It's Finally FALL!

So the leaves are FINALLY starting to change here which has been so pretty but I'm still a little disappointed. Utah Falls are still my favorite!

This week has been so crazy and so incredible! This weekend was so amazing because we worked really hard but it was so natural and so catered to me that I didn't even feel like a missionary! For instance, the English Sisters and us were walking around downtown singing to random people and we saw this old man sitting by himself outside the Whaler's Catch restaurant. As we started talking to him he invited us to come and eat with him. We told him we would think about it while we sang him a song. After the song he invited us again and we all looked each other for 30 seconds and then decided yes! He was this cute man named Jack in his 80's and his wife passed away 3 years ago. It was so fun sitting and talking with him over AMAZING New Orleans food! I had shrimp gumbo and a crab cake and listened to Jack and his adventures in Hong Kong and Italy. At the end of the meal we bore testimony of the Book of Mormon and he invited the Sisters to come and see him. I was able to bear testimony that I know he would feel closer to his wife Fran as he read and the spirit was so strong.

Yesterday we had 4 friends come to church for the Primary Program and it was awesome!!!!!!!!! We had two families that are investigating, and two less actives that we love SO much come to the Fall Festival on Friday! It was so much fun! The members really made Ivan feel welcome and his children had so much fun! Hna Idso was so good at helping the Pastor's neighbors (Who they invited and brought!) Isabella and Estella and their children be involved in the activities going on. One of the less active's that came also brought a friend with them! These people are amazing! It was a wonderful evening and it really helped the ward be more involved with the people that we teach! We're hoping to have more activities like that in the future!

We have been SO busy in this area! We always have someone to see and somewhere we can stop by! It is absolutely incredible to look back 6 months ago, remember the helpless feeling Hna Ihler and I had as we started from absolutely nothing and then look at what has transpired since! THERE WILL BE A SPANISH BRANCH IN PADUCAH SOON! Our Bishop and councilors pulled us aside yesterday and told us that they feel the exact same way and that they see the Hispanic members growing rapidly soon. I feel like Paducah is like a cup full to the brim and it's about to spill over! Miracles have been happening everyday and I know that we will start seeing a lot more soon- all 6 of us missionaries here. Paducah is a very special place.

I want all of you to know how much I LOVE being a missionary and being a part of the Lord's work. I have NEVER been so happy in my life. I know that the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-Day Saints is the true of Jesus Christ here on this earth.

I love you all so so much and hope you have such a fun Halloween!

Hermana Knight

Birthday Balloons and hundreds of miles later....

(Ghetto Minnie and Mickey at Taco John's- the closest to Disneyland I'll ever get!)

Hola mi familia y amigos! Tengo mucho amor para a tus!

Esta semana fue muy incredible!

Lunes (Monday)- Sister Larsen (English Sister we serve with here in Paducah) had her 24th birthday so we went to Cracker Barrel for lunch and then went to the mall! It was my first time going to the mall here and I couldn't stop singing HIMYM's Let's Go to the Mall the entire time! We ran into an old investigator Noel while we were there and were able to share a quick message and have a prayer with him. He is usually preoccupied with other things on his day off so it was neat to run into him on his break!

Martes (Tuesday)- We went into the Sister's apartment while they were running and blew up a billion balloons to put in their front room and left a giant birthday card for Sis Larsen since we didn't get to the day before. We got a cute thank you text from them later and then we received 5 missed calls from them- Sister Jarvis was cooking breakfast when she was struck with a lot of pain in her back which caused her to fall to the ground and crawl to the front room crying for Sister Larsen. When Sister Larsen found her downstairs she was lying on the ground surrounded by balloons! It was actually really scary because she was seriously hurt but we all laugh about it now because it had to looked so ridiculous for Sis Larsen to find her there! Sister Jarvis was told to rest for a few days so the next few days we took turns staying in with her and going out on exchanges with Sis Larsen- it was a really neat experience!

Miercoles (Wednesday)- Sis Larsen and I were dropping off stuff to the Pastors and Sis Larsen wanted to go check on their new member Chris who lived a block away. We pulled up and Christ was standing outside with one of his friends Sergio. Sergio is AMAZING. He was living in New Orleans when Hurricane Katrina hit and he had some of the craziest stories- like putting his one year old daughter on something to keep her out of the water and swimming through waters infested with all kinds of scary animals and dead bodies with his girlfriend on his back because she can't swim. He has been through so much and was so excited to read the Book of Mormon and come to church. He already started reading and really wants his daughter and son to get into it too. We can't wait go get to know him better and for him to learn more about the gospel!

