Don't Look Back

The Tale of the Scientist and the Artist

So I will start with a beautiful story. A young dashing brilliant student from Germany came to the states in the 1930's to continue his education in physics. His quest to live his religion had led him from the heart of an increasingly dangerous battleground to the peaceful campus of Brigham Young University. He would eventually earn three degrees from the wonderful institution, including a PhD in both Physics and Mathematics. Soon he was drafted and served in the military for two years, before coming home to prepare for a mission. Due to his ability to speak German, imagine his surprise when he was called to Finland- a mission he honorably served and a language he still speaks to this day. Yet the best part of the story is still to come. Upon returning home, he met a young artist. A beautiful woman who could capture a heart in a brushstroke, portray a story in pottery, and create a dream in a frame. Their respective backgrounds connected in melodies and harmonies. Their love for music came from different places but rang just as true. They were sealed for time and all eternity and set off on the grandest adventure- marriage. Now they are in their eighties. He still teaches one class every semester at the local university, while her hand is no longer steady enough to sculpt or paint. Her creations adorn every wall of their quaint home and his experiments cover the desks. Their music runs through everything. This isn't just another Mormon couple success story. I now have the privilege of working for this darling couple several times a week. While he teaches, I stay with his wife and do basic housecleaning. Their life is simple. She eats the same thing for breakfast every morning and they pray together throughout the day. It's only part time, but I think I need them more than they need me. To be in a home filled with that kind of love and devotion for each other and for the Lord is humbling and inspiring. Tender mercies.

Maybe some of you already know about barnacles and Portland, but for those of you like me who didn't know, let me explain. Actually, President Monson explained it better in a talk in 1988 saying, "To some it may seem strange to see ships of many nations loading and unloading cargo along the docks at Portland, Oregon. That city is 100 miles from the ocean. Getting there involves a difficult, often turbulent passage over the bar guarding the Columbia River and a long trip up the Columbia and Willamette Rivers. But ship captains like to tie up at Portland. They know that as their ships travel the seas, a curious salt water shellfish called a barnacle fastens itself to the hull and stays there for the rest of its life, surrounding itself with a rock-like shell. As more and more barnacles attach themselves, they increase the ship’s drag, slow its progress, decrease its efficiency. Periodically, the ship must go into dry dock, where with great effort the barnacles are chiseled or scraped off. It’s a difficult, expensive process that ties up the ship for days. But not if the captain can get his ship to Portland. Barnacles can’t live in fresh water. There, in the sweet, fresh waters of the Willamette or Columbia, the barnacles loosen and fall away, and the ship returns to its task lightened and renewed. Sins are like those barnacles. Hardly anyone goes through life without picking up some. They increase the drag, slow our progress, decrease our efficiency. Unrepented, building up one on another, they can eventually sink us. In His infinite love and mercy, our Lord has provided a harbor where, through repentance, our barnacles fall away and are forgotten. With our souls lightened and renewed, we can go efficiently about our work and His.” In another talk, "getting to fresh water" refers to going to holy places, especially the temple, where we can get the barnacles off. Saturday I was able to go to the Chicago temple for the endowment and sealing of a young couple in my ward. It wasn't 100 miles up the Columbia, but it was 200 miles in a snow storm. At one point the van spun off the road, but the whole trip was worth it just to get to fresh water. I love how in the temple you can get the barnacles off, give your burden over to the Lord, and feel peace enough to be able to discover and find answers. 

When Coming Home Feels Like Leaving

For couple weeks now I've been falling asleep expecting to wake up 1000 miles away in my missionary apartment. I put on my jacket and reach to adjust my tag only to realize it's not there. I'm enjoying listening to music and watching shows, but a part of me struggles to justify spending the time to just sit. There is the adjustment to the fact that my little brother is not so little anymore and my baby sister now has a boyfriend!! (Yeah, still not liking that one a lot) I miss Houston and my missionary companions and the wonderful incredible amazing people. Yet, I know I am supposed to be here right now. Sigh.

Life is about change and progression. About taking who I was yesterday, who I am today, and making myself into who I need to become tomorrow. Life is treasuring the gems of today, the tender mercies and tough times, and still looking forward to the future. It's learning when to let go and what to hold onto, and how to know which one. So I'm taking it all with me. My mission has become a huge part of me, but it is not the defining moment, the end all of my progression--it is a stepping stone. 

Coming home has been out of balance for me. During the mission, the scope of areas in your life are more limited. One strives to balance companionship, investigator, and member relationships, learn teaching skills and new languages, deepening spirituality, etc. Most other areas are limited or ignored during this time. Returning brings back to life each of those neglected categories so naturally it takes a little time to find a balance again. I'm ready for the challenge and I'm looking forward to this next stage of my life.

Throughout the process of my mission I was able to heal from many things. More than that, I learned how to heal. I gave burdens to the Lord and felt Him lead me through trials. This is me saying goodbye to everything I was carrying before and saying hello to the beginning of a lifetime pursuit on the path of discipleship. This is me saying thank you and I love you to everyone in the Texas Houston Mission- thank you for all the lessons, the tears, and the laughter. Thank you for molding me into the woman I've become. God be with ya'll til we meet again. 

Til I See You Again

1 Nephi 3:21 11/11/13

Dear Family-

AHHH! Nine days left until I can see ya'll!!!! Just a little freaking out going on.... Ok, calming down.

But lots of wonderful things are happening over here. Yesterday the stake came to our ward and split the ward, creating a completely new ward! The areas are just exploding with work and we are excited for the new growth. Many members are sad and excited at the same time. We still don't know details, but the excitement is high. When I started my mission in this same stake only sixteen months ago, there were five wards and three branches. Now there are eight full wards and one branch that is growing quickly to become a ward. Incredible. I absoutely believe that this growth will continue, especially as we utilize all the resources we have. On Saturday we had a Family History Open House to spread information about the Church's family history resources and it was an incredible success with dozens of investigators.

