Hey Y’all!!
Wow I am floating on super high clouds right now!!! I just got finished reading all the super sweet emails from my family!! I love y’all so much- hearing from y’all every week makes my day and it makes me smile! I am pretty darn blessed- that’s for sure!! Well, we had a great week and things just keep on rock’n in the life of this sister missionary! We had Toby’s baptism yesterday and that was cool. This week we also have been doing a lot of finding cause our teaching pool has dried up! Ha ha We baptized them all!!! So now it’s back to finding mode which is the hardest- but it also builds the most character.
So I don’t really feel like I have too much to say about this week. I spent most of my afternoon Wednesday trying to take care of my speeding ticket. I ended up driving all around San Antonio and it was a mess- but it is over. I paid a chunk of money and got my ticket deferred, so now if I don’t get a ticket for the next 90 days then my speeding ticket will disappear and not go on my record. If I do get another ticket, well then I am in trouble. So I called President and asked if we could switch the designated driver from me to Sister Johnson, that way there is no way I can get a ticket, cause I won’t be driving! Ha ha So he said yes and now for the next 90 days I have red dotted myself (aka I made it so I am not allowed to drive). Also that same night while Sister Johnson and I were planning I was sitting on the edge of our coffee table that is made of wood but has four glass inserts and well, all of the sudden I heard a loud crack and so I jumped up and looked down, and sure enough my big fat butt cracked the glass!!! So right then and there I told Sister Johnson, I have got to lose some weight!!! She said ok, were gonna go on a no sugar diet! I was like woah, wait a sec!!! That would mean, no big red soda, no blue bell ice cream and no wal mart bakery cupcakes!!! She was like, well, look at the glass! Ha ha I was like ok, your right! So for the next 90 days not only am I not driving, but I am not eating sugar. So all of you amazing people out there who send me packages, please refrain from tempting my will power by sending me sugar! Thanks!!!! We de-sugared our house on Saturday, we took 4 bags full of food to a needy family in our ward, they were appreciative. So now it begins, not only am I not eating sugar- but I am running in the mornings too. I will be pretty fit when I come home- I hope! Ha ha :) So on to spiritual things. We had a cool New Member Lesson on Wednesday night. We asked a guy in our ward to teach on Follow the Prophet and he ended up teaching a little bit on that and then getting off onto talking about the atonement. It was perfect!!! Totally what they all needed to hear! The spirit guided that one for sure!
Well y’all sorry this is short, but it’s sweet, right? Lol Things are going well we are tracting a lot in the heat which is never fun but proves just how dedicated we are to the Lord’s work! :) Transfers are next week, so I will be emailing on Tuesday and then y’all will know what is happening with me!
I love y’all mucho and appreciate your support!
SMILING ALL THE WHILE
Hermana Kleisler
PS thanks Jennie for being the only one to send me any mail this week. And thanks Moran for the Congrats card last week, you are the best Madre ever! :)
Friday, July 17, 2009
Monday, July 6, 2009
Happy day, happy pics!
I love this pic- it's pretty much the three happiest girls I have ever seen in a picture! lol :)
This is us all in white! hee hee. Sis Johnson, Brother Swaim (with his baby boy Walker, love the boots btw), Clarissa, and me! Happy Day!!!!!
Next is us asfter the baptism with Clarissa her two boys, Aaron (4) Emerick (11 months) and Gary's parents. Her boyfriend Gary didn't come, but his parents did. They are awesome!! We are working on getting them to let us teach them. :)
Fireworks!!!
The Partridge family -Sister Fallon Partridge, Brother James Partridge and their little boy Vance. They had us over for a bbq and took us to Jourdanton to see the fireworks at the city park! It was a fun little small town production, totally different from what I am used to. I liked it!
I love my John Deere!!!!!
We took this pic when we were over at Vanessa's and so it's Vanessa, her baby, then Aaron, Clarissa and Emerick, another one of Vanessa's kids (I am covering her with my big head) two more of Vanessa's kids, Raymond and then Sis Johnson and Me! :)
This is us all in white! hee hee. Sis Johnson, Brother Swaim (with his baby boy Walker, love the boots btw), Clarissa, and me! Happy Day!!!!!
Next is us asfter the baptism with Clarissa her two boys, Aaron (4) Emerick (11 months) and Gary's parents. Her boyfriend Gary didn't come, but his parents did. They are awesome!! We are working on getting them to let us teach them. :)
Fireworks!!!
The Partridge family -Sister Fallon Partridge, Brother James Partridge and their little boy Vance. They had us over for a bbq and took us to Jourdanton to see the fireworks at the city park! It was a fun little small town production, totally different from what I am used to. I liked it!
I love my John Deere!!!!!
We took this pic when we were over at Vanessa's and so it's Vanessa, her baby, then Aaron, Clarissa and Emerick, another one of Vanessa's kids (I am covering her with my big head) two more of Vanessa's kids, Raymond and then Sis Johnson and Me! :)
My First Baptism!
Hey Ya'll!!!
Wow what a week! Oh how I love being a missionary!!!! So first off I am sure y'all are dying to hear about the BAPTISM!!! Well, like I said last week- the week before the baptism is a killer- and we sadly had a casualty. Toby did not get baptized yesterday. His mom talked to Shaun on Thursday and said she just didn't feel Toby was ready. Well that didn't go over well with Toby- he told his mom how badly he wants to be baptized and why he wants to be baptized. Well we got a phone call late Thursday night saying that Toby's mom gave permission for Toby to be baptized next Sunday as long as Shaun doesn't perform the baptism. So sadly we have to play by her rules because technically Shaun has no rights over Toby- he's not really his kid. Shaun married Toby's mom while she was pregnant with Toby so Shaun raised him, but legally he is not his dad, his real dad died. So anyway all is well though because Toby will be getting baptized on Sunday the 12th.
