Hey everyone!
First of all I hope y'all have a fantastic Christmas this weekend! I was a good week out here in Texas but it was an even better weekend! So Justin and Damian De Hoyos and Hno. Chavez were all baptized on Saturday!! It was so great to see them and to see how happy Hno. and Hna. De Hoyos were and Hna. Chavez. So we had their baptisms and Hna. Moser was able to come back and it was good to see her. So after the baptisms we had the ward party and it was just a really good Saturday and to see Hno. Chavez so happy... I haven't ever seen him like that before. He mentioned how now he feels like he has a whole new family in the branch and he was talking to everyone. It is amazing to see the change that these people go through. The party was good and we had 2 other families that we are teaching come to the party also and they got to know the members, which is always good. Then on Sunday they were all confirmed and after he was confirmed Justin (who is a kind of a wild child) came back to sit down and we asked him how he felt and he couldn't describe it, he just kinda sat there for a bit and was super calm all during sacrament meeting. Hna. Chavez taught the Relief Society lesson on Sunday and at the end bore her testimony about how our God is a god of miracles and how after 9 years her husband was finally baptized and the change that has happened in him... I almost cried... almost :).
We had a Noche de Hogar (Family Home Evening) with the Chavezs last night and they are just so happy and so great... I wish I had better words to describe it but I don't... they are just happy and I love visiting them. We talked about dia de reposo (keeping the Sabbath day holy) and they participated and Hno. now understands why he has to go to all 3 hours of church. They are just so willing to learn and see the blessings- it really is great.
OH! Sunday was also fantastic because the De Hoyos are fantastic! Story time! So during sacrament meeting I was sitting with some of the kids and I pulled out my gospel art book to look at with the little girls during the sacrament to help keep them reverent and Gabriel Jr. (15) started looking at it as well and then asked if he could see it. After the sacrament he asked me what some of the pictures were so I started explaining the pictures and went through the story line of the whole Book of Mormon. He remembered some of them and it was great. We also talked about the power that he has as the oldest in his family and that his siblings do everything he does. If he wants to have family prayer and scripture study then the family will follow. I also talked to him about the priesthood and that when his little sister (6) turns 8 he could baptize her if he had the priesthood. He then asked me what he had to do to get the priesthood and I just said the basics like keep the commandments and told him if he really wanted it he should talk to the branch president and set up an interview to get on the path. Right after sacrament meeting ended he jumped up and went to talk to Presidente so he could work on getting the priesthood!!! AND!! They also paid their tithing on Sunday! I just love this family and I love the change that they are going through. They are such a great family and all 5 boys will make awesome missionaries one day. If I don't have any other success in the rest of my mission I will be fine as long as the De Hoyos continue to progress and grow in the gospel.
Oh we also had Sunday School in Portuguese on Sunday. One of our members is from Brazil and she has some friends staying with her but they don't really speak Spanish or English and they were the only people in class, luckily enough our ward mission leader's (teaches the class) wife is from Portugal so he knows Portuguese! So that was the class... I felt like I was a brand new missionary again with understanding a little bit here and there- it was cool though.
Anyway... We have some other great families that we are now teaching and I will tell y'all more about them next week. I hope that y'all have a very Merry Christmas with your family and friends and that you take a minute to remember the real reason for the season and the thing that Christ has done for us. I want to invite y'all to think of what you can give Christ this week, the week leading up to his birth. Who can you help or serve? It's totally a missionary thing to ask, I know, but I am a missionary so I do as a missionary does. My dear family and friends- I love y'all and wish you the greatest joy, peace, and happiness this week and as you celebrate this weekend. Love y'all! Go Cougars! iFeliz Navidad!
Love Always,
Sister Kelsey Berg
Thursday, December 22, 2011
Letters from Kelsey - 51
Hey everyone!
This week was a little bit faster than last week, which I was very grateful for, and this next week should be just as fast and great because we have a baptism this weekend! Damien, Justin, and Hno. Chavez are all set to be baptized this weekend! It will be great because we have their baptism and then we have the Branch Christmas party right after! We are having a menudo (cow stomach) and pissole (also animal stomach, but cooked different) night. They both are pretty gross, they are like a soup/stew thing, you don't really chew it you just swallow it. There will also be tamales (hopefully) and other food so I won't starve :), but Hispanics sure know how to throw a party and it is a great thing to get our investigators to so they can meet the members and just relax. All you have to do is tell people that there will be food and dancing and Hispanics are there- they love a good party. Special Christmas edition of the INVESTIGATOR WEEKLY!
De Hoyos!: My favorite family ever. So this last week we watched the Restoration DVD and then went over the baptismal questions for Damien and Justin. They did great and they are progressing so much it is just fantastic. On Sunday Hermana slept through her alarm and Hermano was at work but he called her to make sure they were going to church! So they were a little late but they came! The kids are slowly getting quieter and more reverent during Sacrament meeting and this week we are going to teach them about the sacrament and its importance which will only help them more. Hermana told us on Sunday that she has stopped drinking! This is a big thing for her because she told us that it was a weakness for them and all we did on Saturday was review the Word of Wisdom with the kids and that is what made her stop! They even went to a birthday party on Saturday night and she didn't drink- she was so happy to tell us... oh man I just love them!
Hno. Chavez: He is just great and told me that if I don't come back next year to go to the temple with them they won't go! Ha ha, then he said he was kidding and they would still go without me, but I promised them I would be there! He is great and is so ready to be baptized and free of all of his past transgressions its fantastic. I'm excited for him and feel so lucky to have been here at the right time to see him be this type of person and change. OH! AND!!! He went to all 3 hours of church for the first time in a long time! He has a little fear about being asked questions and not knowing the answer, so we just had to promise him that no one would ask him questions and then he would come, and it went well!
Gavino & Ana: They are still in McClellan (spelling) and won't be back until the end of the month but they are still reading, praying and have stopped drinking coffee and smoking! We are just waiting for them to come back so we can help them get married and baptized! We are also teaching their daughter-in-law and granddaughter now and they are awesome also.
Oh man- things are good now and I have never taught so many families at the same time as we are now. We also have about 2/3 families that we are just starting to teach that also have a lot of potential. It will be a great end to 2011 and a great beginning to 2012 as I can see these families entering the waters of baptism at the beginning of the year. OH! Funny story- so all the members think I am just this funny little gringa (white girl) because I can't eat spicy things and I try and translate English sayings into Spanish and they don't really translate. This week though I hopefully changed their minds! So we ate dinner with the Torres family on Thursday and Hna. Torres is probably the one who gives me the hardest time (she yells (not really yells... just tells me very loudly ;) ) at me to eat my vegetables when she sees me picking them out), especially for the fact that I don't like spicy food, but on Thursday she had this chili- it was green and was about an inch long- and she was kinda ragging on me a bit and so I told her I would eat it. Her 3 daughters were there also and none of them thought I would really do it- so I did it! When I put it in my mouth they all kinda started screaming a little bit (which is kinda normal, they all have high pitched laughs, its funny) and they were all looking at me like I was going to die or something. I couldn't really feel my tongue or mouth and it kinda made my teeth hurt but that was really it, so it wasn't that bad. I might still be a crazy gringa but now they can't give me a hard time for not eating chilies right?
Anyway- there is my funny story for the week! I hope y'all have a great week and get all of your preparations done for Christmas! I love and miss y'all tons! Merry Christmas! Remember the reason for the season! Go Cougars!!
Love Always,
Sister Kelsey Berg
This week was a little bit faster than last week, which I was very grateful for, and this next week should be just as fast and great because we have a baptism this weekend! Damien, Justin, and Hno. Chavez are all set to be baptized this weekend! It will be great because we have their baptism and then we have the Branch Christmas party right after! We are having a menudo (cow stomach) and pissole (also animal stomach, but cooked different) night. They both are pretty gross, they are like a soup/stew thing, you don't really chew it you just swallow it. There will also be tamales (hopefully) and other food so I won't starve :), but Hispanics sure know how to throw a party and it is a great thing to get our investigators to so they can meet the members and just relax. All you have to do is tell people that there will be food and dancing and Hispanics are there- they love a good party. Special Christmas edition of the INVESTIGATOR WEEKLY!
De Hoyos!: My favorite family ever. So this last week we watched the Restoration DVD and then went over the baptismal questions for Damien and Justin. They did great and they are progressing so much it is just fantastic. On Sunday Hermana slept through her alarm and Hermano was at work but he called her to make sure they were going to church! So they were a little late but they came! The kids are slowly getting quieter and more reverent during Sacrament meeting and this week we are going to teach them about the sacrament and its importance which will only help them more. Hermana told us on Sunday that she has stopped drinking! This is a big thing for her because she told us that it was a weakness for them and all we did on Saturday was review the Word of Wisdom with the kids and that is what made her stop! They even went to a birthday party on Saturday night and she didn't drink- she was so happy to tell us... oh man I just love them!
Hno. Chavez: He is just great and told me that if I don't come back next year to go to the temple with them they won't go! Ha ha, then he said he was kidding and they would still go without me, but I promised them I would be there! He is great and is so ready to be baptized and free of all of his past transgressions its fantastic. I'm excited for him and feel so lucky to have been here at the right time to see him be this type of person and change. OH! AND!!! He went to all 3 hours of church for the first time in a long time! He has a little fear about being asked questions and not knowing the answer, so we just had to promise him that no one would ask him questions and then he would come, and it went well!
Gavino & Ana: They are still in McClellan (spelling) and won't be back until the end of the month but they are still reading, praying and have stopped drinking coffee and smoking! We are just waiting for them to come back so we can help them get married and baptized! We are also teaching their daughter-in-law and granddaughter now and they are awesome also.
Oh man- things are good now and I have never taught so many families at the same time as we are now. We also have about 2/3 families that we are just starting to teach that also have a lot of potential. It will be a great end to 2011 and a great beginning to 2012 as I can see these families entering the waters of baptism at the beginning of the year. OH! Funny story- so all the members think I am just this funny little gringa (white girl) because I can't eat spicy things and I try and translate English sayings into Spanish and they don't really translate. This week though I hopefully changed their minds! So we ate dinner with the Torres family on Thursday and Hna. Torres is probably the one who gives me the hardest time (she yells (not really yells... just tells me very loudly ;) ) at me to eat my vegetables when she sees me picking them out), especially for the fact that I don't like spicy food, but on Thursday she had this chili- it was green and was about an inch long- and she was kinda ragging on me a bit and so I told her I would eat it. Her 3 daughters were there also and none of them thought I would really do it- so I did it! When I put it in my mouth they all kinda started screaming a little bit (which is kinda normal, they all have high pitched laughs, its funny) and they were all looking at me like I was going to die or something. I couldn't really feel my tongue or mouth and it kinda made my teeth hurt but that was really it, so it wasn't that bad. I might still be a crazy gringa but now they can't give me a hard time for not eating chilies right?
Anyway- there is my funny story for the week! I hope y'all have a great week and get all of your preparations done for Christmas! I love and miss y'all tons! Merry Christmas! Remember the reason for the season! Go Cougars!!
Love Always,
Sister Kelsey Berg
Letters from Kelsey - 50
Hello everyone,
Welcome to the longest...week...EVER!! I don't even know why... but I feel like it has been months since last week. My new companion's name is Hna. Mathews and she is from Brigham City, and she is about to hit her half way mark. She is a really good missionary and will make me stretch and grow... which y'all know I love... (sarcasm intended)... but it will all be fine and we are looking to a lot of success this transfer. Its a balmy 41 degrees in Pearland, TX today but the one thing that isn't cold is our Investigator Weekly! Its on FIRE! :)
De Hoyos: I love them so much. We taught them the Plan of Salvation this week and they did great. They were so excited to show us that they all knew the steps of the Doctrine of Christ (faith, repentance, baptism, gift of the Holy Ghost, endure to the end) and Gabriel Jr. (15) even told us the 5 steps of repentance! AND he asked a little about the priesthood and then put back up his 'too cool' act to say that he didn't want it- but we all saw through that. He also filled out a form to go on the Youth Conference Trek next summer with the stake! He made his mom sign it before they left. They came to church and they were so quiet during the Sacrament, the quietest they have been. I love to see their progress and I just can't wait for Damien and Justin to be baptized so we can work with them to achieve their goal of going to the temple.
Hno. Chavez: So last week at transfers we were talking to Sister Saylin and telling her about his baptism scheduled for Christmas Eve and she told us that we were going to have a mission conference then so we should work on changing it. It so happens that when we stopped by on Sunday they told us they were thinking of going to Mexico to see his kids for Christmas and we said perfect! We changed his date to the 17th with the De Hoyos! He is so solid and this week he told us about some of the things he has done in the past and he can't wait to feel free from all of that, and that is why he wants to be baptized. Oh man... I am just so excited for him!!
Gavino and Ana: We talked to him today and he said he has quit smoking and last we talked to her she wasn't drinking coffee! They have been out of town but he said they have been reading and praying and I have faith they will also reach their date of the 17th! We just need to get them married... pronto ojala (soon hopefully)
Things are going really good here. I hope the next week goes faster but things are good and progressing. Its kinda weird being in an area this long... its the longest I have ever stayed in the same place for the last year of my life and its an odd feeling, but I wouldn't want to be anywhere else for the Christmas season. I hope that everything is going well with y'all and your families. In every lesson we have with members we are giving them the challenge and homework of writing their testimony in a Book of Mormon and praying for someone to give it to before December 31. I would like to extend the same commitment to y'all also. This time of year we celebrate the beginning of the greatest gift ever given. By the birth of Christ it set in motion the greatest events and greatest gifts ever. He paid for our sins so that we can receive repentance and receive the gift of eternal life. I hope that y'all will pray and ponder about someone to whom you can give the gift of the restored gospel. All of the blessings that I have are because of my membership in the church and I want everyone else to enjoy the same blessings. I hope y'all have a good week! Merry Christmas! GO COUGARS!
Love Always,
Sister Kelsey Berg
Welcome to the longest...week...EVER!! I don't even know why... but I feel like it has been months since last week. My new companion's name is Hna. Mathews and she is from Brigham City, and she is about to hit her half way mark. She is a really good missionary and will make me stretch and grow... which y'all know I love... (sarcasm intended)... but it will all be fine and we are looking to a lot of success this transfer. Its a balmy 41 degrees in Pearland, TX today but the one thing that isn't cold is our Investigator Weekly! Its on FIRE! :)
De Hoyos: I love them so much. We taught them the Plan of Salvation this week and they did great. They were so excited to show us that they all knew the steps of the Doctrine of Christ (faith, repentance, baptism, gift of the Holy Ghost, endure to the end) and Gabriel Jr. (15) even told us the 5 steps of repentance! AND he asked a little about the priesthood and then put back up his 'too cool' act to say that he didn't want it- but we all saw through that. He also filled out a form to go on the Youth Conference Trek next summer with the stake! He made his mom sign it before they left. They came to church and they were so quiet during the Sacrament, the quietest they have been. I love to see their progress and I just can't wait for Damien and Justin to be baptized so we can work with them to achieve their goal of going to the temple.
Hno. Chavez: So last week at transfers we were talking to Sister Saylin and telling her about his baptism scheduled for Christmas Eve and she told us that we were going to have a mission conference then so we should work on changing it. It so happens that when we stopped by on Sunday they told us they were thinking of going to Mexico to see his kids for Christmas and we said perfect! We changed his date to the 17th with the De Hoyos! He is so solid and this week he told us about some of the things he has done in the past and he can't wait to feel free from all of that, and that is why he wants to be baptized. Oh man... I am just so excited for him!!
Gavino and Ana: We talked to him today and he said he has quit smoking and last we talked to her she wasn't drinking coffee! They have been out of town but he said they have been reading and praying and I have faith they will also reach their date of the 17th! We just need to get them married... pronto ojala (soon hopefully)
Things are going really good here. I hope the next week goes faster but things are good and progressing. Its kinda weird being in an area this long... its the longest I have ever stayed in the same place for the last year of my life and its an odd feeling, but I wouldn't want to be anywhere else for the Christmas season. I hope that everything is going well with y'all and your families. In every lesson we have with members we are giving them the challenge and homework of writing their testimony in a Book of Mormon and praying for someone to give it to before December 31. I would like to extend the same commitment to y'all also. This time of year we celebrate the beginning of the greatest gift ever given. By the birth of Christ it set in motion the greatest events and greatest gifts ever. He paid for our sins so that we can receive repentance and receive the gift of eternal life. I hope that y'all will pray and ponder about someone to whom you can give the gift of the restored gospel. All of the blessings that I have are because of my membership in the church and I want everyone else to enjoy the same blessings. I hope y'all have a good week! Merry Christmas! GO COUGARS!
Love Always,
Sister Kelsey Berg
Tuesday, November 29, 2011
Letters from Kelsey - 49
Hey y'all!
Well we survived Thanksgiving... barely, thats what happens when you have 2 Thanksgiving dinners. We had a really good Thanksgiving and it was nice to have it on a P-day so we could relax a little bit. I have never eaten so much in my life though... so we got up and did our little shopping (neither of us needed a lot last week) and then we headed to the Ortizs at 11 and helped them cook until the Lunas came over and we ate at 1 and hung out there until P-day ended at 4:30. Then we went and ate with the Leijas at 5 and after I just hurt because of all the food. It was super good and both families are very English so it was normal turkey, mashed potatoes, stuffing, and all that jazz. After the Leijas we went to the Lunas because they invited us over (we weren't allowed to just stop by at people's houses so we were glad they invited us or else we would've just rode our bikes around in the cold and the dark talking to people walking their dog) we didn't eat anything at the Lunas though- we apologized but told them we didn't have anymore room. It was fun to hang out with a family and have it actually feel like a holiday- we just lacked the football... ha ha. I was so full that I didn't even eat breakfast the next morning because I was still full- but it was great and I wouldn't have traded it for anything.
I hope y'all had a good holiday also now to the Investigator Weekly!
De Hoyos: They are so great and Justin(8) and Damien(10) have baptismal dates for the 17th and their dad already announced it in Priesthood on Sunday so they are super excited for that and we had a fantastic lesson with them on Saturday. So their oldest is Gabriel Jr (15) and he acts like a normal 15 year old (too cool for anything) but he is a great kid. He said the opening prayer for the lesson and on Sunday he came to church with a white shirt and tie! On Saturday we taught them about the Doctrine of Christ (faith, repentance, baptism, gift of the Holy Ghost, and enduring to the end) and they all had their Book of Mormons and they took turns reading and are just such a cute family. They still have a long way to go but this Saturday we are going to help them sent a date to go to the temple so they can all work together as a family. They are my favorite family ever.
