Hey everyone,
So... I hope y'all had a good Halloween! On Halloween we have to be in the apartment starting at 7:00 pm for the rest of the night, so our Halloween was pretty calm. On Mondays we have weekly planning where we pretty much plan our whole week, who we are going to try and see each day, what we are going to teach them, and we set our goals. We start at 11 and it usually takes us until about 3:30/4:00. Yesterday we started and ended a little early so we could have more time to work. We pretty much just ran missionary errands (stopping by to see people, following up, and trying to set up appointments), and then we met up with the Houston 8 Hermanas for an exchange. Hna. Moser is in Houston until Wednesday afternoon and I have Hna. Worthen with me until the same time, she is in her 3rd transfer but is solid. So exchanges are where we pretty much just switch areas so that we have the opportunity to work with other sisters I guess... I don't really like them- y'all know me... I don't like change, but oh well. Friday night we had our trunk-o-treat with the Pearland Ward, it was a lot of fun and we helped our branch president do a haunted house type thing (they have a carnival thing before the trunk-o-treating). It was a lot of fun and we got to scare the little kids... ha ha.
My mom told me to write more about my companion but I don't know what to write. She is from Southern California, she is in her 4th transfer and we get along pretty well. We always have a good time and we are hoping to stay together for another transfer... but who knows. I don't really know what else to write about her... we are planning to go to Conference together next October if that says anything... sorry Mom... don't know what else to say.
Investigator Weekly, its kind of a lame one this week:
Ena: came to church this week, but canceled our lesson for today but she said she will come to church on Sunday... I have no idea what to do, just be patient I guess and give her some time.
Maria: She is reading and praying and our goal now is to get her to church. We are going over the Restoration today and it should be fun. We are hoping she will accept a baptismal date for November 26th! We will see.
And... thats it. Things are still going good- we just don't have many with a date or many progressing, but we plan to change that this week. Things are good though, I really love the area and the members. I think the best way to explain my area is it really is kinda like Heber. You have neighborhoods like Cobblestone and then right next to them you have a whole bunch of fields with cows, then there is a street with some mobile homes, and they are pretty nice ones. There is the 518 which is the main street of the area and there are grocery stores, Wally world, restaurants... its pretty awesome. Its like the perfect area if you ask me- its a little harder to contact because there is hardly anyone outside but its all good.
Anyway... hope y'all have a good week! Love ya all! I hope the Lord continues to bless you and your families!
Love Always,
Sister Kelsey Berg
Tuesday, November 1, 2011
Thursday, October 27, 2011
Letters from Kelsey - 44
Hey howdy hey!!
So... if y'all were wondering, the mosquito population in Pearland, Texas is alive and well. They are out in the morning, the middle of the day, and all evening and night! They are very good at latching on when ever they get a chance, and we have already almost run though a whole can of bug spray since Friday! We thought we would decorate inside our car for Halloween and the theme is Mosquito Graveyard... its super gross. Anyway... We had a good week and were blessed to go to the Houston Temple yesterday and after we were addressed by a member of the temple presidency! It was a lot of fun and I was happy because I got some Mo Tab Christmas CDs! And... if you are wondering if we are already listening to Christmas music you would be correct. We listened to Natalie Cole and Mo Tab the whole way back and we plan on listening until Christmas. ha ha Normally I'm a 'wait until after Thanksgiving' person but I'm already praying for snow and I need all the help I can get so I thought a little Christmas music would help me out! ha ha Ridiculous I know. Anyway- Investigator Weekly!
Ena: We saw her yesterday and I have to be honest... I just don't know what do to. She knows its true but is already saying that she doesn't feel ready for November 12 and its not even here yet. Hna. Moser and I both feel like taking a break with her would be a step back so we are going to keep going and just have faith that if we keep going- us and her- she will have the confidence she needs to take the step of faith and be baptized. We think that tithing might be one of her obstacles and that maybe she is worried we will just forget about her after she is baptized. We will keep hoping and praying and see where that leads!
