Hey everyone!
Well I survived week 1 of training and it hasn't been too bad. My trainee is Hermana Lindsey Ker from Idaho Falls. We get along pretty well and she has the greenie fire which is becoming a little contagious, which is a good thing. When you have been a missionary for a while its not as easy to get excited about things super fast. I mean I still get excited and I love the work but I have seen enough to know that not everyone we give a card to will call the number or check out the website. I hope they do, but most likely they won't, but its okay, I'm not going to rain on her parade and who knows maybe I will start having more faith in the people on the street. It's always good to have a change and to remember what it was like when I first got to the mission. Her Spanish is a lot better than mine was and she isn't afraid to talk to people or to stumble through her Spanish.We will hopefully see a lot of miracles this month and I am excited, I'm just praying that certain things fall into place. Here we go with the last Investigator Weekly of February!!
RJ: So... we had a lesson Thursday and it went really well. We went over the baptismal questions and he rocked it and we were just stoked for this weekend and we set a time and were excited to set everything up. Then about 15 minutes after we left their house we got a text from his mom saying that they had a family talk and they didn't think that he is ready so they were cancelling the baptism right now... my heart broke. RJ wants to get baptized and understands why he wants to do it and what it means... I just don't know what we need to do to get the parents on board. We are going to see them tomorrow and I'm really praying that we can figure out what the real problem is so that we can resolve it and have RJ get baptized this month. The ward is super supportive and the boys love coming to primary. I'll let y'all know next week what happens.
Victor: Well yesterday he came to church and he has now decided that he thinks that its okay to be baptized when you are 9 or 10 and so I told him that 9 was the right age and then he agreed. I then asked him if he would like to be baptized in a couple weeks and he said yes again! He now has a date for March 10 or 11 (depending on if we wanna do it a Saturday or Sunday). I feel that it is pretty solid, we just need to make sure that his mom is okay with the date - she wasn't there yesterday because she was sick- and then just pray that nothing comes up between now and then to derail it. He is a great kid and I'm excited for him.
Serena: So yesterday we talked with the Carters- the member family who brings her to church every week- to set up a time that we could meet Serena's parents this weekend to have them be okay with us teaching her. Her parents pretty much already consider her a member so we just need to do a little thing called baptism to make it official! ha ha
Well that is about it- we had a good weekend. Hna. Ker came to Texas with an intense cold and nothing has seemed to work to make it better so we were kinda in limbo this weekend trying to work hard and yet rest enough to help her get better. Hopefully she will get better soon so we can work hard and see what the Lord has in store for us this month. I'm excited, all of our kid investigators are willing- we just need to get the lame parents on board! ha ha. It has been a struggle this week with feeling so overwhelmed with trying to take care of my little trainee and with reaching our goals. I have to remind myself all the time that its a marathon, not a sprint and that I don't have to teach her everything in one day. She is super willing to work hard and to talk to people which makes my job a little easier. I'm really grateful that she isn't homesick because how could I tell her not to be when I was homesick for a good part of the beginning of my mission? ha ha The important thing is that no matter what comes or how you feel that you push through it and never give up. That is one thing I have learned, I have developed some self discipline and diligence over the last 14 months. I actually run about a mile every other morning- as y'all know I hate running and I hate it even more with not being able to distract myself with music or watching TV, but I have been able to discipline myself and push through it and now I'm getting in pretty good shape- it also helps that I have the motivation of being in shape to hike Machu Picchu right after I get home- but it is amazing that when you have the determination to do something and to finish it all the way through, that it just becomes a characteristic and it makes doing everything else easier. Well I hope that everything is going well with y'all. I am super appreciative of the letters, your prayers, and your love and support. I hope the good Lord continues to bless y'all. I hope that y'all have a good week! Love y'all! Go Cougars!
Love Always,
Sister Kelsey Berg
Monday, February 27, 2012
Letters from Kelsey - 61
Hey everyone!!
Well... another week has come and gone in the great Texas Houston South Mission... and everywhere else around the world. We had a decent week and the cherry on top was the meeting with Elder D. Todd Christofferson last Saturday. It was fantastic and he is a very funny and personable guy who is very pensive as well. It was crazy because it was originally planned to be at the Bering building and so we got there early and got pretty good seats, but it was raining super hard and the parking lot had turned into a lake so there wasn't enough parking spots- so then they moved it to the Eldridge building so we all had to book it over there because it was pretty late when they changed so everyone was already at the building. So we booked it over there and we had some friends save us some seats so we got 4th row seats which were better than our first ones! It was awesome though. He talked about a lot of different things and I have a lot of things to improve on, but it was definitely a highlight of the mission by far, and something that I will always remember. So that what the big news this week. Oh yeah... also... I learned that I'm staying in Manvel and.... TRAINING... WHAT?? I feel super overwhelmed and nervous and unqualified. How can I train? I feel like I just got to the mission and I still have no idea what is going on sometimes! I love Manvel but I had prepared myself mentally to leave... I have been here a long time and its only going to get longer. This area doesn't have a lot of turn over but its all good, we found some new people this week that I am excited for so it should be good. That all leads me to... the Investigator Weekly!!
RJ: They came to all 3 hours of church yesterday and it was great. They loved it and RJ is super excited for his baptism on March 3. They are just great and as they start coming to Primary more and more it will get even better!
