Holy Cow! (Week 7 in Kuna)

Familia y Amigos!

This has been a very interesting week! (Maybe I say that every week... But really. Seriously crazy.) First transfers, with an area I've only been in for 6 weeks, with a language I don't know very well, and being the one who knows the most about the splitting area. It was a lot of pressure! And, honestly, I was really scared. It was a hard first few days of the week. But then we started getting to work, and we organized things, took a step back and took a deep breath. I'm starting to look for the fun in this work. And it's worked out. We have another companionship of sisters in Kuna now and when we work together, we have a lot of fun. A few things of fun that have happened are:

Our branch had another bonfire. We invited tons of people and worked a ton beforehand to get people there, then got the chance to just relax and have fun while there. It was good for the other Hermanas to meet everyone in a fun setting. We had a good turnout and a few people we weren't expecting. So that was good. As we have more monthly bonfires, and as the weather gets warmer, more people will come and it'll be a really good thing. I told myself beforehand that I'd be more outward and talk to more people. I talked to mostly everyone who came and had fun even though my Spanish is limited.

Also this week, we asked a cute Mexican investigator named Alma to teach us how to cook something. She chose Pasole. It's a Mexican soup. We asked her what we could bring, and she asked us to bring the meat. The carne. Hermana Barnes went to a Mexican meat market and got a good amount of chicken and pork. And so we went and just talked with her while it cooked, then we helped chop things up and in any way we could. It was realllllly good. It wasn't too spicy and I gobbled it up. It makes me want to learn to cook more Mexican food. Tamales are next!!

Then the last crazy thing that happened was that we were just driving to a dinner appointment one day (all 4 of us Kuna Hermanas because they didn't have dinners set up yet) and as we turned a corner, there was one house that had a bunch of cows out roaming around in their front yard. Without a fence, with a few of them right along the side of the road. That was not normal... So we pulled off to the side of the road--the other side--and went to go tell the people that their cows had gotten out. As we were sitting there, we realized they were bulls... And the one sister who was wearing a red skirt was the one who volunteered to walk through them to the front door!! HA! We got out of the car to take pictures with them and they started running around. We BOLTED back to the car!! It was scary! But it was super funny and we had a good story to tell the family when we showed up late to dinner. 

But really, this week, I am so grateful for the people in my life and who the Lord puts around me. The 2nd set of Kuna sisters are Hermana Barnes and Turner. And they are awesome. And this week would have been so different without them. Already, the work they have done in the other stake is helping the branch to grow and it will be so good! And when I've had struggles, they've helped me out. It's definitely not an accident!

And the thing that I've learned a ton more about this week is revelation. It's a topic that is so intricate and different for every person. That's what makes it hard. But it's so necessary. Heavenly Father loves us and wants what's best for us and for us to be happy. When we sincerely seek Him and do what we can to get answers, He will help us. When it seems like we're not getting answers, it might mean that He just trusts us to make a decision. He wants us to act and be happy with our decision. The action shows Heavenly Father that we trust Him and are willing. But that ACTION is sooo hard sometimes. SOO hard. And when we hesitate because we don't want to do the wrong thing, we don't have to feel bad about that. It's hard and takes time. But we can do it. Action is what it's all about.

I love you all and hope you're doing awesome!!

Con amor,

Hermana Shirley

PS The picture speaks for itself.

Say what?!

Familia y Amigos!

So yeah. Transfers were this week. And, it's crazy to say this, but Hna. Dickson and I are being split up!! I'm staying in Kuna and she's going to Nyssa, ENGLISH SPEAKING!! Also, the one Spanish zone we had is being split!! ALSO, the Spanish work in Kuna is growing so much that they're splitting our area too!!!! There will now be 2 companionships of missionaries covering the area we were covering before. THIS IS HUGE, will be HUGE for Kuna and our little branch. It kinda blows my mind. New missionaries are usually trained for 2 transfers, 12 weeks, so as we visited people these past few weeks, we were talking about how we'll MOST LIKELY be around, but that transfers were coming up. I didn't expect to leave or be split from Hna. Dickson at all. But to be split from her, be the senior missionary for the Spanish missionary work in Kuna (a huge area), and not be able to see my trainer because she's in a different zone and area and everything. Phewwww. It's a lot. And I never would have guessed it would happen this fast!! It's kinda overwhelming, BUT, I know that it'll work out and it'll be what the branch needs.

