Happy New Year!! :)

Sister Elmer and Sister Davis

I hope you all had a wonderful Christmas! This Christmas was so fantastic. I have loved
Christmas in the mission field. Definately one i will never forget.

This week was a great week. Just to start off i had the funniest dream the other night. I was dreaming that we were talking to someone and telling them about the Book of Mormon and i had found in there that it talked about tumbling. and i was telling them how great it was because it even talked about tumbling. Well i woke up from that dream laughing! But it is true you can apply the Book of Mormon to everything in life even if it doesnt directly talk about it. 

Then we were at a members house for dinner last night and we were talking about the activities that we like to do and the mom told us that her little boy liked to do gymnastics but he was the only buy doing it with a bunch of girls. haha so i looked at the little boy and said "sometimes boys make the best gymasts" and the dad said and they get all the girls and the little boy threw his hands in the air and yelled "YES"... this little boy is only 8 years old. but we all got a good laugh out of that one. It was so cute. 


Sister Davis and President Porter

We had an awesome experience on Christmas eve. We went caroling with one of the members and her family. We went to this HUGE house. and When i say huge it is like your stereotypical mansion. The people were so nice and invited us right in. Their home was beautiful. So on Saturday sister Elmer and i decided to go back and talk to them about the gospel. So we went back and told him that we were there the other night. He went on to explain that us coming caroling had made his night. He said his wife had been sick and they had to stay home for the evening and he had been praying that something would liven it up a bit then we knocked on the door. We had a great time talking and he said that he was really interested in what we believed. So we set up a time to come back and keep teaching him. It was awesome. He was so friendly! 

Then yesterday we had a miracle happen. We were trying so hard to get people to church this week. And a whole bunch bummed out on us at the last minute. So we were at church and a less active shows up and brings one of his friends with him. So after sunday school we go and talk to him and his friend and his friend agreed to let us come over and teach him because he had a lot of questions. It was awesome and totally by the grace of God! 

I love my mission and all the things i am learning. I still feel like the greatest lesson that is a constant lesson that i am learning is to trust in God. But i love my Heavenly Father and Savior! I love you all so very much and pray for you always!!! have a great week!! 

Love your sister Davis :)

It is Christmas!!! :)

gingerbread houses :)
yeah we made them on our bedroom floor
in our crazy pants :)

My dearest family and friends!

I absolutely love Christmas in the mission field. We had an awesome Christmas conference this last week. I have always felt like i have known the true meaning of Christmas. Last year i felt like i gained a greater meaning of it being in the MTC during Christmas but this year i think i have felt more of the true Christmas spirit more than i ever have before. Christmas is all about love. The love our savior had for us to come down to this earth to set a perfect example to us, to suffer and die on the cross so we could be forgiven and not have to walk alone in this life, then to rise again the third day for all of us to be able to live again with each other in the eternities. I want you all to know that i love you so much! Your encouragement and love you have shown to me through out my life is one that i will be eternally grateful for.  You need to know that your savior loves you even more. His love is truly the greatest gift we could ever receive. Please keep that in mind as we go through this wonderful Christmas holiday. Know that you are always in my prayers. I know our Heavenly Father is taking care of you he is watching out for you and he loves you too. 

mischief making team in the mtc ;)
reunited on our 1 year mark haha great times
and fun memories :)
Sister Palmer and Elder Mechecern ;)

We had such a fantastic week this week. We met this awesome lady. Her whole life she hasnt really felt any need for religion. When we came by she told us that she feels it is time for her to get into it. She wants to know she truly has such a sincere desire. When we shared the first vision with her. We asked how she felt and she said that she felt it could be true. Then when we share the Book of Mormon with her she told us that she felt that it would help her. It was amazing. She prayed that this would bring her the peace and happiness that she is looking for. I know that it will. This gospel is so amazing. 

I hope you all have a wonderful Christmas. Know that i love you and pray for you always. Keep staying strong and having fun with whatever you are doing. LOVE YOU!!!

Love your sister Davis :)

Back in Indiana! :) Area: Kendallville, Indiana Companion: Alyssa Elmer, Pleasant View, Utah

My District

Hey everyone! I just love you all so much!

I am back in Indiana now. My address is 139 1/2 s main street Kendallville In 46755.  I just love Indiana! The people here are so friendly! My companion is such a hard worker and has such a powerful testimony! She is just an angel. It was really fun too cause she is from pleasant view and one night we were just laying in our beds asking each other if we knew certain people from each of our schools and we found out that we know a lot of the same people. It was so fantastic!

