MERRY CHRISTMAS TO EVERYONE THAT I LOVE

MERRY CHRISTMAS TO EVERYONE THAT I LOVE!!!!

sorry this is going to be short because today has been crazy but my

new area is Santee- I cover like 1/4 of the mission haha it's a very

large area and includes a couple more cities also but I love it. It

really feels like I just moved back to the United States, it's kind of

disappointing when now everyone speaks Spanish anymore...we serve in a

branch but it's super strong and the members are awesome! It was

really hard for me to say goodbye to Calexico but things are good. My

new companion is sister Hanson from south Jordan she's been on her

mission like the same amount of time as me and she's super cool I love

her!

Today I got to go to the temple after a couple months of being away it

was the best Christmas present I could have asked for! I honestly feel

so very blessed to be a missionary this Christmas and even though I

miss all of you I love that I get to be a representative of our Savior

Jesus Christ. My companion shared with me a quote today that was super

impactful for me...

"we should not complain about our own life’s not being a rose garden

when we remember who wore the crown of thorns"

-elder Neil Maxwell

I think this Christmas we can all remember our Savior and give thanks

for the many blessing which we enjoy! I love you all!!

Hermana Koelliker

hasta luego calexico

Well my days in Calexico have come to an end.....everything went so well this week with the ward and area that I knew I was going to get transferred, the mission comforts the afflicted and afflicts the comforted honestly when you get too comfortable you gotta move. 

Last Wednesday we had an activity for the youth and we went caroling and when we got to the first door we looked back and there's like a hugeeee group of members from our ward and youth that were there at the activity and we were so excited!! Sang some joy to the world and we wish you a merry Christmas and had some hot chocolate and cookies it was so awesome the ward is just taking off!! 

Thursday we took a trip up to San Diego and had the mission conference with Elder and Sister Clayton. It was super awesome they talked about having "fire in our bones" and how we need to work hard and let that fire of faith burn within us. He also talked about how we need to do the harder things. He said it's easy not to rob a bank but it's harder to be charitable. We all have the potential to accomplish more, to do the harder things! 

We have some awesome investigators right now that are coming to church and will be ready for baptism really soon. Sister Castellanos is going to keep the work moving forward in Calexico. I'm so grateful for the opportunity that I've had to serve with her and here in this ward- I have made some amazing friends and have learned so much from the example of the faithful members here. 

It's amazing to see how everyone's mission and life experience is tailored perfectly for them individually. I'm excited to see where I'm headed next on my journey! 

xoxo, 

Hermana Koelliker

My trainer sister chamberlain went home this week!! I am going to miss her she's amazing and will always be a good friend of mine! I said goodbye to her at the mission conference 

good news!!!

HOLAAAAA FAMILIA Y AMIGOS

I can't believe it's almost Christmas hahah the people here spray paint their windows white on the edges to make it look like snow, makes me miss Utah. It's actually getting pretty cold here when we go running in the mornings were like freezing hahaa my comps muscles keep giving out in the morning while we're running and she keeps tripping and we always laugh cause she looks like she's a baseball player sliding into home base don't worry she hasn't gotten hurt yet she just keeps back up and keeps going. 

Anyways were still alive down here in Calexico my nightmare of getting kidnapped across the boarder hasn't occurred yet so that is great news. We are actually finding a ton of new investigators lately and things are progressing

This week I've been thinking about the Savior a lot and what his birth and life mean to me. In the bible dictionary under gospel it says that it means "good news" I loved that because the gospel really is the best news there is. The more I learn about the gospel of Jesus Christ the more gratitude I feel for our perfect Savior and Redeemer. I like to think of our existence almost as a maze or an obstacle course-not the kind that you do for fun but one that is really quite challenging and in fact impossible to do on your own. At the end of the course is the best reward you can think of eternal joy, peace, happiness, everything good. Jesus Christ is standing right there in front of us and saying look I went through this all before you to clear the way, just trust me and I will show you how to get where you want to go. He sees more of the picture then we can and for this reason He gives us commandments that he knows will keep us safe on the path going in the right direction. When we are prideful, lazy or distracted and choose not to follow Him we wander off and get lost things become more difficult and we aren't progressing. However, there is always hope, He will always leave His arm stretched out to guide us back. We need to always remember that Jesus Christ loves us perfectly he wants us to have eternal life and He knows how we can achieve that. We need to have faith in Him, be obedient to His commandments and know that He will guide us safely home. 

That's all for this week! Sorry I'm not good at writing long emails but know that I love you all and pray for you everyday!!! 

Xoxo Hermana Koelliker 

Ha Nacido un Salvador

DECEMBER! Woahhhhhhh where has time gone? I can't believe it but the

church came out with a new Christmas video and if you haven't seen it

you need to go on lds.org and check it out! I am really excited for

this month to be a missionary and strengthen everyone's faith in our

Savior Jesus Christ!!! During the third hour of church the bishop was

like hey can you guys teach relief society and Preisthood combined and

we just did it on the spot but it turned out pretty good it was about

missionary work and the Christmas video haha everyone was getting a

little hungry and sleepy cause it was 1 pm so I made them all stand up

and role play and practice sharing the video pretending that the

person sitting next to them wasn't  a member of the church. It turned

out really good so that's all of your guys homework go watch the video

and share it with someone else!

Anyways this week was the baptism of Martha wow she is so incredible

we started teaching her just over a month ago and now she is one of

the strongest members of our ward, her testimony of the Book of Mormon

is solid and she's helping us teach her husband now yay for the gospel

the talks on her baptism were on point she was in tears and the spirit

was so strong!!!

