April 23, 2012

Hey Family and Friends!!! How are you all doing?? Not gonna lie, we had a pretty boring/average week as missionaries...but that is okay because we are still involved in the greatest work in the world...saving souls!! I hope you all had a good week though!! Well because it was transfers we had piday on Tuesday so it was a good day...we didn't do anything out of the ordinary...just the usual. But that night when we were going to our dinner appt. we had a fun adventure getting lost...I swear I followed all the directions they gave us but we ended up at the wrong end of the road...It doesnt' help that lots of people live on acreages and don't have real addresses....it makes things really confusing...but funny story...we were at the house that we thought we were supposed to be at...it was yellow, had lots of cars in the driveway, and a big dog...well we were praying in the car about to get out when the phone rang...it was the member and she asked us if we had gotten lost. I said "No, we are here in the driveway about to come it." She said well I don't see you...this is when we found out we were at the wrong end of the street...there was a house that fit her description perfectly...but don't worry we eventually found the right house. Moral of the story...people just need to have real addresses to their houses. Wednesday we did some service for Sister Sonnenberg again and had a lesson with another LA sister in the ward as well. That night we had supper with Kenzie and her family and then a lesson!! I love that family so much! They are so GREAT!! Thursday was just weekly planning and then we had a lesson with Cristina and Achai. We decided to watch the Testaments with them because we have taught them a lot in the last couple of weeks...the church movies are really funny and cheesy...I never realized this until I became a missionary and those are the only movies we are allowed to watch...I also have them all memorized...so of course we quote them all day long and they become even cheesier...But they are fun. That night we had supper with the Simmons family and they are wonderful. They are the family that have the great daughter Destiny that is a wonderful missionary! Then that evening we had a really neat experience. Did I tell you about the deaf family last week?? Well anyways we got a referral for a couple that is deaf and they have a son that is hearing who is in grade 2...so he is probably 7...well we had an appt with them and all week we worked hard to find someone to come with us that could interpret what we were saying...well we couldn't find anyone that could come with us that night so we decided to watch the Restoration in ASL...because did I mention they are from Vietnam...so they don't really read English and the movid doesn't have Vietnamese subtitles...so our best option we thought was ASL...well that is when we found out that they don't really know ASL...they know Vietnamese sign language...so they said they were able to understand a little bit of it, but not very much...but they did recognize the spirit. They wouldn't set up another appt with us because we can't really communicate with each other. But they do have a Book of Mormon in Vietnamese and she said she is studying it with one of her friends. So now we have the task to find an interpreter that knows English so they can translate it to Vietnamese sign language...quite the task...but we pray for it everyday...somehow Heavenly Father will help us so we can teach His children!! On Friday and Saturday we had a couple of really long days of tracting and stop-bys. We did do some service for a single sister in the ward which gave us something out of the ordinary to do...But we had a few long days...at least the weather has been super nice...minus the wind...so we have been able to be outside walking around...bonus is that it is also some extra exercise!! But really the weather has been really nice the last few days!! It has been about 17-20 C...and today it is supposed to be 27 C!! So happy for warm weather!! Sunday we had church and we were asked to help out in primary to teach the children about the people of Limhi and the people of Alma. It was pretty fun to be with all the children...did I tell you that is one of the hardest things about being a missionary...not being able to hold babies or little kids...it is hard! That day for supper we were invited to the Quaife's and we were excited...when we got there it was more like a ward gathering...I swear half the ward was there and it was a big potluck meal thing...But it was lots of fun to be with a lot of the members of the ward. That night we just did some tracting and stop-bys to follow up with some people...You would think we would have lots of investigators to teach hey? We are still waiting for all of them...but we will keep looking for them! Well I hope you all have a great week!! Hopefully it is nice warm weather wherever you are!! Happy Birthday to Colin! Hope you have a great day!! And way to go Sager!! You are such a stud! Keep up the great work! I love and miss you all!! Love, Sister Kaitlyn Marchant

All of my fun birthday cakes. And the last one is of Achai Baptism.

April 17

Hello Family and Friends!! Sorry I forgot to let you know it was transfers this week! It sounds like you all had a great week!! I had a super great week too!! Not to mention that I celebrated my birthday really good!! So I am excited to tell you all about what happened this week!! Monday was just a normal p-day...we just did the normal things we always do...unfortunetly our p-day had to end early because we had an early dinner in Langdon (30 min away) but it was still a good day! Tuesday we had the last DDM of the transfer...guess what it was a gongshow like always! That afternoon we had a lesson with Achai. We taught her most of the commandments. She is serisously so great!! And so prepared to be baptized! That evening we had supper with the Leavens family and then just a bunch of tracting and stop-bys. Wednesday we did service for Sister Sonnenberg. She is in a wheelchair, so we like to help her out when we can...she called us and said she had a big project for us to do...we took all the stuff and junk out of her laundary room...but guess what we basically put everything back where it was...so to me it didn't really look like we had done anything, but she was happy and that is what mattered. We had supper with the Schneider family...she is the Relief Society president in the ward....they have cute kids and were fun to spend time with. That afternoon and evening we also had some lessons with some LA members in the ward. So we had a nice full day which made things enjoyable. Thursday was weekly planning which as always took awhile to do...but we were done by the time we had to go to a lesson with Achai. We finished teaching her the commandments and went over the baptismal interview questions. She is ready to be baptized!! Hooray!! Then we went to the Seely's home for supper...they made delicious ribs! We had fun there as well. Then we went to a lesson with Kenzie but guess what it doubled as a SUPRISE BIRTHDAY PARTY!!! How great are they!! Not even kidding you...there was cake and ice cream, balloons, presents, and great company!! I seriously love them!! So we had a lesson with Kenzie where we taught some of the commandments and then had a great birthday party!! Friday was a really Happy Birthday!! In the morning the Trim's invited us to their house to make special birthday cupcakes...so we went there and had fun doing that! Then we went to Achai's baptism interview! She of course passed with flying colors!! That afternoon we had a lesson with Josephina...our investigator that likes to meet with us, but told us that she doesn't want to change and that she doesn't see herself being baptized because she already has...we are just trying to provide an environment where she can feel the spirit and hopefully that will change! That night we had dinner with the Hernandez family! They are great and they made us homemade Mexican food!! It was delicious and I loved every second of it!! If there is one thing you can't find in Canada it is Mexican food!! I seriously miss Cafe Rio and Costa Vida all the time!! Be prepared family that is the first place I want to eat when I get back to Utah!! But guess what they too had a birthday cake for me because Sister Garner told them it was my birthday!! I think I had more birthday cakes this year than I have in my entire life!! Saturday was a very special day!! We first were able to go to the baptism of a child in the ward. He invited us to his baptism and wanted us to be there to share his special day with him. We had a good time. We then had Achai's baptism!! It was great as well!! The spirit there was incredible!! I sang at the baptism while Sister Garner played the piano. That afternoon we did a little bit of tracting and contacted some referrals...one of the referrals was a lady that just wanted to bash with us...but maybe one day she will be receptive! And then that night we had supper with the Brown family...they are a family we are practicing teaching the lessons to. Sunday was a great day because it was church and also Achai got confirmed!! It was such a special day! That afternoon we had dinner with the Low family and then we were finally able to get ahold of the Wingrove family (LA)to be able to have a lesson. Another great thing about Sunday was that we received 4 referrals!! Now we are just trying to contact all of them! Monday was a long day...it always is when it isn't p-day!! We taught 1/2 of the first lesson to a Muslim...they have some of the craziest beliefs...but they are still children of God...we then tried to contact the referrals we had received, but had no luck...which meant a long day of tracting. That evening we had supper with the Maund family and it was yummy! Then we continued to practice teaching the Leavens family. We taught them the Plan of Salvation, and they are really good at being pretend investigators!! They ask really good questions!! Well that was my week!! It was pretty great!! I love being a missionary!! I hope you all have a great week!! I love and miss you all!! Love, Sister Kaitlyn Marchant!

