(mom note: still working on catching up. Making progress!)

October 28, 2013
                         HAPPY BIRTHDAY, Karee (October 26)

I still feel like I am trying to find my way around. Andy and Daneille, an older couple and friends of the missionaries, and a few ward members, gave us a gps the second day that I was here. We use it everyday! This part of New Hampshire is tree covered and the streets are twisty and turny. They all pretty much look the same, so I am very grateful.

Remember Martica? She is Brother Gomez's daughter, Ashley's mother? Well, she got baptized  yesterday! I wasn't able to go, but the Boston sisters texted us and let us know that it was a beautiful experience and that she was beaming after. I really wish I could have been there and can't wait to meet up with her after my mission (when I am fluent and can actually hold a normal conversation). She has really come a long way and I know that this is going to bless her family so much! I am so happy for her!

 

We had a really cool family home evening with the Petrie family Monday evening (mom you would like it here, this is just one of many families here in the area that homeschool). Sister Petrie was just released from being the Young Women's president and is now teaching Sunday school. There are five children  in the family, but only three are home now. They have a son on a mission right now and they are definitely trying to do their share of missionary work. It got Sister States and I thinking about what kind of things our families are doing back home. For family home evening, the Petries reevaluated their family missionary plan, occasionally asking us for some advise. They set some new goals and some ways to measure them. One of the goals that they have set is to pray each morning for an opportunity to serve someone. I found this one really interesting because sometimes we just look throughout the day for these opportunities, but if we were really serious about wanting to serve, then we would ask for some help from some one that could really help. This family is really trying to be in the missionary mindset and have really been trying to make it a part of their daily life. We showed them the glass cup with the aqua beads to show them that all the things that they have to do in their busy lives will be made easy because if you are concisely thinking of ways to share the Gospel of Jesus Christ you are thinking about Him often, and your life begins to be centered on Him.

 

Remember Rebecca? The little eight year old? (I hope I talked about her earlier). Her parents wanted the missionaries to teach her a few of the preach my gospel lessons before she got baptized so that she could really know what she was doing. It was such a sweet experience and what we realized is that she should be teaching us. So this week we went over and she taught us all about Joseph Smith and the Restoration. She was so happy and energetic about telling us all that she knew. She told us all about the Book of Mormon in a 2 minute summery. She quoted James 1:5 in her own words, "Ye who want to know something, ask Christ." She has such a strong faith and a desire to do what is right. I feel like a lot of children are like Rebecca. Another little girl in the ward told us about her missionary experience. "I invited a friend (Celia) to church once. She started to like it. She goes to activity day girls and she thinks it’s fun so she’s always going to come. We always play together because she’s lonely. I feel happy and I feel the Spirit." I met this little friend and she has been going to church, has a part in the upcoming primary play and is so happy to be coming. It is really amazing how these children see that they have something important and the more they share it the stronger their testimony becomes.

 

We finally had our first dinner/lunch with a Hispanic family since being here. Even though a lot of the Hispanic food is the same (rice and beans and chicken) I miss having it. I miss being able to speak Spanish. The family we ate with didn't speak to us in Spanish, but I made sure to say the prayer in their own language. This family is a really big family, five brothers who have all married and had children of their own. One family has two children out on missions right now! All of them, who are old enough to have served did serve. We are going to have a few of these returned missionaries come out with us. We actually took one of them out with us to find a few less active members. We still need to work on our planning, but we are starting to get more opportunities to take young women out with us.

 

We don't do very much tracting(this is when missionaries go door to door), but one day while we were looking for some less-active families, we talked to a few people. One of them was Larry, a pastor of a near by church. We had stopped to look at our map and try to see where we were going. As we were pulling away I noticed that he had a "Jesus" licence plate hanging by his mailbox. I thought, "Hey, he believes in Jesus Christ, just like us. I wouldn't see any reason why anyone who believes in Jesus Christ wouldn't look for ways to strengthen their faith in Him." We stopped and he actually came to us to see if we needed help. (We probably do look lost a lot of the time). We asked him about what he believes and we offered him a Finding Faith in Jesus Christ DVD. He said that he would for sure take a look at the DVD and possibly pass it on. We are going to call him and follow up (yes, he gave us his number). We might have found someone to teach!

