Week 70

Hey, Merry (late) Christmas everyone!


I got a bit emotional as I thought about, how it was my last Christmas in the mission field, bittersweet moment, because although I miss my family and can't wait to be with them, I love my mission and serving the Lord and his people.  This Christmas was a lot more special than the first Christmas in my mission, which is weird to say, but as we were watching, "The Nativity" video at the Panton's house, everything just hit me, as to why I felt like this, I truly "understand" Christmas a little more.  In the last 16 months, I have come to know and understand who the Savior is.  I have come to appreciate more His Atoning Sacrifice that He lovingly did for each of us.  I have come to understand that having charity and serving one another is exactly what the Savior did at all times, which is why, I have never felt so much joy in my entire life until my mission, because I have been in His service.
 
The more I have come to know the Savior, the happier I've been.  I've loved doing the "Light The World" initiative because it's allowed me to see the following:
1. Giving instead of receiving is truly is the best way to spend our time, and all our efforts in the Christmas season, and all year round.
2. It's not a coincidence that the entire world is a lot more united, loving and charitable during the Christmas season, because it is a reflection of the Saviors attributes.
3. Everything I need, I already have, my family, friends, and the gospel. But, most importantly, I have the knowledge that Christ is our Mediator to enjoying the blessings of  eternal life.  Sister Panton said something on Christmas Day that I will never forget.  With tears in her eyes, she said "We have been so excited to have you over, because what better way to celebrate Christmas, than to be able to have those who talk about Christ everyday in our home."  What an honor it was for me in that moment to be recognized as a representative of Jesus Christ.  I will never forget that moment.

Investigators:
1. Luz: we went over a couple times last week to visit Luz and she told her husband that she wants to be baptized! We are so excited!
2. Okay for the sake of time, I will get into more detail next week, but we called every single investigator in the Elders area, and set up return appointments with them.  Not every one of them answered, but those that did are really excited to get to know us!
3. Veronica: she was going to come to the Christmas party, then she didn't, so that was sad. But, we have a return appointment with her tomorrow!

Tender Mercies this week:
1. We saw a man while driving down this street hunched over on the ground and not getting up, so we turned around to go and help him. Turns out, he had been hit by a car and they sped off, he had a broken nose, so I called 911, and other people came and helped too. It was honestly incredible to see the love we all showed this poor man. Also, one of the ladies helping, turned out to be the best friend of Elder Santiago's family. Elder Santiago is an Elder I was in the MTC with, and recently returned back to Puerto Rico.
2. A member of our Ward knitted us scarves for Christmas.
3. After barely snowing at all this winter, it snowed on Christmas Day. My first white Christmas!
4. Someone cleaned off the ice off our car so we didn't have to one morning.
5. Went to the temple the day after Christmas!
6. While looking for this house off a reference we received, a man came outside, and asked us if we were missionaries, and invited us inside to meet his family. It turned out to be the family we were looking for. He is now one of our newest investigators!!

Christmas day was well spent.  First, we had breakfast at the Vincent's, and they gave us some cute presents.  Then, Hermana Laurie and I opened our presents, then I called you my lovely family, then Hermana Laurie called hers, then we went and visited the Holland family, and then went to the Panton's and they gave us cute gifts,  and then we went to the Camey family's house, then off to eat dinner with Hermano Ochoa (our Ward Mission Leader) and his family, then to visit Verónica, and then we went home. It was a long and wonderful day.

It was such a wonderful experience getting to talk to you, my wonderful family. I really have no greater joy than what each of you bring me.

I hope you all enjoyed light the world as much as I did! I invite you all to continue looking for ways to #LightTheWorld everyday!

Next Monday are transfer calls, and to tell you the truth I have NO idea whats going to happen, especially because it's my last transfer in the Mission.:(  It's Crazy, but I hope that I stay in the area with Hermana Laurie, that is my hope, but whatever Heavenly Father wants, I will gladly go and do, Iré y haré!!!

As I am realizing that this week marks the end of the year, I have been reflecting on everything that I have experienced.  I have experienced quite a bit of things (haha), but I wouldn't take anything back. The Lord truly is in the details of our lives.  He knows me perfectly, and I am so grateful to have had the chance to be in His Service during the year of 2017.  As the New Year comes, I hope that I can reflect and apply the things I have learned in my mission so far, into the rest of my life.  I am so excited to spend the next 7 weeks giving all that I have to this work.

I know my Savior lives.  I know this is where I'm supposed to be.  I know that without Him, I am nothing, and with Him, I am everything I can be, and so much more!!!

I love you all, have a wonderful New Year, and please be safe!


Hermana Kali Rae Green

Thank You to My Family and Friends for the Christmas Love!

Our district plus the English elders that are in my stake with Hermana Laurie and I sang,"Angels We Have Heard on High" the first verse in English, the second verse in Spanish, the third in English. It was a blast.

White Elephant Gift Exchange 

My Zone

Week 69

Hello My Dear Family and Friends!

It snowed again, but then stopped. We all hope it'll snow on Christmas. We put up our Christmas decorations today and they look SO CUTE.  Thanks mom :)

Spiritual experiences:

Well, one big one comes to my mind, it happened yesterday.  This week has been a pretty stressful week, not gonna lie. I've felt a lot of pressure, feelings of inadequacy, and a bit of stress as the only Sister Trainer Leader for this new big area I have been assigned.  At the end of my personal study yesterday, I prayed and asked Heavenly Father for the strength and faith to do the responsibilities he has asked me to do, and more than anything, I really just needed to know if he was there, listening to me, and I asked if he would help me recognize that he was aware of me and what I was currently going through.  I ended my prayer, and not even 30 seconds later I heard my email sound go off.  I thought, "who could be emailing me on a Sunday morning?" Sure enough, and to my surprise, it was the lovely Hermana Smart, President Smart's wife from Puerto Rico.  Before Elder Juarez left to go back to Puerto Rico, as one of the 14 Elders called back, I had given him one of the nativities Mom made to give to the Smarts, with a note attached.  So, Sister Smart wrote me a note, thanking me for the gift, and said many wonderful things, and in the end said, "I love you very much", I just started bawling.  For many reasons, but the most important being that Heavenly Father was SO quick to respond to my prayer.  I knew in that moment that He had heard me, that He was aware of me, and was kind enough to answer my prayer literally right after I had asked.  Heavenly Father puts very specific people in our lives to help remind us that he's aware of us and we are never alone. I immediately felt at peace and knew that I would have His help to accomplish all that I needed to do, so I did not have to stress or worry about it, just needed to keep my faith strong and leave the worries to Him.