Cadena Family: They are our new people that we are super excited about. So we have known for a couple weeks that they spoke Spanish but they were never there when we knocked. Last week we finally found them home and the dad- Alberto- brought 2 of his daughters to the Branch activity last week and they had a good time. They have 6 kids and they are awesome. So last night we stopped by to try and set something up and Alberto and Veronica pulled up right after we got there from the store, so we helped them carry in the groceries and put them away. Veronica has a lot of friends that are members and has been to Relief Society activities and they have gone to a lot of church activities also. They were super nice and she invited us to say for dinner so we did and then we did the dishes after- service always works :). We had a good conversation through all of this about her thoughts about the church and some of the questions she had. We ate with them and then watched some 'I'm A Mormon' (www.mormon.org plug- ha ha) videos that she could relate to, and then asked them if they would be interested in learning more. We bore our testimonies that this wasn't a 'chance' meeting and that they have had a lot of contact with the Church for a reason. She agreed and we promised that if they would investigate the church with real intent they would find what they were looking for and would have some hurt healed and have a more unified family. They are super awesome and it was a great night and a great meeting- I am really, really excited for them.
Mosqueda Family: Jaime and Oscar came to Mutual last week and they enjoyed it. We are having a little trouble with their mom, just getting her to sit down long enough to have a real lesson but it will happen soon. They are pretty great though and are making friends with some of the youth of the branch.
Well... that's it for this weeks edition. We have a couple other people that have potential and I am praying that some things fall into place so that it can happen. Things are good out here though... I am just plugging along and doing my best to do what I'm supposed to. This whole training thing will be a new experience and not one that I really wanted. It was funny- so what happens is that on Sunday night is when President Saylin calls to tell you that you are training. So last night we had got back to the apartment about 9:15 pm and I was washing my hands and I just got this feeling that President was going to call and that I was training... and I didn't want to believe it. I watched the clock all through planning and relaxed a little as the night got a little later and later... and then at about 9:45 it happened. The phone rang and it was President. Hna. Mathews said that she wasn't going to answer it so I just kinda looked at it about about 15 seconds before I answered it. I know that the Lord qualifies those whom he calls. I had just been trying to figure out my standing before the Lord, and then he calls me to do more work. It's kind of like Joseph Smith's experience when he was trying to find his standing before the Lord. It was a couple years after the First Vision and he wanted to know where he stood and then the angel Moroni came and put him to work with the Book of Mormon. I guess that's how we know, when the Lord trusts us with more responsibility we know that we are good before him- as overwhelming as that might be.
I hope y'all have a great President's Day and that everything is going well for y'all. I hope that y'all have a good week and that the Lord continues to bless you and your families. I know that the Lord is always with us, especially during our time of afflictions. I know that through repentance and the Atonement we can be clean of our past transgressions and grow to stand before the Lord. I know that families can be together forever and I know that the only way to true, eternal happiness is through Jesus Christ and the church he leads. If it didn't know all of that I wouldn't be on a mission- the hardest thing I have ever done; but it has also been the most rewarding and I wouldn't change it for anything. I love y'all and miss y'all. Go Cougars!!
Love Always,
Sister Kelsey Ber
Well... another week has come and gone in the great Texas Houston South Mission... and everywhere else around the world. We had a decent week and the cherry on top was the meeting with Elder D. Todd Christofferson last Saturday. It was fantastic and he is a very funny and personable guy who is very pensive as well. It was crazy because it was originally planned to be at the Bering building and so we got there early and got pretty good seats, but it was raining super hard and the parking lot had turned into a lake so there wasn't enough parking spots- so then they moved it to the Eldridge building so we all had to book it over there because it was pretty late when they changed so everyone was already at the building. So we booked it over there and we had some friends save us some seats so we got 4th row seats which were better than our first ones! It was awesome though. He talked about a lot of different things and I have a lot of things to improve on, but it was definitely a highlight of the mission by far, and something that I will always remember. So that what the big news this week. Oh yeah... also... I learned that I'm staying in Manvel and.... TRAINING... WHAT?? I feel super overwhelmed and nervous and unqualified. How can I train? I feel like I just got to the mission and I still have no idea what is going on sometimes! I love Manvel but I had prepared myself mentally to leave... I have been here a long time and its only going to get longer. This area doesn't have a lot of turn over but its all good, we found some new people this week that I am excited for so it should be good. That all leads me to... the Investigator Weekly!!
RJ: They came to all 3 hours of church yesterday and it was great. They loved it and RJ is super excited for his baptism on March 3. They are just great and as they start coming to Primary more and more it will get even better!
Cadena Family: They are our new people that we are super excited about. So we have known for a couple weeks that they spoke Spanish but they were never there when we knocked. Last week we finally found them home and the dad- Alberto- brought 2 of his daughters to the Branch activity last week and they had a good time. They have 6 kids and they are awesome. So last night we stopped by to try and set something up and Alberto and Veronica pulled up right after we got there from the store, so we helped them carry in the groceries and put them away. Veronica has a lot of friends that are members and has been to Relief Society activities and they have gone to a lot of church activities also. They were super nice and she invited us to say for dinner so we did and then we did the dishes after- service always works :). We had a good conversation through all of this about her thoughts about the church and some of the questions she had. We ate with them and then watched some 'I'm A Mormon' (www.mormon.org plug- ha ha) videos that she could relate to, and then asked them if they would be interested in learning more. We bore our testimonies that this wasn't a 'chance' meeting and that they have had a lot of contact with the Church for a reason. She agreed and we promised that if they would investigate the church with real intent they would find what they were looking for and would have some hurt healed and have a more unified family. They are super awesome and it was a great night and a great meeting- I am really, really excited for them.