Sonia: So yesterday we went fasting to the temple to know what to do to help her be baptized and we got the feeling to just ask her. So tonight we are praying we can meet with her and we are going to invite her to be baptized this weekend! She already knows everything and is doing everything the members do yet is not receiving all of the blessings. We have some scriptures picked out and we will pray the Spirit will be there to confirm that this weekend is the right time.
Maria: She is fantastic and is soaking it all in. We are hoping to get her to the ward Trunk-o-treat this weekend and I know that when she meets all of the Hermanas in the ward they will fall in love with her and she with them! I'm super excited for her.
Well that was our week- nothing exciting just the usual. Oh about the Surprise meeting... I was disappointed, nothing too exciting we just have a new program to do during companionship training... oh well. It was fun to see the whole mission though! I hope y'all have a fantastic and safe Halloween weekend! I love and miss y'all! Next time y'all will get an email from me it will be November! Craziness...
Love Always,
Sister Kelsey Berg
So... if y'all were wondering, the mosquito population in Pearland, Texas is alive and well. They are out in the morning, the middle of the day, and all evening and night! They are very good at latching on when ever they get a chance, and we have already almost run though a whole can of bug spray since Friday! We thought we would decorate inside our car for Halloween and the theme is Mosquito Graveyard... its super gross. Anyway... We had a good week and were blessed to go to the Houston Temple yesterday and after we were addressed by a member of the temple presidency! It was a lot of fun and I was happy because I got some Mo Tab Christmas CDs! And... if you are wondering if we are already listening to Christmas music you would be correct. We listened to Natalie Cole and Mo Tab the whole way back and we plan on listening until Christmas. ha ha Normally I'm a 'wait until after Thanksgiving' person but I'm already praying for snow and I need all the help I can get so I thought a little Christmas music would help me out! ha ha Ridiculous I know. Anyway- Investigator Weekly!
Ena: We saw her yesterday and I have to be honest... I just don't know what do to. She knows its true but is already saying that she doesn't feel ready for November 12 and its not even here yet. Hna. Moser and I both feel like taking a break with her would be a step back so we are going to keep going and just have faith that if we keep going- us and her- she will have the confidence she needs to take the step of faith and be baptized. We think that tithing might be one of her obstacles and that maybe she is worried we will just forget about her after she is baptized. We will keep hoping and praying and see where that leads!
Sonia: So yesterday we went fasting to the temple to know what to do to help her be baptized and we got the feeling to just ask her. So tonight we are praying we can meet with her and we are going to invite her to be baptized this weekend! She already knows everything and is doing everything the members do yet is not receiving all of the blessings. We have some scriptures picked out and we will pray the Spirit will be there to confirm that this weekend is the right time.
Maria: She is fantastic and is soaking it all in. We are hoping to get her to the ward Trunk-o-treat this weekend and I know that when she meets all of the Hermanas in the ward they will fall in love with her and she with them! I'm super excited for her.
Well that was our week- nothing exciting just the usual. Oh about the Surprise meeting... I was disappointed, nothing too exciting we just have a new program to do during companionship training... oh well. It was fun to see the whole mission though! I hope y'all have a fantastic and safe Halloween weekend! I love and miss y'all! Next time y'all will get an email from me it will be November! Craziness...
Love Always,
Sister Kelsey Berg
Letters from Kelsey - 43
Hey everyone!
The week leading up to transfers is always a long week- has been my whole mission and this week was no exception. We got the call this morning and Hna. Moser and I are staying together! I'm excited, we get along really good and I love this ward and this area. So as the title says we (the mission) are having a surprise meeting tomorrow before transfers and the whole mission is going - so the whole mission will be at transfers. Now as far as I know this is a first in the mission- and no one (including the Zone Leaders) know what the meeting is about, but we know that it must be something pretty big or important for President Saylin to pull the whole mission together. So of course there are all sorts of rumors going around but it has added some excitement to this week but also made the week longer with the anticipation! ha ha It is finally starting to cool down and today is a brisk 67 degrees! I have hope that we will have a fall after all! Now the moment you all have been waiting for... drum roll.... Investigator Weekly!
