Heavenly Father is constantly trying to teach me to TRUST HIM.

Week 6, Transfer 6

Where has February gone? I forgot like an idiot that there were only 28 days in Feb…so now I need to white-out half my planner for this next transfer.... Nice one Sister Kuhn.

So, I'm in Beverley now. Firstly, it's lovely and 99% of the people are incredibly friendly which is a good change because only about 70% or so were like that in Hull. No complaints though. Hull was a great area.

The day after P-day was transfer day. And even though I'm only going 20 mins up the road to Beverley I still had to go to the transfer meeting... SO MANY MISSIONARIES. Always.…so many missionaries at transfers. I see Elder Hobby for the 2nd or 3rd time, I see Elder Saolatonga from QLD for the 4812390th time. He's the man. Didn't know him before my mission but we're definitely going to be mates when we get home. A fellow Aussie - well, Poly Aussie. But an Aussie nonetheless! Oh and Elder Hynds as well. I was on the bus with him TO Hull last transfer. He's always popping up everywhere. We have some good chats. So we're sitting in the chapel, waiting for the new missionaries to walk in and (their names)  are on the seats at the front facing us.I see one called 'Elder Ormsby' and next minute Sister Pilkington is saying to me that he's from Sydney Australia. I'm thinking 'NO.WAY. Jess Ormsby's (now Jess Paton) brother??! Anyway, in they walk, I see a boy version of Jess and I know he's related straight away. I talk to him afterwards. He IS Jess's brother! Small world! He's being trained by an Elder who came out with Sister Edgington. Also, a new Elder..Elder Lag....ahhh I can't remember his full name now. Anyway, his first name is Joe I think. I say Hi to him and turns out we were in SWEDEN together at Soulnite?! Haha the smallest world!!! I remember him too! We were all on a train together and everything. He's a champ. Happy he's in my mission. No doubt he'll be an AP before he finishes! .........................So that was transfers :)

Our old Keighley District at Transfers, and Elder Goodwin, one of the AP's.

In Beverley, we have a HOUSE. It's not detached but it is indeed a house, or as I like to call it, a HOME <3 sooosososos cute. It's proper nice like...we have 3 bedrooms, 1 for us and a dressing room for both of us and for storage and stuff. It's great. And we have a garden aka backyard and apparently fish but we don't feed them. The church is renting it from the members who own it. It's mint!

I was struggling a bit these last few weeks. The area (in Hull) just wasn't doing very well. I think I let Satan get to me a little bit. I felt down and out a lot of the time. I'm glad that I was moved, however, I was so sure that I'd be staying in Hull. It was a huge shock. All my mission I kept thinking 'Man, is it going to get really really hard soon?' Of course, it's hard, really hard. But no matter how hard it was, I always managed to keep my head up and keep soldiering on. It's exhausting after a while, so naturally, being imperfect and human, I let myself down a little bit. I'm great now. But for those few weeks, it was tough. I never thought about home though…My 3rd District Leader Elder Berrio, who I would count as a friend, made me and Sister Edgington promise him that we would stay on our missions no matter what. That's never honestly crossed my mind anyway. I came on a mission to finish, not to come out and go home early, so that's what I'm doing. Anyway, it was hard. 

I was nervous to come to Beverley. Sister Scott and I went on exchanges before, but that's different when you are companions 24/7. I was nervous about how we would get along etc. First time I've ever been nervous about something like that, but there you go. Turns out it's been way better than I thought. Heavenly Father is constantly trying to teach me to TRUST HIM. I thought I did. But I always keep being put in situations where I learn to trust him over and over and over.  Sister Scott and I get along like a house on fire. It's only been a few days but I know we'll be good friends by the end of the transfer or however long we spend serving with each other.

I've learnt a lot in the past month or so. BUT...it's happy days ahead!

I like Beverley :) However the buses are rubbish. They only come every blue moon so we walk everywhere :) Sore feet. Woooo!! Love it. I can lose fat and get fit before I leave Beverley, go to a car area and get fat again :) We have a few outlying areas including Hornsea, which is by the beach! We also have Walkington, I think, Bridlington aaaaand Driffield and some other little towns in between. We are campaigning to get bikes from members so we can ride which will be super dooper.

