Hey'all-
I am doing good here in the lovely city of Gilbert, South Carolina. The weather has been very cold the last 4 days. We are used to it being in the 90s but it has dropped down to 60 degrees. We have been wearing cardigans and longer skirts. It is such a dramatic change; we are not used to it. They say it will get back up there so that is good. Although I am enjoying not sweating and the gnats have disappeared. I absolutely love reading your letters they are great. I feel like I can hear your voice telling me about your week. Just think in about 3 months I will actually get to hear your voice! I am glad work is going well for everyone. Thank you for the update on everyone I never know what is going on with them. My mail has not been as plentiful as it has been in the past but I am not complaining. The weeks just fly by so fast! When you work hard everyday that is when you feel the best. We are still working with Diego who will most likely be baptized this coming Saturday. He is ready to enter into the waters of baptism. He loves coming to church and he knows it is true. We have transfers on the 28th and I am getting a little anxious. We know for sure that at least one of us will be moving out. I hate not knowing what is going to happen. By this time next week I will know for sure what is going to happen so I guess I have to wait until then. Last week we had Zone Conference and we had a general authority come. Elder Paul Pieper of the seventy and his wife came. It was great to learn from him and heed the counsel that he gave us. We had a wonderful time there I wish it would have lasted longer. I wore my suit so I would look nice. Most of the people that we are working have their baptisms set for October and I may not be here. That is okay I know they will still be baptized. I taught some training at district development meeting this week and it went great. I know the Lord knew exactly what I needed to train on. It was on chapter 9 in Preach My Gospel which is on Finding People and that is my main weakness. I am definitely working on doing better at that. Although I enjoy being in a threesome I look forward to working in a pair again. I won't have to fight for a turn to say something I will know when I need to speak up in a lesson. I know Heavenly Father is testing me and thank Him every day for the opportunity I have to go through the trails as a missionary. I know they make me stronger everyday. Thank you so much for sending that package I really appreciate it. I will look for it this week. I really wanted to do something special for her birthday. She doesn't want anyone in the ward to know when her birthday is but we are going to do something nice for her birthday as a companionship. This next Saturday is the Relief Society broadcast and I look forward to watching that. I will miss our annual tradition with all of the girls. Thank you so much for all of the love and support you give to me. I have the best family in the whole world. I hope you have a great week. Talk to you next week. Love, Katelyn
P.S. I am sorry to hear about BYU losing to Utah. Hopefully they can shape up for next week
Sunday, September 25, 2011
Monday, September 12, 2011
Kate passes on dancing as a missionary!
Hey'all-
How is it going? The weather definitely has improved for the better and I am enjoying it. It is still hot but slowly cooling down. I don't sweat as much which is a bonus! I am proud that I survived my first South Carolina summer. I baked snickerdoodle cookies on pday, It was refreshing to be cooking again! I hope they enjoyed them because I don't know when I will ever have the time again. I may send you some more pictures today. We really didn't get to hear much about the 9/11 commemorations, but I did reflect on it myself and what I remember about that day. I was only 14 years old which seems like such a long time ago. We did sing hymn number 338 America the Beautiful and we all stood up and sang. It was pretty powerful. We had 6 investigators at church yesterday which was pretty cool. We are working with a lot of investigators. We have one named Diego that I told you about last week. We were able to have a few wonderful lessons with him this week. He wanted to take us out to lunch so we went to Subway. We had a lesson on prophets and the Word of Wisdom so it was pretty cool. We set him on date for baptism on October 1 so we are excited. We attended a stake activity on Saturday. It was a carnival that they do every year and it was a lot of fun. Diego was able to make it and stayed with us the whole time. Karen Lanz brought some of her family and they had a fun time dancing. You know me and how much I love dancing, so it was really hard for me not to get out there and dance. Karen is dating this guy whose name is Ahmed. He is from Iraq and is Muslim. He seems like a nice guy and has been to church a few times. We will have to see if anything comes from it. I know Karen won't settle for anything short of the temple. The weeks have been flying by way too fast lately. I hit my 5 month mark yesterday of being a missionary in South Carolina. I can't believe I have been gone that long. I am still in a threesome until the end of the transfer which is on the 28th of this month. One sister will be going home and 2 will be coming in so we will be back to an even number of sister missionaries. That means that 1 of us will be leaving and it most likely will be me. I will be sad to leave this area but excited to start some place new. Sister Johnson is a really hard worker and a wonderful teacher. She came from the Georgia, Macon mission before and has learned some different things. We are still working on meshing what we learned from our old mission presidents and applying them to our companionship now. Being a missionary is very stressful at times but I won't change it for the world. I am becoming a new person and people can see that. There are still some things to be working on and I know I will never be perfect. I am glad you had fun kayaking! Maybe I will have to go when I get back. How is work going? How are the little kids? Any misbehaviors? I wish I could hear Jane and Annie singing; they are so cute. I am sure you guys really enjoyed that. Those girls are just adorable. Thank you so, so, so, so much for the card that you sent me!!!!! I had a mail drought for almost two weeks and then I received your letter and it just made my day!! I can't tell you how much that meant to me. I feel so lucky to have such a loving and supportive family. So, my companion from Ughanda, Sister Namutebi's birthday is on the 25th of this month. I wanted to get her a little something and I can't really do it here without her noticing. The other night I was wearing my BYU shirt and she mentioned how much she would like one. I was thinking maybe you guys could pick one out for her and send it here. I can pay you back whatever it costs. I imagine a large would be a good size. She also really enjoys popcorn and those sugar free drink mixes that you sent to me. Let me know what you can do for me. Anything would be appreciated. Thanks again for all of the love and support you give to me. Have a great week! I love you all so much! Love, Katelyn
P.S Can I get Derek and Ryan's addresses I would like to write to them sometime? Thanks
How is it going? The weather definitely has improved for the better and I am enjoying it. It is still hot but slowly cooling down. I don't sweat as much which is a bonus! I am proud that I survived my first South Carolina summer. I baked snickerdoodle cookies on pday, It was refreshing to be cooking again! I hope they enjoyed them because I don't know when I will ever have the time again. I may send you some more pictures today. We really didn't get to hear much about the 9/11 commemorations, but I did reflect on it myself and what I remember about that day. I was only 14 years old which seems like such a long time ago. We did sing hymn number 338 America the Beautiful and we all stood up and sang. It was pretty powerful. We had 6 investigators at church yesterday which was pretty cool. We are working with a lot of investigators. We have one named Diego that I told you about last week. We were able to have a few wonderful lessons with him this week. He wanted to take us out to lunch so we went to Subway. We had a lesson on prophets and the Word of Wisdom so it was pretty cool. We set him on date for baptism on October 1 so we are excited. We attended a stake activity on Saturday. It was a carnival that they do every year and it was a lot of fun. Diego was able to make it and stayed with us the whole time. Karen Lanz brought some of her family and they had a fun time dancing. You know me and how much I love dancing, so it was really hard for me not to get out there and dance. Karen is dating this guy whose name is Ahmed. He is from Iraq and is Muslim. He seems like a nice guy and has been to church a few times. We will have to see if anything comes from it. I know Karen won't settle for anything short of the temple. The weeks have been flying by way too fast lately. I hit my 5 month mark yesterday of being a missionary in South Carolina. I can't believe I have been gone that long. I am still in a threesome until the end of the transfer which is on the 28th of this month. One sister will be going home and 2 will be coming in so we will be back to an even number of sister missionaries. That means that 1 of us will be leaving and it most likely will be me. I will be sad to leave this area but excited to start some place new. Sister Johnson is a really hard worker and a wonderful teacher. She came from the Georgia, Macon mission before and has learned some different things. We are still working on meshing what we learned from our old mission presidents and applying them to our companionship now. Being a missionary is very stressful at times but I won't change it for the world. I am becoming a new person and people can see that. There are still some things to be working on and I know I will never be perfect. I am glad you had fun kayaking! Maybe I will have to go when I get back. How is work going? How are the little kids? Any misbehaviors? I wish I could hear Jane and Annie singing; they are so cute. I am sure you guys really enjoyed that. Those girls are just adorable. Thank you so, so, so, so much for the card that you sent me!!!!! I had a mail drought for almost two weeks and then I received your letter and it just made my day!! I can't tell you how much that meant to me. I feel so lucky to have such a loving and supportive family. So, my companion from Ughanda, Sister Namutebi's birthday is on the 25th of this month. I wanted to get her a little something and I can't really do it here without her noticing. The other night I was wearing my BYU shirt and she mentioned how much she would like one. I was thinking maybe you guys could pick one out for her and send it here. I can pay you back whatever it costs. I imagine a large would be a good size. She also really enjoys popcorn and those sugar free drink mixes that you sent to me. Let me know what you can do for me. Anything would be appreciated. Thanks again for all of the love and support you give to me. Have a great week! I love you all so much! Love, Katelyn
P.S Can I get Derek and Ryan's addresses I would like to write to them sometime? Thanks
Thursday, September 8, 2011
Kate is excited for fall!
Hey'all,
It sure sounds like you have all had a productive week. I also had a very productive week. First of all the Hurricane did not even hit South Carolina like it had originally planned to. We did hear some news about it, just bits and pieces from ward members. It sounds like it didn't do as much damage as they thought it would but it still did some. I would really like it if we could check the weather so we know what kinds of things to bring with us. Instead we just go out every day regardless of the weather. People think we are crazy sometimes for going out in the really hot weather but that is okay. I am getting a little tired of the heat and I hear we still have one more month of it. I really can't wait until October when it will be nice and cool outside. We are working with some really great little families far out in our area. It takes a lot of our miles to get out there so sometimes we have a member come out with us. There is this family of 7 children plus the mother and the grandmother. They all live in one small house and don't have access to a car. The 16 year old son was living with relatives in another city this summer and had been meeting with the elders out there. He was supposed to be baptized but then he moved back home so now we are trying to get him baptized as soon as possible. It may be really hard to find rides for 9 people, so we are praying for them to get a car or something. There are a few more other families out there that actually do have access to a car, now we just need to get them to church. I really enjoy being able to meet so many diverse people. The city of Batesburg-Leesville which is in our area is the only ghetto place so it is fun. My area is very diverse. We can go to rich people up by the lake to the ghetto of Batesburg-Leesville and everything in between. I really love this area a lot and will be hard to leave all of it behind when I leave. This area will be the first area I come back to visit after my mission. Karen Lanz one of our recent converts went out of town this weekend to Atlana but she said she was planning on going to church down there and planned to also visit the temple. She is such a wonderful lady and is doing so well in the gospel. I am glad things are finally getting settled with everyone moving off and starting school. Good luck to those who are starting new jobs and/or a new semester at school. At times I kind of miss school but am grateful I am on a mission. We get to see all of the elders in our district every Monday when we are emailing as we all use the same library. We haven't ever done any sort of sporting actvity yet but maybe I will suggest something. They are all very nice young men as far as I can tell. I know they work hard and serve the Lord which is the most important thing to be doing. We also have district development every Tuesday and those are always really good. Our zone leaders are really great and we occasionaly see them when they come to one of our district development meetings. Otherwise we don't see them much execpt for any trainings or zone conference. Driving is going well. I really enjoy it. I am being the best driver that I can be. If anything bad happens while I am driving I would not be able to drive for the remainder of my mission. I don't want that to happen so I am careful. It is helpful that I pretty much know where I am going since I have been here since mid April. I can just picture everyone fighting over the washer and dryer. Who won? I bet I would have won if I had been there. I am sure it is quite lonely there at the house just you, dad and Bauer. I am glad you guys finally get some time to yourselves to do whaterver you want. I am sure you will always have visitors! I hope everything continues to go well with Grandpa's recovery. Tell them hello from me! Anything new with Brad, Mandy and the girls? Matt,Stacy and Graham? (look Matt you got mentioned in the email). I hope all continues to go well there at home. I am so grateful for your continued love and support, it brings me strength. I love you all so much! Love, Katelyn
It sure sounds like you have all had a productive week. I also had a very productive week. First of all the Hurricane did not even hit South Carolina like it had originally planned to. We did hear some news about it, just bits and pieces from ward members. It sounds like it didn't do as much damage as they thought it would but it still did some. I would really like it if we could check the weather so we know what kinds of things to bring with us. Instead we just go out every day regardless of the weather. People think we are crazy sometimes for going out in the really hot weather but that is okay. I am getting a little tired of the heat and I hear we still have one more month of it. I really can't wait until October when it will be nice and cool outside. We are working with some really great little families far out in our area. It takes a lot of our miles to get out there so sometimes we have a member come out with us. There is this family of 7 children plus the mother and the grandmother. They all live in one small house and don't have access to a car. The 16 year old son was living with relatives in another city this summer and had been meeting with the elders out there. He was supposed to be baptized but then he moved back home so now we are trying to get him baptized as soon as possible. It may be really hard to find rides for 9 people, so we are praying for them to get a car or something. There are a few more other families out there that actually do have access to a car, now we just need to get them to church. I really enjoy being able to meet so many diverse people. The city of Batesburg-Leesville which is in our area is the only ghetto place so it is fun. My area is very diverse. We can go to rich people up by the lake to the ghetto of Batesburg-Leesville and everything in between. I really love this area a lot and will be hard to leave all of it behind when I leave. This area will be the first area I come back to visit after my mission. Karen Lanz one of our recent converts went out of town this weekend to Atlana but she said she was planning on going to church down there and planned to also visit the temple. She is such a wonderful lady and is doing so well in the gospel. I am glad things are finally getting settled with everyone moving off and starting school. Good luck to those who are starting new jobs and/or a new semester at school. At times I kind of miss school but am grateful I am on a mission. We get to see all of the elders in our district every Monday when we are emailing as we all use the same library. We haven't ever done any sort of sporting actvity yet but maybe I will suggest something. They are all very nice young men as far as I can tell. I know they work hard and serve the Lord which is the most important thing to be doing. We also have district development every Tuesday and those are always really good. Our zone leaders are really great and we occasionaly see them when they come to one of our district development meetings. Otherwise we don't see them much execpt for any trainings or zone conference. Driving is going well. I really enjoy it. I am being the best driver that I can be. If anything bad happens while I am driving I would not be able to drive for the remainder of my mission. I don't want that to happen so I am careful. It is helpful that I pretty much know where I am going since I have been here since mid April. I can just picture everyone fighting over the washer and dryer. Who won? I bet I would have won if I had been there. I am sure it is quite lonely there at the house just you, dad and Bauer. I am glad you guys finally get some time to yourselves to do whaterver you want. I am sure you will always have visitors! I hope everything continues to go well with Grandpa's recovery. Tell them hello from me! Anything new with Brad, Mandy and the girls? Matt,Stacy and Graham? (look Matt you got mentioned in the email). I hope all continues to go well there at home. I am so grateful for your continued love and support, it brings me strength. I love you all so much! Love, Katelyn
Kate tells about investigators
Hey y'all-
I am here bright and early as usual! We have permission to use member's computers as the library was going to be closed for the holiday today. We wanted to get to it as early as we could. I am always pretty excited to read your emails each week. Before I forget can you send me my next journal I think I have one more. My week has been great, nothing too exciting happened to us. We have been working with a member's boyfriend and progressing him towards baptism. He is going to be baptized on the 17th so we are pretty excited. He technically lives out of our area but soon after he is baptized they plan to move both of their records to the single's ward. He is a great guy and I know he will be a great member of the church and a worthy priesthood holder. We are also working with this guy and his name is Diego Saurez and he is originally from the country of Columbia. He has lived and worked here for the past 3 years. I met him while I was with Sister Wright and we technically had dropped him as an investigator but we picked him up again. We taught him a 1st lesson and it went very well and we invited him to come to church and he said he would try. He ended up coming to church and he seemed to like it a lot. He usually has a lot of questions and doesn't want us to leave. Yesterday he offered to buy us dinner at Taco Bell so we had to have a lesson on the Sabbath day and he seemed to understand that. It was so nice of him to offer and we assured him that any other day we could. He is progressing slowly in the gospel but I know someday soon he will join the church. We are also working with this nice lady named Cheryl Bieir whom we met awhile ago. She has had a kind of rough past and has worked hard to overcome that. We taught her a 1st and a 2nd lesson this last week. She wants to continue to learn about Jesus so we know she is in the right place. There is this other lady named Franny Peters that I think have mentioned before that we are kind of working with. She has had a rough couple of years and is trying to overcome what has happened. She has been having a lot of health and financial problems that she has been worrying about. We taught her about the priesthood and how she could receive a blessing and she said she would like that. We took the bishop and his dad over and they gave her a wonderful blessing. We talked with her yesterday and she said she has already seen a difference in her life. On Saturday night we knocked on the Harbor's door to talk to them . They were watching the South Carolina game and had previously watched the BYU game. They told me the score and I was happy to hear that it was a victory. Keep me updated on the games I enjoy hearing about them. We have been doing member dinners again because they asked us to. If I had it my way I would just skip those all together but I can't. We have enjoyed them and the member's are wonderful to feed us. I am glad all is going well with everyone in work and school. Thank you for the pictures of Graham they were so cute I can't believe how big he is now! Also thanks for the Jane and Annie pictures, they are also so cute. Thank you for all that you do for me. Thank you for your continued love and support. I really have the best family ever. Have a great week! Love, Katelyn
I am here bright and early as usual! We have permission to use member's computers as the library was going to be closed for the holiday today. We wanted to get to it as early as we could. I am always pretty excited to read your emails each week. Before I forget can you send me my next journal I think I have one more. My week has been great, nothing too exciting happened to us. We have been working with a member's boyfriend and progressing him towards baptism. He is going to be baptized on the 17th so we are pretty excited. He technically lives out of our area but soon after he is baptized they plan to move both of their records to the single's ward. He is a great guy and I know he will be a great member of the church and a worthy priesthood holder. We are also working with this guy and his name is Diego Saurez and he is originally from the country of Columbia. He has lived and worked here for the past 3 years. I met him while I was with Sister Wright and we technically had dropped him as an investigator but we picked him up again. We taught him a 1st lesson and it went very well and we invited him to come to church and he said he would try. He ended up coming to church and he seemed to like it a lot. He usually has a lot of questions and doesn't want us to leave. Yesterday he offered to buy us dinner at Taco Bell so we had to have a lesson on the Sabbath day and he seemed to understand that. It was so nice of him to offer and we assured him that any other day we could. He is progressing slowly in the gospel but I know someday soon he will join the church. We are also working with this nice lady named Cheryl Bieir whom we met awhile ago. She has had a kind of rough past and has worked hard to overcome that. We taught her a 1st and a 2nd lesson this last week. She wants to continue to learn about Jesus so we know she is in the right place. There is this other lady named Franny Peters that I think have mentioned before that we are kind of working with. She has had a rough couple of years and is trying to overcome what has happened. She has been having a lot of health and financial problems that she has been worrying about. We taught her about the priesthood and how she could receive a blessing and she said she would like that. We took the bishop and his dad over and they gave her a wonderful blessing. We talked with her yesterday and she said she has already seen a difference in her life. On Saturday night we knocked on the Harbor's door to talk to them . They were watching the South Carolina game and had previously watched the BYU game. They told me the score and I was happy to hear that it was a victory. Keep me updated on the games I enjoy hearing about them. We have been doing member dinners again because they asked us to. If I had it my way I would just skip those all together but I can't. We have enjoyed them and the member's are wonderful to feed us. I am glad all is going well with everyone in work and school. Thank you for the pictures of Graham they were so cute I can't believe how big he is now! Also thanks for the Jane and Annie pictures, they are also so cute. Thank you for all that you do for me. Thank you for your continued love and support. I really have the best family ever. Have a great week! Love, Katelyn
Monday, August 22, 2011
Kate gets a new companion....and then another. Three's a crowd!