 

Saturday was a bit out of the ordinary, day. The sisters made sure I had a special day, which was very nice of them. We went over to the Theobalds for a "Birthday Breakfast" which was very delicious! The Theobald family has five little children (also homeschooled) all under the age of 8. 

 

Karee with the Theobald family for a Birthday breakfast!

cute family!

 

They were all really excited to have a party and had a lot of questions. They had a special song to sing to me. It was really cute... but a lot of attention, I had no idea what to do with myself.  The people here are so nice! They are always asking what we need and how they can help us. Last night we were at a members house who had given the sisters before us a bunch of silverware for the apartment that we now live in. And once again they asked us what we needed, some how they found out that we didn't have a ice scraper for the car... we do now. I have asked a few families why they are so nice. It just so happened that each of these families have a son or daughter on a mission and their response is almost identical each time. "I pray each night that there are people where my missionary is serving that is taking care of them, so I need to be the one to answer the prayers of your parents." It is really neat and I feel so blessed to be served and watched out for in this way. I don't hardly feel deserving of it, but I am grateful.

 

Also on Saturday, Sister States and I were planning to go rake leaves at a member's home, but when we got there she said it was already done. We looked for yards to rake as we drove around. We found one, but she wanted to keep the leaves for compost. She said we could go to her father's house, but when we went to his house, he told us that he didn't want us to do it until they all fell. We ended up finding a random house and raking the yard. Hoping that we could fit all the leaves in the bags that Sister Petrie gave us. Surprisingly we were able to fit all but a medium size pile into just six bags. Some how we fit the bags into the back of our small car (a little bit of bad planning on our part) and then we had to drive around with them for the rest of the evening.

 

Karee raking leaves for others for her birthday!

Hermana States enjoying raking leaves

Hermana States loading leaves into the car after raking earlier in the day!

Add caption

Karee smuggling leaves into their trunk in the dark of the night

 But what better birthday could we have then to serve all day, to fill both physical needs and spiritual needs. And thanks to some loving family, friends and companions, I had quite the enjoyable day.

Karee's sister, Kamber sent this banner to Hermana States to put up for Karee's birthday!

Mrs. Guzman made a cake for Karee for her birthday-yummy coconut

fun ice cream that looked like watermelon

Karee opening gifts from home for her birthday

the birthday girl

Karee's sister Kamber made her a maxi skirt. Is she excited or what!

 

 

 For those of you who are curious about how my Spanish is going.... it is not going very well. There aren't very many Spanish speakers in this area and I seem to be losing more and more each day. I read and study in Spanish, but it would seem as though I need to be speaking it to keep it up. I translate (at least I have for the past 3 Sundays here) during Sacrament meeting, but I don't think that is quite enough. (I really do enjoy translating, though it is a little weird talking all the way through sacrament meeting. It keeps my brain working hard, but I need to learn some more vocabulary). I have set a few goals and have asked Sister Godoy (my old companion) to help me out a little bit so hopefully I can start to improve again. I think that is something I have learned here on my mission is that there is always room for some of that. Luckily for us we have the Atonement of Jesus Christ to lift us and make the difference when we fall short. I guess it can go back to what Rebecca said, "Ye who want to know something, ask Christ." Each of us can do better and each of us can use the Atonement of Jesus Christ to make those improvements, we just have to ask. Ask for help and guidance, and He will answer those prayers.

