It is never too late!

Hey Family!

We had a very busy and kind of a hard week this week.  We have been working really hard.

One of the highlights of the week was Mission Leadership Council.  I got to see Sister Kelley there!  I sure miss her a lot.  It was fun to get to catch up on what had been going on in Madison and also what had been going on in her life.  MLC this month was all about FAITH.  Sister Cutler talked to us about how there are two different kinds of faith.  The bible dictionary tells us that faith is a principle of action and of power.  Action and Power.  Faith isn't really faith unless we do something about it.  But if we are acting on the faith that we have, the power will come.  It is inevitable!  Sis. Karlsson and I have a lot of work to do today to prepare for zone training meeting tomorrow and to teach the missionaries about faith.

LOOK WHO I GOT TO HANG OUT WITH AT MLC!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

You know, when you are serving as a missionary your purpose is to invite others to come unto Christ by helping them receive the restored gospel through faith, repentance, baptism, and receiving the gift of the holy ghost.  Most missionaries focus on how our purpose is to baptize.  And yes that is very true.  But that is not all!  There is so much more to it than just baptism.  And the thing is, MOST of the people we meet do not get baptized.  It is really easy to get discouraged sometimes because of that.  But put very simply, our purpose is to invite others to come unto Christ.

Exchanges with Sister Quist.  She is such a cutie :)

We had an experience with that yesterday.  We were meeting with a woman named Jennifer that we had tracted in to.  The first time we knocked on her door she told us to come back later because she didn't have time to talk then.  We have gone back at least once or twice a week for the past 6 weeks only to receive the same answer- don't have time now, come back later.  That can get kind of discouraging as a missionary because sometimes you feel like you are running in circles.  But we were persistent and went to see her again yesterday.  When she answered this time, she came out holding her Book of Mormon.  She was actually ready to learn!  It was probably just because she felt so bad that she kept telling us to come back later... haha.  But we were able to teach her about the Restoration of the gospel and Joseph Smith.  We told her how the same church that Jesus Christ established when he was on the earth has been restored again for us today and that we have a living prophet who leads us.  Jennifer then told us of some hard things that have happened in her life that have made her feel unworthy.  I will never forget when she looked up and me and asked, "Is it too late for me?"  I was able to tell her with full confidence in my Savior, "It is never too late!"  Jennifer was moved to tears.  As we sat there on her porch teaching her about the Atonement, I kind of started to think.  I don't know if Jennifer really is ever going to get baptized (remember, most people that we meet don't), but I know that we made a difference to her that day.  As a representative of Jesus Christ, I was able to tell her that it is not too late!  And that is what I have been able to do my entire mission.

This was my district from this transfer!  This was an awesome district.  We are the "oldest" district in the whole mission- everyone goes home within the next 3 transfers!  I learned a LOT from these experienced missionaries.

Every single day, I have been able to bear my testimony of Jesus Christ and tell someone that "it is never too late" or "there is a God who loves you" or "because Jesus Christ felt your sorrows, you don't have to do it alone."  What an incredible blessing that is.  Even if there is not a lot to "show for it", I have been able to invite others to come unto Christ! I know that I have been able to make a difference in the lives of God's children, whether it be big or small.  And the amazing thing is that in the process, I have been able to come unto Christ myself.  I am so grateful that I get to be his missionary and that I get to be an instrument in His hands.  I love my mission.  I love everyday that I am here.  I know that this really is Christ's church and it is our responsibility to help others to know about it.  What a blessings.  I love this Gospel.

And I love you all too!!

Love,

Sister King

2nd Mission Leadership Council

Hey Fam!

Happy Easter everybody!

Easter package from the world's best family

I know that I always say that I don't have much time, but this time I really don't.  Haha we have a meeting that we have to go to and we have to prepare our training for Zone Training Meeting tomorrow. 

But for an update of the week- we were pretty much just doing a lot of tracting and contacting again all week trying to push the churches "Because He Lives" campaign. 

We also had a lot of meetings this week.  I got to go to my second Mission Leadership Council and it was not as scary or intimidating this time, so that was good.  It was fun because our zone had that miracle week where we doubled our number of baptismal dates so we were the topic of much of the meeting.  We were also trained on the things that we need to train the rest of the missionaries on this week.  This month we are talking a lot about sacrifice and consecration, so that should be interesting!  Also, the Cutler's daughter Hannah got back from her mission to El Salvador the day before MLC so we got to meet her there!  That was pretty fun and a super special weekend for the Cutler's.

Group of the some of the sisters that I came out with at MLC

Courtney's second Mission Leadership Council - I got these from the Wisconsin mission blog that Sister Cutler updates.

Sister Cutler's picture of the STL's from the Wausau area: Sister Weaver and Sister King

A couple of quick thoughts from conference before I have to jet out of here-

The 2 talks that stood out to me the most were Elder Clayton and Elder Pearson.  Man, sometimes these seventies that you don't really know just pop out of no where and tell you exactly what you need to hear!  I loved that Elder Clayton talked about how faith and belief is a choice.  That is something that I have really come to learn and understand on my mission, both in my life and seeing it in the people that we get to work with.  He said something about how faith doesn't just happen to us.  We have to go out and do something about it!  And when our prayers are answered, we need to choose that that was an answer to a prayer.  I don't know if that really makes sense.  Just something that I have been thinking about.

Man I really wish that I had more time to talk to you about our week and how special this conference/Easter weekend was.  :(

They named a street after Ashley out here!

Some Easter traditions never die :)

 

But just know that I have a testimony of our Savior.  He really did suffer for our sins, pains, afflictions, sicknesses, sorrows, and anything else that we have to deal with in mortality.  And most importantly, he really did rise again!  Christ's Atonement is central to God's entire plan for us and I am grateful for that perspective that I have gained.  It affects all of the decisions that I make everyday not only as a missionary, but also as a daughter of God.  I love this gospel so much and am so excited to be able to go out and continue to share it this week.

Sure do love you!

Sister King