Hey'all-
I am doing great this week! What a crazy week it has been. We have been working hard and learning so much. This week was transfers and Karen drove us there and she loved seeing a lot of elders and sisters gather together. I am still in a threesome which is okay. I am not a big fan of being in a threesome but I am obedient and I do what the Lord and my mission president says. I know it will be a great learning experience for me. Sister Johnson is my new companion and she had been serving in Sumter before. She is a convert of 2 years and is from Wyoming. She wasn't there at transfers as her companion was in the hospital. So for like a day and a half it was Sister Namutebi and me and we had a great time. Sister Johnson is the senior comapnion so she is technically the driver but since I know the area so well we got permission from the assistants for me to be the driver. I have definitely missed driving and I am enjoying being able to do it. I think it is helping with my confidence so it is great. I have to say teaching in a threesome can be difficult at times but we are making it work. Yesterday we went out to a city in our area called Batesburg-Leesville which is the ghetto of our area. We went to go see some leads that Sister Wright and I had found awhile ago and we actually had some success with that. We talked with this wonderful lady and her husand and shared a first lesson with them. The spirit was there and they enjoyed our message and accepted a baptismial date for September 17. They have three kids that are baptismal age so we look forward to meeting with them also. We also had another great lesson with a mom and her 2 daughters and set them on date for September 17. It was amazing that our lesson just flowed so nicely and no one had to worry about when to say something. I think when I was with Sister Wright she talked a lot sometimes and I struggled joining in. I am making it work in a threesome. I do have to be more assertive and step up to the plate more but I think that is something the Lord wanted me to learn. I am so glad you had a wonderful time in Las Vegas and California. I am a little jealous. I love southern California. I want to go there when I come home. I am proud of you for being brave and doing something that scared you. I have to admidt I don't know if I would have had the courage to do something like that but who knows maybe this mission will change me. Ths mission has been requiring me to do so many hard things that I would have never had to do. I am so grateful that I made the choice to come on a mission and I know the Lord is blessing me for it. The bike situation is all figured out. I talked to the people that I bought the bike from and I explained the situation to them. He said that he would take it back and sell it for me and then mail me a check. He comes to all of the transfers to deliever the new bikes to the incoming missionaries. I was going to take mine to last transfers but Karen did not have a place in her car for it so I will wait until next transfers. I am sad that I didn't get to ride my bike. I really like it and I think it is very cute. Maybe if I had gone someplace first that didn't have dirt roads I would have ridden it more. I am glad you enjoyed talking to her I know she really enjoyed it as well. She is a wonderful lady and is always doing nice things for us. I just wanted to let you know how much I love you and I appreciate everthing that you do for me. Thank you for believing in me and that I could serve a mission. I wouldn't change this experience for anything in the world. Being a missioanry is hard and I know you have prepared me well to endure each day. I am grateful for the missionaries that brought Dad into this church. I know that through his decison to join, we as the Serafine family have been able to change the lives of so many people. Again I love you all so much and thank you for your continued love and support. I know that this church is true and that Joseph Smith did see that miraclous vision. Through him the church was restored though the gift and power of God. Love, Katelyn
I am doing great this week! What a crazy week it has been. We have been working hard and learning so much. This week was transfers and Karen drove us there and she loved seeing a lot of elders and sisters gather together. I am still in a threesome which is okay. I am not a big fan of being in a threesome but I am obedient and I do what the Lord and my mission president says. I know it will be a great learning experience for me. Sister Johnson is my new companion and she had been serving in Sumter before. She is a convert of 2 years and is from Wyoming. She wasn't there at transfers as her companion was in the hospital. So for like a day and a half it was Sister Namutebi and me and we had a great time. Sister Johnson is the senior comapnion so she is technically the driver but since I know the area so well we got permission from the assistants for me to be the driver. I have definitely missed driving and I am enjoying being able to do it. I think it is helping with my confidence so it is great. I have to say teaching in a threesome can be difficult at times but we are making it work. Yesterday we went out to a city in our area called Batesburg-Leesville which is the ghetto of our area. We went to go see some leads that Sister Wright and I had found awhile ago and we actually had some success with that. We talked with this wonderful lady and her husand and shared a first lesson with them. The spirit was there and they enjoyed our message and accepted a baptismial date for September 17. They have three kids that are baptismal age so we look forward to meeting with them also. We also had another great lesson with a mom and her 2 daughters and set them on date for September 17. It was amazing that our lesson just flowed so nicely and no one had to worry about when to say something. I think when I was with Sister Wright she talked a lot sometimes and I struggled joining in. I am making it work in a threesome. I do have to be more assertive and step up to the plate more but I think that is something the Lord wanted me to learn. I am so glad you had a wonderful time in Las Vegas and California. I am a little jealous. I love southern California. I want to go there when I come home. I am proud of you for being brave and doing something that scared you. I have to admidt I don't know if I would have had the courage to do something like that but who knows maybe this mission will change me. Ths mission has been requiring me to do so many hard things that I would have never had to do. I am so grateful that I made the choice to come on a mission and I know the Lord is blessing me for it. The bike situation is all figured out. I talked to the people that I bought the bike from and I explained the situation to them. He said that he would take it back and sell it for me and then mail me a check. He comes to all of the transfers to deliever the new bikes to the incoming missionaries. I was going to take mine to last transfers but Karen did not have a place in her car for it so I will wait until next transfers. I am sad that I didn't get to ride my bike. I really like it and I think it is very cute. Maybe if I had gone someplace first that didn't have dirt roads I would have ridden it more. I am glad you enjoyed talking to her I know she really enjoyed it as well. She is a wonderful lady and is always doing nice things for us. I just wanted to let you know how much I love you and I appreciate everthing that you do for me. Thank you for believing in me and that I could serve a mission. I wouldn't change this experience for anything in the world. Being a missioanry is hard and I know you have prepared me well to endure each day. I am grateful for the missionaries that brought Dad into this church. I know that through his decison to join, we as the Serafine family have been able to change the lives of so many people. Again I love you all so much and thank you for your continued love and support. I know that this church is true and that Joseph Smith did see that miraclous vision. Through him the church was restored though the gift and power of God. Love, Katelyn
Baptism and a Chocolate Fountain!
H'yall-
Sorry, I had to go so I wasn't able to type to you back and forth. That would have been though! All is well here in South Carolina! The zoo was a lot of fun and we stayed there for a few hours. I love the zoo and I especially love the giraffes. It was pretty hot but we couldn't leave any earlier than 10 am so we had to do our best. It is still very hot and humid here and will be until the end of September. The other day we got back into the car and it said it was 116 degrees which was really hot. Yesterday was realivly cool and we took advantage of that. At one point it was 72 degrees. We love it when it stays under 90 degrees but it being the middle of August that is impossible. I am kind of getting sick of sweating. Before I forget can I get Derek and Ryan's addresses I would love to write them but I have no way of doing so. So, transfers are this week and we are looking froward to that. Sister Wright is being transferred and Sister Namutebi and I are staying in the area. I am excited for the opportunity I get to work more in this area. This area is so great and has a lot of potential for us to find new people. This also means that I will probably get to drive the car and I will be honest with you I am a little nervous. I haven't driven a car since March but I am confident that all will go well. Our baptism went over well and we had a lot of support from the young women and some young men! I gave a talk on baptism. Apparently I am good at those so they keep asking me and being the obedient person that I am I accept. I rather talk than have to sing so I do my part. Afterwards there was a chocolate fountain with everything to dip in it. I am sure you all would have enjoyed it. The young women leaders were so nice to put that all together. She was confirmed yesterday so now she is officially a member of the church. We met with Trey who is the member's boyfriend after church yesterday. He came on his own to church and set up the appointment all by himself. This shows us that he is doing this for him and not just for her. He never has any questions and just accepts everything we say. He should be baptized this month. How was the wedding? How was Southern California and the angels game? I am sure you all had a fun time! I love those last little trips before school starts again. I am glad Bauer is finally learning how to behave. I am sure when he sees children accross the street he runs. When does Riley move into his dorm? Matt and Stacy- Thank you for the birthday card you sent me it was great. I especially enjoyed the picture of Graham he is so cute! I compared his picture to the last one I had of him and he has changed so much. I showed his picture to my companions and they loved it. I can't tell you all how much I enjoy being an aunt. Well, I have got to be going. Thank you for all of your continued love and support. I appreciate everything that you do for me. Have a great week. Love, Katelyn
Sorry, I had to go so I wasn't able to type to you back and forth. That would have been though! All is well here in South Carolina! The zoo was a lot of fun and we stayed there for a few hours. I love the zoo and I especially love the giraffes. It was pretty hot but we couldn't leave any earlier than 10 am so we had to do our best. It is still very hot and humid here and will be until the end of September. The other day we got back into the car and it said it was 116 degrees which was really hot. Yesterday was realivly cool and we took advantage of that. At one point it was 72 degrees. We love it when it stays under 90 degrees but it being the middle of August that is impossible. I am kind of getting sick of sweating. Before I forget can I get Derek and Ryan's addresses I would love to write them but I have no way of doing so. So, transfers are this week and we are looking froward to that. Sister Wright is being transferred and Sister Namutebi and I are staying in the area. I am excited for the opportunity I get to work more in this area. This area is so great and has a lot of potential for us to find new people. This also means that I will probably get to drive the car and I will be honest with you I am a little nervous. I haven't driven a car since March but I am confident that all will go well. Our baptism went over well and we had a lot of support from the young women and some young men! I gave a talk on baptism. Apparently I am good at those so they keep asking me and being the obedient person that I am I accept. I rather talk than have to sing so I do my part. Afterwards there was a chocolate fountain with everything to dip in it. I am sure you all would have enjoyed it. The young women leaders were so nice to put that all together. She was confirmed yesterday so now she is officially a member of the church. We met with Trey who is the member's boyfriend after church yesterday. He came on his own to church and set up the appointment all by himself. This shows us that he is doing this for him and not just for her. He never has any questions and just accepts everything we say. He should be baptized this month. How was the wedding? How was Southern California and the angels game? I am sure you all had a fun time! I love those last little trips before school starts again. I am glad Bauer is finally learning how to behave. I am sure when he sees children accross the street he runs. When does Riley move into his dorm? Matt and Stacy- Thank you for the birthday card you sent me it was great. I especially enjoyed the picture of Graham he is so cute! I compared his picture to the last one I had of him and he has changed so much. I showed his picture to my companions and they loved it. I can't tell you all how much I enjoy being an aunt. Well, I have got to be going. Thank you for all of your continued love and support. I appreciate everything that you do for me. Have a great week. Love, Katelyn
Tuesday, August 9, 2011
Humid weather and the local zoo!
Hey'all-
How are you all doing in the wonderful dry state of Utah? You won't believe how hot and humid it has been here. When I first got to the area they warned us about August and how hot and humid it was and boy were they right. We take plenty of water with us to make sure we don't die. Sometimes nice people give us bottles of water because they can see how hot and sweaty we are. I definitely sweat way too much. The humidity loves me! I am so glad you enjoyed the pictures and videos from the party. She really is the most generous person in the world. Although she doesn't have much money she serves us in other ways. I am also glad you enjoyed the pictures that I sent to you. That is Sister Riley in that picture with me. She alsways takes us out to lunch on p-days. I love the shirt you sent me it fits perfectly. I wore it to church the next day. I love, love, love the watch you sent me. It is the most beautiful watch ever. I took my companions out to lunch last p-day and we went to this place called Panera which is a soup, sandwich and salad place. It was like going out for a girls night except during the day. Thanks for the money. Karen's daughter Deanna is getting baptized on Saturday!! She is already like a member as she has been coming to church for weeks. She bore her testimony yesterday and it was such a wonderful thing. I feel so grateful to be a part of these people's lives. I wouldn't change this experience for anything in the world. We met this lady named Franny this week who is like a member waiting to happen. She has been through so much in her life already this year. Her husband was killed in January and her mother died a month ago. We read her a scripture in the Book of Mormon and she asked if that scripture was only in that book and we said yes. She then said "I need one of those" we gave her one right away. We look forward to teaching her more. Today we were able to do something fun for p-day. The Harbors gave us Zoo passes for our birthdays so we went to the Zoo. We went with Karen and Deanna as we had a couple extra tickets. We had so much fun at the Zoo!! We are very easily recognized and had several members from other wards come up and talk with us. I guess when you are wearing a skirt at the Zoo along with a nametag you are bound to be recognized. We got to feed the giraffes which was so cool. I actually did it, you would all be so proud of me. We go out tracting all day every day! The other day we walked so much our feet were aching and our bodies were exhausted. It was a lot of fun though! I will never get to do anything like this ever again in my life. I am just taking in the experience as it comes. We have this member who has a nonmember boyfriend who has been coming to church and reading the Book of Mormon. We met with him yesterday and it was such a wonderful experience, as he was so ready and didn't really have any questions for us. We set him on date for August 27th and we are sure he will be baptized on that date. Missionary work is the best! Tomorrow is Sister Wright's birthday so I am trying to come up with something special to do. There are no secrets when you have a companion all the time. Anyways I am sure I will some up with something. Thanks for all that you do for me. Thanks for the continued love and support you give to me! I love you all so much! Enjoy these last few weeks of summer! Love, Katelyn
How are you all doing in the wonderful dry state of Utah? You won't believe how hot and humid it has been here. When I first got to the area they warned us about August and how hot and humid it was and boy were they right. We take plenty of water with us to make sure we don't die. Sometimes nice people give us bottles of water because they can see how hot and sweaty we are. I definitely sweat way too much. The humidity loves me! I am so glad you enjoyed the pictures and videos from the party. She really is the most generous person in the world. Although she doesn't have much money she serves us in other ways. I am also glad you enjoyed the pictures that I sent to you. That is Sister Riley in that picture with me. She alsways takes us out to lunch on p-days. I love the shirt you sent me it fits perfectly. I wore it to church the next day. I love, love, love the watch you sent me. It is the most beautiful watch ever. I took my companions out to lunch last p-day and we went to this place called Panera which is a soup, sandwich and salad place. It was like going out for a girls night except during the day. Thanks for the money. Karen's daughter Deanna is getting baptized on Saturday!! She is already like a member as she has been coming to church for weeks. She bore her testimony yesterday and it was such a wonderful thing. I feel so grateful to be a part of these people's lives. I wouldn't change this experience for anything in the world. We met this lady named Franny this week who is like a member waiting to happen. She has been through so much in her life already this year. Her husband was killed in January and her mother died a month ago. We read her a scripture in the Book of Mormon and she asked if that scripture was only in that book and we said yes. She then said "I need one of those" we gave her one right away. We look forward to teaching her more. Today we were able to do something fun for p-day. The Harbors gave us Zoo passes for our birthdays so we went to the Zoo. We went with Karen and Deanna as we had a couple extra tickets. We had so much fun at the Zoo!! We are very easily recognized and had several members from other wards come up and talk with us. I guess when you are wearing a skirt at the Zoo along with a nametag you are bound to be recognized. We got to feed the giraffes which was so cool. I actually did it, you would all be so proud of me. We go out tracting all day every day! The other day we walked so much our feet were aching and our bodies were exhausted. It was a lot of fun though! I will never get to do anything like this ever again in my life. I am just taking in the experience as it comes. We have this member who has a nonmember boyfriend who has been coming to church and reading the Book of Mormon. We met with him yesterday and it was such a wonderful experience, as he was so ready and didn't really have any questions for us. We set him on date for August 27th and we are sure he will be baptized on that date. Missionary work is the best! Tomorrow is Sister Wright's birthday so I am trying to come up with something special to do. There are no secrets when you have a companion all the time. Anyways I am sure I will some up with something. Thanks for all that you do for me. Thanks for the continued love and support you give to me! I love you all so much! Enjoy these last few weeks of summer! Love, Katelyn
Monday, August 1, 2011
Kate celebrate her first Birthday on the mission!