Thank you all for your prayers and support for those we are teaching. Sandra and Hna Cano both came to church yesterday and we are setting baptismal dates this week. The people here make the work so precious and so many special memories. I am working on getting lots of pictures so if I don't email them I will bring them home. 

After finishing my study on Christ in the Book of Mormon, I started over again the next day. And I decided to study the doctrine of the family and the Lord's guidelines for building family relationships found within the Book of Mormon. And I am absolutely loving it. The Book of Mormon is just full of guidance for us in our most importance relationships. I especially love the example of Nephi as a brother. 1 Nephi 3:21 is when he is working to convince his brothers to continue on in obtaining the plates. "And it came to pass that after this manner of language did I persuade my brethren, that they might be faithful in keeping the commandments of God." In the role of a brother, Nephi sometimes persuades, sometimes rebukes, often encourages, usually helps through his example, but always always loves. I know I am not a perfect sister, but I want to strive to be more like Nephi and know how to really love my family. I love this video from lds.org on the power of a righteous mother, but I think it is just as applicable for all of our other roles as daughters and sisters. 

I love ya'll. Make someone smile today.

Love,

Hermana Kristi Koerner

Moroni 7:22 11/04/13

Dear Family,

Wow, it's November already. I'm nervous and excited all at the same time. We had a busy and fun week including Halloween adventures, great referrals, fantastic lessons, family history discoveries, and...drum roll please, I finished my study of Christ and Book of Mormon challenge! Yeah! So Halloween, just like last year, we had to be in early. So we made a girls night out of it. Made brownies, pedicures, and watched the Testaments. It was fun and relaxing. That same day, before we had to be home, we had two really amazing lessons with our investigators, Sandra and Patricia. They both opened up to us and we were able to extend baptismal invitations. None were accepted yet, but it really opened them up and helped them see baptism as a goal for them. Thank you for all your prayers for everyone we've been teaching.

Speaking of that, we are always looking for more people to teach and this week we got some incredible referrals. One from other sisters who taught the Restoration to a family with their member friend who lives in their area. It is a family of four and they are absolutely prepared for the gospel. We haven't gotten to meet with them yet, but please keep them in your prayers (Leonardo and Luz). Also, another day our lesson cancelled so we decided to take advantage of the nice weather and walk to our next appointment. On the way, a member in one of the English wards offered us a ride. When she found out we are the Spanish sisters, she told us about a neighbor and another friend she has been sharing the gospel with- who are Spanish speakers. Amazing, but not the end yet. Yesterday, we stopped by the English stake center to drop off some keys to another set of elders and we met a couple families who needed to pass on Spanish referrals to us. We've been praying hard to find new investigators and Heavenly Father just led us straight to them. 

In other good news, in family history research this week, I finally found someone I've been looking for. A Robert Weese on the Owens side has had me stuck for a couple weeks. But I finally found records and was able to connect another five generations. It makes me so happy to do the Lord's work- on both sides of the veil.

I also finished the studies I've been working on- the Book of Mormon challenge and the study of Christ in the Book of Mormon that I started back in June. Incredible. It has given me so many insights, ideas, inspiration, and a new level of understanding. I can't wait to share more of that when I get home. But one thing I learned from my study of Christ is that He makes everything possible.  Moroni 7:22 "For behold, God knowing all things, being from everlasting to everlasting, behold, he sent angels to minister unto the children of men, to make manifest concerning the coming of Christ; and in Christ there should come every good thing." I absolutely know that to be true. Christ makes every good thing in our lives possible. 

Forgive me for a short email. I promise to answer all your questions and tell you lots of stories when I get home.

All my love,

Hermana Kristi Koerner

P.S Happy Birthday Cody!!!

Mosiah 3:4 10/28/13

Dear Family,
It was a great week out here in Texas and coming home finally became real. I received my flight plans the week before, but so far they are just papers. This week we had Zone Conference, our all day training with several zones and President. It is always filled with good training and at the end they have the missionaries that are ending their missions bear their testimonies. I knew that and so I was prepared. But after lunch, when we still had some more training workshops, I started to get really nervous. I mean, sick to my stomach, seriously nervous. I didn't realize before how big of a deal it was for me. I am ending my full-time mission and I am so overwhelmingly grateful for the opportunities and growth Heavenly Father has blessed with me. And I didn't want to get up and ramble or preach. So I was praying so hard for the help to know what to say and how to say it. Nerve-racking. I know Heavenly Father filled my mouth and I bore testimony of miracles. This mission has a special focus on miracles. I thought when I came to the mission, I understood what a miracle was. But I didn't. The Bible Dictionary says that miracles are also called works because they are the natural result of the Lord's presence. The mission has been miraculous because the Lord has been with me every single day, every moment of every day. While on the mission I have seen the miracle of the youth responding to the prophet's call to arise and serve. When I entered the MTC there were about 54000 missionaries and now there are over 80000. But to break that down a bit more. When I came to Houston there were 16 Spanish sisters. I knew them all. Now we have over 50 Spanish sisters. Before the announcement, 700 mission calls were issued each week- now it is 1200 every week. But the largest increase was in the number of sisters, with 8000 before and nearly 20000 now- an 142% increase. It is remarkable. Our entire message as missionaries is miraculous from the account of Joseph Smith receiving an answer from Heavenly Father as a young 14 year old boy all the way to the greatest miracle known to mankind- the Atonement of our Savior. I am grateful that I was able to share my testimony with my fellow missionaries, but it made it all very real.

