The Fellowship of the Unashamed

The Fellowship of the Unashamed

I am part of the fellowship of the unashamed.  The dye has been cast.  I have stepped over the line.  The decision has been made. I am a disciple of Jesus Christ.

I won't look back, let up, slow down, or be still. My past is redeemed, my present makes sense and my future is secure.  I'm finished and done with low living, small planning,

smooth knees, colorless dreams, tamed visions, worldly talking, cheap giving and dwarfed goals.

I no longer need preeminence, positions, promotions, plaudits, or popularity. I don't have to be right first, recognized, praised, regarded, or rewarded. I now live by FAITH, lean on HIS presence, walk with patience, am uplifted by prayer and labor with power.

My road is narrow, my way is rough, my companions are few, my guide is reliable, my mission is clear.  I cannot be bought, compromised, detoured, lured away, divided or delayed.  I will not finch in the face of sacrifice, hesitate in the presence of adversity, negotiate at the table of the enemy, ponder at the pool of popularity, or meander in the maze of mediocrity.

I won't give up and shut up or let up until I have stayed up, stored up, and paid up for the cause of Christ.  I must go till He comes, give till I drop, preach till all know and work till He stops me.  And when He returns for His own He will have no problem recognizing me.  My banner will be clear.

~President Henry B. Eyring

"I'll Go Where You Want Me to Go"

Hey!

So this is really strange. I dont feel like Im coming home yet. Yesterday at church was the first time it really hit me. The closing hymn was "I'll Go Where You Want Me to Go." Tears streamed down my face as I then realized I would be leaving this place that I love with all of my heart. I am excited to see all of you though, and I know coming home will be better than I think it will be (hopefully).

Im going to try to keep this e-mail short because I have a ton to get done today. But I wanted to share a couple cool experiences that happened this week. Remember when my companion and I spoke at the local college? Well, some of the YSAs who go to school there started an LDS Student Association. They invited us to come to the college to help them set up a booth and talk to students about the church. It was a great experience! Both of the girls who started the club are recent converts so it was cool to see them do missionary work! We gave out a lot of mormon.org pass along cards and talked with a few who were even interested in learning more. I was thinking about how nervous I would have been before my mission about talking to my peers about the church. I now have no reservations whatsoever. I hope that I'll continue to be fearless after I come home.

Yesterday we had an awesome sacrament meeting! I told a story last week about taking a ysa, David, teaching with us. Well, he is going on a mission next week so he gave his farewell talk. It was probably the best Ive ever heard. He's 24 years old and was inactive for ten years. He talked about his Mother and how her prayers were the reason why he came back to church. It was on Mother's Day last year that his mom asked him to come to church for her Mother's Day present. He reluctantly agreed. He was going to go as he was, wearing jeans and a t-shirt. But he said he felt prompted to go up and change into a suit. He said that when he walked outside, wearing a suit, his mom and sister were cheering. From that day forward he never missed another sacrament meeting and he decided to go on a mission! Isnt that story awesome! The Atonement really is for everyone. He's going to be a great missionary.

Well, I'd better wrap up. But I'll take this one last opportunity to bear my testimony to you all as a full time missionary. My mission has been the best year and a half FOR my life. I can honestly say, with all of my heart,  that I've come to love this gospel more than anything. I understand my purpose and how I can help others reach their potential. I know now, who I can become if I continue to live righteously. I'll close with one of my favorite scriptures. (This took place here in Ohio!) Doctrine and Covenants 76:22 "And now, after the many testimonies which have been given of Him, this is the testimony, last of all, which we give of Him: That He lives!"

Love you all!

SISTER Kingston

This is the Christ

Hey Family!

Im glad you all had a great Easter! Thank you so much for the Easter package. 

Ive taken a few pictures and hopefully there will be more next week.

 

It was super busy at Sites this past week. It felt like summer again :) We had a lot of people come through on their Spring Breaks. We had so many people on Friday that my companion and I had to take tours by ourselves. I took a picture with the youth group at the end of the tour. The tour after that was a small seminary class from Michigan. The Bishop and his wife brought them here. Their little girls came too and they were the cutest! I took a picture with them also. At the end of the tour Sage (the three year old) looks at me and says, "Do you know what my favorite thing is?" I said, "No, what?!" She responds, "To hear missionaries preach the Gospel!" haha Being on tour with them got me excited to see all of the kids again!

 

I had my last President's interview this week. I cried. He asked me what my plans were and encouraged me to rely on what Ive learned here as I move forward. He's excited for me to attend BYU! He's excited for James and I to fly home together too! :)

 

Yesterday was a good day! We went to the Community of Christ sunrise service in the Temple. It was interesting, but good to be in the Temple one more time! Then we went to our ward at 9. We got a new Gospel Principles teacher. She's going to be awesome! They did something pretty cool in class yesterday. Sister Robison was sustained in sacrament meeting, and then they set her apart in class. They used it as a teaching opportunity. It was awesome! 

We had an Easter dinner with all of the Sisters and Senior Couples at the Visitors' Center. It was soooooo good to eat a home cooked meal! We havent been eating much with members lately because theyre trying to have less actives feed us, but they cant get a hold of them haha. Anyways, the program was good. I sang with two other Sisters "This is the Christ". Two new senior couples (who arrived that day) bore their testimonies. We also have a Sister from Temple Square doing her outbound here and she bore her testimony too. After that all of us Sisters sang an Easter hymn. Elder Edman (our site director) then said some closing remarks and he started by saying, "I wish I had 24 sons for all of you!" We all laughed haha. He read the story of the Resurrection and the Spirit touched my heart. I love reading about the Savior's life and ministry and the Atonement! It gives me hope and comfort to remember ALL that He has given me!

 

Well, I hope you all have a great week! Yes Dad there are two more e-mails to come. Weird. I love you all! Have a great week!

