Dear Family,
You should be grateful that I can even email this week for there were multiple moments this week that I thought my heart would burst, burst from joy and break with heartache. I will start with the heartbreak first since there is so much more joyful news to follow up with. A member in our ward passed away suddenly from a heart attack last Monday leaving behind his wife and four teenage children. I did not know the family before since they were fairly inactive and lived in a part of our ward covered by the elders. We received a message telling us and asking us to forward the information to the other missionaries you covered that area. We did, but didn't get a response. As we were driving to our next appointment, my companion and I felt the impression to go this family first instead to offer whatever support or help we could. When we arrived, the wife was on the couch with another member, just sobbing. She had not been able to sleep or eat, and was just distraught. We knelt in front of her and began to sing hymns. We sat with her for several hours while she cried or talked to us. And during that time, somehow I started to feel the pain of this dear sister. I felt as if my heart was breaking and the world was crashing down, yet at the same time I knew it wasn't my pain. In some way, Heavenly Father allowed me to mourn with her. Later in the week, I was asked to play background music for the viewing and funeral. Our bishop stood to speak at the funeral service and spoke boldly about the temple. This family had been planning to get sealed for several years, but they allowed various obstacles to stop them and then they became inactive for the past several years. A wonderful family that knows about the gospel and the blessings of the temple, but had not taken full advantage. Our bishop boldly invited them to get their lives in order so they could be sealed as a family.
And while all that was going on this week, our ward also had a ward temple trip they have been preparing for. We have been working hard to help many families prepare names to bring to the temple, and by the time the week ended we had prepared over 200 names to receive ordinances!! It was exhilarating and exhausting since we were running everywhere trying to help, but I thought my heart would nearly burst from joy as we found more and more families that were ready to receive those ordinances. And especially joyful, we were able to help the Robles family in our ward get all the papers and records so that Brother Robles could be sealed to his parents who had long since passed away. But that wasn't even the end of the temple joy this week- On Saturday we were able to go with our recent convert family, the Pintos, to do baptisms for the first time. It was a powerful spiritual experience and we loved every minute of it. That very night was the Relief Society broadcast with the overwhelming theme of covenants. How beautifully orchestrated was this week!?
In thinking of things that have changed, I suddenly realized that I do"besitos" now. In the Hispanic culture, you greet people by kissing the right cheek, and now I am so accustomed to it that I don't even think twice about it. Once in awhile I have done it to a white person on accident and they tend to think I'm a little strange. So if I come home and start kissing people on the cheeks, now you know why : )
One of the truly great lessons I've learned on my mission has to do with what power really is. True power is faith. True power is virtue. True power is the priesthood. True power is knowing who I am as a daughter of God. True power is charity, the pure love of Christ. True power is found in the Atonement of our Savior and Redeemer, Jesus the Christ.
Please continue your prayers for Dilma, and the Gomez and Cuellar families. Also, keep in your prayers Patricia, Doris, and Rubia- some of our new investigators.
I love you all.
Keep the faith,
Hermana Kristi Koerner
Monday, September 30, 2013
Mission Pictures
 |
| Title of Our Plan of Salvation chalk drawing |
 |
| Plan of Salvation |
 |
| Ta-da! |
 |
 |
| Our new friends learning about the plan of salvation |
 |
| Cute little boy Mateo in our ward making faces for us |
 |
| Temple baptisms with the Pinto Family |
 |
| Hna Calderon, Myself, and Hna Perez from Oakcrest! |
 |
| Hna Busenbark and myself posing at the RS Conference |
 |
| Myself, Hna Rife, Hna Hill, Hna Heath, Hna Woodward, and Hna Knappen |
 |
| Happy sunshine in Texas And Last, but not Least, the adorable picture of my beautiful niece, |
 |
| LILY !!! |
Monday, September 23, 2013
Jacob 4:8 09/23/13
Dear Family,
We had a week of torrential rain and we are still in hurricane season so there is a slight possibility of something coming our way. But when it is not raining, it has cooled down so we can do more street contacting. We had a phenomenal week full of miracles. We have been thinking of more ideas to find new investigators in our area, since tracting is less successful. So one idea was to draw the plan of salvation in public parks, so we went to a park on Wednesday and drew the plan out with questions and our number. There was a group of workers there taking their lunch break and we asked them to look at our drawing to see what they thought. ( With the idea in mind to start a religious conversation) They came over and started to ask questions about what everything meant. So we taught the plan of salvation to four new investigators!! I have pictures, but the camera got left at home, so rain-check until next week. We are also teaching a new family, Fernanda and Noe and their little boy. Wonderful and incredibly prepared. I will have to share more of their story next week when I have more time. We are also seeing wonderful success with our family history efforts. Yesterday we had speakers from the temple presidency encouraging members to prepare their family names for the temple and the temple trip the ward has this week. After church, even more members came up to us asking when we could come help them! Also, we are taking our recent convert family, the Pintos, to do baptisms in the temple this upcoming Saturday. So excited.
