September 3, 2012

Hey Family and Friends!!! Oh my goodness!! I love being a missionary!! And I absolutely LOVE Sister Batty!! We have had so much fun in the last few days!! I can't wait to tell you all about it!! Ok...well last p-day...my email might have seemed rushed....because it was!! We went to the Calgary Zoo!!! It was so much fun!! I haven't been to a zoo forever! We went with the other sisters in our Zone and also 2 companionships of Elders...so there were 9 of us total. We had so much fun looking at all the animals. They had adorable baby tigers and some neat penguins. It sure was fun. Then that evening we had supper with the Rodelas family. They are from the Philippines and are converts. They joined the church when they moved to Canada. So it was fun to hear their conversion story. That evening we had a lesson with Christy as well. She is doing well. At this point, her cat was still missing, but it came back. She gained a testimony of prayer that week. Tuesday we had our DDM's. It was actually not a gongshow...I guess that is what happens when the AP's are in your district. On our way home we stopped and had a lesson with a LA, Bill. He is a recovering Alcoholic that wants to make it back to church. We had a good lesson about the love of God. After that we did a little bit of study to pepare for some lessons, and then we headed to our dinner appt. with Tammy. She is a RC and has 2 cute little kids. We taught her about temples and what goes on in them. Everyone here is so excited for the Calgary Temple Open house and we finally got invitations to give to people. All the companionships in the city got 400 invites...our goal is to give all of them out by the time we get moved into the temple and start our training...that is only like 2 ish weeks away!! Anyways then that night we went to ESL class. We get to go everyweek and help out and give the students speaking opportunities. It is really fun. It was also Sister Ford's birthday that day, so we made her a candy bar poster and took it to her! She is so great! Wednesday was a bit of a gongshow. We spent a lot of time driving trying to find the doctor we were supposed to go to. Sister Batty needed to get her blood drawn and so we were trying to find the place we were supposed to go...which was on the entire opposite side of the city...and then when we got there it was a 1 1/2 hr wait. It was fun! It sure was quite the adventure. On our way home we did have a lesson with Sister Jiang about the prophet and the purpose of prophets. And then we helped Carmen with her book. She has an incredible story!!! Here are some pictures from the Zoo!!

Thursday was our weekly planning day and then after we were done, we just did a bunch of stop-bys....we need to find more investigators. That evening we had supper with the Gossling family. They are such a missionary minded family!! We challenged them to make a family mission plan....and they told us at church that they did!! Then that evening we had a lesson with Lorenzo and Daniel about service. They are so ready for baptism!! Friday was my 1 year mark of entering the MTC!!! That was a big day! Can you believe it has already been that long? It is so crazy!! Well first we helped Carmen more with her book. We are so almost finished and hopefully we will be done by the time we are working at the temple. Then we had to celebrate because it was also Sister Batty's 1 year mark of getting her mission call...so we got fun cupcakes at a gourmet cupcake store called Crave. They were delicious! Then we got to do some more service for Sister Hobbs. She is having lots of health challenges and just can't do very much. But she is great. She has a son serving a mission in Jamacia. And she decided that if he is serving a mission, so is she. So she prays about who she should give a Book of Mormon to! She is a great missionary!! So we got to vaccum and mop her floors. It was actually really fun. Then we had supper with Sister Carter. She is also a single mom who is a convert and her son is adorable. And last but not least, we had a lesson with Sister Baptiste. She might get a new house this week so she can get her kids back which is so exciting!! Saturday was a great day!! It was also a really busy day! First we had breakfast with a LA family, the Ivany's. They are great. And then we headed to Bragg Creek. It is BEAUTIFUL!! It is kind of out in the middle of nowhere so we were kind of in the mountains and it was nice...I never thought I would actually say that I miss the mountains and camping...but I kind of do. We first had a lesson with Bro. Brisson, a LA member that is also trying to come back to church. Then we had a lesson with a new family that just moved in, the Walters. They have 6 adorable little kids. Bro Walters is an institute teacher and when we called and set up the appt with him the night before he asked us something that no other member has ever asked me..."What can we do to prepare for your visit?" We were shocked and didn't know what to say so we just told them to be there. So it was lots of fun visiting with them. Then we had supper with the Nicholson's. Bro. Nicholson is basically a dry mormon....and just needs to be baptized. But they have a beautiful home in the middle of nowhere. And there is lots of wildlife. They even have a salt lick for the moose that come to visit them. Then Sunday was great!! It was fast Sunday and I swear all the testimonies were about missionary work! It was great! That evening we had supper with the Hyde family and they have a son that might get his mission call this week. So they asked us lots of questions...it brought back good memories. That evening we had a lesson with Lorenzo and Daniel as well. We taught about the parable of the talents and it was great at the end of the lesson when they said, "Oh I think I get it!" We also set a tentative baptismal date for Sept 27! Monday was p-day...as well as a holiday...so we just did what we do best...went shopping...but we didn't really find anything worth buying. But we had fun. Then we had supper at the Copithorne's. He is our bishop in one of the wards. It was great. And we also had a lesson with Christy. We had so much fun!! I am going to try to send some pictures, but the computer is being really dumb...Just know that I love you all!! Have such a great week!! I love and miss you all!! Love, Sister Kaitlyn Marchant

