November 25, 2013

(So my companion was so sweet and let me use some minutes on her library card, so I'll be able to do a blog post. Blessss. Might be scatter-brained so apologies!)

The thing I've noticed about missions is that it's often the time where I experience some hard-hitting lows as well as some fantastic highs. This week has definitely been an example of that! But honestly, the highs on a mission make it so worth it.

As I've told a few of you guys today, I lost my wallet this weekend. No idea where, sometime between Friday and Saturday, and I've checked just about anything. Boom. Gone. Which is unfortunate, because it contained all of my identification and money and things, but it's important to let that wave drive itself under the bridge and move on! Luckily it can all be replaced with time, and you know what? We have had sooo many miracles and blessings this week, it's not hard to focus on the good rather than the bad.

But for serious. This week has been amazing.

We were able to do more raking -- once unexpectedly while walking (in our skirts, heck yes we raked that yard) and the other time we received a call from someone we barely knew. Which led to more blessings, because we were able to rake alongside this guy who had tons of questions -- so many that we were able to teach him the restoration and gospel of Jesus Christ lessons bit by bit. It was so cool to come together at the end and to figure out what each of us taught him at separate intervals... only to realize he got it all (in order, too!).

We met three people who have been earnestly seeking for truth and who have all promised to read and pray sincerely, and want us to come back to teach more. We've been able to help someone who's been learning about the gospel for a long time take an important step towards baptism. We survived freezing cold weather this Sunday, despite being unprepared for the icy windchill that lasted throughout the day. Sister Dixon and I practice taught a Brazillian family in our ward in Portuguese... terribly so, but we practiced nonetheless!

I can't begin to describe how happy these things make me feel. Heavenly Father truly blesses us each and every day. There's a Dumbledore quote about remembering to turn on lights... pretend like I remember that word for word because it applies here. Seek out the happiness in your day, especially if things don't seem to be going your way.

I love you all and hope you have a happy Thanksgiving!! We've been invited to a member's home and look forward to a feast. It's gonna be soooo goooood.

Muito Amor!

Sister Kaegi

November 18, 2013

Oh man, crazy week! Transfer calls were this past Friday aaaaand we're all staying in Williamston!!! Which is super weird because usually trainers and trainees split up after the 12 week training thing is over... but Sister Anson and Sister Dixon are both stuck with me again. :) And I'm really happy about it because Williamston is sooo great. We're slowly seeing a lot of progress in the area and this also means we get to stay for Thanksgiving AND Christmas!!! So happy!! This transfer ends the 28th of December, so my birthday present this year will either be 1. my visa to Brazil, or 2. an iPad, for me, here in Michigan. So I've got pretty high hopes either way haha.

This past week we had a General Authority from the Quorum of the Seventy visit the mission... Elder Golden spoke to us for a few hours last Wednesday and it was maaagical. Holy cow. So much information. He touched on so many topics every time he stood and later my companion commented on how many missionaries were praying for answers to their specific questions... absolutely incredible. I wish I could relate something I learned from this but honestly I've hardly been able to go through my notes -- goal for today! But it was such a wonderful experience. We all got to shake his hand afterward. I'm planning on downloading his talk from April (I think) General Conference onto my mp3 player because I'm sure it's absolutely fantastic...

Miracle of the week: the day after Elder Golden just about all of our plans fell through, so we ended up doorknocking this random street nearby. As we were walking up to a condo sort of building, a man came out to his car and picked up a case of Pepsi. His name is George. We told him about the Restoration, completely pumped up from Elder Golden the day before, and he was so interested. When we explained the Book of Mormon he said "I want to read that book!" -- which is something you don't hear very often as Michigan-aries! So we gave him a copy and he was so interested. "I wouldn't have answered the front door if you knocked because there are two families in the building... my son just randomly asked to get the Pepsi Free from the car, so it just so happened that you caught me!" So cool.