Sorry gotta go but life is good! Gospel is true! Keep smiling

I LOVE YOU

THANKFUL

This thanksgiving I am extremely grateful for my Savior. He has helped

me accomplish so many things this past year that I could never do on

my own. He has strengthened me and helped me become the person I am

today. I feel so much love and am grateful for the opportunity I have

to be a missionary.

Alma 26 says it better then I can...

15 Yea, they were encircled about with everlasting darkness and

destruction; but behold, he has brought them into his everlasting

light, yea, into everlasting salvation; and they are encircled about

with the matchless bounty of his love; yea, and we have been

instruments in his hands of doing this great and marvelous work.

16 Therefore, let us glory, yea, we will glory in the Lord; yea, we

will rejoice, for our joy is full; yea, we will praise our God

forever. Behold, who can glory too much in the Lord? Yea, who can say

too much of his great power, and of his mercy, and of his

long-suffering towards the children of men? Behold, I say unto you, I

cannot say the smallest part which I feel.

It really is true I cannot say the smallest part of what I feel but I

know that we have a Heavenly Father who knows and loves us each

individually and that His son Jesus Christ is our Savior. They have a

specific plan for each of us and want to pour blessings upon us. Let

us be grateful!

There is so much good in the world

Your all in my prayers!!!

Xoxo Hermana Koelliker

love you!!!

WOW this week was amazing the longer I have been a missionary the more I just love the work everyday is a gift!! This week my companion and I were chatting about being missionaries and in preach my gospel it says "When you were set apart by priesthood authority, you received the right and privilege to represent the Lord." We both started crying when we thought about the day we will be released because it is such an amazing opportunity to be a representative of the Lord. I love being a missionary!

Right now we have one of the most prepared investigators that I have ever taught wow we began teaching her about a month ago and she has progressed so quickly!!! She has already attended church three times and is already to Alma in the Book of Mormon I'm like she's a better Book of Mormon reader then I am and I'm a missionary lol but seriously she's awesome! I think I sent a little about her story a couple weeks ago but it was a couple months ago that I met her and there was something different about her that just made me feel like I really needed to go back to her house. She had been to our church once with a friend and had read a little in the Book of Mormon a couple years back but didn't really understand it or pay much attention to it. Now she loves it!!! We invited her last week to be baptized on the 28th and she was like yes I want to be baptized but I just feel like I still need to learn more (we downloaded the gospel library app on her phone) and she's been reading everything she is the definition of someone that has REAL INTENT. This past week we asked her again about baptism and she was like "actually I was reading in Alma 32 and it talked about faith and how if we have a perfect knowledge then we aren't exercising our faith" and then she went on to say that she wants to be baptized then she started asking about Temples and just couldn't stop crying she felt the spirit so strong it was one of the best moments of my mission for sure! She is amazing and a huge blessing for our ward! 

So she is definitely the highlight of my week but there's lots of other great things happening we teach the restoration about 5+ times everyday and I love it! This morning I read a quote about how the restoration is the most significant thing to have occurred since Christ was lifted up on the cross and performed the Atonement. The restoration is so important to us and we are so blessed to have Christ's church and the Priesthood authority again here on the earth! 

The weeks are flying by and I am loving loving loving the time I have to serve as a missionary! Haha this week I knocked a door and this guy came running out and the door flew open and he's like " oh my goodness with a knock like that I thought you were the police" hahaha I guess my knocking skills are getting pretty good. 

Love you all!!!!! 

Xoxo Hermana Koelliker 

My zone hahaha me and my comp laughing our heads off cause her hair almost got burnt by a candle 

Zandra our recent convert

 

half way!!!!!

Wow I cannot believe that tomorrow is 9 months as a missionary! I've

loved every minute!! I've still got lots more to learn and accomplish.

Last Tuesday the weather just flipped and now all of a sudden it's

cold here haha well cold to us which is like 60-70 degrees it's

AMAZING we can walk down the street and not feel like we're going to

die. But seriously it's beautiful and has made for a great week!

Wellllllll.... We almost died this week as missionaries at night you

just get so tired that it doesn't even matter if your neighbor is

having a huge fiesta with loud music at least for me I can sleep

through anything. Just tune it all out cause I'm so dead tired.

Anyways so my comp said it started at like 3am but there was just like

this beeping noise and I thought it was my upstairs neighbors cause

they're noisy but then I woke up at 6:30 and I'm like man that's in

our house so I walk into the kitchen and our carbon monoxide alarm was

going off and had this red light that says "take to fresh air" so I'm

like AHHH and me and my comp evacuate haha and we go and knock the

elders door to help us at 6:30 and so they we had to call president

and then the apartment manager didn't want to help us we had to figure

it all turns out but it was something with the stove and it got fixed

and we survived!!!! But we are very grateful because we're all good

and were alive for one more week.

This week Zandra was baptized!!!! I was so excited it all went well

and her mom who isn't a member came to the baptism and the

confirmation so we hope that we can teach her soon! Also we had super

awesome progress with our investigator Martha who is preparing for

baptism on the 28th and is an amazing example of real intent-she's

already read through Alma in the Book of Mormon and came to church all

three hours this week. She really liked it and has friendships with a

lot of the members!

Great things are happening!!! I love you all!!!!

Xoxo Hermana Koelliker

UPDATE

Don't have much time......here's a couple fun facts about this week

1- we have a baptism this Saturday!!!! I'm so excited I can hardly

stand it. It's been too long since the last baptism I've seen but

everyone pray that all goes well this Saturday.

2- we have another investigator that we've taught for less then a

month and she's already read through Jacob in the Book of Mormon she

came to church Sunday and she told us that she felt the spirit when we

shared a scripture from 2 Nephi 31 about the gate and the path. She's

got a sincere heart and real intent. Lots of potential!