Hey'all-
How are y'all all doing this week? I sure missed celebrating my birthday with the fam but I did have a birthday I will never forget. I will give you a summary and you can all read about it in more detail in my journal later. First of all I got the package the Tuesday before and I wasn't sure if I should open it or not so I saved it until my birthday. It took a lot of patience to wait that long but I did. It was like any other day, we got up and we exercised, and then as I was getting ready for the day Sister Wright came running down the hallway and knocked on the door and wished me a happy birthday. For breakfast Sister Wright made German pancakes which were just delicious. She loves birthdays! We got out and then we went to work like we do every day. They surprised me and took me out to lunch at El Paso which is a Mexican restaurant. It is also the only restaurant close by in our area. We had been wanting to go there for months so we finally went. Sister Wright told them that it was my birthday and they came out and sang to me. They made me put on a huge sombreo and then they gave me fried ice cream. You would have been so proud of me! After that we had an appointment with a lead that we had, so we headed there. This lady is the most spiritual lady I have ever met. Her home is so full of the spirit and she pays attention to its promptings. We mentioned to her that it was my birthday and she said yesterday that she felt prompted to make a cake and she wasn't sure why. She shared it with me which was cool. She also had some other great things to say. We gave her and her husband a Book of Mormon and asked them to read and pray about it. I know they will and they will receive the answer they are looking for. We also went to go visit a less active in an asssisted living place and were able to give her a new Book of Mormon and a Bible as she had lost hers. She hadn't been to church in awhile and has been wanting to come back. Then we headed over to the party that Karen had planned. She decided to just celebrate Sister Wright's and my birthday on the same day. People kept thinking it was both of our birthdays. So, I had to share my party with her which was okay. Karen went all out and decorated the house and even made party favors. I am sure you got the vidieo and pictures she sent you. A lot of ward members came and brought gifts which was nice. She even made separate cakes for us and we got to blow out the candles. We opened the gifts in front of everyone and we got some great stuff. This is best ward ever, I love them so much. After that we headed home and I opened the package you had sent. I loved the You are Special plates and what was cool is that there were 3 plates and when you sent it you didn't know I was in a threesome. Since I opened it too late to have the breakfast and the cupcakes we had them the next day and took pictures. I appreciate all of the gifts that you sent. I absolutely love the watch thank you so much!!! We have already started listening to the cds that you sent and they are great. I wore the shirt yesterday to church and I think it is so cute. Thanks for making it a great birthday!! Since I am in the area for so long I am able to unpack all of my clothes and other things. I do keep a few things in my luggage and grab them when I need them. I don't particulary love living out of luggage but what choice do I have. I really have been working on my eye contact. It has improved more than I ever thought it could. You would be proud of me!! I feel like I am making good progress but I know it won't all come at once. I will keep pressing forward and striving for my goals. I am glad you had a good pioneer day and were able to make it to the parade. It was strange being out of state for the holiday as they really didn't celebrate that here. I am also glad the wedding went well. What is funny is that we have a bunch of wedding announcements on our fridge that we can't attend. They are reminding us of what we have to look forward to. I was wondering if you could check my checking account and find out how much money I have in it. I almost forgot thank you for the money, I am planning on taking my comps out soon. Thank you for all of your love and support. Have a wonderful week!! I love you all!! Love, Katelyn
How are y'all all doing this week? I sure missed celebrating my birthday with the fam but I did have a birthday I will never forget. I will give you a summary and you can all read about it in more detail in my journal later. First of all I got the package the Tuesday before and I wasn't sure if I should open it or not so I saved it until my birthday. It took a lot of patience to wait that long but I did. It was like any other day, we got up and we exercised, and then as I was getting ready for the day Sister Wright came running down the hallway and knocked on the door and wished me a happy birthday. For breakfast Sister Wright made German pancakes which were just delicious. She loves birthdays! We got out and then we went to work like we do every day. They surprised me and took me out to lunch at El Paso which is a Mexican restaurant. It is also the only restaurant close by in our area. We had been wanting to go there for months so we finally went. Sister Wright told them that it was my birthday and they came out and sang to me. They made me put on a huge sombreo and then they gave me fried ice cream. You would have been so proud of me! After that we had an appointment with a lead that we had, so we headed there. This lady is the most spiritual lady I have ever met. Her home is so full of the spirit and she pays attention to its promptings. We mentioned to her that it was my birthday and she said yesterday that she felt prompted to make a cake and she wasn't sure why. She shared it with me which was cool. She also had some other great things to say. We gave her and her husband a Book of Mormon and asked them to read and pray about it. I know they will and they will receive the answer they are looking for. We also went to go visit a less active in an asssisted living place and were able to give her a new Book of Mormon and a Bible as she had lost hers. She hadn't been to church in awhile and has been wanting to come back. Then we headed over to the party that Karen had planned. She decided to just celebrate Sister Wright's and my birthday on the same day. People kept thinking it was both of our birthdays. So, I had to share my party with her which was okay. Karen went all out and decorated the house and even made party favors. I am sure you got the vidieo and pictures she sent you. A lot of ward members came and brought gifts which was nice. She even made separate cakes for us and we got to blow out the candles. We opened the gifts in front of everyone and we got some great stuff. This is best ward ever, I love them so much. After that we headed home and I opened the package you had sent. I loved the You are Special plates and what was cool is that there were 3 plates and when you sent it you didn't know I was in a threesome. Since I opened it too late to have the breakfast and the cupcakes we had them the next day and took pictures. I appreciate all of the gifts that you sent. I absolutely love the watch thank you so much!!! We have already started listening to the cds that you sent and they are great. I wore the shirt yesterday to church and I think it is so cute. Thanks for making it a great birthday!! Since I am in the area for so long I am able to unpack all of my clothes and other things. I do keep a few things in my luggage and grab them when I need them. I don't particulary love living out of luggage but what choice do I have. I really have been working on my eye contact. It has improved more than I ever thought it could. You would be proud of me!! I feel like I am making good progress but I know it won't all come at once. I will keep pressing forward and striving for my goals. I am glad you had a good pioneer day and were able to make it to the parade. It was strange being out of state for the holiday as they really didn't celebrate that here. I am also glad the wedding went well. What is funny is that we have a bunch of wedding announcements on our fridge that we can't attend. They are reminding us of what we have to look forward to. I was wondering if you could check my checking account and find out how much money I have in it. I almost forgot thank you for the money, I am planning on taking my comps out soon. Thank you for all of your love and support. Have a wonderful week!! I love you all!! Love, Katelyn
Monday, July 25, 2011
Kate's back with Sister Wright and new companion Sister Namutebi!
Hey'all-
How are you all this week? I think I have a lot to catch you up on. The companion I got last week Sister Jakob had been having some health problems for over a year and went home to get them taken care of. They had to emergency transfer some sisters in with me until the end of this transfer. I got to spend the day with Sister Holm (the new mission president's wife) after my companion left for the airport and it was great. We ran a few errands and then she took me out to lunch. What they did is take Sister Wright and her companion Sister Namutebi from Augusta to come to Gilbert. So I am with Sister Wright again which is great! Sister Namutebi is from Uganda in Africa. She is a wonderful person and I hope to get to know her better. She is great and is very spiritual. She talks to everyone regardless if they can understand her or not. She speaks english great but just has a quiet voice. It is interesting working in a threesome I definitely have to speak up more but I am working on that. I promise to send pictures soon so you can see my hair better, My hair is definitely easier to fix and I am grateful for it in this weather. It takes a lot for me to go up and approach people and just start talking to them. It is something I am working on. We role play everyday to get practice in. Sister Wright had asked Sister McConkie when she was here and she said it was okay to wear sandals from April to October. I am not sure if that still applies but I stick to the shoes that I have. Sandals are uncomfortable if you are going to be doing a lot of walking. I do enjoy it when you send parts of blog posts. I am sure it is okay that I look at them. It helps me to stay up to date with the family. The pictures you sent with this email didn't come so if you could try and send them again I would appreciate that. We have been working hard this week in our new companionship. It is a bit more crowded in the trailer but we have a lot of fun together. It was really hot this past week and people thought we were crazy for being out in the weather. It reached 103 degrees but we had plenty of water and gatorade with us. Our recent convert Karen Lanz is planning a birthday party for me on Saturday and has invited the whole ward. It should be a great day! Her daughter went to youth conference this past week and had a wonderful experience. She is going to girl's camp this week and we know she will have a great time there. She was going to be baptized on my birthday but she arrives home from camp that day so we are pushing off until the 6th. She is doing well in the church already and has made some wonderful friends. She got a personal progress book yesterday and is excited to get started. Two of my recent converts got temple recommends yesterday so they are making progress towards the temple. That make me happy! Thanks for the package this week you know me well. Thank you so much. I feel so lucky to have a wonderful supportive family. Everytime I receive mail it is from a loving family member. I enjoy hearing all about what is happening in your life. I hope it is alright that I gave the newlywed converts your number. They could tell you all about me. We are going to be emailing earlier now at about 10:30am EST so you should see an email at around 8:30 or 9 your time. I hope you all have a wonderful week! Tell Tim and Nickie congratulations on their wedding and they chose a good day to married (my birthday!!!!). Next time I write to you I will be 24 years old which sounds so old. Anyways I have got to be going! I love you all so much!
Love, Katelyn
How are you all this week? I think I have a lot to catch you up on. The companion I got last week Sister Jakob had been having some health problems for over a year and went home to get them taken care of. They had to emergency transfer some sisters in with me until the end of this transfer. I got to spend the day with Sister Holm (the new mission president's wife) after my companion left for the airport and it was great. We ran a few errands and then she took me out to lunch. What they did is take Sister Wright and her companion Sister Namutebi from Augusta to come to Gilbert. So I am with Sister Wright again which is great! Sister Namutebi is from Uganda in Africa. She is a wonderful person and I hope to get to know her better. She is great and is very spiritual. She talks to everyone regardless if they can understand her or not. She speaks english great but just has a quiet voice. It is interesting working in a threesome I definitely have to speak up more but I am working on that. I promise to send pictures soon so you can see my hair better, My hair is definitely easier to fix and I am grateful for it in this weather. It takes a lot for me to go up and approach people and just start talking to them. It is something I am working on. We role play everyday to get practice in. Sister Wright had asked Sister McConkie when she was here and she said it was okay to wear sandals from April to October. I am not sure if that still applies but I stick to the shoes that I have. Sandals are uncomfortable if you are going to be doing a lot of walking. I do enjoy it when you send parts of blog posts. I am sure it is okay that I look at them. It helps me to stay up to date with the family. The pictures you sent with this email didn't come so if you could try and send them again I would appreciate that. We have been working hard this week in our new companionship. It is a bit more crowded in the trailer but we have a lot of fun together. It was really hot this past week and people thought we were crazy for being out in the weather. It reached 103 degrees but we had plenty of water and gatorade with us. Our recent convert Karen Lanz is planning a birthday party for me on Saturday and has invited the whole ward. It should be a great day! Her daughter went to youth conference this past week and had a wonderful experience. She is going to girl's camp this week and we know she will have a great time there. She was going to be baptized on my birthday but she arrives home from camp that day so we are pushing off until the 6th. She is doing well in the church already and has made some wonderful friends. She got a personal progress book yesterday and is excited to get started. Two of my recent converts got temple recommends yesterday so they are making progress towards the temple. That make me happy! Thanks for the package this week you know me well. Thank you so much. I feel so lucky to have a wonderful supportive family. Everytime I receive mail it is from a loving family member. I enjoy hearing all about what is happening in your life. I hope it is alright that I gave the newlywed converts your number. They could tell you all about me. We are going to be emailing earlier now at about 10:30am EST so you should see an email at around 8:30 or 9 your time. I hope you all have a wonderful week! Tell Tim and Nickie congratulations on their wedding and they chose a good day to married (my birthday!!!!). Next time I write to you I will be 24 years old which sounds so old. Anyways I have got to be going! I love you all so much!
Love, Katelyn
Thursday, July 21, 2011
Some pictures of Katelyn
Hope you enjoy! We received these pictures from a newly baptized member Karen. She is extremely thoughtful and loves sending us pictures of Kate. We just love it because we love Kate! Kate's companion Sister Wright recently cut her hair and it is just adorable!
Can anyone tell me how to get the pictures bigger and centered?
