1 Nephi 9:5-6 2/11/13

Some Changes, More Adventures, and 1 Nephi 9:5-6

Howdy Ya'll! Thanks for all the birthday wishes...I had a great Texan birthday : ) Thanks for the package, all the little treats and fun things. The scarf was beautiful and the PJ's super cute and comfy. Thank you thank you thank you! This week was transfers and we had some changes. We got the call Tuesday night that Hna Rife was leaving and that I was going to train. So Wednesday (birthday) we celebrated my birthday and our last day together and we were able to see lots of members and investigators. To start off we made chocolate chip pancakes, later we went to lunch with our district, and then Hermana Rife packed for a little bit before we went out to visit and teach. A great miracle story- we were saying goodbye to several investigators and we stopped by the Beserra family ( grandparents and grand kids). We talked to Ruben and Maria, but the grand kids had already gone home with their parents. As we left we were thinking that we really wanted to say goodbye to them, but we didn't have their address. We knew the name of the street they live on, but that was it. So we decided to go and try and find it. We prayed for help and found the street and then we prompted to knock this one house. And there they were!! The kids were so excited to see us and I know Heavenly Father helped us find them because they are his precious children. So. I was a little nervous about training, but I just kept praying for guidance. That night we made some pasta at home while she finished packing. Unfortunately, some thing wasn't good or something, because about midnight both of us woke up and got sick. We alternated getting sick until the alarm went off- new level of companionship unity ( pray together, study together, work together, and get sick together). We were both so exhausted and dehydrated, but it was transfer day so we didn't know what to do. And I was worried because I was going to receive my new companion and I didn't want her to get left or wonder what happened. So we prayed our little hearts out and somehow got ourselves to the transfer chapel. After training and receiving my new companion (and getting a priesthood blessing), President told me I could go home and sleep to recover. All in all, another adventure. They told me to take good care of my body so I really am, I promise. Drinking lots of water, eating healthy with fruits and veggies, exercising every morning, sleeping for eight hours. Cross my heart Mom. 

My new companion is Hermana Tzorin ( pronounced Zoreen) and she is actually serving a "mini-mission" with me for just this transfer. She is from the Houston area and has her mission call to serve in Argentina. A new thing some of the stakes/mission are trying to help those youth prepare for the mission. So every day is precious and we are working extremely hard. She is a native Spanish speaker and we converse almost completely in Spanish. She speaks fluent English, but just tends to go into Spanish since we teach and talk in it all day. It might be my first relationship that is truly in Spanish, besides our investigators. Also, I can speak enough Spanish now that I understand and we can converse fairly normally. Han Tzorin has so much energy and is so excited to knock doors and find people. She has such a love for the gospel and delights in sharing in. Most of the time I'm pretty sure she's training me. 

This week we have been focusing on the power and importance of the Book of Mormon. After investigators ( and ourselves) understand the power of prayer and we are sincerely communicating with our Heavenly Father, we next need to treasure up the scriptures. There is a part in Preach my Gospel that says that the first thing we should do when an investigator says that they didn't read what we left them (in the Book of Mormon), is be devastated! We have left the key to eternal happiness in their hands and they didn't use it! With one lesson we applied that specifically this week. When she didn't read, we changed our lesson and read a chapter with her in the Book of Mormon and testified of the power it contains. It was powerful. As Nephi wrote : "Wherefore, the Lord hath commanded me to make these plates for a wise purpose in him, which purpose I know not. But the Lord knoweth all things from the beginning; wherefore, he prepareth a way to accomplish all his works among the children of men; for behold, he hath all power unto the fulfilling of all his words...." The Lord has purpose and power in the Book of Mormon to bring many of his children to the knowledge of Jesus Christ and the gospel. Hope you are all doing great with the Book of Mormon and finding little treasure and pearls within the Book of Mormon.

