Conference Weekend

Hey Family!
Ok so it took me forever to upload those pics cuz this computer is really slow! So I don't have much time left. Mom, I'm glad you had a fun trip to Idaho! I'm looking forward to those pics. Dad, wow I can't believe it's that hot there! It is most definitely fall here in Ohio. The high has been in the 60s the past couple days. A lot of the trees are still green but I'm sure in another couple weeks they'll all turn over. I'll make sure to take pics. I still haven't gotten a new camera, but I plan to today so you will hopefully get more pictures soon :) I'm super excited for conference this weekend! There's nothing more exciting when you're a missionary haha! On Saturday we're scheduled to be at sites all day so we'll watch it there. Unfortunately if a tour comes we have to take it so we might miss some of it. On Sunday we'll watch the morning session at the church building and then we're watching the afternnon session (which is more like evening here) at a members home. I can't wait!
Big things that happened this week. One of my Best friends Sister Wirig came back to Kirtland! Just to visit of course. She finished her mission in July and came back to see her former investigators (The Fortes in the first picture... Sister Wirig is the one making the peace sign) get sealed in the Columbus Temple. Sister Wirig's Mom and Dad came with her and we got special permission (Sister Wirig and I) from Elder Butterfield to take them on tour together! It was a really cool experience.
Also, we had interviews with our Mission President (President Sorensen) the other day. The number of interviews that we have has changed (church wide) from once every transfer to 4 times a year. Since I knew I wouldn't have many more interviews with him I decided to ask him if there was any way that I could coordinate my flight with James' so that we could arrive to Sacramento on the same day. I was a bit nervous asking him because I didn't want him to think that I was already thinking about going home. Fortunately, he had the opposite reaction. He was all about it! He said they could try to work it out with church travel to arrange it. He said James and I might even be able to meet on a connector flight like in Texas and then fly into Sacramento together. After we talked about it for a minute President started to get choked up. He said, "Thinking about the experience you two will have makes me cry. What a sweet reunion." I then was in tears and we both had to reach for the kleenex box. I think my companion was worried when she saw me come out of my interview because she could tell that I had been crying haha. Anyways, nothing is set in stone but it's a possibilty! Isn't that cool!?
Well I have to go. Hope you all have a great week! I love you all tons and tons!
Love,
Sister Kingston

Here are a few pics:

Me and some of the other Sisters with the Fortes (Faith Leroi and Lee Jr) with their grandkids Dalon and Deon who just got baptized earlier this month!

 Me giving a comment to Abe. One of the buses from the Boy Scouts

 Playing Simon Says with Scouts

 Sister Park and me outside the Temple

                       
           Sister Decker in the middle had to go home early because of health reasons :(

                                                                 In the Newel K Whitney Store

                               Elders Robison and Erckinbrack...this is when my camera broke :(

 At zoned out on labor day. This isnt the Kirtland zone. They split up our zone since we're pretty much all Sisters. So we joined the Findlay zone. Don't they look like winners...do you sense the sarcasm? Lol

Some of us Sisters got to go to a steak dinner because we helped out at a community event called the Strawberry Festival. The steak was HUGE and soooooo good! The first time Ive had steak on my mission...and possibly the last.

Sometimes you just don't have time to use the ironing board haha.

Letter from week of September 22:

Hey Mom and Dad and family!

Mom tell Grandma and Aunt Leslie and Sabrina I said Hi! Hope you all have fun. You'll have to tell me all about it! Thanks for sending my card! I haven't gotten a new camera yet because I've had to use my money from home to buy food haha. When I get my mission fund card I'll reimburse myself and buy a camera. So you'll have to wait just a little longer for pics. Wow, you might be moving? Thats exciting! Just make sure you dont throw any of my stuff away when you move haha.
Yup, James e-mailed me and told me he was training. We almost trained at the same time. I was only with my greenie for one transfer though. And Dad thanks for the congrats on hitting my year mark...but I haven't yet Lol. It's coming up pretty soon though in November! Crazy!
Well, this weeks letter is gonna be really short because I waisted a bunch of time trying to figure out how to load pics on a card reader. I was unsuccessful so now I only have a few minutes to write.
Main news is that we set a baptismal date with our investigator Michelle for October! We're super excited! Also, one of our investigators Lakeisha invited two friends to church on Sunday! It was a miracle that they came but another cool thing is that we had contacted one of them on the Street just 2 days prior. When he saw us he was like, "Didnt you give me a card the other day?" We were like,"YEAH!" haha. We're hoping to teach them both as new investigators.
Well I have to go, sorry so short! I love you all and hope you have a great week!
Sister Kingston ;)