 

Love Sister Kingston

 

Community College/Stacey Miles

Hi everyone!

Cos and Angela's road trip sounds fun! I'll be excited to go to some of Kingston and Kai's games when i get home :)

Mom, I would love to help you decorate. Lindsey is coming home from Idaho that weekend to visit me, so I dont know how much help I'll be able to give. I'll do my best though. Tell Uncle Max and Aunt Leslie hi for me!

 

This week was great! On Saturday, we had a really cool experience at the local community college. A less active member in our ward, takes a comparative religion course there. He asked his professor if we could come and speak to the class. The professor said yes! We were super nervous! We planned on telling them a little bit about ourselves and what we do as missionaries, talking about the history of the church, and then opening it up to questions. It was the open questions portion that gave us anxiety. We role played how we would best respond to controversial questions (i.e. polygamy, gay marriage, etc). Well, none of those questions even came up! The class asked really sincere questions. We answered questions about persecution, heaven and hell, our mission experiences,the nature of God, etc. They were all receptive to what we had to say! We prayed beforehand that we wouldnt be confounded. Our prayer was truly answered. We didnt feel any type of nervousness once we stepped into the class room. We were confident and spoke with authority. It was AWESOME!

One student asked, "What's been the hardest thing about your mission?" I told her rejection, not being able to find people ready to listen to our message. She responded, "Ive never seen a Mormon knock on my door. If I did I would let them in." My rebuttal, "Where do you live?!" The class laughed, even though I was kind of serious haha.

I gave her a mormon.org card after class and hope that she'll want to learn more.

 

Last night was another high light of the week. Every third Sunday we have an investigator fireside in the theatre at the Visitors' Center. We asked a man named Stacey Miles to speak on the Atonement. Dad do you know who Stacey Miles is?! He used to play pro tennis and football. He joined the church a few years back, and he's dying of cancer. The church has actually made a Mormon message on him and his story. However, theyre making another one because apparently Elder Bednar didnt like the way the first one turned out! Anyways, brother Miles' talk was amazing and the Spirit was so strong. We had an investigator there and everything he said was perfect for her! A great way to end the week.

 

Well, Im glad all is well back home. I love you all and hope you have an awesome week! The gospel is true!

 

Love Sister Kingston

Happy Birthday Malia!

HELLO!

 

Happy Birthday Malia! I cant believe she's a year old! Mom and Dad, thanks for your encouraging words! It's a strange feeling coming to the end of my mission. It still doesnt seem like the end, the work never stops. However, I was sitting in ward council yesterday hearing everyone talk about Memorial Day and it hit me that I wont be here. To come home will be bitter sweet for sure.

 

This past week was super busy. We had some awesome lessons and we're excited for what this next week has in-store. We've been meeting a lot with the members and role playing with them to invite their friends to meet with us (in the member's home). We've done this under the direct instructions from our mission president, and it's been a few months. We havent really had any success...until now! We met with the Hydes a couple months ago. They are a young married couple that have been in the ward for about 9 months. When we went to their home we role played with Sister Hyde to invite one of her friends to a relief society activity. We committed her and she agreed. That week she invited her friend, but her friend was unable to come. We then just encouraged her to continue looking for missionary opportunities. Fast forward,  yesterday, Sister Hyde grabs my arm in the hall and says, "I have to talk to you." She then proceeds to tell me that she talked with one of her friends about the church. Theyve been friends for about a year and a half but have never talked about the church.  This friend now has tons of questions, and she even asked to borrow Sister Hydes Preach My Gospel, and she's read half way through it! Cool, right?! Sister Hydes excitement was my favorite part! She said, "I didnt know it could be so easy!" It was a testament to me that member missionary work is vital! Our mission president has vision. He wants us to work with the members because they are the finders. We should be meeting with Jessica, Sister Hydes friend, this week. We're super excited!

 

We also had some awesome tours at sites! It's getting busier and we've been able to take more tours. There were two tours this week, where the people told us that the things we said were answers to prayers. Thats the best feeling ever! To know that the Lord is using me to help His children, is almost indescribable. Plus, the Spirit in Kirtland is amazing so I probably wouldnt have to say anything on tour and the people would leave with stronger testimonies!

 

Well, thats about it for now. I hope you all have a fantastic week! Oh, and Im attaching "The Currant Bush" by Hugh B Brown. Elder Christofferson mentioned it in his conference talk. We're reading it with all the Sisters Tuesday morning for training meeting. A lot of the Sisters are having a hard time finding new investigators and reaching their weekly goals. We want them to have more of an eternal perspective and hopefully reading this will help them. It sure has helped me!

I love you all!

 

Sister Kingston

https://docs.google.com/viewer?a=v&pid=gmail&attid=0.1&thid=12f4565d6ec6efe4&mt=application/msword&url=https://mail.google.com/mail/?ui%3D2%26ik%3D8bd285c652%26view%3Datt%26th%3D12f4565d6ec6efe4%26attid%3D0.1%26disp%3Dattd%26realattid%3Df_gmdmaq9p0%26zw&sig=AHIEtbQfsQ3_whSo94MPZZyCrCK4vHuylg

My new companion is Sister Golightly

Hi Everyone!

Mom I didnt get to take President Treadway's friend on tour because I didnt get the e-mail until today. Im not at Sites on Thursdays. If I had known earlier, I could've arranged something, but hopefully she still had a good experience! I'm glad you all had a good conference weekend! I LOVE general conference! I took it for granted before my mission. I dont think I can go back to watching it at home. There's something about wearing your Sunday best and being in a church setting, that makes it more meaningful. Two of our investigators came and I know they both felt the Spirit. It was AWESOME! Our investigator Khadijah, who's Muslim, noticed specific things said by the Apostles that she had just been thinking about. It was cool.

