Hey Family and Friends!
Okay so I'm in Joliet now. And this is an awesome area! I love it so much. The people here are ready to work and the investigators are ready to learn and keep their commitments. We have two investigators, Reyna and Francisco, on date for the 24th (a month before my birthday) and they are so solid! We will have a wedding and then they'll get baptized after :) Gabriel is another investigator that we have and he
Well, I started my time off here in Joliet by a super embarrassing mix up...we had dinner with Chio scheduled and so we called and confirmed with her the night before and we were super excited because we had a lesson planned and everything! So we walked around the corner to the house of Chio and she let us in and we sat down and we kind of looked around and it was dark...and it didn't smell like food...then on top of that she asked us what we were doing there. My companion was laughing and was kind of like "okay, Chio, stop playing". Apparently she is quite the jokester. Well she wasn't playing...there's two Chios in the ward. And we were at the wrong ones house. #queoso
Everything is great here, we have had a meal with the members every day and sometimes even with investigators. The ward was super welcoming I'm pretty sure I met everyone because they came up to me which was a new thing for me. This branch is almost a ward it's so big which is why I called it a ward earlier. I met the branch president and his family and they are converts! Of ten years but they are still amazing. Their oldest daughter went on a mission to Kentucky and she gives us rides all the time. Their family is just amazing in general. Our ward mission leader is super short. He makes me look like a giant! But he's cool and old and though I was German. But I'm not, I'm Mexican. Hermana LEWIS and I are the only set of Hermana missionaries in our ward and district. The other sisters in our district are the sister training leaders. But in our ward we have the other districts district leader and his companion and elder Jacob and his companion. Yes, the same elder Jacob from Bloomingdale! How cool is that! Still in the same ward. It's nice to know a few people in a new area. That's for sure.
Hermana Lewis is such an awesome companion. I love working with her. I'm learning so much about how to follow the spirit and how to be bold. Sometimes she feels like she didn't do a good enough job at following the spirit but I get to remind her of all the miracles we had because of her! Her and I are a lot alike and we have really hit it off. It's weird to know that we ONLY have six weeks together but we are going to make these last six weeks of hers count! She goes home in February but it's okay because we are going to party for my six month mark and she is going to send me a singing card from the other side for my birthday :) We don't have a gps right now so we have been giving each other directions in British accents. It is quite exciting and we are actually rather good. Who knew watching chronicles of Narnia and Mary Poppins so many times would have paid off. We also started to work out. Well, she is a work out machine...but yeah we have a yoga inferno video and it sucks. But I had my first heart breaking moment. I tried to put my jeans on to go do service and they didn't get past my thighs. I was so sad! But it's okay because my New Years resolution is to eat better and work out because I don't have a ton of time to work out in the morning or at all really and I've realized I need to watch what I eat because of it! But it's okay, lessons learned and ills form good habits for the rest of my life. But when I get home, I'll eat whatever I want and bike it all off!
There is a ton of stuff in Joliet and I'm excited because I'm going to go to Chili's for my 6 month mark! Yum!
Okay time for the spiritual stuff! Well, I never sent over the notes from my Christmas devotional so I will do that but I also want to talk about this quote I found:
Elder Robert D. Hales of the Quorum of the Twelve Apostles spoke of the spiritual strength that follows when we place our trust in the Lord:
“As we put our faith and trust in the Lord, we must battle our pain day by day and sometimes hour by hour, even moment by moment; but in the end, we understand that marvelous counsel given to the Prophet Joseph Smith as he struggled with his pain of feeling forgotten and isolated in Liberty Jail:
“‘My son, peace be unto thy soul; thine adversity and thine afflictions shall be but a small moment;
“‘And then, if thou endure it well, God shall exalt thee on high; thou shalt triumph over all thy foes’ (D&C 121:7–8).
“My dear brothers and sisters, when pain, tests, and trials come in life, draw near to the Savior. ‘Wait upon the Lord, … look for him’ (Isaiah 8:17; 2 Nephi 18:17). ‘They that wait upon the Lord shall renew their strength; they shall mount up with wings as eagles; they shall run, and not be weary; and they shall walk, and not faint’ (Isaiah 40:31). Healing comes in the Lord’s time and the Lord’s way; be patient” (in Conference Report, Oct. 1998, 19; or Ensign, Nov. 1998, 17).
and I really like this quote. I know that it is true. Joseph Smith has grown so close to my heart and this experience of his has been one that I have thought about often. I know that we will have hard times and we will all have different experiences but what a blessing to know that we ALL have the same perfect and infinite atonement to rely on. Our trials can be overcome and we can be happy as we look for the lord in our lives and renew our strength through the atonement. If you are having a hard time, keep pushing because I know that eventually a lesson will be learned and we will be strengthened! I love my mission because I have been able to really see this and apply it to my life. I know this church is true and through the atonement we can overcome everything and become who Christ needs us to be!
I love you all, have a great week and remember to pray always that ye may come off conquer!