Hey Family and Friends!! Did you all have a great Easter? I sure do hope so! I can't wait to tell you all about my week and all the things that happened! So on Monday it was of course p-day! Hooray! Guess what we did?? Absolutely nothing out of the ordinary...acutally we did go with all the Elders in our zone to the Deerfoot Mall to go to lunch and do a little bit of window shopping...but then we played Settlers...guess who won!! Me!! I love that game! That evening we didn't do a whole bunch...we just had a lesson with Kenzie's family. Tuesday we had basically nothing at all set up! Which meant for an extremely long day! Luckily we did have a lesson with a LA, Sister Chase, which broke up our day a little bit. And that evening we also had a lesson with Kenzie. We taught her the Plan of Salvation and she had a lot of really good questions!! But the best part of the lesson was that she accepted to be baptized on April 21!! She is still a little bit nervous, but she knows it is what she is supposed to do! Guess what happened on Wednesday?? Winter came back!! I was not pleased at all!! And of course it happened on the day when we have absolutely nothing but stop-bys and tracting...at least that afternoon we had Interviews with President Archibald and some training from the Assistants and Sister Archibald. And it was a really good training! That evening we had 2 lessons set up, but because I am so lucky, they both canceled and of course it was a complete blizzard outside!! It was just my luck...but we actually found a few potentials...maybe it is because they feel sorry for you...oh well I will play the pity card... Thursday was a day that reminded me why I love being a missionary so much! So it all started with our Weekly planning that took a really long time...but then we got to teach Achai, Christina's daughter, for the first time! She is now an investigator and she is so prepared and has a testimony just like her mom!! She committed to be baptized on April 14! Can you say best birthday present ever?!? I am so excited for her! That evening we had dinner with Sister Santos which meant delicious Philippino food! We have been trying to help her deal with some stuff and she told us that it means a lot to her what we have been doing so she gave Sister Garner and I really cute jade bracelets from China! She is so sweet! Then that night we had another lesson with Kenzie which was good...she is still set on April 21! I love inviting people to come unto Christ and them actually accepting!! It is one of the best feelings in the world! On Friday we were going to have a really long day, but it ended up not being awful...so first we had lunch with a couple in the ward and they are really nice!! They are the Trim's and they have helped us out with Christina and her family...Brother Trim is actually going to baptize Achai...So we had a fun afternoon with them. Then we went and taught Achai the Plan of Salvation. Then that evening we had a great lesson with a PM family that said we could practice teaching the lessons to their family! It was so great and the Spirit was so strong!! The husband...the nonmember...had to have felt something!! It was so amazing! Like I said I love inviting people to come unto Christ! Saturday was a super long day...we had nothing but stop-bys and tracting...seriously though even our dinner appointment canceled on us...We did have a few potential investigator lessons set up, but they all fell through as well...On the bright side we were able to plan a lot of Achai's baptism. Sunday was a great day!! It was Easter!! We were able to celebrate the life of Jesus Christ and what he did for us! I swear all we did was go to church and eat though!! Church was really great though! We had both of our investigators there!! So that was exciting! After church we had lunch with the Trim's and they invited Christina's family out as well so we had another lesson with them there. After that we basically went straight to dinner with the Lonsdale's. It was a huge family gathering which reminded me of our house! They were celebrating 3 birthdays and they had 4 birthday cakes...so I even got to blow out some candles!! It was fun...Then last but certainly not least we were invited to the Williams/Ross families house...they are LA...We just couldn't tell them no because they are so nice and they really need some guidance...so we went to their house for yet another meal...it was good too...and then guess what the Easter Bunny even came to us!! Brother Williams gave Sister Garner and I each an Easter Basket filled with candy and he have us like 3 boxes of cereal and lots of other treats! Oh and he even had colored some Easter eggs for us! How nice is that?? They really are pretty great! So that was my week! It was pretty great! We have a really exciting week this week as well!! I hope you all have a great week!! Everybody better party hard for me on Friday!! Woot Woot!! I love and miss you all!! Love, Sister Kaitlyn Marchant!

April 9, 2012

Pictures

1- Me and Sister Garner on Easter 2- Me and Sister Garner with all our stuff from Bro. Williams 3- Me with some fun Easter Eggs 4- A picture of downtown Calgary....that is as close as I have been...this was when we were getting our car fixed a few weeks ago

April 2, 2012

Hey Family and Friends!! I sure hope you all had a great week especially that you enjoyed every second of General Conference just like I did!! How is the weather down in good old Utah? It has actually been pretty nice up here...but I hear there are some storms coming this week...not fun. Oh well we just deal with it! Well I didn't have a very excitng or eventful week, but I will tell you about the important things. On Monday it was p-day...we didn't do anything exciting...just the same old stuff...but I did play Settlers of Catan with the Elders...it was such a good game that we didn't get to finish it before p-day was over...but don't worry we have already planned a rematch for today! Tuesday we had an appt in the morning and it was a little rushed because we had to get our car all clean for car inspections...of course it snowed the night before so the roads were all yucky, but we still had to get a car wash...it was a little bit ridiculous...We also had Specialized Training. It was so good and it was all about the Book of Mormon! President Archibald even told us the story that was shared in Conference about if you took "And it came to pass" out of the Book of Mormon etc. It was so good! I love the Book of Mormon especially all the things I am learning right now as I am reading it! At the training we of course had the 10 min role plays...and of course Sister Garner and I got chosen to teach the 10 min 2nd lesson. We were prepared though and had already been practicing so it went well!! That evening we had a lesson and did a few stop-bys. Wednesday was DDMs and stuff...it was a gongshow as usual...but lets be honest most of the Elders in our district are still 19 year old boys...they will eventually grow up... Thursday was Weekly planning of course...it was broken up and spread accross our day beween a few appts. First we had one with a LA member that wants to start coming back to church...and then we had a lesson with Christina. We watched the Joseph Smith movie with her and her kids. She has such a strong testimony of the prophet!! When we were leaving and asking her what we could do for her she said "Baptize Achai"...her daughter...of course this is what we have been wanting to do!! So we will start teaching her this week and she will be baptized soon!!! We were supposed to have a lesson with Kenzie, but she wasn't home and we haven't been able to get in contact with that family since!!! Friday we had 2 potential investigator lessons set up with people we tracted into last week...the first either was not home, or he was ignoring us...but we will go back. The other was with Josephina. She is from the Philippines and is a devout Catholic. But she loved talking with us and when we told her about Joseph Smith and the Book of Mormon she said she knew it was true...she didn't accept baptism, but said she would if she was ready...we have another appt scheduled with her on my birthday...not for a long time, but she wouldn't do anything during Holy Week...But she is still considered a new investigator which is so great!! That night we did some stop-bys which resulted in a dinner appt and a member lesson which was sweet!! Saturday was the beginning to one of the Best weekends of the year!!! GENERAL CONFERENCE!!! Did you all love it?? I so did!! I had so many favorite talks from the 2 days...but a few were basically all of the talks from Saturday Morning session...Elder Holland, Elder Andersen, and others...I don't have my notes with me to tell you all the ones I loved...But between conferences we had a lesson with a LA family and a correlation meeting with our WML. That night we just had a couple appts. Sunday was the continuation of Conference and we just had a lesson and stop-bys that night! I sure did love how Conference was all about families!! I am SO grateful for my family and all my friends!! I love you all so much! You are the BEST!!! Way to go Sagie with your baseball!! I sure do miss watching you play!! Hit some homers for me!! I sure do love you all!! I hope you all have a great week!! Oh and Happy Easter! Enjoy your Spring Break!!! Love, Sister Kaitlyn Marchant