 

All of the talks were great but my favorites came from President Uchdorft, Elder Bednar, Elder Scott, and President Monson. It was a neat experience to watch conference in the Visitors Center theatre as President Monson mentioned Kirtland! The closing hymn was the icing on the cake! I feel like I'll cry every time I hear the Spirit of God after my mission.

 

My new companion is Sister Golightly. She's from the DC area and she's awesome! We're going to tear it up this transfer! We have a lot of ideas for finding new investigators that we're stoked about! Sorry Mom no pictures of the two of us. Actually, you probably wont be getting any pictures for the rest of my mission. My camera is really poor quality so I never take pictures. I have my companions take pics and then I put them on a disc for myself. Yeah it's a pain, but it does the trick.

 

Sorry this e-mail's kind of lame! I'll try to include something more exciting next week. I have a strong testimony of the Gospel of Jesus Christ. Listening to God's chosen servants these past few days has strengthened my testimony ten fold. I hope it was the same for all of you! Have a great week!

 

Love Sister Kingston

- Show quoted text -

175th Anniversary of the Kirtland Temple Dedication

Hey Everyone!

Happy Spring! It's been so bright and cheery here for the past five days! However, the high has been 30 degrees, so it still feels like winter. Mom, Im glad to hear that camp is going well! Dad, thanks for filling me in on who is planning to go on missions! It's gonna be fun for me to give them some RM advice :) Jacosa congrats on "Once on This Island" I'm sure it's a great show! I would LOVE to take President Treadway's friend on tour! 

 

Well, this week is kind of strange. Sister Stewart is going home and I'm heading into my last transfer. It still doesnt seem real. Ive been companions with Sister Stewart for 3 transfers (4 1/2 months) and it's been the best companionship ever! Im going to miss her a lot! However, I know this next transfer will still be great. I know who my companion will be and she's an awesome missionary. I'm determined to work super hard my last transfer and to see miracles happen. Im excited!

 

Yesterday we had an amazing experience. We celebrated the 175th anniversary of the dedication of the Kirtland Temple. The Kirtland Stake and the Cleveland Stake put together a special program in the Temple. There were two sessions one at 7am and the other at 6pm. We were able to receive tickets for the 7am session. It was so cool to be in the temple as the sun was rising. We were privileged to hear from five speakers. Patriarch Anderson (who gave me my patriarchal blessing) spoke on the events of the dedication. My mission president, the Kirtland Stake president, and the Columbus temple president spoke on the keys that were restored by Moses, Elias, and Elijah. (Those who hold keys spoke on the keys restored!) It was so cool! Then Elder Seldon (the area Seventy) concluded and shared with us some pretty awesome closing remarks about a variety of things. 

The best part of the whole thing was the closing hymn, The Spirit of God. The choir was made up of members of the Kirtland and Cleveland Stakes who participated in Handel's Messiah this past Christmas season. So you can imagine how good they were! There was also a live orchestra! It's hard to describe the feeling that was present as they sang. Ive never heard a choir sound like that! There wasnt a dry eye in the room. The congregation was supposed to join in the last verse, but there werent many of us who could sing at that point. It's something I will always remember.

 

One cool story that Elder Seldon shared with us. In 2006 President Boyd K Packer decided to come to the Kirtland Stake Conference. Elder Seldon picked him up from the airport and as they were driving asked, "President Packer, you could assign yourself to ANY stake conference. Why Kirtland?" 

"I needed a renewal", came the response.  

When Elder Seldon shared this it reminded me of the dedication of the Historic Sites here. President Gordon B. Hinckley, in the dedicatory prayer in 2003, said that this would be a place of "spiritual refreshment". I wish everyone could come to Kirtland and feel what I feel here every day. I thank Heavenly Father every day for allowing me to serve in such a sacred place!

 

I'm super excited for General Conference! Im curious to see if Kirtland will be mentioned? It was on a Sunday 175 years ago to the day (April 3) that Jesus Christ appeared in the Kirtland Temple. On that same day the Priesthood keys were restored by Moses, Elias, and Elijah. Read Doctrine and Covenants section 110!

 

Well, I love you all! I hope you have a great week! Try not to miss me too much haha!

The gospel is true!

 

Love Sister Kingston

Happy!

Hi Family!

 

Wow, the weather there sounds crazy! It's been sunny here for the past few days, but it's raining today :(  That's awesome to hear about all of the people from our stake serving missions! I hope they can make the goal of 40!

 

Well, I survived my stressful week! The youth activity on Tuesday was awesome! The youth came dressed in missionary attire, received a name badge, were assigned to a companion and to a district. The two districts rotated between two classes taught by the missionaries (Sister Stewart and I, and 2 other Sisters in the ward). We taught a class about our purpose as missionaries and had each companionship role play. Sister Spring and Sister Manwaring played missionary jeopardy, testing their knowledge of Preach My Gospel and the missionary schedule.  It was great to see the youth jump right in...they will make great missionaries!

 

Our workshop on obedience and opposotion went well on Friday. The meeting was running long so we only had 20 minutes instead of 40, but I wasnt complaining! I LOVE going to those meetings! The Spirit is always so strong! On Thursday, Elder Hunt announced what the agenda would be for the next two days. He announced that we would start off by having a testimony meeting. For the next hour and a half all 40 missionaries in attendance shared their testimonies. It was especially neat for Sister Sewart and I, being the only Sisters there, to hear these young Elders bear such powerful testimonies. No where else, besides in the Church, can you find young men who have such a firm faith and knowledge of Jesus Christ. It was another testament to me of the power of the Priesthood.