3- on Halloween night i wrote in my journal "this is the first

Halloween that I've come in at 6pm to read the Book of Mormon" haha it

was awesome to read and eat some candy of course, we only had one kid

knock on our door to trick or treat. How sad.

4- Sunday after church i was talking to an Hermana outside and I feel

something drop on my head and I'm like oh noooooo touched my head and

yes a bird pooped on me hahaha just my luck.

Anyways that's just a few little things happening in Calexico. Life is

good and I'm enjoying every minute. I love you all!!!

Xoxo Hermana Koelliker

the faith to walk on water

HOLA HOLA HOLA

this past weekend we had an awesome stake conference I loved it and

learned so much!!! Super inspiring. We had Elder Pimentel from the 70

here and on Sunday he gave a talk that I really loved and he talked a

lot about Mathew 14.

"And in the fourth watch of the night Jesus went unto them, walking on the sea.

And when the disciples saw him walking on the sea, they were troubled,

saying, It is a spirit; and they cried out for fear.

But straightway Jesus spake unto them, saying, Be of good cheer; it is

I; be not afraid.

And Peter answered him and said, Lord, if it be thou, bid me come unto

thee on the water.

And he said, Come. And when Peter was come down out of the ship, he

walked on the water, to go to Jesus.

But when he saw the wind boisterous, he was afraid; and beginning to

sink, he cried, saying, Lord, save me.

And immediately Jesus stretched forth his hand, and caught him, and

said unto him, O thou of little faith, wherefore didst thou doubt?"

Elder Pimentel talked about how Peter had the faith to get out of the

boat and trust the Savior, and then when he began to doubt he called

out to the Lord to save him.

Faithful followers go out of their comfort zone when called by the

Savior, they get out of the boat and when things get hard or they

begin to doubt they reach to Him and they know that immediately He

will come. And then after the Lord has lifted us up He will then walk

on water with us.

I loved the way that he related that story to us as members of the

church and how we need to have the faith to walk on water if that's

what the Savior is asking us to do.

He then went on to say that sometimes the Lord will tell us to roll up

our sleeves and  start swimming and that that will be the miracle. So

exercise your faith and follow the Savior wether He is asking you to

walk on water or swim.

Anyways there's something for all of you to study. This week was a

great week and it flew by wow! We've seen so many miracles and had to

do a lot of dropping and finding because we haven't been seeing much

progression in our teaching pool. We have a baptism for the 7th that's

all planed for Zandra (I'm gonna send a pic). She's 17 and a senior in

high school and just so sweet. We love her and are so excited for

her!!!

This week we had a lesson with a member who we invited to church, she

told me that she's been serving her whole life she's taken care of her

family and been a good person and that she's done enough service and

she doesn't need to do anymore. It made me sad to hear her just go on

and on about how she didn't need to do any more service. Once she

finished we had to tell her that never ever have we done enough

service and that we need to keep loving and serving everyone around us

at every opportunity we get. We've never done enough!!! Keep giving

all your heart might mind and strength to serving God and those around

you.

We have another investigator that is drilling us with questions about

the plan of salvation hahaha I've been studying super hard and

learning tons. Life is good!!! Gospels true

I love you all!!!!

hermana koelliker

holaaaa

Sorry don't have much time but here's a little story from this week.....

A month or so ago we were doing some street contacting down here and we stopped to talk to a women that was sweeping her driveway. We got her name and asked if we could come back another time and share something with her and she agreed so we wrote down her address and continued on. I remember that night thinking back on that experience and feeling really badly that I didn't try and teach her right there on the spot. Usually we always try to share the restoration right when we meet people because then they will feel the Holy Ghost and will be more open to learning more and what not but for some reason I hadn't taught her and I remember feel badly about that. I told my companion we needed to go back and see her so we scheduled her in a couple times but weren't able to find her. She had kind of slipped to the back of my mind until last Thursday when sister castellanos and I were walking back to our car to head home and walked right past her house and realized that we had enough time so we knocked the door. She answered really quickly and invited us right in. We shared the restoration and towards the end of the lesson she told us that she has been praying to God asking Him what church she should join and it was soooo cool because we were just able to relate it to Joseph Smith and testify to her that God has sent her her answer and invite her to be baptized. A few days later we had our second lesson with her and she shared with us that her son in law passed away this week and that her daughter was in a rehabilitation center. With all of the humbling experiences she's having in her life right now we know the Lord has prepared her to accept the gospel and we're so excited to be able to teach her. 

The church is true! The Holy Ghost will guide us! I love you all!!!!!!

pray always!

Hahaha I just turned to my companion and asked her what even happened this week and she said "nothing really happened but we're just praying and praying and praying" 

sooooooo this week has been a week full of prayers down here in Calexico. 

We have an investigator that's 17 years old she's so sweet and cute I love her but anyways we only ever meet with her we've invited her family to listen but she's the only one that's interested. A couple weeks ago we set her on a date for baptism for the 24 of October and so she had to talk to both of her parents to get permission to be baptized on this day. So we've been praying a lot for her and she's super solid already read like half of the Book of Mormon and keeps commitments really well. Last week she spoke with her mom and it went well she said that she would support her if she was 100% sure about her decision. She was super nervous to talk with her dad but yesterday we had a lesson with her and found out that all went well and he also gave her permission to be baptized. We were so excited when she told us just had the biggest smilies. The bummer is that she then asked to move the date to November 7 because she wants to learn more about the living prophet and apostles. We are grateful for her desire to learn and are going to continue praying that she can feel confident about being baptized on the 7th. 