Mosqueda Family: Jaime and Oscar came to Mutual last week and they enjoyed it. We are having a little trouble with their mom, just getting her to sit down long enough to have a real lesson but it will happen soon. They are pretty great though and are making friends with some of the youth of the branch.
Well... that's it for this weeks edition. We have a couple other people that have potential and I am praying that some things fall into place so that it can happen. Things are good out here though... I am just plugging along and doing my best to do what I'm supposed to. This whole training thing will be a new experience and not one that I really wanted. It was funny- so what happens is that on Sunday night is when President Saylin calls to tell you that you are training. So last night we had got back to the apartment about 9:15 pm and I was washing my hands and I just got this feeling that President was going to call and that I was training... and I didn't want to believe it. I watched the clock all through planning and relaxed a little as the night got a little later and later... and then at about 9:45 it happened. The phone rang and it was President. Hna. Mathews said that she wasn't going to answer it so I just kinda looked at it about about 15 seconds before I answered it. I know that the Lord qualifies those whom he calls. I had just been trying to figure out my standing before the Lord, and then he calls me to do more work. It's kind of like Joseph Smith's experience when he was trying to find his standing before the Lord. It was a couple years after the First Vision and he wanted to know where he stood and then the angel Moroni came and put him to work with the Book of Mormon. I guess that's how we know, when the Lord trusts us with more responsibility we know that we are good before him- as overwhelming as that might be.
I hope y'all have a great President's Day and that everything is going well for y'all. I hope that y'all have a good week and that the Lord continues to bless you and your families. I know that the Lord is always with us, especially during our time of afflictions. I know that through repentance and the Atonement we can be clean of our past transgressions and grow to stand before the Lord. I know that families can be together forever and I know that the only way to true, eternal happiness is through Jesus Christ and the church he leads. If it didn't know all of that I wouldn't be on a mission- the hardest thing I have ever done; but it has also been the most rewarding and I wouldn't change it for anything. I love y'all and miss y'all. Go Cougars!!
Love Always,
Sister Kelsey Ber
Letters from Kelsey - 60
Oh hey there everyone!
Happy Valentine's Day tomorrow!! It really means nothing to me as a missionary but its all good because it never was really a big day before the mission either! Bahaha. I do want to tell y'all that I love you and appreciate your friendship, example, love, and support! Thanks for everything! So this email is going to be a little bit happier then my last ones, I realize that I have been a little pessimistic lately and that I really need to change my attitude! So consider it changed! ha ha. So! Now to the investigator weekly and then we will have a little chat!
RJ: He set a baptismal date for March 3! So yesterday Christi called us and said that her youngest boys - Luke and Daniel- didn't want to go to church so we called them and bribed them with gum balls. It worked with Daniel but not Luke, so we had a member go and pick up RJ and Daniel for church. They loved Primary and we had a lesson with them after church and RJ was super happy- church fixes everything. Christi was disappointed that she couldn't go but we chatted with Luke so hopefully next week will go better. They are starting to read more and I'm excite for them- its different now because RJ is excited so he is willing to do everything.
Serena: She is 11 and goes to the English ward as well. Her family aren't comfortable with the Elders teaching her so we got permission! She has a super cool story- she learned about the Church in her History class and that's where the interest started. She had a couple friends who where LDS and so she started going to church with them. She has been coming for over 6 months and the Elders never realized that she wasn't a member so its taken a little while to start teaching her but she is awesome. She already has a set ride every week and her parents are in full support and pretty much already consider her a member. Hopefully she can get baptized soon!
Victor: We didn't get a chance to see him this week because his mom's phone isn't working so its hard to get a hold of her but things are still going forward and we hope that he can get baptized pretty soon.
We had a couple other miracles happen this week with new people and I'm hoping that the start progressing so that I can tell y'all about them! It was a rough week, nothing worked out the way we wanted but its all good- all part of the job. Oh! cool news! On Saturday Elder D. Todd Christofferson is coming to speak to the Houston missions! Cool huh! I'm super stoked. Another thing- this week we had an interesting conversation with a lady who's neighbor is a member and we answered some questions for her. It was the nicest bible bash I have had- but that's really all it was because she just wanted to know our beliefs on things and our reason for believing them. We talked about everything from the Fall to eternal marriage, to our belief that we can become like God to prophets. It made me really grateful for the clarity and simplicity of the gospel. Just because these are things from God doesn't mean that they have to be complex or that we can't understand them. It was a little bit of a difficult conversation for me because everything was so logical yet she didn't understand. It was just very interesting and I have thought a lot about it. I know that our Heavenly Father is a God of order and that his plan is a plan of love, and that he wants it to be simple so that we can understand it and so that we can know what we need to do to become like him. I'm thankful for my testimony and knowledge.
Well I hope y'all have a good week and are super nice to your loved ones! We are about to head out into the rain but it will be a good day! Love y'all! Go Cougars!
