at a member's house. Then we had a ward pitch in at the park. Luckily it finally warmed up! It was fun to continue to get to know members more. The elders started a game of soccer with some of the kids in the ward. We were dragged into playing too. Playing soccer in a skirt is a bit interesting, but we figured if we could ride bikes we could do that too. I kind of felt like I was in a foreign county playing soccer with kids in the dirt. The best part was when Sister Hales kicked the ball and her shoe went into the goal and the ball didn't :)

Afterwards we had an incredible lesson with new investigators we found last week, the sister and brother. We taught them the Restoration and committed them to baptism and the read the Book of Mormon. They were a little hesitant about the baptism but more than willing to read. They also told us they would be at church for sure. I'm grateful because I was totally focused during that lesson. Often time I find my mind wandering during lessons, but not this one! I was fulling my purpose to the end.

Saturday night we helped out at a Cinco de Mayo dinner at the church. It was a youth fundraiser for the Spanish branch in the stake. Never leave it up to missionaries to serve dinner; it was complete chaos. But it was a lot of fun and we got authentic Mexican food.

9:05 Sunday rolls around and Audrey and Arthur weren't at church. We texted them to see what had happened. Audrey texted us at about 9:20 saying they were on their way! They only got the end of sacrament but then stayed for the next two hours. She said that they had accidentally slept in. I was impressed because usually when that happens people just give up and don't come at all. I think they really enjoyed themselves though. Audrey is coming to play volleyball with us tonight at the church!

I'm getting transferred.....I'm pretty upset about it. Sister Hales will be staying and training and I'll be a sister training leader. We were planning last night and our phone lit up and it was President Cleveland calling. You don't want President to call you for transfers because it means one (or both) of you is getting a leadership position. I made Sister Hales take the call because I didn't want to. I had heard rumors all week I would becoming a STL so it wasn't a huge surprise, but still. President even apologized for taking me out right when we were getting settled into the area. I don't want to leave and I still want to be companions with Sister Hales.

Week 59: 14 months!!-April 28th

We survived our first week on bikes! We probably averaged at least 10 miles a day. Luckily we get the car back this week so my legs will get a break. If we continue this much longer my legs will be ripped!

Tuesday I got offered alcohol for the first time ever haha. We were riding our bikes home from Lafayette and these college kids (we were by Purdue) started yelling at us to take a shot. I just had to shake my head and laugh because of how ridiculous they were.

This week we had many finding and first lessons. My brain hurts because of all the deep questions asked. Seriously, these people are way too smart and think of things that I have never thought of. On Saturday we taught these lady named Oneyka. She's from Ghana and is currently going to school. She's an active 7th day Adventist. We showed her some versus from the Book of Mormon and she started asking us about places where it talks about the law of Moses and sacrifices. Luckily the Spirit reminded me Nephi going back to get the brass plates so they could have the law when they came to America. Thank goodness! I was beginning to have a freak out moment. But really, I do like her and I really hope she'll continue to meet with us. As she was leaving she told us next time she wants to talk about heaven...plan of salvation! On Saturday we also found boy who is a senior in high school and his older sister who is in college. They were meeting with missionaries and going to church when they lived in South Dakota. He was interested in getting a copy of the Book of Mormon. We'll be teaching them again this week as well.

After meeting with both of those people Sister Hales and I talked about how much Heavenly Father is blessing us right now. We taught 17 lessons this week! That's been the most I have taught in a really long time. We still don't have any progressing investigators with dates, but we have many potentials who we've taught a lesson or two with. My attitude this week was a little bit down. I think it's because we were asked so many things that I didn't know how to answer this weeks. Feelings of discouragement and inadequacy just overcame me. It's hard to want to find people to teach when you feel like you aren't going to be able to answer their questions. Good thing this wasn't my first area! I know that these investigators are just helping me to grow even more and really strengthen my testimony of the Book of Mormon.

Picture One: Day one of bikes and matching helmets!

Picture Two: We ended up having our district meeting at 8:30 in the morning because one of the elders had gotten sick...this is our "breakfast"