I have been slacking with my investigator updates so here you go:  We have been teaching one of our investigators, Doris, the plan of salvation this week and every new principle we shared caused her to just light up. Every new piece of the plan made her excited and it was humbling for us to remember how many do not know these precious truths. Our investigator Sandra is progressing well and she loves reading the Book of Mormon. She came to general conference and then to church this past week. She has been so prepared and she is introducing us to all of her family. Speaking of family, one investigator that we have been teaching for a couple months now has slowly introduced us to her entire extended family and now we are teaching three of her cousins, an aunt, and a sister-in-law all separately! And the group of workers that we teach every Wednesday are starting to progress and read the Book of Mormon. Wonderful things happening here in Westgreen.

Yesterday we were so excited because between the companionships, there were six investigators at church! We have been struggling so hard to help people come to church and for three of them it was their first time. Things did not go as planned however. Sacrament meeting was the primary program and I love the program dearly, but the microphones caused static, there was lots of movement of children in and out of sacrament meeting, and it was from an investigator's standpoint, unorganized. Remember, I have worked with the Primary and done two Primary programs before as a teacher/music director. But looking at it from a visitor's perspective, it was confusing. So we hoped the classes would be a little calmer, but our teacher for the second class was late so another brother stepped in and taught a mix of the Restoration, plan, and gospel all in one class- from the veil to Joseph Smith. Good doctrine, tough composition. Now, our Relief Society is wonderful so I was excited to bring the investigators to Relief Society. Instead, we had a combined meeting on...family history!! Yeah! We have been working so hard with family history and we asked for the stake to come down and do a training. What happened was the stake coordinator came from the stake and chastised the ward for not working harder in this and when they asked questions she just seemed to tell them to go to the stake center and she would answer questions there. All in all it was a tough Sunday, but....the key word...I was full of joy all day. From the time I woke up, through church, through all the craziness, I could not top smiling from ear to ear. Heavenly Father has just filled with me joy for this work. Mosiah 3:4 says," For the Lord hath heard thy prayers, and hath judged of thy righteousness, and hath sent me to declare unto thee that thou mayest rejoice; and that thou mayest declare unto thy people, that they may also be filled with joy." My greatest desire as a missionary is that other may also be filled with the joy that the gospel brings.
I love you all so much. Thank you for your prayers and support. Go out and frustrate Satan.
Les quiero,
Hermana Kristi Koerner

3 Nephi 17:9 10/21/13

Dear Family,
Ok so I know the countdowns are starting and I am so excited to see everyone. I will refrain from counting down until my last week or so in order to stay focused, but are all free to do so : )

We had a wonderful experience with one of the young women. She has been out with us teaching several times and she loves to share the gospel. She called us last week and told us that she was talking with one of her friend's about the purpose of life, and the friend expressed that she wasn't sure what her purpose was. The young woman then bore her testimony and invited her friend to listen to the missionaries. We met with her at the young woman's home on Friday and from the start the Spirit was strong and she is very spiritually sensitive. We were able to share our purpose and start the plan. Afterwards she told us that she wants to her parents to hear this. So we are going to meet her family this week! I feel so blessed to be working in this area, with this ward.

This week as Hna Townsend and I were leaving the temple, President Crane (temple president) was at the entrance and we stopped to say thank you to him. He shook our hands and began to ask us questions about our temple experience. Did we have a beautiful experience? Do we learn something new every time? Does it become deeper and deeper each time? And finally, did we give thanks while in the temple? He then shared D&C 97:12-13 with us and told us that many people do not receive the answers they pray for in the temple because they neglect to give thanks. It was a tender mercy from the Lord as I've been focusing on expressing as much gratitude this transfer as possible.
In other good ward news, our ward mission leader has been struggling and we hadn't had correlation in about two months. The bishop was aware and did all he could until he was able to call another brother. He called Hno Escobar, who is great leader in the ward and is always helping the missionaries anyway. We are very excited to start working with him.

So cool entry in the Bible Dictionary under "War in Heaven":"The warfare is continued in mortality in the conflict between right and wrong, between the gospel and false principles, etc. The same contestants and the same issues are doing battle, and the same salvation is at stake...The nature of the conflict, however, is such that there could be no neutrals, then or now." I love that!

I am reading in 3 Nephi, the chapters of the coming of Christ and I love the story how the Savior healing the sick. I especially noted this time how the Savior healed them spiritually. Just hours/days before the whole land was mourning the loss of loved ones, but their hearts where healed by the Savior. "And it came to pass that when he had thus spoken, all the multitude, with one accord, did go forth with their sick and their afflicted, and their lame, and with their blind, and with their dumb, and with all them that were afflicted in any manner; and he did heal them every one as they were brought forth unto him"

Thank you for all your prayers for Dilma, Doris, Patricia, Elvin and Hno Rincon and please keep praying for them and for Sandra.
Love you all,
Hermana Kristi Koerner