Ena: well she didn't get baptized but we did have a great lesson with a member to see where her desires and intent are, and the member was fantastic. We were talking about it and asked us to give her a month, and I then said well we might as well set a baptismal date for the end of the month because ultimately that should be the goal for the month. At the end she will either know its true or its not- no other options- so we looked, and this was on October 12th, and November 12th happened to be a Saturday! ha ha So Ena set that goal and is now actually reading the Book of Mormon regularly and is actually progressing! She is drinking less coffee and Hna. Moser and I are really happy with her progress.
Sonia: we have a lesson with her tomorrow night and she came to church this week. We are really hoping to have her pray and decide to be baptized this month- we know that that is what the Lord wants for her and we are praying to help her faith. She is great and is just worried about being perfect- and we all know that isn't possible.
Well thats it for this week- little short on time but it should be a good transfer and I'm excited to be here for Thanksgiving! October is half over! Can you believe it? Crazy... anyway, I hope everything is going well with y'all. I hope the Lord continues to bless you and your families! The Church is true, the gospel blesses families and changes lives! Love y'all!! Go Cougars!!
Love Always,
Sister Kelsey Berg
The week leading up to transfers is always a long week- has been my whole mission and this week was no exception. We got the call this morning and Hna. Moser and I are staying together! I'm excited, we get along really good and I love this ward and this area. So as the title says we (the mission) are having a surprise meeting tomorrow before transfers and the whole mission is going - so the whole mission will be at transfers. Now as far as I know this is a first in the mission- and no one (including the Zone Leaders) know what the meeting is about, but we know that it must be something pretty big or important for President Saylin to pull the whole mission together. So of course there are all sorts of rumors going around but it has added some excitement to this week but also made the week longer with the anticipation! ha ha It is finally starting to cool down and today is a brisk 67 degrees! I have hope that we will have a fall after all! Now the moment you all have been waiting for... drum roll.... Investigator Weekly!
Ena: well she didn't get baptized but we did have a great lesson with a member to see where her desires and intent are, and the member was fantastic. We were talking about it and asked us to give her a month, and I then said well we might as well set a baptismal date for the end of the month because ultimately that should be the goal for the month. At the end she will either know its true or its not- no other options- so we looked, and this was on October 12th, and November 12th happened to be a Saturday! ha ha So Ena set that goal and is now actually reading the Book of Mormon regularly and is actually progressing! She is drinking less coffee and Hna. Moser and I are really happy with her progress.
Sonia: we have a lesson with her tomorrow night and she came to church this week. We are really hoping to have her pray and decide to be baptized this month- we know that that is what the Lord wants for her and we are praying to help her faith. She is great and is just worried about being perfect- and we all know that isn't possible.
Well thats it for this week- little short on time but it should be a good transfer and I'm excited to be here for Thanksgiving! October is half over! Can you believe it? Crazy... anyway, I hope everything is going well with y'all. I hope the Lord continues to bless you and your families! The Church is true, the gospel blesses families and changes lives! Love y'all!! Go Cougars!!
Love Always,
Sister Kelsey Berg
Tuesday, October 11, 2011
Letters from Kelsey - 42
Dearest Family and Friends,
Well I can't believe that it is already Tuesday again... I feel like I was just here. What has happened this week? Oh nothing really... we had a bunch of people drop us... oh well they weren't prepared anyway... Oh I just wanted to let y'all know that if you ever see two sister missionaries walking along the side of some back country road I would hope that y'all would pick them up- not that that happened to us, but we did bike like 10 miles out to almost the middle of no where (twice), and I was praying the whole time that we wouldn't get a flat tire or anything because it would be a really long walk back to the car. Anyway- the highlight of the week was a totally awesome lesson that we had with Ena, which leads me to the Investigator Weekly!