Love Always,
Sister Kelsey Berg
Happy Valentine's Day tomorrow!! It really means nothing to me as a missionary but its all good because it never was really a big day before the mission either! Bahaha. I do want to tell y'all that I love you and appreciate your friendship, example, love, and support! Thanks for everything! So this email is going to be a little bit happier then my last ones, I realize that I have been a little pessimistic lately and that I really need to change my attitude! So consider it changed! ha ha. So! Now to the investigator weekly and then we will have a little chat!
RJ: He set a baptismal date for March 3! So yesterday Christi called us and said that her youngest boys - Luke and Daniel- didn't want to go to church so we called them and bribed them with gum balls. It worked with Daniel but not Luke, so we had a member go and pick up RJ and Daniel for church. They loved Primary and we had a lesson with them after church and RJ was super happy- church fixes everything. Christi was disappointed that she couldn't go but we chatted with Luke so hopefully next week will go better. They are starting to read more and I'm excite for them- its different now because RJ is excited so he is willing to do everything.
Serena: She is 11 and goes to the English ward as well. Her family aren't comfortable with the Elders teaching her so we got permission! She has a super cool story- she learned about the Church in her History class and that's where the interest started. She had a couple friends who where LDS and so she started going to church with them. She has been coming for over 6 months and the Elders never realized that she wasn't a member so its taken a little while to start teaching her but she is awesome. She already has a set ride every week and her parents are in full support and pretty much already consider her a member. Hopefully she can get baptized soon!
Victor: We didn't get a chance to see him this week because his mom's phone isn't working so its hard to get a hold of her but things are still going forward and we hope that he can get baptized pretty soon.
We had a couple other miracles happen this week with new people and I'm hoping that the start progressing so that I can tell y'all about them! It was a rough week, nothing worked out the way we wanted but its all good- all part of the job. Oh! cool news! On Saturday Elder D. Todd Christofferson is coming to speak to the Houston missions! Cool huh! I'm super stoked. Another thing- this week we had an interesting conversation with a lady who's neighbor is a member and we answered some questions for her. It was the nicest bible bash I have had- but that's really all it was because she just wanted to know our beliefs on things and our reason for believing them. We talked about everything from the Fall to eternal marriage, to our belief that we can become like God to prophets. It made me really grateful for the clarity and simplicity of the gospel. Just because these are things from God doesn't mean that they have to be complex or that we can't understand them. It was a little bit of a difficult conversation for me because everything was so logical yet she didn't understand. It was just very interesting and I have thought a lot about it. I know that our Heavenly Father is a God of order and that his plan is a plan of love, and that he wants it to be simple so that we can understand it and so that we can know what we need to do to become like him. I'm thankful for my testimony and knowledge.
Well I hope y'all have a good week and are super nice to your loved ones! We are about to head out into the rain but it will be a good day! Love y'all! Go Cougars!
Love Always,
Sister Kelsey Berg
Letters from Kelsey - 59
Hey everyone,
Well another week has come and gone and this week I have learned that I really don't like agency and I just wish that there was a button that I could push that could turn off people's agency so they could do what I wanted them to do so they could see the blessings that would come from it! And yet I'm sure that is what plenty of people have wanted to do with me over the years when I thought I knew better and now I know that I really don't. Unfortunately there is no way to turn off people's agency and it has been a struggle for me to not get super frustrated with them (losing about 5 years off my life I'm sure) and to want to give up and just go back to a time when my salvation was all I had to worry about and not the salvation of other people. I know that we did everything possible this week to help people progress and come to church, and yet they didn't... and I'm beginning to become okay with that. I'm sad that they don't use their agency in the way that I know would bring them happiness, yet I am confident that they were given sufficient information to be able to decide correctly if they chose. Anyway- that is enough of my little rant today! Now to the Investigator Weekly!
Andrea: She is first because this is probably the last time she will be featured. She told us all this week that she would come to church and she was even praying that it would be possible. We brought members over and even told her of the importance of church. Her husband didn't come home from work this weekend which made it a whole lot easier for her to come because she didn't have him wanting to go do things. We watched the Restoration DVD with her and she said that she knew after watching it that she needed to be baptized and we told her what she needed to do for that to happen... and yet! She didn't come to church because her baby had a runny nose... that he didn't have on Saturday when we were over there. We have done all we can with her, we have taught her all that we can and she has progressed all that she can with out going to church- it is all her decision and she hasn't taken that step...
RJ: We had a really good lesson with them this week and even had dinner with the whole family and the dad joined in for the closing prayer which was huge. They didn't come to church either because they over slept and it was their anniversary- and maybe the Super Bowl had something to do with it. We are trying to help them understand that everything they want in life can be accomplished only by them coming to church. It might be bad to say but I kinda hope they have a rough week so they can really feel the difference of a week when they go to church and a week when they don't. They are still progressing though- they will get there soon.
Victor: His dad came and got him this weekend even though we were praying he wouldn't, but we are hoping to have him baptized next Sunday! Pray that we can get a couple chances to see him this week!
That is about all I have time for, I need to do a better job managing my time, but we have some potentials that I'm super excited to tell y'all about next week! I hope to be able to feel the Investigator Weekly with people that will use their agency to follow the commandments of Christ so that they can receive the blessings and stop stressing me out! ha ha Well I hope that y'all have a fantastic week and that y'all keep out of trouble! Love and miss y'all!! Go Cougars!