The cutest thing happened the other day. We were contacting a referral from someone we had met earlier and when he answered the door his four year old little girl got the biggest smile on her face and was like "I love you guys" (we have never met her before). It was the cutest thing ever. She talked our ear off the whole time we were there. She told us that she came from her mommy's belly and she wiggled and wiggled around in there until she came out. Then when we asked the dad if we could come back the little girl was like "sure sure sure sure" and then we looked at the dad was like is that okay and he was like "sure" In a very less enthusiastic way as his little girl but still we get to go back. The little girl totally softened his heart though while we were there. It was a miracle cause if it weren't for the little girl I don't know if he woulda agreed to let us come back. MIRACLES HAPPEN ALL THE TIME :)

I cannot tell you all how grateful I am for the opportunity that I have had to serve a mission. The time is truly flying by way fast! it is insane. I would never trade this experience for anything in the world. This gospel is truly amazing! I am learning so much everyday. Our Heavenly Father truly takes care of us. He has a plan for all of us. Learning to trust in him can be one of the hardest lessons to learn but it truly makes life a whole lot easier. It is a constant thing we have to work on. There is so much peace that comes from knowing the gospel is true and knowing that we have a Heavenly Father and Savior. Look for that peace especially during these crazy times of the holiday. I love you guys so so much!!!

 

Love your Sister Davis :)

A Missionary Christmas

This poem was given to Kirsten from a companion.  I love it!!!

A Missionary Christmas

I skipped the sales after Thanksgiving. The thrill just wasn’t there.
 No pictures taken with Santa Claus. My decorating has no flair.
 His presents are shoes, shirts, and ties, two suits and socks… no fun.
 I’ve bought him all white clothes because this year I’m giving Christ my son.

I’ve spent more time in the temple, my testimony stirred.
 I’ve re-read November’s Ensign, felt strength come from His words.
 Our family prays more frequently. My tears are quick to run.
 Abraham seems closer because this year I’m giving Christ my son.

I wonder how those Lamanite mothers gave their sons to war?
 Or how the pioneers chose Zion—their sacrifice was so much more.
 My loss will be his presence. I’ll miss his smile a ton.
 For two years we will pray for him. I’m giving Christ my son.

I stare at his face when he’s not looking. I memorize his eyes, their shine.
 He’s always hungered for the part of him, that makes his soul divine.
 The stories and lessons he always heard. His choice and mine are one.
 I’ll put my faith in God’s hand. This year, I’m giving Him my son.

Past gifts have lost their glitter. I think I finally understand
 Christ’s birth should be celebrated by giving Him a hand.
 It’s because I know Christ lives and reigns that all his packing’s done.
 My gift has taken years to make. This year I’m giving Christ my son.

I know there’s One who understands the sacrifice I’m making.
 Who knows the gift I willingly give, the toll it will be taking.
 For He has done it all before. Greater love — there could be none.
 For years ago God gave to me His only begotten son.

The hands I washed, the hands I held, the hands I taught to pray—
Now knock on doors to find the ones who will listen to what he’ll say.
 Because I know Christ needs him until all the gathering’s done.
 My gift has taken years to make. This year I’m giving Christ my son.

— Author Unknown

I am so grateful to be a missionary :)

My dearest family and friends!!!

This week has been another week of miracles. I love my mission and i love everything i am learning.

First i will start with my funny experience for the week. We went to an investigators home. Usually when investigators have dogs they usually ask us if we are okay with dogs. Well he has a huge dog which is no big deal but we are in there and talkin for a bit and he says "I hope you are okay with mice..." hahaha WHAT? then he went on to explain that he has this mouse that he found one day in his home and it keeps coming back and he has made a little bed for it and a hole in the floor for it to go outside and everything. He says he lays food out for it and it plays with his dog.  Hahaha we cracked up after that :)

Now for the amazing things that are happening in this area. First off i wanted to share an insight i had in my studies last week. So i was looking in the hebrew dictionary under what miracle meant and the defintion is "points to new and higher forces that have entered and are working in this lower world of ours" Isnt that so amazing? A miracle is literally God and his angels coming and working here on earth through us. We had a huge miracle on Friday! We had this appointment set up with one of our investigators and we went over there and they werent there. So we had to do some planning back at home and when we got there the member that we are living with her house cleaner was there. We told her what happened about how the person wasnt there and she said well how about you give the lesson to me? and we were like okay so we all sat down and we talked about some of the concerns she had in life and about what she knew about God and we were able to invite the spirit and share a powerful message about the restoration with her. She was crying! It was a miracle and definately the grace of God.

I know that our heavenly Father knows exactly where we are supposed to be at the time we are supposed to be there and he provides everyway possible to make sure we are there at the right time. I know this gospel is true. I know that our prayers are answered all the time. I could never deny these things. I have witnessed them personally. I love you all so so much! You are all in my prayers!