Ena: So it was Saturday night, we went in with the plan to teach the Doctrine of Christ and check up on her prayers and the Word of Wisdom and to see how she felt about the 15th of October. So we started talking about how she has done the last couple of days with the Word of Wisdom- not good but not bad. We told her that we wanted to take all the coffee and tea with us to remove the temptation- she fought us because she said that she was going to send it to her brother in Panama as a gift. Then we talked about what we gave her to read last time - Moroni 6- and if she felt ready to be baptized, she told us she still didn't feel ready. We opened with prayer- wait- first we talked about how she was having more faith and trust in coffee to not be tired than faith in the Lord. So I said the opening prayer and I prayed that Ena would know how much we cared about her and how much Heavenly Father cares about her. I prayed that she would feel of the truthfulness of the Gospel and that she could have the faith to follow the Word of Wisdom. I also prayed that she would know that the 15th is when the Lord wanted her to be baptized and that she could feel ready.
So after the prayed Ena got up and walked out of the room... Hna. Moser and I had no idea what was going on of what she was doing. She came back with a little suitcase and started putting all of the coffee and tea in the suitcase to send to her brother. We were so proud of her. So I'm not sure what exactly happened next because the lesson was so Spirit led- but we started talking about baptism and how she felt about this weekend. She said that she still didn't feel ready and we bore testimony that we knew the 15th is what God wants for her. We told her that we of course weren't going to force her but we asked what we could do to help her feel ready. She asked us a couple questions and we answered them- she brought up that her family is wondering why she is getting baptized again, we told her to bear her testimony that she has found the truth. We then started talking about what we need to do to be ready for baptism and all we have to do is have the desires and faith to follow Christ and keep the commandments. She then broke down and started crying and telling us that she is afraid to fall and she said that she doesn't have enough faith. Hna. Moser then pulled out Alma 26:11-12 and those verses helped her. We told her we don't have to be perfect and thats why we have repentance. We promised her blessings and testified of the truthfulness of the Gospel. We had her say the closing prayer and she asked to know if the 15th was the day for her. Her assignment was to think and pray about it and lets us know on Sunday what her decision was- she said she is still not ready. BUT! We still have faith that she will feel ready- we are going to go over the baptismal questions with her tomorrow. We could use your prayers for us and her that she will feel ready to enter into the covenant of baptism this weekend- her name is Ena (you say it like Anna). It was an amazing lesson, but its all in her hands how and she has her agency- I will let y'all know what happens next week!
Well I'm short on time- it took so long to write that all- but things are good, we are working hard this week to find the people that the Lord has prepared, we know they are out there. Transfers are next week and we are really hoping to stay together! Well I hope that everything is good with y'all back home. I love and miss y'all and I am grateful for you love, support, and prayers. I hope the Lord continues to bless you and your families. GO COUGARS!
Love Always,
Sister Kelsey Berg
Well I can't believe that it is already Tuesday again... I feel like I was just here. What has happened this week? Oh nothing really... we had a bunch of people drop us... oh well they weren't prepared anyway... Oh I just wanted to let y'all know that if you ever see two sister missionaries walking along the side of some back country road I would hope that y'all would pick them up- not that that happened to us, but we did bike like 10 miles out to almost the middle of no where (twice), and I was praying the whole time that we wouldn't get a flat tire or anything because it would be a really long walk back to the car. Anyway- the highlight of the week was a totally awesome lesson that we had with Ena, which leads me to the Investigator Weekly!
Ena: So it was Saturday night, we went in with the plan to teach the Doctrine of Christ and check up on her prayers and the Word of Wisdom and to see how she felt about the 15th of October. So we started talking about how she has done the last couple of days with the Word of Wisdom- not good but not bad. We told her that we wanted to take all the coffee and tea with us to remove the temptation- she fought us because she said that she was going to send it to her brother in Panama as a gift. Then we talked about what we gave her to read last time - Moroni 6- and if she felt ready to be baptized, she told us she still didn't feel ready. We opened with prayer- wait- first we talked about how she was having more faith and trust in coffee to not be tired than faith in the Lord. So I said the opening prayer and I prayed that Ena would know how much we cared about her and how much Heavenly Father cares about her. I prayed that she would feel of the truthfulness of the Gospel and that she could have the faith to follow the Word of Wisdom. I also prayed that she would know that the 15th is when the Lord wanted her to be baptized and that she could feel ready.