Love Always,
Sister Kelsey Berg
Well another week has come and gone and this week I have learned that I really don't like agency and I just wish that there was a button that I could push that could turn off people's agency so they could do what I wanted them to do so they could see the blessings that would come from it! And yet I'm sure that is what plenty of people have wanted to do with me over the years when I thought I knew better and now I know that I really don't. Unfortunately there is no way to turn off people's agency and it has been a struggle for me to not get super frustrated with them (losing about 5 years off my life I'm sure) and to want to give up and just go back to a time when my salvation was all I had to worry about and not the salvation of other people. I know that we did everything possible this week to help people progress and come to church, and yet they didn't... and I'm beginning to become okay with that. I'm sad that they don't use their agency in the way that I know would bring them happiness, yet I am confident that they were given sufficient information to be able to decide correctly if they chose. Anyway- that is enough of my little rant today! Now to the Investigator Weekly!
Andrea: She is first because this is probably the last time she will be featured. She told us all this week that she would come to church and she was even praying that it would be possible. We brought members over and even told her of the importance of church. Her husband didn't come home from work this weekend which made it a whole lot easier for her to come because she didn't have him wanting to go do things. We watched the Restoration DVD with her and she said that she knew after watching it that she needed to be baptized and we told her what she needed to do for that to happen... and yet! She didn't come to church because her baby had a runny nose... that he didn't have on Saturday when we were over there. We have done all we can with her, we have taught her all that we can and she has progressed all that she can with out going to church- it is all her decision and she hasn't taken that step...
RJ: We had a really good lesson with them this week and even had dinner with the whole family and the dad joined in for the closing prayer which was huge. They didn't come to church either because they over slept and it was their anniversary- and maybe the Super Bowl had something to do with it. We are trying to help them understand that everything they want in life can be accomplished only by them coming to church. It might be bad to say but I kinda hope they have a rough week so they can really feel the difference of a week when they go to church and a week when they don't. They are still progressing though- they will get there soon.
Victor: His dad came and got him this weekend even though we were praying he wouldn't, but we are hoping to have him baptized next Sunday! Pray that we can get a couple chances to see him this week!
That is about all I have time for, I need to do a better job managing my time, but we have some potentials that I'm super excited to tell y'all about next week! I hope to be able to feel the Investigator Weekly with people that will use their agency to follow the commandments of Christ so that they can receive the blessings and stop stressing me out! ha ha Well I hope that y'all have a fantastic week and that y'all keep out of trouble! Love and miss y'all!! Go Cougars!
Love Always,
Sister Kelsey Berg
Letters from Kelsey - 58
Hey everyone!!!
Well... another week has come and gone and I once again decided that I don't like the city and I am very content in my little Manvel. We had exchanges this week and for the first time I am the one that left. I went to Houston 4 which is on the edge of Sugar Land and Houston. Sugar Land is all good and dandy but I do not like the city, which is very unfortunate because if I get transferred on the 22nd I will most likely get sent to the city... oh well such is life. It was a good week though- RJ and his family and Victor came to church yesterday!!! YEAH!!! I was stoked... yet we had other investigators that did not come- yet again- that just make me want to give up... what can ya do. Well here we go in to the Investigator Weekly!
RJ: As I said they came to church yesterday!! It was great. We had a church tour with them this week... which was not as spiritual as we wanted, but we did have a good talk with his mom. Her life is really hard right now and we are trying to help her realize that to accomplish everything she wants all she needs to do is come to church. She wants to be happier- church; she wants her kids to behave more- church; she wants to get a job- church= blessings. She keeps telling us that when she was happiest in her life was when she was going to and was really involved in the Church! They came yesterday though and I'm praying that she recognizes that her week will be tons better. She also invited us over for dinner this week so we can talk to her husband! This is HUGE!! He has not liked missionaries in the past and has not wanted them over when he was home- so the fact that he is open to us coming over to a big step. We are hoping that if they keep coming to church then RJ can be baptized on the 18th.
Victor: They came to church yesterday as well! We are trying to get things changed a little this month with his dad coming to get him so that he can come to church next week also and then get baptized on the 11th. It has just been hard because his dad comes and gets him every other Sunday most weeks so its hard to get him at church regularly but we are trying to switch it to two weekends in a row with his mom so he can get baptized and then two weekends in a row with his dad- we find out tonight if it will work!
Andrea: She didn't come to church even though she promised... I don't know what to do... maybe it just isn't her time. There is a part missing and we just don't know what it is. We have a lesson tonight and we are going to watch the Restoration DVD and kind of state our purpose and she what she says. I don't want to drop her but if its not her time then there is nothing I can do.
Musqueda Family: They are pretty awesome. We just started teaching them and they are already reading the Book of Mormon. They are so willing to learn but they are super busy so its hard to meet a lot with them. They are just English enough to where they are willing to work for things and to where they are willing to do a little more work to find stuff out, yet still Spanish enough for us to teach them! Gotta love it! Mayra- the mom- wants her family to eat dinner together every night and wants her kids to be involved with good kids and everything. They are great and I'm excited for them to come to the activities on Wednesday night!
