Er Mer Gersh

Y'all! I just love each of you! Give yourself a hug from me :) Thank you for your emails, they always make me so happy! (unless they are about people that died or got married) 

All is well in little ol' Andrews Texas. Sister Overson and I have been rocking it! I cannot describe the PURE JOY that comes from being made an instrument in the hands of the Lord. The mission field, like life, is full of adversity. But it is necessary for us to pass through it so we can progress. Heavenly Father won't ask for us to pass through a trial unless it is necessary for us to go through. He knows who He wants us to become. Trust Him! 

We have been seeing miracle after miracle. En realidad, every blessing we receive comes from our obedience. We were led to this AMAZINGLY PREPARED FAMILY on Tuesday night. We were tracting and they let us RIGHT IN and gave us DINNER and it was so incredible. They used to live in El Paso next to some LDS people and they were so kind to them and they took them on the open house tour of the Juarez temple :) It just almost brought tears to my eyes because I was so grateful that their neighbors opened their mouths and reached out to them. They probably thought their effort was wasted but I can testify that NO EFFORT IS WASTED! God has a plan for everyone and we are all involved in it. 

Good things are happening here, I am so excited for this transfer. 

I had a huge meltdown on Saturday and I was having the hardest time. I literally bawled for 2 hours in my bed, haha. My eyes were SO PUFFY i could hardly open them. But then I got on my knees, imagined the Savior next to me, and I told Him how I was feeling. I told Him that i didn't think I had the faith to go through this trial, and then I asked Him for help. And then I went to sleep. When i woke up, I was filled with hope. As I went throughout the day, i realized i felt stronger. That strength, though it felt like my own, but I knew it wasn't. 

"but behold, he did deliver them because they did humble themselves before him; and because they cried mightily unto him he did deliver them out of bondage; and thus doth the Lord work with his power in all cases among the children of men, extending an arm of mercy towards them that put their trust in him" Mosiah 29:20

I hope y'all have a great week. my camera is being dumb, but i will send home my sd card and if everyone bugs mom, she will upload them onto my blog :)

LOVE YALL

We ran out of toilet paper

Herro Family and friends. Here we have arrived at yet another week. My companion and I totally ran out of money because we bought these really good Popsicles, so now we have no money for toilet paper. #priorities 

For service, I am painting this awesome mural for El Dia del Nino on the 29th for the Spanish Branch. It is really stressing me out. i am going to finish it on Wednesday though, so then I will send pictures! 

We have been working really hard this week to organize our area book and color code our area. it is taking FOREVER but it is necessary to do for Portales to progress. I think I was just sent here to organize for the next missionaries. We'll see come transfer time (1 week). 

Sister Castro and I are having a blast. I still love her and she still loves me. We just laugh and sing. We are honestly like the same person, except she is brown and can dance. 

Someone fed us chicken legs for dinner this week and we think they just forgot to cook them because they smelled like blood and were SO SO SO SLIMY and when we got in the car we were just gagging and gagging.

We went to Roswell for exchanges on Wednesday and Thursday. We didn't see any aliens but I taught a lady who had 23 cats and it smelled so bad. But she was like taking notes during our lesson and asking the best questions! I loved it!! 

I don't really have that much to write about and my time is almost up, but I love each and every single one of you and I hope that everyone is happy and healthy and whole. 

The church will always be true, no matter what.

Love you, 

Sister Kynaston

I love my mom

Hello team! Things are good in Sunny (and snowy and windy and rainy and lightningy) In PORTALES NEW MEXICO! 

This email is taking me forever because I keep having to stop and reply to people. 

SO, lets talk. This week has been crazy busy. We have been working so hard. We reward ourselves with Mexican Popsicles though. My district leader is online shopping right now for shoes, i can see his monitor. Dumb. Sister Castro is such a ball of fun. We are having a blast. She doesn't like to open up though so a lot of our nights are me just asking her a ton of questions and trying to see where she is at. She has been struggling but I have been able to really help her because I have gone through a lot of really similar things! How cool is God! Nothing is random. We are trying really hard to get new investigators and that is hard. People can be so rude sometimes. At least I have a companion who I can just laugh things off with. I got two skirts from walmart and I actually love them. 

