I believe in Christ and He believes in me!

Hello Everyone!!
Can you believe we made it!? To the end of my 18 month mission? I say we because I KNOW I couldn't have done it without everyone of you. You were all there for me to encourage me and lift me up! I also say we because I know I couldn't have done any of this or become all that I have without the Lord. WE DID IT!!! I want you all to know that I have given it my all and because of Jesus Christ my mission has been perfect.  I finished my mission strong so that I can now live strong. That's what matters to me.

I have so much passion for this beautiful experience that I have been able to be a part of! I am just so blessed and cannot believe how aware the Lord is of me! I finally trust him. The Lord knows Sister Collings and I know the Lord.

In Camarillo I started my mission. To sum this area up we did a TON of knocking.. not just on doors, but at my pride. I was so humbled. Right off the get go I was able to experience what its like to find teach and baptize. I learned the passion of true hard work. And I learned how to change being stubborn to being determined. Who knew that I really didn't know EVERYTHING... I hardly knew anything. Through all the internal battles with my natural man I was able to experience for the first time what JOY really is. Hard work brings joy. It brings exhaustion too but mostly joy. I was able to trust in the lord. And Trust that working this hard could change me forever.

In Santa Maria I had never met more Anti Mormons! Everyone I would talk to had something terrible to say about the things  I believed. They even laughed at my testimony. We did a lot of tracting and never at anytime of my life did I feel more alone. In Santa Maria I learned that I am NEVER alone, no matter how hard the day is or who attacks who you are or what you stand for. I felt the presence of the lord more in Santa Maria than anywhere else. I really learned that I could turn to him and regardless of the day, he could give me peace and he could love me. He could heal me. I learned the power of sincere prayer. I learned to trust in the lord and his opinion of me above others.

In Ventura I learned that enthusiasm goes a long way! It's beautiful! I was so blessed to serve in this area for 5 weeks. We would walk down the street and EVERYONE would want to talk to us. It was insane we would have lesson after lesson, found so many people, and were BOOKED. I finally learned how to enjoy the work and to Love everything and everyone. That through Jesus Christ miracles could happen, and that I could love ANYONE. And I learned to trust in the spirit and what it tells me to do everyday! I learned that the Lord doesn't just cry when we cry, but rejoices when we rejoice :)

In Goleta my testimony was strengthened so much by seeing first hand what the gospel has done for me in my life. I don't mean to sound rude but, we met a LOT of crazies in this area.... The stories I could go on and on and on from crazy drunks, to scandalous college kids, to homeless, to handicap... And I saw the difference in my life and theirs. They were so crazy because they didn't have the gospel. I learned to recognize Gods hand daily. That praying for others really does change lives and it even changes my own. That when we pray sincerely with our whole hearts that others will feel the power of the holy ghost. Not many people wanted to listen to us in Goleta, but everyone would let us pray with them. And we got new investigators because even though they didn't care what we had to say at first, they felt the spirit when we prayed, so they invited us back.  I learned the power of stopping to smell the roses, and to enjoy each day that God gives me, and to take time and laugh. I learned that the Lord loved these people just as much as he loved me and the apostles. So I needed to love them too.

In Dos Vientos it was pretty much all gated. And nobody seemed interested. So we had to be sneaky and find a way into these hearts. We decided to offer service to everyone we saw first, and man did that open doors! We were serving EVERYONE and their hearts would soften, and then they would let us teach them. I learned what it meant to be stretched. That the scriptures are a way that God wants to speak to us and really are a life-line. I learned that the Lord had bigger things in store for me than I could ever imagine. I learned what it means to really be consecrated and sacrifice and the blessings that come from that. I learned that God used CRAZY little me to bring souls to Christ. That I really am making a difference, and as I follow the lord, that others would follow me because I was following the Lord.

