Monday, July 23, 2012
Follow-Up
Just a quick bit of information: Kaitlin has heard from her friends in Paraguay and the good news is that Eli and Gustavo were married about a week ago and this past Thursday Eli was baptized!!
Saturday, June 30, 2012
She's Home!
Kaitlin returned home from her mission to Paraguay last Friday, June 22. What a wonderful, emotional, happy reunion it was! We are having so much fun hearing about her adventures! She is the same fabulous young woman--only better! Her experience has forever changed her and us. We are grateful.
Kaitlin will be reporting her mission on July 8, 2012 at 1:00 p.m. at the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints building on Marlatt Avenue. Everyone is welcome and invited.
Monday, June 18, 2012
Last E-mail from Paraguay...
Again, I am posting the entire email. Wow! What an amazing mission! We, Kaitlin's family, cannot express enough our gratitude to the Lord for blessing Kaitlin with this experience. We have benefited greatly and have been inspired and humbled by our sweet daughter/sister and her faith, her testimony, and her "come what may and love it" attitude. Well done, Hermana Knapp! We cannot wait to wrap our arms around you in just a few days!!
Dear family,
It's completely surreal that I'm sitting down to write you the last email you'll receive from Paraguay. Oh boy. I don't like "lasts" sometimes. But with every good "last", there's a great "first" that follows, right? On Thursday, I had my exit interview with President Callan, and it was such a good experience. He told me everything I needed to hear. I know he was speaking for the Lord during that hour. I left renovated and excited about the future. So that's why I say that even though doing things for the last time is hard, I pray that the Lord won't stop using me as His instrument and that He sees fit to have me serve wherever I'm needed in whatever way necessary. Knowing that He will grant me opportunities to serve and to progress all my life makes this upcoming change exciting.
The week in review...
We found a few really great new investigators. Last week, we visited an inactive family, Mariela and Luís, for the first time in a long time. I hadn't ever met them in my five and a half months in the area. We had a short visit with them, and then last Sunday, they showed up to church! It was great. I don't remember if I told you that last week. Anyway, Mariela's older sister and younger brother are living with them currently, and this week we started teaching them. Carlos, the 18-year old brother, is especially impressive. We taught them the Restoration of the gospel, and after sharing the First Vision, the Spirit was very strong. After a pause so that they could relish that Spirit, we invited them to pray that night to know if Joseph Smith was a prophet. Carlos had been pretty silent the whole time. He was looking at the floor, and by his face, you could tell he was thinking deeply. When we extended the invitation, he looked up and said, "I believe it's true. I believe that this...Smith...was a prophet of God." Wow. That's the first time that's ever happened in my whole mission. He is a young man of great faith and spiritual sensitivity. I love it when the Spirit teaches truth to a person's heart. It is one of the great miracles of this work. It's such a privilege for me to be able to witness that process. Sometimes I feel like I'm only an onlooker, watching the hand of the Lord work miracles in the lives of His children. It's a great blessing. Carlos and Maribel (Mariela's sister) were going to come to church yesterday, but due to Father's Day, they weren't able to because they went to visit family. But next week they'll come for sure. Maribel shows a lot of potential as well. The Lord definitely led us to her last week in her time of need. She lost her 1 1/2 year old son about a month ago to pneumonia. It came as a huge shock, and she still hasn't come to the full reality of it yet I don't think. She sits in on the lessons with far-off look and doesn't eat anything and shows us pictures of her little boy on her cell phone that she took shortly before he fell ill. My heart hurts for her. But knowing her has made me so thankful for the eternal Plan of Salvation that the Lord has prepared for our families.
I don't know if I've told you about Jazmín Paiba yet... She was new investigator about two weeks ago. She's hilarious. She's 22, she's studying law, and she lives with her mother, who has Alzheimers. We've taught her a few times now, and each lesson has been a spiritual one. This week, we taught her about the Plan of Salvation and invited her to be baptized on July 7th. The Spirit has told her she needs to take that step. She herself told us, "I know I need to get baptized. But I don't want to." When she told us that, it kind of surprised us, so she explained, "Okay. I'll be honest. I like to go out on weekends to party. I drink beer. I really, really like beer. And I can't say that I'm ready to give that all up right now." She's quite the character. But she reads all that we assign her. And yesterday, she came to church! It was fantastic. Coming to church is such a huge step in a person's conversion, and it's something that many people here struggle with. It's one of the hardest commitments for them to keep for some reason. So we're really grateful she came yesterday. She came without her family knowing about it (she also lives with a couple brothers and sisters and their spouses) because they're all Evangelical and aren't too pleased with her decision to listen to us. So it was an act of faith on her part, and the Lord will bless her for that. Really, that's all she needs right now... a little more faith. I have confidence that as she continues to read the Book of Mormon and come to church, she will experience the change of heart that the people of King Benjamin experienced (Mosiah 5:2) and will start desiring the things of God more than the things of the world.
Eli and Gustavo... Whew. It's been quite a week with them. We taught one of the most intense lessons I've ever taught in my mission this week on Thursday. We prayed and planned all week, and we were able to come up with the lesson plan the Lord wanted us to follow. We taught them very clearly about the Law of Chastity. In former lessons, they had both expressed a desire to be happier, so this time, we read Mosiah 2:41 and explained very directly that getting married was one of the commandments of the Lord--that living the Law of Chastity would bring them this happiness they so desire and that not living it would deprive them of the blessings associated with that commandment. We read 4 Nephi 1:11, 15-16, which were powerful in the context of Eli and Gustavo's needs. The Spirit was present, and Eli and Gustavo were both able to open up and express feelings and concerns that perhaps they hadn't expressed before. When we invited them to live this commandment, Gustavo told us, "I don't have a problem with it. Getting married has been an idea that's always been present... we just haven't taken that step yet." But Eli shook her head and said, "Hermanas, I know it's a commandment of God, but I have to be honest. I'm not prepared to get married. Nope. I won't do that." Well...we were shocked, to say the least. We were expecting two different reactions, but we thought Gustavo would be the one that was anti-marriage. But then Eli began to explain why. She said that she feels like Gustavo doesn't love her anymore because he barely talks to her and spends much of his free time with his friends in the soccer field drinking. He thinks it's more important to sleep than to come to church (these are Eli's words exactly, by the way). Eli said that they're not happy together, and that she's in the process of deciding whether to continue to live like this or to leave. She said her daughters were the only ones keeping her in that house. Quite frankly, I didn't know what to say to that. In my mind, I was thinking, "Eli, it's just a matter of faith! Have faith in the promises God is making to you!" But I knew it would be more effective if she could receive that knowledge for herself, so we suggested that we consult God in the matter and kneel down in prayer. At this point, Gustavo was pretty angry for what Eli had said, and she was upset with Gustavo as well. Gustavo refused to pray, so Eli said the prayer, and it brought the Spirit back to the lesson. It was sweet and heart-felt and emotional. Afterwards, we talked a little bit more--mostly just bore testimony and promised blessings--and then Gustavo said the final prayer, in which he promised God that he and Eli would talk seriously and try to follow Him. I hope and pray that Gustavo is sincere this time. Because that is just a beautiful family. Maybe one day you'll be able to meet them. I'll continue to pray every day of my life that they will enter into the temple to be sealed for time and all eternity. I'll pray for that every day until it happens.
Yesterday was a good day. My last Sunday in Paraguay. I said goodbye to a few families for the last time, including to the Abuela Fernandez. She grabbed me with more strength than a 94-year old woman should have and hugged me and kissed me. "You better give me a phone call once in awhile," she said. She's very sweet.
Well, my time is running short. The Spirit has taught me a lot this week, for which I'm grateful. He has taught me a lot about the Atonement and about the doctrine of Christ. May I just say that I am thankful for my Savior, Jesus Christ. I know that His Atonement is real. I know it because I have felt in my life its purifying and enabling power. I am grateful that He has made possible my eternal progress. Every day presents us with new opportunities to not only avoid the bad, but also to do good, to be more like Christ. I love that. I love life. I'm grateful for the love and patience of a perfect Father in Heaven. And I am grateful for each one of you. I'm sure you can imagine that leaving Paraguay will be hard for me. That is the truth. I love it here. I love the family I have acquired here. But I am especially grateful for the father and mother, the brothers and sisters that the Lord has blessed me with in this life and for all of eternity. I'm grateful for your faith and courage, Mom and Dad, in bringing me to the world and teaching me the truths of the gospel. I'm grateful to you, my sweet siblings, for bearing with me and teaching me by example, even though I'm the oldie in the family. Thank you all for all the encouragement you've given me during this year and a half. We have a lot of living and loving and laughing ahead of us I think. I'm excited. This work is the work of our Lord, Jesus Christ. This is His church. Joseph Smith was His prophet, and Thomas S. Monson is His prophet today.
It's just the truth.
See you in a few days.
Love,
Hermana Knapp
Dear family,
It's completely surreal that I'm sitting down to write you the last email you'll receive from Paraguay. Oh boy. I don't like "lasts" sometimes. But with every good "last", there's a great "first" that follows, right? On Thursday, I had my exit interview with President Callan, and it was such a good experience. He told me everything I needed to hear. I know he was speaking for the Lord during that hour. I left renovated and excited about the future. So that's why I say that even though doing things for the last time is hard, I pray that the Lord won't stop using me as His instrument and that He sees fit to have me serve wherever I'm needed in whatever way necessary. Knowing that He will grant me opportunities to serve and to progress all my life makes this upcoming change exciting.
The week in review...
We found a few really great new investigators. Last week, we visited an inactive family, Mariela and Luís, for the first time in a long time. I hadn't ever met them in my five and a half months in the area. We had a short visit with them, and then last Sunday, they showed up to church! It was great. I don't remember if I told you that last week. Anyway, Mariela's older sister and younger brother are living with them currently, and this week we started teaching them. Carlos, the 18-year old brother, is especially impressive. We taught them the Restoration of the gospel, and after sharing the First Vision, the Spirit was very strong. After a pause so that they could relish that Spirit, we invited them to pray that night to know if Joseph Smith was a prophet. Carlos had been pretty silent the whole time. He was looking at the floor, and by his face, you could tell he was thinking deeply. When we extended the invitation, he looked up and said, "I believe it's true. I believe that this...Smith...was a prophet of God." Wow. That's the first time that's ever happened in my whole mission. He is a young man of great faith and spiritual sensitivity. I love it when the Spirit teaches truth to a person's heart. It is one of the great miracles of this work. It's such a privilege for me to be able to witness that process. Sometimes I feel like I'm only an onlooker, watching the hand of the Lord work miracles in the lives of His children. It's a great blessing. Carlos and Maribel (Mariela's sister) were going to come to church yesterday, but due to Father's Day, they weren't able to because they went to visit family. But next week they'll come for sure. Maribel shows a lot of potential as well. The Lord definitely led us to her last week in her time of need. She lost her 1 1/2 year old son about a month ago to pneumonia. It came as a huge shock, and she still hasn't come to the full reality of it yet I don't think. She sits in on the lessons with far-off look and doesn't eat anything and shows us pictures of her little boy on her cell phone that she took shortly before he fell ill. My heart hurts for her. But knowing her has made me so thankful for the eternal Plan of Salvation that the Lord has prepared for our families.
I don't know if I've told you about Jazmín Paiba yet... She was new investigator about two weeks ago. She's hilarious. She's 22, she's studying law, and she lives with her mother, who has Alzheimers. We've taught her a few times now, and each lesson has been a spiritual one. This week, we taught her about the Plan of Salvation and invited her to be baptized on July 7th. The Spirit has told her she needs to take that step. She herself told us, "I know I need to get baptized. But I don't want to." When she told us that, it kind of surprised us, so she explained, "Okay. I'll be honest. I like to go out on weekends to party. I drink beer. I really, really like beer. And I can't say that I'm ready to give that all up right now." She's quite the character. But she reads all that we assign her. And yesterday, she came to church! It was fantastic. Coming to church is such a huge step in a person's conversion, and it's something that many people here struggle with. It's one of the hardest commitments for them to keep for some reason. So we're really grateful she came yesterday. She came without her family knowing about it (she also lives with a couple brothers and sisters and their spouses) because they're all Evangelical and aren't too pleased with her decision to listen to us. So it was an act of faith on her part, and the Lord will bless her for that. Really, that's all she needs right now... a little more faith. I have confidence that as she continues to read the Book of Mormon and come to church, she will experience the change of heart that the people of King Benjamin experienced (Mosiah 5:2) and will start desiring the things of God more than the things of the world.
Eli and Gustavo... Whew. It's been quite a week with them. We taught one of the most intense lessons I've ever taught in my mission this week on Thursday. We prayed and planned all week, and we were able to come up with the lesson plan the Lord wanted us to follow. We taught them very clearly about the Law of Chastity. In former lessons, they had both expressed a desire to be happier, so this time, we read Mosiah 2:41 and explained very directly that getting married was one of the commandments of the Lord--that living the Law of Chastity would bring them this happiness they so desire and that not living it would deprive them of the blessings associated with that commandment. We read 4 Nephi 1:11, 15-16, which were powerful in the context of Eli and Gustavo's needs. The Spirit was present, and Eli and Gustavo were both able to open up and express feelings and concerns that perhaps they hadn't expressed before. When we invited them to live this commandment, Gustavo told us, "I don't have a problem with it. Getting married has been an idea that's always been present... we just haven't taken that step yet." But Eli shook her head and said, "Hermanas, I know it's a commandment of God, but I have to be honest. I'm not prepared to get married. Nope. I won't do that." Well...we were shocked, to say the least. We were expecting two different reactions, but we thought Gustavo would be the one that was anti-marriage. But then Eli began to explain why. She said that she feels like Gustavo doesn't love her anymore because he barely talks to her and spends much of his free time with his friends in the soccer field drinking. He thinks it's more important to sleep than to come to church (these are Eli's words exactly, by the way). Eli said that they're not happy together, and that she's in the process of deciding whether to continue to live like this or to leave. She said her daughters were the only ones keeping her in that house. Quite frankly, I didn't know what to say to that. In my mind, I was thinking, "Eli, it's just a matter of faith! Have faith in the promises God is making to you!" But I knew it would be more effective if she could receive that knowledge for herself, so we suggested that we consult God in the matter and kneel down in prayer. At this point, Gustavo was pretty angry for what Eli had said, and she was upset with Gustavo as well. Gustavo refused to pray, so Eli said the prayer, and it brought the Spirit back to the lesson. It was sweet and heart-felt and emotional. Afterwards, we talked a little bit more--mostly just bore testimony and promised blessings--and then Gustavo said the final prayer, in which he promised God that he and Eli would talk seriously and try to follow Him. I hope and pray that Gustavo is sincere this time. Because that is just a beautiful family. Maybe one day you'll be able to meet them. I'll continue to pray every day of my life that they will enter into the temple to be sealed for time and all eternity. I'll pray for that every day until it happens.