This week we have also been working with Alvaro, the sweet humble submissive one that I talked about in my last letter. We brought a member to our last lesson and started with the restoration again so that he could understand the importance of the Priesthood and know that our church is the only church that has this authority from God. The member was super bold and just what we needed and Alvaro asked to pray right then about what we had taught. So he started praying and was talking super quietly so we couldn't hear the whole thing and he was like "please God help me to know if I should join with the Mormons, if that's the place that I should go" it was so awesome and I know he's going to get his answer. After the lesson he asked us if the next time we come over if we could each individually go around and say a prayer so we're going to be praying even more with him this upcoming week. 

Over the last 8 months prayer has becoming something so valuable and essential for me it's hard to describe. I've always prayed ever since I can remember but when I think back to my first couple days in the MTC I think that's when prayer really changed for me and I really learned how to communicate with God. I used to think that it was weird that BYU prayed before everything and now I find myself literally praying always. When I run in the morning I pray in my head and throughout the day I'm constantly praying either alone, with my companion, with investigators, members when I feel sad I pray when I feel grateful and joyful I pray. I love to pray and feel the love that Heavenly Father has for me and all of His children. Prayer gives us power and strength to move forward with faith. I love this quote from one of my favorite talks 

"It is good to pray for Heavenly Father's blessings. But after we say amen, we have to get up off our knees and go to work. We cannot expect the Lord to guide our footsteps if we're not willing to move our feet. And we should not ask the Lord to do for us what we can and should do for ourselves." -Elder Wilford Anderson 

So this week don't forget to pray and then get up and exercise your faith!!! I love you all!!! Your in my prayers. 

Xoxo Hermana koelliker

One of our English class bffs hahahah she always gives us chocolate such a sweetheart 

After church selfie. These are the elders that serve in our ward 

general conference!

How wonderful it was to watch general conference this weekend!! I've always loved it but my testimony of living prophets and apostles has grown a lot throughout these past six months and it was awesome to see President Monson at that pulpit putting every last bit of energy into delivering his talk. Something that the spirit taught me at conference was to focus on the simple things and to be centered on Christ. There are so many things to worry about in life but what I decided I need to do is focus most on building my faith and others faith in Jesus Christ. Anyways I loved all of the talks but I especially loved president monson and how he concluded his talk 

“That each of us within the sound of my voice may pledge to follow Him, thus becoming a shining light to the world, is my prayer,”

Here's a little about my week...

Wednesday I went to San Diego to pick up my new companion. Her name is Hermana castellanos from Houston Texas and she already speaks fluent Spanish what a blessing. She is an awesome missionary and we get along super well! I'm excited to serve with her. 

On our way back from San Diego I had driven like four hours already that day and I was almost to Calexico when bam cop behind me flashing lights.... My little speed detector that's supposed to yell at me and tell the mission office on me hadn't even said anything and then the cop comes up to the window and tells me I was speeding :(((((( I tried to make him feel bad for me cause I'm a missionary hahaha we were like trying to pull out pictures of Jesus Christ and such to get him to cut us a break but no he asks for my license and the papers and such and comes back with the ticket. We started asking him if he had talked with missionaries before then slowly found out that he's good friends with the bishop in El Centro so of course I invited him to general conference and he said he might be able to make it and then crossed out the ticket!!!!! #blessed hahah I was so happy and grateful

On Sunday night we were trying to find a referral but ended up knocking on the wrong apartment number. The lady who answered the door had been sleeping but instead of being upset that we had woken her up she was very nice and welcomed us in to share our message. I was impressed to see someone so willing to invite us in and as we shared the restoration we were able to find out that she had already been taught by missionaries in the past and was very familiar with the church and its teachings. She wasn't baptized the first time meeting with missionaries because she had some concerns with the word of wisdom but she seems very prepared to accept the gospel at this point so I'm super excited to go back and teach her. 

We have another investigator that we've been teaching named Alvaro who has always been very open and accepting to our message and who has already attended church twice. He is very meek and submissive almost as a child which made us wonder if he had some health problems or disabilities. So Sunday we were outside and we gave him a Book of Mormon and he was so excited and just kept talking about how much he loves Jesus Christ and when we finished the lesson we prayed and were about to leave when he stopped us. He then went on to tell us about an accident that happened when he was a child, his brother found a gun in the house and was going to try shooting it at the floor but the pressure lifted his brothers hand and the bullet took out a large portion of Alvaro's brain which has now been replaced with metal plates. When I heard this story I felt so much compassion for him and what his family might have gone through as a result of that experience but it was also cool to see that despite the physical disabilities he has, his faith in Jesus Christ is extremely strong and His love for God and those around him is inspiring.

That's all for now. I LOVE YOU!!! 

Con amor, Hermana Koelliker 

trainingggggg

In the mission they have a weird vocabulary that everyone always uses haha and they say that when you are with someone for their last transfer you "kill" them and then they say that if your training a new missionary then you are their mom/dad hahah so this morning sister avila "died" and headed back home to Utah it was super weird to see her go but I am excited for her and the future she has ahead. this morning I also found out that I'm going to be training and that I will pick up my "daughter" tomorrow at the transfer meeting so theres a little bit of mission lingo for you. I am excited for this next transfer were going to see lots of miracles!!!

this week has been super awesome I feel like things kind of turned around for us and we were about to find some really solid new investigators. haha a couple funny stories

#1- we teach english classes every tuesday night for free so we have all of these cute people that don't know really any english come and last week for the class we did this activity where we had one person go up in front of the class and they had to put the phone on speaker and then we would call a business or store or something and they would have to ask them what time they opened and closed hahaha it was so funny because they were so nervous i wanted to start having them call my family and to see what would happen hahaha but don't worry i know that thats against the rules hahah maybe ill give them your guys phone numbers and they can call to practice for homework.

