This weekend was AMAZING!!!
Hermana Hendrickson and I have done a lot, a lot, a lot of studying, praying and fasting to see some miracles happen in this area and boy has The Lord delivered.
(Alma 17:2-3)
2 ... they had waxed strong in the knowledge of the truth; for they
were men of a sound understanding and they had searched the scriptures
diligently, that they might know the word of God.
3 But this is not all; they had given themselves to much prayer, and
fasting; therefore they had the spirit of prophecy, and the spirit of
revelation, and when they taught, they taught with power and authority
of God.
A few weeks back we met a man named E. in the parking lot in front of our apartment. We gave E. a Book of Mormon and he was excited to read it, we got his cellphone number and that was all. A week or so later we felt impressed to call him but we didn't get a
response, so we just left a message. On the morning of Mother's Day we had a missed call from a number that we didn't recognize, we called it back and E. answered and asked if we still have church services this morning at 9. We proceeded to tell him yes and that we would
love to see him this morning at church. 9:00 comes rolling around and we see E. walking with a lady and two children into church. One of the kids is holding a quad in his hand and Hermana Hendrickson and I become very confused. When they walked inside we find out that E. met and started dating a lady named D. who is actually a member of the church, but lives in Clarksville and they decided to come to church together in Hopkinsville.
E. then told us the story of how he met D. the week after he had met us and their first conversation was about God, D. told him that she's a member of the Church of Jesus Christ Latter Day Saints. He knew at that point he knew that God was trying to tell him
something. E. has come to church the past two weeks and has loved every minute of church. Yesterday we did a family home evening with him and D's kids, also the mother of E. We did a lesson on the restoration and when we went to go show the restoration DVD E's
mom said that she had rented that DVD from the library a few times and has watched it three times. We were sooooooo shocked, E's mom loved the message of the restoration and called Hermana H and I her little angels. They have started reading the Book of Mormon and both committed to baptism!!
This last Sunday we had 7 investigators come to church and they are all progressing towards baptism. This week my testimony of fasting and prayer has grown so much. I know that as we exercise our faith in Christ we will see miracles come to pass. I know that through Christ all things are possible.
I love being a missionary and I never never never want this time to end!
Have a great week y'all
Love,
Hermana Kenedi Ayre
Sunday, May 25, 2014
Cinco de Mayo
Happy Cinco de Mayo!! Go have some tostadas or something today! :)
Wow! This week has been a rewarding week! I feel so extremely blessed!
Monday night we had a lesson with M. and A. They are a mother and son. A. is about to turn 9 years old this week. They are so awesome! They have baptismal dates for May 24th. I am so stoked for them. We had a family home evening lesson with the W's and M.
and A. Hermana M and her 9 year old son, D., also showed up part way through the family home evening. It turned out wonderful! Hermana W. and M. hit it off really well and D. and A. by the end became good friends. We had to leave right after the closing prayer for another lesson but M. and A. stayed at the W's house and socialized for a while after we left. Then they came to the cinco de mayo party on Saturday. It was so awesome! They got to talk with a lot of the Hispanic members from the Clarksville Spanish branch. It was seriously soooo awesome! Members are ESSENTIAL in missionary work! It just doesn't really work out as
well when the members are not involved. I love missionary work. It is all about changing lives. Helping people progress.
Another miracle on Tuesday. First, the back story. Last sunday we stopped and talked to a man who told us where some Hispanics live. We contacted the house and found E. He didn't seem too interested, but we set up a return appointment with him for Tuesday because he didn't have time right then. We went back Tuesday and to be honest we weren't expecting much. We couldn't go into his house because it was just him and his roommate. So we stood on his porch and taught him the restoration using the pictures in the pamphlet. We got to the point when we were talking about the priesthood being restored. We asked him if he would be baptized by someone who had that authority. He started crying and told us that he is sick of falling. He told us that he never cries (he is kind of a tough guy). The spirit was so strong as we testified that he can make his life right. He has kind of had a story like Joseph Smith in that he has searched out different churches. He is so wise with the things of god. He is also so humble. He told us he has not found the truth yet and he has just been confused about religion because everyone says something different. We told him that God is very aware of his situation because God sent us to his house. He cried some more. We asked him to pray right then to know if the things that we are teaching are true. He prayed one of the most heartfelt prayers I have ever heard. He asked if these things are true. The spirit was so strong. It is the coolest feeling to have God work through me. I didn't plan on saying half of the things I did to E. I felt in a real way God filling my mouth with words. It was so powerful! He was so stoked to come to the Cinco de Mayo party too.
