Subject Line: Multiple Choice

STL Sister Steninger

Buenas :)

How has my fabulous family been? This week has been...crazy :) I have reflected a lot the last little bit and thought about...a lot. Haha. #shouldnthavetoldmetopondermore ;)

First things first, we got transfer calls this morning and...big surprise! I am out. My companion got called to train again on Friday, so Saturday we went to the chapel for the new trainer meeting. Elder Brown's trainee is training so I got to see him and we talked for a little bit after they all went in. Can I just say, we are all so different! You can see it. What a year in the service of the Lord will do to ya.
OH! And I saw my hermanita! Hermana Voss is training! I was so excited to see her. We didn't get to talk much because she had the meeting, but she will be just fabulous. I am very excited for her.

I've said this was a crazy week, capitalizing with a crazy baptismal service Saturday. My companion has been really sick & so for the most part we have been home for her to rest (I have been able to catch up on my Jesus the Christ and Book of Mormon reading, so not complaining too much). However, she was not about to miss the baptism Saturday! We taught this kid four times or so over the week and he was baptized Saturday with an investigator of the elders, as well as two member kids. It was just a big ol' baptism party! There were a lot of people there to support, which was awesome.

We taught another investigator at the home of our ward mission leader and extended a baptismal date to him. He has been really apprehensive about accepting a date in the past, but agreed immediately with the proposition of March 25th. We were really happy for him but, right after that lesson, problems and problems more have come flooding in. He's had a rough couple of days where we haven't been able to meet with him, but he is still holding strong. There are some studs in this area.

Our second counselor's wife invited us to dinner during the week. They are Ecuadorian and the moment she saw my tag she was only speaking Spanish! I ended up translating the whole night all of the conversations we had. Her little girl is five and the most adorable outgoing little thing. I walked in and she said, "I've never seen you before," to which I replied was because I was just visiting. She wanted to play with my hair and exclaimed, "I like your hair! It's looooong, and curly..." I told her it was just like my companion's and she goes, "Yeah, but yours is yellow!!" #yellowforthewin #hispanicsallhavebetterhairtho #buttheyliketheyellow #sunshine? ;)

During my mission we've never done much with the Skype/video lessons. That is something I have wanted to tap into a little more and this is the area to learn it! All of the lessons we had were over Skype or FaceTime. Part of that was because my companion is sick but it meant we were able to teach more lessons in a night than had we gone to their houses. I also learned that people are less likely to get distracted and off topic over FaceTime or Skype. I still prefer in person lessons, but this was definitely a huge help last week.

Love the Beus Family!!!

Also saw the Beus' Sunday! They are just darling. I loved seeing someone familiar. That was very comforting :) They had a baby shower for Emily Saturday and some sisters were loading her up with gifts and bags as church went on. I expect pictures of that little baby in a few weeks! :)

Seeing as my companion was sick most of the week, I had much time to think. In the blessing I received before coming here, the section of chapter ten in PMG for asking questions and listening were explicitly mentioned. I think this last week was a really great opportunity to look at myself and see where I am and where I want to be. The Lord has worked some wonders here, but I know there is much more to come. Thoughts about my "fire" and how to cultivate it for the purposes of the Lord were many. In all my study and pondering, I have found that I am rather like Peter and Captain Moroni in certain personality aspects: impulsive and fiery. Haha. I read through many things about both these men and found great peace and comfort in the idea that they had fire too and were able to use it for the purposes of the Lord --helps me see that I could do the same. Their ordination was to that of a much grander scale, but the principles are there.

In learning to manage and use the fire, I was blessed to come to understand more fully that the gospel is very simple. If we love God - if we truly love Him - then everything else will come. After searching to find how I could learn to use this gift correctly, that is what the Lord brought me to. That really all I need to do is continue. I think sometimes we expect these big new things that the Lord is going to have us do in answer to our questions. We think there has to be a different unique solution to every problem. That type of thinking can cause us to miss the truth when it is given to us. The Lord joys in plainness. And His gospel is plain. If we do the "little things" we will get there. Now, sometimes there are specific things to change or fix, but more often than not I find we try to over-complicate this beautifully simple gospel.

If there is one thing I have learned this week it is that the gospel is true. Haha. Really though. My conviction of the truthfulness of this gospel has never been stronger. It is true and it is simple. I found that there really is no room for half-hearted effort in the work of the Lord. I guess that would be my invitation for you, as it has been my own personal challenge: give yourself a little self-evaluation. Where are you? Where do you want to be? Who are you? Who do you want to be? What are you doing to get there and be that?

I love my mission and could never express thanks sufficient for the changes it catalyzes in me and my eternity every.single.day. #Livingwithnoregrets #Seekingtobemorestill #Giveme(more)mountainstoclimb #Countyourblessings #Hispeace #WhatdoestheLordhaveupHissleevethistransfer? #Thywillbedone

I hope the next week is just great --and that no more of my friends run off and get married #congrats! Love you tons :) have a great week!
Mucho amor,
Hermana Karra Gourley
...

Funny things:

Not sure why this was so funny: During a Skype lesson my companion asked how BoM study was going and said, "How has your BoM been reading?" I just died. Not sure why...it was late, okay? ;)

Also not sure why this was so funny: Had a three-way Skype lesson and after asking a question to our gator using his name I had a mild freakout worrying I'd said the wrong name. We were on mute so I asked --totally panicked-- through a smile, "that's his name, right?!" My comp answered, trying not to laugh, with a "yes", but we just busted up. #newtothepool #iwillgetitbythetimeileave

Dinner with the Bueno girls. #Ecuadorianfoodforthewin #whenyourcompcanthavesugar #soyoujustHAVEtoeatherflantoo #imokaywiththat #sixmonthstosexy #youmeansixmonthsofnoregrets #killinit 💪🏻👊🏻

"I dunno if the pearly gates swing or slide. We're gonna have to wait til we get there to find out!"
- My companion and I both went to the same Jr. High and knew each other there. This is something our seminary teacher said every time someone asked a deep question we didn't have an answer to. I had a lot of those this week and she pulled this one out on me. Haha. I know I'm not gonna know, but a girl can still wonder, right? ;)

...

Subject Line Multiple Choice Options:
#ideacredittomycompanion #pickyourfavorite

A. Baptisms and cough drops
- because every time my companion would cough a flood of cough drops came pouring down #whokneweverywomancarriedthose #thequestioniswhy #nowIknowwhotogoto

B. Yellow hair
- you know this story :)

C. Pearly gates
- to commemorate my too many pondering moments

D. A week in Rego
- y'all get this one pretty easily :)

E. Are we giving our all?
- the biggest lesson I learned this week

Sister Panoussi - companion for a week :)

Exchanges

Just because it's p-day