Yesterday was a good day. My last Sunday in Paraguay. I said goodbye to a few families for the last time, including to the Abuela Fernandez. She grabbed me with more strength than a 94-year old woman should have and hugged me and kissed me. "You better give me a phone call once in awhile," she said. She's very sweet.
Well, my time is running short. The Spirit has taught me a lot this week, for which I'm grateful. He has taught me a lot about the Atonement and about the doctrine of Christ. May I just say that I am thankful for my Savior, Jesus Christ. I know that His Atonement is real. I know it because I have felt in my life its purifying and enabling power. I am grateful that He has made possible my eternal progress. Every day presents us with new opportunities to not only avoid the bad, but also to do good, to be more like Christ. I love that. I love life. I'm grateful for the love and patience of a perfect Father in Heaven. And I am grateful for each one of you. I'm sure you can imagine that leaving Paraguay will be hard for me. That is the truth. I love it here. I love the family I have acquired here. But I am especially grateful for the father and mother, the brothers and sisters that the Lord has blessed me with in this life and for all of eternity. I'm grateful for your faith and courage, Mom and Dad, in bringing me to the world and teaching me the truths of the gospel. I'm grateful to you, my sweet siblings, for bearing with me and teaching me by example, even though I'm the oldie in the family. Thank you all for all the encouragement you've given me during this year and a half. We have a lot of living and loving and laughing ahead of us I think. I'm excited. This work is the work of our Lord, Jesus Christ. This is His church. Joseph Smith was His prophet, and Thomas S. Monson is His prophet today.
It's just the truth.
See you in a few days.
Love,
Hermana Knapp
The second-to-the-last email from Paraguay
This is super long, but worth reading!
Dear family,
Wheeeeew. I'm taking some deep breaths this afternoon as I sit to write this email to you. It's been such a sweet week. It's been a challenging one in various aspects, but this week, I have felt more like a servant of my Lord, Jesus Christ, than ever before. So the hard things don't bother me. In fact, they're the reason I have felt so close to my Savior this week and have grown in my love for the Paraguayan people this week as well. So I'm thankful for them.
Veronica and Marcos are such a sweet little couple. We ate lunch with them on Wednesday, and Veronica told us that Marcos talks to her about getting married every day. He really is willing, and they're just so darn cute together. Veronica has been the hesitant one because she feels really young, but on Wednesday she confessed that yes, she would like to get married. But her mom doesn't want to give her permission because she feels like it's too soon. It's sad to see parents who don't understand what will bless their children and what will do them harm. Getting married and following the gospel's path will proved Marcos and Veronica with stability and the Spirit of the Lord in their daily lives, which is something they can't afford to wait for. But we're praying for the mom, and I actually talked on the phone with her a couple times this week because Veronica passed the phone to me. Her mom is a sweet woman and wants to come to church this coming week with Veronica and Marcos if she decides to come visit them. But this past week, we actually weren't able to visit with them too much and they couldn't come to church because they were out of town.
José Duré is doing so well! Oh, it makes my heart glad to see him progress. Yesterday, he passed the sacrament for the first time...him and the Bishop's 12-year old son. He did very well, and you could tell from the smile on his face afterwards that he had a good experience. We're excited for him.
Eli and Gustavo... Wow. It's been quite the eventful week with them. They have been in my thoughts as I've studied and walked the streets and eaten lunch and washed my clothes this week...I haven't stopped thinking about them hardly. And we've been praying a lot for them as a companionship. On Tuesday, we called to see if we could stop by, and Gustavo answered and told us that Eli was in bed with a really bad tooth ache and that her cheek was really swollen. We stopped by to see what we could do, and just as we arrived, Gustavo left to go by soap or something. Poor Eli...she looked totally different. Her cheek was huge and she was in a lot of pain. She told us she'd been in pain for two days straight, but she was so meek and calm about it all. She is one of the most pure, humble people I've ever met. Anyway, it was hurting her a lot, so we folded her laundry for her (it was the first time I've ever been in her house when it wasn't impeccable...she is a very clean person) and got the little girls' milk ready for bed and read the scriptures with her. We asked her if she wanted a priesthood blessing, and she said yes. We called the Bishop, who came right away and gave her a beautiful blessing, promising her that according to her faith, the blessing would take effect and she would be able to recuperate. It's too bad Gustavo wasn't there for that.
The next day, we told Eli we were going to come by to clean house for her, that she wasn't to move a muscle, and when we passed by, the house was in perfect order. That's pretty typical of Eli. I did get to iron a little, but that's all there was to do. Then Eli asked us if she could ask us a question. "Of course," we said. She said, "I paid really close attention to what the Bishop said in his blessing yesterday ,and he told me that if I had enough faith, I'd be healed. So...I've been wondering... I must not have enough faith then, right? Is that why my tooth hasn't healed yet? But I'm confused because I really thought I had faith in Jesus Christ." It almost broke my heart, the way she said that. She asked the question with the innocence of a small child. So we talked to her about the importance of trials in our lives and pointed out evidences that she does have faith, and we testified that the Lord would relieve her of this in His own time because of her faith. She understood. It was a spiritual experience. And the next day, the pain was gone.
Saturday evening, we were able to share with both Gustavo and Eli. You should know a little of how hard we prayed and prepared for that lesson. We had some really spiritual study sessions together and were able to write up a simple, powerful lesson plan that was literally given to us, after lots of thought and practicing and study, by the Spirit. We started the lesson by showing them a picture of the Temple here in Asunción. We asked Eli why the temple was important to her. Using her answer, we testified that this life isn't everything; that we lived with God before birth and that our goal is to return to His presence as families. The Spirit was strong. From there, the lesson didn't go exactly as planned because Gustavo had a lot of questions...lots of questions. But it was a wonderful experience because he was able to open up and we were able to resolve some of his doubts. We had planned to invite him to be baptized, but due to the course the lesson took and the ticking of the clock, we just didn't get to it. We had planned to invite him for this coming Saturday. But as we left their house that night (after a great prayer offered by Gustavo), I just felt joy. It didn't matter that I wouldn't be here for their baptism. What mattered is that they are going to get baptized. I knew it in that moment. I don't know when it will happen (we'll probably invite them this week for the 23rd or 30th), but in that moment, I knew that it will happen someday, and I just feel grateful for having been able to participate a little in the process and because the Lord was able to use me as His instrument. I don't care how He uses me. I only want to be worthy of His trust, worthy to be an instrument in some way in this great work. It brings me more joy than I can express. Right now, I'm reading in Alma 26 and 27 in the Book of Mormon, and I feel like Ammon expressed all that I feel that I couldn't find the words to express.
Gustavo had committed to come to church the next morning, but when we arrived Sunday morning to pick them up, Eli came out of the house alone. "And Gustavo?" we asked. "No, he's not coming. He's sleeping. He's decided sleeping is more important than coming to church." That hurt. But I know that we did all we could do. What hurts is that despite what I know the Spirit has told him, he chose to act contrarily. We went to church with Eli, and the meeting was so spiritual. Bishop Bernal had asked me to speak, and all week I'd been thinking about what to talk about, and I had decided on the principle of sacrifice in missionary work. I prayed to know if that's what the Lord wanted to me to speak on, and I felt fine, so that's what I had started to prepare. But after the lesson with Gustavo and Eli Saturday night, I felt the distinct impression that I needed to talk about something different. I needed to talk about the why of missionary work. I needed to talk about eternal families. So Sunday morning, I woke up at 4, prayed that the Lord would guide me, and prepared the talk He wanted me to give. I hope you don't get the wrong impression as I share with you what happened. It didn't come as a result of my talent or of my perfection. Oh, no. Because I am sooooo, so imperfect. But again, the Lord saw fit to use me as His instrument, and all were edified. The Spirit was so strong the whole meeting, during all of the talks. Afterward, there was literally not one dry eye in the whole chapel. I could hear the Bishop and his counselor sniffing behind me as I left the pulpit and headed to the piano to play the last hymn. After the hymn, my two companions ran up to me and hugged me, and I just bawled like a baby. It's just that I know that the gospel is true. I know that my Savior lives. I know it. I know this is His church. And I know that the priesthood authority to seal families for time and all eternity is on the earth once again. There are people who don't know that. They have families, they feel love for them, they want to know how they can be with them together forever, or if that's even possible, and they are searching. And we have what they need! Do we understand how urgent this message is? We should be sharing it with everyone. It is the truth. And it means everything to me. This year and a half I've been able to share it has meant everything to me. My companions are my sisters. This ward is like my family. I felt such a love and a gratitude towards them this week. But most especially, I felt a gratitude and love towards all of you. Dad, Mom, Taylor, Savannah, Tanner, Emily, and Hunter: We are an eternal family. I love you. I'm excited to see you again and to work with you in building the Kingdom of our Lord. I'm grateful for Jesus Christ, who has made possible the great Plan of Redemption. I love Him.
Well, this has gone on and on. Next week's will be shorter. I love you. Continue forward, and keep the faith.
Hermana Knapp
Dear family,
Wheeeeew. I'm taking some deep breaths this afternoon as I sit to write this email to you. It's been such a sweet week. It's been a challenging one in various aspects, but this week, I have felt more like a servant of my Lord, Jesus Christ, than ever before. So the hard things don't bother me. In fact, they're the reason I have felt so close to my Savior this week and have grown in my love for the Paraguayan people this week as well. So I'm thankful for them.
Veronica and Marcos are such a sweet little couple. We ate lunch with them on Wednesday, and Veronica told us that Marcos talks to her about getting married every day. He really is willing, and they're just so darn cute together. Veronica has been the hesitant one because she feels really young, but on Wednesday she confessed that yes, she would like to get married. But her mom doesn't want to give her permission because she feels like it's too soon. It's sad to see parents who don't understand what will bless their children and what will do them harm. Getting married and following the gospel's path will proved Marcos and Veronica with stability and the Spirit of the Lord in their daily lives, which is something they can't afford to wait for. But we're praying for the mom, and I actually talked on the phone with her a couple times this week because Veronica passed the phone to me. Her mom is a sweet woman and wants to come to church this coming week with Veronica and Marcos if she decides to come visit them. But this past week, we actually weren't able to visit with them too much and they couldn't come to church because they were out of town.
José Duré is doing so well! Oh, it makes my heart glad to see him progress. Yesterday, he passed the sacrament for the first time...him and the Bishop's 12-year old son. He did very well, and you could tell from the smile on his face afterwards that he had a good experience. We're excited for him.
Eli and Gustavo... Wow. It's been quite the eventful week with them. They have been in my thoughts as I've studied and walked the streets and eaten lunch and washed my clothes this week...I haven't stopped thinking about them hardly. And we've been praying a lot for them as a companionship. On Tuesday, we called to see if we could stop by, and Gustavo answered and told us that Eli was in bed with a really bad tooth ache and that her cheek was really swollen. We stopped by to see what we could do, and just as we arrived, Gustavo left to go by soap or something. Poor Eli...she looked totally different. Her cheek was huge and she was in a lot of pain. She told us she'd been in pain for two days straight, but she was so meek and calm about it all. She is one of the most pure, humble people I've ever met. Anyway, it was hurting her a lot, so we folded her laundry for her (it was the first time I've ever been in her house when it wasn't impeccable...she is a very clean person) and got the little girls' milk ready for bed and read the scriptures with her. We asked her if she wanted a priesthood blessing, and she said yes. We called the Bishop, who came right away and gave her a beautiful blessing, promising her that according to her faith, the blessing would take effect and she would be able to recuperate. It's too bad Gustavo wasn't there for that.
The next day, we told Eli we were going to come by to clean house for her, that she wasn't to move a muscle, and when we passed by, the house was in perfect order. That's pretty typical of Eli. I did get to iron a little, but that's all there was to do. Then Eli asked us if she could ask us a question. "Of course," we said. She said, "I paid really close attention to what the Bishop said in his blessing yesterday ,and he told me that if I had enough faith, I'd be healed. So...I've been wondering... I must not have enough faith then, right? Is that why my tooth hasn't healed yet? But I'm confused because I really thought I had faith in Jesus Christ." It almost broke my heart, the way she said that. She asked the question with the innocence of a small child. So we talked to her about the importance of trials in our lives and pointed out evidences that she does have faith, and we testified that the Lord would relieve her of this in His own time because of her faith. She understood. It was a spiritual experience. And the next day, the pain was gone.
Saturday evening, we were able to share with both Gustavo and Eli. You should know a little of how hard we prayed and prepared for that lesson. We had some really spiritual study sessions together and were able to write up a simple, powerful lesson plan that was literally given to us, after lots of thought and practicing and study, by the Spirit. We started the lesson by showing them a picture of the Temple here in Asunción. We asked Eli why the temple was important to her. Using her answer, we testified that this life isn't everything; that we lived with God before birth and that our goal is to return to His presence as families. The Spirit was strong. From there, the lesson didn't go exactly as planned because Gustavo had a lot of questions...lots of questions. But it was a wonderful experience because he was able to open up and we were able to resolve some of his doubts. We had planned to invite him to be baptized, but due to the course the lesson took and the ticking of the clock, we just didn't get to it. We had planned to invite him for this coming Saturday. But as we left their house that night (after a great prayer offered by Gustavo), I just felt joy. It didn't matter that I wouldn't be here for their baptism. What mattered is that they are going to get baptized. I knew it in that moment. I don't know when it will happen (we'll probably invite them this week for the 23rd or 30th), but in that moment, I knew that it will happen someday, and I just feel grateful for having been able to participate a little in the process and because the Lord was able to use me as His instrument. I don't care how He uses me. I only want to be worthy of His trust, worthy to be an instrument in some way in this great work. It brings me more joy than I can express. Right now, I'm reading in Alma 26 and 27 in the Book of Mormon, and I feel like Ammon expressed all that I feel that I couldn't find the words to express.
