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