Investigators:

Tino and Maria: so, this week was crazy with them, but a lesson learned indeed.  So, Tuesday we had this powerful lesson on the Plan of Salvation and it ended with us extending a baptismal invitation, and both of them saying yes, and explaining their great joy in their decisions.  Hermana Laurie and I, left the house leaping and screaming and almost in tears out of the happiness we felt.  We went back on Friday, and had the complete opposite experience.  Tino had heard a lot of rumors about the Church that weren't true, and he was criticizing and demeaning our beliefs.  A definite  change had happened, and they both were very against the things we shared.  Hermana Laurie and I both knew that we couldn't leave their house without giving them the chance and opportunity to hear the message of the Restoration of the Gospel, and testify of its truthfulness.  Once we got to the First Vision, the topic of Joseph Smith became of interest, and not in the nicest of ways.  We had, had enough, and we boldly testified of the truthfulness of this message, and testified that the ONLY way they could know if everything we had shared with them was true or not, was by reading the Book of Mormon and pondering the things it contains in their hearts, and praying to know of its truthfulness.   They hesitantly accepted the invitation, and took it.  We'll be going back tomorrow to see if they have read and prayed, or not.  I'll explain more about this when we Skype! All and all, it was a pretty cool experience, haha!

Luz: so, yesterday we had a combined lesson with the Elders (Elder Ruiz, Elder Brito and Elder Gonzales) to transition one of their investigators, Luz.  She is super cool and married to a member.  It was such a cool experience being in a lesson with four other missionaries, all working by the Spirit to discern her needs.  The spirit was so strong.  We have a return date for tomorrow and we're super excited!  They invited us over for Christmas Eve or Christmas Day, I don't remember which one, haha!!!

Tonight we'll be meeting with a couple more investigators of the Elders and going to an FHE,  I'll probably have a LOT more to talk about next week once the new area is moving along!

So, my sister (Tina) inspired me last week to make a list of tender mercies I see from the Lord every week.  I've seen that as I do this, it helps me remember how merciful the Lord is with me, and how I have seen His hand in my daily life.  So, here's this week's: 1) Hermana Smarts email to me with a message from the Lord at the perfect moment. 2) We came home on Thursday night to find a brand new bottle of Dawn dish soap nicely wrapped in a Christmas bag on our porch, so why is this such a tender mercy? The same day, we had ran out and we had told no one, but I knew that Heavenly Father was watching out for us, haha. 3) A member of the Bishopric of a Ward we've never gone to brought us brownie mix as a thank you gift from his ward for us for our service as missionaries. 4) Elder Ruiz took the time to sit down with us, go through EVERY SINGLE INVESTIGATOR in detail to help us begin this new area. While he was doing that, there was a man playing beautiful music on the piano in the chapel, and it was snowing outside, I felt so much peace and love in my heart from the Lord. 5) While trying to contact a reference on a really, really cold day, a lady invited us in for hot chocolate, and offered us dinner on Christmas Day, and a place to make a phone call to our families if we didn't have a way to talk to them. 6) We finally met a member in one of the English Wards we cover after trying to visit her for 2 weeks. We shared a message and video from "Light the World", and she started bawling, telling us how she knew that it wasn't coincidence that we came by, and that she had been struggling, and that we came at the perfect moment where she was just about to lose hope on the Lord. 7) people laughed at my lame jokes I made. 8) 14 Elders happily returned to Puerto Rico to help the people I love so very much. 9) a random member gave us a box of chocolate for no reason. 10) A couple less active families came to church Sunday for the first time in a long while. 11) We got 35 out of 36 on our car inspection at zone conference! 12) Hermano Aponte (from the High Council over missionary work) and his family, gave us special Christmas ornaments from Puerto Rico!

So, another really big tender mercy was during Zone Conference.  President and Sister Killpack will invite the MLS couples and Stake President's from our Mission area to our Zone Conferences sometimes.  There was a senior couple behind me and I talked to them a little bit and explained that I was a missionary originally assigned to Puerto Rico.  After I gave my training and sat down, the husband tapped me on the shoulder, and said, "Now, would the Lord create a hurricane to bring Hermana Green here to help lead these missionaries in the Utah Orem mission?" And he sat back, smiling.  I started crying, as I received yet another confirmation, that I was where I needed to be!

Hope y'all enjoyed those tender mercies as much as I did! The lord is very aware of our needs, and He is involved in the details of our lives.  If we take the time each day to recognize and reflect upon them, we will truly be amazed and so blessed.  I am so grateful for the tender mercies of the Lord that I see each day.  He gives me strength and hope, and reminds me that I am never alone and He is always watching over me!

Oh, our Zone Conference combined Christmas party was SO FUN.  So, from 9-12 we were receiving trainings and I was translating the whole time for Hermana Laurie and man my brain was FRIED, but it was really fun!  Our district plus the English Elders, that are in my Stake with Hermana Laurie and I sang, "Angels We Have Heard on High", the first verse in English, the second verse in Spanish, the third in English, it was a blast - you'll see pictures.  Then we had a really yummy lunch and then played games.  For our White Elephant gift exchange I bought a whisk.  I know, that sounds lame, but it had to be something both Elders and Sisters could use, plus it had to be under $2 in value, so that was the best gift I could come up.  My companion bought a tiny cheese grater, HAHAHAHA!!!, I love her!!! So, I ended up with brownie mix, that Hermana Cazares brought, cant wait to make them.  At the end of the party, we sang some Christmas hymns and got our Christmas gifts from our families and friends.  It was a great day.

Also, MISSION ACCOMPLISHED with the gifts for the children of the Ponce and Mayagüez Stakes in Puerto Rico!  My heart is so, so happy! THANK YOU MOM, SISTER BRADFORD AND SISTER BIANUCCI! We couldn't have done it without you all. I love each and every one of you! I am grateful this Christmas that my family elected to not receive of gifts this Christmas and gave all that we had to my investigators, converts and members who are in need in Puerto Rico.  Our family truly received the greatest gift this Christmas and my heart is overflowing with joy and happiness.  Thank you family and friends for your contributions, hard work, love and support!  Hermana Vasquez from Puerto Rico sent me the cutest message yesterday thanking us for her gifts. I'll send you a screenshot of it with translation of what she said. She's adorable.