March 26, 2012

Hey Everybody!! Did you all have a great week?? I sure do hope so! My week was kind of just a normal missionary week, but thats ok! I am involved in the BEST work in the world! So on Monday it was p-day and we didn't do anything extra special...Just the same old stuff...but it is still fun! We need the relaxing time! Tuesday was our DDM's and stuff...it wasn't too excitng...and the Elders are still adjusting to being around Sisters...but maybe by the end of the transfer they will have adapted. We had a day filled with stop-bys and tracting before we had a lesson with Christina. She is so great! We taught her the Plan of Salvation and she asked us some really good questions! Another great thing about her is that she is already starting to work on her family history!! And there is a lot of work to be done because she is the first member in her family to be baptized...we are still waiting for her daughter, Achai, to be there so we can invite her to take the lessons because she is 9 and comes to church every week etc...she just needs to be baptized! That evening we had dinner with the Acido family, who is from the Philippines!! There are a lot of people from all over here...it is one huge Melting Pot...But of course they made us really good food. On Wednesday we just did a whole bunch of tracting!! We have met all the members that live in Calgary (where we live), most of the members that live in Chestermere (about 10 km away) and some of the members that live in Langdon (about 35 km away). But it is hard to meet all of them because we can't go to those places everyday because we are only allowed to drive 1700 km a month!! It is ridiculous so we are trying to petition for more km's...and we might get some because they like Sisters...and they like to take care of us! That day we had a couple lessons with some LA members and also some lessons with a few members. Nothing too exciting... Thursday was weekly planning and it took us a big chunk of time...but after we were done with our planning, we were able to go into the city to get our car fixed...for the 3rd time...but finally they had the right part and they fixed it for us!! We also went to Langdon that day and we had a few appts set up, but they all canceled!! So that was a little bit frustrating...at least they rescheduled and we were able to set up a few more which was good! Friday was a freezing cold day and guess who had absolutely nothing set up...thats right us...so what were we doing all day...tracting...not fun in the cold! But sometimes being a missionary is hard, because the Atonement was hard...that is what keeps us going...We did find a lot of potential investigators and set up some lessons with them for this coming week which we are so excited for!! We also were able to have a lesson with a potential investigator we tracted into last week...her name is April and she is from the Philippines. She was really accepting, but she didn't set up a return appt. But she did say she was interested in us coming back...so we will try back! We were also able to finally have a lesson with our investigator Kenzie. We taught her the first lesson and when we invited her to be baptized she said yes!! She said she was ready!! We were so excited! The only thing was that she didn't commit to a firm date because she has to ask her uncle in Cardston when he can come baptize her...so that is her homework because she is down there for Spring Break this week! So we are going to have a baptism soon!! On Saturday we did some tracting in the morning and absolutely nobody was home...I don't think we talked to one person in 2 hours...the white handbook says Saturdays are the best time to tract and find people home...not the case for us!! Oh well we still did it! That afternoon we were able to go to the baptism for some of the Elders. We went because we did the 10 min 1st lesson while they were changing after the baptism. It was a really good baptism and the spirit was so strong!! I love baptisms because the spirit there is so wonderful...also on a side note...do you remember Jairo from my last area?? He got baptized too!! I am sad I missed it, but obviously the Lord needs me her for some reason! Anyways that night we had a few lessons and it was a good day! Sunday was so great!! Church was exceptionally good! All the talks were wonderful and we even had more non-members in church...nothing has happened with the ones that were there last week yet, but we are still trying...but the ones that came this week were a result of a 7DC!! The members are starting to get excited about missionary work which is so great!! That night we had dinner with the Steward family that reminded me so much of our family so it was great and I felt right at home!! Being a missionary is so great!! I love the work!! I am so excited for General Conference this weekend!! We are so lucky to have a prophet to tell us the things that our Heavenly Father wants us to know!! Pay attention to the things he tells us!! I hope you all have a super great week!! I love and miss you all!! Love, Sister Kaitlyn Marchant

March 19

Hey all you family and friends!! Did you all have a great week this week?? I sure do hope so! We made a TON of progress this week which is super great!! We sure have been working super hard and trying to find our Heavenly Father's children that are prepared for the gospel!! Well let me tell you all about my week! So of course Monday was p-day. We did a lot of cleaning to try and get it up to our standards...it still isn't quite there, but it is getting closer!! Then we just did the same old stuff...this new zone that we are in is really small...there is only like 14 missionaries...and we are the only sisters. So we just did what we usually do...watch the Elders play sports, and write letters...but we did play Settlers of Catan which was really fun! That night we made our first trip to Langdon...it is like 35 km from Calgary and it is in our area...almost 1/3 of our ward lives out there...but it was our first time going there, and we had absolutely no idea how to get there! So the ZL's let us borrow their GPS...but guess what it didn't even really help us!! Most of Langdon is so new that it wasn't even on the GPS...but at least we got there eventually...it sure was an adventure! Tuesday we had DDM's and lunch...the Elders here sure aren't used to having Sisters around...but we actually had a good meeting and had fun together. That day we had a couple of lessons and did a bunch of stop-bys and tracting...we sure have been doing a lot of that...That night we had dinner with the Bishop's family and it was fun...it was a little wierd because here in this area some of the people sign up to feed both us and the Mandarin Elders...so it kind of felt like a double-date...so it was kind of wierd...it happened a few times this week. Wednesday was filled with tons of stop-bys and tracting, but it wasn't awful because we were able to meet a lot of people! We are trying to meet everyone on the ward list. So we were just visiting ward members and introducing ourselves and we would say something like 'Hi, we are the new missionaries and we are just trying to get to know the people in the ward. Is there a time we can come meet with your family?' Well we went to this house thinking it was a member and it wasn't...so the man that answered the door was like 'Uh...sure...is this some kind of community thing?' That was when we knew he wasn't a member so we talked to him a little bit and we were able to set up a time to come back and teach them later in the week...unfortunetly they weren't home when we were scheduled to come back, but you better believe that we will keep going back until they tell us not to! That actually happened another time on the same day, but the lady we talked to wasn't interested, but she did take our names and number and said she would give us a call...so we will see...We were also able to have a lesson with Christina and her daughter, who is 9, sat in on the lesson. We watched the Restoration with them and they both really liked it! It should only be a matter of time before she is baptized!! Thursday was weekly planning and we had lots to plan and go over...that night we had dinner with a LA lady we met earlier in the week and she is a little bit crazy...but she needs our help....so we will do what we can! We had a few more lessons with members which was great and we were finally starting to meet a lot of people in the ward! Friday we got a call from the fleet manager and he told us we could go get our car fixed...so we went into the city to do that...but after we had been there for about 30 min they told us the wrong part had come so they would have to order a different one...this car saga might go on forever...But the rest of the day we met a bunch more people and had a couple lessons. One was with a part member family. The husband is the nonmember and we were talking about the Atonement and he has a really strong testimony...I never would have guessed that he wasn't a member...but guess what sisters soften hearts...so we are gonna get him!! Saturday we had a lot of lessons and lots of tracting as well, but we did find quite a few potential investigators...now we just need to find acutal investigators...but I know they will come. We were supposed to meet with our investigator Kenzie this week, but her mom called us and canceled because she was sick...but at least we set up another appt. Sunday was a great day!! It is days like this why I love being a missionary!! So first of all it was church!! We were finally able to meet lots of people in the ward...because it was our first Sunday there...we were asked so speak which was a great way to introduce ourselves and let the ward get to know us a little bit! A huge miracle happened at church!! So there were 2 non-members there and they were both in gospel essentials and they both said they want to meet with us!! How sweet is that!! And then another great part about the day is that we had back to back appts all day long!! So we were super busy!! That is why I love days like that!! Well that was my week!! I have to tell you about our missions goal for the month of March!! We are calling it Miraculous March!! The goal is to baptize 100 people this month! So you know if you remember...keep it in your prayers! Pray for us that we will be able to achieve this goal!! We know it is possible! Heavenly Father is preparing so many of his children to accept this wonderful message we have for them!! Sage you are such a stud!! Way to go on our baseball games...and all those homeruns...keep hitting them!! And also way to go B-rad with HOSA!! You are a stud too!! Congrats to Ryan and Jena and also Jonathan and Lori on their fun new additions!! Have a great week everyone!! Look for missionary opportunities of your own!! I sure do love and miss you all!! Love, Sister Kaitlyn Marchant

Pictures from March 12

Saying goodbye. The note that the elders left us at our new apartment and me and my new companion Sister Garner

March 12
Howdy Everybody!