#2- i was driving down this street to go visit a less active member and we passed this man and i noticed him walking but i just kept driving and then we got to the house and i just felt really strongly that i should've stopped and talked to the guy walking so i ran and put an invitation to general conference on this members door and then got back into the car to drive back to where i saw the man and i was just hoping he would still be there so we hurried and stopped and got out and i locked the door to the car and started trying to talk to him and it turns out he's from HONG KONG and speaks like two words of spanish and no english so we weren't able to communicate super well so he starts walking away and then i remembered that we had a chinese restoration phamplet in our car so i go back to the car open the trunk and grab the phamplet and accidentally locked the keys in the trunk hahaha so sister avila starts freaking out and i just start sprinting down the street after the Asian man to give him the phamplet so i get to him give it to him and she was probably wondering why in the world i was chasing him but we start walking back to the car and sister avila is like "why did you lock the keys in the car were stranded..." then we get to the car try the door and BAM it was unlocked. MIRACLE hahaha and who knows maybe that chinese man will read the phamplet and find the missionaries sometime in his future!

hahah kind of random stories but i have seen so many miracles this week and tender mercies as the Lord has helped us reach our goals! things are looking up for the area and i am super excited to get my new comp tomorrow. love you all!!!

have a good week and enjoy general conference! make sure that you prayerfully listen and take notes because in D&C it says "wether by mine own voice or by the voice of my servants it is the same"  so this is our chance to hear what God wants us to hear through His prophet and apostles! 

xoxo hermana koelliker

Just Another Week!

HOLA HOLA HOLA

Yesterday night was a miracle night ah it was so amazing! I feel like as missionaries you learn to appreciate the little things a lot more. Anyways so it hit 8:30 pm and we had been driving around trying different people for the last hour with not a lot of luck. We had just tried a less active that we can never get ahold of and we came back to the car. A potential investigator came to my mind but I felt really strongly that we should pray for guidance so we said a prayer and sat for a second listening for a prompting and sister Avila was like "nobody is coming to mind" and I still could only think of the potential so we started driving and on the way  I saw two men on the street working on their car and I kept driving until I hit the end of the street then I felt really strongly that we should go back to talk to them so I flipped around and parked and we were going to walk down the street and talk to them. We get out of the car and walk a couple houses and see two different people out so we start talking with them and then we were like "somos misioneras de la iglesia de jesucristo de los santos de los últimos días" and the lady responded super fast and said "soy mormoma" (she's a member). Anyways turns out she just moved her from Las Vegas where she was sealed in the temple awhile ago but hasn't been to church in 6 years!!! But she was outside with her friend and we talked to both of them and they're both going to come to church! Anyways we taught them then start walking back to our car and I'm like wow what a miracle that was so awesome then another lady shows up like right by our car and we ended up having a lesson with her also and have a return appointment for Friday and she was super cool. Back to back miracles ah it was just such a testimony builder for me that if we ask for guidance and act in faith the the Lord really will guide our steps. 

Proverbs 3: 5-6

"Trust in the Lord with all thine heart; and lean not unto thine own understanding.

In all thy ways acknowledge him, and he shall direct thy paths."

The Lord is helping us work to build this area and gain more trust of the members! One week til transfers I'm pretty sure I'll be staying here for awhile longer but I guess we will find out. Love you all!!!

XOXO HERMANA KOELLIKER

Life on the Border

Something I've learned on my mission is that most of the time things just don't really turn out how you thought they would haha but that's okay because we just need to exercise our faith and trust that God has an even better plan. 

Isaiah 55:8-9 

"For my thoughts are not your thoughts, neither are your ways my ways, saith the Lord.

For as the heavens are higher than the earth, so are my ways higher than your ways, and my thoughts than your thoughts."

that scripture is soooooo true!!!! Especially this week haha it was kind of a roller coaster anyways so we were going to have a baptism this Saturday and she had her interview and everything went well and she was so excited and all and so we saw her a couple times through the week and we went by Saturday morning to check on her and make sure she was ready and all good for her baptism that night at 7pm and she said yes I'll be there at 6:30 I'm ready and this is what God wants for me right now and I'm so excited so we all prayed and hugged and it was all good. In the afternoon we sent the elders to go visit her (she's been taught by a bunch of different sets if missionaries) and they stopped by to make sure that she was still good and wasn't going to go to Mexico and was ready and everything was good until about 3 pm when we receive a text and she's like sorry sisters I'm going to Mexicali and I don't think I'll be back in time for the baptism so we're like WHAT and we call her and were like no you need to come back it's all planned everyone's coming this is what you want and what God wants and she's like ok I'll try to be back by 7:30. 

-in the meantime-

We decide to go teach a less active family and we always teach the restoration so we get in there and were just teaching it and my companion was like There's so many churches and Joseph smith wanted to know which church was true have you ever had a question like that? And then things just went bad from there and they took offense to that question and just started tearing us apart... Fifteen minutes later we left crying so that didn't go too well. 

Trying to stay positive we continue texting and calling the baptismal candidate and then about 8 pm we lost contact with her and she never showed up and we were super sad for her. So we went home and went to bed and woke up Sunday and wanted to go see if we could find her and she wasn't home so we left a note and that's all the contact we've had with her. Then we walked by to pick up another solid investigator for church and found out he had left for Mexicali for the next two weeks. The struggle of living on the border :(((((((((( 

HOWEVER we are not lower our expectations and we are not giving up because the devil wants us to feel doubt discouragement and despair but we need to move forward with FAITH because Gods plan will go forth!! So we are still smiling and finding joy in the journey. I have never worked harder then I have this week, we come in every night ready to collapse it's so awesome and I'm so grateful that I get to serve here. 

SO NEVER GIVE UP!!!! Keep serving loving and working hard in all you do. 

