Now we can talk to our families...

This week was awesome! We were able to get this girl we have been working with to commit to a date for her baptism on March 2nd!! We are pumped! I have really seen the power of prayer with her work so strongly! It is so awesome that we have that choice to ask if this church is real or not and actually get an answer from our Heavenly father through the Holy Ghost and our sister that we are working with has received so many answers so quickly that this is the true church and she knows that it can help her in her life and in her kids!

These new changes from our Prophet have been awesome! It was so nice to talk with my family! hearing them and seeing them was a boost that compares to nothing else! It helps me realize one of the main reasons I am out here on my mission! I WANT EVERYONE that I meet to be able to feel the happiness that I feel when I talk with my family and I know for a fact that happiness comes from all of us being in the gospel!!! Families can be together for eternity and talking with my family has definitely got me wanting to work harder than I ever had! I am so grateful for a living prophet, President Nelson who leads and guides this church and I know all these changes that he is making is for the benefit of gathering Israel. Now its our decision to help the gathering or get in the way of the gathering.. we have the choice and we need to pick correctly!

This week has been so good and I am grateful for everyone who sent me packages and emails for Valentines Day! I love you all and Hope everyone has a good week!


Con Amor,
Elder Ka'ili

Testimony meeting with the Winters Family...

SNOW WEEK!

Man the snow has been so bad this week! Last Monday we actually got stuck in Yakima after Pday and had to stay with the Zone Leaders because the roads were to dangerous to drive on. It was crazy! But it was so fun to stay there because we got to help out with the YSA Activity! Straight up serving in the YSA would be so tight but it sucks cause Spanish Missionaries never get too... It's straight tho lol. But that was just the start of a crazy snow week! Saturday the Storm Maya came through Yakima Valley and it was crazy. We had snow drifts up to 5ft and the wind was crazy! Me and Elder Englestead got stuck in Zillah and had to stay inside the other elder's apartment for the night. Haha That was super fun too. We did a lot of studying, eating and helping neighbors dig out their cars. Our president sent out a message after 6pm no more driving Saturday night and then we got the message that church got canceled, which basically meant that we were going to be shoveling snow all day Sunday... and that's exactly what we did. Haha Sunday morning our bishop called us and came and picked us up and we went and cleared walks and driveways. The sucky thing about all the driveways here is that they are all on hills and the snow was 3ft or higher and we had shovels. Lol but we got to work and had fun as we did it too! After that some members fed us lunch and we had a little testimony meeting with the Winters Family! Man the spirit was so strong! We talked about the things we have come to learn and grow a testimony on with the time that we have been on our mission. I shared that something that I have grown to learn is trust. Trusting in my heavenly Father's plan for me! Trusting the prompting from the Holy Ghost! Trusting that I am suppose to be here and I have come to know the reason I am here serving the Hispanic population in Washington and it seriously is the best thing ever! I have seen little miracles everyday of trusting the prompting I get from the Holy Ghost and trusting in the gifts that he has given me! Having that little testimony meeting and being able to reflect on the past 6 months I have been out was so nice. It feels good to be able to look back and see that I have been trying my best in this work and to be able to see his hand in every hard thing he has helped me overcome! For real so many miracles!

On Thursday we had interviews with President Jackman and Sister Jackman! Man I love those 2! The advice and love that I get from them every time I talk with them makes the day so much better!

Saturday night we had a video call lesson (because of the snow) with one of the girls we are working with. She is so close to choosing a date for baptism! Her prayer was answered that the book of Mormon is true and it was so nice to hear her bear her testimony of it!! We are hoping for March 2nd so she is praying about that right now. But she is going to be such a solid member. Her testimony is awesome and she is just a genuinely kind person! She use to be a boxer haha but now she don't fight she just loves! Lol

This week was so crazy and kind of messed up because we couldn't drive but still it was awesome! Haha but this week we hear that the snow is suppose to be bad again so we will see what happens. Lol but we still gonna find a way to find and teach! The lord will provide a way! Love you all and hope you all have a good week!!

Con amor,
Elder Ka'ili

The Power of the Holy Ghost

Bomb Week! 

This week was super good. We had zone conference to start it off and finally we had one close to my area! We didn't have to drive an hr to get there lol! But no this Zone Conference was so good! We really focused on planning. Planning our days, weeks, and for our people that we are teaching and how if we plan, make goals and then schedule we will be able to have a more effective day! It was super good and I have really been able to see the difference this week! The biggest difference is that we aren't just filling in spots for the day but we are actually planning for each individual and that really helps getting lost in the work! We are always thinking about the people that we are working with! Its been tight! 