 

Getting to Know Merrimack

(Catching up on Karee's blog -slow process)

October 21, 2013

My area now covers Merrimack, Litchfield, Hudson, Mt. Vernon, and Amherst. It is a lot bigger in area than the last two areas that I had. It is a lot more rural too. Most of the roads are tree lined. Which are simply beautiful to see in the fall.

There are so many cute families here. Just yesterday we were at the Theobold's house. They have five very well-mannered children. Their two year old son absolutely cannot wait to be a missionary and wears a "future missionary" badge every day. He had to sit next to the missionaries at dinner and during the lesson. He also likes to take pass-along cards and stick them in his shirt pocket. They never stay there long because he is always handing them out. He is super cute.

Friday after district meeting we met up with our sister training leaders to go on exchanges. I went with Sister White in this area. A lot of people thought it was funny to have a brown haired Sister White and a blonde Sister Brown. Friday night a little boy, Xander, was baptized. His step-dad is actually our ward mission leader. This little boy was a hoot. He was really cute, and a little on the crazy side. The first time his toes floated to the top of the water. So they tried it again. And again. And again. It just goes to show that there is order to everything. He ended up with six attempts, with his feet or knee floating up. The seventh time he ended up just squatting down. Christ was baptized by immersion, therefore, following His example we too must be completely submerged under the water. 

I got to run a cash register for the first time! Saturday Sister White and I went to a Habitat for Humanity resale, looking for some service opportunities and they were more than welcome to letting us get to work. I made the biggest sale of the day, a Pennsylvania table for $150! It was a lot of fun. After getting back together with our companions and reviewing the things that we learned on the split, we met up with the Nashua sisters so that Sister Murrey and I could go teach a few people in Spanish. It was a lot of fun. She doesn't speak much Spanish, but she sure does want to learn. 

Translating didn't go as well as I would have liked this Sunday. I tried to be prepared by getting the talks printed out, but I didn't actually get them from anyone until Sunday morning. So I didn't have any time to really translate them. Also the talks never go as planned. The ward mission leader was sick so Elder Lee filled in and the bishop hardly had any time so he gave a very brief version. It is a lot of fun, but it is also a lot of pressure that these people are expecting to feel  and to be taught by the Spirit through what I am translating and I am not sure it makes any sense half the time. 

Also on Sunday we got a new young women's presidency and a new relief society presidency. Apparently, the ward boundaries were adjusted the week before I got here and so some of the leaders were not in the ward any more.  As Sister Petree was released and Sister Jarnigin was called to be the Young women's president I started to think about my mom. My mom is the mother of seven (weird only four of them are home now). She was called to serve as the young women's president right before I left on my mission. A young women's president is in charge of receiving revelation as she leads and guides the girls (aged 12-18). She is there to be a leader and a friend both with things spiritually and with their everyday needs. I started to think a lot about my mom and the sacrifices that she is making to serve in that position. She is such a good example to me.

Karee raking leaves at Sis Jarnigin's house. Missionaries are always looking for ways to serve

Something I was contemplating this morning was the blessings that we relieve from our faith. It is amazing what faith can do. But Heavenly Father always has a way of blessing His children, especially when they are obedient to what He asks. Being obedient is a way of showing faith. So in personal study today (after reading a chapter or two in Helamen) I decided to study faith and the blessings that it produces. The first thing that I found is that it produces salvation. When we have faith in the Savior Jesus Christ, that faith has power to save us from a spiritual death. We are all saved from physical death because of Christ's sacrifice, but we need to have faith in Him and accept Him as our Savior if we want to be saved from spiritual death or being separated from the presence of God. Faith also brings knowledge. When we have faith and we act on that faith to seek after the word and will of God we are going to be blessed to find. "Ask and ye shall receive, seek and ye shall find, knock and it will be opened unto you." We will receive a desire to do God's will and we will then act on that faith to obey. It is interesting that some might think that being obedient to commandments is restricting, when really obedience brings more blessings and more freedom.