Kate gets a new companion
Hey'all
How is it going in the great state of Utah? I am doing good out here in the wonderful city of Gilbert. We had transfers this week and I was not looking forward to them as I really didn't want Sister Wright to leave. I guess it had to happen eventually. It was my first transfers ever and I was so nervous. It seemed like forever before President Holm announced all of the new transfers. Since they dissolved the Georgia, Macon mission we got a handful of the missionaries from there. My new companion had been serving in that mission in the city of Augusta. Her name is Sister Jakob and she is a very bold and hard working person. She talks to everyone and invites them to be baptized. You know me I am not a very bold and outspoken person so I have a lot to learn. I am working hard though and trying to do things I have never done before. I am happy out here learning and changing my life. We had a wonderful week full of new adventures. On our first day together we got caught in a rain storm that came out of no where. We were no where near the car and had no umbrella with us. We had an appointment in the neighborhood so we had to go there dripping wet. It was a pretty funny sight standing there on the porch soaking wet. They got us towels so we could dry off which was nice. I took her to go meet Karen our recent convert which went great. We had the wonderful opportunity the next day to do a session at the temple. The session started at 6 am and we had to be there at 5:30, plus we live an hour away. Karen was gracious enough to take us there and we are grateful for that. She sat in the waiting room at the temple and waited for us. It was pretty hard to stay awake during the session. We almost wished we could have done baptisms to wake us up. I am grateful though that we got that opportunity. I took her to meet Jess and Tony Crago who are the wonderful couple that Sister Wright and I had been working with. They are the couple that had a wedding 2 weeks ago. They are moving to Utah tomorrow and are moving in with his mother for the time being. They had been planning on moving to Utah around Christmas time but some circumstances arose and they are leaving early. They are taking a Greyhound bus there which is like a 3 day trip. Sister Wright and I were not sure they would be baptized before they left. I took Sister Jakob to meet them and we had a wonderful lesson. We asked them to pray about baptism and if that was something they still wanted to do. Before we even left the city they called us and said they wanted to be baptized. We talked to the district leader and set up their baptismal interviews for the next day. They were having a yard sale this weekend to get rid of things they couldn't take with them. They didn't know that they would need to come to church on Sunday to be confirmed. They didn't sell everything on Saturday so they had to it on Sunday also. We had to get special permission to have waterside confirmations. They were baptized in the evening and it was a beautiful experience. I am so grateful I have been able to be part of their conversion process. They are a wonderful couple and still have a lot to learn but by them moving to Utah I know that will help. His mother lives in Nephi but they plan on eventually moving to Provo. I gave them your contact information so if they need any help I told them to give you guys a call. I am so sad to see them go but I know I will see them again soon. They are planning a welcome home party for me already. I love them so much! That is so cool that there are 3 missionaries from our family. Way to represent! To my brother Riley- Thank you so much for the letter that was so nice of you. Please write me more often I love hearing from you. Congratulations on becoming an Elder. I know that will be a wonderful blessing in your life. Allison and Riley Wilson- Thank you so much for the early birthday gift it was great. You both are so thoughtful! I got it on Saturday and it was sitting there in the mailbox waiting for me. The cookies were delicious and managed to get here almost in one piece. A few of them were broken but I didn't care. I am still enjoying them! I love the bracelet too. thank you for that. To the entire Bradshaw clan- Thank you so much for the card! I loved reading all of the notes. I feel so lucky to have a wonderful supportive family. I don't know what I would do without y'all. Thank you so much for all of the love and support you give me. Keep me updated on your lives. Hope all is well. Have a wonderful week. Love, Katelyn
How is it going in the great state of Utah? I am doing good out here in the wonderful city of Gilbert. We had transfers this week and I was not looking forward to them as I really didn't want Sister Wright to leave. I guess it had to happen eventually. It was my first transfers ever and I was so nervous. It seemed like forever before President Holm announced all of the new transfers. Since they dissolved the Georgia, Macon mission we got a handful of the missionaries from there. My new companion had been serving in that mission in the city of Augusta. Her name is Sister Jakob and she is a very bold and hard working person. She talks to everyone and invites them to be baptized. You know me I am not a very bold and outspoken person so I have a lot to learn. I am working hard though and trying to do things I have never done before. I am happy out here learning and changing my life. We had a wonderful week full of new adventures. On our first day together we got caught in a rain storm that came out of no where. We were no where near the car and had no umbrella with us. We had an appointment in the neighborhood so we had to go there dripping wet. It was a pretty funny sight standing there on the porch soaking wet. They got us towels so we could dry off which was nice. I took her to go meet Karen our recent convert which went great. We had the wonderful opportunity the next day to do a session at the temple. The session started at 6 am and we had to be there at 5:30, plus we live an hour away. Karen was gracious enough to take us there and we are grateful for that. She sat in the waiting room at the temple and waited for us. It was pretty hard to stay awake during the session. We almost wished we could have done baptisms to wake us up. I am grateful though that we got that opportunity. I took her to meet Jess and Tony Crago who are the wonderful couple that Sister Wright and I had been working with. They are the couple that had a wedding 2 weeks ago. They are moving to Utah tomorrow and are moving in with his mother for the time being. They had been planning on moving to Utah around Christmas time but some circumstances arose and they are leaving early. They are taking a Greyhound bus there which is like a 3 day trip. Sister Wright and I were not sure they would be baptized before they left. I took Sister Jakob to meet them and we had a wonderful lesson. We asked them to pray about baptism and if that was something they still wanted to do. Before we even left the city they called us and said they wanted to be baptized. We talked to the district leader and set up their baptismal interviews for the next day. They were having a yard sale this weekend to get rid of things they couldn't take with them. They didn't know that they would need to come to church on Sunday to be confirmed. They didn't sell everything on Saturday so they had to it on Sunday also. We had to get special permission to have waterside confirmations. They were baptized in the evening and it was a beautiful experience. I am so grateful I have been able to be part of their conversion process. They are a wonderful couple and still have a lot to learn but by them moving to Utah I know that will help. His mother lives in Nephi but they plan on eventually moving to Provo. I gave them your contact information so if they need any help I told them to give you guys a call. I am so sad to see them go but I know I will see them again soon. They are planning a welcome home party for me already. I love them so much! That is so cool that there are 3 missionaries from our family. Way to represent! To my brother Riley- Thank you so much for the letter that was so nice of you. Please write me more often I love hearing from you. Congratulations on becoming an Elder. I know that will be a wonderful blessing in your life. Allison and Riley Wilson- Thank you so much for the early birthday gift it was great. You both are so thoughtful! I got it on Saturday and it was sitting there in the mailbox waiting for me. The cookies were delicious and managed to get here almost in one piece. A few of them were broken but I didn't care. I am still enjoying them! I love the bracelet too. thank you for that. To the entire Bradshaw clan- Thank you so much for the card! I loved reading all of the notes. I feel so lucky to have a wonderful supportive family. I don't know what I would do without y'all. Thank you so much for all of the love and support you give me. Keep me updated on your lives. Hope all is well. Have a wonderful week. Love, Katelyn
Friday, July 15, 2011
Cow Tongue for Dinner!
Hey'all
I am doing great! Things are going well here in the state of South Carolina. The weather is hot and humid as ever. I had a great week here. We had a baptism on Saturday!!! Her name is Karen and she had been trying to stop smoking and drinking coffee and she finally did. We took her to the temple with a member on Friday and had a wonderful experience there. We got to meet the temple president and his wife along with the first counselor and his wife. That is where she decided to baptized the next day. We went to the bookstore and bought her a CTR ring that she had picked out. We talked with the ward mission leader and made all of the arrangements. She is such a wonderful person and has mad so many changes in her life. She was like a member before she became one. I spoke on baptism at the baptism and played the piano while Sister Wright sang the musical number. After she was baptized she went around and hugged everyone and thanked them for coming. She was confirmed a member yesterday and after she blew a kiss to the crowd and mouthed the words "thank you." She will do well in the church! At church she brought her mother and her two kids. Her daughter is 15 and loved church especially young women's. There a few more potential baptisms for this family. This week is transfers and I will be sad to good bye to Sister Wright. She has been the best companion anyone could have ever asked for. She has been here in the area for 6 months so she is being transferred and I am staying in the area. I am excited to get a new companion and to be able to work with her. I am loving my new hairstyle! I can wear it straight more often which I love. It feels like a weight has been lifted off of my shoulders. I am running out of ideas of what to do with it. It is a lot cooler so I am very happy with it. I got a letter from Jeff this past week so it was good to hear from him. Not really anything new from him. He tells me things he did on his mission and what he is doing now. This week we went to a part member's family home for dinner. The father is from Mexico so we had some authentic food. Guess what I ate for dinner? Cow tongue! They didn't tell me before and I am glad. I am becoming a lot braver with my food.I still can't believe that I actually ate that. Here are some birthday present ideas: a new watch similar to the one I already have as the one I have is pretty tarnished, I also would love some more church cds as we can listen to more than just the Tabernacle Choir, and maybe some hair accessories for short hair as I don't have much. I hope that gives you some ideas of what to get me. You usually know what I am enjoy. Just make sure when you send it to send it Priority Post. I am glad you all had fun at the family reunion. I always enjoyed getting together and doing stuff like that. I am very surprised about how much I love my mission. I have learned so many things already. I am becoming a different person and I love that. I love the people here they are so wonderful. Being a missionary is awesome! I will try to send some more pictures soon. Thank you so much for all of you love and support! I am so lucky to have a family like I have. Have a great week and I look forward to hearing from you again soon! Love, Katelyn
I am doing great! Things are going well here in the state of South Carolina. The weather is hot and humid as ever. I had a great week here. We had a baptism on Saturday!!! Her name is Karen and she had been trying to stop smoking and drinking coffee and she finally did. We took her to the temple with a member on Friday and had a wonderful experience there. We got to meet the temple president and his wife along with the first counselor and his wife. That is where she decided to baptized the next day. We went to the bookstore and bought her a CTR ring that she had picked out. We talked with the ward mission leader and made all of the arrangements. She is such a wonderful person and has mad so many changes in her life. She was like a member before she became one. I spoke on baptism at the baptism and played the piano while Sister Wright sang the musical number. After she was baptized she went around and hugged everyone and thanked them for coming. She was confirmed a member yesterday and after she blew a kiss to the crowd and mouthed the words "thank you." She will do well in the church! At church she brought her mother and her two kids. Her daughter is 15 and loved church especially young women's. There a few more potential baptisms for this family. This week is transfers and I will be sad to good bye to Sister Wright. She has been the best companion anyone could have ever asked for. She has been here in the area for 6 months so she is being transferred and I am staying in the area. I am excited to get a new companion and to be able to work with her. I am loving my new hairstyle! I can wear it straight more often which I love. It feels like a weight has been lifted off of my shoulders. I am running out of ideas of what to do with it. It is a lot cooler so I am very happy with it. I got a letter from Jeff this past week so it was good to hear from him. Not really anything new from him. He tells me things he did on his mission and what he is doing now. This week we went to a part member's family home for dinner. The father is from Mexico so we had some authentic food. Guess what I ate for dinner? Cow tongue! They didn't tell me before and I am glad. I am becoming a lot braver with my food.I still can't believe that I actually ate that. Here are some birthday present ideas: a new watch similar to the one I already have as the one I have is pretty tarnished, I also would love some more church cds as we can listen to more than just the Tabernacle Choir, and maybe some hair accessories for short hair as I don't have much. I hope that gives you some ideas of what to get me. You usually know what I am enjoy. Just make sure when you send it to send it Priority Post. I am glad you all had fun at the family reunion. I always enjoyed getting together and doing stuff like that. I am very surprised about how much I love my mission. I have learned so many things already. I am becoming a different person and I love that. I love the people here they are so wonderful. Being a missionary is awesome! I will try to send some more pictures soon. Thank you so much for all of you love and support! I am so lucky to have a family like I have. Have a great week and I look forward to hearing from you again soon! Love, Katelyn
Thursday, July 7, 2011
Katelyn the Wedding Planner!
Hey'all-
Happy 4th! I am doing great today! I am wearing red, white and blue to celebrate as that is really the only thing I can do. No complaints though we have a couple of bbq's to attend today. We don't get to go to any parades or do fireworks which is kind of a bummer but oh well. I had Sister Wright cut my hair on Thursday night. We had some time so we just did it then. I had decided to go short so I would be cooler. She cut off about 8 inches total in an a-line style. It is so cute I love it a lot. She said she thought it made me look older. It feels strange though not having so much hair anymore. I am enjoying the benefits of it though. She is the best! I just figured while I had a hair stylist with me I might as well get it cut. I will send pictures soon. We had a pretty busy week this week preparing for the wedding. Sister Wright is a women of many talents so at first I wasn't sure what I could contribute to the wedding. A member of the ward helped us plan a menu for the wedding as we had no idea what to do. We ended up having chicken salad sandwhichs, spinach dip, cheese ball and crackers, fruit, vegetables and dip along with some punch. We helped decorate the cake and I learned how to make a butter cream frosting and homemade fondont. That was a lot of fun I enjoyed doing that. I bought the fruit, cheeseball and the crackers. The wedding was so great and they were so happy. I am glad that they made the choice to get married so they can get baptized on the 16th of this month. In a year they can make it to the temple which would be great. On Saturday we were out knocking doors and trying to contact as many people as we could. It was a hot July day. By 4pm the sky looked a little clouding and it started to sprinkle. We took my umbrella as I didn't want to get wet. Well, it started to get worse and all of the sudden it started pouring rain and we went door to door both under the umbrella. The rain was blowing and we were getting pretty wet so we decided to stop and head to our dinner appointment at Karen's a little early. We showed up at her doorstep dripping with rain and puddles in our shoes. She gave us clothes to change into while our clothes dried in the drier which was nice. We had a pump up lesson about her baptism and gave her encouragement. All she has to do is to stop smoking and we know she can do that. We had fresh vegetables grilled on the grill along with some steak. It was so good! She and her mom both came to church yesterday which was great. Her mom attends church elsewhere but enjoys coming to ours so she will probably join someday. She wants to get Karen's kids to come. We met the mission president and his wife on Friday. They are so nice I can tell they will be great leaders. I look forward to working them. Got to go have a great day. Love, Katelyn
Happy 4th! I am doing great today! I am wearing red, white and blue to celebrate as that is really the only thing I can do. No complaints though we have a couple of bbq's to attend today. We don't get to go to any parades or do fireworks which is kind of a bummer but oh well. I had Sister Wright cut my hair on Thursday night. We had some time so we just did it then. I had decided to go short so I would be cooler. She cut off about 8 inches total in an a-line style. It is so cute I love it a lot. She said she thought it made me look older. It feels strange though not having so much hair anymore. I am enjoying the benefits of it though. She is the best! I just figured while I had a hair stylist with me I might as well get it cut. I will send pictures soon. We had a pretty busy week this week preparing for the wedding. Sister Wright is a women of many talents so at first I wasn't sure what I could contribute to the wedding. A member of the ward helped us plan a menu for the wedding as we had no idea what to do. We ended up having chicken salad sandwhichs, spinach dip, cheese ball and crackers, fruit, vegetables and dip along with some punch. We helped decorate the cake and I learned how to make a butter cream frosting and homemade fondont. That was a lot of fun I enjoyed doing that. I bought the fruit, cheeseball and the crackers. The wedding was so great and they were so happy. I am glad that they made the choice to get married so they can get baptized on the 16th of this month. In a year they can make it to the temple which would be great. On Saturday we were out knocking doors and trying to contact as many people as we could. It was a hot July day. By 4pm the sky looked a little clouding and it started to sprinkle. We took my umbrella as I didn't want to get wet. Well, it started to get worse and all of the sudden it started pouring rain and we went door to door both under the umbrella. The rain was blowing and we were getting pretty wet so we decided to stop and head to our dinner appointment at Karen's a little early. We showed up at her doorstep dripping with rain and puddles in our shoes. She gave us clothes to change into while our clothes dried in the drier which was nice. We had a pump up lesson about her baptism and gave her encouragement. All she has to do is to stop smoking and we know she can do that. We had fresh vegetables grilled on the grill along with some steak. It was so good! She and her mom both came to church yesterday which was great. Her mom attends church elsewhere but enjoys coming to ours so she will probably join someday. She wants to get Karen's kids to come. We met the mission president and his wife on Friday. They are so nice I can tell they will be great leaders. I look forward to working them. Got to go have a great day. Love, Katelyn
Tuesday, June 28, 2011
Kate and investigators go to Stake Conference
Hey'all-
How is it going in Utah? I am doing good here in South Carolina. It is as hot as ever! We did get some rain and it cooled down a little bit. I am glad you enjoyed the video. We run into a lot of dogs out here as they are everywhere we go. I have to pretend I like them even when they like to lick my legs constantly. I have to admit I do miss Bauer though none of these dogs are the same. I am not sure if the video is allowed or not I will have to find that out. She is sweet to do that for us. I have not ridden my bike yet and now it is getting way hot so it wouldn't be too smart to ride them all of the time. We have a little shed out back that we keep them in. We drink a lot of water more than I think I have ever drunk. You know me well, I sweat like crazy every day. It is just lovely. I am glad you had a great time in Kansas, those girls are so sweet. Next Sunday 2 of our investigators are getting married so they can get baptized. They are getting married by the bishop in the church so it will be pretty simple. We are helping out in anyway possible. They are short on money so it will be a small gathering. They are looking forward to it and have invited some family members to come so it should be good. They are getting baptized together on July 16th, so Sister Wright will miss that but she knows that she was a big part of it. Karen has gone 3 days without smoking and is also working on stopping drinking coffee. We will probably have to move her baptismal date to the 9th of July. She is a wonderful lady who is taking small steps to have the gospel in her life. She knows this is the right thing for her in her life right now. We had stake conference this week and Jess came with us to the adult session on Saturday night and loved it. President McConkie and his wife spoke for the last time so I was glad I got to see that. They leave on Wednesday and it will be hard to have them go. They are wonderful people and I plan to visit them when I return. Our new mission president comes this week so we look forward to meeting him. Karen took us and another investigator to stake conference yesterday so that was cool. We got there a little late and had to sit in the back with all of the noisy children. It was hard to hear and I am not sure what they got out of it. We had 3 investigators come so it was awesome. Jess came with some members that were nice enough to pick her up at the last minute. We taught a lot of lessons this week so we have been working hard. We are not sure what we are doing for the 4th of July yet. The library will be closed so we will probably have to email from a member's home. They have lock down 3 times a year which means we have to be in by 6 on that day. They do it for our safety. They 3 days are Halloween, new year's eve and the 4th of July. We are going to have a pre-birthday party as we will not be companions when our birthdays come. She is going to cut my hair and we will do some other stuff. Well, i have got to get going we are meeting with Karen in a little bit. Happy Birthday Brad! I hope you have a great day! I hope you got my card. Allison- Happy Birthday on this coming Saturday! A card is on the way for you. I hope you all have a great week. Thank you for your continued love and support. I love you all! Love, Katelyn
How is it going in Utah? I am doing good here in South Carolina. It is as hot as ever! We did get some rain and it cooled down a little bit. I am glad you enjoyed the video. We run into a lot of dogs out here as they are everywhere we go. I have to pretend I like them even when they like to lick my legs constantly. I have to admit I do miss Bauer though none of these dogs are the same. I am not sure if the video is allowed or not I will have to find that out. She is sweet to do that for us. I have not ridden my bike yet and now it is getting way hot so it wouldn't be too smart to ride them all of the time. We have a little shed out back that we keep them in. We drink a lot of water more than I think I have ever drunk. You know me well, I sweat like crazy every day. It is just lovely. I am glad you had a great time in Kansas, those girls are so sweet. Next Sunday 2 of our investigators are getting married so they can get baptized. They are getting married by the bishop in the church so it will be pretty simple. We are helping out in anyway possible. They are short on money so it will be a small gathering. They are looking forward to it and have invited some family members to come so it should be good. They are getting baptized together on July 16th, so Sister Wright will miss that but she knows that she was a big part of it. Karen has gone 3 days without smoking and is also working on stopping drinking coffee. We will probably have to move her baptismal date to the 9th of July. She is a wonderful lady who is taking small steps to have the gospel in her life. She knows this is the right thing for her in her life right now. We had stake conference this week and Jess came with us to the adult session on Saturday night and loved it. President McConkie and his wife spoke for the last time so I was glad I got to see that. They leave on Wednesday and it will be hard to have them go. They are wonderful people and I plan to visit them when I return. Our new mission president comes this week so we look forward to meeting him. Karen took us and another investigator to stake conference yesterday so that was cool. We got there a little late and had to sit in the back with all of the noisy children. It was hard to hear and I am not sure what they got out of it. We had 3 investigators come so it was awesome. Jess came with some members that were nice enough to pick her up at the last minute. We taught a lot of lessons this week so we have been working hard. We are not sure what we are doing for the 4th of July yet. The library will be closed so we will probably have to email from a member's home. They have lock down 3 times a year which means we have to be in by 6 on that day. They do it for our safety. They 3 days are Halloween, new year's eve and the 4th of July. We are going to have a pre-birthday party as we will not be companions when our birthdays come. She is going to cut my hair and we will do some other stuff. Well, i have got to get going we are meeting with Karen in a little bit. Happy Birthday Brad! I hope you have a great day! I hope you got my card. Allison- Happy Birthday on this coming Saturday! A card is on the way for you. I hope you all have a great week. Thank you for your continued love and support. I love you all! Love, Katelyn
Sunday, June 26, 2011
Kate tells more about Karen and thoughts on Christian art!