Gustavo had committed to come to church the next morning, but when we arrived Sunday morning to pick them up, Eli came out of the house alone. "And Gustavo?" we asked. "No, he's not coming. He's sleeping. He's decided sleeping is more important than coming to church." That hurt. But I know that we did all we could do. What hurts is that despite what I know the Spirit has told him, he chose to act contrarily. We went to church with Eli, and the meeting was so spiritual. Bishop Bernal had asked me to speak, and all week I'd been thinking about what to talk about, and I had decided on the principle of sacrifice in missionary work. I prayed to know if that's what the Lord wanted to me to speak on, and I felt fine, so that's what I had started to prepare. But after the lesson with Gustavo and Eli Saturday night, I felt the distinct impression that I needed to talk about something different. I needed to talk about the why of missionary work. I needed to talk about eternal families. So Sunday morning, I woke up at 4, prayed that the Lord would guide me, and prepared the talk He wanted me to give. I hope you don't get the wrong impression as I share with you what happened. It didn't come as a result of my talent or of my perfection. Oh, no. Because I am sooooo, so imperfect. But again, the Lord saw fit to use me as His instrument, and all were edified. The Spirit was so strong the whole meeting, during all of the talks. Afterward, there was literally not one dry eye in the whole chapel. I could hear the Bishop and his counselor sniffing behind me as I left the pulpit and headed to the piano to play the last hymn. After the hymn, my two companions ran up to me and hugged me, and I just bawled like a baby. It's just that I know that the gospel is true. I know that my Savior lives. I know it. I know this is His church. And I know that the priesthood authority to seal families for time and all eternity is on the earth once again. There are people who don't know that. They have families, they feel love for them, they want to know how they can be with them together forever, or if that's even possible, and they are searching. And we have what they need! Do we understand how urgent this message is? We should be sharing it with everyone. It is the truth. And it means everything to me. This year and a half I've been able to share it has meant everything to me. My companions are my sisters. This ward is like my family. I felt such a love and a gratitude towards them this week. But most especially, I felt a gratitude and love towards all of you. Dad, Mom, Taylor, Savannah, Tanner, Emily, and Hunter: We are an eternal family. I love you. I'm excited to see you again and to work with you in building the Kingdom of our Lord. I'm grateful for Jesus Christ, who has made possible the great Plan of Redemption. I love Him.
Well, this has gone on and on. Next week's will be shorter. I love you. Continue forward, and keep the faith.
Hermana Knapp
Friday, June 8, 2012
Catching up!
A few excerpts...this is from an email two weeks ago...
Sunday I was a little worried because we hadn't been able to talk with José on Saturday, and he was supposed to receive the priesthood on Sunday. I was worried because this whole week he's been a little reluctant about receiving the priesthood. He told us he didn't feel ready, that he wanted to wait, etc., etc., but we had some really good lessons with good priesthood holders in the ward this week and bore testimony that this was the Lord's will, and we encouraged him to study and pray and find out for himself if it was something he should do. But we weren't able to follow up with him on Saturday as planned because I got sick, so I wasn't sure if he was even going to show up at church on Sunday. However, when we approached a corner on the way to the chapel, we saw a figure sitting there in a white shirt and slacks. It was José. And without a word from us, he told a counselor in the bishopric that he was ready to receive the Aaronic priesthood. Wow. I just can't believe sometimes how miraculous the Lord's miracles are!
Another HUGE miracle we saw yesterday... We felt the impression to pass by Eli´s house. It had been a few days since we'd visited with her, and she hadn't come to church for the past few weeks. We stopped by just as Gustavo was leaving, and I thought, "Noooooo! This happens every time! He always leaves right as we get here. He's always trying to avoid us." But he came back within five minutes and sat down of his own free will and started participating in the lesson. We read the story of the prodigal son and talked about repentance, and he had a lot of good commentary and a lot of good questions. We asked Eli and Gustavo how they would feel if God told them that they could start over, just start anew with everything. After a moment of silence, Gustavo said, "That would feel marvelous." We testified to him and to Eli that God could do that for them, that He had a plan for families through which we could start anew and live a life of happiness and even after death, live together forever. We told Gustavo that we'd like to start sharing with them both, as a family, more about that plan, and he said we could come over on Wednesday at 7:00. PRAY FOR HIM! We're sooooo excited for Wednesday!
Here was a funny moment of the week... We knocked outside of a door yesterday as we were doing contacts, and a little 85-year old hobbled up to the gate. She was wearing bright red plastic earrings and a matching bracelet and ring, as well as a teal leopard print shirt. She showed us how she knew how to dance the tango and the salsa and asked us to bring her some chewing tobacco the next time we stopped by. Oh, my. We got the giggles. Really, really bad.
Well, dear family, I love you a lot. I am reading in Alma 17 right now, and verse 2 made me think of our meeting in about 3 and a half weeks. It will be a glorious reunion. But meanwhile, I'm working my tail off, don't worry. I'm so happy. And I know that in 3 and a half weeks, not much will change. It will just be another transfer. I'm still going to be working hard in building the kingdom of our God.
Love you all,
Hermana Knapp
Kaitlin and her companions started teaching a young couple, Marcos and Veronica. They want to be baptized but..they have to get married first. Hopefully this will happen tomorrow!
Anyway, this week, we decided to focus on making more detailed, well-prepared lesson plans. We talked about our investigators' needs and wrote ideas down as the Spirit directed until we had an order and a focus we wanted to follow, and then we practiced it a few times, giving each other ideas and practicing again until we felt good about it. We did this a few times this week for a few critical lessons, including the lesson in which we talked to Marcos and Veronica about marriage. And it went so well. We really saw the blessings of following the spirit and being prepared. In the moment of teaching, everything went so smoothly, I almost didn't feel the words leaving my mouth. I mean, the Spirit was directing the whole lesson. He was doing the teaching. It was a sweet experience. One of the fruits of the spirit is love, and there was just an abundant feeling of love in that lesson. We testified that marriage was a part of God's plan. We asked them what blessings they wanted or needed from Heavenly Father for their family, and then we read 4 Nephi 1:11 and promised that they would see those blessings in their lives if they exercised faith and obeyed this law of the Lord. They are so dang cute. They were very attentive and nodded through the whole lesson and answered questions, but then when we invited them to get married, Veronica put her head in her Book of Mormon and said, "Nooooo!" and Marcos hid under the covers (they always sit on their bed when we teach them because the room is very, very small). But they were smiling and laughing, and i know they know it's something they need to do. Veronica said she wants to wait because they're still really young. And it's true, they are very, very young, but they have a year and a half old baby boy, and they're a family already. They just need to nourish their family now according to the commandments of the Lord. So that's where we're at with them right now. I don't think they have a problem getting baptized...it's just the marriage thing that has them doubting. But we'll keep praying, and they'll come around.
Oh my goodness... One of the biggest miracles of the week, are you ready? We went to visit Eli and Gustavo and we read with them Mosíah 27, which is what we'd assigned them to read, but they hadn't read it yet. The Spirit was strong, and after the lesson, GUSTAVO PRAYED. That is the first time in the six months that missionaries have been visiting Eli that Gustavo said the prayer. It was a sweet, heartfelt prayer, one of thanks and of humble peticion, and he said it perfectly--he opened addressing Heavenly Father, and he closed in the name of Jesus Christ. Afterwards, Eli gave him a huge hug (and a kiss) and had tears in her eyes. "Why didn't you ever pray before? You know how to pray!" she said. Gustavo was smiling and told her that he always listens when we come over, she just didn't realize it. It was such a sweet experience. They committed to come to church together Sunday.
But....it rained. Hard. And rain in Paraguay is like a large blizzard in Kansas. No one leaves their house. Eli still came to church, which was great because it was the first time in a month that she's come, but Gustavo stayed home with the girls because they've had a cold, and they didn't want to take them out in the rain. For that very same reason, Veronica and Marcos didn't come either because their little boy has had a stuffy nose. Blast. BUT! I have learned that Dad's garden mentality applies to missionary work. When we only had one investigator in church yesterday, I saw Dad in my mind, rubbing his hands together and saying, "Well, there's always next week!" And that's true. Next week we'll have a lot more.
Church was SOOOOO funny, by the way. Oh my gravy. I am just going to have to tell you about it when I get home. But in Relief Society, I felt like I was watching a comic movie. But an email just won't do it justice. You'll just have to wait to hear about it.
Oh my goodness... One of the biggest miracles of the week, are you ready? We went to visit Eli and Gustavo and we read with them Mosíah 27, which is what we'd assigned them to read, but they hadn't read it yet. The Spirit was strong, and after the lesson, GUSTAVO PRAYED. That is the first time in the six months that missionaries have been visiting Eli that Gustavo said the prayer. It was a sweet, heartfelt prayer, one of thanks and of humble peticion, and he said it perfectly--he opened addressing Heavenly Father, and he closed in the name of Jesus Christ. Afterwards, Eli gave him a huge hug (and a kiss) and had tears in her eyes. "Why didn't you ever pray before? You know how to pray!" she said. Gustavo was smiling and told her that he always listens when we come over, she just didn't realize it. It was such a sweet experience. They committed to come to church together Sunday.
But....it rained. Hard. And rain in Paraguay is like a large blizzard in Kansas. No one leaves their house. Eli still came to church, which was great because it was the first time in a month that she's come, but Gustavo stayed home with the girls because they've had a cold, and they didn't want to take them out in the rain. For that very same reason, Veronica and Marcos didn't come either because their little boy has had a stuffy nose. Blast. BUT! I have learned that Dad's garden mentality applies to missionary work. When we only had one investigator in church yesterday, I saw Dad in my mind, rubbing his hands together and saying, "Well, there's always next week!" And that's true. Next week we'll have a lot more.
Church was SOOOOO funny, by the way. Oh my gravy. I am just going to have to tell you about it when I get home. But in Relief Society, I felt like I was watching a comic movie. But an email just won't do it justice. You'll just have to wait to hear about it.
We love Kaitlin! Her joy in serving has rubbed off on us all and inspired us to do more and be better. We are quite excited for her to come home to us!
Wednesday, May 23, 2012
Wonderful News!
JOSÉ DURÉ WAS BAPTIZED AND CONFIRMED A MEMBER OF THE CHURCH OF JESUS CHRIST OF LATTER-DAY SAINTS!!!!!
Oh my goodness, what joy I feel as I type that! I understand now better than ever what the Lord meant when He said that our joy would be great even in bringing just one soul to a knowledge of the truth. That is real.
As you can see, it was an exciting week in Paraguay! Here is a little background story that Kaitlin shared:
Friday evening, we passed by his house to take him to Hno. Britez' home for his last lesson before his baptism. We asked him how his day was, and he said, "Terrible. Really. It was a really, really bad day." We were kind of surprised by that, and we asked him what had happened. He told us that he had been talking to two of his classmates about the church (!!!! indicator of real conversion--that he's sharing what he knows with other people!!!!!), when his English teacher came up behind him and started telling him a lot of things about the church that weren't true. From what José told us, they are some of the craziest ideas I've ever heard of a person having about the church. They really confused José. He told us he wasn't sure what to believe, that he was just...confused. The Spirit whispered to me that we shouldn't try to explain away every doubt or question that had come up, but that rather, we should just get to Hno. Britez' house and continue with what we had planned; we had planned to read 3 Nephi 11 again, which is the first chapter he ever read from the Book of Mormon. So we got to the Britez' house, sang a hymn, said a prayer, and we started by explaining that tonight we were going to read a chapter together from the Book of Mormon. We explained that there wouldn't be a lot of talking or explaining in the process-that we were just going to read it verse by verse and listen--listen to the Spirit. And I tell you what...that was one of the most spiritual experiences I've had on my mission, without question. It was incredible. It was almost tangible, the Spirit that was felt during those few minutes. After the last verse was read, there was a moment of sweet silence, and then we asked, "How do you feel right now, José?" "Good," he said. "I feel really good." We then read the last two paragraphs of the introduction to the Book of Mormon, and we asked, "José, will you follow the example of Jesus Christ and be baptized tomorrow, to join the Kingdom of God that is on the earth again?" "Yes," he said. And that's all that was needed. A thousand missionaries don't have the power to convince anyone of the truthfulness of the gospel, not even if they use the most eloquent combination of words and explanations. But the soft, powerful, undeniable feelings given by the Spirit can. That is the key to true conversion. And the Spirit reaffirmed to José that this was the truth and that he was making the right decision. Wow. The Book of Mormon is true. It is powerful.
We love our girl, Kaitlin! We have a paper chain and every day one of the children removes a link--we are counting the days until she comes home!! But...we will miss these amazing Monday emails!
And now....I shall attempt to add pictures. The first one is of Kaitlin with her companions and Jose' just before his baptism. Kaitlin is in a threesome right now: Hermana Ramos and Hermana Cintas are her companions. The second picture is after Jose's baptism. Clara is also in the picture--Clare was baptized a few weeks ago. In Kaitlin's words "They are two of my most favorite people in the whole world!" The third picture is Kaitlin with the other trainers and new missionaries, and the fourth is Kaitlin and her companions.
Oh my goodness, what joy I feel as I type that! I understand now better than ever what the Lord meant when He said that our joy would be great even in bringing just one soul to a knowledge of the truth. That is real.
As you can see, it was an exciting week in Paraguay! Here is a little background story that Kaitlin shared:
Friday evening, we passed by his house to take him to Hno. Britez' home for his last lesson before his baptism. We asked him how his day was, and he said, "Terrible. Really. It was a really, really bad day." We were kind of surprised by that, and we asked him what had happened. He told us that he had been talking to two of his classmates about the church (!!!! indicator of real conversion--that he's sharing what he knows with other people!!!!!), when his English teacher came up behind him and started telling him a lot of things about the church that weren't true. From what José told us, they are some of the craziest ideas I've ever heard of a person having about the church. They really confused José. He told us he wasn't sure what to believe, that he was just...confused. The Spirit whispered to me that we shouldn't try to explain away every doubt or question that had come up, but that rather, we should just get to Hno. Britez' house and continue with what we had planned; we had planned to read 3 Nephi 11 again, which is the first chapter he ever read from the Book of Mormon. So we got to the Britez' house, sang a hymn, said a prayer, and we started by explaining that tonight we were going to read a chapter together from the Book of Mormon. We explained that there wouldn't be a lot of talking or explaining in the process-that we were just going to read it verse by verse and listen--listen to the Spirit. And I tell you what...that was one of the most spiritual experiences I've had on my mission, without question. It was incredible. It was almost tangible, the Spirit that was felt during those few minutes. After the last verse was read, there was a moment of sweet silence, and then we asked, "How do you feel right now, José?" "Good," he said. "I feel really good." We then read the last two paragraphs of the introduction to the Book of Mormon, and we asked, "José, will you follow the example of Jesus Christ and be baptized tomorrow, to join the Kingdom of God that is on the earth again?" "Yes," he said. And that's all that was needed. A thousand missionaries don't have the power to convince anyone of the truthfulness of the gospel, not even if they use the most eloquent combination of words and explanations. But the soft, powerful, undeniable feelings given by the Spirit can. That is the key to true conversion. And the Spirit reaffirmed to José that this was the truth and that he was making the right decision. Wow. The Book of Mormon is true. It is powerful.
We love our girl, Kaitlin! We have a paper chain and every day one of the children removes a link--we are counting the days until she comes home!! But...we will miss these amazing Monday emails!