I went on exchanges with Hermana Zayas this week and it was fantastic! We bonded over Puerto Rico and had a great time learning from one another. We went to this one member's house, who is from Puerto Rico and is like 21 years old. She gave us Puerto Rican food and gave us la masa para hacer las empanadillas, I was so happy!! My heart and stomach were full.  So, during my exchange, we went and had dinner with Mirna and Elian. They were a reference originally for us, but it turned out they lived in American Fork which is outside of our Area. They got baptized a couple of weeks ago, and I was able to teach them four times in the week I was training with the American Fork Sisters. They are such a sweet family. When I sprained my ankle, Mirna, got out some oils and lotion, and rubbed my foot and was helping it not swell as much.  I told her no way she had to rub oils on me, because it was a foot, but she insisted.  She is so humble, and it just reminded me of when the Savior washed his Apostle's feet.  I was overwhelmed with tender emotions.  I gave them a Nativity and they were so happy.  I told them I would come visit them with you. They're excited to meet you both, haha!!  We've gone to a lot of Ward Christmas parties and it's been great for Hermana Laurie to practice her English.  Oh, I forgot to mention last week, we went to the Provo MTC and visited her sister! That was pretty cool.

Exchanges with Hermana Zayas, Mirna & Elian, Masa Para Hacer Empanadillas

OKAY HERMANA PEARCE IS THE HOMIE. I can't believe she went to Puerto Rico to give some humanitarian aid, and took the time to go to my old apartment and get my Puertorican stuff that I left behind in the Hurricane, and send it home to you! I owe her everything. THANKS SARAH!

So life is crazy.  Life is good.  Can't complain.  I am so happy that the 14 elders are back in Puerto Rico.  I've heard from a couple of them, and I am so happy for them, and for the people.  I can't wait to go back and help them out after I am finished here in Orem.

Keep on Lighting the World, I am so grateful for you all.

See you next Monday on SKYPE, can't wait to see you all and talk with you!!!!!

love,

-Hermana Kali Rae Green

Spanish tutoring with Tyler! And sister Panton in the back. I love this family so much. 

Cleaning our car, taken right before I whacked myself in the head with the vacuum and had my jacket swallowed by it right after HAHAHA

Week 68

What a week! I can't believe we get to talk so soon!

Spiritual experiences:

Well, Heavenly Father works in mysterious ways, but they are always perfect and not so mysterious, once we realize the way He works.  Hermana Laurie and I were knocking on some doors, trying to visit some old investigators from our area book, but none of them answered.  I told Hermana Laurie that we should go visit Jai's family since they lived just a couple houses down.  As we were walking, all of a sudden we hear this giant car honk, we look, and it's Sister Holland (Jai's grandma), she's one of the greatest women I've ever met.  We went over to go talk to her, and said hello and asked her how she was doing, she started bawling and said she had been praying for Heavenly Father to send her some comfort and understanding.  She continued and told us about how Bob, her husband, passed away unexpectedly just a night before. They had only been married for a couple of months, and he was the one that confirmed Jai.  We showed her the "Light the World" video, and testified of the Plan of Salvation, and talked her through a couple of things.  It was a very tender moment with her.  As we were walking away, I remembered that morning, I had prayed that Hermana Laurie and I could be an answer to some one's prayer that day.  I completely forgot about that, but what's cool is that Heavenly Father didn't.  He doesn't forget about His children, even if we might.

Another spiritual experience happened exactly a week ago today.  To start off, I am so grateful for the spiritual thoughts Dad sends me each week.  I have found that they are so applicable to that week and that Heavenly Father works through different people in my life to teach me and help me.  Last week, Dad wrote about Charity the pure love of Christ.  One thing that stuck out to me in his Spiritual thought, was how we need to "pray with all the energy of heart" for the gift of charity, just like the Book of Mormon prophet, Moroni asks us to do.  Later that night, we were going to visit a reference we had received from a member.  We knocked, a woman probably in her 60s, answered the door, and let us in.  Her husband was sitting on the couch, and we introduced ourselves and had a little chit chat with them.  The man (his name is Tino), when we walked in, asked us in a bit snarkily way, "what, are you selling chocolates or something?" and I replied, "not exactly, but it's better than chocolate."  Once he recognized our Church name on our tags, he wasn't too fond of listening to us, and started making rude remarks about our Church.  He even said at one point, "your Church doesn't like Mexicans" and I said, "sir, I am Mexican", haha!!  After a bit more comments from him, he ended with, "you little girls are just very closed off from the world and don't really know your Church."  It was at that point where I could feel heat in my face start to rise, and my patience was starting to be lowered.  Right at that moment, I remembered the line from Dad's email that morning about charity, and I just started praying, and praying and praying with all my heart for this man.  I remember distinctly thinking in my head, Heavenly Father, please help me have charity for this man.  Please let me feel the love you have for him.  Please let me see him as you see him, and help me look at his eternal potential."  And man, did I pray with all the energy of my tiny heart, haha!!  I then felt the soothing words and confirmation of the Spirit come into my head, saying, "he is just another lost sheep, waiting to be brought home.  Remember that, and have patience with him."  I then realized that he too was just trying to find his way home, and that our calling is to be like the Savior, and act as he did.  We showed the "Light the World" video, and I began to feel love for this man, actual, Christ-like love.  I no longer felt offended.  He later, explained how he felt like he didn't have any more faith in Jesus Christ because of experiences he has been going through.  And as he said that, I looked at him, smiled, and was reminded of a promised blessing pronounced upon me in a Priesthood blessing given to me by Elder Ruiz, one of my zone leaders, that said, "I would have the gift of seeing people as our Heavenly Father does."  Remembering that thought, I said, "Hermano Tino, no one is ever too far from the loving arms of Jesus Christ.  "We shared a scripture, testified of our calling, and ended up having a powerful lesson.  We even got him laughing at a couple of jokes we made.  At the end of the lesson, we were about to say the prayer, and we asked him if there was anything he would like us to pray for.  He replied, with some tears in his eyes, to pray for his son.  It was incredible to see the change of heart I had, and the change of heart he had, all because of charity.  It was a valuable lesson learned that even the hardest of hearts can change.  Thank you, Dad, for helping me learn that.

Investigators:
So life is about to get EVEN BUSIER because now since both of my wonderful zone leaders are leaving this mission next week, (Elder Juarez is going back to Puerto Rico, and Elder Ruiz is finishing his 2 years as a missionary and going home) we are getting their area, with all their investigators and their ward.  We are so excited!  And kinda nervous, haha!!  But we are excited to work more and harder.  They have a TON of investigators all with baptismal dates and potential!  I am humbled at the trust Heavenly Father has in our companionship, I also question how my sanity is going to be, haha, but all is well!!  More updates will come next week, haha!!