Hermana Rebekka Kunz
Illinois Chicago West Mission
July 2014 - January 2016
Okay so I'm in Joliet now. And this is an awesome area! I love it so much. The people here are ready to work and the investigators are ready to learn and keep their commitments. We have two investigators, Reyna and Francisco, on date for the 24th (a month before my birthday) and they are so solid! We will have a wedding and then they'll get baptized after :) Gabriel is another investigator that we have and he
Well, I started my time off here in Joliet by a super embarrassing mix up...we had dinner with Chio scheduled and so we called and confirmed with her the night before and we were super excited because we had a lesson planned and everything! So we walked around the corner to the house of Chio and she let us in and we sat down and we kind of looked around and it was dark...and it didn't smell like food...then on top of that she asked us what we were doing there. My companion was laughing and was kind of like "okay, Chio, stop playing". Apparently she is quite the jokester. Well she wasn't playing...there's two Chios in the ward. And we were at the wrong ones house. #queoso
Everything is great here, we have had a meal with the members every day and sometimes even with investigators. The ward was super welcoming I'm pretty sure I met everyone because they came up to me which was a new thing for me. This branch is almost a ward it's so big which is why I called it a ward earlier. I met the branch president and his family and they are converts! Of ten years but they are still amazing. Their oldest daughter went on a mission to Kentucky and she gives us rides all the time. Their family is just amazing in general. Our ward mission leader is super short. He makes me look like a giant! But he's cool and old and though I was German. But I'm not, I'm Mexican. Hermana LEWIS and I are the only set of Hermana missionaries in our ward and district. The other sisters in our district are the sister training leaders. But in our ward we have the other districts district leader and his companion and elder Jacob and his companion. Yes, the same elder Jacob from Bloomingdale! How cool is that! Still in the same ward. It's nice to know a few people in a new area. That's for sure.
Hermana Lewis is such an awesome companion. I love working with her. I'm learning so much about how to follow the spirit and how to be bold. Sometimes she feels like she didn't do a good enough job at following the spirit but I get to remind her of all the miracles we had because of her! Her and I are a lot alike and we have really hit it off. It's weird to know that we ONLY have six weeks together but we are going to make these last six weeks of hers count! She goes home in February but it's okay because we are going to party for my six month mark and she is going to send me a singing card from the other side for my birthday :) We don't have a gps right now so we have been giving each other directions in British accents. It is quite exciting and we are actually rather good. Who knew watching chronicles of Narnia and Mary Poppins so many times would have paid off. We also started to work out. Well, she is a work out machine...but yeah we have a yoga inferno video and it sucks. But I had my first heart breaking moment. I tried to put my jeans on to go do service and they didn't get past my thighs. I was so sad! But it's okay because my New Years resolution is to eat better and work out because I don't have a ton of time to work out in the morning or at all really and I've realized I need to watch what I eat because of it! But it's okay, lessons learned and ills form good habits for the rest of my life. But when I get home, I'll eat whatever I want and bike it all off!
There is a ton of stuff in Joliet and I'm excited because I'm going to go to Chili's for my 6 month mark! Yum!
Okay time for the spiritual stuff! Well, I never sent over the notes from my Christmas devotional so I will do that but I also want to talk about this quote I found:
Elder Robert D. Hales of the Quorum of the Twelve Apostles spoke of the spiritual strength that follows when we place our trust in the Lord:
“As we put our faith and trust in the Lord, we must battle our pain day by day and sometimes hour by hour, even moment by moment; but in the end, we understand that marvelous counsel given to the Prophet Joseph Smith as he struggled with his pain of feeling forgotten and isolated in Liberty Jail:
“‘My son, peace be unto thy soul; thine adversity and thine afflictions shall be but a small moment;
“‘And then, if thou endure it well, God shall exalt thee on high; thou shalt triumph over all thy foes’ (D&C 121:7–8).
“My dear brothers and sisters, when pain, tests, and trials come in life, draw near to the Savior. ‘Wait upon the Lord, … look for him’ (Isaiah 8:17; 2 Nephi 18:17). ‘They that wait upon the Lord shall renew their strength; they shall mount up with wings as eagles; they shall run, and not be weary; and they shall walk, and not faint’ (Isaiah 40:31). Healing comes in the Lord’s time and the Lord’s way; be patient” (in Conference Report, Oct. 1998, 19; or Ensign, Nov. 1998, 17).
and I really like this quote. I know that it is true. Joseph Smith has grown so close to my heart and this experience of his has been one that I have thought about often. I know that we will have hard times and we will all have different experiences but what a blessing to know that we ALL have the same perfect and infinite atonement to rely on. Our trials can be overcome and we can be happy as we look for the lord in our lives and renew our strength through the atonement. If you are having a hard time, keep pushing because I know that eventually a lesson will be learned and we will be strengthened! I love my mission because I have been able to really see this and apply it to my life. I know this church is true and through the atonement we can overcome everything and become who Christ needs us to be!
I love you all, have a great week and remember to pray always that ye may come off conquer!
Hermana Rebekka Kunz
Illinois Chicago West Mission
July 2014 - January 2016