And now....I shall attempt to add pictures. The first one is of Kaitlin with her companions and Jose' just before his baptism. Kaitlin is in a threesome right now: Hermana Ramos and Hermana Cintas are her companions. The second picture is after Jose's baptism. Clara is also in the picture--Clare was baptized a few weeks ago. In Kaitlin's words "They are two of my most favorite people in the whole world!" The third picture is Kaitlin with the other trainers and new missionaries, and the fourth is Kaitlin and her companions.
Monday, May 14, 2012
Catching Up...
It has been a very busy few weeks for our family so I have been slothful at catching up my missionaries' blogs. Here are a few excerpts from Kaitlin's last few emails!
We had interviews this week as well. I really love President Callan and his wife. I know they were called of God. President encouraged me to continue to develop attributes of Christ and work to live a consecrated life here in the mission and afterwards, and I'm committed to do it. A consecrated life is a happy life. I'm so grateful for the gospel. I had such a neat experience in church yesterday. I felt the Spirit so strongly in sacrament meeting, especially as the sacrament was being passed. The Spirit that can be felt in that sacred meeting weekly is a powerful evidence of the truthfulness of the gospel and of the reality that this is Christ's church. The Spirit felt in sacrament meetings, in the temple, and in the homes of faithful followers of Christ just can't be felt anywhere else. Pay attention to the Spirit and follow His promptings. And then share this gospel in whatever moment and in whatever small way you can so others can have the opportunity to feel it too.
I love my Savior. I love my Father in Heaven. I want nothing more than to serve Them and to return to their presence along with all of you.
And....
It's been a fabulous week! I just love the mission... It's my way of life now, and I'm not really sure how I'll function in the real world here in a couple of months. Thankfully, the Lord has answered my prayers and has really made it so I don't even think about the end of my mission. A lot of missionaries have a hard time focusing their last little while, but I am thankful that Heavenly Father is helping me in that department. It hasn't been a problem at all. I just love, love, LOVE to work as a missionary, and I continue to enjoy every minute of every day.
Hna. Ramos and I have a lot of fun together. She's hilarious. And she's hard-working. This week was an interesting one because we had a lot of rain come our way. We discovered some old rubber boots in the apartment (who knows how long they've been there) and tromped around in those, which caused plenty of laughs on our part. Gosh, it just feels good to get outside and work every day, no matter what the weather is like.
José is doing really well. We witnessed the coolest thing this week. Early in the week, I was reading an article from a Liahona by one of the seventy (Elder Kikuchi or something like that) that talks about the importance of having a morning devotional time...of reading the scriptures and praying and meditating every morning. He said that that's the formula to open the windows of heaven. Since José's difficulty has been receiving an answer, we invited him to get up early every morning and read the scriptures at that time, accompanied by prayer and reflection. And he said he would do it. And he has done it. It's incredible the visible change we can see in him...there is a light in his countenance now that wasn't there before. He is still afraid to accept an invitation to get baptized because he doesn't want to upset his mom, who is sick, as you know, and is not a fan of the church. But I know he'll come around. He hesitantly accepted the invitation to get baptized on the 5th of May. PRAY FOR HIM.
Note: Jose' did NOT get baptized May 5 because his mother withdrew her permission after pressure from her husband. But...
Saturday was a good day. We watched "Finding Faith in Christ" with José in Hno. Britez' house, and he really felt the Spirit. He expressed very openly his desire to be baptized, and he's excited. It's so wonderful to see his excitement! His mother said he could be baptized if he wanted to, so that's a miracle. We want him to talk to her one more time before his baptism to make sure she understands what he's going to do and that he'll be getting baptized this Saturday, because I don't think he told her that he had plans to get baptized this coming Saturday. But yes, we're excited.
We taught José on Tuesday with a young couple in our ward, Linda and Buenaventura Vera. They are just about the funniest little couple I've ever seen. I love them. He's a tall, quiet, humble man who struggles speaking Spanish (he grew up speaking only Guaraní). She is literally just 4 and a half feet tall, talkative, and sarcastic. They got married about 6 months ago. They are faithful, good people. Right now they're reading the Book of Mormon together as a couple, and she's helping him with his reading skills as they do so. They bore a sweet testimony a couple of sundays ago about the power of the Book of Mormon. Anyway, I am straying from the point a little. We taught José with them, and it was so funny. José and his family are still working on building their house, and we usually go up to the second level to share with him. It's beautiful up there...it's unfinished, so you can see the whole block and the trees and the sky, and it's just lovely. So we climbed up the stairs to share with him, and Linda started having a bit of a panic attack once she got up there. She clung to her husband during the entire lesson, and when it was time to go, she descended the stairs sitting down. Oh, how we laughed and laughed! She was laughing too.
A little description of some food.....um, yuck...
Friday we visited Clara and she taught us how to make mbejú, a typical Paraguayan food. Wow. Not diet food at all, that's for sure. I don't think I'll be making that one for you. It's just starch, butter, oil, and cheese, all mixed up and cooked in a frying pan.
Friendships formed...
Zone conference was also a neat experience because I was able to see Hna. Paipa. She walked in as we were practicing for the musical number (this was about 20 minutes before the conference started) and just threw her arms around me and started to cry. "I miss you so much!" she said. It was a sweet moment. I'm so grateful my Father in Heaven helped us really learn to love each other those last couple weeks together. She has changed so much. She's humble. At the end of zone conference, President Callan asked each one of us to bear a short testimony (there were about 50 missionaries present), and Hna. Paipa whispered, "I don't want to go up there...please tell me I don't have to go up there and bear my testimony..." but she did, of course, and the Spirit was very strong. Her health is doing well. The blessing Pres. Callan gave her that she'd be able to finish her mission strong is taking effect. I was also able to see Hna. Hubbard, which was also an incredible experience. I'm surprised at how deeply I love people here--my companions, the members, my investigators. It's neat.
Missionaries get to call home on Mother's Day so we got to talk to Kaitlin yesterday. She is so happy and so grateful for the experience she is having. She has 39 days to go! We can't wait until she comes home. She is excited, too, but she is not having a problem staying focused. She is, however, having a little problem speaking English.
We had interviews this week as well. I really love President Callan and his wife. I know they were called of God. President encouraged me to continue to develop attributes of Christ and work to live a consecrated life here in the mission and afterwards, and I'm committed to do it. A consecrated life is a happy life. I'm so grateful for the gospel. I had such a neat experience in church yesterday. I felt the Spirit so strongly in sacrament meeting, especially as the sacrament was being passed. The Spirit that can be felt in that sacred meeting weekly is a powerful evidence of the truthfulness of the gospel and of the reality that this is Christ's church. The Spirit felt in sacrament meetings, in the temple, and in the homes of faithful followers of Christ just can't be felt anywhere else. Pay attention to the Spirit and follow His promptings. And then share this gospel in whatever moment and in whatever small way you can so others can have the opportunity to feel it too.
I love my Savior. I love my Father in Heaven. I want nothing more than to serve Them and to return to their presence along with all of you.
And....
It's been a fabulous week! I just love the mission... It's my way of life now, and I'm not really sure how I'll function in the real world here in a couple of months. Thankfully, the Lord has answered my prayers and has really made it so I don't even think about the end of my mission. A lot of missionaries have a hard time focusing their last little while, but I am thankful that Heavenly Father is helping me in that department. It hasn't been a problem at all. I just love, love, LOVE to work as a missionary, and I continue to enjoy every minute of every day.
Hna. Ramos and I have a lot of fun together. She's hilarious. And she's hard-working. This week was an interesting one because we had a lot of rain come our way. We discovered some old rubber boots in the apartment (who knows how long they've been there) and tromped around in those, which caused plenty of laughs on our part. Gosh, it just feels good to get outside and work every day, no matter what the weather is like.
José is doing really well. We witnessed the coolest thing this week. Early in the week, I was reading an article from a Liahona by one of the seventy (Elder Kikuchi or something like that) that talks about the importance of having a morning devotional time...of reading the scriptures and praying and meditating every morning. He said that that's the formula to open the windows of heaven. Since José's difficulty has been receiving an answer, we invited him to get up early every morning and read the scriptures at that time, accompanied by prayer and reflection. And he said he would do it. And he has done it. It's incredible the visible change we can see in him...there is a light in his countenance now that wasn't there before. He is still afraid to accept an invitation to get baptized because he doesn't want to upset his mom, who is sick, as you know, and is not a fan of the church. But I know he'll come around. He hesitantly accepted the invitation to get baptized on the 5th of May. PRAY FOR HIM.
Note: Jose' did NOT get baptized May 5 because his mother withdrew her permission after pressure from her husband. But...
Saturday was a good day. We watched "Finding Faith in Christ" with José in Hno. Britez' house, and he really felt the Spirit. He expressed very openly his desire to be baptized, and he's excited. It's so wonderful to see his excitement! His mother said he could be baptized if he wanted to, so that's a miracle. We want him to talk to her one more time before his baptism to make sure she understands what he's going to do and that he'll be getting baptized this Saturday, because I don't think he told her that he had plans to get baptized this coming Saturday. But yes, we're excited.
We taught José on Tuesday with a young couple in our ward, Linda and Buenaventura Vera. They are just about the funniest little couple I've ever seen. I love them. He's a tall, quiet, humble man who struggles speaking Spanish (he grew up speaking only Guaraní). She is literally just 4 and a half feet tall, talkative, and sarcastic. They got married about 6 months ago. They are faithful, good people. Right now they're reading the Book of Mormon together as a couple, and she's helping him with his reading skills as they do so. They bore a sweet testimony a couple of sundays ago about the power of the Book of Mormon. Anyway, I am straying from the point a little. We taught José with them, and it was so funny. José and his family are still working on building their house, and we usually go up to the second level to share with him. It's beautiful up there...it's unfinished, so you can see the whole block and the trees and the sky, and it's just lovely. So we climbed up the stairs to share with him, and Linda started having a bit of a panic attack once she got up there. She clung to her husband during the entire lesson, and when it was time to go, she descended the stairs sitting down. Oh, how we laughed and laughed! She was laughing too.
A little description of some food.....um, yuck...
Friday we visited Clara and she taught us how to make mbejú, a typical Paraguayan food. Wow. Not diet food at all, that's for sure. I don't think I'll be making that one for you. It's just starch, butter, oil, and cheese, all mixed up and cooked in a frying pan.
Friendships formed...
Zone conference was also a neat experience because I was able to see Hna. Paipa. She walked in as we were practicing for the musical number (this was about 20 minutes before the conference started) and just threw her arms around me and started to cry. "I miss you so much!" she said. It was a sweet moment. I'm so grateful my Father in Heaven helped us really learn to love each other those last couple weeks together. She has changed so much. She's humble. At the end of zone conference, President Callan asked each one of us to bear a short testimony (there were about 50 missionaries present), and Hna. Paipa whispered, "I don't want to go up there...please tell me I don't have to go up there and bear my testimony..." but she did, of course, and the Spirit was very strong. Her health is doing well. The blessing Pres. Callan gave her that she'd be able to finish her mission strong is taking effect. I was also able to see Hna. Hubbard, which was also an incredible experience. I'm surprised at how deeply I love people here--my companions, the members, my investigators. It's neat.
Missionaries get to call home on Mother's Day so we got to talk to Kaitlin yesterday. She is so happy and so grateful for the experience she is having. She has 39 days to go! We can't wait until she comes home. She is excited, too, but she is not having a problem staying focused. She is, however, having a little problem speaking English.
Monday, April 9, 2012
Another "best week of my life!"
A wonderful email from Kaitlin came today. She said this was one of the best weeks of her life. Several investigators came to church and she has a few baptisms scheduled. Her companion, Hna Paipa, was transferred and Kaitlin got a new companion, Hna. Ramos from Honduras. They will work well together and are both very excited and happy. Here is an excerpt from Kaitin's email:
On Tuesday evening, the night before changes, Hna. Paipa and I received a knock on the door just as we had finished planning, which was odd. We opened the door, and a couple stood outside. They explained they were members visiting from Argentina, and the man told us that his brother lived just a block away and that we should visit him. So we set up an appointment for the next day. Wednesday, Hna. Ramos and I headed to the address they had given us not really knowing what to expect. Marco, the head of the family, invited us in and told us that he had made some mistakes in his life as a husband and as a father that were breaking up his family and that he wanted to change. His voice quivered as he told us that he had been talking with his brother and his wife, Miguel and Luci (the couple that knocked on our door the night before), and had decided to receive the discussions. Marco and his wife, Mirta, have seven children, four of which joined us that evening. Miguel and Luci were there as well, which was fantastic because Marco and MIrta were able to hear the testimonies of people they know and love. And I am telling you right now: that was the most spiritual lesson I've ever participated in during my mission. As we taught and testified of the Restoration of the gospel and how it could bless that sweet family, the Galloso family, there was literally not a dry eye in the room. A couple days later, we visited them again, and Marco had read everything we'd left with him in the Book of Mormon. He said he felt a peace he's never felt before as he reads the Book of Mormon and participates in the discussions. He and Mirta, as well as the two daughters that participated that evening (Maira, 11 years old, and Monserrat, 19 years old or so) all accepted the invitation to be baptized on the 28th of April. They all came to church on Sunday as well. The Spirit is real. The gospel is true. Our Father in Heaven cares for each of us so much and always, always allows things to happen in such a way that it will bless us most. We just need to trust in that. His ways are higher than our ways. Marco is actually leaving for Argentina this week with is brother to undergo treatment for alcoholics. He doesn't know when he'll be back, but I know his brother will continue to help him, and we'll be here helping the rest of his family, and I know they'll be baptized and sealed in the temple someday. I know it. This is an answer to a prayer I have offered since the beginning of my mission. I just wanted to find and help a family come to the gospel. And the Lord just handed it to me. Miracles really do happen in unexpected ways as we exercise faith and continue forward even when we're not sure what all our efforts are adding up to.