Hey'all-
For those of you in Kansas I hope you are having a good time. I hope the trip is going well! I knew you would mention something about the pictures you got from Karen. She has these apps on her IPhone that she uses. She showed them to us and I honestly didn't think they were the best looking pictures but who cares she loves doing things like that for us. I hope it is okay that I gave her your email address she really wanted to send those things to you. We met with her several times this week as she loves having us over. We hate to say that it is time for us to go but she knows we always come back. She found out that both of us will eventually leave the area and she was not happy about that. She does understand and wants to make friends with people in the ward. She came to church last week and was going to yesterday but she didn't have her phone which had her alarm with her. She felt so bad that she had missed it but is coming next week. She was going to bring her 18 year old son with her. She also has a 15 year old daughter who is out of town at her aunt's. We met Karen about a month ago just out contacting and she was saying that she didn't really agree with God on some things along with more. She did say that we could come back and tell her more about the Mormons as all she knew were Donny and Marie Osmond. We came back and she had just lost her job and was pretty upset so we talked with her and shared our message with her. She explained the situation about her losing her job and we left her with some scriptures to read to help out. She ended up reading all of the scriptures 3 or 4 times and wanted more. This week we taught her the first lesson and a word of wisdom which she needed as she smokes and drinks coffee and some tea. She realizes that she has a long way to go but wants to take all of the steps to get there. She also broke up with her boyfriend probably over us but she won't let us think that. She can see know that satan is working hard on her but she knows what we are telling her is true. She is an amazing lady and is working towards her baptism on July 2nd. The other girl we are working with Jess is really cool too. We taught her and her husband about temples which was great. We stopped by the next day and were talking with them again. Her and her husband have a common law marriage which is basically her using his last name for tax purposes and othKaer things. They had planned to get married eventually when they had the money. This type of marriage is not acceptable for baptism. We explained this to her and she seemed find with it and would have to tell her gusband about it. She came right out and asked him if they could do that and he agreed so they will be getting married on July 3rd by the bishop. He is supportive of her baptism and plans on coming to church next sunday. She is set for a July 9th baptism and we are hoping he could also get baptized on the same day which would be so cool. She also announced all of this for good news minute in Relif Society yesterday which was so cute. I feel so blessed to be working with these people right now. For the baptism that we had the other week I gave a talk on Baptism and Sister Wright sang a song. He is doing great! He received the priesthood yesterday and after he said that he wanted to go baptize someone. The humidity is getting worse every passing day. Yesterday was pretty miserable out walking. Today it is supposed to be 100 degrees and with humidity it will feel like it is 120 degrees. We just keep working hard out in the sun. We drink as much water as we can and usually run into nice people who give us bottled water. I have thought about her cutting my hair before I go but I can't decide if I just want a nice trim or cut a lot off. I have to decide soon she will get transferred on July 13th. President McConkie get released on July 1st . We had Zone Conference on Thursday which happened to be their last one. It was a great conference I really learned a lot. We had to say good bye to them and he gave us all hugs as we left. It felt kind of strange to do that. I am so grateful I had the opportunity to have him as my mission president for awhile. Both him and his wife are amazing people. They extended transfers by a week as the new mission president will be coming in so I am excited! I love Sister Wright so much and will miss her when she is gone. I have learned so much from her and I know we will be friends for life. I hope you have a great time in Kansas let me know how it goes. I am sending pictures of my 1st baptism so you should get those soon. I hope you put a sticker up on the chart. Thank you so much for all of your love and support. I have the best family in the world and would not be here without you. I love you all! Have a great week! Love, Katelyn
For those of you in Kansas I hope you are having a good time. I hope the trip is going well! I knew you would mention something about the pictures you got from Karen. She has these apps on her IPhone that she uses. She showed them to us and I honestly didn't think they were the best looking pictures but who cares she loves doing things like that for us. I hope it is okay that I gave her your email address she really wanted to send those things to you. We met with her several times this week as she loves having us over. We hate to say that it is time for us to go but she knows we always come back. She found out that both of us will eventually leave the area and she was not happy about that. She does understand and wants to make friends with people in the ward. She came to church last week and was going to yesterday but she didn't have her phone which had her alarm with her. She felt so bad that she had missed it but is coming next week. She was going to bring her 18 year old son with her. She also has a 15 year old daughter who is out of town at her aunt's. We met Karen about a month ago just out contacting and she was saying that she didn't really agree with God on some things along with more. She did say that we could come back and tell her more about the Mormons as all she knew were Donny and Marie Osmond. We came back and she had just lost her job and was pretty upset so we talked with her and shared our message with her. She explained the situation about her losing her job and we left her with some scriptures to read to help out. She ended up reading all of the scriptures 3 or 4 times and wanted more. This week we taught her the first lesson and a word of wisdom which she needed as she smokes and drinks coffee and some tea. She realizes that she has a long way to go but wants to take all of the steps to get there. She also broke up with her boyfriend probably over us but she won't let us think that. She can see know that satan is working hard on her but she knows what we are telling her is true. She is an amazing lady and is working towards her baptism on July 2nd. The other girl we are working with Jess is really cool too. We taught her and her husband about temples which was great. We stopped by the next day and were talking with them again. Her and her husband have a common law marriage which is basically her using his last name for tax purposes and othKaer things. They had planned to get married eventually when they had the money. This type of marriage is not acceptable for baptism. We explained this to her and she seemed find with it and would have to tell her gusband about it. She came right out and asked him if they could do that and he agreed so they will be getting married on July 3rd by the bishop. He is supportive of her baptism and plans on coming to church next sunday. She is set for a July 9th baptism and we are hoping he could also get baptized on the same day which would be so cool. She also announced all of this for good news minute in Relif Society yesterday which was so cute. I feel so blessed to be working with these people right now. For the baptism that we had the other week I gave a talk on Baptism and Sister Wright sang a song. He is doing great! He received the priesthood yesterday and after he said that he wanted to go baptize someone. The humidity is getting worse every passing day. Yesterday was pretty miserable out walking. Today it is supposed to be 100 degrees and with humidity it will feel like it is 120 degrees. We just keep working hard out in the sun. We drink as much water as we can and usually run into nice people who give us bottled water. I have thought about her cutting my hair before I go but I can't decide if I just want a nice trim or cut a lot off. I have to decide soon she will get transferred on July 13th. President McConkie get released on July 1st . We had Zone Conference on Thursday which happened to be their last one. It was a great conference I really learned a lot. We had to say good bye to them and he gave us all hugs as we left. It felt kind of strange to do that. I am so grateful I had the opportunity to have him as my mission president for awhile. Both him and his wife are amazing people. They extended transfers by a week as the new mission president will be coming in so I am excited! I love Sister Wright so much and will miss her when she is gone. I have learned so much from her and I know we will be friends for life. I hope you have a great time in Kansas let me know how it goes. I am sending pictures of my 1st baptism so you should get those soon. I hope you put a sticker up on the chart. Thank you so much for all of your love and support. I have the best family in the world and would not be here without you. I love you all! Have a great week! Love, Katelyn
Thursday, June 16, 2011
A letter and some Christian art from Karen
Sending you a big hello!
My name is Karen I have the oner to meet sister Wright and Sarafine I just love them they are like family to me.
They come to my home very day with such a big smile and so much love to give. I call them my angels.
We talk about every thing, such smart young lady's. They told me they don't get to talk to you much and I was sad to know that.
My mother and I are very close. So I asked if I could send photos to you so you can see the same sweet smiles I see each and every day.
I love art so I have put together some photos of the girls in my art form. I hope you will love the photos as much as I do.
They send there love and are well and happy.
Moms you did a fabulous job with your young lady's I hope one day my Daughter will shine as they do.
Karen
Sister Wright has told me so much of you and the family. I hope to meet one day.
Here sister Wright and Sarafine are at my home. Singing and reading. Each day they fill my Harte with more hope and understanding of the word of god.
Sister Sarafine is so dear to me what a wonderful lady. She is so kind and we pray together every day.
In this photo the girls where helping me push my lawnmower on to the truck so if could be fixed.
Very strong both of them.
Hope this will find you well and happy.
Karen.
My name is Karen I have the oner to meet sister Wright and Sarafine I just love them they are like family to me.
They come to my home very day with such a big smile and so much love to give. I call them my angels.
We talk about every thing, such smart young lady's. They told me they don't get to talk to you much and I was sad to know that.
My mother and I are very close. So I asked if I could send photos to you so you can see the same sweet smiles I see each and every day.
I love art so I have put together some photos of the girls in my art form. I hope you will love the photos as much as I do.
They send there love and are well and happy.
Moms you did a fabulous job with your young lady's I hope one day my Daughter will shine as they do.
Karen
Sister Wright has told me so much of you and the family. I hope to meet one day.
Here sister Wright and Sarafine are at my home. Singing and reading. Each day they fill my Harte with more hope and understanding of the word of god.
Sister Sarafine is so dear to me what a wonderful lady. She is so kind and we pray together every day.
In this photo the girls where helping me push my lawnmower on to the truck so if could be fixed.
Very strong both of them.
Hope this will find you well and happy.
Karen.
Monday, June 13, 2011
P-day golfing cuts into email time
Hey'all,
How are you this fine monday afternon? I don't have much time left to write so this will probably be shorter than last week's. . Still no baptism for Joe but we know he will be baptized this month. We had an investigqator come to church today and we were pretty excited. We went with a member to pick her up as she doesn't have a car. Her name is Jess Crago and she is married and has a 4 month old son. We knocked into her house about a month ago and had a walking lesson. She is the the nicest most giving person I have ever met. We have taught her several lessons and she is on date to be baptized on June 18th. She doesn't have much of a Christian background but does believe in God. She seemed to really enjoy church especially Relief Scoiety. She enjoys the charity aspect of our church and would like to get involved somehow. She is planning on coming next week so yeah we are happy. Her husband is pretty nice too and we hope he can make it to church as well next and eventually be baptized. We went and saw a former investigator named David Burton this week and had a wonderful lesson with him. I set him on date to be baptized on July 2nd. I really hope that one goes through as well. I am sure it will! Pretty soon I will be setting people on date to be baptixed on my birthday which is totally awesome. I would love it if someone got baptized on my birthday. I am glad y'all had a great week. I thought about Riley on graduation day and I was sad that I wasn't there but happy that he graduated. Five years ago today I graduated from high school. I am wearing the gift you and dad gave me for graduation (diamond earrings) to celebrate. It stinks that the day after he graduated, he had to get his wisdom teeth taken out. I hope he doesn't die from that ha ha ha! We went golfing again today which was a lot of fun. I enjoy doing different things on p-day. Allison- congrats on the new calling(teaching primary) you know that is my favorite calling, besides being a missionary of course. Same to you Riley Wilson(gospel doctrine teacher) I know you will do great. Thanks again for all of your love and support. keep the emails and letters coming I sure enjoy hearing from y'all. Hope y'all have a great week and I will talk to you later. Love, Katelyn
How are you this fine monday afternon? I don't have much time left to write so this will probably be shorter than last week's. . Still no baptism for Joe but we know he will be baptized this month. We had an investigqator come to church today and we were pretty excited. We went with a member to pick her up as she doesn't have a car. Her name is Jess Crago and she is married and has a 4 month old son. We knocked into her house about a month ago and had a walking lesson. She is the the nicest most giving person I have ever met. We have taught her several lessons and she is on date to be baptized on June 18th. She doesn't have much of a Christian background but does believe in God. She seemed to really enjoy church especially Relief Scoiety. She enjoys the charity aspect of our church and would like to get involved somehow. She is planning on coming next week so yeah we are happy. Her husband is pretty nice too and we hope he can make it to church as well next and eventually be baptized. We went and saw a former investigator named David Burton this week and had a wonderful lesson with him. I set him on date to be baptized on July 2nd. I really hope that one goes through as well. I am sure it will! Pretty soon I will be setting people on date to be baptixed on my birthday which is totally awesome. I would love it if someone got baptized on my birthday. I am glad y'all had a great week. I thought about Riley on graduation day and I was sad that I wasn't there but happy that he graduated. Five years ago today I graduated from high school. I am wearing the gift you and dad gave me for graduation (diamond earrings) to celebrate. It stinks that the day after he graduated, he had to get his wisdom teeth taken out. I hope he doesn't die from that ha ha ha! We went golfing again today which was a lot of fun. I enjoy doing different things on p-day. Allison- congrats on the new calling(teaching primary) you know that is my favorite calling, besides being a missionary of course. Same to you Riley Wilson(gospel doctrine teacher) I know you will do great. Thanks again for all of your love and support. keep the emails and letters coming I sure enjoy hearing from y'all. Hope y'all have a great week and I will talk to you later. Love, Katelyn
Kate's an angel!