With the weeks of my mission dwindling rapidly, there is lots of reflection upon changes in myself and lessons learned. So I thought I will start including some of those insights and funny things.
One change that you all with notice quickly is the change in foods. I now eat lots of tomatoes, peppers, garlic, mushrooms, and almost everything that I avoided before my mission. And spicy food? Bring it on. As I have recently proven, I can eat a whole habanero pepper plain. The only things that have stayed on my least favorite food list are onions and pickles. A whole new horizon in foods just opened up : )
Also, I have learned a lot about stewardship on the mission. Almost every part of being a missionary pertains to stewardship. Our cars, apartments, and other resources are not ours, but rather are entrusted to us to carry out the work of the Lord. We are given stewardships over wards and areas in the name of our Savior to do as He would do if He was here. In the Church, stewardship is not limited to a temporal trust or responsibility. President Spencer W. Kimball taught: “We are stewards over our bodies, minds, families, and properties. … A faithful steward is one who exercises righteous dominion, cares for his own, and looks to the poor and needy." I've learned that being a faithful disciple in the gospel is about fulfilling our stewardships faithfully as we strive to become more like our Savior.
There is a phrase in Preach My Gospel that says "learning the gospel is a process of receiving revelation" and then this scripture, "Behold, great and marvelous are the works of the Lord. How unsearchable are the depths of the mysteries of him; and it is impossible that man should find out all his ways. And no man knoweth of his ways save it be revealed unto him; wherefore, brethren, despise not the revelations of God."
Thank you for all your prayers and support.
Love,
Hna Koerner
We had a week of torrential rain and we are still in hurricane season so there is a slight possibility of something coming our way. But when it is not raining, it has cooled down so we can do more street contacting. We had a phenomenal week full of miracles. We have been thinking of more ideas to find new investigators in our area, since tracting is less successful. So one idea was to draw the plan of salvation in public parks, so we went to a park on Wednesday and drew the plan out with questions and our number. There was a group of workers there taking their lunch break and we asked them to look at our drawing to see what they thought. ( With the idea in mind to start a religious conversation) They came over and started to ask questions about what everything meant. So we taught the plan of salvation to four new investigators!! I have pictures, but the camera got left at home, so rain-check until next week. We are also teaching a new family, Fernanda and Noe and their little boy. Wonderful and incredibly prepared. I will have to share more of their story next week when I have more time. We are also seeing wonderful success with our family history efforts. Yesterday we had speakers from the temple presidency encouraging members to prepare their family names for the temple and the temple trip the ward has this week. After church, even more members came up to us asking when we could come help them! Also, we are taking our recent convert family, the Pintos, to do baptisms in the temple this upcoming Saturday. So excited.
With the weeks of my mission dwindling rapidly, there is lots of reflection upon changes in myself and lessons learned. So I thought I will start including some of those insights and funny things.
