It's a Girl

Hello family and friends!

Sister Lundquist and I are the proud recipients of a white, 2014 Chevy Cruze!! Her name is Zoe :) We received the good news via phone call Friday afternoon. We were told to be at the Stake Center in a half hour so we found a member who could take us and we went and picked it up! It felt so wonderful to drive home. It came just in time too; this weekend was a bit stormy. Everyone around here says they've never seen a fall this beautiful! We joke that they benefited from the Lord blessing us with nice weather while we were on bike. And now that we're not on bike, the rains are coming! Every time it has rained or we've gone up a hill these past few days we've counted our blessings :) I was on bike three days shy of nine weeks! 

We had a great week!! (As usual) It started out very fun with a trip to Portland on Monday. We went sightseeing with a member who knows the area really well. Our first stop was Voo-Doo Doughnut (hopefully you received my post card :)). We then took some pictures by the "Keep Portland Weird" sign and walked around all the food carts. We then went to Powell's bookstore. It was fun to see, even though we couldn't open any of the books. We ate lunch at a place called Little Big Burger; it's a fantastic little burger place with delicious fries. After lunch we stopped at a few quaint little shops, including Anthropologie. Sister Lundquist and I each bought a matching, adorable, hand-made bowl. It's the perfect oatmeal bowl! (Our other bowls are rather small and the oatmeal overflows in the microwave.) I'd love for this to become a tradition with each companion--to buy something matching. (Sister Porter and I have matching rain jackets.)

Monday night we followed up with R, J, and N regarding their thoughts on the visitors center. It was a quick doorstop visit with R  but we asked her if she had any questions. She said she knew she had some but she couldn't  remember them at the moment. We told her she could ask us any question anytime and we set up a return teaching appointment for Saturday. The next day, she texted us saying that she had some warm banana bread if we wanted some so we stopped by their home that night as well. She invited us in and we ended up talking about the temple for a half an  hour! She confessed that the banana bread was her alibi to have us come and talk with them ;) Haha. Since I'm already talking about them, I'll just tell you how our Saturday teaching visit went. We had a wonderful lesson!! R is becoming so studious! She had with her a study journal and had highlighted many verses from throughout the Book of Mormon (she's never highlighted it before, even though we suggested it several times). On Monday we had left her with a reading assignment and she said when she was reading upstairs she couldn't remember the assigned portion and didn't want to go downstairs to get the piece of paper so she just read where she thought she was supposed to from memory. She loved what she read and found out later that day that she had, in fact, read the wrong chapter. She told us she knows that wasn't a coincidence :) My favorite part though was that she said she also read the last chapter of Moroni. Her words were, "I had to know how the Book of Mormon ends!" Hahaha. It was a breakthrough with J too!! You see, he usually sits on the couch while we're at the table with R but this time he joined us and was a full participant-bible in hand! He asked questions, made comments and said he's curious!! Miracle :) We taught about the difference between the power and gift of the Holy Ghost. It was a neat discussion! They are SO close to being baptized!! It's wonderful to see them progressing again. Unfortunately, they didn't come to church. R said she doesn't own a skirt and we told her it would be fine if she wore slacks but I think that's the reason she didn't come. She did say that she wanted to go buy one though. We'll get to see them for sure on Wednesday because they signed up to feed us dinner!! :) We left them with daily reading assignments from the Book of Mormon. It was a pretty cute idea too; we made seven envelopes each with their respective day written on the outside. Each day has a theme and a cute little object inside. Example: Friday has a small rock inside with the scripture Helaman 5:12. R also gave us each a cute bookmark for our scriptures :) She's so sweet! 

Wednesday we had another great lesson with B! He knew the members present from high school! (It turns out that a lot of people from the Woodhaven ward went to the same high school in Lake Oswego) We talked about keeping the Sabbath day holy and the importance of the sacrament. The spirit was strong and you could tell he was wanting to change. After the lesson, we walked out of the room we were in at the church just as the scouts were getting through with their activity. B was able to meet many ward members!! We have yet another lesson set up for this Wednesday. He's our most faithful 'investigator'! We're planning to teach the Restoration. 

On Thursday night Brother P was stuck at work and had to cancel on us last minute. We asked the couple we had dinner with if they could go with us to the teaching appointment. They agreed and drove us over there. When we got to the door, we found a note. It said: "Dear Friends, I didn't have your contact information, to alert you that I had business that must be completed tonight. Yes, I am literally working 70+ hours a week. Crazy, but it won't be this way for long. It is my sincere desire to meet with you. If you wish, please leave your contact information for later rescheduling. In His name, N." What a kind apology! 

We had our second lesson with Chris on Friday in the L's home. We taught the Plan of Salvation and he said it answered many questions he's been having! Brother L was able to tell his conversion story and he's becoming great friends with the family. We talked a lot about baptism but didn't invite him (the spirit didn't prompt us to) We have another lesson set up this week--same time, same place. We texted him later that night and told him that he could ask us any questions whenever. He said he would and that he was reading some more out of the book we gave him last time. We textified (testified over text--Sister Lundquist and I coined that term ;)) of the importance of the Book of Mormon and receiving a witness that it's true. He replied, "Yeah, a lot of this stuff is making sense. It helps having you guys explain it to me though so I can understand it better. Hopefully I can get closer to Him as time goes on." We're planning to commit him to baptism this week. We also brought up the idea of the singles ward with him and he said he likes the traditional family ward but that he'd attend the singles ward at least once to see what it's like. It would probably be a better fit for him; he's kind of out of place in a family ward. But everything will work out how it's supposed to, I'm sure! What's most important is lasting conversion and retention. 

