November 8, 2011

Hey Family!

So Transfer calls were made this morning, I am staying in this area another transfer with sister Ah Chookoon. Really no surprise there. I really think I will be transferred out NEXT transfer (which is 3 days before christmas!) haha, I bet it will happen. Well, the saddest part of my week was sister Cluff leaving on saturday. We had to drop her off at the airport, and It gave me more sympathy for mom and dad because it was SO sad dropping her off, watching her walk away, and then just driving away and carrying on with the work. I miss her a lot. We were together for a REALLY long time, and its weird not being with her any longer. Its also weird because I put so much effort into that relationship, and now she is just gone. Seems like all that effort was a waste. Haha, I know it wasn't it. But its been surprisingly hard having her leave. But I'm happy I'm with Sister Ah chookoon, she is super nice. So this should be a good transfer.

We had the BEST lesson with Liz and Victor this week. It was one of the highlights of my week. We were talking to liz about if the Book of Mormon is true, and she realized that she was scared to really know if the Book was true, because that would mean she has been "wrong" in her beliefs her whole life. But then Victor started talking to her and saying what a blessing the book of mormon is. And how he KNOWS its true, and how good it makes both of them feel, and he helped her get over her concern. Then we talked to victor about baptism, and he said he didn't know if that would happen "anytime soon", and liz turns to him and asks, "why not?" and she goes off on how he shouldn't listen to what his parents say (his mom told him that he wouldn't be able to commit to the church) and she said that he was a husband and father and should do what’s best for there family, and she said she would support him no matter his decision. And it was just so awesome to listen to this couple come together and resolve one anothers concerns. Because both of them are at different stages of the "conversion process" but they were able to help one another. and I pray that they will continue to do so! So hopefully next time I email you all they will have a date!

We are also teaching a man named Wayne and his daughter Patty. Have I mentioned them before? Wayne was a former investigator and is Hilarious. Lessons with him are always interesting because he will say comments and questions just to see our reactions. Its his favorite thing to do. And surprisingly we get along really well. Its always fun teaching him because sometimes I'm shocked at the things that I say. Sounds weird I know. but as I follow the spirit, I will ask him very bold, very direct questions. I think its good for him though because he needs to really think about what it means if this church is true. Right now he says he KNOWS this is true, that Joseph Smith is a Prophet, the book of mormon is true, that Thomas monson is a prophet, but he still won't be baptized. He needs "fellowship" and he wants to know EVERYTHING before he is baptized. It hard because he is basing his testimony off of logical information, and won't pray because he "already knows everything is true." So we are really trying to focus on letting him listen to, and follow the spirit.

So on friday sister Cluff had departure activities (basically everyone leaving plus the mission president go to the temple, have lunch have interviews and a last lesson), but I went to go pick sister Cluff up, and I walked inside the mission home and I just felt sick to my stomach. It was So weird seeing all these missionaries going home, and I imagined myself in there shoes and I NEVER want to go home! Don't get me wrong, I love and miss all of you. But I LOVE being a missionary. It can be really hard sometimes, but it is so worth it. Its the best thing I have ever done, and I'm SO happy I still have basically a year left! haha!

Mmm...well I can't really think of much else to say! I hope you all had a good week! And I hope your next week is even better! I love you all SO much, and I would LOVE to hear from all of you!

Love you lots!

-Sister Lee-

October 31

Hey Family!

Happy Halloween! It looks like everyone had a good
halloween! I can't believe its november! How weird is that?! Well, this week
was an INTERESTING one. It started last week when we went to go see sarah, she
is due on the 11th, and she was having a REALLY hard time. So we invited her
over to a members home that night for dinner. Well, we go to pick her up, and
while we are eating dinner she starts having some contractions. And we kinda
joke around that maybe she would have her baby early...SO! That night as we
drop her off she says she isn't feeling that well, and 2 hours later, we get a
text from her saying that she is on the way to the hospital, because she is
having her baby! Haha! She had it the next day!
Her and her baby are doing great! They named the baby Cryspin Elizabeth
Bitsui, Super cute! Unfortunatly, I haven't seen the baby yet becuase I have been sick! Yep!

I started getting sick 2 nights ago, it just hit me, but it was just a cold. I hate colds, because you feel aweful, but I always feel like I can still work. So I worked, but this one lady we saw, she had a dog, (oh and we had just finished dusting a members home), so my allergies plus my cold took
me OUT! It was embarrasing, I think I used half a box of tissues at her home! So, I gave in and had a nap over lunch time, but sister Cluff was a Jerk (not really, but I wasn't happy), and she made me go nap longer, but I couldn't sleep, so I just layed in bed, and then I went out again and said I was fine and We should go out. So finally we decided to go out, and since it was halloween, we had to come home by 5:30, and I am so grateful for that because I was SICK! Haha, it wasn't fun...So really sister cluff gave good advice and I should have slept so I didn't get more sick. But hopefully I will feel better soon!

Anyways, that was A long story about something thats not important! Haha! But, SO exciting, this weekend HR Dudley was baptized! Wahoo! We began teaching him about a month ago, but he was 23 and not married, so we gave him to the YSA sisters, but he kept the date we gave him, and we went to his baptism, and the spirit was SO strong there, I LOVED it! I just love
baptisms!

Anyways, This email isn't very excitng, but I sure do love you all SO much! AND I just attached somepictures for you from sister ahChookoons thingy! Yay! If you click on the Mission Pictures Tab you will be able to see the pictures Kristin sent.