All my love,

Hermana Koerner

A Week of Powerful Prayer 2/4/13

Hello everyone from a very happy and excited missionary! 
I just love the mission and the work. We have been working hard, especially to work through part-member families and less active members to help and strengthen them, as well as receiving referrals through them. Just last night we were going through the ward roster trying to get to know everyone ( and find out those who have moved, etc, etc) and stopped by this family whom we'd never heard of. The husband is a member but works every Sunday so is unable to come, but his wife and little girl aren't members. We are going back later this week : ) We have the opportunity this past week to attend xone leader council- where all the zone leaders and assistants as well as a couple companionships of sisters get training from President- the plans and everything for zone and district meetings. They rotate the sisters that go, and we got to go. It was perfect because I think both Hna Rife and I both needed a little extra boost. President taught beautifully about powerful prayer using examples from the scriptures including the prayer of the brother of Jared (Ether 3:1-6), the prayer of Nephi to see the vision of his father (1Nephi 10-11), and the people of Alma when in bondage which is one of my favorites (Mosiah 24). Using those examples we discussed the elements of a powerful prayer such as- humility, selflessness, diligence, real intent and action on our part, and others. In discussing the importance of prayer for both us as missionaries and for our investigators, Hna Rife and I thought of several investigators who needed to go back to the basics of prayer, Book of Mormon, and church as they are seeking for their answers. We had some incredible experiences and lessons as we strove to implement what he taught us- I will share some of those in my written letters this week : ) I enjoyed studying examples of prayer throughout the scriptures during my studies this week. Also finished studying Abinidi and loved looking at how he affected the rest of the Book of Mormon, but I'll write more in my letters this week.
We had lunch after the ZLC and Hermana Rife and I playing a silly joke on the elders. When we all went into the mission home for lunch, the elders took off all their shoes. And then us sisters got food first and we were sitting at the table in the other room, next to the entry. We switched around all the pairs of shoes ( since they look a lot alike) and laughed so hard when the elders were all perplexed about what happened to their shoes. 
We are trying hard to be healthy and buy all the healthy stuff, but it's hard when it's so much more expensive. But I'm not complaining, because we have been blessed so much as we work hard and strive to be exactly obedient and teach with the Spirit.
Love you all so much,
Hna Kristi Koerner

Mosiah 15:7-8 1/28/13

Good Morning! You know how some days you just wake up with joy in your soul? Well, in the mission it's the majority of the time! Sometimes I have to tone it down so not to irritate a companion early in the morning, but today we are both super happy. XD! It has been a busy and fun week. On Friday and Saturday we had exchanges and I felt to another area called Gulf Bank. It's a bit more downtown and has so many people prepared to hear the gospel. It was an adventure the whole time. I went with another sister, Hna Serrano, who is from California. She loves make-up and hair so when we were getting ready she played with my make-up. And we took some glam pictures : ) When she sends them to me, I will definitely forward them. Then other adventures like getting hit on by a couple drunks ( but we whipped out Mosiah 13:3 and 1 Nephi 17:48) and some old ladies crossing the street when it was a green light. We laughed a lot. 

Back in Hafer, we are working hard to help Veronica, the Becerra family, and Lily progress and recognize their answers about the gospel and about baptism. As we visited with a recent convert this week she advised us to be patient with our investigators and allow them to choose without feeling pressured. It's definitely a balance to teach with power, clarity, and boldness while not pressuring them, but I know we can do it. And we had an incredible week with helping some of our recent converts progress. Nora, who was baptized back in December, started paying her tithing weekly and I know with all my heart that she will be blessed for her faith. Then our convert, Juan, who was baptized just a couple weeks before I came to the area, received the Aaronic priesthood on Sunday!! We have been teaching and studying with him to help him prepare, but he was still so nervous. Hna Rife and I went into priesthood for the ordination (now I can check off going to a priesthood meeting off my bucket list...not kidding). He is going to be able to bless the sacrament next week and we are so excited for him. And now we can plan to go to the temple and do baptisms for the dead with him : )

Speaking of the temple, we had our temple day this week and it was so peaceful. I remember saying once that the temple always gives you what you need, be it strength, direction, or peace. Again it reminded me of the talk from conference on the temple standard-- " Thee high standard of temple building employed by this church are a type and even a symbol of how we should be living our lives." 

In continuing my studies of the preaching of Abinadi in Mosiah, I absolutely love chapters 14 and 15 about the Savior. Verses 7-8 really stood out to me this time as I studied. The last part of 7 and first part of 8 says," the will of the Son being swallowed up in the will of the Father. And thus God breaketh the bands of death...". We often talk about both of those concepts separately, but I had never put them together like that. Because the will of the Son was aligned with the Father, the bands of death were able to be broken. And I thought ' as I align my will with Heavenly Father, I wonder what he can do with me?' Above my desk in this apartment is a picture frame with this quote, " I know the Lord lives. He loves us. I know that apart from Him, no one can succeed, but as a partner with Him, no one can fail. I know that God can make a lot more out of our lives than we can." President Benson.

I am happy and healthy, loving every minute of studying and serving here in Houston. This is a wonderful and exciting time to be a missionary.