Jueves (Thursday)- Reagan's birthday and a miracle day! We didn't have a car because it was in the shop getting fixed so we were on foot ALL day. We're so spoiled to have a car because by 9:30 my body was so achy and I was completely exhausted! BUT I was happily exhausted because that day we had taught 9 lessons, given away 4 Book of Mormons and we met SO many cool people! We literally talked to every person we saw and it was so fun! We also had so many miracles and met so many people who were sincerely interested in reading the Book of Mormon. By 9:15 we were RUNNING home to get to our apartment on time and it was so fun being out in the country behind our house with the spooky fog! Good day!

Viernes (Friday)- We were able to meet with a member's uncle who goes to a different church. His wife is Pentecostal and at first did not want us in their home but within 3 minutes she warmed up to us and we had the best conversation! They happily took a Book of Mormon and invited us to come back!

Sabado (Saturday)- Was SO random! We went ALL over our area never taking a second to think about what we were doing- but truly following the Spirit and not questioning anything! We ended up driving 80 miles but we saw everyone we were meant to see and met some really amazing new people!

Domingo (Sunday)-We had a super crazy busy day at church- as usual! We had 3 investigators in our Gospel Principles class and we had a sweet lesson about how God is our loving Heavenly Father-Something so simple but so important for us to know. We had a super fun FHE (Family Home Evening) with one of our favorite families in the ward and ended the day with a visit with the Pastors. We were able to see Manuel, their son, finally because he had the day off. We sang some hymns and shared a scripture and it was the perfect way to end the week!

There is nothing that brings me more joy than doing this work. Everyday I come home so tired and my mind is full of a million things we need to do the next day but I have never been so happy in my life! I hope that all of you not only understand the importance of sharing the gospel, but recognize the joy and blessings that come as we put forth all we have to build up the kingdom of God here on the earth. I know that Jesus Christ is our Savior, our brother and friend. I know that the power of His Atonement can help us in aspects of our lives. That is something I have come to understand more this week. I would not be able to have peace and joy in my life without the power of the Atonement.

I hope you all know how much I truly love and appreciate you.

Hermana Knight

At the place where the Mississippi and Ohio rivers meet!

The deer and turkeys in our backyard

 

 A raccoon hiding in our trashcan, he was hoping if he couldn't see us then we couldn't see him!

...more carving pumpkins at the mccraws

Car problems = Miracles

Halloween preparation at the McCraws'

Hello my beautiful family and loved ones! Can I just start by telling you how much I love ALL of you?? I think about all of you all the time and you're always in my prayers and I just don't now how I got so lucky to have a life filled with such amazing people!

Last Monday right after we emailed, we went to get our tire fixed and it was such an awesome experience! We had said a prayer that morning that our Heavenly Father would put people in our path to share the gospel with and He definitely answered that prayer! The moment we sat down there was this older man to our left and we said hello and it quickly turned into a conversation about all different aspects of the gospel! He told us how during the last few years of his father's life he was very involved with the church. His father would read stories out of the Book of Mormon and he loved it! He then started naming off reasons why people are opposed to the LDS faith and defended us in every way! It was so refreshing to meet someone of another faith who was understanding, admiring and supportive of our beliefs. We gave him a Book of Mormon to read and he was very grateful! We then met a man who worked at the fire station with a member in our ward. He didn't seem too interested but we were able to share a Restoration pamphlet with him and invited him to talk the member at the fire house about it! We then met a man who had TONS of questions for us because he had been reading a lot of anti literature. It was so nice to be able to share with him the truths about what we believe and why we believe what we believe. Hermana Idso shared the first vision with him and invited him to read the Book of Mormon for himself which he happily and gratefully accepted! Last but not least, while I was checking out with one of the mechanics I asked him if he was familiar with our church and he revealed that he had met with missionaries a long time ago and they were teaching him for a looong time! He asked them to stop coming because he felt they were being a little pushy but he said he has a desire to come back to church. Well, previously to that moment, I had been marking my favorite scriptures in a BOM to give away and I knew that Guy the mechanic was the one to give it to. When I asked if he still had a Book of Mormon he said yes but he had no idea where it was. I told him that I had one JUST for him that I had marked with my favorite scriptures and he almost didn't believe me! The entire time I was talking to him I just felt impressed to read from Alma 36. As I read a scripture about the joy that comes from repentance he opened up a bit more and told me that he is seeking just that. The Spirit was so strong as we talked about the gift of repentance and the peace that it brings into our lives. We left him with that Book of Mormon and invited him to come to church and to read from Alma 36. We will be making weekly visits in Tire Plaza now!