Well, I love you lots!
-Sister Lee-

October 25, 2011

I know Halloween isn't for a whole week for all of you, but we celebrated it today! With moms AMAZING package, my district all carved pumpins, decorated cupcakes and made candy necklaces, it was SUPER fun, I will have to send you some pictures. Also, we went to the Aviation museum this morning, I loved it! I LOVE marines! haha!

Anyways! On to important things! I'm so excited that Caroline was baptized this weekend! It sounds like it went really well, Baptisms are one of my favorite things! haha!
(I guess that makes sense!) So updates from last week, i'm pretty sure I told you all about carrol. We had an AMAZING lesson with her last week, then we went back to teach her again, and it turns out she has split personalities...she has about 3 different personalities, the one we met is
AMAZNG, and she has a testimony and wants to be baptized, the other 2 carrols
we haven't met yet...so we are going to try and get all 3 to agree to baptism, (We are undecided if this will count for 3 baptisms or not! haha! Just kidding!), but she really is amazing, we are uncertain where we go from here for her.

OKay, so I have to tell you all about this one family we met...I cannot stop thinking of them. Last week we went to see Liz and Victor, but they were not home, so we wrote them a note, and as we were writing, this little 5 yr old boy starts talking to us, and we joke and talk, and then we ask
him if he knows who Jesus is, and he replied, "yes, did you know that my sister is living with Jesus right now?" it was so sad and adorable to here this little boy talk, he had so much faith, and I really wanted to meet his family, so we asked where he lived so we could stop by some other time (I know, how creepy are missionarys sometimes!), anyways, he wasn't sure the number, so
he led us to his home, and we met the family. it was a lesson I don't think I will ever forget. All the question, and I mean ALL the questions they asked were the PERFECT questions, "how do we know the bible hasn't been changed", "where do we go after death", and "is Gods true church on the earth today?". I have never been asked the questions so perfectly...unfortantly, that was the only "perfect" thing about the lesson. This family was in so much pain, and the Dad is VERY angry at God, I have never seen someone so mad, it broke my heart because I KNEW that the
knowledge of the gospel, and the atonement could help him, but he wouldn't let us talk at all. And when he did, he would try and trap us in our words. It was an intresting so see the spirit take over because I found myself saying things I would NEVER say! (Something I love doing, and have become more of is bold! Its crazy, I never thought I would say that about myself, but its so much more powerful when you just SAY what needs to be said, instead of cushioning everything. I'm trying to be like Elder Holland, Loving and Bold! But its still something I am working hard on doing!) Anyways, the mother felt the spirit and KNOWS this is true, and there son Reese we met is super cute, so hopefully these two will be able to soften the Dads heart. I will let you know in the future how everything goes.

Also, Guess who we added again this week? Jeanette and Orlando! You all probably don't remeber them, WAY back in May we added this couple, they are philippino, and actually they live right across from our apartment complex, and since we saw them all the time anyways, we thought why not try to teach them again! The lesson went great, I am SO excited to teach
this family again!

And this week we went on exchanges which was SO good for me. Sister Ah Chookoon and I stayed up here, and we had another Sister, Sister Park come with us. It was really good for me, because i was able to prove to myself that I can be a missionary and follow the spirit without sister cluff! It was an important thing for me to learn, even though it may sound lame! haha! I
really am going to miss that girl, but I'm excited for how much I will learn and grow with just sister Ah Chookoon (b/c I bet I will stay in this area).

Mmm...lots of other things happened this week, its just SO hard to remember! Haha, I'm sure its the same with all of you. Lets see, we have an investigator named Wayne who is a former investigator, he is pretty hilarious, he knows the church is true, but he wants to understand how it works, and all the small details before he is baptized, and he won't rely on the spirit, he says he prayed about if this was true, and he only got bits and peices as answers, and he won't be happy till he gets the WHOLE picture! haha. But he didn't come to church on sunday, and he brought his daughter Patty, so that was really exciting.

ANYWAYS! I'm loving my mission, I see miracles every day and the church is true! What else do you need to know right?!

Well, Love you!

-Sister Lee-

Past Letters

Sorry All! This is Megan! I have been remiss in posting Kristin's letters. She has been writing them but I have been really busy. Here is everything you have missed. Enjoy!

October 17, 2011

Hey Family!

This week has been an interesting one! This morning we went to Balboa park with some other sister missionaries (ps, there are 9 full-pros english sisters here) and it was super fun. Balboa is a park with tons of musuems, and every tuesday, some of them are free, so today there was a art museum, and a "natural man" museum, full of mummys and dead people, it was really interesting, but we all felt a little sick afterwards since looking at dead people isn't exactly "inspiring."

Mmm...I always find it hard to know what to say, since my week seems to have spanned a lifetime, but I also feel like I JUST emailed! haha! Well, yesterday we went to go see an investigator Steve, but he wasn't there, and we ended up talking with these two ladies, one who has always been very kind to us, and the other who has been on of the rudest, if not the rudest persons to us because we are mormon missionaries. But the conversation was really good! she started off telling us she didn't like us and all that fun stuff, but as we got talking we learned her life story, and she has had a VERY hard life, and she is actually a very good people (to people who aren't mormon! haha), and so it was great to see that everyone truly has a good side, you just have to take the time in getting to know someone. Its an experience I am grateful for. However, she also dissed (very intensly) samoan people, and so poor sister Ah Chookoon went home and just cried. It broke my heart! So it was hard on her, but I think its a learning experience for her as well.

I LOVE being in a trio. Honestly, its great, even though there is more estorgen, (knock on wood), we haven't had one problem yet, we all kind of cool one another down, and I am learning lots. Sister Cluff is SUPER upset about going home, but she isn't trunky, so thats good,(She goes home on the 5th).