1 Nephi 7:16-18 10/14/13

Dear Family,
It is solidly autumn now, even here in Texas. The leaves are starting to change and the cool weather has come in. But it is absolutely beautiful and the weather is perfect for more walking. I now have my final companion, Hermana Townsend! She is from Murray, Utah and we even found out that we were born in the same hospital. She comes from a large family of ten kids and she is the youngest. Her mother is from England and so she is introducing lots of little British candies and words into our companionship. She is so sweet and patient and we are seeing lots of miracles together. Sorry about the email last week, but I will try to make up for it today. Yesterday at church, our bishop called on me last minute to give a talk since our speakers weren't prepared. I had a few ideas in mind and when I went up the Spirit put them all together. It truly was a beautiful moment for me as I could feel the Spirit filling my mouth, while at the same time utilizing the knowledge I have gained through diligent studies. Then last night, the Velez family (whom we eat with every Sunday night) had asked me to cook for dinner since they know I love to cook. So I made our chicken enchiladas for 20 people. I've learned that they are not hispanic enchiladas at all, very american. But everyone loved it. So I had fun cooking again. I'll attach pictures.
We are seeing lots of miracles and I wanted to share one from last weekend. A young woman named Sandra has been coming to our English class and she is wonderful. Last week we invited everyone to conference and she was really excited to come. She came to ALL FOUR SESSIONS!!! And took notes, and asked questions non-stop between sessions. Needless to say, we are now teaching her and she is progressing towards a baptismal date the beginning of November. Some people are so ready for the gospel. Please pray for her so everything goes smoothly with her family. Another investigator whom we haven't seen for several weeks, called us and asked us to come. He seemed to realize the importance and made adjustments so he can continue to listen to us and prepare for baptism. Another miracle happened with a part-member family. We have visited them a couple times trying to get to know them since they are new in the ward. The wife is a member and the husband is not...yet. We thought from our first visit that he said he had heard all the lessons before. But we found out this week that he hasn't! So we explained our purpose and asked if he would like to learn about the gospel- and he agreed. He was so sincere and genuine, and even in the short lesson we taught, the Spirit was very strong. Please pray for Brother Rincon so he can receive the gospel and recognize the blessings the gospel brings.
One of the greatest blessings I have received from my mission is an understanding of how the gospel fits together. Before, I know I had a testimony of parts, separately and individually. I knew Joseph Smith was a prophet and that the Book of Mormon is true. I knew the principles of faith and repentance were true. I could quote the plan of salvation backwards and forwards and I knew it was true with all my heart. But I didn't realize that I did not know how all of it relates together. I could not have told you how the having a prophet relates to the plan. Or how the five principles of the gospel of Jesus Christ play an active part in the plan of salvation. And I certainly didn't understand how all of it is tied and woven together by the Atonement of our Savior. I had heard before that the central message of the gospel is the Atonement and all other principles are merely appendages to it, but I couldn't have explained how. I have learned to related everything to Jesus Christ and at the same time have gained a more eternal perspective at the purpose and means of the plan of salvation. That being said, I still have so much to learn. The more I learn about the gospel (and everything else), the more I realize I need to learn. When I come home, I pray that you will keep that in mind.While I have grown and changes in so many ways, I am still human and have so much to learn.
But I know that I don't have to do it all myself. Not only does the Atonement cleanse us and free us from sin, but it enables us to reach higher than we can possibly by ourselves. There is a wonderful talk by Elder Bednar on this enabling power of the Atonement where he mentions several examples (including the story of Nephi I have as the subject). I loved this part (and all of it) that I wanted to share. "I suspect that many Church members are much more familiar with the nature of the redeeming and cleansing power of the Atonement than they are with the strengthening and enabling power. It is one thing to know that Jesus Christ came to earth to die for us—that is fundamental and foundational to the doctrine of Christ. But we also need to appreciate that the Lord desires, through His Atonement and by the power of the Holy Ghost, to live in us—not only to direct us but also to empower us. Most of us know that when we do wrong things, we need help to overcome the effects of sin in our lives. The Savior has paid the price and made it possible for us to become clean through His redeeming power. Most of us clearly understand that the Atonement is for sinners. I am not so sure, however, that we know and understand that the Atonement is also for saints—for good men and women who are obedient, worthy, and conscientious and who are striving to become better and serve more faithfully. We may mistakenly believe we must make the journey from good to better and become a saint all by ourselves, through sheer grit, willpower, and discipline, and with our obviously limited capacities. The gospel of the Savior is not simply about avoiding bad in our lives; it also is essentially about doing and becoming good."

And then I loved the talk by Elder Scott in this recent conference, when he said "Many of us have allowed weakness to develop in our character. Through the Atonement of Jesus Christ, we, like the Ammonites, can build spiritual fortifications between ourselves and any past mistakes that Satan attempts to exploit. The spiritual protections built around the Ammonite fathers blessed and strengthened themselves, their families, their country, and future generations. The same can be true with us. So how do we build these eternal fortifications? The first step must be sincere, thorough, and complete repentance. Through the Atonement of Jesus Christ, each of us can become clean and the burden of our rebellion will be lifted. Remember, repentance is not punishment. It is the hope-filled path to a more glorious future.
Father in Heaven has provided us tools that help to build the fortifications between our vulnerabilities and our faithfulness. Consider the following suggestions:

•Make covenants and receive ordinances for yourself. Then steadily and consistently work to provide ordinances in the temple for your own ancestors.
•Share the gospel with nonmember or less-active family members or friends. Sharing these truths can bring a renewed enthusiasm into your life.
•Serve faithfully in all Church callings, especially home teaching and visiting teaching assignments. Don’t be just a 15-minutes-a-month home or visiting teacher. Rather, reach out to each individual member of the family. Get to know them personally. Be a real friend. Through acts of kindness, show them how very much you care for each of them.
•Most important, serve the members of your own family. Make the spiritual development of your spouse and children a very high priority. Be attentive to the things you can do to help each one. Give freely of your time and attention.
In each of these suggestions, there is a common theme: fill your life with service to others. As you lose your life in the service of Father in Heaven’s children,Satan’s temptations lose power in your life."

I love you all and I pray that you are enjoying learning from the recent conference. Thank you for all your prayers and support.
Love,
Hermana Kristi Koerner

Bursting With Joy 9/30/13

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

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 !!!