We had our Zone P-day on Thursday and Wickliffe Mounds was cool but kind of boring! It was nice to get out of the area for a little bit though! We also drove to where the Ohio River and Mississippi River meet and it was really fun! We met a really sweet couple from Pennsylvania who we were able to talk with about the gospel. They were kind and thanked us for the work that we do. We hope we planted a seed!

All in all, we had a really good week- LOTS of miracles! Hermana Idso made a goal to find someone everyday and we did! We ran into the most amazing people all week! I love just getting to meet the most incredible people everyday! We have also met a lot of Hispanics that we will begin teaching this week. Also, we started teaching Domingo's brother and his family and it's been so great! Missionary work is the best! I hope that all of you can feel the importance of this work in your life as well. Something that a mission does for you is it helps you realize that missionary work is one of the most important things we can be doing with our times and talents. Find time to go out with the missionaries, invite people to hear the missionaries in your home and open your mouth and talk to everyone you meet and share your testimony!

I love you all!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

Hermana Knight

The McCraw family- members that I LOVE!!!

We wrote notes on the McCraw's floor before they put their new carpet down

Holy Conference!

(Here's our Hispanic group watching conference! Jose and Joel are on the right and the Pastors are on the left)

Wasn't General Conference so amazing?! I loved Saturday's Session and I especially loved Elder Dube's talk. I'm putting a link to it under here so whoever didn't see it can watch!

http://www.lds.org/general-conference/watch/2013/10?lang=eng&vid=2721988839001&cid=9

It was so powerful to hear the words of the Prophet and Apostles as they were calling us to call come together in the Lord's work. Now is the time for the members and the full-time missionaries to truly work together! I can bear testimony that without the help of members, this work is impossible! I am so grateful for the members in the ward here who help us and so I can only imagine how grateful the Missionaries in your wards are when you help them!

Sunday morning session we had our two friends Jose Antonio and Joel come- it was a miracle! We were able to give them a church tour after and the Spirit was really strong as we took them into the Chapel and talked about the Sacrament. The Pastor family was also watching with us Sunday and Domingo LOVED it! He asked us if he could get it on DVD so he could watch it again! I hope we all appreciate and value the messages we receive through Conference just as new members do!

We've been focusing our efforts on helping those we teach truly pray and read on their own. There are 3 people in particular that we have been teaching for months and they never seemed to truly be doing these things on their own but last week when we visited them, they pulled out their Book of Mormon and discussed the questions they had and how they were able to receive answers from the words of the ancient prophets. Marabel even had a notepad she had written all of her questions and answers down! I can bear testimony that the Book of Mormon can answer every question we could have either through it's words or through personal revelation we can receive through the Holy Ghost. It's been really neat to see how that truth has played a huge part in other's lives and their pursuit to come closer to Christ.

Saturday night the Sister's had a baptism for their friend Luis. It was beautiful and the Spirit was so strong. As Sister Larsen was sharing her talk about the Holy Ghost the tornado sirens went off! They went off the entire 10 minutes she was speaking and everyone's phones were going crazy! Luckily, the tornado didn't hit Paducah but we did have flash floods that evening! It rained like crazy! As far as I know it didn't leave too much damage. Just lots of rain puddles!

This week for Zone PDay we are going to the Wickliffe Mounds where they have tons of Indian artifacts! I am so excited!! It 30 minutes of me convincing one of our Zone Leaders it was a good idea and other Elders to tell him that they didn't want to play sports all day either and so we're all so excited! Except of the Elders that wanted to play sports but they can suck it up because that's all we ever do every month! Hopefully I'll have some way cool pictures next week!

I love you all so much!!

Hermana Knight

These are all of the kittens I was sitting next to at Family Home Evening with the McCraws last night! Kitten Heaven! The black one is Elvis.