July 22...a week full of miracles

This week we saw so many of the people we are teaching being blessed incredibly and they are seeing it too! We started working with this guy who has been in-active for 20 years and is ready to come back because he needs his saviors help. We taught him on Tuesday and we were talking about how he needed to pray to his Heavenly Father. He was really nervous because he felt like Heavenly Father wasn't going to want to talk to him after 20 years of shutting him out. At the end of the lesson we all got down on our knees and we each took turns saying a prayer so by the time it got to him he would be comfortable and ready. You could tell he was really nervous at first but by the end of the prayer he was definitely pouring his heart out to our loving Heavenly Father. There is not a person in the world that He doesn't want to hear from.
 The next person that had a miracle happen was V****. She was really hoping to get a procedure done on her mouth but it was postponed because she was going to have to trade dr. offices. One of the members was taking her down to the dr. office and then the first office called asking why she didn't come to her appointment an hour ago. So she told them what was going on. Then the member that was with her decided to help with the situation. She took V**** to her first dr. office and said that she would pay for the procedure if V**** would be willing to help her out around her house and basically work for her. V**** was so thrilled and she knew that a miracle had just happened. Sorry the story is kind of hard to understand but all I know is that V**** feels her Heavenly Father blessing her and she wants to give back by going to church and trying her hardest to serve the Lord. I am so grateful for a loving Heavenly Father who is ready to bless us. We just need to show we are ready for it.
We have two new people that we are starting to teach and they both are ready to be baptized. Last night we had dinner with the most amazing family! They remind me so much of home. They are all very sarcastic and we were laughing almost the whole time! Our area keeps progressing forward so we are pretty sure this next transfer it will be getting split. The Mission Standard of Excellance for lessons taught per week is 25 and we are getting that almost every week. I am ready for the split so that we can start working more closely with each ward because covering 22 is way to much! But everything is going great and I can't believe this transfer is almost over! Love you all and hope all is going well!

***note*** the rest is kaylynn answering questions I asked this week.

Do you have air conditioning where you live? No, but luckily we live in the basement and we have a fan. But it is always super hot in our apartment.

What are your living accommodations right now? We are living in the Basement apartment of a widow. It is quite a big space and it seems even bigger now that there is only 2 of us.

How are your feet holding up with the heat in your dress shoes? My are great, I think dance was a nice help with that. we have been walking a lot lately and when I come home my feet don't hurt at all:)
Tell me what you love the most about your companion? We get along so well and the way we teach together is amazing!

Are you driving? We have a car, my companion is the driver.

What are you driving? We are driving a 2011 Subaru

have you had any parking issues or bad driving experiences? Well I am in Utah so the drivers around me are scary but we are pretty good.

have you seen any miracles? I see miracles all the time. I am actually keeping a journal just for miracles and it is filling up faster than I thought it was going to, which is GREAT! The most amazing one is the calls we get on almost a weekly basis telling us they have someone for us to baptize, we just have to teach them first! Got to love Utah. We also have an amazing family that we have been working with. The mom is a less-active but has become very active ever since we started teaching her 12 year old  daughter. So that has been quite the miracle and she now sees the blessing that come from going to church.

what do you dislike the most about where you live?  I don't like that there is no AC in my apartment but other than that I am pretty happy. When we walk down the street we have everyone honking at us and waving and some even pull over to try to give us money for lunch and stuff. Serving in Utah is pretty awesome.

July 15...my companion got her visa.

The big event this week is that Sister Steig finally got her Visa to Brazil so she is heading down there today! So we got to drop her off at the MTC this morning. It was the weirdest feeling being back there. This week was a slower week but still pretty successful! We had some wonderful lessons with our investigators. Currently my favorite investigator is Jackie, she is 12 years old and her mom is less-active but ever since we have started teaching, the mom will come and share her testimony with her daughter and it is an incredible one! We did a chapel tour and talked a lot about the importance of church and the whole family came to church on Sunday!
 Also this week we had the opportunity to help teach a mission prep class. One of the people there just got back from his mission and I asked him where and he served in the Kennewick mission. He was spanish speaking so he didn't know any one I knew but he did hear all about the house that the elders that served in the Candy Mountain area live in. We got to teach the class about teaching our investigators to pray. It was a really cool lesson and turned out really well.
 On Saturday we had another baptism. We were a little scared it wasn't going to happen though because we got a call from the high counselor telling us that the font was broken, our back up font's chapel is currently under construction so we were in a bit of a panic. We then got a call from the 2nd counselor in the bishopric and he said that we could either move it back an hour and do it at the UVU institute building or his neighbor had a pool we could use. But everything worked out, and no we didn't have it in the pool, which I was a little bummed about.  It was seriously the most amazing baptism so far. The spirit was there so strong and she said she was only expecting about 16 people but I am pretty sure almost 40 showed up! Its amazing the support system this church brings with it. Also on Saturday we got to go to a wards BBQ and that was pretty fun. We got to meet tons of new people and we were able to meet some less-actives we could start working with. I think it is funny how a lot of less-actives are willing to attend the ward parties but won't attend church. But surprisingly some of the less-actives we talked to that night came to church the next day! I am loving all the opportunities I am getting to share my testimony! I am enjoying the beautiful weather and enjoying the awesome tan lines I am getting from my shoes. I hope all is going well and that everyone is trying their hardest to follow our perfect example, Jesus Christ! Love you all!