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

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

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 

Alma 34:41 8/26/13

 Dear Family-
These last weeks of summer have flown by and it was the sign of change when children were walking to the buses this morning. School is back in session and as such, the schedules of everyone become a bit more normal and predictable. And the blast of heat is almost over and now we are starting to have beautiful warm weather that will probably last til November or December. We are teaching this trio of brothers right now that are just so incredibly prepared. We started teaching the youngest weeks ago and he was a bit flaky, but has a desire to be baptized. Then his older brothers came. One just barely called us and said he is looking for inner peace. They told us that they have lived in the world and haven't found what they want. It is exciting to see such desire to change and find what matters most. We set a baptismal date for two of them for the beginning of October and we hope to help the third one set a date tonight. Please keep them in your prayers.
We had a wonderful stake conference yesterday with messages on family history, missionary work, and the family. I especially loved our Stake President's message on overcoming adversity and becoming who we need to be. He told a story of a donkey that fell into a hole. The farmer decided to fill the hole with dirt, to both fix the hole and allow the donkey to get out. At first the shovelfuls of dirt scared the donkey as they landed on his back. But he shook it off and stepped up. As he did that, slowly and surely he was able to get out. Sometimes the very things that weigh on our shoulders, are the things that are helping us climb higher. He also shared the story of the princess and the frog. But he told more of the back story. The prince was kind of sleazy beforehand. He went to dirty places, used foul language, was lazy and dirty in his habits. One day he offended a witch and she turned him into a frog so he could he could live among the dirty and lowly frogs. And only a princess could turn him into a prince again. For several years, the prince enjoyed being a frog. Playing, swimming, eating, waiting for when his princess would come along. One day he realized however that princesses do not come to dirty places where most frogs live. So he had to clean up and go where one can find princesses. And the rest of the story is history...or rather, fiction. But you know what I mean.
I was re-reading the talk by President Uchtdorf called Love of God. I put the link to avoid putting in the whole talk in my email, but it is really good! Here are just a few quotes that I absolutely love!

"Because love is the great commandment, it ought to be at the center of all and everything we do in our own family, in our Church callings, and in our livelihood. Love is the healing balm that repairs rifts in personal and family relationships. It is the bond that unites families, communities, and nations. Love is the power that initiates friendship, tolerance, civility, and respect. It is the source that overcomes divisiveness and hate. Love is the fire that warms our lives with unparalleled joy and divine hope. Love should be our walk and our talk. When we truly understand what it means to love as Jesus Christ loves us, the confusion clears and our priorities align. Our walk as disciples of Christ becomes more joyful. Our lives take on new meaning. Our relationship with our Heavenly Father becomes more profound. Obedience becomes a joy rather than a burden.."

"For what we love determines what we seek. What we seek determines what we think and do. What we think and do determines who we are—and who we will become."

"God does not look on the outward appearance. I believe that He doesn't care one bit if we live in a castle or a cottage, if we are handsome or homely, if we are famous or forgotten. Though we are incomplete, God loves us completely. Though we are imperfect, He loves us perfectly. Though we may feel lost and without compass, God’s love encompasses us completely"

"Love is the guiding light that illuminates the disciple’s path and fills our daily walk with life, meaning, and wonder. Love is the measure of our faith, the inspiration for our obedience, and the true altitude of our discipleship. Love is the way of the disciple"

If there is one thing I have learned on my mission, it is that love is the defining attribute of a disciple of Christ. I've learned how to love in so many ways that I didn't know were possible before.

Love,
Hermana Kristi Koerner

Alma 34:40-41 And now my beloved brethren, I would exhort you to have patience, and that ye bear with all manner of afflictions; that ye do not revile against those who do cast you out because of your exceeding poverty, lest ye become sinners like unto them; But that ye have patience, and bear with those afflictions, with a firm hope that ye shall one day rest from all your afflictions.

Mosiah 18:1-2 8/19/13

Dear Family-
So this week is one for the books. In the hard soul-stretching kind of way. But you know what they say about a stretched soul? That it's like a violin- it only makes music when it is stretched. But I thought that for the sake of positive attitudes and looking for the best, I will just share some of the miracles with you. After a minor car accident we were involved in, we were able to teach the family from the other car the message of the Restoration. They just moved here and are looking for a church : ) We gave them a Book of Mormon, pamphlets, and a Restoration video! And we got their address to send missionaries. Tender mercies.
Another one has to do with a large family in the ward. The family has 12 kids, now all grown with families of their own. More than half of the families live in the ward, but several are less active. We set up a family home evening with one family, and it morphed into a whole family get together. Including several members that we have been praying to get in with came as well. We played a plan of salvation game and soon everyone was involved and discussing the plan. It was a powerful teaching moment. Part of the game we roll a dice, and I loved being able to explain that, unlike the game, in life we are able to choose for ourselves if we are going to make certain decisions and accept the gospel.

Another miracle- another sister of the ward that we visited, opened up to us about her daughter (about our age) that is living a very difficult and dangerous lifestyle. As she shared the love of a mother for her daughter and for us, we all cried. We are all going to fast and pray for her daughter, but the Hermana showed us so much through her example of faith and trusting in the Lord.