August 27, 2012

Hey Family and Friends!! So like I mentioned before I got transferred at the last minute...I really didn't even know I was getting transfered until I went to report our numbers for the week and it had a different area and companion on it. I sure am going to miss Chestermere and all the wonderful people there, but I am really excited for my new area and new companion!! My new companion is Sister Batty. She is from Vernal, Utah!! I finally have a companion from Utah!! After 1 year it is about time!! But she is seriously AMAZING!! She came out with Sister Brower and was trained by my favorite Sister Newby! So she is a stellar missionary!! We have so much going on in our area and I can't wait to tell you all about it!! So Tuesday was p-day and we spent the entire day saying goodbye to some of my most favorite people! Lots of members gave me stuff which meant I had to find room in my suitcases. But I love all the people there!! The only bummer thing was that I didn't get to say goodbye to Kenzie and her family because they were out of town...but somehow I will find a way to talk to them! Then we/I had a really late night full of packing everything I have accumulated into just a few suitcases!!! It keeps getting harder and harder! But we can make it work. Wednesday was transfers!! I think all of the sisters were excited for transfers...all but 6 companionships in our entire mission changed. So it was a very big transfer. I am now serving in the 4th and Richmond wards in the Calgary stake. It is in the south west quadrant of the city...it is beautiful out here! I can finally see the Rocky Mountains and it is more like home. So I thought our area in Chestermere was big...well it doesn't even compare to how big my new area is! And it is a very affluent area. One of the richest neighborhoods in Canada is in our area...so there are lots of big, beautiful houses...but they are very intimidating to knock on...so to answer your question mom...I think I am pretty safe! Well for most of the day we spent time getting me all setteled in and unpacked and did some shopping. Then we had a full afternoon and evening of lessons. So first we met with Elise. She is LA and is technically YSA, but doesn't want to go to the YSA ward. So we get to meet with her. Then we had supper with a sweet single sister from Brasil. Her name is Lucy and she is just adorable. And then we had a lesson with Christy. She is a recent convert and is less accoutable. But she is really sweet. We have to teach really simply...which can sometimes prove to be difficult. Thursday was weekly planning. It took some time with me just arriving to the area...we had to pray over ward lists and make lots of plans for the coming weeks!! It is going to be so much fun! There is a lot of potential in this area!! Then we had to make a little trip to the mission office because they needed a baptismal record that we had. So that took a little bit of time...but we got to visit with some of the missionaries there. I love the Senior Couple missionaries in our mission!! Senior missionaries are the best and they are like your grandparents away from home!! I just love them! Then we did a few stop-bys so I could meet some of the members. Then we had supper with the Goodman family. They are really nice...everyone is really nice in Canada...and then we had a lesson with the Ford's. So Lorenzo and Daniel Ford are our investigators...they are totally ready to be baptized...we just need to work out some of the logistics...and then their Mom is/was LA but is coming back...she has quite a few health issues...but is so great!! They are a great family! They are one of those families that I know I was destined to meet! So I got to meet them and that was great! Then Friday we started off doing service. It is nice to have some service opportunites here in this area...So every couple of weeks we clean a lady's gigantic house...I don't really think it is dirty...but she is not a member of the church, but has siblings that are. She is East Indian and we think she is having us do this for her in hopes that it will soften the hearts of her family members, so that maybe one day she will be able to joint the church! Then we had a lesson with sister Jiang...she is also LA and is originally from China. She is great, but her husband is really anti towards the church. Then we spent a little bit of time getting our planners all organized. That evening we had supper with Sister Niznik. She just recently moved into the ward as well from Regina,Sasketchwan...and then to end our evening we had a lesson with Sister Baptiste...she is also LA. She is native and her children are in foster care, but she should be getting them back very soon. We had a really good lesson with her about the role of the Holy Ghost. Saturday was a GREAT day!! Guess what!! Laurie got baptized! Do you remember her?? She is the sister-in-law of the Fremstads in Chestermere...so I got to see them there too!! I was so happy that I was given permission to go! It was such a special day! And I was lucky to be apart of it!! So then we had a lesson/service with Carmen. Carmen is an AMAZING lady. 33 yrs ago she was in an accident that left her a quadrapeligic...and she had written a book of her story and conversion to the church. Before the accident she was a very good painter, but after, doctors told her that she would never paint again and that she shouldn't even try because she is missing a big chunck of her brain. But she didn't let that stop her. She can paint and she is seriously incredible. So a few times a week we read her book to her and we basically editing it for her. She is great!! And then we had a quick lesson with Sister Ford. Sunday was a great day. Since we had 2 wards we get to go to lots of church. I love it!! We did make it to one ward council as well. Then after chruch Christy was really upset because one of her cats was missing...so for a few minutes we helped her look for it...we didn't have any luck...We had a dinner appt with the Loewer family and then a lesson with the Ford boys where we watched the Testaments!! I hope school is going great for everyone!! The kids in Canada still have one more week of summer!! Well I sure do love and miss you all!! Have a great week!!! Love, Sister Kaitlyn Marchant

