1 mo time

This week's shout out goes out to my apartment. By far one of the most ridiculous things I've ever walked in on. 

It's been a crazy 2 weeks. I'm going to fill in the last couple weeks, as (mostly) uneventful as they were. 

Nov 3-9

-Really got to know a family in the ward and they are the sweetest. We tried to help them move, but they declined, and instead had us set up shelves and racks and gave me some essential oils to heal my foot. She told me it was frankincense! And I was like, "No way, isn't this the stuff they gave Jesus?" And I felt pretty good about myself until Sister Seegmiller told me that frankincense is actually very common. As is myrrh. So I think my whole perception of the 3 wise men has been shot. 

-Played soccer for exercise one morning. I think I worked my abs more than my legs watching Sister Astilla and Sister Seegmiller play. 

-We went over and taught Christien, and it was interesting because she had a lot of commentary. She was able to understand what we were saying and respond. She had a lot of clarifying questions, and you could tell she is still sincere about learning. Her dad told us he's going to a church on Clayton Rd. Still looking for a job. 

-There's a recent convert here, Michelle, who is the funniest person ever. Sis Seegmiller speaks sign language, and so she was spelling out Michelle's name and Michelle goes, "My name has 2 L's" because it looked like she only did one, but it was a very subtle L I guess. Anyways, Sister Seegmiller's closing us out with a prayer later, and she says, "It's Michelle, right?" And Michelle goes, "Yes. With 2 L's." I died. I was laughing so hard. 

Nov 10-16

-We were trying to meet with a member and the lights were on but no one answered the door. So we were leaving a note, when a car pulls into the driveway. Some members were coming by because it was her birthday! They knocked and this time she heard, and it was rather amazing. We had no idea it was her birthday, but talk about impeccable timing. 

 -Laymon called us! We thought he was going to be in LA until Christmas, but he came back because he couldn't find work and he asked if we would come over! He's so cool. We took him to a baptism and it's kind of random, but in the middle of it he started bleeding. No idea what happened but I haven't ran that quickly in a long time. 

-Met with Akira and his family and man. He does a really good Gollem impression. And he can recite movies from memory, which is amazing. I can't even do that with anything. Their family is so sweet. And they fed us cheese and apples. Which was an odd concept, but very delicious. -Laymon called us! We thought he was going to be in LA until Christmas, but he came back because he couldn't find work and he asked if we would come over! He's so cool. We took him to a baptism and it's kind of random, but in the middle of it he started bleeding. No idea what happened but I haven't ran that quickly in a long time. 

-Met with Akira and his family and man. He does a really good Gollem impression. And he can recite movies from memory, which is amazing. I can't even do that with anything. Their family is so sweet. And they fed us cheese and apples. Which was an odd concept, but very delicious. 

-ELDER BEDNAR CAME TO THE MISSION!!! It was to celebrate the 50th anniversary of the Oakland temple. He is so cool. I really like the way he speaks and how he captures the audience and breaks the ice. 

Given that introduction, of course I will be sharing some insights from Elder Bednar. It was really funny because so much of it was on staying converted and staying active after the mission. I imagine with so many missionaries going home at the same time, that's a valid concern. The main thing I got out of it was to be good, and not worry about it. The first part, to be good, is just to do the things we know we should be doing. That includes a lot of things. So do them. One of the things I really liked that he said was, "There is no temptation if you know what the consequences are." The second part, not worrying about it, is mostly in relation to where we stand and what we are doing. If we are being good, then we really don't have a lot to worry about. The Lord is with us and He will carry us. 

Love you all!

Sister Kwan

PS- I didn't realize that taking a picture a day would give me so many to choose from to send home! So here's a couple. Well. I'll just send out more because I can't decide.

"It tastes like Christmas!" (Nov 12, 2014)

This week's shout out goes out to my camera cord. Which I left at home, so no pictures this week haha. Well. I can attach some from my life I guess. But as of right now, my goal is to take a picture everyday. We will see how this goes haha

I don't really have much time this week. But I do want you all to know that I love you and I promise you a decent letter next week. Full of inspiration and perspiration and wonderful-ation. Let's see... I love Sister Seegmiller. She's so great. And we live with Sister Anderson and her trainee Sister Astilla and it is by far the funniest thing in my life sometimes. The other night we just sat there and laughed for like. 5 minutes straight. I don't even know why we were laughing. Super cute. 