We are also teaching English lessons to this couple from Argentina, Gustavo and Claudia.  They aren't interested a whole ton in our message, but hoping that by loving them and teaching them English, they will feel something :)

I am so beyond happy for the 14 elders that get to go back to Puerto Rico!  I know without a DOUBT that these elders were called by revelation and are the ones to start preparing the way for these wonderful people in Puerto Rico.  Many tears were shed thinking about the wonderful reunions that would happen between these elders, President and Hermana Smart, and most importantly, the people of Puerto Rico.  What a beautiful Christmas gift for Puerto Rico.  MY heart is so full, and I know that The Lord has prepared everyone involved, especially the people.  I am so excited to see what's in store for everyone there.  These elders have my full, 100 percent trust, and I have heard of a couple who are going, two that were in the MTC with me, Elder Bradford and Elder Juarez, I am just so happy!!  I would be lying, if I didn't say that I wish I could go help too.  But, I know I am supposed to be here.  If the Lord needs me here, I will work my hardest here, helping the wonderful people here in Orem.  If he called me back, then I would go and work hard there.  It really doesn't matter at the end of the day, where I am called to serve.  All that matters to me, is that I get to wake up, put my tag on, and serve, because it's His work, NOT OURS!!  He knows best, and sees what we can not see, simple as that!!

Mom, we've been handing out the nativities and wrist bands you sent me.  Everyone loves the nativities, but I couldn't take any credit for them, so I tell everyone you did it, and now even more people think you're really cool and want to meet you.  So far, I've given the nativities to my district, and I plan on giving some to investigators, members, and I sent one with Elder Juarez to give to President and Sister Smart, and I am going to give one to the Killpacks this Friday at our Zone Conference.  This makes me feel really happy bringing a physical gift along side the normal best gift of the gospel.  Thanks for being the best Mom, and we haven't put up the Christmas decorations you sent yet, but we are doing that tonight!

Last week I had the great opportunity to go on exchanges with Hermana Orjuela! It was a blast and she helped me a lot!  Additionally, we had MLC, and CDM, all such amazing meetings.  I gave a 25 minute training on President Killpack's training he gave at MLC.  It's like taking notes on the Prophet's talk and having to present it exactly the same passion, no pressure, Haha!!  Today we had a zone activity!  We played dodge ball, UNO, and a bunch of other types of sports games, and ate pizza, it was a blast!!

Mission Leadership Council!

My Zone!

This week I get to go on exchanges with Hermana Zayas in American Fork. I'm stoked.  Also, this week we have our Zone Conference, on Friday.  We will be training, and President and Sister Killpack will be there, and we will have a Zone Christmas party with a white elephant exchange (I bought a whisk) with Christmas stuff and food.  Our district is singing ,"Silent Night".  Speaking of singing, I will be singing a duet in Sister Panton' s ward this Sunday!  We're singing a really pretty arrangement of, "What Child is This".  I'm really excited!!

Tender mercies... I thought I would share with you some tender mercies I have seen this past week from the Lord.  1) after having fasted for new investigators, we found 7 in one day.  2) God has finally granted me confidence in my self-esteem, I feel beautiful, and I've been waiting for this all my life, it feels so good.  Now I'm not perfect and I still have things to work on, but I think I am in a very good place right now.  3) no one planned on feeding us on Christmas day, or 5 other days on the month, and they all got filled.  4) I became a Spanish tutor this week and an English teacher, HAHA.  5) the talks in sacrament meeting were EXACTLY what I needed to hear.

Spanish Tutoring with Tyler Panton and our little buddy Ryan!

Hermana Green & Laurie Love Orem!

That's all for now.  I had a grand week, and life is good.  Keep on Lighting the World!

Hermana Kali Rae Green

Week 67

Hola Family,

Let it snow, let it snow, let it snow, It snowed!  So it SNOWED last night, like really snowed all last night. We walked out and it was a Winter Wonderlaaaaaand.

First Snow!

Winter Wonderland!

Spiritual experiences:
Well, sharing the #LightTheWorld video has been such an incredible experience.  It's pretty cool just finding people and sharing with them the gospel, and having this technology makes it so much easier.  As we were sharing the video with a lady we were contacting, the symbolism of something came into my head that really moved me; here I am, sharing this inspirational video, that was being watched on the tablet I am holding in my hands - The spirit was felt, and people are changed after watching it.  Likewise, it's cool to think that the gospel is also something that I can share, whether it's physically in my hands through a video, or through the voice of my testimony, it is all the same.  My favorite part of sharing the “Light the World” video is watching their eyes at the moment Christ comes into the video.  We had the opportunity last night to visit a family in one of the Wards we cover.  We were looking for a specific house number, and couldn't find the house, so we decided to knock on a random house and ask where the house was.  Turns out the house we knocked on was the right one, haha!  They were members, and the family we were looking for was living in their basement.  Before we went to visit the family in the basement, we asked if we could share a message with the members that owned the house.  They guided us to their living room and we sat by the Christmas tree, and shared the “Light the World” video with this young couple and their four kids.  They were so eager to watch it, and watching them watch the video was really special, because you could see that they felt something.  The only light the was in the room was from the Christmas tree and the video. It was special.

Investigators:
So we've been really struggling to find new people to teach, but the fast we did worked! #therecanbemiracleswhenyoubelieve!!

La Familia Camacho: So, the Camacho family was a reference last night from our dinner appointment, it was seriously a miracle!  No one had us down for dinner yesterday, and a Sister in the ward came up to us and said, "do you have dinner today?" And we said no, and she said, "Come to my house tonight, you have dinner with us now,” So we were like SWEET, and so we went and we shared the “Light the World” video with them, and asked if there was anyone that they knew who we could share the video with and they told us about their next door neighbors.  They're from Venezuela and a good family.  So, we went and they let us in and we talked to them for a little bit about Venezuelan food (which, might I add, is incredible) and broke the ice immediately.  We asked if we could share the “Light the World” video and they said yes.  So, we shared it, and they loved it.  The father of the family made it clear that they were Evangelical, but has interest in learning English, so we will be teaching English to them – whatever works to keep in contact with them.  They are a pretty young couple, with 3 kids, two teenagers and one little 2 year old girl.  The dad, after the video said, "that's one thing I love about your church, is how well organized it is, and how much service you give".  It was cool, and he said usually they don't like to mix religions but they saw us standing outside and they felt bad, so they let us in, and wanted to know more about us and they ended up being really surprised at how much they enjoyed their time with us.  To be quite honest, I have no idea how I'm going to teach English but in the words of the great Kevin Tison,  I am going to, "take the ball and run with it and not let the cow out of the barn too early".

Ethan: So, you know that family who lives in the basement we were going to visit? So, we went, and a 17 year old boy Ethan lives there.  He was super cool and was really open to listening to the message of the restored gospel.  Turns out he has gone to our Ward a lot with his brothers, but he isn't a member.  So, we're excited to teach him and his family.