In San Luis Obispo we were able to teach so many less actives and get them excited to go to the temple, which helped me to realize WHY I am on a mission. Because I want to return to Heavenly Father with EVERYONE I can! And that our families really can be together forever. I realized that I need to care more for my family and make them a bigger priority in my life.  I learned that consistency in the small things brings forth extraordinary results! That through my diligence and hard work thus far on my mission, God was able to give me precious revelation. That God gives blessings when we do what he says.  I really learned that this life is all about our relationships. And that I need to have more gratitude. I learned how to listen to show my love for others. That when the Lord is involved in any relationship, that is when they can have charity. Which means my love can last. Forever.

In Simi Valley we were just PACKED with appointments. In fact we only tracted a few days! We spent the whole time racing from place to place to place!!! We didn't have time for lunches, but we had so many dinners! About 2 a night... I learned what it means to truly have a relationship with the Savior. What his enabling and redeeming power can do for me. I was able to be swallowed up in the Atonement. I felt forgiveness, strength, and peace. I know now of my nothingness. I am fully dependent on the Lord. I don't ever have to walk alone because he is beside me. I learned about grace. How beautiful that after all I can do He will make up the rest. It humbles me so much. I Can do All things because Christ believes in me. That I mean everything to him. And that all I want is to become with him. That is the ONLY thing I am positive about. I NEED him everyday, all the time, in every way.

These 18 months have changed my life. My testimony is really simple. But I am firm in what I say. I know this is Christ's true church on the earth today. I know that I must daily rely on Christ and that I cannot skip prayers and scripture studies without weakening my Armour. I know that as I follow the prophet and the council of priesthood holders, and I keep all of my covenants, and as I trust the book of Mormon, trust the Lord, and trust my Father in Heaven, that I can, and it is a reality that I can return to Father in Heaven. That's my goal. I'm finishing strong so that I can live strong forever beyond this life.

"I will not doubt I will not fear, God's love and strength are always near. His promised gifts help me to find an inner strength and peace of mind. I give the Father willingly, my trust my prayer, humility. His spirit guides, his love assures, that fear departs when faith endures."

I am ready to come home :) And I won't stop enduring.

Love Sister Kaylea Collings

Let Us All Press On!

hello :) 

What a week!! :) I don't feel like I am going home, I feel as if I am leaving it! I have had a lot of sadness and worry about leaving, there is nothing that compares to being a full time representative of Jesus Christ. I realize I must be grateful and have that gratitude overcome any feelings of sadness. This week has been powerful. I have been engulfed in the Savior's love. We have a spare room in our apartment and every spare second I have, I go to that room and pray to father. And pray that Christ's atonement will help me to be strong and continue to become. And I pour out my heart with gratitude.

I cannot believe how He has changed me. How patient He has been with me every time I have struggled on my mission, and in my life. He was so loving, and saw in me things I NEVER thought I could do. Who knew that someone with as many weaknesses as me could be an instrument in bringing souls to Christ. I am so humbled to think of all that Christ has done for me. And because of Him, MY MISSION WAS PERFECT. I have no regrets. Every weakness, every struggle, when the lessons I taught weren't as profound as I thought they should be, when I was fed up with my companions, when I was tired of giving all of myself to people and then having them completely insult everything I believe. When I was thrown into homes of Anti-Mormons and shown repulsively offensive material, the slammed doors, the rude gestures, laughed at, yelled at, rejected. When I didn't think I could go any further, and when I thought that Satan's deceptions of me were right. Guess who was there? 

My loving Savior, Jesus Christ. 

He has always been there.

He will always be there. 

He heals me, loves me, forgives me, strengthens me, and is my anchor. He is helping me to become. And I know that he will not stop. 

Because of him, I see me differently, I see others differently, my priorities are different.

I know he knows me perfectly. Because He sent me to a mission, with companions, and with millions of people that would be able to change my life. He let me witness absolute miracles. Marriages saved, atheist's becoming believers, hearts soften, complete changes in someone's physical appearance. I have seen light enter into VERY dark eyes.

I have seen so much hurt and sadness from addiction and abuse from people that do not have the gospel, to freedom and peace by receiving the gospel.

This is the Church of Jesus Christ in these Latter days.