Right after we spoke with George, his landlord left the house and began leaf blowing. We offered to help, expecting a no as most people don't take us seriously... but then he pointed to his wife's truck and said, "the rake's in there!" So we got to do service in our skirts. SO FUN. And this weekend we had TWO MORE service opportunities raking leaves for people... tis the season. You woodn't beleaf how much fun we have doing it hahaha. One of those was for Kenneth, a 91 year old investigator who cracks us up. On my companion using his John Deere to pick up leaves: "I'll have to pull her over for speeding!" On us not accepting money after the service: "Guess I'm not going to church..." (we agreed he'll take us out to lunch today instead haha.) and when the doorbell rang during a lesson when a member came late: "Oh, I thought it was my girlfriend!" You have no idea how hilarious this guy is. Favorite person award.

This weekend we discovered that only one person in our whole district is leaving the area... Elder Wiscombe. He came out the same week as me and he reminds me of "Elder Kaegi" so much sometimes... completely ridiculous haha. So we took a goodbye picture on Sunday... and that's the only picture we took this week. Sorry mom! :)

There was a tornado warning on Sunday and guess what we had planned... DOOR KNOCKING. So we got to go out in the torrential downpour (reminded me a lot of hurricanes) and knock a few doors in our soaking wet skirts, rain coats, and umbrellas. It was so fun. Not even kidding. My bag is still a bit damp but I loved singing "Master the Tempest is Raging" from door to door haha. My companions weren't too crazy about it but I'm glad we went out anyway -- got to meet a really cool lady who personally knew the member we were about to eat dinner with later! Heavenly Father takes care of his missionaries. :)

Yesterday (the 17th) marked my 4th month birthday into the mission... crazy to think. I'll be close to 6 months (1/3) by the end of my transfer -- didn't really imagine I'd be in Michigan for all of it! But I love it here. The work is moving forward and it's such a blessing to be a part of.

I hope you are all being wonderful and feeling fantastic. Keep being awesome.

Muito amor,

Sister Kaegi

Oh man, what a funny week. I have 10 minutes to get this all down as we are on super limited time to write this P-day, so apologies if it isn't mind-boggling awesome. Not that these usually are... hahaha.

Two people in this area make me laugh so hard... one would be Jaszzameen, one of our investigators who comes to church regularly, and Sister McCord, an elderly woman who's less active in the ward because "they tore up my license" and she'll never be over it. 

In one of our lessons with Jaszzameen this week, she was so full of great quotes. I'm sorry if these don't translate well but they must be recorded in history. During the opening prayer, she misinterpreted "we're grateful for the gospel of Jesus Christ, and--" as the end and said, "amen!" before getting up and leaving the room. The rest of us looked soo confused as we looked up and she was gone hahaha. We invited her to a Relief Society dessert party and she mentioned bringing vanilla ice cream... in case you were wondering, "If you like chocolate, you out!" And while talking about the Nephites and Lamanites in the Book of Mormon, Sister Dixon said that Jaszzameen's daughter Danielle would be like a "Jaszzameenite" -- so when we went back to help her with something, she said Danielle was fired and we could be her new daughters... "Does that make us Jaszzameenites?" She was an absolute hoot.

Sister McCord calls us a lot. We think she forgets when we visit because she's always upset that we haven't visited her like... the day after haha. She even called the zone leaders about it. When asking Sister Dixon about whether she plays basketball, Sister McCord said, "I did! I was an outfielder." An outfielder in basketball. I'd say that's a pretty impressive feat! In church, while people are speaking she leans over to me and loudly says, "he needs a haircut!" Not to mention her blazingly loud beeping ringtone and her achingly slow efforts of retrieving the phone... during sacrament. Bless.

I have come to love this area so so sooo much. The members here are awesome -- from Sister McCord to the Ruggieri's, and everyone in between. The people here are awesome -- from Jaszameen to Dayra, and even those we've yet to talk to! We recently doorknocked a highly rich area (I kid you not when I said we doorknocked Hogwarts -- there was a spiral staircase column thing and an overarching thing in the driveway... also greenhouses and a Hagrid's Hut in the backyard) and even loved those who are less interested in learning more right now. People are absolutely fascinating and I love having the opportunity of serving two missions in one!

