November 26, 2013
On Wednesday we had interviews with the president. Our mission president is so amazing; he is inspired to help lead and guide the mission towards bigger, better, and greater things. We then moved on Thursday to our new apartment. The move wasn’t too bad, my companion and I moved as much as we could on our own and the things that couldn’t fit in the car we loaded into the trailer. One of the senior missionaries, Elder Jeppson, drove the truck with the trailer and we moved in and got everything set up. We even have a small garage so we have a little more room to store things.
Oscar is still trying to get an appointment to be interviewed for his temple recommend, but he lost his aunt this week which was hard on him because he was really close to her. He seems to be doing okay and even looked happy on Sunday at church. We are still working on ideas on how to work with members and so we started sharing the story of Cornelius (Acts 10) – think of Peter as the missionary and Cornelius as the nonmember and the angel as the member. It worked and we had a family refer us to their friend.
It has been very rainy and cloudy which means that it has been cold. I have been bundling up but it is still pretty cold. I got to hold a real Emmy Award;

one of our members is a sound producer on some really big shows and he has won three awards and he actually told us to hold them so he could get a picture and send it home. It was pretty cool! I saw six robbers in our apartment complex Sunday night! They were very stealthy; one came out, checked the surroundings then moved to another corner and another came out. They were really organized and fairly quiet. I was the only one that saw them because my companion had gone to bed early and I went out on the balcony for a moment and saw them. The robbers had their traditional masks that never move because they are raccoons! That was really interesting to see 6 raccoons sneaking around and digging through the trash.
We had a great p-day – it started by us setting up a prank on the elders in our complex and ward. We took them on an adventure by having them follow clues to 5 spots where they did different activities and we covered their door with balloons

. When they finished, we had a water balloon fight.

We won. The elders told us that we had better watch our backs because the war is on!
Well that is about all for now.
Love,
Sister Reese




December 3, 2013
This week we were able to get a lot more done; first, we met with Murlin (a less active member of 40+ years) with a member and it was a pretty good lesson and Murlin was happy. We taught the plan of salvation and it helped him out a lot to understand more of the eternal perspective and where he is now and where he can be. We also had exchanges so I stayed in Stevenson Ranch and another sister came up while Sister Lind went to Studio City for 24 hours. On exchanges so many miracles happen. We got 3 new potential investigators and one new investigator. The three potentials are Mina – an Indian in the 20’s; Marissa – she is Hispanic and has been to church looking for somewhere to go; and Victoria – we met her in an RV park and she came to her door and asked us to come inside and pray with her. We held hands and said a prayer then she told us that she had been homeless and she was now living with a friend and her son-in-law, and he was going into surgery after a hand injury. She gave us her information for us to return and teach her. Then another miracle happened – we were knocking on doors in an apartment complex and we were nearing the end and we saw one door and almost passed it but we decided to stop. A young guy (30’s) Lynn, answered and invited us in to meet with him and his wife. We taught the first lesson and he had a ton of questions and it was really great! I even had a thought/image of him passing the sacrament – I believe that he will be baptized but am not sure when.
We were invited to a member’s home for Thanksgiving and they had tons of food. I tried many things I’ve never had before, like berry pie, and it was pretty good. We were sent home with a lot of food so we were set for a few days. We spent some time playing with the children building a wood castle.
Church was amazing we heard many great testimonies and it was really spiritual. We also got news that there are going to be transfers. I will find out Tuesday where I will be and who my new companion will be. It was really hard saying goodbye; I just love the members here so much! They have literally become like a second family. I’ll miss everyone; but the president knows what he is doing and I really respect him for that, he is so inspired for this mission and he is incredible. Monday morning we helped set up the chapel for the upcoming Christmas concert.
Anyways, that about wraps it up for now.
Love,
Sister Reese

November 11
I don't have much news this week - we didn't get out much because my companion, Sister Lind, has been sick all week. We went to Urgent Care but the doctor just told that she had a sinus infection when the symptoms were not even close. We really don't know what is going on yet.
I have been reading through the Bible dictionary and have read some really interesting things. There is often references to books in the Apocrypha which makes me want to read them when I get home.

