A day in the life of Sister Collings

If you want to experience a day in the life of Sister Collings, I'll have you know that I will talk to anyone and everyone that comes into my path, and I won't take no for an answer. :) And this week we saw SO many miracles from just talking to so many people all day everyday! Here's a few of them:

We taught a man named Charley who was a  tobacco chewin' cowboy... who insisted he wasn't interested, and that he was busy... luckily I hear that excuse 10 times a day! And so I disregard that and start teaching the powerful message of the restoration! Turns out, Charley didn't know we were Christians and he was really happy that we believe in Christ. We taught him for a good 10 minutes and he left with a smile on his face and a Book of Mormon in his hand... and KNOWING that we are Christians :)

One night we could hear the ocean waves crashing, and we decided to take a moment to stop and smell the roses. Well turns out miracles happen when you do that... we met a man named Mike! We charged up to him in the dark and exclaimed who we were and he replied with "Yeah, obviously you're missionaries, why else  would you come talk to me in the dark!" We were able to teach him the restoration and leave him with a Book of Mormon too! haha I love these little miracles we see everyday! We got a beautiful ocean view on a starry night, and a new investigator!

We talked to a sassy man in his front yard while gardening who was NOT interested at all. And had no intention of listening. We walked past his home a while later and saw him kiss his pregnant wife goodbye and drive off to work. We HAD to take advantage of the situation! She is bringing a baby into the world and she needed to know where it came from!  So we knocked on the door and chatted with HIS wife! She said she's not very opinionated, but since she is pregnant she probably ought to be! So we taught her the restoration and she left with a Book of Mormon in hand!

We also felt like we should knock on a home and it was a beautiful Muslim couple. We taught THEM the restoration and they were in awe. And took a Book of Mormon.

I guess what I am trying to say is the message of the restoration is powerful, and I take for granted how many miracles I see each day just by sharing this message! I love it because every time we share it, a new light comes into everyone's eyes. And I am more converted to this Gospel!

We were also to serve at a homeless shelter where we gave the homeless people combs and toothbrushes. It was so much fun to see them read our badges and feel Christ's love for them :)

I LOVED this week and next week will be insane! We have two exchanges one in LOMPOC and one in SOLVANG, And then me and Sister H get to go to the temple on Friday since it's our birthday months!! Its been an incredible week :)

Love you all!!
Love Sister Collings!

Happy Birthday!

This week has been so fun!! So many miracles and just working our hardest! :) Sunday we were so busy me and Sister H talked in sacrament meeting, taught Gospel Principles, and have taught in Young Women's! I love how much the ward uses us! It was a busy Sunday, that's for sure! This week was so fun because we had 2 meetings in Ventura and then an exchange in SANTA MARIA!!

We did service for sister N who has been less active for awhile; it was so fun! We cleaned her glass dolls, some were pretty creepy, in fact I still get nightmares from the glass Shirley Temple! And we cleaned her backyard! While we were eating pizza she really opened up to us, and then we had a lesson with her on Friday about temples! We were able to set a goal date for when her husband and her could get sealed! It was so amazing! They are a hilarious couple who are always sarcastic and using funny terms. When he said he wanted to be with his wife forever Sister N started crying and said " do you really mean that?" IT was so precious! So they have a game plan to get to the temple! It was fun to help them plan it out :) 

We also had a great lesson with our investigator Sammy. We gave her and her daughter a church tour and they just loved it!! It was adorable when her daughter saw the baptismal font, she was SO excited! I love how strong the spirit is in the Chapel room :)

I was also able to go on exchanges in SANTA MARIA!!! I went with Sister G! And she had a goal on inviting people to be baptized and being bold. So we had a lesson with one of her investigators, and we raked a TON of leaves, and then taught her. At the end of the lesson Sister G was able to invite her to be baptized! It was amazing how God gave us that opportunity! She is an incredible missionary, who IS devoted :) Two weeks prior, this lady was yelling at the missionaries at her door step, and now her heart is so soft we were able to invite her to be baptized! Also I was able to see SO many people I used to teach! A TON of less actives are doing SO great! Which made me so happy! There was a lady who HASN'T been going to church that did when I was there, so I was able to get after her with a WHOLE lot of love! And she said she would go to church next Sunday! :) It's amazing to see how even though I served in Santa Maria, it is SO different! The people are WAY more prepared now than they were 8 months ago. The work really is hastening :)

This week I was studying more about Heavenly Father, and it was incredible to be able to get to know him a little better, and it was incredible how much my prayers changed after studying who he is. 

It's been a great week! I love you all!! 

Love Sister Collings!!

One of our long road trips!!

We raked this lady's front yard!

Inside our cool apartment!

San Luis Obispo

So my new area is just so cute :) It's full of rolling hills and nice people! Lately we have had a lot of fog. Guess what, I drive a mini van!!! Ohhh ya.. :) So we go on two exchanges a week with sisters! So tomorrow I will be going on an exchange with sisters in Santa Maria!!!! Which I am so excited because then I get to go back to my old area and see the TERRAZES! The members I used to live with :) We live in an apartment that's SUPER cute! It's pretty much a 1 room apartment, but there is a cute loft where you sleep, so it makes me feel like I'm in a tree house :)  It's just me and Sister H, and there are two other sisters in the same complex, so we exercise together in the mornings. I go to 2 leadership meetings every transfer in Oxnard, and then go on 2 exchanges a week :) And we still have our own area to maintain too, so we are SUPER busy! Which I LOVE! :)

My first day here, we had a lesson with a less active lady, and she is hilarious! She isn't ALL there... has a few disabilities, but  is SO funny! She lives at the top of these super tall stairs! Well, Sister H told me to go first, and not thinking anything of it, I listened to her. Well, as I reached the top step, this less active lady jumped out of her apartment and screamed! Trying to scare us.. Welp! It worked! I almost fell down the stairs, and I screamed SO loud!! haha She's a sweet lady. Apparently she does that EVERY time we come over. So next time I'll be more prepared!!