But now onto the exciting part... CLARISSA GOT BAPTIZED!!! Woot Woot! It was so amazing,the poor girl cried all day long. :) Throughout the baptism she was just in steady tears. After she came up out of the water, Sister Johnson and I were standing there with a towel and she gave us big wet hugs with the biggest smile on her face! I loved it! I asked her how she felt and she said "CLEAN!!" Oh man what a day that was for me. The coolest part though was when we were sitting there listening to the Baptism talk and my mind started wandering, we had a tv set up that we used for while Clarissa was changing, and so I was staring at it and I saw my reflection. As I look at my reflection, a 22 year old girl with a white shirt and a black name tag sitting next to a smiling girl in a white jumpsuit I flashed back to my own baptism. I remembered myself sitting in the front row smiling all big with my daddy sitting next tome in a white jumpsuit. I thought about what that little 8 year old girl would have said had she have known how things would have turned out. Me sitting there witnessing a baptism of another special soul who I HELPED to come unto Christ. How special this all really is!!! I am so grateful that I was given the privilege of having such a hard mission and having to wait 11 months to have a baptism. I appreciate that sacred ordinance of baptism so much more now than I would have had I gotten on my mission and right away started baptizing. I also learned avery powerful lesson as I struggled through the first 10 months of my mission trying so hard to help someone towards baptism. -THIS IS THE LORD'S WORK!!!- Without him, well it's not possible. In order to help bring His children unto the waters of baptism I have to forget myself completely. I wasn't able to do that when I first came on my mission but through my trials and struggles I have grown!!!! What a blessing it was for me to help Clarissa to be baptized- she was the person I was sent to Pleasanton to teach- I know it!!! There is a purpose for everything here in the world- a learning opportunity at every turn and I am so grateful that I am able to begin to recognize the lessons that I have learned and the reasons the Lord has put certain people and situations in my path. So some of you might recall me telling you that my mission president told me that he sent me here to Pleasanton with a purpose. There was a reason I am here, he didn't know what it was, but he felt so strongly that this was where I was supposed to be. He also told me that I would learn things here in Pleasanton that would help me for the rest of my life, once again he didn't know what it was but he felt strongly about it. This week I saw this all come true!!! Not only in the baptism of Clarissa, but also in a series of experiences that I have had these past two transfers all culminating in an experience that I had this weekend.
The biggest and most amazing lesson I have learned here in Pleasanton is how to recognize the promptings of the spirit. Someone once asked me, "can you tell the difference between your own thoughts and the spirit?" At the time I had to answer, no. Because I honestly couldn't, but now I can and it is the most amazing blessing that my Father in Heaven has given me as a result of serving a faithful mission. This weekend we were up in Floresville and late in the afternoon I started getting a real bad feeling but I didn't know why. The day progressed and turned to evening and we ended up driving back to Pleasanton to have dinner at our apartment. As we were eating dinner this feeling came to me that we needed to go see Clarissa, this feeling pushed the bad feeling out of me that had been with me since late afternoon and I knew that this prompting to see Clarissa was from the spirit. I was really confused because we had talked to Clarissa earlier in the day and she was fine. But there was no doubt in my mind that this was a prompting and so I faithfully decided that we needed to stop by Clarissa's house. I then began thinking about what to teach her or share with her- another thought popped into my mind, Sister Johnson's song. Well my companion Sister Johnson likes to write songs on my guitar and recently she changed the words to an old country song and it turned out really cool and pretty spiritual and so I asked her if she wouldn't mind bringing my guitar and playing this song for Clarissa. She said ya no problem. So just as I was locking the door to leave the apartment Sister Johnson ran back in real quick and grabbed a paper. I asked her what it was- it was a talk she had asked Sister Partridge to print out the day before and it was about marriage and the Law of Chastity. I asked her why she brought that, she told me that she felt avery strong prompting that she was supposed to bring it. So off we went to Clarissa's with a spiritual cowboy song, my guitar and a ten page talk on Chastity by Jeffery R. Holland. We pulled up to Clarissa's house and her car wasn't there, I got a thought in my head automatically that was a whispering from the spirit -go to Vanessa's- so I listened. I drove to Vanessa's house (Clarissa's member friend who introduced her to the gospel) and sure enough Clarissa's car was there. So we grabbed the talk and the guitar and went to the house. They let us in and all gathered 'round as I explained that we had no idea why we were there but the spirit had told us to come. Vanessa, Raymond and Clarissa were all there with big smiles on their faces and invited us to proceed. We had a prayer and then Sister Johnson sang her song. The spirit was very strong and afterwards we ended up having a mini testimony meeting where everyone including Raymond and Clarissa who were both investigators, bore their testimonies! It was awesome. I then got another prompting that we weren't done yet, we needed to stay longer. So I asked if they wanted to sing a hymn with us. They said yes and we got our hymn booksout of the truck. After singing "I know that my redeemer lives" and having a closing prayer by Clarissa we were still prompted to stay put. Then Vanessa said something- she said, we actually wanted to talk to ya'll. We were like ok cool, what's up. Vanessa then told us about how they had been praying about what they can do to improve their situation and make it so that Raymond can get baptized and things have fallen into their laps in a way that Raymond could move out and they could break up and he could get baptized. They asked us a few questions about the situation and then asked if it would be possible. We said we'd have to ask president because honestly they have little kids together and they want to be together it just wouldn't be right to break them up so that Ray could get baptized but not be living with his family. They need to just work on getting their divorces taken care of and then get married to each other and then Ray can get baptized. But I wasn't quite sure what to say to help them with all of this and so I looked at Sister Johnson and she had this crazy look on her face and then it clicked- the talk!!! So I said "ok Sister Johnson has something to say now!" So she gave them the talk and told them to read it and pray about it. We left and got into our truck and offered a prayer of thanks to our father in heaven for helping us to be lead by the spirit. The whole thing was an amazing experience and I learned that I do know what the spirit feels like when I am being prompted and that if I listen right away without hesitating, amazing things can happen!!!
Alright well ya'll thanks for always being there for me! I am learning so much on my mission and continually growing. I am so grateful to beout here serving in the Mighty TSAM!! I miss ya'll tons but the experiences I am having and the lessons I am learning are life changing and I wouldn't give them up for anything!!!
SMILING ALL THE WHILE
Hermana Kleisler
Wow what a week! Oh how I love being a missionary!!!! So first off I am sure y'all are dying to hear about the BAPTISM!!! Well, like I said last week- the week before the baptism is a killer- and we sadly had a casualty. Toby did not get baptized yesterday. His mom talked to Shaun on Thursday and said she just didn't feel Toby was ready. Well that didn't go over well with Toby- he told his mom how badly he wants to be baptized and why he wants to be baptized. Well we got a phone call late Thursday night saying that Toby's mom gave permission for Toby to be baptized next Sunday as long as Shaun doesn't perform the baptism. So sadly we have to play by her rules because technically Shaun has no rights over Toby- he's not really his kid. Shaun married Toby's mom while she was pregnant with Toby so Shaun raised him, but legally he is not his dad, his real dad died. So anyway all is well though because Toby will be getting baptized on Sunday the 12th.