Oh, so that was really hard for sister ah chookoon, plus we had some other mishaps with some people we love (which I won'r bore you with the details of), but we had a rough morning, but we were SO blessed in the afternoon. We went to go see one lady named Deena, who I adore, she is less active, and when we went over, her mother was there (carroll), and she was telling us that she had investigate 10 years previous, but was never baptized. So we taught her a lesson, and as we were teaching, we could tell she had a testimony, so we asked her the baptismal interview questions to see what she needed....and she passed! haha, it was weird, she knows and has a testimony, and is living almost everything! So she is going to be baptized on the 6th of november, the only thing is...we have to get her married! haha! So I will let you know how that goes, but it was pretty incredible to see her as she got excited to FINALLY be baptized.

And a really great experience I had this week was at the mission president fireside, so I think I have already talked about those, (right?) anyways, we had a fireside in spanish, so I had NO idea what anyone was saying, but what was awesome, was I could still feel the spirit, (the spirit really is the universal language), but I was sitting, and thinking about how I am nervous for Sister Cluff to go home, because we have been together for SO long, and its really all I know, and I was thinking that I didn't know if I could do it alone...but as I was thinking this, before I could even finish my thought, I felt the spirit, and in a way thats hard to describe, I just felt like God told me that I'm not alone. And it meant so much to me to know that the saviour was with me in that moment. It was such a small thing, what I was thinking to me was really of no worth, just thoughts, but that he granted that tender mercy so that I knew that I can do this, be a missionary without Sister Cluff, it meant a lot to me. And I'm still nervous, which seems silly because I have been in the field for so long, but I am. But I know that I can do it, and I look foreward to it, because I know its going to help me grow and improve SO much more!

Anyways, so what I want you all to get out of my email this week is to not judge people. even if others are rude, or mean, know that heavenly father loves everyone, and I truly believe that we can too if we spend the time to get to know others. And also, I want you to know that the Lord is with you at ALL times. If your nervous about something, or stressed, or even if your doing good, the Lord is with you, and your not alone!

-Sister lee-

October 11, 2011

Hey Family!

I hope you all had a good thanksgiving, according to Mom and Amanda it sounded like you all had a good time. I had a pretty good "thanksgiving" here too! I didn't get a turkey dinner, but we did go to subway and I got a turkey sandwich! So that worked out haha! (perhaps I will do that as a new tradition...its easier than making a turkey). Also, my companions and I shared what we were grateful for, and of course, us being missionarys, it was all gospel related! Sister Cluff said the atonement, Sister Ah chookoon said the Holy Ghost and I said the book of mormon! But really...I am SO grateful to the Book of mormon. My testimony of that book has grown ten fold since being out here on a mission. When invesitagots read it, they progress. When I read it, I feel like I progress. I love reading the book of mormon, because I always feel the spirit, and I ALWAYS learn something. Its incredible how the lord is able to give me answers as I read that book. And I'm so grateful to Nephi, and Alma, and Captain Moroni, and Mormon and everyone else in the book of mormon for having the experiences they had, and for writing it down so that I myself can read and learn from there experiences. I'm thankful that Mormon saw our day so he would know excatly what to put in the book of mormon, so he would know excatly how to help us. Every question can be answered through the book of momon. I love that book. I hope you all have a love for the book of mormon too. Something that helped me really appreciate it was to remember that these were ACTUAL people who wrote those words, and I always like to say a prayer of thanks that they wrote down whatever it is that I read that day. It makes the Book of Mormon more personnal to me! And I loved that there were so many talks in General Conferance on the book of Mormon.

ANYWAYS! Onto my week!

Today I got the Flu shot...I hate shots...my arm hurts! haha! But after we email we are going to Old towne, so I am pretty excited to go walk around, I have only been there once for like 20 min, so it should be pretty fun! So Last night we had an appointment with Jenna and Cody, last week we took them to the Mobat on a tour and they LOVED it! (ps, when we come on a family vacation to san diego, we need to go to the mormon battalion, you will all LOVE it!) anyways, they loved it, and we have taught them a few times since, but they never came to church, and last night they were supposed to meet us at the mobat, but when we got there, they phoned and said they couldn't come anymore, so we had to drive 30 min back home. But it was good, because something I have learned is when an appoinment falls through, its because the Lord wants us somewhere else! So Sister Cluff coordinated with our ward mission leader on the drive back home (he is so busy, w can never meet with him in person) so that was very productive, and then we went and met a less actice named Linda, who is VERY nice, she has had a really hard life, but I just adore her, she reminds me a lot of mom! Sweet, and Kind, and VERY busy! So we were grateful to catch her at home, so as always, the lord knew best, and we had a good night!

Have I ever talked to about Black Eagle Drive?! I should have because I basically LIVE on that street. its a street on base, and as of right now there is basically 8 homes of people that we see, some are active members, others are converts, (nate and katie live on that street), and other investigators, (Liz and Victor, cody and jenna, AND a new investgator Debra!) Anyways, we told ward council a while back that our goal was to convert the entire street. (This street is like the size of the road infront of moms house from coldi-sac to coldi-sac ( I have NO idea how to spell that word!). So anyways, our ward council just busted out laughing when we told them we had a new investigator on that street! Debra is awesome, we found her when looking for someone else, and she felt the spirit SO strong when we talked with her. She accepted the invitation to be baptized right away. Only problem is her husband isn't on board, so I will let you know how that all goes next week!

