News from Kirstin for the month of May:
We were teaching a couple that is investigating the church, they are Melissa and Raymond. We were going to teach them about the Restoration but the Spirit directed us to teach the Plan of Salvation instead. It was just what they needed because they both had questions about relatives who had passed on and if they would ever see them again. They really liked the lesson and Melissa had tears in her eyes and she has seen a few different depictions of the ‘life-heaven cycle’ but she said that she liked our best, but she didn’t know if it was true yet. We taught them about prayer and how they could receive an answer. They have definitely been prepared for this and it is so incredible to see the Lord working on others and how He works through us to bless their lives.
We went over the baptism questions with the VanDeventer family and then Barbara and Shay I gone so well, we had dinner with them and other family members in celebration of their baby’s first birthday and we have everything ready to go for the baptism. They are so great and they will be confirmed on Mother’s Day. What a blessing to be part of! They are like a second family; I am definitely going to have to come back when they go to the temple to be sealed in a year.

Barbara’s and Shay’s baptism was incredible; the Spirit was so strong and we had to use the chapel because there were so many people that came. It was great to see everyone that came out for them; a lot of their family was there and many less-active members. We were able to talk to many of them to see if we could work with them – we’ll just have to see how it all turns out.
We had a zone conference and our mission president introduced a new way of teaching using the pamphlets more and it has been quite effective. We have seen many miracles from teaching this way; people are opening up to us more and we are learning what their concerns are what they are struggling with sooner so that we can address their concerns and help them move forward.
We had transfers and I have been transferred to the Santa Clarita YSA ward so I am still in the same valley and I cover the entire valley; I cover my previous areas – Canyon Country, Newhall and Stevenson Ranch. My first full day in YSA work, I got to see Kelsey who lives with a member, Barbara Myler, in Stevenson Ranch. It was awesome to see them again. Kelsey goes to Canyon College and plays on their soccer team. My companion is Sister Forbush, she has only been out 3 months, but she is really fun and nice. It’s different being in a YSA ward because the work is different here; I trying to get used to it. We get to go to the Institute Family Home Evenings which is really cool. For one of our home evenings we went to the bishop’s storehouse and helped out there; our ward was assigned to sort and package potatoes. Lately we have been working in different areas with the missionaries to find people we can teach. We make them brownies so that when they find YSA age people they will hand them off to us so that we can teach them. It is really working well and I am getting really good at making brownies fast. We also began teaching Kelsey, but we are taking it slow because she wants to learn about other religions too. We have a lot of finding planned (which means a lot more brownies) so hopefully we can get more people to teach. People are being prepared, it’s just a matter of time now to see if they are ready to learn which is determined by the Spirit.
Love you all! Sister Reese