But now onto the exciting part... CLARISSA GOT BAPTIZED!!! Woot Woot! It was so amazing,the poor girl cried all day long. :) Throughout the baptism she was just in steady tears. After she came up out of the water, Sister Johnson and I were standing there with a towel and she gave us big wet hugs with the biggest smile on her face! I loved it! I asked her how she felt and she said "CLEAN!!" Oh man what a day that was for me. The coolest part though was when we were sitting there listening to the Baptism talk and my mind started wandering, we had a tv set up that we used for while Clarissa was changing, and so I was staring at it and I saw my reflection. As I look at my reflection, a 22 year old girl with a white shirt and a black name tag sitting next to a smiling girl in a white jumpsuit I flashed back to my own baptism. I remembered myself sitting in the front row smiling all big with my daddy sitting next tome in a white jumpsuit. I thought about what that little 8 year old girl would have said had she have known how things would have turned out. Me sitting there witnessing a baptism of another special soul who I HELPED to come unto Christ. How special this all really is!!! I am so grateful that I was given the privilege of having such a hard mission and having to wait 11 months to have a baptism. I appreciate that sacred ordinance of baptism so much more now than I would have had I gotten on my mission and right away started baptizing. I also learned avery powerful lesson as I struggled through the first 10 months of my mission trying so hard to help someone towards baptism. -THIS IS THE LORD'S WORK!!!- Without him, well it's not possible. In order to help bring His children unto the waters of baptism I have to forget myself completely. I wasn't able to do that when I first came on my mission but through my trials and struggles I have grown!!!! What a blessing it was for me to help Clarissa to be baptized- she was the person I was sent to Pleasanton to teach- I know it!!! There is a purpose for everything here in the world- a learning opportunity at every turn and I am so grateful that I am able to begin to recognize the lessons that I have learned and the reasons the Lord has put certain people and situations in my path. So some of you might recall me telling you that my mission president told me that he sent me here to Pleasanton with a purpose. There was a reason I am here, he didn't know what it was, but he felt so strongly that this was where I was supposed to be. He also told me that I would learn things here in Pleasanton that would help me for the rest of my life, once again he didn't know what it was but he felt strongly about it. This week I saw this all come true!!! Not only in the baptism of Clarissa, but also in a series of experiences that I have had these past two transfers all culminating in an experience that I had this weekend.
The biggest and most amazing lesson I have learned here in Pleasanton is how to recognize the promptings of the spirit. Someone once asked me, "can you tell the difference between your own thoughts and the spirit?" At the time I had to answer, no. Because I honestly couldn't, but now I can and it is the most amazing blessing that my Father in Heaven has given me as a result of serving a faithful mission. This weekend we were up in Floresville and late in the afternoon I started getting a real bad feeling but I didn't know why. The day progressed and turned to evening and we ended up driving back to Pleasanton to have dinner at our apartment. As we were eating dinner this feeling came to me that we needed to go see Clarissa, this feeling pushed the bad feeling out of me that had been with me since late afternoon and I knew that this prompting to see Clarissa was from the spirit. I was really confused because we had talked to Clarissa earlier in the day and she was fine. But there was no doubt in my mind that this was a prompting and so I faithfully decided that we needed to stop by Clarissa's house. I then began thinking about what to teach her or share with her- another thought popped into my mind, Sister Johnson's song. Well my companion Sister Johnson likes to write songs on my guitar and recently she changed the words to an old country song and it turned out really cool and pretty spiritual and so I asked her if she wouldn't mind bringing my guitar and playing this song for Clarissa. She said ya no problem. So just as I was locking the door to leave the apartment Sister Johnson ran back in real quick and grabbed a paper. I asked her what it was- it was a talk she had asked Sister Partridge to print out the day before and it was about marriage and the Law of Chastity. I asked her why she brought that, she told me that she felt avery strong prompting that she was supposed to bring it. So off we went to Clarissa's with a spiritual cowboy song, my guitar and a ten page talk on Chastity by Jeffery R. Holland. We pulled up to Clarissa's house and her car wasn't there, I got a thought in my head automatically that was a whispering from the spirit -go to Vanessa's- so I listened. I drove to Vanessa's house (Clarissa's member friend who introduced her to the gospel) and sure enough Clarissa's car was there. So we grabbed the talk and the guitar and went to the house. They let us in and all gathered 'round as I explained that we had no idea why we were there but the spirit had told us to come. Vanessa, Raymond and Clarissa were all there with big smiles on their faces and invited us to proceed. We had a prayer and then Sister Johnson sang her song. The spirit was very strong and afterwards we ended up having a mini testimony meeting where everyone including Raymond and Clarissa who were both investigators, bore their testimonies! It was awesome. I then got another prompting that we weren't done yet, we needed to stay longer. So I asked if they wanted to sing a hymn with us. They said yes and we got our hymn booksout of the truck. After singing "I know that my redeemer lives" and having a closing prayer by Clarissa we were still prompted to stay put. Then Vanessa said something- she said, we actually wanted to talk to ya'll. We were like ok cool, what's up. Vanessa then told us about how they had been praying about what they can do to improve their situation and make it so that Raymond can get baptized and things have fallen into their laps in a way that Raymond could move out and they could break up and he could get baptized. They asked us a few questions about the situation and then asked if it would be possible. We said we'd have to ask president because honestly they have little kids together and they want to be together it just wouldn't be right to break them up so that Ray could get baptized but not be living with his family. They need to just work on getting their divorces taken care of and then get married to each other and then Ray can get baptized. But I wasn't quite sure what to say to help them with all of this and so I looked at Sister Johnson and she had this crazy look on her face and then it clicked- the talk!!! So I said "ok Sister Johnson has something to say now!" So she gave them the talk and told them to read it and pray about it. We left and got into our truck and offered a prayer of thanks to our father in heaven for helping us to be lead by the spirit. The whole thing was an amazing experience and I learned that I do know what the spirit feels like when I am being prompted and that if I listen right away without hesitating, amazing things can happen!!!