Something that is so wonderful is that people keep telling me that I sound like a native mexican!! Street contacts, branch members, my companion. The gift of tongues is so real! I bore my testimony in Spanish yesterday and i had so many people come up to me and tell me that i didn't pronounce no thing wrong and I have a great accent! HAha, but then I bore my testimony in the English ward and I had someone come up to me and ask me where my accent is from. LOL 

Man I have like no more time! All is well! Send your prayers my way. Love you ALL with my WHOLE HEART AND SOUL! THE CHURCH IS SO TRUE AND WILL ALWAYS BE TRUE

Sister K

my goals, plus one from Sister Castro, I curled my hair (this pic is dumb), moving around stuff in our house, someone came by and took a picture of us sleeping! 

throw up

 FAMILY! I love you and i have been especially excited to email you this week because so many awesome things are happening!!! 

First off, i got my new compa and she has been out 5 months but that girl is PREPARED! She is so awesome and so bold. We have been working so hard and staying so busy. She is an incredible cook and it almost brings tears to my eyes.. :) Her Dominican Spanish is a LOT different from my Mexican Spanish and so sometimes I just have 0% idea what she is saying, haha. She is teaching me a lot of phrases and words. Just spending one week together, I feel like I have gotten a lot sassier, haha. I say "girl" after everything, oh no. She is seriously such a prankster and is always scaring me and popping out from all over the house and car. She always pretends like she can see spirits behind me.... super creep. LOVE HER! 

So this week for English Class, i taught everyone how to play a very American game. DON'T EAT PETE! HAhahahaha. Except I had all the squares be letters and we made it so every time they ate a mini M&M off a letter, they had to say a word in English that started with that letter. They loved when you go to yell at the person. They would get so scared. SO FUNNY!

Something Sisters do is have "date nights" with each other. You pick a night every so often to finish up nightly planning earlier so you have time to watch a movie together or do an art project or make a treat. It just depends. So I asked Sister Castro what she wanted to do for our date night and her eyes just lit up and she said "Smoothie challenge." TURNS OUT a smoothie challenge is when you both pick 5 random things from your kitchen, write their name on a piece of paper, put them in a jar, and draw out 5 each. THEN you blend up whatever you picked and you have to DRINK IT! I, of course, picked an old slice of pizza, crystal light squirt stuff, ice cream, sloppy joe juice mix, and an onion. (kill me.) I can't remember what she chose but it was equally gross. So needless to say we spent our date night, and a long while after, throwing up in the sink and toilet. HAhahah it was the worst idea ever. Don't tell Sister Heap mom.

Conference was amazing. it made me realize I really want to go to Africa after my mission and go play with all the little black babies, so will someone sponsor that trip?

You GUYS!!??? Do you EVEN REALIZE HOW TRUE AND COMPLETE OUR CHURCH IS!? DO YOU NOT UNDERSTAND THAT OUR PROPHET IS GODS MOUTH PIECE!? How incredible? How blessed are we. I know, without a single doubt, this church is Christ's church. He is at the head. 

I love each of you so much!! Have a great weeeeeeeek

Somos nacas

7 months and 70 pounds later

Querida Family y Amigos, 

How are you all doing? If you are on this email chain, you know that you are the best of the best. So congrats to each one of you. 

Saturday was a special day (and not just because we got ready for Sunday). I hit my 7 month mark and we got transfer calls! Both Hna B and I were so so nervous so we just did sit ups until the call came, lol. Sister Bushnell got her call first and when they said she was going to Borger, TX to be with Hna Donis, i just lost it. I was crying SO HARD I couldn't even talk to hear my call. I was so happy for her. She is going to LOVE it there. She is going straight into the arms of my Irene and my Hermana Donis. The Lord loves her. They told my that I would be staying and my new compa was coming from her training area of Alpine Texas and was from the Dominican Republic. Her nae is Hermana Castro. I sobbed out a reply and hung up and Hna B and I just hugged each other and ccrriieeddddddd. It is so hard to keep saying goodbyes. That's the worst part about Missions. But the spirit was so strong because these calls are what the LORD wants and it feels so right. I am SO excited to show Han Castro around Portales and go out and WORK! 

