Timpview Baptisms!

Hi family!

First snow fall of the year.  And so it begins....

I don't have a lot of time to write this week because there are so many crazy things happening with transfers coming up so I will just have to cram as much information in as I can in a small amount of time.  So bear with me!  

Timpview represent!  Elder Baird and me with our investigators as they are about the be baptized!

Tuesday was pretty cool.  In order to prepare for District meeting our DL asked us to use the proclamation to the family in our finding.  We were so busy with our appointments that we hadn't really had an opportunity to do it.  So we went out right before district meeting to try to find some new investigators using the Proclamation.  We prayed so hard that we would be able to find someone.  The first person that we talked to on the street was named Connie and she LOVED the proclamation.  She ate it right up!  The thing is, it is so easy to just talk to people about their families.  And this gospel blesses families!  Because of it, we get to be with our families forever!  So relating it back to the Restoration of the gospel is usually pretty smooth.  So that was pretty successful and we found a cool new investigator out of it.  So then we went to district meeting and got to talk all about families.  It was really cool.  Of course, it made me miss you guys a lot.  But I am just so grateful that we are an eternal family.  We will have plenty of time to hang out in the eternities.  Then we had a district testimony meeting that was really powerful.  In some ways, we are like a family too.  So it was cool to hear their testimonies.  They have been my favorite district on my mission so far.  

Then later that night, we got to have a lesson with Shay.  We just went over a few last things before she had her baptismal interview and she PASSED WITH FLYING COLORS!  It was so awesome.  Afterward when we were praying with her and this is what she said in her prayer that really touched me.  She said, "Thank you so much for giving me what I have been looking for my entire life."  Shay is such a miracle and she never ceases to amaze me

Wednesday was exchange day!  I got to go back with Sister Brewster which was really fun!  It is always fun to reminisce with old companions.  We got to go work in the Madison 2 area.  We worked with a lot of recent converts and less actives.  It was really fun to be able to teach with her again.  And it was fun to be in a car too :)  But I was super excited to get back to my area to finish getting ready for Shay's baptism.  And to see Sis. Hammatt again.  

This has been my favorite district so far on my mission!

Found a mural of people protesting in Madison, so naturally had to take a picture in front of it :)

Say hello to Elim!

Exchanges with Sis. Brewster!  Check it out- we are both in a car!  haha

Thursday was the first day of snow!  And also the day that Sis Hammatt and I created our Christmas corner.  We met with our investigator Kendall and taught her the Plan of Salvation.  We extended a baptismal date in January.  We had prayed about it and felt really good about the date that we were going to extend.  But then Kendall said no... haha.  We were really scared that we maybe had scared her off.  But she texted us yesterday and said that after a few days of letting it sink it, she feels good about working towards January for baptism.  So that was a huge miracle.  WE also met with Shay on Thursday and taught her all about the temple.  She loved it and is excited to be able to go do baptisms for the dead.  And Sis Hammatt might even be able to take her in the 2 weeks that she has at home before she heads out on the rest of her mission.

We went back with Shay and took a picture in front of the bus stop where we met her!  ps- that is hot chocolate that she is drinking, not coffee haha

Love this girl!

Saturday was one of the most amazing days of my entire life.  SHAY'S BAPTISM!!!  Everything ran so smoothly.  It was perfect.  Elder Baird had a baptism that day too, so we combined them into one.  How cool is that?  Shay bore such a powerful testimony after she was baptized about how her whole life she felt like something was missing and that she knows that she has found it!  It was so amazing.  I know that I specifically was supposed to be here in Madison to find Shay!  I have seen the Lord's hand so much in my life the past transfer.  I know that he knows me and loves me and is looking out for me.  And I know that He knows Shay and that He knew that she was prepared to hear the gospel.  That is why He placed her at the bus stop with us that day.

We are now taking donations to help decorate our Christmas corner!!!!!!

Casually enjoying our Christmas corner.

I am so grateful for this gospel and the chance that I have to share it.  Thank you for your love and support!  Can't wait to hear from you next week!

Love,

Sister King

He Doesn't Expect Perfection, Just Progression

So we had a pretty crazy week.  As usual.

Chillin on the bus

Tuesday we had district meeting and we talked about preparing people for baptism.  It was super awesome and made me super excited for Rachel's baptism coming up on October 4th.  She is actually going to be baptized in between sessions of conference so that is going to be a very spiritually overwhelming day but also probably the best day ever.  After district meeting we went to contact a headquarter referral that we received.  It ended up taking us to a frat house and turns out it was just a bunch of guys pulling a prank on their roommate.  So that was interesting... haha.  Gotta love UW Madison.  We also got a really sweet phone call from President Cutler on Tuesday and he thanked us for all the hard work we have been doing in our area.  Last week we had 11 lessons taught to investigators with a member present, 20 other lessons, and 6 investigators at church.  Which are really good numbers if you don't know much about missionary work.  So that made us feel really good to know that our hard work is paying off!

Wednesday we had a lesson with a new investigator that we found on the bus named Zoey.  She is the biggest sweetheart!  We started teaching her the Restoration, but only got through the first point.  We started talking about how God is our loving Heavenly Father and that really touched Zoey.  She has never had a good relationship with her earthly father, so it really meant a lot to her that she could have the father and daughter relationship with God.  It was a super powerful lesson and she ended up coming to church yesterday!  Unfortunately, I think we are going to have to pass her off to the YSA Campus ward missionaries, but we still love her a lot! :)

We had another lesson with our investigator Danyella and we talked a lot about prophets and how it is necessary that we have modern prophets on the earth today.  She hasn't had good experiences with the "prophets" in her past churches, so we are helping her to warm up to the idea.  How perfect is it that conference is next week though?  She will fall in love with President Monson!  In the words of Elder Christiansen on The District, "You can always put your money on the prophet."

Thursday was a miracle day.  We have been preparing Rachel for her baptismal interview which is this coming Friday.  She has been pretty nervous and so we wanted to do something to help her feel better.  President Hassler of the mission presidency is going to be doing her interview, so we had dinner with Rachel in the Hassler's home.  It was an amazing experience.  The Hassler's are an incredible family.  President Hassler was called to serve as an area 70 when he was newly married and President Hinckley is the one who set him apart.  In that blessing, he was promised that if he made missionary work the center of his home, none of his children would go astray.  He took that promise VERY seriously, and they had over 30 non member friends baptized over the years!!!  You should listen to the CD "The Missionary Next Door" if you want to hear more about them.  They are a cool family.  Anyways, having dinner and getting to know the Hassler family really helped Rachel to feel better about her interview.  Please keep her in your prayers this week as her baptismal interview approaches.

Friday we were able to volunteer at St. Vincent's food pantry again.  I really like volunteering there.  Sometimes missionary work can be hard because we help people in more of a long term way and don't always see the fruits of our labors.  But at St. Vincent's, I see people come and get food for their hungry families right away.  So that is really rewarding.  And everyone there LOVES the Mormon missionaries.  We had a few lessons with some recent converts the rest of the day

Saturday we had our missionary correlation meeting, and a few other lessons with investigators that aren't really progressing.  But then we were able to have dinner at the Thurston's!  Our favorites!!  :)

Over all, this was a really good week!  We are continuing to see miracles.  Thank you so much for your prayers.  I could really feel them when I needed them this week.  I love you so much!!!  Have an awesome week!!

So pretty much how we spend our time is knitting while we listen to MoTab.  I think it is safe to say that we have turned into a couple of 90 year old ladies.

Sister King