We also were tracting and a biker stopped next to us. We tried some small talk with him, and asked him if he had ever met with missionaries before, he laughed and said "WAY too often" And sped off!! haha It was funny but it made me feel happy that he has seen us before. It just means we are doing our job, right?

This area is super prepared, because we are gone so much with exchanges, the Lord really does take care of our area. We have seen 2 HUGE miracles this week!

#1. Kim! She is a caregiver for one of the members who we are now teaching. We taught her the plan of salvation, and the room was SOOO packed full of peace! She told us it makes so much sense that there is a spirit world . Because when Jesus comes and visits Mary, he tells her to not touch him because he has not ascended to the Father yet... bad paraphrasing, but you know the story! haha She said that's proof that there is a spirit world! She was sick this Sunday but still came to church. She's incredible, and I am thankful that Heavenly Father is letting me be a part of her conversion.

#2. We are teaching Feng Ling, she doesn't speak English, only Chinese... So we got an interpreter. These lessons are so special because she can't understand what we say, but she feels the spirit so strongly. She has already read the WHOLE Book of Mormon, and reads the Liahona in Chinese every month, and says it brings her more peace than any other book! I love teaching Feng Ling. She had tears in her eyes as we taught about the spirit world; that her family who wasn't Christian can still choose to accept or reject the gospel. Gods plan is perfect.

Being with Sister H again is such a blessing, she is a pure example to me of how to endure, and not just that, but to endure well! :) She only has 5 weeks left on her mission, and she is giving it all she's got. It's inspiring to witness. I feel really privileged to be able to watch her finish her mission!

As a Sister Training Leader, we drive a lot! We had a meeting in Oxnard, so we drove 6 hours! The drive is incredible it's all the way up and down the coast! Its amazing! You can see dolphins and everything! But as I was driving, I was able to drive through all my old areas; Santa Maria, Goleta, Ventura, and I just felt so blessed for all the experiences I was able to be apart of! I feel like now on my mission, I am on my last mile. I just have to give it everything I've got! My race has been a good one so far. I have been consistent, and I have overcome a lot of obstacles, and now it's my turn to give it everything I have, every ounce of energy. I want to cross the finish line and collapse! Every night I am 100% exhausted, and I wouldn't want it any other way. I LOVE being a full time representative of Jesus Christ. There was a quote that someone said in sacrament meeting that REALLY hit me. "empathy during agony is a portion of divinity" I feel so blessed to be a sister training leader, because I am able to forget myself even more and devote myself to these sisters. Although times are hard, I can have empathy for my companion who's ending her mission, the sisters because they struggle, and everyone I talk to each day because THEY need this gospel.

This week we also did service at Prado and Alpha. One is to help women that have children and need supplies, they can come and get diapers and wipes, and clothing,  that's all donated. So we were able to go there and help organize. The other is a homeless shelter where we helped organize and log people in. It was such a neat experience to talk with the homeless and give them a smile. They always looked at our badges and smile when they say the name Jesus Christ. It was such a neat experience to be able to share our Savior's love with them.

Its been a great week :) I'm so excited for what's in store for the rest of my mission! Everyday is an adventure!

Love you all!

love, Sister Kaylea Collings

My District

 Me and Sister H. I'm a little TOO HAPPY!!

We used skirts and a jump rope to make curtains!

Mission Foster Child

This week I got paired up with a new companion Sister B for a short time! I had to pack up my bags and was pretty much the mission foster child for a while! haha So this week was full of moving around from place to place! 

But I did have a HUGE miracle!

We were able to see a less active that I just LOVE get the Melchizedek priesthood!! That was such an incredible experience! He's really changed his life around! It's amazing that even though this transfer has be NUTTY, Heavenly Father still let us see some miracles!

We also tracted into a lady who had just watched the Book of Mormon Broadway play! And she was so impressed that the church "rolled with the punches" so well, that she agreed to let us come and teach her! Isn't that incredible?! And she said that she really was interested in reading the Book of Mormon for herself! :)

TRANSFERS happened, and guess what is happening... this is a miracle and I am just BLOWN away!!!! I will be transferred to San Luis Obisbo.  And Sister H will be my companion!! She was my trainer!! And this is her last transfer on the mission! I am going to be a sister training leader. Which means I will be able to take the sisters in the mission on exchanges each week! I'm so excited!! I know challenges I have had up to this point on my mission have prepared me for this great calling!! 

It's been a CRAZY week and words really cannot describe it... haha BUT!! I promise I will do better at emailing now haha, I have been a slacker. But so much has happened I just didn't know where to start! :)

I know that prayer works and I feel so special how aware Heavenly Father  is of me! :)

Love, Sister Kaylea Collings

Sister D! While I was a foster child... waiting for a new companion.

 Brother W got the Priesthood

Beautiful Sunset

I dressed up for Halloween! (Notice the lipstick)

Sister B, my 1 week companion!