Speaking of, transfer calls are this Friday! I'll figure out if I have my visa (less likely than you may think according to my Mission President) and if I'll be staying or leaving the area. One thing's for certain -- Williamston Ward is a rockin' ward. Love the people here!

I hope you all have a wonderful week! Do something awesome.

Muito amor,

Sister Kaegi

November 4, 2013

Holidays can really bring out the best in people. I remember my first question to my trainers in the field... "What do missionaries do on Halloween?" Can you imagine doorknocking people as a missionary... "Trick or Go to Mormon.org!" hahaha. Turns out we're not allowed to proselyte past 5:00pm, so there's the answer!

We have to set up appointments instead. On Halloween night. What. Luckily Thursday is also weekly planning, so we didn't leave the apartment until 2:00. The street we prayed about knocking ended up being where a member of the ward lived, so we got to have an impromptu lesson with her! Her neighbors were so, so kind to us as well. Not only was it Halloween (candy puts people in festive spirits), but it was raining from morning to night! It was. an absolute. blast. I love being a missionary in the rain haha. Maybe not when it's freezing rain... but it's always great to break out my intended-for-Brazil rain jacket! :)  

I felt so blessed to not have a car this week as it meant we got to walk between less active members' homes and partake in the holiday spirit. Seeing all the kids dressed up was so so precious. I also so quite a few Harry Potters as well... always happy to see that costume still semi-popular! :) Funny moment: at a trunk-or-treat earlier that week, the daughter of one of our investigators saw us and told her mom, "the holy girls are here!!" Hahaha. No idea where that came from, but sweet!

This week I've accidentally collected a variety of quotes, so I'm going to share those super fast as there wasn't too much excitement this week (other than the holiday). From my mission president here: "Life is hard by the yard, but by the inch it's a cinch." So. So. True. Take life bit by bit... when you chew off too big a bite, it can be overwhelming. But when we focus on one thing at a time, we're able to get through it all much more easily!

"We're not obedient because we're blind. We're obedient because we can see." Learned a lot about the importance of obedience and the commandments this week. I created a little cycle involving the commandments, agency (our freedom to choose), blessings, and an increased desire to follow the commandments... but I left it at home. But it's really neat to see how each part of that circle builds upon the next, until we realize how blessed we are to have the guidance of the scriptures and prophets!

I wrote on the back of my planner the quote from Star Wars (apologies if incorrect): "Do or do not, there is no try." Sometimes people tell missionaries that they'll "try" to pray, or read, or come to church... but trying is no good if they're not doing! So I've been politely implimenting this in my own life as a missionary so that I can better invite people to impliment it into their own. :) Sometimes we have to do things we don't want to do, or don't feel comfortable doing, or are too tired to do... by eliminating the "try" and implimenting the greatest motto ever, "Just Do It," we can get sooo much more done! And grow along the way. It's really a win-win here.

I accidentally made my own quote in response to a companion's question... what is your life motto? "Don't look too far back or too far forward, you might just trip up in the present." This. Is. So. Applicable. To. Life. We have to enjoy what we have now, and focus on what we're doing now, or we might just miss the opportunity of getting what we're looking forward to! Not sure if that makes sense, but yeah. I've been thinking about that recently -- I really can't think too much about going to Brazil right now, because I've also been called here. This is where the Lord needs me right now, and this is where I'm serving. Brazil will be fun, when it comes. But that's a big question mark I don't need to waste time worrying about!

Have a great week this week! Do something outside of your comfort zone. Strive to learn something new every day, every hour. It's so possible, I promise!

Muito amor,

Sister Kaegi

October 28th, 2013

If this blog post is all over the place it's because that's pretty much how crazy this week has been! Last Monday night was simply amazing. We got to see Kenneth again and offered to say a prayer before we left. As Sister Anson was finishing, he asked, "Can I put an ending on it?" Of course we said yes, and he finished his prayer with -- "thank you for sending these girls. It means a lot to me." The spirit was so strong in his home. We've had a few other lessons with Kenneth since then, and it's amazing to see his growth. It's hard for him to remember things he hears but he seems to remember visuals just fine, so it's great adjusting to his needs and helping him come closer to Heavenly Father every day. A lot of older people we meet while doorknocking say they're too old for change... and Kenneth is here to prove them all wrong. :)

