He Lives to Wipe Away My Tears

Hello Everyone! 

Greetings from I'm-so-happy-that-the-weather-has-stayed-this-lovely-and-there-hasn't-been-a-single-sign-of-snow-Colorado!! 

Yep... I'm spoiled... I'm so grateful. 

This week has been an interesting week to say the least, but I always come back to my mission motto "There's no growth in the comfort zone, and it's not comfortable in the growth zone".... why am I so right?  ha ha.  I'm very grateful that God loves me enough to give me one more growth zone before I get sent back to all of you.  I want His image to be in my countenance, and I know that that process sometimes has to be painful.... I don't want to kick against the pricks anymore, but to willingly let the Savior change me. With whatever process He chooses to use.. 

Wow... I was going to give a completely different spiritual thought but then I read Sister Brown's weekly email in which she completely answered my prayers.  As I come to the close of my mission, with the knowledge and understanding that I have now, I sometimes wish I could go back and redo, or I worry if I haven't accomplished the miracles God wanted me to accomplish... I hear stories from other missionaries and they seem to end in "and 2 weeks later they were baptized"... and then I wonder if I haven't done what I should have done.... but I realize that God didn't send me here to serve a perfect mission. He sent me here to learn and grow. He sent me here to work miracles, yes, but those miracles come in many different shapes and sizes. For some missionaries, those are hosts of people dressed in which entering a baptismal font (and I have been very blessed to witness a few myself) but maybe a miracle is answering the prayer of a member and letting them know God was thinking about them, maybe it was coming to serve someone who was at the end of the rope and exhausted.... God has many ways that He shows His love, and His tender mercies are real. I am a witness of that. I'm grateful that He has allowed me to be a means of someone receiving a tender mercy, and I'm also very thankful that He has sent many my way too.  My invitation to you this week is to pray to be an answer to someone's prayer every day this week... follow through with the promptings you get, especially if they don't make sense. The Spirit rarely prompts us to do something convenient or in our comfort zone... or else we would already be doing it, right?  So let's all be the means of a tender mercy this week!

I love you all so much. I am so grateful for my mission. I'm so grateful for my Savior. I know that He lives, and that He loves me and perfectly understands me.  I know that He wipes away my tears... even if they are silly irrational tears. He cares so much about us. 

Onward Christian Soldiers!

From me to you, Sister Kinzie Lou

STAND IN THE GAP!

Hello Everyone! 

Greetings from i'm-continually-amazed-at-how-much-people-like-to-decorate-for-Halloween-here-it-is-borderline-terrifying-Colorado! 

These Coloradans are hilarious.... 

What a week.... Sister B and I are adjusting to being companions, but all is well. I'm so grateful for all of the different companions I was able to have on my mission. I learned something new from every single one.... God is soo in charge of this work and just shapes us and molds us if we let him!  It's wonderful.

We have been led to AMAZING people.  We went to an address on the ward directory, but the family had moved. Who lived there now?? A woman who was watching BYU tv at that very moment, who had so many Mormon friends growing up.  She let us in for a drink of water and after talking with her for a good 15 minutes, she wants to meet with us. AMAZING!!!!!  Heavenly Father has been so good to me... sometimes I can't even express how happy and grateful I am. 

The next member finding principle I want to share with you is about the need to stand in the gap. 

Matthew 22:37-40 teaches us that the first commandment is to love God, and the second is to love our neighbor. God loves His children perfectly.  Just like a parent sending a kid to college or even on a mission, that parent prays that someone will be there to watch out for their child and love them while they can't.  It is the same with us. God wants us to reach out and love and support and help our brothers and sisters because that is a means of Him answering prayers said and unsaid.  There is such a need to reach out and stand in the gap for people... a gap is something that separates. Maybe a gap is sadness, loss of job, loss of loved one, misunderstanding, confusion, worry, questions.... we who have the gospel can love our friends and stand in the gap for them and help them when they need it most. We should seek to have friends of all faiths, not as a means to an end, but as an end in itself. We can be so enriched by gaining more understanding of others' beliefs, and then if they ever have a gap, we can stand in and be a good friend who helps them as they are away from home.

My invitation to you all is to seek one way to expand your circle of friends this week.  Be a little more friendly, invite an acquaintance to something in which you can become a friend.  As we love our neighbors, and love God, and love the Gospel the light we have will be a blessing to everyone around us.

I know that God does know every single one of His children, and He loves them. Even those that don't love Him back.  He is ever ready to show us that love if we'll just turn to Him. 

I love you all.... I can't believe that in 5 weeks time I'll be back... bugging ya... not from a distance. haha. I'm still praying for you!  

Onward Christian Soldiers!

From me to you, Sister Kinzie Lou

The First of the Last!

Hello Everyone! 

Greetings from as-soon-as-the-trees-are-beautiful-they-start-to-die-Colorado! I think it is so fitting that I'm finishing up my mission in the fall.... everything is so beautiful, and then it moves on to it's winter preparation, and just goes to the next season. Fall is my favorite transition season.  I'm going through a transition season too... I love my mission sooo much! I'm so happy that I have 6 more weeks to do everything I can to fully serve the Lord, and give Him my all. I just want to sprint to the finish line. 