Love your sister Davis :)

Mom's notes: Kirsten didn't tell you that she is being transferred.  They are being doubled out so Sister Davis and Sister Lane are both leaving the area.  She said she is sad but is excited to see where our Heavenly Father needs her.

It's December!!

I love you all so so much!!!

This week was a pretty great week. We had a really cool experience the other night. We were trying really hard to find someone new to teach. So we decided to go and contact some potentials. But no one was home. So we decided to say a prayer to see where we were supposed to be. We got the feeling to go and try to contact a former investigator.  So we went there but she wasnt home either. So we started to knock some doors but no one was answering. So we were gonna go try one more door and on our way over there we saw this guy outside working in the garage. He had a fire goin and it was pretty chilly so we went over and asked if we could warm up by the fire for a bit. He was so nice and told us that we could. He even went and got another log to put on it. So we got to talk to him for a bit and told him what we were doing. We asked him if we could come back and he told us that we could. It was a miracle. I know that God is aware of all his children. He knows exactly where they are and exactly where we are (not just missionaries but also where the members are). I promise you that if you are looking for it God will put someone in your path that you can share the gospel with. This new christmas video that they have come out with is a great way to get a conversation started about it too. :) http://www.mormon.org/christmas?cid=HPFR112814529

We also had a neat experience yesterday. We were trying to teach this guy who is from Vietnaum. He is buddhist so we started with the very basic. He knows english but it is not very clear. He was having a hard time understanding us at first but then it was so amazing cause as we were testifying that we were children of God the spirit came so strong and we were able to understand him better and he was able to understand us. We asked him if he wanted to learn more about that and how he is a child of God. He agreed to meet with us again and he agreed to pray. So we taught him how to pray and everything. It was amazing! :) God is so good to us he wants everyone to hear about his gospel. No excuses!! :)

I know that this gospel is so true. I know that our prayers are answered. I know that we are children of God. I wouldnt deny it. I couldnt deny it. I love my Heavenly Father and Savior so much! I love my family and am so grateful to have you all. I love you guys!!! Keep stayin strong!

Love your sister Davis :)

Happy Thanksgiving

Kirsten celebrating her 20th Birthday with Sister Lane
and the Sanchez Family

Hey all you wonderful fantastic family and friends!

We have just seen so many miracles this week. We have had so much fun serving here in Cincinnati. It is truly quite the experience. So lately i have been praying to have charity. Especially for the people that we teach. I want to really see them through the eyes of our Heavenly Father. I had a neat but heartbreaking experience yesterday. We went back to one of our investigators and he told us that he just doesnt believe. He said that too much has happened in life that there could just not be a God. He said that he used to be super religious. He said that when he was going through those hard times that he prayed and asked God to just push him in the right direction. He said that he felt like he got no answer and things just got worse. But as we were standing there hearing him the thoughts that kept coming to my mind is that this is a son of God and he doesnt even know it. I didnt know what to say to him. I kept praying and asking my Heavenly Father. But for a moment i got a small feeling of sorrow because this man doesnt know his father. He doesnt know that there is someone out there that knows everything about him that knows the pain he has gone through and the heartache he has felt. I wanted so badly to just help him see how much our Heavenly Father loves him but he wouldnt listen to it. I want you all to know that you have a Heavenly Father and he loves you beyond comprehension. He knows you and will always be there for you!

So saturday we had a real funny experience. We were going to see our investigator that we had an appointment with. It was about 7:30 in the evening and all the lights in the house were off. We decided to still try and see him. Well on the way up to the door we hear this loud snoring from coming inside. We didnt end up knocking. Well we went back the next day and told him that we missed seeing him yesterday. He told us that he got called into work about 7:30... so either his dog has a really manly snore or he was pretty late for work... haha it may have been a had to be there moment but we thought it was pretty funny.

I hope you all have a wonderful thanksgiving! i am so grateful for my opportunity to serve. I am so blessed to have such wonderful friends and family. Please all of you be safe and remember who you are. I love you so so much!!!

