July 18, 2012

We have been a week into transfers, and it feels like so much longer! I feel like I have been with my new companion forever! It has been a good week.

Sister Palmer was set on going full proselyting, but she was actually called to Ravenna (Ravenna is almost full proselyting because it is out of the Kirtland Zone, but they still come up and serve at Kirtland sites once a week and the Johnson farm twice). She was a little disappointed, but I think she is starting to enjoy it. It is weird seeing her walking around with another companion! I feel like she is my little child who is off on her own now. Missions are so weird! :)

My new companion's name is Sister Voievodina (vaa-yih-vO-den-a) and she is AWESOME! She has been out for a year now (she only has 4 months left) and she is a very diligent missionary. She is from the Ukraine, and she has very good people skills, so teaching lessons together has been a lot of fun. Sister Hatch went home! I can't believe it! She will be back to visit with her family in August. Since this transfer is only 5 weeks, Sister Lee will me leaving in the middle of August! Both my trainers will be gone. So strange!

Sister V and I are almost starting over in Hiram. We are looking over the people we are teaching, dropping those who are not progressing, and focusing on finding. We have been tracting a lot more, and on Friday night we got caught in a rain storm. It was so fun! We were completely soaked, and we still had to walk back to our car. So we looked like two very wet, very out of place Amish people in this residential area.

We had interviews with President Vellinga yesterday. What a loving man! He is amazing, and his wife had girl talk with us while we waited out in the foyer. They are going to make such good leaders of this mission!

Tours have been INSANE! We literally get off one tour and head back out on another one. It is tiring to be entertaining for so long, but it has been neat to see how the Lord has helped me. Sometimes when we finish a tour and I am excited to sit and stare at the wall for a minute or two, and we are grabbed as we walk in to start another tour I wonder how I am going to make it through! Prayers in your heart for strength really work, and He qualifies you to be able to do what you can't on your own, that is for sure. Besides, instead of staring at the wall I settle for staring down some of the people on tour while I talking, so it is a nice compromise ;)

The people coming through sites now are most really good families on their way over to the Hill Cumorah pagaent. It is amazing how much they build me up just by listening to their comments and testimonies. Kirtland really is such a sacred place, and I am so blessed to be able to be here day after day. One tour that stands out is a YW group that came from PA to see the sites. They were very energetic and shared neat stories about their personal prayers being answered. When we went into the School of the Prophets, I was talking about how much Heavenly Father loves every single one of them, and they can know and feel that as they pray to feel that love (Moroni 7:48). Then when I looked around at all their faces, I really did feel a strong feeling that He loves them so much. The rest of what I said was a little broken because I had to talk through the tears, but it was a neat spiritual experience. The spirit was there, and it was neat to know that Heavenly Father is very mindful of us and cares for us so much.

Love you Fam! Love every moment

Sister Kimber Mahrt