On Friday morning we helped the L with yard work. Weeding can be fun and satisfying. We also took care of the many leaves in their backyard. I'll attach some pictures if I remember. She fed us some delicious soup for lunch! She's going to give us the recipe. Speaking of which, I'm making a mission cook book! I have seven recipes so far! On Saturday night, the family who signed up to feed us dinner was having their annual pumpkin potluck! I got the recipe for the pumpkin-sausage lasagna they served. Also present were a plethora of pumpkin-chocolate chip cookies, roasted pumpkin seeds, pumpkin crescent rolls with pumpkin honey butter (delicious!! We're still trying to track down the recipe) and pumpkin doughnuts. They said it's fun to see what everyone brings each year. Speaking of food, last Sunday we had some delicious salmon and yesterday we had some mouth-watering tilapia (however you spell it). What made it so yummy was probably the mozzarella cheese on top. 

Each day during companionship study this week, we planned for E. And each day nothing really came to mind as to what we should teach her. Finally on Thursday we felt like we should go over the baptismal interview questions with her. During the subsequent days we tried to formulate a lesson plan but it just wasn't coming together. We discussed some things we could talk about and discussed her needs as we were meeting with the bishop on Saturday. We used many of the things he shared with us in our lesson and it went fairly well. She had never heard the baptismal interview questions and she said she didn't have a problem with any of them. She said she still doesn't feel ready and we explained that these are the qualifications the Lord has set. In life we're never truly read for anything; there's always more planning and preparation that could go into it. She said she's still waiting for that confirmation and that she'll know when she knows. We'll continue to plan for how we can most help her prepare for baptism. 

This week the scripture in Doctrine and Covenants 64:33 has been on my mind. Many times it feels like Sister Lundquist and I are indeed laying the foundation for a great work. Missionary work requires patience; you can't force spiritual things. The spirit withdraws in times of desperation, coercion, and pride. As we pray and plead for the Lord's help and then take a step back, everything will fall into its rightful place and we can trust that we're doing His will. I am so grateful for the spirit and all of your prayers in my behalf. I love seeing the spirit work in the lives of those we're teaching. The spirit of God is the true converter; he deserves all the credit. By myself I am imperfect but all the Lord has to work with is imperfect people so he mercifully gives us the tools we need to do His work. He also gives us the people we need to help us along the way. As we saw on another church's billboard yesterday: "Gifts from God come wrapped in people." I am glad God has given me you :) I love you all!

Love,

Sister King

Hello Family and Friends!

Another great week has passed! Transfers are today so we had zone breakfast at the Stake Center (that's why I'm e-mailing so early). And then afterwards, Sister Lundquist and I are going to downtown Portland with a member of our ward! Busy day! Three members of our district are leaving, including our district leader. Our zone leader is heading home as well as one of the assistants so there will be quite a few changes! Also, last night when we were talking to the assistants (to get permission to go to Portland today) they said that we're going to get a car in the near future! Yay! One is on its way :)

Update on B: We arranged to go with her neighbor (a member who lives down the street) to the appointment on Tuesday. We walked with her to their house and we noticed when we got to the door that the house was dark. We knocked and nobody answered...we tried calling B's cell phone and nobody answered...we walked away dejectedly and had only gone a few steps when a car pulled into the driveway. B got out and introduced her husband J and apologized for being late. We introduced the neighbor, T. As soon as we did, B said, "You're B's wife, right?" It turns out the two of them went to the same schools growing up! They engaged in 'it's a small world' talk and became instant friends! They invited us in and we had our first lesson! They are a newly-wed couple; in fact, it was their two-year anniversary the day we knocked on their door. They are non-denominational Christians (very common around here) who are very curious about our religion. They have had many LDS friends (some who served missions). We asked if we could come back the following week and they said they'd like to study it out a little bit more. They each have a Restoration pamphlet and a Book of Mormon. We contacted them a few days ago but there was no answer. They said they're very busy but we hope to get in contact with them again soon.

On Wednesday we had another lesson with B! Prayer and recognizing the spirit were exactly the things he needed to hear! It's so great to watch the understanding taking place. He's very interactive and asks lots of questions. The members present were able to testify and relate to him as well! We invited him to pray that night and he said that he would! We have another lesson set up for this Wednesday. We invited him to the primary program, expressing that it would be a very good Sunday to attend because there would be a lot of visitors and he wouldn't feel so out of place. However, he didn't come. Hopefully as he gets more friends he'll feel more comfortable.

Update on N: We arranged with Brother P (ward mission leader) to go to the appointment on Thursday. When N answered the door he explained that he had forgotten that we were coming until we rang the doorbell. He apologized and said he was working on a project. We still had a great conversation (Bro. P is phenomenal at talking with people) and set up to come He apologized and said he was working on a project. We still had a great conversation (Bro. Pierce is phenomenal at talking with people) and set up to come back the next Thursday (this week). N is a mid-forties Pentecostal Christian who is open to talking with us.