Sister Bushnell and I have have gotten to know each other so well in these 7 weeks. I talk to her in all my weird voices and she talks back to me in a Stitch voice. In Relief Society, they where talking about how someone's family motto was "it will all work out" and then she asked, does anyone else's family have their own motto? And Sister Bushnell leans over to me and whispers "Kynaston's don't take dares". HAHahahah. She is so sharp, I am going to miss her.

My talk in the Spanish Branch went really really well. I was SO SO nervous before hand and I stayed up all night tossing and turning, repeating Spanish vocab in my head.. But I prepared well, and when I got up to the pulpit, my mind was clear and the Lord blessed me with the gift of tongues and the spirit was so strong. I was able to speak what was in my mind and my heart and I talked about the Savior and shared scriptures. I really love the Branch. I am so glad I am staying with them.

I am so grateful for all the opportunities the Lord gives me to improve. If He didn't care about me, he wouldn't care about giving me trials to overcome and I just wouldn't ever progress. But he is behind me and is pushing me along my mission, even when i am crying and upset and have given up, He keeps pushing, haha. I am so grateful for that. He knows the end destination and can't wait to get us there. Trust in His perfect timing. that is probably the hardest thing, but the most rewarding. Keep moving forward! Seguir adelante! 

love, 

Hermana Kynaston

Pascua poo

Herro Family and fwends. I love you guys! I hope you have been having a wonderful week! :) My week has been preeetttyyyy dumb. 

First off, we were walking home one day and we went through this other street so we could say hi to our investigator, JJ, but we saw all these cop cars and fire trucks and stuff around it, and we see his home just burned to a crisp. And we like run up and are like, "Is the person who lives here okay!?" and they are like, "we cant talk about it, be on your way" And we are like "We know him though!!!" And this detective guy (who looks 15) comes up and is like Oh you know him? I am going to need to see your ID's. So then they ask us all these questions for like 45 minutes and it was really creepy and they went through our planners to see all the days we had seen him, it was so annoying. Then a member in the branch texts us late that night and says she saw on the news that they had found 2 bodies in the house that were taken in for an autopsy. Next day they said that the bodies had been shot and killed and that their house was burned to hide the murder or something like that. So Hna B and I have been so freaked out and sad these passed couple of days. North side of Portales is known for being really sketchy and that's our area, lovely.  

A lot has happened this week. i don't really feel like writing all about everything so I will just give you a few points of stuff:

I have really missed Pier 49 this week so I make Hermana Bushnell roleplay and pretend to call in orders and I pretend to answer and tell her all about our specials, hahah. So duuumb 

We had to go to Lubbock for some dumb mission thing that lastest 30 minutes. Total waste of miles. But we had an awesome road trip! We just sang our lungs out to Vocal Point (family: BUY THE CD Vocal Point Lead Kindly Light) and we took some awesome pictures, i will send you them :)

Since it is spring, all of the animals that live by us are having babies! I guess that happens in the Spring? But it is so cuuuuuute! Kathy has a baby horse now and there are baby kitties and baby lambs and baby llamas and baby rams and baby spiders and baby humans. S'cute

I have to speak next Sunday in the Branch and I am like what's the topic and he's like missionary work. And I am like uh on Easter Sunday? And he's like, uhh yeah. Missionary work and Jesus. HAhaha.. Pray for me.. 

We were invited to a Catholic Service (in Spanish) on Saturday.

We went knocking yesterday and found the most wonderful family!!! The mother is named Mari and she has 7 boys!!! She's like Irene but reversed. She invited us in and we taught about the Plan of Salvation and she had so many good questions. Then she invited us for dinner on Wednesday and is going to teach us how to make tortillas! HURRAY!!!!