 

Sites has been getting a bit more busy, both because of the weather and Spring Break. We had a couple of really cool tours. One was with a group of Restorationists. They are a break off of the RDLS church (now Community of Christ). They were having some sort of womens retreat...Im not sure if they call it relief society? Anyways, those groups can be nerve racking because you dont know exactly what they believe. However, I  just followed the Spirit and continued to bear testimony of what I know. I noticed one of the women tearing up, in a few different rooms, as I shared my testimony. It showed me that the Holy Ghost always testifies of truth, as long as the recipient is truly listening with an open heart.

 

The other cool tour was with Elders serving in the Cleveland Spanish branch and their investigators and a recent convert. In the beginning of the tour we play the words of the Savior (the Christus). We decided to play it in Spanish. It was the first time I ever listened to it in Spanish. As I listened, I felt the Spirit, as I thought about the Savior and his love for everyone! I also thought about James and how he was sharing those exact words with the people of Mexico.

 

Well, I better go. I love you all and thank you for your love and prayers on my behalf! Have a great week!

 

Love Sister Kingston 

- Show 

Inviting all to come unto Christ

Whttps://lds.org/youth/video/inviting-all-to-come-unto-christ-sharing-the-gospel?lang=eng 

p.s. We're showing this video to the youth for part of the activity we're doing with them. Watch it!

 

Stressed!

Happy Monday Everyone!

Sorry to hear that all the kids are sick! Hope everyone gets better soon! Mom, I would love to come to camp but Im not sure if I'll be able to? My best friend from the mission (the one who's wedding I was trying to go to in Hawaii) is having her reception in Utah on July 9th. If I can somehow make it back in time I'll come. Dad, thanks for the offer to help with the MTC. I will definitely get recommendations from President Sorensen and Elder Butterfield if needed. However, I think the greatest determining factors are going to be the number of available openings and my teaching skills. So we'll see what happens?

 

This weekend we got over a foot of snow! I'm ready for winter to be DONE! In our weekly missionary coordination meeting (Saturday) our ward mission leader mentioned the snow and asked if we were ok driving in it. We told him that it hasnt stopped us all winter long...no reason to stop us now. He then proceeds to say, "Well a snow storm is better than a Tsunami." This comment seemed rather irrelevant considering #1 we live in Ohio where the largest body of water is Lake Erie which is about 40 ft deep across #2 we had NO IDEA about the Tsunami that had just ocurred in Japan. We (the four missionaries in the ward) sat there silently awkward as we tried to figure out where he came up with comparing a snow storm to a Tsunami. Finally, one of the members of the ward spoke up and informed us on the matter. Sometimes it's nice not to know what's going on in the world today. Other times, however, we feel so out of the loop! We'll continue to keep the people of Japan in our prayers and hope they can recover quickly! It's nice to know that all of the missionaries there are safe! Four of my roommates in the MTC went to Japan.

 

 The computer is kicking me off so part 2 of this e-mail will arrive shortly

(if it will allow me to log back in!)

Here's part 2!

 

This morning we had our weekly training meeting at the John Johnson Farm in Hiram, Ohio. We had it there to celebrate the 76th section of the Doctrine and Covenants, which was received there in February 1832. We were also commemorating the tarring and feathering that also occurred there  a month after section 76 was received. I LOVE the Johnson Home! To be in the revelation room where Heavenly Father and Jesus Christ were seen together in vision is incredible! I dont know how Im going to leave these places behind when I come home.

 

As far as investigators are concerned, Jaclyn has a baptismal date for April 9th! She still has some things to work on but she's come a long way! She texted us the other day and asked if she should take her lip ring out! We were shocked because we hadnt even talked about it yet. We read the  For the Strength of Youth pamphlet with her at our next lesson and she took it out that night :)  It seems like such a small thing to us, but it's really an act of faith on her end.

 

In other news, I have two cold sores on my bottom lip! I would always get cold sores around finals time because I get so stressed out. I think stress is the culprit this time around as well. Let me tell you why Im a little stressed this week.  First of all, Im sleep deprived! haha On top the the time change we had to wake up at 4:45 this morning to travel to the Johnson Farm. Second, we have two ward activities this week (mutual and the chili cook off) where we have some pretty heavy responsibilities. I'll tell you more about those next week. Third, we're in charge of the monthly investigator fireside and it happens to be this Sunday. Fourth, we're trying to find new people to teach and prepare Jaclyn for baptism! I think the fifth reason why I'm stressed takes the cake though.

 

Last night Sister Stewart and I received a phone call from one of the A.P.s. Elder Hunt asked if we would accept an assignment he had for us. I asked if we had to accept before we knew the terms and he said yes haha. So we accepted. He asked if we would give a workshop at the leadership training meetings this week. The topic is on obedience and opposition. We'll be giving this workshop to all of the District Leaders and Zone Leaders in the mission, and also in attendance will be President Sorensen and the A.P.s of course. We about peed our pants when we received the assignment! Especially when he told us we have 40 MINUTES! I was thinking 20 minutes max! So needless to say, Im a wittle nervous! Sister Stewart and I have been joking about what to say to these Elders for 40 minutes. We've talked about doing multiple musical numbers, all hymns focusing on obedience and opposition, and having them guess the topic of our workshop. Hahahaha! Just Kidding! We're seriously pondering and hoping that we'll receive some type of revelation on what to share. I'll let you know how it goes!

 

Well, thanks for reading this elongated e-mail! I love you all and hope you have a great week!

 

Love Sister Kingston

 

"This Preach My Gospel is good stuff"

Hello!

Happy Birthday Mom!! I hope you have a great day and know that I'll be thinking of you! I even wrote it in my planner at the beginning of the transfer :) Thanks for the congrats about BYU! Im super excited too! Dad, Im glad you had a good trip to Westminster Woods. Mom it sounds like you had a good visit with Grandma even though it was short! 

