Happy Halloween from Silverdale 10/31/11

Hello family and friends!


How are you all doing?  I am doing pretty good.  Silverdale is a fun place so far.  Its always hard to start over though and to learn a new area but I am doing good.  The greenie is out doing me in mail so far haha just kidding I know you are all writing it is just taking awhile cuz of my new address.  Anyway... So I finally met the Leach family!  They are awesome!  Sister Leach kind of reminds me of Brenda Tolman!  So I'm sure she will be amazing and I am excited to get to know them better.  She said that they are picking up Elder Lleach in May so maybe they will get to see Elder Balmforth.  So cool.  SO anyway... I think I might be with Colton on the follow up training thing.  I don't know if I'm a huge fan but I suppose I will get used to it.  My companion is pretty cool, she reminds me a lot of Ande Miller and Natalie Perkins.  Its crazy... but we are really different.  I hope she likes me haha oh well if she doesn't.  We have been going on the military base a lot and its way sweet!  I feel like I on a movie set or something haha we have quite a few investigators so hopefully we will see some baptisms soon. We also might have a wedding soon haha one of our potential investigators text us the other day and asked if she could get married haha so hopefully after the wedding she will be interested in the church.  The Finnegan's are the senior couple here and they are so awesome!  Sister Finnegan reminds me of my sweet Grandma Harward and it makes me happy every time I see her because I see my grandma.  I miss my grandma!  But they treat us like gold and I love them, and she is originally from Scotland so she has a wicked awesome accent!  I love it!  So tonight for Halloween president doesn't want us out so we are having a party with our zone! This will be the first entire day off on that I have had on my mission.  Its weird but good.  I think we get to watch a movie and I am pretty stoked!  Any way this week has been good.  I am working hard to learn everything.  Its hard when I just want to hit the ground running and I can't because I don't know anything.  And I just want to work hard because I am an older missionary now and I know that my time is short.  And my comp is a greenie and still doesn't get that... but its okay I know that Heavenly Father will bless me and help me with anything that I need.  I love this gospel so much.  It makes me so happy! Yesterday in church I was thinking about my mission call, and how special and sacred that is to me. And how much my Heavenly Father and Savior truly love me, and know me. I know that they do and I know that I was sent to the Washington, Tacoma mission for a reason!  I love it here!  I love you all so much!  I like Colton have slacked on letters so I promise to try hard this week to get some out!  I Love you all so much and hope you have a great week!

Love always,
Katee



HAPPY HALLOWEEN!

Hello! Welcome to Silverdale!

Hello family and friend! How are you all doing?  I am doing so good.  As most of you probably already know I have been transferred to Silverdale 5th and 6th wards.  I am excited to be over two wards again.  The 5th ward is a young single adult ward haha I just laughed when I found that out lol.  We all know how I love those wards haha.  But I'm excited and it should be way good.  I won't lie I was super sad to leave Rochester.  Saying goodbye to everyone was tough.  I became close friends with a girl there and she just cried when she said goodbye to me.  I also had a hard time saying goodbye to Venus and Luisa and the Jones family.  It will be good though.  I would have loved to stay there but Silverdale already seems great. My new companion is Sister Holman from Mesa Arizona.  This is only her second transfer so I am follow up training her.  She seems great already and we have a lot in common.  Also I found out that I am in the Leach family's ward.  I was sooooo excited when I found this out.  I thought they would be in a different ward so I am so excited to meet them!  So my new address is 1201 NW Tahoe Ln. #204 Silverdale WA, 98383.  We have a really great apartment!  So send me letters! Hahah.  Anyway... last week was so great!  Sister Fisher and I got to go on exchanges and go to the temple.  So Sister Lee stayed with Sister Ffishers comp for half the day and we saw the family receive there endowments and then be sealed together with their kids.  It was so special because their 3 yr. old son passed away about 5 months ago.  The spirit in that room was amazing and I can't even explain the peace that I felt.  I am way excited to be in Silverdale. They actually have investigators and we will hopefully have a baptism on Sunday.  We have a senior couple that we work with and they are great. The Finnegan's.  She is from Scotland originally.  They are like grandparents to the missionaries.  So Silverdale is also on the military base so I will get to go there hopefully tonight.  I am praying that they let me in without my drivers license haha.  Anyway... I have learned that change is good even though I miss Rochester.  I know that the Lord has a hand in everything and that this is where Ii am supposed to be.  I love my Savior Jesus Christ and I am so honored to be called a disciple of him.  I love you all so much and I am so sorry I am slow at writing.  Things have been so busy but I will do my best to be better!  I will write soon.  Court I got your letter, thank you so much I will write soon.  I hope you all have a great week!  Know that I love you  all so much!


Love,
Katee

10/17/11

Hello family and friends!


