May 15, 2017

Me and Hermana Alexander ❤❤❤

Sister Griffin ❤

Sister Mühlestein & Sister Griffin ❤

I saw Sister Kearney from Freeport !!!!

My awesome Zone!

ALCAPONES LEIR : SNEAK PEEK.

We have is investigator, Craig. This is what he texted us this week
after our church tour with him. He's quite the character. I'll tell
you more about him later. Haha.

BESTIES!

Hello everyone , just wanted to say THANKS to all the moms in my life! There are soooo many of you who have touched my life for the best, in more ways than you know. Never ever forget how powerful your influence can be upon people. I am who I am today partly because of your help as great mother's to me. So muchas gracias !!!! 

This morning, Sister Mühlestein, I and the hermana's got to go to 
Al Capones Lair.  

It was in downtown Rockford, and they're tearing it down soon. The man showing us the place said when they bought the old bank they didn't know Al Capones Lair was there. It reminded me of the super old Batman movies with the Penguin and their secret hide out. 

I found out I "get to" wear glasses ALL the time...which is good cause some kids don't even get to wear them haha. It's been such a blessing, cause I was struggling with so many migraines and headaches and now they're gone. #blessings

We were talking to the eye doc lady, and she read my chart.   She  said," Karigan--wait Karigan is your name? Oh I love that!"

Me: "oh thanks.  I got it for my birthday." 

Eye doc lady (laughs) "Why couldn't you have been in here a year ago when I had my baby?" 

Haha it was sooo funny. Then she saw we were missionaries and said she's met missionaries before,  " Are you from Utah too?" When I told her I'm from Texas, she was super pumped. Everyone thinks all missionaries are from Utah-- but NOPE, NOT ME! Haha. 

During District Meeting I got to help with a role play by teaching with one of the Hermana's in Spanish. It was so cool.  My Spanish is coming along.  Kimmer & Kieran,  ya better watch out, haha. 

Ok y'all I had a BIG AHA moment this week. How cool is it that I get to serve where Joseph Smith died fighting for all I'm fighting for now on my mission too. 

He fought soooo hard for all of us to have this gospel, to have the Book of Mormon and temples and so many other things. He loved great and died great. 

He fought courageously for such a great cause and I'm honored to follow in his footsteps here in this mission. This really is the best mission in the kingdom because of the fact Joseph Smith & so many others walked the VERY paths I walk. 

" Illinois must atone for the blood of that man" 

So MLC (Missionary Leadership Council) is a meeting that President Griffin, the Assistants, the training assistants, zone leaders, and sister training leaders go to. It's a meeting full of people who have usually been out pretty long in the mission. (But it's starting to become younger and younger leadership.) We sometimes get to train at, but I don't really want to.  PSYCH, Sister Mühlestein and I did train, and it went super well. We got to talk about the Book of Mormon, and it was awesome. I was just super super nervous because all of the leaders were gonna be there and that's who we were training but again it went well. We role played a LOT before and God really helped calm my nerves through the Holy Ghost. Man, I'm just soooo grateful for the gift of the Holy Ghost.   I have NO idea what I'd do without the Holy Ghost. He's my right hand. 

Miracles : 

• today as we approached an isle while grocery shopping this lady says, "hi Sisters".  We both were so shocked. She said she just talked to some other missionaries (probably  the Hermana's) and she's straight from Moscow, Russia. SAVANNAH TOTALLY THOUGHT OF YOU :)
• finally met David.  He said he was simply curious at first, but then he struggled to learn. Other Sisters he met turned to a spot in the Book of Mormon,  and he said that made a HUGE difference for him. I know the smallest things we say or do so make a positive impact on people's lives.  I've seen it. 
• Sister Mühlestein made homemade Alfredo ! #browniepoints 
• In the same day, 2 ppl spoke Latin and I got to relate since I took it in high school 
• We found 4 new investigators this week! And our our goal was 2. God is sooo good! 

Funny moments : 

• We had a lesson set up with an investigators in a members home, and he canceled on us.  We told the members and they said "well, aren't you still coming? You can still come  for dinner." We had just finished dinner, but felt we needed to go and help uplift and encourage this family with a message haha. We told them we were sorry we didn't realize they wanted us to come for dinner too, and they thought we were crazy that we didn't just assume. We were laughing so hard that night. Oh my haha! It could've been worse .... one time I've had 3 dinners 😳 no bueno!  

I recently read this story and it really hit me : 

“It’s true, isn’t it? Then what else matters?”

I met a naval officer from a distant nation, a brilliant young man who had been brought to the United States for advanced training. Some of his associates in the United States Navy, whose behavior had attracted him, shared with him at his request their religious beliefs. He was not a Christian, but he was interested. They told him of the Savior of the world, Jesus Christ, born in Bethlehem, who gave his life for all mankind. They told him of the appearance of God, the Eternal Father, and the resurrected Lord to the boy Joseph Smith. They spoke of modern prophets. They taught him the gospel of the Master. The Spirit touched his heart, and he was baptized.

He was introduced to me just before he was to return to his native land. We spoke of these things, and then I said: “Your people are not Christians. What will happen when you return home a Christian, and, more particularly, a Mormon Christian?”

His face clouded, and he replied, “My family will be disappointed. They may cast me out and regard me as dead. As for my future and my career, all opportunity may be foreclosed against me.”

I asked, “Are you willing to pay so great a price for the gospel?”

His dark eyes, moistened by tears, shone from his handsome brown face as he answered, “It’s true, isn’t it?”

Ashamed at having asked the question, I responded, “Yes, it’s true.”

To which he replied, “Then what else matters?”

These are questions I should like to leave with you: “It’s true, isn’t it? Then what else really matters?”

-- 

I can testify what this says IS TRUE.  If the gospel is true then what else really matters ???? NOTHING.  Whatever happens to me on my mission like rejection and people being rude--WHO CARES--Jesus Christ walked this lonely path and so can I. He was rejected and so am I.... how cool is that to be standing shoulder to shoulder with the GREATEST ONE WHO EVER LIVED???  Lemme give you the answer ...So cool ! 

I have been able to fight for this gospel truth with the strength of God for the last 18 months. He has given me miraculous strength and mighty power. I know it's all him. 

Keep fighting cause time is running out.  I feel sooo much the urgency of this great work MORE than I EVER have before in my ENTIRE LIFE. I feel like I still have sooo many more people to "fight"  for,  people to meet, lessons to learn. So I'm seriously soaking in EVERYTHING God wants and needs me to learn and do. 

I wonder if this is how it's gonna feel when Jesus Christ comes again. Ahhhhh, I just wanna be prepared to meet him. I DON'T wanna procrastinate, and I wanna be ready. 

I've been ponderizing scrips everyday--one from the Bible and one from the Book of Mormon, and it's become such a blessing to me. I've seen such a difference in my life as I've done that. They are treasures to me. Here's one I found this week: 

Alma 56:56 

56 But behold, to my great joy, there had not one soul of them fallen to the earth; yea, and they had fought as if with the strength of God; yea, never were men known to have fought with such miraculous strength; and with such mighty power did they fall upon the Lamanites, that they did frighten them; and for this cause did the Lamanites deliver themselves up as prisoners of war.

I'm grateful to be able to teach & testify of Jesus Christ for 18 months. 

And I'm grateful to be in Rockford. I love it here. The people are my people. 

Illinois is the land of my people. 

Love Hermana Allowitz