Well that's about it for today. OH! Just kidding. So a couple weeks ago some members invited us over to have some cake for their little girls birthday. We sang happy birthday and they recorded it and put it on youtube and I got the link for y'all! I haven't seen it yet, but it was fun to be with them. Y'all are invited to check it out if you want! The title of the video is: Cumple Anne 3. And the link is http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=tvj6czFyp7c I hope it works for y'all! This is with the Leija family who will be getting sealed this month when the husband completes his one year as a member! They are so great! Well I'm out of time but I hope y'all have a good week and that the Lord blesses ya! Love and miss y'all! Go Cougars!!
Love Always,
Sister Kelsey Berg
Well... another week has come and gone and I once again decided that I don't like the city and I am very content in my little Manvel. We had exchanges this week and for the first time I am the one that left. I went to Houston 4 which is on the edge of Sugar Land and Houston. Sugar Land is all good and dandy but I do not like the city, which is very unfortunate because if I get transferred on the 22nd I will most likely get sent to the city... oh well such is life. It was a good week though- RJ and his family and Victor came to church yesterday!!! YEAH!!! I was stoked... yet we had other investigators that did not come- yet again- that just make me want to give up... what can ya do. Well here we go in to the Investigator Weekly!
RJ: As I said they came to church yesterday!! It was great. We had a church tour with them this week... which was not as spiritual as we wanted, but we did have a good talk with his mom. Her life is really hard right now and we are trying to help her realize that to accomplish everything she wants all she needs to do is come to church. She wants to be happier- church; she wants her kids to behave more- church; she wants to get a job- church= blessings. She keeps telling us that when she was happiest in her life was when she was going to and was really involved in the Church! They came yesterday though and I'm praying that she recognizes that her week will be tons better. She also invited us over for dinner this week so we can talk to her husband! This is HUGE!! He has not liked missionaries in the past and has not wanted them over when he was home- so the fact that he is open to us coming over to a big step. We are hoping that if they keep coming to church then RJ can be baptized on the 18th.
Victor: They came to church yesterday as well! We are trying to get things changed a little this month with his dad coming to get him so that he can come to church next week also and then get baptized on the 11th. It has just been hard because his dad comes and gets him every other Sunday most weeks so its hard to get him at church regularly but we are trying to switch it to two weekends in a row with his mom so he can get baptized and then two weekends in a row with his dad- we find out tonight if it will work!
Andrea: She didn't come to church even though she promised... I don't know what to do... maybe it just isn't her time. There is a part missing and we just don't know what it is. We have a lesson tonight and we are going to watch the Restoration DVD and kind of state our purpose and she what she says. I don't want to drop her but if its not her time then there is nothing I can do.
Musqueda Family: They are pretty awesome. We just started teaching them and they are already reading the Book of Mormon. They are so willing to learn but they are super busy so its hard to meet a lot with them. They are just English enough to where they are willing to work for things and to where they are willing to do a little more work to find stuff out, yet still Spanish enough for us to teach them! Gotta love it! Mayra- the mom- wants her family to eat dinner together every night and wants her kids to be involved with good kids and everything. They are great and I'm excited for them to come to the activities on Wednesday night!
Well that's about it for today. OH! Just kidding. So a couple weeks ago some members invited us over to have some cake for their little girls birthday. We sang happy birthday and they recorded it and put it on youtube and I got the link for y'all! I haven't seen it yet, but it was fun to be with them. Y'all are invited to check it out if you want! The title of the video is: Cumple Anne 3. And the link is http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=tvj6czFyp7c I hope it works for y'all! This is with the Leija family who will be getting sealed this month when the husband completes his one year as a member! They are so great! Well I'm out of time but I hope y'all have a good week and that the Lord blesses ya! Love and miss y'all! Go Cougars!!
Love Always,
Sister Kelsey Berg
Letters from Kelsey - 57
Hey everyone,
Well I don't really have a whole lot to report this week... It was a good week and yet we didn't have anyone at church again. I have decided that sometimes all you have to do is just keep swimming. We get members involved and yet the dice haven't really rolled in our favor these last couple of weeks. All we can do is do our best and know that it is all in the hands of the Lord and have faith that we will know what do to next. I guess these are character building weeks right? ha ha, I'm sure that all of that bike riding and talking to English people who we can't teach anyway is just building my character... like digging holes right? Ya just do what ya gotta do and try not to get frustrated with people's agency... here is our Investigator Weekly...
RJ: We are really working with his mom right now because if she gets a stronger testimony then he will come with her. She has some struggles with the Word of Wisdom that we are working through right now but she wants to change and she has seen the difference that the church makes in her life. She talked this week about how even though her problems aren't any less or any easier, she has a different view of them and for some reason they don't get her down as much. Its all about faith baby! oh... and a little eternal perspective. She has been working really hard to read the Book of Mormon every night with her 4 boys but they get bored and don't have that long of an attention span so we are trying to help her have a long term perspective and not to focus on the frustration she feels now when its not perfect. I shared with her about my childhood and how I would sleep through scripture study in the mornings with my family and how I would complain in the mornings and during Family Night (I know you are shocked right now- me complain? Never), but I knew that every morning we would read the scriptures- it was just what we did in my home. We told her that one day RJ and the other boys will be on missions somewhere in the world and they will be talking about their mom and how she did it all by herself even when they complained and didn't pay attention. - Thanks Mom and Dad for sticking with it all even though I complained about how I wanted to watch football or basketball instead or how I would text during family night, I won't do it when I get home I promise. :)
Victor: We didn't get a chance to see him this last week because his mom was recovering from having a baby and then he didn't come to church yesterday because he was at his dad's. His mom and step-dad came to church though and we set something up with them for this next week. He just needs to come to church twice to get baptized so as soon as that happens he will be baptized, I'm hoping that February 18 will be the day.