Hey'all,
I hope you have all had a great week! Sorry the letter was a little shorter last week. We got back late from golfing and had to get out by 6pm. I will try to type faster so I can say more. First and foremost we had a baptism on Saturday!!! Yeah we were so excited!! Joe Spires II was baptized. He was interviewed on Thursday and then baptized. We had to set the time 3 different times because of conflicting things. He is the last one in his family to be baptized and in 1 year he can go to the temple with his family. I will still be out in the mission field so I should be able to come back and be a part of it. I am so excited and happy to be a missionary and watch people change their lives. We contacted this lady named Karen who is 50 years old a little while ago who was semi interested in talking with us. We stopped by another time and found out she had just lost her job and was pretty upset. We talked with her again and gave her a Book of Mormon with a list of comforting scriptures to read. She calls us her angels which is cute. She came to church on Sunday and brought her mom with her. She had read all of the scriptures we had left with her and couldn't wait to read more. We are going to meet with her tonight and will teach her a first lesson and commit her to baptism. She is a great lady and will probably be baptized. We need to have a word of wisdom and law of chasity lesson soon since we know she has some issues with those. It is a miracle the difference the gospel has made in her life so far. Another girl we are working with named Jess is doing great. We had a word of wisdom lesson with her and she has already stopped her coffee addiction. She has been to church twice and has loved it both times. We are working with her husband who is okay with her going but hasn't had any interest yet to come. Actually it is a common law marriage which technically is not being married. We need to get them married before she can get baptized. I am sure she will be baptized I am just not sure how soon. We met this other girl named Mary who is 22 years old and lives at home, and is working towards being a CNA and works a lot. We have taught her a first lesson and gave her a Book of Mormon. She was going to come to church but was tired from working all night to come. She did text us though and said she did start reading the Book of Mormon so we are happy she is making some progress. My companion came up with an idea to help me with my eye contact. We started having staring contests with each other and that is pretty hard. Also when we are knocking doors I try to have one with each person. It is not my favorite thing to do but I think it will help. I am excited for you to head out to Kansas that will be fun. You will have to go to the Nifty Nut house it is a great place. What are you guys going to do while you are there? I wanted to share with you my missionary humor. We were helping build a shelf for an investigator which was pretty easy to do. We got the bottom off and I said that "we have a good foundation" my companion thought t that was pretty funny. You know me I laugh at my own jokes. Well, I hope all is going well there at home. Continue the missionary work and the Lord will bless you. Have a great week and I will write again soon. Happy Father's day dad! A card will soon be arriving there this week. Thank you for your continued love and support. Love, Katelyn
I hope you have all had a great week! Sorry the letter was a little shorter last week. We got back late from golfing and had to get out by 6pm. I will try to type faster so I can say more. First and foremost we had a baptism on Saturday!!! Yeah we were so excited!! Joe Spires II was baptized. He was interviewed on Thursday and then baptized. We had to set the time 3 different times because of conflicting things. He is the last one in his family to be baptized and in 1 year he can go to the temple with his family. I will still be out in the mission field so I should be able to come back and be a part of it. I am so excited and happy to be a missionary and watch people change their lives. We contacted this lady named Karen who is 50 years old a little while ago who was semi interested in talking with us. We stopped by another time and found out she had just lost her job and was pretty upset. We talked with her again and gave her a Book of Mormon with a list of comforting scriptures to read. She calls us her angels which is cute. She came to church on Sunday and brought her mom with her. She had read all of the scriptures we had left with her and couldn't wait to read more. We are going to meet with her tonight and will teach her a first lesson and commit her to baptism. She is a great lady and will probably be baptized. We need to have a word of wisdom and law of chasity lesson soon since we know she has some issues with those. It is a miracle the difference the gospel has made in her life so far. Another girl we are working with named Jess is doing great. We had a word of wisdom lesson with her and she has already stopped her coffee addiction. She has been to church twice and has loved it both times. We are working with her husband who is okay with her going but hasn't had any interest yet to come. Actually it is a common law marriage which technically is not being married. We need to get them married before she can get baptized. I am sure she will be baptized I am just not sure how soon. We met this other girl named Mary who is 22 years old and lives at home, and is working towards being a CNA and works a lot. We have taught her a first lesson and gave her a Book of Mormon. She was going to come to church but was tired from working all night to come. She did text us though and said she did start reading the Book of Mormon so we are happy she is making some progress. My companion came up with an idea to help me with my eye contact. We started having staring contests with each other and that is pretty hard. Also when we are knocking doors I try to have one with each person. It is not my favorite thing to do but I think it will help. I am excited for you to head out to Kansas that will be fun. You will have to go to the Nifty Nut house it is a great place. What are you guys going to do while you are there? I wanted to share with you my missionary humor. We were helping build a shelf for an investigator which was pretty easy to do. We got the bottom off and I said that "we have a good foundation" my companion thought t that was pretty funny. You know me I laugh at my own jokes. Well, I hope all is going well there at home. Continue the missionary work and the Lord will bless you. Have a great week and I will write again soon. Happy Father's day dad! A card will soon be arriving there this week. Thank you for your continued love and support. Love, Katelyn
Tuesday, May 31, 2011
She's a real little missionary!
H'yall Happy Memorial day!! That is too bad the weather is being silly. It is nice and hot here today maybe you should all come out (just kidding)! The day has been nice so far and busy. We got a call from the mission office stating that they wanted us to clean out our car and bring it in. We went over to the neighbors and used their things to clean the car really nice inside and out. They cooked up some steaks and other stuff and we had a bbq for lunch. They are such great neighbors and are willing to do anything to help us out. We hardly ever leave a members home without them giving us some food item. They are the best! We went to the mission office and got our brand new car that is red! We love it so much already! We got to talk to President McConkie for awhile which was nice. We got invited over to the bishop's house for a bbq tonight so we are excited for that! Our district is just us and a pair of elders. One of them is the district leader and is great. We have district development meeting every Tuesday 11 at the church. There are three wards in our building and the elders take care of two and we the other one. We see them on Sundays and Tuesdays. Our zone leaders are both wonderful they are such great elders. They both work really hard so we can have a good zone. I have not met any of the other elders that are in our zone yet but I will at zone conference. We had a fireside yesterday where President McConkie spoke and it was wonderful. My companion sang a solo and did a great job. We had made fliers for it to invite everyone to it but nobody came except for two recent converts. We had a new convert move into our ward recently and he is awesome. He is from here but was living in Hawaii when he was baptized in March. We went over to his parents house this week and had dinner with them and they are the nicest people in the world. They live right by the lake and have a beautiful home. You will have to come see their place some day it was great. Brother Hensley is the new convert and his parents are not members so we will be working with them. We visited a recent media referral that we had gotten. We hadn't been able to meet with him before and almost did not get to this time. We were pulling away after knocking on the door and he came out from his backyard and asked who we were. We briefly met with him and shared a message on the plan of salvation. He asked if he could have a Book of Mormon so we gave him one and set up an appointment for later this week. We are so excited! While contacting yesterday we met this lady named Mary who is great and was interested in what we had to say. We also gave her a Book of Mormon and will meet with her this week. Our baptism is postponed again probably to the 11th. He has to keep going out of town to deal with some family problems.We are not worried about him though we know he will be baptized. We have this investigator named Shannon Mercer who we met awhile ago and had a wonderful plan of salvation lesson this week. He has a lot of property and has done a lot with it. He has a beautiful garden and we walk in it every time we go. He also takes pictures for a living which is pretty cool. I am glad seminary graduation went well for riley. I am so glad you had a missionary experience this week mom!! Keep those up! I know the missionaries in California will be happy to meet them. I really did go golfing last week and would have gone again except it was a holiday. I had so much fun out there putting the ball and driving the cart! They do have a lot of golf courses here so I guess it is popular especially in Mertyle Beach. I did here about the stake center being destroyed in Missouri. The bishop's wife showed us some pictures of it. That is sad when things like that happens. We heard about people getting sucked out of homes and vehicles which is so devastating. When Sister Riley takes us out she does pay for our meals which is so sweet of her. She is out of town in Utah for awhile so we will have to wait for her to come back. Well how do you feel having your last child graduate from high school this week? I am sure that feels pretty strange. It is cool that all six of us graduated from the same high school. I got his announcement this week and I was so excited and put it up on the fridge. I also got one from Scott so they are both up there. Cute pictures. Riley you are a really handsome brother. Me and my companion spoke in church yesterday and I was not as prepared as I would have liked to be but it was okay. We only had five minutes each anyways. I spoke on always being a member missionary throughout your life. It was an ensign article from September of 2008 by Elder Cook you should read it. Anyways it is time for me to go so y'all have a great week! Matt- Happy Birthday tomorrow! Good luck with graduation! I love y'all so much! I have the best family in the world! Always strive to find opportunities to share the gospel and plant those seeds in people for future missionaries. Love, Katelyn
Tuesday, May 24, 2011
96 degrees with a chance of fly swatters
Happy Copsicus (note:Copsicus is a silly made up holiday our family celebrates sometimes) to y'all!
I hope you are all having a great holiday! I also hope you all had a great week! Mom- you sure do ask a lot of questions and I hope I can answer them all. I will answer the ones you sent with my journal. We go grocery shopping at Walmart everyday p-day so it is just like I am home. We have a washer and dryer in our place so we can do it anytime we need, which I love. We had a few days where it was off and on downpour rain but otherwise it has been very hot. It is 96 degrees right now so it is definitely hot already. We do have two air conditioners one where we study and one where we sleep. The moms we wrote poems for are Sister Marsh who is the Bishop's wife who is just like our second mother. The other one is Sister Riley who is our next door neighbor who takes us out to lunch each monday (she framed her poem). We also wrote one for Sister McConkie and she really enjoyed it too. We drive a Corolla and my companion drives. The senior companion always has to drive and I am the designated backer which means I stand outside the car while she backs up. Jeff sends me typed up letters in the mail every once in awhile which is sweet. I have seen a couple of Piggly Wiggly stores but have yet to go inside of one. There are so many different religions here in South Carolina. There are Jehovah's Wittness, Baptists, Methodists, Lutheran, Southern Baptists, Presbyterian That is all I can come up with right now for you. Today we went golfing with the Bishop's parents and it was so much fun. I had never been golfing before so I knew it wold be interesting. I was the designated putter and by the end I was pretty good. I also got to drive one of the golf carts which had always been a dream of mine. I think they want to take us out again soon so that should be fun. Nothing too exciting happened this week to report, Our baptism is postponed again until June 4th. He is going out of town to help his brother with some family problems so he asked if we could move it to the 4th. He did stop smoking and drinking tea so we are very happy. He participated more in gospel essentials which was great to see. We did a lot of walking this week in the nice hot sun! The bugs just love us way too much and have become quite annoying. We need to get fly swaters to keep them away! We did get a new investigator this week and some appointments set up for some other people we found. Each week we have an hour to read and compose emails. This last Friday, the bishop's wife took us to a place called Shealy's. It is an all southern food place. I didn't really try anything new, but stuck with fried chicken, rolls and some other things. They have all sorts of a variety there. I think you would like it. I need to broaden my horizon and try new things and now is the time to do so. Transfers are this week and Sister Wright and I are staying together since she is training me so I am excited. I met a couple of other sisters at the missionary fast and testimony last week but that is all. My mtc companion is in a city called Tabor City which is on the other side of where we are. It is the only city on the mission that is in North Carolina. I am becoming really good at contacting people and sharing a message with them. We are working on teaching more together as a companionship. I just need to do more of my part. I think I am finally getting the hang of that. My companion is great and helps me out whenever she can see that I am stuck. Although I still do not like role playing I am just doing it. I have not run into sister Moore at all yet. She must have seen a picture of me somewhere I don't know. I would like to meet her though. The scripture I want on my plaque is Joshua 1:9. I don't care what picture you use just make sure it is a good one. I can't remember where it is at sorry. Brad and Mandy- congrats on the baby being a girl. You have such cute little girls. Have you thought of any names yet? I am sure you will have a boy someday! Riley congrats on the scholarship that is great. I have got to go but thank you all for all your love and support. You are the best! Love Katelyn.
P.S dad we do take water bottles with us daily one frozen and one from the fridge. Look at walmart for root beer flavored otter pops. You will love them.
I hope you are all having a great holiday! I also hope you all had a great week! Mom- you sure do ask a lot of questions and I hope I can answer them all. I will answer the ones you sent with my journal. We go grocery shopping at Walmart everyday p-day so it is just like I am home. We have a washer and dryer in our place so we can do it anytime we need, which I love. We had a few days where it was off and on downpour rain but otherwise it has been very hot. It is 96 degrees right now so it is definitely hot already. We do have two air conditioners one where we study and one where we sleep. The moms we wrote poems for are Sister Marsh who is the Bishop's wife who is just like our second mother. The other one is Sister Riley who is our next door neighbor who takes us out to lunch each monday (she framed her poem). We also wrote one for Sister McConkie and she really enjoyed it too. We drive a Corolla and my companion drives. The senior companion always has to drive and I am the designated backer which means I stand outside the car while she backs up. Jeff sends me typed up letters in the mail every once in awhile which is sweet. I have seen a couple of Piggly Wiggly stores but have yet to go inside of one. There are so many different religions here in South Carolina. There are Jehovah's Wittness, Baptists, Methodists, Lutheran, Southern Baptists, Presbyterian That is all I can come up with right now for you. Today we went golfing with the Bishop's parents and it was so much fun. I had never been golfing before so I knew it wold be interesting. I was the designated putter and by the end I was pretty good. I also got to drive one of the golf carts which had always been a dream of mine. I think they want to take us out again soon so that should be fun. Nothing too exciting happened this week to report, Our baptism is postponed again until June 4th. He is going out of town to help his brother with some family problems so he asked if we could move it to the 4th. He did stop smoking and drinking tea so we are very happy. He participated more in gospel essentials which was great to see. We did a lot of walking this week in the nice hot sun! The bugs just love us way too much and have become quite annoying. We need to get fly swaters to keep them away! We did get a new investigator this week and some appointments set up for some other people we found. Each week we have an hour to read and compose emails. This last Friday, the bishop's wife took us to a place called Shealy's. It is an all southern food place. I didn't really try anything new, but stuck with fried chicken, rolls and some other things. They have all sorts of a variety there. I think you would like it. I need to broaden my horizon and try new things and now is the time to do so. Transfers are this week and Sister Wright and I are staying together since she is training me so I am excited. I met a couple of other sisters at the missionary fast and testimony last week but that is all. My mtc companion is in a city called Tabor City which is on the other side of where we are. It is the only city on the mission that is in North Carolina. I am becoming really good at contacting people and sharing a message with them. We are working on teaching more together as a companionship. I just need to do more of my part. I think I am finally getting the hang of that. My companion is great and helps me out whenever she can see that I am stuck. Although I still do not like role playing I am just doing it. I have not run into sister Moore at all yet. She must have seen a picture of me somewhere I don't know. I would like to meet her though. The scripture I want on my plaque is Joshua 1:9. I don't care what picture you use just make sure it is a good one. I can't remember where it is at sorry. Brad and Mandy- congrats on the baby being a girl. You have such cute little girls. Have you thought of any names yet? I am sure you will have a boy someday! Riley congrats on the scholarship that is great. I have got to go but thank you all for all your love and support. You are the best! Love Katelyn.
P.S dad we do take water bottles with us daily one frozen and one from the fridge. Look at walmart for root beer flavored otter pops. You will love them.