Mmm...I saw a lot of people this week, but this is turning into a novel, so maybe I'll tell you all about more people next week! So sister Ah chookoon is from Samoa (I'm not sure what part, just western samoa), and she has been out for 9 months, we have only had 1 new english prosylting sister come in since I got here, so we are all pretty stagnant!) This is her 2nd area, and she is pretty funny. She is VERY straightforeward, which is good! Hopefully I can learn to be more straightforeward! Sister Cluff is going home a few days early since her Dad is going out of town the day she was supposed to report home, so I think thats why we are in a trio. And the trio will only last this transfer we have been told. And I assume we will be together next transfer as well. This transfer ends I think aorund the 8th of november, and with my luck, I will stay here another transfer, and get transferered out 3 days before christmas! haha...but actually...I wouldn't be surprised!

Anyways, I Love being on a mission, one of the best things is getting to meet all these amazing people. Its the greatest feeling in the world!

Well, I hope you all have a good week.

I love you all SO much!

-Sister Lee-

October 4, 2011

FAMILY! I Just wrote you a big long email, and it got deleted! Haha, Oh man, that is not very fun at ALL! Mmm...It was a good email too! I guess you will just have to take my word for it. Haha, well I guess I'm a REAL missionary now, because I have lost an email. Its a good thing sister Cluff is signing up for classes so I have a little more time to email...I can't really remember what I wrote about, so REALLY QUICK!

-I can't believe its October, time is the craziest thing on a mission, But I am LOVING it! (PS, I am having the WORST luck with computers right now, the one I was on, after Iost my email, randomly kicked me off, so I got on a NEW computer, then the key board holder broke...Someone doesn't want me to email you all!) ANYWAYS! Besides the HORRIBLE computer Luck, I love being on a mission. its the only place that you get to meet so many different people from all walks of life. Like a few months ago I met a prophet, yep, he predicated 9/11 and everything! And last night we went to see some people, and we knocked on the door and he wouldn't open, and so I started talking to him though the door, finally he opened the door and we started talking, and it was hilarous because we taught him the first vision, and while we were talking he was hiding behind the door, then He would open the door, but he was in his boxers, then he would hide, but he kept forgetting and it was funny!

Anyways, I have no time, I'm sorry, Highlights of the week, conferance, james with a date, new Investigator with a date, and GENERAL CONFERANCE!

I have to go! Love you!

Sister Lee

September 27, 2011

Hey Family!

Well, this week was a GREAT week. I saw LOTS of miracles. One of the top events was Randy was baptized, her baptism was perfect, and her whole family was there, so i'm praying that they will remember the feeling they felt, and have a desire to act upon that! The mom is now coming to church weekly which is awesome.

Something that was fun to do this sunday for me was look at the ward I am in. we sat in the last row, and I looked and was able to name almost our entire ward. And what I loved more was seeing people there, that I have been working with. At church we had this one couple there named courtney and heath, they have been less active for several years, but they CAME and it was AWESOME! Next step...getting sealed in the temple! haha! (but seriously).

As well, we added a new invesitgator this week named Dudley, well thats his last name, but since he is a marine, thats what everyone calls him. He is great! He really wants to learn about the gospel, and last night sister cluff and I went on exchages she taught him, and I guess he cried! LOVE IT! There is nothing better than getting a marine to Cry! I went to an appoiontment witha potential investigator, but it turns out, he wasn't there, but we ended up teaching this one lady named Isabel, who doesn't know ANY english. Luckly, the girl I was with spoke spanish. It was a miracle to see how God placed us there so we could teach her. The spanish elders are now going to teach her, so that was really exciting.

Oh, and speaking of Marines. Just thought you would like to know...the President of the United States was in my area yesterday, we could have recieved revelation for him! haha! His airplane landed on the base I work on. So maybe there will be a video or something you can look up so you can see the area I work in! NBC news was there!

So transfers...Sister cluff and I are staying together this transfer. I'm offically going to kill her! ;) Haha! I'm killing off my mom, she will be hilarious because she is already freaking out that she goes home so soon. it will be interesting to see her as she in in her last few weeks! But this transfer will be different, because we are picking up a third sister tomorrow! I'm going to be in a Trio...to be honest, I am SUPER nervous! haha! Thats a LOT of estrogen to always be surrounded by. Haha, it should be good though, it will be an adventure. I will let you know next week how its going. But I have a feeling I am going to be in this areas for a LONG time! I would LOVE to be here at christmas, but transfers are 3 days before christmas...so just because it would be awrful, I bet I'll be transferred then! haha!

So we are still teaching James, his lessons are always interesting, he doesn't want to commit to church or anything because he loves football way to much. Its a sacrfice for him to give it up to come to church. So we have filmed games for him, but its not enough, its "not the same," but hopefully we can have him feel the spirit strong enough that he will know it is worth the sacrfice. katie is doing awesome though! We took her out with us to a lesson, adn she bore testimony and helped out so much. it was SO awesome to see somewhere bear testiomony of God, who, when I first met her didn't know anything!

Just in case you are interested, sarah and Nate are also doing great, They are now teaching primary 10, and they love it. They are going to the temple this week to do baptisms! I'm excited for them.

This week was a great week for me. I'm glad that for the most part it sounds like your weeks were good and full of miracles!

I love you all SO much!

Love you!