Andrea: I havent' told y'all about her yet I don't think. She is 25 with 4 kids and is progressing slowly. She was supposed to come to church yesterday and when we showed up before church the kids were all ready and we were super happy... then she came out and told us that her nephew was doing his first communion in the Catholic church and her sister-in-law asked them to come... and it started the exact same time as ours... so yeah... I have faith for next week though! ha ha
Well I'm out of time- sorry the email is so short this week. OH!!! AND!!! Gabriel Jr. and David passed the sacrament yesterday!!!! It was one of the best Sundays ever just for that reason! They are such a great family and the branch loves them and they are just growing, improving, and moving right along! I can't wait to see them in the temple one day! Oh and Hno. De Hoyos even quit drinking! They just make me so happy. Thats about it for this week. I hope y'all have a good week and that y'all are keeping the faith! Love y'all!! Go Cougars!!
Love Always,
Sister Kelsey Berg
Well I don't really have a whole lot to report this week... It was a good week and yet we didn't have anyone at church again. I have decided that sometimes all you have to do is just keep swimming. We get members involved and yet the dice haven't really rolled in our favor these last couple of weeks. All we can do is do our best and know that it is all in the hands of the Lord and have faith that we will know what do to next. I guess these are character building weeks right? ha ha, I'm sure that all of that bike riding and talking to English people who we can't teach anyway is just building my character... like digging holes right? Ya just do what ya gotta do and try not to get frustrated with people's agency... here is our Investigator Weekly...
RJ: We are really working with his mom right now because if she gets a stronger testimony then he will come with her. She has some struggles with the Word of Wisdom that we are working through right now but she wants to change and she has seen the difference that the church makes in her life. She talked this week about how even though her problems aren't any less or any easier, she has a different view of them and for some reason they don't get her down as much. Its all about faith baby! oh... and a little eternal perspective. She has been working really hard to read the Book of Mormon every night with her 4 boys but they get bored and don't have that long of an attention span so we are trying to help her have a long term perspective and not to focus on the frustration she feels now when its not perfect. I shared with her about my childhood and how I would sleep through scripture study in the mornings with my family and how I would complain in the mornings and during Family Night (I know you are shocked right now- me complain? Never), but I knew that every morning we would read the scriptures- it was just what we did in my home. We told her that one day RJ and the other boys will be on missions somewhere in the world and they will be talking about their mom and how she did it all by herself even when they complained and didn't pay attention. - Thanks Mom and Dad for sticking with it all even though I complained about how I wanted to watch football or basketball instead or how I would text during family night, I won't do it when I get home I promise. :)
Victor: We didn't get a chance to see him this last week because his mom was recovering from having a baby and then he didn't come to church yesterday because he was at his dad's. His mom and step-dad came to church though and we set something up with them for this next week. He just needs to come to church twice to get baptized so as soon as that happens he will be baptized, I'm hoping that February 18 will be the day.
Andrea: I havent' told y'all about her yet I don't think. She is 25 with 4 kids and is progressing slowly. She was supposed to come to church yesterday and when we showed up before church the kids were all ready and we were super happy... then she came out and told us that her nephew was doing his first communion in the Catholic church and her sister-in-law asked them to come... and it started the exact same time as ours... so yeah... I have faith for next week though! ha ha
Well I'm out of time- sorry the email is so short this week. OH!!! AND!!! Gabriel Jr. and David passed the sacrament yesterday!!!! It was one of the best Sundays ever just for that reason! They are such a great family and the branch loves them and they are just growing, improving, and moving right along! I can't wait to see them in the temple one day! Oh and Hno. De Hoyos even quit drinking! They just make me so happy. Thats about it for this week. I hope y'all have a good week and that y'all are keeping the faith! Love y'all!! Go Cougars!!
Love Always,
Sister Kelsey Berg
Letters from Kelsey - 56
Disclaimer! This is Lindsey, Kelsey's sister. I know I've been terrible at updating her blog recently. My bad. Here are all of her e-mails from January and February. And, just as a reminder, she comes home the end of June, and I'm sure she would love to hear from you before then! Her address, once again is:
Sister Kelsey Berg
Texas Houston South Mission
602 Eldridge Rd.
Sugar Land, TX 77478
So write Kelsey a letter! you know you want to!
Hey everyone!
I hope y'all had a good week! We had a pretty decent week and it all ended with a pretty lucky baptism! So as I told y'all before, when the De Hoyos' records came in Bryan (12) didn't have a baptismal date and we couldn't find any other record or anything of his baptism so he had to get baptized again! The lucky kid. It was the easiest thing ever, when you have a fantastic family- not perfect by any definition- but a family that loves to come to church and wants to improve, all you have to do as the missionaries is make sure the baptism happens and make sure to get the date and everything is filled out correctly this time- ha ha. Because of Bryan's baptism it was a very good weekend, yet at the same time it was very frustrating because we went into Sunday with some good solid commitments from people to come to church... and yet none of them showed up. It puts me right on the edge of giving up and throwing all of them out the window and starting over... but then I take a step back and cool down and try to have more patience with them. This is when it gets difficult, they are reading the Book of Mormon and doing the things we ask them to do, yet they don't come to church and that is where the real progression takes place. You see their progress with reading the Book of Mormon and all the things like that, but if they don't come to church after making the commitment you have to do a self-evaluation and see what things you can do different to help them come to church, or you see that you have done all you can and that they are using their agency and choosing not to come to church; or that they really aren't prepared for the gospel at this time in their life. It is with decisions like this that you really have to use your faith in the Lord, that if you pray about it and do all you can He won't let you drop someone who really is ready. Anyway, our Investigator Weekly is full of kids this week!