Since N's appointment fell through, we went and reconnected with C. We knocked on his door and talked with him for a few minutes. He said he's been reading and thinking a lot. We also remembered to ask for his number. And, he said he was going to come to church the previous week but the friend that he was going to take with him bailed last second and he felt weird going alone not knowing anyone. (The L weren't there that Sunday) He said he wanted to come this week though (yesterday) and we told him about the primary program and explained it the same way we did to B. And....he came yesterday!! He really did! Unfortunately he came in a little bit late so we didn't notice him until after sacrament meeting. We went and talked with him and he said he enjoyed it! He said, "So, what's it like normally? Is it just a preacher talking to everyone?" So we explained a little bit more about what goes on. It was pretty chaotic because of the primary program so the next thing we knew, he was out the door. But it's baby steps, right? We texted him yesterday afternoon and we have an appointment set up for this Friday night at the L's home.

Update on S: When we tracted into her, she said to come back on the weekend because she's a student at the art institute (studying interior design). She's mid-twenties and really sweet. She said she has some LDS friends as well but they never really talked too much about Religion. We went back on the weekend and she wasn't home, but we were able to talk to her sister L and she seems interested as well! We have their phone number so we'll call them in the near future to set up an appointment.

On Saturday we went to the Visitors Center with R, J, and N!! I think I forgot to mention in my previous e-mail that we talked with R last week and she really opened up to us! She expressed that she's feeling a lot of social pressure. She feels overwhelmed being around so many people so that's why she hasn't come to church yet. She said she wishes she could just sneak in the back, listen, and then leave unnoticed. She talked about baptism and said she received the answer, "Not yet, but not no." She said they enjoyed conference!! (For some reason they couldn't figure out how to watch it live so they ended up watching an April session) They even re-watched one part because they really liked what the speaker said. R said she wants to look up the current one because she's curious about what they have to say. She loved how it was based on life experiences and we told her that that's what it's like at church. I think that clarified a preconceived notion of hers about what goes on. I wish I could convey our conversation better but it was really neat to have her open up like that! 

Anyway, back to the Visitors Center. We stayed there for two hours! It probably would have been longer but we all got hungry. (We met at their house at 11:30am but didn't end up leaving untilnoon.) We had called the Visitors Center the previous night to tell them a little about our investigators. Many of the videos they showed were about death and how families can be together forever. Afterwards, R started talking about her mother's death and how she just wants to move on from the experience but it just keeps coming back up so she feels like there's still something she needs to learn. She reviewed one of the videos and how it really spoke to her. She mentioned that she wants to let go of all these negative feelings and I testified of the Atonement and how Christ can relieve us of those things. I also brought up baptism and how that's a great way to access the enabling power of the Atonement. R pondered for a minute and then said reflectively, "Yeah, maybe that's [baptism] what I need." We talked about baptism for a little while longer and how it's an outward expression of an inner commitment with God. And Rhonda said, "Yeah, that's a great way to put it! It's kind of like a marriage ceremony." 

After we looked at the neat displays at the Visitors Center, we took a tour of the grounds. I learned many new things about the Portland temple! Many times throughout the tour you could tell that they were picturing themselves at the temple. We stopped at the Bride and Groom exit and one of the sister missionaries talked about how her sister was getting sealed that weekend after being married civilly the previous year. R said, "Oh, so that's how it would be if our family was to get sealed." :) R brought her nice camera and we took a picture of their family in front of the temple. It was a beautiful, sunshine-y day!  We went into the atrium of the temple and saw a couple and a baby that had gotten sealed. We sat on the bench and relished in the peace and quiet. At one point, R turned to us and shared something that had come into her mind as she watched the noise-less hustle and bustle of people going in and out of the temple. She said, "I wonder if that's how it is with our ancestors on the other side; they see us and want to help us but we're distracted with worldly things and pass them right by." It was a neat bit of revelation! As we were getting ready to go, N said "I don't want to leave." They've already decided that they're going to come back and visit again. After we left, we had a picnic at a nearby park! It was so fun :) They said they were going to talk more as a family about the whole temple experience so we're going to go back tonight to talk and set up a teaching appointment for later this week. 

Yesterday we had lunch with some elderly ladies in our ward along with one of their nonmember friends. We had a great meal (including delicious, melt-in-your-mouth homemade rolls) and a great conversation! We also taught E again. We taught the Plan of Salvation and she had a lot of questions about outer darkness and things. We, along with the member family, explained as best as we could and again emphasized faith. She says she feels a lot better now than before. We asked her what she'd like to learn more about next week and she left it up to us. She said she knows that whatever we plan, by the spirit, will be what she needs to hear. We're planning to invite her to be baptized next week.