Sister Scott and I have been working super hard since I got here as well. We're exhausted all the time. We walk a lot, talk to everyone, and have wonderful conversations with people. We've got quite a few solid potentials in the past week. We're working with the less-actives and part member families as well. We are going to do some damage here in Bev! I'm calling it Bev from now on because we're on nickname basis now.

We went to Driffield on…oh man, I can't even remember what day I did what. Well, we went to Driffield last week. It's a smallish town. We (went) by train. We had a member visit and then knocked and did some street contacting. Just before we were heading back to Bev we said hi to this lady walking into a Chinese take-away and we asked if it was good. She gave us a half hearted smile and didn't answer. This guy stopped, saw what happened and then said 'Are you not from around here?' We talked to him for 20 minutes walking up the road. Being from Australia has come incredibly handy as a missionary. Everyone has a story to tell about Australia - someone they know moved there or went on holiday, or they went on holiday there or lived there or their mum's uncle's wife's brother's daughter's husband's son went there for uni or SOMETHING. Turns out this guy (whose name is conveniently Michael) lived there for a year and he LOVED it etc etc. His wife owns the Bell Hotel in Driffield. We stopped out the front and he (told us) how much history was inside. Then he invited us in the hotel lobby... and showed us around. It was amazing! Proper historical hotel. So nice! Mum, you would have loved it! The original water well was there, original floor, windows etc. Google it if you want :)  So that was nice. Oh and on the way to Driffield we met Amy on the train, who we asked for directions and she actually walked us all the way to where we wanted to go. She is now a potential and is coming to church next week :)

We  are doing well so far! We have a goal of 3 baptisms this transfer and we are going to do all that we can to reach that. This year the mission goal is 501 baptisms. Last year was 450 I think. Anyway, pray for us!

I love being a servant of the Lord. It is hard sometimes, but I need to always remember that I'm on the winning side. You need to work hard but have fun as well. Always having that balance. I got lost a little bit and stopped having a balance for a while and it have a great effect on me. Now I'm happy and the sky is blue and it's all good! :)

I LOVE THE GOSPEL! It makes complete sense to me. It's just the best!!!!!!! Where would I be without it? Nowhere NEAR as truly happy as I am now with nowhere NEAR the eternal perspective I have. The gospel is just amazaingignignign and fantastic. CAN I GET AN AMEN?!

Have an UNREAL week errbody! Keep it real!

Love you all and stuff

Sister Kuhn x

Goodbye Hull...Hello Beverley!

Sister Pacis and I

How has your week been? 

My week was pretty standard. It's hard whitewashing (when  you and your companion go to a new area neither of you have been to before)..but..it's TRANSFER WEEK THIS WEEK!!! AND...ANDDDDDD...I'm moving!!!!!!...to a place called Beverley! It's literally only 20mins train ride out of Hull..so I'm still in the same zone and everything. 

Our Hull District

I'm also in a district with Sister Huang and Sister Arrive who I've been living in the flat with for the past 6 weeks. Not much will change. I'll be serving with Sister Scott who is my Sister Trainer Leader companion for exchanges. President is putting the STL's together now. They originally served with other sisters but now he's changing it (thank goodness). It was hard trying to stay united with Sis Scott and stay organised when we weren't even serving anywhere near each other. So this will be good. Although I'm sad about leaving Sister Pacis. She's so great, I love her loads. She's always happy and smiley and singing and laughing. She is a lot of fun. We all have a lot of fun in the flat :) 

When we were walking home last week...hahaha I love Baptist church signs

How are your meals? Do you need any recipes? I am a pro at cooking. I can do quick things and easy things and delicious things and it's all good. I'm just eating too much chocolate so that's why I'm getting fat. But never fear, I'm going to Beverley where we walk 30 mins to appointments and to church and everywhere because the buses are useless. It's meant to be a very posh area, similar to Harrogate or York..but smaller I think. Yay for getting skinny again!  Wish me luck :) 

I got home from exchanges (with Sister Edgington by the way!!!) It was a great exchange and I got all this Valentine's Day stuff. So cute!!!
                                                         

      

       My companion is the best!