dropping sister Steig off at the MTC to head to Brazil

She is the official "backer upper" of the car

Attending the Mount Timpanogas temple

July 8...busy week!

We had a lot of days this week where we had our day planned out with appointments hour by hour! So we were busy and by the end of each day as my head hit the pillow I was out cold. I am so grateful for this area! We also were blessed with three amazing baptisms this weekend which kept us busy too! I am so grateful that I learned to play the piano because I had to play at all 3. I am glad that I can use my talents from before my mission to bless people on my mission. For two of the baptisms the water heater on the font was broken so they had a bit of a surprise when they got in the font.

 July 4th was so FUN! We headed to Provo around 7 in the morning and we got to be in the parade. It was over 3 miles long and there were so many people! When they announced us, they said that there is currently 217 missionaries in the Provo Utah mission and we come from 40 states and 26 countries! It was really a shock to me to hear that. When people would see us they would all stand up and cheer like crazy. I felt like a hero! So many kids ran up to us and wanted high fives. Luckily the weather worked out for us, it was overcast during the morning and then got very hot. Then when we got home I decided I would make some treats for the district activity we were having that night. I made Jackie Brownies and Caramel Popcorn... It was AMAZING!! For the district activity we combined with another district in our zone since ours only has 5 missionaries! And guess who is in my zone... Sister Balero! For the activity we played basketball, the President McCune gave the mission permission to watch How To Train Your Dragon! I guess we get to watch real movies on 4th of July, Halloween and New Years, so we aren't out getting in trouble.

 This week has seriously been amazing when in comes to lessons and watching people come closer to Christ. We have two more baptisms already scheduled this month and we just got a new investigator who I guess he has been going to church for the last few months and he says that this church just feels right. I am so excited to see how well he picks up on things and how quickly he progresses. I know that the Lord has prepared people's hearts and I can see the effects of it. This gospel is true and truly does make people happy! I am so happy to be a servant of the Lord at this time and I think that it is all flying by too quickly! But I am making the best of each day and hoping that each day I will have no regrets. I hope everyone is continuing to be member missionaries because this gospel need to be shared to everyone! LOVE YOU!

July 1st..new companions

Well I can't say I have ever been happier. I was just transferred into an area that I love!!! My companions are Sister Harroff and Sister Steig. Sister Harroff is from Texas and actually got her mission call to the Philippines. She was there for about a month and then got re-assigned to the Provo mission for medical reasons. She has such a cool accent and a wonderful testimony. She has only been a member for about a year and a half. Sister Steig is from Oregon and got her mission call to Brazil and is currently waiting here for her Visa. She is a wonderful missionary and knows how to teach everyone! I hear a lot of Tagalog and Portuguese. Our district is actually pretty interesting. It is us 3 sisters and then a set of elders. So at our district training meetings we all have a part in the lesson. And I don't know what we are going to do when Sister Steig gets her Visa...which should be coming in the next week or two!

It has been so warm this week and I feel so blessed we have a car! It has been around 100 degrees everyday!

 

My new area is so much fun. I am serving in Orem, UT and we are covering 3 Stakes which covers 22 Wards. So there is a lot of work to be done. We have 4 investigators that are getting baptized in the next two weeks and another one who will be baptized this month. One of our investigators is a 12 year old girl and we committed her to reading the Book of Mormon. At our next appointment she had already read 8 Chapters and had written summaries on each chapter! I can't believe how devoted she is as a 12 year old. Her mom is less-active and so we are working on the whole family which has been a really cool experience. We also had a very interesting lesson earlier this week with a missionary from a different religion. She wanted to know more about what we believe and so we started teaching her the Restoration. Toward the end of the lesson we had kind of a heated discussion about Grace. She believes that by grace alone we can be saved, and she believes that God gave us commandment to not follow. It was really interesting and we are going back this week. In this area we have about 22 lessons a week, which has been my dream my whole mission! We seriously are running from one appointment to another! I will have quite a bit to talk about next week since we have the 4th of July parade this week that we get to march in and then 3 baptisms this weekend! I love you all and I know that the work is hastening on!:)

 

Sister Harrison

                                    Look who Kaylynn saw on transfer day. Go Candy Mountain ward!

                                                  new companions in Orem