Hno. Chavez: He is still great and on track to be baptized on the 24th. We taught them the Plan of Salvation on Sunday and next Sunday they are going to teach us how to make this really good drink- its milk, sugar, cinnamon, and they put in either oats or rice, its hot and super good. They are going to teach us how to make it and you know Hispanics like you when they want to either: 1) feed you or 2) teach you how to cook something, so we are in good with them ha ha. He told us last week that we better come back when they go through the temple in a year or else they won't go through... ha ha I'm totally coming back.
Gavino and Ana: We taught them the Law of Chastity and they working out how they are going to follow that because they aren't married, but they will make the right choice and will be baptized soon. They are great.
Anyway- time is short. Hna. Moser got the transfer call this morning so our hope of staying together is dead. I'm super bummed because we were hoping for another and I don't like change and I don't want to have to get used to another companion and all that but its whatever the Lord wants and we just accept it with faith. I hope everything is still going well with y'all! I hope y'all have a great week! Love y'all! Go Cougars!!
Love Always,
Sister Kelsey Berg
Well we survived Thanksgiving... barely, thats what happens when you have 2 Thanksgiving dinners. We had a really good Thanksgiving and it was nice to have it on a P-day so we could relax a little bit. I have never eaten so much in my life though... so we got up and did our little shopping (neither of us needed a lot last week) and then we headed to the Ortizs at 11 and helped them cook until the Lunas came over and we ate at 1 and hung out there until P-day ended at 4:30. Then we went and ate with the Leijas at 5 and after I just hurt because of all the food. It was super good and both families are very English so it was normal turkey, mashed potatoes, stuffing, and all that jazz. After the Leijas we went to the Lunas because they invited us over (we weren't allowed to just stop by at people's houses so we were glad they invited us or else we would've just rode our bikes around in the cold and the dark talking to people walking their dog) we didn't eat anything at the Lunas though- we apologized but told them we didn't have anymore room. It was fun to hang out with a family and have it actually feel like a holiday- we just lacked the football... ha ha. I was so full that I didn't even eat breakfast the next morning because I was still full- but it was great and I wouldn't have traded it for anything.
I hope y'all had a good holiday also now to the Investigator Weekly!
De Hoyos: They are so great and Justin(8) and Damien(10) have baptismal dates for the 17th and their dad already announced it in Priesthood on Sunday so they are super excited for that and we had a fantastic lesson with them on Saturday. So their oldest is Gabriel Jr (15) and he acts like a normal 15 year old (too cool for anything) but he is a great kid. He said the opening prayer for the lesson and on Sunday he came to church with a white shirt and tie! On Saturday we taught them about the Doctrine of Christ (faith, repentance, baptism, gift of the Holy Ghost, and enduring to the end) and they all had their Book of Mormons and they took turns reading and are just such a cute family. They still have a long way to go but this Saturday we are going to help them sent a date to go to the temple so they can all work together as a family. They are my favorite family ever.
Hno. Chavez: He is still great and on track to be baptized on the 24th. We taught them the Plan of Salvation on Sunday and next Sunday they are going to teach us how to make this really good drink- its milk, sugar, cinnamon, and they put in either oats or rice, its hot and super good. They are going to teach us how to make it and you know Hispanics like you when they want to either: 1) feed you or 2) teach you how to cook something, so we are in good with them ha ha. He told us last week that we better come back when they go through the temple in a year or else they won't go through... ha ha I'm totally coming back.
Gavino and Ana: We taught them the Law of Chastity and they working out how they are going to follow that because they aren't married, but they will make the right choice and will be baptized soon. They are great.
Anyway- time is short. Hna. Moser got the transfer call this morning so our hope of staying together is dead. I'm super bummed because we were hoping for another and I don't like change and I don't want to have to get used to another companion and all that but its whatever the Lord wants and we just accept it with faith. I hope everything is still going well with y'all! I hope y'all have a great week! Love y'all! Go Cougars!!
Love Always,
Sister Kelsey Berg
Wednesday, November 23, 2011
Letters from Kelsey - 48
Hey everyone!
Oh man on man... It was fantastic week. On Sunday Hno. Chavez (husband of a member) accept a baptismal date for December 24th! Missionaries have been working with him forever and I don't know what is different but he feels ready now! We also have this amazing family but I will tell y'all all about it in... the... INVESTIGATOR WEEKLY!!!
The De Hoyos: They are from Las Vegas and have been here for about a year. They have 8 kids with the oldest being 15 and the youngest being 2. They were baptized in Vegas with 3 of their kids but they have 2 that can be baptized and those are the 2 we are working with. They have been inactive for a couple of years so we are working on bringing them back. They live in the middle of no where though so its hard to go and see them more than once a week because it takes like 30 min to get there and we have to have a member take us because we are only allotted so many miles a month with the car and we can't afford to go all the way out there. They are awesome though and came to the Branch party and to church on Sunday! It was the craziest sacrament meeting ever because I had no idea what was going on because I was trying to keep the kids reverent. They just don't know how to be reverent but they want to and they loved church. The subject line comes from Justin- the 8 year old, on Saturday when we went over we were talking about prayer and how prayer can help us with the things we want in life and he said "I want to have 2 jobs when I grow up, I want to work where my Dad works and I want to be a Mormon." They are just awesome and I love them and can't wait to see the change that comes into their family as they keep going to church. I was a miracle we found them, we contacted Hermano's brother about a month ago and he mentioned to us that his brother was married in an LDS building in Vegas and then one day when we went over, the family was over there and they said they want to come back to church and we got their info and here we are!
Gavino & Ana: They are doing great and we are going to keep pressing forward. I don't know if they will hit their date of the 3rd because they still aren't married and we haven't had a chance to teach the law of chastity because when we went and planned on teaching it the grandkids joined in so we changed it to the 10 commandments, but this week we are going to teach it.
Oh man... its pouring outside right now- crazy Texas. I love this area, I love this branch, I love our investigators, and Hna. Moser and I are hoping to stay together next week when transfer calls come. We have been lobbying President Saylin because 3 transfers together is very rare, but it would be fantastic. I hope that y'all have a fantastic Thanksgiving. I am so thankful for all of the blessings I receive everyday. I am thankful for the Gospel and the happiness, hope, and clarity it brings to my life and to those I meet everyday. I am thankful for my family and for all they do for me and for their love, support, and encouragement. I am thankful for my parents and for the way they raised me and for all the values they taught me and for raising me in the Gospel. I am thankful for all of you for your love, support, and for always being there. I am so blessed to have so many friends and family that I can lean on when life get difficult. I'm grateful for the knowledge of the plan that our Heavenly Father has for us and that families can be eternal. I'm thankful for the Atonement, without it I would not be on a mission or have any hope in live because of my weaknesses and imperfections. I am thankful for this time I have to serve the Lord and the people of Houston- I have changed in ways that will bless my future. I am thankful for the lessons I learn everyday and the opportunity to change and because better. I am so thankful for my Savior and for all that he did for me and all that he continues to do for my everyday, being my support, my guide, and my friend. I hope y'all have a great Thanksgiving of family and food- oh and watch some football for me please!! Love y'all!! Go Cougars!!
Love Always,
Sister Kelsey Berg
Oh man on man... It was fantastic week. On Sunday Hno. Chavez (husband of a member) accept a baptismal date for December 24th! Missionaries have been working with him forever and I don't know what is different but he feels ready now! We also have this amazing family but I will tell y'all all about it in... the... INVESTIGATOR WEEKLY!!!
The De Hoyos: They are from Las Vegas and have been here for about a year. They have 8 kids with the oldest being 15 and the youngest being 2. They were baptized in Vegas with 3 of their kids but they have 2 that can be baptized and those are the 2 we are working with. They have been inactive for a couple of years so we are working on bringing them back. They live in the middle of no where though so its hard to go and see them more than once a week because it takes like 30 min to get there and we have to have a member take us because we are only allotted so many miles a month with the car and we can't afford to go all the way out there. They are awesome though and came to the Branch party and to church on Sunday! It was the craziest sacrament meeting ever because I had no idea what was going on because I was trying to keep the kids reverent. They just don't know how to be reverent but they want to and they loved church. The subject line comes from Justin- the 8 year old, on Saturday when we went over we were talking about prayer and how prayer can help us with the things we want in life and he said "I want to have 2 jobs when I grow up, I want to work where my Dad works and I want to be a Mormon." They are just awesome and I love them and can't wait to see the change that comes into their family as they keep going to church. I was a miracle we found them, we contacted Hermano's brother about a month ago and he mentioned to us that his brother was married in an LDS building in Vegas and then one day when we went over, the family was over there and they said they want to come back to church and we got their info and here we are!
Gavino & Ana: They are doing great and we are going to keep pressing forward. I don't know if they will hit their date of the 3rd because they still aren't married and we haven't had a chance to teach the law of chastity because when we went and planned on teaching it the grandkids joined in so we changed it to the 10 commandments, but this week we are going to teach it.
Oh man... its pouring outside right now- crazy Texas. I love this area, I love this branch, I love our investigators, and Hna. Moser and I are hoping to stay together next week when transfer calls come. We have been lobbying President Saylin because 3 transfers together is very rare, but it would be fantastic. I hope that y'all have a fantastic Thanksgiving. I am so thankful for all of the blessings I receive everyday. I am thankful for the Gospel and the happiness, hope, and clarity it brings to my life and to those I meet everyday. I am thankful for my family and for all they do for me and for their love, support, and encouragement. I am thankful for my parents and for the way they raised me and for all the values they taught me and for raising me in the Gospel. I am thankful for all of you for your love, support, and for always being there. I am so blessed to have so many friends and family that I can lean on when life get difficult. I'm grateful for the knowledge of the plan that our Heavenly Father has for us and that families can be eternal. I'm thankful for the Atonement, without it I would not be on a mission or have any hope in live because of my weaknesses and imperfections. I am thankful for this time I have to serve the Lord and the people of Houston- I have changed in ways that will bless my future. I am thankful for the lessons I learn everyday and the opportunity to change and because better. I am so thankful for my Savior and for all that he did for me and all that he continues to do for my everyday, being my support, my guide, and my friend. I hope y'all have a great Thanksgiving of family and food- oh and watch some football for me please!! Love y'all!! Go Cougars!!
Love Always,
Sister Kelsey Berg
Thursday, November 17, 2011
Letters from Kelsey - 47
Hey everyone!
I feel like I was just emailing y'all yesterday! Well nothing really is new this week and I don't really have anything to report or say... weird I know- when was the last time I didn't have anything to say? ha ha- I don't know if that has ever happened. Well here is the Investigator Weekly! (maybe I'll have something to say after)
Gavino & Ana: We taught them the rest of the Plan of Salvation this last week, but they didn't come to church- it was stake conference though. We will have to see how things go this week. We also learned that they aren't married and they didn't seem very excited at the idea of marriage because they have only known each other since May. That might be the real test of how strong their testimony is- guess we will find out.
Ena: We stopped by yesterday and she said that she didn't want to read, pray, or go to church anymore... so she dropped us and we will try to stay in contact every once in a while.
We are starting to teach the husband of a member- Hno. Chavez- and he seems to be willing so we will see where it goes and we also found a less-active family from Las Vegas that we are trying to bring back and they have 2 kids they want baptized. They live in the middle of nowhere though... like really- it takes us about 30 minutes to get there, but they seems to have true desires, we just gotta help them a little.
We had a good week though. It was a cool meeting with Elder Rasband, he didn't really have a set talk or set theme. He talked about a lot of different things and he is a really nice guy. I wish I had more to tell y'all but it was a slow week. I was a little frustrated because I feel like something needs to change in our area and I have no idea what that is. I still get frustrated when lessons fall through or when we can't find anyone outside. I still get frustrated with people's weaknesses but I have faith that by the end of my mission the Lord will help me with a little more patience... ha ha. Well I love y'all and miss y'all tons! I hope y'all have a good week in preparation for Thanksgiving!!
Love Always,
Sister Kelsey Berg
I feel like I was just emailing y'all yesterday! Well nothing really is new this week and I don't really have anything to report or say... weird I know- when was the last time I didn't have anything to say? ha ha- I don't know if that has ever happened. Well here is the Investigator Weekly! (maybe I'll have something to say after)
Gavino & Ana: We taught them the rest of the Plan of Salvation this last week, but they didn't come to church- it was stake conference though. We will have to see how things go this week. We also learned that they aren't married and they didn't seem very excited at the idea of marriage because they have only known each other since May. That might be the real test of how strong their testimony is- guess we will find out.
Ena: We stopped by yesterday and she said that she didn't want to read, pray, or go to church anymore... so she dropped us and we will try to stay in contact every once in a while.
We are starting to teach the husband of a member- Hno. Chavez- and he seems to be willing so we will see where it goes and we also found a less-active family from Las Vegas that we are trying to bring back and they have 2 kids they want baptized. They live in the middle of nowhere though... like really- it takes us about 30 minutes to get there, but they seems to have true desires, we just gotta help them a little.
We had a good week though. It was a cool meeting with Elder Rasband, he didn't really have a set talk or set theme. He talked about a lot of different things and he is a really nice guy. I wish I had more to tell y'all but it was a slow week. I was a little frustrated because I feel like something needs to change in our area and I have no idea what that is. I still get frustrated when lessons fall through or when we can't find anyone outside. I still get frustrated with people's weaknesses but I have faith that by the end of my mission the Lord will help me with a little more patience... ha ha. Well I love y'all and miss y'all tons! I hope y'all have a good week in preparation for Thanksgiving!!
Love Always,
Sister Kelsey Berg
Thursday, November 10, 2011
Letters from Kelsey - 46
Hey howdy hey...
So this was a pretty good week, time is changing (oh speaking of that, I LOVED! the extra hour of sleep on Sunday- amazing) but what I mean is that now the days are going by fast and the weeks are going by slow... its probably because we have had so many other things going on that our weekly schedule isn't like it usually is- oh well, its all good. We had Zone Conference (a meeting we have every other transfer, about, with half of the mission) yesterday and that is why we are emailing today, and another change in the schedule is that on Friday Elder Ronald A. Rasband (senior president of the 70) is coming to speak to the Houston missions- should be pretty cool.
It was a good week and Sunday just topped it off. We had 3 people at church (Gavino, Ana, and Sonia) we had a very inactive family come to all 3 hours, and a less active family come for the first time in 2 months, AND it was a very good testimony meeting and all of the members bore good testimonies and were super nice to our investigators and less active families. I was a very content missionary after church. It was a very good day to have because our area has been struggling a little recently and I have been praying to know what to do to improve our area and find those people the Lord has prepared. We have just been plugging along and trying to be diligent and it seems to be paying off, and that will take us to the Investigator Weekly!
Gavino and Ana: I think this is the first time I have mentioned them. They are an older couple and we met them a couple weeks ago and have taught them 3 times now. They are very willing to learn and very excited to come to church- they loved church on Sunday. They are a little slower and I feel that sometimes they just go along with things even if they might not really know it. Last night we taught them about the Word of Wisdom and Gavino smokes so it will be a great test of their true desires if they can follow the Word of Wisdom. They were very willing to follow it and they have some health problems so it will be great to see it bless their lives.
Maria: She is still progressing. We are excited for her and we are going to extend the date soon of December 24th for her and her family to work towards baptism cool huh!
Ena:... she has kinda dropped us... will let you know what happens next week.
So I had an interesting experience this week on my exchange with Hna. Worthen- I realized, for the first time, how old I am in the mission and how short my time truly is, and it made me reflect, ponder, and question if I have - up to this point- done all I needed to do and become all I needed to become. It has made me very pensive this week on what goals I need to have and what things I need to change for the last 7 months so I can make sure I know the answers to those questions when my time is up. It has been the same way with the new training program that we have been studying (it is a focus on the 8 fundamentals of Preach My Gospel (the missionary manual book), the fundamentals are: revelation through church, teach people not lessons, they commit we follow up, revelation through the Book of Mormon, the missionary purpose,... and I can't for the life of me remember the other 3... shows how much I know them huh... haha). It is very sobering and humbling when we get back to basics and I realize exactly how much I lack and how many weaknesses I truly have, but in times like these I am very grateful for the Atonement and the opportunity to change and improve.
I hope that everything is going well for y'all. I miss and love y'all tons! I hope the Lord continues to bless you and your families in all that you do! Go Cougars!
Love Always,
Sister Kelsey Berg
So this was a pretty good week, time is changing (oh speaking of that, I LOVED! the extra hour of sleep on Sunday- amazing) but what I mean is that now the days are going by fast and the weeks are going by slow... its probably because we have had so many other things going on that our weekly schedule isn't like it usually is- oh well, its all good. We had Zone Conference (a meeting we have every other transfer, about, with half of the mission) yesterday and that is why we are emailing today, and another change in the schedule is that on Friday Elder Ronald A. Rasband (senior president of the 70) is coming to speak to the Houston missions- should be pretty cool.
It was a good week and Sunday just topped it off. We had 3 people at church (Gavino, Ana, and Sonia) we had a very inactive family come to all 3 hours, and a less active family come for the first time in 2 months, AND it was a very good testimony meeting and all of the members bore good testimonies and were super nice to our investigators and less active families. I was a very content missionary after church. It was a very good day to have because our area has been struggling a little recently and I have been praying to know what to do to improve our area and find those people the Lord has prepared. We have just been plugging along and trying to be diligent and it seems to be paying off, and that will take us to the Investigator Weekly!
Gavino and Ana: I think this is the first time I have mentioned them. They are an older couple and we met them a couple weeks ago and have taught them 3 times now. They are very willing to learn and very excited to come to church- they loved church on Sunday. They are a little slower and I feel that sometimes they just go along with things even if they might not really know it. Last night we taught them about the Word of Wisdom and Gavino smokes so it will be a great test of their true desires if they can follow the Word of Wisdom. They were very willing to follow it and they have some health problems so it will be great to see it bless their lives.
Maria: She is still progressing. We are excited for her and we are going to extend the date soon of December 24th for her and her family to work towards baptism cool huh!
Ena:... she has kinda dropped us... will let you know what happens next week.