Still another blessing was the chance to have exchanges with the Bear Creek ward sisters. Hna Rife (former wonderful companion) came here and I went to her area. It was a wonderful time and I was able to meet many great people. Some people that you just meet once but you feel like you have known them your whole life- a couple of those kind ; )

In my studies in the Book of Mormon on Christ, I was reading in Mosiah 18 about the waters of Mormon and Alma baptizing. But as I read this time thinking about Christ, a chapter that has always been about baptism for me became a chapter incredibly focused on Christ.  Mosiah 18:1-2 "And now, it came to pass that Alma, who had fled from the servants of king Noah, repented of his sins and iniquities, and went about privately among the people, and began to teach the words of Abinadi—Yea, concerning that which was to come, and also concerning the resurrection of the dead, and the redemption of the people, which was to be brought to pass through the power, and sufferings, and death of Christ, and his resurrection and ascension into heaven."

And just a phrase stood out to me from Elder Ballard's book while I was thinking about the family: "While salvation is an individual matter, exaltation is a family matter."- Elder Ballard. How wonderful is that! We are each saved and redeemed on a personal level, but in order to be exalted, we need our families. It is not exaltation to live forever alone, rather to live forever progressing as a family.

Love you all lots,
Hermana Kristi Koerner

Mosiah 5:13 8/12/13

Dear Family,
August is here and with it all the preparations for school and life only gets better as a missionary. Yesterday I was able to return to H6 for the baptism of Juan, my old investigator. It was a very sweet experience and the Spirit was strong as he was baptized. I have some pictures I will attach or send shortly. We got there just before it was supposed to start, but it was delayed because someone forgot to watch the font and it overflowed. It was good to see the members and missionaries in H6, but there was also a confirming feeling that it wasn't "my ward" as a missionary. I don't know, just a different feeling. I have some wonderful friends and relationships there but I am no longer responsible for that area as a missionary. Wow.
We've continued working with genealogy and the members and we are seeing miracles!!! Right and left. It is wonderful to see the Spirit of Elijah spread and with it the excitement to share the gospel. We had zone meeting this week focusing on the Book of Mormon and it's role in the work. The more I study the Book of Mormon, the more I love it and it's words are engraven upon my heart. I know I could say that one of the greatest take aways from my mission would be a profound love for the Book of Mormon.
This morning, since the libraries open late, we went and did Zumba at one of the members houses. We danced for a few hours and then ate pancakes for lunch.
Lots of good studies this week, but I really loved this quote from Sister Elaine S. Dalton: "On that fall day in Huntsville, Utah [when she met Sister McKay], I was reminded of my divine identity, and I learned about what I now call “deep beauty”—the kind of beauty that shines from the inside out. It is the kind of beauty that cannot be painted on, surgically created, or purchased. It is the kind of beauty that doesn’t wash off. It is spiritual attractiveness. Deep beauty springs from virtue. It is the beauty of being chaste and morally clean. It is the kind of beauty that you see in the eyes of virtuous women like your mother and grandmother. It is a beauty that is earned through faith, repentance, and honoring covenants. The world places so much emphasis on physical attractiveness and would have you believe that you are to look like the elusive model on the cover of a magazine. The Lord would tell you that you are each uniquely beautiful. When you are virtuous, chaste, and morally clean, your inner beauty glows in your eyes and in your face. My grandfather used to say, “If you live close to God and His infinite grace—you won’t have to tell, it will show in your face.”  When you are worthy of the companionship of the Holy Ghost, you are confident and your inner beauty shines brightly. And so “let virtue garnish thy thoughts unceasingly; then shall thy confidence wax strong in the presence of God; and … the Holy Ghost shall be thy constant companion.”
Sorry I don't have tons of details, but it was a great week and we are excited for wonderful things that are happening in our zone and area. Please pray for us to find new investigators this week.
Love you all lots.
-Hermana Koerner

P.S. Mosiah 5:13 For how knoweth a man the master whom he has not served, and who is a stranger unto him, and is far from the thoughts and intents of his heart?

Armando, Juan, Hna Koerner

Hna Woodward y Hna Koerner

Elder Murphy, Hna Fletcher, Armando, Juan, Hna Koerner, and Elder Hamelau

JOY 8/05/13

Dear Family-
Sorry about not getting a group email out last week- some of the other sister missionaries got sick and we went to help them, but ran out of time to come back and finish emailing. Oh well : ) Lots to tell. It's hot and humid here, but the work is amazing. We have been praying and working hard to find new investigators and found 10 new investigators these past couple weeks! All miracles, each and every one of them. One family is from Spain, another from Mexico, and still another from Colombia! We have been able to teach some powerful lessons and feel the guidance of the Spirit strongly this week. One day both my companion and I got sick and were down most of the day. So the next day we decided to redouble our efforts and work as hard as we could. We explored some of the farther parts of our area ( some beautiful Texas ranches), knocked and contacted people for several hours, and were able to find three new investigators and teach six lessons!!! I know Heavenly Father is leading the work and leading us to teach his children. With another family we have begun teaching, we had the nicest let down, no-thank-you lesson ever. We began teaching the Restoration and they were eager and intent on us. As we moved onto Joseph Smith and the First Vision, both of us felt the spirit in the room change. We realized that they weren't going to accept our message, but we knew we needed to share it anyway. We taught and testified powerfully of Joseph Smith, and in talking about it afterwards, we both said how our whole souls burned within us from the power of the message and the Spirit. They listened to us and politely said "no thank you, we are fine." They are very strong Catholics and do not want to change, but they were very kind about it. They wouldn't accept a Book of Mormon, but invited us to come back anytime and share another message, if we need water when we are in the area,etc. They even wanted to take a picture with us after the lesson! I know we did as we were supposed to in teaching and testifying to them and that is prepared them to one day accept the message of the Restoration. So the next missionaries that come along will build upon that. In other news, besides teaching an English class, we have also started a family history class to help members and investigators with their family history. One sister we helped a few weeks a go came up to us yesterday at church to tell us excitedly that she had been able to complete the baptism and confirmation for her sister. This is such a happy work. My companion taught me this acronym for JOY and how we are able to find joy by who we put first. J is for Jesus- if center our lives first on Christ everything else falls into place. O is for others- as we serve others before Yourself we can find true joy.

