Goodbye Madison!

Hello Family!

Well, another transfer has come and gone.  Crazy how time flies.  As it sounds like most of you already know, I found out that I am going to be transferred this week.  I have been really sad about it, but I trust that the Lord has good things in store for me.  So I just found out that I am going to be transferred to Wausau.  And I have been called to be a Sister Training Leader.  My new companion is going to be Sister Weaver.  She came out with me so if you look back at some of my MTC pictures then you can see who she is.  She is the absolute cutest so I am way excited to get to be companions with her.  I have heard so many amazing things about the Wausau area.  Sister Kelley just came from that zone and she raves about it.  Sister Newton also served there and that is all she would talk about when we were together.  

Bowling with the district last p-day!

One of my favorite recent converts here in Madison.  He is going to the temple for the first time later this month!

Also, guess what!  The Wausau sisters area has a car!  I am still learning about Wisconsin geography, but I do know that Wausau is North of here.  Which means more snow and more cold!  Yay!  I hear that the work has really been taking off there, so I am really excited to start meeting people and getting going!  So I will leave Wednesday morning to head to Wausau. 

But back to this week...  It was a little sad because I knew that a lot of the people that I was seeing was probably going to be my last time seeing them.  But it has made me realize what an amazing blessing all of these people have been in my life. 

Tuesday we had some more crazy snow storms.  I didn't think that there was even anymore snow in the atmosphere because all of it must have fallen on Sunday when church was cancelled.  But nope, we had even more on Tuesday.  We had district meeting and then when we went to catch the bus afterward, we ended up getting stuck at the bus station for an hour because all of the buses were running way behind because of the crazy amounts of snow.  And then once we got on our bus we were stuck on that bus for another hour because everything was moving so slowly and there were so many car accidents.  It was an adventure to say the least. 

But while we were stuck on the bus for so long, we were able to meet this kid named Darnell.  He is studying to become a pastor for his Unitarian church.  We were able to talk about the differences between our churches and he was very impressed with us for giving up a year and a half of our lives to teach people about Christ.  He wasn't extremely interested, but I know that we were supposed to run into him on the bus that day.

Wednesday we had a couple of appointments fall through.  It was kind of a bummer because they were people that we met on the bus that we thought were super solid.  But that is ok.  What is meant to happen will happen.  We got to have a lesson with Sarah though and we invited her boyfriend Vince to come so that we could teach both of them together!  So that was a fun.

Thursday we had a lesson with a recent convert named Shaun.  He is going to be going to the temple at the end of this month so we had a little temple prep lesson with him.  We also had a huge miracle on the bus!  So last week we ran into this woman named Marlene on the bus.  She had investigated the church back in 1999 and was going to be baptized, but then moved here to Madison and lost contact with the church.  So when we saw her we were able to get a little bit of her contact information.  But I think that maybe she hadn't paid the phone bill or something like that so we were not able to get in contact with her and we were so sad about it.  But on Thursday, we ran into her AGAIN but on a different bus!  It was seriously the biggest miracle.  She recognized us and told us that she was so sad that we hadn't been able to get ahold of her.  She also had been reading from the Book of Mormon that we gave her and she had lots of questions.  It was so incredible to see how the timing worked out perfectly to be able to get back in contact with her.  So now we will be able to start teaching her!

Friday we finally got to see Kendall again.  Her life has been kind of crazy lately and we haven't been able to see her for a long time.  Luckily things are going a lot better with her family.  Things have mellowed out a little bit and Kendall said that she has really been able to feel the companionship of the Holy Ghost is her life.  Also- Kendall got a calling this past Sunday to teach the 10 year old primary class!  So we are super excited about that,

Saturday the transfer text came and my name was on it...  I was super sad.  But it was also nice to know for sure so that I could start saying goodbye to people.  And I am running out of time sorrrrryyy...........

Sunday I actually spoke in church!  Brother Durtschi texted me on Friday night to ask if I would.  It was pretty stressful to be able to find time to put a couple of thoughts together, but we made it work.  I was actually grateful for the opportunity because I was able to tell everyone in the ward just how much I love and appreciate them.  I really have learned so much from this ward.  They are absolutely incredible. 

And pretty much have spent the rest of the time starting to pack and saying goodbye to people!

I love Madison with all my heart and it kills me to have to go.  But I think the thing that I am going to miss the very most is Sister Kelley.  She is one of the most Christlike people I have every met and she is an incredible missionary.  I prayed so hard to be able to have a good companion for the Christmas transfer, and boy was my prayer answered.  I learned a lot from Sister Kelley, but I think the biggest thing I learned from her was selflessness.  She is just so selfless!  She just has a way of making you feel loved and important and I hope that I can be more like her in that way. 

Geez.  I think one of the reasons that missions are so hard is because they are just one huge goodbye.  First to your family, then to all the people you know and love here.  It is so hard.  But it is absolutely incredible.

I miss Madison already!

Sister King

Yes, I Am Alive!

Hi Family!!