So I had an interesting experience this week on my exchange with Hna. Worthen- I realized, for the first time, how old I am in the mission and how short my time truly is, and it made me reflect, ponder, and question if I have - up to this point- done all I needed to do and become all I needed to become. It has made me very pensive this week on what goals I need to have and what things I need to change for the last 7 months so I can make sure I know the answers to those questions when my time is up. It has been the same way with the new training program that we have been studying (it is a focus on the 8 fundamentals of Preach My Gospel (the missionary manual book), the fundamentals are: revelation through church, teach people not lessons, they commit we follow up, revelation through the Book of Mormon, the missionary purpose,... and I can't for the life of me remember the other 3... shows how much I know them huh... haha). It is very sobering and humbling when we get back to basics and I realize exactly how much I lack and how many weaknesses I truly have, but in times like these I am very grateful for the Atonement and the opportunity to change and improve.
I hope that everything is going well for y'all. I miss and love y'all tons! I hope the Lord continues to bless you and your families in all that you do! Go Cougars!
Love Always,
Sister Kelsey Berg
Tuesday, November 1, 2011
Letters from Kelsey - 45
Hey everyone,
So... I hope y'all had a good Halloween! On Halloween we have to be in the apartment starting at 7:00 pm for the rest of the night, so our Halloween was pretty calm. On Mondays we have weekly planning where we pretty much plan our whole week, who we are going to try and see each day, what we are going to teach them, and we set our goals. We start at 11 and it usually takes us until about 3:30/4:00. Yesterday we started and ended a little early so we could have more time to work. We pretty much just ran missionary errands (stopping by to see people, following up, and trying to set up appointments), and then we met up with the Houston 8 Hermanas for an exchange. Hna. Moser is in Houston until Wednesday afternoon and I have Hna. Worthen with me until the same time, she is in her 3rd transfer but is solid. So exchanges are where we pretty much just switch areas so that we have the opportunity to work with other sisters I guess... I don't really like them- y'all know me... I don't like change, but oh well. Friday night we had our trunk-o-treat with the Pearland Ward, it was a lot of fun and we helped our branch president do a haunted house type thing (they have a carnival thing before the trunk-o-treating). It was a lot of fun and we got to scare the little kids... ha ha.
My mom told me to write more about my companion but I don't know what to write. She is from Southern California, she is in her 4th transfer and we get along pretty well. We always have a good time and we are hoping to stay together for another transfer... but who knows. I don't really know what else to write about her... we are planning to go to Conference together next October if that says anything... sorry Mom... don't know what else to say.
Investigator Weekly, its kind of a lame one this week:
Ena: came to church this week, but canceled our lesson for today but she said she will come to church on Sunday... I have no idea what to do, just be patient I guess and give her some time.
Maria: She is reading and praying and our goal now is to get her to church. We are going over the Restoration today and it should be fun. We are hoping she will accept a baptismal date for November 26th! We will see.
And... thats it. Things are still going good- we just don't have many with a date or many progressing, but we plan to change that this week. Things are good though, I really love the area and the members. I think the best way to explain my area is it really is kinda like Heber. You have neighborhoods like Cobblestone and then right next to them you have a whole bunch of fields with cows, then there is a street with some mobile homes, and they are pretty nice ones. There is the 518 which is the main street of the area and there are grocery stores, Wally world, restaurants... its pretty awesome. Its like the perfect area if you ask me- its a little harder to contact because there is hardly anyone outside but its all good.
Anyway... hope y'all have a good week! Love ya all! I hope the Lord continues to bless you and your families!
Love Always,
Sister Kelsey Berg
So... I hope y'all had a good Halloween! On Halloween we have to be in the apartment starting at 7:00 pm for the rest of the night, so our Halloween was pretty calm. On Mondays we have weekly planning where we pretty much plan our whole week, who we are going to try and see each day, what we are going to teach them, and we set our goals. We start at 11 and it usually takes us until about 3:30/4:00. Yesterday we started and ended a little early so we could have more time to work. We pretty much just ran missionary errands (stopping by to see people, following up, and trying to set up appointments), and then we met up with the Houston 8 Hermanas for an exchange. Hna. Moser is in Houston until Wednesday afternoon and I have Hna. Worthen with me until the same time, she is in her 3rd transfer but is solid. So exchanges are where we pretty much just switch areas so that we have the opportunity to work with other sisters I guess... I don't really like them- y'all know me... I don't like change, but oh well. Friday night we had our trunk-o-treat with the Pearland Ward, it was a lot of fun and we helped our branch president do a haunted house type thing (they have a carnival thing before the trunk-o-treating). It was a lot of fun and we got to scare the little kids... ha ha.
My mom told me to write more about my companion but I don't know what to write. She is from Southern California, she is in her 4th transfer and we get along pretty well. We always have a good time and we are hoping to stay together for another transfer... but who knows. I don't really know what else to write about her... we are planning to go to Conference together next October if that says anything... sorry Mom... don't know what else to say.
Investigator Weekly, its kind of a lame one this week:
Ena: came to church this week, but canceled our lesson for today but she said she will come to church on Sunday... I have no idea what to do, just be patient I guess and give her some time.
Maria: She is reading and praying and our goal now is to get her to church. We are going over the Restoration today and it should be fun. We are hoping she will accept a baptismal date for November 26th! We will see.
And... thats it. Things are still going good- we just don't have many with a date or many progressing, but we plan to change that this week. Things are good though, I really love the area and the members. I think the best way to explain my area is it really is kinda like Heber. You have neighborhoods like Cobblestone and then right next to them you have a whole bunch of fields with cows, then there is a street with some mobile homes, and they are pretty nice ones. There is the 518 which is the main street of the area and there are grocery stores, Wally world, restaurants... its pretty awesome. Its like the perfect area if you ask me- its a little harder to contact because there is hardly anyone outside but its all good.
Anyway... hope y'all have a good week! Love ya all! I hope the Lord continues to bless you and your families!
Love Always,
Sister Kelsey Berg
Thursday, October 27, 2011
Letters from Kelsey - 44
Hey howdy hey!!
So... if y'all were wondering, the mosquito population in Pearland, Texas is alive and well. They are out in the morning, the middle of the day, and all evening and night! They are very good at latching on when ever they get a chance, and we have already almost run though a whole can of bug spray since Friday! We thought we would decorate inside our car for Halloween and the theme is Mosquito Graveyard... its super gross. Anyway... We had a good week and were blessed to go to the Houston Temple yesterday and after we were addressed by a member of the temple presidency! It was a lot of fun and I was happy because I got some Mo Tab Christmas CDs! And... if you are wondering if we are already listening to Christmas music you would be correct. We listened to Natalie Cole and Mo Tab the whole way back and we plan on listening until Christmas. ha ha Normally I'm a 'wait until after Thanksgiving' person but I'm already praying for snow and I need all the help I can get so I thought a little Christmas music would help me out! ha ha Ridiculous I know. Anyway- Investigator Weekly!
Ena: We saw her yesterday and I have to be honest... I just don't know what do to. She knows its true but is already saying that she doesn't feel ready for November 12 and its not even here yet. Hna. Moser and I both feel like taking a break with her would be a step back so we are going to keep going and just have faith that if we keep going- us and her- she will have the confidence she needs to take the step of faith and be baptized. We think that tithing might be one of her obstacles and that maybe she is worried we will just forget about her after she is baptized. We will keep hoping and praying and see where that leads!
Sonia: So yesterday we went fasting to the temple to know what to do to help her be baptized and we got the feeling to just ask her. So tonight we are praying we can meet with her and we are going to invite her to be baptized this weekend! She already knows everything and is doing everything the members do yet is not receiving all of the blessings. We have some scriptures picked out and we will pray the Spirit will be there to confirm that this weekend is the right time.
Maria: She is fantastic and is soaking it all in. We are hoping to get her to the ward Trunk-o-treat this weekend and I know that when she meets all of the Hermanas in the ward they will fall in love with her and she with them! I'm super excited for her.
Well that was our week- nothing exciting just the usual. Oh about the Surprise meeting... I was disappointed, nothing too exciting we just have a new program to do during companionship training... oh well. It was fun to see the whole mission though! I hope y'all have a fantastic and safe Halloween weekend! I love and miss y'all! Next time y'all will get an email from me it will be November! Craziness...
Love Always,
Sister Kelsey Berg
So... if y'all were wondering, the mosquito population in Pearland, Texas is alive and well. They are out in the morning, the middle of the day, and all evening and night! They are very good at latching on when ever they get a chance, and we have already almost run though a whole can of bug spray since Friday! We thought we would decorate inside our car for Halloween and the theme is Mosquito Graveyard... its super gross. Anyway... We had a good week and were blessed to go to the Houston Temple yesterday and after we were addressed by a member of the temple presidency! It was a lot of fun and I was happy because I got some Mo Tab Christmas CDs! And... if you are wondering if we are already listening to Christmas music you would be correct. We listened to Natalie Cole and Mo Tab the whole way back and we plan on listening until Christmas. ha ha Normally I'm a 'wait until after Thanksgiving' person but I'm already praying for snow and I need all the help I can get so I thought a little Christmas music would help me out! ha ha Ridiculous I know. Anyway- Investigator Weekly!
Ena: We saw her yesterday and I have to be honest... I just don't know what do to. She knows its true but is already saying that she doesn't feel ready for November 12 and its not even here yet. Hna. Moser and I both feel like taking a break with her would be a step back so we are going to keep going and just have faith that if we keep going- us and her- she will have the confidence she needs to take the step of faith and be baptized. We think that tithing might be one of her obstacles and that maybe she is worried we will just forget about her after she is baptized. We will keep hoping and praying and see where that leads!
Sonia: So yesterday we went fasting to the temple to know what to do to help her be baptized and we got the feeling to just ask her. So tonight we are praying we can meet with her and we are going to invite her to be baptized this weekend! She already knows everything and is doing everything the members do yet is not receiving all of the blessings. We have some scriptures picked out and we will pray the Spirit will be there to confirm that this weekend is the right time.
Maria: She is fantastic and is soaking it all in. We are hoping to get her to the ward Trunk-o-treat this weekend and I know that when she meets all of the Hermanas in the ward they will fall in love with her and she with them! I'm super excited for her.
Well that was our week- nothing exciting just the usual. Oh about the Surprise meeting... I was disappointed, nothing too exciting we just have a new program to do during companionship training... oh well. It was fun to see the whole mission though! I hope y'all have a fantastic and safe Halloween weekend! I love and miss y'all! Next time y'all will get an email from me it will be November! Craziness...
Love Always,
Sister Kelsey Berg
Letters from Kelsey - 43
Hey everyone!
The week leading up to transfers is always a long week- has been my whole mission and this week was no exception. We got the call this morning and Hna. Moser and I are staying together! I'm excited, we get along really good and I love this ward and this area. So as the title says we (the mission) are having a surprise meeting tomorrow before transfers and the whole mission is going - so the whole mission will be at transfers. Now as far as I know this is a first in the mission- and no one (including the Zone Leaders) know what the meeting is about, but we know that it must be something pretty big or important for President Saylin to pull the whole mission together. So of course there are all sorts of rumors going around but it has added some excitement to this week but also made the week longer with the anticipation! ha ha It is finally starting to cool down and today is a brisk 67 degrees! I have hope that we will have a fall after all! Now the moment you all have been waiting for... drum roll.... Investigator Weekly!
Ena: well she didn't get baptized but we did have a great lesson with a member to see where her desires and intent are, and the member was fantastic. We were talking about it and asked us to give her a month, and I then said well we might as well set a baptismal date for the end of the month because ultimately that should be the goal for the month. At the end she will either know its true or its not- no other options- so we looked, and this was on October 12th, and November 12th happened to be a Saturday! ha ha So Ena set that goal and is now actually reading the Book of Mormon regularly and is actually progressing! She is drinking less coffee and Hna. Moser and I are really happy with her progress.
Sonia: we have a lesson with her tomorrow night and she came to church this week. We are really hoping to have her pray and decide to be baptized this month- we know that that is what the Lord wants for her and we are praying to help her faith. She is great and is just worried about being perfect- and we all know that isn't possible.
Well thats it for this week- little short on time but it should be a good transfer and I'm excited to be here for Thanksgiving! October is half over! Can you believe it? Crazy... anyway, I hope everything is going well with y'all. I hope the Lord continues to bless you and your families! The Church is true, the gospel blesses families and changes lives! Love y'all!! Go Cougars!!
Love Always,
Sister Kelsey Berg
The week leading up to transfers is always a long week- has been my whole mission and this week was no exception. We got the call this morning and Hna. Moser and I are staying together! I'm excited, we get along really good and I love this ward and this area. So as the title says we (the mission) are having a surprise meeting tomorrow before transfers and the whole mission is going - so the whole mission will be at transfers. Now as far as I know this is a first in the mission- and no one (including the Zone Leaders) know what the meeting is about, but we know that it must be something pretty big or important for President Saylin to pull the whole mission together. So of course there are all sorts of rumors going around but it has added some excitement to this week but also made the week longer with the anticipation! ha ha It is finally starting to cool down and today is a brisk 67 degrees! I have hope that we will have a fall after all! Now the moment you all have been waiting for... drum roll.... Investigator Weekly!
Ena: well she didn't get baptized but we did have a great lesson with a member to see where her desires and intent are, and the member was fantastic. We were talking about it and asked us to give her a month, and I then said well we might as well set a baptismal date for the end of the month because ultimately that should be the goal for the month. At the end she will either know its true or its not- no other options- so we looked, and this was on October 12th, and November 12th happened to be a Saturday! ha ha So Ena set that goal and is now actually reading the Book of Mormon regularly and is actually progressing! She is drinking less coffee and Hna. Moser and I are really happy with her progress.
Sonia: we have a lesson with her tomorrow night and she came to church this week. We are really hoping to have her pray and decide to be baptized this month- we know that that is what the Lord wants for her and we are praying to help her faith. She is great and is just worried about being perfect- and we all know that isn't possible.
Well thats it for this week- little short on time but it should be a good transfer and I'm excited to be here for Thanksgiving! October is half over! Can you believe it? Crazy... anyway, I hope everything is going well with y'all. I hope the Lord continues to bless you and your families! The Church is true, the gospel blesses families and changes lives! Love y'all!! Go Cougars!!
Love Always,
Sister Kelsey Berg
Tuesday, October 11, 2011
Letters from Kelsey - 42
Dearest Family and Friends,
Well I can't believe that it is already Tuesday again... I feel like I was just here. What has happened this week? Oh nothing really... we had a bunch of people drop us... oh well they weren't prepared anyway... Oh I just wanted to let y'all know that if you ever see two sister missionaries walking along the side of some back country road I would hope that y'all would pick them up- not that that happened to us, but we did bike like 10 miles out to almost the middle of no where (twice), and I was praying the whole time that we wouldn't get a flat tire or anything because it would be a really long walk back to the car. Anyway- the highlight of the week was a totally awesome lesson that we had with Ena, which leads me to the Investigator Weekly!
Ena: So it was Saturday night, we went in with the plan to teach the Doctrine of Christ and check up on her prayers and the Word of Wisdom and to see how she felt about the 15th of October. So we started talking about how she has done the last couple of days with the Word of Wisdom- not good but not bad. We told her that we wanted to take all the coffee and tea with us to remove the temptation- she fought us because she said that she was going to send it to her brother in Panama as a gift. Then we talked about what we gave her to read last time - Moroni 6- and if she felt ready to be baptized, she told us she still didn't feel ready. We opened with prayer- wait- first we talked about how she was having more faith and trust in coffee to not be tired than faith in the Lord. So I said the opening prayer and I prayed that Ena would know how much we cared about her and how much Heavenly Father cares about her. I prayed that she would feel of the truthfulness of the Gospel and that she could have the faith to follow the Word of Wisdom. I also prayed that she would know that the 15th is when the Lord wanted her to be baptized and that she could feel ready.
So after the prayed Ena got up and walked out of the room... Hna. Moser and I had no idea what was going on of what she was doing. She came back with a little suitcase and started putting all of the coffee and tea in the suitcase to send to her brother. We were so proud of her. So I'm not sure what exactly happened next because the lesson was so Spirit led- but we started talking about baptism and how she felt about this weekend. She said that she still didn't feel ready and we bore testimony that we knew the 15th is what God wants for her. We told her that we of course weren't going to force her but we asked what we could do to help her feel ready. She asked us a couple questions and we answered them- she brought up that her family is wondering why she is getting baptized again, we told her to bear her testimony that she has found the truth. We then started talking about what we need to do to be ready for baptism and all we have to do is have the desires and faith to follow Christ and keep the commandments. She then broke down and started crying and telling us that she is afraid to fall and she said that she doesn't have enough faith. Hna. Moser then pulled out Alma 26:11-12 and those verses helped her. We told her we don't have to be perfect and thats why we have repentance. We promised her blessings and testified of the truthfulness of the Gospel. We had her say the closing prayer and she asked to know if the 15th was the day for her. Her assignment was to think and pray about it and lets us know on Sunday what her decision was- she said she is still not ready. BUT! We still have faith that she will feel ready- we are going to go over the baptismal questions with her tomorrow. We could use your prayers for us and her that she will feel ready to enter into the covenant of baptism this weekend- her name is Ena (you say it like Anna). It was an amazing lesson, but its all in her hands how and she has her agency- I will let y'all know what happens next week!
Well I'm short on time- it took so long to write that all- but things are good, we are working hard this week to find the people that the Lord has prepared, we know they are out there. Transfers are next week and we are really hoping to stay together! Well I hope that everything is good with y'all back home. I love and miss y'all and I am grateful for you love, support, and prayers. I hope the Lord continues to bless you and your families. GO COUGARS!
Love Always,
Sister Kelsey Berg
Well I can't believe that it is already Tuesday again... I feel like I was just here. What has happened this week? Oh nothing really... we had a bunch of people drop us... oh well they weren't prepared anyway... Oh I just wanted to let y'all know that if you ever see two sister missionaries walking along the side of some back country road I would hope that y'all would pick them up- not that that happened to us, but we did bike like 10 miles out to almost the middle of no where (twice), and I was praying the whole time that we wouldn't get a flat tire or anything because it would be a really long walk back to the car. Anyway- the highlight of the week was a totally awesome lesson that we had with Ena, which leads me to the Investigator Weekly!
Ena: So it was Saturday night, we went in with the plan to teach the Doctrine of Christ and check up on her prayers and the Word of Wisdom and to see how she felt about the 15th of October. So we started talking about how she has done the last couple of days with the Word of Wisdom- not good but not bad. We told her that we wanted to take all the coffee and tea with us to remove the temptation- she fought us because she said that she was going to send it to her brother in Panama as a gift. Then we talked about what we gave her to read last time - Moroni 6- and if she felt ready to be baptized, she told us she still didn't feel ready. We opened with prayer- wait- first we talked about how she was having more faith and trust in coffee to not be tired than faith in the Lord. So I said the opening prayer and I prayed that Ena would know how much we cared about her and how much Heavenly Father cares about her. I prayed that she would feel of the truthfulness of the Gospel and that she could have the faith to follow the Word of Wisdom. I also prayed that she would know that the 15th is when the Lord wanted her to be baptized and that she could feel ready.