Alright well ya'll thanks for always being there for me! I am learning so much on my mission and continually growing. I am so grateful to beout here serving in the Mighty TSAM!! I miss ya'll tons but the experiences I am having and the lessons I am learning are life changing and I wouldn't give them up for anything!!!
SMILING ALL THE WHILE
Hermana Kleisler
Monday, June 29, 2009
The Spirit Rocks!!
Hey Y’all!!
So sadly I just wrote y’all a big 2 page letter that was super awesome and then the computer freaked out and lost it! Sad!! But that’s ok, luckily I can write you another one- it just might not be as good or as long! But it’s all good it will cover the same topics- cause we had an awesome week that I want to tell ya’ll about!!!
Ok so first off Sister Johnson and I are doing great together! I have never had this much comp unity before- like I will get an idea and then before I can even say it Sister Johnson will suggest the same thing I was thinking. It is just so cool because we are on the same page- we have a lot of oneness going on. Plus we have a lot of fun together- she’s a goof ball and a bit of a drama queen so I make fun of her for that and she makes fun of me for being such guy (all of my burping and putting my feet up on the table, etc) ha ha we have a blast! Also Sister Johnson plays guitar- she learned to play while she was at BYU cause it was a good stress reliever for her. So she was so excited when she found out I was learning to play and had a guitar at the apartment!! She jams away on my guitar all the time she loves to write songs and just plink around. We are doing really great together and I think that has a lot to do with the success we had this week!
So we had zone conference this week and it was fantastic! I especially loved getting to see all the missionaries! I miss that being down here in Pleasanton- I never get to see anyone, so it was great to be around a ton of friends!! Plus there were other sisters there- we had a blast together, ha ha at lunch time the sisters always sit together and our table is always the loudest one in the gym- we had each other laughing so hard this time that even President turned his head to see what was so funny! Lol So ya that part was great, but even better was the trainings. President trained on the value of hard work and it was awesome. Sister Cutler trained on having a positive attitude and how much that can help us. Then the AP’s trained on following the spirit and letting it guide our lessons and also teaching our investigators to recognize it. They also trained on prayer and getting our investigators to pray. These last two topics are ones President said he felt very strongly about that we needed to learn and work on. I am so grateful to have such an inspired mission president because those last two topics- spirit and prayer came into play for us later on in the week!! I’ll get to that later. :)
So just a random tender mercy story I thought I would share with you- so at Zone Conference we always have a clean car contest so we clean our cars super well the night before or the morning before conference so that we can win cause the prize is extra miles!! So the day before conference we went to the Swaims and washed our car and then the morning of conference we went to a do it yourself car wash right by the chapel where we were meeting and we were washing it again (we really wanted to win!) While we were washing our car we got a phone call saying that we were late and that conference had already started. We were told the wrong time by our new district leader. So we rushed over to the conference and didn’t have time to finish cleaning the car. I was so stressed out cause we were late and the car was a mess and we weren’t gonna win extra miles. So once we got into the chapel I Was still upset that we were late- I hate being late to meetings!!!! Well when we got there we were just splitting up for AP trainings and so when I walked into the relief society room President shook my hand but then he held onto it for a second and he looked into my eyes and said. It’s ok, you’re here, that’s all that matters, now forget about it. I was like, wait, what? How did you know? President then just grinned real big and walked away to greet other missionaries. So, that was kinda cool. But the real tender mercy came later- when the clean car awards were announced. We got third place- 40 extra miles!!! I couldn’t believe it! So ya, the Lord looks out for ya for sure! :) Even in the small and simple things.
Another little story for ya, so on Wednesday night we had our new member lessons and Sister Swaim was going to teach about prayer (we picked it especially because Gary said he was gonna come this week and he still has not kept his commitment to pray) So when 7 o clock rolls around we get to the church and Sister Swaim isn’t there, instead one of our ward missionaries, sister Fricke is there and she said Sister Swaim called her and asked her to teach, apparently Sister Swaim got pink eye. But Sister Fricke seemed to think the lesson started at six thirty and so she was there waiting for us so when we got there she said that she had to be somewhere by seven fifteen. So she asked us if we could teach. So we were like ok. Then all the sudden my brain went into panic mode- oh no we have to teach last minute and we aren’t prepared!!!! Then all the sudden something clicked in my mind, um duh, Sister Kleisler, you are a missionary and you do this all the time! Lol So Sister Johnson and I taught the lesson and it was fine, but it was so funny cause I flipped out for a sec and then remembered that I am a missionary! Ha ha
So now time for my investigator update. First off Toby is ready to be baptized, we reviewed the baptismal questions with him and we think he is ready, his dad thinks he is and Toby really wants to be baptized, so his mom said ok, as long as she can take pictures. So he is being officially interviewed by our District Leader, Elder Smith tomorrow. He is all set to be baptized this Sunday! :) So that is great and very exciting, but the even more exciting news is a long story and it is all about Clarissa.
