Querida Familia y amigos,
It snowed here. The reaction to snow here is incredible because the whole world shuts down. We were supposed to have flurries, but instead it was something like maybe an inch or two and it was complete chaos. On Monday we were volunteering at the food bank and when we arrived it was snowing a little but it didn't look too bad. However, when we left there was quite a bit more snow. We tried a few ways to get home, but all the roads were filled with accidents or were shut down so we finally just decided to stay around where we were and we went to the store to buy an ice scraper for the car and an emergency food supply in case we ever get stuck anywhere. When we left again the road looked a lot better and we were able to get home. Then came the word that we weren't going to be able to use our cars because the roads were so bad. We were told to have members drive us or to stay at home and make phone calls, work on the area book, basically just do whatever we could. So we decided to make cookies while we were working on that stuff and we took them to our neighbors that speak Spanish. They were all really surprised, but I think it was a good way to build friendships with them.
We have a new investigator who is going to be baptized in December and he is so great! The English elders here contacted him in the parking lot of the grocery store and he had already learned from missionaries in New York and in the Dominican Republic. He is here looking for work and a place to live because he wants to move his family here. Last Saturday we invited him to be baptized and he said, "Por supuesto," which means, "of course." He came to church with us on Sunday. He had trouble coming the last few Sundays so we finally decided that we were going to take the bus to where he lives and ride on the bus with him to church. I think he had a really good experience. It was the Primary Program on Sunday and it was so cute! It was my first Primary Program in Spanish and it was great.
Thanksgiving went well for us. We had an activity for half of the mission in the morning in Federal Way. There were a lot of activities going on, but it ended up that the Spanish missionaries just sat around and talked the whole time. We are basically our own mini-mission of 20 missionaries. It's nice because we've all served together for a while and in a lot of the areas there are elders and sisters serving in the same branches. There is a lot of unity among the Spanish missionaries.
I have to say that this is the happiest time of my life! The mission has been a struggle up to this point, but I feel like I have finally started to learn what it feels like to lose myself in the work. No matter what happens to us everyday or how much disappointment I feel, there is this underlying happiness in all of it. I love being a missionary. I am so amazed with my loving Heavenly Father who allowed me to have this sacred privilege. I know that this is the work of our Savior Jesus Christ. I love this spiritual adventure and the opportunity to come to know Him better. It was worth any price to be here. I love you all SO much!
Con amor,
Hermana Kinghorn
Monday, November 29, 2010
Monday, November 15, 2010
Georgetown in Washington. Not to be confused with Georgetown in the other Washington.
Querida Familia y amigo
Hermana Probst and I rode the bus on Thursday. We saw this little part of Seattle on the map called Georgetown and based on its location we thought that there were probably Spanish speakers there so we hopped on a bus that went through that part of town on its way to Seattle. Then while on the bus we were talking to someone who suggested this park in Seattle that we should go to so we stayed on all of the way until Seattle. I didn't realize how long it had been since I had been to a city until we got off the bus. We talked to a few people who spoke Spanish, but it was very ineffective so we got on the next bus out of there. On that bus we talked to a young man from Mexico that basically just wanted to argue and to tell us what we believed. It was very frustrating. Later that day we got lost and ended up going through Georgetown on accident. It was small, but kind of eery at night. Not anything like the Georgetown in the other Washington. We'll see if we go back during the day.
I love the members here in Seattle. They are very loving. I think part of it is me adjusting to the culture and feeling more at ease with being a missionary. One thing I have noticed is how important it is to really love the people and to express that love. It was something that I learned from Hermana Melton. Now I can show more love because I'm not expecting anything in return.
Hermana Probst and I had a very good talk about the atonement in our companionship study this morning. I am so grateful for the restoration of the gospel of Jesus Christ and how through the truths that have been restored we have more access to our Savior's atonement. We can come to know Him better through the scriptures that have been restored. We have preisthood power that allows us to make covenants with our Heavenly Father that we might receive more fully the blessings and cleansing of our sins from the atonement. We enjoy the gift of the Holy Ghost which allows us to use the atonement in our daily lives. We have temples where we can learn even more about Christ. I love this gospel. I cannot deny that it is true because I have tasted of it and I know that it is good. I love you all so much!