Kirsten's 20th Birthday, Kirsten didn't title this one so I did it for her :)

My best buddy on my mission :)

Hey all you wonderful beautiful handsome friends and family :)

This week has been a wonderful week. First off I want to thank you for the birthday cards and gifts :) it was such a treat to open them today. I love you all so much!  



look at all the leaves here

I have just learned a whole bunch this week! One of my "visions" for myself by the end of my mission is to more fully recognize the promptings of the spirit. This week we had the opportunity to have a general authority come and tour our mission and he talked a lot about the spirit and the different roles of it. After that I really tried to really focus on the spirit as I prayed and as I went through my day. It is amazing the closeness you feel to your Heavenly Father as you do that. I love my Heavenly Father so much! I know we are all sons and daughters of him. In a very literal sense. I know this with all the fiber of my being I could never deny it. I hope you all know that too. He loves you! He wants to see you succeed. He will do all he can to help you fulfill your dreams as you work hard and turn to him :)



This week I am having a hard time thinking of a big funny thing that happened. Lots of funny things  happen throughout the week. But just little joys in doing the work that we can laugh about. I have found that is one of the best cures for those hard times we all experience. Prayer and laughter! It is so much easier to smile than to frown. Just do your best to be happy and remember everything happens for a reason! Keep stayin strong and know that i love you all so so much! You are in my prayers :) Love you!

i was just hangin at a
members house last night ;)

Love your sister Davis :)


Less actives dog reading the scriptures.



Miracles always follow after the trial of your faith!

Sister Lane & Sister Davis

Holy cow! I just love this gospel so much! Heavenly Father knows exactly what he is doin! That is one of the greatest lessons to learn i think to just rely fully on our Father in Heaven.

So i told you all about the lady we were teaching who said her parents werent gonna let her be baptized... well we told her to keep prayin and we would keep prayin as well. Well this week we went to another lesson with her and she came down and told us that her parents are gonna let her be baptized and come to church. She said they finally realize how important this is to her. That was a miracle everyone! God truly hears and answers prayers. I have seen that so much on my mission. He doesnt always answer them exactly how you think he will but sometimes he does and those are the most noticable times but the real challenge is to see how he answers your prayers when it is not exactly what you ask for. Isnt that intersesting? Maybe that can be a challenge for all of us to try and see how God answers your prayers each day when it is not exactly what you ask for, cause i know no matter what he does answer prayers :)

Okay so my funny story for the week. Well we went to help this lady clean her house.... it was.... interesting. So she has been known to have bugs in her home like an uncontrollable amount of bugs. So we took precautions and sprayed oursleves with rubbing alcohol before and after we helped but when we got home something we had been told to do is undress and put our clothes in a bag and throw them directly in the dryer. Luckily we live with a member so she had a garage so we were able to undress in there. But unfortunately the members cleaning lady was there so we yelled inside and told her not to look as we ran downstairs in our underwear... she was a good sport about it and totally understood. But it was kinda funny. Maybe it was a had to be there moment but so far we have been good and havent gotten any bed bugs... knock on wood :)

Also another funny moment is we have been trying to see this one member ever since we got here and we seemed to always go when she wasnt home... well that is what we thought. So we were talking to this other member and she told us to try and go see this lady again. Well we told that member that we can never catch her home she was like you know that she lives in an apartment. And we were like no the door we have been knocking on is a house door... so we doubled checked the address and it was the right address. Then we realized that we had been knocking on the front door to the apartment complex... no wonder no one was answering the door.... it was kinda embarrassing but funny too. So now we know we have to go inside that door. Even though i am on a mission i guess i am still entitled to my little blonde moments.

Well i hope all is going well with you all. Know that you are in my thoughts and prayers. Keep staying strong. Know that your Heavenly Father loves you so much and is watching over you. I love you all so much!

 

Love your sister Davis :)

Faith!! :)

Hey all you wonderful family and friends!!

I just want you all to know that i love you so much! You are all in my prayers! This week was quite a week.

First off we have met this amazing women. Our bishop told us all about her and asked us to go and see her. So we have started teaching her. She has studied the LDS faith for a long time and wants to raise her family in the church and go out to BYU. She has done a lot of studies on strong healthy families and she told us that the LDS familys have the highest rate of stability out of all the other faiths. We come in at 98% and the next closest one is 68%. Holy cow! But i cant totally understand why that is! But anyway she is just like a sponge with everything we share with her.  So she was going to come to church on sunday but we got a text from her that told us her parents are completely against her joining the church. She told us that she is going to have to wait until she goes out to Utah to get baptized. But we keep prayin for her. We know that God will take care of her. Miracles are always happening!!!  