That night we met Alli, who set up an appointment with us for the next day. Such a blessing, as we've been praying to meet new people to teach! In her opening prayer, she asked God to help her receive "more news"... which is perfect, because the gospel translates to "good news"! And if anything, this message is more good news. :)

We had such a bizarre moment on Saturday... we were going through some former investigators and found a family that was learning, but moved to China partway through. So we called them and set up an appointment for Saturday at 8pm! So excited. We got a Chinese-speaking RM to come with us and knocked on the door. It opened to reveal... our zone leaders (Elder Pace and Richardson) already sitting down with them at a table, eating chicken feet! We were floored. Whaaaat was going on?? All of the chinese people in the aparment gathered more chairs and asked us to sit down but all the missionaries were so confused and dumbfounded haha. Still have absolutely no idea how it happened... the elders had helped them move in from China two days prior. They were praying to have someone Chinese-speaking go with them, though, so we left Ben and went to visit another person who was actually in need of a spiritual boost, so it all worked out!! It was so bonkers though... like how in the world did that all work out so perfectly?? The Lord sure knows what he's doing, even if he leaves the rest of us completely lost haha.

We had such a miracle this week. So Thomas fasted with us last Sunday about being able to keep the Sabbath day holy this week, and we were praying hard core that it would work out alright. We waited all week before getingt a text on Friday that he got his work schedule changed and was now able to come!! We were so happy! Fasting works. It is so absolutely true. He came to Sacrament meeting the third hour and listened intently to the speakers. It was such a wonderful experience for all of us.

It has been such a wonderful week and I'm stoked for the week to come. I feel so blessed and I am so grateful that I'm able to do the work I'm doing out here!! I wouldn't be able to devote so much time and effort to something if I didn't know it was true. I know our Heavenly Father loves us and that the scriptures are the most powerful tool to learning. Keeping you all in my prayers each and every night! Be great!

MUITO amor!!

Sister Kaegi

October 21, 2013

People are great. They really are. I think I might just share stories about people this week, because that's who I'm constantly working with. Strangers, friends, teachers, students... people. And when doing this work, it's so easy to absolutely love those you work with day in and day out.

We got a text one day last transfer from Church HQ, giving us a referral for Thomas. We got his address and number, but nothing about him or what he might've requested. When we knocked on his door, he said he had no idea why he was "referred" as he didn't even know any Mormons! I felt a little ridiculous until he said he wouldn't mind learning more, regardless of how we got there. What. Cutting the story a bit short, but he is now on date for baptism next month and has seen a difference in his life from our being there. He says his desire to learn stems from seeing how happy Christians are in general, and "I want some'a that!" Yes, Thomas. Yes you do. He was an answer to our consistent prayers for a referral, and although we have no idea who gave us his name we do know that we've been able to meet with him for a reason, and it's thanks to the wonderful example of others that he desired to know more.

Our Ward Mission Leader is the absolute best. He was once a Bishop but now devotes his time and energy to the missionary work of the ward. Every Saturday we meet with him and the other missionaries in the congregation, and he always has something new to share with others! He told us the secret: every night, he'd ask Heavenly Father "is there more?" and always got a response. Recently, he changed his question to "and what else?" He gives his all to his calling and is such an inspiration and example of positive thinking for me. When one of our investigators asked where he got his speakers, he said "you can have them, I've got another set at home!" ...what. She was absolutely shocked. The spirit was in the room so strongly as she stared at the speakers and back at him... when she asked what she could give him in return, he simply said "just keep doing what you're doing." He's given us pumpkin swirl bread and is always there to offer a ride when we can't find anyone else. I've titled a journal entry on him. Brother Winder. is. the. absolute. best.