The Clarissa story- Well we had a couple of appointments with them this week. First was on Tuesday and we had the Partridges both come with us and we talked about eternal marriage. It was really great and they were able to ask the partridges questions about marriage and what not. It almost turned into a marriage counseling session and so I had to be careful of that, but it went well and I think Gary and Clarissa came to the conclusion that they are not ready to get married yet. So they are talking about moving out. Having Gary stay at his relatives, and then come over for the day. So then Wednesday night they came to new member lessons- and that was good. Then Friday we decided to pop over and see Clarissa and talk to her about this whole moving out situation and really get the ball rolling. So we go over there and Gary was there too- so we figured all right, not a coincidence. So we shared the same lesson, y’all need to figure out what your gonna do so you can keep the law of Chastity and the way you will know what to do is through prayer. We asked them if they had prayed about it yet and they said no. But Gary said that he said a prayer on the way to work the other day, and that was the first time he had ever prayed since like a little kid or something. So for him that was a major breakthrough. So when it was time to go Sister Johnson asked Gary if he would say the closing prayer. He said no, he wasn’t ready to say a prayer in front of people yet, and he wouldn’t even know what to say. I remembered what we had been taught at zone conference earlier in the week and so I said Gary what are 3 things you are thankful for. He said 1 my boys, 2 Clarissa, 3 My house. I said great, now what is something you need some help on in your life- what would you ask God for? He said, help making these decisions. I said ok, great, you basically just said a prayer- now say it to God!!! So he was like uh, ok. So I said, let’s all get on our knees and you are gonna say the prayer. SO we did and Gary said a great prayer. The whole time I was waiting to feel the spirit and it didn’t really come, so I prayed for it and waited, still nothing. After he finished we all stayed on our knees, I waited a few seconds and then said, now Gary how do you feel? In an answer to prayer and honoring my request the spirit filled that house so thick as soon as the words left my lips. The spirit was so strong in that room it was bursting out the sides!!! I felt it thick encompassing me and it was amazing!!! Sister Johnson and Clarissa were both crying and I looked at Gary and he said- I feel good!!! So we gave Clarissa a hug and Gary a handshake and hopped out of the house real quick so that we left with the spirit still there. We got in the car and thanked the Lord for allowing the spirit to fill their house so thick like!!! It was just a huge break through for Gary and now there is no way he can deny the church is true- he still just isn’t going to progress as fast as Clarissa and that is ok. So anyway we told them we weren’t gonna come over again till they had made a decision about the whole moving out thing and so when we saw Clarissa at church on Sunday with the boys (Gary was working) we asked her if they had prayed together about it. They hadn’t and she was feeling super stressed and she was depressed and awful. They are in a ton of debt and behind on payments to things and etc etc. So after church when we got back to the apartment I laid down on the couch and just felt horrible! I am so attached to my investigators and to have one who is struggling so much, I felt it and I was stressed and I felt so sick. So Sister Johnson being the amazing companion that she is tried to help me work it out, but we just didn’t know what to do about Clarissa. So after a few minutes of laying there I sat up and looked at Sister Johnson and said- I have an idea and it’s totally not mine, it came from the spirit. She was like, no way cause I have a crazy idea in my head right now to. I told her my idea was to move Clarissa’s baptism up to this week- this Sunday! She said that she had the same thought. So we jumped up and put our shoes on and ran out the door!!! I felt so good- all that sick feeling was replaced with pure joy!! We got to Clarissa’s house and she was still all stressed and depressed. We had a prayer and then blurted out what the spirit told me! She was like, Yes!!! Her countenance automatically changed and she said that this is right, she felt so at peace! It was awesome, so we gave her the baptismal questions to make sure she was ready and she passed totally!! So she will also be interviewed by Elder Smith on Tuesday and she will be baptized this Sunday along with Toby. But the story continues. After we left her house we went to the park to EBP and while were there Clarissa called. She said that Gary had just called her and he said that the meat coolers (he works at a grocery store in the butcher part) had all broken down and he had to stay there until they could get them fixed, but they were going to pay him over time for it. Clarissa saw this as an answer to prayers- she was so stressed about their debt and their overdue rent and then right after she commits to being baptized this week, the Lord gives her a way to help pay the bills. What a blessing!! So we were excited for her and went back to work, we got another phone call, but we were in the middle of a contact so we just let it go to voicemail. We listened to it later and it was Clarissa. She said that after she got off the phone with us she said a payer thanking God for helping them and answering her prayers and getting the overtime for Gary. Then after she finished her prayer the phone rang and it was her grandma saying that they wanted to pay her to babysit her nephews for a few days. She was just feeling so blessed that all these things started happening!! We were so happy to tell her that it is all because she is making right choices and following Christ! So ya that is the story- so sweet!! So Clarissa is being baptized and so it Toby both this Sunday- the 5th!! I said that we are gonna dunk Clarissa first so she can be my fist baptism!! He hee I am so excited!!!!!
Thank Y’all for your love and support. I am grateful for ya and all that you do! Keep your prayers coming cause the week before baptism is always hard (so I hear) so both me and my investigators could use your prayers! Have a great week, and next week I will have baptism pictures for ya!!!!!!!!
SMILING EXTRA BIG ALL THE WHILE
Hermana Kleisler
P.S. This letter ended up being longer than the first, so y'all are lucky! lol
So sadly I just wrote y’all a big 2 page letter that was super awesome and then the computer freaked out and lost it! Sad!! But that’s ok, luckily I can write you another one- it just might not be as good or as long! But it’s all good it will cover the same topics- cause we had an awesome week that I want to tell ya’ll about!!!
Ok so first off Sister Johnson and I are doing great together! I have never had this much comp unity before- like I will get an idea and then before I can even say it Sister Johnson will suggest the same thing I was thinking. It is just so cool because we are on the same page- we have a lot of oneness going on. Plus we have a lot of fun together- she’s a goof ball and a bit of a drama queen so I make fun of her for that and she makes fun of me for being such guy (all of my burping and putting my feet up on the table, etc) ha ha we have a blast! Also Sister Johnson plays guitar- she learned to play while she was at BYU cause it was a good stress reliever for her. So she was so excited when she found out I was learning to play and had a guitar at the apartment!! She jams away on my guitar all the time she loves to write songs and just plink around. We are doing really great together and I think that has a lot to do with the success we had this week!
So we had zone conference this week and it was fantastic! I especially loved getting to see all the missionaries! I miss that being down here in Pleasanton- I never get to see anyone, so it was great to be around a ton of friends!! Plus there were other sisters there- we had a blast together, ha ha at lunch time the sisters always sit together and our table is always the loudest one in the gym- we had each other laughing so hard this time that even President turned his head to see what was so funny! Lol So ya that part was great, but even better was the trainings. President trained on the value of hard work and it was awesome. Sister Cutler trained on having a positive attitude and how much that can help us. Then the AP’s trained on following the spirit and letting it guide our lessons and also teaching our investigators to recognize it. They also trained on prayer and getting our investigators to pray. These last two topics are ones President said he felt very strongly about that we needed to learn and work on. I am so grateful to have such an inspired mission president because those last two topics- spirit and prayer came into play for us later on in the week!! I’ll get to that later. :)
So just a random tender mercy story I thought I would share with you- so at Zone Conference we always have a clean car contest so we clean our cars super well the night before or the morning before conference so that we can win cause the prize is extra miles!! So the day before conference we went to the Swaims and washed our car and then the morning of conference we went to a do it yourself car wash right by the chapel where we were meeting and we were washing it again (we really wanted to win!) While we were washing our car we got a phone call saying that we were late and that conference had already started. We were told the wrong time by our new district leader. So we rushed over to the conference and didn’t have time to finish cleaning the car. I was so stressed out cause we were late and the car was a mess and we weren’t gonna win extra miles. So once we got into the chapel I Was still upset that we were late- I hate being late to meetings!!!! Well when we got there we were just splitting up for AP trainings and so when I walked into the relief society room President shook my hand but then he held onto it for a second and he looked into my eyes and said. It’s ok, you’re here, that’s all that matters, now forget about it. I was like, wait, what? How did you know? President then just grinned real big and walked away to greet other missionaries. So, that was kinda cool. But the real tender mercy came later- when the clean car awards were announced. We got third place- 40 extra miles!!! I couldn’t believe it! So ya, the Lord looks out for ya for sure! :) Even in the small and simple things.
