Kaitlyn's surprise transfer for 19ers

fam

lifes pretty crazy. as always. I sang in sacrament the other day with sister rupp. President was there, and right after he pulled us into another room. he told us that we weren't going to be working together anymore cause sister rupp is training, and that he wants me to open a brand new ysa area and train. so here we are...super bummed im not with her anymore. the aps kept saying, "i cannot believe we split you up...hopefully this will be good. i can't believe we split that up" BUT I feel real good about where i'm going...and what's happening, so I can't complain.

anyways..met my new comp today! her name is sister shrader from kaysville utah. she's one of the 19ers... I'm gonna be covering east tucson and rincon (back to my OTHER old area) doing all ysa. I'm still at the UofA..so I'll still be with Rupp and the APs all the time..just a diff apartment, and area and comp. if any of that makes sense.

also..pretty sure the next few transfers will be even crazier..but i don't know all the details yet..just that i'll probably be doing a lot more crazy stuff real soon.

 

also...i'm really tired and can't even think.

So many good things are going on in the 1st ward (my last ysa ward...i'm now in 2nd). we just had a lesson with aaron yesterday, and prophets is what made things start clicking. he started understanding authority and prayer...and it was so so awesome.

I really wish I could just record everyone's AHA moments and send them...but by the time I get to the comp to write..my brain is fried...and I can't fully explain how cool it is. still pretty bummed i'm not teaching him anymore. or vince. or elliana...and everyone else...but at least i'll still see them at the institute...like everyday. :P good times.

 

have I ever told you I love ysa.

because I do.

 

anyways. sorry this is short. I have to go wander around and try and find my apartment..

because..we have no phone. no map. no real directions.

just a key and an address...and a "good luck sister waters"

 

haha i love my mission.

 

love you all...

ps i'm SUPER stoaked about everything that's happening in the fam :P

keep me updated.\

enjoy the pics

 

love!

-kait

hermana aguas

 

"sister killpack.. we need to cut some of sister waters and sister rupps hair.. so i can clone them" - president killpack

we're pretty tight with the Killpacks.

I wrote an entire story...then realized, it's really sacred- so remind me to tell you about my february dream...where Sister Rupp and I both woke up feeling the same way...when I get home. ok?

great..glad we are on the same page.

so President gave this training the other day...and I wish I had my notes so I could tell you..BUT one of the biggest things I remember is that sometimes we dance around our doctrine, and when people ask us questions...we tell them something so they think it's somewhat similar to theirs..and that it's not "too different" to scare them off....BUT WE ARE DIFFERENT. It's maybe not what they want (right now) but what they need..and if they recognize that difference, the elect will follow. (if you build it, they will come)

Well, we had a girl come to church yesterday. She said afterwards to me (we've never taught her before)..."I just have one question. I was raised Catholic, and we baptize when they are babies. But you don't do that. You would think we would be more similar because we read from the same bible...but you guys are so different. How do you guys do it? Why are you so different?"

DING.DING.DING.

I briefly explained baptism, and our belief in Christ..and guess what?
she loved it.
and wants to learn more.

I love the gospel.

but like I explained to kelsey..this email is gonna be a short one. but I love you! thanks for the package! its definitely going to good use. IT'S ALL GOOD IN THE HOOD. happy heart day!
love you.!!!

xoxoxo
hermana aguas

blessings.

Familia-

 