Sending all my love, 

Hermana Kristi Koerner

P.S. Matthew 18:11 The Son of Man is come to save that which is lost.

Mosiah 7:33 1/21/13

Hello again this beautiful Monday-

We weren't sure we would be able to email today since it's a holiday and almost everything is closed, but our apartment office is open for a little bit. So- yeah! Again this week has been busy, with a zone conference packed in there and lots of appointments ( that actually happened and that canceled, but that's missionary life). We had a miracle with church yesterday. Like I mentioned last week,  we have been struggling to get investigators to church so they can take that step and progress. For one thing or another, they wouldn't show up. So this entire week, Hna Rife and I prayed about helping them get to church, taught several lessons on the Sabbath day and the importance of attending church to help gain a testimony, and then we fasted Sunday to help bring our investigators to church. FIVE investigators showed up! We were so excited! It was truly an answer to prayer. Once an investigator comes to church they really start to progress towards baptism, so I hope that this week we can set a couple baptismal dates for these individuals : ) One was a new investigator we just starting teaching this past week, Veronica. She's incredible. When we first knocked on the door and started to introduce ourselves, she just invited us in. She and her husband are from Honduras and they have a little girl, Ashley, who is the happiest little one year old. When we came back to teach, we found out that her husband, Carlos, had talked to missionaries in Honduras before and was familiar with the Book of Mormon. In fact, he said he wasn't able to be baptized because they lived far away from the chapel. They love to listen and then ask questions! They are a very special family. 

My thumb is feeling a lot better. I saw the mission doctor at zone conference and he looked at it for me. He said I might lose the nail, but so far it looks like the oils might save it : ) Plus it helped this week that I replaced pain in my thumb with pain in my feet. On Thursday, it was such a nice day so we decided to park our car and walk to a couple appointments all along the same street. We had appointments scheduled every hour and we were excited for a full day of teaching. However, as sometimes happens, one appointment after the next canceled or just wasn't home. So we would walk a little farther to the next house or our back-up plan. And since we were trying to conserve the miles we have for the week, we had a couple rides set up to help us get to and from appointments. Unfortunately  they also cancelled. So we ended up walking the whole day. I love to walk and it was nice weather, but I had unwisely worn my least walking-compatible shoes. We calculated that we walked between 7-8 miles in heels that day. My feet were swollen and blistered , as were Hna Rife's, and one of my toes was just one big blister. Oh the adventures. But my thumb didn't hurt as much by the end of the day : ) 

As I was studying this week I found an interesting parallel in the New Testament. There are times when Christ calls out devils from individuals ( Mark 1:23-28, Luke 4:33-37) and the devils calls out,  "Thou art the Christ", the exact same words that Peter used when asked who he thought Jesus was. Elder Talmage says that it is a good example of how knowledge isn't enough. The devils knew exactly who Christ was, but that knowledge condemned them. While for Peter, it was his means of salvation. It isn't enough for us to know something is true- we have to act. It isn't enough to have a testimony is we aren't becoming converted. But as Mosiah 7:33 says,  "But if ye will turn to the Lord with full purpose of heart, and put your trust in him, andserve him with all diligence of mind, if ye do this, he will, according to his own will and pleasure, deliver you out of bondage." I know that as we turn to the Lord and put our trust in Him, whether to help investigators come to church or to make the decisions in our lives, that he will answer us and we will feel and see his love and protection for us his children.

Please pray for the Becerra family, Veronica, the Melgar family, Mayra, and Jessica.

Love you all!

- Hermana Koerner

Elder Ballard and Moroni 7:33-34 1/14/13

Mis Queridos Hermanos-

Hola from Texas, even though the weather has become bitterly cold and is resembling Utah! This week was absolutely and purely a work of faith. We received training from our President, his assistants, and then Elder M Russell Ballard this week. They spoke to us about working with the ward more effectively, working through less actives and part-member families. I'll paste the email recap of Elder Ballard's visit since it's hard to tell everything he said. We strove really hard to pray in faith to find the people who are ready to receive the gospel and we taught 30 lessons and found 13 new investigators this week!!! It was truly a miraculous week. 
Just a small little note- on Friday evening, we ran home to our apartment to grab something before a lesson. In our haste, my thumb got shut in the car door. It broke my nail in half and well, lets just say... it was a mess to clean up. Hna Rife was wonderful in helping me clean and bandage it. I've been putting on oils for wounds, antibacterial stuff, etc. Luckily, I got my package today and can put Frankincense on to help with the swelling and healing. It's stiff and hurts a little still, but I'm ok : ) Onward and upward. 
This work is such a sacred privilege and every day I feel the guidance on my Heavenly Father. Moroni 7:33 says, "And Christ hath said: If ye will have faith in me ye shall have power to do whatsoever thing is expedient in me." This was a powerful week. Our struggle now is to balance and teach everyone that we have found. Also, we are struggling to get our investigators to church. Something always happens- cars break down, family shows up to visit, work call and offers overtime if they come in. The adversary is really working hard to stop his children from progressing, but as we continue to act in faith I know we will have power to do all things- including helping our investigators come to church.
Love you all lots,
Hermana Koerner