Right after we left we ran to get a flier from our car. When we came back to give it to him he told us he had already started contacting some of his friends to see if they wanted to come to the party. It was so awesome! Saturday we stopped by to make sure he had a ride. He said
he did but he would call us if it fell through. A few minutes before 5:30 (when the party was supposed to start) he called us and said his ride fell through. Sergio, the recent convert of 2 months, went and picked him up. He ended up bringing M., (E. friend) M., (his nephew) and D. (a friend of M.). It was so cool! E. was just eating it all up. M. was the man who told us where E. lived. So awesome! E. told us that memo would like a Book of Mormon. We gave him one at the party. He is interested in turning his life around. After we gave him a Book of Mormon E. took it back and marked a page in it from 3 Nephi. He told M., "you gotta read this
part.". Soooo cool!!! I asked E. how much of the Book of Mormon he has read. He was kind of bashful and just said I don't know, I just read. Ahh! I love being a missionary! These are the moments that make all the hard moments worth it!
Then to top it all off, last night we get home from the day and check our Facebook and the first thing that pops up on my news feed is E's post. It said "voy a ser Mormon" (I am going to be Mormon). We were freaking out! I started messaging him and he told me that he has been reading the Book of Mormon. We are meeting with him tomorrow. We are sooo stoked for him! Pray for him because he is going to have some things to overcome and has some bad
influences in his life. He is already posting quotes from apostles on his Facebook page. What the heck?!?
Saturday was the cinco de mayo activity! It turned out sooo well! Hermana M. put so much work into it and it was a success! We had 15 nonmembers there and a handful of less active families show up. It was so awesome! Hispanics know how to and love to party!
And Sunday night...... It was one of the most southern nights of my mission. Last week Hermana Hendrickson and I saw some men in white suits standing outside a church so we decided to drive up and talk to them. We drove up and met a man named W. K. We also met all of the pastors and deacons of the church. W. actually owns a quad haha he said that he has a Book of Mormon, doctrine and convenance, and a pearl of great price with is name on it and everything :) W. is also running for mayor in Hopkinsville. We asked if we could go to church with them some time and he invited us to come next Sunday night for music church. Oh and this is a Baptist church by the way. So this Sunday we show up at 6 o'clock to hear the gospel music and hear a little preaching. When Hermana H and I walk in we were literally the only people with fair coloring in the building, I am not lying, it was slightly awkward. There are like 250 plus people all in this church. We found some seats and talked
to some nice women for a while. Then the fun began, everyone started singing songs about Jesus, I don't think a have ever heard the word Jesus said so many times in one hour. The music was so good, it was crazy. I felt like I died and went to music heaven last night. Hermana Hendrickson was going crazy standing and clapping her hands, she
really connected with her inner soul last night. The people were all so kind and loving. Brother W.K. said that we could come back next time and sing for the church in a month, haha I don't think he wants to hear my voice haha. We asked him if we could come and do a
presentation on the Mormons in their church and he said Yes!!! We are pumped!
I love y'all!! Hope you have a great week, especially all of you moms!
Love
Hermana K Ayre
Oh and I met a woman from Loomis California and she went to Del Oro
high school. We are starting to teach her. Her name is M.
Also I we started teaching a returning member named S. W., her
maiden name is G., ...... Sister to R. G...... Crazy small world.
Wow! This week has been a rewarding week! I feel so extremely blessed!
Monday night we had a lesson with M. and A. They are a mother and son. A. is about to turn 9 years old this week. They are so awesome! They have baptismal dates for May 24th. I am so stoked for them. We had a family home evening lesson with the W's and M.
and A. Hermana M and her 9 year old son, D., also showed up part way through the family home evening. It turned out wonderful! Hermana W. and M. hit it off really well and D. and A. by the end became good friends. We had to leave right after the closing prayer for another lesson but M. and A. stayed at the W's house and socialized for a while after we left. Then they came to the cinco de mayo party on Saturday. It was so awesome! They got to talk with a lot of the Hispanic members from the Clarksville Spanish branch. It was seriously soooo awesome! Members are ESSENTIAL in missionary work! It just doesn't really work out as
well when the members are not involved. I love missionary work. It is all about changing lives. Helping people progress.