This is me out in the crazy snow storm yesterday right after we found out that church was cancelled.

This guy is just casually skiing down the street... haha.  That is how much snow there was!

Yes, I am alive.  You thought I would be buried in the massive amounts of snow that we got this weekend.  But we managed to make it out here to the library. 

Kind of a weird week this week.  We have been doing a lot of finding this week.  All of the investigators that we have had lately are either not progressing or have gotten baptized.  Haha so we have been trying really hard to find some new people to teach.  We gave away quite a few copies of the Book of Mormon this week so that was pretty exciting.  We are still following up with all of those people and hoping that something comes of it.  I know that the Book of Mormon has to ability and power to change hearts!  So hopefully we will be able to start reaping some of those seeds.

Tuesday we had a couple of lessons.  One with Sarah who just recently got back in town.  School here and UW didn't start back up again until last week.  So we finally got to see her again for the first time since the end of November.  She is doing well and has been reading a lot from the Book of Mormon.  We are planning to have a lesson this week with her boyfriend Vince that plays on the football team. So that should be good and we are excited about that.

Wednesday we had interviews with President Cutler!  Interviews are always a great experience.  I know that President Cutler is inspired of God to lead this mission.  In preparation for interviews, President Cutler asked us to study Elder Christofferson's talk from this last conference called "Free Forever, to Act for Themselves." He has really been pushing this idea to "act, and not be acted upon." I love the quote from this talk that says something about how we need to go out and get to work so that God has something to help us with.  The enabling power of the Atonement can help us as we are out doing our best and working hard.  Something that I learned and really want to start working on, is doing things more out of intention and not habit.  Or doing things for the right reason.  Do I go out and work everyday because I am supposed to?  Or do I go out and work because I love the Lord and truly want to help bless his children.  Are we reading our scriptures to cross it off of our to-do list?  Or are we reading our scriptures to change our hearts and learn more about the Atonement of Jesus Christ?  Sometimes it can be hard to figure out which reason it really is, but I think that is where the Atonement can come in and help us out a little bit.  It was so good to be talking to President about these things and I learn so much from him.  He said that things are going well back in West Allis and that Tubree is doing a lot better!  So that made my day.  He also said that an apostle is coming to visit the mission on March 21!  So that is exciting!  Who do you think it will be??  I told President Cutler that I have really loved serving here in Madison.  So hopefully he will let me stay here another transfer with Sister Kelley!  But we will see.  :) 

Thursday we got to see Ishmael which was really good.  He has been having a little bit of a hard time since his baptism.  But we taught him all about the power of the Atonement and I think that helped him to feel better.  He even ended up going out with the Elders over the weekend to help them teach some lessons!  So that was awesome!  He is pretty solid.  We also got to see Shay.  ( We have been trying to focus a lot on our recent converts lately to make sure that they are all still going strong.)  Shay is doing well!  We talked to her about fasting and the power that comes behind it.  I love Omni 1:26

26 And now, my beloved brethren, I would that ye should come unto Christ, who is the Holy One of Israel, and partake of his salvation, and the power of his redemption. Yea, come unto him, and offer your whole souls as an offering unto him, and continue in fasting and praying, and endure to the end; and as the Lord liveth ye will be saved.

We talked about the role that fasting plays in this.  So then it was really cool to be able to fast with her this past Sunday.  :)

Friday we met with a few of our other investigators that haven't been progressing as much so not a lot to report on those.  We did meet a few cool people on the bus though.  One who said that she had met with missionaries back in 1999 in Chicago and was interested in started to meet with them again.  So that was a cool miracle to be able to run into her on the bus. 

Saturday we got to go to Sister Durtschi's card class.  This was great because we were able to reconnect with her friend Jeanne that has been reading from the Book of Mormon, and we schedule a time to teach her this week!  So we hope that all goes well with that too.

Sunday was CRAZY.  We woke up in the morning to probably around 5 new inches of snow or so.  Church ended up being cancelled which we were pretty bummed about.  Because no church on superbowl sunday??  A missionaries' worst nightmare!  Haha we didn't know what we were going to do all day.  But we made it work and there were actually a lot of miracles.  President Cutler gave the missionaries permission to administer the sacrament.  So we got together with the Elders in our district and had our own mini sacrament meeting.  It actually turned out to be one of the most special experiences of my mission and something that I will never forget.  While the Elders were preparing the sacrament, I was reading in 3 Nephi 18 when Christ institutes the sacrament to the Nephites and he says this,

10 And when the disciples had done this, Jesus said unto them: Blessed are ye for this thing which ye have done, for this is fulfilling my commandments, and this doth witness unto the Father that ye are willing to do that which I have commanded you.

