Teaching Simply, By the Spirit

Great week! Smile's all around! :) I am so grateful to be a missionary!

Selfie with My Selfie Stick

#SelfieStick

Last preparation day, the Elders in our ward - Elder Free, Elder Tupou, Sister Farnsworth and I all went Golfing. We went to a driving range and hit a few balls. Sister Farnsworth is the Golfer, the rest of us were making a fool of ourselves haha, but it was funny. It is so nice to change things up and do something fun! We have all been working hard and it has been amazing to see the progress here in Ashland. The spirit has been changing hearts here. 

The Ashland Missionaries

We have been working with a little girl named Lexi. She is 10 years old and she is so cute! She wants to be baptized and we have been helping her prepare for that. Her Grandmother is a member of the church and so she has been bringing Lexi to church with her. She is very hyper and she gets distracted very easily and it can be hard to teach her sometimes. But on Tuesday we had a Training Conference Call with all the other training companionship's. We got to talk to the Assistants and President Salisbury. It was so good because each companionship has an opportunity to ask a question and we asked how we could best help Lexi to be able to understand what we are teaching her and how she will remember. It was so cool because President Salisbury told us that we should be teaching in a way that an eight year old can understand it. This is something that I had never thought about before. We have to be teaching in way that is simple enough and basic enough for her. I have been raised in this gospel my whole life and I need to be able to help someone who has never known these things before to understand it. Since learning this teaching Lexi has been a lot better. We have been able to teach simply, but by the spirit. The most important thing in a lesson is for the spirit to be there and for the spirit to teach and testify to the investigator. 

Our Investigator, Jerose, at Church

Our investigator, Jerose, came to church yesterday! She is progressing so well. It has been amazing to be working with her and her son TJ. They are both deciding on a baptism date in December! We have had some amazing lessons with her and in one of them we were teaching about the Gift of the Holy Ghost. We were talking about how the Holy Ghost can help us and that he testifies of truth. I was impressed to share the story of how my parents met. (Hopefully I tell it right) For those of you who don't know, my parents met in a mall. My mom was going in to get something and she went into a store. There were two guys in the store and she started talking to one of them, the other one didn't say much. She left the store and the Holy Ghost told her that she needed to go back to the store. She didn't want to, and the Holy Ghost told her that she needed to go back because the other guy was going to ask her on a date. She decided to go back and she talked to that guy. That guy was my dad. He asked her on a date and you know the rest! I told Jerose this story and she found it so special and the spirit was so strong. She told us that she feels like God led her husband (Keith) to her, and he is leading her to the Gospel. It was such a great lesson! I love this family with all my heart. 

My Good Friend, Emily, in the Ward

Yesterday in church Sister Farnsworth and I had to teach the Gospel Principals class. This chapter was on the Priesthood. We felt kind of silly, because we don't have the Priesthood and sometimes we feel like we know nothing about it. But we prepared and we talked a lot about what the Priesthood is and how we are blessed from it. Sister Hunt, one of our ward members shared an experience on how Priesthood Blessings have changed her life. She told us how when she asks for a Priesthood Blessing, it is very humbling because she is asking her husband for help, and in turn he is asking Heavenly Father for help. It was so cool and it made me think of my dad. He is a worthy Priesthood holder and I have had many blessings from him. Sometimes I have asked him for blessings without telling him what is wrong or what I am going through, because it is so cool to hear the things that are said. It testifies to me that what he says is not from him, but from God. It strengthens my testimony and I am so grateful for my dad and my brother, who are both worthy Priesthood holders. It has been such a blessing to me to have a Priesthood holder in the home.

Just a cool little after thought. After hearing from just about everyone we talk to about what happened in Paris, we heard something really cool. Before the attack in Paris, the Mission President there had an impression to get all the missionaries out that were serving in the area that was hit. He contacted the Zone Leaders and then then called all the missionaries and none of the missionaries were harmed. Revelation is REAL! It just testifies to me how true this gospel is. Heavenly Father truly does watch over the missionaries and I am so grateful for that and for all the people all around the world that pray for missionaries and our safety. 

Waiting for One of Our Investigators at the Church

#Ponderize

"And it came to pass that the servants did go and labor with their mights; and the Lord of the vineyard labored also with them; and they did obey the commandments of the Lord of the vineyard in all things."

Another Selfie

I hope you all have a wonderful Thanksgiving. Don't forget to thank God for what He has blessed you with. 

I am Thankful for my family and for Jesus Christ's Gospel and the opportunity I have to be a missionary serving in the West Virginia Charleston Mission. #BestMission

Lots of love,

~Sister Kayla Marie Willis

The Ohio River