Well this has been one of the most eventful, stressful, and crazy weeks of my life! Just for the record purging an area after Elders is not the funnest thing in the world...especially when they don't update the area book or do really anything...but I will tell you all about it in this letter!!
First of all Tuesday was transfer p-day so we did our p-day things and I was able to say goodbye to a whole bunch of the people I love...that is one of the hardest things about being a missionary...saying goodbye to the people you love. But other than that we didn't do anything very exciting.
Wednesday was when it all started. I did spend most of the day with Sister Brower because both of our new companions were coming up from Lethbridge so they didn't get there until about 3. So we were able to say goodbye to a few more people and then we had to say goodbye to each other! Well then I met Sister Garner. She is really nice. She's from Mesa, AZ and is a really good missionary! Well we had absolutely no idea how to get to our new area or where we lived...nothing. Luckily both our Zone Leaders have served in this area so we were able to follow them and then they showed us where to go. We got to our appartment and it was a DISASTER!!! I honestly don't know how the Elders even lived there! But we didn't have time to really do anything about it. Right when we got there, we had to go to a dinner appt with the Hernandez family. So we went there and had a good time with them. One other thing...the Elders didn't put gas in their car...and it didn't have windshield wiper fluid...but we had to get gas right then. So of course we went to the first and only gas station we saw and got gas. We went in to pay for it with our gas card, and the worker said "We don't take that card." How the heck do you want me to pay for $60 worth of gas then... They didn't take any of the cards we had so I used an ATM to get some cash off of my mission credit card and will get reimbursed for it...it was the perfect welcome to Chestermere...after that we went home to try and figure some things out.
Thursday was weekly planning day. It took us all day plus some of Friday...so the area book the elders left us hadn't been updated since January, it was scattered over 3 different area books, and so many other things just needed to be organized!! It was a really long day, but we did make a little bit of progress. That evening we were able to go to the RS March party and it was really fun. We were able to meet a lot of the Sisters in the ward and they are all really excited to have Sister Missionaries there! We also met Bishop Heaven and he is great and really excited to have us there as well! We only cover 1 ward so that is weird, but our area is HUGE!! We cover Chestermere, Langdon, and 3 smaller neighborhoods on the East border of Calgary.
On Friday we finished our weekly planning and when we got out to our car for the day guess what...the side mirror on the drivers side was broken!! Seriously everything is happening to us this week. We called the fleet manager and he told us we needed to go get an estimate to get it fixed. So we did, but guess what...I have never been to the East, I have no idea where anything is, and we DON"T have a map!! But miraculously we made it to the place we were supposed to go. When we got back, we had a lesson with a RC Christina. She is from Africa or Sudan...I don't really remember...but she is really great. She was baptized at the beginning of Feb. Hopefully we will be able to teach some of her kids. We were also able to meet our investigator Kenzie. She is 10 I think and guess what...the Elders hadn't met with her since she dropped her date back in January!! What have they been doing for the last few months??? She is so solid though and we are looking forward to teaching her! We will set a date with her this week hopefully!
On Saturday we did tons of stop-bys and tracting...my 2 least favorite things...so needless to say it was a very long day!! It was the first time we got lost though which is really good!! We only got lost because we missed a turn...and I blame it on the fact that there was no road sign and it was super dark!! But it turned out to not be an awful day. We did get a few lessons set up for this week, which is great!
Sunday was a great day! And it meant that the next day was p-day, which is very needed! So we had a special stake conference. Bishop McMullin from the presiding bishopric was there. It was a really good meeting. We had dinner with the Busch family and Bro Hall...Sister Busch is single and thought she was going to be feeding the Elders so she invited bro Hall. It was fun to finally start getting to know people in the ward and we had a good time! That evening we just did some stop-bys, but didn't have very much luck!
Well that was my week! Super stressful and I am really praying this week will be better! I sure hope you all have a great week!! Especially have fun in St. George! Good luck Sager with your surgery and baseball!! You are a stud! Love and miss you all!!

Love, Sister Kaitlyn Marchant

March 6
Hey Family and Friends!!!

Oh my goodness we had such a great week!! I can't even wait to tell
you all about it!! But first things first...I am getting
transferred...I am kinda sad! But my new companion is Sister
Garner...I don't know her...and our new area is Chestermere...it is in
the East part of the city. We are both new to the area so we will be
purging it. Fun eh? Just pray for me...Well now let me tell you all
about my amazing week!!
So Monday was just normal. We had p-day and it was great. We had
dinner with they great Mandin family and they are wonderful. That
night we just did some stop-bys.
Tuesday we had DDM's and lunch. So things were good. Then we had a few
member lessons. One cool thing was that we had a lesson set up with a
family so we went and they weren't home. I felt like we should go
visit a potential investigator that lived across the street. So we did
and they PI wasn't home, but when we were walking away from their
house...guess who we ran into...the Bennett family. They had been on a
walk and were on their way home. So we were still able to have a
lesson with them which was great!! We also had dinner with the Romeril
family who have adorable children! So it was a great day. We just did
some stop-bys that night and were able to set up a few appts.
Wednesday was a day full of miracles!! So first we did service and
stuff. Then we had a lesson with Tara-Anne. We taught her how to
listen to the Book of Mormon online and then read with her. A really
neat thing about that lesson was that when she prayed at the end of
the lesson the Spirit was actually there...it hasn't really been there
before that. So that was neat! After that lesson it was our daily
stop-by of Dora. She of course wasn't home so as we were walking back
to the car we were asking ourselves if we sould give up on her or
what. When we got in the car I decided that we should call her. She of
course didn't answer, but when I got done leaving her a message, our
phone was ringing! It was Dora!! She told us she was really busy and
that she would call us back when we could meet with her...but she
still hasn't...but it was definitely an answer to our prayers and our
questions as to if we should give up on her! Well this day continued
to be great!! So next we went to visit a potential investigator
family...Yom and Jackson...we tracted into them a few weeks ago and we
were able to set up an appt to meet with them...well after that we had
5 min until we went to our next plans so we decided to do some
tracting. I told Sister Brower to pick a door. We knocked on it and we
met Chelsey. She is from an Indian Reserve. She invited us in right
then and we taught her Lesson 1!!! It was so great! That has never
happened to me on my mission!! So it was amazing! She wouldn't set up
a return appt, but told us to come back later this week. And then that
evening we had 3 member lessons!! It was a day filled with greatness!!
It is days like that when I totally LOVE being a missionary!
Thursday was another good day too...so we had lunch with Helen which
went well...we had a very simple basic lesson so things didn't get out
of control. Then we did service for Sister Cramp. We cleaned her house
for her. It was nice to be able to do something out of the ordinary.
After that we had an amazing lesson with Jiro...our new investigator.
He is so solid!! And that evening we had dinner with a great family
and then a lesson with Ryan and Amanda!
Friday we did our weekly planning and then had dinner with the
Dillings. But the highlight of that day was our lesson with Jackson!!
Yom was trying to sleep because she had to work at night...they are
from South Sudan and have 2 kids...Aritra and Mabir. They are such a
great family and when I asked Jackson how he felt as we were teaching
him he said "I feel like I want to learn more." That is what
missionaries dream of!! It was so neat! We have an appt to teach them
later this week.
Saturday was just a normal day filled with lots of stop-bys. We had
correlation with Bro Greep and then dinner with the Cells. They are
the ones from the Philippines and they made us real Philippino food!!
It was so DELICIOUS!!!! Then we had a lesson with Mark. It was not a
great lesson and they are not progressing at all...so we will probably
drop them this week.
Sunday was church which was great, but we had no investigators at
church which was a bit discouraging. But that afternoon we had lunch
with the Vance's...I love them so much! And then we had dinner with
the Fairbanks.
Monday was a long day...to be honest I was dreading it a little bit.
So we didn't have anything set up so we did a bunch of stop-bys, but
we were able to get a few lessons which made the day a lot better. We
had dinner with the James family...the ones that were plucked from the
ocean a few weeks ago...it was lots of fun and great to hear all their
stories!
So that was my week! It was a really great week to leave this area
with...I am really going to miss this area it was the best and has
some great people and families!! And there is so much going on, but
Sister Brower will take care of all the people I love!!! Well I hope
you all have a great week!! I love you all so much!!

Love, Sister Kaitlyn Marchant

February 27, 2012
Hey all you family and friends!!

How was your week? To be honest mine wasn't very exciting, but a few
miracles did happen! It was a pretty good week though! I of course
will tell you all the exciting details of my fairly boring missionary
life...
So Tuesday...it was a good day...so we had Zone Conference!! It was so
good, even though it was so long! It was all about faith and how we
can increase our personal faith! I have learned so much about faith on
my mission and what it really is and how we show our faith! It is
amazing! So for zone conference we were supposed to study all the
references to faith in the Topical Guide...there are a ton...but if
you ever have some spare time...I 100% reccommend doing it! You will
learn a lot! So that was a really good conference and then we had a
few lessons that evening with the wonderful Blomfield family and then
Ryan and Amanda's family. They are great!
Wednesday was our service and such and then we had a lesson with
Tara-Anne. So we asked her if she really had a desire to know if the
things we are teaching her are true and basically she told us she
didn't...so I don't know what we are going to do there...but then when
we invited her to be baptized she said maybe closer to her
birthday...which is at the end of March...I don't understand...why
would you want to be baptized if you don't care if the Church is
true...anyways the rest of that day wasn't very exciting we just did
some stop-bys and had a couple member lessons.
Thursday we had another training! We had lots of meetings this week!
This was a super good training too! It was all about Grace and Pride.
We all studied Ezra Taft Benson's "Beware of Pride" talk and it is a
super good talk...if you haven't ever read it...go read it! After that
training we had a couple lessons mixed in with a little bit of weekly
planning. That night we taught Mark and Tara-Anne. We decided to watch
the Restoration with them. We did a spirit rec before we watched it
and told them to pay attention to how they feel...so at the end we had
this conversation with Mark: "So Mark how do you feel right now?" "I
feel nice." "Why do you think you feel nice?" "Because of the Holy
Spirit..." "Yes...and what does the Holy Spirit tell us?" "That the
church is true..." "Exactly...so will you be baptized?" "Um...No
thanks..." What is this kids deal??? He totally know that the church
is true, but he won't commit!! We don't know what we are going to do
about them! That night the ZL's called us and told us they had an
investigator for us! So it is a 10 yr old boy Jiro and is mom is a LA
member, her name is Danya. They are from Guatemala and are great!! But
more on them in a minute...
Friday wasn't a very exciting day. We just did service and then we had
to finish our weekly planning. We had dinner with a really nice older
lady from South Africa and she is great! She had lots of stories to
tell us! Also fun fact...we 7DC a family about a week ago and they had
a YSA aged son...but he said he had some friends he would invite to
take the lessons...He did and they are now investigators of the YSA
Elders!! So that was neat to actually see something come out of a
7DC...that needs to happen more often...
So then we are to Saturday...Well winter is back in Canada...it has
been freezing cold since Saturday and I DO NOT love it!! We didn't
really have anything going on so we did a lot of stop-bys. We met Jiro
and Danya that afternoon and introduced them to the Cooper's who were
going to take them to church on Sunday...they were so excited and they
are great! I think I forgot to mention that Jiro has a baptismal date
for March 17...so that was fun. We had a correlation meeting and then
a few member lessons that night.
Sunday was church and it was going to be great!! Well it was great,
but Jiro and Danya didn't come to church! The Cooper's went to pick
them up and they didn't answer their door...we called them and got no
answer...I don't know what happened because they were so excited to
come!! But other than that our Sunday was just normal with church and
a couple meetings and some lessons!
My week wasn't very exciting...but it was a good one! So I hope you
all have a great week this week! Can you believe it is already March??
I have been on my mission for 6 months!! That is crazy!! Well thanks
for all your love and support! You are all so great!! I love you a
whole bunch...and miss you a lot too...