Anyways, so my new companion is Hna. Morales. I've only met her once, really. She's Mexican, from Texas I think. That's what Hna. Dickson told me. It'll be really good for my Spanish. And I'll make sure we have fun while working hard. I'm a mixture of nervous and excited, which is pretty normal for a new companion.

About this week, it's been really good. Really cool. We taught 3 different seminary classes. We got a new car. Being Spanish-speaking means car privileges. Last p-day, we watched Ephraim's Rescue and found out we can watch 17 Miracles. I'm excited for the 17 Miracles. I still haven't seen that one.

Had a cool moment at church yesterday. It was kinda surreal to know that it was Hna. Dickson's last Sunday there and I was feeling the responsibility that I would have to head the work in Kuna. And our lesson in Relief Society was about Jesus Christ. Of course. It was exactly what I needed. As I was sitting there, I had an overwhelming feeling that I would be able to do this and that the members of the branch would be there for me. I will get to know them more and as I show love to them, they will trust me and help me and Kuna will explode. And knowing that Jesus Christ is there for me, He loves me and knows what I'm going through. He will help me.

That is my simple testimony this week. He lives. He loves us.

Love you all and hope you are doing well!

Con amor,

Hermana Shirley

PS Pray for me and for Kuna. Love you and thank you!

Pics:

1) We went to El Gallo Giro for lunch one day. Apparently it's a big deal around here. It was super good.

2) We were out in the middle of nowhere and I loved it.

3) Sunsets are the BEST.

Whirlwind of a week--Week 6 in Kuna

Familia y Amigos,

Wow. This week. Seriously crazy.

First off, if you've sent me a letter and had it returned to you, let me know. Because I've had that happen and need to know if it has happened more. I need to report it so they can get to the bottom of things.

So about my week. It seems like we've done soo much, but it's only been a week! I had to go to Boise a few times for doctor appointments and it was weird. Of course we got permission to go, but we could feel the difference being out of our mission. It's no joke that we stay in our mission and areas for a reason. Funny thing, though, as we were driving there, it felt like we were rebelling, so I started singing "Viva las BOISE!!" We had a pretty good laugh out of that. AND, we got to drive by the Boise temple. Pretty cool to see it. Other things that happened: my first exchanges, an INTENSE zone meeting, and got in a car accident. Exchanges were weird but good. I learned a lot and it made me really grateful for my area. Seriously, member participation makes a HUGE difference in missionary work. When members lose hope about missionary work progressing, it really puts a damper on things. Then, we had a really powerful zone meeting about obedience and the will of Heavenly Father. It was one of those meetings that you go away just like, "Woah..." One elder shared an experience about how he wanted to go home. He did not want to be on his mission for 6 months and finally was going to the mission president about it, but President Cannon told him that he needed to be here and that he needed to figure out Heavenly Father's will for him. That made him really think through things and go to the Savior about it. He testified very powerfully and humbly about the Atonement and how this is HIS work and not ours. We HAVE TO be obedient or we can't be effective. SO good. AND, last, but not least, we got in a car accident... Not to worry, we are both fine. We were seriously protected. Seriously. Heavenly Father is watching out for us. It had snowed pretty good then melted and froze and it was snowing again Friday night. We hadn't had to drive too much during the day, but we were headed to our branch president's house to help them move in. We were just coming to a stop sign at a T, and actually started breaking pretty early. But the ice just took us and we knew we weren't going to stop. So Hna. Dickson started speeding up and turning to try and make it in front of the car, but she still got us. We were in a little car and she was in a big truck. We weren't QUITE t-boned, but it was pretty close. One whole side of the car was pretty badly damaged and the airbag on the door deployed. So she went into the yard of the house on the left side of the street and we went into the ditch on the right. We weren't hurt at all, just a bit of weird sideways whiplash. Which, we actually had a lunch appointment with a member who is a chiropractor on Saturday. Coincidence, I think NOT. I am completely good and Hna. Dickson was just a bit emotionally shaken up, but otherwise, we are plugging along (without a car for a bit). We had to get rides to all of our meetings and appointments on Sunday and will have to for at least a week. Transfer calls are on Friday, so we'll see what ends up happening with the car situation. Our area is more than an hour drive from top to bottom and probably about that much from side to side, and we're the only Spanish speaking missionaries in the area, sooo it's not very likely we'll go without a car for very long. But who knows?