I know it because there was not one day on my mission that I didn't feel the spirit. And the Spirit testifies of all truth. Everything that the church encompasses brings me and everyone closer to Christ. This is His church. I know it as I sing the His hymns, teach His gospel, find His lost sheep, baptize His elect, read the Book of Mormon that testifies of Him, listen to  His prophet, attend His church services, worship in His temple, follow all of His guidelines, the members I meet, the conversions I see. EVERYTHING points me to Him and encourages me to be better and help others. God is so good to me. I cannot wait to return to Him as i follow His son DAILY.

I will be giving all of myself this last week :) I'll see you all next week :)

Love, Sister Kaylea Collings!

PUPPETS!

Finger Puppets

HELLO!!
This week was CRAZY busy! Turns out I did a whole heck of a lot of service!! I served 8 different people.  I worked at a food share for the homeless, helped a puppet hoarder as she did awkward puppet shows and scolded me for not showing the puppets enough love. I helped pack up 2 homes. I was on a ladder cutting 50 ft vines off of the most beautiful trailer homes I have ever seen. Million dollar mobile homes... who does that? haha. I painted drawers for an old lady while she sang Josh Groban songs, haha. And I was able to go on 2 different exchanges to help out the sisters in my area! I love serving people :) it softens their hearts and prepares them for the amazing message we have to share!

We were able to share the video "Because He Lives" with everyone and anyone! It was powerful! We showed one lady the video and after it played, it showed a ton of videos... and she clicked on one about temples. We were scared at what we would find, but turns out it was a tour of a temple from the 1st presidency as they bore testimony of why we need temples. This lady was in tears and was BLOWN away at how sacred the temples are. She saw the celestial room and said "I am married to this temple! I NEED to get in that room! I can just visualize me sitting in that chair praying to God with my rosary in one hand, and a glass of water in the other..." haha me and Sister B had a good laugh, and at the end of the lesson she said, " I still want to go to that temple I'm married to, (San Diego temple) but I think I won't bring my rosary after all." She was so cute :) And the Spirit was powerful!

We also have an investigator whose wife is dying of cancer. She has been fighting it for YEARS and is having trouble breathing now. Well.. we were tracting and we saw this man on the side oft he street. We ran over to him and asked him if we could say a prayer with him. The spirit was powerful and he was able to feel at peace! We weren't even planning to be in that place when we saw him. I love miracles like that in the mission :)

Conference was a HUGE revelation filled experience for me :) Wasn't it incredible? I decided to ask 1 question for each session and my faith was increased! EVERY talk played a role in answering my questions :)

1st session: I wanted a confirmation and clarity about my future. I can tell you more about this in person, but I finally realize why I feel like I should go to BYU-I!
haha ANDD I just have felt an overwhelming feeling that I should be an ultrasound technician. And I'm so excited about that! :) God was so good to me this week!

2nd session: I prayed to know what weaknesses I could turn into strengths! And 2 HUGE ones popped up :) 1. Don't fear man. Lately I have had anxiety about going home, because I feel like everyone will judge my mission on my homecoming talk... and I hate words because nothing can describe what has taken place on my mission! And I don't want anyone to take my experiences lightly. This quote humbled me fast! "The service that matters most is noticed by God alone" Aka God is telling me " Stop fearing man" haha Who cares how they perceive me. What God knows is all that matters :) 2. "Forgive and forget" MOVE on from my past! I loved when they said " A saint is a sinner who keeps on trying" and I am trying. So I need to stop being so hard on myself :)

4th session: I wanted to know how I can become after my mission. And continue to progress. This was incredible "Our daily discipleship will determine our eternal destiny." Powerful. I'm sure you heard this too, but what was repeated the whole time was DAILY. So that's what I'll do, make an effort daily to become who God needs me to be. I can't slack off on the small stuff!!  :)

I'm just trying my best to be the best I can :) I love my mission!

LOVE sister kaylea Collings :)

 I come back from exchanges and the sisters write cute things on my bed :) 

 Val and her favorite puppet

Turtle Man!

