Christian!

This was a week of miracles. We saw many obvious events that showed the Lord's hand in our work. It's been a long and draining week, but holy cow I love it here. I love being a missionary. I'm especially excited for Christian! Oh my goodness, what an incredible boy. And you know what the best part is? Madie, Christian, Michelle and I will be serving at the same time. It's crazy the bonds you have with the missionaries serving all over the globe. I'm mostly excited that we all have the same purpose and the same support system. Think of the thousands of others doing the same thing as us! I love this. I'm also super excited for Madie to finally be on her way to Armenia. Sister Grigoryan said that she would be at the Armenian mission office when she got there to greet her.

We were able to meet some really neat people this week and make some new friends. It's always fun when I'm talking to people on the same street that I feel like I've walked down hundreds of times and people start to know my name. One woman that we've become friends with lives in the middle of nowhere in a place called Lampeter. Earlier this week several appointments in a certain area fell through so last minute, instead of doing our backup plans, we decided to go to Lampeter to see if she was there. As she opened the door and saw our faces, she burst into tears. This is not a common reaction of people we speak to. I felt a little worried, as I stink at talking to crying people, but she told us to come in. We sat down and spoke with her, and found that though she wasn't too interested in our message before, she had just gone through a really terrible crisis. As she explained it to us we listened and tried to understand. Seriously, the whole time she was speaking, I was praying to know the right words to say to make everything miraculously better. She then went on to say how she thought the Book of Mormon might be of help and give her the peace she needed. I feel like we didn't even say much. She said everything, yet she was so thankful we had come. The Lord is good. Many of the most spiritual experiences that I've had on my mission have been ones that I've happened upon. They've always been things that have come and gone, and I only realize after the fact that the Lord placed us in the right path and then did all the work. 

I love being a missionary. It's sort of scary that it's been 9 months already. People keep saying things like, "You're on the downhill slope!" and I usually pretend like I can't hear them. I wish I could be back at the beginning once more. I envy Madie right now, as she's just beginning. I guess all I can do is take it all in. The time I have is extremely short. Also, I like the way Madie formatted her e-mail, so I'm going to copy her a bit.

Funny things this week: I tried to give my testimony in Welsh to a woman who speaks Welsh as a first language. Instead of saying "I know Joseph Smith saw God in a grove." I said "I know Jospeh Smith ate the grove." Almost :)

Sad: A man we've been teaching had a family member pass away and hasn't wanted to talk with us anymore. We were super bummed, but there's nothing really we can do but hope and pray that he'll feel peace and comfort at this time.

Sheep: Our car got somewhat stuck on a small road because it was pouring rain like nonstop and it was starting to get flooded. We got out to asses what we should do and saw a heard of sheep to the side of us in the mist. They "baaed" at us and it sounded like cheering. It gave us the motivation to get our car our of danger to safety.

I love this gospel. I love my Saviour, and I know that he lives. Study the Atonement! Just do it. I know He loves you, and the way we can return the love He shows to us is by learning of Him AND serving others.

Special K

Newcastle Emlyn Castle

Playing football with members

Nine months!

Family and friends,

I feel as if this whole experience has flown by at an incredible rate. I only have nine months left! And I'm praying I'll stay in Wales for most of that time. Tonight, we find out about our transfer moves. Both Sister Allred and I are pretty sure we are staying, so probably not too much exciting stuff going on there. We love this area. It's absolutely gorgeous. I think I say that every time, but it's still true. And we've really grown close to the people we're teaching. I feel like they are my best friends, and I'll die if I actually find out tonight that I'm going across the country over to England.

This week we tried some different methods of finding, as it's been somewhat of a challenge to find actual people in our area, let alone prepared people. It's a really big area, and most of it is meadow, grassland, and farmland. Which is super pretty.

Today, we had the chance to go out to the coast of a place called Gwbert. There's a cool lookout where you can watch the seals, and loads of farm animals on the way. So we were loving life. I love Wales.