In my studies, I found this insight that was powerful for me. In Genesis 1:27 it says " God created man in his own image". As Elder Wilcox said, " Why would He start there if He didn't also intend to end there? An entirely new perspective awaits those who see "His own image" as the finish line and not just the starting block...Jesus opened to us the possibility not just of returning to God's presence but of returning with His image in our countenance (Alma 5:14)" Just after studying this, in one of our lessons, our investigators told us that they "could see Jesus in our faces". Probably one of the most beautiful compliments I have ever received.
2 Nephi 25:23 says "for we know that it is by grace that we are saved, after all we can do." But I've learned that is by grace that we (you and I, all of us) are saved after all we (Christ and us) can do. I believe it was President Monson who said, "Two people can do anything as long as one person is Christ." Sometimes we worry so much about what is our part, right? And what is the Lord's part? I think the scientist in me wants to make it an equation or a ratio or something to help me quantify the division of responsibility in order to reach the line. But I've definitely learned that "it's not about height, but growth. We don't reach heaven by seeing Jesus' grace supplementing our works, or our works supplementing his grace. Heaven is not reached by supplementing, but by covenanting; not by defining a ratio, but by building a relationship; not by negotiation, but by cooperation and union. Instead of seeing two parts we might do well to see two hearts working in conjunction and being conformed to the same image " (Continuous Atonement, Brad Wilcox).

Lots of love,
Hermana Kristi Koerner

Katy and Christ 7/22/13

Dear Family,

So much to tell, so little time. I've been transferred!! After nine months in the Houston Seis ward ( which I absolutely adore), I am now on the complete opposite side of the mission in Katy, TX serving in the Westgreen ward! It has been a whirlwind of a change, but I am loving  every moment of it. My new companion is Hermana Obnette Woodward who is amazing, beautiful, and wonderful. She is from Haiti and lived there until she was about ten. Then she was adopted by an LDS family and came to Utah. She is a powerhouse and I'm learning so much from her. One great thing I've learned already from her in the past few days- after we pray she stays still and listens for nearly a minute every time! It's such a great example and allows both of us to listen to the Spirit. We know prayer is a two way communication, but unless I'm careful, I rush off to do the next thing ( sleep, leave, eat, etc). I'm so grateful for her. 

Katy is a gorgeous suburb of Houston and is a very nice area. Westgreen is a large ward with lots of great members that I'm already getting to know. Very international as well, just as my first ward (Oakcrest) was. Many members also speak English, which is kind of funny since at this point in my mission I just want to talk Spanish all day! But we teach each other. Remember a year ago, when I went to the sealing of a couple with Hna Latu, a couple she had gotten close to from her old ward? Well, now I'm in the ward and we visit the whole Velez family( the young couple are their son and daughter-in-law) every week! Next week I'll have to tell you their amazing conversion story. So much is different, I don't know exactly where to start. Oh, I'm back in the West Stake, the all Spanish stake, which I've very excited about!!! It's where I started and I love the feeling of an entirely Spanish stake compared to Spanish wards within an English stake. Just my opinion. We are teaching some amazing people- Elvin is preparing to be baptized soon, Julia and her daughter Stephanie are so eager to learn and love reading the Book of Mormon, and Delia is very sincere and open to learning the gospel. As I get to know them better, I will keep you updated. Please keep them in your prayers.

I've continued my studies on the Savior this week with the aid of the book, The Continuous Atonement, by Brad Wilcox. President gave my companion permission to read the book and has passed it on to me. It's been so great since it has gone right along with many thoughts, ideas, and study sessions recently. I just wanted to share a few thoughts from the book that I absolutely loved!!

Referring to faith-"True Faith is more than knowing there is a God. It is knowing God- knowing his attributes and his relationship to us. It is knowing his plan and that we are living in accordance with that plan."

Talking about however long it takes for us to repent and become like Heavenly Father: " God doth not dwell in unholy temples, but isn't His spirit still felt in temples that are under construction or being remodeled? Building a temple takes years. The earth was formed in six creative periods. Enoch's Zion became a perfect society "in process of time". Moses and Alma were translated after years of sanctification. it appears even those who end up in the celestial kingdom will still be engaged in the perfecting process for we read that they shall overcome all things, and not that they already have. The life is the time to prepare to meet God, but we still have eternity to learn to be like Him."

"The entrance requirements for the celestial life are simply higher than merely satisfying the law of justice. For that reason paying for our sins will not bear the same fruit as repenting of our sins...Suffering alone does not guarantee change. Lasting change, here and hereafter, comes only through Christ". And then later on, "If we just needed to be saved, Satan's plan would've worked. But we also need to be redeemed- we need to be changed in the process to become more like Heavenly Father." It is beautiful to realize that not only are we saved- from death, from sin, from the natural man, but we are also redeemed- redeemed for something, changed into something better, perfected in Christ. I am so grateful that Christ is my Savior and Redeemer, that he has saved me so I can be redeemed or changed so I can become more like our Heavenly Father.

I love you all so much!

-Hermana Kristi Koerner

Stay On The Lord's Side 7/14/13

Dear Family-


We had a wonderful week with our investigators and I'm grateful for all your prayers and support. Juan is preparing to be baptized this next Sunday and he is very excited! It's been a miracle to see how Heavenly Father has been preparing him for some time to accept the gospel. The same with another family we have recently started teaching- no law of chastity or word or wisdom problems! Maybe the first time in my mission that an investigator hasn't had one or the other!!! We were also able to get back in with several investigators that we haven't seen in awhile- Hna Delia, Karina and Eduardo, etc. It was exciting to be able to teach them again and see that they are ready to learn more and are actually seeking after it. Laura is doing really well- she told us she knows everything we taught is true and wants to be baptized. They want to be married and are making plans to do so. Please keep them in your prayers so they can take that step.