This week I was studying a lot about faith. I am sure you all have read the chapter in the Matthew about Jesus Christ and Peter walking on water. It was so fantastic! I think i have talked about his before but when i was little i always thought it would be so cool to walk on water and told myself that one day i wanted to have enough faith to walk on water. So i really love this part of the bible. But anyway as Jesus comes to his diciples in the ship Peter Calls out to him and tells him that if it is him then to tell him to come out to him on the water. So the Lord tell Peter to come to him so Peter looks at Jesus and steps out of the boat and walks on the water. Then he turns his head towards the winds and the waves that are coming and starts to sink. But he quickly cried out to the Lord and the Lord immediately reaches out to him and pulls him back up. I thought we could relate that to our lives cause there is no doubt that winds and waves will come our way in life but as we stay focused on the Savior we will have the faith to get through them. But those times when we do start to doubt as we cry out to the Lord he will immediately reach out and pull us back up. But it all starts with the courage to take that first step out of the boat to increase our faith. I know that Jesus Christ is our Savior i know he wants us to be successful in the things that we are doing in life. I know that he has a plan for each of us to grow our faith to one day be able to walk on water.

So that is a little bit of what is going on here in the greater cincinnati. I sure love hearing from you all. Have a fantastic safe week. Know that i love you all so so much!!! :)

 

Love your sister Davis :)

Hello Everybody :)

Bus ride.

Hey all my wonderful friends and fantastic family!

I feel that this week i just really want to share my testimony with you all. One thing that i have learned on my mission that i continue to learn everyday is that Heavenly Father knows each one of us individually. He knows what we stand in need of. He blesses us with fantastic family and friends to help us along the way. I know that God has a plan for each of us and as we trust in him and his timing everything will work out for our good. I know that every trial and struggle we are faced with in this life is to prepare us and help us grow and most importantly to teach us to rely fully on our Heavenly Father. I know that our families are forever. That is how it is meant to be. That was the plan from the beginning that we could be forever families. I know God answers prayers. I have never felt closer to my Heavenly Father as i have on my mission and i know he is close to us all. We all just have to learn what that still small voice sounds like. But i know God speaks. He would not leave us here to figure all this out on our own. I know we are all children of God. Please dont ever forget your divine role and potential to become like him. I know this email was super short but just know that i love you all so so much!! :) Keep stayin strong. LOVE YOU!!!

Love your sister Davis :)



Temple

Sister Lane and Sister Davis

Sister Lane and Sister Davis



This is how we decorate our car for the trunk or treat :)



Sister Lane and Sister Davis

 





I love the fall.








Time is flying by!

This is our wonderful district.

Hey all you wonderful family and friends!

I hope your week has gone good. This week was a great rainy week again. It is getting colder and fall is here! Thats okay though i love this time of year.

This week we get to go to the temple and i am so excited. I absolutely love the temple. The feeling of going to the temple cannot be described in words and the power you get from going to the temple is one that can only be obtained from the temple. You will all be in my thoughts and prayers as i attend the temple.

This last week was a pretty good week. We have one week left in this transfer. Holy cow the time is going by so fast. I cannot believe it is almost november. Time flies when you are having fun! We have had some awesome experiences this last week. We have this investigator who has been going through a ton right now. She got in a car accident and almost lost her son. He was in a comma for quite some time and just recently got home. I think i have talked about her in some of my previous emails. But anyway we took a member with us teaching to her this week. The member we took was so perfect for her. She bore such a powerful testimony and the spirit was so strong in the room. We shared the message of the restoration and afterward she (the investigator) asked us what our belief was about the after life. So we explained a brief Plan of Salvation lesson and shared with her what happens after we die. She looked at us and was like "The feels so much better than what i was taught as a Catholic." It is amazing how powerful Gods plan is for us. I love it and it stregthens my faith so much to know that our families can be together forever. That life does not end here and there is a place prepared for us all.



Price hill is one of the most dangerous parts

of cincinnati no worries though the

elders were with us here.

Okay so my funny moment of the week. So this week we were trying to find ways to make personal contacting fun. Cause sometimes it can just be super awkard. So i was talking to one of my sister training leaders and she said to pick words that we have to use in the conversation so i told my companion about this and we decided to try it out. Well the word my companion chose for me was pieapple... how was i supposed to use pineapple in this conversation.... so we go up to this person and offer them a card and start talking to him. Then i say "so are the pineapples better here than they are in utah?" and he kinda looks at me funny and then i say "because i am from utah and have never liked pineapples until i came to ohio." I was trying so hard not to laugh and they guy loosened up and we had a fun converstation about pineapples. haha it was fantastic. We make the most of the situations we are put in.

I just want you all to know that i know this gospel is so true. I know that the time is so limited and we need to all take every opportunity we can to share this gospel with whoever we can. I know the blessings of sharing the gospel are not measureable. Keep staying strong and know that i love you!!!

 

Love your sister Davis :)

Daughters of God Conference

Rain rain and more rain :)

Picture courtesy of Kathryn Krieger, she feeds the
missionaries every week and sends me a picture of them:)

It's raining miracles! Hallelujah!! Awe Yeah!!! :)

How are you all doing? I hope all is going well and I hope you each know how much I love you!!  This week was just full of Gods grace and miracles.