This is the recap from President Pingree about Elder Ballard:
Dear Sisters and Elders –

We were blessed to hear from Elder Ballard, Bishop Davies, and Elder Nielsen this past weekend.  Certainly, they shared many important thoughts and concepts with us.  Hopefully, you were able to receive personal revelation from the Spirit concerning the things that were most important for you.

Today, I would like to summarize some of the principles taught by Elder Ballard that I feel are especially important for our mission at this time.  Some of the quotes below came from the tri-mission meeting and others from meetings with Elder Ballard that took place later in the day with area priesthood leaders.

BUILDING THE WARD

"Build a strong relationship with the bishop, ward mission leader, and ward council.  Help them to lift and build members of the ward."

"Be a resource to the bishop."

"Bishops should invite the missionaries into the first 15-20 minutes of ward council and PEC in order to discuss the names of part-member, less active, and new member families.  Missionaries should engage the ward council to find solutions to the needs of those they are teaching."

"Leave each ward better than when you got there."

GAINING THE TRUST OF MEMBERS

"To gain the trust of the members, you must be men and women of dignity."

"At church, don't group with other missionaries.  Reach out to the members."

"A missionary's personal presentation makes a huge difference in the ward's willingness to use them."

"No member should get into the chapel for sacrament meeting without first being greeted by a missionary."

FINDING PEOPLE TO TEACH

"You will find, teach, and baptize more people as you are anxiously engaged in lifting, building, and inspiring others."

"Find opportunities to teach people who need a spiritual lift."

"What they feel matters more than what they know.  Help others to feel the power of the gospel."

ON TEACHING 

"Teach simply, with love, and by the Spirit."

"Have an excitement for the message you have to share."

"It is critical for missionaries to teach every day.  If missionaries do not have an appointment with an investigator, they should arrange to teach the first lesson to a member of the ward."  This lifts the member and also helps the missionary to improve their teaching skills.

PERSONAL CONSECRATION

"Once you internalize your love for Christ, you will do anything to bring souls to Him.  You will do anything to extend the blessings of the Atonement to others."

"There is a greater urgency to preach the gospel than ever before."

"Don't do anything to dull the promptings of the Holy Ghost."

"Commit today to turn the balance of your mission over to the Lord.  It is not your time, it is His."

These are words from one of the Lord's chosen witnesses in our day.  The Lord explained: "Whether by mine own voice or by the voice of my servants, it is the same" (D&C 1:38).  I testify that as we strive diligently to apply the principles shared by Elder Ballard, we will be blessed and the Lord will hasten the work in our area.

Hit the Ground Running 1/7/13

Hey everyone!

It has been a fantastic and busy week, with teachings, miracles, a couple meetings, interesting people, topped off with one of the funniest Sundays I've had so far on my mission. From last week I mentioned some of the people we found knocking in the cold and we returned to teach all of them this week. Norma and her family accepted a baptismal date for the first week of February after a really powerful lesson on the Restoration. They are very open and love to chat with us (sometimes for too long, but it works out). Norma is a single mom and is very strong; she is very aware of teaching her children good morals and values. Another couple we are teaching, Ruben and Maria, are an older couple that care for their grandchildren a lot. So when we teach them, we also get to teach the grandkids who are so adorable. Last time when we went, they had drawn us pictures : )