Enabling power of the Atonement

This week was so great! We had Elder Nelson from the 70 come and he answered so many questions that really was a strength to my testimony! He taught a lot about how we need to be agents that ACT and that aren't ACTED upon. It just infused into my heart a desire to ACT the rest of my life. And he said something really interesting, that SATAN wants us to be acted upon. So he gets us to be lazy, and gets us addicted to things. It was powerful.

This week I have learned a lot about the redeeming and enabling power of the atonement. The redeeming power makes bad men good and the enabling power makes good men better. I always knew about the redeeming power, because that has helped me my whole life. When I have sinned I have turned to God to be forgiven, and I have felt forgiven too!  But it's taken 18 months of a mission to realize what the enabling power can do. It's there for us daily, to give us strength to keep on going! And Holy Smokes have I used it this week! When I have felt broken, I have prayed my little heart out and then went to work, and it was as if nothing happened that morning! I can feel it making me better and it's helped me to feel how much Heavenly Father loves me.

I got a phone call from a sister who has been struggling because she is going home soon (She goes home with me!) And she is so stressed, she has had a migraine for 3 days straight! So we went over to their apartment. I stayed with her, and my companion went to work with hers. It was SO good! I was able to motivate her to get to work, and share my testimony of the enabling power of the atonement! After I chatted with her, she said her migraine was gone and that she wanted to finish her mission strong. It felt so good to be able to share some of my struggles with her. I know Christ knows exactly how we all feel! And it blows my mind that he loves everyone so equally! Even the people that we may be upset with. How can I be upset with someone Christ loves :)

 "Mans greatest happiness comes from losing himself for the good of others"
 David O McKay

I know that statement is true. I have felt SO much joy, even on the hardest days!

We had Sarah's baptism and it was so beautiful. She has so much faith!!
Sorry this is so short! but this week has been powerful. And I will tell you about it in a couple weeks!

Love Kaylea

Saved by Grace

Hello friends and Family :)

This week was crazy. Aren't they all? I guess it hit me that I have 4 more weeks. But after reflecting on it, I don't think too much will change when I return home. I still will be strictly obedient and I will still love the Lord.

I think what has impressed me the most about this beautiful mission is how I have been able to get to know the Savior. That through his atonement I can be changed completely! While sitting in church, I heard a phrase that I have heard before, "We are saved by Grace after all that we can do."  THAT hit me so strongly. What is all that I can do? Because I really do NEED his grace. Doing all that I can isn't easy. In fact, I have come to the conclusion that the only way I can know that I am doing all that I can is if I am relying on the Savior, because HE is who will help me reach "ALL that I can".  So really, I just need to trust in his loving care and guidance.

Now is that easy for me? No. Because I get discouraged, and his way doesn't always always seem like the most exciting... in fact, his way scares me. Because often times his way will cause rejections and hurt. But I KNOW that it is worth it. Because his way is the only way to be healed, changed, and happy down the road.

I can feel a glimpse of what down the road is really like every time I feel of the spirit :) I have learned that I must live for today, because there is no guarantee for tomorrow. Before the mission I was always thinking about the future, and I wasn't fully loving the here and now. But if we aren't taking advantage of the here and now, there really won't be any great down the roads for me. Because when I get down that road, I'll be wanting to be somewhere else.

With the Lord's help, I am LOVING this point of my mission. He is helping become all that I can, and enjoying this daily journey.

I love this mission. I wouldn't be where I am today without it.

Love Sister Kaylea Collings

6 Weeks Left!

This week is one that I will Never Forget!

(This is a fun picture that I found on the Ventura Mission facebook page: Mom)

I realize I am down to 6 weeks left... and I always hear "Oh, you should do the six weeks to sexy program and lose all the weight you have gained!" But I have decided to start my own group "six weeks to saggy!"

