Hang On and Be Cool

HELLO EVERYONE!

Holding a Daisy - for Savannah

Sorry, I forgot to tell you all that this week is transfers and so our P-day is on Wednesday. I am not getting transferred though and neither is Sister Lively!! We are staying together, which we are really happy about. Its been an interesting week an a half. Let me tell you how our week started... After last P-day things seemed to be going great, but Tuesday and Wednesday were far from normal. Something was really off. Sister Lively and I were not getting along as well as we usually do, and we weren't happy. We didn't know what the problem was, and I we both just chose to ignore it. This went on, and as we felt contention, our investigators could feel it too. We weren't able to teach because we weren't feeling the spirit. On Thursday night I realized what the problem was. We came home and I'll just say, the house didn't feel right. There were things there, that were not meant to be there. We were so scared, and we didn't know what to do. Sister Lively and I began to pray that evil/dark spirits would be cast out from our home. I felt very uneasy that night, and we even slept with the light on. I woke up almost every hour drenched in sweat and it was hard to go back to sleep. The next day we went to our District Meeting, and we sought help from the Elders. We asked them if we could dedicate our home even though we don't have the Priesthood. We found it in the White Handbook and it says that "Church Members" can dedicate our homes. After our district meeting we went straight home to do that. We said a prayer to dedicate the home, we asked that the house would be protected and that we may be able to feel the spirit while we are there. Immediately after we finished it was a very different feeling in our house. It felt peaceful and welcoming. The contentious spirits were gone and Sister Lively and I felt back to normal again. It was super scary, but I am grateful for the blessings of protection that Heavenly Father can provide for us. 

Sister Lively and I after a District Meeting

Our "Happy Things" Board

Two weeks ago, at our Zone Meeting we talked about how we can better SHOW the Book of Mormon to people, instead of just TELLING them about it. We did an example where a missionary knocked on someones door and started to show all the pictures in the front of the book, and explain what they mean. It was really cool! They were able to bare testimony of the Book of Mormon through the pictures and the stories that are in it. It made me look at the Book of Mormon differently then I ever have before. I never even thought that it might be good to explain to an investigator that the Book of Mormon was written at about the same time as the Bible, just on different continents! 

Sister Lively and I decided we would give this a try. We tried visiting a less-active member, and they weren't home. So we tried to do the Book of Mormon door approach with the neighbor. IT WORKED! Her name is Janet and said she would read it and she was really excited about it! We were excited too! We set up a return appointment for Monday, but when we went over she said her husband didn't want her to read it. She told us that she knew it was true anyways, and that she would sneak a read from it when he wasn't looking! We had to drop her as an investigator, but we are going to stop by every now and then to check on her reading.

We tried using this Book of Mormon door approach later that day and it worked again. Two more times! It was awesome. I have really been working on trying to be bold with people and testify what I know to to be true. One of the houses that we knocked on, belonged to a man named Christopher. I talked with him for a minute explaining that we are missionaries and what we do.  I started talking about the Book of Mormon. He told us that he is Baptist and that our book isn't a part of his religion. I explained that the Book of Mormon can help anyone strengthen their faith in Jesus Christ and began showing him the pictures and testifying of them. Before I could finish he asked, "Can I get one of those books?" I gladly gave him one and he told us that he has been having a bit of a hard time lately, and that he promised he would read it! It was AMAZING. Christopher went from saying that the Book of Mormon wasn't a part of his religion, to asking to have a book for himself! It just really showed me how when you testify, it can soften peoples hearts through the power of the spirit!  We are going back to visit him later this week and we couldn't be more excited!

Kentucky Sign - I LOVE Kentucky

Good Old Countryside

I had my first experience with a man who wanted to Bible Bash us. It was scary! But Sister Lively rocked it. The man used to be a youth preacher for a Baptist Church, he kept saying that he doesn't need the Book of Mormon to get into Heaven and how he has read the book but he knows it's not true. Sister Lively told him about the scripture in Ezeikiel 37 where it talks about the 'Stick of Judah and the Stick of Joseph' and how they are the Book of Mormon and the Bible. He didn't want to listen to us, but we left on good terms. 

Country Roads...Do I Hear a Song Coming On?

Our Street Sign - Real Cute

We had another lesson with our investigators Susan and Travis this week. We finished teaching them about the Plan Of Salvation. Susan was very interested when we started talking about the Degrees of Glory, and told us that is what she has believed her whole life, she didn't think that God would cast his children out to Hell. We talked more about it and Travis was really confused. He asked us if this was all just  teachings from our 'Mr. Smith'. I remembered the scripture that talks about it in the Bible and I pulled it out. 1 Corinthians 15:40-41. I had him read it and then talked about how, this was in the Bible before, but Joseph Smith was able to restore these truths of the Plan

 Of Salvation for us today. This experience was CRAZY. I have only read that scripture maybe twice, but I know that through the power of the Holy Ghost, It was able to bring it to my

 remembrance. It was crazy! I didn't even feel like it was me! It just strengthens my testimony even more to know that when the spirit is with me, all I need to do is 'open my mouth and it shall be filled'  -D&C 33:8

A Bridge Out in the Country

A Nice Dog that Followed Us Down Our Street

I am so grateful for all the incredible things I have been able to do and learn, I feel like every morning when we have personal study I am filled with so much knowledge! It is amazing to study the scriptures, I have never studied them like this in my life! But I love the hour in the morning we have to study on our own and sometimes I wish it was longer! I am learning so much and I have so many deep questions come to me that I study out to find the answer to. It is amazing. I LOVE being a missionary for my Heavenly Father to help bring his children to the gospel!

D&C 98:1

I LOVE YOU ALL

~Sister Kayla Marie Willis

Sister Kayla Willis 

1508 Luci Mae Drive

Flatwoods, KY 41139