I LOVE YOU ALL!!!! 

xoxo hermana koelliker

Ps you don't have to worry about me getting kidnapped and taken over the border because my comp is a karate triple back belt hahaha I didn't even know that was a thing but hopefully she's got my back. 

Baptisms Coming!

THIS WEEK WE'VE SEEN MIRACLES!!!!!!

We started out September with very few investigators and nobody with a

baptism date but we prayerfully set a goal to have two baptisms in our

companionship and the Lord has placed two people in our path.

The first is Fabiola who is 19 and has been taught by a bunch of

different missionaries in Mexico and here and she's like an angel that

fell into our hands and wants to be baptized ASAP she's been begging

us and will be baptized this Saturday!!

Second is Gilberto that we found on the street two weeks ago and is

progressing so well and reading the BOM and has already been to church

twice and has a date for the 26th

I AM SO GRATEFUL AND EXCITED

sorry this is short but I love you all and am grateful for you love

and support!! Especially your prayers! Have a good week

XOXO

on our bikes. this one makes me lol

calexico

COMO ESTANNN????

Still down here in the Mexican border preaching away haha this was a good week! Every Tuesday night we teach English classes and so many people come!!! We're trying to figure out how we can get them to come Sunday's too haha so we're going to sing I am a child of God to them tonight and keep sneaking in little gospel hints hopefully they will all turn into investigators and get baptized!!!!

As a missionary I feel like I've heard a lot of excuses and justifications as to why people aren't obeying the commandments of God. I think some people convince themselves that they are exceptions or that their disobedience is forgiven because they are going through a significant challenge with family or health. For others it might just be laziness or worldly distractions. This behavior or way of thinking is more common in some then others but I know that we have all probably found ourselves guilty of it at some point or another. The truth is however that God and His commandments are the same yesterday, today, and forever, they don't change. As disciples of Jesus Christ and members of His church it is our responsibility to be a light to the world to hold God's standards high and to help others repent and come unto Him. Yesterday we were teaching a woman who lives here in Calexico on the weekdays so that her daughter can go to school and then every weekend they go to Mexicali and that's where her husband is so she only sees her husband 2-3 days a week and one of the days is Sunday. So we taught her about the Sacrament and the importance of church and invited her to attend church this weekend in Mexico. She began to try to convince us that Sunday is one of her only days with her husband and that she didn't need to go to church to have God and was kind of trying to receive a confirmation from us that she was excused from church attendance because of her circumstances. Our response was a little bit different then I think she expected when we testified to her that going to church is a commandment of God and that we need to obey out of love and respect and that He blesses us when we go to church. Something that I've learned significantly on my mission is that we can't please the world and God at the same time, while that woman wasn't very happy with our response, I know that that's what God wanted her to hear and that He wants her and her family to be in church on Sunday. In preach my gospel is says that we need to declare the gospel with a voice of warning and love, because if we truly care about the people around us then we will lift each other to a higher level of commitment and obedience to the Lord. I know that if we "do always those things that please him" and help others do the same that we will be blessed and find true happiness as servants of God. 

This week I have seen progress in this area thanks to the guidance of the Spirit. As I walked around in the 120 degree hot sun I just prayed and prayed that the Lord would help me fulfill my purpose and guide me through the spirit, and He put people in my path that were ready to hear the gospel and prepare for baptism. Im so grateful!!!!!! I love and miss you all! Your in my thoughts and prayers!!! 

Xoxo Hermana Koelliker

PS we had some Jehovah's witnesses knock on our apartment doors this week haha we had a nice conversation with them and then they walked over to the elders apartment and started getting into a little argument hahah so we had to go brake that up and thank them for coming by.  

PPS our cars have little babysitters called TIWI. it tells me to "check my speed" every five seconds haha oops hopefully my driving privileges don't get taken away. 

the border 2 minutes from my house

SURPRISE

SURPRISEEEEEE

Well last week I wrote and said that I was going to be in chula for another six weeks but that changed! So last week on Tuesday night sister chamberlain and I went to the church and visited a couple people so that she could say goodbye and I was taking pictures of her with everyone and she was crying and I was telling them all that I would be here for another six weeks and such so it was a good night. The next day we work up and sister chamberlain finished packing everything then we went off to the transfer meeting. So for the people that haven't been missionaries when we have transfers they call us on Tuesday and tell us who's getting transferred and then those people pack their bags and we take them to the transfer meeting. If nobody of the companionship is getting transferred then you usually don't get to go to the meeting. The transfer meetings are fun though cause you can see your friends and such so anyways we showed up at the transfer meeting because sister chamberlain was being transferred and at the meetings president always calls random people to share their testimonies or give talks on the spot. Kind of scary but usually the people that are getting called to leadership positions have to speak so sister chamberlain got called on to share her testimony and sister Briggs gave a talk and they both got called as sister trainer leaders (not together different areas) I was so happy though Heavenly Father really blessed me with the best companions on the mission. Anyways the transfer meeting went through and president announces it all and they hug their new companions and the people that get put with their friends get super excited and what not but I wasn't getting transferred so afterwards we hug everyone and we're going to leave and then we pass president and waved and he's like wait sister benavides sister koelliker come over here for a sec. So we walk over and he's like can both of you drive? And we're like yaaaaa and then he's like alright don't leave we have a companionship of two sisters that can't drive let me think about this for a second don't leave. Then he walks away probably to pray or something but we started freaking out that one of us was going to be transferred and such anyways 15 minutes later president and the aps and another set of sisters and sister benavides and I were all in this conference room and president was like "wellll sister koelliker we are wondering if you will serve in Calexico now?" Of course I said yes and he told me to go home and pack and that I could call my recent converts and say goodbye. I started tearing up a little cause I LOVE LOVE LOVE the people of Chula Vista but we left the meeting and I hugged sister chamberlain goodbye then headed back to my apartment to hurry and pack all my stuff that was everywhere and call everyone to tell them that I was leaving too and I was off to Calexico. 

