Lucky #9

I love this place.

In a shocking turn of events we had transfers and....I'M STAYING!  I know you are all shocked so I'll give you a moment to let that sink in.

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Okay now that you have had your moment yes that does mean 9 transfers (or 55 weeks) in the Bella Vista Zone and the Queen Creek Ward. I don't think they can get enough of me. If anyone needs a tour of the greater Queen Creek/San Tan area please give me a call. I know it better than my hometown at this point lol.

Moving on....

Since Wednesday mucho has happened. Not really but I did take a quick nap this morning and it was pretty glorious.

We went on exchanges again with Sister Van Gundy and Roberts. Sister Van Gundy (the poor thing) had exchange #3 with me. I went to her but we were near this construction site and I had a ton of quality Spanish gospel discussions which was awesome. We also helped out at a service, went to the temple and missionaried (?) it up!

On Friday we also had a bomb lesson with Lupe in front of the temple! He loved it and the spirit was so strong. He has a lot of hurdles still but he wants it and that is what matters :)

Lorena and Marisol are doing great! They are feeling really good about baptism and Sergio got approved for the priesthood! The bummer this week is that they are moving...still in the ward boundaries but to the elders area....we are hoping though that they will let us keep teaching them since they are so close to their baptismal date and they don't want "the hermanas to leave" so fingers crossed folks but I hope that they will let us keep them...I love that family a lot and they have come so far recently.... but we will see what Heavenly Father wants to happen with that.

It has definitely been a week though. A few weeks ago I made the mistake of praying for Humility. I know that He is definitely giving me what I asked for. The hardest thing sometimes is accepting His will. We have a plan of how we want it all to work out but very rarely does it work that way. It sometimes requires us doing things we would probably not want to do otherwise especially when He has called us to be a little more, to try a little harder, to give more than we think we have. He also wants us to realize that its not on us. That we NEED our Savior.

I love being a missionary and I love this work!

To the Moon and Back!

Hermana Showalter

I love to see the temple!

Another amazing - slightly chilly - week here in the amazing Queen Creek area. So much has happened so I will give you the wonderful highlights of it all.

1. INTERVIEWS

We had interviews with President and they are as always so SO wonderful. 10/10 would recommend having President Wheeler as your president. Our interview went slightly over.....by about 25 mins. We just had too much to talk about and I love hearing his guidance! He is such an inspired leader for this mission. We talked about everything - the mission, Spanish, transfers, school - weird. I just left so edified.

Also we got there early and there was this construction worker and Sister Shaffer and I went and talked to him and Sister Wheeler was slightly concerned for our safety but we got him to agree to meet with missionaries in Phoenix, take a Book of Mormon and read/pray about it  #TalkWithEveryone

2. THE TEMPLE

The reason why I am writing on a Wednesday is the we got to go to the temple!! It was literally just what I needed to recharge my batteries. I went in armed with different questions and every one was answered. It wasn't lightning bolts or an intense spiritual experience. Just a lot of peace and quiet guidance. I loved just being able to sit there and soak it all in. It truly is one of my favorite places on earth.

Make use of the temple people! make it your goal!

3. LUPE

We had an amazing lesson yesterday with Lupe. The spirit was so so strong and we taught mostly about the atonement. At the end of the lesson we invited him to pray about a baptismal date right there. He prayed and we all felt AWESOME about March 31st. He still has a lot of hurdles to cross but he has the best fellowship in the world - Recent Convert JOSE - so we know that he can make it. KEEP HIM IN YOUR PRAYERS.

4. EXCHANGES

So many exchanges.

They were basically back to back. Very fun. Very tiring. I have slept so good recently.

First was with Sister Van Gundy again. We saw MUCHOS miracles and had a fun time. I felt bad because it was in my area and she no habla espanol at all so it was hard during lessons BUT the sentences she wrote out to say sounded awesome!! lol we are the STLS the English sisters dread having jaja

Then I got to be with SISTER FUIMAONO. We relived the good ol' days (aka last transfer) and talked with everyone, met this old Hispanic lady from Aguascalientes who was low key nuts, and partied it up in my old area. I also got to see Nohelia one of my old investigators! We had an awesome lesson with her talking about burying our weapons of war which involved us lighting paper on fire outside and burying it under rocks....surprisingly very spiritual and very interactive.

