Robinhood Festival Report

Hello Family and Friends!!

What a busy week we've had! We spent a lot of time preparing for the Robinhood festival. Leave it to the sisters to get everything together :) Don't worry though; it all balanced out because the elders helped more at the actual festival. Unfortunately our original prime booth location was given to a different vendor so we got a less appealing spot. The sun beat down upon us both days and it wasn't very trafficated. But we made the best of it :) We still got about thirty addresses! Furthermore, we had some really great converstations with people! While the booth was less busy, the elders rounded up some children and sent them our way. They also proselyted and got into a couple of interesting discussions. At one point, an atheist came to our booth and talked to us for awhile. To me it fit the definition of Bible Bashing so I mostly just watched the elders talk to the man. It was a good experience to have though! I bought a Robinhood festival t-shirt for $5 :) I wish I would have taken more pictures, but we were pretty busy. 

Saturday we were able to go to the endowment session of our recent convert!! It was a great session and I loved being there with so many missionaries :) (Many sister missionaries who had previously taught the L's were able to go) While we were at the temple, the elders took care of the parade and booth. We went to Applebee's after the temple and at the end of our meal, the mother of Sister L snatched the bill and paid for our group of nine!! Speaking of generous benefactors, when we were at Taco Bell for district lunch, a man who happened to be there paid for all the missionaries! He has several grandson's on missions. Speaking of food, this week at a members house we had salmon; it was delicious! I know, I know; I don't usually like seafood. But it tasted divine. I'm glad my taste buds are changing!

Last Monday our Zone leader called us to set up some assignments for district meeting the following day. After that, he informed us that everyone would be wearing green to the meeting. I was excited to have a picture like that of our district and Sister Porter was excited because her favorite color is green. Well, when we showed up to district meeting, we were the only ones wearing green...Our Zone leader chuckled and said "Greenie joke!!" We shook our heads and laughed. For the rest of the day everyone asked us why we were matching.

Yesterday we were able to teach a friend of one of our investigators! She had many questions and through them, we taught the Restoration. It was a great lesson and the spirit was so strong! We gave her a Book of Mormon and encouraged her to read it and come to church. She is very excited! She absorbed and believed everything we said! However, she actually lives in Beaverton so she's agreed to allow us to send the missionaries in her area to her. After leaving that appointment, we were driving down the narrow street about to turn left when a car came zooming around the corner. Sister Porter swerved to the right to avoid the head-on collision. The eighteen-year-old side swiped our car so we parked and exchanged information. We are so blessed to be unharmed and to have missed the parked car to the right of us. We called our 'Vehicle Coordination Car Czar' and followed his instructions of what to do. Today we took it to an approved auto body shop (which is one reason why my e-mail is later than normal) for an estimate. The minor scratches and dent on the side are going to be $1,680 to fix! I was astounded at the cost. Who knows though? Maybe this will turn into a missionary opportunity :) Afterall, we have her number and we know where she lives ;) haha.

Well, I think that's just about it in my neck of the woods :) We're looking forward to a full week of appointments as we strive to meet the goals we've set.This week we have really been focusing on the Book of Mormon. If someone's testimony is weak, it can almost always be tied back to the Book of Mormon. I love reflecting on the last two paragraphs of the Introduction. If you haven't read that lately, go read it! It's so powerful! And just as it says, I have truly come to know that Jesus Christ is the Savior of the world, that Joseph Smith is a prophet because he brought forth this wonderful book through the power of God--only a prophet could do that. Also, that The Chruch of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints has been restored in its fullness, preparatory to the Second Coming of the Messiah. I love reading the Book of Mormon everyday; I need the strength it provides. And I can say with a resounding YES! that it IS true. 

Love,

Sister King

Why are we the only ones wearing green? Oh yeah... it's because I'm the "Greenie".

Recent converts became an Eternal Family!