I will start off with a funny story first though. So last Monday night it was raining so hard and we were drenched. We had our umbrellas but the wind was blowing so hard that they were not helping one bit. Well later on in the evening it lightened up a little. We decided to go and see one of the less active members of the ward and unfortunately she was not home...by this time it was pretty dark outside and as we were walking down her steps I over stepped one of them and fell down the rest. Luckily there were only a couple steps left but the keys went flying and I was flat on my back on the ground. I hopped up and just started laughing so hard because it hurt so bad that if I didn't laugh I woulda cried. The next day I woke up with a beautiful bruise on my arm and a couple bruises on my back. Haha but it was all good and gave me and my companion a good laugh. I guess that is one thing a mission cannot change is my clumsiness ;)

Now for the wonderful miracles :) Okay so first one we were having a really tough week at finding people to teach. We would talk to everyone but people were just not wanting to hear it. But we knew that there had to be someone that wanted to listen. So we kept going. Then on Thursday we had this feeling that we needed to go back to a lady that we had talked to a couple weeks ago that said she wasn't interested at that time but she would give us a call if she had any questions. So went back and just talked to her and invited her to our trunk or treat that the ward is having. Well things eventually led into us talking about religion and more about the message we share and things like that. The spirit was there so strong and she asked us if we would come back and share more with her before we even had the chance to ask her ourselves. It was awesome.

Then we have this other investigator that we have been trying to teach for a while but things kept falling through but we finally got in with her this week. We shared to restoration lesson with her. When we finished the spirit was there so strong it was undeniable and she said to us that this is exactly what she was looking for. She said that she had been to a whole bunch of churches but this is the only one that she has seen that is set up exactly like it was when Christ was on the earth. She loved it. We invited her to pray and ask Heavenly Father if it was true and when we followed up with her the next day she said that she had prayed and she had the most peaceful night and morning after that. She recognized that as her answer that it was. She came to church on Sunday and loved every minute of it. We are so excited for her. She is such a character too she refers us to everyone as her "sistas" Oh man it makes me smile. :)

We also had an amazing sisters conference yesterday and they focused a lot on what it means to be a daughter of God. Which is something I thought I understood but I really had no idea what it truly meant to be a daughter of God. I just know that we as daughters have a great calling here on earth and we work super closely with our Heavenly Father in helping him fulfill his plan for each of us here on earth. I am so thankful to be and to know that I am a daughter of God and I testify to each of you that we all are divine children of God. I hope you all have a great week. Know that you are in my prayers and I love you so much!!!

Love your sister Davis :)

It is so wonderful to be a missionary!!

Kirsten's whole mission went to the Cincinnati Reds Game
I think the sisters just about out number the elders :)

I love you all so much!!!

This week was so fantastic! The miracles truly never cease. Conference was so amazing as well. I never appreciated conference so much until i came on my mission. To hear the voice of the prophet speak to us and feel the wonderful spirit that he shares with all of us. I truly know he loves each of us. He is here to recieve revelation to keep us safe in these trying times. He is truly a a man called of God. I know this with all my heart and i could never deny it. Yesterday and Saturday i had some neat experiences during conference. There would be times when i could feel the spirit just come over me so strongly testifying to me that what was being said was so true and that whoever was speaking was truly a servant of the lord. This gospel is so amazing!!

We had the coolest experience with one of our investigators the other night. We went over to invite her to conference and we were sharing a scripture with her and before we could get to the scripture she told us that every time we share a scripture it is exactly what she needs to hear. She asks us to write it down so she can go and read the whole chapter. Well that night the scripture we were going to share with her was in the Book of Mormon and she didnt have one so we told her we would get one for her. So we read the scripture and the spirit came so strongly and she was like "Wow that was so powerful" and her niece that was in there too was like "I just got the chills all over" and we were like that is the spirit!! It was so amazing!! Then we went and got her a Book of Mormon and when we gave it to her she was like i think i have one of these books... but we gave it to her anyway because she wasnt sure where it was. Then when we came back she had found it and showed it to us and it was so old but to was so amazing. Holy cow Heavenly Father knows his children and he knows where they are and what they need. 

