Monday, January 30, 2017

January 30, 2017

So get this y'all....
My friend Mette here is from Cali. We met a few moons ago when I was
nannying there. We were in the same ward. Crazy how we get called to
the same mission. And it was really cool cause in college she came to
my call opening and now here she is ! #connectionmaster


Hey y'all ! How's everyone doing today? Have you ever felt soooo down on yourself or wallowing away in self pity or just thinking about your own problems???  How do you feel afterwards? Usually pretty awful, right??? Well I have the cure for your stinking thinking !!! It is .... drum roll please ....
SERVICE. Service is what helps us all to be happier. WHY?? Well because we aren't thinking about ourselves, and we realize how much we really have. It puts ourselves into check and a reality. So if you're feeling any negative thing about yourself, life, or anyone else .... GO SERVE. If you can't think of something to do, then get off your buns and find something to do! There's neighbors, friends who need help and there are many service opportunities in your communities and even things within your own family. Don't just sit around feeling sorry for yourself. If you wanna get better GO HELP. After all, that's what Christ did always. He is the perfect example of selflessness and genuine love and service. I love him. 

At this point in my mission I really don't even wanna sleep, cause I just wanna be out and about sharing the gospel with EVERYONE & helping EVERYONE I can. Unfortunately I do need sleep to survive and not go crazy. I am grateful for the progress I've made because 13 months ago when the alarm when off for school or anything I just laid there to get a couple more minutes in before the "dreadful " wake up for reals. But NOW when the alarm goes off at 6:20 I jump right outta bed, pray, make my bed, and get going and get thinking right away about whose lives I can change and help today for the better. 

And HOW through the Lord I can do it. I am grateful through the Savior I've been able to change my attitude and toxic behaviors and that I can continue to do it as I have a desire and am willing to act on what needs to be done. I know we all can change and become better through the Savior cause. I've seen it time and time again. 
I love this gospel and I love being a missionary!!! I'm gonna give these last few months EVERYTHING I have. 

We all have toxic behaviors that we can let go of as we let the Savior in and let go of the things of the world. I know it's hard cause it's something I'm still working on myself, but I know it's sooo worth it and you feel sooo much better as you let go. So let go. First step is recognizing a need to change. And then making a game plan of how to do this. And then acknowledging the Savior and asking him for help in every step. 
And then acting in faith and doing what you need to do to let go of the bad and let the good in. Tell Satan and his buddies to GET OUT OF THERE ! 

DECLUTTER LIVES FROM INSIDE OUT. 
it's more than just physical. GET RID OF TOXIC BEHAVIORS :
  • procrastination 
  • Being a talker 
  • Fear
  • Lousy sleep habits 
  • Always right 
  • Evil speaking 
  • Negative thinking 
  • Complaining 
  • Jealousy 
  • Pride 
  • Wasting time 
  • Boisterous & loud 
  • Fault finding 

Fun fact , 
If you look at Illinois flag sideways in the dark it kinda looks like batman or a Luchadore πŸ˜‚

Quote of the week
" DONT forget- NO ONE ELSE sees the world the way you do , so no one else can tell the stories that you can. " - Charles De Lint. 


As this hymn says the Savior can help us achieve goodness and become more like him as we Counsel with him in everything and turn to him always. 
-Alma 37:37 

More Holiness Give Me
1.
More holiness give me,
More strivings within,
More patience in suff’ring,
More sorrow for sin,
More faith in my Savior,
More sense of his care,
More joy in his service,
More purpose in prayer.
2.
More gratitude give me,
More trust in the Lord,
More pride in his glory,
More hope in his word,
More tears for his sorrows,
More pain at his grief,
More meekness in trial,
More praise for relief.
3.
More purity give me,
More strength to o’ercome,
More freedom from earth-stains,
More longing for home.
More fit for the kingdom,
More used would I be,
More blessed and holy—
More, Savior, like thee


Miracles this week :
  • Jamire 
We were helping a less active member move. The elders lost their apartment keys, Jamire came out to help us find them (he's the less actives neighbor).  He was so kind to help look. He couldn't find them, but we did get to talk to him about the gospel, and he's gonna come to church next week. He has a lot of really great questions and is excited to learn more. If the elders hadn't lost their keys we may not of had that opportunity cause a couple months ago with my last companion we met him because we were talking to his sister but he wasn't interested at the time. So really no one is a lost cause, because they'll come around ! 
  • Investigators moving and getting divorced. We went when we had an appointment and no one was there. We felt prompted to go down the street and contact other investigators, but no one was home either.   We come back to their house and there they were.  He's going through many hardships.  Crazy is that Sis. Lynette's dad was best friends with him in high school. And this is something that might soften her father's heart and help our investigator come closer to the gospel. 