So after the prayed Ena got up and walked out of the room... Hna. Moser and I had no idea what was going on of what she was doing. She came back with a little suitcase and started putting all of the coffee and tea in the suitcase to send to her brother. We were so proud of her. So I'm not sure what exactly happened next because the lesson was so Spirit led- but we started talking about baptism and how she felt about this weekend. She said that she still didn't feel ready and we bore testimony that we knew the 15th is what God wants for her. We told her that we of course weren't going to force her but we asked what we could do to help her feel ready. She asked us a couple questions and we answered them- she brought up that her family is wondering why she is getting baptized again, we told her to bear her testimony that she has found the truth. We then started talking about what we need to do to be ready for baptism and all we have to do is have the desires and faith to follow Christ and keep the commandments. She then broke down and started crying and telling us that she is afraid to fall and she said that she doesn't have enough faith. Hna. Moser then pulled out Alma 26:11-12 and those verses helped her. We told her we don't have to be perfect and thats why we have repentance. We promised her blessings and testified of the truthfulness of the Gospel. We had her say the closing prayer and she asked to know if the 15th was the day for her. Her assignment was to think and pray about it and lets us know on Sunday what her decision was- she said she is still not ready. BUT! We still have faith that she will feel ready- we are going to go over the baptismal questions with her tomorrow. We could use your prayers for us and her that she will feel ready to enter into the covenant of baptism this weekend- her name is Ena (you say it like Anna). It was an amazing lesson, but its all in her hands how and she has her agency- I will let y'all know what happens next week!
Well I'm short on time- it took so long to write that all- but things are good, we are working hard this week to find the people that the Lord has prepared, we know they are out there. Transfers are next week and we are really hoping to stay together! Well I hope that everything is good with y'all back home. I love and miss y'all and I am grateful for you love, support, and prayers. I hope the Lord continues to bless you and your families. GO COUGARS!
Love Always,
Sister Kelsey Berg
Tuesday, October 4, 2011
Letters from Kelsey - 41
Howdy y'all,
I hope y'all had a fantastic Conference weekend! I thought it was a great conference and I can't wait until the Ensign comes out and we get to read and study them more! I am so grateful to know that we have prophets and apostles on the earth today so that we know who we can trust in this crazy, crazy time. We watched Conference in the stake center on Saturday and then on Sunday we had Ena and her dad watch Conference with us with some members, morning in Spanish (which I understood better than April, I actually got the topic this time) and afternoon in English. It was fun!
So in regards to the email title.... so for our P-Day this week we went on a safari!! Yup, with a rhino, zebras, giraffes, water buffalo, wildebeest, lemurs, watusi cattle (which you should totally google- they are the craziest looking things ever!!), ostriches, an alligator, and a zonkey! There is this place in our district called Bayou Wildlife Park (bayouwildlifepark.com), and it pretty much has like 500 animals or something like that from 61 countries. It was crazy but a super fun day. So we got there and we got there and we walked around waiting for the next tram to leave. We fed some of the animals and took pictures- they had this little deer walking around that you could pet and feed. They had emus- they scare me- that you could feed and kangaroos and all sorts of other stuff. So we finally got on the tram- a jeep with a trailer thing- and then we got to go around the park and feel the animals from the jeep! It was pretty cool for being in Texas and all. Anyway- here is the Investigator Weekly!
Ena: She watched 3 sessions of Conference with us and we feel that she knows its true. We found out this week that her family in Panama- only she and her dad are here- aren't exactly our biggest fans so that is her hold up right now it whether or not her family will accept it. The good thing is that a lot of the members of our branch are the only members in their families also! So we are going to use their testimonies and hopefully get her some support! Her date is the 15th and I am full of faith that the Lord will help her feel ready.
Sonia: She has had a rough week and I just feel for her. She is a single mom who has a lazy ex-husband and she is trying to do the best for her 3 boys and keep them out of trouble. She is reading little by little and we are going to focus this week on the Atonement and how through the Atonement we can receive relief from our burdens and the she doesn't have to go this path alone- should be a really good lesson. She knows everything else- thats what happens when you go to church for like 6 months- and we just need to help her increase her faith in the Savior so that she can have the faith to enter into the waters of baptism.
Thats all for today- so this last week we had a couple hours during the day and its really hard to contact because nobody is outside so we decided to knock doors... the first time I have done that on the mission and lo-and-behold we had some success!! It was like the 5th door and this lady invited us in and it turns out that a friend gave her a Book of Mormon 6 years ago and she still had it- she had even gone to church in the past. She invited us in and we talked about our purpose in life a little and about the questions she had about the church and we set up another appointment! I will keep y'all updated on how it goes! Well I think thats about it for this week- oh I just wanted to say that I LOVE October!! It has been almost the perfect weather all week, ever since October 1st! We might have a fall in Texas after all!! I hope that everything continues to go well with y'all! I hope the good Lord continues to bless you and your families!
Love Always,
Sister Kelsey Berg
I hope y'all had a fantastic Conference weekend! I thought it was a great conference and I can't wait until the Ensign comes out and we get to read and study them more! I am so grateful to know that we have prophets and apostles on the earth today so that we know who we can trust in this crazy, crazy time. We watched Conference in the stake center on Saturday and then on Sunday we had Ena and her dad watch Conference with us with some members, morning in Spanish (which I understood better than April, I actually got the topic this time) and afternoon in English. It was fun!
So in regards to the email title.... so for our P-Day this week we went on a safari!! Yup, with a rhino, zebras, giraffes, water buffalo, wildebeest, lemurs, watusi cattle (which you should totally google- they are the craziest looking things ever!!), ostriches, an alligator, and a zonkey! There is this place in our district called Bayou Wildlife Park (bayouwildlifepark.com), and it pretty much has like 500 animals or something like that from 61 countries. It was crazy but a super fun day. So we got there and we got there and we walked around waiting for the next tram to leave. We fed some of the animals and took pictures- they had this little deer walking around that you could pet and feed. They had emus- they scare me- that you could feed and kangaroos and all sorts of other stuff. So we finally got on the tram- a jeep with a trailer thing- and then we got to go around the park and feel the animals from the jeep! It was pretty cool for being in Texas and all. Anyway- here is the Investigator Weekly!
Ena: She watched 3 sessions of Conference with us and we feel that she knows its true. We found out this week that her family in Panama- only she and her dad are here- aren't exactly our biggest fans so that is her hold up right now it whether or not her family will accept it. The good thing is that a lot of the members of our branch are the only members in their families also! So we are going to use their testimonies and hopefully get her some support! Her date is the 15th and I am full of faith that the Lord will help her feel ready.
Sonia: She has had a rough week and I just feel for her. She is a single mom who has a lazy ex-husband and she is trying to do the best for her 3 boys and keep them out of trouble. She is reading little by little and we are going to focus this week on the Atonement and how through the Atonement we can receive relief from our burdens and the she doesn't have to go this path alone- should be a really good lesson. She knows everything else- thats what happens when you go to church for like 6 months- and we just need to help her increase her faith in the Savior so that she can have the faith to enter into the waters of baptism.
Thats all for today- so this last week we had a couple hours during the day and its really hard to contact because nobody is outside so we decided to knock doors... the first time I have done that on the mission and lo-and-behold we had some success!! It was like the 5th door and this lady invited us in and it turns out that a friend gave her a Book of Mormon 6 years ago and she still had it- she had even gone to church in the past. She invited us in and we talked about our purpose in life a little and about the questions she had about the church and we set up another appointment! I will keep y'all updated on how it goes! Well I think thats about it for this week- oh I just wanted to say that I LOVE October!! It has been almost the perfect weather all week, ever since October 1st! We might have a fall in Texas after all!! I hope that everything continues to go well with y'all! I hope the good Lord continues to bless you and your families!
Love Always,
Sister Kelsey Berg
Thursday, September 29, 2011
Letters from Kelsey - 40
Hey everyone!
The Gladys Knight firesides were amazing- it was unlike anything I have ever seen before. It was fun and just a party in the chapel... ha ha. So here is a little bit about what the show is like. So when they start they sing a couple songs- and these aren't hymns. They sing more of the praise/ R&B gospel songs, they do sing a little hymns but not like we do in sacrament meeting ha ha. So they start out singing a couple songs and then there is guy that gives an introduction to the church and tries to dispel some rumors. Then they sing some more and then Sister Knight bears her testimony and tells of her journey of learning about the church and eventually getting baptized. She then sings a song and that is the end. It lasts about 2 hours and for some of the songs there were people that were standing up and clapping along. We clapped after each song and it was really weird at first but- we went Friday night, and in our show there was also Elder David Evans of the 70, Elder Stephen B Allen of the Utah Area 70 (also very high in the missionary department) and Elder Gifford Nielsen of our Area 70- we were seated in the first row behind the benches and I would look over at them and see them clapping so I figured it was okay. It was amazing though- it really was a party.
There were so many people and we collected almost 2000 referral cards from the 4 day/ 9 show event. We were super lucky to get to help 'usher' at the events. We talked to people all before the shows to try and get the non-members to fill out a card to receive a package. It was a really fun time and it was great to just be in the middle of it all. It was fun to talk to people and see why they came and to get to know their background. There were 10 companionships who were the missionaries helping out and we got hardly any sleep all weekend because we didn't leave the church until like 11:00 almost every night but it was great and we all kinda bonded, us and our fearless Mission President who was with us through it all. He gave us our pep-talks so that we were able to reach our goals and break records. It was something that will definitely be a highlight of the mission.
Well that was my weekend- now on to the Investigator Weekly!
Sandra: well sadly she kinda dropped us this weekend. She had her inactive member husband tell us that she didn't really want to listen any more- we will try again in a few weeks.
La Familia Rodriguez: we are also sad about them but for another reason- they moved to Alabama on last Friday. They were super awesome but I know that everything is in the hands of the Lord and maybe they were there for those 3 weeks just so that we could find them and introduce them to the Gospel and the Book of Mormon and now they will continue their journey in Alabama.
Sonia: So we didn't extend her a date to be baptized this last weekend- we just didn't feel good about it, but she did accept a date for October 15 and Mauricio received the Priesthood on Sunday so that will be another great think that he will be able to baptize her. I'm really excited to see her progress.
Ena: She went to the Relief Society Broadcast and she has hope, we just gotta do a little more tweaking, but I'm excited to see her progress.
Well that was our week- it was super busy and fun and crazy. I'm a little short on time but I hope y'all have a great Conference weekend!! Oh yeah! Guadalupe was baptized on Sunday!!! I couldn't find a member to take us down so I couldn't go but thats not the important thing- I was sad but super excited for him. Anyway- I hope the good Lord continues to bless y'all. Thanks so much for your love, prayers, and support.
Love Always,
Sister Kelsey Berg
The Gladys Knight firesides were amazing- it was unlike anything I have ever seen before. It was fun and just a party in the chapel... ha ha. So here is a little bit about what the show is like. So when they start they sing a couple songs- and these aren't hymns. They sing more of the praise/ R&B gospel songs, they do sing a little hymns but not like we do in sacrament meeting ha ha. So they start out singing a couple songs and then there is guy that gives an introduction to the church and tries to dispel some rumors. Then they sing some more and then Sister Knight bears her testimony and tells of her journey of learning about the church and eventually getting baptized. She then sings a song and that is the end. It lasts about 2 hours and for some of the songs there were people that were standing up and clapping along. We clapped after each song and it was really weird at first but- we went Friday night, and in our show there was also Elder David Evans of the 70, Elder Stephen B Allen of the Utah Area 70 (also very high in the missionary department) and Elder Gifford Nielsen of our Area 70- we were seated in the first row behind the benches and I would look over at them and see them clapping so I figured it was okay. It was amazing though- it really was a party.
There were so many people and we collected almost 2000 referral cards from the 4 day/ 9 show event. We were super lucky to get to help 'usher' at the events. We talked to people all before the shows to try and get the non-members to fill out a card to receive a package. It was a really fun time and it was great to just be in the middle of it all. It was fun to talk to people and see why they came and to get to know their background. There were 10 companionships who were the missionaries helping out and we got hardly any sleep all weekend because we didn't leave the church until like 11:00 almost every night but it was great and we all kinda bonded, us and our fearless Mission President who was with us through it all. He gave us our pep-talks so that we were able to reach our goals and break records. It was something that will definitely be a highlight of the mission.
Well that was my weekend- now on to the Investigator Weekly!
Sandra: well sadly she kinda dropped us this weekend. She had her inactive member husband tell us that she didn't really want to listen any more- we will try again in a few weeks.
La Familia Rodriguez: we are also sad about them but for another reason- they moved to Alabama on last Friday. They were super awesome but I know that everything is in the hands of the Lord and maybe they were there for those 3 weeks just so that we could find them and introduce them to the Gospel and the Book of Mormon and now they will continue their journey in Alabama.
Sonia: So we didn't extend her a date to be baptized this last weekend- we just didn't feel good about it, but she did accept a date for October 15 and Mauricio received the Priesthood on Sunday so that will be another great think that he will be able to baptize her. I'm really excited to see her progress.
Ena: She went to the Relief Society Broadcast and she has hope, we just gotta do a little more tweaking, but I'm excited to see her progress.
Well that was our week- it was super busy and fun and crazy. I'm a little short on time but I hope y'all have a great Conference weekend!! Oh yeah! Guadalupe was baptized on Sunday!!! I couldn't find a member to take us down so I couldn't go but thats not the important thing- I was sad but super excited for him. Anyway- I hope the good Lord continues to bless y'all. Thanks so much for your love, prayers, and support.
Love Always,
Sister Kelsey Berg
Tuesday, September 20, 2011
Letters from Kelsey - 39
Hey everyone!
Well this week was a really good week but it seems to be just a blur. I don't think that age has anything to do with memory because I'm only 22 and I can't remember what happened yesterday... like ever... and I can hardly even remembered what happened this morning! Okay well thats a little but of an exaggeration but thats only because we had training on what to do with the Gladys Knight referral cards that we are going to get this weekend. We are going to a show on Friday night and I am super stoked- it will be simply amazing and I'm excited for our investigators that are going. Well now on to the Investigator Weekly!!
Anna- well we figured out that it is spelled Ena, go figure, anyway: She came to church this week and to the activity (I'll talk about that in a minute) and she seemed to enjoy both. She had a date for this weekend but she isn't ready. She has finally prayed about Joseph Smith and the Book of Mormon but she says she hasn't got an answer yet- we are going to watch the Joseph Smith movie with her this weekend and invite her to the Relief Society broadcast so hopefully those will give her the answers she is looking for.
La Familia Rodriguez: They are pretty awesome. They read the chapter we gave them and then started at the beginning all by themselves! We are going to see them today and I'm excited to see them progress. Our next hurdle is getting them to come to church- they go to a local catholic church but hopefully we can get them to come to the Relief Society broadcast this weekend and to Conference next weekend. The daughter, Ana, is coming to Gladys Knight with us this weekend and I think she will really enjoy it.
Sonia: She is was taught at the beginning of the year but she was going through a divorce so they gave her a break but she has still came to church and we were able to teach her last week after months of not being able to go over. She told is that she was thinking about getting baptized in February and we were like... no... how about October? haha We went over with one of her really good friends who was baptized in August and he bore a really strong testimony of the blessings that come from being baptized. We have a lesson with her tomorrow and are actually going to go fasting and praying to see whether we should ask her to be baptized this weekend- we will see how it goes.
Sandra: She has been taught off and on for a while also and her husband is a very less active member. She doesn't like the women in her church and thinks that all the church wants is the tithing money. They came to the activity and seemed to really enjoy it so we are hoping to see her progress and start building relationships with the sisters in the branch.
Well thats it for this week. The branch activity was just amazing. It was a dinner and dance in celebration for Mexico's independence day. There were about 200 people that came- we started out with 9 tables with 8 chairs each and ended with about 15 tables of 8 chairs each and the people kept coming all night. There was so much food and it was just ridiculous. The members didn't leave until like 1 o'clock in the morning and the party started at 7. It was the biggest party I have ever seen... I am still in awe.
Anyway... enough about the party. Things are going good and we have some great investigators that I am really excited about. Its weird to think that we are already in week 3 of the transfer and that I have less time in front of me that behind me- its just crazy the way things work out. The Lord continues to bless us in the work. It's still hot and we actually got a little rain this weekend, but they are doing a huge fast this weekend (a lot of the churches in Houston, which works well for us :) ) for rain so hopefully we get more. Well I hope the Lord continues to bless y'all! Love y'all and miss y'all! Thanks for everything!
Love Always,
Sister Kelsey Berg
Well this week was a really good week but it seems to be just a blur. I don't think that age has anything to do with memory because I'm only 22 and I can't remember what happened yesterday... like ever... and I can hardly even remembered what happened this morning! Okay well thats a little but of an exaggeration but thats only because we had training on what to do with the Gladys Knight referral cards that we are going to get this weekend. We are going to a show on Friday night and I am super stoked- it will be simply amazing and I'm excited for our investigators that are going. Well now on to the Investigator Weekly!!
Anna- well we figured out that it is spelled Ena, go figure, anyway: She came to church this week and to the activity (I'll talk about that in a minute) and she seemed to enjoy both. She had a date for this weekend but she isn't ready. She has finally prayed about Joseph Smith and the Book of Mormon but she says she hasn't got an answer yet- we are going to watch the Joseph Smith movie with her this weekend and invite her to the Relief Society broadcast so hopefully those will give her the answers she is looking for.
La Familia Rodriguez: They are pretty awesome. They read the chapter we gave them and then started at the beginning all by themselves! We are going to see them today and I'm excited to see them progress. Our next hurdle is getting them to come to church- they go to a local catholic church but hopefully we can get them to come to the Relief Society broadcast this weekend and to Conference next weekend. The daughter, Ana, is coming to Gladys Knight with us this weekend and I think she will really enjoy it.
Sonia: She is was taught at the beginning of the year but she was going through a divorce so they gave her a break but she has still came to church and we were able to teach her last week after months of not being able to go over. She told is that she was thinking about getting baptized in February and we were like... no... how about October? haha We went over with one of her really good friends who was baptized in August and he bore a really strong testimony of the blessings that come from being baptized. We have a lesson with her tomorrow and are actually going to go fasting and praying to see whether we should ask her to be baptized this weekend- we will see how it goes.