Love, Sister Kaitlyn Marchant


Pictures...
1- Me and all the water bottles...I don't remember if I told you
Sister Brower and I decided to set a new goal to drink 64 oz of water
a day...the first few days were brutal....but it isn't as bad
anymore...so these are all our waterbottles...and now we bought bigger
ones so it doesn't seem like we have to drink as much...
2- This is our puzzle...to be obedient we only work on it during our
lunch break and after 9:30 at night...but we got this much done in a
week...it is a really hard one...you would love it mom!!
3- Our headband things that a member made for us...

Happy President's Day!
Hey Family and Friends!!

How grateful I am to be a member of this true church to have the
knowledge we have of the Plan of Salvation! To know that we will be
with our families forever!! I know that Grandma Gottfredson is in a
better place! And that she was needed on the other side!! I didn't
have a very eventful week...it was actually a pretty boring missionary
week but don't you worry, I will tell you all about it anyways!!
So Monday was p-day and it was just a normal p-day...but the good
thing was we were busy that night! We had 3 appointments with a couple
member families and then Ryan and Amanda! It was great! Being busy as
a missionary is the best.
Tuesday was Valentines day! It was just a normal day though...we had
our District Meeting and then went to lunch. We did a couple of
stop-bys, but luckily we had a few appointments set up that evening!
Which was great! Because you know how much I love tracting....actually
hate....but tracting in the dark is even worse!!
On Wednesday we had service and had a couple lessons. One with a
member and another with Tara-Anne. Mark wasn't there and it turned out
to be great!! We were able to really talk with her and she brought out
a few more concerns. She really needs the gospel in her life...well
lets be honest everybody does...but she would just be so much
happier!! So we will keep working with her! Mark went on the Deacon's
winter camp where they build snow forts and sleep in them...ya that
would be my worst nightmare...you all know how much I love
nature...but he had a lot of fun! He needs lots of fellowship from the
ward and needs to build relationships with some of the members...so
hopefully he was able to do that at this camp. That evening it was New
Beginnings and we had invited Dora's daughters Selma and Cristabel to
come...only Selma ended up coming, but she had lots of fun and was
able to learn all about the Young Women's program. She met a lot of
the girls in the ward and hopefully we will be able to teach her
sometime this week! I know that Dora's family is totally prepared to
be baptized!! When one of them is finally baptized the rest of them
will follow!!
On Thursday we had weekly planning broken up with lunch with our
favorite crazy less active...Helen...I almost lost it in that lesson!
I couldn't sit there and listen to her bash the church and the
priesthood leaders and everything else...so I flat out told her she
was wrong...I don't remember very much of it because I was so mad, but
luckily I have a GREAT companion Sister Brower and she saved the
lesson! How grateful I am for her! That evening we had a few lessons
with some members...
Friday we had service again and then a lesson with Tara-Anne...we are
trying to go a couple of times a week to read the Book of Mormon with
her because it is hard for her to read and comprehend so hopefully
this will help...But it was a good lesson and we read 2 Nephi 32 with
her about the Spirit and all the things the spirit can do for us. That
afternoon and evening we had a whole bunch of stop-bys. We didn't have
a ton of luck...and most of them were potential and former
investigators, but with it being a holiday weekend, nobody was home or
they were doing other things. So it was a long day!
On Saturday it was kind of a repeat of Friday...with a lot of stop-bys
and to make things all better I felt so sick! It was not fun...so
finally we called the Elders and they gave me a blessing and I felt so
much better that evening and the next day! The priesthood is so
REAL!!! I have such a strong testimony of the priesthood! It is God's
power and it is on the earth!! How lucky are we!
Sunday was just a normal Sunday with church and correlation and a
couple of lessons. Nothing too exciting...
Sorry I forgot to tell you I wouldn't email you til Tuesday...In
Canada they like to copy the states and they had a holiday yesterday
too...it was Family Day...basically just an excuse not to have to go
to school and work. But it was p-day and we had a lot of fun!! It was
an extra long p-day because we didn't have to e-mail and we didn't
have a dinner appt so we got a full p-day! So we played volleyball and
basketball and then we played the funnest game!! It was called Mission
Impossible! We played in the church gym and it was totally dark with a
bunch of different tables and other objects to hide behind all around
the gym. At one end of the gym there was someone with a spotlight. The
object of the game was to get from one end of the gym to the other
without getting caught by the spotlight! It was fun and we kept making
it harder by taking away things to hide behind...but I would totally
reccommend doing it for a Mutual activity or something!
Well like you can tell it wasn't a very exciting week! But sometimes
we have those! Dad I hope your botox works better this time and that
you feel better! Good luck with all your activites for the week! I am
so grateful to be a missionary and I love you all so much!! Thanks for
all your love and support!! Have a great week!!

Love, Sister Kaitlyn Marchant

Happy Valentines Day Feb. 13 Letter

Hey all you Family and Friends!!

Well another week has come and gone! And it was a fairly decent one
with a few big highlights!! So get ready!
So....Monday was p-day...well kinda. We did all the p-day things like
e-mail, shopping, getting our hairs cut...by the way the lady totally
cut my bangs funny, but luckily I have Sister Brower and she fixed
them for me...and a few other things, but we gave up the rest of our
p-day and did some proselyting...you will find out why in just a
minute! But it was a pretty good day. When we were tracting, we found
some potentials so that was good.
Tuesday was DDM day and lunch at Tony Roma's. We taught Michelle, RC,
all about missionary work and challenged her to look for missionary
opportunities! She is so solid and has such a strong testimony! We did
more stop-bys and found some more potentials...now we just need to be
able to have time to go back and teach all these potential
investigators...We also taught an adorable member family, the Olson's.
They have 3 cute little kids and we had fun!
Wednesday was a normal day for Sister Brower and I in the sense that
we had 3 lessons set up and they ALL canceled....why does this keep
happening to us?? It must mean that something great is coming right?
Well we were lucky and it was another gorgeous day so we were outside
tracting and having fun enjoying the sunshine when it was time to do
our daily stop-by with Dora. We went to her house, knocked on her
door...nobody came, so we rang the doorbell...and probably sat there
for like 3 minutes...maybe we were wasting time...but then Dora came
to the door!! She let us in, we taught her and she told us she didn't
hve to work on Friday, Saturday, or Sunday so she commited to coming
to church and being baptized on Sunday! Well that was the highlight of
the day! Because for the rest of the day we just did some stop-bys.
Thursday was one of the best days ever!!! Because guess where Sister
Brower and I went....TO THE TEMPLE!!!! The Wood's, an older couple,
took us to Cardston to go to the temple!! That is why we had to 'give
up' our p-day...but it was one of the best days!! We were able to do 2
sessions...one with the Wood's and one by ourselves, because they had
to go to Bab,MT to run some errands and that isn't in our mission so
we couldn't go...so they left us at the temple to do another session!
But it was seriously soo great!! I miss going to the temple often! But
it sure was worth a p-day to be able to go!
On Friday we did service, and then went to a lesson we had scheduled
with Dora...but guess what story of our lives...she wasn't home. We
went back to her house multiple times that day, but she was still
never home. But for the rest of our day we did our weekly
planning...and then we went to a ward Valentines party for the
adults...it was kind of weird being there with a whole bunch of
couples, but it they had really good food.
Saturday was a fairly good day too...the Elders had a baptism and they
asked us to sing. So we were able to go to the baptism and we sang our
usual song 'My Soul Hungered'...and it was great! After the baptism we
had a correlation meeting with one of the WML's and it was short, but
after he showed us some of the news conference of some people in our
ward...I don't know if this made it on the news in Utah, but it was
National news...there were some Albertans that were sailing from
Mexico to Hawaii, when the weather got bad and their boat broke so
they needed rescuing....well they are in one of the wards I am serving
in right now...it is huge news here...I will send you a link to look
at it if you havent heard about it becasue it is a huge miracle that
they are alive!!! Anyways I got the Valentine you sent me and both
Sister Brower and I LOVE the necklaces and treats you sent...so
thanks!! You are so great!! That night we had dinner with a part
member family and we were super bold with the husband...because we are
missionaries and we can do that...and we invited him to quit smoking
and take the lessons, but he said he isn't ready...but he so is...he
just doesn't know it!
Sunday was a pretty good day...unfortunetely Dora didn't come to
church so she wasn't baptized...I am trying really hard not to get
discouraged with her....but I know Heavenly Father must have a plan
for her! Anyways Sister Brower and I were asked to sing in Queensland
ward...so we sand Love is Spoken Here, and it went really well! Then I
was lucky enough to have the opportunity to speak in Parkland
ward...it wasn't to bad because I was just the 'youth speaker'. But we
did have a busy afternoon with a bunch of appts with members and a
correlation meeting.
Well that was my week! Hope you all had a great week!! Don't forget
that I love getting letters or e-mails from everybody!! Thanks for all
your love and support!! Have a very happy Valentine's Day!! And a
super great week!! Always remember the church is true, the book is
blue, and Moroni is always on the ball!! Love you all!!