This week, we met a man who said he was atheist. Upon further investigation, we found that he believed in some form of a higher being (like most atheists over here). We tried to testify that there really is a God who knows and loves him and wants to hear from him. As I finished telling him what I know to be true, he sorta scoffed at me and said "You can't help me. You're too young."   I told him how I knew the things I did, and how I knew he could know as well. I couldn't think of anything else to do but just bear testimony. At the end, he sorta smiled and said "I like you more than the other religious people that come around." He walked away in dramatic fashion. Immediately, I thought about Elder Holland's talk. Though my situation wasn't as bad as having food spit in my face, some of the people we've met are short with us, impolite, or close-minded. As a missionary, I've been put in situations that have forced me to take a stand on many things. I hope that each and every person that reads this knows that I would simply not be here if I did not know that this gospel was true. I just wouldn't be able to do it. I know my Saviour lives. I know it with my whole heart, and I cannot deny it.

I love you! Jesus loves you!

Love,

Sister Kuykendall

                                 My cute district. It's just the elders in Aberystwyth and us.

                                                       Me and loose goat.

                                                                    SHEEP!!

                                                      Preparation Day activity

                                                                                        Gwbert

Conference weekend

Hello friends and family!

I don't have too much time, but we've had a really lovely week and loads of tender mercies. I am in the best mission on the planet. The experiences and trials I've had are perfect.

We've been teaching a very humble man who has had some really rough history and past. He struggles with a few addictions, and we've been helping him to work through them with help from his Heavenly Father. My goodness, he's incredible. He's very receptive to the Spirit. The joy (I don't necessarily like that word, but it's the only one that fits here) that I've felt as I've taught him and others has gone beyond anything I thought possible. No wonder Satan tries to keep us blind from it in any way possible.

Anyway, I love this gospel! I loved general conference. Especially Elder M. Russel Ballard.

Love,

Sister K

                            Another beach one because I can't stand how pretty my area is!

                 I know this looks like a blob of fog and mist, but there is a hidden sheep in there. I love it

He is always beside us

Family and friends,

We did quite a bit of travelling this week as we had zone conference on Thursday, and have gone to the outer edges of our area for finding and other purposes. To start off, zone conference was in Rhiwbina! I almost cried when I found out, and I wanted to stay forever. But it was such a neat experience where we got to learn from a general authority. Sister Allred and I are loving each other, and I love the fact that I have someone who understands American humour and sarcasm. We were also lucky enough this week to go to places in our area I'd never heard of. We were asked to contact some people by some members in the ward, and they happened to be in some of the prettiest places I've ever seen. There are too many pictures! I'll include some -the rest I'll show you when I get back.

Since coming on my mission, I've really loved looking for promises in the scriptures and from the prophets. Usually I have to look for them or make a couple connections. As I was reading the talk "We Never Walk Alone" by President Thomas S. Monson from the General Relief Society meeting at this last general conference, I came across this direct statement, "I promise you that you will one day stand aside and look at your difficult times, and you will realize that He was always there beside you." I've found this extremely comforting. It's helped me to see the people I talk to in a new light. Only the Saviour knows what the people I meet have gone through. He loves them perfectly. And even when the people I speak with tell me they've been abandoned by God, I remember this: He is always beside us. He is always beside you.

I love you!

Sister Kuykendall

A little chapel we found. The graveyard outside it looks like it hasn't been touched in years. And we don't know why there isn't a roof. But isn't it cute a little?

Transfers

Friends and Family,

Transfers have come and gone, and I have a new companion! Her name is Sister Allred, and she's from Provo. We love each other thus far, and we're really excited about this upcoming transfer. She's from my MTC group, and she was one of the first people I saw past security in the Salt Lake airport, so we have something in common already. Transfers took up most of our week though. Sister Grigoryan and I made the four and a half hour drive to Birmingham on Monday night right after our preparation day. I dropped her off at the mission home, and I got to serve in a place called Coventry for a day and a half until Sister Allred came from her old area and off we went on our four and a half hour journey back home. I think we'll really get along.