Sooooooo here's the story of Calexico hahaha I'm still trying to decide if it's outer darkness or the promised land haha just kidding it is just SUPER far off from the rest of the mission. It's a two hour drive from San Diego and is literally the middle of nowhere. The temp doesn't drop below 115 and there's a hot wind that burns your face. It's on the border of Mexicali so we can see the Mexican border and everyone speaks Spanish. We aren't allowed to drive to the temple or San Diego so we don't really get to see any missionaries besides our zone. My new companion is sister Avila. This is her last transfer in the mission so I'll be taking over the area. She was born in Mexico but lived it Utah so she's fluent and can help me lots with my Spanish. She's easy going so we get along good we got lots of work to strengthen the area though so I'm excited about that. 

Yesterday we had exchanges again and we focused on inviting people to be baptized. In the mission and in the church sometimes people feel nervous about inviting people to be baptized or inviting people to church or what not because they think that it will make the person uncomfortable or ruin the relationship however inviting our brothers and sisters to make covenants with God is the greatest act of love we can extend because we are offering peace in this live and eternal life in the world to come. So I went with sister Lopez yesterday she's an awesome missionary (I got a second chance on the bikes) haha but we were able to invite 15 different people on the street to be baptized when they come to know that Christ's church and priesthood power is restored on the earth. Just about everyone accepted and it was so cool for us to see how many people have been prepared to hear the gospel and they are just waiting for someone to reach out and invite them. My favorite scripture says "for God hath not given us a spirit of fear but of power and of love and of a sound mind" I love that scripture because I know God wants us to have faith and act with courage, to obey His commandments and help others do the same. I love being a member of the church and sharing it with everyone!!! 

I LOVE YOU ALL!!! Thanks for the love and support also everyone keep sending pictures because those are my favorite to see what everyone's up to. Love you love you

My Second Home

This week was such a whirlwind I kept going back and forth thinking I was leaving then thinking I was staying. On Sunday I had made up my mind that I was leaving and started shedding a couple tears and thinking that I was saying goodbye to everyone and then I get a call this morning and IM STAYINGGGGGG hahah chula visit is my second home. I realized that I've already spent longer here in this area then I spent in my BYU dorm which is kind of crazy. My trainer is finally leaving :((((( lol everyone thinks it's funny that I was still with my trainer because usually people only stay with their trainers for 12 weeks but I spent 21 weeks with mine..haha I guess I needed extra training. I really am going to miss sister chamberlain so much though she is like a sister to me we will always be good friends and I am grateful that I got to serve with her for so long. 

Every week when I email I forget what happened that week haha but first is a fun little story so I had to go on an exchange with sister short this week because her companion left to go home but they are in a biking area so I was so excited to get to bike for a day. Anyways though we had district meeting and then some members drove us so we didn't actually get to the bikes until like 7 at night. So we get on the bikes and I was just loving life it was so fun beautiful sunset and I thought I was going to crash the whole time cause I was riding a ghetto bike I'm a skirt but it was so fun. So we get to this place and lock the bikes and go to teach and talk to people then at 8:50 we come back to ride them home and the front tire on mine is just completely deflated haha so we go knock a random door and they help us pump it up but the air doesn't stay in at all so there was like a huge leak. So obviously I couldn't ride it. We had to call my companions and Edgar our member to bring his truck and pick up the bikes so we could make it back in time we were all laughing so hard. Lol bike sister fail. First and last day I get on the bike. 

I want to share a scripture that's super popular but that I love in Helaman 5: 12

"And now, my sons, remember, remember that it is upon the rock of our Redeemer, who is Christ, the Son of God, that ye must build your foundation; that when the devil shall send forth his mighty winds, yea, his shafts in the whirlwind, yea, when all his hail and his mighty storm shall beat upon you, it shall have no power over you to drag you down to the gulf of misery and endless wo, because of the rock upon which ye are built, which is a sure foundation, a foundation whereon if men build they cannot fall."

I was thinking about this scripture lots this week and about how we can build a strong foundation in Christ.  So I was studying in preach my gospel and also read some other scriptures that were listed and many of them included the theme of planting a seed in good soil and nurturing it so that it can bring forth good fruit. So I thought to myself how to we plant ourselves or other people in good soil? I was studying and a thought came into my head to look up a conference talk that my grandpa koelliker had given many years ago. Not remembering what this talk was about (because I was little when he gave it) I decided to type his name into the search box and see if I could find it. The talk came up and what he wrote this talk about is covenants. It was an answer to me that in order to plant ourselves in good soil we yield our agency and make covenants with the Lord. In the talk my grandpa said, "..our efforts to live these covenants may often be accompanied by a measure of sacrifice. This sacrifice, regardless of how great or small, often determines how committed in mind and heart we are to be submissive to the will of our Heavenly Father." What I learned from the scriptures and the words of my grandpa is that we plant ourselves in good soil by making covenants with God.  To continuing growing we need to be submissive to the will of the Lord and make more covenants with Him so that we can produce good fruit. I know that we all need to get to the Temple to strengthen our foundation in Christ and be able to be preserved and stand strong even when the storms and the whirlwinds come.

Anyways we are trying to help build our investigators in Christ by helping them be baptized. This transfer I have had to exercise more patience with the people I'm teaching but we have some baptismal dates coming up so I'm super excited.  

HAPPY BIRTHDAY TO MY AMAZING DAD THIS WEEK!!!! I love you pops and wish I could give you a big squeeze but know that I'm thinking about you. 