Wednesday, May 18, 2011
Katelyn the "greatlyn"
Hey'all,
How are y'all doing this week?(ha ha) I knew you would never forget to write me! I so look forward to your emails every week. I love hearing about home. I have been trying to learn "Southern" but it has not caught on yet. Anyways, I had a great week! The person we had on date to be baptized on May 14th is having to put it off until the 28th. We had no idea he had a smoking and drinking tea problem but he said it would be easy to stop. He said he doesn't smoke much but it might be harder to stop drinking tea. We look forward to the baptism on May 28th and we know he will be ready by then. We have been meeting with this girl who is named Jessica. She is the girlfriend of a recent convert. We met with her on Saturday and I put her on date for baptism for June 11! I was so excited as it was my first time doing so! She committed to come to church the next day and she was really looking forward to it. She was telling her sister about it and she brought over some anti-mormon material. She read it and it made her feel horrible. She still made it to church and we answered any questions she might have and plan to meet with her later this week. We know and she knows how great the church will feel in her life. Satan is definitely working hard on her so she needs to continue to study and pray. We had a special missionary fast and testimony meeting yesterday. It was 3 different zones missionary's testimonies. I am really glad I got to participate in it. My companion and some elders sang a musical number and it was really great. I haven't received my journal yet but I am sure I will get it soon. It could be stuck at the mission office or something who knows. I have paper to write on when I run out of pages. Thank you for sending it! You didn't tell me about the cute mail unit you did at school, but it sounds like fun! I know I enjoy getting pictures from Jane and Annie. They make me proud to be their aunt! I can't read blogs so if you ever want to copy and paste things from it I wouldn't mind! I enjoyed reading the one you sent to me. It made me laugh it was so cute. A member of the relief society presidency came up to me this week and told me something cool that she came across. She was looking on a friend's blog and saw that one of the blogs that they follow is Brad and Mandy's. She saw the last name and knew I had to be related. She said she looked at it and commented and told about me. I think you should all look at it if you have not. The connections you make when you are away from home- I love it! We go over to their house every once in awhile when we are in the neighborhood so we can use the restroom. The problem with living in the country is that there are not very many opportunities to use the restroom. Whenver we are out we have to remember where a member lives so we can go over there. Riley... good job on winning in the state tournament I am very proud. I heard your comment about the three pack being as strong as ever. I hope graduation goes well! Send me pictures and I will give them to all of the cute girls here in the south. The name Belinda doesn't sound familar. I hope you get the job though. Good luck and work hard. Kelli congratulations on your new calling! I am so happy for you and I know you will do a great job. Have fun with it! Thanks for the letter it was great! You are such a wonderful example to me. Anything new with Matt, Stacy and Graham? Brad and his family wrote me this week and told me that they find out tomorrow what they will be having. I am so excited. Let me know as soon as you know. Although I won't be able to read the email until next week. Allison, hope all is going well with you. Thank you for the emails I really appreciate them. A service opportunity you could do is to write your testimony in the Book of Mormon and sending them to missionaries just like me. I will think on more and get back to you. Mom you asked a question last week and I totally forgot to answer it and remembered later. You asked if I gotten any sun and I most definitely have. My face, arms, and legs are very tan. I have a cool tan line on my feet from my shoes. The weather is hot already and it is still May. We are in for a long hot and humid summer. We will probably just melt from the heat. We will stay cool by drinking lots of water and putting on sunscreen so don't worry. I will send you picutres soon. Well, my time is running out so I will have to say good-bye. Thank you for your prayers and support. I love knowing that my family loves and cares about me. Thank y'all for the wonderful examples you are to me. I love y'all so much. Love, Katelyn
How are y'all doing this week?(ha ha) I knew you would never forget to write me! I so look forward to your emails every week. I love hearing about home. I have been trying to learn "Southern" but it has not caught on yet. Anyways, I had a great week! The person we had on date to be baptized on May 14th is having to put it off until the 28th. We had no idea he had a smoking and drinking tea problem but he said it would be easy to stop. He said he doesn't smoke much but it might be harder to stop drinking tea. We look forward to the baptism on May 28th and we know he will be ready by then. We have been meeting with this girl who is named Jessica. She is the girlfriend of a recent convert. We met with her on Saturday and I put her on date for baptism for June 11! I was so excited as it was my first time doing so! She committed to come to church the next day and she was really looking forward to it. She was telling her sister about it and she brought over some anti-mormon material. She read it and it made her feel horrible. She still made it to church and we answered any questions she might have and plan to meet with her later this week. We know and she knows how great the church will feel in her life. Satan is definitely working hard on her so she needs to continue to study and pray. We had a special missionary fast and testimony meeting yesterday. It was 3 different zones missionary's testimonies. I am really glad I got to participate in it. My companion and some elders sang a musical number and it was really great. I haven't received my journal yet but I am sure I will get it soon. It could be stuck at the mission office or something who knows. I have paper to write on when I run out of pages. Thank you for sending it! You didn't tell me about the cute mail unit you did at school, but it sounds like fun! I know I enjoy getting pictures from Jane and Annie. They make me proud to be their aunt! I can't read blogs so if you ever want to copy and paste things from it I wouldn't mind! I enjoyed reading the one you sent to me. It made me laugh it was so cute. A member of the relief society presidency came up to me this week and told me something cool that she came across. She was looking on a friend's blog and saw that one of the blogs that they follow is Brad and Mandy's. She saw the last name and knew I had to be related. She said she looked at it and commented and told about me. I think you should all look at it if you have not. The connections you make when you are away from home- I love it! We go over to their house every once in awhile when we are in the neighborhood so we can use the restroom. The problem with living in the country is that there are not very many opportunities to use the restroom. Whenver we are out we have to remember where a member lives so we can go over there. Riley... good job on winning in the state tournament I am very proud. I heard your comment about the three pack being as strong as ever. I hope graduation goes well! Send me pictures and I will give them to all of the cute girls here in the south. The name Belinda doesn't sound familar. I hope you get the job though. Good luck and work hard. Kelli congratulations on your new calling! I am so happy for you and I know you will do a great job. Have fun with it! Thanks for the letter it was great! You are such a wonderful example to me. Anything new with Matt, Stacy and Graham? Brad and his family wrote me this week and told me that they find out tomorrow what they will be having. I am so excited. Let me know as soon as you know. Although I won't be able to read the email until next week. Allison, hope all is going well with you. Thank you for the emails I really appreciate them. A service opportunity you could do is to write your testimony in the Book of Mormon and sending them to missionaries just like me. I will think on more and get back to you. Mom you asked a question last week and I totally forgot to answer it and remembered later. You asked if I gotten any sun and I most definitely have. My face, arms, and legs are very tan. I have a cool tan line on my feet from my shoes. The weather is hot already and it is still May. We are in for a long hot and humid summer. We will probably just melt from the heat. We will stay cool by drinking lots of water and putting on sunscreen so don't worry. I will send you picutres soon. Well, my time is running out so I will have to say good-bye. Thank you for your prayers and support. I love knowing that my family loves and cares about me. Thank y'all for the wonderful examples you are to me. I love y'all so much. Love, Katelyn
Monday, May 9, 2011
She's our southern gal!
Hey'all-
It was so great to be able to talk to everyone yesterday! It was the highlight of my day. Everyone sounded just the same so that made me happy. After we talked we went over to dinner at a member's house. It was really nice to have dinner with more people. It is usually just my companion and I sitting at the table by ourselves. We usually don't eat dinner until about 8:30 each night anyways. If we do it earlier it takes away from our proselyting time. Also more people are home at dinner time anyways so we can get more contacts. Dinner was so delicious! There was a lot of good food and I enjoyed it. Another lady and her husband came for dinner and brought the most delicious banana cake ever! Once I get the receipe I will send you a copy so you can make it. Apparently she makes a really good pumpkin cake just like yours that is famous and I can't wait to try. Dinner went a little long, but a new convert and his son were there and we gave a short message about faith. My poetry skills are coming in handy again. We wanted to do something special for our 2 "other " moms for mother's day. Sister Wright is an artist so she drew them a bouqet of flowers and I wrote them each a poem. All I have to say is that I got that talent from you. They were not home last night so we gave Sister Riley her poem this morning and she loved it so much. She told us that she was going to have it framed as it touched her so much. It made us happy that we were able to make her happy. We didn't have time to go out proselyting last night as we had to do comapnionship study. While I am being trained we have to do 2 hours of comanionship study everyday so it is a lot of fun. We had a great week this past week and remained optimistic and positive that miracles would happen. We were able to accomplish or come close to accomplishing all of our goals. I am continuing to learn so much each day about being an effective and obedient missionary.
When do Brad and Mandy find out what they are having? I hope it is soon! It is great that they got a new car so they can fit another car seat in it. When does Riley graduate? Are you going to have graduation party with the cousins since they are graduating? Allison, my companion wanted me to ask you if you would remember these people -Teisha Haskel or Courtney Calder. They were her roomates for a little while and then moved over to the front where you were. She can't remember the Bishop's name but if you said it, he would come to her. Do you remember it? I love how we all lived there at the same time and didn't know it. Thank you so much for telling me all about the wedding and the honeymoon I really enjoyed it. I got teary eyed but I did not cry while reading it. ;) I am so glad everything went well and that you had a nice time on your honeymoon. Did you get anything cool wedding gifts? Save something good for me! Dad- how was the rest of your birthday? What did you have for dinner? I missed having the ice cream cake with y'all. What did you get for your birthday? I am sure you had a great day and I was so glad I got to talk to you on your birthday! Mom- what did you get for mother's day? Did the primary sing in Sacrament meeting? Our's did and it was so cute. We got to go to Primary yesterday as they had something to give us. They had saved up their pennies so they could buy a Book of Mormon that we could give to someone. It was pretty cute! We stayed in there and got to sing songs with the kids. There was something else I wanted to tell you while we were on the phone yesterday. Happy Anniversary!!!! I believe this marks 31 years!! I am so glad I have faithful loving parents like you guys. So many people are missing that in thier lifes. You are the best people I know! I am so happy that we can be together forever! Anyways have a great anniversary tomorrow! I love y'all so much! Thank you for your continued love and support. Have a great week! I am fixin' to go soon so y'all have a great day! Love, Katelyn ( I hope you enjoyed the new Southern phrases that I have learned so far. It really is like a foriegn language sometimes!)
It was so great to be able to talk to everyone yesterday! It was the highlight of my day. Everyone sounded just the same so that made me happy. After we talked we went over to dinner at a member's house. It was really nice to have dinner with more people. It is usually just my companion and I sitting at the table by ourselves. We usually don't eat dinner until about 8:30 each night anyways. If we do it earlier it takes away from our proselyting time. Also more people are home at dinner time anyways so we can get more contacts. Dinner was so delicious! There was a lot of good food and I enjoyed it. Another lady and her husband came for dinner and brought the most delicious banana cake ever! Once I get the receipe I will send you a copy so you can make it. Apparently she makes a really good pumpkin cake just like yours that is famous and I can't wait to try. Dinner went a little long, but a new convert and his son were there and we gave a short message about faith. My poetry skills are coming in handy again. We wanted to do something special for our 2 "other " moms for mother's day. Sister Wright is an artist so she drew them a bouqet of flowers and I wrote them each a poem. All I have to say is that I got that talent from you. They were not home last night so we gave Sister Riley her poem this morning and she loved it so much. She told us that she was going to have it framed as it touched her so much. It made us happy that we were able to make her happy. We didn't have time to go out proselyting last night as we had to do comapnionship study. While I am being trained we have to do 2 hours of comanionship study everyday so it is a lot of fun. We had a great week this past week and remained optimistic and positive that miracles would happen. We were able to accomplish or come close to accomplishing all of our goals. I am continuing to learn so much each day about being an effective and obedient missionary.
When do Brad and Mandy find out what they are having? I hope it is soon! It is great that they got a new car so they can fit another car seat in it. When does Riley graduate? Are you going to have graduation party with the cousins since they are graduating? Allison, my companion wanted me to ask you if you would remember these people -Teisha Haskel or Courtney Calder. They were her roomates for a little while and then moved over to the front where you were. She can't remember the Bishop's name but if you said it, he would come to her. Do you remember it? I love how we all lived there at the same time and didn't know it. Thank you so much for telling me all about the wedding and the honeymoon I really enjoyed it. I got teary eyed but I did not cry while reading it. ;) I am so glad everything went well and that you had a nice time on your honeymoon. Did you get anything cool wedding gifts? Save something good for me! Dad- how was the rest of your birthday? What did you have for dinner? I missed having the ice cream cake with y'all. What did you get for your birthday? I am sure you had a great day and I was so glad I got to talk to you on your birthday! Mom- what did you get for mother's day? Did the primary sing in Sacrament meeting? Our's did and it was so cute. We got to go to Primary yesterday as they had something to give us. They had saved up their pennies so they could buy a Book of Mormon that we could give to someone. It was pretty cute! We stayed in there and got to sing songs with the kids. There was something else I wanted to tell you while we were on the phone yesterday. Happy Anniversary!!!! I believe this marks 31 years!! I am so glad I have faithful loving parents like you guys. So many people are missing that in thier lifes. You are the best people I know! I am so happy that we can be together forever! Anyways have a great anniversary tomorrow! I love y'all so much! Thank you for your continued love and support. Have a great week! I am fixin' to go soon so y'all have a great day! Love, Katelyn ( I hope you enjoyed the new Southern phrases that I have learned so far. It really is like a foriegn language sometimes!)
Tuesday, May 3, 2011
Week # 3 and still going strong!
Hello all,
I am doing great! This week flew by so fast as we were working so hard. It takes a lot of time and energy to be a missionary but I love it so much! Thank you for your advice (referring to role playing). I will take it to heart! It is hard sometimes not to get a little emotional when things are hard but I am putting the difficult things aside. You know how sometimes I would get emotional when we would talk or role play and it would get me out of it or avoid it. My companion gave me some advice and that is to just say you like it and just do it. I can't avoid role playing we do it everyday. I think Satan is trying to tell me I can't do this but I can. I just need to put my trust in the Lord and not myself and just do it. I know when I put my trust in the Lord He will help me to have confidence in what I am saying. Enough of that stuff, I wanted to talk about the call on Sunday. I am so excited to call you guys! All I really know is that we can call anytime on Sunday and we can talk for 40 minutes. We do have a cell phone but don't get the best service where we live so we might go to a member's house but I am not sure. I imagine I will call sometime after we get out of church. We have chuch from 9-12 the same as you guys do. My guess would be sometime between 12:15 and 12:30 MST. I am not sure if I will get to call on Saturday night to let you know an exact time for Sunday. My best advice is just to keep your cell phone with you and I will try to call you around that time.That storm that came through didn't touch South and North Carolina at all. We have not had any tornado training at all but the Relief Society is making me a 72 hour kit. We had a big rainstorm the other day that was pretty cool to watch. Jeff has written me one letter since I have been in South Carolina. That is the only letter I have recieved. I look forward to receiving your letter and pictures about the wedding!. We had an awesome miracle this week. We met this lady while out contacting the other day and had set up an appointment to meet with her but she later canceled as something came up. We were in the neighborhood a few days later and decided to see if she was home. We met with her and shared a lesson with her. She seemed very intersted in what we had to say. We invited her to come to church and gave her a Book of Mormon. She said she would come to church and would bring her sons. My companion asked her if would like to be baptized and she said yes and then asked if her sons could be baptized also! That is rare when you ask in a first lesson so we were very happy. We were so excited and said yes they could too! Her name is Zulema Jones and her sons are 9 and 10. She is black and has the most beautiful blue eyes. We also met her husband who was also intersted so we will teach them more this week. They didn't end up making it to church and we were sad but hopefully they will come next week. My brother Riley- I wanted to tell you that I gave away the Book of Mormon that you gave to me. I gave it to an investigator who we are working with. I told her who wrote in it and she thought that was pretty special. Please send more of those and encourage everyone to do the same. Those really are the best ones to give out. Mom, I was wondering if you could send me one of my journals that I left at home. I will be needing it soon. Also, I was wondering if I could get a picture of Bauer. I know that sounds strange but I would like to have a picture of him. I am glad you got the opportunity to relax after the wedding. Allison and Riley how was the honeymoon? I gave a good news minute in Relief Society and announced that my little sister got married. I was so excited to be able to do that! Did anyone watch the royal wedding? Well, I am down to my last few minutes so I should probably end. I look forward to talking to everyone on Sunday! I love you all and thank you for your continued love and support. I thank the Lord everyday for such a wonderful supportive family. I hope you have a great week. Talk to you soon!!! Love, Katelyn
I am doing great! This week flew by so fast as we were working so hard. It takes a lot of time and energy to be a missionary but I love it so much! Thank you for your advice (referring to role playing). I will take it to heart! It is hard sometimes not to get a little emotional when things are hard but I am putting the difficult things aside. You know how sometimes I would get emotional when we would talk or role play and it would get me out of it or avoid it. My companion gave me some advice and that is to just say you like it and just do it. I can't avoid role playing we do it everyday. I think Satan is trying to tell me I can't do this but I can. I just need to put my trust in the Lord and not myself and just do it. I know when I put my trust in the Lord He will help me to have confidence in what I am saying. Enough of that stuff, I wanted to talk about the call on Sunday. I am so excited to call you guys! All I really know is that we can call anytime on Sunday and we can talk for 40 minutes. We do have a cell phone but don't get the best service where we live so we might go to a member's house but I am not sure. I imagine I will call sometime after we get out of church. We have chuch from 9-12 the same as you guys do. My guess would be sometime between 12:15 and 12:30 MST. I am not sure if I will get to call on Saturday night to let you know an exact time for Sunday. My best advice is just to keep your cell phone with you and I will try to call you around that time.That storm that came through didn't touch South and North Carolina at all. We have not had any tornado training at all but the Relief Society is making me a 72 hour kit. We had a big rainstorm the other day that was pretty cool to watch. Jeff has written me one letter since I have been in South Carolina. That is the only letter I have recieved. I look forward to receiving your letter and pictures about the wedding!. We had an awesome miracle this week. We met this lady while out contacting the other day and had set up an appointment to meet with her but she later canceled as something came up. We were in the neighborhood a few days later and decided to see if she was home. We met with her and shared a lesson with her. She seemed very intersted in what we had to say. We invited her to come to church and gave her a Book of Mormon. She said she would come to church and would bring her sons. My companion asked her if would like to be baptized and she said yes and then asked if her sons could be baptized also! That is rare when you ask in a first lesson so we were very happy. We were so excited and said yes they could too! Her name is Zulema Jones and her sons are 9 and 10. She is black and has the most beautiful blue eyes. We also met her husband who was also intersted so we will teach them more this week. They didn't end up making it to church and we were sad but hopefully they will come next week. My brother Riley- I wanted to tell you that I gave away the Book of Mormon that you gave to me. I gave it to an investigator who we are working with. I told her who wrote in it and she thought that was pretty special. Please send more of those and encourage everyone to do the same. Those really are the best ones to give out. Mom, I was wondering if you could send me one of my journals that I left at home. I will be needing it soon. Also, I was wondering if I could get a picture of Bauer. I know that sounds strange but I would like to have a picture of him. I am glad you got the opportunity to relax after the wedding. Allison and Riley how was the honeymoon? I gave a good news minute in Relief Society and announced that my little sister got married. I was so excited to be able to do that! Did anyone watch the royal wedding? Well, I am down to my last few minutes so I should probably end. I look forward to talking to everyone on Sunday! I love you all and thank you for your continued love and support. I thank the Lord everyday for such a wonderful supportive family. I hope you have a great week. Talk to you soon!!! Love, Katelyn
Tuesday, April 26, 2011
Sister Riley, Riley Serafine, Riley Wilson...too many Riley's!
