Dec. 10, 2012
My Fam Fam!
Thank you for your prayers for safety and health on my behalf. For the last two months I have been surrounded by people who have been EXTREMELY sick, and I have been miraculously spared! (It was either prayers or the coveted chinese fortune cookie that promised good health. I tend to believe prayer has a little more power and influence than mysterious papers wrapped in a dessert)

And whoever decided to pray that it wouldn't snow in Ohio yet deserves some kind of reward!

We had the neatest Zone Training Meeting this week! Some top notch people (emeritus 70...? I am not sure exactly who they are) came in and had a training meeting with our leaders (zone and district) and they blew this mission out of the water with how much information they gave us! They said they had gone to 38 missions on tour, and they did not 'unload' so much information on other missions like they did ours. They said we are very obedient, and because of that, if we apply the principles they taught us, our monthly baptisms WILL double. Isn't that a neat promise?! The neatest thing is that they didn't teach us anything new- they mostly just taught us how to use the resources we have more effectively. It was a really exciting zone meeting, and we are already having a lot of success with their suggestions! Right in time for the new missionaries coming out in a couple weeks ;) 

We went out to apply the new principles we learned, and we went to go see a woman we had tracted into earlier this month. She is SO prepared! She welcomed us right in again, and we taught her the Restoration. Have any of you seen the Restoration pamphlets? One of the suggestions they had at the meeting was to teach the Restoration with the pictures in that pamphlet rather than reading all the principles and info in the paragraphs. Before I thought the pictures were kind of a hindrance (they totally throw off the page numbers!!) but using the pamphlet that way was definitely inspired. The spirit was so strong!! I think that was the most powerful Restoration lesson I had been in since the beginning of my mission! It probably helps that she is so super prepared though :) We were also counseled to SLOW DOWN, which came just in the nick of time. She was so receptive and wanting to learn that I just wanted to throw everything at her at once because I KNOW she would love it! But everything we learned is key to have the spirit be the teacher, and it is totally true! It was a really neat experience. We can't wait to meet with her again! 

Another miracle this week came when we were cleaning our car earlier today. One of the things we are supposed to do is talk to EVERYONE! Well, sometimes you don't notice everyone around you. Thankfully, my inspired companion was very alert and noticed that a man was working at the car wash. She walked up to him and started talking to him. Turns out that he is a member of the church that hasn't been coming in awhile (in fact, he was a Do Not Contact in our roster) and he really would like us to come over to do FHE with his new family of 6 kids! Obedience brings blessings! Heavenly Father points that principle out to me a lot :)

I don't really feel like telling you all that I love you really describes what I am feeling, but I don't know how else to say it. So- I LOVE you!!!!! Have a good week. Don't get hurt in the train car.

Sister Kimber Mahrt

For p-day last week, we went with some of the elders to a mansion that was decorated for Christmas. It was really neat! We even saw Santa taking a bath! There is a picture of our district (part of it at least) And the other picture is of when our heater went out, so Sister Jo was doing some personal study by the oven :)

                                            Sister V's last transfer.  She is going home!