Well, I think that just about sums up my week..the highlights anyway ;) I know it's opposition that makes these moments so sweet.  I was really focusing on developing the Christ-like attribute of charity and praying fervently for this gift from God. Well, it's kind of like praying for a humbling experience I love you all! The church is true, the book is blue, and Moroni's always 'on the ball'! :)

Love,

Sister King

Dearest family and friends,

 

It's been another great week in the OPM!! :) Lately I've been a little bit lax with my sacred grove morning prayer (in our mission we arise at 6:15am rather than 6:30am to have a sacred grove experience; we pour our souls out to God and plead for Divine help). On Tuesday I decided to rededicate myself to the prayer and I made it much more meaningful. I want to testify that it made ALL the difference!! I tangibly felt His help as we went about our missionary work. I was more bold than I ever have been before and the discouraging moments didn't seem as bad. We went tracting that day and I felt prompted to go to a street I'd seen on the map but never been to before. We knocked on every door and only two people answered out of about fifteen. After we had finished the street, we had ample time left over so we went to the next street; we soon found out that that's the reason we were in that area! We set up return appointments with three houses in a row! S, B, and N. I'll report on them next week :) Follow-up on K: We knocked on her door and she didn't answer...we heard loud fans blowing and decided to call her cell phone. She answered and it was funny becuase we could hear her talking on it from upstairs! :) She explained that her upstairs toilet had flooded and people were on their way to fix it and replace her carpets. She said to come back in two weeks.

 

We were finally able to have a lesson with B on Wednesday! It was phenomenal! The spirit was very strong and he and the member present were able to relate so well to each other! Blair said he's the type of person that he's either all in or all out and he wants to be all in so that's why he wanted to meet with us and learn more :) We taught the Plan of Salvation; my favorite part was when I described physical and spiritual death because after I explained them, B said, "So, if I'm understanding correctly, what you're saying is we'll never be able to live with God again?" I said, "Exactly! You've highlighted our next point: The need for a Savior." It was beautiful how he put that together :) They said in the MTC that that would happen if you explained things correctly and it did! :) We invited him to pray about the things we taught him and he said he didn't know if he was quite there yet. But we have another lesson set up for this Wednesday and we're planning to talk about prayer and recognizing the spirit. We'll invite some other members to the lesson so he can make more new friends.

 

On Thursday we got a new investigator!! His name is C; we tracted into him on October 3rd. We knocked on the door and we heard the typical bark of a dog. C opened the door and quickly came outside and closed it so the dog wouldn't escape. We explained who we were and asked him if he'd ever heard of the church before. He said he had and that he'd gone to church a couple of times with a friend when he was younger. We asked him if religion was a part of his life now, he said no. We asked him if he'd like it to be and he said he'd been thinking a lot about it lately! He asked where our church was and we described its whereabouts. He said he wanted to come on Sunday! However, we remembered it was general conference so we had to briefly explain that to him :P Haha, he seemed confused and I'm sure he thought it was odd, but oh well. We asked him if there was another time we could meet and we decided on Thursday (the 10th) at 7:00pm. He said we should probably meet at the church because his grandma is a little bit anti. (Good thing C answered the door!) Anyway, as you have probably put together by now (because of the first sentence of this paragraph) he indeed came on Thursday! We had prepared with Sister L (ward missionary) so we sat in the foyer waiting for him to come, and he did :) We taught the Restoration and it was very powerful! Chris is 23 so we may have to give him to the YSA (young single adult) missionaries. That's okay though :) It's all God's work; a baptism is a baptism.

 

We had exchanges on Friday. I was with Sister Benson (my 'grandma') from Mapleton, Utah. I don't remember if I ever told you that she trained my trainer. Pretty exciting :) It was fun to spend the day with her. She has been out ten months and is a fabulous missionary! I learned so much from her and we were able to visit many people that she worked with when she was here but for whatever reason haven't been in contact with missionaries as of late.

 

Saturday was a busy day! We volunteered at the 27th annual Great Onion Festival in Sherwood. (Apparently the Northwest is known for being a great place to grow onions.) We helped cut up and weigh onions for the onion eating contest and then we served food for the rest of the day. We also received a free plate for ourselves :) A plate consisted of baked chicken, a baked onion, baked beans, coleslaw, and an onion roll (everything had onions in it!) It was fun to mingle with the other volunteers as well as people from the community. We talked a lot about what we do as missionaries with the girl serving food in between us. Her name is R and she's 19. She has friends on missions but isn't a member of the church herself. It was a great conversation! We also talked a lot with some non-member neighbors of a less-active/part-member family in our ward that we've met before. It was great to strengthen that relationship! What a fun day! And it got even better too! That night was our ward chili cook-off! One potential investigator attended.

 

On Sunday we were invited to primary for the last ten minutes. They had us do some role plays with the children on how they can invite their friends, family, and neighbors to the primary program next week. It was fun to get them excited about missionary work.

We also got another new investigator on Sunday! Her name is E. She's eighteen and is the girlfriend of a priest in our ward . Her mother is a member in Chicago but has been inactive the majority of her adult life and her dad is Catholic so she was baptized and raised in that faith. E has many friends that are LDS, including B, so they have sparked her interest in the church. She has met with missionaries before and has the desire to be baptized! She wants to make sure she's doing it for the right reasons and has a concern about the Plan of Salvation. She said if we're able to 'convince' her, she'll be baptized. We talked about faith by reading Mosiah 4:2-12. I love King Benjamin :) He instigated what might have been the first general conference ;)

We were also asked by a seminary teacher in the other ward to substitute his class on Tuesday (it's a calling here, not a profession). Haha, wish us luck! He said his class isn't very talkative...The lesson is based on 2 Nephi 3.

