6 Months As A Missionary!

Hello everyone! We ended up deciding to go to the temple next week so normal pday this week. 

This week has been a little different than my typical weeks so let's get into it.

-Monday for pday we had a cereal breakfast with the sisters in our zone and then played some games with our district.

-Tuesday we had interviews with President Vance. We got to go to the mission home and had some cookies as we waited so no complaining here.

-Wednesday we had new missionary training and it was really good, I learned a lot! I also got to see Sister Hendrix! I love her!

-Thursday it was my birthday (thank you everyone for the birthday wishes). I got to call my fam in the morning and was able to visit lots of members. We played scrabble with a sweet old lady in our ward (Pauline) and I am SO bad at scrabble, luckily we weren't keeping score. We had a sweet spiritual thought with her on faith. We also made some visits and one seems sincerely interested so prayers his way cause we have almost no friends right now. 

Sister Esplin and I made a thing where we draw a paper from a bowl everyday to make our days more interesting. On Thursday we drew, "knock blue houses" and it did make our day quite a bit more interesting, so I recommend to any missionaries who need a switch up.

-Friday is when things took a turn. My comp had a bad reaction to a medication she was taking (she's okay) so we've been in the hospital since then. Hopefully she'll be discharged soon. And shout out to the STL's who drive me to and from the hospital everyday and stay the night with me.

-Sunday I went to the STL's ward which is Spanish so it was an interesting church service.

-Pday we're just hanging out at the hospital so I'll have lots of time to talk with my fam.

Spiritual thought: I wanted to share some scriptures from my little lesson with Pauline. We watched the Book of Mormon video for Alma 32-33 (which i recommend).

In Alma 33:22-23 it states,

"22 If so, wo shall come upon you; but if not so, then cast about your eyes and begin to believe in the Son of God, that he will come to redeem his people, and that he shall suffer and die to atone for their sins; and that he shall rise again from the dead, which shall bring to pass the resurrection, that all men shall stand before him, to be judged at the last and judgment day, according to their works. 

23 And now, my brethren, I desire that ye shall plant this word in your hearts, and as it beginneth to swell even so nourish it by your faith. And behold, it will become a tree, springing up in you unto everlasting life. And then may God grant unto you that your burdens may be light, through the joy of his Son. And even all this can ye do if ye will. Amen."

It's through our faith in the Atonement of Jesus Christ that we can receive all of the blessings from it. The more we nourish our testimonies of the Savior and His Atonement, the closer we will be with him and the more comfort we will receive.

Love you all!

-Sister Kapp

Those who responded to be email last week thank you all! My email is being weird and wouldn't let me respond. Know that I read them and am grateful for them.

Sister Hendrix!

I'm 20! 🙉

Me and my hospital chair

Zone Conference & Exchanges!

 Hello everyone! 

This week was good.

-We had zone conference on Wednesday and it was really good. It was all about our missionary purpose and having faith and trusting in Christ.

-We went on exchanges Thursday. I left the area and was in the Spanish area for the exchange. I was very clueless throughout (because I don't know Spanish) but I learned alot from the STL I was with. I was able to share a verse in Spanish for one of our spiritual thoughts during our member meal and that was a neat experience.

-We did some service at this clothing donation center on Friday. We also made cookies and delivered them to members that we were impressed to and the Lord's timing is good because one member wasn't home and when walking to the car she pulled in and we got to talk with her and share a spiritual thought.

-Saturday was a finding and call filled day. We talked to this older guy who was smoking and invited him to church. He laughed and said he hasn't been to church in 40 years so I told him that it's the perfect time to start, he laughed and we gave him a card with the church info. Just one of the many fun finding experiences. While knocking we talked to this cool guy from Russia and he was asking us lots of questions and had a solid conversation with him. We planted lots of seeds! (We also got FROYO between everything so that made our day a little extra fun.)

-I gave my very first talk on my mission on Sunday. It was on my relationship with the Savior. And I wanna share a scripture I shared in my talk for my spiritual thought:

In Alma 29:9-10 it states,

"9 I know that which the Lord hath commanded me, and I glory in it. I do not glory of myself, but I glory in that which the Lord hath commanded me; yea, and this is my glory, that perhaps I may be an instrument in the hands of God to bring some soul to repentance; and this is my joy.

10 And behold, when I see many of my brethren truly penitent, and coming to the Lord their God, then is my soul filled with joy; then do I remember what the Lord has done for me, yea, even that he hath heard my prayer; yea, then do I remember his merciful arm which he extended towards me."