On Tuesday evening, the night before changes, Hna. Paipa and I received a knock on the door just as we had finished planning, which was odd. We opened the door, and a couple stood outside. They explained they were members visiting from Argentina, and the man told us that his brother lived just a block away and that we should visit him. So we set up an appointment for the next day. Wednesday, Hna. Ramos and I headed to the address they had given us not really knowing what to expect. Marco, the head of the family, invited us in and told us that he had made some mistakes in his life as a husband and as a father that were breaking up his family and that he wanted to change. His voice quivered as he told us that he had been talking with his brother and his wife, Miguel and Luci (the couple that knocked on our door the night before), and had decided to receive the discussions. Marco and his wife, Mirta, have seven children, four of which joined us that evening. Miguel and Luci were there as well, which was fantastic because Marco and MIrta were able to hear the testimonies of people they know and love. And I am telling you right now: that was the most spiritual lesson I've ever participated in during my mission. As we taught and testified of the Restoration of the gospel and how it could bless that sweet family, the Galloso family, there was literally not a dry eye in the room. A couple days later, we visited them again, and Marco had read everything we'd left with him in the Book of Mormon. He said he felt a peace he's never felt before as he reads the Book of Mormon and participates in the discussions. He and Mirta, as well as the two daughters that participated that evening (Maira, 11 years old, and Monserrat, 19 years old or so) all accepted the invitation to be baptized on the 28th of April. They all came to church on Sunday as well. The Spirit is real. The gospel is true. Our Father in Heaven cares for each of us so much and always, always allows things to happen in such a way that it will bless us most. We just need to trust in that. His ways are higher than our ways. Marco is actually leaving for Argentina this week with is brother to undergo treatment for alcoholics. He doesn't know when he'll be back, but I know his brother will continue to help him, and we'll be here helping the rest of his family, and I know they'll be baptized and sealed in the temple someday. I know it. This is an answer to a prayer I have offered since the beginning of my mission. I just wanted to find and help a family come to the gospel. And the Lord just handed it to me. Miracles really do happen in unexpected ways as we exercise faith and continue forward even when we're not sure what all our efforts are adding up to.
Saturday, March 31, 2012
Warning: Long Post Ahead!
I haven ever done this before, but I am posting Kaitlin's entire email because we loved it so much! So...it is verrry looooong.....but worth reading!
________________________________________________________________
Dear family,
Answers first:
1. How many members in your branch/ward? On the records, we apparently have enough members to build 4 chapels, but we only have around 70 attend on Sundays. I don't know how accurate that 4 chapels fact is...that's just what one member told us. But there are a LOT of inactives.
2. Where does the branch/ward meet? Is it a normal building, built by the church? Yep, it's a normal chapel. Almost all the chapels in Paraguay look alike. Have I not sent you a picture of one yet? I'm going to have to do that.
3. Tell us what a typical day is like. Was this question for Taylor? I'll answer it anyway... We get up at 6:30, exercise, get ready, and then study until 10:30 (the last half hour of that is language study, and Hna. Paipa has to study English so I'm trying to help her with that. She doesn't speak at all.) Then we go out and work until lunch, which is at 12 or 12:30. The members provide us with lunch every day. Then we work again until 9 at night. There's not much change in the schedule. But it's a great schedule.
4. What have you done on your p-days? Not much. There isn't too much to do here. Sometimes we go to the chapel and play the piano, since Hna. Paipa wants to learn. But mostly we just buy food, email our families, and study and sleep.
5. What is your apartment/place of dwelling like? I actually really like our apartment. I think I've already described it to you. I'm realizing now that except for the last question, these were probably for Taylor, haha.
6. Did your dwelling place pass inspection when Pres. and Sis. Callan came to see it? YEAH! They only said it was the cleanest apartment they've seen...no big deal. I will tell you, I have learned how to clean and how to appreciate cleanliness here on the mission. You wouldn't even believe it. Aren't you proud, Mom? No more messy rooms when I come home.
So I'm sorry I forgot to let you know that this week they changed our PDay to Tuesday because we went to the temple today. Ah, it was a lovely, lovely experience. I love the temple. I gained some sweet insights, and most of all, the Spirit I felt there is just rejuvenating. I know the temple is the House of the Lord. It's interesting riding in a clunky old bus for 45 minutes, looking out the window at the street vendors, the traffic jams, the tired faces, the smokers on the corner, people snacking on empanadas on the sidewalk, just all the busy-ness, and then walking into the House of the Father of us all and feeling such a profound peace. Today's experience really inspired me with an even greater desire to share the gospel with everyone.
This has possibly been one of the best weeks in the mission. I wrote soooo much in my journal this week, so what doesn't get recorded here, I'll share at some point with you all I'm sure. I enjoy sharing things I experience with those I love. Friday was a very spiritual day. The district leader came to give Clara her interview, which went well. Clara told us afterwards it was a very good experience, and Elder Beckett told us it was clear to him that she was very prepared. He and his companion had come the night before as well to interview Genaro, but Genaro hadn't shown up to church. So that night we went to look for him in the little one-room apartment he stays in above a mechanic shop. It's a loooong way from the church and took us a good half hour to walk there, and when we showed up, the workers at the mechanic shop told us he had left. So Friday, we passed by again with the elders, hoping to find him. We did find him, but we could smell alcohol on his clothes and figured he had been drinking the night before. Elder Beckett and he had a very long interview, and afterwards, Elder Beckett gave us the O-K, but he told us that he was pretty sure Genaro had been drinking the night before, but that he hadn't confessed anything. He told us to pass by again that day with Hno. Britez, a member who has really befriended Genaro these last few weeks, and try to get the truth out of Genaro and decide if he was really ready or not. So that evening, we passed by with Hno. Britez, and what followed was one of the most spiritual experiences I've had on my mission. The Lord just made so clear His will in that situation, for which I was so humbled. We sat down, and Hno. Britez asked Genaro how he had felt during his interview. Genaro unexpectedly told us that it had offended him greatly. He told us he was too mature, too smart, too experienced, too wise to sit down and "share with little kids." He said that for every question the Elder asked him, he asked the Elder 20 more. "I had that child dancing the tango," he said. Frankly, his pride started making me feel sick, and I knew in that moment that whether he had been drinking or not the night before, this man was not ready for baptism. We talked about humility, about priesthood authority, about becoming like a little child ourselves, but nothing changed him. Hna. Paipa and Hno. Britez took turns explaining and talking and answering and talking and explaining some more, and I felt like I was on a mental merry-go-round. I just kept silent and prayed because I didn't know what else to do. I just knew that Genaro couldn't be baptized tomorrow, but I didn't know how to justify that thought, how to explain it to him. Then, very distinctly, the thought came to me to look up the requirements for baptism in DyC 20:37. While the other three kept talking and talking, I looked the verse up, and was amazed at what I read. I've read that verse several times, but I had forgotten the first requirements listed: that a person come before God in humility, with a broken heart and a contrite spirit. Only then can they be baptized into His church. The Lord told me that while Genaro was making definite improvement, he hadn't yet acquired a broken heart or a contrite spirit. We needed more time to teach him the doctrine, and I felt the assurance of the Lord that as we did so, the doctrine would change his heart. I don't remember now all the words I told Genaro, but I testified to him that the Lord loved Him and that for his good, He needed to wait a little while before making the eternal covenant of baptism. Oh boy...my companion didn't like that very much. She told Genaro that I had no right to say what I had said, and that if he wanted to, he could get baptized the next day. But thankfully, the Lord testified to Genaro's heart as well that he needed to wait a little longer. So the date is now set for the 7th of april. I know that's the Lord's will.
Clara's baptism was beautiful. Oh, what a tender mercy of the Lord. The adversary tried to stop it a few times Saturday morning, but all obstacles were overcome, thanks to the help of the Lord. I had a very sweet experience just before the baptismal service started. I had started to worry a little because a few things hadn't turned out as planned, and there weren't many people present. I wondered if Clara would recognize the eternal significance of what she was about to do, even though the music might not be perfectly sung, only a few people would be present, and almost no one else in the whole world would ever know what was about to take place in a little brick chapel in Paraguay. But then I suddenly felt that even if the occasion appeared small and humble here on earth, even the angels in Heaven were rejoicing and celebrating the entrance of another child of God into the pathway that leads to His kingdom. I really felt the presence of the Spirit of the Lord that day, and I know Clara did too. As she left the waters of baptism, there was a smile on her face I'll never forget, and as I greeted her in the dressing room afterwards, we couldn't hold back the tears, the Spirit was so strong. That is always one of my favorite moments, the moment right after a person is baptized. The Spirit that is felt is undeniable. After her baptism, Clara bore one of the most powerful testimonies I've ever heard. She testified of Jesus Christ as her Savior, she testified of Joseph Smith as the Prophet of the Restoration, she testified of the Book of Mormon....it was incredible. Those weren't words just memorized and recited. We didn't give her those words. The Spirit did. And they were coming directly from her heart. Do you know what a miracle that is? A little over a month ago, she had no idea what the church even was. This work is REAL. I feel such a joy--one that can't be described--for having witnessed the process of true conversion in the life of Clara Franco.
There are also miracles happening in José's life. He is incredible. Not too long ago, he was still a little incredulous about everything, even though he came to church on Sundays, and wasn't very eager to say or do much. He just listened and attended church. But now he has questions. Now he participates in Sunday School. Now he comes to church of his own free will on Thursdays, when we have piano class and Ward Night. Last week when we asked him about baptism, he told us that he wouldn't get baptized unless God gave him an answer. We invited him to pray fervently to receive that answer, because up to that point, he hadn't been praying very sincerely. But last night we had a lesson with him, and I asked him, "Have you been thinking about baptism?" "Yes," he said. "Are you praying?" "Yes," came the answer again. "And what are you feeling?" "I don't know yet," he told me. "I was talking to that Clara lady who got baptized" (which is a BIG deal for José, who is super shy and never talks to anyone, so for us this was evidence that he is really searching, pondering and praying with real intent) "and she told me she only went to church 3 times before her baptism. I couldn't believe she had gotten baptized so fast, but she said she just felt like God had told her it was the right thing to do, so she went with it. Why is He taking so long to answer me?" he asked. Oh, I was so happy in that moment! Because he's really investigating the church with sincerity and humility! We had a sweet discussion last night, and he is determined to come to general conference both Saturday and Sunday. And when José says he'll do something, he does it. We're excited.
Well, that's about it for this week. I don't have much time today, due to the temple trip. But it was worth it. Next week's email will be longer. Really, this email doesn't convey very well the (awesomeness is the only word that comes to mind right now...)....the greatness of this week, but just believe me when I say that it changed my life. I love my Heavenly Father so much. I know in my heart and with all that I am that this is His church. His Son, Jesus Christ, is our Savior and Redeemer, and He invites us to partake of the blessings available to us through His atonement, blessings that come only as we accept and obey His commandments. But a life of obedience is not a life of slavery. It is a life of freedom. It is an abundant life, and one that leads us to reaching our eternal potential as children of God. We can live with Him again as families. I know it.
I love you all.
Kaitlin
________________________________________________________________
Dear family,
Answers first:
1. How many members in your branch/ward? On the records, we apparently have enough members to build 4 chapels, but we only have around 70 attend on Sundays. I don't know how accurate that 4 chapels fact is...that's just what one member told us. But there are a LOT of inactives.
2. Where does the branch/ward meet? Is it a normal building, built by the church? Yep, it's a normal chapel. Almost all the chapels in Paraguay look alike. Have I not sent you a picture of one yet? I'm going to have to do that.
3. Tell us what a typical day is like. Was this question for Taylor? I'll answer it anyway... We get up at 6:30, exercise, get ready, and then study until 10:30 (the last half hour of that is language study, and Hna. Paipa has to study English so I'm trying to help her with that. She doesn't speak at all.) Then we go out and work until lunch, which is at 12 or 12:30. The members provide us with lunch every day. Then we work again until 9 at night. There's not much change in the schedule. But it's a great schedule.
4. What have you done on your p-days? Not much. There isn't too much to do here. Sometimes we go to the chapel and play the piano, since Hna. Paipa wants to learn. But mostly we just buy food, email our families, and study and sleep.
5. What is your apartment/place of dwelling like? I actually really like our apartment. I think I've already described it to you. I'm realizing now that except for the last question, these were probably for Taylor, haha.
6. Did your dwelling place pass inspection when Pres. and Sis. Callan came to see it? YEAH! They only said it was the cleanest apartment they've seen...no big deal. I will tell you, I have learned how to clean and how to appreciate cleanliness here on the mission. You wouldn't even believe it. Aren't you proud, Mom? No more messy rooms when I come home.
So I'm sorry I forgot to let you know that this week they changed our PDay to Tuesday because we went to the temple today. Ah, it was a lovely, lovely experience. I love the temple. I gained some sweet insights, and most of all, the Spirit I felt there is just rejuvenating. I know the temple is the House of the Lord. It's interesting riding in a clunky old bus for 45 minutes, looking out the window at the street vendors, the traffic jams, the tired faces, the smokers on the corner, people snacking on empanadas on the sidewalk, just all the busy-ness, and then walking into the House of the Father of us all and feeling such a profound peace. Today's experience really inspired me with an even greater desire to share the gospel with everyone.
This has possibly been one of the best weeks in the mission. I wrote soooo much in my journal this week, so what doesn't get recorded here, I'll share at some point with you all I'm sure. I enjoy sharing things I experience with those I love. Friday was a very spiritual day. The district leader came to give Clara her interview, which went well. Clara told us afterwards it was a very good experience, and Elder Beckett told us it was clear to him that she was very prepared. He and his companion had come the night before as well to interview Genaro, but Genaro hadn't shown up to church. So that night we went to look for him in the little one-room apartment he stays in above a mechanic shop. It's a loooong way from the church and took us a good half hour to walk there, and when we showed up, the workers at the mechanic shop told us he had left. So Friday, we passed by again with the elders, hoping to find him. We did find him, but we could smell alcohol on his clothes and figured he had been drinking the night before. Elder Beckett and he had a very long interview, and afterwards, Elder Beckett gave us the O-K, but he told us that he was pretty sure Genaro had been drinking the night before, but that he hadn't confessed anything. He told us to pass by again that day with Hno. Britez, a member who has really befriended Genaro these last few weeks, and try to get the truth out of Genaro and decide if he was really ready or not. So that evening, we passed by with Hno. Britez, and what followed was one of the most spiritual experiences I've had on my mission. The Lord just made so clear His will in that situation, for which I was so humbled. We sat down, and Hno. Britez asked Genaro how he had felt during his interview. Genaro unexpectedly told us that it had offended him greatly. He told us he was too mature, too smart, too experienced, too wise to sit down and "share with little kids." He said that for every question the Elder asked him, he asked the Elder 20 more. "I had that child dancing the tango," he said. Frankly, his pride started making me feel sick, and I knew in that moment that whether he had been drinking or not the night before, this man was not ready for baptism. We talked about humility, about priesthood authority, about becoming like a little child ourselves, but nothing changed him. Hna. Paipa and Hno. Britez took turns explaining and talking and answering and talking and explaining some more, and I felt like I was on a mental merry-go-round. I just kept silent and prayed because I didn't know what else to do. I just knew that Genaro couldn't be baptized tomorrow, but I didn't know how to justify that thought, how to explain it to him. Then, very distinctly, the thought came to me to look up the requirements for baptism in DyC 20:37. While the other three kept talking and talking, I looked the verse up, and was amazed at what I read. I've read that verse several times, but I had forgotten the first requirements listed: that a person come before God in humility, with a broken heart and a contrite spirit. Only then can they be baptized into His church. The Lord told me that while Genaro was making definite improvement, he hadn't yet acquired a broken heart or a contrite spirit. We needed more time to teach him the doctrine, and I felt the assurance of the Lord that as we did so, the doctrine would change his heart. I don't remember now all the words I told Genaro, but I testified to him that the Lord loved Him and that for his good, He needed to wait a little while before making the eternal covenant of baptism. Oh boy...my companion didn't like that very much. She told Genaro that I had no right to say what I had said, and that if he wanted to, he could get baptized the next day. But thankfully, the Lord testified to Genaro's heart as well that he needed to wait a little longer. So the date is now set for the 7th of april. I know that's the Lord's will.