Verónica: She didn't come to church ): but, we did have a visit with her last week about what happens after this life and we talked about family history, and temples and other stuff.  It was really cool and she said, "I now understand why families are so important to you".  It was a spiritual connection.

Speaking of Spiritual connections; So, I absolutely loved your spiritual thought about charity! I took some cool notes I wanted you to see.  I've come to realize that I'm a very visual person and that you basically wrote a formula about how to obtain charity, so I made it that way.  Also, (woah I just had to translate that from Spanish to English in my head. That happens quite frequently now, haha) something that I feel inspired to share with you is what we do here each transfer.  Each transfer, President Killpack asks us to study one of the christlike attributes found in chapter 6 of Preach My Gospel, and my attribute I am working on is diligence.  Something I do, is each day, I look up scriptures regarding that attribute and look for ways to apply it to my day so I'm aware of it.  I also do that similar thing with the "Light the World" initiative.  Everyday, as you know, there is a scripture tied into the act of service you can do.  So, each day I am looking up the scripture, studying, and pondering the ways I can serve all those around me that day.

So GET THIS.  Avalon met my companion in the airport going home, which means, when I went to go get my new companion at the airport, Avalon and I were in the airport at the exact same time, crazy!  Her name is Sister Laurie and she is the sweetest thing.  She’s from Concepción, Chile, and does not speak a lot of English.  She's hilarious and is learning English, so I speak Spanish 100% of the time, it's been such a blessing!  Fun fact: at the beginning of my mission, I prayed that I would end my mission with a Latina companion, and Sister Laurie prayed that she would get an American trainer, so there you go, prayers answered!!  We have so much fun together, and we almost have the same name, her name is Kaylene.  She's a wonderful missionary and I'm so excited for the rest of this transfer with her.

My New Companion Hermana Laurie.

Training time with Hermana Laurie.

Today we had our district activity.  We went and bowled, still pretty terrible at bowling, but I did get a strike, and then we went and ate food and brought it to a Church building and played many games of UNO.  UNO is my favorite game.  I was laughing so hard, especially because Elder Brito, our district leader, was getting SO into it.  He's Dominican, which makes it even better, haha.

Bowling with Hermana Cazares

This week will be another busy one, as I have MLC tomorrow all day, planning for CDM with the zone leaders on Wednesday, and CDM on Thursday, and exchanges as well.  It should be a really good week.

Dad, I know you say, you and mom brag about me, but I brag about you two WAY more than you think.  I too can say like Nephi that, "I've been born of goodly parents".  Don't forget to look up the daily videos and see what you can do to help #LightTheWorld.

Thanks for raising me the way you did.  I love you!!

-Hermana Kali Rae Green

Turkey Bowl Injury!

Week 66

Orem Utah Mission Musical Fireside with Vocal Point and Shari Dew.

Hola,

Spiritual experiences:

Well we had TWO baptisms this week!!! That was so, so, so, exciting!!!  One really tender moment was watching Rylee be baptized as we were standing on the side of the font with her mom and Sister Stillman, with tears in her eyes, smile, then look at me, and then hug me and says, " Thank You, Thank You so much."  It was so cool to see how these two baptisms worked out.  Hermana Cazares and I have learned that when you have done everything you can do, the Lord will provide and make up the difference, and it's true.  We set a companionship goal of two baptisms for this last transfer.  We worked so hard, and halfway through the transfer, we were blessed with TWO little miracles, Jai and Rylee.  The Lord always provides if we will just press forward with faith, it might not be in the time frame we wish, but the Lord will provide!!

Baptisms:

Jai: She was baptized last week, and her baptism was so beautiful.  She asked us earlier in the week if we could speak at her baptism, and she asked me to speak about baptism.  It was great.  She was so happy and so so adorable.  She ran up to us after wards and gave us huge hugs.  I love her so much!

Rylee: she was baptized last week as well.  She received so much support from her family, it was great.  It was a very intimate and small baptism, but so powerful.  The spirit was felt very strongly, and it was so cool to see and realize that a family was slowly coming all together through the ordinances (like baptism) of Christ's church.  I love Rylee and being a member of Christ's true church.

Verónica: she came to church this week! Woooooo, two weeks in a row!  We have a cita with her tomorrow. We are super excited! :)

So, I sprained my ankle playing football on Thanksgiving... :)  I was playing QB,  and I threw a pass, but another person on the other team caught it and obviously that was an interception, so the first thought in my head is my pride and I think, "oh no, this interception is totally my fault, I have to run and rip his flag before he gets a touchdown."  So, here I am, sprinting down the field and I am almost get to him (the Elder that rudely intercepted my pass), and then all of a sudden, there's a snap and a giant crunching sound, and I think, "uh oh" and I fall to the ground.  Remember when I sprained my ankle at Trek? It was the exact same thing, but a lot less cool, haha!!  So in the words of Nacho Libre, I, "took it easy" for the rest of the game and sat out because I knew that it was gonna be pretty bad, haha!!  My ankle swelled up to the size of a tennis ball, and I got carried off the field by two Sisters, talk about embarrassing, haha!  President Killpack got some funny pictures of my crash and burn, so once I get them I'll send them to you.  The AP's bought me a 10 pound bag of ice for my foot, haha!  We went to our first dinner appointment after that and these members had crutches and they let me borrow them.   Later that night I got a blessing from Elder Ruiz and Elder Juarez, my zone leaders.  I can testify once again of the power of the Priesthood and exercising faith, because I had immediate relief and was able to walk on it perfectly, just two days after the incident.  And now mom,  I am all good, so don't worry! :)  The bruising was pretty gnarly, but it all makes for a great story, and I'll never forget my last Thanksgiving in the mission. :)

So this week has been filled with many exciting events.

Thanksgiving was so wonderful, even despite my ankle sprain!  Our football game was at 10:30 and it was flag football, and we were zone against zone, it was really fun.  We played for about two hours, President Killpack even played too!  We had our first Thanksgiving dinner appointment right after the TURKEY bowl around 1:30, at one of the members in the American Fork ward (I've been in a trio all week, so we've been covering both areas).  After that appointment we went and visited several different people sharing a spiritual message and doing acts of service.  At 5:00 we went to the Stillman's for another Thanksgiving dinner.  We originally had four dinner appointments, but two of them cancelled, which was a blessing, can you imagine eating four dinners in one day, no bueno!  Thanksgiving at the Stillman's was so much fun, they feel like family to me.  It was cool, because it felt like our family get togethers we have every Thanksgiving, but man oh man, there was so much good food.  I couldn't help but think of Tubba' s rolls or Dad's turkey, stuffing, mashed potatoes and home made gravy.  I bet the Elders you had join you on Thanksgiving were in heaven.