-Sister lee-

September 20, 2011

Hey Family! Thanks for all the emails, sounds like life is crazy as ever for all of you. I am glad to hear you are all doing well! This past week was a good one! We had something called MTE which stands for "missionary training exchange," where on thursday morning all the missionaries in my zone, and poway zone got together and President Clayton and the AP'staught us (ps, did I ever tell you that my friend Duncan from Edmonton that is in this mission is my AP? He was called to it the day I got here!). anyways, they all taught us from 9 till noon, then we went on "exchanges", really just a training sister came out with Sister Cluff and I, her Name is sister Petty from Australia, I LOVE that girl, so it was lots of fun working with her and seeing how a different sister works. Its funny because Sister Cluff and I have been together for SO long that I kind of assume this is how EVERYONE works. it was nice to get some..."fresh blood" haha! But it was great, we talked about sacrifice of all things, it seems like lately I have thought a lot about sacrifice and the blessings that come from it!

I love the area I am in SO much. It feels like home, I love my ward, and the people I am working with, and the people on the streets. Its great...so I'm pretty sure I will be transfered next week! haha! Maybe not, but I will not be surprised since I have been here awhile and I love it SO much! I will let you know next tuesday if I will be in this area still.

So this weekend Randy is being baptized, I am SO excited for her! she is the 12 year old and she is the funniest girl, super dramatic she thinks she is in her 20's but she always thanks us for how much we have changed her life! and her mom is now consecutavily coming back to church! Next her other sister and then her father! (Thats the plan anyways...her dad is NOT a fan of the church right now, but he is supporting his daughter!)

Let me just tell you all how much I LOVE being on a mission, I'm pretty sure this is the best thing in the whole wide world to do! I've decided I will never get married, I'm just going to serve my WHOLE life! (I'm kiding mom, don't freak out!) But I really love it, it just feels like this is where I need to be and where I SHOULD be. Its great! That is SO exciting about Danielle, she will LOVE it! And she leaves pretty soon! So exciting, I bet her mom will be sad that she is going to be gone for two christmas seasons, but she will love it!

So last night we were teaching James(Katies husband) and its pretty fun to teach him because he is this HARD core marine who doesn't particularly want to change his lifestyle. But he asks some good questions, one of which being, how can we tell if our church is true when everypne else prays about there church, and they know that one is true, and we have pretty much explained EVERYTHING to him, but there comes a time when you teach, and then when you stop talking and tell them to take it to God.

Anyways! This week was a good one! We are trying to increase our teaching pool, since we are running a little low, so we are working hard, and I know that as I do what I need to, the Lord will bless me with his children to teach!

Well, I love you all! Hope you have a good week!

love you!

-Sister Lee-

September 13

Hey Family!

This week was good. It was a little crazy but it was good. Sister Cluff was a little sick this week so we had to slow everything down, and we had to pack all our things up and move out. It was pretty funny because the night before we moved we had this HUGE blackout and all our appointments fell through and our mission president wanted us back home early, so we just sat in the dark with our flashlight and I watched sister Cluff pack up all her things (Because I was fast, and got it packed earlier in the day!) But it was funny to see people kinda freak out over the situation. It has made everyone down here want to get more prepared for an emergency.

Our new apartment is really nice. It has more than one room which is CRAZY, its weird to not ALWAYS be in one anothers space. But I was so used to it, it never bothered me, but this is nice! Plus our area in WAY closer to where we are every day (like 5 miles closer). So it will be nice to save miles that way. We try to stay under 1250 miles, it sounds like a lot of miles, but it can be a challenge to stay under, we should be able to do it this month though.

We had a mission presidents fireside on sunday, and that was really great! Have I talked about those before? I can't remember. We have them once a month, but every other month its in spanish. And we have a big missionary choir, (probably 80% of the missionaries come (our mission in that small!)) and we (as a choir) sing 2 songs, and then other missionaries sing special musical numbers, (I have sung in a few groups, but I am NOT good enough to sing a solo, or even a duet!), and between the music they have recent converts bear there testimony and the spirit is SO strong! I LOVE them so much, Its like a recharge on my batteries.

And Yesterday we went to the Mormon Battalion with some members who live with there non-member relatives. They have always talked about the church, but hav never invited them to do anything. and this family is so interested in learning. I think its so crazy that some people are SO ready to hear the gospel, but so many times, we are too timid to extend the invitation.

Something I am working on is being more bold and loving with people. There are so many scriptures that are so direct and bold, and sometimes I am too nervous to share them with people, you know the ones that say "repent you sinner or your going to hell?!" those scriptures, I love them, but I can't seem to read them with others. But I am trying to be like Elder Holland, very Bold and direct, but also loving, because then people won't mind as much hearing that they are doing something wrong.

Well I don't have much more time! but I love you all, and I am praying for you. Know that God loves you, and he desires the best for you all, and he has promised us peace in this life so long as we follow Gods commandments!

Love you!'

-Sister Lee-

August 30

Hey Family!

So this week was a doozy! haha! Today I had zone conferance which was so great! I loved it, we learned about the importance of the book of mormon and faith, and how we build our faith in the same way our investigators do. And lots of other good things too! But I don't actually have P-day till tomorrow, but we ALWAYS email on tuesdays to make sure families don't get worried! which reminds me before I forget! President and sister clayton have created a blog for our mission, and he has taken pictures of the zone conferances and other things and is posting them on this blog, the address is californiasandiegomission.blogspot.com (long name, amazing results!)

Haha, anyways, I thought you would all like that, (really, I thought mom would like that! There will be pictures and everything!)

So Christines Baptism was really good, it was sad to see someone I love get baptized and confirmed, then say good bye because she moved to utah the next day! That should never happen. (we baptized her in San diego for multiple reasons, mainly being it would make her transition to utah a lot smoother!) But I love that girl so much, she strenghtened my testimony!

