Hello, everyone! I cannot believe it is Monday again and I am emailing
AGAIN! It has been a marvelous week, I just love it here.
This week we had another lesson with Shauntah. We taught her about the
word of wisdom and committed her to living it...that was a mega act of
faith for us to do that, since she hasn't even said yes to baptism
yet. I know that giving her the opportunity to keep more of God's
commandments will just allow her to be more blessed. I was studying
the word of wisdom a lot before we went and taught it and the
overlying theme was that it allows our spirit to be in control of our
body and for us to more easily do His will rather than ours. Shauntah
wants to receive answers so badly and I know that this will help her
to get those answers. But, it was TERRIFYING to do. I was so afraid
that it was going to scare her off. I've only ever taught the word of
wisdom after the person has already accepted baptism and is
progressing to that! It may have scared her off, we haven't found out
yet, but I am applying more faith in this situation than I ever have
before. I believe with all my heart that what we taught her is true,
we as her teachers, just have to wait for Heavenly Father to answer
her. Ay! So, all of you know that I have major control issues, I just
like to be in charge of the outcome and have everything in line to go
exactly how I want. This is my humbling moment, I think. I have to
have the faith that Heavenly Father is in control and he loves
Shauntah, more than I do. I was just going to say, "I'm so nervous,"
but that would show a lack of faith. So I will change that to, "I know
it will work out!" :)
We had dinner with a family in the ward tonight, I can't remember if I
told you about them last time, but if I did, it was the story of the
huge jumping dog. Anywho. This week when we had dinner with them they
invited their neighbor's kids over. Their last name is Ferree. But
when we say it, it generally comes out as "The Furry Children." Which
makes them sound like little monsters. Not completely a lie, hahah.
One of them wrestled Sister Porter and was climbing on top of her and
swinging arms to get a piece of paper from her. I was in eye contact
with Sister Porter the entire time and it was HILARIOUS. Like in the
dog story, the owners of the home said nothing. Even better!
Nighttime is the hardest thing ever to fill! I swear, everyone goes to
bed at like 8 here, so we have to have set appointments, drop ins are
just too bizarre for most people. So, whenever someone wants to set an
appointment, we always try and shimmy them down to 7 or 8, that's
always our priority time to fill. On Tuesday we had our evening booked
with appointments and guess what, they all called and cancelled. No!
We tried several people who are semi-ok with drop-ins, nothing!
Remember this and I will now tell you the second part that leads into
this amazing story. Last week we received a referral for a woman named
Rozlyn. It came through Mormon.org to our phone. We immediately tried
contacting it, several times and came to the conclusion that no one
lived in this home. It always looked so so empty! Alright, so back to
our completely bare Tuesday night. We decided to try driving by
Roslyn's home ONE more time, because to be honest, we had absolutely
nothing better to do. We drove over to her little neighborhood and
guess what. You got it, there was a car on the driveway. Oh my gosh,
who cares that it is now 8:20pm and pitch black and this will be our
first impression? We sure didn't, she was home and that was a miracle!
We go up and knock and a sweet older woman answers the door. She
ushered us in quickly and greeted us like she knew us. She proceeded
to tell us that now wasn't a great time, then her eyes began to well
up with tears as she tried to fight them back. While biting her lip,
she said, "He just passed this morning." My heart just sank as I felt
just a smidgen of the agony this woman was feeling. We asked if we
could come back the next day, gave this woman we hardly knew a big hug
and left. My heart ached for her and I began to understand a little
bit of how it pains our Heavenly Father to see us in pain. It really
hurt to see a sister of mine in such a sad and lonely state, it was so
hard to leave her! The next morning, we went to see her again and
found out that she is a member! She has lived in the ward for three
years, but never transferred her records up. Her daughter who lives in
CA was the one who sent us the referral for her. Rozlyn told us that
her husband had been in the hospice for nearly a year and that he was
the one who passed away that day. She proceeded to tell us that she
had been pretty much living there to be with him as much as possible.
Last night, was her first time home and she was bringing all of his
belongings home. She had just walked in the door, unloaded all of his
things, walked into the living room and been surrounded by his
pictures, when she felt completely alone and reality hit her. Then she
heard a knock. (I'm crying right now, and I'm sure mom and dad are
too!) Two young girls, with no appointments that night, who showed up
solely on a prompting were on her doorstep because Heavenly Father
needed Rozlyn to know that she is NOT alone. That she is loved. That
He knows her and He will be there to help her eternally. I can't fully
comprehend how Rozlyn felt and how much that helped her, but as she
tearfully told us her version of the story, my heart swelled to know
that I was a vessel in the hands of the Lord that night. My testimony
has been forever strengthened that Heavenly Father does have a plan.