Y'all have a fabulous week! 


-siostra Karigan Γ„llowitz


Monday, January 23, 2017

Jan 23, 2017

FHE @ the Beyers !
LISA got baptized !!! She's the Elders investigator, but we've been
able to work with her a lot too. It's been awesome.
I couldn't be there cause we had exchanges, but I was there in spirit
with my picture πŸ˜‚
Me & Lisa
Sis. Lydia and her family just moved in. Love her! ❤ reminds me of Janee!!!!
#kindredspirits
I forgot to tell ya about how when we went to Olive Garden for my birthday one of the workers knew us by NAME cause we might've been a few other times ... and he wrote me this "Birthday card from my Olive Garden family". It was so funny! It's just some random picture he found and thought it would be a good birthday card πŸ˜‚
It was funny when Sister Freedlund asked how many times we came since they all knew us πŸ˜‚πŸ˜‚
Thinking of y'all :)
My District!



SISTERS RUN THROUGH THE STREETS OF CHI-RAQ 
We have soooo many lessons so we have to run from lesson to lesson basically. It's nice cause we get in lots of exercise to lose all the weight I've gained from all these meals the last 13 months. We run through the streets day and night. Hot or cold. Snow or sunshine.  No worries we have the Lord on our side. We are always protected. 



In district meeting our district leader asked me to give a talk and it was cool because after I gave a very specific invitation I felt my people needed and it was the exact same one my district leader was gonna give. It's again cool to see the Lord is in every aspect of our lives. I know he leads and guides us as we seek for  his help. He will help us know what to say and what to do as we study it out and then ask. 


Oh my goodness...there's a less active member we've been working with. She wasn't really progressing so we had a pretty epic DefineTheRelationship  w/ her and said if she wasn't willing to do the things we ask, we can't come.  It clicked for her real fast, and we have been seeing a HUGE  change in her life. She told us since we've been meeting with her and broke through the ice she feels sooo good and different. In our last meeting she told us she has been feeling she needs to get rid of all her bad music and movies. I was soooo happy to hear her say this, so we helped her get rid of it.  She felt it was a roadblock for her to have the spirit more in her life. We even helped her clean her house by vacuuming and everything. The spirit is actually there now.  The spirit is sooo different. 


Holy cow...we were at a members house for dinner. As we were driving back, we got a text from another member asking us to visit a less active member (who no one really knew) in the hospital. The person was wanting to come back into activity. And as we were coming back from the dinner appointment, we realized our GPS was taking us a weird way than usual.  We got the text RIGHT as we passed the hospital.  We got to visit this member, and it meant the world to her. If it had taken us another way or if we had gotten that text any later we wouldn't of been able to go to the hospital. HOLY MIRACLE, because of time! I KNOW God is sooo mindful of us. He is a miracle worker. 





Thanks to Kier-Dawg my WHOLE mission is  doing the Purification Challenge. It's Pretty rad. Way to go Kieran! My whole mission I've wondered, "HOW CAN I BECOME MORE CONSECRATED AND WHAT ON EARTH DOES THAT EVEN MEAN?" When I asked my awesome returned missionary brother ,he shared with me the purification challenge and it's changed my life and the ENTIRE Illinois Chicago West missions lives!!! We have seen many miracles and continue to everyday.

Basically Purification Challenge is :.....
You fast from food for  24 hours and really ponder what God needs you to work on (either get rid of from your life or start doing). Then you " fast" (aka DO OR DON'T do those things for 40 days) because you love the Lord. I know if we love the Lord we will continue this process throughout our lives, because it shows him we really do honestly love Him more than anything else. I love Him and this work MORE than ANYTHING! ASK YOURSELF: is my life CENTERED in Jesus Christ? Could I be considered a 'CASUAL Christian'? WHAT will I DO TODAY to LIVE for CHRIST and REFLECT his light?" 



1 Nephi 1:23
If we really love the lord we will shake off the chains and STOP being rebellious!


John 21:15-19
15 ¶So when they had dined, Jesus saith to Simon Peter, Simon, son of Jonas, lovest thou me more than these? He saith unto him, Yea, Lord; thou knowest that I love thee. He saith unto him, Feed my lambs.

16 He saith to him again the second time, Simon, son of Jonas, lovest thou me? He saith unto him, Yea, Lord; thou knowest that I love thee. He saith unto him, Feed my sheep.