But I had the craziest weekend, lt me tell you a bit about it! So the Quinns for about a month now have been trying to sell there home, so every monrning we need to make our house SPOTLESS, which is good, its a great habit for me to get into! But in the past week our shower drain has not been draining, so we have had to have quick showers, and it takes a couple hours to drain, and we were going to unplog the drain, but we never got around to it, I guess it was "low on our priority list." But I have LEARNED my lesson!

The quinns, its a tile shower, and I guess when water is in them, it seeps through, so it started to leak to the ceiling of hunters room, (Who sleeps beneath us). Ya, it wasn't good. And something you should know about this family, I love them So much, but they yell a lot, and it scares me a little. And they were MAD! (as they had EVERY right to be!) But I was a little scared to go and talk with them...but we went and talked with them, and they were upset because they now had to wait for their home to be shown by a few days because the roof was wet. But they said there wasn't any damage, so I was happy about that.

Oh, and I forgot to mention that a few days prior the fire alarms in there house went off for like hours, it was during our study, and it was an electical malfunction or something...and it was ridiculous, (This comes into play later!)

ANYWAYS, they quinns basically told us they wanted us to move out. So monday comes, and its pretty rough! We gave our investigator Brian away because it turns out he doesn't live in our area, and we got a 5 page text from victor (do you remeber me talking about victor and liz?), saying that they didn't want to change the traditions of there family, and didn't want to meet anymore, and someone we are working with, her husband blindsided her and filed for a divorce, so we were dealing with all these things that day, and we get home, and go to our room, and we no longer had our studying table! The members we live with took it away so the room would look better. THEN the fire alarm started beeping again, (about once every minute or so), and it went of ALL night!

Haha, its been a gong show! But Its been pretty funny, and I have laughed a lot...We are trying to find a place to live, and hopefully we will find one soon! If you need something to pray about, maybe pray for us to get a place to live! That would be Awesome! But its been a good humbling experience the past few days...it might not sound like much, but its been...fun!

ANYWAYS! I am working hard trying to add some invesitgators since we only have 1 progressing investigator right now. Its been good to rely on the Lord so much. Its a nice reminder that he always has my back!

I want you all to know that your Savior loves you, and knows you perfectly. He knows excatly what you need, even when you do not. That is why you can trust in him perfectly! I also want to share my love for the Book of mormon! I know that it is true. I had a cool experience a few months ago, I wanted to gain a stronger testimony of the Book of Mormon so I could teach about it more powerfully. So I prayed to know if it was true, and I came across 1 Nephi 10:1-6, and it was my answer, I felt the Spirit SO strong because I had that desire to believe, but I wanted to know. (And something I find super interesting about the book of mormon, is how much the spirit changes its meaning, because I bet if most of you look that reference up, it won't even be a big deal, but to me, in that moment, I knew this church was true!) And thats why I love the book of mormon, because in it we can recieve answers to ALL things. It is heavenly father BEST took in guiding us in our lives, it can strenghten your testimony of the savior, it can help all of you. It has helped me. I think my book of mormon in my most prized possesion out here! I love it with all my heart! And I'm so grateful to Heavenly Father for blessing me with this love for his book!

Well Family! I love you all! Hope you have a good week!

-Sister Lee-

August 23, 2011

Hey family!

So like I said last week Sister Cluff and I are together another transfer so by the end of this transfer it will have been 6 months together! And then after that its her last transfer, so I won't be surprised if we stay together then! Haha, its a long time with someone, but we really do work well together. And not bragging (really) but our ward really likes the both of us, and they are always making comments on how well we work together, and we look like we really get along. So thats good!

I'm really excited for the next few months in this area, missionary work is just going to BOOM! By the end of this weekend we will have had 4 baptisms in August, so our ward is beginning to trust us with there friends. And when Elder Ballard was here a month ago he talked about the importance of ward council. and our mission president has been focusing on ward council and how important it really is for the ENTIRE ward. But we were only having ward council once a month, but we just found out that Bishop has changed it, and starting in septemeber, we are going to have ward council EVERY week! This might not sound that great for all of you, but I am SO excited! It was the biggest miracle! It will help the work in this area so much. And starting in september, Bishop is announcing another one of Elder Ballards "ideas" about praying for a missionary experience, and he promised that if members pray for a missionary experience, within 90 days they will have someone that will be ready and prepared to meet with the missionaries! Its going to be awesome. My ward is already great, but it is about to come SO much better!

Thats something I have really learned out here, is there is always room for improvement! Your testimony can never be TOO strong, you can never know TO much, you can never have too much faith. Sister cluff always says that we must always be grateful, but NEVER be satisfied.

SO brandons baptism was really good! We had lots of support from the ward, and after our ward mission leader asked sister loveall (brandons mom) what the next step was, and she said that she is working on going to the temple! So amazing! I love that family! Oh ya, and this reminds me! So for any of you that thought my Zelda playing was a waste of time, I will let you know that I was playing it to prepare me for my mission! True story, I just didn't know it at the time! So Brandon has ADD and ADHD, so to teach him was always a challenge, but while we were teaching him he got really into "Zelda, ocarina of time," and he would always talk about where he was stuck, and I kid you not, I swear the spirit helped me remeber how to play the game, so I could say, "brandon, if you listen, I will tell you how to get the golden braclet!" or random things like that. Haha, it worked. But I could never remember what would happen next, so lets just say, the spirit taught me what was "meted unto me." (Thanks goes out to Jason for teaching me his gaming skills! (and yes, I know I'm still not as good as you!))