In the ward, probably about 90% are converts and their conversion stories are both inspiring and humbling. I just wanted to share a few with you. Hno Alvarado is our ward mission leader now and has been a bishop, but as a youth he argued with the missionaries. The missionaries began visiting his family in Mexico when he was a teenager and he fought and argued the whole time. His whole family was baptized except him. Almost ten years later, married now in California with several children, two elders knock on his door. He opened the door and when he saw them he started to cry. Actually, the way he describes it was more like a waterfall of tears. In that moment he felt the Spirit tell him strongly that everything he had been taught before was true. The elders were just staring at him while he cried until he finally composed himself and invited them in. He told them, " I already know the lessons by heart and I want to be baptized. The only thing I ask is that you teach my wife the lessons. But whether she is baptized or not, that's between her and God. As for me, I want to be baptized as soon as possible." Can you imagine that?! As a missionary, I'm sure those elders were speechless for several minutes. Both were baptized, later on their three daughters, and later their four adopted children. They have 12 grandchildren, all active in the gospel. In a few months, their youngest son will leave on his mission. A legacy of discipleship.

Another wonderful couple from Argentina, the DiFlavia's. Nearly fifty years ago in Buenos Aires, two missionaries were knocking an apartment in the city. The elders knocked and Hna DiFlavia started to listen to them. She was catholic and her husband was atheist and didn't want anything to do with any religion. She kept having the elders visit when her husband was at work and soon wanted to be baptized. She prayed to know how to soften her husband's heart. He loved to read and always picked up any newspaper or magazine to read when he got home. So she started leaving the gospel pamphlets out of the table. Soon, he called her into the room. He had the Restoration booklet in his hand and tears in his eyes. He asked where she got it and she told him it was from the Mormon missionaries. He asked her to call them and see if they could come right away. His heart was so touched by the story of Joseph Smith that he accepted the gospel and they were both baptized. Not only do they have generation in the church, but they have served three temple missions- in Argentina, Chile, and here in Houston! They are such a wonderful couple and walking into their home you are just enveloped in love and the Spirit.

And there are so many more stories! I'll try to write more of them down so I can share them with you. In my studies, I loved this quote by Elder Scott. "Not long ago you came to mortality with all of those magnificent capacities and endless possibilities. Yet there is real danger in the environment surrounding you. Your great potential and ability could be limited or destroyed if you yield to the devil-inspired contamination around you. However, Satan is no match for the Savior. Satan’s fate is decided. He knows he has lost, but he wants to take as many with him as he can. He will try to ruin your goodness and abilities by exploiting your weaknesses. Stay on the Lord’s side, and you will win every time." - Richard G Scott



I love you all!

-Hermana Koerner

Alma 44:4 7/08/13

Dear Family-

It is a beautifully rainy Monday in Houston Town. I woke up this morning with so much energy that my companion was a little worried. All thanks to the wonderful diffuser- basil and peppermint while I fell asleep. I love essential oils ; )

It was a busy and fruitful week full of faith and lots of miracles. We were able to set a baptismal date with our investigator, Juan, and it has been incredible to watch the change in his countenance as we teach him. It is almost as if there is a light that grows brighter and brighter from within him. He almost doesn't look like the same person anymore! The power of the gospel to change is real. Not only that, we are teaching a sweet young mother named Laura from Guatemala. She speaks Spanish but her first language is a native dialect called Quiche. We converse in Spanish but she told us she reads best in Quiche, so we went to the mission office to see if we have materials in Quiche----And sure enough!! I wish you all could've seen the smile on her face when we gave her the Book of Mormon in Quiche! She told us that books where she lives are very expensive and that she has nothing here in the states written in Quiche. She was so grateful to have the book and we are so excited that of all the books to have, she has the best one on the earth! I love the Book of Mormon! We have seen many other miracles with finding new people to teach. For example, Sunday before church we had some extra time after arranging rides and reminding investigators about church, so we went to try and find a referral. We knew the complex, but not the apartment. Also, we know she works at a nursery. So after knocking one building, we started looking for the apartments with lots of plants : ) Silly maybe, but lots of fun. The one we tried was a lady named Jo, who let us in and we were able to teach a lesson to her! It happened two more times after that too! On Saturday two kids of the ward were baptized, both of whom we have taught a little preparing for baptism. It was fun to celebrate with them and their families. In other news, remember my companion, Hna Rivera? She came back to visit this week and I got to visit with her! It was so great to see her again and get her support and encouragement at this stage of the mission. I'm so grateful for the friends Heavenly Father has blessed me with through serving a mission.

I am just amazed constantly by the love of our Heavenly Father and our Savior in wanting to reach out and save us in our lives. Alma 44:4 "Now ye see that this is the true faith of God; yea, ye see that God will support, and keep, and preserve us, so long as we are faithful unto him, and unto our faith, and our religion; and never will the Lord suffer that we shall be destroyed except we should fall into transgression and deny our faith." There is something wonderful and beautiful in discovering that faith is a real power, not just merely a belief or wish.

Love you all so much and I'm grateful for all your prayers and support!

Love,

Hermana Koerner

Familia Ascencio y Yo

 

P.S. Wonderful LDS artist I've just discovered thanks to my companion, Hna Fletcher, Mindy Gledhill is amazing. So check her out.