That's one thing that has been awesome since we crashed: the members' willingness to drive us and be super helpful. We were actually driven to a long-awaited appointment Sunday night that was about 40+ minutes from Kuna. It was SOO good. We had been trying to set up a time that would work for her and that would actually come through. And it finally happened. Her name is Lyla and Miguel is her boyfriend. He speaks only spanish, but she speaks english. So the relief society president came with us and we visited them. When Miguel came in, he didn't want to come sit down with us at first, but Lyla asked him to sit down. He was pretty resistant at first, but we talked to him and told him we just wanted to be his friend. We ended up singing a hymn and testifying. By the end, he was glad to let us come back and was joking around with us and stuff. It was kinda a breakthrough. 

One thing I know for sure is that Heavenly Father has a plan for us. There are no coincidences. This week was definitely a testament to that. Whenever we're about to do something awesome, we have a hard morning or hard day or something. Satan knows we're going to do something really monumentous, so he sends his hardest to get us not to. When we push through and bear the storm, we can see the rainbow on the other side. Truly.   

I love this gospel and am SO glad I'm here. Missionary work is truly amazing!

Con amor,

Hermana Shirley

Week 5 already?!

Amigos y familia!

I don't remember if I actually ever gave you all my address here! So here it is again:

 

Hermana Kelsey Shirley (has to have my full name, to avoid confusion and all, with ALL the other Hermana Shirleys)

1008 W Sanetta St.

Nampa, ID 83651

 

(I love letters. That's all. That'll be my only plea for letters, don't you even worry.)

Can you even believe it?! It's already been 4 weeks that I've been here! I'm starting to relax about the missionary stuff and really get the hang of things. Sister Dickson has been here in Kuna for her whole Nampa mission and just knows EVERYTHING about the area. When I first got here, I felt like I was just following her around and trying to help in any way I could, but she definitely was the one who really knew what was going on and what we needed to do. I had wanted for her to educate me about the area and help it so I didn't have to rely on her so much, and finally this week, we started doing that. One day when we were really out of it and having a hard day, we just spent a lot of the day working on paperwork and organizing our area book and we got maps of the area and ALL that fun stuff. It was actually realllly good that we did that. We now feel like we have things under control and organized. So that was a little blessing that didn't seem like it at first. Plus, it was awesome because we were way prepared for all of our correlation meetings on Sunday.

Sunday. It was our first reallllly long day. We had a meeting at 7AM, and it was kinda far out, so we had to wake up extra early. Then we had meeting after meeting with driving to different buildings in between until church at 1, then appointments all the way until 9! So a 14 hour day! It was crazy! And whenever we'd tell people we were exhausted, they'd just laugh and say, "Welcome to missionary life!" hah but it was really good. There's something to be said about working REALLY hard alll day and then just crashing at night. You have purpose and can feel like you really accomplished something.

Anyways, so at the very end of our day, we had to drop off another set of missionary's area book at their house. We had exactly 10 minutes until 9, so we knew we couldn't stop and talk, so ya know what we decided to do? Ding dong ditch deliver it. Yep. So I set it on their door, propped up against the door, and then rang and ran! SO FUN. Even though it wasn't even that big of a deal, we zoomed away laughing our heads off! I feel like that's key in being a full-time missionary: having fun. Those moments of laughter that keep us sane. Hermana Dickson told me this quote from Sister Hinkley once (and I definitely will not quote it right): "When I have the choice to laugh or cry, I choose to laugh. Because I prefer to laugh." So that's kinda been our motto. When it's really hard and we're getting down on ourselves, we just laugh at how ridiculous it is or laugh just because. It really helps.

I think that's the biggest thing I learned this week: The JOY of the gospel. It truly is the source of joy and happiness in this life. Seriously. When we're doing what's right, being obedient to God's commandments, and aligning our will with His, we are able to truly feel the fullness of this joy. It's really hard when we're stuck in a rut to think outside of ourselves, but really, when we turn to the gospel and to our Heavenly Father, Oh man! It's crazy how much of a load is lifted off our shoulders and how good we feel. It's pretty awesome. I can use all the help I can get! In case you didn't know, I love this gospel and know it is true. That's why I am here. To help others on their way to coming closer to Christ.

 

Con todo mi amor,

Hermana Shirley

 

PS Sorry I'm super bad at sending pictures, I was never much of a picture taker... Thought that might change when I came on a mission, but turns out it doesn't. SO I'll take some and send them next week!