Con amor,
Hermana Kinghorn
Hermana Probst and I rode the bus on Thursday. We saw this little part of Seattle on the map called Georgetown and based on its location we thought that there were probably Spanish speakers there so we hopped on a bus that went through that part of town on its way to Seattle. Then while on the bus we were talking to someone who suggested this park in Seattle that we should go to so we stayed on all of the way until Seattle. I didn't realize how long it had been since I had been to a city until we got off the bus. We talked to a few people who spoke Spanish, but it was very ineffective so we got on the next bus out of there. On that bus we talked to a young man from Mexico that basically just wanted to argue and to tell us what we believed. It was very frustrating. Later that day we got lost and ended up going through Georgetown on accident. It was small, but kind of eery at night. Not anything like the Georgetown in the other Washington. We'll see if we go back during the day.
I love the members here in Seattle. They are very loving. I think part of it is me adjusting to the culture and feeling more at ease with being a missionary. One thing I have noticed is how important it is to really love the people and to express that love. It was something that I learned from Hermana Melton. Now I can show more love because I'm not expecting anything in return.
Hermana Probst and I had a very good talk about the atonement in our companionship study this morning. I am so grateful for the restoration of the gospel of Jesus Christ and how through the truths that have been restored we have more access to our Savior's atonement. We can come to know Him better through the scriptures that have been restored. We have preisthood power that allows us to make covenants with our Heavenly Father that we might receive more fully the blessings and cleansing of our sins from the atonement. We enjoy the gift of the Holy Ghost which allows us to use the atonement in our daily lives. We have temples where we can learn even more about Christ. I love this gospel. I cannot deny that it is true because I have tasted of it and I know that it is good. I love you all so much!
Con amor,
Hermana Kinghorn
Monday, November 8, 2010
La primera semana de pura locura en Seattle
Querida Familia y amigos,
It was a great first week here in Seattle. I am completely overwhelmed. We have a very large area that is all urban and packed full of people. We also have amazing members here who are so welcoming. I'm grateful to be overwhelmed with too much to do and not too little.
I love my new companion. She is so sweet. She's from Utah and speaks Spanish really well. We are working great together and I know that we will see miracles here.
Just this week we invited one of our investigator to be baptized and he said yes. He is such a humble and good man who is looking to make changes in his life. The major challenge will be to make sure that he can make it to his work in downtown Seattle on time. I know that it will work out for him.
In the Seahurst branch there are elders and sisters and the elders had a baptism on Saturday. President and Sister Larkin payed a surprise visit to the baptism and the branch president asked them to share their testimonies and then he turned to me and said, "Hermana Kinghorn will interpret." I was surprised but it went really well. I love all the opportunities that we have to interpret for people whether it is a member who needs to write a note to their child's school, in sacrament meeting, or at a baptism. I feel so blessed to be able to help people.
I had a really great study of The Book of Mormon this week. I was reading in 3 Nephi 1 and I am always so impressed by the faith that the people exercised. It makes me think as a missionary that if we have faith we are going to find someone to teach, we can never lose that faith even if we don't see when it is going to happen. I know that Heavenly Father blesses us for our faith. I know that The Book of Mormon is a true testament of Jesus Christ.
Con amor,
Hermana Kinghorn
It was a great first week here in Seattle. I am completely overwhelmed. We have a very large area that is all urban and packed full of people. We also have amazing members here who are so welcoming. I'm grateful to be overwhelmed with too much to do and not too little.
I love my new companion. She is so sweet. She's from Utah and speaks Spanish really well. We are working great together and I know that we will see miracles here.
Just this week we invited one of our investigator to be baptized and he said yes. He is such a humble and good man who is looking to make changes in his life. The major challenge will be to make sure that he can make it to his work in downtown Seattle on time. I know that it will work out for him.
In the Seahurst branch there are elders and sisters and the elders had a baptism on Saturday. President and Sister Larkin payed a surprise visit to the baptism and the branch president asked them to share their testimonies and then he turned to me and said, "Hermana Kinghorn will interpret." I was surprised but it went really well. I love all the opportunities that we have to interpret for people whether it is a member who needs to write a note to their child's school, in sacrament meeting, or at a baptism. I feel so blessed to be able to help people.
