Kaitlin's Mission

  This week it went from 80 degrees to 40 degrees real quick, but that's Georgia for you! One of the biggest miracles that I saw this week was definitely being able to put our investigator Josh on date! He has been taught for awhile, but comes to church faithfully and loves the church. When I got here I had heard that Josh wanted to wait YEARS to be baptized.. that was not happening! So, we went through some worries that Josh had about being baptized and we were able to answer his questions this week. One thing he asked us was what our investigators mean to us. I love this questions because we were able to testify of our love for all those we teach and how we always want the best for them! Josh accepted March 9th for his baptismal date! This week we also had the privelage of having a YSA dinner with Richard J. Maynes! He talked about goal setting and how important it is to set high goals. In one of his talks from 1997 he says, " If you want to reach your potential in the futur...

  What a crazy week! We got transfer calls last night.. and sister Cleveland and I will both being staying here 😊 I am excited to stay here because there are people that I'm working with and want to be able to see them progress. This week we met some really great people, and I am thankful the Lord placed them in our path. We met a nice lady named Gail who immediately invited us into her home. We told her about the Come Follow Me manual and she LOVED it! We were able to contact the Athens 1st sisters and give them her information. I know Gail has an amazing spirit and will love Come Follow Me. Working in the YSA branch has been a blast. It is so nice to work with people around my same age because it is easy to talk to them and relate to each other. I serve in an amazing branch and have found some really great friends here as well! The branch is missionary minded and I obviously love that! One of the members has brought three non members to church in the past 6 weeks! It's been ...

  Just an update on sisters wearing pants.. My life has never been better 🤣 biking in the winter is so much easier when you can actually wear pants haha! Just thought y'all would like to know! Anyway, I had a big miracle this week that I wanted to share with y'all. Back in Gainesville, I got super close to a family. Their son Robbie was home for awhile because he is in college and was on Christmas break. We went over there every week and had great gospel conversations. Robbie is extremely smart and puts a lot of thought into the gospel. Robbie has a lot of questions and has been away from the Church for awhile. Fast forward a few weeks and I get the call to serve in UGA... where Robbie goes to school. Since I've been here we have worked with him and HE CAME TO CHURCH YESTERDAY! It made me so happy to see him there because I know he has an incredible testimony and that the gospel will change his life 😊 I am incredibly grateful for my Savior. I know that He loves me and kno...

  This week I was able to see a lot of miracles, and I am very grateful for them. One of those miracles was with our investigator Emily. This was my first time meeting her and she is adorable! She is going to school at UGA, and found the church through her grandma. Emily has been taking the lessons for awhile, and there has not been a lot of progress. We decided to take a more personal approach to hopefully see a miracle happen with her. In our lesson we talked about her ancestors and then moved onto the spirit world. We explained that her ancestors were not as happy as they could be and that they were not in spirit paradise but in spirit prison. Obviously this was a bold approach, but it worked! Emily is praying about a day to be baptized! She realized that she was the one who can help her loved ones feel the peace and joy that comes from the gospel. The spirit world to me is such a beautiful part of the Plan of Salvation. God gives us chance after chance and wants us to learn as ...

  I say that every week is good, which it is, but I wanted to be a bit more real in my email this week. Missionary work is amazing, and when a missionary shares an experience from their time serving it is usually a good or funny experience. Although, that's not how it is most of the time. At least not in my experience haha! Missionary work is incredibly hard, it's long hours, door after door, rejection after rejection, and so much more. So why do we keep doing it day after day? Well, each of those rejections and heart aches leaves a mark in our hearts. It shapes us and forms into who we need to be. We talk about the good times because that is the little boost of energy that our soul needed to continue on. I am so grateful for the opportunity to serve my Savior every day, and to wear my black name tag! Hard times come, but we need them to see what we are made of and how we can become like Jesus Christ. At church last week, someone bore their testimony and it really impacted me. ...

  This email has to be fast because our zone is doing something all day, and I won't have much time to email. Being in Athens has been good, and we have put forth a lot of effort this past week! When I got here there were not very many people being taught, and there still isn't a lot, but hopefully that will change 🤣 I have already seen the Lord perform many miracles here, and I know that this is just the beginning! Athens is different from what I am used to, and this week will be fun when all the college students come back from break. Then, we will be able to go on campus and contact people there! One of the miracles I saw this week was with a guy named Jackson. We knocked on Jackson's door, and when he opened it he began telling us a little bit about his life. Jackson feels alone and has been looking for a church, and of course we told him about our church. Fast forward a couple of days, and we could not get a hold of him! I was a little frustrated, but on Saturday night...

What a week it has been! Fun facts about this new transfer.. 1. I am with Sister Cleveland again! I served with her about 6 months ago in Level Creek 2. I am a full bike area. Mind you, I have not really biked since my third transfer out and now I am on my 11th transfer. Please, pray for me 3. I will be on UGA campus working with the YSA branch 4. I presented a new idea to my mission President about a family initiative, and he loved the idea! So, I will now be working closely with him to make it happen! I am extremely excited and know that there are great things about to happen in this area. The area I came to has not been fully functioning in awhile, and I am excited to work hard and get that fixed! Sister Cleveland and I have a lot of fun together, and I know that I am supposed to be in Athens with her. During my studies this morning, I had a huge weight on my chest because of the rising generation. This world looks fun and exciting, but it provides a happiness that is fleeting. The ...