17 He saith unto him the third time, Simon, son of Jonas, lovest thou me? Peter was grieved because he said unto him the third time, Lovest thou me? And he said unto him, Lord, thou knowest all things; thou knowest that I love thee. Jesus saith unto him, Feed my sheep.

18 Verily, verily, I say unto thee, When thou wast young, thou girdedst thyself, and walkedst whither thou wouldest: but when thou shalt be old, thou shalt stretch forth thy hands, and another shall gird thee, and carry thee whither thou wouldest not.

19 This spake he, signifying by what death he should glorify God. And when he had spoken this, he saith unto him, Follow me.


DO YOU REALLY LOVE THE LORD? ..... well then SHOW HIM. DONT just say it. Saying and doing are 2 different things ! Actions really do speak louder than words ! 
As you're doing this fast remember to be patient with yourself ! I know it's hard. I've done it a couple times, but I know it's soooo worth it !!! Patience ISN'T always easy but one of my new fav quotes is:  "Patience with family is love.  Patience with others is respect. Patience with self is confidence. Patience with God is faith." 

I know this work is true. I love chi-RAQ❤
Peace easy. Have a wonderful week ! 
Sister K Γ„llowitz. 

I'd really like to encourage and invite all y'all to do this challenge !!!! It'll forever change your life ! I'd love to hear miracles too. Write them down and email or write it to your favorite missionary !!!☺️








Monday, January 16, 2017

January 16, 2017

When you give an elder smelly lotion ......
Haha the elders are ALWAYS asking for our smelly lotion.
They always say,"Sisters so you have lotion? I'm all rashy. And I really need some lotion."πŸ˜‚
More of our crazy district ....
Our crazy district.
Exchanges
On exchanges I made German Pancakes !!! Everyone loved them.
#Kieranisfamous
I know we have been asked to be the Lords hands. There's a talk from April 2016 General Conference called "He Asks Us to Be His Hands". Y'all should read it cause it's so good !
The sister who gave the talk helps us better understand HOW we can be the Lords hands and WHY it's sooooo important we do that. I've definetly seen how EXTREMELY important is that we use our hands to help, lift, encourage one another.
I wanna challenge each of you this week to take a few quiet minutes and ponder of ways you feel you can be the Lord's hands and how you can use your hands for GOOD and GO AND DO those specific things at least ONCE a day this week. I promise it'll change your life and the world.
WHOEVER said money doesn't buy happiness NEVER had cracklin' oat bran or Jimmy Fallon ice cream!!! ❤❤❤
When you give a missionary helium .....πŸ˜‚
I know I've been called by a prophet of God to the land of beautiful Illinois because this is where the Lord needs me and for that I'm soooo grateful because I love it here. Illinois is my place. ❤
MIA SIOSTRA BACK IN MISSIONARY ACTION. 

Hey y'all sorry I went MIA these past couple weeks. It's been super crazy but I'm still alive so no need to worry. Missionary work is the greatest!!! I'm over my sicknesses for now. Haha. Knock on wood ..... 

Here's some updates on my life:

I was asked to give a talk in sacrament meeting and I got to choose my topic so I chose to talk on obedience (which is one of my favorite topics). Then in Sunday School that's what we talked about. It was cool to see that even though I was really struggling at first to know what the ward members needed to hear, the lord helped lead me to what I needed to say. It was just another manifestation to me that God is soooo mindful and aware of us. I have been so grateful to see my growth in the gospel and especially being able to follow the Spirit and it's prompting whether they be big or small. I know as we are EXACTLY obedient to God's commandments he will bless us. 
"Obedience brings blessings. EXACT obedience brings miracles and selective obedience brings selective blessings."  If obedience is the first law of a mission, a marriage, and heaven then it must be really important, right? THE ANSWER is : YES. 
I know it's not always easy to be obedient, especially in this ever changing world, but I know as we do what the Lord asks and commands we will be blessed. I've seen soooo many miracles on my mission and I know it's because of obedience. 
When we are selectively obedient we are basically knit picking our gifts and blessings from God.... so the storal of the mory, DONT DO THAT. Be exact in your obedience.  
Matthew 6:24.... we can't serve 2 masters. Do you wanna serve God or Satan? Christ or the world ???? ITS YOUR CHOICE, so make it wisely. 

CHRIST//MASWOULD YOU LIKE CHRIST MORE IN YOUR LIFE??? I know I do. That's why I'm on a mission .... to bring this to people and also to find it more myself and to find different ways to do just this. 
Sister Lynette, her dad Fred, and her son Noah had us over for Christmas dinner and OH MY GOODNESS!   We had LOBSTER & STEAK 😻 you better believe I was in heaven!!!! They love us here !!! 