This week we found one of the most beautiful examples of charity. A less active member in our ward who we have been trying to help come back to church, met us for lunch and brought another woman with her. The member works in the airport and this woman, Eula, was stranded in the airport after having her passport stolen. She is from Aruba and was trying to visit family for the holidays. Hna DeLeon ( the member) took her in over the holidays because she had no where to go. Eula is incredible- a native of Aruba, she speaks 7 langauges, and is very intelligent. And she came to church with us Sunday after spending the week mostly alone at Hna DeLeon's home, so she was dying to talk to people. Which she did. She went to the English ward and then the Spanish ward with us. And since it was testimony meeting, she decided to go up and share her testimony. Hna Rife and I were praying so hard. She talked about God being universal and omnipotent, and how there is truth in everything. It ended up alright, but we still had two more classes to go. We prayed the whole time that she would just listen and not agrue with people if she disagreed. And in Relief Society, they whipped out all the "unique stuff", from pioneers, visiting teaching, and eventually to temple burial clothes for all the sisters!! She made one comment at the last point, even though she didn't understand exactly what we were talking about and said " I think it is just beautiful how you can talk so openly about death." Hna Rife and I were both praying and trying not to laugh the whole time : )

Just a thought from the Book of Mormon ( in keeping with our Book of Mormon challenge this year!)

In Mosiah 2, King Benjamin starts his address to the people with such Christlike humility, stating that he himself, by himself, is just a man. He was chosen by the people, consecrated by his father to rule, but it is the calling from Heavenly Father that enabled him with the wisdom and strength to serve his people according to the Lord's will. And in verse 15, he says that he doesn't do say this to them for boasting or for accusation, but to have a clear conscience before God. And I thought- it was never really about him gaining fame or glory as a king from his people, but knowing that he was an instrument of Heavenly Father in behalf of his people. Do you remember that poem by Mother Teresa- " Because it the end, it was never between you and them anyway." It's between us and Heavenly Father.

I love you lots and please keep the Santillan and Becerra families in your prayers as well as Norma and Eula.

Love,

Hermana Koerner

Omni 1:26 12/31/12

Happy New Year's Eve!

Wow! This week was very different being away from home for the holidays, but it was sweet and simple. On Christmas Eve, we spent a pretty normal preparation day, although shopping was quite a bit busier. We went to a member family, the Ascencios, (she's from Guatemala and he's from El Salvador) for the first part of Christmas Eve. They were waiting for lots of people and we had a second appointment with an investigator family, the Cueva's, so we started with a song, a prayer, and a scripture and then had to leave. She gave us tamales to go- tamales are the traditional hispanic Christmas food and I've had more this last week than I can count. The Cueva family also gave us food and then we opened presents with them- the mom gave us both a body wash set. And we brought brownies and other treats to share. We went home and I think both of us still felt wierd, like it wasn't really Christmas. So after planning we sang Christmas hymns, read the Nativity story from Luke, and then opened the presents we had each gotten for each other. She gave me a picture of Christ in a wooden frame- which now sits on my desk. For her, I got her a Christmas storybook because in her family every Christmas eve they read a new Christmas story.

Christmas morning we woke up as usual but we made a special breakfast of omelettes, sausage, and hot chocolate. We did our studies and then I called home! That was so crazy and fun. Everyone sounded really good and I felt a bit odd since I felt so different and everything sounded the same. Does that make sense? But it was great to hear everyone and I loved it!  We did lunch with another member family (yes, tamales! : )) Then went home and finished opening presents, before going to another member's, Flores, so Hna Rife could Skype her family. I would love to tell you all the details, but I'm running out of time.

So I was studying in the book of Omni this week, and I love what Amaleki says about what we must give to Heavenly Father in return for all we have. Omni 1 :26  "And now, my beloved brethren, I would that ye should come unto Christ, who is the Holy One of Israel, and partake of his salvation, and the power of his redemption. Yea, come unto him, and offer your whole souls as an offering unto him, and continue in fasting and praying, and endure to the end; and as the Lord liveth ye will be saved."

Heavenly Father is asking for our entire souls- the only thing we truly have to give him that is not already his. As we start the new year I am going to work on how I can more fully give my entire soul to Heavenly Father. And that reminded me of what Elder Holland said this past conference " Wasn’t it obvious then and isn’t it obvious now that if I want fish, I can get fish? What I need, Peter (or insert your name here), are disciples—and I need them forever. I need someone to feed my sheep and save my lambs. I need someone to preach my gospel and defend my faith. I need someone who loves me, truly, truly loves me, and loves what our Father in Heaven has commissioned me to do. Ours is not a feeble message. It is not a fleeting task. It is not hapless; it is not hopeless; it is not to be consigned to the ash heap of history. It is the work of Almighty God, and it is to change the world. "

 

I love you all and I know that the work I am doing in changing lives and step by step changing the world.

All my love,

Hna Kristi Koerner