Victor: He is 9 and they live on our border with Missouri City, 2 of his uncles live on our side of the border with their families and are now coming to our branch. They all want to come to church together so they have received that permission to come, which means that Victor was passed to us! He has been taught everything and now only needs to come to church twice so he can be baptized on February 4th. Well... early Sunday morning his mom had her baby so he didn't come to church... hopefully this week though. They are the greatest family though and all 3 families are so funny. He is a great kid and I'm excited to keep teaching him!
RJ: Well... things have been a little slow with him recently because they were busy last week so we couldn't meet with them and then on Saturday night they had a late night and they slept through the alarm for 9:00am church. We are planning to meet with them tomorrow and I hope that things will start to pick up again. He is a great kid though, we just have to help his mom strengthen her testimony so that church will be a bigger deal to her, which in turn will mean that he comes to church. I hope to have a really good report for them next week.
This week was pretty cold out here in Texas, we rode bikes a lot this past week and on Thursday it was like 50 degrees and with the wind it was about 35. It was so cold and I froze, but its all good because that is what a mission is all about! Sweating your brains out for a couple months and then about 4 months later feeling like a popsicle as dogs chase us on bikes down a dirt road in an area with of trailers where everyone we talk to is a Jehovah's Witness... oh the life of a missionary. Things are going well out here though and the work continues to progress and I continue to learn that I know absolutely nothing about how anything works. The days and weeks go by and I end each day hoping that I made even the littlest of difference in my small part of the vineyard. I hope that everything is well with y'all. I love and miss y'all! Have a great week! Go Cougars! :)
Love Always,
Sister Kelsey Berg
Sister Kelsey Berg
Texas Houston South Mission
602 Eldridge Rd.
Sugar Land, TX 77478
So write Kelsey a letter! you know you want to!
Hey everyone!
I hope y'all had a good week! We had a pretty decent week and it all ended with a pretty lucky baptism! So as I told y'all before, when the De Hoyos' records came in Bryan (12) didn't have a baptismal date and we couldn't find any other record or anything of his baptism so he had to get baptized again! The lucky kid. It was the easiest thing ever, when you have a fantastic family- not perfect by any definition- but a family that loves to come to church and wants to improve, all you have to do as the missionaries is make sure the baptism happens and make sure to get the date and everything is filled out correctly this time- ha ha. Because of Bryan's baptism it was a very good weekend, yet at the same time it was very frustrating because we went into Sunday with some good solid commitments from people to come to church... and yet none of them showed up. It puts me right on the edge of giving up and throwing all of them out the window and starting over... but then I take a step back and cool down and try to have more patience with them. This is when it gets difficult, they are reading the Book of Mormon and doing the things we ask them to do, yet they don't come to church and that is where the real progression takes place. You see their progress with reading the Book of Mormon and all the things like that, but if they don't come to church after making the commitment you have to do a self-evaluation and see what things you can do different to help them come to church, or you see that you have done all you can and that they are using their agency and choosing not to come to church; or that they really aren't prepared for the gospel at this time in their life. It is with decisions like this that you really have to use your faith in the Lord, that if you pray about it and do all you can He won't let you drop someone who really is ready. Anyway, our Investigator Weekly is full of kids this week!
Victor: He is 9 and they live on our border with Missouri City, 2 of his uncles live on our side of the border with their families and are now coming to our branch. They all want to come to church together so they have received that permission to come, which means that Victor was passed to us! He has been taught everything and now only needs to come to church twice so he can be baptized on February 4th. Well... early Sunday morning his mom had her baby so he didn't come to church... hopefully this week though. They are the greatest family though and all 3 families are so funny. He is a great kid and I'm excited to keep teaching him!
RJ: Well... things have been a little slow with him recently because they were busy last week so we couldn't meet with them and then on Saturday night they had a late night and they slept through the alarm for 9:00am church. We are planning to meet with them tomorrow and I hope that things will start to pick up again. He is a great kid though, we just have to help his mom strengthen her testimony so that church will be a bigger deal to her, which in turn will mean that he comes to church. I hope to have a really good report for them next week.
This week was pretty cold out here in Texas, we rode bikes a lot this past week and on Thursday it was like 50 degrees and with the wind it was about 35. It was so cold and I froze, but its all good because that is what a mission is all about! Sweating your brains out for a couple months and then about 4 months later feeling like a popsicle as dogs chase us on bikes down a dirt road in an area with of trailers where everyone we talk to is a Jehovah's Witness... oh the life of a missionary. Things are going well out here though and the work continues to progress and I continue to learn that I know absolutely nothing about how anything works. The days and weeks go by and I end each day hoping that I made even the littlest of difference in my small part of the vineyard. I hope that everything is well with y'all. I love and miss y'all! Have a great week! Go Cougars! :)
Love Always,
Sister Kelsey Berg
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