Love, Sister Kaitlyn Marchant


Pictures:
1- My new and improved family picture...be very impressed...
2- Me at the Temple
3- Me, Sister Brower, and Bro Wood at the temple
4- The Cardston Temple

February 5th letter
Hello Family and Friends!!

Another week come and gone! Can you believe it?? Where is the time
going? Well this week wasn't super exciting and not very much
happened, but I will tell you all about it anyways!
So Monday...p-day...but nothing exciting happened. We just did the
usual stuff...you would think missionaries would be more exciting, but
we are not. But since it was transfers the week before we had lots of
new missionaries to get to know!
Tuesday was DDM's...I can't lie...I totally missed Elder Heap's
gongshow DDM's, but our new DL Elder Wilde is pretty neat too...he is
actually Elder Heap's "son". We didn't really have any appts so we
just did a lot of stop-bys until we had supper with the Carters! They
are so great! And I totally miss them in church...they just got called
to the YSA ward...so we don't really get to see them very much
anymore. That night we went to the Wood's house...the really great
couple that reminds me of Grandma and Grandpa Gottfredson...and they
gave us a belated Christmas gift. They also offered to take us to the
temple sometime, so hopefully we will be able go go soon!!
Wednesday was just service and we had lots of appts set up, but what
always happens to us...they ALL canceled!! So we ended up doing lots
of stop-bys, but we were able to get a few lessons and contact some
potential investigators.
Thursday we taught a few lessons in between all of our weekly
planning. They were to Beau and Michelle the recent converts. We had
dinner with a very awkward family that night...but seriously it was so
awkward...we talked more to their kids that are 3 and 2 than we did to
the parents! It was weird...and then get ready for this funny
story...so for dessert we were having pie. She had just found it in
her freezer so she was cooking it and then when it was ready and she
was cutting into it...it was not a dessert pie at all...it was a
chicken pot pie!!! It was hilarious!
Friday was another repeat of Wed...where all our lessons cancel and we
do lots of stop-bys...but we did contact a referral we got...they are
a golden family. The husband is LA and they just had a baby. They had
been talking to someone and said that when the baby was born they
wanted to get it blessed and then come to church! So we went and
visited them and seriously they had one of the most adorable babies I
have ever seen!! And it was TORTURE to not be able to hold him! I
think that is one of the hardest things about being a missionary...not
being able to hold childern and babies! So we are excited to be able
to help them and teach them! Hopefully soon!!
Then Saturday rolled around and we didn't have a single lesson...but
it was a gorgeous day outside so we did as much walking as we could
and did some tracting and stop-bys we found a couple potential
investigators and got a coulple lessons so it ended up being a pretty
good day!
Sunday...one of the best days of the week...was really great! We had
church...in one of the wards we got a new ward mission leader and we
were shocked because we love Bro Byrne and he was really good at
helping us, but our new one will be good too. Also we taught the
Gospel Essentials class. So church was pretty good. Then we went to
the Vance's house to have lunch and also to practice a song that we
are going to sing in church next week. And then we went to choir
practice which was pretty fun! Then came dinner with the Ruddy's. They
are fun.
So it was a pretty boring week for me! It was a super long one because
we didn't have very many appointments...but we didn't focus on setting
up appointments the week before because we were so focused on
Dora...we weren't able to talk to her at all this week...but we did
find out some interesting information...she is a chiefs daughter in
Ghana and they are having some disputes so things are kind of crazy
there...but I know that Heavenly Father has a plan for her!! So things
will work out!!
Congrats to the Hardy family...missionaries are the best!!! And also
to Ben...way to go with the football thing! And of course to B-rad as
well! Have fun in college!! Of course Sage is still a stud! Keep being
the best basketball player out there!! Good luck to Grandpa this week!
I will keep praying for you! Also go Jazz!!
I love being a missionary! It is so great!! Hopefully next week will
be more exciting!! But I hope you all have a great week!! Thanks for
all your love, support, and prayers!! Love ya!!

Love, Sister Kaitlyn Marchant!

The picture is of me and the lame family picture I drew for a lesson
we sometimes teach...don't look too close at the picture, because I am
in the process of making a better one! I will send you a picture of
that next week when it is all finished!

Letter from Jan 30
Hey Family and Friends!!