Another miracle on Tuesday. First, the back story. Last sunday we stopped and talked to a man who told us where some Hispanics live. We contacted the house and found E. He didn't seem too interested, but we set up a return appointment with him for Tuesday because he didn't have time right then. We went back Tuesday and to be honest we weren't expecting much. We couldn't go into his house because it was just him and his roommate. So we stood on his porch and taught him the restoration using the pictures in the pamphlet. We got to the point when we were talking about the priesthood being restored. We asked him if he would be baptized by someone who had that authority. He started crying and told us that he is sick of falling. He told us that he never cries (he is kind of a tough guy). The spirit was so strong as we testified that he can make his life right. He has kind of had a story like Joseph Smith in that he has searched out different churches. He is so wise with the things of god. He is also so humble. He told us he has not found the truth yet and he has just been confused about religion because everyone says something different. We told him that God is very aware of his situation because God sent us to his house. He cried some more. We asked him to pray right then to know if the things that we are teaching are true. He prayed one of the most heartfelt prayers I have ever heard. He asked if these things are true. The spirit was so strong. It is the coolest feeling to have God work through me. I didn't plan on saying half of the things I did to E. I felt in a real way God filling my mouth with words. It was so powerful! He was so stoked to come to the Cinco de Mayo party too.
Right after we left we ran to get a flier from our car. When we came back to give it to him he told us he had already started contacting some of his friends to see if they wanted to come to the party. It was so awesome! Saturday we stopped by to make sure he had a ride. He said
he did but he would call us if it fell through. A few minutes before 5:30 (when the party was supposed to start) he called us and said his ride fell through. Sergio, the recent convert of 2 months, went and picked him up. He ended up bringing M., (E. friend) M., (his nephew) and D. (a friend of M.). It was so cool! E. was just eating it all up. M. was the man who told us where E. lived. So awesome! E. told us that memo would like a Book of Mormon. We gave him one at the party. He is interested in turning his life around. After we gave him a Book of Mormon E. took it back and marked a page in it from 3 Nephi. He told M., "you gotta read this
part.". Soooo cool!!! I asked E. how much of the Book of Mormon he has read. He was kind of bashful and just said I don't know, I just read. Ahh! I love being a missionary! These are the moments that make all the hard moments worth it!
Then to top it all off, last night we get home from the day and check our Facebook and the first thing that pops up on my news feed is E's post. It said "voy a ser Mormon" (I am going to be Mormon). We were freaking out! I started messaging him and he told me that he has been reading the Book of Mormon. We are meeting with him tomorrow. We are sooo stoked for him! Pray for him because he is going to have some things to overcome and has some bad
influences in his life. He is already posting quotes from apostles on his Facebook page. What the heck?!?
Saturday was the cinco de mayo activity! It turned out sooo well! Hermana M. put so much work into it and it was a success! We had 15 nonmembers there and a handful of less active families show up. It was so awesome! Hispanics know how to and love to party!
And Sunday night...... It was one of the most southern nights of my mission. Last week Hermana Hendrickson and I saw some men in white suits standing outside a church so we decided to drive up and talk to them. We drove up and met a man named W. K. We also met all of the pastors and deacons of the church. W. actually owns a quad haha he said that he has a Book of Mormon, doctrine and convenance, and a pearl of great price with is name on it and everything :) W. is also running for mayor in Hopkinsville. We asked if we could go to church with them some time and he invited us to come next Sunday night for music church. Oh and this is a Baptist church by the way. So this Sunday we show up at 6 o'clock to hear the gospel music and hear a little preaching. When Hermana H and I walk in we were literally the only people with fair coloring in the building, I am not lying, it was slightly awkward. There are like 250 plus people all in this church. We found some seats and talked
to some nice women for a while. Then the fun began, everyone started singing songs about Jesus, I don't think a have ever heard the word Jesus said so many times in one hour. The music was so good, it was crazy. I felt like I died and went to music heaven last night. Hermana Hendrickson was going crazy standing and clapping her hands, she
really connected with her inner soul last night. The people were all so kind and loving. Brother W.K. said that we could come back next time and sing for the church in a month, haha I don't think he wants to hear my voice haha. We asked him if we could come and do a
presentation on the Mormons in their church and he said Yes!!! We are pumped!
I love y'all!! Hope you have a great week, especially all of you moms!
Love
Hermana K Ayre
Oh and I met a woman from Loomis California and she went to Del Oro
high school. We are starting to teach her. Her name is M.
Also I we started teaching a returning member named S. W., her
maiden name is G., ...... Sister to R. G...... Crazy small world.
Sunday, May 4, 2014
Staying in Hopkinsville
I am staying in hop-town with Hermana Hendrickson!
I'm pumped that I get to stay with hna h for her last transfer in the mission. She is so sad that this is her last transfer, she wants to get an extension, but her tickets have already been paid for. Being with Hermana H. has pushed me to new levels. We have set some really big goals for this next transfer so keep us in your prayers :) We want to blow this area up with success and miracles.