Just Kidding! August 21, 2012

Here are some pictures!! Yes the bird is eating my hair...it is Kenzie's bird And then some of the wonderful fiesta!!

Just kidding...I am getting tranferred...I just got the email late...I am getting transferred to 4th and Richmond...it is in the Calgary South zone. It is in the South west part of the city and it is by the Calgary Olympic Park...I am excited it will be fun!! Love ya!! Sister Marchant

August 20, 2012

Hey Family and Friends!! Well guess what you will never believe it...I am not getting transferred...I am staying in Chestermere...I don't know if they did any transfers with the sisters, because in just a few weeks we will all be moved to the temple area. I am happy I am still here. I love the people here. That is what happens when you serve in an area for so long. Well anyways I had a pretty great week so I will tell you all about it! Monday was p-day and it was a good day. Sister Stockwell and I didn't want to spend a lot of time with the Elders so we decided to go shopping...not that we bought anything, but it was still fun. Then we ended up at the church...and somehow the Elders talked us into playing basketball with them. It was pretty comical I am sure and we were their entertainment for the day...when everyone was getting tired, the Elders said that the next basket wins....but one of the sisters has to make the shot. So with the help of the Elders Sister Stockwell and I were going against each other...eventually I finally made a basket and won the game! It was lots of fun. Then that evening we had supper with the Root's and then a lesson with Sister Chase. So it was a great, busy day! Tuesday we had the last DDM of the transfer...and then we went to lunch. Then we had to be at our appartment so the maintenance people could come...there has been a bird stuck in the vents and they could only access it from our suite so they came and broke the bird out. Then for the rest of the day we just did some stop-bys and tracting. And then we had supper with Kenzie's family. They are so great! Wednesday we did a lot of tracting and stop-bys and NOBODY was home... no joke! I am kind of happy for summer to be over so that people will be home. And then we ran into the same thing that afternoon after lunch. So it made for a long day. Then we stopped by to see the Clarks and check and see how they were doing. We had a nice little visit with them. And then that night we had a lesson with the Oduneye's. It was another great lesson. They didn't tell us anything they wanted us to teach, so we prayed to know what we should share with them. We ended up teaching them the Plan of Salvation. It was perfect. Her mom was in the hospital and she is going to pass away soon...but after the lesson, they had a deeper understanding of the plan and were at peace. It was so neat to see the spirit teach them and help them come to an understanding of the Plan Heavenly Father has for us! I am so grateful for the plan of Happiness and it is one of my favorite things to teach people!! Thursday we had our weekly planning and it went well. Then we helped Shanita and Scott do some last minute packing and said goodbye to them. They are moving back to Texas. It will be good for them. Then we had a lesson with Cristina and her family...and I think half of the neighborhood kids were there as well....so it was kind of a gongshow. There were lots of kids there and nobody could focus. But it was still a good lesson...we talked about the gifts of the gospel and how to share them with others! That evening we had an AMAZING dinner! We were at the Hernandez family's home! It was so much fun. They wanted Sister Stockwell and I to teach them how to make kabobs and then they showed how to make some delicous Mexican food!! So we had a really fun fiesta!! It was and evening filled with amazing food and great company! It was so much fun! On Friday and Saturday Sister Stockwell was sick...so we were in the apartment a lot. While she wasn't feeling good, it gave me lots of extra time to study!! I started to tackle the Old Testament. Why have I not read that before this?? It has so much information and great lessons to be learned! Studying is so great and I love being taught by the spirit every single day!! Sunday we had church! It was great despite there not being any investigators there...but it was still a great day at church. Some members of the ward told us of some missionary experiences they are having and it was so great! I love it when members do missionary work!! Then that afternoon we had a lesson with Sister Sonnenberg...she is the same as usual. And then after that we went to see Rachel and the baby because we hadn't seen them for awhile. When we got there Bro. Williams was starting to put together a new grill, but he was struggling so Sister Stockwell and I offered to do it. We put it together in less than 30 min! I am becoming so handy on my mission...dad you would be really proud of me!! Then that evening we had supper with the Low family. They are involved with the youth celebration for the temple and they told us lots about it! It is going to be spectacular!! That evening we just did some stop-bys. Then it was Monday again...but it wasn't p-day...since it was potentially my last day in this ward we decided to visit some of my favorite people!! And Bro. Williams invited us over for lunch to have something cooked on his new BBQ since we put it together. And then we had supper with the Trim's. They are my Canadian grandparents. I sure do love them!! Well that was my week!! I hope you all have a great week! Good luck with school starting! Are you going to go to the Brigham City Temple Open house?? Well I love and miss you all! Love, Sister Kaitlyn Marchant