New Surroundings! Merrimack

October 15, 2013

Look at this packing job! It is getting harder and harder the longer Karee is out  to squish everything in

Well I made it to Merrimack and I have made my way around to see a few people already. It is a lot different than Worcester or Boston.... It is super quiet compared to them. Which should be nice. It is a lot more spread out and the ward here is really big. There are a few people who speak Spanish (mostly a family from Bolivia) which is pretty neat. I am not being taken out of the Spanish program is what President Packard told me. In fact, it sounds like I am actually going to be doing some more foundation building for starting a group. Sunday, however, I was given the opportunity to translate during fast and testimony meeting. It was so much fun! I tried really hard to keep up to the speakers and feel like the Spanish speakers were able to have the general idea, at least, of what the speakers were saying. Something that is going to take some time to get used to is speaking so much non-stop every Sunday. I was almost horse by the end. But I love it!

There are a lot of really good families here who really love the missionaries so I will be taken good care of. We have a few investigators (none like Isabel or Hailey) who the members have found and have invited to many things. A few of these members really get missionary work, so it is pretty neat.

Isabel  and Karee at the Boston, MA temple

There are four sisters in the apartment and we all share the same room again. It is a lot of fun! This apartment is actually owned by a member but she is currently living with her mom because she is not doing to well with her health. Apparently she takes some good care of us. She brings us apples and oranges. Another member brings us freshly baked bread and doughnuts from his bakery.... Thursday (my first day) he handed me three grocery bags full of doughnuts... What in the world? I had no idea what to do with all of them, luckily there are a lot of youth and they were able to help us out.

Today I studied about love and charity. It is one of the greatest commandments so it is pretty important. One thing that really stuck out to me was that in the spanish translation of Moroni 7, it says that charity is "amor puro de cristo" which does mean the pure love of Christ, but for English speakers like me one might read love pure/full of Christ. It was really interesting for me to think that charity involves Christ so much. Not just doing what He did, loving like He loved, but involving Him. If everything you do is based on what Christ would do, then your love has become full of Christ. Imagine what would be different in the way that you treated everyone if you were focused on Christ. Focused on the love that Christ has for that individual, focused on the love that He has for you, and focused on how He would treat that person. If our love is full of Christ, our intentions, thoughts, and actions should lead us to Christ. The way that we treat people might change significantly. It will be fuller, stronger and brilliant. The best thing about this is that we need and we can use the Atonement of Jesus Christ to seek for this attribute. Through His mercy, He will help us and we can gain a better understanding of how Christ loves others and we will be able to love deeper too. Better still, this love isn't just for this life, it is eternal! What a wonderful gift.

I hope that all is well and that you enjoy the pictures, sorry I didn't have much to say today.

I love you!

Always,
Sister K. Brown

 These pictures were taken at transfers where missionaries may get assigned to new areas and receive new companions. Missionaries don't always receive a new area each transfer. Sometimes they may stay with the same companion at transfers also.

New companion, Sis States and Karee

Sis Hileman(a former companion) and Karee

Sis Garcia and Karee at transfers

Elder Blackburn, Karee, Elder Gonzales, and Sis Miller

Beautiful Changes!

October 9, 2013

The beautiful changes in the leaves!

Fall is here

The leaves changing remind me of home. It is amazing how something that is so beautiful green can be even prettier when they are changing with the weather. With all the changes with my surroundings I guess it is about time for me to move houses again. Did anyone see this coming? I am getting transferred to Merrimack New Hampshire. It is kind of fun for me to be able to experience life here in the New England area. When I was little we used to play a game with the states, so I know a few facts about the states. I am really excited to go to New Hampshire because the state bird is a Chickadee. Now, that is really not the only reason I am excited to go. When I found out, I thought that I was going to be speaking English. That is not going to be the case to my great surprise. I will be with an English speaking companion (Sister States), but there are 20 Spanish families in that area already attending church. I am actually going to be translating!?!?! I am not sure how that is actually going to work out... but I know that in the end it isn't me that is going to be doing the work, it will be the Spirit.