 

Just wanted to leave this video with you all. It's super cute and I just about cry every single time I watch it. It's crazy how God fits everything into our lives, and we don't even realize that He's helping us and that we are doing things for our brothers and sisters around us. We all go about our lives trying to accomplish different things, but the truth is.. you never know. 

Love you all!

Sister Kwan

The Last Transfer

This week's shout out goes out to the CDC. You guys have a hard job. 

Went on exchanges this week with Sister Wiser! She is so nice. We had a great time, so it was awesome! Learned a lot and hope to improve a lot. We only almost died on our bikes... twice. Maybe. These bikes are so dangerous. But we see so many miracles on bikes AND exchanges. It was a miracle-full day. We not only didn't die, we also had a ton of great lessons!

In other news, transfers! I will be staying here. Sister Vaiangina's going back to the Visitor's Center and she will be serving in Oakland 1st. I'll be with Sister Seegmiller, who came out a transfer after me! It will be interesting. It IS the last transfer. 

Candy is doing well, the Soliman's are alright, and overall I just really love this area. This next transfer is going to be awesome. 

Halloween we spent it with some less active members! She made us carve pumpkins to earn our dinner haha she's awesome, I love her. Her name is Jennifer and she's just doing her best. And then we went home and cleaned our apartment... the slime is officially off the ceiling. Which took awhile, but it's all good. 

I don't really feel like writing more, unfortunately... But this week I've been thinking about God's plan. I was reading Alma 41-42 today and I realized how perfect it is. Everyone is accounted for and no one is left behind! It's amazing really. And all the laws are kept and there are no loopholes. Strongly recommend to... everyone. Read those chapters and pray about it, and I know you'll understand it. Maybe one day we will be as smart as God haha

Love you all! 

Sister Kwan

PS- next week we go to the temple! Won't be back until Wednesday.

"When you're with Jesus, there's always a party going on!"

This week's shout out goes out to the best soccer team ever- The Purple Dream Crushers. They aren't the best team with winning, but their name takes the cake. My goodness. 

It was kind of a crazy week. Monday we gave the Elders the car to go pick up their laundry, and we just walked around Walnut Creek, looking for food even though we knew the closest restaurants were at least a mile away. While we were talking to people, this car pulls over and he says, "Sisters! Have you had dinner yet?" And I was like no way. It was the bishop of the other ward but it was so cool because he just happened to live right there and we just happened to be at the right place at the right time. The Lord will provide. I also think it's funny that a lot of my miracles pertain to food. Just a side note. 

We had a sister from our apartment go home, which bummed us out pretty bad. There was this overwhelming feeling of sadness for days in the apartment. We kind of threw a party, so that was good. (Pictures to come!) Thursday when we dropped her off at the mission home was so sad. Man. So we were in a trio and it was kind of awesome since there was three of us. It was a blast haha kind of felt like Peter, James, and John. All of our introductions took forever because it'd be like, "I'm Sister Kwan." "I'm Sister Vaiangina." "And I'm Sister Anderson." And it took forever. We did have this AMAZING lesson with Emmanuel, who's from Nigeria, and he is very interested in the gospel. He read the chapter we left 3 times, and he was telling us that even though he wasn't quite sure if he could get baptized again, that's definitely something he wanted to think about, and if he did it, that he would really commit to it. The spirit was so strong. 

Then we went to a dermatologist for Sis Vaiangina's hand, which has had a super bad allergic reaction her whole mission. It was ridiculous. Like it was probably the worst doctor's appointment I've ever been to, and I've seen a lot. So we've been waiting for about half an hour/45 minutes and the doctor walks in. He asks a couple basic questions, does it hurt, does it itch, etc. Then he looks at her one hand, which has a rash. Then he looks at the other, which doesn't. Then he checks out her feet and I was like what in the world. He looks up and he says, "I think it's ringworm. The sign of it is usually one hand and two feet. It's weird though, because there's nothing on her feet." And I asked him if that was normal to have ringworm and not have that and he looked at me like I was stupid. So he prescribed some medicine and some cream for that, but it took all of 10 minutes for that to happen and he spent about a minute of it on the phone. He picked up his phone in the office, which was totally strange. We took the paper with the prescriptions on it to the pharmacist and she couldn't even read it. She said, "We go to school to learn how to read doctor notes, but this one... we will need to call him about it." And so it was a really long day. But we were able to meet with and talk to a lot of people! So there are blessings when you struggle haha.