I love you all. And I am tired, So i am ending this email.

Love, 

Sister Kynaston

Best and worst week.

oh Family.. This truly has been a week of SO much growth. ( I can hardly focus though because there is the most annoying old guy sitting next to me BREATHING SO LOUD!) But anyways, all is well. Estoy siguiendo adelante!

So i will start with the bad first. This morning we woke up to having a flat tire. And instead of being allowed to drive it slowly to the car store place, we had to CHANGE the TIRE and then drive it. So, in a SKIRT, I got out the jack and the spare and some other tools that i found in the trunk and I flippin changed the tire. #WhoNeedsElders? Also this week, my brain turned to mush and I became a depressed bed potato. I couldn't get up. I didn't want to talk to anybody. I didn't want to look in a mirror. I seriously was just DONE! My poor companion.. So I called Sister Heap and she is helping me a ton. But it has been very slow going for me this week. I've been to a bunch of doctors and we are figuring this out! Everything should start to improve. I just hate feeling like that, because that's not what I came out to do.. i don't want to lay in bed. i don't want to be sick. I want to FIND, TEACH, AND BAPTIZE! The Lord is so good to me and is teaching me the best things. I am learning how to take care of myself, and how to be humble enough to let others take care of me too. Mainly those are just the things that have made this week dumb. 

BUT THIS WEEK HAS BEEN SO AMAZING! BECAUSE I GOT TO SEE MY BORGER FAMILY! We woke up really early and rode down to Lubbock with our favorite RM named Julaine. We got to the temple and I knew that the Borger ward was coming in like an hour, so Sister B and I did initiatories for a second and then ran down to the baptismal font. I walked in there and Bishop Long gave me the biggest hug! Then Sister Long! Then Sister Cochran! Then Mario! Tears just streamed down my face. Sister Long and I just looked at each other and smiled and cried for like a whole minute. My heart was going to explode. Then i walked towards the Sister changing room, and I opened the door and in the reflection of the mirror, I see Irene's beautiful face and i LEAPED INTO HER ARMS!!!! And my heart exploded. I just lost myself and we cried and cried just hugging each other. I accidentally was like sobbing. But Irene just held me even though she's like SO pregnant. She was just saying "I love you I love you I love you I love you" in my ear over and over. I finally pulled away and BOOM there was HERMANA DONIS!!!!!! I just hugged the crap out of her too. Sister Long was in there and she's crying and saying "This is what Heaven will be like". Every time I reflect on that moment I tear up. I have never in all my life felt that much love. I was surrounded in the Temple by people who LOVED me. And not only loved me, but genuinely CARED about me, people who prayed for me. And there they all where, hugging and kissing me. I felt like the most beautiful person in all the world. I got to sit with Irene as we waited in the confirmation room with Irene's hands on top of mine, feeling little baby Savannah kick around, and I had Sister Donis's arm around me. I just closed my eyes and thanked God for this perfect moment in His home.

Irene and I got a few minutes to ourselves outside the temple. We walked around and talked about life. She is such a rockstar. She is the Relief Society secretary! She loves it. She just held my face in her hands and thanked me for knocking on her door. For saving her and her babies. She said that no one will ever replace me. She told me her girls and she still hadn't gotten over me leaving and that they talked about me all the time. Irene said that I was the brightest light in her life. Then we promised each other to meet back in the temple one year from her baptism. AND THEN WE FACE TIMED HER GIRLS! They are so beautiful and they just screamed when they saw me. Oh you guys.. my heart is so full. I can't even begin to explain the joy that i have in my heart. What if I had not come?

As I kneeled down in prayer that night, I just cried to my Heavenly Father in the utmost gratitude. I explained to Him how much love I felt and how beautiful I felt around those people. And then He took that time to teach me about HIS perfect love for me. I knew that if I truly understood HIS love, I would always feel beautiful. I would always feel enough. When i am around Irene, do i even give one thought to my weight? Stretch marks? Complexion? NOOOOOOO! So if I understood Heavenly Father's love, would I give any thought to those either?