Retirement Center

Hi Mom, Dad, and Fam,
Thanks for your e-mails and especially the pics! The triathalon sounds like fun. I'm in for next year as long as I'm not away for school :). Wow, lots of changes in the Stake. I'm happy for Katrina, I know she will do AMAZING!
Mom I'm not sure what kind of usb cord my camera needs, I forgot to look. But I only have one memory card so if you could send me another then I could mail the other one home.
This e-mail's gonna be a short one, sorry. It's the day before tranfers so there's a lot to get done and I don't have much time. Yup I'll be getting a new companion tomorrow. I was only with my greenie for one transfer, but I know this is what the Lord wants. I actually like change. The longest I've ever been with a companion has been 2 transfers. So it looks like the Lord has established a pattern with me haha. I think it's because I just go with the flow. I'll let you know what happens!
Last week was good! One of our investigators, Michelle, stopped drinking coffee before we even taught her the Word of Wisdom. I love her! She has a physical disorder called prater willie (which I have no idea how to spell). Giving up coffee was a HUGE deal for her so we're super excited about her progress. She lives in a group home and I love going over there to teach her. Seeing the other residents puts a smile on my face.
Speaking of residents putting a smile on my face, we volunteer at a retirement center for a couple hours each week. I LOVE it! We start out by doing exercise with them. We all (there's about 30 of us) just sit in our chairs and do different hand motions and march in place. We follow the instructor Hector and he plays some 80's work out music haha. It's so cute to see all of these seniors doing these chair exercises in unison! After exercise we help with whatever activities are going on. Last week we had a pizza party! As we helped to serve pizza all of the residents kept telling us that we were so beautiful and they would ask us about our missions. We've definitely made lots of new friends there!
Well I'd better get going. Oh yeah, this weekend we have two baptisms!! I'll make sure to take pics and talk about it next week. I love you all tons and pray for you daily. Write me!
Love
Sister Kingston

916

Hey Everyone!
Dad, your e-mail did make it on time. So I would never have even known that you forgot about me...except that you said you did Lol. I'm glad you had fun at the Michael Buble concert. I love him! In fact all of us Sisters do. Sometimes when we make referral calls we get to listen to some of his songs on people's ring backs. We put it on speaker so everyone can listen haha.
Things in Kirtland have been crazy! Four sisters left in the past 2 weeks. Three of them went home for health reasons and then we had a visa waiter who finally got her visa and left for Spain. It's been kinda sad around here lately. We really do become best friends so losing Sisters is hard.
Tours have slowed down a lot! If I'm still in my area next transfer (in a week) they'll probably cut us down to 2 days in Kirtland a week rather than three. I'm pretty sure I'll stay in this area for one more transfer at least, but you never know for sure.
I've been thinking about the random experiences that I get to have on my mission. For example, a couple days ago I took a married couple from Switzerland on tour. He teaches seminary there and they'll be studying church history this year. It hit me that kids all around the world would be learning about the place where I get to serve!
I've also thought about how my mission will effect the rest of my life and how I raise my family. As I've served with different companions I've come to truly appreciate my upbringing. I've had multiple comps say the phrase, "Only on a mission" and my response is usually, "You mean you've never seen that before?" I guess I'm still surprised that a lot of these Sisters haven't been exposed to different cultures and backgrounds before. Dont get me wrong 'Ive had plenty "Only on a Mission" moments, but I'm definitely happy that I didn't have to wait until I came on a mission to be well rounded :)
Well, I have to go. Sorry not much exciting news. It's cooled down a lot which I'm excited about! I can't wait for fall,  it's going to be AMAZING! The gospel truly does bless us and don't be afraid to share that with someone you know this week! Thanks for everything and I love you all!
Sister Kingston
p.s. Cool experience. This girl calls into the referral center and I answer the phone. Her number pops up on the computer screen and I see the 916 area code :) Her name is Jenae. She's 16 years old and has been less active for a long time. She just moved back to California about a year ago after living in North Carolina. She was calling to get the number of her assigned Bishop because she wants to start coming back to church. I put in her address on LDS.org to find out who her Bishop is. At first I thought she was in a ward in the East Stake because instead of looking at "assigned meeting house" I looked at "closest meeting house". I realized this after calling Bishop Timpson and leaving a message haha. Anyways, I find out that she's in Natomas 1st ward! I called the Elders and told them to visit her. She lives with her non-member grandma so hopefully they'll be able to teach her! So family, here's your assignment for the week. If she comes to church make her feel welcome and introduce yourselves to her! Tell her I said hi too :)