I went on splits with Hermana Josie (Kirstin my trainer from Puerto Rico) on Sunday.  So fun, it felt just like old times, and now she's engaged, how times flies!  Congrats Kirstin and Blake!  You two are a beautiful couple, and can't wait to attend your wedding in March.

On Saturday night, we witnessed a really bad car accident, and I called 911 for the first time in my life.  They were all teenagers and each one walked themselves to the ambulance.  No one was hurt. It was such a miracle and blessing.  I was reminded of the "Light the World" initiative and how in the very first scene of the video, it is an EMT person at some sort of accident helping someone, and I, in that moment, was very grateful for all those who are police officers, firefighters, EMT people, and first responders.  It was scary because we had just pulled up to the house we were going to contact and then we heard and saw everything happen, and lives changed in seconds.

We also were protected this week from two giant deer that ran in front of us and somehow just ran on both sides of our car and never hit us.  It was such a miracle.  Heavenly Father protects His missionaries!

I cant believe that my cousin Avalon is on her way home from her mission, and I will be returning home from my mission in just three months, WOW, seems like just yesterday we were leaving!  I am so proud of Avalon and her service, as well as all my other cousins (Dustin and Bergen) who are serving and having wonderful experiences on their missions.  It will be great for all of us to be reunited after our missions and share our experiences with each other.  I love our family, give Avalon a big hug for me.

MOM, I love you!!  I loved being able to reminisce about our Thanksgiving traditions at the river watching the Macy's Thanksgiving day parade in the morning while Dad cooks, or just spending time with the family.  It seems like you both hosted a great Thanksgiving, I loved the pictures!!  Also, I got so excited when I saw all those packages of supplies, toys and candy being sent to the children of Puerto Rico!  That makes my heart happy!!  Thank you Mom, Sister Bradford, and Sister Bianucci for these wonderful acts of service!!

Thanks for attaching pictures of Sister Smart's Instagram of the current conditions in Puerto Rico. The devastation is exactly how I remembered it, but I am so grateful that help is on the way.  I am especially grateful for our family Christmas Project that we are doing for all my investigators and new converts in Puerto Rico.  Foregoing giving any presents to ourselves and sending needed supplies to these families in Puerto Rico who need it so much more than us, is the best gift we will have this Christmas, for this is the true meaning of CHRISTmas.

On Saturday night, we were contacting some houses and we got a referral to go visit this family, so we knock on the door and a man with a very warm, happy personality opens the doors and says, "Hey sisters, come on inside, it's cold out!"  Shocked, and a little cautious, we said; "okay" and we go inside his house.  He explains how timely our visit was, because he was helping his son write a talk on missionary work.  After talking to this man we find out his name was David Parra, and he works for the Church Public Affairs Department, and he's the man that made the church program, "Just Serve", I know, crazy, right?  He is one of the most humble, and amazing members I have EVER met.  He says he wants to help Puerto Rico as much as he can, that made me happy.

DAD, I love you!!  Thank you for your spiritual thought.  I think you and Hermana Josie both were in tune with the Spirit, because she sent me a snippet of a talk that talked about the same things you shared with me.  I was pondering your thought; "Isn't it funny how nice we are to other people, but how mean we are to ourselves?"  It's something that I am trying to work on, and little by little I see how much happier I am when I just let go of fear and doubts, and just be myself.

I just got a call from President Killpack and I am going to the airport tomorrow morning with Sister Allen, who works in the mission office to go pick up my companion!  She's currently on her way from Chile, and I'm so excited!!!  Her name is Sister Laurie, and President said she doesn't know a lot of English.  So, I'm excited to better my Spanish and meet her and be with her this transfer!

So far this transfer has been great.  I've been in a trio with Hermana Cazares and Hermana Zayas for the last week, and it's been such a blast.  We've had our first District Meeting for our Zone and our Zone Leadership Meeting with all the district leaders, the zone leaders, and me, the STL.  Next week we'll have MLC and CDM, so, next week I'll be chalk full of meetings, but I love the zone already, and I love my district.  It's a Spanish district, in an English zone. So, YEAH!!!

Our Cute Little Trio this week! So we had to pack our car with ALL of hermana Cazares's stuff, my stuff for a week, and food we bought that day, I was so squished, I felt like that one time when we drove up to college with all my stuff and me in the middle of it hahaha. Or like every car ride to the river. Haha. 

Life is good.  I love what I do.  I love being a missionary.  And don't forget to #LighttheWorld #IluminaElMundo by sharing the video with everyone and doing the service days that start in a couple of days on December 1st!!

Love you all,

-Hermana Kali Rae Green

Love my Companion Hermana Cazares!

Orem Spanish Zone Conference!

Week 65

Happy Thanksgiving! (Almost.)

So last night was MAGICAL, so incredible!!  We had the chance to memorize, "The Living Christ" as a mission in preparation for the Fireside with Sheri Dew, and as a Mission we were going to recite it at the Fireside.  So, I'm not entirely sure if while I was memorizing it, I was really paying attention to what I was saying, but last night, towards the end of the Fireside we all stood and recited it, and it just hit me.  Here I was, in front of hundreds and hundreds of people, testifying of the Savior, the LIVING Christ.  He is not some myth that people have believed among the years, nor is he dead.  He truly is the Living Christ, the Son of God.  Tears rolled down my face as I knew that Jesus is the Christ.  I also felt the Spirit very strongly as I had the opportunity to sing in a small group for the Fireside.  We sang the lyrics of, "Joseph Smith's First Prayer" to the tune of, "Come Thou Fount of Every Blessing".  It was so cool to think that I was able to share my testimony of the Restoration through song.  I know the Spirit was felt.  It was extremely powerful when we got to the words, "Joseph, this is my beloved...", because the piano cuts out and it goes to acapella. It just was beautiful.  A very beautiful moment shared with many, and I am so grateful for the opportunity to have been apart of it.

Investigators:

RYLEE IS GETTING BAPTIZED TODAY! I AM SO EXCITED. So, so, so, happy!!!  The Stillman family has gone through so much, and has had quite the story in trying to help Rylee get baptized, one that I'll share once I'm home, but it really has been such a blessing to teach Rylee.  This family is so, so, so, special to me.  My heart is happy, happy, happy!!!

Jai will be baptized this Saturday! We are so excited!!

Ivan: so.. long story short, he will not be baptized on his date because of family reasons, it's complicated but he is shooting to be baptized in January!  We are going to keep working with him.