The things i am learning on my mission I will be forever grateful for. They are things that i could only learn out here. They are things that i will take into the eternities. I have never been more sure of how true the gospel is in my life until i came out here and that is because it has been tested more than ever before. I never though i would question what i have been taught my whole life but when you are trying to teach it to others and they come back with questions you havent ever really thought of before it can make you really start to wonder. Especially when they ask you how you know it to be true. Then you yourself have to study and pray about it and recieve that witness for yourself that it is true. I have done that out here and i can truly testify to you that this gospel is true that Joseph Smith is a prophet that Thomas S. Monson is a prophet today. That we truly can be families forever and that most importantly God will never leave us to try and figure all this out on our own. I know Jesus Christ died for us so that we wouldnt ever have to go through this life alone. I know that he lives today and he walks with us every step of the way. I love my mission and i will be forever grateful for it. Thank you for all your love and prayers. Keep stayin strong. You are in my prayers. I LOVE YOU!!!

Love your sister Davis :)

my second week in the city :)

My dearest family and friends,

This week went better than last week. We did not get lost one time but the car is going to be able to turn around automatically by the time i get done with it. haha!

We saw so many miracles this week. Thursday was just a miracle overload. We had set a goal the evening before to have two members come out teaching with us. Well on Thursday one of our lessons fell through so we were only going to be able to get one member. But we just kept going on with the day doing what we could. Then we got a call from one of the members and asked us if we wanted to come over for dinner. So we went to her house for dinner and after dinner she asked us if we wanted to go and visit her neighbors with her. Well one of her neighbors was an investigator that we had talked to the day before. So we were able to teach her a little with out member there and we were able to meet the goal we had set. Then the other lesson we taught with a member was so perfect. We were struggling really bad at trying to find a member but then this last member came to mind and we called and he was able to come. The investigator we took him to has been taking care of his mom who has alzheimers. When we got to the lesson with the member we found out that he had to take care of his mom who had alzheimers. They were able to talk and the member was able to help him know things that he can do to help the situations. It was so wonderful. Now i know it is not all about the numbers but it is truly the people behind the numbers that really matter. For that member to have such a strong testimony that she wanted to share it with her neighbor is what truly matters and for the other member to be able to help a new friend with the situation he is in is truly what matters. But the reason i wanted to share those stories is because i know that God is so aware of each of us and our needs. He knows what is going to be best for us in this life to help us learn and grow and remind us that he is in charge and to trust in him.

We also found this lady who is so amazing. So she was walking down the side walk quite a ways in front of us but i got this thought to just call out and ask her if we can give her a card with mormon.org on it. So we called out to her and sometimes people look at us really weird when we do that but she didnt. She was so sweet and on the other side of the card was a picture of the salt lake temple and she said it was so beautiful and asked us about it. We told her how we know that our families are meant to be eternal and that we will see them again one day and that the temple is where we make a promise with God and he promises that our families will be together. Well after we explained that she said that she totally believed it. She said that she just burried her daughter last week and she knew she was going to get to see her again. We told her that she would and that i knew it without a doubt in my mind. She agreed to let us come back and tell her more about it. We are going back on tuesday and we are so excited. She is so amazing! I know our families can be together forever and it is through the gospel that it is so possible. I know we all are so loved by our Heavnely Father and he wants to see us succeed. I hope you all have such a great week and know tha i love you all so much!!!

Love your Sister Davis :)

I am in the city!! :) Area: Indian Hill, Ohio, Companion (Training): Sister Jeralynn Lane, Payson Utah

Sister Shell... my mission grandma

How are you all doing? :) Holy cow this new area that i am in is nothing like the last area i was in! We get to stay with a wonderful member which is so much fun :) We are in a little city outside of the big city of Cincinnati. It is called Indian Hill. But me and my companion are over Madeira, Indian Hill, Mariemont and Terrace Park. There havent been sisters here for a long time. It is amazing and the ward here is so tiny. But everyone seems to be so sweet.


So when we first got here we were trying to find our way around to meet some of the member and stuff. Well somehow we ended up in downtown Cincinnati trying to find someone. I am probably the worst city driver ever. People drive crazy here and the roads just like randomly end and turn into turn only lanes. It was a bit stressful! But looking back on it now it was so funny. The elders in our area gave us a nicer area to work in and told us to stay out of certain areas after dark. We sure are getting taken care of here.

Page family... my mission family

I am starting to understand how to truly love my mission. I dont think i have ever been so "not knowing what to do" in my whole life. But yet somehow we still manage to make it through and find people to teach. It is because even though i have no idea what i am doing God knows what he is doing and what he wants me to do, so he provides the way for me to do it. I have no doubt that this is his work. He is truly guiding us and taking care of us.

I am training a new missionary and that is quite the experience cause i still feel like i am a brand new missionary and i have been out for nine months. But it is good cause i am reminded of simple things that i can do to keep this work moving forward as i share with the new missionary the things that i have been taught.

Right now we are just working on building up our teaching pool. There are so many people here I just gotta figure out how to get this message to everyone of them. We met this really nice guy the other day and are going back tonight to teach him more. He is so awesome.