I have been so blessed to have grown up in this gospel and have had so many amazing experiences that have helped me grow closer to the Savior. Being on my mission I have learned that yes that brings me so much joy but much more joy is felt when you help others to receive the gospel and build their own relationship with the Savior.

Love you all! (I think we're going to the temple next week so my pday should be Thursday)

Zone Conference

Exchanges with Hermana Rios

FROYO

First Full Week In DC

 Hello everyone! 

I have officially been in DC for over a week. The work here is much different from the sites but good in it's own way.

-We had a district council breakfast and we talked alot about baptism as it is the first covenant we make with God to gain eternal salvation. So our challenge this week was to invite at least one person to be baptized everyday. This seemed a bit scary at first but God provides and helps us fulfill his will. That day we got a Facebook referral from a lady interested in baptism! So we called her and she said she was interested and so we set up a time to meet with her. So we met with her the next day and it was such a spirit led conversation and we put her on date to be baptized. Now the hard thing I've learned about missionary work is that you can't control your friends decisions or force them to do anything. We planned on this friend coming to a baptism Saturday and church but a few texts, calls, and knocks at the door later we found out from a member in our ward that was going to give her a ride that she couldn't come and she was unable to come to church. So lots of prayers that she can feel the Lord's guidance.

-Another miracle is the other day we were having some not so successful visits and we're about to drive out of the parking lot and Sister Esplin sees this guy walking and decides to "drive chase him" and we had a good, long conversation with him and gave him a Book of Mormon.

-Something I've learned while out here is that I wish I knew Spanish and my Duolingo isn't cutting it out. We were knocking an apartment complex and this cute old Latino lady answers and she just talked to us for like 45 minutes all in Spanish, I was clueless but she was happy. Something cool is that some of the Spanish elders are actually teaching her and put her on date for baptism that evening! Another moment when I wish I knew Spanish was when we were knocking a neighborhood with not many interested people and we were about to leave but I felt like we needed to talk to this guy trimming his bushes. We go up to him and all he speaks is Spanish. Luckily Sister Esplin knew enough to invite him to the Spanish ward and he seemed interested.

-Another way the Lord provided was that in another area a new member told the sisters there about a lady he cares for at a nursing home and that he wanted the missionaries there (us) to visit her. So we did and found out she was a member, and sisters used to visit her but at some point during transfers her information wasn't passed to the next sisters. So I'm so excited to visit her every week! She has such a strong spirit!

-Though our friends we hoped for didn't come to church this week a new person did!

-For pday we played kickball with our president and his fam and our zone. It was lots of fun!

A few fun moments:

-Stealing the elders Maryland crab magnet off their car (we gave it back) 

-Making our district leader a cake for his birthday 

Spiritual thought:

The Lord works in mighty ways! In every "disappointing" moment the Lord provides light and miracles. All we need to do is to be like Nephi when getting the plates and exercise faith.

Love you all!

-Sis Kapp

Sunday personal study

Cake part 1

Cake part 2

P-day

I'm in DC!

 Hello everyone! A lot has happened this week so get ready.

- I had my last shifts in Kirtland and I ended where I started, giving a tour at the Village.

- We had our Next Chapter Dinner which was so sad but really good. I can't wait to see everyone again someday.

- Wednesday we flew out! We had to book it to our connecting flight but made it! One of stl's, Sister Merill, that picked us up, served in Kirtland last summer so it was fun to talk with her.

- We had dinner and devotional at the mission home then stayed the night at a hotel.

- On Thursday we went to the Lincoln Memorial and street contacted from there, past the Washington Monument, onto the Metro and down to the temple. Sister Hendrix and I placed 2 Book of Mormons which was a cool feeling.

- Thursday evening I met my trainer Sister Esplin! She's awesome!

- I'm in the White Oak District which isn't known for tons of success but we've seen loads of miracles already. One sister brought 2 friends to the temple visitors center to get a tour from us and one seemed really interested! Then at church a sister had 2 friends that are interested so we're meeting with them this week. These things don't just happen so they are amazing blessings and miracles.

- My ward is awesome! Everyone is so kind and welcoming. The ward has a goal to get the missionaries into 40 member's homes in 40 days so we've been fed alot and it has given me great opportunities to get to know the ward.

- Sunday night we has a devotional with our stake president and his wife and this is where I want to pull my spiritual thought out. We focused on Luke 17:5-10 and it teaches that a little faith can make miracles and that faith is a blessing not earned so you always need to work to increase it.

