Over the Hill

Yes, internally I'm crying as I think of the fact that I am now closer to going home than since I left. I miss all of you, but I guarantee I will miss my mission more. 9 months is still a long time right? 

In Zone conference this week someone gave a spiritual thought on our name tags that really hit me hard. He had each of us take off our name tags and just hold them and look at them. I felt a sense of emptiness. I don't like taking it off. I looked over and saw several sisters who I know go home this transfer legit crying. No one wants to take it off. Our name is an inch from the saviors. So, how far away am I physically? Spiritually? Do I act in a way I would if He were standing an inch away from me? I have put that on my heart every day for 9 months now. As I have moved from Mexico, to Windy Ridge, to Semoran, changed companions, found investigators, baptized converts, and become a new person, I have worn that tag. I have changed, and everything around me has changed, but that tag has always been on my chest. It has been through everything  with me. I feel honored to have it. It is my outward symbol of my inner devotion. I am going to cry so hard the moment I have to take it off for good. Now many of you have taken off the tag physically, but have you removed the lessons you learned? We don't have to wear the tag to act in the saviors way and do do as He would do. As baptized members of the church we promised to do all that we can to be a disciple of Him. Don't ever forget that. 

Love,
Hermana Kent

Some Elders parked dumb in the parking lot
so a few of us had some fun blocking them in

We knocked doors ALL day on Tuesday.
We had a good time though

We had Zone Conference this week.  Of course it was AMAZING!
One of my best friends, Elder Vastbinder goes home, so I said
goodbye to him.  We took a picture of an inside joke that's really
complicated to explain.  Just trust me.  Ha ha:)

HUMP DAY!  Kissing that camel, it's down hill from here:)

HUMP DAY.  The sister missionary tradition is a
preggie picture, because 9 months.  Ha ha:)

Our dinner appointment had to feed us outside because he's
a single guy.  It was raining so he used his ironing board
as a makeshift table

Found this while walking

We got SOAKED running from our apartment to the car.  We left all our rain
stuff in the car so... we just accepted that we were soaked.  Ha ha.  It was fun!

Hermana Christensen took this.  Our power went out during studies

Q&A with the Book of Mormon

This week was BOMB!!! It was seriously such a good week. We were busy which was fantastic!

 

Tuesday I went on exchanges to the STLs area. I got to meet this marine who is really cool. He is VERY intimidating. Look wise, he's actually pretty scrawny but he could kill me at a glance. He could read us like a book. It was crazy. Super cool guy though. Also it was

7/11 day so y'all had better of gotten free slurpees from 7/11.

 

Thursday we had ZTM (Zone training Meeting) and it was amazing. There was a huge emphasis on being unified as a mission. If one baptizes, we all baptize. We need to be unified and help each other out. Often times missionaries get selfish and competitive, but we are ALL servants in Gods army fighting for the same cause.

 

Friday was the best day ever. Usually we have weekly planning (a 3 hour planning session for the upcoming week) but we had so many back-to-back appointments that we didn't get to it until 6:00 at night.

 

We taught Ivelisse who has a baptismal date for the 23rd of July. We have to change it though because she is still not coming to church. :( anyway, we decided that we needed to go back to the basics. She hasn't started reading the Book of Mormon so we decided that instead of teaching a lesson we were just going to read with her. So we began by asking her to think of a question and then we said a prayer asking Heavenly Father to answer her question as we read chapter 1 of 1st Nephi. And guess what. She got her answer in the SUMMARY!!! She couldn't believe it. She was so excited. So we kept reading and when we got to verse 20 she flipped. It says,

 

"But behold, I, Nephi, will show unto you that the tender mercies of the Lord are over all those whom he hath chosen, because of their faith, to make them mighty even unto the power of deliverance."

 

She LOVES that verse. She marked it and told us she was going to buy a canvas to write it on so she could put it on her wall. She was so excited to keep reading. She believes the Book of Mormon is the word of God. I can testify that the Book of Mormon can answer any question of the soul. I encourage each of you to ponder a question, pray to find an answer, and read a chapter from the Book of Mormon. I promise that if you do so with faith, you WILL find an answer. I have watched it happen time and time again on my mission and I LOVE it. The Book of Mormon is a true blessing and I am grateful for the sacred opportunity I have to tell people about it. However, you don't have to wear a black name tags to tell someone about the world’s greatest treasure.

 

Also fun fact, our Ward Mission leader just got called to be the new Spanish/Portuguese patriarch. Not only will he cover our stake, but TWO other neighboring stakes. There are so many members who want their patriarchal blessing but because there wasn't a Spanish patriarch they couldn't receive it. There was a legit audible gasp in the congregation which was pretty cool. The members are all so excited for this blessings am I!

 

I love my mission more than anything in the world!!!! Today's lesson in relief society talked about losing yourself in the service of God and how we are happiest when we are serving others. I can testify that that is true. I am the happiest I have ever been. I know this church is true. I know that Heavenly Father and Jesus Christ live. I know that the Book of Mormon is true and WILL answer any question our heart is asking. I love being a missionary and I love Florida!

 

Con mucho amor,

Hermana Kent

 

Exchanges 7/11 Slurpee on 7/11

Text from our mission President to all
missionaries.  Literally the cutest thing EVER

The "relief society" make our zone lunch

 

Sorrow For Those Who Know Not God

Hello! I hope you all had a wonderful holiday this past week! Hermana Christensen and I tried to make it something special.  We had a good first week of the new transfer! Fun fact: a year ago this past week I opened my call and found out I would be serving in the great FOM and a year ago this week I went through the temple. TIME FLIES!!!! 

Monday after P-day we got a call from some Hermanas in another ward who had a less-active that was in the hospital in our area. They asked if we could find some members to give her a blessing. So we spent the evening in the hospital ICU with this family. 