I hope the new member lesson goes well.Don't you love the ups and downs of missionary work? I'll be excited to participate when I get home. Dad, the stake activity sounds really cool! You should study lesson 1 in preparation. It's in Chapter 3 in Preach My Gospel. By the way, we'll be studying a lot from PMG as a family when I come home haha! We're even going to role play! Youre gonna love it! Ive been thinking a lot lately about teaching at the MTC when I attend BYU. It's super hard to get a job there, so Im not banking on it, but I would LOVE it!

 

This past weekend we got to witness a pretty cool baptism! The other Sisters in our ward found the Jones family a couple months ago. Sister McAlister had always noticed their house and how cute it was. So one day they stopped by and the rest is history. The family was super interested. Brother and Sister Jones and their two kids Joey (17) and Jordan (15) are solid! They act like theyve been members all their lives! Brother Jones recently got a copy of Preach My Gospel and he studies it along with the scriptures. The other Sisters received a text from him one day saying, "This Preach My Gospel is good stuff!" haha

Their baptism was Saturday and there were so many people there, we had to hold most of the service (except for the actual baptism of course) in the chapel. The Spirit was so strong! The next day it was even stronger as we watched all four of them receive the gift of the Holy Ghost. Polly...or Sister Jones, was in tears and the rest of the family was beaming. They now have found true happiness and it emanates as they live the gospel!

 

Not much else to report. Well, we set a baptismal date with our investigator Jaclyn, but she broke the Word of Wisdom so we'll have to push it back now. We're still excited for her though because she sincerely wants to change! I'll let you know how it goes.

 

I hope all of you have a great week! I love you all! The gospel is true!

 

Love Sister Kingston

I was accepted to BYU!

Hey Everyone!

 

Wow, I had so many e-mails in my inbox it was AWESOME! Thanks to everyone who wrote me! I LOVE getting mail and hearing from everyone back home. I also received two e-mails from BYU and BYUI this morning informing me that I've been ACCEPTED into both schools!!!! I opened the e-mail at sites and the Sisters crowded around to see the result. Everyone was so nervous for me... when the e-mail finally opened everyone screamed when they saw the words "congratulations" on the screen! It was like opening another mission call. Except this time I didnt cry (shocker)! Ive decided to attend BYU Provo and will be starting in the Fall. There are some Sisters who want to live together, so hopefully everything works out :) I'm excited!

Well, I dont have much time to write because most of my p-day is already gone. Sister Stewart and I had to go to the Visitors' Center today to take an interesting tour. I will be making my first (and probably my last) TV debut! The local fox news came and we took the host of one of their shows on tour. It was an experience for sure! He did most of the talking. I swear it seemed as if he was talking a mile a minute, my brain could barely process what he was saying in time to answer his questions haha. It felt as if I was moving in slow mo. Oh well. The show will be airing March 21st. We hope that it will bring more local people to the Sites!

There's not much to follow up on from last week. We have yet to have any appointments with the people we met. But as always, we're continuing on with an eye of faith!

I love you all and hope you have a great week! This is the best work EVER!

 

Love Sister Kingston

New Investigator Miracles

Hi Family!

Im sitting at the Visitors' Center (libraries are closed) and my fingers feel like theyre going to break off! The heater broke a couple days ago so it's freezing in here! Theyll hopefully have it fixed by today. Last week the weather was crazy nice! It got up into the 60's :) Unfortunately winter has returned and it's back down to the 20s and 30s. But March is just around the corner! Happy Birthday Mariana! I cant believe she's 6! 

This week has been soooooooo good!!! We had some pretty awesome finding miracles. I'll share a  couple with you. One day this week we went tracting for a few hours. We decided to go to an area we had never been to before. When we arrived at the previously planned street, we park and sat in the car for a minute while I finished up a phone call. As we're sitting there a few teenagers walked passed us. They looked pretty young so we decided not to look like creepers and chase after them. We got out of the car and were walking up to the first house when we hear someone yell, "She wont answer the door! She's 98 and she doesnt answer for anyone. She's my great grandma." It was one of the teenagers who passed by. She pointed to the house next door and said, " But they'll answer.That's my house."  We started talking to her (Alex) a little and asked if she attended a church. She said she used to and that she thinks she was "bathtized". She was pretty interested and we gave her a website card and told her about the youth website. As we were talking we see someone else walking towards us and Alex says, "Hey Mom, we're talking about Jesus!" (she's 13 by the way). Her Mom came over and we were a bit nervous about how she would react to us but she was sooooooo nice! She said we could definitely come over and share our message. She was on her way to take dinner to her grandmother(the 98 year old who lives next door) so she didnt have time to meet right then. She then asks, "Do you take down numbers?" We replied, "Of course!" So we wrote down her phone number and we are calling her today to set up an appointment! We are so excited for their family to hear the gospel! After talking with Alex and Sue (her mom) we only had a few more minutes before we had to head to an appointment. We decided to knock on one last door. Tori a 23 year old answers the door. We introduced ourselves and asked if she had ever heard of the church. She replies, "Yes, my grandparents are Mormon. I used to go to church with them and they used to take me to the Oakland Temple." We asked if she noticed anything in her grandparents that was different. She said she never knew anyone who was as forgiving as her grandmother. We told her that was because of the gospel and we promised she could find greater happiness. She was super open and we'll hopefully be meeting with her this week too!