I'm sore, stiff, hurting, and so tired...but I'll try to make out a coherant letter.
I'm so stoaked about yesterday. This whole week, we've been working really hard on being diligent in our lessons and working on visiting every member in our ward. After church EVERY single lesson planned for the rest of the day contacted us and told us that they couldn't make it. we were at about 15 or 16 lessons, and wanted so badly to reach the 20, because we had made those plans and goals...and it was completely achievable, before everyone dropped. We started praying like crazy. We were hitting up less actives, and struggling members. At 7:30-7:45ish we are at 18 lessons, and we had a practice to sing with our zone at 8 so we had no idea how we were going to get it. We both prayed over and over who we could help strengthen that night. We decided to go visit a less active who we had a hard time contacting, and she was home and willing to have a lesson right then. We taught the atonement and had an amazing talk about repentance and how it releases us and allows us to find happiness. ( ps I realize that in my haste of writing this I sound like we aren't sitting and having meaningful lessons, but all of them were super powerful...and I loved all of them, which isn't always the case)At 8:15 we head to the singing practice not knowing how we will reach our last lesson. We walk into the church, and tell all the elders our situation. They were all trying to rally together to figure out who we could teach..because they know we are working our tails off to teach in this area...and we get a text as we are talking to them from a a girl Christine. She is a recent convert of almost 3 years, and all she wants to do is serve a mission. So she gave up and sacrificed so much in preparing to serve, and as she started doing her mission papers her parents said it would be the worst decision she could ever make. After lots of this influence, she decided she couldn't tear her family apart, so she decided not to go. (this was before we met her)...in her text she said that the promptings to serve wont leave...and she doesn't know what to do, and she really wanted to talk to us. We asked if we could meet at the stake center, and we had a lesson in the chapel all about the holy ghost, and personal revelation. It was one of the strongest times I have felt the spirit, as the three of us prayed in the chapel and just asked the Lord for guidance and peace about the people we are supposed to be. I left feeling so good knowing that God really does want to help us in everything, to help strengthen other peoples faith...but also to help build our own confidence in being obedient in His work.

man..it was so cool

Needless to say, we were pretty exhausted afterwards.

 

We started teaching Aaron last week, like I mentioned. He's super funny. and then Vince is still a stud. He came to church yesterday all dressed up in a suit, like he already belonged.

 

I'm gonna cut this short so I can email Kelsey-- but everything is going great! hope all is well with you!

love you.

-hermana aguas

"sister waters & sister rupp are boss."

First I'll tell you about the ward...I LOVE this ysa. It's a LOT bigger than NM, and our area is ginormous. We drive like crazy, and knocking isn't exactly fruitful...(can't really knock and say, "hi, do you fall between the ages of 18-30...and single---because we aren't over the dorms) but the members, we're basically all best friends already and they are finding people for us to teach.

We're teaching this kid Ryan with the APs- and he is awesome! He's completely consumed in the book of mormon, and has so many questions---and has probably asked more thought provoking questions than anyone I have taught. I honestly think the only thing stopping him from being baptized right now is his parents...but he's working through it. He's been coming to church, and yesterday he hung out with us all day (church, choir, lesson, dinner and ysa fireside)

 

We also just found this guy named Vince. He had been taught before, and thought we'd text him to see if he was still interested. He told us that right before we texted, he had been thinking about trying it out again and been working to get work off to start coming to church again. As soon as we texted him, it solidified his decision.  We taught the Gospel of Jesus Christ, and he told us he wants to be baptized. He's been thinking about it A LOT, and it's something he's striving for. Especially because he feels really strongly about becoming a father....but he's still trying to fully grasp repentance, on how HE can forgive HIMSELF. One of our members, Amber talked all about the atonement and how with repentance it sets us free. (sister rupp and I were just blown away because it's exactly what we had been studying this entire week. about the enabling power)
We asked if he has read any of the Book of Mormon, and he said he has read the entire book, pearl of great price, and most of doctrine and covenants. He told us stories from each and says he knows it's true. He just needs to just over his own insecurities...and then he'll progress. We're praying he gets sundays off so he can come to church regularly.

basically I am in awe of this guy.

 

also remember Edgar from when I was in the West? (my first area). He was the one who had a dream about his grandpa, and it was his answer, and helped him understand the plan of salvation?...anyways, I was laying in bed one night, and I turn to sister rupp and I said, "I know someone we need to teach"

We went over to his house, and he was still there (they had talked about moving...but I guess it didn't work out). He opened the door and freaked out when he saw me. I said, "remember me?" and he said of course! he remembered how long it had been since I had been there a year ago and kept telling me stuff about when I used to teach. He's YSA age, so I can teach him, and he said he wanted to learn again. I am SO SO SO SO SO EXCITED that I get a second change to teach him. I think the biggest thing holding him back was all his family stuff, but maybe the University ward is exactly what he needs to progress. I feel SO  strongly about it, and I just want him to understand...which I have told him multiple times. That first night he shook my hand while saying goodbye and said, "thank you so much for remembering me"

pretty stoaked.