Sandra: She has been taught off and on for a while also and her husband is a very less active member. She doesn't like the women in her church and thinks that all the church wants is the tithing money. They came to the activity and seemed to really enjoy it so we are hoping to see her progress and start building relationships with the sisters in the branch.
Well thats it for this week. The branch activity was just amazing. It was a dinner and dance in celebration for Mexico's independence day. There were about 200 people that came- we started out with 9 tables with 8 chairs each and ended with about 15 tables of 8 chairs each and the people kept coming all night. There was so much food and it was just ridiculous. The members didn't leave until like 1 o'clock in the morning and the party started at 7. It was the biggest party I have ever seen... I am still in awe.
Anyway... enough about the party. Things are going good and we have some great investigators that I am really excited about. Its weird to think that we are already in week 3 of the transfer and that I have less time in front of me that behind me- its just crazy the way things work out. The Lord continues to bless us in the work. It's still hot and we actually got a little rain this weekend, but they are doing a huge fast this weekend (a lot of the churches in Houston, which works well for us :) ) for rain so hopefully we get more. Well I hope the Lord continues to bless y'all! Love y'all and miss y'all! Thanks for everything!
Love Always,
Sister Kelsey Berg
Sunday, September 18, 2011
Letters from Kelsey - 38
Hey everyone!
Ladies and gentlemen, it is official, I am in Texas. I know what y'all are thinking, "But Kelsey, you have been in Texas for 9 months. What do you mean you are officially in Texas?" I have been transferred to the COUNTRY!! Well as country as Sisters get in our mission right now. I am now serving in Pearland and Manvel, Texas. It is amazing and I love it. I smelt hay this week for the first time in 9 months and I thought I had died and gone back to heaven (aka Heber :) ). Pearland is more subdivisions and nice neighborhoods, whereas Manvel is horses, fields, longhorns, cows, goats, double wides, and gravel roads. This week we were biking along a gravel road and we saw about a 2 year old calf tied to a tree in front of a trailer... so what did we do? Stopped and took pictures! We took pictures with it and we pet it! It is just great. My companion is Hermana Jessica Moser and she has been out for 6 months almost and we get along great. This area is great and so is the branch- the branch here is a little bit bigger than the one in Galveston and the people are great here as well. I'm super excited for this transfer. Now on to the Investigator Weekly- MANVEL EDITION!!
Anna: She is about 40 and is from Panama and has a date for September 24. We taught her the Word of Wisdom this week and she is not excited about giving up coffee. She works as Starbucks and loves her lattes. We then discovered that she hasn't prayed to know if the things we are teaching her is true and that she has a fear to pray about it- I'm guessing its because she thinks they are true and doesn't want to do what she needs to to follow it. We took her to an investigator fireside on Sunday which was perfect for her to hear and we are hoping she has a little change of heart when we teach her this afternoon. She is awesome and knows that what we are teaching is good- she just has to experiment on the words and have the courage to change. I have faith she will get there.
la Familia Rodriguez: They are a new family we met this week and yesterday we had a lesson with the mom and her 15 year old daughter. They soaked it in and said that if there was a prophet on the earth today it would be a huge blessing and they would follow him. We gave them Book of Mormons and we are excited to see where they go. We invited them to the ward party this weekend and I am praying they come so that they can get some interaction with the members.
I'm short on time so I will just talk about them today- but I have some other exciting news!! So I don't know how many of you have heard of Gladys Knight and the Saints Unified Voices choir. I hadn't so its okay if you haven't- but you can google it. Anyway- they are amazing and they are coming to Houston next weekend and are going to do 9 shows here in Houston. It has been a huge focus for our mission the last month or so to get members to invite there nonmember friends to go and to hear the music and to hear Gladys Knight and her husband bear their testimony. It is for the 3 missions (Houston, Houston South, and Houston East) and it is for investigators and we are promised that we will get tons of new people to teach from these firesides. Anyway- we found out today that the Mission saved 60 tickets for each show for missionaries to bring investigators and Hna. Moser and I jumped at the opportunity and we are going to take a member and her 15 year old non member daughter. The member is a recent convert as of April and the daughter was dressed in white but then backed out- she is one that we are focusing on this transfer and we are super excited for her go to and feel the Spirit. As soon as I heard we could bring people I thought of her and that this could be what finally gets her to commit. I'm stoked.
Well... I think thats about all I have to say for today- I can't believe that Conference is just around the corner again and that I am on the downhill. The work continues to go forward and I couldn't have picked anywhere better to start the last half of my mission that the area of Pearland and Manvel. Oh! and our apartment is awesome and our complex has a really nice gym- I lifted weights for the first time in 9 months and I was sore before I finished... ha ha but that's what I will need because we don't ride bikes as much here because it is all spread out. Well I hope that everything is going well with y'all and the the good Lord continues to bless you and your families. I know the church is true and that the Lord watches out for us all. Could y'all do me a favor and cheer louder for my Cougs? Thanks! ha ha As always I thank y'all for your love, support, prayers, and letters.
Love Always,
Sister Kelsey Berg
Ladies and gentlemen, it is official, I am in Texas. I know what y'all are thinking, "But Kelsey, you have been in Texas for 9 months. What do you mean you are officially in Texas?" I have been transferred to the COUNTRY!! Well as country as Sisters get in our mission right now. I am now serving in Pearland and Manvel, Texas. It is amazing and I love it. I smelt hay this week for the first time in 9 months and I thought I had died and gone back to heaven (aka Heber :) ). Pearland is more subdivisions and nice neighborhoods, whereas Manvel is horses, fields, longhorns, cows, goats, double wides, and gravel roads. This week we were biking along a gravel road and we saw about a 2 year old calf tied to a tree in front of a trailer... so what did we do? Stopped and took pictures! We took pictures with it and we pet it! It is just great. My companion is Hermana Jessica Moser and she has been out for 6 months almost and we get along great. This area is great and so is the branch- the branch here is a little bit bigger than the one in Galveston and the people are great here as well. I'm super excited for this transfer. Now on to the Investigator Weekly- MANVEL EDITION!!
Anna: She is about 40 and is from Panama and has a date for September 24. We taught her the Word of Wisdom this week and she is not excited about giving up coffee. She works as Starbucks and loves her lattes. We then discovered that she hasn't prayed to know if the things we are teaching her is true and that she has a fear to pray about it- I'm guessing its because she thinks they are true and doesn't want to do what she needs to to follow it. We took her to an investigator fireside on Sunday which was perfect for her to hear and we are hoping she has a little change of heart when we teach her this afternoon. She is awesome and knows that what we are teaching is good- she just has to experiment on the words and have the courage to change. I have faith she will get there.
la Familia Rodriguez: They are a new family we met this week and yesterday we had a lesson with the mom and her 15 year old daughter. They soaked it in and said that if there was a prophet on the earth today it would be a huge blessing and they would follow him. We gave them Book of Mormons and we are excited to see where they go. We invited them to the ward party this weekend and I am praying they come so that they can get some interaction with the members.
I'm short on time so I will just talk about them today- but I have some other exciting news!! So I don't know how many of you have heard of Gladys Knight and the Saints Unified Voices choir. I hadn't so its okay if you haven't- but you can google it. Anyway- they are amazing and they are coming to Houston next weekend and are going to do 9 shows here in Houston. It has been a huge focus for our mission the last month or so to get members to invite there nonmember friends to go and to hear the music and to hear Gladys Knight and her husband bear their testimony. It is for the 3 missions (Houston, Houston South, and Houston East) and it is for investigators and we are promised that we will get tons of new people to teach from these firesides. Anyway- we found out today that the Mission saved 60 tickets for each show for missionaries to bring investigators and Hna. Moser and I jumped at the opportunity and we are going to take a member and her 15 year old non member daughter. The member is a recent convert as of April and the daughter was dressed in white but then backed out- she is one that we are focusing on this transfer and we are super excited for her go to and feel the Spirit. As soon as I heard we could bring people I thought of her and that this could be what finally gets her to commit. I'm stoked.
Well... I think thats about all I have to say for today- I can't believe that Conference is just around the corner again and that I am on the downhill. The work continues to go forward and I couldn't have picked anywhere better to start the last half of my mission that the area of Pearland and Manvel. Oh! and our apartment is awesome and our complex has a really nice gym- I lifted weights for the first time in 9 months and I was sore before I finished... ha ha but that's what I will need because we don't ride bikes as much here because it is all spread out. Well I hope that everything is going well with y'all and the the good Lord continues to bless you and your families. I know the church is true and that the Lord watches out for us all. Could y'all do me a favor and cheer louder for my Cougs? Thanks! ha ha As always I thank y'all for your love, support, prayers, and letters.
Love Always,
Sister Kelsey Berg
Tuesday, September 6, 2011
Letters from Kelsey - 37
Just a reminder, Kelsey loves getting mail from people! Her address doesn't change with transfers, but I'll post it again anyways.
Sister Kelsey Berg
Texas Houston South Mission
602 Eldridge Road
Sugar Land, TX 77478
So write Kelsey a letter... you know you want to :)
Hey everyone!
Well... we got transfer calls... and yup... I'm gone. I was surprised because Hna. Wallet has been here for 4 transfers and it's her first area but she is training this transfer! President felt really strongly that she is the one that needs to train the new sister... so off I go to area #4! ha ha I'm super sad to be leaving Galveston... especially because the weather is perfect now- I love fall, but I'm also sad because I love the people here, I love the Branch, I love the island and it really is a fantastic place. I feel like this area is where I really started to love being a missionary- I have always loved talking to people and teaching them about the Gospel, but now I love all of the day to day stuff too. That's not to say that I still don't get a little frustrated, but its more of a sadness now when they don't accept the message. The Lord knows more than I do though so I'm excited to see where I go next- I don't think I'm quite ready to go back to Houston yet but we will see what the Lord has in mind.
This week was kinda slow because Hna. Wallet was sick for most of the weekend, and I was bored out of my mind. There isn't a whole lot you can do as a missionary when you stay in the apartment so I was going crazy- but its all good now :). It was super windy this last week also... like really windy... like we could hardly bike windy because of the storm that passed by- it didn't rain a lot but the wind brought some cooler weather so that was good. We had a Spanish Training on Wednesday for all the Spanish missionaries and President Saylin challenged us all to a 7 day English fast!!! So since Wednesday at 3:30 I have pretty much only spoken Spanish. We speak English during planning and companion study and to those that don't know Spanish, but other than that its all Spanish... It has been a little difficult but not as hard as I thought it would be. I have a lot to improve on though. Well I don't think I will do an Investigator Weekly this week because not much has changed from last week! Nidia, Erick and Daniela are still awesome and I just love them! I can't wait until her husband and daughter are baptized in October so that in October 2012 we can go to the temple with them as they get sealed!! It will be awesome.
Well Mom asked me to share a little bit more about Elder Holland so here is a little bit more: It was amazing to sit 10 feet away from him and just see him praying the whole time to know what to say to us. He talked about how his mission meant everything to him and that everything good that ever happened after was a direct result from his decision to serve. He talked about how God loves us for who we are. He also talked about how missionaries are neck and neck with President Monson with being the most prayed for people in the whole world. He told us that we have the name of every missionary, past, present, and future, on our backs and that we hold their reputation in our hands. He talked about how obedience is the first law of everything we do in life. He talked about why missions are so hard. "Why is it so hard? Because salvation is not a cheap experience." "Real salvation, real conversion, real repentance, real faith, real commitment is not cheap." "It has always been hard. How was it for the Savior? How can you expect it to be easy for you when it was never easy for Him?" "You've got to walk where he walked. The road to salvation always goes through Gethsemane. You can't 'get it' if you don't go there.' "You can't do it without Him, and the ironic thing is He can't do it without you." The last line he told us is my absolute favorite- "Embrace this forever and never ever, ever, ever, walk away."
It truly was a live changing experience. He plead with us to never leave the Church- he always wonders how people can go out for 18 months- 2 years studying this, testifying and telling people they know this is true and yet leave the Church when they get home. To see an Apostle of God tell us of his pain and anguish over this was truly a humbling experience. I can say with out a shadow of a doubt that he is an Apostle of God and the he has all of authority of Jesus Christ.
I know that the true church of Christ has again been restored to the earth and that we truly have prophets and apostles again on the earth that receive revelation for us, and if we follow it we will one day return to our Father in Heaven and we will be able to live as families forever! I know that the Book of Mormon is true and that it is the foundation of the Church and of everything that I know to be true.
Well I hope all is going well with y'all and that you had a fantastic and safe Labor Day weekend! GO COUGARS!!!
Love Always,
Sister Kelsey Berg
Sister Kelsey Berg
Texas Houston South Mission
602 Eldridge Road
Sugar Land, TX 77478
So write Kelsey a letter... you know you want to :)
Hey everyone!
Well... we got transfer calls... and yup... I'm gone. I was surprised because Hna. Wallet has been here for 4 transfers and it's her first area but she is training this transfer! President felt really strongly that she is the one that needs to train the new sister... so off I go to area #4! ha ha I'm super sad to be leaving Galveston... especially because the weather is perfect now- I love fall, but I'm also sad because I love the people here, I love the Branch, I love the island and it really is a fantastic place. I feel like this area is where I really started to love being a missionary- I have always loved talking to people and teaching them about the Gospel, but now I love all of the day to day stuff too. That's not to say that I still don't get a little frustrated, but its more of a sadness now when they don't accept the message. The Lord knows more than I do though so I'm excited to see where I go next- I don't think I'm quite ready to go back to Houston yet but we will see what the Lord has in mind.
This week was kinda slow because Hna. Wallet was sick for most of the weekend, and I was bored out of my mind. There isn't a whole lot you can do as a missionary when you stay in the apartment so I was going crazy- but its all good now :). It was super windy this last week also... like really windy... like we could hardly bike windy because of the storm that passed by- it didn't rain a lot but the wind brought some cooler weather so that was good. We had a Spanish Training on Wednesday for all the Spanish missionaries and President Saylin challenged us all to a 7 day English fast!!! So since Wednesday at 3:30 I have pretty much only spoken Spanish. We speak English during planning and companion study and to those that don't know Spanish, but other than that its all Spanish... It has been a little difficult but not as hard as I thought it would be. I have a lot to improve on though. Well I don't think I will do an Investigator Weekly this week because not much has changed from last week! Nidia, Erick and Daniela are still awesome and I just love them! I can't wait until her husband and daughter are baptized in October so that in October 2012 we can go to the temple with them as they get sealed!! It will be awesome.
Well Mom asked me to share a little bit more about Elder Holland so here is a little bit more: It was amazing to sit 10 feet away from him and just see him praying the whole time to know what to say to us. He talked about how his mission meant everything to him and that everything good that ever happened after was a direct result from his decision to serve. He talked about how God loves us for who we are. He also talked about how missionaries are neck and neck with President Monson with being the most prayed for people in the whole world. He told us that we have the name of every missionary, past, present, and future, on our backs and that we hold their reputation in our hands. He talked about how obedience is the first law of everything we do in life. He talked about why missions are so hard. "Why is it so hard? Because salvation is not a cheap experience." "Real salvation, real conversion, real repentance, real faith, real commitment is not cheap." "It has always been hard. How was it for the Savior? How can you expect it to be easy for you when it was never easy for Him?" "You've got to walk where he walked. The road to salvation always goes through Gethsemane. You can't 'get it' if you don't go there.' "You can't do it without Him, and the ironic thing is He can't do it without you." The last line he told us is my absolute favorite- "Embrace this forever and never ever, ever, ever, walk away."
It truly was a live changing experience. He plead with us to never leave the Church- he always wonders how people can go out for 18 months- 2 years studying this, testifying and telling people they know this is true and yet leave the Church when they get home. To see an Apostle of God tell us of his pain and anguish over this was truly a humbling experience. I can say with out a shadow of a doubt that he is an Apostle of God and the he has all of authority of Jesus Christ.
I know that the true church of Christ has again been restored to the earth and that we truly have prophets and apostles again on the earth that receive revelation for us, and if we follow it we will one day return to our Father in Heaven and we will be able to live as families forever! I know that the Book of Mormon is true and that it is the foundation of the Church and of everything that I know to be true.
Well I hope all is going well with y'all and that you had a fantastic and safe Labor Day weekend! GO COUGARS!!!
Love Always,
Sister Kelsey Berg
Wednesday, August 31, 2011
Letters from Kelsey - 36
Hey everyone!!!
Oh man... so the week was really slow until Friday. Friday Elder Holland came to Houston and we got to meet him! So on Friday we left Galveston at 1:30 and got to Houston at 3:30 and we sat in the chapel from 4:15 until he finally came at about 5:00. There were 3 missions, us, Houston, and Houston East. There was so much priesthood in that room- 3 mission presidents, 17 stake presidents, a temple president, 2 members of the 70 (Elder Gifford Nielsen (yeah tell more about that in a minute) and Elder Flukinger), and Elder Holland and 500 some odd missionaries- and yours truly was on the 2nd row! I watched Elder Holland the whole time and it was amazing. So they come in and Elder Nielsen (our area 70) tells us that Elder Holland would like to shake all of our hands- so we got to shake hands with Elder Holland and also Elder Nielsen and Elder Flukinger. That took about 20 min and then we got to hear from Elder Nielsen who gave a great talk- and through in a little BYU football, of course, when he introduced Elder Holland. Then we got to hear from Elder Holland for about an hour. It was absolutely amazing- it topped the time I heard him in the MTC- he mixed in the perfect about of humor, chastisement, and encouragement. He is amazing that no matter what you say you have a new confidence in yourself and a new resolve to do everything- even if he chastises you tons. It was just amazing- a once in a lifetime experience and a highlight of my life for sure.
Then we go to Saturday- so at 4:00 we go to the church to get ready for the baptism of Nidia and Erick- 5:00 rolls around, when the baptism was supposed to start and no one is there! Its okay though because I have learned that Hispanic Standard Time is about the same as Mormon Standard Time so everything starts about 30 min late. Anyway- everything went well with their baptism and the are just super solid and we learned yesterday that her husband and other daughter that are still in Mexico now have a date for October 2nd!! Super great and today she is going to apply at the school to work in the cafeteria and we are praying really hard that she gets it because she had to quit her job to get baptized. Then the Branch had a dinner and talent show that we stayed for- someone told the branch that it was my birthday so they sang happy birthday to me in spanish and english- I didn't understand a word of the song in spanish, it was weird. So we were waiting around the whole time for the Elders investigators to show up so that they could get married and baptized, well they finally show up at 8:30, the Branch President marries them, then the baptism starts at 8:45, we give the First Vision and they leave and barely get back to our apartment by 9:30, which is the rule. It was a super hectic but amazing weekend that I wouldn't change for anything. Things are good and we are hoping that it starts cooling down soon. Well no Investigator Weekly this week because I don't have time and we don't really have any other solid investigators right now... ha ha our work for this week. Well I love y'all and miss y'all tons! I hope the good Lord continues to bless you!