Okay, so we have this one investigator named Brian. Brian is wanted to go into seminary and be a priest or something, and he KNOWS the bible. I LOVE teaching him because he always confirm my testimony that the church is true. For instance, last week we took him on a church tour and showed him the baptisimal font, and he went off on how "that is how a font should look" with stairs leading into it, and all these other things. And when we started meeting him we asked what it would mean if this was true, and he said he would be surprised and he would have to change a lot, but something he is worried about is that everything we have taught him so far, he already believes! ...He is mormon, he just doesn't know it yet!

Well, that about sums up the week! Oh, so on sunday we went over to the Bistui's for dinner (Nate and Sarah), and Nate decided he wanted to teach us how to BBQ, it went really well, until his ENTIRE BBQ lit on fire, it was crazy! Haha, (but the food was already off, and it wasn't mu fault at all...I think, I don't think I should be allowed to BBQ anymore, we can just let megan and the men do that one)

But this week was really good. I learned a lot, felt the spirit, worked hard, saw miracles, was super tired, and I loved every minute! I love being on a mission. This really is where I need to be right now, and while I love and miss you all, I wouldn't want to be anywhere else but here!

I love you all! Thank you for your emails and your prayers. You are all in my prayers!

Love you!

-Sister Lee-

August 16

Hey Family!

Thanks for all your emails! Its sounds like you are all having a great, if not busy summer! Same with me! Haha! I had some really great learning experiences this week. Scout Ceriani was baptized on friday which was great. (ps, scout is a girl!) So I will tell you a little about what happened there. Scout has been going to church her whole life, but her parents never had her baptized when she was 8, so we tought her, and gae her a date. But that family is INSANELY busy so we could only teach maybe twice a week. and since we didn't have that much time, we found ourselves just teaching her the lessons (simply) and we weren't really teachign her. Anyways, its a few days before her baptism, and she asks if she is excited and she says "no"...so we didn't know what to do, we asked why, and we just didn't feel good about the situation. So the night before her interview we decide to fast for her so she can be excited. (we didn't want her to have a negative experience for her baptism, because that is NOT what the gospel is about!) ANYWAYS! We decide to fast, her interview is at 2, and we go and teach her at one, and it wasn't feeling right, I didn't feel very good about it, but she got her interview, and he said she was good. But I still wasn't feeling good. I reflected on why I didn't feel good, and I realized that we used the excuse, "well she is 9" WAY to much, and we almost pushed the date on her. It was almost like I wanted it because I wanted it, not because the Lord wanted it to happen. So we are still fasting, and we decide to pray about it. And at this time, before I prayed I was now dead set AGAINST her being baptized on the 12th, I was refusing, because like I said, it didn't feel right! But then I prayed...and the word "Tomorrow" came to my head. I pushed the thought away thinking it was just me because I wanted to have a baptism every weekend in august, and I kept praying, I prayed SUPER hard, because I finally humbled myself and put the lord before me, I wanted to do what HE wanted. And when I finally submitted myself to God, the 12th came to my head again, and I was confused because I didn't know why I would have to go through SO MUCH for nothing to change, and then the story of Abraham came to my head, and I realized that I just had to be "willing to sacrifice" and put the Lord first. So that night we talked with the family and scout to make sure she was good, and it was perfect. It just worked out perfectly. ...I don't really know if I explained this story well, just know that it was a HUGE learning experience and it was really good for me to experience! I hope it was good to read! Basically, the moral of the story is to put your trust in the lord COMPLETLY, and to always put him first, because when you do that, he will make things work out the way the need to!

Another exciting thing that happened was we started to teach Katies husband James! He wants to know if its true, but he doesn't want to give up his lifestlye. But I am VERY excited to teach him! I have SUCH a love for marines and military members. I love working with them!

Anyways, I am running out of time, but it has been a good week. I love you all so much! Oh, just letting you know, transfers were today and Sister Cluff and I are staying together in our area. I'm excited because we know how each other work, and I love this area. But this will be a LONG time to be with the same person! But it should be really good! Okay, well I love you!

Have a good week!

-Sister Lee-

August 9

Hey Family!

Last week was really great! Katie Edmunds was baptized on saturday which was super exciting to watch. August 6th was her original date, but her baptism was "last minute" because sister cluff and I were stupid and forgot that investigators don't have to know everything before they are baptized as long as they have a desire to follow christ for the rest of there life. And Katie really had that desire, so after being beradded (I can't spell that word) by the spirit, we saw Katie and told her we wanted to change her date back. She was really excited about it! I know now that she has the gift of the Holy Ghost she will learn so much more, and he will help her to make good decisions. Its hard because her husband is not a member, and he is a marine, so his lifestyle is a lot different than hers! BUT he has started ti ask us questions, and he has sat in on a few lessons, and he said he felt really good at the baptism, so that was AWESOME! I'm really excited to start teaching him! (His name is James).

Have I talked about my "platinum" investigator Christine?! She is the one who had read the book of mormon and prayed about it before we even met with her! We have taught her all she needs to know, she should have been baptized basically the day we met her, BUT she has to wait till she is 18 b/c of the situation with her parents, But she turns 18 at the end of this month, and we are actually using her to fellowship OTHER investigators! We are taking her tonight to the mormon battalion to teach a girl named Anna who is a german exchange student!

So this week the weather has been nice, its cold in the morning, then HOT in the afternoon, then cool in the evening, which is perfect! Well, I could do without the HOT, but I really can't complain!

So want to hear a funny story?! This week we went and ate lunch on these picnic tables at a park, and there was all these crows flying around, and you may not know this, but I HATE crows...always have! So they are flying around, and in the middle of my sandwich, I feel something fall on my head, and all over my back...a bird pooped on me! It was disgusting! haha! I think I got a picture of it, but I was laughing and grossed out all at the same time!