 

Well, I think that's just about all! :) To end, I have a good quote that I heard from the member who attended B's lesson with us. He said, "When we judge others, we're not respecting their agency." I had never thought about it like that before! I really like that view of judging others. May we all be accepting of others and not blame them for their choices. While we don't love the sin, we love the sinner. I'm glad to be out of 'Happy Valley' for a short time to see how much of a bubble it really is. There's hardly any diversity there so when someone different does show up, they're often ostracized. I'm grateful to have this experience and insight to guide my behavior in the future. I love you all and I'm grateful for you!! Until next week,

 

Love,

Sister King

 

P.S. "It's funny when even your hair appointment falls through." We were going to have our hair cut by a member this week, but it fell through so we've rescheduled it for this week. We laughed at the irony though :)

Hello Family and Friends!

As you can see from the subject line, "Good Things Keep on Coming"! I read that phrase in an Ensign article (can't remember which issue, sorry :P) and I loved it. It's very true and it's a great thing to remember. No matter what happens, good things come the next week as always. It makes it a lot easier to keep going when there are great things to look forward to.

The thing to look forward to this weekend was general conference! I loved hearing from our leaders and am spiritually full (for the moment ;) we know that is a fleeting contentment but that's okay because I love to feast on the good word of God!) I believe my favorite talk was by D. Todd Christofferson on the innate moral courage of women. This conference had a different feel to me; I'm not sure if it's because I'm a missionary or if it really was different. I feel like they didn't talk about preparation as much as they usually do. The time for preparation has passed; these hard/confusing/evil days are upon us! Now is the time to stand up boldly for what we believe. The contrast between our standards and the world's standards is only going to become more apparent and we need to radiate the light of Christ and shine brightly. Anyway, we watched conference at three different places: Saturday morning was with a retired elderly couple in cozy recliners, Saturday afternoon was with an older widow who has lost her sight (I think I may have talked about her before; she is very sweet). We invited an investigator to watch a session with us, but he didn't show up :P We watched both Sunday Session at the Davis'. We invited our investigator family to join us for the afternoon session and for dinner but they cancelled a half and hour before :( They were aware of conference though and had the information regarding the channels it would be shown on so hopefully they at least watched a part of it themselves. His time, His way, right? :) It was different having the sessions from 9:00-11:00am and 1:00-3:00pm but the early hour didn't impact us hardly at all being missionaries ;) The Davis' fed us waffles Sunday morning. Traditions! I thought of you, family ;)

As far as the rest of the week, we had district meeting at the Temple Visitors Center on Tuesday! I loved seeing all the displays they have there, as well as the technology. It's a fairly small visitors center but there is a large Christus (as usual) and a theater room with many videos to watch. They also have a neat Book of Mormon display with about twenty different copies, each in a different language. When you pick up a book it reads a passage in that language and talks about it. There is also an interactive display titled "Where He Walked" (it shows more about the life of the Savior) There is a couch with a large screen to watch "I'm a Mormon" clips. And finally a computer type activity that has you point to the given temples as they are stated while under a certain time constraint. We did some role plays and were taught by visitors center missionaries. It was neat to become more familiar with the place and how we can use it more with our investigators. Hopefully we can get our investigator family to the visitors center soon :) Speaking of the temple, we got to attend a session on Wednesday!! :) It was fun to see the new film. I like the old Adam and Eve better but I'm sure the new actors will grow on me. I loved everything else about the new video.

On Thursday we stopped by the home of a former investigator, K. She was just backing out of her driveway when we walked up. She got out of her car and came over to talk to us! She mistook me for a previous sister whom I resemble and chuckled when I introduced myself. She said "I guess I'm a couple missionaries behind" :) She verbally outlined her schedule for the upcoming week and asked if we could come back Tuesday at 1:00pm! It will be neat to meet with her and see where she stands :) Miracle!

The greatest miracle of all, however, was last night. We took a laurel contacting with us because we were going to visit single men. The first one, an elderly man named T, left us a note on his door saying he had a bad case of the flu. We wrote him a note back and will try again in a week or so. Neither of the other two men on our list were home so we called it a night. On our drive home (in the laurel's car) we passed by another potential investigators home: R. I saw his car in the driveway and I suggested we stop. (We haven't been able to though because Monday is P-day and Tuesday is district meeting) Anyway, we decided we should try him so the laurel made a U-turn, we parked, got out, and knocked on the door. He answered and let us right in!! We taught the Restoration right then and there!! He's very open and willing to learn. It was an amazing experience and we felt the spirit so strongly! He said he wants to come to church sometime and we left him a mormon.org card. (He wouldn't accept a Book of Mormon because he said he'd never read it. He said he never reads any book) He accepted our invitation to pray about what we have taught him. He wouldn't commit to a return appointment because he's busy with work so he's not a new investigator--yet ;) We'll follow up with him next week.

Sister Lundquist and I have started doing a mini-companionship inventory every night. We call it our companionship party :) Haha. It entails going through a template of questions we have thought of to help us review the day and improve. Here is the list of questions:

1) Favorite part of the day

2) Improvement ideas for the work

3) How we did well individually

4) Howe we can improve individually

5) Compliment each other

6) Critique each other

7) Goals for tomorrow

8) Hug

It has really helped us become more accountable and self-reflective throughout the day. It's really helping us become better missionaries!