Love Always,
Sister Kelsey Berg
Oh man... so the week was really slow until Friday. Friday Elder Holland came to Houston and we got to meet him! So on Friday we left Galveston at 1:30 and got to Houston at 3:30 and we sat in the chapel from 4:15 until he finally came at about 5:00. There were 3 missions, us, Houston, and Houston East. There was so much priesthood in that room- 3 mission presidents, 17 stake presidents, a temple president, 2 members of the 70 (Elder Gifford Nielsen (yeah tell more about that in a minute) and Elder Flukinger), and Elder Holland and 500 some odd missionaries- and yours truly was on the 2nd row! I watched Elder Holland the whole time and it was amazing. So they come in and Elder Nielsen (our area 70) tells us that Elder Holland would like to shake all of our hands- so we got to shake hands with Elder Holland and also Elder Nielsen and Elder Flukinger. That took about 20 min and then we got to hear from Elder Nielsen who gave a great talk- and through in a little BYU football, of course, when he introduced Elder Holland. Then we got to hear from Elder Holland for about an hour. It was absolutely amazing- it topped the time I heard him in the MTC- he mixed in the perfect about of humor, chastisement, and encouragement. He is amazing that no matter what you say you have a new confidence in yourself and a new resolve to do everything- even if he chastises you tons. It was just amazing- a once in a lifetime experience and a highlight of my life for sure.
Then we go to Saturday- so at 4:00 we go to the church to get ready for the baptism of Nidia and Erick- 5:00 rolls around, when the baptism was supposed to start and no one is there! Its okay though because I have learned that Hispanic Standard Time is about the same as Mormon Standard Time so everything starts about 30 min late. Anyway- everything went well with their baptism and the are just super solid and we learned yesterday that her husband and other daughter that are still in Mexico now have a date for October 2nd!! Super great and today she is going to apply at the school to work in the cafeteria and we are praying really hard that she gets it because she had to quit her job to get baptized. Then the Branch had a dinner and talent show that we stayed for- someone told the branch that it was my birthday so they sang happy birthday to me in spanish and english- I didn't understand a word of the song in spanish, it was weird. So we were waiting around the whole time for the Elders investigators to show up so that they could get married and baptized, well they finally show up at 8:30, the Branch President marries them, then the baptism starts at 8:45, we give the First Vision and they leave and barely get back to our apartment by 9:30, which is the rule. It was a super hectic but amazing weekend that I wouldn't change for anything. Things are good and we are hoping that it starts cooling down soon. Well no Investigator Weekly this week because I don't have time and we don't really have any other solid investigators right now... ha ha our work for this week. Well I love y'all and miss y'all tons! I hope the good Lord continues to bless you!
Love Always,
Sister Kelsey Berg
Wednesday, August 24, 2011
Letters from Kelsey - 35
Hey everyone!!
So the thing here on the island is that there is an exclusive club called BOI, born on the island, and this week we were talking to these guys and one of them at a BOI tattoo and I asked him if he was BOI (being funny like y'all know I am) and he said ya and the other guy said, 'I'm SOI, stuck on the island!' It was really funny... so I hope y'all are laughing. ha ha Anyway- this was a decent week. We had exchanges this weekend. So on the island there are 4 sets of missionaries- English Elders and Spanish Sisters for the West side, and English Sisters and Spanish Elders for the east side- and we did exchanges with the English sisters. I stayed in our area and one of the sisters came over here, and Hna. Wallet went to English land. It was a fun little switch up. We had a good little switch and I learned some things that I could do different. So here we go into... the moment you all have been waiting for.... Investigator Weekly!!!
Nidia (yeah we found out on Sunday that her name starts with a N not a M... not good I know) and Eric: They had their interviews last night and are getting baptized on Saturday!!! Yeah!!! Nidia was sick last week and was still off of work so she was able to come to church. She works in a hotel cleaning rooms and nobody gets Sundays off. We have talked to her about it before but we were sitting in the chapel waiting for sacrament meeting to start and President Maddocks was going to announce the baptism but we needed to know if she was going to be able to come to church on Sunday to get confirmed and she knew right then that she needed to quit her job so she is going to work until Friday and then quit her job so she can get baptized. We promised her that she would find a new job to be able to provide for her family (her husband and 16 year old daughter are still in Mexico and he doesn't get paid very much) - and I know the Lord will bless her. They are just so awesome and I'm super excited for them.
Guadalupe: He is still solid and learning and progressing- he has a lot of questions so we haven't been progressing as fast as we had planned but its all good. He has a date for September 3rd and I'm excited to see him to keep going. He often has friends that invite him to their church and he went to one last week and he told us that he didn't like it because he didn't feel right- since the beginning he has loved the way he has felt in the church. I'm excited to keep working with him.
Well as has been the case for the last couple weeks this is it for this addition. We are working hard to find new investigators and it hasn't really been working out yet but I know that one day will will break through and we will find the people that have been prepared. This is going to be a fantastic weekend though!! We received word last weekend that Elder Holland is coming on Friday to speak to our mission!!! (oh yeah and the Houston and Houston East missions but he is speaking in a building in our mission boundaries) Then on Saturday we have Nidia and Eric's baptism and after that the branch is having a dinner and a Talent Show! It is going to be a great weekend.
I wish I had more to say but I don't know what else to say- the days keep going by and August is almost over which means that the heat is slowly leaving also (I hope) Riding around everyday is like riding under a microscope with all the humidity, but we have a breeze and it keeps things bearable. The Lord continues to bless us and we will keep on working and trying to be diligent because that is all we can do. I hope that everything is going well with y'all as school begins again. Summer has flown by and next thing we know it will be Christmas! Scary. I pray that the good Lord will continue to bless you and your families. Thank y'all so much for your love, support, prayers, and letters.
Love Always,
Sister Kelsey Berg
So the thing here on the island is that there is an exclusive club called BOI, born on the island, and this week we were talking to these guys and one of them at a BOI tattoo and I asked him if he was BOI (being funny like y'all know I am) and he said ya and the other guy said, 'I'm SOI, stuck on the island!' It was really funny... so I hope y'all are laughing. ha ha Anyway- this was a decent week. We had exchanges this weekend. So on the island there are 4 sets of missionaries- English Elders and Spanish Sisters for the West side, and English Sisters and Spanish Elders for the east side- and we did exchanges with the English sisters. I stayed in our area and one of the sisters came over here, and Hna. Wallet went to English land. It was a fun little switch up. We had a good little switch and I learned some things that I could do different. So here we go into... the moment you all have been waiting for.... Investigator Weekly!!!
Nidia (yeah we found out on Sunday that her name starts with a N not a M... not good I know) and Eric: They had their interviews last night and are getting baptized on Saturday!!! Yeah!!! Nidia was sick last week and was still off of work so she was able to come to church. She works in a hotel cleaning rooms and nobody gets Sundays off. We have talked to her about it before but we were sitting in the chapel waiting for sacrament meeting to start and President Maddocks was going to announce the baptism but we needed to know if she was going to be able to come to church on Sunday to get confirmed and she knew right then that she needed to quit her job so she is going to work until Friday and then quit her job so she can get baptized. We promised her that she would find a new job to be able to provide for her family (her husband and 16 year old daughter are still in Mexico and he doesn't get paid very much) - and I know the Lord will bless her. They are just so awesome and I'm super excited for them.
Guadalupe: He is still solid and learning and progressing- he has a lot of questions so we haven't been progressing as fast as we had planned but its all good. He has a date for September 3rd and I'm excited to see him to keep going. He often has friends that invite him to their church and he went to one last week and he told us that he didn't like it because he didn't feel right- since the beginning he has loved the way he has felt in the church. I'm excited to keep working with him.
Well as has been the case for the last couple weeks this is it for this addition. We are working hard to find new investigators and it hasn't really been working out yet but I know that one day will will break through and we will find the people that have been prepared. This is going to be a fantastic weekend though!! We received word last weekend that Elder Holland is coming on Friday to speak to our mission!!! (oh yeah and the Houston and Houston East missions but he is speaking in a building in our mission boundaries) Then on Saturday we have Nidia and Eric's baptism and after that the branch is having a dinner and a Talent Show! It is going to be a great weekend.
I wish I had more to say but I don't know what else to say- the days keep going by and August is almost over which means that the heat is slowly leaving also (I hope) Riding around everyday is like riding under a microscope with all the humidity, but we have a breeze and it keeps things bearable. The Lord continues to bless us and we will keep on working and trying to be diligent because that is all we can do. I hope that everything is going well with y'all as school begins again. Summer has flown by and next thing we know it will be Christmas! Scary. I pray that the good Lord will continue to bless you and your families. Thank y'all so much for your love, support, prayers, and letters.
Love Always,
Sister Kelsey Berg
Tuesday, August 23, 2011
Letters from Kelsey - 34
Howdy y'all!!
So... I wish had some super awesome story to start with this week but I just don't. This week was a normal week. I'm just trying to figure out how to follow the Spirit better so that I my contacts can have the power they need so that the Spirit can testify to the person's heart so that they will want to be there for a return appointment. Our teaching pool is still pretty small, but we do have 3 dates for the 27th that are solid and I will tell you about them in the.... Investigator Weekly! I think I need to pick theme music for it... pick your favorite Mo Tab Choir or EFY song and think of it as you read it. (I gave you those choices because that is all we are allowed to listen to ;) )
Midia (pronounced Media) and Eric: They are solid and Midia came with us to a fireside on Sunday and she told us after that she is ready for the 27th. We need her to find a new job though, she is too solid for us to baptize and then be inactive because of work. We are praying really hard for her to have the faith to quit her job if they make her work on Sunday, or that the Lord will bless her with a new job before her baptism.
Guadalupe: So we had a lesson with him on Thursday and he told us that he thinks that baptism is just the first step and that it is the door to be able to learn more- oh man... when he said that it was so hard to hide the huge grin that came on my face. He is truly progressing and the fact that he is thinking about baptism is awesome. We are hoping and praying that he will come to church this Sunday to be on track for his baptism on the 27th, I'm working really hard to raise my faith.
Things are good in Galveston though. The people here are really nice and are always looking out for us and offering us water. It's really funny because when we talk to people and we ask how things are going, they always point out how hot it is and we say... yeah we know (as sweat is dripping down our faces). I feel bad because I don't have a whole lot to write this week... the weeks are just starting to blur together and I'm glad that I write in my journal everyday because I couldn't tell you what happened yesterday. It's all good and its amazing how quickly the week goes by- I think the heat must make me delirious ;) I promise y'all that I will have more stuff to write next week! Thanks y'all for everything and for your constant prayers and support. I hope y'all have a good last week or two before school starts! I hope the Lord continues to bless you and your families!
Love Always,
Sister Kelsey Berg
So... I wish had some super awesome story to start with this week but I just don't. This week was a normal week. I'm just trying to figure out how to follow the Spirit better so that I my contacts can have the power they need so that the Spirit can testify to the person's heart so that they will want to be there for a return appointment. Our teaching pool is still pretty small, but we do have 3 dates for the 27th that are solid and I will tell you about them in the.... Investigator Weekly! I think I need to pick theme music for it... pick your favorite Mo Tab Choir or EFY song and think of it as you read it. (I gave you those choices because that is all we are allowed to listen to ;) )
Midia (pronounced Media) and Eric: They are solid and Midia came with us to a fireside on Sunday and she told us after that she is ready for the 27th. We need her to find a new job though, she is too solid for us to baptize and then be inactive because of work. We are praying really hard for her to have the faith to quit her job if they make her work on Sunday, or that the Lord will bless her with a new job before her baptism.
Guadalupe: So we had a lesson with him on Thursday and he told us that he thinks that baptism is just the first step and that it is the door to be able to learn more- oh man... when he said that it was so hard to hide the huge grin that came on my face. He is truly progressing and the fact that he is thinking about baptism is awesome. We are hoping and praying that he will come to church this Sunday to be on track for his baptism on the 27th, I'm working really hard to raise my faith.
Things are good in Galveston though. The people here are really nice and are always looking out for us and offering us water. It's really funny because when we talk to people and we ask how things are going, they always point out how hot it is and we say... yeah we know (as sweat is dripping down our faces). I feel bad because I don't have a whole lot to write this week... the weeks are just starting to blur together and I'm glad that I write in my journal everyday because I couldn't tell you what happened yesterday. It's all good and its amazing how quickly the week goes by- I think the heat must make me delirious ;) I promise y'all that I will have more stuff to write next week! Thanks y'all for everything and for your constant prayers and support. I hope y'all have a good last week or two before school starts! I hope the Lord continues to bless you and your families!
Love Always,
Sister Kelsey Berg
Wednesday, August 10, 2011
Letters from Kelsey - 33
Dear family and friends,
Kelsey's birthday is coming up on August 27th. I'm sure that she would love to hear from her family and friends for her birthday. Here is her address:
Sister Kelsey Berg
Texas Houston South Mission
602 Eldridge Road
Sugar Land, TX 77478
Hello everyone!!
Yes... the subject line (And the good Lord said let there be beautiful chicks on bikes) is something that someone really said to us this week! ha ha it was probably the best line I have heard so far in my whole mission! Oh man... some people are just super funny. Well... here we are another Tuesday and I can't believe that it is August and that summer is almost over! I'm told that the island starts to cool down after August and I can already tell that the sun is going down earlier and the breeze is becoming cooler and cooler- its awesome! So not a lot of exciting stuff happened this week- our teaching pool is a little small right now but the few people we do have a pretty solid and that leads me to.... drum roll please.... the... Investigator Weekly!!!
Guadalupe: We hadn't seen him for about 2 weeks but he as been reading the Book of Mormon and the pamphlets we have given him. We had a lesson with him last night and he has changed since we first taught him. He seems to be more relaxed and he is starting to have a little more confidence! He really likes being in the church, he has only come to church once but we are working hard to get him to start coming more regularly. He is praying to know if the Book of Mormon is true and says he feels good when he prays. He is doing all the right things and I know that he will receive an answer soon! He accepted a date of August 27th and that is the goal we are shooting for now.
Media: Oh man... she is an absolute miracle. So she moved here from Mexico like 2 weeks ago and she had been meeting with the missionaries down there and had a date for the 6th. Her husband is still meeting with the missionaries and the only thing holding her back from getting baptized is that she thinks it should be a family thing- so he is holding her back right now. She is solid though- she knows everything and is already shooting for the temple! She wants to be an eternal family so bad. So back to the baptism- there is no sign in the future of her going back to Mexico with the kids (she just got a job here) and there is no sign of her husband coming up here, so we suggested that they get baptized on the same day just him there and her here. She is really thinking about it and then we had the idea that we could Skype the baptism!! We heard that it is possible but we would have to get permission from the top! The First Presidency would have to give the 'okay' but it is possible. She is so solid and I think it would just be absolutely amazing!! We are praying that it happens and there is a reason that she is here with us. Our District Leader- who doesn't speak Spanish- found her and he felt impressed that we need to be the ones to teach her because she it out of our area so we got that permission and then the fact that she found a job so quickly. The Lord truly is in charge and now we are trying to help her help her husband so that they can achieve the first ordinances of salvation!
That's it for this week... we are doing our best to find those people that the Lord has prepared. Things are good here- pretty much the same, it's still humid and hot, we still ride bikes everyday, the Spanish continues to improve, and the days continue to go by and it is awesome! Missionary work is so odd if you think about it- I mean I go into the houses of random strangers everyday and don't give it a second thought. Crazy. Anyway... I hope that y'all continue to have a good summer and that the Lord continues to bless you and your families. I love y'all and miss y'all and thank y'all for all of your love, support, and prayers. Thanks for everything!
Love Always,
Sister Kelsey Berg
Kelsey's birthday is coming up on August 27th. I'm sure that she would love to hear from her family and friends for her birthday. Here is her address:
Sister Kelsey Berg
Texas Houston South Mission
602 Eldridge Road
Sugar Land, TX 77478
Hello everyone!!
Yes... the subject line (And the good Lord said let there be beautiful chicks on bikes) is something that someone really said to us this week! ha ha it was probably the best line I have heard so far in my whole mission! Oh man... some people are just super funny. Well... here we are another Tuesday and I can't believe that it is August and that summer is almost over! I'm told that the island starts to cool down after August and I can already tell that the sun is going down earlier and the breeze is becoming cooler and cooler- its awesome! So not a lot of exciting stuff happened this week- our teaching pool is a little small right now but the few people we do have a pretty solid and that leads me to.... drum roll please.... the... Investigator Weekly!!!
Guadalupe: We hadn't seen him for about 2 weeks but he as been reading the Book of Mormon and the pamphlets we have given him. We had a lesson with him last night and he has changed since we first taught him. He seems to be more relaxed and he is starting to have a little more confidence! He really likes being in the church, he has only come to church once but we are working hard to get him to start coming more regularly. He is praying to know if the Book of Mormon is true and says he feels good when he prays. He is doing all the right things and I know that he will receive an answer soon! He accepted a date of August 27th and that is the goal we are shooting for now.
Media: Oh man... she is an absolute miracle. So she moved here from Mexico like 2 weeks ago and she had been meeting with the missionaries down there and had a date for the 6th. Her husband is still meeting with the missionaries and the only thing holding her back from getting baptized is that she thinks it should be a family thing- so he is holding her back right now. She is solid though- she knows everything and is already shooting for the temple! She wants to be an eternal family so bad. So back to the baptism- there is no sign in the future of her going back to Mexico with the kids (she just got a job here) and there is no sign of her husband coming up here, so we suggested that they get baptized on the same day just him there and her here. She is really thinking about it and then we had the idea that we could Skype the baptism!! We heard that it is possible but we would have to get permission from the top! The First Presidency would have to give the 'okay' but it is possible. She is so solid and I think it would just be absolutely amazing!! We are praying that it happens and there is a reason that she is here with us. Our District Leader- who doesn't speak Spanish- found her and he felt impressed that we need to be the ones to teach her because she it out of our area so we got that permission and then the fact that she found a job so quickly. The Lord truly is in charge and now we are trying to help her help her husband so that they can achieve the first ordinances of salvation!