Love you all!

-Sis Kapp 

Last Chapter Dinner

Bye Frischknechts!

Sister Merill

Washington Monument

DC Temple

Sister Esplin

Last Few Days In Kirtland

 Hello everyone!

I leave for Washington DC on Wednesday! It doesn't feel real, I feel like I just got to Ohio. I have loved my time here SO much! 

This week has been a very busy tour week but it was good!

-We had a hymn festival for Emma Smith's birthday and it was SO good! The spirit there was so strong.

-We got to clean the Kirtland Temple on Tuesday and it was a special experience.

-We went to dinner with the Pulsiphers and went to the Robinsons for dinner. Our seniors are the best! I'm gonna miss them all so much!

-Today for pday we went to the James A. Garfield Mansion and it was stunning! We got Indian food and if you know me you know I love Indian food so I'm happy. The rest of the day I've been packing 😢.

Spiritual thought: 

I just want to share my testimony of the Restoration of the church with you all: The Restoration is SO true! The Saints endured so much for the gospel and their dedication amazes me. No one would go through what they did if it wasn't true. I've grown to love the Whitneys and the Johnsons who consecrated everything to support Joseph Smith. I have grown so much respect and love for Emma, she served the Lord diligently and supported Joseph through everything even through their greatest loses. It has been incredibly being in spaces where the Savior really did appear! The priesthood keys and other promised blessings that were received from the Savior during the Restoration is amazing. But the Restoration isn't over! We all are taking part in it every day. I've learned how important our influence truly is.

I love you all!

-Sis Kapp

Temple

Temple Cleaning

Pday!

4th of July

Hello everyone!

I won't lie this week was pretty chill.

-We went to the temple and it was SO good! I have been really wanting to go.

-On the 4th of July we went to our Stake President's house for a bbq and I played volleyball for the first time in forever and it was so much fun! No fireworks though but that's okay.

-We gave a tour to a cute little family and the daughter started singing A Child's Prayer when we told them about Christ and Heavenly Father appearing to Zebedee Coltrin. It was so cute!

-I gave my fam a virtual tour of the Kirtland Temple. It was a kinda chaotic tour but the spirit was there so that's what matters.

-We had the Next Chapter dinner for the Dicksons. I was sad to say bye to them but I know they're excited to go home.

-The Jones' took us to dinner and it was so fun and yummy. I love the seniors!

-For pday we went to the Rock n Roll Hall of Fame and a submarine which was a lot of fun.

Spiritual thought: 

In our temple tour I share a quote from the Joseph Smith Paper's of a vision Joseph Smith received after his anointing, it says, "I saw the 12 Apostles of the Lamb who are now upon the Earth who hold the keys of the last ministry, in foreign lands, standing together in a circle much fatigued, with their clothes tattered and feet swollen, with their eyes cast downward, and Jesus standing in their midst, and they did not behold Him. The Savior looked upon them and wept."

God will always bless the righteous and will always help His children through their struggles to help them fulfill His will. I was feeling homesick this last week and just needed a good hug and I had a tour where a lady in our group just gave me a big hug when we were moving between rooms. This might sound weird to some but it was exactly what I needed to continue to do the Lord's will to my fullest. These tender mercies are powerful if you allow yourself to notice them.

Temple

4th of July

Next Chapter dinner

Rock n Roll Hall of Fame

 

Submarine

I leave Ohio this month

Hello everyone! I only have 3 weeks left in Ohio and it is crazy! Time here has really flown by. I'm super excited and nervous for DC. 

This week has been good. My president told us to start praying for ourselves to feel the spirit during tours and it has been such a powerful experience. It has made me connect with the Saints much more during my tours. 

4 different senior couples took us to dinner this week which has been so nice of them. They're all literally the best!

We were able to go to the Pittsburgh temple today for pday and it made me so happy. I miss just being able to go to the temple whenever so I was very grateful.

Me and Sister Stewart have been going on walks nearly every evening and it has been beautiful!

Elder Martinez of the 70 was here this last week with his wife and the gave us a devotional which was so good and it leads into my spiritual thought: Sister Martinez spoke all about enduring to the end. She told us that "as you do things the Lord inspires you to do even when you don't understand why. It will bless and help you." I just loved that because there always a reason for what the Lord asks you to do and go through and it makes it easier to go through it if you remember that.

Thank you everyone for always supporting me! 

- Sister Kapp

Evening walk sunset

Temple trip (I love Sister Stewart)

Hiram Sisters