We had SO MANY things happening, it's crazy! We had Sarah come to a baptism to see what it is like, and HOLY smokes... She was amazing! She kept saying how sacred it was because we have it on a special day, and it's all about baptism, and we even wear different clothes! She felt the spirit so strongly, and she said "It's so crazy! You know that feeling when you have so many emotions build up inside of you and then you are about to cry but it's just bottling up inside you? THAT'S how I have been feeling all week as I have been praying about whether or not I should be baptized!" Wow. I love Sarah and her example. She is diving in 100% and she helps me to increase my faith!! 

We did a lot of service this week. Holy Smokes I am So thankful! 

JUDY!: She is an elderly lady we teach, she was having apartment inspections and we offered to help her clean! We cleaned out mold from the sink and threw away old food for about 2 hours! She has been so sick for 1 whole month. I would imagine it was because she had mold growing everywhere! As we were cleaning, we had the window open and Sister B and I started singing Hymns! Well, what we didn't know was a bunch of elderly people were gathering around the window to listen to us sing! We found out when we finished "Nearer my God to Thee", and an old lady popped her head through the window and said "YOU TWO ARE SOO CUTE!" Judy was so thankful and her heart was softened! She invited us back so that we could teach her more! And I am thankful all the elderly people were able to listen and feel the spirit even if it was just through a window ;)

GENE MARIE!! We helped her clean out her rain gutter and she offered to make us a delicious sandwich! Well... She wanted tomatoes on it but they were all moldy.. And Guess what!!! I think she wanted to kill us because she put the moldy tomatoes on our sandwiches, but not hers!! Oh it was horrid. I kept praying and had to bite around the mold... :( Don't worry prayers kept us safe! :)

I'm sorry you keep getting my poems but they describe my week much better then anything else! So I figured what the heck! Here's another one I wrote this week :)

Endure

My Father sent his Son to suffer and die for me

He even saw my face while enduring Gethsemane

He knew that I would stumble, He knew that I would fall

Into his grace filled arms, only with Him can I stand tall

He beckons, "Come Follow Me" with pleading in his voice

He cautions us to obey God's rules and always make the right choice

"I was blind but now I see" A song we often hear

Our Savior changes hearts and takes away our fears

I trust my Brother, my Savior and Friend

And if I listen closely I too can endure to the end!

I'm excited to see what miracles will be coming this next week! I LOVE being a missionary!!

Love, Sister Kaylea Collings

Sweet Plan of Salvation Lesson

What a week it has been here in Simi! Transfers happened and I will be staying With Sister B! We will still be Sister training leaders! This week was an interesting one. Turns out that ending a mission is more stressful than i EVER thought it could be! I threw up for 2 days... I'm pretty sure out of stress and now my eye ball is Swollen! It kinda looks like a spider bite... but really, I'm not sure at all! I'm short on time but i have a poem i wrote a long time ago that encompasses how I'm feeling right now on my mission!:

Diligence

I will not give up
I will not cool down
The Kingdom is at hand
I want to wear the Crown

When I am Exhausted
When Push comes to Shove
I want to show my father that
My heart is full of love

I'll Show him by my joy
I'll show him in the work I'll do
He'll know I'm a disciple
He'll see it in my attitude.

I'll lift up my head
I'll turn my voice on loud
the kingdom is at hand
I hope my father's proud

We are seeing so many miracles here in Simi! We just got an incredible new investigator! Brother Lang, a member of the ward, thought about one of his friends while he was in the temple! And so he called them and asked them if they would listen to a message from the missionaries! It was incredible! We stopped by with he Langs and taught the plan of salvation! And turns out the man's wife is dying of cancer. It was breast cancer but now it's in her spine. Her pigment is all gone from her face and she is bald, but her spirit was so bright! There were so many tears shed as they looked at my hand drawn plan of salvation pieces. They had hope that even though she was dying, they would be together again! It was such a spiritual experience! I LOVE being a missionary and I love teaching this uplifting and incredible message! I do feel incredible stress, but I also have even more joy!! So it's all worth it!! :) I Love you all!!

Love Sister Kaylea Collings!!!