November 19
My companion has started to fee better this week but we did not get much missionary work done because we have to move and we had to pack up the entire apartment, not just our stuff. We are getting help; however, moving the furniture. Oscar is going to be getting an interview soon so that he can get a temple recommend which is really exciting.
I tried shrimp and pumpkin pie this week. The shrimp is just very plain and the pie wasn't the best for the first few bites but then began to taste better.
We also saw Brenda Song (from the Disney channel) and she was outside her house with some friends and the members we had dinner with live across the street. She said 'hi' to the dad. Sister Lind really got excited once we were in the car and had driven down the road a bit. She was screaming and really excited, it was funny. Our members just need to introduce us to her.

Love Kirstin

Freezing missionary

November 6 (later that evening)
I found out today that I am going to die... A member we went out to dinner with told us that California can get into the 30's and sometimes less. If I am freezing in 60/70's, I am going to die! I want you to pull out all my coats and jackets and take a picture of them all so that I can see which ones I want. I also think that I am going to need more blankets. I'm just trying to be prepared before it gets really super cold. I am thinking that California is going to be colder than Utah, just without the snow...I'm a bit nervous because I am already freezing nearly to death!! I need like a personal heater or something, I don't know how I am going to survive this winter. CALIFORNIA IS COLD!!!

6 November 2013
My companion and I received permission to go to the temple this week and it was awesome.

It ended up being stake temple night and we did a chapel session too; and it was huge! There were a few deaf people in the group so we got to see the ASL session, which meant that we didn't get to see the new movie this time; oh well, it was still great. I love the temple so much, it is just incredible. The LA Temple is really beautiful too; it's amazing.
In other news, Oscar received the priesthood last Sunday, so hopefully we can get him to the temple to do baptisms soon. Oscar has been called as a ward missionary which is so great! He has learned and grown so much since the first time I met him; it is so great to see how quickly the gospel blesses people's lives once they are on the right path. That was definitely a highlight of this week.
We get to teach a less active (less active for over 40 years) again this week. His name is Murlin and he has major health issues; but we're trying to help him come back and learn again. We are teaching him like an investigator since he doesn't remember much about the church and its teachings.
On preparation day this week we had a district activity and we played football, ultimate Frisbee, and soccer. The field was a bit wet and made things slippery. Don't worry, I only hurt my back and ankle a little bit; all is good though.
Well that's about all for this week.
Love Sister Reese

October 21, 2013

I have yet again another week filled with changes. We are in another trio because one of the sisters in the district is a Temple Square missionary and she went back and her companion has joined us until another sister comes out. I was supposed to be a trainer this transfer and would have had to move but the girl that was supposed to come didn’t so I don’t have to leave and I am still in Stevenson Ranch with my companion Sister Lind.

I just love this area so much and am so glad that I still have the chance to serve here; it is definitely my favorite area. The other sister that joined us is also named Sister Reese. She is from Georgia and her grandma and grandpa are converts so we don’t have any relation. It has been really interesting having two Sister Reese’s in a companionship.

There is new area that will have a companionship in so my companions and I and some elders with the housing coordinator help get an apartment ready. It was really fun and it is a nice apartment. Afterwards Elder Young (coordinator) and his wife took us all to McDonalds for lunch. I ate my very first McDonalds hamburger; it was okay, just plain and I certainly wouldn’t get one if I have other choices.

Later we cleaned an investigator’s house; she is a hoarder and lives in a trailer house so it is small and there was a lot of stuff. It was really disgusting and she even felt that the chicken that was moldy was still good. Yuck! I don’t know how can spiral down like that. We made some improvement and hopefully she can get a hold of things and make a better life for her and her 6-year-old daughter.
We taught several people this week and had different levels of success. We had a great Sunday; it was the primary program and it was so cute. The primary is large here and they did a great job. Kelsey, a potential, and soccer player for the local college even came to church. Hopefully she will be receptive to hear the lessons. After church I felt that we needed to go see a less active couple in our ward. They have two kids, a girl and a boy, who are both on missions in Spain. He used to be the ward mission leader and his wife is not a member. We spent some time talking with them and they are really friendly and said that they would like to have us over for dinner sometime. We really hope to start teaching them soon.
October 24 marks my 6 month out; it is really crazy to think that I have been out for half a year and that I have a year left. Time really does fly when you are having fun!
For Halloween the ward had a trunk-or-treat party and we decorated our car and had a game for children to play so that they could earn candy. It was called the ‘MTC’ and the children had to decide by looking at pictures, what a missionary could bring to the mission field and what had to be left home. It turned out really well and the children did a pretty good job with it.

