Expect the unexpected in the work of the Lord --

Hello Everyone!

Greetings from I'll-be-stickin-around-these-neck-of-the-woods-for-another-transfer-Colorado!

That's right folks... I'm here in Green Valley for another transfer with Sister Openshaw!  We were sooooooo surprised!!! Seriously! But I'm so happy because there are incredible things happening with the work and the ward!! yay! Such a cool thing to be a part of!

First off though... you will notice I don't have a picture attached with Me and sis o and Claudia dressed in white..... Claudia got up the courage to talk to her husband about her getting baptized and he said no....  We can't baptized her without the consent of her husband, and so to everyone's (especially Claudia's) dismay we had to cancel the baptism..... It was awful. It felt like a bad dream.  But she trusts the Lord SOOO much... She just wants to pray to know what He wants her to do, and she and we know that eventually she will be able to be baptized and to have all of these blessings she so wants! I just looooove her... please keep her and  her husband in your prayers if you wouldn't mind. We definitely need a miracle here, folks.... if we Utahns can pray for rain and see the storm clouds roll in,  I know that we can pray for a softened heart and see a miracle take place. 

The work is hastening. period. Why? Because the members are starting to get involved.  The members of the auxiliary presidencies have been inviting members of the ward to have us over and to help them take the next steps towards activity or making covenants and soo many people are being receptive to it!!!! We have 8 people working towards a baptismal date which is so awesome!!!!   I love seeing the Gospel change people's lives... including mine.  I feel like I am a different person than I was 3 months ago.... Heavenly Father is so smart and knows exactly what we need to help us come to Him.

My spiritual thought this week is going to be just a simple invitation.  I invite you all to rely on the Lord more.  I have had to do that here, and I will stand as His witness that as we try to do what He asks of us, He makes us enough to make it through.  He really DOES make our burdens lighter like it talks about in Mosiah 24.  How do we rely on Him more??? I think it starts with a real honest conversation with Him... So I invite you to think of how you can rely on Him more and then try it.  I love my Savior.  I love my Heavenly Father. I miss Him a lot.  One day we will be safe at home again and see His loving face... until then He wants to help us every single step of the way. 

 

I love you!!! I miss you all.... I'm so excited for Mother's Day!!! wooooo! Get to talk to my mama!!!!!!!!! 

Onward Christian Soldiers!

From me to you,

Kinzie Lou

 

pic of me, sis o and our investigator Cordell! he rocks!

pic of me and sister bruggeman working on my teeth... my dental woes are FINALLY over!! woo!  isn't she soo classy?  haha... she is an angel!  :)

HOPE HOPE HOPE!

Hello Everyone!

Greetings from i'm-walking-on-sunshine-because-conversion-rocks-Colorado!!!

man oh man, I'm so happy.  Happy Easter everybody!!! did you watch the video??? how many views on Youtube did it get??? I being a missionary, obviously can't get on and check it out for myself....

The work here is going gooooood!  Our investigator Claudia is getting baptized this Saturday! Sis Makasini and I found her through a member referral and we just did the prayer approach.  She wasn't wanting to learn more, but I didn't take no for an answer.  I testified of forever families and she said that it was ok to come back to teach more.  I have been meeting with her every week and I have seen her gain a testimony RIGHT in front of my eyes of Joseph Smith, Thomas S. Monson, the Book of Mormon and the Word of Wisdom.  IT HAS BEEN INCREDIBLE TEACHING HER! I feel like her lessons are the best because I just have loved her sooo much from the very beginning.  Love is a key ingredient if missionaries want to be able to teach powerfully with the Spirit, because that is how the Savior would do it.  He loves them PERFECTLY...

Claudia wasn't positive about getting baptized because she has nooooo family support (except for her 6 year old twins who love coming to church) but we brought a member who is a convert who also speaks Spanish. The member was sooo in tune with the Spirit in the things she shared of how she had to overcome a lot of fears to get baptized.  I had Claudia list her concerns and fears about baptism, and then I had her list all the blessings that will come from baptism.  She was blown away that the blessings were sooo much greater than any of her concerns, she just needed faith.  The Spirit was soo strong and she resolved to get baptized this Saturday. She came to church yesterday and was telling EVERYONE that she is getting baptized. She was sooo happy. I love being a missionary!!!!  The joy I feel knowing that she is sooo happy is indescribable.  I just loooove seeing conversion.  It's why I'm here.

I was able to teach Relief Society and I taught about Hope.  What is hope and what do we hope for??

Hope is:                                                                        What we hope for:

spiritual strength                                                           eternal life

knowing that with Christ everything will be OK          eternal joy and happiness with our families

an anchor for our souls                                                 resurrection - perfect body with no pain

trusting God                                                                   deliverance

the feeling that this bad feeling isn't permanent

an orientation of our soul towards God

a positive attitude

  

So we see that Hope is through Christ. It is in Christ. It is because of Christ. I love the Savior. I know that with Him on our side, everything will be alright... and in time it will be more than alright, it will be wonderful and glorious and happy and bright and joyful and incredible. Hold on, because it's worth it.

 

I love you all and invite you to study hope for yourselves and think about how you can be more hopeful... When we have a "perfect brightness of hope" then we can press forward to eternal life. (2 ne 31:10)  I love you all!!! The Gospel is sooo true.  I love it. I love the Savior. So much.

Onward Christian Soldiers,

From me to you, Kinzie Lou

pic... reminder that Colorado is a beautiful place.. in case you forgot.

hey dad... it's "pickle time!" don't mind me.. lookin' sups ug. haha.