That's it for this week... we are doing our best to find those people that the Lord has prepared. Things are good here- pretty much the same, it's still humid and hot, we still ride bikes everyday, the Spanish continues to improve, and the days continue to go by and it is awesome! Missionary work is so odd if you think about it- I mean I go into the houses of random strangers everyday and don't give it a second thought. Crazy. Anyway... I hope that y'all continue to have a good summer and that the Lord continues to bless you and your families. I love y'all and miss y'all and thank y'all for all of your love, support, and prayers. Thanks for everything!
Love Always,
Sister Kelsey Berg
Tuesday, August 2, 2011
Letters from Kelsey - 32
Hey everyone!
Well another week has come and gone and in the process we have said 'Adios' to July and 'Hola' to August! This week was a little of a tough one which I will tell y'all about in the.... INVESTIGATOR WEEKLY!! ha ha
The Barillas Family: Sad news... Maria broke up with us over text on Saturday... She texted us and told us thanks for everything but they have decided to stay with their current religion (which means Catholic but not going to church). We texted her back (because we can do that now, as of 2 weeks ago) and asked what changed. She said that they have just always been Catholic and its just hard to change. We texted back and asked if we could just come over and talk for like 20 minutes. (because this is one of the easiest doubts to overcome. We compare it to a cake. They have looked at the cake, smelled the cake and even bought the cake, but they really won't know if its good or not unless they eat the cake aka Come to church) She told us that she wasn't feeling well, but we are going to go over another day this weekend to try and get them to church, because church is the key!
Guadalupe: He is so awesome. This weekend he was in Corpus Cristi and we called him yesterday- to make sure that he didn't die in the hurricane/tropical storm down there, and we asked him how his reading has been going and he said good! He took his Book of Mormon and all of the pamphlets we have given him with him on his trip! We have a lesson with him tonight at the church and I'm excited for this month. His baptismal date is the 13th but I'm feeling more of the 20th or the 27th, but he is for sure getting baptized this month!!
Welt... Its a sorry looking addition this week, we have some 'Other' investigators (not progressing) and a couple other people with dates, but I don't really feel like introducing them to the family and friends yet so we will just keep it with Guadalupe for now. It was hard having the Barillas break up with us but we are not going to give up on them. We are going to work hard this week to find new people that the Lord has prepared and I'm trying to raise my faith. I know that the Lord can and does to miracles, I just need to raise my faith that I can be a tool that He accomplishes them through. I have a special experience that I want to share with y'all. It happened yesterday. So we were riding along the side of the bayou (kinda like a lake from the ocean- super gorgeous) contacting people, and there was this mom outside kinda talking to her kids, her name is Annette. I stopped and talked to her and told her about what we share and asked if there was anything we could do for her. Its really interesting to me that we can just say 'How are you' to someone and know whether or not things are going okay, and this is how I felt with her, I could tell it has been a rough day. She was really nice and said she wasn't interested and turned down our offer to help. Before we left I had the thought to tell her that her Heavenly Father loved her, I thought that would sound a little weird and the conversation had kinda already ended so I didn't say it. We had biked about 20 yards down the road and I kept having the thought to tell her that her Heavenly Father loved her, but again I thought it would be weird to go back just to say that. Then I got the thought that I would regret it if I didn't do it. So I told Hna. Wallet that we needed to go back. We went back and Annette was still outside cleaning something up and I said: 'This may sound weird but I feel impressed to tell you that your Heavenly Father loves you and that we are never alone in our afflictions. Through the Atonement Christ knows exactly what we are going through. When he suffered in the Garden he didn't suffer for us as a whole, he saw each of our faces as he suffered for us individually and he will help you carry your burdens if you let him.' When I first said that her Heavenly Father loved her she started crying and at the end I asked if she wanted a hug, even it if was from a stranger, she said yes. She then thanked me because it was exactly what she needed, I then said that it sure wasn't me but that Heavenly Father answered her prayer. For me it was just one of those moments where I am really glad that the Lord trusted me enough to help out someone that is struggling- and it helped raise my faith a little that I am someone that the Lord can answer prayers through; even with all my weaknesses, lack of faith, and through all my sins He finds me someone worthy to help others. It a very sobering and humbling feeling.
Anyway... everything is going well here. We had a day of a tropical storm and it was super fun to be out riding in the rain. The work progresses and it is as hot and humid as ever, but we have a breeze so its all good. One more month of heat to go. Things really are good- the spanish continues to improve, Hna. Wallet and I get along well and we are missionaries on an island in Texas- what could be better? Next week I'll tell y'all a little more about Galveston and the people here. We had a funny guy this week who told us that Mormons have lots of wives (this was after we told him we were missionaries), it wasn't that 'we' as mormons have lots of wives, he said 'Mormons have lots of wives' and we just said 'nope- don't think so'. ha ha The people here are all pretty nice- I have only met one guy who didn't like us but even then he wasn't hostile or anything. Well.. until next week! I hope y'all stay safe and have a fun week and that the Lord continues to bless y'all! Have a blessed day!
Love Always,
Sister Kelsey Berg
Well another week has come and gone and in the process we have said 'Adios' to July and 'Hola' to August! This week was a little of a tough one which I will tell y'all about in the.... INVESTIGATOR WEEKLY!! ha ha
The Barillas Family: Sad news... Maria broke up with us over text on Saturday... She texted us and told us thanks for everything but they have decided to stay with their current religion (which means Catholic but not going to church). We texted her back (because we can do that now, as of 2 weeks ago) and asked what changed. She said that they have just always been Catholic and its just hard to change. We texted back and asked if we could just come over and talk for like 20 minutes. (because this is one of the easiest doubts to overcome. We compare it to a cake. They have looked at the cake, smelled the cake and even bought the cake, but they really won't know if its good or not unless they eat the cake aka Come to church) She told us that she wasn't feeling well, but we are going to go over another day this weekend to try and get them to church, because church is the key!
Guadalupe: He is so awesome. This weekend he was in Corpus Cristi and we called him yesterday- to make sure that he didn't die in the hurricane/tropical storm down there, and we asked him how his reading has been going and he said good! He took his Book of Mormon and all of the pamphlets we have given him with him on his trip! We have a lesson with him tonight at the church and I'm excited for this month. His baptismal date is the 13th but I'm feeling more of the 20th or the 27th, but he is for sure getting baptized this month!!
Welt... Its a sorry looking addition this week, we have some 'Other' investigators (not progressing) and a couple other people with dates, but I don't really feel like introducing them to the family and friends yet so we will just keep it with Guadalupe for now. It was hard having the Barillas break up with us but we are not going to give up on them. We are going to work hard this week to find new people that the Lord has prepared and I'm trying to raise my faith. I know that the Lord can and does to miracles, I just need to raise my faith that I can be a tool that He accomplishes them through. I have a special experience that I want to share with y'all. It happened yesterday. So we were riding along the side of the bayou (kinda like a lake from the ocean- super gorgeous) contacting people, and there was this mom outside kinda talking to her kids, her name is Annette. I stopped and talked to her and told her about what we share and asked if there was anything we could do for her. Its really interesting to me that we can just say 'How are you' to someone and know whether or not things are going okay, and this is how I felt with her, I could tell it has been a rough day. She was really nice and said she wasn't interested and turned down our offer to help. Before we left I had the thought to tell her that her Heavenly Father loved her, I thought that would sound a little weird and the conversation had kinda already ended so I didn't say it. We had biked about 20 yards down the road and I kept having the thought to tell her that her Heavenly Father loved her, but again I thought it would be weird to go back just to say that. Then I got the thought that I would regret it if I didn't do it. So I told Hna. Wallet that we needed to go back. We went back and Annette was still outside cleaning something up and I said: 'This may sound weird but I feel impressed to tell you that your Heavenly Father loves you and that we are never alone in our afflictions. Through the Atonement Christ knows exactly what we are going through. When he suffered in the Garden he didn't suffer for us as a whole, he saw each of our faces as he suffered for us individually and he will help you carry your burdens if you let him.' When I first said that her Heavenly Father loved her she started crying and at the end I asked if she wanted a hug, even it if was from a stranger, she said yes. She then thanked me because it was exactly what she needed, I then said that it sure wasn't me but that Heavenly Father answered her prayer. For me it was just one of those moments where I am really glad that the Lord trusted me enough to help out someone that is struggling- and it helped raise my faith a little that I am someone that the Lord can answer prayers through; even with all my weaknesses, lack of faith, and through all my sins He finds me someone worthy to help others. It a very sobering and humbling feeling.
Anyway... everything is going well here. We had a day of a tropical storm and it was super fun to be out riding in the rain. The work progresses and it is as hot and humid as ever, but we have a breeze so its all good. One more month of heat to go. Things really are good- the spanish continues to improve, Hna. Wallet and I get along well and we are missionaries on an island in Texas- what could be better? Next week I'll tell y'all a little more about Galveston and the people here. We had a funny guy this week who told us that Mormons have lots of wives (this was after we told him we were missionaries), it wasn't that 'we' as mormons have lots of wives, he said 'Mormons have lots of wives' and we just said 'nope- don't think so'. ha ha The people here are all pretty nice- I have only met one guy who didn't like us but even then he wasn't hostile or anything. Well.. until next week! I hope y'all stay safe and have a fun week and that the Lord continues to bless y'all! Have a blessed day!
Love Always,
Sister Kelsey Berg
Monday, July 25, 2011
Letters from Kelsey - 31
Hey everyone!!
Well another week has come and gone and this is the last full week of the transfer!! That is so weird- this transfer has just flown by. Transfers are next Wednesday and this is the first time so far that I hope my name or my companion's is not on that list. I would absolutely love another transfer like this one, but the truth is next transfer is going to be even better!! There is so much potential and so much on the horizon that we are just going to rock this area and August is going to be a huge month! This week was a little rough, Hermana Wallet was attacked by ants- as I said last week- and then got a weird rash thing on her foot and we were told to not leave the apartment and then we went to the doctor on Friday so we really only had 2 days of work this week, Saturday and Sunday. Our trip to the doctors was pretty awesome but I'll tell y'all about that a little later.
This weekend was amazing this and LEONEL GOT BAPTIZED!!! Oh man funny story though. So when we called him Saturday morning to make sure everything was still good and he asked us how long the baptism was going to be. We told him probably about an hour and then asked why. When he first answered we though he said that he was just going to Louisiana, and we were like... what? He told us again and he said he was MOVING to Louisiana right after his baptism! Well it will just be easier to say the conversation: Us: "What! So you won't be at church on Sunday?" (of course this was all in Spanish, but I will save y'all the hassle and translate it for you) Leonel: "No". Us: "No Leonel you have to come to church on Sunday because that is where you will receive the Holy Ghost, everything else doesn't matter if you don't get the Holy Ghost on Sunday!" Leonel: "Oh... (medium length pause) I guess I can move after church on Sunday." Us: (breathing a huge sigh of relief). So yes, we had a baptism but we don't have a recent convert though- Kenner, Louisiana has a recent convert. He did call us yesterday though making sure that we were going to send him the church address by him. He is legit and will be a huge blessing to his new ward.
Anyway... now on to the Investigator Weekly!!
Emma: She is slowly coming along, not making huge progress but she is willing. Our focus now is getting her to ask for a change in work schedule so she can come to church!
La Familia Barillas: They are super awesome and all excepted baptismal dates for August 6th!! They are starting to read the Book of Mormon as a family and we are super excited to get members involved and just see their progress take off!
David: We are trying to help him have faith in the Atonement so that he can have the faith to be baptized. We have a lesson with him tonight and we are just going to lay it down- after 7 months he is ready and he just needs to take that leap of faith and accept a date!
Thats it for this week... kinda short I know, but I'm a little short on time today and I want to tell y'all about our little trek out west! So the doctor we go to is out in Bay City which is about 2 hours west of us in the middle of Southern Texas. We followed my TomTom and it took us through all these little towns and I saw the first horses, cows, and wheel lines that I have seen in 8 months. I loved it. Our GPS took us on little dirt roads that I wouldn't have known existed if it wasnt' for the GPS, but we got there and back and it was a great adventure through the heart of Texas!!
Well I hope everything is going well with y'all!! I hope the Lord will continue to bless you!! Love and miss y'all!!
Love Always,
Sister Kelsey Berg
Well another week has come and gone and this is the last full week of the transfer!! That is so weird- this transfer has just flown by. Transfers are next Wednesday and this is the first time so far that I hope my name or my companion's is not on that list. I would absolutely love another transfer like this one, but the truth is next transfer is going to be even better!! There is so much potential and so much on the horizon that we are just going to rock this area and August is going to be a huge month! This week was a little rough, Hermana Wallet was attacked by ants- as I said last week- and then got a weird rash thing on her foot and we were told to not leave the apartment and then we went to the doctor on Friday so we really only had 2 days of work this week, Saturday and Sunday. Our trip to the doctors was pretty awesome but I'll tell y'all about that a little later.
This weekend was amazing this and LEONEL GOT BAPTIZED!!! Oh man funny story though. So when we called him Saturday morning to make sure everything was still good and he asked us how long the baptism was going to be. We told him probably about an hour and then asked why. When he first answered we though he said that he was just going to Louisiana, and we were like... what? He told us again and he said he was MOVING to Louisiana right after his baptism! Well it will just be easier to say the conversation: Us: "What! So you won't be at church on Sunday?" (of course this was all in Spanish, but I will save y'all the hassle and translate it for you) Leonel: "No". Us: "No Leonel you have to come to church on Sunday because that is where you will receive the Holy Ghost, everything else doesn't matter if you don't get the Holy Ghost on Sunday!" Leonel: "Oh... (medium length pause) I guess I can move after church on Sunday." Us: (breathing a huge sigh of relief). So yes, we had a baptism but we don't have a recent convert though- Kenner, Louisiana has a recent convert. He did call us yesterday though making sure that we were going to send him the church address by him. He is legit and will be a huge blessing to his new ward.
Anyway... now on to the Investigator Weekly!!
Emma: She is slowly coming along, not making huge progress but she is willing. Our focus now is getting her to ask for a change in work schedule so she can come to church!
La Familia Barillas: They are super awesome and all excepted baptismal dates for August 6th!! They are starting to read the Book of Mormon as a family and we are super excited to get members involved and just see their progress take off!
David: We are trying to help him have faith in the Atonement so that he can have the faith to be baptized. We have a lesson with him tonight and we are just going to lay it down- after 7 months he is ready and he just needs to take that leap of faith and accept a date!
Thats it for this week... kinda short I know, but I'm a little short on time today and I want to tell y'all about our little trek out west! So the doctor we go to is out in Bay City which is about 2 hours west of us in the middle of Southern Texas. We followed my TomTom and it took us through all these little towns and I saw the first horses, cows, and wheel lines that I have seen in 8 months. I loved it. Our GPS took us on little dirt roads that I wouldn't have known existed if it wasnt' for the GPS, but we got there and back and it was a great adventure through the heart of Texas!!
Well I hope everything is going well with y'all!! I hope the Lord will continue to bless you!! Love and miss y'all!!
Love Always,
Sister Kelsey Berg
Friday, July 15, 2011
Letters from Kelsey - 30
My dear family and friends!
How is life on the mainland? I hope that it is just fantastic!! Things are still good here in Galveston and it is as hot as ever. Today when we were on our way to the library the car said it was 93 degrees- at 9:30 in the morning, I'm sure glad that we have interviews today! We have been told that after August things start to cool off so we only have about a month and a half left of the heat and as long as we still have that ocean breeze I'm fine. Well week 4 of the transfer is over and in 2 weeks it will be transfers all over again... I can't believe it- this transfer has just flown by! I'm hoping that things stay the same and that Hna. Wallet and I stay together. This is the first time on the mission that I have wanted things to stay the same at transfers. I love Galveston and I'm happy here- Hna. Wallet and I get a long pretty well and this area is just on the brink of exploding. We had some first time lessons this week with some people that I'm really excited about, which leads me into... The Investigator Weekly!!
Leonel: His baptism is set for 7:30 Saturday night!! He passed his interview this week and everything is going well. I just don't know what else to say... I mean its just been really cool to see him progress these last couple weeks and it was nothing that we did- it was because of the feeling he gets at church!
Emma: She is still coming along, slowly but surely. We are going to try and change some things up so she can make sure and come to church and hopefully her work schedule is changing soon so that she can come to all 3 hours. We watched some I'm a Mormon videos with her (if you haven't seen these yet, go to Mormon.org and check them out- they are super legit and I could watch them all day long) and she really liked them. She liked to see people that have had kind of the same background has her and the changes that have come in their lives. We will keep pushing forward.
David: AWE MAN!! He was so close to accepting a baptismal date this week! He was right there!! But then Satan grabbed him again and the fear crept back in. He is so worried about failing, making a mistake, and falling back into his old ways after baptism because he knows how big the promises are that he is making. We will keep working with him and praying for him- he came to church this week and is making more progress so we have hope!
Guadalupe: He is one of the news that we taught for the first time this week, he's about 45 from Mexico/ Corpus Cristi. He is pretty cool and is open to learning more. He is very sincere and I'm excited to teach him!
La Familia Barillas (The Barillas Family): They are the new family we found, we have only taught them once but we have an appointment with them this week. I have to say that it is pretty obvious that we were supposed to meet them and baptize them and I'll tell ya why! They have 2 kids- Alex age 14 and.... KELSEY age 8!! Yup spelled the same way and everything! It was all I could do to not tell her that we have the same name! They are a super cool family and were excited to read the Book of Mormon. I feel like if we can get them reading it together and coming to church they will see the blessings in their lives!
So yes... life is good on the island. The days and weeks are just going by and it just amazes me to see how fast they are flying by. I know that it's kinda hard to believe and I'm sorry to disappoint y'all this week but this is really all I have today! No big thoughts that have been weighing on my mind this week that I want to share with y'all, this week was just a good one and I feel like I was just here yesterday! I hope y'all have a good and safe week on the mainland. I do want to tell y'all how grateful I am for all of your love, support, prayers, and letters, and the examples y'all have been to me through out my life. Every single day I meet people who didn't or don't have those type of examples or influences and I see the negative effect that it has had on their lives and every night I thank my Heavenly Father for all the people in my life. So, once again, thank you!!