Another little story for ya, so on Wednesday night we had our new member lessons and Sister Swaim was going to teach about prayer (we picked it especially because Gary said he was gonna come this week and he still has not kept his commitment to pray) So when 7 o clock rolls around we get to the church and Sister Swaim isn’t there, instead one of our ward missionaries, sister Fricke is there and she said Sister Swaim called her and asked her to teach, apparently Sister Swaim got pink eye. But Sister Fricke seemed to think the lesson started at six thirty and so she was there waiting for us so when we got there she said that she had to be somewhere by seven fifteen. So she asked us if we could teach. So we were like ok. Then all the sudden my brain went into panic mode- oh no we have to teach last minute and we aren’t prepared!!!! Then all the sudden something clicked in my mind, um duh, Sister Kleisler, you are a missionary and you do this all the time! Lol So Sister Johnson and I taught the lesson and it was fine, but it was so funny cause I flipped out for a sec and then remembered that I am a missionary! Ha ha
So now time for my investigator update. First off Toby is ready to be baptized, we reviewed the baptismal questions with him and we think he is ready, his dad thinks he is and Toby really wants to be baptized, so his mom said ok, as long as she can take pictures. So he is being officially interviewed by our District Leader, Elder Smith tomorrow. He is all set to be baptized this Sunday! :) So that is great and very exciting, but the even more exciting news is a long story and it is all about Clarissa.
The Clarissa story- Well we had a couple of appointments with them this week. First was on Tuesday and we had the Partridges both come with us and we talked about eternal marriage. It was really great and they were able to ask the partridges questions about marriage and what not. It almost turned into a marriage counseling session and so I had to be careful of that, but it went well and I think Gary and Clarissa came to the conclusion that they are not ready to get married yet. So they are talking about moving out. Having Gary stay at his relatives, and then come over for the day. So then Wednesday night they came to new member lessons- and that was good. Then Friday we decided to pop over and see Clarissa and talk to her about this whole moving out situation and really get the ball rolling. So we go over there and Gary was there too- so we figured all right, not a coincidence. So we shared the same lesson, y’all need to figure out what your gonna do so you can keep the law of Chastity and the way you will know what to do is through prayer. We asked them if they had prayed about it yet and they said no. But Gary said that he said a prayer on the way to work the other day, and that was the first time he had ever prayed since like a little kid or something. So for him that was a major breakthrough. So when it was time to go Sister Johnson asked Gary if he would say the closing prayer. He said no, he wasn’t ready to say a prayer in front of people yet, and he wouldn’t even know what to say. I remembered what we had been taught at zone conference earlier in the week and so I said Gary what are 3 things you are thankful for. He said 1 my boys, 2 Clarissa, 3 My house. I said great, now what is something you need some help on in your life- what would you ask God for? He said, help making these decisions. I said ok, great, you basically just said a prayer- now say it to God!!! So he was like uh, ok. So I said, let’s all get on our knees and you are gonna say the prayer. SO we did and Gary said a great prayer. The whole time I was waiting to feel the spirit and it didn’t really come, so I prayed for it and waited, still nothing. After he finished we all stayed on our knees, I waited a few seconds and then said, now Gary how do you feel? In an answer to prayer and honoring my request the spirit filled that house so thick as soon as the words left my lips. The spirit was so strong in that room it was bursting out the sides!!! I felt it thick encompassing me and it was amazing!!! Sister Johnson and Clarissa were both crying and I looked at Gary and he said- I feel good!!! So we gave Clarissa a hug and Gary a handshake and hopped out of the house real quick so that we left with the spirit still there. We got in the car and thanked the Lord for allowing the spirit to fill their house so thick like!!! It was just a huge break through for Gary and now there is no way he can deny the church is true- he still just isn’t going to progress as fast as Clarissa and that is ok. So anyway we told them we weren’t gonna come over again till they had made a decision about the whole moving out thing and so when we saw Clarissa at church on Sunday with the boys (Gary was working) we asked her if they had prayed together about it. They hadn’t and she was feeling super stressed and she was depressed and awful. They are in a ton of debt and behind on payments to things and etc etc. So after church when we got back to the apartment I laid down on the couch and just felt horrible! I am so attached to my investigators and to have one who is struggling so much, I felt it and I was stressed and I felt so sick. So Sister Johnson being the amazing companion that she is tried to help me work it out, but we just didn’t know what to do about Clarissa. So after a few minutes of laying there I sat up and looked at Sister Johnson and said- I have an idea and it’s totally not mine, it came from the spirit. She was like, no way cause I have a crazy idea in my head right now to. I told her my idea was to move Clarissa’s baptism up to this week- this Sunday! She said that she had the same thought. So we jumped up and put our shoes on and ran out the door!!! I felt so good- all that sick feeling was replaced with pure joy!! We got to Clarissa’s house and she was still all stressed and depressed. We had a prayer and then blurted out what the spirit told me! She was like, Yes!!! Her countenance automatically changed and she said that this is right, she felt so at peace! It was awesome, so we gave her the baptismal questions to make sure she was ready and she passed totally!! So she will also be interviewed by Elder Smith on Tuesday and she will be baptized this Sunday along with Toby. But the story continues. After we left her house we went to the park to EBP and while were there Clarissa called. She said that Gary had just called her and he said that the meat coolers (he works at a grocery store in the butcher part) had all broken down and he had to stay there until they could get them fixed, but they were going to pay him over time for it. Clarissa saw this as an answer to prayers- she was so stressed about their debt and their overdue rent and then right after she commits to being baptized this week, the Lord gives her a way to help pay the bills. What a blessing!! So we were excited for her and went back to work, we got another phone call, but we were in the middle of a contact so we just let it go to voicemail. We listened to it later and it was Clarissa. She said that after she got off the phone with us she said a payer thanking God for helping them and answering her prayers and getting the overtime for Gary. Then after she finished her prayer the phone rang and it was her grandma saying that they wanted to pay her to babysit her nephews for a few days. She was just feeling so blessed that all these things started happening!! We were so happy to tell her that it is all because she is making right choices and following Christ! So ya that is the story- so sweet!! So Clarissa is being baptized and so it Toby both this Sunday- the 5th!! I said that we are gonna dunk Clarissa first so she can be my fist baptism!! He hee I am so excited!!!!!