This week has been pretty long, then again it has been a little longer than a week. We had a really fun time at family home evening with Hailey and the Balmforths. We went on exchanges on Tuesday. Wednesday we had a really good lesson with Hailey and Alicia ( I am going to miss having Alicia around to help with lessons, she is so good!)

Alicia and Karee

 Hailey is so ready to be baptized, but is really wanting to finish reading the Book of Mormon first. We also had a few lessons with members encouraging them to have some questions in mind for conference. Thursday morning we went to the Bishop's storehouse to serve. It was pretty busy! I teamed up with Sister Ripley.

(There are many opportunities for missionaries to serve. One of these  was at the Bishops' Storehouse. The purpose of the Bishops' Storehouse is to
distribute commodities to the poor and needy as requested by bishops. Bishops’ storehouses also provide meaningful service opportunities for those receiving
assistance and for those desiring to serve missions or to volunteer.)

Elder and Sister Anderson and Karee at the Bishop's Storehouse

Karee's companion, Sis Godoy, Sis Ripley, and Karee at the storehouse

These missionaries all had the opportunity to help at the bishops' storehouse

She would push the cart and call out what we needed and how many and I would grab cans and boxes of food like crazy. Sister Ripley is such a fun lady. She and her husband actually have their own Hawaiian show (she is a hula dancer). I am going to have to come back to watch them! We had dinner with Hailey on Thursday and we got to know her a little more.

Hailey, Sis Godoy, and Karee

funny pics

 It was a lot of fun! We also have been having to help the elders get to know the people that we have been teaching so that they can take over when we leave (yes we are both leaving, currently there is not enough people to work with for two sets of Spanish missionaries). Conference of course was really good. Sister Godoy and I watched it in Spanish... which was good and bad. Luckily I will have the chance to go back and listen to it again... in English. Gerbert and Nilsa were able to come and so was Adeliris! It was so good to see them! And It is amazing how so many questions were answered. Adeliris found that one of the talks spoke just to her and it was about what we had talked to her about the night before.

Last night we did the Life of Christ activity again for the Young women of the Worcester first ward. It was really amazing! As I was helping pass out the objects I was thinking about what Christ has done for me. At one point it hit me that I am here, because of Him. In more ways than one. Yes, because He is my Savior, but also because of my faith in Him that I want to share with others.

Jen and Karee (one of the young women in Worcester)

As a missionary, I literally walk by faith. I have never seen Jesus, but I know that it is because of Him that I am here. I am serving the Lord because I know He lives. I may not be here to convince or to convert. Many times I feel inadequate to have been called to serve, but I know that I am here because I believe in Him. I do not doubt the things that my parents have taught me. I know that the Gospel has brought me so much joy and so many blessings. When something is so true that you cannot deny it, you have to share it. I know that God has blessed me with a love for the people here; and because I love them, I cannot keep from them all that I know. I have to share it. That is why I am here. I believe in Christ and I know that He came to the earth to live a perfect life and establish His Gospel. And then He took upon Him the sins, pains, and weaknesses of all who have lived, who live now and who will live. He was crucified but I know that He was resurrected on the third day. I know that He lives! And because He lives all of us can live and can return to live with our Heavenly Father. It is so wonderful.

I love you all!

Love always,

Sister K. Brown

Bye Bye Worcester!

Sis Godoy,  Sis Layton, Sis Hobbs, and Karee(Karee's roommates-all missionaries)

Sis Godoy and Karee

Sis Hobbs and Karee

Sis Layton and Karee

Sis Mendez and Karee making yummy papusas

Karee, Jan, and son, Jose

Golder and Karee

Ana and Karee

Lisa and granddaughter and Karee

The district in Worcester(a district is a group of 4-8 missionaries)

Sis Godoy, Nilsa, and Karee

Maria, Karee, and Ivi

Karee and Sis Williams and Aucua

The Rodriguez Family, Karee and Sis Godoy

Ethan and Karee

Sis Ferrin, Karee, and Sis Ence(Sis Ferrin's mom) two extraordinary women!