I was thinking about how Sister Kelley and I had trudged through the mounds of snow everywhere to be able to partake of the sacrament.  This was us "acting" and not being "acted upon." Christ says,  "Blessed are ye for this thing which ye have done."  We have to DO something!  And by partaking of the sacrament, we were keeping the commandments and doing what Christ had asked us to do.  I just felt to blessed and grateful that we had the opportunity to do that.  We spent the rest of the day trying to visit people but that wasn't very successful.  We tried to ride the bus a little but no one was on the bus because of the snow and the super bowl so that was hard too.  But there was a sweet family that had us over for dinner so that was a huge tender mercy.  I was feeling a little homesick because I wished so badly that I could have been out of the cold and wet snow and watching the super bowl with you guys.  But this family that we had dinner with had just returned from a family vacation to Disney World!!!  So I got to talk to them all about their trip and see all of their pictures.  Seriously the BIGGEST tender mercy.  We all know how much I love Disney and to be able to have that at the end of this hard and dreary day was exactly what I needed.  I know that there is someone up there looking out for me.

So we had a good week this week and I am excited to see what his coming week has in store!  Thank you for all that you do and for being the best family ever!

Love,

Sister King

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

In Like A Lion, And (Hopefully) Out Like A Lamb

That is what everyone says about the weather here in March.  It is still absolutely FREEZING cold and it snows everyday and if it doesn't warm up by at least the end of March then I'mma go crazy!  Haha.  Speaking of March, uh..... can you believe it is MARCH????  Time is seriously flying by.

Enjoying a nice 6 inch snowstorm

Really enjoying a nice 6 inch snowstorm

Here is what has been going on in 'Stallis:

Tuesday we had our last district meeting before transfers which are on March 12.  It was sad, but also exciting.  Sad because I really love my district and it has been so much fun and I have learned so much.  But exciting because I have almost survived my first transfer!!!  WHAT??  Weird.  So on Saturday we will get the notorious "transfer text" to see who stays and who goes.  Please pray that Sis Tanner won't get transferred.  We work so well together and she is my best friend.  I need her to finish out my training!  Plus, we have so much ahead of us this coming transfer and I am so excited about it.  So pray that Sis Tanner and I can stay in West Allis together.  We have work to do!

Wednesday was my very first exchange and I couldn't have been more nervous.  Sis Tanner left to go to Konosha and one of the sister training leaders, Sister Peterson, came to West Allis.  So I had to get us everywhere we needed to go on the buses and schedule appointments and stuff.  But I managed and am alive to tell the tale.  Sister Peterson was so sweet and nice and patient with me.  We had some good lessons and met some great people together.  Exchanges were great but I could not be more excited that they are over and also to have Sister Tanner back!

Hahaha  Sister Tanner and I have fun!

Switching back after exchanges.

Friday we helped our good friend Judy move.  We have been working with her for a really long time.  She has always been so sweet and kind to us and it was so sad to see her go.  But I am glad that we could help her move.

Saturday was AWESOME.  It was ward game night!  Haha I haven't had that much fun in a long time.  I remember walking into the gym in the church building for a relief society activity on my very first day here in West Allis.  I was so scared and nervous and had no idea who anybody was.  On Saturday when I walked into the gym all of the same people were there but this time I saw so many friends and people that I have come know and love.  They truly are my ward family now and I feel so blessed to be able to serve them.

P-day Swag!

Only in Wisconsin!

Having dinner with an awesome family in our ward- the King family!  haha this is their cute daughter.  Looks like we've got a future Sister King on our hands!

We got to wear jeans for once to go do service!  First time I had ever ridden the bus not in church clothes and it was the WEIRDEST thing!

This is our good friend  that we helped move this week.  She is one of the kindest people I have ever met and it was so sad to have to say goodbye.

World Famous Kopp's Frozen Custard with our district after we helped Judy move

Definitely an awkward picture but this is our District plus the Zone Leaders at the last district meeting.

Sunday was fast and testimony meeting.  Sister Stewart bore her testimony and it was the sweetest thing I have ever heard and I felt the spirit so strong.  It truly is amazing that families can be together forever.  I love you guys and am so glad that I get to be with you forever!  Knowing that makes not seeing you for these 18 months a little easier too.

This week I have been reading in Alma about the mission of Ammon and his brothers.  In Alma 26 Ammon is talking with his brothers about the success of their missions.  They converted an entire Lamanite nation for crying out loud!  He talks about how they could not have done it without the Lord's help.  I have always loved verse 12, but I have never understood it and appreciated it as much as I do now.

12 Yea, I know that I am nothing; as to my strength I am weak; therefore I will not boast of myself, but I will boast of my God, for in his strength I can do all things; yea, behold, many mighty miracles we have wrought in this land, for which we will praise his name forever.

I love the Lord and am so grateful for the strength that He gives me.  If you have time, you should read all of chapter 26 because it is Ammon pretty much freaking out about how awesome the gospel is.  And it is how Sister Tanner and I feel about the gospel every single day!!!  We seriously have freak outs sometimes because our studies in the morning are so awesome.  In fact I think it is in the chapter after that that it says that Ammon was so excited and happy that he passes out.  Hahahaha that is definitely what a mission feels like on good days.

This week was definitely hard, but also totally worth it.  The church is so true and the work in hastening here in Wisconsin!

I LOVE YOU!

Sister King