By the way. If I'm not responding to your e-mails, I might not have gotten it. This e-mail system is like eating my e-mails and I don't get any until forever later. Also, San Francisco Giants. I've heard that they are doing well? In the world series?? I don't understand why it's called the world series when no other countries participate in it, but whatever. 

The Soliman's are doing alright. Their father is on a heart transplant list and is really suffering with illness, and his wife is trying so hard to find a job. Times are hard. Christien is doing alright but she is struggling with the rest of them, as is her brother. It breaks my heart, but the Lord wants them here for something. Their testimonies are strong and they are learning and loving every minute of it.

We have had quite the service opportunities lately- bishop storehouse, Mormon Helping Hands. It's neat what we can do to further the Lord's work in our communities. Especially with all the service needs that will be rising soon, there's something for all of us to do.

Trunk or Treat was this week! Talk about the cutest costumes. This ward is awesome. They brought so many friends over! We stuck a bunch of pass along cards to candy and handed those out. The kids really made my day. The Soliman's came and it was their first Halloween experience! And also, Sister Vaiangina's! They think it's the cutest thing ever. Which it is, but if you really think about it, it's kind of a scary day. We will be inside deep cleaning our apartment that night haha

Yesterday was awesome. We found ourselves in the right place and the right time... on bike. It's quite the blessing. We ran into our 2 new best friends, Skylar and Danelle. They were sitting at this garage sale table and I started talking to them. They were SO bored and they thought it was super funny that we were on bike in skirts. They are the cutest. We were able to talk to them a lot about what it's like to be a missionary. They're moving, but we sure do love them. Then we saw this incredible Halloween display and we were able to talk with the owners of the home. It was pretty neat. We've had some amazing contacts, and obviously I need a new brain because I can remember that they happened but I have no idea of the content. Come find me in heaven and I will play the tape back for you if you'd like ;)

This week's thought is on Charity. That's what I've been studying, and I think I might keep studying it because I didn't do as great of a job as I wanted to. It's interesting to note that as I've started working on this attribute, I think the Lord has blessed me with a greater range of love. I've been able to feel such a great love for those around us, and it's just like President Monson's talk from April 2014 I don't know what I did but it sent before I finished. Anyways, President Monson said

We cannot truly love God if we do not love our fellow travelers on this mortal journey.

And I know that's true. That's something that I've learned on my mission, and it's a lesson that I will never forget. God loves each of us, and He's asked us to love eachother if we love Him. I strongly recommend this talk. 

https://www.lds.org/general-conference/2014/04/love-the-essence-of-the-gospel?lang=eng 

It's amazing! It will change your life if you let it.

Love you all! 

Sister Kwan

"And I was telling my husband, 'Look! I can join a gang now!'"

This week's shout out goes out to

Quite the week. We met with a lot of really neat people this week! We are finally getting to know the area better so we aren't lost quite as frequently, and we've been able to meet with a lot of our investigators! Hooray!

Christien, our Egyptian investigator, is doing so great. We took her to the VC this week! She's so amazing. She just loves everything. Her family isn't as interested as she is, but hopefully she will be the one to bring them all in. She has a great knowledge of what we are telling her, and she is so genuine. I think I rave about her every week, but that's because I should! She just kind of has this light about her. I don't really know how to completely explain it, but sometimes it's like she's glowing. She really wants to know the truth. And guess what we have..? :) 

We also had a visit from Elder Hamula! He gave a talk in General Conference about Sacrament meeting. He came and spoke to us and it was really neat. For about an hour, we could ask him any question we wanted to. And it was incredible how he was able to answer, you could tell that it was directed from God. While he was here, the most important thing that I felt came from the conference was on the nature of revelation. He explained it to us and then proceeded to tell us how we could receive it. The steps are:

1. All revelation starts with a question. 

2. Questions must come from a desire to know (real intent)

3. The sincerity of one's heart is determined by willingness to act on what you get

I wish you all could have been there! It was so good! But I know that the things he discussed were inspired. Really stop and consider what you're going to do with what you've been told. If you're just going to keep it on the shelf for a rainy day, then chances are you may not receive an immediate answer. But don't forget that everything is done in the time of Him who knows best. The answer will always come in the form of yes, no, and wait a little. We are not guaranteed any kind of date stamp on when we should receive it- but we do know that it will come when we need it. I know God lives. He loves us and because He does, He sent His son, Jesus Christ, to save us. He did what we couldn't do for ourselves and took upon all our sins and afflictions. If we seek Him, we will have access to the grace that we so desperately need in all the trials we are going through. 