To the Edgington family, 

THANK YOU so much for your Valentine's Day package. It was so sweet of you to think of me. I LOVED it! The sisters I live with LOVED the vanilla almonds you sent me. I had to fight them off all the time! Haha thank you so much. And I will definitely take you up on that offer to come and stay when I'm in Utah next! I saw Sister Edgington last week. She is doing well. Sister Rawle and I took her to the doctor and she will be feeling better soon hopefully. It was SO good to see her again. She will always be a good friend for the rest of my life. Also, when I was with her Zone Leaders at a meeting, I mentioned her name and they said 'Oh she is such a good missionary, so focused...'.They just praised her! I couldn't hold it for long though..I was like SHE IS MY DAUGHTER!!!!!!! (whoever you train on your mission is your daughter. The missionary family tree..haha) I was so happy to hear she is doing well and being the amazing missionary I knew she was the day she got here! I thought you might like to know that :) She is doing the Edgington family proud. I also saw her lamb winter hat (we call them beanies in Australia). I LOVED it! She may or may not ask you to send me one haha I'd wear it all the time! Represent the Edgington's all the way in Australia as well when I go back!

Love you all! xx 

Sister Kuhn

Thanks for the love and support and emails and letters and prayers and just everything!

Week 4, Transfer 6

Well, I'm all better now. Back to just being tired all the time :) That's when you know you're back to yourself as a missionary haha 

One more week until transfer calls. Another transfer over almost. Can't believe where the time has gone! Almost 8 and a half months for me. There needs to be a slow motion button and somebody needs to press it because this is just getting crazy with how fast time is going. Sister Pacis and I have found our feet in Hull now anyway. We know our way around and the bus routes and members homes etc. 

This last week hasn't reeeally been anything of amazement. I don't have much to report on really. It's one of those weeks in missionary work where you don't really know where the week has gone, you had great plans every day and a lot of it didn't go according to plan, and your teaching pool is minimal..so it doesn't FEEL successful (especially numbers wise with key indicators - but they aren't the most important anyway. They are just a means to an end really), but we did a lot of walking and talking to people. We have those weeks every now and then. It's good for us. Ups and downs. Ahh..life :) 

I do feel, however, more involved in the ward now. We're trying to do more less-active visits (which we did this week and they were all lovely) and more member visits. It's all at a turtle's pace at the moment progress-wise but that's ok :) we are happy and cheery and will continue working hard! Yesterday at church a lot of the members were making sure I was all better now and everything. It was really nice :) I also spoke to the Polynesian family in the ward. I just feel so at home and at ease when I have Polynesians close by haha I don't know why..I just love them. The Samoan family from NZ have lived in Hull for 8 or something years. They still have their accent and we were joking around that they were going to give their kids a hiding when they get home for being naughty in sacrament meeting haha I love them. They're going to have us over sometime soon as well. Excited for that!

On Thursday I had my first Mission Leadership Council as a Sister Trainer Leader (STL) with Sister Scott. We had to sleep over at the York Uni sisters’ the night before and go with the York Zone Leaders because our ZL's car is being repaired at the moment. So we had about an hour drive there and back with the York ZLs. We got onto the topic of music and it came out eventually about my letter from Lil Wayne and the few famous music artist encounters that I've had (one of the ZLs loves hip hop and rap and we bonded over that haha). Now I think half the zone leaders in the mission know about it because they asked me about it after the meeting. Lol. Bless them.

Anyway, the meeting was great. We discussed a lot of things. I was really just trying to get a feel for it all so I only put my opinion forward once or twice. But next time..haha..they better get ready for it. I'm GOIN IN. Nah but it was good. 

My highlight of the week was actually today (so it's my highlight for this week and last week). I got an email today from John Evans, who Sister Edgington and I met and taught in Skipton quite a few months ago. Man was it good to hear from him! Under unfortunate circumstances, he moved back to the UK with his Mum from Portugal where his Mum was living and where he moved to, which is why he wasn't baptized. He was far away from church in Portugal and the missionaries didn't contact him. He emailed and said that he went to church for the first time and he loved it. I'm writing this in an internet cafe and I wanted to cry I was so happy to hear he'd been in contact with missionaries again and now he's scheduled for baptism again in Chester where he's living now! BEST NEWS I'VE EVER HEARD!!!!!! I am just so excited for him. It just shows how powerful Heavenly Father is. He moved and we sent referral after referral to Portugal missionaries and nobody contacted him…and then he (by what I believe to be divine intervention) moved back to the UK where the Skipton Elders contacted him and got the Chester missionaries to contact him. What a blessing! Made my day, my week, my month, my mission…everything! I'm over the moon :)  So there's a great story for you all today. He reads my blogs too - you're the man John!!!!!!! Keep it up! 

