Kaylea's a POET!

Hello! One thing I love about mission life is that you ALWAYS need to expect the unexpected! So this week was a Roller Coaster! Incredible highs, and incredible LOWS... Lots of praying and lots of frozen yogurt! One thing I know is that Christ is my Savior, and I reflected on that over and over this whole week through incredible personal experiences, and also powerful lessons with my investigators.  So I wrote a poem this week! I have written poems throughout my whole mission!

This is poem #20

How can we know that the living Christ lives?
That we may live again, through his mercy gives.
I was not in Bethlehem or on Calvary
But somehow in someway it's He who sets me free.
I know He lives! I can feel it in my heart,
His love lifts me up when I fall apart.
I know He lives! I can feel it on my knees
When forgiveness is asked, I'm healed through my pleas.
I know He lives! When my fuel is on low
He aids me with motivation for my harvest to sow.
I know He lives! Because when I'm rejected it's Him who carries me,
Helps me to feel the gospel's worth that others cannot see.
I know He lives! Because he took a girl like me
And changed me  into something more than I ever thought I'd be.
I know He lives! Because when I testify
I get all choked up, and my tears begin to fly.
I know He lives! He doesn't just change me,
But offers himself to anyone  who will just believe.
We can all know that the living Christ lives.
We will all live again, His mercy He freely gives!


I am doing great! I am recognizing the Lord's hand in this work more and more! I was able to take a Sister on exchanges this week and we walked ALL day long! In our mission, we try to get 5 new investigators a week! As we hit the pavement and went to work, we were able to teach 10 other lessons and get 5 new investigators! We saw miracles the whole day! From praying with an Atheist, to  getting into less actives homes that were supposed to be"impossible". We walked under highways, up driveways and out in the sun all day! In this area we have 14 people in our teaching pool! And they are all doing great! We are dealing with alcohol problems, and it seems like Satan's getting in the way,  but!! we keep working and praying! We were able to go to a devotional that was SWEET! A man from Texas has Hyrum, Joesph, and Samuel Smith's original copies of the Book of Mormon!! He does devotionals all over the place, but he read us different things they had written in their scriptures it was sweet!!

Mom here, Kaylea asked me to send her some questions to answer, so here goes...

You are a sister training leader, how many days a week do you usually spend visiting the other sisters? We call them everyday! To uplift them and inspire them! Then we normally go on 1-2 exchanges a week where we switch companions for a day and work with them :)

How often do you have leadership meetings you have to attend? We have 2 a month! One for all the leadership in the mission, and then one with all the sister training leaders, where we plan what inspired message we will share with the sisters we go on exchanges with that month to help them to enjoy the work and to work hard!

What is your latest apartment like?  We use to have another set of hermanas living with us, but they got transferred! It's 2 bedroom 2 bathroom!! Which is awesome because we can get ready at the SAME time!! And not take turns to shower... We are teaching someone in our same apartment complex! So it's funny, we run into her a lot! But we leave lots of sticky notes on her door :)

Is it just you and your companion at your apartment? Yes :)

Do you cook, or are you mostly fed? We have dinner with a member every single night! And before we leave we share a message with the family to encourage them to do missionary work! In fact, we try and visit 3 ward members a day to get them to give us referrals, and also to support them and share messages to have them share the gospel!

What is your favorite thing about California? Its so green and BEAUTIFUL! Especially with all the rain we have been getting! And the sunsets and sun rises... are incredible!!! The sky here is 5x's bigger than in Utah!

Any new foods you've had on your mission? Favorite food, and least favorite food. We had a lady make homemade goat cheese cake and cow tongue tacos... And in most areas, everyone is pretty professional at cooking. Every meal is a 6 course dinner! So I like them all!! But we get dessert EVERY night... So that's where I can blame my weight gain ;)

How is your "Mermaid" hair? Well..... I let a member cut it :( And...its about the length it was when I left but no split ends!! Which is good ;) But I only cry in the morning while doing it! Other than that, I love it!

Do you run? Every morning!! :) In fact, I',m down to 130 pounds again!! Which is nice!!! :) We even have a pull up bar on the running trail we go on and we do pull ups... So I'm getting ripped! I even put Conman to shame with my muscles :)

What has been your favorite day on your mission? Probably... Every morning when I wake up and I realize I'm still a missionary! Its a HUGE relief.  Every day's my favorite! You will hear all my stories soon enough  :)

What is something that has surprised you the most about being away for 18 months? Hmm... first thing I thought of was.. I am shocked how many atheists there are! It blows my mind! And I never realized how modest Mormons are until I got to see California's nudity haha!

Do you know I love you!!!? yes :)