Because of Him!

Hello Everyone!

Greetings from the-blossoms-are-out-on-the-trees-and-then-it-snowed-Colorado!  I know most of my references are weather related.. my bad.

 

It has been a great week here, and I have seen soo many miracles!  Heavenly Father is really blessing us as we are striving to be as obedient as possible. Claudia is fasting and praying about her baptism date on the 26th, and Cordell wants to be baptized in May!!!

 

I'm still a little cooky, and every single day I creep Sister Openshaw out by my weirdness... I tell her she has to stay on her toes... Expect the unexpected. :) I have to keep myself sane by laughing at my own insanity... does that make any sense?

 

Can we just talk about the fact that I feel like a completely different person?? I do.  And I'm giving you all the chance to have the same experience in this email. 

 

 My life changed because of the Easter video "Because of Him."  The Church put this video out (it's 3 minutes long) to celebrate Easter.  They are partnering with Youtube on Easter Sunday 4/20 to be the featured video on Youtube's main page.... INCREDIBLE. I studied online marketing and so I know how big of a deal that is. 

 

http://easter.mormon.org/   or type into the url -    Mormon.org/becauseofhim  

 

Go ahead... watch it..... and watch it again!

 

wow.  It is soo powerful and just beautiful.

 

 It really helped me come to know my Savior better.  I came to fully realize what it means when we say "He lives." That means He is still Saving. He is still Redeeming. He is still helping and blessing. He is playing an ACTIVE role in our lives, not just sitting up in Heaven waiting around. That means He is the one in charge of this work. He lives. Those are all things I knew in my head, but this week I feel like I know them so fully in my heart that I have been a different person. I have been so happy. I know that no matter what trial comes my way I will be ok because I know He lives. So it will always be ok. It is just so beautiful and so powerful. I feel like I can take on the world because I know who I'm taking it on with.

 

Clean slates. Fresh starts. New beginnings. Life, love, and peace all BECAUSE OF HIM.  I love the Savior. So much. 

 

If you haven't watched the video by now, please pause and go ahead and do that.... I'll wait.... :)

***** I invite you to share the Because of Him video with a friend! It's awesome!!  

Because I'm a hymn lover, here are the lyrics to #199, He is Risen!

 

He is risen! He is risen! Tell it out with joyful voice.

He has burst His three days' prison; Let the whole wide earth rejoice.

Death is conquered; man is free. Christ has won the victory.

 

He is risen! He is risen! He hath opened heaven's gate.

We are free from sin's dark prison, Risen to a holier state.

And a brighter Easter beam on our longing eyes shall stream.

 

My invitation to you this Easter week is to think about Christ.  Think about all that He did and continues to do for you.  Think of what it personally means to you that Christ LIVES.  How does that change your life?  Because I know that He has changed mine forever.  I love Him for that.

 

I love you all and I hope you have a great week!!! 

Onward Christian Soldiers!

From me to you, Kinzie Lou

 

Pics: 

Colorado sky... I'm on the prairie folks. Seriously my area is on the edge of civilization.  I'm like a pioneer or something.

dun. dun. dun.... Another tooth bites the dust!

Hello Everyone

Greetings from I'm-so-extremely-grateful-that-Mormons-are-dentists-out-here-Colorado!

In Tallyn's Reach there were literally like 15 dentists in the ward... and I always thought to my teeth "If you are going to act up now would be the time to do it..."  Well I'm in Green Valley - full of dental STUDENTS and I had a tooth emergency. I was able to rush down to a Sister from Tallyn's Reach who is a dentist... she was an angel. I went to a specialist the next day and got a root canal. wooo! My mom has the gory details, but I'll spare you... but what I gleaned from this experience was that God was in the details and the timing of it ALL. He even cares about my tooth.  He is soo loving.

GENERAL CONFERENCE! BOO YA!   I loved what elder Ballard said about everyone getting a copy of Preach My Gospel and WRITING their missionaries about the things they are studying... wee woo... I'll be expecting a FLOOD GATE of doctrine filled letters, ok?  haha.  kidding kidding, but like seriously I would love it!

Walking away from conference I know that I need to be more like Christ.  More kind and loving, more grateful, more humble, more patient, and more reliant on God.  I'm so grateful that God SPEAKS to us today through a living prophet!!!  I know that this church is good, and TRUE as much as I know that my name is Makinzie and that I'm from Holden, Utah.  Elder Corbridge has come and toured our mission in the past, and in his talk he spoke of the truth ALWAYS facing opposition.  So I know that this is true, even though I face opposition and rejection every single day.  I'm grateful to walk a few steps with the Savior, truly I know He walks with me in those hard moments and sometimes I feel as if He puts His arms around me and says, "It hurts, doesn't it.  I love them too. I know, I understand."  

I know that this church is Christ's living and true church on the earth with a "foundation of apostles and prophets" (Ephesians 4:11-14)  I know that Thomas S. Monson is a prophet of God, and such a Christ-like man.  I know that God loves us and is sooo aware of us. 

I pray for you, and soo appreciate your prayers and the support you give to me.  PLEASE study a conference talk. Pray to know which one, and then print it out and STUDY it, and I promise you it will bless your life. 

I love you all!!!

Onward Christian Soldiers,

From me to you, Kinzie Lou

pics... there's nothing like rushing to an appointment and getting STUCK BEHIND AN ETERNALLY LONG TRAIN! love it.