Also happy birthday to my perrito manny who's having his birthday this week too hahah you two can celebrate together

Good luck to the bros starting school this week. Love you all!!!

Hermana Koelliker

Our investigator Amanda and her boyfriend michell behind me haha

Our recent convert homeboy jr

SIX MONTHS!!!!!

¡¡¡¡HOLLLAAAAAAA!!!!After I wrote you last week I was thinking more about personal revelation and how sometimes in the moment I don't feel like I'm having any crazy life changing experiences but then I look back and realize that the Spirit really is guiding me every step of the way. I was reading this article that my president sends out every week and this is what he put, "At times, however, even after careful preparation and fervent prayer, you may not feel clear direction. As Richard G. Scott taught, when this occurs "You may want to express thanks...for it is an evidence of His trust. When you are living righteously and are acting with trust, God will not let you proceed too far without a warning impression if you have made the wrong decision." That helped me realize more about the Spirit and the role that it's played in my life. There were times while I was in the MTC where I was on my knees crying and pleading for guidance and I know that God always answers my prayers. The Holy Ghost has been a Comforter to me all my life and especially on my mission as I have learned to recognize its presence more.

Anywayssss this week we have been studying the Holy Ghost and its role in missionary work because the only way that people will be converted is if they receive a testimony by the power of the Holy Ghost, if they feel something. So in order for them to feel the Holy Ghost we need to teach with the Holy Ghost. This week we had what's called MTE's and we have like a big conference with two zones and president and some missionaries give training and such and then we all go on exchanges. And so I stayed in my area and both my companions left with other missionaries. This was yesterday and with MTE's everyone always talks about how there's so many miracles because everyone is from out of the area and they have a new perspective or what not but yesterday it was a miracle because the investigator that ran away to TJ came back!!! Wahoooo so we taught him and it was so crazy because it was a lesson with four investigators and they were like all fellowshiping each other trying to get each other to get baptized. It was a good week!! The area is picking up and we should have some baptisms soon. Next week are transfers but I'm pretty sure I'm staying cause my comp doesn't know the area well enough. I love it here though so that's good, there's more to be done! 

Everyone listen to the Spirit more this week and try to eliminate the distractions or things that are holding you back from being able to have a better connection with heaven. 

I love you all!!! 

Ps. The first picture is with Hermano Espinosa a member of our ward that always comes out with us hahaha he also always wants to do musical numbers with us so I always play the violin and sister chamberlain sings with him. Sometimes he's a little off pitch but we're working on it hahah

The second is life advice that a man on the street gave us the other day haha

FINDING

Holaaaaa I titled my email finding cause we need to find some new

investigators and this morning I watched a video about finding through

members. You are all members so you need to look around and invite

your friends to church!!!! Because the easiest way to bring people

into the gospel is through the members so all you member missionaries

get to work haha just kidding you guys are all already great

missionaries but just continue praying for opportunities to share the

gospel!

Well let's see....it's been a pretty average week and our trio is

growing in unity so that is good. Last Wednesday we contacted a

referral and taught her the restoration with her son and a couple

neighborhood kids and it was a good lesson. During the lesson I just

couldn't stop thinking about getting her on a baptismal date..for us

it's usually not very easy to get someone on date for baptism the

first time we meet them but i invited her and it took a minute for her

to respond but she agreed on a date for August so now we need to get

her to the capilla -chapel. That was awesome though. We tried to teach

her again yesterday and her husband just yelled at the door "we

worship Satan" he might be a little bit of an obstacle but the wife

and son are super cool so we will keep teaching them.

Hahahah I have a funny story so every time that we go to the gas

station sister chamberlain puts the gas thing in then we go talk to

everyone there getting gas and give out cards and get their address

and phone numbers and what not but anyways we were about to leave but

we talked to this last guy and he was like in his late 20s and he's

like sorry I got to go to work and were like oooo where do you work

and he's like I work at the zoo. So sister benavides was like"we're

from out of town and really want to go to the zoo?" And he's like ooo

I have free tickets so he's like give me your phone number and I can

get you the tickets. So we were so stoked cause the zoo is like 50$

per person so we thought we were going to get free tickets so the next

day we get a text from a random number and were like hey who's this.

And it was the zoo guy and were like do you have the tickets? And he's

like ya what are you girls doing today do you want to go to the beach

with me and my buds. So we had to explain that we don't go to the

beach and he's like "sounds like your just interested in the zoo

tickets" anyways we don't respond and then he texts us and is like

"are you girls allowed to date? Or does someone have to be Mormon to

marry one of you?" Haha our district leader just told us to direct him

to the church website so we did and then he texted back and was like

"when is sister benavides done because I'm interested in getting to

know her? Would she be interested?"

We got a good laugh about that sometimes we have to state our purpose

a couple times so that people understand. Anyways we have a couple

investigators that are progressing right now. One is the Christian

pastor he's so cool and the girlfriend of the member and then one ran

away to Tijuana and a couple others.

This week we also had another interesting experience serving food to

the homeless. A couple other people from our ward were there and then

two ladies that were in charge and the ladies were so angry and high

strung the whole time. They were yelling at all of us and yelling at

the homeless people and I wanted to talk with one of them and say "

you know what these people need even more then food is love." It was

sad to me to see because they were serving but they weren't serving

from their heart. It made me think of a talk that I have that we can

do the right things but if we don't want to do the right things then

it does us no good. Our hearts and our desires need to be in the right

place. Anyways that was eye opening to me. We should always be looking

for opportunities to serve as Christ would. Out of love.

Thanks for all the support and love!! Your all in my prayers

Xoxo have a good week

Hermana Koelliker