Thank Y’all for your love and support. I am grateful for ya and all that you do! Keep your prayers coming cause the week before baptism is always hard (so I hear) so both me and my investigators could use your prayers! Have a great week, and next week I will have baptism pictures for ya!!!!!!!!
SMILING EXTRA BIG ALL THE WHILE
Hermana Kleisler
P.S. This letter ended up being longer than the first, so y'all are lucky! lol
Texas Style Pics!
Companionship Unity!!
First is Sister Johnson and I in front of the Lake at the Brown's farm (members in the ward).
Next- while at the Mercado for P-day this week, Sister Johnson and I bought our companionship unity shirts and also couldn't resist these cool hats too- we are extra unified! lol
One of the members in our ward who used to be stake president has a world war two airplane museum on his property and a runway. So the other day he and his wife flew to the Pleasanton airport to meet us for a picnic lunch!
Us with President Jensen in front of his plane.
It's our lunch flying into meet us!
Some Less active members in our ward work at a firestation and we went to visit them on Saturday and they took pics of us on the firetruck!! So fun!
First is Sister Johnson and I in front of the Lake at the Brown's farm (members in the ward).
Next- while at the Mercado for P-day this week, Sister Johnson and I bought our companionship unity shirts and also couldn't resist these cool hats too- we are extra unified! lol
One of the members in our ward who used to be stake president has a world war two airplane museum on his property and a runway. So the other day he and his wife flew to the Pleasanton airport to meet us for a picnic lunch!
Us with President Jensen in front of his plane.
It's our lunch flying into meet us!
Some Less active members in our ward work at a firestation and we went to visit them on Saturday and they took pics of us on the firetruck!! So fun!
Monday, June 22, 2009
This week's pictures from Pleasanton
The first two are pics that we took as were driving along to an appointment Sister Johnson thought it was just so pretty and we had to get out and take a pic- I on the other hand am so used to this stuff, I was like oh fine. Ha ha but they turned out cute so here ya go- first me, then Sister Johnson.
Next is well, Texas. There are dogs in every home and they seem to sense the fact that I don't like them, so they jump on me. Sister Johnson snapped this pic as we were teaching a lesson and this big ole dog was determined to sit in my lap. I wasn't too pleased but I have to be polite and pretend that I like them. Oh life as a missionary. ha ha!
So I was walking through some grass to take a picture with this John Deere tractor and unbeknownst to me there were tons of annoying sticker grass blades just waiting to attack me!!! I hate those stupid things, they are everywhere here and they get me constantly! The most annoying thing is that they REALLY hurt, it's like a paper cut, it's a small prick but it stings! So ya that was not a fun experience. But we got to have a good companion bonding experience as we used some team work to de-sticker my legs! I call these little things- burrs, and I believe that Satan created them! lol
Me aboard my chariot- John Deere Tractor!!!
My permanent grin for the week- all cause Clarissa is gonna be baptized!
Next is well, Texas. There are dogs in every home and they seem to sense the fact that I don't like them, so they jump on me. Sister Johnson snapped this pic as we were teaching a lesson and this big ole dog was determined to sit in my lap. I wasn't too pleased but I have to be polite and pretend that I like them. Oh life as a missionary. ha ha!
So I was walking through some grass to take a picture with this John Deere tractor and unbeknownst to me there were tons of annoying sticker grass blades just waiting to attack me!!! I hate those stupid things, they are everywhere here and they get me constantly! The most annoying thing is that they REALLY hurt, it's like a paper cut, it's a small prick but it stings! So ya that was not a fun experience. But we got to have a good companion bonding experience as we used some team work to de-sticker my legs! I call these little things- burrs, and I believe that Satan created them! lol
Me aboard my chariot- John Deere Tractor!!!
My permanent grin for the week- all cause Clarissa is gonna be baptized!
Let's Set a Date!
Hey Y’all!!!
Well it has been quite an awesome week! First off I’ll get straight to the awesomeness… Tuesday night we had a lesson with Clarissa and Gary, Aaron was already in bed and so things were much quieter and the spirit could really be there. The spirit was there- thick- and I felt the prompting to set Clarissa with a baptismal date. Clarissa is being baptized on the 19th of July and she is so excited!!! She wants to be baptized more than anything!!!! That night when we came back to the apartment I took a picture of my face because it had a permanent grin on it! :) So this week has been full of thoughts, phone calls, appointments and prayers all for Clarissa and Gary. The biggest obstacle is- they need to get married or separated. At one point this week she had us over there making out an action plan, how she could move out and leave Gary. Then we had a fast with her and prayed for the knowledge of what we should do, and then it turns out she decided that she could make things work with Gary. So now we are talking about marrying them. It is all still a bit hectic and unknown but the most important thing is she has a sincere desire to get baptized- and soon. So everything will work out, I know that, and I am so excited!! Things are going really well with her and also Gary is still coming along, he is willing to support her in her decision to be baptized- he himself has noticed the change in her and he likes it! Also Aaron went to primary yesterday all by himself!! Answer to prayers! I moved him to a different class because the one that is just one age group up has the daughter of Clarissa’s member friend and also the teacher there is super awesome and I knew he would be able to help Aaron. It worked! Aaron LOVED primary yesterday. It was also really cute this week, Aaron has pretty much become my little buddy- he LOVES to be around me!! It is way sweet and this week- he said my name- it caught me totally off guard cause most adults can’t even say my name right!! But Saturday night we were over at Clarissa’s for dinner and then we say down in the family room for a lesson and Aaron was all “Ssssister Kleisler come play a game with me!!!!!” I was like no, I have to talk to your….wait, what did you call me? Ha ha it was so cute, he just grinned- pretty proud of himself. I had never even told him my name before, but he always heard his mom saying it. So ya that was sweet and then when we sat down for the lesson Aaron brought me a chair from his room to sit in. An Elmo chair- and it was tiny! Ha ha I looked hilarious! So then Aaron sat down next to me and was ready for the lesson. I tried to get him to go play, but nope he wanted to be in there with us. So I looked at him and said Aaron, will you say the Prayer. He was like um… I said I’ll help you! He said ok, and then ran off, he came back with his cars chair, I was like, uh what’s that about, he was like it’s gonna be my prayer chair. So he sat in the chair folded his arms and I helped him say the prayer. After he was done there were tears in Clarissa’s eyes and I’ll admit it there were some in mine too. This rowdy little boy who just turned four sat still and said his first prayer ever. It was such an amazing thing to see. I look at Aaron and Emmerick and see two little boys who are gonna grow up with the gospel in their home and are going to be little priesthood holders some day. That just makes me so grateful!! So grateful to the Lord for this amazing opportunity that I have to be a missionary and see miracles like this take place! :0) But that’s not all the miracles aren’t over…. We had a lesson with Toby on Thursday and the spirit was strong and I felt the prompting, and guess what… Toby is gonna be baptized by his dad on July 5th!!!! So July is seriously gonna rock! :) Ya I am so stoked- my first baptisms and they are with the most amazing people ever! I am just so blessed to be serving here in Pleasanton and have the amazing opportunity to meet these people!