Clara's baptism was beautiful. Oh, what a tender mercy of the Lord. The adversary tried to stop it a few times Saturday morning, but all obstacles were overcome, thanks to the help of the Lord. I had a very sweet experience just before the baptismal service started. I had started to worry a little because a few things hadn't turned out as planned, and there weren't many people present. I wondered if Clara would recognize the eternal significance of what she was about to do, even though the music might not be perfectly sung, only a few people would be present, and almost no one else in the whole world would ever know what was about to take place in a little brick chapel in Paraguay. But then I suddenly felt that even if the occasion appeared small and humble here on earth, even the angels in Heaven were rejoicing and celebrating the entrance of another child of God into the pathway that leads to His kingdom. I really felt the presence of the Spirit of the Lord that day, and I know Clara did too. As she left the waters of baptism, there was a smile on her face I'll never forget, and as I greeted her in the dressing room afterwards, we couldn't hold back the tears, the Spirit was so strong. That is always one of my favorite moments, the moment right after a person is baptized. The Spirit that is felt is undeniable. After her baptism, Clara bore one of the most powerful testimonies I've ever heard. She testified of Jesus Christ as her Savior, she testified of Joseph Smith as the Prophet of the Restoration, she testified of the Book of Mormon....it was incredible. Those weren't words just memorized and recited. We didn't give her those words. The Spirit did. And they were coming directly from her heart. Do you know what a miracle that is? A little over a month ago, she had no idea what the church even was. This work is REAL. I feel such a joy--one that can't be described--for having witnessed the process of true conversion in the life of Clara Franco.
There are also miracles happening in José's life. He is incredible. Not too long ago, he was still a little incredulous about everything, even though he came to church on Sundays, and wasn't very eager to say or do much. He just listened and attended church. But now he has questions. Now he participates in Sunday School. Now he comes to church of his own free will on Thursdays, when we have piano class and Ward Night. Last week when we asked him about baptism, he told us that he wouldn't get baptized unless God gave him an answer. We invited him to pray fervently to receive that answer, because up to that point, he hadn't been praying very sincerely. But last night we had a lesson with him, and I asked him, "Have you been thinking about baptism?" "Yes," he said. "Are you praying?" "Yes," came the answer again. "And what are you feeling?" "I don't know yet," he told me. "I was talking to that Clara lady who got baptized" (which is a BIG deal for José, who is super shy and never talks to anyone, so for us this was evidence that he is really searching, pondering and praying with real intent) "and she told me she only went to church 3 times before her baptism. I couldn't believe she had gotten baptized so fast, but she said she just felt like God had told her it was the right thing to do, so she went with it. Why is He taking so long to answer me?" he asked. Oh, I was so happy in that moment! Because he's really investigating the church with sincerity and humility! We had a sweet discussion last night, and he is determined to come to general conference both Saturday and Sunday. And when José says he'll do something, he does it. We're excited.
Well, that's about it for this week. I don't have much time today, due to the temple trip. But it was worth it. Next week's email will be longer. Really, this email doesn't convey very well the (awesomeness is the only word that comes to mind right now...)....the greatness of this week, but just believe me when I say that it changed my life. I love my Heavenly Father so much. I know in my heart and with all that I am that this is His church. His Son, Jesus Christ, is our Savior and Redeemer, and He invites us to partake of the blessings available to us through His atonement, blessings that come only as we accept and obey His commandments. But a life of obedience is not a life of slavery. It is a life of freedom. It is an abundant life, and one that leads us to reaching our eternal potential as children of God. We can live with Him again as families. I know it.
I love you all.
Kaitlin
Wednesday, March 14, 2012
Ups and Downs
Kaitlin had a challenging week and I don't think she will mind my sharing this first paragraph, because to me it is such a great example of who she is---a young woman of great faith and charity and desire to be obedient.
"It's also been a little bit of a tough week because our companionship is not perfect. Let's just say that much. It's hard having spiritual experiences with Hna. Paipa, and when I try to remedy that situation as lovingly as I know how, she gets really defensive. She tells me I'm a fanatic because I try to be 100% obedient. She talks about home all the time. Bah. Really, it's not my ego I'm worried about at all; it's the fact that we need to work in unity, with the same goals and the same vision and the same vitality and the same enthusiasm, and that is not happening. I felt drained this week and I felt like I couldn't be myself and enjoy life and the mission like I want to. But as I was reflecting on the situation again this morning during my personal study, I read 2 Nephi 2:11 and it took on a sweet, personal meaning for me. Opposition is required if we are to grow. It is necessary if we are to be sanctified. So I'm very grateful, in that sense, that the Lord is allowing me to experience opposition's refining fire. I just hope and pray that I'm never an impediment in the Lord's work. He knows how badly I want to serve Him and serve Him well, and He is supportive of that and quick to forgive. I trust HIm and I repent when I sin, so I am at peace. I know He has a plan for me, and I know He has a plan for Eli and a plan for Clara. We just need to trust Him a little more and trust that in His own due time, miracles will happen and trials will be overcome.
José and Miguel are also progressing. I just love them. They are so great. Saturday we did a service project at their house. We headed over in the morning in work clothes, accompanied by our ward mission leader and two young men from the ward, to help them work on the house they're building. José was laying brick on the second floor as we approached, and his smile could be seen from a block away. It was so much fun. I feel so fulfilled and so at home when I'm working outside. We didn't do much--just mixed cement and hauled brick--but I loved every minute of it. I tried to take pictures, but my camera is dying and they didn't work out, which pretty much broke my heart. But it reminded me of the days gone by when we were working on the shed (I don't pretend to have contributed greatly to that project, but I still have a few memories of it), and of working in the garden with you all. By the way, Dad, trust me, I know what you mean when you say that you feel close to the Lord when you are close to the soil. I feel the same way. I'm so excited to work with you in the garden again. I miss it more than you probably know."
Well, I should reread that last part about how joyful it is to work in the garden with Kaitlin's siblings who get to experience that joy during Spring Break next week!
"It's also been a little bit of a tough week because our companionship is not perfect. Let's just say that much. It's hard having spiritual experiences with Hna. Paipa, and when I try to remedy that situation as lovingly as I know how, she gets really defensive. She tells me I'm a fanatic because I try to be 100% obedient. She talks about home all the time. Bah. Really, it's not my ego I'm worried about at all; it's the fact that we need to work in unity, with the same goals and the same vision and the same vitality and the same enthusiasm, and that is not happening. I felt drained this week and I felt like I couldn't be myself and enjoy life and the mission like I want to. But as I was reflecting on the situation again this morning during my personal study, I read 2 Nephi 2:11 and it took on a sweet, personal meaning for me. Opposition is required if we are to grow. It is necessary if we are to be sanctified. So I'm very grateful, in that sense, that the Lord is allowing me to experience opposition's refining fire. I just hope and pray that I'm never an impediment in the Lord's work. He knows how badly I want to serve Him and serve Him well, and He is supportive of that and quick to forgive. I trust HIm and I repent when I sin, so I am at peace. I know He has a plan for me, and I know He has a plan for Eli and a plan for Clara. We just need to trust Him a little more and trust that in His own due time, miracles will happen and trials will be overcome.
José and Miguel are also progressing. I just love them. They are so great. Saturday we did a service project at their house. We headed over in the morning in work clothes, accompanied by our ward mission leader and two young men from the ward, to help them work on the house they're building. José was laying brick on the second floor as we approached, and his smile could be seen from a block away. It was so much fun. I feel so fulfilled and so at home when I'm working outside. We didn't do much--just mixed cement and hauled brick--but I loved every minute of it. I tried to take pictures, but my camera is dying and they didn't work out, which pretty much broke my heart. But it reminded me of the days gone by when we were working on the shed (I don't pretend to have contributed greatly to that project, but I still have a few memories of it), and of working in the garden with you all. By the way, Dad, trust me, I know what you mean when you say that you feel close to the Lord when you are close to the soil. I feel the same way. I'm so excited to work with you in the garden again. I miss it more than you probably know."
Well, I should reread that last part about how joyful it is to work in the garden with Kaitlin's siblings who get to experience that joy during Spring Break next week!
Friday, March 2, 2012
4 months to go...
Kaitlin is not counting down, but we are! Just 4 months until she comes home. The time has gone by quickly. She is such a hard worker and the harder she works, the happier she is! Here are a few paragraphs from this week's email:
"Friday we taught a lot of lessons, which is always nice. I hate wasting time. I like working consistently and hard. It just feels really good. Dedication is a doorway to revelation and divine guidance I think. We found a lady named Antoliana who is very poor and rather uneducated, and as we sat down to teach her, I felt very deeply the reality of the love her Father in Heaven has for her. As we bore testimony of that love and that as a result of the love, He has restored all of the truth to the earth again, I felt the Lord's help. I felt the Spirit's presence, and I witnessed the message of the Restoration being carried unto her heart. It was a sweet experience. We'll go back tomorrow. Her daughter is a friend of Eli's, and we want to teach her as well.
Saturday we taught José and Miguel, and they both came to church again yesterday. They're good boys. Their father is really warming up to Hna. Paipa, so we need to talk to him about baptism again before she leaves. He's not such a fan of "Yankees," as he calls me. But I still like him. He's ridiculous, but there's something of good in him."
"Oh, by the way, on the 21st of February, I finished reading the Book of Mormon in Spanish for the first time. It was an incredible experience. I can testify that this book was written by prophets of God under the direction of the Holy Ghost. It contains the words of eternal life and leads the humble seeker of truth to Jesus Christ. The peace and satisfaction I feel as I read it, as well as the answers and direction for my life I've found within its pages, are undeniable witnesses to me of its truthfulness and of its divine origin. Because I read the Book of Mormon, I know that Christ lives. I know that He really did execute the Atonement and thereby conquered both sin and death. I know the reality of God's plan for us and that lasting happiness comes only as we are obedient to that plan. I am forever grateful for the impact of the Book of Mormon on my life."
"Friday we taught a lot of lessons, which is always nice. I hate wasting time. I like working consistently and hard. It just feels really good. Dedication is a doorway to revelation and divine guidance I think. We found a lady named Antoliana who is very poor and rather uneducated, and as we sat down to teach her, I felt very deeply the reality of the love her Father in Heaven has for her. As we bore testimony of that love and that as a result of the love, He has restored all of the truth to the earth again, I felt the Lord's help. I felt the Spirit's presence, and I witnessed the message of the Restoration being carried unto her heart. It was a sweet experience. We'll go back tomorrow. Her daughter is a friend of Eli's, and we want to teach her as well.
Saturday we taught José and Miguel, and they both came to church again yesterday. They're good boys. Their father is really warming up to Hna. Paipa, so we need to talk to him about baptism again before she leaves. He's not such a fan of "Yankees," as he calls me. But I still like him. He's ridiculous, but there's something of good in him."
"Oh, by the way, on the 21st of February, I finished reading the Book of Mormon in Spanish for the first time. It was an incredible experience. I can testify that this book was written by prophets of God under the direction of the Holy Ghost. It contains the words of eternal life and leads the humble seeker of truth to Jesus Christ. The peace and satisfaction I feel as I read it, as well as the answers and direction for my life I've found within its pages, are undeniable witnesses to me of its truthfulness and of its divine origin. Because I read the Book of Mormon, I know that Christ lives. I know that He really did execute the Atonement and thereby conquered both sin and death. I know the reality of God's plan for us and that lasting happiness comes only as we are obedient to that plan. I am forever grateful for the impact of the Book of Mormon on my life."
Tuesday, February 21, 2012
News from Paraguay
We received such a wonderful email from Kaitlin this week. Her Grandpa is right, Kaitlin has only one direction and that is UP. She is so happy, positive and faithful. She is loving her mission.
Since I haven't updated in awhile, here is some of the latest from our girl in Paraguay:
Kaitlin loves her companion , Hermana Paipa. Hermana Paipa, from Columbia,has graduated from college with a degree in pharmaceutical chemistry. Kaitlin says they are very different from each other but that makes life fun and they work well together.
Kaitlin is teaching a piano class every Thursday night and English classes on Saturdays and she is having fun with those.
She writes:
"Clara Franco is really progressing. We had an awesome lesson with her yesterday in which she told us she was quitting her job so she'd be able to come to church on Sundays, and she also accepted the invitation to be baptized on March 10th. "
"Another miracle this week: Luís. We have been teaching his neighbor, Graciela, for a few weeks, and last week he was there so we taught him as well. He seemed bright and interested in the gospel, but when we passed by again, he wasn't home. However, he showed up to the Ward Night on Thursday evening, just out of the blue! He participated in the spiritual thought we had at the beginning of the activity, and then he played soccer with the young men from the ward."
And this excerpt got me all teary:
"We continue to visit Miguel and José, and I think they're two of my favorites. They just have this spirit of goodness about them that I love, especially considering their difficult circumstances. They don't read a lot or really fast, but they're reading the Book of Mormon pretty consistently, and that's what matters. They came to the Ward Night on thursday, as well as the piano class beforehand, and they both have natural musical talent. They had fun playing soccer as well. And they both came to church on Sunday again. Oh, that darn father of theirs! I know he's a good person, deep, deep, deep down, but my word he is stubborn. And ridiculous. But nothing's impossible. We're praying for a miracle. When we went to visit them on Wednesday, I handed my Book of Mormon to Miguel so he could read a few verses, and a few minutes later, I noticed he had found the picture of you all that I keep in my scriptures and was looking at it. Pointing at one figure in the picture, he asked, "Is she your mom?" And as soon as he asked that, his two brothers said, in unison, "Hey, let me see!" It just about broke my heart. They didn't ask, "Is this your family?" or "Are these your parents?" but rather, "Is she your mom?" Their mother is very sick with epilepsy and a mental illness and is in the custody of her sister."
We pray for those boys and their Dad. What a hard life but I know, as Kaitlin does, that if they will all embrace the gospel they will find peace and comfort!