Missionary Life

Family and Friends,

 

Unfortunately this week Sister Porter was sick Tues-Thurs. I stayed busy by reading and studying the gospel through the Ensign, my missionary resource book (with talks, tips, and rules in it), the scriptures, and anything else I could find around our apartment. It was very uplifting but by the end I was very restless and ready to jump back into the work. We were able to meet with one of our investigators on Friday (Desiree). We read Ether 12 together along with a member from the ward she's in and had a great discussion on faith. We were also able to meet with our bishop and discuss the missionary work in the Woodhaven ward. We also had a lesson with a family who is preparing to be sealed in the temple. They receive their endowments this weekend and I really hope we'll be able to attend the session. We went to a going away party for one of our investigators. We're sad to see her go but hope we can send the missionaries to her new home. We have one last lesson set up with her this week. Saturday we had exchanges! I loved learning from Sister Mears! I hope I can remember all the wonderful insights I've gained from spending a day with her.

 

At the request of many, I will describe more the area in which I'm serving. The city of Sherwood has a population of 18,000. The homes here have so much character and are on the high end scale of quality. There are three wards in Sherwood: Sherwood (District leader and his companion), Cedar Creek (Elders), and Woodhaven (us, the only sisters in our district). Our three companionships, the Hedges Creek elders (the ward Desiree is in), and the zone leaders (over a YSA ward) make up our district. The companionships from Sherwood are putting together the booth for Robinhood festival. As you may know, Robinhood lives in Sherwood forrest and Mt. Hood is nearby--hence, Robinhood festival :) Every summer they have a Maid Marian (spelling?) pageant (similar to Miss Springville) and many of the streets are named after Robinhood characters or other things from the movie. 

 

There are so many trees here! There's practically a forrest in my backyard. There are sections of trees that no one is allowed by law to cut down. You basically feel like you're in a forrest anywhere you go. Since my area is so small, there are no businesses that we can go to. No stores, fast food places, gas stations, etc. It's all residential. You have to get permission to leave your area, with the exception of P-day. The funny thing is that we don't even live in our area :) We live in the Cedar Creek ward boundaries. The reason being that the sisters used to be over two wards; both the Woodhaven and Cedar Creek wards. We foresee getting roommates in the future because many wards will have two sets of missionaries by the time the summer is over. But who knows? For now, we have a one-room apartment. I'll send pictures soon, I keep forgetting to take some. 

 

Each morning we wake up at 6:15 (mission rules) to have a sacred grove experience. We find a place to pray vocally (kind of hard in a one-room apartment) to our Father in Heaven. We begin exercising at 6:30 and usually do an ab workout since leaving takes too much time. Once a week we play basketball with the Elders. From 7-8 we get ready for the day. Somehow I manage to take a shower, get dressed, blow dry and straighten my hair, do my make-up and eat breakfast all in that hour! From 8-9 is personal study and from 9-10 is companionship study. As we diligently study we prayerfully consider our investigators and I've already seen countless times applying what I've learned that morning to their individual situation. It's a neat thing to experience! It's a win win type thing; we both benefit :) From 10-11 is training since I'm a new missionary. We have a book that breaks it down into 12 week segments. It's a great tool that we have :) I can't imagine what Sister Taylor is going through! That would be scary to have to both be new and training at the same time. We eat lunch at 11 since we're already at our apartment and leave for the day afterwards. Sometimes when we eat really fast, we go take a nap for the remaining time :) We proselyte until dinner, eat dinner and share a message, and then go back out again. We return to our apartment at 9, usually and then we daily plan for the next day. We close with a prayer (I say it on even days and she says it on odd days according to our birthday :)) and then get ready for bed. And it's true what they say; the days drag and the weeks fly! But really, it all goes pretty fast. I can't believe it's almost been one transfer! It feels like the weeks go fast when we hit P-day but looking back it seems like the last one was forever ago. Time is warped when you're a missionary :)

 

There are SO many dogs in Oregon!! Nearly everyone has one! We call it the Oregon doorbell :) The worst part is when they lick your face, I can handle everything else. My skirt often gets covered in dog hair :P Oh well :) Random fact: Whenever my companion sneezes it's in sets of 9 or more! Can you believe that? I've never seen such a thing. It rarely happens when she's driving, thank goodness :)

 

I know this was forever ago, but I don't think I thanked you for the greenie package! I enjoyed it so much :) Haha you answered my question in your e-mail as to where all the green M&Ms came from :) Speaking of sugar...I've decided to not eat sugar. Don't die of shock ;) It's almost been a week since my companion and I made the resolution. I already feel so much better! We'll see how long this lasts :) What helps the most is not having it around our apartment. We buy lots of fruits and vegetables. I realize some members will insist on dessert so I'll have to eat it to be polite ;) But I have heard that if you eat sugar, it's best to eat it with a meal rather than by itself. Anyone else want to join in this challenge? ;) Alison also sent me a greenie note, but hers had a different kind of green in it :) Money!! Shoutout to Aunt Alison :) Love you!!