Until next time.
Love,
Sister Reese

Letter Excerpts

Excerpts from Kirstin’s Letters:

Oscar Delgadillo was officially baptized September 29, 2013. It was such a great baptism. Oscar told his daughter that it was him being baptized right before he changed into his whites. It was so sweet and there wasn’t a dry eye in the room. Sister Lind, me, and Elders Chandler and Choi sang “Come Thou Font “and it was great; the Spirit was really strong. Oscar called us the next day to say thank you and he said that he didn’t know that music could bring such power and Spirit. Oscar, his daughter and son-in-law all shared their testimonies and it was so powerful to everyone there. It’s so great to see another child of God come back to the family of Father. Oscar is such a humble man; he is just an amazing person.

After the baptism we had a meeting that had the wards readjusting their boundaries; we stayed in the same ward and picked up some from another ward that includes another investigator that may be close to baptism. We will meet them soon.

I truly believe that I have now become an official Californian; I now have to wear a warm jacket because I get cold in temperatures of 60 – 70 degrees. I don’t know how I am going to survive when I go back to Utah; especially since I will be going back at the end of October. I am wearing a wool coat here and I carry a blanket in the car to wrap up in just to keep warm. I think my blood is really thinning out, I seem to be cold all the time. Sister Lind (my new companion from West Valley, Utah) and I have been busy getting use to our new area. We have this one community that is really nice with a lake that has ducks, fish and turtles.

We have picked up some great investigators: one lady was baptized a year and a half ago but never came back to be confirmed so we are going to try to bring her back so she can be re-baptized and confirmed. We are also teaching a Richard, who is a boyfriend of a less active member so we are trying to teach him and bring her back to church, but we will need to get them worthy since they are living together. We have three possible investigators that are married to members; the other is a friend of one of the young women in our ward – she has been to girl’s camp and church before, so hopefully we can teach her soon. We had a zone training meeting taught by the zone leaders and I learned so much; in 1 Nephi 13:34 it talks about ‘other books’ in our time and one of them is Preach My Gospel because it is such a powerful tool to help missionaries teach the gospel. Everyone should read this book; it is so powerful for anyone who wants to share the gospel with their friends and neighbors. I also came to realize a connection between missions and school: they both have a set schedule for a certain amount of time that doesn’t change very often. Although your schedule is the same from day to day, you are learning and doing new things each day. Missions are the greatest; I think everyone should serve a mission because you really do learn so much. I have learned so much like gospel principles in better detail that it will help me in my future life as a parent.
General Conference was Christmas for missionaries: by the end I was so full spiritually that is was so amazing. Between sessions on Saturday, we had a baptism which just made the whole weekend so spiritual. One talk I liked was Adrian Ochoa (2nd counselor in YM) he said “Your mission service will be the single most important thing to prepare you for the rest of your life.” It is so true; I’ve learned tons of gospel principles in more detail.
Oscar was confirmed a member of the church on October 13, 2013. It was so great to see him finally receive the wonderful gift of the Holy Ghost to help him throughout the rest of his life. One of my first investigators in Studio City, Annette, was baptized; I didn’t get to go back for it but I was told that it was really special. Now for some sad news; our investigator, Richard, the one living with his girlfriend (the less active sister), dropped the lessons. His girlfriend said that he was not interested and that she was ‘so not interested.’ (She used to be a Relief Society president.) She left a voice message and her tone of voice was really harsh which is so sad. We picked up Cindy, a new investigator from the elders after the ward boundary shifts and she has been taught most of the lessons and already has a strong testimony. She wants to get to know the Book of Mormon better before she commits to baptism.