I love what I'm doing. Seriously, nothing has made me more happy in my life. It's so hard, but for some reason, I want to work harder and harder and talk to more and more people. This gospel brings peace. There are many things that I don't know, but even when things are hard there is one truth that I cannot deny: that God lives, and so does His Son. I encounter hostile opposition every day. Those that know me know I hate rejection. Simply put, I could not do this if I did not know this was true. It gives me comfort. No one can take this from me.

Anyway, this place is gorgeous. Honestly, it's the prettiest part of the world. I love you!

Sister Kate Kuykendall

                                              "Pictures don't do this place justice"

                            "My new companion, we don't have a picture together yet"

                                                           "All my best friends"

                            "A graveyard right across from our flat. The youngest person in here died in 1905."

                              "The inside of a cathedral in Coventry England that was bombed in WW ll"

Madie

Friends and family,

Words cannot express how incredibly proud I am of Madie. Literally (used correctly) every e-mail I got today spoke of her maturity and the power of her farewell talk. Let me just talk to her for a second.

Madie, through the years, you and I have "got" each other like no one else has. Though our interests are different, I have no doubt that we were put in the same family for a divine purpose. It kills me that I wasn't able to see your farewell or see you off, but I will be the first to hug you when you return. There was a time in my junior year of college that I was feeling overwhelmed and alone. You lived in the flat below me. I called to see if I could come over, only to find that you were at work. I sat in my room, wanting to talk to someone, but all my roommates were gone. A few minutes later, you walked in. You had left work early to come be with me. I even found out later that you'd ditched a date to spend time with a poor pathetic sister. You probably don't remember this, but I do. I love you, girl. You have a great capacity to love. You have an incredible desire to serve. You are stronger than any girl (or boy) I know. You are my best friend. You will never understand the impact that you have made on my life. I am proud of you. A mission will be hard, and you will feel alone. But I know you can do it, because I've seen you overcome hard things. Don't give up, okay? We're in this together! A success for you is a success for me. Work hard and be obedient. You're going to the second best mission (next to mine) in the world. Though each day brings its own challenges, for some reason happiness always prevails. Let the Lord be the centre of your mission! Pray harder than you ever have. You are never going to have some of these feelings again, so make sure you write them down so I can read them later. Remember that your sister in the middle of nowhere in Wales is rooting for you and thinking of you.  

Wassermellon.

Anyway, I had a really good week. We're working on finding new people to teach, and have been involved in quite a few service projects. I'm really loving the area, though it's still not the same as Cardiff. The people I've met and associated with are incredible. I am so lucky to have the opportunity to go out and talk to these people every day about something that makes me undeniably happy. I love you!

Sister Kate

Alma 36:27

H2O

This week was filled with lots of finding, service, and water. So much water. There is a huge piece of farmland next to our flat that literally looks like a lake with a few tree tops poking out of it. It's insane. Luckily our flat has been just fine, but some of the people in our area aren't so lucky. So we're involved in lots of service at the moment. There's not much we can do to help, but for the most part we organize the rubbish and make sure everyone is happy.

Because of all the rain, our finding efforts have been hindered a bit, but we had an exchange on Saturday with some other Sisters in our zone. Sister Miller and I worked in the rain for a couple hours, and we came across an incredible tender mercy.

Though most of our clothes are constantly damp, I still love the rain. Perhaps by the end of my mission I'll be sick of it. Though I don't like the area as much as Cardiff quite yet, it's growing on me. It is seriously breath-taking over here. Absolutely beautiful. As I've come further into my mission, I honestly can't see myself anywhere else. I don't know why this was ever a hard decision for me to serve. Thinking about Madie serving with me as well makes me that much more excited. Anyone who is worthy to serve yet decides not to is out of their mind. Just kidding. There are other good things to do. But coming on a mission has been perfect for me.

I'd like everyone to know that I know that my Saviour lives. I have a loving Heavenly Father who has become my best friend the past few months. He loves you too, and wants to hear from you. I know that miracles are real. I love this gospel. I love what I'm doing. Jesus loves you!

Special K  

                                                                    Beautiful coastline of West Wales  

                                                                                   

                                                                        The accidental coordination