One last story. Friday night towards the end we were getting ready to leave the visitors center to head home. Sister Lee, my former companion, started telling us a story about someone they took on tour the day prior.He came to Kirtland because he said he drove past it all the time but had never been here before. He was a non-member who had tons of questions!  He also said that he had just recently learned what we believe about Christ, who He is to us. He asked about the Priesthood and after they explained it to him he said, "So if Im understanding correctly..." and re-taught it back to them. Sister Lee said he taught it better than she did, explaining that men and women have complimentary roles. She said he also asked about Heavenly Mother. He said, "So if Im understanding correctly you believe that families are eternal, and you call God Heavenly Father, does this mean there's a Heavenly Mother?" They hesitated for a minute (you often dont want to get into deep doctrine haha) but simply said yes. Sister Lee said by his reaction that it seemed he had already come to that conclusion on his own and that it made sense. He ended up staying here at the Visitors Center for three hours. He watched every video on the kiosks and continued to ask sincere questions. After hearing this cool story I asked where he lived. He didnt leave his address but they knew he was a pastor and he said some Sisters tracted (he didnt use that term haha) into him the other day as he pulled into the driveway. Immediately I turn to my companion and said, "That was us!!!"  We were shocked in amazement as we remembered our interaction with Paul the Pastor just a few days earlier. We were tracting his street and were just arriving at his driveway when he pulled in. Gotta love those awkward moments as your waiting for someone to get out of their car haha. We went up and started talking to him. We introduced ourselves and our purpose.  He said he was a pastor and we said, "Thats great, we probably have more in common than we do diferent." He then said the one thing that he knows is different is our belief in the Godhead. He said that he understood God and Jesus Christ to be one person. He wasnt argumentative just stating what he understood. I cant remember exactly what I said in response, but I told him that we do have a different knowledge about the nature of God and Christ. I testified of who they are and their purpose. I was a little surprised by his reaction. He didnt say anything. He just listened. It seemed that something the Spirit prompted me to say resonated. After what seemed like forever (in reality a few seconds) he said he had to go take care of his dog. We gave him a mormon.org website and continued on our way. Turns out he did visit the website and then decided to come to Kirtland!!! After we made the connection (that it was us) the other Sisters said," you HAVE to go teach him, he's solid!" So we're planning on going over there sometime this week! We'll be praying hard for this one! It's so neat to see how the Lord touches the hearts of people we talk to, even when it seems they are content with life. But I know people are always looking for truth, they just dont know where to find it.

Well, I better end this novel now. Thanks for everything. I love this work and I love you all! Have a great week!

Love Sister Kingston

p.s. Mom, can you start forwarding James' e-mails to me again? Thanks!

      Oh and can we just have Jacosa sing a song for the musical number for our homecoming?

       "Come thou fount" is the theme song of my mission so that would be awesome!

       Unless James has any preferences. And I dont really know why I want to speak

       after him...it just seems like he left first so he should go first haha. 

Happy Valentine's Day!

Hi Everyone!

HAPPY VALENTINES DAY! Mom, I did get the package you sent thank you so much! I will be making those cupcakes soon! The weather there sounds sooooooo nice! There's been a "warm spell" here too...it got up in the 40's yesterday!!! It's crazy how acclimated you get to cold weather, so much so that 40 degrees seems warm haha. It does make tracting a more enjoyable activity when it's not freezing :) Dad, what are you speaking on in Natomas 3 ward? Mom, Im glad you're experiencing gospel principles and comments that are shared. I'll have to share some stories with you when I come home...they're better told in person! As far as my homecoming is concerned, are James and I reporting on the same day? If we are I have two requests: #1) Can I speak after him?  #2) Can the closing hymn be The Spirit of God? And yes I would love to have a get together after! Some of the Sisters are planning on coming down too, so it should be fun! Dad to answer your question, we havent received mail from the Butterfields. But, we did receive a phone call from them last week. They called to update us on how their homecoming went and they wanted to see how things were here. I miss them both a lot! Elder Butterfield told us that they were at a restaurant with some of his daughters and grand kids one day and he said this, "I looked around and thought to myself, somethings missing. It seemed like we should be sitting at Max and Irmas with you two." They used to take Sister Stewart and I out to lunch for our meetings. Max and Irmas was one of our regular restaurant choices :) We thought about telling the Edmans about this little lunch tradition (so they could carry on the legacy) but we decided that it should stay a Butterfield memory.

Well, this week has been another rough finding week. Reading Alma chapter 8 has really helped me to stay motivated and to have an eye of faith! We did have a really neat experience though. Do you remember the couple that I told you about last week...Wendy and CJ who came to sites and self referred? Well, right after they left sites I called the A.P.s and told them all the background info. Elder Farmer and Elder Smith said they would contact her right away and keep us updated. Well, on Friday the aassistants called us. They proceeded to tell us that Wendy and CJ are as solid as we said they were. The Elders called them and invited them to a baptism in a near by area. They came and had an amazing experience! After the baptism the Elders took them on a church tour. Sometime within that church tour they committed Wendy and CJ to baptism and they both said yes! Wendy said the only thing really standing in her way is the word of wisdom. The Elders promised her that she would be able to overcome those temptations and that the Lord would prepare her! Isnt that AMAZING! After we got off the phone with the assistants Sister Stewart and I sat there in our bedroom and cried. Even though we are frustrated in our area and we arent seeing things happen, we are still able to fulfill our purpose at the Visitors Center by inviting others to come unto Christ.

Thank you all for everything! You know, just because Im coming home soon doesnt mean that I cant receive mail (*hint hint). Hook a Sista up! This gospel is so true and it amazes me every day how blessed I am to know that! I love you all tons!!!

 

Love,

Sister Kingston

mormon.org

Hello Family!

Im glad you all had a great Sabbath! We were in the referral center last night and it was interesting to call people during the super bowl. I dont know why people answer their phones when they dont have time to talk? Mom, I should be able to go on the trip to Kirtland. You cant come here without me! Im not sure if I'll be going to Hawaii after all. Ive talked to some of the other Sisters and none of us can really afford it. We're hoping she'll have a reception in Utah so we can all go to that. We'll see, but for now just plan on me coming with you :) I just checked the status of my BYU applications (I applied to Provo and Idaho) and my transcripts made it in on time! YAY! Now, I just have to wait to see if I get in. Sister Stewart thinks that it takes about a month or so to hear back. If they send anything to the house be sure to forward it to me here, pretty please!