 

Well, I think that's just about all for now. If you have any specific questions about the area that I didn't cover, feel free to ask! I try to find time to answer them ;)

Love you all!

 

Love,

 

Sister King

Holiday Week

Dear Family and Friends,

 

The work this week was rather slow with it being the 4th of July. Members were out of town as well as many of our potentials and investigators. We were still able to keep busy visiting less-actives though. We're getting excited for the ward picnic in the park this week and have challenged many members to visit specific potentials/investigators as well as other friends they know. We were able to remember to ask for referrals and are reaping the rewards from that. We're continuing to plan and prepare for the Robinhood festival and have faith that our efforts will pay off in the finding aspect. We had a great fast Sunday with many meetings. Our stress level is a little bit lower now that the ward is more on board with us. The ward mission leader is contacting active families this week to find us opportunities to refine our teaching skills since the work is slow right now. We look forward to a busy week ahead of us!

 

For the 4th of July my companion and I went to a barbeque with a family in our ward. We played Monopoly Mega with some nonmembers. Afterwards, we went to Mormon Lane (A street with numerous members living on it) to watch fireworks. It was fun but also weird to take a break from the work and sit around talking for such a long time. While holidays are good, my companion and I are happy to be immersed in the work again.   

I've been learning a lot about agency recently and have strived harder to choose to give away all my stress, worries, negative emotions, and inadequacies to Christ. I am so grateful for the enabling power of the Atonement. The fact that it IS the most important thing is reinforced every day. If you think about it, we're really here to learn how to control our agency. Every choice we make impacts who we are becoming. When we neglect to read our scriptures because we didn't 'have time,' we are choosing not to make time. I challenge/urge/exhort/invite/encourage you to read your scriptures more dilligently, especially the Book of Mormon. For district meeting we memorized the last two paragraphs of the introduction. So powerful. I love the Book of Mormon. My companion and I were talking about it the other day and she said: "Praying to know if the Book of Mormon is true is like asking someone if their biography is correct." I thought that was a neat way to look at it.

I love you all!

 

Until next week,

Sister King

A week in the life of Sister King, a novel...

Dear Family and Friends,

 

This week has been pretty good! We've had a humbling learning experience in regards to goal setting; we realized that if we lived in a perfect world where everyone was availiable exactly when we'd like them to be, we'd reach our goals. However, since it's not, we are learning to set our goals so they're more realistic. After weekly planning this week, we're going back to the basics and are striving to accomplish our district goals. We like to get creative with weekly planning and this week we drew a tree. On the branches are names of investigators and potentials; people we really want to focus on. On the falling leaves, there are names of less-actives we want to teach lessons to this week. On the side of the tree are bugs with names of ward members that the bishop wants us to visit. Bishop said 'bug 'em!' :) Next to the tree is the temple--under it are names of the families that we're preparing to be sealed in the temple. (Two for this summer and one later on this year!) On the other side of the tree is a church and below it are names of families that we really want to come to church. The couple that we're focusing on is Rhonda and Jeff. They've been through some hard things lately and could use the strength that comes from attending sacrament meeting. We're planning to do a church tour with them sometime this week so they can become familiar and comfortable with the setting. That idea really appealed to them.

Our teaching pool is rather small right now. We were devastated to learn that Lambert doesn't want to be baptized at this time. He believes it is too much of a commitment right now. We will keep serving him and praying for him and his family. He said we can still stop by occasionally. Our top progressing investigator is Lisa. This week we stopped by to give her a birthday present (she's 35) and see how she was doing; she just had Lasik eye surgery. We also gave her a Restoration DVD and bore our testimonies of Joseph Smith. It didn't feel right to invite her to be baptized but hopefully next time. We also started teaching Desiree (a woman in the Cedar Creek ward). She's been taught all the lessons by the elders but something just wasn't clicking so they suggested the sisters come teach her and that's where we come in. She has expressed a concern about the church's stand on same-sex-marriage. She belives it's discrimination to forbid them from being baptized. We're trying to show her that this is a form of adultery and, as a result, a sin. You must be clean in order for your baptism to be valid. I feel like I was able to connect really well with Desiree; our personalities are similar. It was refreshing after watching my companion be able to connect with almost everyone immediately.