Verónica: so, we had one of the most amazing lessons with Veronica on an exchange last Wednesday with Hermana Orjuela.  On Sunday Veronica showed up at Church on her own.  We went over and we talked with her and I asked Verónica, what made you come to church on Sunday?  And she replied, " because I want my family to be living within the principles of the gospel".  I was so taken back and so happy all at once.  After a bit of talking, we asked her what her goals were and she said she knows she has to get married to her boyfriend, and she wants to get baptized and be sealed in the temple with her family.  It seriously was just so perfect!!  We are excited to be working with her to achieve her goals

The fireside was absolutely incredible. Sheri Dew was such an amazing speaker!  She told some incredible stories and is such an exceptional speaker.  We sat right behind Vocal Point during the entire Fireside.  They sang, "Nearer My God, to Thee", "Infant Holy, Infant Lowly", "It is Well with my Soul", and "More Holiness Give Me", as well as part of our official Mission song, "Send Me".  They we're AMAZING!!!  I talked with the bass and baritone guys and they were super chill.  I have the recordings they did, but they are too big to send, but man, I just am still amazed at their talent!!  The musical number I was in went really well, from the comments we received.  The two guys from Vocal Point that I talked to said we did a good job, so I basically DIED.  I got to see Lo (Lauren Snow), and Estrella (Hermana Pichiule, one of my companions in Puerto Rico).  It was so fun!

Oh, I almost forgot, we had the privilege to watch the YSA Face to Face Broadcast with Dallin H. Oaks and M. Russell Ballard before the Fireside.  It is always amazing and uplifting to hear an Apostle speak directly to you, but to have two Apostles at the same, was just such an incredible experience, to be filled with the Spirit and personal revelation.

TRANSFERS: SO, this is all super exciting, I will be staying in my same area, I'm so happy!!!  Hermana Cazares is going to American Fork and will be companions with Hermana Zayas (She is from Puerto Rico).  My new companion is a new missionary coming in from Chilé!  She won't be here until next week so I am in a trio with Hermana Cazares and Zayas until she arrives.  I am still an STL (Sister Trainer Leader) and I am the only STL in our zone.  The zone leaders are Elder Ruiz (my district leader who got bumped up again as zone leader for the second time) and Elder Juarez, one of the elders I came with from Puerto Rico.  My new district leader is Elder Brito.  He and I were in the Dominican Republic MTC together.  Currently, there are only 4 sisters in our whole zone.  I'm super excited for the opportunity to train again and I am excited to meet my new companion!

Last week I had an exchange with Hermana Orjuela and it was so fun!  Exchanges are the best.

This Thanksgiving will be super great! We are still going over to eat at the Stillman's and we will be playing football against other zones earlier that day.  I am so excited!

Also, starting this Friday is the "#Light the World Christmas Initiative".  The video and details for it will be released this Friday and I invite you all to join in and do the challenges each day with Me!  It is the same idea as last year; a short 3 minute video, and for each day leading up to Christmas, there will be a scripture and a small way to serve your family, friends, and community just as the Savior would!  What better way to end thanksgiving and show our gratitude for our loved ones than serving them?  Once the video comes out, I invite you all to share it with those you love, through Facebook, or in person, and serve them!  I promise you that you will feel the Light of Christ, that each of us has inside us, to help us do these good acts of service, and you will be used as an instrument to help the lives of others.

This Friday, I'll have 15 months in the mission, and this new transfer is my second to last transfer before I come home.  Time is seriously passing so fast, but I am loving every minute of it here.  I love the fact that I came to this Mission.  Despite all my trials, I know without a doubt that this was part of Heavenly Father's plan for me.  Heavenly Father truly is involved in the details of our lives, and I know that without a doubt.  I know that the message we bear is one of light and hope, and that the Restoration of the Gospel and Church of Jesus Christ was restored, and what a joy it is to be apart of this great cause, moving the work of the Lord along.  This Thanksgiving, I am grateful for so much, my wonderful family, friends, my mission, but most importantly, my Savior.  He lives, and he is the reason for why I have hope in a darkening world.  He is the reason why I can still feel joy in the midst of my trials.  He is the reason for how we can overcome trials, addictions, sicknesses, and weaknesses, through His Atoning sacrifice made for each one of us.  But it simply is not enough to believe my words, you can find out for yourselves just as I did.  Ask our Heavenly Father in prayer if these things are true, and be willing to act on the promptings you receive, for that is the key to receiving answers to our prayers and our ability the gain the greates amount of blessings and opportunities from our Heavenly Father.

I love you, family of mine. Happy Thanksgiving. Save me one of Tubba' s  famous rolls!!

-Hermana Kali Rae Green

Our districts last district meeting. We made it Christmas themed because we didn't think we would all be here together for Christmas. 

The Nordfelts sent me a,"Thanksgiving and Christmas Care package"  It was such a surprise and so nice! Give them A BIG HUG for me! 

Week 64

Hi!

 Last night we had a ward missionary fireside, where we watched, "A Standard to the Nations".  For anyone that hasn't seen it, it's about how the gospel got to every single continent since the Church was restored.  Not a lot of people came, but while watching it, I was so blown away by the sacrifices made by these first handful of Missionaries who literally sacrificed everything to go serve these missions.  For some it took them 6 MONTHS by boat to get to where they needed to serve, and their missions were  A  (LOT longer than 18 months or 2 years.  After we watched it, our Ward Mission Leader, Hermano Ochoa bore his testimony, and had recorded a bunch of members from our Ward saying how they received the gospel.  A lot was through parents, some through friends, some by playing basketball with the missionaries.  It made me reflect on how just a single testimony shared can change someones life.  I asked myself how I received the gospel, and even though I have been a member my entire life, I remembered a very fond memory of mine that happened a while back and how it's thanks to Neno's (My Mom's Dad) friend in the army that shared the gospel with him, is how I have the gospel.  I just started thinking about how different my life would be, if that friend NEVER opened his mouth and shared the gospel with Neno.  I don't think I would be here, let alone, be adopted into our wonderful family, and have the blessings of the gospel in my life.  But because he opened his mouth, shared his testimony, Neno got baptized, married in the temple, had kids who went on missions and now many grand kids who have served and are currently serving around the world, helping others receive the blessings of the restored gospel that our family has had.  All because one man decided to open his mouth.  That really hit me, and I remember when all of our extended family came over to our house and his friend came over and met all of us and saw, "the fruits of his labor" or the effects of what one testimony had on one man who was ready to hear the gospel.  It helped me understand just how important it is for me, as a missionary to always open my mouth.

Investigators: Jai is doing wonderful.  When we invited her to be baptized, she snapped her fingers and did finger guns and said, "heck yes"!  I wish that was the response I got every time we invited someone to be baptized, ha ha!!  We are going over to their house again tonight and I'm so excited! She's going to be baptized on the 25th of November. :)

Jai's Family.