 Karee and Bro and Sis Lachmann(amazing RS President)

The Sanchez Family(lots of fun!)

 Mom's note: Karee grew to love the people of Worcester and had to get as many pictures as she could.

Be Christlike Not Just do Christian Things

September 30, 2013

As a missionary I have been seeking revelation on how I can become better and how I can best help those around me. It is interesting how you get answers sometimes. We were in district meeting Friday and someone was asking how they could help someone they were teaching. The words that came out of my mouth weren't my own but they worked and then I was able to apply them to the question that I had in mind. "Some people can't see the progress that they have made, but when others see them they can see a really big change." (or something like that).

The answer that I have received isn't that I don't have anything to improve on because I have made big changes in my life (changes that I couldn't see) but it was more that I have grown and I have learned that I have to do something more to receive more guidance. I do know what I need to do to receive this guidance. I started  to read from Preach my Gospel. (mom note: this is a missionary training book)

I read, "Just as vital as what you do, however, is who you are." (pmg 115). It then hit me that I have been worried too much about how I was spending my time and making sure we had enough to do. I was focused on getting things done (even though I didn't get down when we didn't have much to show at the end of the day as far as lessons). So how do I change? How do I become better? Well, it is like anything else. It starts with a desire, then I have to do my part, I have to act through study, and setting goals. One of the best examples was Christ Himself.

Christ asked us to follow Him (Matt. 4:19 and Mark 1:17). His disciples set an example for us on how we should respond, "and they straightway left their nets and followed him," (Matt 4:20). He set the example, He led the way, and then He told us who we should be, "Therefore, what ^cmanner of men ought ye to be? Verily I say unto you, even ^das I am." (3 Nephi 27:27)

My question then becomes, How do I become more like Christ?

      1. Learn 

              2. Do

For this next week, I have to do my part to learn what Christ did and how He did it. I am going to be studying some Christlike attributes such as: Faith, hope, charity, virtue, knowledge, patience, humility.... (He made a really long list of to do's). Then make one goal at a time. Take it slow because I want to make sure to learn and that I am able to apply this to my life (not just here on the mission). 

 Preach my Gospel counsels us:

   Learning to be Christlike is a life long pursuit

    You follow Christ and develop attributes--- one action and one decision at a time (remember to be patient with yourself)

   Becoming like Christ requires exercising faith, repentance, keeping covenants, and receiving increased measure of the Holy Ghost and enduring to the end.

Also, we cannot become perfect like Him by ourselves, we must try our best and then use the Atonement to make up the difference. Even when we are trying to be like Him, we need Him.

Karee and Isabel at church

Karee, Isabel, and Sis Hobbs at Isabel's confirmation

Conversion Story of Isabel

September 30, 2013

(Mom's note: Karee had the opportunity to teach Isabel about the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-Day Saints. Isabel wrote a letter to Karee's mission president to share of her experience. I have included this letter to let those of you following Karee's blog have an insight as to the purpose of her serving this mission. Hearts are touched and lives are changed through Jesus Christ)

Dear President Packard,

I would love to share my conversion story with you and Sister Packard, please feel free to share it with others who are seeking the truth and need encouragement. I feel that I have been truly blessed joining the church and am looking forward for my spiritual journey.

I believe that there are two parts to my conversion story: Worcester First Ward and my personal journey. 

Bishop Andros had announced to the Worcester First Ward that together they were going to fast to strengthen the ward and to help the missionaries back in May. From what I heard, after joining the church, the missionaries were having a hard time finding investigators, many of the members were fasting and then I showed up that first week of August. 