 

Well, we're still looking for investigators at this point. We have the faith that we'll find someone this week! We had a district fast yesterday to find.

We had a cool experience yesterday at the Visitors' Center. A couple came in for a quick tour. They only had about 30 minutes. They are from North Olmsted which is about an hour from Kirtland. Theyre non-members but they had been here before (about a year and a half ago) took a full tour and loved it. They were on a weekend get away and decided to come back. Sister Stewart and I showed them the film and then took them on a quick walk through of the Whitney Store. After the movie, we asked them what their favorite part was. Wendy replied, "I dont know if I have a favorite part, I just like how it makes me feel." After talking for a while longer we found out that she used to live in Utah and has met with missionaries before. She called herself an LDS scholar. She's very intellectual and told us that she understands everything intellectually but has a hard time making the spiritual connection. She's read tons of books on Mormonism and has a lot of respect for us and what we do. We invited her to once again have the missionaries in her home (it's been years) so they can help her find out if this is true. We told her that the feeling she feels here comes when we recognize truth and light. She self referred! Her husband is open as well, he's never met with missionaries before. Well, turns out she lives in the A.P.'s area. These Elders are the best! They'll definitely help her to make the spiritual connection (we call one of them the Boy Prophet!). It's neat to see how the Lord leads people to Kirtland and how their lives are touched by coming here!

 

Well, I hope you all have a great week! Did you ever make your profiles on mormon.org? Read about it in last months Ensign! I love this work, I love my Savior and words cant describe how Ive come to know Him here in Kirtland. Thank you all for your love and support!

 

Love,

Sister Kingston

- Show quoted text -

Layman's terms

Hellllloooooooo!

Wow, you did have a busy week! THANK YOU sooooooooo much for getting my transcripts sent! That was the last part of the application process that I needed to complete. Now we'll have to wait and see what happens. It's so weird to think about "real life" and going back to school. It's becoming reality that I'm coming home soon.Maile's birthday looked like a lot of fun! Katrina's brave! haha Give Maile a big hug for me!

Mom, I am so excited that you go out with the missionaries! That's the thing Im most excited about doing when I get home, member missionary work. Your new calling is exciting too! Although, Im not quite sure what the third new member lesson is that you mentioned? Im guessing you mean the third lesson (The Gospel of Jesus Christ) re-taught to the new members? Well, I know you two will do great. Study chapter three and chapter ten in Preach My Gospel. It will help you teach. Also, every day my comp and I role play with each other. You feel silly sometimes, but it really helps! So Mom and Dad, one of you pretend to be the investigator and the other practice teaching... then switch. Try it! I promise you'll learn a ton! Have the missionaries talk to you more about role playing and the how to begin teaching points and practice with them too!

 

Yesterday I spoke in Church. I spoke on Preach My Gospel from my perspective as a missionary on how it can best be utilized by members. I think it went well. I talked about how PMG teaches the "what" and "how" of missionary work. The what= the doctrine. All that we teach investigators and members comes from Ch. 3. (five lessons) The Restoration, the Plan of Salvation, The Gospel of Jesus Christ, the Commandments, and Laws and Ordinances. My mission President always says, "True doctrine understood changes behavior faster than the study of behavior changes behavior." So the doctine (combined with the Spirit) is what changes lives. The "how" of missionary work come from the other chapters. When members study Preach, they are better able not only to become better missionaries but they're also better able to teach the gospel to their families. The most important missionary work is that which we do within the walls of our own home.  

Here's a funny story from this week. We had dinner at a members' home, Brother and Sister Rabe. We were talking, over dinner, about a recent convert in the ward (Ted) who wrote down every verse in the Book of Mormon in his notebook. He wrote it in his own words so he could "understand" it better. Yeah he's a little out there. Anyways, I knew Ted from when I was in the Kirtland ward at the beginning of my mission. Sister Stewart, however, was hearing this story for the first time. As I was explaining Ted's translation, I said, "He basically wrote the Book of Mormon in layman's terms." To which she relpied (with a puzzled look on her face), " Oh, from Laman's point of view?" The Rabes and I laughed so hard! I guess it's not that funny without being there, but we were crying because we were laughing so hard!

 

In sadder news, we have just one investigator. The rest have dropped us. Skip is our one investigator who's been taught for years. He's 84 years old. He says things like this, "I pray to God if there is one, to save my soul if I have one." So, he probably wont be getting baptized any time soon. Not having anyone to teach is super hard. Especially when I feel that all eyes are on us. But all we can do is our best, people have agency. This week we'll be hitting the pavement hard to find some new people.

 

In better news, I love the Edmans! I was so afraid when the Butterfields left, but Elder and Sister Edman are great! They're differrent from the Butterfields in little ways, but they also bring a special spirit to Kirtland. Sister Stewart and I have been trying to help them get the hang of things. They're awesome and I know only good things are to come from their service here.

 

Well, I better get going. We have a zone p-day today. We're having a costume/cooking competition. Guess who's idea that was....the Elders. haha. We tried to talk them out of the costume idea, but they had their little hearts set on it. I'll take pictures...this should be interesting. All the Sisters in my house are going as pass along cards haha!

I love you all and Im so grateful for all your support! Have a fantastic week!

 

Love

Sister Kingston

- Show quoted text -

The Butterfields left!

Hello Everyone!

 

Thanks Mom for getting back to me about the reunion! I will for sure make it! I'm still trying to figure out how Im going to afford Hawaii? Could you have Cosa or Katrina look up flights for me? If you know of anyone who can help a poor sister missionary let me know! haha

Mom, I'm so happy to hear that youre helping the missionaries! You dont know how hard it is (at least out here) to find willing members to help teach and give rides to investigators. Im proud of you :) Dad sounds like you have your hands full. Good luck! Im glad the farewell was a good experience!