Oh my...so this week was the most exhausting week in every way
possible...physically, spiritually, emotionally, etc...but it was a
week that I will never ever forget!! Are you ready to hear all about
our 7 Day Challenge...cause I will tell you all about it and all the
other stuff that happened this week too! So buckle in and hold on
tight it is going to be a fun ride!!
Ok...so Tuesday was p-day...hooray...but on our way to the library to
e-mail we stopped by to see if Dora was home...unfortunetly she
wasnt'...so we just went and did the things we needed to do. It didn't
really feel like a p-day because we went and had a lesson with a RC
Beau right in the middle of the day, but it was good. Then when we met
up with the other missionaries, Sister Brower and I tried to make
Elder Heap finish teaching us how to solve the Rubick's cube...he got
transferred, so we will never finish learning, but we can solve the
first two rows!...but that night we had a lot of appts with Members
and LA's and even Mark and his mom! On our way home for the night, we
of course stopped by Dora's...oh and we have been calling her all day
long...and guess what she was home!, but she was asleep on the couch!!
So we didn't get to talk to her, but we left her a note! Have I
mentioned that missionaries are the BEST stalkers!! Well we are and
you will see that throughout the things that happened this week!
On Wednesday we had service and then taught Michelle. We taught her
about temples and Family History and she is so excited to go to the
temple and start working on her Family History!! And we are excited to
help her! That afternoon we just did some stop-bys...which included
going to Dora's probably about 5 times...before we had dinner with a
fun family. Then we went to the church to see what was going on for
mutual and get our planners all ready for this transfer. So we didn't
see Dora at all once again today....but guess what Sister Brower and I
had so much faith that it was still going to happen! So what did we do
you ask?? We booked the baptismal font! Yes we did! Then as we were
planning for the next day we prayed specifically to know what time we
should go see Dora on Thursday....
So next comes Thursday...we did service and a little bit of weekly
planning...which involved planning Dora's baptism...andthen we had
lunch with Helen. It actually wasn't too bad that time...and we found
out something that we have in common...are you ready...Helen and I
both LOVE Grey's Anatomy...ya pretty great! So we actually had a good
time with her. After Helen was when we felt like we should go see
Dora. Can you guess what happened?? She was HOME!!!! She let us in and
we taught her everything we needed to and then told her she was
prepared to be baptized and invited her to be baptized on Sunday...3
days later...she didn't even hesitate and said "Yes, If I don't have
to work." Basically Sister Brower and I were in total shock and were
freaking out inside!! I think we were so happy we didn't know what to
do with ourselves...but we weren't totally out of the woods...we would
find out on Friday if Dora had to work. But the rest of Thursday
wasn't very exciting. All we did was our weekly planning and had
dinner with a family.
So Friday...this is the day we have all been waiting for...well Dora
told us to call her in the afternoon...so I will tell you what
happened in a minute...That day I had LTM's(Leadership Training
Meeting) all day...like from 9-6! It was a really long day, but I
learned a lot as well! And I got to spend the day with Sister Hayes
because she is training a new sister this transfer. When it was all
over Sister Brower and I gave Sister Archibald a ride home, because
President had to leave early to give a baptismal interview...and I
seriously just LOVE her!! When we got home we went to a big stake RS
Activity and it was really good for what we were there for...but we
left early to go see Dora...so are you ready...we get there and are
talking with her and she tells us that she has to work...we were
devastated!! We asked her if she would ask for it off, or ask someone
to switch her and promised her that if she would Heavenly Father would
prepare a way for her to be baptized!! When we left we still had faith
that it could happen...I mean Heavenly Father can do anything he
wants! So we just kept praying for a miracle! By this time I am pretty
sure half the ward is praying for her, the entire zone, obviously me
and Sister Brower, and lots of others!!
Saturday may have been the longest day of my mission...we were in such
limbo not knowing if the baptism was really going to happen. We still
had faith that it could...but we weren't able to talk to Dora at all
on Saturday...she wasn't answering our phone calls and she wasn't
home...so we went on complete faith that she would just come to church
and it would still happen. Sister Brower and I did everything we
possibly could for it to happen! The rest of our day was long as
well...it was just filled with lots of stop-bys...and then ended with
a lesson with Mark and his mom...they still won't commit to a
baptismal date...but we are still working with them.
Sunday...the last day of the challenge...we started our day bright and
early with ward council at 7...not fun to wake up earlier than you
have to as a missionary...every minute of sleep is precious...but it
was a good meeting and the ward is behind us 100% with Dora! Then we
had church...did Dora come??? Nope...but we still had faith she could
come to one of the other wards, because we did give her that
option...we tried calling her to see if she would come to one of
them...but she didn't answer, so we decided to leave church and go to
her house...she was at work...so she wasn't able to come. So no
baptism...but don't worry...My faith was so strengthened this week!! I
know that Heavenly Father answers prayers and that He loves all his
children!! He gave us so many tender mercies this week even though it
was a hard week! After church we had lunch with the Vance's! Love them
so much! and then dinner with the Spencer's a little bit later...they
have a daughter serving in Las Vegas, but they hated the 7DC...oh
well...but then last but not least we had correlation with Bro Byrne.
I am just really glad this week is over, but really it isn't over and
the next few weeks are going to be stressful too in helping Dora enter
the waters of baptism...but guess what Sister Brower and I are up to
the challenge!!
Mom...to answer your question about church...since we cover 2 wards we
go to church from 9-2....it is fun! Church is the best!! As a
missionary 9:00 church isn't bad because you wake up at 6:30 every
morning anyways...and Sage! You are such a stud...keep reading!!
Well I hope you all have a super week!! I love you all so much!! And
miss you a lot too!!

Love, Sister Kaitlyn Marchant

The picture is just a crazy one of me and Sister Brower and one of the
Vance girls and her cousin!! They are great!!

These are pictures of my last district and then of me and Sister
Brower eating the delicous rice cake!!

Letter from Jan 23
Family and Friends!!

Oh my I had such an eventful week!! Aren't you lucky that you finally
got some snow!! We did too, but it just isn't the same as Utah
snow...and we got freezing cold temperatures...but it was still a
great week!! This week is transfers again...and I am so lucky and I
get to stay in Queesland/Parkland with Sister Brower! This will be a
new experience for me...I have never had a companion longer than 6
weeks...but the last 6 weeks flew by so I am so excited!!! Well let me
tell you all about my week!
Monday was just a normal p-day. That night we had dinner with the
Thompson family...they are cute and he is in the stake presidency.
They are good little missionaries too and are always inviting their
friends to things! We then also had a family in the ward fulfill a
7DC!! They are the Galvan's and they are from Mexico!! They are so
great!! Their friend is Jenna and she is so golden!! We taught her and
have another appt with her this week!! So exciting!! Monday was also
the beginning of the cold!! It was -35C outside...and then guess what
our heat was doing funny things...in our apt it was 59F when we went
to bed so we turned our heat up...
Tuesday morning we woke up and it was 46F in our apt!! FREEZING!!!! We
had to go to DDM's and stuff, so we didn't have time to really do
anything about it...when we left we turned our heat all the way
up...but when we got home it was still 46...don't worry we got it
fixed...because when we woke up the next morning it was 80F in our
apt...so it is definitely fixed!! But on tuesday at DDM's the AP's
came so it wasn't a complete gongshow! Then the AP's and the ZL's
joined us for lunch! We studied at the church because our apt was so
cold and then we had a few appointments with members.
On Wednesday we did service and then had lunch with our friend
Helen...she is very interesting...when we were giving her a lesson we
were talking about the Book of Mormon and I was bearing my testimony
and she got mad...she said why do the mormons always say "I know..."
it just sounds like they are trying to convince themselves...she is
hard to teach, but oh well it is what missionaries do!! We had a lot
of appts set up, but they all canceled...so that meant we got to do
some tracting...guess how cold it was outside...-35C...ya freezing!!
But there is a chinook coming this week and it is going to be like
0-8C so that is good!!
Thursday was a busy day!! As you know I love busy days! Once again it
was freezing outside...it is so cold that when we get in our car and
we breathe, our breath turns to snow...so it is always snowing in our
car :) We had lunch with Sister Angevine...she is a convert of about 2
or 3 yrs and she and her family are great! Then we had a lesson with
another convert Beau!!! Beau is the busiest person ever!! We have been
trying to meet with him ever since I got to this area...and it finally
happened!! And we have another appt set up as well!! Miracles do
happen!! That afternoon and night we had some lessons with members.
One was with the Raynor family. Sister Raynor is a single mom of 5
kids and one of them got baptized on Saturday so we taught them a
little lesson to help them prepare!! Her kids are so smart and they
know so much about the gospel!! I was very impressed! She has taught
them very well...especially for being a convert herself for only 5
yrs.
Friday we did service and some weekly planning. We taught Mark and his
mom Tara-Ann and she became a new investigator. She is still smoke
free as far as we know and came to church on Sunday!! We also had a
lesson with Aurora and when we invited her to be baptized, Amanda
stepped in and told us they have set the rule that she can't be
baptized for at least 3 months so she knows she is doing it because
she wants to and not to please anybody else...not good! She needs to
be baptized now!! Everyone needs to be baptized NOW!!! It frustrates
me when members don't understand the Doctrine of Christ!! I love the
Doctrine of Christ and it is so important that we all understand it!!
Read it to refresh your memory!! 2 Nep 31, 3 Nep 11, and 3 Nep 27!!!
You won't regret it!! We also met our neighbor today...he is the first
person I have ever seen in our apt building. We gave him a passalong
card and told him we would love to teach him more...we will see if
that ever happens.
Saturday we finished our weekly planning and had a few lessons mixed
in with stop-bys. That night we had dinner with the Boyd family...I
mean their entire family...like 30 people...it was lots of fun, but it
reminded me of our fun family gatherings and I was really missing my
family that day! I love you guys so much!! But fun fact for dinner we
had moose...it was actually pretty good...they didn't tell us it was
moose until after we ate it...that probably helped a little bit.
Sunday we just had church and studied and had a correlation meeting.
We also visited the Cell family...they are the ones from the
Philippines that always give us food...this was no different, they
gave us rice cake...it was so delicous! That evening we got a phone
from the ZL...
So the mission has a goal to get 50 baptisms in January right now we
are at 34 and have 12 on date...so we need 4 more...President
Archibald has been praying to know who else could be baptized and he
keeps thinking about Dora...remember that we have not made contact
with Dora for over 2 weeks...we have tried everyday, but she has never
been home and she hasn't answered our phone calls...so we don't know
how that is going to happen, but I know that it can!! I have the faith
that Heavenly Father will prepare a way...So Sister Brower and I have
been given our own 7DC!! But this is a different one from the one we
give to members...we ask them to invite someone to have the lessons
with the missionaries...our 7DC is to contact, teach, and baptize Dora
in 7 DAYS!!! Please add us and Dora to your prayers!! We need all the
help we can get!!
Well I hope you all have a great week!!! You are all in my prayers!! I
miss you and love you all!!

Love, Sister Kaitlyn Marchant

Letter from Jan 16
Hey family and friends!!!