This week we were able to get two of the people we have been working with to commit to being baptized but just haven't got them to commit to a date! It seriously has been so awesome to see how patience, faith, hard work and following the spirits promptings has helped our area grow. When I first got here the area was dead and now we have 2 people committed to baptism! Shout out to the Holy Ghost! But yeah training and being in a new area is definitely hard and challenging but it is so worth it! I have been able to grow so much and being able to help my comp out is the best thing ever! But I have really seen the power of the Holy Ghost this week and trying to follow his promptings all the time always leads to success and miracles! Its crazy how sometimes the prompting we get from the Holy Ghost, we think no way, but then we humble ourselves and just do it and the miracles that come out from it blows my mind every time!!! So thankful for the Holy Ghost, the more I follow it, I can see that we really are just instruments in this work and that the Holy Ghost is the real teacher!! It seriously is so awesome!!

Short email because I don't got that much time this week! But I will send lots of pics! This week was awesome but seriously flew by! I love you all and thankful for the constant support I feel from all of you! Have a good week!

Amor

Elder Ka'ili

The Ricciardi Letter

Another awesome week in the books but it flew by!

This week we did exchanges with our district leader Elder Bradshaw! Such a good missionary! I went with him to Sunnyside and my comp Elder Englestead and Elder Brunson stayed in Toppenish! Our night went super good and by that I mean that everything fell through and so did our backups haha so we had a lot of time to tract and I learned A LOT of different ways that we can teach the message of the Restoration. It's funny how the message is the same but the way you can teach it differs depending on the people that you knock into too! Its the best! We knocked into this one older Mexican dude and he came out just in his underwear and a blanket and me and Elder Bradshaw literally couldn't help but die laugh when he came out but we were able to get through the message of the Restoration and get a return appointment haha! Exchanges this week were super good though! 

This week for personal study I have been really focusing on conference talks, mission president seminar talks and training about how I can be a better missionary but even a better trainer for my trainee! I came across this letter called the "Ricciardi Letter". I ADVISE EVERY NEW MISSIONARY, OLDER MISSIONARY, PEOPLE PREPARING FOR A MISSION, AND ANYBODY ELSE TO READ IT! Man it seriously is so good and talks about how to be bold with love(read the letter and you will see how bold he is... its crazy) and how to get along with companions even when you don't always want too (the golden question for a companionship in the letter). Lol but my favorite part of the letter is when he talks about how hard of a worker Elder Ricciardi was and how that blessed his life in the mission and everyone else that knew him! I have learned in my short time in my mission that if you are struggling with something the recipe to get over that is to work harder and build your faith! Hard work fixes everything and doing the basics, reading and pondering your scriptures, having good personal studies, attending the temple, attending church every Sunday will build your faith. Usually when we struggle with something we are lacking faith in our Savior and Heavenly Father.... so build your faith and work harder and things will start going the other way. I can promise that because I have seen that recipe work in my mission and has helped me through everything that I have struggled with in my mission! But yeah read the letter and another super good talk for missionaries and members also that I was able to read is called the "The Divine Companionship" by Elder Holland and we all know how powerful of a speaker he is, so I don't have top say anything else! Just read it haha! 

On Saturday we had the Doctrine of Christ for Elder Englestead. Doctrine of Christ is a training for all the missionaries entering their 2nd transfer and it was so good! We learned so much about how can teach the Doctrine of Christ better and how important it is for us as missionaries! It is literally our purpose! President Jackman, Sister Jackman and the AP's all gave such good advice for us as companionship's and missionaries! It was super good! 

On Thursday we went to Barrio F13 haha which is this hecka ghetto place in our area and shoot I'm not gonna lie I was pretty scared going in there but I couldn't act like it because my trainee was super scared haha! Barrio means hood, so this place was filled with my vatos! Lol but we were able to talk to a couple people and one of the people we talked to had his bandana on, Free El Chapo shirt on, smoking and we went up to him and he said whats up to me but tried to sweat Elder Englestead haha. Elder Englestead tried to ask him if he liked missionaries and he was like, "Whatchu mean do I like Missionaries?" and Elder Englestead was like, "Idk" kinda in a mumbling voice and he was like," Don't mumble at me, whatchu mean and then he turned to me and was like whats your homie tryyna say, get your boy man, needa learn how to talk." haha I was like nah he chill and then continued to talk to him! Haha Elder Englestead was sweating hahah thought he was going to get a gun pulled on him lol! After he was like bro why does everyone hate me and you just connect with everyone and I just said its because they think I'm mexican haha! Everyone thinks I'm Mexican and it helps a ton to get into doors and talk with people lol, when they say "de donde es?" I just say "soy de Monterrey" haha! Its a city in Mexico and they think its super funny when I say that! lol I love the people here! 

This week was super good and it flew by so quick! I feel like the longer I have been out in my mission the faster it is starting to move... it needs to slow down haha! But yeah super good and spiritual week! I love you all and hope you all have a good week! Also Shout out to my sister and my new bro in law Peter for getting married! Wish I could've been there! Love you 2! 

Until Next week!

Con Amor,

Elder Ka'ili