Today for P-day we're having lunch at a fancy Chinese place and then going to a park where there are WALLABIES! I'm ready to feel at home! haha

Love you all, thanks for the love and support and emails and letters and prayers and just EVERYTHING!

Sister Kuhn xx

'The gospel is for people who want to be the best version of themselves.'

Week 3, Transfer 6 (I can hardly keep up trying to remember what week I'm in!)

How is already February 2014? I just got used to writing '2013'!  All jokes aside (and I use that one all the time…haha) 

This is the joy of when we go finding :)
We find puddles in the shape of love hearts.

So for the past FOUR days I've been sick (English people translation: I've been 'poorly'). I've had a viral infection. Don't ask what that means,I have no idea. I just know that I felt like I was hit by a big MAC truck full of concrete + I had a slight fever + I had all the symptoms of what seemed to be a flu bug. Went to the doctor, he said (because) it was not bacteria, I couldn't even get antibiotics for it because it wouldn't have done anything. I just had to wait it out. SO, my poor companion Sister Pacis has been inside with me for the past 4 days. It's been brutal. I hardly ever get sick and haven't been sick on my mission so far, but this will about cover the whole 18 months I think.

In other news, the days between Monday and Wednesday last week were brilliant! We have a new investigator called Mark. He's mid-30's, very sincere and has a desire to know if what we teach is true. We had a powerful lesson with him last Wednesday. The member who was meant to come with us cancelled, so we had about 30 mins to find a new one. It was obviously meant to be because Toni (a relatively new member (who) joined 2 or 3 years ago and is amazing!!) came and was our member present. She taught a lot of the Restoration and the spirit was so strong. I love those lessons. I feel like I can go on auto-pilot now and let the spirit guide the lesson and I'll just say whatever I'm prompted to. When you're sensitive to the spirit, teaching is easy. You study every morning, and then they are THE easiest lessons to teach. We as missionaries just have to be worthy...to be vessels of the Spirit so we can be lead by the Spirit.

That will probably be one of my aims when I finish my mission, to remain as sensitive to the spirit as I am blessed to be now. Anyway, it was a great lesson. We scheduled him for baptism and he will be at church next Sunday. Since I was sick for the past 4 days and have been in the flat dying, we had to drop basically everything. We didn't even go to church. Yep, I was pretty poorly. I'm getting there though. Not 100% but definitely feeling better than yesterday and the day before. 

We have a lot of work to do this week. Especially to make up for the last 4 days! We have an appointment at 5pm (we're cutting our P day short by an hour) with a family from Bangladesh. They have 3 or 4 kids I think. We met the wife knocking. She doesn't speak much English, but we ordered her a Bengal Book of Mormon and went back to give it to her and she said to come back on Monday and we can speak to her husband. We were so surprised because she didn't seem super SUPER interested (probably because of the language barrier) but we were so happy she invited us back to actually go inside her home and talk with her family. 

There are miracles happening everywhere, every day. Not only as a missionary, but for everyone. The gospel is what makes us the best version of ourselves. The HAPPIEST and strongest and BEST version of us. I love that about this church and its perfect doctrine. 

I've been reading The Articles of Faith by James E. Talmage, which is an approved book for us here in this mission. I'm learning a lot about Joseph Smith and the Articles of Faith and the doctrine. Elder Talmage puts it all so simply (well, simple for me anyway). It's such a good book! I'm so excited to read all the books written by prophets and apostles when I get home. That's something to look forward to! 

Love you all, keep being great examples, let your light shine. The gospel is for people who want to be the best version of themselves. Share it with everyone so they can reach their full potential through our brother and Saviour Jesus Christ, his love for us and his great sacrifice :) 

Keep it real in the gospel!

Sister Kuhn xxx