One change that you all with notice quickly is the change in foods. I now eat lots of tomatoes, peppers, garlic, mushrooms, and almost everything that I avoided before my mission. And spicy food? Bring it on. As I have recently proven, I can eat a whole habanero pepper plain. The only things that have stayed on my least favorite food list are onions and pickles. A whole new horizon in foods just opened up : )
Also, I have learned a lot about stewardship on the mission. Almost every part of being a missionary pertains to stewardship. Our cars, apartments, and other resources are not ours, but rather are entrusted to us to carry out the work of the Lord. We are given stewardships over wards and areas in the name of our Savior to do as He would do if He was here. In the Church, stewardship is not limited to a temporal trust or responsibility. President Spencer W. Kimball taught: “We are stewards over our bodies, minds, families, and properties. … A faithful steward is one who exercises righteous dominion, cares for his own, and looks to the poor and needy." I've learned that being a faithful disciple in the gospel is about fulfilling our stewardships faithfully as we strive to become more like our Savior.
There is a phrase in Preach My Gospel that says "learning the gospel is a process of receiving revelation" and then this scripture, "Behold, great and marvelous are the works of the Lord. How unsearchable are the depths of the mysteries of him; and it is impossible that man should find out all his ways. And no man knoweth of his ways save it be revealed unto him; wherefore, brethren, despise not the revelations of God."
Thank you for all your prayers and support.
Love,
Hna Koerner
Monday, September 9, 2013
2 Nephi 9:7 09/09/13
Dear Family-
It has been a really good week. We had a miracle Thursday night with our investigator, Dilma. We have been trying to get in and teach, but we usually end up doing service for her. So Thursday we were finally able to teach her the Restoration. She loved it. We taught and testified of the First Vision and Joseph Smith, and then invited her to pray to know that it is true. And she said that she already knows it's true! We were able to set a date with her for the beginning of October. I feel so blessed to find these prepared people.
We are working hard to bind the missionary work with the family history/temple work. We are teaching all of our recent converts how to do family history and they are loving it! In a couple weeks were are taking several recent convert families to the temple to do baptisms for the dead- for their own ancestors ; ) And then we are having more people come to the genealogy class. One brother brought all the information for four generations- names, dates, children, siblings. Everything. We were able to prepare over thirty names last week and we will finish just entering the rest of the names of those he has before we will start searching. The work is so beautifully intertwined.
Remember last week how I told about the less-active sister we visited who came to church last Sunday? Well, while talking with several sisters at church, they found she didn't have transportation so they gave her a car! She and her husband were touched by this charity, and her husband who is not a member came to church and our English class. Not only that, but they brought five of their friends to our English class! The power of charity and of one person. Her husband is now meeting with the missionaries, as well as two of her friends. We are having dinner with her tomorrow and she told us she is inviting three more friends she wants us to meet. Incredible.
I had the opportunity again this week to teach our Gospel Principles class since our ward mission leader is out of town. It was on the Atonement. Last week was on the life of Christ so we discussed the Atonement and read several scriptures. I didn't want to repeat this week so I found all these examples, illustrations, stories to share to discuss various aspects of the Atonement. Such as the hill and the well, the man falling into a hole, the story of the debtor, etc. It was a good experience. Part of the fun of a mission- being called on with only hours or minutes to give lessons or talks is just normal. I really loved this talk called The Miracle of the Atonement.
Please pray for Lionel, Elvin, and Dilma as well as the Gomez and Cuellar families.
Love you all,
Hermana Koerner
It has been a really good week. We had a miracle Thursday night with our investigator, Dilma. We have been trying to get in and teach, but we usually end up doing service for her. So Thursday we were finally able to teach her the Restoration. She loved it. We taught and testified of the First Vision and Joseph Smith, and then invited her to pray to know that it is true. And she said that she already knows it's true! We were able to set a date with her for the beginning of October. I feel so blessed to find these prepared people.
We are working hard to bind the missionary work with the family history/temple work. We are teaching all of our recent converts how to do family history and they are loving it! In a couple weeks were are taking several recent convert families to the temple to do baptisms for the dead- for their own ancestors ; ) And then we are having more people come to the genealogy class. One brother brought all the information for four generations- names, dates, children, siblings. Everything. We were able to prepare over thirty names last week and we will finish just entering the rest of the names of those he has before we will start searching. The work is so beautifully intertwined.