Love always,
Sister Kelsey Berg
How is life on the mainland? I hope that it is just fantastic!! Things are still good here in Galveston and it is as hot as ever. Today when we were on our way to the library the car said it was 93 degrees- at 9:30 in the morning, I'm sure glad that we have interviews today! We have been told that after August things start to cool off so we only have about a month and a half left of the heat and as long as we still have that ocean breeze I'm fine. Well week 4 of the transfer is over and in 2 weeks it will be transfers all over again... I can't believe it- this transfer has just flown by! I'm hoping that things stay the same and that Hna. Wallet and I stay together. This is the first time on the mission that I have wanted things to stay the same at transfers. I love Galveston and I'm happy here- Hna. Wallet and I get a long pretty well and this area is just on the brink of exploding. We had some first time lessons this week with some people that I'm really excited about, which leads me into... The Investigator Weekly!!
Leonel: His baptism is set for 7:30 Saturday night!! He passed his interview this week and everything is going well. I just don't know what else to say... I mean its just been really cool to see him progress these last couple weeks and it was nothing that we did- it was because of the feeling he gets at church!
Emma: She is still coming along, slowly but surely. We are going to try and change some things up so she can make sure and come to church and hopefully her work schedule is changing soon so that she can come to all 3 hours. We watched some I'm a Mormon videos with her (if you haven't seen these yet, go to Mormon.org and check them out- they are super legit and I could watch them all day long) and she really liked them. She liked to see people that have had kind of the same background has her and the changes that have come in their lives. We will keep pushing forward.
David: AWE MAN!! He was so close to accepting a baptismal date this week! He was right there!! But then Satan grabbed him again and the fear crept back in. He is so worried about failing, making a mistake, and falling back into his old ways after baptism because he knows how big the promises are that he is making. We will keep working with him and praying for him- he came to church this week and is making more progress so we have hope!
Guadalupe: He is one of the news that we taught for the first time this week, he's about 45 from Mexico/ Corpus Cristi. He is pretty cool and is open to learning more. He is very sincere and I'm excited to teach him!
La Familia Barillas (The Barillas Family): They are the new family we found, we have only taught them once but we have an appointment with them this week. I have to say that it is pretty obvious that we were supposed to meet them and baptize them and I'll tell ya why! They have 2 kids- Alex age 14 and.... KELSEY age 8!! Yup spelled the same way and everything! It was all I could do to not tell her that we have the same name! They are a super cool family and were excited to read the Book of Mormon. I feel like if we can get them reading it together and coming to church they will see the blessings in their lives!
So yes... life is good on the island. The days and weeks are just going by and it just amazes me to see how fast they are flying by. I know that it's kinda hard to believe and I'm sorry to disappoint y'all this week but this is really all I have today! No big thoughts that have been weighing on my mind this week that I want to share with y'all, this week was just a good one and I feel like I was just here yesterday! I hope y'all have a good and safe week on the mainland. I do want to tell y'all how grateful I am for all of your love, support, prayers, and letters, and the examples y'all have been to me through out my life. Every single day I meet people who didn't or don't have those type of examples or influences and I see the negative effect that it has had on their lives and every night I thank my Heavenly Father for all the people in my life. So, once again, thank you!!
Love always,
Sister Kelsey Berg
Letters from Kelsey - 29
Howdy y'all,
Well I hope y'all had a fantastic 4th of July! We had a tender mercy and were able to see the fireworks from our balcony and they just happened to be through the only hole in the trees, so we did get to see some Galveston fireworks (which, I learned yesterday, are called cohetes in Spanish). We spent most of the day in the apartment doing weekly planning and then we pretty much just rode our bikes around for about 4 hours looking for people to talk to, we did have one lesson that I will tell y'all about later. There was nobody out on in the streets though, they were all either at the beach or in their backyards having parties so yeah... we biked like 15 miles yesterday but I did add more sun to my tan! ha ha Galveston is good though we are working hard to find new people that we know the Lord has prepared. Well now on to Investigator Weekly!!
Emma: She didn't come to church this week but she is accepting the lessons and is reading what we give her, but she hasn't prayed yet. That is our next big step is to get her to pray and as God if the things we are teaching are correct and if she needs to be baptized. I feel like she might know that the church is true but is a little afraid of what answer she is going to receive, so I'll let y'all know how that works out next week hopefully.
Leonel: He is just so awesome and has come to church for a month straight! He is still on track for his baptismal date of July 16th and we are super excited! He is becoming buddies will all of the guys in the branch and he doesn't have any hold ups! I really don't know what else to say about him except that he is just super great and I'm excited to see continue! I have truly gained a testimony about how important going to church is and how important it is to go looking for something so that we can receive revelation through church every week, because I think that was the key to Leonel. Ever since he came to church the first time he has been solid ever since.
David: Oh David... we aren't really sure what to do with him. He keeps the commandments, reads, changes the things he needs to, he just won't accept a baptismal date and hasn't come to church the last 3 weeks. We looked over the teaching record this week and learned that he hasn't accepted a date since the beginning which was back in January. We might have to give him an ultimatum this week when we go by because he still says that he is afraid of falling and not being able to do the things that the Lord tells him too- which also means he hasn't prayed yet about whether or not he needs to be baptized because he knows the answer he is going to get. I know that he knows the church is true and he knows he needs to be baptized, he just needs to know it and have faith that there always is a way and that God doesn't give us commandments we can't follow. We just don't know... we are going to make a strong push for him to come to church this weekend too. I will let y'all know how it goes.
Juan Ramero: He is a new guy that we first taught on Saturday, he came to church on Sunday, and then we taught him again last night. He has been to a lot of different churches and hasn't found what he's looking for yet. He really enjoyed church and I hope that he will read and pray like we have asked him to do. We haven't had a chance to extend him a baptismal date yet because he kinda likes to get side tracked. He lives with this older lady, we have decided that they are just friends and that he just rents a room from her and helps out around the house and watch out for her, but she likes to talk a lot too and has talked to missionaries before and likes to put in her two cents but the good thing is she isn't against the church. Fact of the matter is they both like to talk and sometimes makes comments that are just so random and off topic that it's hard for us to keep the Spirit there enough to be able to extend the date at the end of the lesson but we will keep working on it. I feel like he could be pretty solid though.
Things are going good here though! We keep trying to work hard and find new people to teach. We are trying to improve our faith and our obedience so that we can be qualified to receive the blessings the Lord has in store for us. I have learned a lot these last couple weeks and I have learned something about happiness. I have learned that knowing that you would make the same choices and not change things is happiness. I would not change my decision to go on a mission and I would make the same decision over again. I didn't want to go before my mission and even for a little bit while I was out here, but I have finally become happy with my decision and I wouldn't change it. I'm thankful for all the lessons I have learned and for all the experiences I have had in these short 7 months, and I'm excited for the next 11!
Thank you all for your love, support, and prayers! I hope y'all have a good week and that the Lord continues to bless you and your families!
Love Always,
Sister Kelsey Berg
Well I hope y'all had a fantastic 4th of July! We had a tender mercy and were able to see the fireworks from our balcony and they just happened to be through the only hole in the trees, so we did get to see some Galveston fireworks (which, I learned yesterday, are called cohetes in Spanish). We spent most of the day in the apartment doing weekly planning and then we pretty much just rode our bikes around for about 4 hours looking for people to talk to, we did have one lesson that I will tell y'all about later. There was nobody out on in the streets though, they were all either at the beach or in their backyards having parties so yeah... we biked like 15 miles yesterday but I did add more sun to my tan! ha ha Galveston is good though we are working hard to find new people that we know the Lord has prepared. Well now on to Investigator Weekly!!
Emma: She didn't come to church this week but she is accepting the lessons and is reading what we give her, but she hasn't prayed yet. That is our next big step is to get her to pray and as God if the things we are teaching are correct and if she needs to be baptized. I feel like she might know that the church is true but is a little afraid of what answer she is going to receive, so I'll let y'all know how that works out next week hopefully.
Leonel: He is just so awesome and has come to church for a month straight! He is still on track for his baptismal date of July 16th and we are super excited! He is becoming buddies will all of the guys in the branch and he doesn't have any hold ups! I really don't know what else to say about him except that he is just super great and I'm excited to see continue! I have truly gained a testimony about how important going to church is and how important it is to go looking for something so that we can receive revelation through church every week, because I think that was the key to Leonel. Ever since he came to church the first time he has been solid ever since.
David: Oh David... we aren't really sure what to do with him. He keeps the commandments, reads, changes the things he needs to, he just won't accept a baptismal date and hasn't come to church the last 3 weeks. We looked over the teaching record this week and learned that he hasn't accepted a date since the beginning which was back in January. We might have to give him an ultimatum this week when we go by because he still says that he is afraid of falling and not being able to do the things that the Lord tells him too- which also means he hasn't prayed yet about whether or not he needs to be baptized because he knows the answer he is going to get. I know that he knows the church is true and he knows he needs to be baptized, he just needs to know it and have faith that there always is a way and that God doesn't give us commandments we can't follow. We just don't know... we are going to make a strong push for him to come to church this weekend too. I will let y'all know how it goes.
Juan Ramero: He is a new guy that we first taught on Saturday, he came to church on Sunday, and then we taught him again last night. He has been to a lot of different churches and hasn't found what he's looking for yet. He really enjoyed church and I hope that he will read and pray like we have asked him to do. We haven't had a chance to extend him a baptismal date yet because he kinda likes to get side tracked. He lives with this older lady, we have decided that they are just friends and that he just rents a room from her and helps out around the house and watch out for her, but she likes to talk a lot too and has talked to missionaries before and likes to put in her two cents but the good thing is she isn't against the church. Fact of the matter is they both like to talk and sometimes makes comments that are just so random and off topic that it's hard for us to keep the Spirit there enough to be able to extend the date at the end of the lesson but we will keep working on it. I feel like he could be pretty solid though.
Things are going good here though! We keep trying to work hard and find new people to teach. We are trying to improve our faith and our obedience so that we can be qualified to receive the blessings the Lord has in store for us. I have learned a lot these last couple weeks and I have learned something about happiness. I have learned that knowing that you would make the same choices and not change things is happiness. I would not change my decision to go on a mission and I would make the same decision over again. I didn't want to go before my mission and even for a little bit while I was out here, but I have finally become happy with my decision and I wouldn't change it. I'm thankful for all the lessons I have learned and for all the experiences I have had in these short 7 months, and I'm excited for the next 11!
Thank you all for your love, support, and prayers! I hope y'all have a good week and that the Lord continues to bless you and your families!
Love Always,
Sister Kelsey Berg
Friday, July 1, 2011
Letters from Kelsey - 28
Hey everybody!!
If sweat is a measure of progress that I'm doing AWESOME!!! They tell us it's supposed to get hotter next month but I don't see how that is humanly, physically, and environmentally possible. My companion and I- Hermana Wallet- have decided that the Lord puts a veil over us so that people don't see the sweat dripping off of our faces and will talk to us. Galveston is awesome! We cover the west half of the Island. There are 4 sets of missionaries- an English and Spanish set for each side, there are a lot more English people than Spanish on the island so we talk to a lot more English people. My companion is Hermana Adrienne Wallet and she is from Southern Cali and is a transfer younger than me. We are still on bikes but we get to use the car just a little bit more here than in Houston 2. We went to a place called Queen's Bar-B-Q last week and that was totally awesome Texas BBQ. I loved it. So on to the Investigator Weekly:
Emma: She came to church this week! She went to the English sacrament meeting because she had to work and its better to have them go to sacrament. She really liked it and is really searching for the truth. We have an appointment with her today and I'm interested to see if she is ready to change and do the things she needs to. She hasn't read any more in the Book of Mormon since she read the first two pages so we are going to try and get her to change that. She is super cute and I'm excited to see where things go with her.
Leonel: He is awesome and came to church this week for the 3rd week in a row and he was on time all 3 weeks!! (that's a big deal for Hispanic people- I think that Hispanic time is worse than Mormon time... ha ha) He is so great is totally on track for his baptismal date of the 16th! We went over the Word of Wisdom with him this week and he has never drank coffee which was also a big surprise because Hispanics start drinking coffee when they are like 4- that's just what they do. He is reading the Book of Mormon by himself and I'm really excited for him.
David: So last week I forgot to talk about David. He has been meeting with las Hermanas since January. He is a great guy, 21 years old, and he goes to volleyball on Tuesday nights and Institute on Thursday nights. His big hold up is the fear of falling after he is baptized. He says he wants to serve a mission and have an eternal family but his fear of falling back into old sins is, what he says, is holding him up from getting baptized. I have to wonder if that is his really doubt or if that is just the tip of the iceberg and there is some other hold up that he isn't telling us. We are going to fast this week so that he will get his answer that baptism is what he needs to do and that it is what our Heavenly Father wants him to do. We will see!
So things are picking up- well we had some really long days this weekend on the bikes in the 100+ degrees and 90+% humidity, with lots of appointments falling through but we are looking forward to this week and we have some new people that we are excited about. I really do love Galveston. Everyone is pretty nice and its just so cool to talk to people and hear stories from their past. Everyone is still cleaning up from Hurricane Ike, they all refer to it as 'the storm'. Some times people are cold when we tell them that we are missionaries for the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints, but I haven't had anyone be mean yet- now that I just said that I'm sure it will happen this week. I had a 15 year old ask me for my number, after I got done getting his information for the English Elders to come by he asked me for my number and I told him that we only taught in Spanish and then he told me that his mom speaks a little Spanish. I just had to get on my bike and laugh- it was a first that's for sure. The people here really are great and our little branch is great as well. They are the greatest member missionaries and always have people for us to teach. I feel super blessed to be able to serve on Galveston and Hna. Wallet is awesome at Spanish grammar so that is helping me as well. We are both just pushing each other to be the best we can be and to make sure that we are doing all that we can to get this area to explode. We broke the record this year in our area for people at church this last weekend with 3 (which is actually pretty sad), but things are only going to improve.
Its weird to think that I now officially have under a year left on the mission and with the way these last weeks have flown by- this is week 3 of the transfer- I can just see the next few months flying by as well. My Spanish is getting better, my tan is AMAZING!, I sweat more in one day than I ever have in my entire life put together, we are finding people to teach, the work is progressing, and I am continually amazed at what the Lord can teach me and what more I still have to learn. I really feel like Galveston has been a turning point on my mission where I changed from just enduring to persevering. The days are still super hot and my butt is still sore after a long day of sitting on that little seat, but it's all in the work of the Lord and I am excited to see what the next year holds. I love y'all and miss y'all tons. I hope that everything is good on the home front and that the Lord continues to bless you and your family!
Love Always,
Sister Kelsey Berg
If sweat is a measure of progress that I'm doing AWESOME!!! They tell us it's supposed to get hotter next month but I don't see how that is humanly, physically, and environmentally possible. My companion and I- Hermana Wallet- have decided that the Lord puts a veil over us so that people don't see the sweat dripping off of our faces and will talk to us. Galveston is awesome! We cover the west half of the Island. There are 4 sets of missionaries- an English and Spanish set for each side, there are a lot more English people than Spanish on the island so we talk to a lot more English people. My companion is Hermana Adrienne Wallet and she is from Southern Cali and is a transfer younger than me. We are still on bikes but we get to use the car just a little bit more here than in Houston 2. We went to a place called Queen's Bar-B-Q last week and that was totally awesome Texas BBQ. I loved it. So on to the Investigator Weekly:
Emma: She came to church this week! She went to the English sacrament meeting because she had to work and its better to have them go to sacrament. She really liked it and is really searching for the truth. We have an appointment with her today and I'm interested to see if she is ready to change and do the things she needs to. She hasn't read any more in the Book of Mormon since she read the first two pages so we are going to try and get her to change that. She is super cute and I'm excited to see where things go with her.
Leonel: He is awesome and came to church this week for the 3rd week in a row and he was on time all 3 weeks!! (that's a big deal for Hispanic people- I think that Hispanic time is worse than Mormon time... ha ha) He is so great is totally on track for his baptismal date of the 16th! We went over the Word of Wisdom with him this week and he has never drank coffee which was also a big surprise because Hispanics start drinking coffee when they are like 4- that's just what they do. He is reading the Book of Mormon by himself and I'm really excited for him.
David: So last week I forgot to talk about David. He has been meeting with las Hermanas since January. He is a great guy, 21 years old, and he goes to volleyball on Tuesday nights and Institute on Thursday nights. His big hold up is the fear of falling after he is baptized. He says he wants to serve a mission and have an eternal family but his fear of falling back into old sins is, what he says, is holding him up from getting baptized. I have to wonder if that is his really doubt or if that is just the tip of the iceberg and there is some other hold up that he isn't telling us. We are going to fast this week so that he will get his answer that baptism is what he needs to do and that it is what our Heavenly Father wants him to do. We will see!
So things are picking up- well we had some really long days this weekend on the bikes in the 100+ degrees and 90+% humidity, with lots of appointments falling through but we are looking forward to this week and we have some new people that we are excited about. I really do love Galveston. Everyone is pretty nice and its just so cool to talk to people and hear stories from their past. Everyone is still cleaning up from Hurricane Ike, they all refer to it as 'the storm'. Some times people are cold when we tell them that we are missionaries for the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints, but I haven't had anyone be mean yet- now that I just said that I'm sure it will happen this week. I had a 15 year old ask me for my number, after I got done getting his information for the English Elders to come by he asked me for my number and I told him that we only taught in Spanish and then he told me that his mom speaks a little Spanish. I just had to get on my bike and laugh- it was a first that's for sure. The people here really are great and our little branch is great as well. They are the greatest member missionaries and always have people for us to teach. I feel super blessed to be able to serve on Galveston and Hna. Wallet is awesome at Spanish grammar so that is helping me as well. We are both just pushing each other to be the best we can be and to make sure that we are doing all that we can to get this area to explode. We broke the record this year in our area for people at church this last weekend with 3 (which is actually pretty sad), but things are only going to improve.
Its weird to think that I now officially have under a year left on the mission and with the way these last weeks have flown by- this is week 3 of the transfer- I can just see the next few months flying by as well. My Spanish is getting better, my tan is AMAZING!, I sweat more in one day than I ever have in my entire life put together, we are finding people to teach, the work is progressing, and I am continually amazed at what the Lord can teach me and what more I still have to learn. I really feel like Galveston has been a turning point on my mission where I changed from just enduring to persevering. The days are still super hot and my butt is still sore after a long day of sitting on that little seat, but it's all in the work of the Lord and I am excited to see what the next year holds. I love y'all and miss y'all tons. I hope that everything is good on the home front and that the Lord continues to bless you and your family!
Love Always,
Sister Kelsey Berg
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