Regardless of if the experience seems completely pointless and
worthless at the time (all of our appointments canceling), I promise
it is leading you where you will learn the most and be the happiest!
Let Him lead you to joy!
Enough with the tissue story. I was given a pretty sweet souvenir this
week. You all are gonna laugh so hard at me, but you know how much I
love unique, antiquey looking things. Well I found my wedding dress
right here in Oregon! Haha. We were doing service for a less active
member by cleaning her garage out. And low and behold there it was!
She for it second hand at a thrift shop for $15. Then she gave it to
me! It is so perfect, but guess what. It doesn't look good on...yes,
of course I tried it on and yes, I waited until I got home. It didn't
look good, so sorry, I won't be mailing a wedding dress home to you
all!
This ward is full of such wonderful people! I love it here and am so
grateful for the time I have had to serve here and the lessons I have
learned. People are so strong and so faithful, I will forever be
grateful for their examples. So many amazing things have happened
here, I can't even begin to explain it! It is so frustrating to know
that no one will ever understand my experience here because it cannot
be portrayed in words. I'm trying though.
I love you guys! Xoxoxo. You are amazing and I cannot wait to spend
forever with you!
Love, Sister Kerr
P.s. This song is my theme this week!
1. Each life that touches ours for good, Reflects thine own great
mercy, Lord; Thou sendest blessings from above Thru words and deeds of
those who love.
2. What greater gift dost thou bestow, What greater goodness can we
know Than Christlike friends, whose gentle ways Strengthen our faith,
enrich our days.
3. When such a friend from us departs, We hold forever in our hearts A
sweet and hallowed memory, Bringing us nearer, Lord, to thee.
4. For worthy friends whose lives proclaim Devotion to the Savior's
name, Who bless our days with peace and love, We praise thy goodness,
Lord, above.
(Each Life That Touches Ours for Good)
P.s.s. WHITNEY COPELAND sent me the most wonderful letter in the
world. I love you my big sissy!
AGAIN! It has been a marvelous week, I just love it here.
This week we had another lesson with Shauntah. We taught her about the
word of wisdom and committed her to living it...that was a mega act of
faith for us to do that, since she hasn't even said yes to baptism
yet. I know that giving her the opportunity to keep more of God's
commandments will just allow her to be more blessed. I was studying
the word of wisdom a lot before we went and taught it and the
overlying theme was that it allows our spirit to be in control of our
body and for us to more easily do His will rather than ours. Shauntah
wants to receive answers so badly and I know that this will help her
to get those answers. But, it was TERRIFYING to do. I was so afraid
that it was going to scare her off. I've only ever taught the word of
wisdom after the person has already accepted baptism and is
progressing to that! It may have scared her off, we haven't found out
yet, but I am applying more faith in this situation than I ever have
before. I believe with all my heart that what we taught her is true,
we as her teachers, just have to wait for Heavenly Father to answer
her. Ay! So, all of you know that I have major control issues, I just
like to be in charge of the outcome and have everything in line to go
exactly how I want. This is my humbling moment, I think. I have to
have the faith that Heavenly Father is in control and he loves
Shauntah, more than I do. I was just going to say, "I'm so nervous,"
but that would show a lack of faith. So I will change that to, "I know
it will work out!" :)
We had dinner with a family in the ward tonight, I can't remember if I
told you about them last time, but if I did, it was the story of the
huge jumping dog. Anywho. This week when we had dinner with them they
invited their neighbor's kids over. Their last name is Ferree. But
when we say it, it generally comes out as "The Furry Children." Which
makes them sound like little monsters. Not completely a lie, hahah.
One of them wrestled Sister Porter and was climbing on top of her and
swinging arms to get a piece of paper from her. I was in eye contact
with Sister Porter the entire time and it was HILARIOUS. Like in the
dog story, the owners of the home said nothing. Even better!
Nighttime is the hardest thing ever to fill! I swear, everyone goes to
bed at like 8 here, so we have to have set appointments, drop ins are
just too bizarre for most people. So, whenever someone wants to set an
appointment, we always try and shimmy them down to 7 or 8, that's
always our priority time to fill. On Tuesday we had our evening booked
with appointments and guess what, they all called and cancelled. No!