 

 

we're also going to start teaching this kid named aaron this week. I'll write more about him next week after our lesson.

 

getting kicked off. shoot.

uhm..i LOVE being a missionary. sister rupp and i are having a blast. i'll have to send you our rap sometime with kennington and deyell.

the gospel is INCREDIBLE...and revelation and the truths of the gospel are amazing.

...read the book of mormon. it literally tells you EVERYTHING you need to know...and shows you what you are capable of being and doing

everything we could ever want, or what we should desire.

 

it's pretty great.

 

love you all!

-hermana aguas

back in tucson!

Alright-

we'll see how much of this info I can get out and still make sense:

 

I was transferred from New Mexico, back to Tucson. Sister Rupp (my new comp..she came out with me) and I are now working with the APs (assistants to the president) to open up a new area in Tucson, and we are the first sisters ever to serve on the University of Arizona. so I'm still doing YSA! It's nuts because it's the exact same area as my first area in the West (a little bigger) except I'm doing YSA instead of Spanish.

It's crazy, and we're figuring everything out..but it's super exciting. Sister Rupp and I are already loving it, because we've both been out the same amount of time--so instead of having to go over the basics, we can just hit it running. We're already talking about getting the APs to keep us together for a little while, to really solidify the area- and be together longer :P

 

we've already had some super funny experiences with our house. the only food in our house currently is a box of frosted flakes and milk, we didn't have any spoons the other day (who doesn't have spoons in a house?) so we've been eating cereal with forks. We don't have any heat in our house (and it's actually been getting around 20 degrees here) and we get locked inside our bathroom daily. the only way to get out is to have the other one jam a knife inside the door frame and crank it open. Add that to running around with the elders and surprising everyone on campus that there are sisters now...and we've probably laughed more than anything.

 

I could probably go off on New Mexico stories...but I'll have to save those I suppose. (There's this anxiousness inside me right now...in a good way...where I just feel like I need to get up and move. I guess it's cause we've been go go go, and I haven't just sat down to put all my thoughts together yet- so I appologize for the lack of stories, or put a conclusion to New Mexico)

 

BUT I WILL SAY THIS. Mum, Dad. I hope you start planning for us to take a trip back to New Mexico and the rest of my mission once I get home. And pretty soon too. Because, as you can tell from my last email...I kinda love it. (that's an understatement)

 

I was reading in D&C lately, and I came upon this in section 58:

 "3.Ye cannot behold with your natural eyes, for the present time, the design of your God concerning those things which shall come hereafter, and the glory which shall follow after much tribulation.
6.Behold, verily I say unto you, for this cause I have sent you-that you might be obedient, and that your hearts might be prepared to bear testimony of the things which are to come.
7.And also that you might be honored in laying the foundation, and in bearing recored of the land upon which the Zion of God shall stand.
27.Verily I say, men should be anxiously engaged in a good cause, and do many things of their own free will, and bring to pass much righteousness;
28.For the power is in them, wherein they are agents unto themselves. And inasmuch as men do good they shall in nowise lose their reward."

I love this, because I feel like we all go through our trials, and we don't understand why. Why am I going through this? why did this happen? Why is it, that even though I'm doing all these good things--"this" happens?

we are falling into seeing with our natural eyes. We haven't fully grasped what we are capable of becoming in that situation. The gospel and atonement has already provided us with the keys to successfully get past these blocks, yet we place a barrier that we can't seem to get over.

But He's called us to do something. For me, it's serving a mission right now, but it's applicable to everyone. Our hearts are being prepared to bear testimony in some aspect, so that we may better understand Christ--

and there, our foundation will start. Our first step, or our first step in helping others getting over that wall has started...and from then, we need to constantly be adding to that.

And the coolest part, is that God has endowed us with power to do all of this. We are helpless children attempting at something.  He has given us to power to achieve it. We just determine when.

 

It's been super cool seeing this happen-- I'm learning A LOT right now, and I know that between all the crazy things Sister Rupp and I talk about, I'm going to learn a lot more. I'm seeing the impact of the Atonement in people's lives, and my own...and I'm so grateful for it.

 

Well, I better go. But I'll write again on Monday.

Love you and hope all is going great!

love you.

-Hermana aguas