So after the prayed Ena got up and walked out of the room... Hna. Moser and I had no idea what was going on of what she was doing. She came back with a little suitcase and started putting all of the coffee and tea in the suitcase to send to her brother. We were so proud of her. So I'm not sure what exactly happened next because the lesson was so Spirit led- but we started talking about baptism and how she felt about this weekend. She said that she still didn't feel ready and we bore testimony that we knew the 15th is what God wants for her. We told her that we of course weren't going to force her but we asked what we could do to help her feel ready. She asked us a couple questions and we answered them- she brought up that her family is wondering why she is getting baptized again, we told her to bear her testimony that she has found the truth. We then started talking about what we need to do to be ready for baptism and all we have to do is have the desires and faith to follow Christ and keep the commandments. She then broke down and started crying and telling us that she is afraid to fall and she said that she doesn't have enough faith. Hna. Moser then pulled out Alma 26:11-12 and those verses helped her. We told her we don't have to be perfect and thats why we have repentance. We promised her blessings and testified of the truthfulness of the Gospel. We had her say the closing prayer and she asked to know if the 15th was the day for her. Her assignment was to think and pray about it and lets us know on Sunday what her decision was- she said she is still not ready. BUT! We still have faith that she will feel ready- we are going to go over the baptismal questions with her tomorrow. We could use your prayers for us and her that she will feel ready to enter into the covenant of baptism this weekend- her name is Ena (you say it like Anna). It was an amazing lesson, but its all in her hands how and she has her agency- I will let y'all know what happens next week!
Well I'm short on time- it took so long to write that all- but things are good, we are working hard this week to find the people that the Lord has prepared, we know they are out there. Transfers are next week and we are really hoping to stay together! Well I hope that everything is good with y'all back home. I love and miss y'all and I am grateful for you love, support, and prayers. I hope the Lord continues to bless you and your families. GO COUGARS!
Love Always,
Sister Kelsey Berg
Tuesday, October 4, 2011
Letters from Kelsey - 41
Howdy y'all,
I hope y'all had a fantastic Conference weekend! I thought it was a great conference and I can't wait until the Ensign comes out and we get to read and study them more! I am so grateful to know that we have prophets and apostles on the earth today so that we know who we can trust in this crazy, crazy time. We watched Conference in the stake center on Saturday and then on Sunday we had Ena and her dad watch Conference with us with some members, morning in Spanish (which I understood better than April, I actually got the topic this time) and afternoon in English. It was fun!
So in regards to the email title.... so for our P-Day this week we went on a safari!! Yup, with a rhino, zebras, giraffes, water buffalo, wildebeest, lemurs, watusi cattle (which you should totally google- they are the craziest looking things ever!!), ostriches, an alligator, and a zonkey! There is this place in our district called Bayou Wildlife Park (bayouwildlifepark.com), and it pretty much has like 500 animals or something like that from 61 countries. It was crazy but a super fun day. So we got there and we got there and we walked around waiting for the next tram to leave. We fed some of the animals and took pictures- they had this little deer walking around that you could pet and feed. They had emus- they scare me- that you could feed and kangaroos and all sorts of other stuff. So we finally got on the tram- a jeep with a trailer thing- and then we got to go around the park and feel the animals from the jeep! It was pretty cool for being in Texas and all. Anyway- here is the Investigator Weekly!
Ena: She watched 3 sessions of Conference with us and we feel that she knows its true. We found out this week that her family in Panama- only she and her dad are here- aren't exactly our biggest fans so that is her hold up right now it whether or not her family will accept it. The good thing is that a lot of the members of our branch are the only members in their families also! So we are going to use their testimonies and hopefully get her some support! Her date is the 15th and I am full of faith that the Lord will help her feel ready.
