Kimber mail 12-26-2016: "MERRY CHRISTMAS TO ALL! 🎄"

What's up yinz?!  Hope you all had a great Christmas!  Oh man this week was so good and it was the icing on the cake to be able to skype home.  I love my family so much! It was kind of bitter sweet that this was my last skype... CRAZINESS!  Shout out to the best fam for all the laughs and good stories it was much, much needed.  And how in the world did everyone get so big?! Ha, ha, I'm like, are you even my siblings?!  Also thanks to everyone that sent me Christmas stuff- I felt so loved and remembered so thanks a million. J

   Okay so this week some miracles went down:

   Caroling gems galore- it was so fun to go caroling all day with our district and really see how much it impacted some people. From so many laughs, to older ladies crying, to the man in the back shouting 'Encore! Encore! I don't care if I miss my dinner- keep singing!'  to countless whispered "thank you's" as tears glimmered in the eyes of our brothers and sisters as we hugged them goodbye. Caroling this Christmas is something I will never forget.  Also....I may or may not have had to use the bathroom in the woods after caroling all night and there are no bathrooms. L

   Sister Roper and I made it a point to try to get out and visit several of the widows or less actives who are older who don't have family at home or near, and read Christmas stories with them.  I'm so glad we did because the spirit of Christ entered these homes with full force and so many hearts were softened. 

   Christmas Eve we got to go to this awesome family- the Blazina's, for dinner.  It was pretty legit ‘cuz we got to eat on this fancy glass by candle light and the miracle of all miracles was that Sister Roper with her night blindness and me with my klutziness, didn't spill or break anything!!!!  Holla!  It was super fun though I love their family. Then their daughter Emily, took us to do our secret Santa for the Hurley fam.  Shout out to my Stoddart fam for the help there.  So this was the most intense thing!  We booked it (ran) through their creaky fence, past their guard dog and swooping under their windows.  I'm pretty sure I've never run so fast in all my life!  So yeah it was a big deal. 

   Christmas was also just amazing. We had a powerful Sacrament meeting and the speakers were, Emily, a girl that took us to do the secret Santa and is prepping for a mission - her testimony was so good, Sister Rudy- a less active member that we've been working with that is now active, her testimony of forgiveness and her testimony of the truth of the restored gospel was awesome!  It may have made me cry a little bit to hear it.  I just love when people that haven't been active for a while come back and have these grand-slam testimonies that they have built up again. Then we went to the Reisingers and had lunch and a nice Christmas nap #hallelujah - my favoriteeee!  Then we went to the Kretchmans and skyped and had a yummy dinner!  Pretty sure I ate the majority of the mashed potatoes. Ha, ha,  oops!  :P  And then we played games and had family scripture study and it was just a great day.  I'm so grateful that we are well taken care of out here! 

   Last but not least, we got special permission to go to the temple!!!  I LOVE THE TEMPLE!  The senior couple in the ward, the Thompsons, took us and the Ritzes (my P3 fam) came too! It was a trip I'll never forget being able to look around and admire the beauty of the Washington DC temple that great grandpa Fetzer helped with and to feel them so close.  I couldn't help but look around and think just how lucky I am to be helping people feel the very same joy I was feeling then and to be serving alongside some great missionaries.  I never would have thought coming out on a mission I would make so many great friendships and gain such awesome "family."  Sitting in the celestial room I couldn't stop smiling.  My cheeks - legit started hurting, but I couldn't stop the smiles.  How great to be sitting alongside some of my greatest friends whom I call family and to feel my family from the other side there as well.  I know the temple really is the Lord's house and that there are more people that have our backs than we realize. 

   I am so grateful for the ‘Light the World’ initiative and for the focus each day that helped to bring me and others closer to Christ.  I feel that I have come to know my Savior better than ever by trying harder to live every day in the way that He would.  If you guys haven't looked at day 25 for LTW it's okay, it's still up- check it out and make a goal for 2017 to do something to help you come closer to Christ.  I love my Savior and I love you all.  Thanks for being the lights that you are! J 

💗Sister McDonald 

Ponderize- "I trust in Christ" ~ Moroni 9:22 

Commitment- "Pray often and sincerely to stand as a witness of God"~ Neil A Anderson

Charity Attribute- See the big picture

KImber mail 12-21-2016: "PJ: One Dope Mission President"