My WOMB DAY... aka my happy to me BIRTHDAY...
Yup, I'm officially no longer a legit teenager. I guess I'm an adult now? πŸ˜‚ haha yeah I'm sure you're all laughing at that too. HELLO 20. GOODBYE TEENAGER...My birthday was sooo awesome! Thanks to everyone for the birthday wishes, cards, gifts, packages, and everything! It was fantastic!!!!  The members here in Bourbonnais sure take care of me! They took us to Red Lobster  and to Olive Garden. And had us over for meals and desserts .... endless. Haha. And bought gifts and just made it super special. 
And my district meeting sang to me and it was basically my birthday for 2 weeks or so with everyone and all they did for me. 

MY 1 YR ANNIVERSARY:
So for my one year in the mission I wanted to do something special, so we went to 5 Guys for lunch and when we talked in one of the members was there and he and his family have been wanting to have us over for dinner for awhile but it hasn't happened so he came over and apologized for not having us over yet and bought our meal. 
Wow, the Spirit works in marvelous ways eh πŸ˜‚ just kidding.  But seriously it was so cool. 

BURNED SACRIFICES: 
I ALSO burned an ugly skirt cause " IT'S TRADITION" -- name that movie! It was pretty great. It's a tradition in the missionary life to do this. Haha yes yes I have hit my head mark officially. Sis. Lynette made it special with ice cream and let me burn my skirt at their house. She makes everyone feel so special. She's so wonderful! 
I was laughing to myself about this ...  right before I burned my skirt we had a lesson with Sister Lynette and we read in this chapter and I saw this verse and it was SO FITTING. 
1 Nephi 7:22  And it came to pass that we did come down unto the tent of our father. And after I and my brethren and all the house of Ishmael had come down unto the tent of my father, they did give thanks unto the Lord their God; and they did offer sacrifice and burnt offerings unto him.





Oh my goodness I just LOVE being a missionary !!!! I know I say this OVERTIME, but it really is the BEST THING EVER !!!! One of my favorite parts of the Gospel is the Atonement. I love the Atonement of Jesus Christ because it really does help everyone. It's a very precious gift from the Lord. I love LOVE LOVE LOVE being able to help others come unto Christ & to help them see the bigger picture. The Atonement of Jesus Christ is Medicine for us when we are sick, but for our spiritual lives. I still DON'T have anywhere close to a perfect knowledge of these things, yet I've come closer to understand parts of it and HOW I can better apply it in my life. 
"I stand all amazed at the love Jesus offers me (each of us) " 
I ABSOLUTELY KNOW This gospel is true !!!! And I WILL continue to share it with EVERYONE, because I DONT want ANYONE to miss out on this. 



In D&C 15:6 it talks about how the most worth comes from 
declaring repentance and bringing people unto the Lord. I can truly testify that's SO TRUE, cause I feel it everyday. I feel and KNOW what I'm doing is of much worth because it's all about the precious souls .... aka all of us, gods children and bringing us back to him. 

I am really enjoying the new Presidents of the Church book about President Hinckley this year.  He said, ".....the time has come for us to stand a little taller, to lift our eyes and stretch our minds.  This is a season to be strong.  It is a time to move forward without hesitation, knowing the importance of our mission.  It is a time to do what  is right regardless of the consequences.  It is a time to be found keeping the commandments.  It is the season to reach out with kindness and love, to become more Christlike." Amen to that! As we center Jesus Christ in our lives we will be able to do as he says. 


SOUTHERN FLASHBACK
We had a zone conference and members from the stake always provide a meal. It was CRAZY because I was just thinking about chicken and waffles THAT morning and I really was craving them. Then.... to my greatest surprise GUESS WHAT WE HAD FOR LUNCH????... you nailed it .... Fried chicken and waffles 😻 I was so happy! I know it's a small thing, but this is just another thing that reminds me God is sooooo mindful and aware of all of us. 


Love = Christ. Wanna feel love or help others feel it ????..... 
well LOVE OTHERS. Show them that love! 


OUR INVESTIGATORS: 
SHEILA:
She walked into church and was looking for us before sacrament meeting. She finally spotted us and said, "there's my missionaries" pointing to us.  It's really special being someone's missionary. 
It's special to me that they feel as close to us as we do them. 
Sheila told me this week she is following a lot of church groups on twitter like Mormon tabernacle choir, Pres Uchtdorf and Mormon Channel. I was AMAZED!!! I'm pretty sure my jaw dropped. She's sooo ready for the gospel. I just love her. She inspires me. 