I love being a missionary! I love this gospel and feel privileged to be serving at this precise time. I like the scripture in 1 Thessalonians 2:4 and the cross reference to Doctrine and Covenants 12:8. Also, one of my missionary friends in the Philippines invited me to read the passage in 1 Cor. 1:25-31. The Lord uses foolish means [and people] to confound the wise. I'm grateful he has chosen to use me, even with all my imperfections. I am grateful for the knowledge and testimony of living prophets and am excited to apply the teachings from this weekend. I love you all and encourage you to take the challenge of finding one person to refer the missionaries to by Christmas. You can do it as you pray in faith!! This gospel focuses on the one. In 3 Nephi 11:15 the multitude felt the prints in His hands one by one. We do the temple work for individuals one by one; there will never be an app to do a mass group. This is how He designed it to be. How great will be your joy if you bring save it be one soul to Him! Be a missionary; in conversation or in example! I love you all!

Love,

Sister King

Hello Family and Friends!!

We have had a very wet week! I'm sure you heard about the recent Typhoon in Japan; well we got the after-effects from it! The wind and rain have been abundant. Unfortunately my scriptures got wet :( I have worked this week blow drying a page at a time when I had a spare moment. I then put weight on them to flatten the pages. From now on I'll make sure to put them in a ziploc bag before I put them in my shoulder bag. At least they'll be able to visually represent my time here in Oregon due to the waterlogged pages. After getting caught in the rain one day we made sure to plan rides in advance. I'm so grateful that we have a very supportive ward; we were able to get many rides this weekend and haven't had to be in the rain [or on our bikes] hardly at all! :) Tender mercies!

The work this week has paled in comparison with last week but that's how things go--opposition, right? We were still able to have some lessons with many of our less-actives though :) There are a handful of them that like us and welcome us in, so we're focusing on them right now. This weekend we talked to our Family History Consultant and are learning more about reactivation and finding through Family History work. The stories the couple told us on the work they've done are phenomenal!! They are passionate about Family History and have had many neat experiences. They said they hope we've now caught some of that enthusiasm as a result of hearing their stories and it's true; we have!! It's definitely contagious and we can't wait to get others on board :)

Our appointment with B fell through this week :P He was caught in a project at work Wednesday night. We tried to get together this weekend but that didn't work out either. He was genuinely sorry and said we'll shoot for this Wednesday, so we look forward to that :) We had a fabulous Zone Meeting on Thursday! One of the Sisters had a great idea to dress like the Elders so we all wore dark skirts, white blouses, and a scarf. (The picture is attached) Our training and practice was on planning effectively. They also gave us some training on how to correctly report stats (i.e. what 'counts' as a lesson, what qualifies a person as a new investigator, etc) because so many of us are young missionaries. It was a great reminder on what our stats actually represent. It's always good to make sure you're being honest with yourself and the Lord; for we are accountable to Him. That's actually what we've decided to have our dinner message be on this week: accountability. "Accountability is a principle that influences how we begin, how we think, and feel about the responsibility the Lord has given us, how we approach our work, and how well we endure." (PMG, 151) We know we are judged based on our works and our desires. Doctrine and Covenants section 11 says the word desire eight times! I also had my quarterly interview with President Morby on Thursday.

The Relief Society broadcast was so wonderful!! I'm so grateful that we were able to go with some ward members to watch it at the Stake Center. We had soup and salad afterwards. A miracle that we witnessed happened as we were waiting for the broadcast to begin; I saw D walk in! (I'm pretty sure I've talked about her before...but just as a reminder Sister Porter and I taught her a couple of times. She's a nonmember in the Hedges Creek area fifteen minutes away. She's married to a less-active man and she wasn't really progressing so we gave her back to the Elders because they are much closer and were able to make contact more often and work with her husband as well.) I wanted to invite her to sit with us but the chapel was full. I saw her sit down alone and was about to go sit by her when more women came in and sat near her. I resolved to go say hi after the broadcast. Afterwards, I made my way over to her and we hugged :) It was like seeing an old friend! We asked her if she was staying for dinner and she said yes :) We invited her to sit with us and she agreed. We had a pleasant conversation :) After dinner she asked if our phone number was the same and said that we'll have to stay in touch! It was perfect that the whole broadcast was about covenants! Hopefully it spoke to her and sparked some desire in her.

Yesterday our fifth Sunday instruction was mainly focused on being 'nourished by the good word of God'. The Bishop presented a Book of Mormon challenge to seek a specific blessing as you read. The timing could not have been more perfect; I just finished the Book of Mormon! I have now resolved to engage in a meticulous study of the book; looking up every footnote and spending days/weeks on a single verse/passage. I'm so excited to begin again :)  

Today we're going to Goodwill with a member of our ward! It's a different Goodwill than most in that everything is in bins and you have to rummage through things. But apparently this makes it better and cheaper than the rest! The member we're going with always brings disposable gloves :) Haha, hopefully we find some treasures!