Last Friday we doorknocked into a 91 year old man who happens to be the father-in-law of a less active member in the ward! He is such a jovial man, he has a chuckle that literally wiggles his chin, and loves learning about religions since his wife died 5 years ago (he uses her Bibles, was raised Baptist, but we noticed two JW's leaving his house before we knocked so we think he'll listen to just about anything). We intended to teach the restoration the next day but learned more about his tragic backstory and decided he needed to learn about the Plan of Salvation first. He had 4 kids -- one daughter died at age 2, and one son committed suicide in adulthood. His son recorded one final song on the guitar before passing... and he shared with us the tape. It was such a talented song -- couldn't hear too many words, but the chorus of "On the Other Side". I cried. Literally cried. I felt such an overwhelming feeling of compassion for this man and his son. To think how sweet and happy he was, despite all of the opposition, is amazing. I can't wait to share more with him. He was teary eyed our first meeting, after having read in the Book of Mormon, and simply said -- "you've made my day."

Meanwhile, I intend to get my district all saying "tcau tcau" by the end of the transfer. It's gonna happen. I've already got the Elders in the ward practicing the line, "Not me, not Hermione, you!" somehow. The Elders and Sisters I get to work with here are all so fantastic, for serious. To think we've all sacrificed what we have to be here... I can't imagine any other church being able to send 80,000+ young adults with the standard we have to live with. It's absolutely incredible. One funny exchange last Wednesday: "I think God has a sense of humor. Every Sunday night when I say my prayers, I like to tell a joke at the beginning. I mean, he already knows the answer, but at least he gets a laugh..."

People are so great. To think we all have such intricate little lives, each and every one... I feel so blessed to be able to be a part of those lives, however small a role I play, out here in Michigan. I know I'm here for a reason -- whether to touch other people's lives or for them to touch mine -- and I'm so grateful to have the opportunity to serve.

A great quote from General Conference sums it up pretty well: "It's not about where you serve, but how."

Be great, and you can do hard things!

Best wishes e amor,

Sister Kaegi

Last District Meeting

Service at the Golf Course! Got to dig a hole. Sis Nuttall drove a tractor thing. It was funtimes.

We didn't have a dinner one night so a family in the ward brought one, and the family, to our porch! I love these kids so much.

Sometimes kids say the deepest things. We were door knocking on a really nice day and came upon an open door. Before we could say anything other than a friendly hello, a young woman curtly told us "no thank you." We were walking back down her driveway when we heard her boy ask, "why are they walking?" from his doorstep. Good question, kid.

This is our second week without a car, which means we've been doing a lot of that walking thing. (Aware that returned missionaries from foreign countries are mocking this, but it's a big deal in a big area!) When we can't get a ride, we walk. And walk. And walk. Most people would think we're crazy. (Actually, I'm sure most people do.) Why would three young women spend all their time on a weekend walking up and down neighborhood streets sharing the same message about some religious book?

It's a question I've been thinking about for a while, and one even brought up in General Conference (check out Uchtdorf's talk on lds.org!). Why would so many young men and women give 18-24 months of their lives working, on their own dime and their own time? There are a lot of restrictions on a mission that even some members aren't aware of (only hymns for music, only shop on Mondays, sleep from 10:30-6:30, assigned study hours, etc). It seems like a lot of work, and that's because it is. But you know what? We do it because it's worth it. It is so worth it.

We walk and knock bearing one unique and important message to the world: the Church of Jesus Christ has been restored on the earth in it's fullest. Everything, from the Priesthood and temple work to an ordained Prophet and apostles, has been restored. Sister Dixon likes using this visual: the Church that Christ established in Jerusalem is like a mirror. When the people killed him and his apostles, the mirror shattered. People picked up the pieces of truth they remembered, but it wasn't complete -- and glueing them back together still produced cracks. That's why we needed a restoration, not just a reformation.

We aren't here to change people's faith, but to add to it. Our purpose as missionaries is to invite others to come unto Christ. They can't take our word for it, which is why it's important for them to ask God if these things are true, as proposed in the introduction and final chapter of the Book of Mormon. It's such a personal experience, and that's what I love.

I love this message. I love my Savior and I love this church. The more I share the gospel, the more I understand and gain from it. I know this is Christ's church on the earth. It makes sense in my brain and it feels good in my heart, which is one way of discerning truth from the spirit! I know it and I love it and I'm out here to share it.

I hope you are all doing great things!

Muito amor,

Sister Kaegi