5. Sister Shaffers Bday

In the summer Sister Shaffer and I celebrated my 20th bday and we got to celebrate hers together as well! I woke up at apostate o'clock and decorated our study room for her so when we woke up (for me a second time lol) I showered her in confetti and really off key singing. She may be the most loved person I know. People kept dropping stuff off at the house all day for her and we literally have like 5 cakes on our table rn. I also told everyone I saw that it was her birthday and their reactions were hilarious. I am going to be the best real mother ever.

except for the fact I forgot about the pday switch and if not for her real mom would have had nothing to decorate our room with #oops

6. Mental DEATH

Soooooo our sleep/rest/time we aren't running around has been lacking I think it hit me this week.

I love Bella Vista. I love Queen Creek and San Tan. BUT I HAVE BEEN HERE 8 TRANSFERS. my whole mission. Un ANO. and Im basically going to be here at least another 2 to 3 months......so I was doing that thing where you kind of are laughing/crying and had a slight meltdown. But I am all good.. Don't worry fam. I have recovered. I guess I am just a south missionary through and through. I love my area and my people....moving on.



Quote of the week:

*whenever Sister Shaffer has food*

Me: Do you love me?

SS: uh....

Me: FEED MY SHEEP


I LOVE BEING A MISSIONARY! This is actually the best thing ever. I've gained such a stronger testimony of my Savior and of His sacrifice and especially of the importance of the sacrament. Before I left I didn't completely understand the importance of going to church. I went and liked it but it didn't change me like it should have. Now every Sunday is the chance for me to renew my covenants. To become better and improve. The greatest gift we have been given is the chance to repent and come unto Him. Also GO TO THE TEMPLE! Even if it is to just sit outside on the grounds. You will receive guidance and feel your Heavenly Fathers love for you!!! IT IS THE BEST

Have a blessed week! Look for the miracles!

To the Moon and Back!

Hermana Showalter

1. me welcoming Katie home!

I was getting kissed!

Katie came home and I went to welcome her home... Well my cardboard person did.

Josie

STL lunch

One of our morning planning sessions ft. my pointer and a sign my mom sent.

JIMMY 

Our new car Josie

Throwback to Spanish zone conference (lol Im behind sister fuimaono)

A blessed up week and the craziest yet!

To start off....1 YEAR! It is crazy to even think that. The time has literally gone by so fast I feel like I've just blinked. Over one year ago I was sitting in the MTC trying to figure out how to say a prayer in Spanish and teach people. Haha I was so clueless and I still am but it has been so fun figuring it all out!

Also crazy is that pretty much everyone I know is getting home from their missions. For one KATIE GETS HOME TODAY!! What the heck?!? So weird! President also gave me permission to have lunch with a friend from here who just got back from his mission - the one and only Riley Evans! We were friends my freshman year and a group of us managed to stay in touch. His love for the gospel was so amazing to see and he is the RM I want to be. He is still inviting everyone to listen to the missionaries and it's was a great example to me. Haha it was also a throwback to a previous life!

I also got to go on exchanges with Sister Constantine this week and I LOVE HER! We had such a blast even though we biked ALL day. I will reiterate I am a Spanish missionary because God knew I would die if they put me on a bike. At the end of the day I just had to wave Sister Constantine on. My legs were on FIRE. I felt it for probably the next three days but I also loved it because we were able to talk with so many people! I love chasing people down on bikes and talking about the gospel with them :) I also love the really weird moments you get because we had a ton lol I have never been hit on so much before in my life and I was literally a sweaty mess on my bike.

Our area is still keeping us pretty busy and we are just trying to manage it all. The Rivera family is doing great but we moved the date back a bit so that the dad could feel more ready to baptize them. We are also teaching almost this whole house of Hispanic men and it is hilarious. They are all very different individuals with different needs so we are trying to find a way to balance our teaching for that. It's been a real learning experience haha. Two of them, Ramiro and Carlos, are on date to be baptized in March so keep them in your prayers!

But the highlight of the whole week is JOSIE! She's gorgeous and perfect. I wouldn't classify her as golden definitely more of a silver. We found out about her when the assistants texted us a picture. Oh and she's also a car lol AND SHE IS AMAZING. She makes it a pleasure to book it to our different lessons #blessed

I would love to write more but time is ticking and my brain is fried! I love being a missionary and its been the best year of my life yet! I love the gospel!