 

We are still trying to think of ways to find more people to teach. We look forward to involving the members more to help the work move forward. We are looking forward to the Robinhood festival coming up on July 19th! It's an annual celebration they do here in Sherwood. It's probably similar to Art City Days just not as big and a little more thematic. There is a parade and many vendors. We will have a booth and want to target the children so the parents will follow. We hope to have the children be able to decorate crowns and allow them to have their picture taken with us dressed up as some type of royalty. We'll have them write down their address so we can deliver the picture to them. When we stop by to drop off the picture, they will be happy to see us and it will be a perfect opportunity to share a message. It's like specialized tracting :)

My companion and I are constantly learning and growing together. We're becoming one and know that unity brings revelation. When we recognize that one of us is disconnected from the spirit, we stop, pray, and figure it out so we can move forward. She is letting me take the lead more and more and while it's scary sometimes, I know that I am improving with the help of the spirit. She and I have many laughs and are similar in many ways. Did I mention we received our calls on the exact same day? And she's only 13 days older than me!

Every year Sherwood has an annual garage sale weekend yearly. How redundant :) Did you get the movie reference? Haha. Anyway, it was this past weekend. There are so many garage sales going on, it's insane! People put their kids in wagons and walk the neighborhood. We volunteered at a members garage sale and set up a display of pamplets and Books of Mormon. We didn't visit too many other houses but that's okay. I don't think we were missing out on much and we would have just spent money unnescessarily.

 

We also had Zone Conference this week. It was phenomenal! So uplifting, motivating, and inspiring. The missionaries that are departing between now and the next Zone Conference bore their testimonies. It's hard not to compare my practicing and conditioning to their fourth quarter but I know how hindering that is so I try not to think about it and dwell upon it. We also had car inspections. The cleanest car gets the 'Golden Plate' award and receives a special gold trim license plate cover thing. We didn't win :P Maybe next time. Our chances aren't very high because there are 92 cars in the mission, around 30 of which are in our zone. Speaking of cars, we might not have our car for much longer...They are redistributing the cars with the mission split. I don't know when we'll know. But we are sisters...so who knows? Maybe we'll get to keep it. At least it's summer, so if we are on bikes it wouldn't be all that bad. Speaking of summer, it's SO hot here!! I'm not sure what the temperatures have been but with the humidity it's quite uncomfortable. We definitely appreciate our car.

 

It was so neat to have that surprise visit from Tracey Henry!! What a stalker she is ;) I loved seeing her and chatting with her for a bit. I can't believe Sierra is engaged! If you're reading this Sierra, congratulations!! :) Send me a wedding announcement! :) I was asked to give the closing prayer in sacrament meeting yesterday...it was rather nerve wracking. Oh well. Last night we ate dinner with a sweet little old lady and her nonmember friends. We shared a message and could feel the spirit so strongly! Hopefully it pricked their hearts. We have dinner appointments every night. The meal coordinator has a sign up online that members can access. Some days we even get multiple offers because people ask if we have dinner for the night. To answer your question mom, nearly every morning we eat cereal and for lunch we try to eat lots of fruits and vegetables since our dinners are full of carbs and protein. Funny story, on Wednesday and Thursday we had homemade chicken noodle soup and brownies and ice cream from two separate families. Both tasted different but both were yummy.

 

I am so grateful for this opportunity to teach my brothers and sisters. Just like the Sons of Mosiah in Alma 17: 9-11, I've prayed to have the spirit with me so I can be an instrument in His hands and as I go forth patiently, I will become exactly that. Go read it, it's written better than I can describe. As I lose myself in this work, I will become exactly what He wants me to be without even focusing on it. I love you all and am grateful for the letters I've been receiving! Until next week,

 

Love,

 

Sister King

P.S. My new favorite song is Savior, Redeemer of my Soul. Hymn no. 112. The arrangement we have on a cd is the best version I've heard though. I'll try to e-mail you a copy of it sometime.