I had a really great study of The Book of Mormon this week. I was reading in 3 Nephi 1 and I am always so impressed by the faith that the people exercised. It makes me think as a missionary that if we have faith we are going to find someone to teach, we can never lose that faith even if we don't see when it is going to happen. I know that Heavenly Father blesses us for our faith. I know that The Book of Mormon is a true testament of Jesus Christ.
Con amor,
Hermana Kinghorn
Tuesday, November 2, 2010
"The Bluest Skies You've Ever Seen are in Seattle!"
Querida Familia y amigos,
I was transferred today to... Seattle! I will now be serving in the Seahurst Spanish Branch in the Seattle Stake. It was all very suprising because we thought for certain I would be in Federal Way for a long time, but Hermana Melton is training a new sister there and I am here with the lovely Hermana Probst. She came out one transfer after me and is great! She has been here in Seattle for her entire mission. I will really miss Hermana Melton and all of the members in Federal Way. The members there are so great and Hermana Melton and I worked really well together. I'm so grateful for all that I learned there and am really excited to work here with Hermana Probst.
Hermana Hoskins went home yesterday and because we had to pick up her companion (Hermana Probst) I was able to say good-bye to her. It was definitely bitter-sweet to see her go because she is such a great missionary, but we are happy for all of the things that lie in store. I was blessed to have such a great trainer.
The biggest thing that happened this week was the ward Halloween party. The members did such a great job and probably 2/3 of the Spanish-speakers there were not members of the church. We were able to talk to a lot of people and we even had a lesson with the friend of one of the members after.
I was reading in The Book of Mormon this week and it reminded me of the importance of following the promptings of the Spirit. It reminded of the talk by Elder Bednar from General Conference. I like what he said about how everything we do after we are baptized should be geared toward following the command to "receive the Holy Ghost." If we have the Holy Ghost we will do the right things in this life and we will be able to endure to the end and receive eternal life. In Helaman 10 it talks about the prophet Nephi. In verse 4 we read that a voice said to him that he was blessed for the things that he had done and for his dilligence. He was a great missionary and he didn't always get to see the results of his work, just like in life we don't always know or understand the results of all of our actions. In verse 16 we read that he had the Spirit of God with him that gave him power and lead his work. When we have the spirit with us we can have confidence just like Elder Eyring said in Conference. We can know that we are following our Savior Jesus Christ and we can trust that we will receive all of the promises that our Heavenly Father has given us. We will trust them and they will trust us.
I love you all!!
Con amor,
Hermana Kinghorn
I was transferred today to... Seattle! I will now be serving in the Seahurst Spanish Branch in the Seattle Stake. It was all very suprising because we thought for certain I would be in Federal Way for a long time, but Hermana Melton is training a new sister there and I am here with the lovely Hermana Probst. She came out one transfer after me and is great! She has been here in Seattle for her entire mission. I will really miss Hermana Melton and all of the members in Federal Way. The members there are so great and Hermana Melton and I worked really well together. I'm so grateful for all that I learned there and am really excited to work here with Hermana Probst.
Hermana Hoskins went home yesterday and because we had to pick up her companion (Hermana Probst) I was able to say good-bye to her. It was definitely bitter-sweet to see her go because she is such a great missionary, but we are happy for all of the things that lie in store. I was blessed to have such a great trainer.
The biggest thing that happened this week was the ward Halloween party. The members did such a great job and probably 2/3 of the Spanish-speakers there were not members of the church. We were able to talk to a lot of people and we even had a lesson with the friend of one of the members after.
I was reading in The Book of Mormon this week and it reminded me of the importance of following the promptings of the Spirit. It reminded of the talk by Elder Bednar from General Conference. I like what he said about how everything we do after we are baptized should be geared toward following the command to "receive the Holy Ghost." If we have the Holy Ghost we will do the right things in this life and we will be able to endure to the end and receive eternal life. In Helaman 10 it talks about the prophet Nephi. In verse 4 we read that a voice said to him that he was blessed for the things that he had done and for his dilligence. He was a great missionary and he didn't always get to see the results of his work, just like in life we don't always know or understand the results of all of our actions. In verse 16 we read that he had the Spirit of God with him that gave him power and lead his work. When we have the spirit with us we can have confidence just like Elder Eyring said in Conference. We can know that we are following our Savior Jesus Christ and we can trust that we will receive all of the promises that our Heavenly Father has given us. We will trust them and they will trust us.
I love you all!!
Con amor,
Hermana Kinghorn
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