My dear friend Chelsey asked what my biggest fears and excitements are as I approach the end of my mission, and after writing everything I'm excited for in the rest of my life, it hugely outweighed the fears. Life is good, and there is a time and place for everything.  We always can look forward with excitement and hope, and still cherish the sun that is shining on this very day. 

So I'll be finishing my mission here in Parker, and I'm soo happy about it! I love this area. I love this ward. My new companion is Sister Bertagnole (silent G... it's Italian.) who I served around 6 weeks ago in Brighton.  She is the sweetest sister EVER.  I'm excited to learn from her.   From now on to help save me 5 seconds every time I refer to her, I'll just call her sister B.... 

We found a new investigator last week named Donna. She is awesome.  She has had a rough last few years and is on the verge of abandoning her belief in God.  She doesn't know how she can suffer if there is a God who supposedly loves her.  It is true, that we experience very hard things in this life.  Things that are not fair, at all.... but are just a part of the world we volunteered to come to.  God doesn't abandon us in those trials, but is unmoving.... the thing that changes is us.  We sometimes choose to turn away.... but even if we do that God loves us. It never changes.  And He will be in the exact same place He was before we left.... to find Him again we simply start with "Dear Heavenly Father..."  It can be that simple.  

I know that God lives.  I know that He loves us.  I know that because He loves us He sent Jesus Christ here to pay the debt to justice.  For us, and also paying the debt that justice owes us when unfair things happen. He can offer us healing, solace, and understanding instead.  I want you all to think about how you came to know that God is real.  How can you feel that again?  If there are any of you that aren't quite sure, I invite you to try. Ask Him if He is there. He will let you know.  You all have to watch the video "Hope of God's light". Click there on search on LDS.org.... Sooo goood!!!!! 

I love you all and I know that God loves you even more. 

I miss you and I'll do everything I can the next six weeks to make that moment when I conclude be sweet, not bittersweet.  

Onward Christian Soldiers!

From me to you, Sister Kinzie Lou

pics... tree to illustrate fall. #hippie #treehuggerofthefamily

I had dinner with ALISON!!!! I've been waiting my whole mission to serve in Parker, and it finally happened!!!!!! amazing! 

OPEN OUR MOUTHS

Hello Everyone!

Greetings from I-got-my-first-hot-coco-of-the-season-mmm-sea-salt-caramel-Colorado! 

I just love this time of year. It makes me so happy. And sometimes on Friday nights as we are out finding we hear the drumline and band from the nearby high school football game. Those simple pleasures of life always make me smile..love em.

General Conference! WOW! It was soo great.  First off, I love our Prophet. I love Him. After all the talks about sustaining the prophet, and blessings that come from that I was ready for whatever he had to say! But what did he say?  Walk as Jesus walked. Be like the Savior.  beautiful. He truly is such a Christ-like leader.

Can we just talk about how amazing Elder Bednar's talk was... and the joke he cracked? That is missionary humor to the T... the only things we remember to quote these days are the scriptures. hilarious. I just love how he spelled out that we share the Gospel because we love it, and we love the Lord. Amen.

Today I want to talk about Opening our Mouths as we share the gospel.  

D&C 33:8-10 they all start with Open your mouth. It says we will be like Nephi of old. why choose nephi for the reference?  because nephi went to get the plates "not knowing beforehand what I was to do".... sometimes as we talk with our friends we are afraid of not knowing what to say or not wanting to be awkward, but if we just are kind and if we open our mouth with the intention of talking openly about the Gospel Heavenly Father will provide a way. He will help us. 

1) think of all of the opportunities we have to talk to people we don't already know: bus, school, store, park, work, street, etc etc.

2) Be yourself and use Mormon words.

As you live the Gospel, talking in a way that you don't hide the Gospel, it will be apparent in the things you say... not boasting or talking about things you don't do, but just talk openly using Mormon words about the life you live. 

3) Open doors, don't force people through them.  As you talk openly using Mormon words, you open the door for someone who is interested to ask a question or figuratively walk through the door to a great discussion.  If  they don't go through the door, that's ok. You opened it, and maybe another time they will choose to go through the door.

4) Inspired invites.  As you truly love and listen to who you are talking to something in what they say can always be brought back to a truth of the Gospel of which you can invite them to have more of.  Most people care about their family, feeling happy, feeling peace, being ok temporally, etc etc. the gospel has answers to all questions because truth is truth and it works. 

I invite you each to look for 2 opportunities this week to talk to someone you don't know and try to find a way to use Mormon words in your conversation. Be kind. Be yourself, and you will be the means that someone feels more of God's love in their life. 

I love you all and I'm so grateful for your love and support.  I can't even believe that this is the last week of this transfer. It went by so fast. It has been amazing!!!!  Love you!!!

Onward Christian Soldiers!

From me to you, Sister Kinzie Lou

pics: my last time seeing sister Johnson before she goes home. boo hoo.

my mom sent me a conference care package. she seriously is THE CUTEST MOM EVER!