How are ya all doing?? Are you ready to hear all about my exciting
week?? First of all I have to say I can't believe that January is half
over!!! It just started!! Time sure is flying! Also I have to give a
birthday shoutout to my little big brother Tanner!!! He is so great!!!
Love him a ton and he is a great example to me!!! Thanks Tanner for
being great! And I hope you have a HAPPY BIRTHDAY!! And one last thing
before I get started...so winter is here...not exciting...but the HIGH
for the week is supposed to be -22 C....so please pray for me that I
don't freeze and die! Thanks...So Monday was an exciting day...of
course you all know what day that is! P-DAY...it was just a normal
one, but I was all caught up with the letters I was writing so I
joined in on the volleyball fun...and made a complete fool of
myself...but oh well it was just other missionaries so it was fun!! On
Tuesday we had a busy day with lots of lessons!!! I love those days!
So we taught a few member lessons and also a RC Jason D, and then Mark
and Aurora. It was a good day...We taught Mark the Plan of Salvation
and as we were asking him what we need to do to get to the Celestial
Kingdom he answered and then we asked his mom...she started talking
and said she couldn't get baptized because she smokes...and we
said..."well we have a program that you can stop smoking in 7 days."
She was so excited and wants to do it!! If Mark's mom can get on board
with him, then things will be great!!! Did I tell you about Aurora?? I
don't remember...well she is the daughter of Ryan and Amanda...she is
11 and we started teaching her this week. We taught her a few times.
She hasn't accepted a date, but we have asked her to pray to know when
she should be baptized. Also do you remember our great breadmaker that
we were given awhile ago?? Guess what...we finally used it...our first
time...it didn't work, and our loaf of bread was pretty sad, but we
tried again and the next loaf was really good!!! And now Sister Brower
and I are obbsessed!! On Wed we studied and then we got a call from
Elder Heap...the DL...he told us that he and all the other Elders from
the district were sick...and they wanted to know if we had anything
that would help them...of course we are Sisters and we are prepared so
we met them at the church and gave them lots of stuff to help them
feel better...being sick at anytime is not fun...but it is especially
not fun when you are a missionary!!! We had a pretty busy day on Wed
as well. We had lunch with our favorite LA...Helen. She is hard to
teach and bashes the church in basically every appt we have with her.
Then we cleaned our car for the upcoming car inspections and had a few
other lessons that evening. It is great to be busy!! Thursday was
Interviews/Training/Car Inspections!! It was really good and I love
President and Sister Archibald!! They are so great! It will be sad
when they go home in June, but our new mission president and his wife
will be just as great!! That took all day basically and then all of
our appts canceled for the evening so we were able to go to the RS
activity...they were doing yoga and zumba...so fun!! Some members even
brought their non member friends so that was great!!! Another fun fact
about Thurs...so they put the angel Moroni on the new temple that
day!!! So exciting...but more on the temple in a min....Fri was
another busy day! We did our studying and service before we went to
lunch with a member family! We then met with a RC that just moved into
our ward. Her name is Michelle and she is so solid!! She has such a
strong testimony! That afternoon we went over the quit smoking program
with Marks mom, Tara...as far as we know she is still smoke free since
then!! We are so excited for her!!! On Saturday we finally got our
weekly planning done...the last few weeks have been crazy and we have
not been able to do it on Thursday and it looks like that might be the
case for this week as well! But oh well as long as it gets done all is
well! We didn't have any appts that night so we just did a lot of stop
bys! So not my favorite thing! But it might be a step above
tracting...oh well such is the life of a missionary! Sunday was
Church!! I love church! We had a special day though!! In one of the
wards, Elder Melchin...the area Seventy, came and spoke. He just told
us about the temple...I CAN"T EVEN WAIT!!! It is going to be so great
and I hope I get to be a part of everything!! So he said that
everything is still on schedule with the temple and it should be
completed in the late summer so we can have an open house in Sept and
the dedication in October!!! I will still be here!! And then he went
on to say that if Pres Monson's health permits, he will be coming to
do the dedication!! Hooray!!! Love it!! It is going to be so great!!!
Well I hope you all have a great week!! I miss you and love you all so
much!! Thanks for all your love and support!! And always remember: The
Church is true, the Book is blue, and Moroni is always on the ball!!!
Love ya!!

Love, Sister Kaitlyn Marchant

Letter from January 9th
Hey friends and Family!!!

This week wasn't very eventful, but I will tell you what we did
anyways...well I guess a few cool things happened...So of course we
begin with Monday! P-DAY!! I love p-day! We didn't do anything
special...just the same old stuff we do every week! But it was still
great! Tuesday was DDM's and lunch with the district! My district is
so great and we have lots of fun together! Since libraries were closed
on Monday we got to email on Tues! That night wasn't extremely
exciting! We just studied and had a few lessons...mostly with members
and then with Ryan and Amanda! We are going to start teaching their 11
yr old daughter Aurora this week...we were supposed to start last
week, but things didn't work out...but more on that in a minute! On
Wednesday we did our studies and service at the Rec Center. FYI hockey
is an awful smelling sport...but really it is! But it is fun to watch
and everytime I go to the Rec Center I want to go ice skating!! But I
am a missionary...so in a few more months maybe I can! We taught our
LA Jason P. I don't remember if I told you, but he finally came to
church last week and again this week!! That was exciting! That
afternoon we helped a member of our ward pack because she is getting
ready to move and needed some help...and thats what missionaries
do...give service! That night we had supper with the greatest family.
They have the most adorable little girl and the husband is basically
Brian Reagan!! He is hilarious...so needless to say it was a hilarious
night!! Thursday was probably one of the best days of the week! We had
a retraining meeting!! It is for all the new missionaries and their
trainers...we just go over the Doctrine of Christ and the PMG/Mission
programs we use. But I got to see Sister Newby!!! I love and miss her
so much!! I have only seen her 2 times since we have been in Canada,
so it was great!!! That day we had a few member lessons and we also
had a lesson set up to meet with Aurora....but when we got out of
dinner we had a message from them asking if we could reschedule....we
were a little disappointed, but then quickly realized there was
something else the Lord wanted us to be doing. So we said a quick
prayer to figure out what that was...the only person we could think of
was Dora, but that was weird to us because we had already seen her
that morning...but if that was where we were needed we would go! So we
drove over to her house and when we got there we were just talking
about what we were going to say to her. But that was when we saw a
family walking into a house a few doors down from Dora...Sister Brower
and I looked at each other and said "That is the family we are
supposed to see!" So we went and knocked on their door! We talked
about families and the woman seemed very interested. She didn't have
time right then, but she said we could come back this week!!! We got
her name and address etc. and we were so excited!!! We thought that
was the greatest miracle...but guess what....that wasn't the miracle!!
Are you ready for the miracle?? So a few days later when we were going
through our area books looking for potential and former investigators
we could go visit...we found a teaching record for Nya (thats her
name)!! She has been taught by missionaries before!! They have to be
prepared now to accept the gospel!! Isn't that great!! It totally is!
Well anyways back to the rest of the week! On Friday we did service
and then we had to do our weekly planning. We had a correlation
meeting and supper with Bro Byrne's family, and then went to a lesson
with Dora. She is so amazing!!! We taught her the doctrine of Christ
and her husband even listened and sat in on the lesson. He is very
supportive, but said he won't convert to any religion! The only
dissappointing thing about Dora is that she didn't come to church on
Sunday...so she can't be baptized this week...but hopefully next week
maybe?? She is prepared so she will be baptized some time!! On
Saturday the only exciting thing we did was get mail and teach Mark
and his mom...we are teaching him the lessons over again so we taught
him the Restoration. He asked lots of questions and I think he is
understanding it more. He didn't accept a baptismal date, but he and
his mom did come to church this Sunday!! He hadn't been for almost 2
months so that was good!! Sunday was a great day!! It was Sister
Brower's birthday...so Happy Birthday to her...and it was church which
is always great! We had dinner with the Ruddy family...they are the
crepe family...remember them. Well funny story...so crepes are Sister
Browers favorite food...she has had crepes on her birthday for the
last 15 yrs...so how fitting would it be that we would have dinner
with them on her birthday!! I was actually able to eat a couple
creps...I didn't think I would ever be able to eat them again. But it
was a good day for her! So that was my week!! A few miracles happened
so that is fun!! So mom, we have a portable DVD player that we were
able to watch 17 miracles on...we also use it in our comp study
because we watch training clips from the District movies we watched
before I came out...so that is how we watched it! Well I love you all
so much!! I hope you have a great week!! Thanks for all your love and
support!! Love ya!!

Love, Sister Kaitlyn Marchant


Picture:

Me and Sister Newby!! Love her!!