To the Moon and Back!
Hermana Showalter

Wedding Crashers

Got to eat lunch with Riley who just returned from his mission!

Another wonderful, busy week here in San Tan!

The cacti are growing, the dirt is still very brown, the temperatures are climbing and the only thing raining out of the sky are miracles.

It has been a pretty busy week here. We have a lot of work and it has been awesome to see the area continue to boom. We also had meetings everyday this week....the church is run on the spirit...and meetings my friends.

To start off with the meetings part of it all we had MLC, Spanish Zone Conference and a bunch of other things that edified my mind and spirit and made me really antsy to get out of a church building and talk with people.

MLC was awesome! We talked a lot about the Book of Mormon and it's importance in peoples conversion. It is the greatest tool we have been given and it is such a blessing. It is a book, a record, written for our time, to help guide us and every single verse was picked and recorded for a reason. The Book of Mormon has blessed my life infinitely. My life has been defined by it's precepts and it has shaped me into the person I am. I definitely left a bit chastised and with a firm commitment to use the Book of Mormon in every opportunity I have.

We also crashed a wedding.... we went to knock on an investigator's door and when they opened it, a bunch of family was inside and so was a long blonde-haired hippie with a cowboy hat who apparently was an ordained preacher...? Sister Shaffer and I are not the missionaries who walk away from awkward situations. De hecho usually we face them head on (embrace the awkward) but this one was not happening. We got out of there so quick. Hahahahaha most awkward thing ever

Also like 10 people have told me my accent sounds like a mix of Spain, Argentina and Brazil. I don't know how it happened but at least I don't sound white.

Biggest blessing of the week though was definitely Sara. Sara was invited to church a few weeks ago by a member and has been coming ever since. She has been really hesitant to meet with us but told us that she would let us know when she was ready. Well we got a text from her this week saying that we could come over. It had been a "eh" day but I wanted this lesson to go so well. All during the day I was just praying that she would feel the spirit. During the lesson Sister Shaffer and I tried to focus on the spirit and it was one of the most powerful lessons I have ever taught. As we were talking about Joseph Smith and the restoration of the church I started to cry a little bit (I am not a crier) and she started to cry. The spirit was literally like a wall like "BOOM - THE CHURCH IS TRUE".

I love being a missionary. I have seen peace come into peoples lives through these teachings. I have felt the peace in my own life through the Book of Mormon and the guidance of living, modern day prophets. I don't really know how to describe being a missionary. It's hard and exhausting. It's frustrating and sometimes depressing. Yet I have never had greater peace and direction before in my life. I have never felt such joy in the midst of so much exhaustion. Those nights when I just want to go home and collapse I remember my Savior who carried a cross for me - Sister Showalter - a slightly dysfunctional person who cracks a lot of Mexican jokes, is always down for a dance party, makes bomb smoothie bowls and loves a grocery store (I miss Wegmans so much) almost as much as her family. That is what gets me through the good and bad days. It is what is going to keep getting me through them the rest of my life. I love my Savior and am so grateful I can follow a part of His path and I am so grateful for the Book of Mormon which has helped show and clarify that path for me.

2 Nephi 31:10 "And he said unto the children of men: aFollow thou me."  I invite you all to follow our Savior. The best way to do that is to learn of Him. I promise you that as you search the Book of Mormon you will find the way to follow Him.

To the Moon and Back!

Hermana Showalter

Solo

This week I entered a place that was filled with desperation and PDA. A place where I felt very out of place as a missionary and as a person. Thats right..I went to the YSA.

My first mistake was having a split that has a boyfriend. I found out very quickly that missionary work takes second place to the idea of an eternal marriage lol. My second mistake was being solo in a YSA. My missionary instincts were kicking in hard. My third and biggest mistake was somehow ending up between two different couples and trying to avoid being whacked by different flailing arms and making myself as small as possible. I think I was so uncomfortable I made people uncomfortable looking at me. During this time I pondered the fact that I had ever been in a YSA and committed myself to only attending Spanish family wards for the rest of my life.

So yeah the YSA has been an experience to say the least but I'm sure we'll figure it out someday (although if I hear one more talk on eternal marriage I'm starting a coup and fleeing the country)

But all in all a pretty solid week!

1- Exchanges

I got to go on exchanges with Sister Hanson and it was a blast! It's been so long since we've been companions (not since the MTC says haha) so it was fun to see the growth we've experienced and reminisce on all thats changed this past year. We also saw some pretty cool miracles.