I had moved to Rutland back in January for a temporary job. After graduating college, it was really tough trying to find a job. I had this very strong urge to move to Boston but unfortunately every interview here never worked out.  I then moved to Colorado hoping that something would come up and that I would eventually live in Boston. I didn't grow up in any church, my mom had tried to raise me as a muslim but I could never follow it, I didn't feel like it was for me. I had been exposed to different churches especially in college but nothing ever made me like it was right. I agreed with most of them but not enough to pursue it. Regardless, I always prayed to God especially when I was feeling discouraged. I was at my very low in Denver, I felt like I had been abandoned. I had applied at Heifer International as my last hope, I had been contacting them for the past two years and thought that I would be able to get in. They called me back to tell me that they unfortunately had no more positions available. Receiving that phone call was the worst, I cried because I didn't know what I was going to do, I had no more options. At that moment, I told God that I didn't blame him and then thats when my phone rang. I answered it and it was my current supervisor now, he said that I was perfect for the job position they had in Rutland, that he could interview me right then and that I would get in. He also mentioned it was right by Boston but I couldn't believe my luck. I moved to Rutland in January. 

The experience I have gained at this job was exactly what I needed and it gave me direction, I became who I wanted to be someone confident, generally happy and secure in what I wanted. Theres a piece of this story, I haven't shared yet. I grew up living around the world and because of that I value friendship greatly because I know how easily it can be cut short. My best friend was serving a mission in Paraguay for the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter Day Saint. I had met him when I was fifteen and since then we had been writing to each other. When I had met him, he wasn't as involved in the Church but returned when he decided to serve a mission. He asked me to come see him before he left and invited me to Church. I remember having a great time. During his mission we continued to write, he begun writing to me about joining the Church and then sent missionaries to my parents home in Texas. This was about a year and a half ago. I was really upset because back then I didn't want to affiliate myself with one belief. I believed in God but I hadn't made a decision for myself. I told him that if he wanted to continue being my friend he had to understand that If I wanted to join the Church it would be my choice and because of this he couldn't talk to me about it. The reason why I bring this up is because of what my father said when the missionaries showed up at our house. I was very upset and my dad was even more upset with me, my father does not get disappointed with me often but there was definitely a sense of disappointment from him. He mentioned that he had been to the church before and had been friends with Elders that served in Chile when he was younger, that I should have invited them in and gave them a chance. At the end of June of this year, my friend returned from his mission trip and as he had promised me, we didn't talk about the church but I could see that something had changed. What my dad had said the me, was continuously repeating in my head so I went on the LDS website, typed in my address and left a message to Bishop Andros that I wanted to go to Church, and what time the service was at. I went to Church on fast sunday, coincidence because I had fasted to make sure I was making the right decision. I was going to give it a chance. I arrived to church early and saw the sisters walk in, I ran in behind them but when I came inside they were nowhere in sight, I walked around the church and sat down at a bench. Brother Velez popped his head out of one of the rooms and looked at me and asked if I was lost. I told him I wanted to be here but I wasn't very sure where I was suppose to go first and I felt like I had been walking in circles. Brother Velez then sat down and told me about the church, within those fifteen minutes of conversation was exactly what I had to hear to know that the church was true.

The first day I showed up at church was also the day I had the pleasure of meeting both of you. The Church of Jesus Christ Latter Day Saints felt very familiar to me and still does. I wish I could write down how much joining the church has blessed me and all the tiny miracles I have witnessed that keep affirming my belief daily. I will forever be grateful for Worcester First Ward for being so great to me, they have really strengthened their ward and I could feel it. I will forever be grateful for the missionaries, they helped me feel the Holy Spirit when I needed it most and they were so patient with me during the lessons. I will forever be grateful to my best friend for introducing me to the Church, without him I would have had to wait for another opportunity to hear about the church. 

Thank you President Packard and Sister Packard, if you have any questions please feel free to write me back.

Sincerely,

Isabel