Artsy

Our favorite pal Ray was baptized this week! He's from South Korea, and he really figured these things out for himself. It's amazing how much God has been in the details for his conversion. He recognizes that there will still be lots of hard things in his life, but he is the epitome of GOLDEN. Seriously. As he came out of the water, he was smiling so big, and just kept saying, "Thank you. Thank you everyone for being at my baptism." And he would do a little bow. My heart melted inside. Everything he says is so perfect, and already he's loving the YSA in the ward. Life is gooooood. And though I make this whole story sound like it was a piece of cake, it wasn't completely. We definitely had bumps in the road, and a few unforseen events. But in the end, our friend has been baptized and he has been so happy. In his words, "I was happy before, but this is different. Things are harder, but I feel so good." 

Also, we met an amazing guy this week named Ryan. Honestly, when I saw him in city centre, I had no intention of stopping and talking to him. He looked quite artsy and unique with beautiful wavy hair and funky glasses. I immediately thought, "SURELY, he won't be interested in what I have to say." Anyway, Sister Bertha stopped him, so of course we all talked. He ended up being the coolest person, and he's had loads of questions about God lately. He kept asking, "How are you guys so normal, but love God? You're not like regular church people." I feel like everyone we meet over here in Coventry is elect. We meet our best friends every day. We're struggling to keep up with how amazing this place is.

I'm freaking out about transfers on Wednesday. This was seriously the fastest transfer yet. It was probably the best as well. I feel as if we were both able to lay everything completely on the line and totally maximize our potential together. Perhaps this sounds cliche, but I seriously could not be happier here. Every moment I have something eternally significant to do. What fun! Anyway, Coventry is amazing. 

Alcohol: Was offered some free beer last night. "Don't worry!" He said, holding out a huge open can, "You don't even have to pay me for it."

Men in suits: We brought our new 21 year old investigator to church yesterday. We introduced her to one of our 22 year old male members. After they were done talking she walked up to me and said, "I really like the way the men dress here. The suits are highly attractive." She looked around for a few more seconds, and then said, "I think I'll come next week." 

Halloween: We had to be inside our flat early on Halloween, so we celebrated by making a fort and filling it with glow sticks. We can't bear to take it down now.

Sorry for the many general and vague comments in this e-mail. I feel like I sometimes run out of things to say. I have seriously loved my life here though. 

Sister Kuyks

Happy Halloween

Happy Halloween! This week has been busy busy, but oh so good. 

Car: I passed my driving test! I will now return home with the best souvenir you could ask for - a British driver's license.

Another great quote!: (as we were teaching our investigator from China about tithing): "So, you said it's sorta like a tax, but that sounds more like an investment." He teaches us more truth than we teach him apparently.

I'm so sorry, but the elders are getting a bit antsy. There's a new one right behind my shoulder waiting to write his girlfriends that he talks about so often. So I'll send a few pictures, and make sure next weeks e-mail is planned out a bit in advance. Sorry mom! Love you.

Sister Kuykendall

P-Day activity last Monday

Something called hot pot. Lots of raw things. Somewhat vile, but we couldn't stop eating it. Went with our friends from China.

I love investigators!

Sorry so short

I feel like our feet are running faster than our minds and strength can handle. We decided this week that we would skip our weekly planning, a few meals, some of our preparation day, etc. so we could talk with a few more people and such. Since we have quite a bit of travelling and meetings, we don't get to do as much in a day as we'd like. We only ended up killing ourselves. Haha, we learned our lesson. We still had an awesome week, and I got to do an exchange in Peterborough with Sister Carter! The sister I trained. I also got to see my cute little recent convert there. Overall, life is good. Honestly, this week was quite a bit more challenging that most in many aspects, but I must say that God does answer prayer. He really does. 

Saddest moment: We had an investigator from China who dropped us this week. She has been super excited for baptism, but she's been forbidden from learning with us :( We were absolutely heart broken. It's not even that we're losing an investigator, but she's become one of our best friends, and now we'll never see her again.

Anyway, not to be depressing, but I'll just do the one sad moment. And now you're going to hate me mom, but I don't have much time to write today so I'll end there. I'm happy and loving life. Coventry is still super. 

Sister Kuykendall the 1st

Amazing week

We had an amazing week, and were blessed to meet some really incredible new people. Also, I'm sorry I start every e-mail with the same sentence. 

This week, we had two exchanges planned. Because of a string of mishaps, the one we planned for Thursday evening ended up being a lot later than we expected. We were in a rush, and as we sped down the motorway at 8:30 at night, our car started to make funny noises. It sputtered, slowed down, and we eventually pulled up to a complete stop. We started to panic because first, we don't know anything about cars, and second, we needed to be in before 9. We tried looking in the hood, but let's be real, we didn't know what we were even looking for. Then, Sister Bertha got these mortified look on her face. She went into the car again and we both realised that we simply had not put petrol into the car in about 2 weeks. We were completely empty. We called our friend Sam, and he drove us to a nearby ASDA, but he had to get somewhere right after, so we were left to our own devices. We sprinted into ASDA, bought a fuel can, bought like £2 worth of fuel, sprinted back to our car, and filled it up. We still had barely enough to make it back to the petrol station, but we made it, filled up, and sped on. Though it was an adventure, and we laughed and took a video of our stupidity, we were really blessed with some kind people along the way, and safety in the dark. Small miracle.

