Putting My Heart in Texas: BUDDAH and LOVE

DENTIST HORROR FILM

Well, at 11:30am last P-day we found out we had to take Sister I to the dentist. We weren't prepared at all. We hadn't even eaten lunch. But we had to email. Needless to say neither of us expected to spend all day at the dentist. And when I say all day, I literally mean ALLLL DAYYY. We were there for 6 hours. I just sat in the corner staring off into space. I tried studying the scriptures but the sound of suctioning saliva from my slumbering companion's mouth harmonizing with the noise of them drilling holes into her teeth wasn't the most soothing atmosphere to receive revelation. It wasn't until hour 6 that she told me that she had a notebook in her bag the entire time. So sorry everyone. The whole Salt Lake valley would have a letter personally addressed to them in the mail this last week if I had known that there was a notebook 2 feet away from me. Maybe next week when we have to go back for round 2 I will be able to crank out some letters.

Poor Sister I! She was so out of it. I treated her to her first ever Jamba Juice as a reward haha. She was in heaven. I was in heaven for a different reason...to get out of that dungeon of a dentist office!

CHRIST WAS IN THE ROOM PART 2!

Remember Sister V? She is struggling a lot and we had a powerful lesson with her a few weeks ago and man... it was an intense lesson. Well, I didn't tell Sister I about that lesson that Sister Cecil had. I just gave her the background. We went in and had an even more powerful lesson. We felt prompted to sing "I Am a Child of God" and Sister I and I couldn't even get through the first few lines without intense emotion waving over us. Sister V just sat curled up on her couch with tears streaming down her face. We held her and consoled her. Bore testimony of the Atonement, it was powerful. And I could tell that Sister I was amazed at the amount of the spirit she felt. I can remember those intense moments when I first started my mission. Especially with Matthew as Sister Folsom and I sat outside and bore witness of the Savior by candle light. The missionary mantle is real. We are given the words to say and the spirit to testify. I KNOW that.

We prayed with her and when we got to the car Sister I turned to me with tears in her eyes and said, "He was there. He was in the room. I know he was." We both just burst into tears and hugged. I told her that Sister Cecil and I had felt that same presence of the Savior in that room. She thinks she is alone, but she is not.

He is there.

There are many women in our ward that are struggling right now. Sister I had the great idea of burning them a CD. So we just burned 10 copies of a CD that is geared straight towards these women that need to know that they are a daughter of god. It will be a really beautiful gift to give them.

PRIESTHOOD BLESSING

We got a media referral from mormon.org. A member from New York had referred his friend because he had told her about priesthood blessings and she asked him if we could come give her one. We called the Elders and we all went over to Crystals house to console her. She is also dealing with serious problems and she hadn't eaten in days due to stress and grief. She has a 1 year old and a 6 year old. Her boyfriend left her with .27 cents in her account and no car. She had no one to turn to. We Since we didn't have another guy with, the Elders couldn't go inside. So all stood in the backyard and talked to her and taught her about the power of the Priesthood. We were eaten alive by mosquitoes, but Elder Barney gave a beautiful blessing. And Crystal felt the spirit. We visited her the next day and she told us that was the first time she had had a good night sleep in weeks. We shared 3 Nephi 13: 31-34 with her. She hadn't even finished the first verse before the spirit overcame her and brought tears to her eyes. "These words... I feel like he talking straight to me..."

31 Therefore take no thought, saying, What shall we eat? or, What shall we drink? or, Wherewithal shall we be clothed? 32 For your heavenly Father knoweth that ye have need of all these things.
33 But seek ye first the kingdom of God and his righteousness, and all these things shall be added unto you.
34 Take therefore no thought for the morrow, for the morrow shall take thought for the things of itself...
It was so neat!

It was so powerful. We bore testimony of the Book of Mormon and SHE asked US for a copy. The Bishop went over later that day and visited with her and helped her out with some things. She came to church yesterday and really enjoyed it. We are excited to see what happens from here :)

BUDDAH

President Mortensen has been encouraging us to volunteer a lot and be seen in the community. So the guess where we started volunteering every week? The Buddhist temple! So stinkin cool! We are like best buds with the Buddhist nuns there and they have these really cool dogs that just wander around all over the place. I will try and send more pictures next week! The first time I went there I could only think of that bath house in spirited away that is like exactly what its like!

The first week we were there there was a huge spider and I stepped on it violently. Luckily the nuns didn't see me because I later found from my world religions book that that Buddhists don't harm anything that is living.... oops. I think it might be because they believe in reincarnation. The elders joked that they would have a little shrine around the dead spider the next week we went haha. I really did feel bad. Elder Harris is so funny. He is obsessed with the robes that the monks and the nuns wear but all the ones in the gift shop are too small for him so they are going to order him one from Vietnam haha! So funny. We have such a fun time with Bahnka. She is the nun that speaks the best English. They even feed us lunch! It is awesome. Best service opportunity I have ever done on my mission. Their temple is beautiful, We have to take off our shoes before we go inside. The whole construction is all volunteer work and so we are helping them with landscaping and things like that.

This week has been crazy busy! I had a funny voice recording to send but I forgot to bring it. I will try to remember to attach it next week. I love this gospel and I love this work! I love all of you!

Thank you for the prayers and the love!

CHURCH IS TRUE.

xoxoxox

-Kingsy.

I WAS STARVING and all I wanted to eat was salsa. But after almost spraining my wrist trying to get the jar open I decided to lamoni on the floor....