August 13, 2012

Me holding the hail, and me looking like a drowned rat Hey Family and Friends!! How are you all doing?? I hope you all had a FANTASTIC week!! Mine was pretty uneventful, but we got lots of stuff done! So I will tell you all about it!! So Tuesday we had Zone Conference...that i why I emailed so late...but it was a really great conference!! I learned so much. Mostly we studied contacting people and our purpose as missionaries! It was super great!! Of course right when the Conference was over, it started pouring rain...but not only that it was hailing! The hail was at least quarter size! None of us wanted to go to our cars...so then Elder McLaughlin came to the rescue! He had an umbrella on him....not that it really did very much. We were still completely drenched! I looked like a drowned rat for the rest of the day...Of course when we got in our car and started driving away, it stopped...that is just our luck. That evening we had supper with the Maunds and it was a really good day. On Wednesday we started the day off at Sister Sonnenberg's house. We did a few things for her and she really appreciated it. That afternoon, Sister Rees also asked us to come over and help her again. She really appreciates our help! Then that evening we had supper with the Low family which felt just like home. And then that night we had a lesson with the Oduneye's. It was another really spiritual lesson. Brother Oduneye asked us to talk about Judas Iscariot...so Sister Stockwell and I studied all we could about him...we weren't sure why he wanted us to talk about him, so we told him that we would tell him what we learned and then he would have to have his own personal revelation to get all the answers to his questions. So then we talked about receiving personal revelation. It was a great lesson! Thursday as you know is weekly planning....my not favorite thing in the world....Then that afternoon, we had a lesson with Cristina and her family. We talked about prayer because Cristina was asked to give the prayer in Sacrament in a few weeks, so we are helping her prepare. Then we walked over to Kenzie's house to say hi to her. I love them so much! That evening, we had supper with Brother Hall. He is a single man, so he invited his sister over so that he could feed us supper. It was fun visiting with them. With all of our lessons with members we have really been focusing on the Temple...and helping them invite their friends to attend the open house with them! Hopefully we can reach the goal of having 100,000 people come through! Friday was a day filled with stop-bys and tracting. We were able to talk to lots of people we haven't seen for a long time...mostly LA's and members. Then we had a lesson with Terry Lynn. She was feeling really down so guess what we did...we played the "Glad Game". It really helped and after a while we were all feeling more positive. It is amazing what counting your blessings can do for you. That evening we had supper with the Hernandez family and they are wonderful as always. They told us lots more stories of Mexico and it was fun...It reminded me of Tanner! Then that evening, we also had a lesson with Sister Leavens. She is so great and loves the Sister Missionaries...but lets be honest...who doesn't?! On Saturday we had a Zone Training Meeting. It was basically pointless...just an excuse for the Elders to get together to go to lunch...be we had to be there...Then for the rest of the day we did a bunch of stop-bys and tracting. Then that eveing we had to update all our records...because we haven't done that for awhile. It wasn't a very exciting day, but I got some letters which made it so much better!! Sunday was church. It was of course a great day. Byron even came!! Then we taught Gospel Principles about obedience. After church we had a correlation with Brother Root. Then we just did some stop-bys and we had supper with the Betournay family. They are a fun family. They were just sealed in the temple a few weeks ago. Then that evening we were kept awake for about an hour because of another crazy hail storm!! I don't know what is going on with the weather, but it is crazy! I am so happy you had fun on your trip to St. George!! I am so sad that I missed it! But it will come again next year! Good luck getting everything ready for the new school year!! I agree that summer came and went...but that means it won't be much longer til I come home! Have such a great week!! I love and miss you all!! Love, Sister Kaitlyn Marchant