This week Sister Lind and I help out at the mission home with cleaning and re-organizing. One day we work so long that we didn’t get dinner so the senior couple missionaries took us out to dinner and we talked until it was time for us to go home. We really got to know them which was really cool. The major event that happened this week was the visit of Elder Kopishke of the 70 who taught us so much. I took 8 pages of notes during the day long conference. Some phrases that he said that I really liked were: “If you invite, you have succeeded.” “The righteous man falls 7 times a day, but each time he gets back up.” “Young adults should go on missions” (this one was really cool, no it’s not commanded for girls to go on missions, but in this day and age of wickedness in the world, it should be required – I think at least…). I really like how he taught – by the Spirit and with the scriptures.

Love,
Sister Reese

August 12, 2013

Dear Family,
This week was pretty fantastic; we got to meet some more members and get to know them better. It can be hard to catch people because they aren’t home much during the day; they all work. They are really nice and they are amazing members; so willing to serve and they try to be missionary minded and bring their friends to the knowledge of the truth. They are preparing their friends because they want us to meet them; they are really great and down to earth. My companion and I bought flowers and gave them to our bishop’s wife and she loved them! Then we made the mistake of telling the elders what we did and now they are trying to top us; but, they haven’t done anything yet. We also made brownies this week so that we could give some to our investigator, Oscar.
I also got to go on exchanges this week and I went up to the Newhall are for the day with Sister Walgren (from Pleasant Grove, UT) and it was so amazing how many miracles we saw. We found a ton of solid potential investigators, including a family that seemed really interested in what we were saying. We taught them most of the first lesson and then we covered some other topics here and there. The dad told us when we walked up that he was tired of his church because they were so repetitive, he needed a change, and something that would teach his kids right. (They are 13 & 15.) So we talked with him about the church and the youth programs and he was really interested. We spent over an hour talking with him and his kids; it was amazing! He also talked about a Bible story and it wasn’t very good and he was asking about why it happened that way. My companion did not know the Bible story very well so I was able to clarify it for him since I was familiar with the story. He would be a great member; he seemed like he really could be but he wasn’t; he has been prepared to hear the gospel which is incredible! They are a Hispanic family and they speak English very well. They are so cool! We also met many other really prepared people and we planted tons of seeds with other people too. It was just a great day! We were able to invite several others to church and many of them said that they would try to make it. We also talked to one of their investigators, Zeki, who is from Turkey and still learning English. I was able to say ‘hello’ to him in Turkish (my college roommate taught me since she was Turkish) and he was really impressed and we started talking more. He told the sisters earlier that he would get baptized once he accepted Christ as his Savior. He still doesn’t believe that yet, but he is interested in the gospel and has many perfect questions that can easily be answered. He is 22 years old and used to be Muslim; but, he is awesome. He is coming along and he will understand the truth eventually.
On Sunday, our investigator, Oscar came to church and he came to the gospel essentials class with us and the teacher had Oscar introduce himself to the rest of the class and he said that he can’t wait to be a member! In relief society I sat next to a lady who was transferring her records over to our ward. As we talked, she began to cry as she told me about the trials that she was going through and that she had a prompting to join our ward and she said that her son is serving a mission in Mexico. She is so sweet and she wants to take me and my companion out to dinner or lunch sometime when things settle down for her. Later we had a session with Oscar and taught him some of the commandments and one of them was the Word of Wisdom. He has been drinking coffee and tea; but, once we told him that members are not allowed to do that, he immediately said he would stop drinking coffee and tea anymore. We know that he will succeed because when he is set on doing something he will do it. He told us that last week in priesthood meeting they talked about being kind to everyone and the next day he decided to be nice to one man at his work that people gossiped about and he just said, “hey, how’s it going?” and the guy was caught off guard, but was happy Oscar talked to him. We talked to him about the temple a bit too; his daughter was married in the temple so he knows a little about it already. We are planning on having Oscar getting baptized on September 8 and the bishop is going to announce in sacrament meeting. Oscar wants to surprise his daughter with it so he talked to his son-in-law about clearing up her schedule and his side of the family’s calendar so they can all be there for his baptism. The Spirit was so strong during his lesson and I was impressed to tell him how much God loves him and that Heavenly Father is proud of him for everything that he is doing and it made Oscar cry a bit; it was so powerful. I can’t wait to see him baptized. (His date of baptism is during the week of transfers; I hope I don’t get transferred before this happens.) What a great week!
Love, Sister Reese