Midlife Mission Crisis

Hey Family!
Ah,  Im sad I didnt get to see Zach. Ask him what color shirt he was wearing so I can find out which Sister took him on tour. Mom, thanks sooooooooo much for the package!!! Youre the BEST! Every time someone gets a package all the Sisters crowd around to see whats inside. They loved hearing about camp and the miracle popcorn and Grandma and Grandpa's missionary experience! Oh and Dad your zucchini bread got eaten right up. The travel cross country did make it a little dry, but it was still really good! Can you do me one last favor Mom?! I promise this will be the last thing I ask you to send! Can you send me a couple copies of David's cds for some of my investigators and my gray Vans (shoes). I need the shoes by Sept 6th for something called zoned out. All of the zones get together at the Johnson Farm and we have competitions between zones. Anyways I need some regular tennis shoes to run around in. Sorry Im so needy.
So Bishop Sharp eh? He'll do awesome! The ward luau sounds like it was a success. Oh and Mom, sorry about your fingers! It sounds like youre healing nicely though :)
Well, today is my official 9 month mark from entering the MTC. Its so weird how time just flies by. Every time there's a new month, I cringe a little. Dont get me wrong I'm going to be so excited when I get to see all of the fam when I come home, but everything else not so much haha. Eight Sisters went home last transfer. Some of them were my best friends out here. Theyve written me since and have made me even more nervous to go home haha. Sorry to be such a debbie downer. I really dont think about coming home very often but today it just hit me. Mid life mission crisis Lol.
Well, moving on. This week we had some good lessons. We have a cool investigator named Michelle. I dont know if I already told you about her. She lives in a group home because she has a physical disorder. She is accountable though. She was a former investigator about a year ago but I guess she randomly didnt want to be taught any more. We decided to stop by and meet her one day. When we met she told us she had been praying for a change in her life and knew that we were an answer to her prayer. On our first lesson we committed her to baptism and she said, "Oh yes, definitely!" We're taking it slow with Michelle because of her disorder. She just started dialysis this week because one of her kidneys is failing so we're not sure how it will affect her progression. In other news we have 2 baptisms scheduled for Sept 4th. Delan (13) and his little brother Dion (9). Theyre really excited! We're meeting with them every day that we're not at Sites so that they'll be ready. Ill let you know how it goes.
Well time is about up. Just know that I love you all so so much and pray for you daily. Thanks for everything! This gospel is AMAZING!
Love,
Sister Kingston
p.s. Mom sorry I havent sent pics lately. I lost my usb chord
so I dont have a way of sending them through e-mail :(