Tuesday oh man today was crazy. First off it was transfers, but we were staying together so it didn't affect us much. The only problem was we had to go to the mission office because our  registration on our car expired and we had to pick up some packages. Well on transfer days LOTS of missionaries go to the office so it was crazy. After that we knocked some doors and met lots of cool people. Everyone was obviously busy with family and not super interested in hearing our message but we got some good return appointments. Then to make the day different we went and did service at a retirement center near our apartment with the Valencia Hermanas. We sang hymns, patriotic songs, and had lots of fun. Even though some of the songs were unfamiliar to them, they loved it!  Many commented on the sweet feelings they felt as we were singing and the light we had. Took me back to my days of singing hymns at the Heritage Place every Sunday night. Then Hermana Christensen and I had this bright idea to ride our bikes for 3 hours around our area and talk to everyone on the street. We talked to lots of people and saw some great fireworks. The only problem was I hadn't been on a bike since February so I was a little sore after...... ok a lot bit sore. Haha. When we came home we watched some fireworks being lit off over the lake right outside our front door. It was pretty cool. I sure love this Country! 

The rest of the week was spent as normal. Knocking doors, teaching lessons, and living the Gospel of Jesus Christ. We taught a Pentecostal family from Cuba this week and this is kind of where my subject line came from. This week in my Book of Mormon reading I read the story of Alma and his fellow missionaries going to teach the apostate Zoramites. He talks about how pained his soul was as he heard their corrupted prayers and worshipping. His heart broke as he saw how hard-hearted they had become. They pretended to worship God. Well we had a similar experience. This family was found through a member referral. Two, that are in their 70s and their daughter. As we taught the restoration the Brother was very closed off and went into the whole "all we need is the Bible", " the Pentecostal church is the true church" of etc. I literally felt this pain in my soul. I watched as his daughter truly had the desire to listen to our message, but because of her father, couldn't. I couldn't explain the anxiety I was feeling until the spirit brought back to my remembrance the story in which I had been studying. 

I know without a doubt that his Church is the only true church. I know that the Book of Mormon is True and contains the fullness of the Gospel. I will defend that Book with everything I have and everything I am, until the day I die. I Know Thomas S. Monson is a prophet called of a God.  I know that Joseph Smith was called by God to restore His church and the priesthood authority. I am grateful that I know these things. I am grateful for the opportunity I have to share this message with those who know Him not. I ask each of you to pray in behalf of those who don't know these things. If you know it, it is your obligation to share it. For if you truly do know and understand it, you will want to share it. "Missionary work is like the atonement delivery system" - Dale G Renlund. 

Alma 6:6

6 ​"Nevertheless the children of God were commanded that they should gather themselves together oft, and join in ​​​fasting​ and mighty prayer in behalf of the welfare of the souls of those who knew not God."

Con mucho amor,

🌊🌴☀️Hermana Kent ☀️🌴🌊

Hospital

New stickers for Senor TIWI ( for RMs)

Singing at Brookedale Retirement Center

Singing at Brookedale Retirement Center

Fireworks over the lake

Recent converts in the ward and the missionaries

Saying goodbye to our mission secretary
Sister Rasmussen

HUGE frog trapped on our patio.  We had to catch it and
put it back on the lake

Biking

We became friends on Facebook exactly one year ago and
now we are companions!  #Friendaversary

Proud To Be An American

Transfer news!!!! Hermana Christensen and I are staying together!!! We are so excited. This is our halfway transfer so we are excited to be together. I can´t believe how fast the time is going! This week begins my 7th transfer as a missionary. Only 6 more left here in Florida, as exciting as that sounds, I am sad. Haha. I truly love it here. Not a fan of the humidity and heat, but I am surviving. :) 

 

Okay, now on to this weeks adventures. To be completely honest, I can't remember anything crazy exciting this week. It was a good week of doing missionary work. Rosa is progressing really well. We The only problem we are having is getting our investigators to come to church... so RMs, if you have any ideas on how to get investigators to come to church I will gladly accept your advice! 

 

In my personal Study this week I got to the story of Ammon in the Book of Mormon........ so if you know me at all you know it was a good week of studying. But before I got to the story of Ammon, I read Alma 14. This is a freaking amazing chapter. I highly suggest you read it. It is the chapter where Alma and Amulek are forced to watch righteous women and children be burned and lots of other horrible stuff goes down. The question of the soul that is answered in this story is "Why does bad things happen to good people", well I would like to use this quote that I read during studies by President Kimball: 

" If all the sick for whom we pray were healed, if all the righteous were protected and wicked destroyed, the whole program of the Father would be annulled and the basic principle of the gospel, Free Agency, would be ended. No man would have to live by faith."

God allows pain and suffering to occur so that we might learn to live by faith and so that choice and accountability could work. So whatever challenges you might be facing, remember that God has not forsaken you. All things are for our benefit and part of a plan that is bigger than ourselves. Remember to be humble, and allow the Lord to change you into the person HE desires you to be. 

 

Since I'm lacking in good stories I'll include some good pictures. I love you all so much and hope you have an amazing Independence day! I am so grateful to be a citizen of this country. Almost everyone we work with are immigrants, coming to this country to provide a better life for their families. They take the lowest paying jobs, and smallest apartments to get by, yet, they are so grateful to be here. No matter how bad you make think we have it here, it is NOTHING to what other countries are facing. I am proud to be an American and I'm proud to be serving my mission in the Promised Land! 

 

Con amor,

 

🌴🌊☀️Hermana Kent☀️🌊🌴

 

Happy 8 months!  I came out with these two Hermanas!

Hermanaland (long story).  We are an exclusive club

Painting the bins at our service UAP

Service at the UAP

Carlos - Gloria's grandchild.

Gloria