Kaitlin spoke of more miracles in the live of her investigators: Yolande and her mother, Rocio, Norma, Genardo, Ely, and Gustavo. and then:
"It's been such a great week! I just realized that anew after writing it all out...there are so many miracles that occur every day."
She ends with:
"I'm super happy. I just love the work. I love the gospel. It means everything to me...everything, everything, everything. I'm so excited to be a part of the building up of the kingdom of God my whole life, and then some. The gospel of Jesus Christ is true. He lives. Heavenly Father lives and loves us. I know that in a very personal way, mostly because I read the Book of Mormon and pray every day. There's no substitute for those two things when it comes to learning and gaining a testimony of truth. "
Since I haven't updated in awhile, here is some of the latest from our girl in Paraguay:
Kaitlin loves her companion , Hermana Paipa. Hermana Paipa, from Columbia,has graduated from college with a degree in pharmaceutical chemistry. Kaitlin says they are very different from each other but that makes life fun and they work well together.
Kaitlin is teaching a piano class every Thursday night and English classes on Saturdays and she is having fun with those.
She writes:
"Clara Franco is really progressing. We had an awesome lesson with her yesterday in which she told us she was quitting her job so she'd be able to come to church on Sundays, and she also accepted the invitation to be baptized on March 10th. "
"Another miracle this week: Luís. We have been teaching his neighbor, Graciela, for a few weeks, and last week he was there so we taught him as well. He seemed bright and interested in the gospel, but when we passed by again, he wasn't home. However, he showed up to the Ward Night on Thursday evening, just out of the blue! He participated in the spiritual thought we had at the beginning of the activity, and then he played soccer with the young men from the ward."
And this excerpt got me all teary:
"We continue to visit Miguel and José, and I think they're two of my favorites. They just have this spirit of goodness about them that I love, especially considering their difficult circumstances. They don't read a lot or really fast, but they're reading the Book of Mormon pretty consistently, and that's what matters. They came to the Ward Night on thursday, as well as the piano class beforehand, and they both have natural musical talent. They had fun playing soccer as well. And they both came to church on Sunday again. Oh, that darn father of theirs! I know he's a good person, deep, deep, deep down, but my word he is stubborn. And ridiculous. But nothing's impossible. We're praying for a miracle. When we went to visit them on Wednesday, I handed my Book of Mormon to Miguel so he could read a few verses, and a few minutes later, I noticed he had found the picture of you all that I keep in my scriptures and was looking at it. Pointing at one figure in the picture, he asked, "Is she your mom?" And as soon as he asked that, his two brothers said, in unison, "Hey, let me see!" It just about broke my heart. They didn't ask, "Is this your family?" or "Are these your parents?" but rather, "Is she your mom?" Their mother is very sick with epilepsy and a mental illness and is in the custody of her sister."
..and then some nice words to me from Kaitlin :)
We pray for those boys and their Dad. What a hard life but I know, as Kaitlin does, that if they will all embrace the gospel they will find peace and comfort!
Kaitlin spoke of more miracles in the live of her investigators: Yolande and her mother, Rocio, Norma, Genardo, Ely, and Gustavo. and then:
"It's been such a great week! I just realized that anew after writing it all out...there are so many miracles that occur every day."
She ends with:
"I'm super happy. I just love the work. I love the gospel. It means everything to me...everything, everything, everything. I'm so excited to be a part of the building up of the kingdom of God my whole life, and then some. The gospel of Jesus Christ is true. He lives. Heavenly Father lives and loves us. I know that in a very personal way, mostly because I read the Book of Mormon and pray every day. There's no substitute for those two things when it comes to learning and gaining a testimony of truth. "
Tuesday, January 31, 2012
New People, New Experiences
Kaitlin is doing well and enjoying her new area. She has introduced us to Yolanda, a sweet 17-year old girl who is scheduled for baptism this week. Miguel, age 12, who is determined not to follow the same path his older brothers have followed, has become a great example for them and is even getting them to read and pray together and attend church. Osmar, a wild and crazy guy who is enthusiastic about everything, has a pure heart and is eager to learn.
Kaitlin was thrilled to report that 7 of their investigators attended church. She teaches an English class once a week as well as a piano class.
(One of the church members), Hna. Segovia, is hilarious. I don't know her too well yet, but I know her well enough to know that I really like her. She's feisty! Her son just left on his mission this past week, and we asked her how he was doing, and she said, "Juan? Oh, I don't know. We haven't heard from him. I don't think about him." I was a little shocked, as you may imagine, and then she continued and explained that with every child who has left on a mission, she just has to pretend like they don't exist or else she misses them too much. So she doesn't talk about them to anyone, and she tries not to think about them. An interesting way to deal with a child being on a mission, but to each his own, I suppose. And it was funny...she asked me how long I had been here, and I told her, and then I said, "I don't want to leave!" And she got all mad and said, "I don't ever want to hear anyone say that they don't want to leave their missions! You people don't know what we mothers go through!" So then I had to explain to her that of course I want to return to my family, but the mission experience is so life-changing, so beautiful, and so short. It will just hurt to leave it.
(I, Kaitlin's mother, had to throw that last paragraph in, as I have said good-bye to two children. I know just how Hna. Segovia feels!)
Here are a couple of funny (are scorpions funny?) things Kaitlin shared:
"We have found 5 scorpions in our apartment in the past couple of days. Yep. Oh, let me tell you, it was not a joy. They're a lot smaller than I had pictured them, which is nice because they're easy to kill but not so nice because they hide easily as well. Hna. Paipa is soooo funny. Every time I found one, she screamed and jumped on a chair and had this seriously terrified look on her face, as though it were an anaconda or something. I try not to laugh at her because she's not the kind that likes to be laughed at. But I've slipped a couple times.
This morning was also funny. The alarm went off and I woke up, and as you may know, I'm not always 100% with it right after waking up. I looked at the phone and saw that we had missed five calls from a member the night before, and I said, "Hey, Hno. Bordón called us five times yesterday." "¿Cómo?" said Hna. Paipa. "I said Hno. Bordón called us five times yesterday." "¿Cómo, Hermana?" Then I answered rather loudly, "HNO. BORDÓN CALLED US FIVE TIMES YESTERDAY." Only then did I realize I was speaking in English, and poor Hna. Paipa had no idea what I was saying! We had a good laugh about that."
Kaitlin was thrilled to report that 7 of their investigators attended church. She teaches an English class once a week as well as a piano class.
(One of the church members), Hna. Segovia, is hilarious. I don't know her too well yet, but I know her well enough to know that I really like her. She's feisty! Her son just left on his mission this past week, and we asked her how he was doing, and she said, "Juan? Oh, I don't know. We haven't heard from him. I don't think about him." I was a little shocked, as you may imagine, and then she continued and explained that with every child who has left on a mission, she just has to pretend like they don't exist or else she misses them too much. So she doesn't talk about them to anyone, and she tries not to think about them. An interesting way to deal with a child being on a mission, but to each his own, I suppose. And it was funny...she asked me how long I had been here, and I told her, and then I said, "I don't want to leave!" And she got all mad and said, "I don't ever want to hear anyone say that they don't want to leave their missions! You people don't know what we mothers go through!" So then I had to explain to her that of course I want to return to my family, but the mission experience is so life-changing, so beautiful, and so short. It will just hurt to leave it.
(I, Kaitlin's mother, had to throw that last paragraph in, as I have said good-bye to two children. I know just how Hna. Segovia feels!)
Here are a couple of funny (are scorpions funny?) things Kaitlin shared:
"We have found 5 scorpions in our apartment in the past couple of days. Yep. Oh, let me tell you, it was not a joy. They're a lot smaller than I had pictured them, which is nice because they're easy to kill but not so nice because they hide easily as well. Hna. Paipa is soooo funny. Every time I found one, she screamed and jumped on a chair and had this seriously terrified look on her face, as though it were an anaconda or something. I try not to laugh at her because she's not the kind that likes to be laughed at. But I've slipped a couple times.
This morning was also funny. The alarm went off and I woke up, and as you may know, I'm not always 100% with it right after waking up. I looked at the phone and saw that we had missed five calls from a member the night before, and I said, "Hey, Hno. Bordón called us five times yesterday." "¿Cómo?" said Hna. Paipa. "I said Hno. Bordón called us five times yesterday." "¿Cómo, Hermana?" Then I answered rather loudly, "HNO. BORDÓN CALLED US FIVE TIMES YESTERDAY." Only then did I realize I was speaking in English, and poor Hna. Paipa had no idea what I was saying! We had a good laugh about that."
Thursday, January 19, 2012
A Change
In our weekly, wonderful email from Hermana Knapp, she informed us that she has left Ita Enramada and is now in La Floresta. The change was a little bit hard for her, she has grown to love the people of Ita Enramada so much. She told of how hard it was to say good-bye to the Ramirez, Gaonas, and Paniaguas families as well as Antonela and others. But change is good and La Floresta seems to be where she needs to be right now.
Here is Kaitlin's description of her new companion: "My new companion's name is Hna. Paipa. She's from Colombia--my first Latina companion! I'm excited about it. I've been praying for a Latina companion just for the experience and so I can really improve in my language abilities, and she's helping me. It's funny...I had heard a lot of not-so-pleasant things about her before coming here. And she herself told me when I arrived here that she has a tendency to "explode" sometimes. So I've been kind of walking on eggshells. But honestly, she is SO wonderful. She works super hard (hallelujah!), and she is teaching me a lesson I have desperately needed to learn my whole mission: how to be confident and bold. She tells people how it is. And they love and respect her. So I'm eternally grateful that I have the opportunity to learn that lesson from her while here. She's a feisty, fiery person, but I like that. She gets things done and she doesn't waste time."
Jan. 14 was Kaitlin's birthday and she got a great gift: "As you may imagine, my emotions have been just a little out of whack lately--just jumbled around with the last change. I can't let myself think too much about Ita Enramada or I get distracted and sometimes a little teary. And I certainly wasn't expecting a certain surprise yesterday as I walked into the chapel. As I was walking towards the chapel doors, I saw a familiar face sitting there, looking at me and smiling. It was Vanesa Britez. As they say here in Paraguay, "me quedé ahí con la boca abierta." I couldn't believe it. We hugged and failed at holding back tears, and she told me, "Felíz Cumpleaños, Hermana!" It was sweet. And it actually helped me have some closure, so I haven't been as distracted since that little surprise, believe it or not. It was the best birthday present ever."
We love Kaitlin and miss her! Yet the time has gone by pretty fast and we look forward to another trip to the airport at the end of June to welcome her home! Her brother Taylor left for his mission last week. We have created a blog for his mission and this can be found at starsi-knapp.blogspot.com.
Here is Kaitlin's description of her new companion: "My new companion's name is Hna. Paipa. She's from Colombia--my first Latina companion! I'm excited about it. I've been praying for a Latina companion just for the experience and so I can really improve in my language abilities, and she's helping me. It's funny...I had heard a lot of not-so-pleasant things about her before coming here. And she herself told me when I arrived here that she has a tendency to "explode" sometimes. So I've been kind of walking on eggshells. But honestly, she is SO wonderful. She works super hard (hallelujah!), and she is teaching me a lesson I have desperately needed to learn my whole mission: how to be confident and bold. She tells people how it is. And they love and respect her. So I'm eternally grateful that I have the opportunity to learn that lesson from her while here. She's a feisty, fiery person, but I like that. She gets things done and she doesn't waste time."
Jan. 14 was Kaitlin's birthday and she got a great gift: "As you may imagine, my emotions have been just a little out of whack lately--just jumbled around with the last change. I can't let myself think too much about Ita Enramada or I get distracted and sometimes a little teary. And I certainly wasn't expecting a certain surprise yesterday as I walked into the chapel. As I was walking towards the chapel doors, I saw a familiar face sitting there, looking at me and smiling. It was Vanesa Britez. As they say here in Paraguay, "me quedé ahí con la boca abierta." I couldn't believe it. We hugged and failed at holding back tears, and she told me, "Felíz Cumpleaños, Hermana!" It was sweet. And it actually helped me have some closure, so I haven't been as distracted since that little surprise, believe it or not. It was the best birthday present ever."
We love Kaitlin and miss her! Yet the time has gone by pretty fast and we look forward to another trip to the airport at the end of June to welcome her home! Her brother Taylor left for his mission last week. We have created a blog for his mission and this can be found at starsi-knapp.blogspot.com.
Sunday, January 1, 2012
Back again, after a brief hiatus....
We are slothful bloggers, I'm afraid! Sorry about that...
Kaitlin continues to work hard, be happy, and love her mission. At 3:50 p.m. on Christmas I (Kaitlin's mom) took possession of the phone so I would be the one to answer it at 4:00 when Kaitlin was to call. It rang right on the dot, and I can't express how wonderful it was to hear her voice after all these months! We vowed not to cry and we didn't...much. The whole family loved talking with her--it was the best part of our Christmas. She said she never stops sweating--the temperatures have been around 112 degrees lately. She told one of the children that she sees a lot of toucans, she and her companion get along well and they have some great investigators. We were happy she and Taylor got some time to talk before he leaves.
Here is a little excerpt from the email we received from her on the 26th. She tells a little bit about how she spent her Christmas:
Kaitlin continues to work hard, be happy, and love her mission. At 3:50 p.m. on Christmas I (Kaitlin's mom) took possession of the phone so I would be the one to answer it at 4:00 when Kaitlin was to call. It rang right on the dot, and I can't express how wonderful it was to hear her voice after all these months! We vowed not to cry and we didn't...much. The whole family loved talking with her--it was the best part of our Christmas. She said she never stops sweating--the temperatures have been around 112 degrees lately. She told one of the children that she sees a lot of toucans, she and her companion get along well and they have some great investigators. We were happy she and Taylor got some time to talk before he leaves.
Here is a little excerpt from the email we received from her on the 26th. She tells a little bit about how she spent her Christmas:
Friday and Saturday were super fun. We went caroling with the elders and a member on Friday in the elders' area, and there's a gal that lives in their area named Lilian that I think we're going to start teaching. She's 25-ish, and her landlord is a member, and he said that it would be better if sisters visited her. We all sang to her, and then Hna. Sorensen and I took down her number. We'll visit her this week as well. Her landlord, Pablo Duce, is incredible. He's really sick and sometimes can't walk very well (and he's only in his 40s), but he does what he can when he can. He has shared the gospel with all his close neighbors. He insisted on coming with us to carol to his neighbors that day, and he taught them the gospel boldly and without apologies. Every time we've been to his house, there's some young man from the ward over there talking with him...he's just a really great support for everyone, and a huge example to me. The people here are inspiring.