Okay, so I have had lots of you ask about my schedule, I don't think its too interesting, but here we go!

6:30, wake up, pray

6:40-7:10-Work out, our members have a gym, and there is a park we go run at, there is a girl there we talk to every morning, but she doesn't speak english, so its always interesting! haha

7:10-7:58 Shower, get ready and eat breakfast!

8:00-9:00 personal study, (base it on our investigators)

9:00-10:00, companionship practice (practice what we are going to teach that day)

10:00-10:30 Sister cluff has language study, I study random things!

10:30 + Teach people the gospel! We have 1 hour for lunch, and 1 hour for dinner

9:00 Be in home, start planning for next day

9:30 update area book, get ready for bed (I try to write in my journal, I'm not always sucessful)

10:30- be in bed!

Thats my day...EVERYDAY! Well thats a lie, tuesdays and sundays are a bit different! haha!

Okay, so I have to tell you about Sarah Bistui (the wife of nate who was baptized a few weeks ago) SHe LOVES to serve, and she invites us for dinner lots, and she cooks WAY to much, one time we went over and she had steak, and burgers and salad, and on sunday we went over and she had milkshakes AND BBQ Chicken AND ribs AND corn AND pie...yep, meals with them I ROLL out of! haha!

I am really liking my district, the elders are all a little awkward, but its fun, so far I haven't met, or heard of any sister haters, which is really good! I'm happy about that one! And this morning we had a big sisters meeting at the mission home with sister clayton, it was super fun, we had brunch and then a meeting, we have 32 sisters in our mission, thats A LOT! But more than half are in the Mobat.

This week was so good! I loved it, and I'm excited for this coming up week too! We have one of our 9 yr olds named scout getting baptized on saturday, so that will be REALLY exciting for her and her family!

Well Family, I love you all SO much! Thank you for your prayers and support! I am praying for you all, and I hope you are all doing good!

Love you!

-Sister Lee-

Interview with Kristin

So I asked Kristin 10 questions about her mission. . . . . she had some GREAT answers!!! Check out what she had to say!

Hey Megs! Super cute idea for the blog! I doubt anyone will read it...but its cute! Haha, okay , so for those questions,

M - 1 - When did you arrive in San Diego?

K - I arrived in San Diego on April 12th, around 10:00am!

M - 2 - Who was the first person you saw when you got off the plane?

K - 2. The first person I saw when I got off the plane was probably some random stranger! haha, but the first person I REALLY saw was my mission president and his wife!

M - What was your first thought once you got to San Diego?

K - My first thought, I really don't know, I remember thinking it was weird that I was ACTUALLY in San Diego, on a MISSION, and that I was going to live here for the next 18 months, and to be honest, this thought has crossed my mind SEVERAL times since then!

M - 4 - How often have you been to the temple?

K - I've gone IN the temple once, I can go again in a few weeks! But I have gone TO the temple lots, we take investigators there ALL the time! They love it, because they can ALWAYS feel the spirit!

M - 5 - Who has been your favorite companion so far?

K - My favorite compnaion has been Sister Cluff, this is probably due to the fact that she has biscially been my ONLY companion! Haha! I loved sister turner, but I was only with her for 3 weeks. Sister cluff is lots of fun, and I have learned LOTS from her!

M - 6 - What is your favorite thing to teach investigators?

K - My FAVORITE thing to teach investigators in the Plan of salvation, because it JUST makes sense! I also love telling the 1st vision, because the spirit is always so strong!

M - 7 - Have you memorized the program at the Mormon Battalion yet?

K - The WHOLE program, no, But the main parts yes, and there is this one song that gets stuck in your head for DAYS after you go, But I LOVE the Mormon Battalion, its one of the best missionary tools there is!

M - 8 - Which parts of San Diego have you served in so far?

K - My first area was down on the mexican border in an area called Otay Mesa, I was only there for 3 weeks, then we got transferred up to an area called scripps Ranch, which is in mira mesa!

M - 9 - What are the names of your past mission president and your new mission president?

- 10 - What is the biggest difference between the two of them?

K - My old mission president is President Donaldson, he knew doctrine like crazy and was super bold and just an AMAZING man, I am so glad I got to serve under him for two transfers. My new mission president is President Clayton. He is SO soft and nice (Not soft like push over, but very kind) he is very loving and he has a great vision for our mission, I am REALLY excited to serve under him for the rest of my mission!

Wow! That took some time! Haha! I hope those answers are okay!

Welcome

Sorry it has taken me so long to do this, but a lot of the families in my ward have a blog page for their missionary and so I thought it would be nice to do one for Kristin! When I talked to Kristin about doing it, she said, "Sure, but no one will read it!" I assured her that her friends and family would LOVE to receive weekly updates about her mission. . . . I'm hoping I'm right!
For those of you who don't know, Kristin is on her mission in San Diego, CA. She will be there until August or September of next year and she is LOVING being a missionary. Every week I will post a letter from her that she writes home. Feel free to comment or ask questions! I will send them to her so she can read what you all have to say!
If you want to write Kristin a letter, I will get her mailing address as soon as I can find it. I KNOW she would LOVE to receive letters from you!!! Kristin usually writes letters on Tuesdays and does her best to respond to each and every letter that she receives! She also LOVES receiving photos, so feel free to send some over!
Kristin is having a hard time sending us pictures, but she has sent us a couple from the Mormon Battalion in San Diego. . . . I will do my best to post the pictures that she sends us as you can definitely see Kristin's love for her mission and the people in the photos!
So that's it! This should be one of the rare times you will hear from me. . . . the rest of the time it will be Kristin's words that are posted here!
Stay Classy!
Megs