13 Bus Loads of Scouts!

Family,
Hey everyone! Wow, a new Bishop. Youll definitely have to keep me posted on who it is! Thanks for sending those garments Mom and Dad! Im glad your having such a nice summer there. Here its crazy hot. Plus we dont have any A.C. in our apartment so its pretty uncomfortable. We have a fan which helps a little but I swear it's more humid in our apartment than it is outside Lol.
We had a cool experience on Monday. 13 bus loads of scouts came to Kirtland that day. 13!!! There were 14 of us Sisters working sites (some had to give up their p-day). We did something a little different. We all went to the Morley Farm, which is about a mile away from the visitor center. Normally a senior couple gives the tour. The Morley Farm is where the 4th conference of the church was held, where the first High Priests were ordained, where Heavenly Father and Christ appeared, and where Joseph Smith prophesied that the Church would grow to fill North and South America and the world. Most of these events took place in or near a log school house on the Morley's property (they had about 100 acres, the church owns 16 of those acres now). The school house no longer exists so the tour is given outside on some benches (pretty much like how they give tours at the Sacred Grove). Well, since there were so many scouts, it would be impossible for all of them to take a tour at the same time. So each Sister got on a bus and we told them about the Morley Farm standing at the front of the bus. I got to use the mic and everything! haha It was a cool experience! After our quick speeches , they all got off the buses and ate lunch there on the grass. It was neat to see all of these young kids, who will become missionaries one day. We told them that as they prepared and eventually served missions that they would be helping to fulfill the Prophecy that Joseph Smith gave there about the growth of the Church.
After the Morley Farm, we all headed over to the Visitor Center and gave them tours there. There were too many scouts for any companionship to take a tour together, so each Sister took multiple tours by themselves. We were all dead tired at the end of the day! It didnt help that it was super hot and humid outside. I think I drank about a gallon of water that day lol.
I had a really neat experience taking the scouts into the School of the Prophets. It was almost overwhelming to see this room full of Aaronic Priesthood holders. I pictured them as younger versions of the men who gathered and studied there. I know they felt the Spirit in that room and I hope they remember that experience.
Well, Im about out of time. Thanks for everything! I love all of you! Have a great week!
Love,
 Sister Kingston

It's so hot!

Hey Family!
Dad, yes it has been HOT here. I hope it cools down soon too! Good luck this school year with your class. Mom, wow camp sounds like it was a huge success! I teared up as I read about the iron rod experience. Camp was always a place where I felt the Spirit super strong. I know the girls will always remember how they felt that night...and throughout the whole week. Don't you just love working with the youth?! My favorite tours to take here in Kirtland are youth groups. I've had some really powerful experiences lately with youth. Last Monday, I came into the visitor center and Sister Butterfield (our Site Director's wife) handed me a note. I wish I brought it with me so I could tell you exactly what it said. The leader of one of the youth groups that had come over the weekend called into the visitor center and talked with one of the senior couple sisters, who then wrote down what she said to give it to me. Does that make sense? Anywho, I'll paraphrase what the note said.
"Sister Kingston,
So and so (I forgot the name) called in to thank you for taking the youth group on tour. She especially wanted to thank you for the testimony you bore in the School of the Prophets. In the testimony meeting they held many of the youth mentioned your name and talked about how your testimony strengthened them. Many have now resolved to go on missions themselves. "

Getting that note really helped me to understand the impact the Spirit can have on youth. We're always told by Elder Butterfield that the people here won't remember the little facts or the history, but they will remember the feelings they felt. I thank the Lord every day for the opportunity I have to bear witness of the hallowed ground in Kirtland, where the Savior has walked.
Well, It's now been a week since my new companion and I have been together. Her name is Sister Debenham and she is from all over. I think she's lived in 6 states thus far. Nope her Dad wasn't in the military, he's a Doctor. He just likes to move a lot. She said they moved every few years. She actually used to live here in Cleveland, when she was in elementary school. Isn't that funny?! Dad to answer your question, as a trainer you are responsible to teach your greenie pretty much everything haha. No pressure right? Basically there are a lot of mission rules and ways of doing things that aren't taught in the MTC, so I get the privilege of teaching those to her. I'm not worried, she's been picking things up really fast. I'm just hoping that we find more investigators so she can teach more.
It's been a weird adjustment to have 8 sisters leave and 10 new ones come in. Some of the 8 were my best friends so it was really hard to see them go. It is weird now to be one of the oldies, because I still feel like I just got here. I have a feeling the last half of my mission is gonna fly. So 'Im trying to take advantage of the time I have left and really focus on my purpose as a missionary!
Well, I have to go. Thanks for all of your support! I just love each of you soooooooo much. Seriously, I always brag about my family to the other sisters haha. It usually ends by them saying, "I want to meet your family one day!" I'm not even joking, everyone loves you all lol. Have a great week!
Love,
Sister Kingston