Words cannot describe how much I love this gospel. It gives us a new life. Not just when we sin. But through the Atonement of Jesus Christ, we are offered that new life and new start everyday. After a hard week. After a long winter of depression. After a loss of a testimony. We are offered a fresh start. A budding blossom of love and peace. 

I love you each so much. I love my mission. I love these people. I am so grateful for this opportunity to serve my Heavenly Father. i feel like i haven't even done anything, but He has blessed me beyond belief. 

Love, 

Your Sister Kynaston

Six months and still alive!

BARELY ALIVE! Just kidding, i am doing great. I eat apple jacks and a nutella sandwich for every meal and I feel like I am in the CCM! 

I was trying to tell my companion a story of something that happened before my mission and it was the weirdest thing, I like couldn't remember ANYTHING! And then I was trying to remember what i did for my birthday and I couldn't remember that either! AH! The mission fog is setting in! :(

There is a guy sitting next to me at the ENMU library wearing a ton of cologne. 

This week has been so nuts. We have just been doing so much service for members, less actives, and recent converts. it is a great way to get to know them and establish a relationship with them. Everyone has been so worried about Sister Bushnell and me. they just see these two small girlies who live in Taco Town and don't know how to cook. So everyone tells us to come over and eat with them ANY DAY and we had a member drop off this HUGE bag of toilet paper, tape, granola bars, flash lights, stamps, paper towels, and a bag of frozen shrimp. We get calls from people checking up on us all the time, ahaha. It is so weird. I am stronger than I look! (not really though, I am fatter than I look) 

As the senior companion, I tried to get Hna Bushnell to unclog the drain in our shower, but she refused and I refused too so now our drain is disgusting. That's what we really need someone to help with..

Kathy and Lane came to church! YAY PROGRESSION!

So my 6 month anniversary was on Friday and I spent it at the Pedroza's house. We had a mini fiesta. She bought me this cute tres leches cake and all of the sudden the whole family is chanting "mordida mordida mordida!" (bite it bite it bite it!) And I am like, what bite it? Where? What? and Hermana Pedroza is like it's a tradition! Bite the edge of the cake! (Mom I think you and Grammy are secretly Mexican) Because I leaned in and was going to bite a tiny part of the edge and BAM! My whole face got shoved into the cake. I didn't even see it coming.

I also learned the Spanish version of John Jacob Jingle hieheihjigh schmit song. 

I have really been learning so much these passed few weeks. I have been feeling so down on myself and so critical and depressed. I felt like I was never doing enough. Never rising to the Lord's expectations. Not being a good example to Hermana Bushnell., etc.. But recently we went to this little baptism for a cutie 8 year old named Reagyn and they had a music number from this little 6 or 7 year old named Rachel and she played a TINY cute violin. Everyone was on the edge of their seats just smiling so BIG and everyone was so proud of her for playing this cute little tune. The spirit hit me so hard and I suddenly realized, we didn't care that she squeaked a few times, it didn't matter that she wasn't Lindsey Sterling, it didn't matter that she forgot to play the 2 verse. Everyone was just so PROUD of her for getting up there, holding that little violin, and trying. I KNEW that that was how my Heavenly Father saw me. While I was tearing myself apart and being so critical, He was watching me try and was so proud of me. We all need to be so patient with ourselves. We need to extend to ourselves the same kind of mercy that we extend to others. We are doing so well! We are enough! I don't mean that we don't need to stop trying or anything. We need to take responsibility for where we are in our lives, but allow ourselves some satisfaction for who we are and what we have worked to become. We are NOT going to be perfect in this life. But if we are a little better today than we were yesterday, we are doing enough. 

I love each of you so so so much. you mean everything to me and I am so proud to have you as my family and closest friends. Keep moving forward. 

Love, 

Sister Kynaston

leggings are not pants Savannah