Funny conversation:

90 year old man: You're not from around here... What's that accent?

Me: I'm from America.

90 yo: Oooooooooooooo! Really? Are you really? 

Me: Yeah, have you been there?

90 yo: Nope. But I've got a bus pass.

We met a boy this week from China on Thursday who is absolutely increidble. When we showed him the Book of Mormon, he got so so excited. Seriously, it was the cutest thing. He was bouncning up and down, and he told us he had stolen his roommate's copy of the book. We asked if he wanted one in Mandarin. It almost looked like he was about to faint his smile was so big. He told us he'd always wanted a Book of Mormon, and now he could understand it :) He clung to the book, and wouldn't let go. When he came to church on Sunday, he was still clutching that same book. It already had some wear on it. It made me really thing about how I think of the scriptures. I mean, I do love them, but I think I take them for granted sometimes. 

Being in this area has increased my testimony so much. We are teaching about 7 people from China, and each of them either have a PhD or are working on a PhD. One is working on her second PhD. These are incredibly bright people that are working on and studying things that will change the world. Many of them have also never really heard about God, and don't know who He is in any sense. The idea is foreign and new to them, but they've decide to experiment and see if He's actually there. Each of these investigators have felt the warmth of the Holy Ghost and have accepted the idea that God is there and we can talk with Him through prayer. They aren't dumb. They don't accept it without lots of thought and studying and experimentation. But these people just get it. How amazing is this? These are some of my best friends. 

Sorry for the scattered e-mail. That's how my brain has been the past few months. Love you!

Katie

Exchanges

Conference

Celebrating an early Christmas with Sister B

Sister B, Sister Rasmussen (President's wife) and me

Best week

This was probably the best week of my mission thus far. Though there wasn't a baptism, or anything of major significance, I met some of the most amazing people, and I was able to share my testimony with them. And the week ended with an amazing conference that quite a few of our investigators were able to attend and feel the spirit. One of our friends came to the Saturday morning session. He's from China, and he's about 22 years old. At the start of the conference, he was feeling a little bored. He doesn't know English as well as he'd like, at he didn't exactly understand what he was getting into I guess. He stayed because we had treats, but by the end he seemed a bit frustrated. I asked what he thought of the conference, and in his broken English he said, "Why do I feel the peace in my heart if I didn't know what they say!" Bless. We love him. I'll include a few more investigator quotes from the week:

When explaining the Holy Ghost, our investigator from Korea who's about 29 years old said, "So it's like wireless internet between you and God?"

When we asked one investigator if he receives answers to prayer, he said, "God has given me answers. He gives it in the form of information, that I can either use or not. He can't force me to use it." He's really wise.

Also, I'm in love with investigators' first prayers. They're lovely. One 21 year old boy from Coventry said, "Heavenly Father, I don't know if you're there, but this prayer thing is really cool, I think you're really cool, these girls are really cool, and it's cool I can learn about you." 

Exchange: I got to go on an exchange to Bedworth this past week! It's a way cute leelte place. I was in a trio for the day. A bit #awks, but loved being able to see more of England. 

#ldsconf: One of our investigators came to conference a bit drunk, though he took LOADS of notes. I'm not sure what on, but we're hopeful that it was spiritual impressions.

We set some pretty high goals for this week, because we were surprised at what we were able to do this week. We're quite busy with exchanges, travelling, and meetings, but our hoping our faith will allow is some miracles.. ha. Anyway, sorry if this is short! I'll send some pictures. Love you.

Katie

Goodbye Peterborough

JK. Remember how last week I said I was completely not worried about transfers? After only 2 transfers in the wonderful land of Peterborough, I have been placed in Coventry. The closest to Birmingham I'll probably ever be. It was a super sad move, as I didn't have any time at all to say goodbye to my friends. Seriously right after e-mailing, President Rasmussen called and asked if I would accept a leadership assignment over here in Coventry. I'm back in a car, I'm in a massive ward, I work with loads of the sisters in our area, and I'm near a university with loads of diversity. I was super bummed to leave Sister Carter after only a transfer, but now I'm serving with Sister Bertha from San Diego. She's legit, and we're loving life together. We both want the same things for the area, and it's been a super smooth transition. In the few days we've been together, we've seem some amazing progress in the area, and have gained quite a few new investigators and are seeing people actually progress towards baptism. MIRACLES ABOUND. I love life. I absolutely love it. 