 

This week was another slow one. Sister Stewart was sick, so we had to stay in a couple days. Here's some exciting news...our area is on fire! LITERALLY! We got a call from our ward mission leader this morning telling us that Fairport Harbor is being evacuated. I guess there was a gas leak and some of the houses caught on fire. The fire fighters still havent located the leak, so theyre evacuating the city. Sister Stewart and I are hoping that we'll have opportunities to provide service there a little later this week. Disasters are opportunities to find because people are humble. So sad yet so true.

 

Speaking of sad, the Butterfields have officially left :(  My heart broke a little when I had to say goodbye. Saturday morning Elder Butterfield had to finish some paper work before hitting the road. He told Sister Stewart and me to come into his office, close the doors, and take a seat. He then talked about the Edmans and how they would be great and how it was their time to leave. Sister Stewart and I, and Sister Butterfield, all started to cry at that point. Sister Butterfield told us how much she loves us and appreciates all we do. We talked for about 20 minutes and then it was time for the real thing. We had a tour to get to and they had to hit the road. Elder Butterfield stands up and tells Sister Butterfield to give us our hugs. Man, I'm almost tearing up now just thinking about it. I hate goodbyes! I sobbed as she gave me a hug and told me she loved me. I then turned to Elder B and extended my hand. He shook my hand (at this point I couldnt say anything because I was crying so hard) and then said, "Next time I see ya, Im gonna give ya a hug." That made me feel a little better. After saying goodbye, we went down to take our tour. I had two minutes to get it together. You know me, once I start it's hard to stop. The Lord blessed me though I was able to stop crying just before going on tour. My eyes were still blood shot and Im sure they were wondering what was wrong with me haha. The tour was half of the BYU gymnastics team...they were here for a competition. It was a good tour.

Anyways, the Edmans will be great. We took them on tour with the Butterfields the day they arrived. They are sweet. We have our first official meeting with them today. I miss the Butterfields, but change is good. The Butterfields are amazing, and words cant even describe the impact they've had on my life. They called us yesterday! They had only been traveling for a day and they already got 3 referrals! They're taking the back roads so they can meet as many people as possible! They truely are amazing!

 

Well, I have to get going. I love you all! Here's your assignment for the week...go to mormon.org and make a profile! The brethren have advised us missionaries to use mormon.orgmore. Theyre encouraging us and members every

where to make profiles. There's an article about it in this months Ensign!

This gospel is true!!!!

 

Love,

Sister Kingston

Another Kirtland Christmas

Hi Family!

 So I know we just talked the other day, but for some reason I was still expecting an e-mail :(

It was fun to see all of you! It felt like I was really there sitting and talking face to face.

Thanks again for all of the Christmas gifts!! Christmas in Kirtland is the BEST! Im so blessed

to be able to have two of them!

Christmas Eve was pretty fun. We had a dinner with all of the Sisters and senior couples at sites.

Then we went Christmas caroling. The Sisters split into 2 groups to go caroling. We had about

12 missionaries in our group.We caroled to less active members and investigators in the area.

One woman inparticular was really touched. Her husband died a year ago (christmas eve) and she's

not very old (she still has kids at home). She started to cry as we sang to her, and we all felt the Spirit

so strong! Our Zone Leaders caroled in their area with the other group of Sisters and they did something pretty cool. All the missionaries in that group split up and knocked on doors in Shaker Heights (near Cleveland). They told those who

opened the door to come out and join them. So here were all these people in the street singing Christmas

hymns together! The Elders went around and introduced themselves to the people and now they have some

potential investigators. Cool huh?! They come up with ideas like that all the time! After caroling we went back to our house and opened the presents we got from the senior couples. They put a gift bag together for us and every senior couple puts something

in the bag. We are spoiled! My favorites came from the Daltons. Sister Dalton made all of us headbands, and Elder Dalton wrote us a poem. I'll have to send it next week...it made us all cry. After we opened our gift bags, we said a prayer as a house. There were about ten of us. As head of the household (since Im the oldest haha) I asked Sister Wattles to give the prayer. She always says such heart felt prayers. As we knelt there together I couldnt help but feel of the love that our Savior has for all of us. Once again we all had tears in our eyes as we felt deep gratitude for this sacred opportunity to serve here in this place at this time. Im truly blessed!

 

Christmas morning was fun! We woke up at 6:30 am and opened all of our presents. Then we took turns calling our parents, waking them up, and everyone yelling Merry Christmas over the phone! Brunch was awesome, except that I gained five pounds in one sitting haha. The pj's were a hit Mom! After I talked to all of you we went to the church and played volley ball and some other games with

our zone. After that we went to our member dinner at the Packers, which was kind of strange because I was there last year

for Christmas dinner too! I have come full circle! We had fun at there house! There daughter Trisha got home from her

mission in the summer (Temple Square) and she's so funny! She makes us feel like normal people because she knows

what it's like to be us! After dinner Sister Stewart got to skype her family. While she was doing that James called me!

We only got to talk for a little bit though :( We got disconnected or something? I told him about us flying home together though

and he's super excited!

Well, that's about it. How was the rest of your Christmas? I hope you all had a great time! I love you all so very much!

Have a great week and HAPPY NEW YEARS!!! The gospel is true!

 

Love Sister Kingston

 

p.s. Mom, Im making "Happy Winter" cards since Im a little late to send out Christmas cards haha.

I was wondering if you could snail mail me addresses for your brothers and sisters and dad's as well? Oh

and Cosas new address too! Thanks!

 

p.p.s If you havent already, you NEED to look up that video on youtube!

Search for "the Storey of Jonah" and it should come up ;)