I gots me a greenie 08/02/11

Hello family and friends!


How are you all doing!?  I am doing good.  I have had so many mixed emotions this past week.  I have so much to tell you all.  So buckle up Jazz fans because this could be a long email haha.  Okay so... the past two weeks have been weird.  We had been working our butts off and nothing was happening. I  didn't know what to do.  Every night we were coming home so exhausted... physically and spiritually.  We had no one to teach so we were doing a ton of tracting (my favorite thing in the world).  So one night we came home and I was saying my prayers.  I got down on my knees and I just pleaded with Heavenly Father with a few tears streaming down my face.  I said "Heavenly Father I am tired, Sister Fisher and I have been working so hard and nothing is happening.  I am so tired... my feet hurt and I really need to see a miracle."  So after that prayer I felt a little better and I told the Lord that I was just going to put everything in his hands.  Meanwhile we had been kind of teaching Venus and Loisa but it was hard because they can't speak English.  So we decided to call President Weaver because we knew that there was an elder from Russia serving in Tacoma.  So we call the amazing President Weaver and he says sisters we will do whatever it takes to help these people.  So last Tuesday Pres and Sister Weaver brought Elder Grachev down to the dirty South (Rochester).  And we met Venus and Loisa.  This experience was probably one of the most amazing that I have had on my mission.  I can't even describe the feeling that I felt in the room as he was teaching in Russian.  No one but Venus and Loisa could understand anything but we all felt the same thing. And then we all prayed together and tears filled my eyes.  I knew that Venus and Loisa were the miracle that I had pleaded for.  So on Tuesday they committed to be baptized on SATURDAY!  It was so amazing!  Elder Grachev came and baptized them and President and Sister Weaver came to the baptism. I can't even describe how happy Sister Fisher and I were.  They were our miracle.  And I know that hard work pays off.  And all the Lord expects us to do is give it our all.  Then he will provide for us.  I am so grateful for my Heavenly Father.  I know that he hears my prayers.  It is a weird situation because they have been married a month (Venusand her husband). And they met online.  But we are working through things with them and she is the sweetest person I know.  And I am learning some Russian haha.  So anyway.... at the baptism President Weaver pulls me aside and says " I want to save myself a phone call."  So I knew that he was going to give me my transfer call.  So he grabs me and we walk down the hall and he puts his arm around me and says " Sister Balmforth we are going to leave you in Rochester, and give you a new missionary to train... is that okay with you?"  I looked up and just said "okay" haha I didn't know what else to say.  By that time my heart was racing and I was so scared but so excited at the same time.  I was scared because we have no one to teach at all.  Everyone got baptized haha.  So my new greenie and I have a lot of work to do. And I know that the next six weeks I will be on my knees a lot but Ii am excited and I know that Heavenly Father will bless me.  So my new greenie's name is Sister Lee!  Way cool right!  She seems great so far even though I have only been with her for like half a day. She is from California, and she is 23.  So that is a little intimidating but its all good.  I was way stressed because I still don't know Rochester that well, and I still feel like I don't know how to teach sometimes.  But last night when we were tracting we met a man who has met a lot of the sisters in the past.  He even remembered them by name, and he said "ya know, I have had a lot of questions and none of the girls have been able to answer."  So he had a lot of questions like why would God let bad things happen to good people.  So I started talking and basically saying that he has a plan for each of us and we all have to go through trials because we can't know what joy feels like unless we know what pain feels like.  And after I talked for a few minutes he looked up at me and said "hey, you re pretty good at this" then I looked at him and said "really?" haha I was really excited.  At that moment I felt like I was going to be okay.. and I can do hard things.  So it was really cool.  So that has been my life for the past week.  It was an amazing week! I  really love Sister Fisher, she got transferred to Gig Harbor.  Sister Craig is staying in Puyallup so she is doing good too.  Hope, Court, Carol, and Marilyn THANK YOU for your letters and Hope thanks for the brownies :)  I will write you all soon.  Family and friends I love you all so much!  I miss you everyday!  But I love being a missionary and sharing this wonderful message!  I know that it has blessed my life and changed it for the better!  I hope you all have a great week and please pray that Sister Lee and I can find some people to teach and baptize!  She has to have a baptism her first transfer!  Love you all.

Love, Katee