So in other news, it is HOT!!!! Oh geez, Saturday was 110!!!! I thought I was gonna die, lol ok so that’s a bit dramatic, but honestly it was pretty bad! We were out knocking doors and people would answer and be like “what are you doing, it is SO hot!!!???” We would say, well the message we share is just so important that we are out here sweating to death because we really want to share it with you. Lol I wish I could say that worked and we got in a ton of doors- but um it didn’t. Lol We are working through the heat and staying hydrated, and we will be working hard all summer long- why….. BECAUSE THIS IS THE LORD’S WORK AND IT ROCKS!!! I love so much my calling to serve and I am so blessed to be growing so much through the hard times and the sweet times.
I want to thank y’all for your love and support and hope y’all keep on rocking!
SMILING ALL THE WHILE
Hermana Kleisler
Well it has been quite an awesome week! First off I’ll get straight to the awesomeness… Tuesday night we had a lesson with Clarissa and Gary, Aaron was already in bed and so things were much quieter and the spirit could really be there. The spirit was there- thick- and I felt the prompting to set Clarissa with a baptismal date. Clarissa is being baptized on the 19th of July and she is so excited!!! She wants to be baptized more than anything!!!! That night when we came back to the apartment I took a picture of my face because it had a permanent grin on it! :) So this week has been full of thoughts, phone calls, appointments and prayers all for Clarissa and Gary. The biggest obstacle is- they need to get married or separated. At one point this week she had us over there making out an action plan, how she could move out and leave Gary. Then we had a fast with her and prayed for the knowledge of what we should do, and then it turns out she decided that she could make things work with Gary. So now we are talking about marrying them. It is all still a bit hectic and unknown but the most important thing is she has a sincere desire to get baptized- and soon. So everything will work out, I know that, and I am so excited!! Things are going really well with her and also Gary is still coming along, he is willing to support her in her decision to be baptized- he himself has noticed the change in her and he likes it! Also Aaron went to primary yesterday all by himself!! Answer to prayers! I moved him to a different class because the one that is just one age group up has the daughter of Clarissa’s member friend and also the teacher there is super awesome and I knew he would be able to help Aaron. It worked! Aaron LOVED primary yesterday. It was also really cute this week, Aaron has pretty much become my little buddy- he LOVES to be around me!! It is way sweet and this week- he said my name- it caught me totally off guard cause most adults can’t even say my name right!! But Saturday night we were over at Clarissa’s for dinner and then we say down in the family room for a lesson and Aaron was all “Ssssister Kleisler come play a game with me!!!!!” I was like no, I have to talk to your….wait, what did you call me? Ha ha it was so cute, he just grinned- pretty proud of himself. I had never even told him my name before, but he always heard his mom saying it. So ya that was sweet and then when we sat down for the lesson Aaron brought me a chair from his room to sit in. An Elmo chair- and it was tiny! Ha ha I looked hilarious! So then Aaron sat down next to me and was ready for the lesson. I tried to get him to go play, but nope he wanted to be in there with us. So I looked at him and said Aaron, will you say the Prayer. He was like um… I said I’ll help you! He said ok, and then ran off, he came back with his cars chair, I was like, uh what’s that about, he was like it’s gonna be my prayer chair. So he sat in the chair folded his arms and I helped him say the prayer. After he was done there were tears in Clarissa’s eyes and I’ll admit it there were some in mine too. This rowdy little boy who just turned four sat still and said his first prayer ever. It was such an amazing thing to see. I look at Aaron and Emmerick and see two little boys who are gonna grow up with the gospel in their home and are going to be little priesthood holders some day. That just makes me so grateful!! So grateful to the Lord for this amazing opportunity that I have to be a missionary and see miracles like this take place! :0) But that’s not all the miracles aren’t over…. We had a lesson with Toby on Thursday and the spirit was strong and I felt the prompting, and guess what… Toby is gonna be baptized by his dad on July 5th!!!! So July is seriously gonna rock! :) Ya I am so stoked- my first baptisms and they are with the most amazing people ever! I am just so blessed to be serving here in Pleasanton and have the amazing opportunity to meet these people!
So in other news, it is HOT!!!! Oh geez, Saturday was 110!!!! I thought I was gonna die, lol ok so that’s a bit dramatic, but honestly it was pretty bad! We were out knocking doors and people would answer and be like “what are you doing, it is SO hot!!!???” We would say, well the message we share is just so important that we are out here sweating to death because we really want to share it with you. Lol I wish I could say that worked and we got in a ton of doors- but um it didn’t. Lol We are working through the heat and staying hydrated, and we will be working hard all summer long- why….. BECAUSE THIS IS THE LORD’S WORK AND IT ROCKS!!! I love so much my calling to serve and I am so blessed to be growing so much through the hard times and the sweet times.
I want to thank y’all for your love and support and hope y’all keep on rocking!
SMILING ALL THE WHILE
Hermana Kleisler
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