ROBERT: 
Is still progressing towards baptism and is really starting to understand things on a deeper level. 

ELIZABETH: 
HOLY GOLDEN.  We go into our first lesson and meeting her. We asked her about what she is expecting out of meeting with us and her religious background and it went a little like this:  "I wanna become a better person. I wanna be baptized FULLY BY IMMERSION. and I want it to be someone who has the right authority. I want to come to church and serve and be apart of Christ's church and his goodness. And my kids wanna come to church too. I wanna read the Book of Mormon. I know I have some bad habits and I wanna get rid of them..." WOW. Are y'alls jaws dropping yet? HA. yeah it's been soooo cool to see his area of the Lord's vineyard in Bourbonnais, Illinois go from NO investigators to A BUNCH OF THEM. And they're so solid and wanna actually do what it takes to get there. 
AND: I said an opening prayer and she was in TEARS. 
I was super nervous maybe I said something I shouldn't have, but she said they were HAPPY tears. The spirit was sooo strong. She said she FEELS SOOOO GOOD about this message. The purification challenge is working. 




I LOVE THIS SCRIPTURE: 1 Nephi 3:15  But behold I said unto them that: As the Lord liveth, and as we live, we will not go down unto our father in the wilderness until we have accomplished the thing which the Lord hath commanded us.
I WON'T COME HOME UNTIL I HAVE DONE ALL GOD HAS ASKED OF ME. I know he's called me here to accomplish certain tasks and so I'm gonna go and do whatever those are. 
What 365 things Have i learned on a mission ... ??
coming next week.  Stay tuned. 

We watched The Testament video this week and it makes Christ's coming again soooo real. I am Excited for His coming. Made me think, AM I READY FOR HIS COMING? Am I really prepared? 
If he came in an hour or 2 weeks or a few months or you knew he was coming at the end of this year what would you do differently? How can you prepare ? PURIFICATION CHALLENGE ..... wanna invite all y'all to do it this year. 
I'm amazed in this area because it takes members an hour to get to church.  How Important  is weekly church attendance to you? 
Where is it on your priority? I know this gospel is hard. It's not easy being a member & yet ...If you follow the principles you'll receive the promise!!!!! 
"Learning to talk to God is the most important thing we can learn." 
WHEN DID YOU TALK TO GOD LAST ???? 
As you ask yourself that, read and sing this hymn. Study it out. 
Make a plan of HOW you'll make your prayer life better.  
And study Preach My Gospel pg 95 and re-evaluate  your prayer life. 
Also remember : 
"God without prayers would continue to be God, but we without prayers cannot be admitted into the kingdom of God, therefore we become nothing."

Hymn #148 Did You Think to Pray?
1.
Ere you left your room this morning,
Did you think to pray?
In the name of Christ, our Savior,
Did you sue for loving favor
As a shield today?
Oh, how praying rests the weary!
Prayer will change the night to day.
So, when life gets dark and dreary,
Don’t forget to pray.
2.
When your heart was filled with anger,
Did you think to pray?
Did you plead for grace, my brother,
That you might forgive another
Who had crossed your way?
Oh, how praying rests the weary!
Prayer will change the night to day.
So, when life gets dark and dreary,
Don’t forget to pray.
3.
When sore trials came upon you,
Did you think to pray?
When your soul was full of sorrow,
Balm of Gilead did you borrow
At the gates of day?
Oh, how praying rests the weary!
Prayer will change the night to day.
So, when life gets dark and dreary,
Don’t forget to pray




PRESIDENT & SISTER GRIFFIN CAME TO VISIT WARD: 
Sister Kibbon's cracks me up left and right! When President and Sister Griffin came to visit the ward sister Kibbons went up to bear her testimony about missionary work and while the Griffins were sitting on the stand she turned to them and said, "please don't take the sisters away. We love them. They're so special. If you take them you will take my mom and I dragging behind them screaming. I just love the sisters." πŸ˜‚  YOU TELL EM' Sister Kibbons!!! It was funny cause everyone kept telling President to keep us. We shall see in 3 weeks ....


WEATHER :
It's been cold but not too bad. The snow is gone so that's a BLESSING! Wahooo! 

FOOD:
Thanks to Brother Beyer we're being fed EVERYDAY until the end of the month. The members are so kind to feed us & help us better our missionary work by letting us share messages. 

Stay rad. Peace easy. ✌️ 
Until next week, 
Siostra Γ„llowitz#2