It seems as though I've received a lot of messages about trials lately. Looking back on my life at some of the trials I've experienced, I think: "that wouldn't even phase me right now." This shows that I've grown and gotten stronger. The trials we go through are necessary for our eternal progression so it's important to keep that eternal perspective. I'm grateful for trials, even though they are hard when I'm going through them. The things that are most important in life take work. Trials also draw us to Christ. He takes us to the place where no one can help us but Him. That's how the gospel of Jesus Christ brings us closer to Him. Also, sin moves us away from Christ. We teach the Atonement so others can come closer to Him. So trials and overcoming sin are two things that bring us closer to Christ. I'm so deeply grateful for the Atonement!

I love you :)

Love,

Sister King

P.S. Believe in Christ and believe Christ. 

Dear Family and Friends,

 

This has been the best week of my mission thus far!! We truly have witnessed miracles. I hope I can remember to look back on this week when times are discouraging. We were able to meet with our family of investigators twice this week! We had a lesson with them on Tuesday about commandments and obedience. It went really well!. They signed up on our dinner calendar to feed us so we ate with them on Thursday :) We had invited them on Tuesday to go to the Portland Temple Visitors Center after dinner on Thursday but they realized on Thursday that they had Back to School night. We'll shoot for this week though :) The Visitors Center is definitely a game-changer!

 

Our theme for tracting this week has been "You can't say the wrong thing to the right person; you can't say the right thing to the wrong person." If they're ready, they'll listen. And when people turn us away we say to ourselves "Forgive them, for they know not what they do." We tracted into one man who talked to us at his door for about five minutes! (Our longest door approach up to this point) We talked about the Bible and introduced the Book of Mormon. He believes that the Bible is the only word of God. He nearly quoted the scripture in 2 Nephi 29:3 "A Bible! A Bible! We have got a Bible, and there cannot be any more Bible." But hopefully it was a seed planted and he'll look into it in the future. We tracted into another man who had the opposite point of view. He grew up Catholic. When we knocked on his door, we said our little blurb asked him if we could share a message (I don't remember exactly what we said, so it must have been by the spirit :)) He said sure and invited us right in!! (How often does that happen?!) However, we asked if anyone else was home and he said it was only he and his pets. We politely explained that we'd have to just talk at his door because we're women. He agreed and we taught our first doorstep lesson :) We again talked about the Book of Mormon (he had never heard of it, nor Joseph Smith). He readily absorbed every word and said that you can never read too much about Christ. I was holding a Book of Mormon as we were talking and he said he'd love to read it if we had a spare copy. (Whoa, whoa, whoa. He just ASKED for a Book of Mormon himself!!) We gave him that copy with a pass-along card that has our phone number on it. He said we could come back and talk more sometime. However, he is a truck driver and travels a lot. It'll work out though :)  We tracted into one more person in that area (these three were all from the same apartment complex!)   He will be moving into the apartment in a few weeks (he was there renovating it) so we were lucky we caught him. We did the usual: knocked on his door, said our blurb and asked if we could share a message. He politely said no thank you and closed the door. We walked away and had only taken a few steps when he again opened the door. He said "Wait, you guys are Mormons, right?" We said yes and he asked us to clarify our beliefs on the Godhead. We talked for a few minutes and he said he used to work with some Mormons and he really respected them. He said we could come back after he's moved in :) Miracles!! So much tracting success :) That's how you get all your good stories, so beware; you may hear these again in my homecoming talk. Speaking of good stories, we had an awkward encounter this week...missionary work is awkward a lot of the time but this was especially awkward! We were contacting a referral that we had received from a ward member (And when I say referral, in this case I mean someone who said 'go convert my neighbor', haha) We had just gotten off our bikes in front of the woman's house and were discussing what we knew about her, what we would say, and then we prayed. We walked up to her door and her porch came into view and...there she was; sitting in a chair on her porch! :P By the knowing look in her eye we could tell that she'd heard everything we just said :/ Haha, she politely said she was not interested, so we walked away embarrassed. Now we're able to laugh about it and we think it's pretty hilarious. We related what happened back to the member who referred us to her.

 

On Wednesday we were able to go with Brother Pierce (our ward mission leader) and (Brother See) a ward missionary to a less-active man's house. And when I say less-active, I mean he hasn't attended church since Primary. His parents were and are active (although his mother recently passed away) but half of his six siblings are inactive and half are active. . At her funeral he felt the spirit and he now wants to put his life back together. He currently lives with a roommate (ex-girlfriend) and is trying to figure out how to nicely kick her out (she's relying too heavily on him; she's had multiple DUI's and can no longer drive. She doesn't have a job. It's pretty sad because she graduated with a Masters from an elite school but now she's hit rock bottom and is overwhelmed to have to climb back up) Anyway, he wants us to teach him from ground zero so we'll treat him like an investigator. We'll meet with him every Wednesday night. This week we'll teach the Plan of Salvation with Sister Marker (a ward missionary). Brother See is his neighbor and is the one who deserves the credit for making this happen :) What a great member missionary!