Training

Hey Mom and Family,
Mom, thanks so much for sending those! The heat has been killin me lately! I def need summer clothes. I bought a few things the other day. We cant use our missionary fund to buy clothes, so I probably wont have any money when I get home. Oh well, that's life haha. I hope you have fun at girls camp! That's awesome that there are non-members going. I hope the girls reach out to them and are a positive influence! Happy Birthday Takai! I hope you all have fun at the Birthday party! Im glad everyone had a good 4th! Mine was pretty good. We went to church and then had lunch at a recent converts house, a lesson with a less active, dinner with a member, and then we went home and weekly planned. We weekly plan each week, normally in the middle of the week but we saved it for sunday so we wouldnt have to tract on the 4th. We did get to see some fireworks that night. There's a park right behind our apartment complex where they did a show. On Monday, the Butterfields (our Site directors) had a big BBQ for all of us Sisters and Senior couples. It was lots of fun. I took a few pics, hope you like them.
We're still struggling to find new investigators. We do have one though. Her name is Brenda. She was actually a former investigator just a couple months ago. She knows the gopel is true and has a testimony, she just has a smoking problem and has a hard time making it to church. We set a baptismal date with her for Aug 21, so hopefully she'll be ready. We took her to Kirtland on Saturday. We watched the full length Joseph Smith movie and then we took her to the School of the Prophets. She loved it, and it was a cool experience! We then went to the play, "This is Kirtland" at the stake center. It was really well done! I just love it here!
Well, this transfer is over in just two weeks. This next transfer will be CRAZY. With 8 sisters going home and ten new sisters coming out it will be an adjustment for sure. I found out a couple days ago that I will be training one of the ten. I kind of already knew I was going to train, just because of the numbers. But now that I know for sure Im kinda stressed. Usually they dont tell you youre training until about 3 days before transfers. Then on the monday before transfers (which are on wednesday) everyone training goes to a training meeting at the mission home in Cleveland. Well, apparently there are changes that have been made to the way new missionaries are trained. So all of us who are training and all of the Zone Leaders and District Leaders have to go to a four day training (2 days this week and 2 days next week) to learn about the changes being implimented. The first day is tomorrow, Ill let you know how it goes! Oh and next week the meeting is on Wednesday and Thursday so my p-day wont be until Saturday. Its gonna be a long week haha.
Yesterday, We had our weekly Kirtland training meeting (with all the sisters) in the temple. We practiced for the Emma festival, which will be on the 12th. It was so neat to be in the temple early in the morning and singing hymns from the original hymnal. There were a few solos that we got a sneak peak of too! A new missionary, Elder Bills is an award winning singer (according to our Mission President haha). He sang "A Poor Way Fairing Man" and it was incredible. He sang the last three verses acapella and it was AMAZING. The spirit was so strong. Also Sister Watt sang "Asleep in Jesus" at least I think that's what it's called. It was in the original hymn book and it was Emma's favorite. It's supposed to be like a lullaby. It was sung at her funeral. I balled the whole time Sister Watt sang it. I wish I could video it for all of you but cameras arent allowed :(
Thanks for sending pics! All the kids look so big. I cant believe that Ill hit my half way mark next transfer! Time is just flying by. Im trying to take advantage of the short time I have here. The gospel is true and Im so blessed to be a part of this great work! I love you all!
Sister Kingston
p.s. I thought my face was going to melt off on the 4th and 5th! You can tell from the pics how moist it is outside!

Hey Dad,
Yeah the weather here has been...HOT! Today it's supposed to be like 93. The humidity is definitely not my friend. What happened with the lawn mower? You didnt tell me the story. Well, I hope you're doing better. You hurt your ankle? Are you on crutches or anything?
Wow, I had no clue that there was a hurricane in James' area. As missionaries we really don't know much about what goes on in the outside world, which is a blessing. A couple weeks ago there was a tornado that came through an area of our mission. A bunch of the Elders helped with the recovery. Service is a great way to soften hearts!
I'm glad you all had a good 4th! I'll describe what I did on the 4th in the e-mail I send to Mom. Just wanted to say a quick hello :) Love ya!

Sister Golightly (sister Shoells last companion), Sister Shoell, Brenda, and me

Sister Shoell's (my companion) mom sent us glow sticks and a 4th of july banner amongst other things.

This is another favorite of the sisters here, take a picture while making razz (I dont know the word?) noises

Ok this is what us sisters like to call shake face! You shake your face while you take a pic and this is what it
looks like.

Sister Wilks (my first comp) and me :)

Two of my VERY BEST friends Sister Wirig and Sister Wright

More Sisters :)

At breakfast after the Temple on Tuesday