We have studied the law of consecration a lot and how we can give all of ourselves to God. There is a talk that is called, " the fourth missionary" ( I will try and attach the talk to this email, it applies to everyone not just missionaries) and it has been a great motivation
for me throughout my whole mission, especially now when we are trying to do so much in this area and with the Sisters in our zone.
I am excited to see how I change this next transfer because Hermana Hendrickson wants to leave with a bang and we are going all out. I my might die before I even get to come home because of exhaustion....
This week we started to teach a lot of new people and they are showing great potential! We had a cool miracle happen this week; so we had been praying all week to find more Hispanic families to teach and meet more Hispanics in general because they are really hard to find here. So, Friday Hermana H and I were out and having a real hard time
finding any Hispanics to talk to. This week I said, "man we need to find the Hispanic party that all these people are at." Ask and ye shall receive. That night we pulled up to visit one of our investigators and there were like a bajillion cars outside her house and the Hispanics were just flowing out of the cars. We hopped on that opportunity. We realized that we knew about two thirds of the people there. There were at least 70 people at this party. It was awesome because we knew just enough people to get into the party and talk to people and still meet some new people. It was so great! It gave us a good vision for the work we have to do here! We are so stoked!
finding any Hispanics to talk to. This week I said, "man we need to find the Hispanic party that all these people are at." Ask and ye shall receive. That night we pulled up to visit one of our investigators and there were like a bajillion cars outside her house and the Hispanics were just flowing out of the cars. We hopped on that opportunity. We realized that we knew about two thirds of the people there. There were at least 70 people at this party. It was awesome because we knew just enough people to get into the party and talk to people and still meet some new people. It was so great! It gave us a good vision for the work we have to do here! We are so stoked!
We met with Jazmin this last week! She was a former investigator that had been taught about a year ago. She is 18 years old. It is so hard to catch her. We finally met with her, but she only had a couple minutes to talk. It was a powerful lesson! We talked briefly about the
plan of salvation. We talked about how we can fill our lives with meaningless things that keep us so busy and occupied. However, when we put God first our souls are filled with peace. She said, "that is where I lack. I need to find God first." It was so powerful! She loves what we are teaching. She told us that she is going to quit cheer because she is just too busy. She does cheer and soccer and is in a ton of AP classes. We are really excited to work with her. She will totally be baptized soon!
Anyways I got to go buy some food for this next week!
plan of salvation. We talked about how we can fill our lives with meaningless things that keep us so busy and occupied. However, when we put God first our souls are filled with peace. She said, "that is where I lack. I need to find God first." It was so powerful! She loves what we are teaching. She told us that she is going to quit cheer because she is just too busy. She does cheer and soccer and is in a ton of AP classes. We are really excited to work with her. She will totally be baptized soon!
Anyways I got to go buy some food for this next week!
Love y'all
Hermana Ayre
Hermana Ayre
Meeting with Dan Clark
I don't have a ton of time today, but this last week was really good.
The week started off with a huge miracle of teaching a lady named Maria and her son, they both committed to being baptized on May 24th, and this was in the first lesson that they committed to a date :)
Then on Tuesday we had our big transfer meeting, it was one of the most spiritual meetings I have attended during my mission. The meeting was a big roller coaster of emotions, I was so drained at the end of the day. It was so fun to see all my past companions and mission friends all in one place, the last time our whole mission was together was when President and Sister McKee announced that they were returning home. The meeting started off very spiritual with our mission choir singing, then hearing the departing missionaries advice. This last transfer we lost a lot of amazing missionaries, a few zone leaders, sister training leaders, and Elder King one of the AP's. It was really sad to see them leave. After that, they introduced the new missionaries entering the mission, talk about an intimidating day to enter the mission field.
Then, the best part of the meeting came... Good Old Brother Dan Clark stood up to the pulpit and gave an amazing amazing inspirational talk. The whole mission was laughing and then crying together as Dan told some very heart felt stories. After Dan spoke we sang called to serve, which brought everyone to tears, especially the departing missionaries. It was heart wrenching to see the departing missionaries weeping because they realized it was the last time they would sing called to serve as a full-time missionary in the TNM.
After the meeting I had the privilege to eat lunch with Dan and some other missionaries. Dan was so kind to pay for everyone's lunch :) Thanks Dan!!
Through out this week I have talked with many missionaries that have been strongly impacted by Brother Clark's words. Many sisters told me that Dan's talk changed their outlook on their mission and has helped them to be more committed to God's work.
I hope that Y'all have an amazing week (sorry that I didn't have time to write more)
Love,
Hermana K Ayre
PS A big shout out to Nelson soon to be Elder Ayre, I am so proud of you Nelson and the decision you have made to serve a mission. You are an inspiration to us all. Love you.
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