Love you all!

Sister Kwan

"You guys are the drug of my choice now!" (10/13/2014)

This week's shout out goes out to my dad. Happy belated birthday haha

I'm super out of time this week. But something that I will do is put a plug for "Meet the Mormons"! If you haven't seen it, go see it! It's so good. I totally cried. We saw it 2 weeks ago (the only pre-movie screening I'll ever go to is one that most people probably don't care about) and it really just touched everyone. It's not preachy, it just tells you who Mormons are. And it's mostly true. We're kind of normal. But I strongly encourage you all to see it. We truly are a people that love Jesus Christ and strive to follow His example. And that's really it. 

Oh! Well our investigators are doing great!!!!! They are seriously wonderful. I have nothing bad to report hahaha

Love you all. So so much.

Sister Kwan

"Time is so fly!" -my comp

This week's shout out goes out to SLIME- a self sealant that you put in your tube! You can run over thorns and it's still okay because it seals like magic! 

Anyways, that's kind of a sale, but mostly so you understand the story I'm going to tell later. It was a week of miracles. We were so blessed in finding more people to teach! Well they were referrals, but so golden! 

Candy has parents that are members in Antioch, and she was waiting for her dad to start going to church again so that she could get baptized, but he never came around. She has a cute daughter and another one on the way! She's the sweetest, oh my goodness. She's so prepared and she's so ready! We just need to help her have a firm testimony and she will be on her way. She really is the best though. Well, not really because there's a lot of people, but she's awesome! 

The other family we found is from Egypt! They moved here from Egypt 2 months ago! They were facing a lot of opposition in Egypt, but they are so happy to be here. Every time we come, they are all so excited. The main people we are teaching are dad, Sobhy, and the daughter, Christien. They came to 2 sessions of conference with us. Christien is so ready. She has such a sweet spirit and a sincere love of Christ. There is a slight language barrier, but luckily the language of the spirit is universal. The mom is looking for a job, and she's very concerned, so she hasn't really been focused in our lessons, but her little brother who's 16 understands just about everything. It's pretty awesome. They told us that we can come over anytime! Which, we wouldn't because that'd probably be a little overwhelming, but it's clear that they can feel a difference in their lives when we are around vs when we aren't. 

In other news, I found out one of my investigators passed away. I had a feeling actually, it was kind of odd. But hopefully he's happier and in less pain now... 

Met one of our less actives this week who specializes in holistic medicine and acupuncture? Anyways, she was doing this body test on us to see what we're allergic to. I'm allergic to eucalyptus trees and I guess things from Australia? But guess what my companion is allergic to. LETTUCE. HAHAHAHAHAHAHAHA I WAS DYING OH MAN. For real though. It was hilarious. But she really is. Ever since she came to America, she's had this rash on her left hand. This week we went the whole week without any lettuce, either no salad, or a spinach salad. Her hand was doing better. Yesterday, we had a lettuce salad and suddenly the rash is worse! It's hilarious but thinking about it, it probably really shouldn't be this funny. 

This week's bike mishap. We bought the slime stuff as mentioned above, and I was filling the tire up.. then it blew up! I guess I over pumped it. I just kind of watched it happen. I was watching it and the tube popped up and I was like that can't be good. Then it just blew up. And it was like that Nickelodeon show where they dump slime on people only it shot out at me. And the walls. 

Conference was awesome this week. I really liked it! This week I'm super motivated to start on those Christlike attributes. It's going to be hard but it's going to be awesome. Starting today, I'm doing one attribute every week until I go home. This way I can be more converted and come home and glow and all that stuff. Naw I'm just kidding. I just hope this works haha but the prophets have promised blessings and I trust them. Watch conference if you didn't! It was awesome!

Love you all. So so much.

Sister Kwan