 

On Saturday we had our monthly breakfast with the Stake President. It was great to hear about the wonderful missionary work happening in the Tualatin Stake! We've had 34 year-to-date baptisms and our Stake goal is 43; we'll make it for sure! Many companionships have investigators with baptismal dates and many more that are close. The work is progressing!! We were also able to get an official set of keys; they are on a fairly large ring that is welded closed. We have a key to every building and library in the stake as well as to the Family History Center and the baptismal font. That's the main reason my e-mail is so long today; we're here with the sisters from the Cedar Creek Ward because they have a car. We're so blessed :) Speaking of cars, or lack thereof, we're still on bike. We got caught in the rain this weekend but the members are gracious about giving us rides and we walk when it's really coming down. I love the rain :)

 

Church was great yesterday! A girl who is leaving for a mission on Wednesday spoke about adversity as part of the Plan of Happiness. I've gotten really close with her; sometimes we'd take her to appointments and tracting with us. I look forward to keeping in touch with her. In Relief Society we talked about reaching out to the sisters around us. It was a visiting teaching conference and all the women were there (the young men and women took care of primary). The Relief Society President passed around a questionnaire asking who knows who and how well. It's part of her master plan to get in contact with every sister--even the ones on the 'do not contact' list. We're excited to be a part of it!

 

Because it gets dark early now (and it's only going to get worse) we have to be home unless we have a teaching appointment. Because of this, I've been able to get some extra studying in! I've loved this time to read more from the Ensigns in our apartment. I especially loved an article by Lawrence E. Corbridge in the September 2011 issue of the Ensign. He said " 'Don't count the cost'. In comparison with the immeasurable price paid in Gethsemane, whatever might be required of me is 'small change'." How true that is! We would all do well to abolish our 'woe is me' attitude. When we get caught up in thinking about the many 'sacrifices' we're making, we should think of Christ and the many things He's done for us. Surely we can give back without doing it begrudgingly. I love my Savior and I'm so very grateful for the price he paid for ME. "I believe in Christ, so come what may" :) I know that this Church is true and am so happy that it's a part of me and my life. Scratch that, it is ME and it is my WHOLE life. I never want that to change. The gospel has changed me and I'm a much better person because of it. I love you all and am so grateful for your love and support. I know I say that every week, but I mean it every time! I'm so blessed to know each one of you :)

 

Love,

Sister King

 

P.S. A great quote I heard by Donald L. Hallstrom "Live by covenant rather than convenience."

Forever Families

Hello Family and Friends!

 

Transfers have come and went. The anticipation built all last week as Sister Porter and I waited to find out what was going to happen. I was asked on Saturday by President Morby to be a trainer. My heart raced as I accepted the assignment but over the weekend I felt the inner peace that this was the right thing and what I need at this time. I could feel myself getting comfortable with the work so I know that this is a necessary change. In life I believe we're constantly reaching different plateaus; you get to a point where you've grown all you can from an experience that you need another one to propel you upward. I know this will be a challenging experience but I'll rely heavily on the Lord and remember that we're equal to the challenges we're given. My new companion is Sister Lundquist-Willard. (She goes by Sister Lundquist) She is from Tacoma, Washington but recently moved with her mother to Kentucky. She is a convert to the church; her friend introduced her to the church by taking her to a stake dance when she was a junior in high school. After the dance, she spent the night at her friends house and went to church with her the next day. She was baptized a couple months later. No one else in her family is a member of the church. She knows a lot about many different religions (very helpful!) and loves family history. I can see already how she's been prepared for this area and the people here. Sister Lundquist doesn't like cars, let alone driving them so her prayers were answered; we're on bike for now. It was good that I had the practice last week so I could be prepared for this. Hopefully we'll receive a car in October, but who knows? Come what may and love it.

 

The work is going well in Woodhaven! Our investigator family committed to a soft baptismal date! They haven't said yes and they haven't said no. They want to discuss it as a family; especially because Rhonda is so on board and the family is a little bit behind her. We'll keep teaching them and working with them to help them progress towards baptism. They came to a goodbye party for Sister Porter. It was a great chance for them to fellowship and meet the members of the ward! We'll be inviting them to church this week because Sister Lundquist and I are speaking. We also invited them to our ward picnic in the park tomorrow. We're continuing to go through our area book and will be working especially hard to find new investigators. We'll strive to have the 'faith to find' as we were told in our district meeting this morning. We had a great training on how to propel the ward mission process along and how we can take initiative and get the ball rolling.

 

This weekend was Stake Conference; it was a very uplifting meeting! Our recent convert, Brother Lesch, spoke on his conversion story and journey to the temple. A girl spoke who leaves on a mission to Missouri tomorrow; she gave an excellent talk. She shared a quote that I really liked: "Good people aren't exempt from hard times any more than vegetarians are from charging bulls." I don't have my notes with me so that's not the exact wording, sorry. Our Stake President talked about how we can still have compassion for others even when we don't agree with or support the beliefs of others. One of his counselors spoke about water purification and how it requires movement. So it is with our lives and staying spiritually strong; we need to keep moving forward.

 

I love you all and I'm so grateful for your support! I love being a part of an eternal family even though we're apart right now ;) I know that this church is true and that our Father in Heaven is very aware of us and what we need to learn and grow. Families are a fundamental part of His great plan and I'm so grateful I get this chance to spread the news of Forever Families.

 

Until next week,

Love,

Sister King

 

P.S. "The most important thing is to make the most important thing the most important thing." :) (MIT=the Atonement)