Well next week i will have some more fun stories to share but until then i will just leave you all with my testimony....

I know this gospel is true. I know Jesus Christ lives. He takes care of us and carries us through everyday. Heavenly Father knows each of us. He knows what we each are facing in life and he is ready to help us. He is ready to answer our prayers and fulfill our dreams but in  order to do that we must pray and we must dream... (I did not come up with that it is a quote that i did not quote word for word cause i dont have it with me) But in know that is so true. He wants what is best for us and he knows what we can become. I am so grateful to serve my God. I am so grateful to have a loving family and friends :) I love you all so so much!

Love your sister Davis :)
https://www.lds.org/media-library/video/2012-01-014-the-will-of-god?lang=eng

P.S. Check out this mormon message

Love you:)

 

Moms Additional Comments:  It has been a long week not knowing where Kirsten is.  But I do love the idea that she is staying in a members home. 

 

Kirsten: Her name is Maxine Blotter, she is a character. She is like 80 years old and is so funny. I love it cause it is like coming home to a grandma to answer to. We are the first sisters here in Cincinnati for like 10 years. We opened up this area :)

Second Area Address

Sister Kirsten Kelly Davis
7280 Algonquin Dr.
Cincinnati, OH 45243

Miracles never stop!!

My dearest family and friends!!



Sister Davis & Sister Fausett

President & Sister Porter, Sister Davis & Sister Wight

What a week this has been. We have seen so many fantastic things!! So i am going to start off with the biggest miracle of all. There was this less active family that we were working with when i got here back in January. They have a grandson that is not baptized and he is nine years old. They have custody of him and his little brother cause their parents were in jail. well when i first got here we were teaching him in hopes that he would be able to be baptized but we quickly found out that his dad did not want him to be baptized until he was out of jail. We were a little disappointed at that time but we kept that family in our prayers and had faith that Heavenly Father would help make it possible for the little grandson to be baptized. Well we have kept visiting them and helping them get back to church and the family has become active again and last monday we got a call from the grandma saying her son was getting out of jail and would be home that evening. He is on probation but this means that we get to start teaching her grandson again and prepare him for baptism. The dad wants to learn more about the church as well because he didnt grow up with it always in his life. So we went over there last night and got the little grandson on date and he is preparing to be baptized and is so excited. Holy cow i know our Heavenly Father has timing for everything and he totally makes everything work out. We dont need to worry about a thing... i know i know that is so much easier said than done.



?, Sister Herndon, Sister Davis & ?

We also had another miracle. We have this excommunicated lady that we absolutely love and adore as well. We have been working with her ever since we got here as well. But the last two weeks she has come back to church and met with the bishop. Awe man i am  so excited for her. She is so strong and i love her so much. She says it feels good to be back and her countanance has totally changed. It is amazing to have the opportunity as a missionary to see peoples lives change. '



Sister Davis and Sister Wight at the Cincinnati Reds game :)

Okay funny story for the week. So sister Wight and I wanted  the little boy that i was telling you all about in the first paragraph of my letter and his little brother to come and sit with us at church yesterday. Well let me just say we had no idea what we were getting ourselves into. So the little boys (9 and 5) were sitting by each other in between sister Wight and I. It wasnt bad for the first little bit of sacrament. But then they started to get ansy and didnt want to hold still. Well the 5 year old start to get really squirmy and started to head butt his brother and me so sister Wight got up and sat in between the two boys and we got some paper out to keep the 5 year old busy. Well that didnt last very long either. We were not sure what to do then i remembered i had some sweet mints in my bag and told him if he could sit still he could have one. Well that didnt last long either considering the fact that as soon as he stuck it in his mouth he bit it... So i told him to wait 5 minutes and he could have another one. Then when i gave him another one i told him that he had to make it last 5 minutes and i  would give him another one. This went on every 5 minutes for the last 20 minutes of church... but it kept him quiet. He was focused more on that clock then what was being said at church but he is five... what do we expect. Haha we had some good laughs about it after though.

Now lastly for the sad news. I am leaving the wonderful little town of Bright. I am not for sure where i am going but i will let you all know next week when i email again. I am so sad but i know that Heavenly Father is going to take care of me. He always has and this is a good time for me to learn to trust in him even more. I am so grateful for the opportunity i have had to serve in this wonderful area. And the friends and memories i have made here will be in my heart forever. Thank you for all your love and prayers. I sure miss you guys. But i know i am where i am supposed to be and having family and friends back home being so supportive makes it a ton easier. I love you all and pray for you constantly!!!

Love your sister Davis :)