We tried several people who are semi-ok with drop-ins, nothing!
Remember this and I will now tell you the second part that leads into
this amazing story. Last week we received a referral for a woman named
Rozlyn. It came through Mormon.org to our phone. We immediately tried
contacting it, several times and came to the conclusion that no one
lived in this home. It always looked so so empty! Alright, so back to
our completely bare Tuesday night. We decided to try driving by
Roslyn's home ONE more time, because to be honest, we had absolutely
nothing better to do. We drove over to her little neighborhood and
guess what. You got it, there was a car on the driveway. Oh my gosh,
who cares that it is now 8:20pm and pitch black and this will be our
first impression? We sure didn't, she was home and that was a miracle!
We go up and knock and a sweet older woman answers the door. She
ushered us in quickly and greeted us like she knew us. She proceeded
to tell us that now wasn't a great time, then her eyes began to well
up with tears as she tried to fight them back. While biting her lip,
she said, "He just passed this morning." My heart just sank as I felt
just a smidgen of the agony this woman was feeling. We asked if we
could come back the next day, gave this woman we hardly knew a big hug
and left. My heart ached for her and I began to understand a little
bit of how it pains our Heavenly Father to see us in pain. It really
hurt to see a sister of mine in such a sad and lonely state, it was so
hard to leave her! The next morning, we went to see her again and
found out that she is a member! She has lived in the ward for three
years, but never transferred her records up. Her daughter who lives in
CA was the one who sent us the referral for her. Rozlyn told us that
her husband had been in the hospice for nearly a year and that he was
the one who passed away that day. She proceeded to tell us that she
had been pretty much living there to be with him as much as possible.
Last night, was her first time home and she was bringing all of his
belongings home. She had just walked in the door, unloaded all of his
things, walked into the living room and been surrounded by his
pictures, when she felt completely alone and reality hit her. Then she
heard a knock. (I'm crying right now, and I'm sure mom and dad are
too!) Two young girls, with no appointments that night, who showed up
solely on a prompting were on her doorstep because Heavenly Father
needed Rozlyn to know that she is NOT alone. That she is loved. That
He knows her and He will be there to help her eternally. I can't fully
comprehend how Rozlyn felt and how much that helped her, but as she
tearfully told us her version of the story, my heart swelled to know
that I was a vessel in the hands of the Lord that night. My testimony
has been forever strengthened that Heavenly Father does have a plan.
Regardless of if the experience seems completely pointless and
worthless at the time (all of our appointments canceling), I promise
it is leading you where you will learn the most and be the happiest!
Let Him lead you to joy!
Enough with the tissue story. I was given a pretty sweet souvenir this
week. You all are gonna laugh so hard at me, but you know how much I
love unique, antiquey looking things. Well I found my wedding dress
right here in Oregon! Haha. We were doing service for a less active
member by cleaning her garage out. And low and behold there it was!
She for it second hand at a thrift shop for $15. Then she gave it to
me! It is so perfect, but guess what. It doesn't look good on...yes,
of course I tried it on and yes, I waited until I got home. It didn't
look good, so sorry, I won't be mailing a wedding dress home to you
all!
This ward is full of such wonderful people! I love it here and am so
grateful for the time I have had to serve here and the lessons I have
learned. People are so strong and so faithful, I will forever be
grateful for their examples. So many amazing things have happened
here, I can't even begin to explain it! It is so frustrating to know
that no one will ever understand my experience here because it cannot
be portrayed in words. I'm trying though.
I love you guys! Xoxoxo. You are amazing and I cannot wait to spend
forever with you!
Love, Sister Kerr
P.s. This song is my theme this week!
1. Each life that touches ours for good, Reflects thine own great
mercy, Lord; Thou sendest blessings from above Thru words and deeds of
those who love.
2. What greater gift dost thou bestow, What greater goodness can we
know Than Christlike friends, whose gentle ways Strengthen our faith,
enrich our days.
3. When such a friend from us departs, We hold forever in our hearts A
sweet and hallowed memory, Bringing us nearer, Lord, to thee.
4. For worthy friends whose lives proclaim Devotion to the Savior's
name, Who bless our days with peace and love, We praise thy goodness,
Lord, above.
(Each Life That Touches Ours for Good)
P.s.s. WHITNEY COPELAND sent me the most wonderful letter in the
world. I love you my big sissy!
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