How are you all doing? I am doing pretty well. I wish I had more to report than I do but that's okay. So this week has been okay. The stake president challenged us to tract for 24 hours in the week. Yeah it was hard because we all know how much I love tracting. I actually don't mind tracting if its stuff that I haven't tracted before. But I have now tracted all of Rochester at least twice and some of it three times. Its way funny when people look at me and say " you were here last month." I usually smile and say "well ya know Rochester is only so big." haha. But the other day was really funny. We knocked on this grumpy lady''s door. And she said "You have been here before." And i just said "really?" playing dumb of course haha and she said "yes. i recognize your sweater.... there are some things i do not forget!" bhahahaha by this time i was just like oh my goodness please get me off this door step haha. Sister Lee and I laughed about it and so did the lady's neighbor... Man situations as a missionary are so awkward sometimes haha. So anyhow... Transfers are next week so I won't email til tuesday probably, but I don't really know what to think yet. Yesterday I was thinkin they will probably kick me out of Rochester but then I woke up this morning and thought I might stay. So I guess we will see. I won't lie I am starting to love Rochester and I actually kind of want to stay. The people here are amazing and I think they like me :) I hope anyway.... I am pretty close with a few families and its great. But anyway,.. we will see what happens. Yesterday I spoke in church, the bishop asked us on Wednesday and we don't have a lot of time to do anything other than missionary work so I think my talk was okay for preparing the morning of haha its way funny how i don't even stress about stuff like that anymore. Then after church there was a child of record baptism that the family asked me to speak at so I did that as well. We still don't have anyone to teach but I know that it will happen soon. President Weaver came down on Saturday to give me a temple recommend! I love that man! He is amazing! So I will be going to the temple on Saturday. It is the 9 am session and 11 o clock sealing. It will be awesome! Anyone who can should go to the temple with me :) Anyway... this week has been good. I am learning that my personal purpose as a missionary is to do more than just baptize. It is to gain trust and friendships with the members and less actives. And I know that at this time in my mission that is what the Lord needs from me. So that is what I will do. I love my mission. I have learned so many things. I love the Gospel with all my heart! I hope you all have a great week! And Colton keep up the good work! You are my hero! I love you all.

Love, Kate

10/10/11

Okay so what a week.  First off its been weird cuz last week on p day I noticed that I was missing my wallet... well it is still missing so I don't know if I lost it or if someone kifed it!  Ah! its frustrating to deal with credit cards and everything... oh well.  The Lord knows when we need trials haha.  So anyway... the rest of the week has been cool. We found this lady named Michelle a couple weeks ago and she finally came on a church tour. She liked it a lot! I started talking about baptism and the restoration of the gospel and Joseph Smith and she just looked at us and said "wow, why don't other churches know this?" And I said haha exactly!  That's why we have missionaries like us.  So she didn't come to church because she felt uncomfortable without nice clothes so hopefully she will come next week!  It was cool.  Transfers are on the 24th!  I don't really know what will happen.  I dunno.... haha I'm sure Marissa is so laughing at me right now haha.  Anyway... we played basketball with the elders today and it was AWESOME!  I loved it!  We have an elder in our zone now who is 6 ft 9!  Oh yeah he is awesome!  He played in high school and he is way good.  Today I was going up for a fast break lay up and he was trailing behind me so I thought I would show off a little and I hit it off the back board so he could slam dunk it!  Ha it was soooo sweet!  He missed it barely but everyone was like ohhhhh!  Haha it was so great!  Other great news this week!  Is that Sister Fisher and I had a baptism back in July, and it was a referral from a less active in the ward.  Well now that less active is going through the temple on the 22nd!  And I got permission to go!!!  I am so excited!  I can't wait. O nly problem is that my temple recommend was in my wallet!  Stupid Satan haha oh well hopefully I will just call president and he can give me a new one!  I can't wait to see that family sealed together!  It will be so great.  They had a little boy pass away so it is going to be AMAZING!  So this week we hope and pray to find more people.  I know we will even if its not this transfer or even in Rochester.  I will find people soon. I  love you all so much! I  am so thankful for my eternal family and for missionary work!  I have seen it change my life forever!  I love it so much and I love serving my Heavenly Father.  I know that because of his son we will live with him again and with our families and friends forever!  Have an amazing week everyone!


Love,
Katee
ps... letters will come soon! love you!

Oh and Colton the package will be really late cuz the wallet thing love you guys!

10/03/11

Hello everyone!
How are you all doing this week?  I feel like I have so much to say about conference I don't even know where to start!  IT WAS AMAZING!  I look forward to conference more than I ever have before!  It makes it so I can continue working hard even on slow days.  So first off!  I about peed my pants when Pres. Monson announced the new temple in Durban, South Africa!!!  I pictured the look on Colton's face and it was priceless!  I was so happy almost close to tears!  And it was the same for the Provo temple too!  How amazing is that! We watched a couple of sessions at the church and a couple with members.  It was great. Every time they showed Temple square my face lit up, and I was like a little kid on Christmas. The weather looked so great there haha.  We have had some very rainy dreary days.... but what can ya do when you live in Washington!  Anyhow... I loved Sister Dalton's talk and it made me think about my amazing daddy.  I also loved Robert D. Hales.  He has a close place to my heart.  I also loved seeing Doug Furness on the screen and me hearing John's voice in my head saying there's dougy! haha. I 'm glad my family was at the cabin that is so awesome!  I will be there next year for sure!  Anyway this week has been about the same.  No one new to teach and tracting the same places multiple times.  But I know we are planting seeds somewhere! haha. We just have to be patient!  That is way awesome about Colton's baptism!  I am so happy for him!  That kid is my hero.  Well transfers are in three weeks and the odds of me getting kicked out of Rochester are pretty good.  I had an interview with president this week and it was great!  I love that man.  But I won't be surprised if i get transfered!  But I am good with whatever.  I am starting to love Rochester, so it will be a little hard if it happens.  So anyway.. I have been happy and that's all that matters!  I love being a missionary! Laura and Janelle you will get letters soon, and Brooke you too!  Oh and Thomas family, Elder Johnson is doing great!  He is about 40 miles away from me so I see him occasionally!  We talk about how amazing our Thomas family is!  I love you all so much!  The church is true!  I KNOW that Thomas S. Monson is the living prophet today and that he gives us council and guidance!  He is amazing!  I know that he speaks with heavenly father and that he truly is his mouth piece!  I love the Book of Mormon!  READ IT!  It will change you forever!  You are all amazing and I love you so much!  Have a great week!


Love,
Katee

ps. thanks for all the mail i will send mail soon! love you guys!