Sonia: She has had a rough week and I just feel for her. She is a single mom who has a lazy ex-husband and she is trying to do the best for her 3 boys and keep them out of trouble. She is reading little by little and we are going to focus this week on the Atonement and how through the Atonement we can receive relief from our burdens and the she doesn't have to go this path alone- should be a really good lesson. She knows everything else- thats what happens when you go to church for like 6 months- and we just need to help her increase her faith in the Savior so that she can have the faith to enter into the waters of baptism.
Thats all for today- so this last week we had a couple hours during the day and its really hard to contact because nobody is outside so we decided to knock doors... the first time I have done that on the mission and lo-and-behold we had some success!! It was like the 5th door and this lady invited us in and it turns out that a friend gave her a Book of Mormon 6 years ago and she still had it- she had even gone to church in the past. She invited us in and we talked about our purpose in life a little and about the questions she had about the church and we set up another appointment! I will keep y'all updated on how it goes! Well I think thats about it for this week- oh I just wanted to say that I LOVE October!! It has been almost the perfect weather all week, ever since October 1st! We might have a fall in Texas after all!! I hope that everything continues to go well with y'all! I hope the good Lord continues to bless you and your families!
Love Always,
Sister Kelsey Berg
I hope y'all had a fantastic Conference weekend! I thought it was a great conference and I can't wait until the Ensign comes out and we get to read and study them more! I am so grateful to know that we have prophets and apostles on the earth today so that we know who we can trust in this crazy, crazy time. We watched Conference in the stake center on Saturday and then on Sunday we had Ena and her dad watch Conference with us with some members, morning in Spanish (which I understood better than April, I actually got the topic this time) and afternoon in English. It was fun!
So in regards to the email title.... so for our P-Day this week we went on a safari!! Yup, with a rhino, zebras, giraffes, water buffalo, wildebeest, lemurs, watusi cattle (which you should totally google- they are the craziest looking things ever!!), ostriches, an alligator, and a zonkey! There is this place in our district called Bayou Wildlife Park (bayouwildlifepark.com), and it pretty much has like 500 animals or something like that from 61 countries. It was crazy but a super fun day. So we got there and we got there and we walked around waiting for the next tram to leave. We fed some of the animals and took pictures- they had this little deer walking around that you could pet and feed. They had emus- they scare me- that you could feed and kangaroos and all sorts of other stuff. So we finally got on the tram- a jeep with a trailer thing- and then we got to go around the park and feel the animals from the jeep! It was pretty cool for being in Texas and all. Anyway- here is the Investigator Weekly!
Ena: She watched 3 sessions of Conference with us and we feel that she knows its true. We found out this week that her family in Panama- only she and her dad are here- aren't exactly our biggest fans so that is her hold up right now it whether or not her family will accept it. The good thing is that a lot of the members of our branch are the only members in their families also! So we are going to use their testimonies and hopefully get her some support! Her date is the 15th and I am full of faith that the Lord will help her feel ready.
Sonia: She has had a rough week and I just feel for her. She is a single mom who has a lazy ex-husband and she is trying to do the best for her 3 boys and keep them out of trouble. She is reading little by little and we are going to focus this week on the Atonement and how through the Atonement we can receive relief from our burdens and the she doesn't have to go this path alone- should be a really good lesson. She knows everything else- thats what happens when you go to church for like 6 months- and we just need to help her increase her faith in the Savior so that she can have the faith to enter into the waters of baptism.
Thats all for today- so this last week we had a couple hours during the day and its really hard to contact because nobody is outside so we decided to knock doors... the first time I have done that on the mission and lo-and-behold we had some success!! It was like the 5th door and this lady invited us in and it turns out that a friend gave her a Book of Mormon 6 years ago and she still had it- she had even gone to church in the past. She invited us in and we talked about our purpose in life a little and about the questions she had about the church and we set up another appointment! I will keep y'all updated on how it goes! Well I think thats about it for this week- oh I just wanted to say that I LOVE October!! It has been almost the perfect weather all week, ever since October 1st! We might have a fall in Texas after all!! I hope that everything continues to go well with y'all! I hope the good Lord continues to bless you and your families!
Love Always,
Sister Kelsey Berg
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