This week was also a bit overwhelming with moving and getting oriented into some of the new responsibilities I have as what they call a sister training leader. I have been incredibly humbled the past week. Each day I notice a new weakness, and there are certain things that I've struggled with throughout my mission that are still working their way to become strengths. I've relied a lot on prayer. The week before I got the call that I was leaving was really hard. I was overwhelmed with training and some of my current responsibilities and inner struggles. I was still working hard, but I didn't know why I was. I just knew that I was happier when I worked that when I did anything else. But I still didn't understand what was wrong with me. I was praying to have something change to push me and force me rise up. Many times during my life, I have felt as if I'm only enduring, not thriving. I wanted to thrive. This transfer has been an answer to my prayers. I am so happy. I don't know how to describe it. Happier than I've ever been in my life. It didn't come all at once. It actually was a decision I made. I know I say this each week, but being a missionary has changed the course of my life for the better. As I have magnified my calling, I have been happy. I've met my best friends. Here's a quote that Lori sent me that went along perfectly with how I feel about this last week:

"If we are always taking our temperature to see if we are happy, we will not be."

and.. “We find that experience can produce a high spiritual yield. Laban, for instance, was reluctant for Jacob to leave his employ, “for I have learned by experience that the Lord hath blessed me for thy sake.” The modern Church even today is instructed to “wait for a little season” to build up central Zion. Why? So that we "may be prepared…and have experience.” (D&C 105:9-10) We gain knowledge through particular experiences, but only incrementally, “in that thing.” (Alma 32:34) Hence, the ongoingness of it all, and perhaps we can be forgiven for wondering, “is there no other way?” Personal, spiritual symmetry emerges only from the shaping of prolonged obedience.”

Hence, I'm still learning. I'm worried that I don't have enough time left to learn what I need to know. I'm worried that I'll leave not having accomplished all that the Lord had set for me to do. Even with my 100% effort each day, I feel like I'll still have more that needs to be finished. 

Anyway. Sorry for my rant/sermon. I haven't been able to write in my journal for about 7 days, so I'm hoping Mom will print this out so I can just use it for my journal entry for the week. 

Car: I'm back in a car. And I'm already missing the bike.

Christmas: We decorated the flat for Christmas already because Sister Bertha will be leaving before.

University: I can already tell I'm going to be completely at home here. I'm loving it :)

Sister Kuykendall

Nice

Family and friends,

Sundays are always miraculous. Yesterday was perfect. We had a nice morning with nice studies and a nice walk to church. I wore a nice flowy skirt. We got into church and sat with a few of our investigators. I looked behind us, and saw a woman and man I didn't recognise. I got up and walked over to introduce myself. The man was a member that hasn't been to church in a while. The woman had been raised Catholic. When I asked about her religious background, she said, "I want to have faith, but I don't have it in my old religion. I'm looking to be converted into your church. Do you know who I speak to about this." Once again, I pretended like this happens all the time and said that she could definitely talk with us. We set up a time to see her this week. I smiled through the rest of sacrament. I felt like the luckiest girl as I sat next to my friends. My investigators have really become some of my best friends. The members in this ward have really taken them in and made them feel at home. They deserve these miracles. I don't know if I can say I'm worthy of the miracles we've seen, but the ward definitely is.  

Tracting: Since I've been in Peterborough, I've resorted mostly to street contacting to gain new investigators. I told Sister Carter that tracting doesn't work in this area as well (because it really didn't when it was Sister Williamson and I). This past week, we had an appointment fall through. I went to get back on our bikes, but Sister Carter was like, "Maybe we could tract?" I really didn't want to, but I thought this would be the perfect opportunity to show her that tracting simply does not work here. We knocked on the first door. They opened. They were perfectly willing to listen and invited us to return. We knock on the second door. They open the door and told us we could teach them. We knock on the third door. They opened. They invited us in and we taught them. We knock on the fourth door. The girl that opened was super stoked to see us and seemed excited to hear from us. Anyway, we knock the entire street and literally every door that opened was interested in our message. I have been sufficiently humbled.

Bike: We had our first serious bike accident with Sister Carter. As we were coming down a hill, I heard this huge bang behind me. I looked back and saw Sister sprawled out on the ground. With her bike a few feet from her. Literally 2 minutes before, she'd been complaining to me about how stupid the rule is that we have to wear helmets. I sorta just said tough luck, and made her put it on anyways. Boy am I happy. She was completely fine besides a few bruises and scratches and hurt ego, but I'm not sure how fine she would have been without the helmet. I think she was sufficiently humbled there.

Well, transfers are on Wednesday, but nearly 100% sure that we're both staying right here. So nothing exciting happening there. I would die if I left Peterborough. I have to stay here. I'm dreading the end of this next transfer. I love it too much. I just want my family and friends to all come out here with me.

New favourite missionary scripture - John 15:5.

I love you! 

Sister Kuyks