We stopped by Lorena and her family and followed up on how they were feeling about baptism. Lorena told us they were excited and her and Sergio were talking about how they want him to perform the ordinance. They are willing to do whatever it takes and although they are struggling right now with other things, the ward has really pulled together to help them and it has been amazing to see.

On exchanges we also stopped by this potential we have. I haven't stopped by them a ton before but for some reason that day I kept having this feeling that we should go and visit them. We got there and come to find out they are reading the Book of Mormon, she wants to come to church and they are looking for a church where they can feel at home. It was such a miracle.

2 - Zone Conference

Zone Conference was also this week! I love having the chance to learn more from President Wheeler and see new ways I can improve as an individual and as a missionary. We focused a lot on the devo "100 Percent Responsible" that we had discussed in MLC the month before. I really loved though the training that the Assistants gave. It was all about following an inspired way of planning to really focus on the individual. It has completely changed how we plan now and we really have seen miracles come from it.

3- Lupe

Lupe is doing awesome! He has completely turned his life around and is doing everything he can to be a better person. It has been amazing to watch. He also has been inviting everyone to church and we had such a spiritual lesson with him the other night focusing on the power of fasting to overcome our weakness and trials.


Funny moments:

A pizza guy dropped off some pizza at 10 o'clock one night from Sister Shaffer and they were all scared so I had to answer the door and he kept asking for Kylee (aka Sister Shaffer) so I forged the signature and then the pizza guy called me out on it lol awkward and I tried to hide but had to go back and talk to him

A puppy tried to eat my skirt and I dragged it like half a block but then we picked up a new investigator so vale la pena. 

I have helped with so much math homework recently lol grateful for a dad that taught me how to do math and was patient with me through the awfulness of algebra.

We have a neighborhood peacock we've named Simone that just walks around and was in our backyard and we found out that peacocks don't eat bread that you throw at it. San Tan is an interesting place


A lot happened this week and I remember like none of it honestly. I love being a missionary. I love this work.

Recently I've been studying a lot in Moses and I love Moses 1. In it the Lord teaches Moses who exactly who He is and then He tells Moses who he is. Having this knowledge Moses after goes head to head with the adversary.

What I love about that is that when we have a knowledge of our Heavenly Father and Savior and when we have a knowledge of our divine identity we can overcome those moments of trial and difficulty. We may still be scared or weak but with this sure knowledge we can take them head on.

This is the best thing I've ever done with my life. I love you all!

To the Moon and Back!

Hermana Showalter

Otra Vez

Once upon a time I was in college (this was many moons ago) and it was finals week and I thought I was really tired. Then I became Sister Shaffers companion again and we both wanted to work so hard that we found out what true exhaustion is. I think she may secretly be trying to kill me but is cleverly disguising it. We haven't had a real dinner in like a week haha.

So what I hope you got from that is 1) I am very tired and 2) SISTER SHAFFER AND I ARE COMPANIONS AGAIN!!!! Transfers happened and Sister Shaffer has once again made it down to Queen Creek. We are so pumped to work together especially now that we kind of know what we are doing (lol) and can kind of speak the language (again lol). 

Last transfer Sister Fuimaono and I spent a lot of time finding and our area is literally booming right now because of it. We have people falling out of the sky right now and we are running around like chickens with our heads cut off trying to manage it all. Hopefully this next week we will get our feet under us a bit more though. The only thing I wish I had more of was time. We never get to half the things we need to do especially now with a YSA ward to juggle on top of our Spanish one. We share the YSA with our zone leaders and they have four wards and I don't know how they do it. I was called Spanish for a reason for sure. 

HIGHLIGHTS OF THIS WEEK:

Daniel got baptized and spoke at the new member fireside and everyone agrees he is the tenderest thing ever and we taught him how to dab.

The Torres Family ( which apparently is the Rivera family...oops haha) is coming back into activity, Lorena had her baby which is the cutest thing ever and Marisol and Lorena committed to being baptized! Sergio is working really hard with Bishop so that he can be the one to do it and I can't say enough how flawless that man's hair is. I just want to write a poem about it or something. It's magnificent.

We had a bomb lesson with Lupe and he committed to pray about baptism on February 24th. He actually brought it up even before we could and is excited about the idea of it all. He's tricky to get in with but comes to church every week and wants it! I also really like being able to talk about art with him (he's a tattoo artist and paints and draws on the side).

