Book of Mormon Challenge

Hey Mom and fam!

Wow it sounds like you have a busy week ahead of you! But like you said, it will keep you out of trouble haha. Good luck with everything this week let me know how it goes! That's awesome that you're doing a B.O.M challenge! We did one as a mission recently. As we read we circled all of the references to Jesus Christ (i.e Lord, I am, Savior, Redeemer, His) and in another color we underlined Christ like attributes. You might want to do the same, it pretty neat. The Book of Mormon truly is Another Testament of Jesus Christ!

I'm jealous that you get to go to Boston! Take lots of pics and tell me all about it! Mother's Day is in just a few weeks, crazy! Are you gonna try and set up a conference call again? Mother's Day this year is 2 days away from my going home date (May 11, 2011). It's kinda scary to think about haha.

Well, this week was good. The mall was fun last Monday but kinda weird too! haha Three sisters go home this next week, and it's going to be really sad! They were my roommates for my first two transfers and I love them tons! We're losing 15 sisters in the next three transfers! There's gonna be lots of change in Kirtland.

Sister Frisch and I had a couple of powerful lessons with our investigators. We basically told them our purpose and that if they're not willing to do the work then we can't meet with them anymore. It's tough when you have to drop investigators, but we can't waste our time on those who won't commit when there are others waiting to be found. I've been focusing a lot on my purpose lately. We had zone conference a couple weeks ago and it was all about our purpose as missionaries. Studying chapter 1 in Preach My Gospel has helped me to truly understand my purpose. I encourage everyone to read from Preach My Gospel! It was written by the Prophet and Apostles. Our purpose statement was the last thing written in Preach because it took so much time to make it perfect.

Well, I have to go now. Thanks for writing Mom and Dad! I love you all tons and I'm grateful for the gospel and I know it blesses families!
Love,
Sister Kingston
p.s. Hey Mom I have a big favor to ask. Can you order me a new Preach My Gospel from the church's distribution center and have it shipped directly to me? I have an older version and just noticed that some things have been changed. I think it's only $6. Thanks!

p.p.s When you feed the Elders tell them I'm still trying to get info on Simone's schedule and that Ill call them as soon as I get it. Thanks again!

Congratulations!

Hey Dad and Fam!
Yay! I have a new niece! She is sooooo cute! Congrats on your newest edition Takahashi fam! Wow, it sounds like it's been a crazy past couple of days. I'm glad the baby arrived safe and sound.
Well I have to make this a short one too. 7 of us sisters are going to the mall today to pick out going home outfits for two of the sisters who go home in 2 weeks. It will be my first time going to a mall since I've been out so it should be an interesting experience.
This past week I had some cool tour experiences. We took a British family on tour. It was a family of four (mom dad brother sister). The son had just returned from his mission in Canada so they visited his mission and decided to visit some church history sites as well. Mom you would have loved talking to them! Their home in England is over 100 years old! They were really sweet people. Another cool experience we had was when we took a return sister missionary on tour. She served in Nauvoo about 10 years ago. When we stepped into the Newal K. Whitney store she immediately started to cry. She was overwhelmed by the spirit. She also mentioned that there's a familiar smell to places where the prophet has been. She was awesome! We took a young family out on tour who were from Illinois. They had four kids with them and their oldest was 11. Her name is Hannah and she had such an enthusiasm about everything we showed her. More than once I heard her exclaim, "WOW!" as she looked around the store and the home. It's my favorite when someone so young is so intune and excited about church history!
Well I have to go now. Hope all is well with everyone back home! I love you all so much! The gospel is true!
Love,
Sister Kingston

Easter/Conference Sunday

Hey Mom and Fam!
I'm glad to hear you all had a good Easter/conference Sunday! It sounds like Katrina's gonna pop any day now...keep me posted! Tell all of the kids I said hi and that I miss them! So it was rainy there? The weather here was perfect! I think it was 75, with a nice cool breeze :) One day this week, it got up to 80. I thought 80 degrees would feel good but the humidity makes it seem a WHOLE lot hotter! Summer's gonna be intense.
I had a great day yesterday as well! Thanks for the Easter packages Mom! Thanks for sending my shoes too! All of us sisters in the Boynton home died eggs on Saturday night and ate egg salad sandwiches on Sunday :). We started our Easter by going to a morning service that the Community of Christ had in the Temple. They invited us, and we've always wanted to know what their church services were like. Normally they meet in a church building across the street from the Temple, but since it was Easter they met in the Temple. Us missionaries made up over half of the people who were in attendance. It was very interesting. They had a pastor who preached and talked about Easter. They placed a 5 foot cross draped with a crown of thorns, on the puplit where Joseph Smith used to sit and where Christ most likely appeared. It made me sad, yet I was happy to know that I belong to the true church with the correct priesthood authority!
After their service, they had a breakfast for us across the street. The food was pretty good :)
The rest of the day was pretty relaxed. We watched both sessions of conference at the visitor center. I loved it! It was weird being on east coast time though. The first session doesn't start until 12 and the last session ends at 6. Pretty late huh? My comp and I were able to watch all four sessions of conference! Some other companionships had to give tours, but luckily we didn't get called! Wasn't the theme of conference interesting? It was especially interesting watching it in a room full of sisters haha. It was funny to see the reaction of those who will be going home soon, they felt a little over whelmed haha. I loved all of the talks but my favorites were from Elder Holland (he's always my fav no matter what the subject is), President Uchtdorf, and President Monson (sunday morning session). I cant wait till the Ensign comes out so I can read ALL of the talks again!
After conference, we had dinner with a less active couple in our ward. They had a traditional Easter dinner complete with ham, rolls, funeral potatoes, etc. We had a good lesson with them too! Then we had an appointment with one of our investigators, we taught them a lesson, and then we went home. It was a great day!
Well, I have to go now. Hope all is well at home! Love you all bunches and thanks for everything!!! The gospel is true!
Sister Kingston