Rylee: we went over yesterday and taught Rylee about the Plan of Salvation.  It was a good lesson and we invited Rylee last week to be baptized and she seemed hesitant at first, but the next day, we got a phone call from her Mom, having to cancel an appointment to come teach Rylee.  So that was a bummer, but then she said that Rylee read two chapters in the Book of Mormon and told her Mom, "Mom, I know the Book of Mormon is true, and I know that I need to be baptized".  We were so happy to hear that! She is getting baptized next Monday! :)

Ivan: IVANNNNN, he is the best. We taught him the Plan of Salvation and went last Friday and watched "Joseph Smith the Prophet of the Restoration" movie with him, one of my all time favorite movies.  After we watched it, we invited him to pray and ask Heavenly Father if Joseph Smith really was a prophet.  He prayed to end the lesson, and said, "please help me know if Joseph Smith really was a prophet, I think he is, also I know that the Book of Mormon is true and that it has your fingerprints all over it".  I just about DIED.  He is seriously so golden, and he and Surya (his mom) came to Church for the last two weeks in a row!

Ivan's Family and Cousins.

Veronica: SO craziest thing happened yesterday.  Sacrament meeting ended and we stand up and Hermana Cazares says, "AN INVESTIGATOR CAME TO CHURCH" and ran over to a lady sitting in the back with her family.  I was really confused because I had no idea who she was talking about, because all of our investigators are kids, haha!!  It turns out, that a woman named Veronica came to church with her entire family.  Since I've been here, we've never taught her, but she is married to a member of the church, and they don't come to church too often.  Last transfer, before I came, Hermana Macias and Hermana Cazares dropped her, but she came to church yesterday totally on her own!  The ward fellowshiped her super well, and we have an appointment with her this week.  She's super nice and I'm super excited to start teaching her.

ZONE ACTIVITY WAS THE BEST.  It was the most fun zone activity I have EVER been to.  We went and played blaster tag, and it was like the idea of paintball, but with really fast shooting Nerf guns.  IT WAS SO FUN!!  Everyone was so sore for like DAYS, but it was so worth it.  I left with some gnarly bruises and scars, but it was really fun.  Sorry, I forgot to take a picture, but it was amazing!

We had MLC (Missionary Leader Conference) last week, and after it ended, Sister Killpack came up to me and asked, "do you sing soprano or alto" and I said, "uh both" and she said that she needs more help with the alto line because it's really hard for a musical number they are preparing for the Missionary Fireside, you remember the Fireside where Vocal Point is performing and Sheri Dew is speaking.  I told her that I was willing to do it and if I got the sheet music that I could learn it.  Well, I got the sheet music today and the only time I'll be able to rehearse it is on the day of the Fireside, and Vocal Point will be listening to me sing, No pressure, Haha!!  I am grateful for those crazy Troubadour assignments that helps me not feel worried in times like this.

I am going shopping with Sister Killpack today, the mission is offering to pay for running shoes (did I tell you I left those in Puerto Rico at the Mission Home.  I threw them away because they were pretty thrashed after that last week there) so, I am happy to get some new running shoes, and start exercising again!

These last couple weeks have been so insanely busy, but it's good!!  Busy means we're working hard.  Transfers are next week, and next transfer will be the second to last transfer before I come home.  Ha. Ha. Ha. Help.

Last Tuesday we had MLC (Mission Leader Conference) and they announced that starting next transfer there will be no more Spanish zone, and we will be put into English zones, and in small Spanish districts.  So we're all getting separated. ):  I related it to the scattering of the 12 tribes of Israel, hahaha!  We are bummed, but there is a purpose in all things, so at some point I'll figure out why, until then, I will just be obedient to the Lord's will because he knows better than I do!!

Orem Spanish Zone!

Last Time Together as the Utah Orem Spanish Zone!

Wednesday we got together with the zone leaders and planned out our CDM (combined district meeting), which is pretty much another way of saying zone meeting.

Thursday we had CDM, and all four of us presented a 20 minute training lesson based off of the training we had received two days before at MLC.  I presented the training that one of the AP's (Elder Kentish) presented, about Peter and the Christlike attributes of faith, obedience, and diligence.  It was one of the most inspiring trainings I've ever received on the mission, and I got the chance to share it with the zone.  We basically ripped Peter apart, pointed out his weaknesses, and then built him back up.  I'll have to send a picture of my notes because my hand hurt so bad after hearing this lesson, because I was just writing EVERYTHING Elder Kentish was saying, but it was fun and I worked hard on how I wanted to present it and it paid off, I think, Woo!

Also that same day, Hermana Cazares and I prayed that we would be an answer to someones prayer that day.  We decided to return Sister Wilbert's cookie sheet we borrowed, but we didn't text her telling her we were coming, we just kinda showed up.  So we knocked on her door, and Meredith, her daughter who came on splits with us, opened the door and we went in said hello and told Sister Wilbert we were dropping off her cookie sheet.  She seemed super stressed and Hermana Cazares says, "Sister Wilbert can we help you clean your house?" it turns out she had to clean her entire house, in less than 2 hours, because there was a really important real estate agent who was presenting an open house that day, and she had to write an email that was going to help her get this job she wants, so she was so relieved and said, yes, you can help clean my house!  So, we helped her clean her house, and she just thanked us after wards and said, "you are such an answer to my prayers, if you two didn't come I don't know how I would've done all of this".  Mission accomplished, we felt pretty happy after that knowing the Lord had helped us accomplish our desire of wanting to be an answer to someones prayer.

Last Saturday I had an exchange with Hermana Peter! It was so great, and we reminisced all the good times we had in Cabo Rojo together, and in Puerto Rico.  It was fun getting to see her.

Hermana Green & Peter.

Hey dad! I wanted to show you the notes I took on your Spiritual thought this morning! It really tied in with what I've been working on, which is being a consecrated missionary.  I sure do love your Spiritual thoughts and how the Lord speaks to me through your words and the inspiration you and I receive through the Spirit.  Thank you and I sure do love you!

This week and next week we will be preparing for the Mission Musical fireside this Sunday, we have zone conference where I am giving another training on Wednesday, and 3 baptisms coming up in the next 2 weeks, and transfers, and I have 2 exchanges this week.  Busy, busy, busy, but I'm so happy happy, happy!!!!

I love you all.  I am humbled and grateful for the blessings of serving a mission.  It is the best thing I have ever done in my life!!!


-Hermana Kali Rae Green-

October 31, 2017 we had the opportunity to all be together to learn more about the Temple from President and Sister Killpack, to prepare for the Mission Musical Fireside, to have dinner together and attend the Mount Timpanogos Temple.