We got to go visit with Gloria and recap all our fun times together. It really was so good to see her. If everyone could keep her in their prayers that would be awesome. She's really struggling right now but it's all going to be okay.

It really has been a crazy week but Sister Shaffer and I are so pumped to be back together and so ready to give this transfer everything we've got. I know we are going to see miracles this transfer and I know we already have. The longer I have been on my mission the more I have seen that it truly isn't us that are doing the work - yes we go out and give it everything we've got but it is God that leads and guides us and gives us those miracles and blessings. These past few transfers as I've had to be out of my area more I've seen God taking care of it when I couldn't and it truly humbles me. He knows when we are trying. He knows when we are giving it everything we've got and He blesses us for it. The only thing He asks is that we are out trying, putting our whole selves into this work. I know God leads and directs this work because it is the salvation of His children. No one desires for us to succeed more than He does because no one loves them more than He does. I can testify to you that you have a loving Heavenly Father who is cheering you on, picking you up when you fall, and doing everything He can to help us live a joyful life, which is much different than a happy one. 

I love being a missionary (even when I'm exhausted) because I love my Father in Heaven. 

To the Moon and Back!

Hermana Showalter

Transfer #8

Us and Paola and Vanessa

Like every week it's kind of been a little crazy. Maybe a little more than normal tbh....

But to make a long, crazy story short: we made it out alive, no one is going to be "seeing" the light anytime soon and it all worked out for the best.

Also transfer calls came in and Sister Fuimaono will be leaving. We were both sad but we kind of expected it and we weren't that shocked...until they told me I was getting a YSA ward. CRAZY.

I'm going to be a part time English missionary now...so weird. But I do get to fulfill my mission long dream of going to Florence as the YSA covers that. Now I just need a truck and I can die happy. 

But yeah still recovering haha.

But an awesome week nonetheless! I actually got to stay in my area this week so that was really nice and we still saw a ton of blessings.

Blessing #1- DANIEL

Oh my goodness this man is on FIRE! The first lesson we had with him this week we talked about a date for his baptism. He didn't want to rush himself but when he prayed he felt really good about the 20th. DANIELS GETTING BAPTIZED THIS WEEKEND EVERYONE. He has changed so much since I first met him. He just smiles and talks all the time. He's still a man of few words in text but it's a work in progress haha.

He also asked us a lot about missionary work and if you had to have something special to do what we do. We were like "no! You just need a testimony!" and he was like "can I do what you do? I've been trying to talk about the church with this person and this person and..." our mouths dropped open. HE IS SO AWESOME.

We literally have had the most spiritual lessons with him recently and he is so ready. He told us "Just tell me what I need to do and I'll do it. I'll read, listen to whatever. I want to feel this way forever." I shed a few tears and couldn't stop smiling. This is a changed man.

He is also going to talk at the New Member Fireside so that is going to be lit 🔥

Blessing #2 - Lucy and Fam

The other day this referral popped up with very little information for this woman named Lucy. I couldn't stop thinking about her and we stopped by a few times with no luck. We had some plans change on us and decided one night to try her door again. We knocked 3 times and nothing and were almost to our car when someone opened the door.

Long story short - THEY ARE AWESOME. They let us in, she rounded up the kids, turned off the TV and we taught the first lesson. Sister Fuimaono and I just kept looking at each other like "what is happening rn?".

But yeah it was a pretty cool miracle.

Blessing #3 - Paola and Vanessa

They are these two girls we have been working with and their progress has been insane. Our ward council actually lost it when we told them they were coming to church and were on date to be baptized. Their mouths I guess were wide open haha.

We've found that showering them in love is really all they needed. I'm so grateful for my old young woman's leader, Sister Nestor, who taught me that. Now they come out of their room and talk to us. We went over yesterday and did all their hair to give them a little confidence boost and it made me feel like I was home doing all my sisters hair. I kind of missed that and it was super fun. Step by step we are getting them!

I love these girls so much. They love 21 Pilots and they like us now #progress

Other stuff happened this week but I don't really remember tbh.

I love this work with my whole soul. I love being a missionary.

To the Moon and Back!

Hermana Showalter




Arizona vs New York…

Or our relationship in 2 photos

"Why don't you love me?"

"Love me"