Hello all,
I am so glad the wedding went well! Allison- you looked so pretty from the pictures mom sent me. I couldn't be happier for you! Riley Wilson- I just wanted to say welcome to the family! I remembered you all day knowing that it was a special day for you. I told my companion about copsicus so we celebrated that! She made us some German pancakes and they were so good.Gilbert is just wonderful I love it a lot. We see so many animals on a daily basis. One time I kept track and I counted 15 different animals/insects. We see a lot of lizards too. Most of the time we run into some really nice people and every once in a while we don't. We had a lady open the door and then shut it in our face and all we did was laugh after because she didn't even give us a chance. I have not ridden the bike any this week. I am not sure why it is so sandy but I think it used to be riverbend or something. Anyways it makes it impossible to ride on a bike. There are a few residential areas that we try to go to but they are not close. I have not seen any hiibillies yet. The mobile home is so awesome I love it so much. I am glad you enjoyed the pictures I sent you. I wanted to reassure you that it was better than what you thought. We don't spend much time there as we are gone the entire day. We taught a lesson this week to this lady named Vickie who I told you about last week. The lesson went very well and I could feel the spirit so strong there. She said she and her husband would like to come to church but were nervous to do so. We took them on what they call a church tour on Saturday. We showed them everything in the building and explained everything. I told the First Vision which I finally had memorized. The spirit was once again with us there and they said they would come to church the next day. We had invited a few other investigators to come to church but nobody came and we were disappointed as it was the second week with no investigators there. We called Vickie and her husband and found out that they had slept in. So, next week they will be getting a wake up call. Of all weeks to sleep in and miss they missed Easter. Me and my companion sang in the ward choir as they needed more voices. We had some training this week in Columbia and I got to see my district from the MTC and all of their companions. It was really cool and the other sisters got to spend the night in our place. President McConkie is an amazing man. I really enjoy listening to everything he has to say. You know how much I hate role playing... well we had to do more while we were there. You also know that I struggle with eye contact. We were role playing with the other sisters and I had a hard time because of the stupid eye contact. I want so badly to look people in the eye but just can't do it all the time. I also struggle with my confidenceen when we practice teaching. I know what I want to say but just can't seem to be confident when we do that. Well, I know the Lord will help me out with the things that I am struggling with. He knows I am trying my best and He knows how hard it was for me to get out here on a mission. I am doing a lot better with my proselyting skills. The other day it was so hot and we were climbing up and down this long hill. We just laughed because it was so hot and we were still serving the Lord. When we were done we went to the gas station and got drinks. Easter was really good. We drove past a Catholic church and the parking lot was overflowing with cars which is not like it normally is. It just goes to show that they only go on holidays! Me and Sister Wright just laughed when we saw that. A nice couple had us over for dinner and it was so good. We practiced teaching them a lesson and it was a little rough. With more practice we will get better. Mom, I got the Easter package you sent to me. Thank you so much- it was so sweet. I loved how you put the candy in the eggs just like I like. Thank you Matt, Stacy and Graham for the package you sent. My companion was wondering if she could get the reciepe for the chocolate chip cookies. We both enjoyed them so much. I also enjoyed the pictures of Graham! Brad, Mandy, Jane and Annie thank you so much for the package and letters you sent. I especially loved your pictures! In a letter from Matt he said he got a detailed explanation of Brad's wedding so I would like one of Allison's. I want you mto give me every detail and also send me some more pictures when you can. Thank you all so much for all of your love and support. I am so grateful for a nice supportive family. I can't wait to talk to you on Mother's day! I will let you know the details of that later. We have this nice lady named Sister Riley who lives next door and she's so nice but very talkative. She takes us out on our P-day to lunch and then drives us to the library and then to the store so we can do our shopping. We went to this place today called Zaxby's and they have the best chicken around. I got a milkshake that tasted like cake batter which you know is my favorite kind! Thanks again for all that you do for me. I love you all so much! Love, Katelyn
I am so glad the wedding went well! Allison- you looked so pretty from the pictures mom sent me. I couldn't be happier for you! Riley Wilson- I just wanted to say welcome to the family! I remembered you all day knowing that it was a special day for you. I told my companion about copsicus so we celebrated that! She made us some German pancakes and they were so good.Gilbert is just wonderful I love it a lot. We see so many animals on a daily basis. One time I kept track and I counted 15 different animals/insects. We see a lot of lizards too. Most of the time we run into some really nice people and every once in a while we don't. We had a lady open the door and then shut it in our face and all we did was laugh after because she didn't even give us a chance. I have not ridden the bike any this week. I am not sure why it is so sandy but I think it used to be riverbend or something. Anyways it makes it impossible to ride on a bike. There are a few residential areas that we try to go to but they are not close. I have not seen any hiibillies yet. The mobile home is so awesome I love it so much. I am glad you enjoyed the pictures I sent you. I wanted to reassure you that it was better than what you thought. We don't spend much time there as we are gone the entire day. We taught a lesson this week to this lady named Vickie who I told you about last week. The lesson went very well and I could feel the spirit so strong there. She said she and her husband would like to come to church but were nervous to do so. We took them on what they call a church tour on Saturday. We showed them everything in the building and explained everything. I told the First Vision which I finally had memorized. The spirit was once again with us there and they said they would come to church the next day. We had invited a few other investigators to come to church but nobody came and we were disappointed as it was the second week with no investigators there. We called Vickie and her husband and found out that they had slept in. So, next week they will be getting a wake up call. Of all weeks to sleep in and miss they missed Easter. Me and my companion sang in the ward choir as they needed more voices. We had some training this week in Columbia and I got to see my district from the MTC and all of their companions. It was really cool and the other sisters got to spend the night in our place. President McConkie is an amazing man. I really enjoy listening to everything he has to say. You know how much I hate role playing... well we had to do more while we were there. You also know that I struggle with eye contact. We were role playing with the other sisters and I had a hard time because of the stupid eye contact. I want so badly to look people in the eye but just can't do it all the time. I also struggle with my confidenceen when we practice teaching. I know what I want to say but just can't seem to be confident when we do that. Well, I know the Lord will help me out with the things that I am struggling with. He knows I am trying my best and He knows how hard it was for me to get out here on a mission. I am doing a lot better with my proselyting skills. The other day it was so hot and we were climbing up and down this long hill. We just laughed because it was so hot and we were still serving the Lord. When we were done we went to the gas station and got drinks. Easter was really good. We drove past a Catholic church and the parking lot was overflowing with cars which is not like it normally is. It just goes to show that they only go on holidays! Me and Sister Wright just laughed when we saw that. A nice couple had us over for dinner and it was so good. We practiced teaching them a lesson and it was a little rough. With more practice we will get better. Mom, I got the Easter package you sent to me. Thank you so much- it was so sweet. I loved how you put the candy in the eggs just like I like. Thank you Matt, Stacy and Graham for the package you sent. My companion was wondering if she could get the reciepe for the chocolate chip cookies. We both enjoyed them so much. I also enjoyed the pictures of Graham! Brad, Mandy, Jane and Annie thank you so much for the package and letters you sent. I especially loved your pictures! In a letter from Matt he said he got a detailed explanation of Brad's wedding so I would like one of Allison's. I want you mto give me every detail and also send me some more pictures when you can. Thank you all so much for all of your love and support. I am so grateful for a nice supportive family. I can't wait to talk to you on Mother's day! I will let you know the details of that later. We have this nice lady named Sister Riley who lives next door and she's so nice but very talkative. She takes us out on our P-day to lunch and then drives us to the library and then to the store so we can do our shopping. We went to this place today called Zaxby's and they have the best chicken around. I got a milkshake that tasted like cake batter which you know is my favorite kind! Thanks again for all that you do for me. I love you all so much! Love, Katelyn
Monday, April 18, 2011
Katelyn is living in a trailer
Hello all,
I am here safely in South Carolina! I was totally going to call you again from Atlanta but I didn't have anymore minutes on my card. I was glad I was able to talk to you and dad! I loved hearing familar voices on the other end! I am not sure if Riley Wilson told you but I ran into my 2nd to last day at the MTC and it just made my day. South Carolina is so beautiful and I learn so much about it daily. It is so green and has lots of pretty flowers. I will take some pictures of them soon for you and send them to you. You would love it here except maybe not because of the humidity. I tried doing my hair straight the first day and it went all wavy so ever since then I have been doing it curly. We stayed at the Mission president's house the first night so that was nice. President and Sister McConkie are such nice people I really like them a lot. We had some training the first few days and then it was transfers. Our second day they had us go on spilts with some other missionaries and I was so nervous. This is the part that I was always scared to do. I stumbled over my words the first few times but eventually I got more comfortable. The next day was transfers and at first I was nervous about who my companion would be but I got a really great companion. Her name is Sister Wright and she is from Higland but originally from Washington State. She is best friends with Amy Mower (Robison)(Scott and Kerry Mower's daughter). The first time she saw me she asked me if I knew her. Aparently Amy told her I was coming and she might see me. My companion also went to Lone Peak and graduated in 2007. I was wondering if you could send a picture of the Groesbecks she thinks she may know Brock some how. Anyways she is way cool and we get along well. My area that I am in is called Gilbert and it covers some other cities as well. It is literally in the middle of the state. We live in a little trailer home in the forest. There are other members close by that check in on us. It is really fun living in the middle of no where as we can do anything we want. I got my bike and I really am enjoying it. It is hard to ride it on the sand so I will have to practice more. We got to our place and put my things in and then went contacting the rest of the afternoon. It is hard work and takes a lot of sacrifice but I am more than willing to do that. We came upon this lady who was just sitting outside her home thinking about life. She had just gotten home from her nephew's funneral. We shared a message about the plan of salvation and she was crying. Aparently her aunt and her daughter are both lds and she already had a Book of Mormon. She and her husband are Christian but don't attend church. She invited us back later in the week to come back and teach her and her husband. We came back and she had found her Book of Mormon and had been reading it. Which is totally awesome. We taught a really great lesson and invited them to try and come to church on Sunday. They ended up not being able to make it and we were a little disapointed but will encourage them the next time we meet with. I am exicted to see how this goes as I am starting it with them from the beginning. We went and visited a bunch of other investigators and less actives and they are all so cool. We pretty much do the same thing every day and it can get very tiring. Everytime I want to complain I just start singing church hymns to myself to get my mind off of it. I am getting more comfortable at contacting as I have had a lot of practice. I need to work on saying what I need to say when we have lessons. I usually just sit there and make comments which is not good. We are going to role play with members this week to help practice my teaching. I am really not looking forward to it but I know it will be helpful. You know how much I do not like to role play. I will go into with a willing heart and trust in the Lord. The people here in South Carolina are so nice and they like to chat for awhile. Most people polietly tell us no, whereas some like to have lengthly discussions with us or just shut the door in our face. There are so many trailer homes here it is not even funny. I have never seen so many before in my entire life. There are some nice beautiful homes and some not so nice. We mostly drive to a subdivion or a road and park the car and then just walk. I have gotten a lot of sun on my face and legs. We keep getting told that the summers are just miserable here. I am not looking forward to having to walk all day in hot humid weather. My companion has only been out here for 6 months so this will be her first summer too. Me and my companion have a lot of fun together and that helps us both get through the day. The other day it was off and on raining so we brought our umbrellas and were singing "There is sunshine in my soul today." The rain went away 20 minutes later and we had a lovely afternoon. Heavenly Father was definitly watching over us. The ward we are in is so so great. It is a small little ward but very nice. They bring us meals 2-3 times a week which is so sweet of them. I have learned so much already and I know there is much more for me to learn! I am so happy with my decision to serve a mission it is is just wonderful. Good luck with the wedding this week! I am sure all will go well! Send me lots of pictures and give me the details of the day. Allison I am so happy for you and I wish I could be there. Getting married in the temple will be such a wonderful blessing in your life.I will be sending a few pictures for you all to see in the mail. Hope all is well! I love you all so much! Thank you for all of the support you all give me I really appreciate it! Love, Katelyn.
I am here safely in South Carolina! I was totally going to call you again from Atlanta but I didn't have anymore minutes on my card. I was glad I was able to talk to you and dad! I loved hearing familar voices on the other end! I am not sure if Riley Wilson told you but I ran into my 2nd to last day at the MTC and it just made my day. South Carolina is so beautiful and I learn so much about it daily. It is so green and has lots of pretty flowers. I will take some pictures of them soon for you and send them to you. You would love it here except maybe not because of the humidity. I tried doing my hair straight the first day and it went all wavy so ever since then I have been doing it curly. We stayed at the Mission president's house the first night so that was nice. President and Sister McConkie are such nice people I really like them a lot. We had some training the first few days and then it was transfers. Our second day they had us go on spilts with some other missionaries and I was so nervous. This is the part that I was always scared to do. I stumbled over my words the first few times but eventually I got more comfortable. The next day was transfers and at first I was nervous about who my companion would be but I got a really great companion. Her name is Sister Wright and she is from Higland but originally from Washington State. She is best friends with Amy Mower (Robison)(Scott and Kerry Mower's daughter). The first time she saw me she asked me if I knew her. Aparently Amy told her I was coming and she might see me. My companion also went to Lone Peak and graduated in 2007. I was wondering if you could send a picture of the Groesbecks she thinks she may know Brock some how. Anyways she is way cool and we get along well. My area that I am in is called Gilbert and it covers some other cities as well. It is literally in the middle of the state. We live in a little trailer home in the forest. There are other members close by that check in on us. It is really fun living in the middle of no where as we can do anything we want. I got my bike and I really am enjoying it. It is hard to ride it on the sand so I will have to practice more. We got to our place and put my things in and then went contacting the rest of the afternoon. It is hard work and takes a lot of sacrifice but I am more than willing to do that. We came upon this lady who was just sitting outside her home thinking about life. She had just gotten home from her nephew's funneral. We shared a message about the plan of salvation and she was crying. Aparently her aunt and her daughter are both lds and she already had a Book of Mormon. She and her husband are Christian but don't attend church. She invited us back later in the week to come back and teach her and her husband. We came back and she had found her Book of Mormon and had been reading it. Which is totally awesome. We taught a really great lesson and invited them to try and come to church on Sunday. They ended up not being able to make it and we were a little disapointed but will encourage them the next time we meet with. I am exicted to see how this goes as I am starting it with them from the beginning. We went and visited a bunch of other investigators and less actives and they are all so cool. We pretty much do the same thing every day and it can get very tiring. Everytime I want to complain I just start singing church hymns to myself to get my mind off of it. I am getting more comfortable at contacting as I have had a lot of practice. I need to work on saying what I need to say when we have lessons. I usually just sit there and make comments which is not good. We are going to role play with members this week to help practice my teaching. I am really not looking forward to it but I know it will be helpful. You know how much I do not like to role play. I will go into with a willing heart and trust in the Lord. The people here in South Carolina are so nice and they like to chat for awhile. Most people polietly tell us no, whereas some like to have lengthly discussions with us or just shut the door in our face. There are so many trailer homes here it is not even funny. I have never seen so many before in my entire life. There are some nice beautiful homes and some not so nice. We mostly drive to a subdivion or a road and park the car and then just walk. I have gotten a lot of sun on my face and legs. We keep getting told that the summers are just miserable here. I am not looking forward to having to walk all day in hot humid weather. My companion has only been out here for 6 months so this will be her first summer too. Me and my companion have a lot of fun together and that helps us both get through the day. The other day it was off and on raining so we brought our umbrellas and were singing "There is sunshine in my soul today." The rain went away 20 minutes later and we had a lovely afternoon. Heavenly Father was definitly watching over us. The ward we are in is so so great. It is a small little ward but very nice. They bring us meals 2-3 times a week which is so sweet of them. I have learned so much already and I know there is much more for me to learn! I am so happy with my decision to serve a mission it is is just wonderful. Good luck with the wedding this week! I am sure all will go well! Send me lots of pictures and give me the details of the day. Allison I am so happy for you and I wish I could be there. Getting married in the temple will be such a wonderful blessing in your life.I will be sending a few pictures for you all to see in the mail. Hope all is well! I love you all so much! Thank you for all of the support you all give me I really appreciate it! Love, Katelyn.
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