We caroled on Saturday as well, this time in our area, and we were able to visit a lot of people. Hna. Sorensen and I baked these little banana breads (not your recipe, Mom, because brown sugar doesn't exist in Paraguay...isn't that tragic? So we kind of made up a recipe, which is why they didn't turn out scrumptious, but they were edible. One might even say they were kind of good. But not really good.) that we took around to investigators and to members as we caroled. It was fun. Saturday it really cooled down quite a lot. Friday it was about 112 degrees outside plus humidity Saturday and Sunday were cloudy and fresquito, so that was nice. After caroling and sharing spiritual thoughts all day, we went to the Gaona Family, who invited us over for Christmas Eve about three months ago. We made tamales, an asado (basically roast beef) with sausage, and a couple salads, as well as the traditional Christmas drink of Paraguay, "clericó," which generally consists of fruit cut into little cubes and wine, but instead of wine, we used orange pop. It was pretty tasty. I think I would have preferred juice over pop, but still...yummy. The meal ended with ice cream, which, by the way, is much better here than it is in the States. It was fun. Paraguayans adopted the christmas tree tradition from the U.S., but more "paraguayan" is the nativity scene. Every home has a nativity set with fruit all around it (bananas, watermelon, cantaloupe, and pineapple) and the coconut flower, which has a very distinct smell. Mmm. I liked my Paraguayan Christmas.
Monday, November 14, 2011
Questions Answered...
We asked Kaitlin a few questions and here are the answers she sent. You'll have to guess what the questions were....
1. The weather is hot, hot, hot, and humid, humid, humid. Poor Hermana Sorensen doesn't quite know what to do with herself. The backs of her hands sweat even. Thankfully, my body has adapted quite nicely. But it's still...adventurous at times, we'll say. Whenever I take my backpack off, you can easily tell where the straps were, thanks to the sweat marks on my shirt. But I love it. The flowers are all out now, and it just looks like a paradise really. But yeah, it's about 95 degrees or so generally.
2. The city I'm in right now is called Lambaré, and it's a little smaller than Manhattan I think. I'm not sure, really...they all kind of blend together, the cities. But it's about a half hour by bus from Asunción.
3. Yes, there are stores and shops and restaurants. There's a "despensa" in about every block. A despensa is a mini grocery store. It has everything, just not much of it, so everyone goes to despensas during the week to buy things, but then about once a week they go to the regular grocery store. There are a couple bakeries here as well, and a couple clothing shops. But they're not super classy. It's kind of fun, though, because in Paraguay if you want to start a business, you just find a spot and start one. So a lot of people just open little shops to try to make money, but a lot of the products aren't very quality. But it's kind of fun.
4. As far as paved roads go, it depends on what area you're in. In the country, I don't think any roads are paved. In my last area, Leopardi, just the two main streets were paved, and the rest were just calles pedradas, which are just rock roads. In this area, there are a few paved roads as well--more than in Leopardi--but the majority are rock roads. Cobblestone! That's the word I was looking for. Sheesh, I can't speak english anymore.
5. Yes, we always see mules/horses pullling carts. That is a very frequent sight.
6. I sing all the time. I think my companions get bugged by it. So I've tried to mellow it out a little, haha. And yes, we sing a hymn before almost every lesson. I love music! The Spirit's always stronger when we've sung a hymn.
7. No. You silly people. Like I would ever dance in front of a mirror.
8. You better believe it. I do my excited fingers after many lessons and every night when we come back to the house. Missionary work makes me excited.
9. YEP! By now, I probably have about 45 of them. They multiply, you know.
10. Well, I'll just tell you what a few of the investigators/members do. It's really varied, like it is in the U.S., and there are many levels of prosperity. For example, our bishop is an architect. He actually works for the church in making plans and building chapels in southern South America. I know a few lawyers and a policeman. There are a couple high school teachers. The collectivo system is one source of work for the people here. Everyone takes collectivos (just public busses) to and from work, home, the store, etc. One of the counselors in the bishopric drives a collectivo. There are a lot of factories here--clothes factories, beer factories, etc.--that many people work in. Lots of people open up despensas. And the poor, poor people (many of the people who live in Yukyty, for example) walk the streets every day with big bins-on-wheels collecting plastic or rubber to sell.
Thanks for the questions! I hope my answers were sufficient.
Monday, October 24, 2011
Our favorite!
I am posting again today because I forgot about a funny incident in Kaitlin's e-mail from a weeks ago. I'll let her tell it in her own words:
Wednesday evening we were planning on teaching a man named José Dominguez, an old investigator that's been to church four or five times. We made contact with him earlier in the week, and we were excited to teach him. When we got there, a man that looked just like José walked out and told us that he was José's twin and that José wouldn't be back for awhile but had left the message that we could pass by another day. Well, we weren't buying that. Paraguayans have a way of making up some crazy stories just to avoid telling you "no". When we asked him what his name was, he said, "My name's José Domingo Dominguez too, but they call him José and they call me Domingo." Uh huh. We walked away a little disappointed. Hna. Hubbard's theory was that in his old age (he's over 60...not that old, but still), he had developed a dual personality. It was kind of funny.
Later, on Sunday, Kaitlin and her companion were hurrying to church. They needed to get there because Kaitlin was supposed to speak. However, they had some things happen on the way to church and they ended up getting there late. Kaitlin still wasn't sure what she was going to speak about, so she was feeling a little stressed. Here is what she said:
I realized that Hno. Leguizamón was finishing up, and I had no idea what I was going to say for the last ten minutes of the meeting. When the Bishop announced my name, I had a mini panic attack inside, but the Lord answered my prayer. "Testimony" was the word that came to mind. "Talk about testimony." So I did. I tell you, I don't even remember too well what I said. I remember I shared an experience I had with bearing my testimony to a friend as a teenager. I remember I shared Alma 32:17, 27-28 and talked a little bit about how to gain a testimony. But I don't remember much more of what I said. I do remember I was emotional. I do remember feeling a lot of love for the ward. I do remember that the chapel was quiet. I do remember hearing myself express truth with a fluidity that I definitely do not possess, especially in the Spanish language. And I do remember looking over at the doorway five minutes before my talk ended and seeing José Dominguez and his twin, Domingo, both walk in, smiling and waving at me. That was the Lord's doing. That was a miracle. That sacrament meeting was an answer to prayer.
That is probably our favorite mission story to date!
Time Flies!!
Sorry we are not very punctual posters.
Kaitlin continues to love her service in Paraguay. Her weekly e-mails elicit excitement, laughter and sometimes a few tears around here. We love that girl and miss her so much!
Here are a couple of excerpts from a recent letter:
Let's see...I'll just give a brief day-by-day review I think. Monday we climbed Cerro Lambaré (this big hill in our area...it's the tallest hill for miles, and it's not even that tall) with Antonela. She's so dang funny. She told us to bring a lot of water and to wear really comfortable shoes because it was a really arduous hike. In reality, it took us about 12 minutes to climb up (she did have to stop and rest once), and she wore flip-flops. Funny. Paraguayans have a way of exaggerating, and I just love them for it.
Saturday was another day of torrential rain. My goodness. It was ridiculous--harder than the one two weeks ago. It started raining during our studies that morning, and by the time we left the house, it was coming down hard. Thankfully I found an old bright green poncho in our apartment, and I had no shame in putting it on. I looked like a giant green monster, but I kept halfway dry, and that's all I was worried about. It was rather comical. People sure get a kick out of watching us trudge through knee-deep water on the streets.
The "conference" Kaitlin was referring to is the General Conference of the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints. It is broadcast worldwide over television, internet, and satellite twice each year, in April and October. If you are curious about it, go to lds.org and click on October 2011 General Conference. You will find lots of motivational and uplifting messages.
Kaitlin continues to love her service in Paraguay. Her weekly e-mails elicit excitement, laughter and sometimes a few tears around here. We love that girl and miss her so much!
Here are a couple of excerpts from a recent letter:
Let's see...I'll just give a brief day-by-day review I think. Monday we climbed Cerro Lambaré (this big hill in our area...it's the tallest hill for miles, and it's not even that tall) with Antonela. She's so dang funny. She told us to bring a lot of water and to wear really comfortable shoes because it was a really arduous hike. In reality, it took us about 12 minutes to climb up (she did have to stop and rest once), and she wore flip-flops. Funny. Paraguayans have a way of exaggerating, and I just love them for it.
Saturday was another day of torrential rain. My goodness. It was ridiculous--harder than the one two weeks ago. It started raining during our studies that morning, and by the time we left the house, it was coming down hard. Thankfully I found an old bright green poncho in our apartment, and I had no shame in putting it on. I looked like a giant green monster, but I kept halfway dry, and that's all I was worried about. It was rather comical. People sure get a kick out of watching us trudge through knee-deep water on the streets.
After buying ingredients, making phone calls, and contacting a few people, we got to the chapel five minutes before conference was to begin. It was still pouring, and they were having trouble finding the signal. For a solid hour, the satellite didn't work. No one was in the chapel except about 14 missionaries a couple members, and the screen was blank. I prayed a lot inside, and I knew every other missionary was praying as well, but I kept thinking we should all pray together. I didn't really pay attention to that prompting like I should have, but after a few minutes, the zone leaders walked over to us and told us we were all going to go to another room for a minute. We all walked out of the chapel and into a sunday school room, and Elder Piriz (my old district leader...he's now my zone leader!) said both he and his companion received the impression to say a prayer all together. We all kneeled down, and an elder who's only been in Paraguay for two months offered a beautiful prayer. The Spirit was so sweet in that little room. We walked into the chapel again together, and just as we did so, Elder José Alonso of the Seventy came up onto the screen. I mean, it was the very second we walked into the chapel. It was such a tender mercy, and a very real answer to prayer. How grateful I am for Heavenly Father who loves each one of His children so much.
The "conference" Kaitlin was referring to is the General Conference of the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints. It is broadcast worldwide over television, internet, and satellite twice each year, in April and October. If you are curious about it, go to lds.org and click on October 2011 General Conference. You will find lots of motivational and uplifting messages.
Thursday, August 18, 2011
Kaitlin's reaction to her brother Taylor's mission call to the Czech Prague Mission...
WHOOOOAAAAAAHHHHHH!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!! Can I even describe how excited I am for Taylor?! No, I cannot. Taylor, you will be the most stellar of stellar missionaries.
Miracles
Last week and the beginning of this one were a little bit slow; we were experiencing a bit of a slump, but we weren't discouraged because I have certainly learned that "slumps" often precede miracles. But you can't just sit and wait for the miracles to happen. You have to evaluate yourself and pray and figure out what needs to be done to show greater faith in the Lord and greater diligence to His work. Hna. Hubbard and I decided that we'd take seriously the counsel to talk to everyone, and that we'd teach in every single opportunity that arose. We made this resolve on Friday night with the resolve to crawl into bed dog tired on Sunday because we had worked so hard Saturday and Sunday. And that's just what happened. Monday through Friday, we only taught 20 lessons, which is very few for us, but we prayerfully decided that meeting the mission goal of 40 lessons a week was still possible if we did our part, so we just talked to everyone and taught a ton of lessons Saturday and Sunday and ended the week with 41 lessons and 12 new investigators, plus several contacts we made who didn't have time at the moment to share with us, but whom we are going to contact again because we felt that the Spirit really led us to them. Wow. It was so neat. The Lord works in miraculous, beautiful ways, if we will just do the little that He asks of us. Miracles are real, and they are borne of faith.
Speaking of miracles, I'll give you a few in detail. Last Monday night as we looked at our schedule for Tuesday, we realized we didn't have many set appointments at all, which was weird. That usually isn't a huge issue, and it was weird that we didn't realize it until Monday night. So we decided to work an area that we don't work very often and went to bed, not knowing what would lie ahead of us the next day. The next morning, we got a call from the relief society president, who told us that a young mother had just been abandoned by her husband and was left with two little children. This young mother was falling into a really serious state of depression and needed immediate help, and we were able to go and be with her and clean her house and help her with her kids for the majority of the day. I know that the Lord knew she needed us that day, and I know He provided a way that we would have the time she so desperately needed.
Thursday we found a woman named Digna who just lost her son to a brain aneurism a year ago. We taught her the Plan of Salvation, and the Spirit was so strong. She accepted an invitation to be baptized.
Friday was a huge miracle as well. The night before, we had ran into a menos activo named Mariela and asked if we could pass by to visit her sometime. She said yes, and the next day we passed by her house. I could not remember her name for the life of me, and I hadn't written it down anywhere, but I kept thinking it was Mariana. So we clapped outside her door and then heard this woman's voice, "Who's there?" We told her we were the missionaries and if Mariana was there. She said, "Yeah, that's me." Then she opened the door. When I saw it was someone different, I was a little confused, but as we talked I realized that she was a friend of Mariela's and that she and her husband lived there as well (not in the same house...they're two "piezas" right next to each other. Pieza just means "room," or "super small apartment"). Mariela wasn't there, so we taught Mariana, and she liked it a lot. Coincidence that the only name I could think of was Mariana and then a Mariana really lived there? Definitely not. That was the hand of the Lord.
Wednesday, July 27, 2011
The Many Blessings of Serving a Mission
Kaitlin is not only sharing the gospel, but learning from those she is teaching.
Wednesday was pretty normal (and normal in the mission means wonderful); nothing out of the ordinary. Every once in awhile we do service by helping one of our investigators study for her exams. She's studying to be a lawyer. We read her a paragraph from the text, and then she explains what it said. Teaching really helps you learn, you know, so it's been a big help for her, plus it's helped us improve in our Spanish abilities. You know, it's so incredible to look at just how many aspects of my life are being blessed by serving a mission. Before my mission I wasn't as dedicated a student as I should have been. I know that. And little by little, my confidence in my ability to study well and get excellent grades deteriorated. But I've been inspired by many examples of dedicated students here in Paraguay. This lady, Estelvina, works full-time and then comes home every night and studies for hours until she goes to bed. And she does it cheerfully. There's a lot of people like that here, really, and partly as a result of their example, I've determined to be a better, more dedicated student when I return.
Kaitlin is working with quite a few people who are investigating the church. One of them is Sani...
Kaitlin and Hermana Little, her companion, are also teaching the Gaona family, whom they are growing to love.
We also taught the family Gaona again. They're the ones with the autistic boy. I think they're on the road to change. Oftentimes, change doesn't happen immediately, but yes, I think they're getting there. We have another appointment with them on Friday. They are so kind to us. After the lesson, Hna. Gaona called us into the kitchen, where she had prepared a very lovely dinner of pasta and chorizo, mandioca, and strawberry juice. Delicious.
Kaitlin's faith and steadfastness are a blessing to us, her family.
Well, that's about it. I love this gospel. My testimony is the most treasured possesion I have. We are so blessed to have a knowledge of God's perfect plan for us, based on eternal, unchanging truths that lead to eternal happiness. This gospel is a reality.
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