Remember last week how I told about the less-active sister we visited who came to church last Sunday? Well, while talking with several sisters at church, they found she didn't have transportation so they gave her a car! She and her husband were touched by this charity, and her husband who is not a member came to church and our English class. Not only that, but they brought five of their friends to our English class! The power of charity and of one person. Her husband is now meeting with the missionaries, as well as two of her friends. We are having dinner with her tomorrow and she told us she is inviting three more friends she wants us to meet. Incredible.
I had the opportunity again this week to teach our Gospel Principles class since our ward mission leader is out of town. It was on the Atonement. Last week was on the life of Christ so we discussed the Atonement and read several scriptures. I didn't want to repeat this week so I found all these examples, illustrations, stories to share to discuss various aspects of the Atonement. Such as the hill and the well, the man falling into a hole, the story of the debtor, etc. It was a good experience. Part of the fun of a mission- being called on with only hours or minutes to give lessons or talks is just normal. I really loved this talk called The Miracle of the Atonement.
Please pray for Lionel, Elvin, and Dilma as well as the Gomez and Cuellar families.
Love you all,
Hermana Koerner
Monday, September 2, 2013
2 Nephi 2:24 9/02/13
Dear Family,
Happy Labor Day! I hope you have a great break from school and work as well as enjoy the visit from family : ) We are trying to put together a bbq for all the missionaries in the area so we can celebrate Labor Day, but we'll see how it plays out. Transfers was this past week, and I'm still serving in the Westgreen ward with Hna Woodward. Really enjoying this ward. Ward council absolutely blows me away- they are so organized, the bishop delegates and followed up on our report from the last time. So exciting. We did receive two new elders in the ward who are excited and ready to work. They are a half bike, half car area, so they are out working all day in the sun when they don't have the car. If they can do it, I can do anything : )
We are still working with the three brothers and they are really struggling to come to church. Please include them in your prayers so they can work everything out to come to church. We also started teaching this wonderful woman named Lima, from Honduras. She is a single mom with two little boys and she loves having us over. She is so ready for the gospel and we are excited to progress with her. Please pray for her as well. We had a great experience with a sister who has been less-active for several years. She lives in the elders area, but when we were up in the area for another appointment we felt prompted to stop by. I'd never met her before, but she welcomed us in and talked with us, and told us they were struggling financially. We set a time to come back later during the week. As we prepared to come back, we felt impressed to teach tithing. I'll admit to being a little nervous about starting off with tithing after having barely met the sister, but we listened. We were able to teach tithing and her heart was touched. She agreed to come to church and pay her tithing to act on her faith. We arranged a ride and she came to church!! She had a great time and really felt the Spirit. I had the chance to teach Gospel Principles since our ward mission leader wasn't there, so we were able to focus in on the needs of our investigators and this sister.
In our mission, our President issues the 12-week challenge to every missionary in their last 12 weeks of missionary service to read the Book of Mormon from start to finish. It requires lots of reading, but - you know me- I'm loving it! I'm doing the challenge in Spanish and keeping up with my Book of Mormon study on Christ in English. I just can't put it down. I started last Monday night and I'm already in 2 Nephi 10 : ) I loved this simple verse in 2 Nephi 2:24 "But behold, all things have been done in the wisdom of him who knoweth all things."
I had a profound moment on Friday during our district meeting. Our district leader was bearing his testimony of the Atonement and mentioned how Christ suffered all the pains of Gethsemane again on the cross. And I realized in a way I never had before that aspect of the Atonement. I absolutely know that he suffered for me, that he bore the weight of every sin, pain, sickness, weakness, and loneliness in those hours. I don't know if He did it all in the garden (versus finishing it on the cross), but I believe He did. So to realize that He went through those same pains and suffering a second time, helps me know that my Savior knows what it is to go through a trial more than once. He knows what it is to suffer and pray through something and finally overcome it...only to have the same trial come back another time. He knows exactly what is is like to suffer heartache, loneliness, and despair again and again and again. We don't just have each trial once just so we have them all- sometimes the very hardest of our trials are repeated. Sometimes a little differently, sometimes exactly the same. But I know that Christ suffered for the pain of that repetition as well. I hope I explained that alright, but it was more something I felt.
I love you all and hope you have a wonderful Labor Day!
Love,
Hermana Kristi Koerner 
Subscribe to:
Posts (Atom)