   Ahh I just love being a missionary. One of my all-time favorite things is getting to have interviews with President Johnson.  “PJ” as we like to call him!  He started talking in district meeting about an email our district leader sent him that said "you are one dope mission president."  He's like "back in my day if someone called you a 'dope' it meant the drug or that you were stupid. So what are you guys saying?!"  He then looked it up in the dictionary and then read those same definitions and last read the adjective definition "very good- example: that suit is dope! Okay that's cool I guess..."  We were all dying. J   But yes he's a ‘dope’ Mission President!  Ha, ha, ha! Oh man my favorite thing though was that he walked into interviews all frazzled and his tie is over his shoulder I asked what happened and he's like 'Sister McDonald here we go again! I was preparing myself the whole ride over to deal with you. Let’s get the toughest one over with!'  Ha, ha, ha, ha I love his sass!  He listened as I rambled about my amazing mission 'family,' my family back home, my goals, freaking out that my time is ending, my success and struggles with the area. He listened and gave great advice and counsel and reminded me that I'm loved and doing great work.  He told me "You know there's lots of great missionaries in this mission but there's only one Sister McDonald."  I started laughing a bit and said 'PJ...There's legit two Sister McDonalds...." and he looked at me all serious and said "Yes, but there's only one Kimberlyn McDonald."  Right then I was reminded how grateful I am to have him as my Mission President. The Johnson's are just like second parents and I just love them! Not only that, but President Johnson is so Christ-like. Out of the 600+ missionaries he's has now it amazes me how he always manages to make you feel known and special. So it was a major highlight and a much needed reminder! 

   This week New Bloom was lit!  We had a great week full of little miracles.  I can honestly say it was one of the most humbling and amazing weeks.  Nothing crazy happened but my heart has definitely been softened which is the best! 🙌 ❤ 

   So some of my favorite ‘light-the-world’ days this week were: humility, compassion and song. I'll give ya some examples for each: 

   Compassion: So many of you know I'm a little stubborn and also that I love washing people's dishes - call me crazy but I do.  If you were to ask Sister Roper how many times this week I said "we're not leaving here until you let me wash your dishes" she would say too many!  Ha, ha, it was said in a loving, joking-way ...but seriously I did them.  We didn't leave until they were done and you may say 'Sister McDonald why?  That's silly!'  But ya-know if I can relieve someone's stress about doing dishes then I'm happy to help. J 

   We also were able to move some firewood, stop and offer to help some people and just lend a listening ear. We had an ice storm one night and the roads were bad so we decided to have our lessons on the phone. We even took it a step further and decided to call all the older members who are less active that haven't let us come visit and we actually were able to talk to a few of them FINALLY!  Just a simple thing like listening and hearing their testimonies was amazing! We talked about the influence of our mothers and it made me appreciate listening and learning from what they had to say. Oh man the ramble never gets old!

   Speaking of rambles, last experience and then I'll stop rambling ha, ha!  So we went to visit this member’s house to help them decorate but she had to take her husband to the doctor so we ended up talking to her mom who lives with them that's not a member.  She didn't waste any time telling us that she admired what we were doing but that she was firm in her 'dying' church.... ha, ha, sweet lady 😂  But we asked her if we could help her with some pillow cases she was making.  So we ended up jumping in and helping her. We had some great talks about faith and were able to share our testimonies and the Light the World video with her.  She even offered to say a prayer for us and it was so good! 40+ pillowcases, a box of chocolate, and lots of laughs later we left with a greater love for our new friend. Ah, I love how the Lord softens hearts. 

   Humility and Song: Okay so I'm pretty sure we did more caroling this week than I have in one week before!  It was cool cuz for most of it was with our whole district. We went at least once every day, sometimes twice!  Even though we weren't on American Idol or anything it was pretty legit.  It was humbling to see just how much the elderly people loved having us there.  It was so fun to hear them sing along!  But I'm pretty sure the part that was most humbling, that helped me to appreciate caroling more than ever, was after the singing, when we all went around and just sat and talked with the people. I LOVE OLD PEOPLE! They are hoots and they have some great stories. 

   This week I really learned that if we take time to slow down to smile, listen and love a little more than we already do, that the Savior can help us work miracles.  The pure love, light and joy that comes from doing what the Savior would no matter how much our backs ache, how cold our fingers are or how tired we may be is way better than anything else! I mean the Amish doughnuts someone introduced us too weren't bad either but ya know, J ha, ha jokes! But really I know that Christ lives and truly guides us with His light starting right where we are at. Something that stood out to me when I watched the Light the World video several times this week was that Christ always comes to our level to help us.  I know He is waiting to help us grow and progress and will if we will let him. I hope yinz have a Merry Christmas and make this last week of Light the World a great one! Make sure you do day 25 - it's a good one J! 

Love you! 

💕Sister McDonald 

Ponderize: "search diligently in the light of Christ that ye may know good from evil; and if ye will lay hold upon every good thing" Moroni 7:19 

Commitment: "Act on promptings and repent" ~ Elder Cornish 

Charity Attribute: never faileth 

Kimber mail 12-12-2016: "You're a Water Bottle, Sneeze for Cheese and Answered Prayers"

   Hey hey mis amigos! How goes lighting the world?! Keep up the great work. Its not to late to get started if you haven't. Mormon.org has some great ideas if you need some ideas! Also please don't be afraid to share the #LightTheWorld with any of your peeps! Everyone needs it. You never know who's heart you can help touch J 

   This week Sister Roper and I had some powerful and fun experiences lighting the world. There was a ton that went on but I just want to share some of my favorite experiences from the week:

   1. At the beginning of the week I was trying to give a little pep talk to Sister Roper in studies and I attempted to use an analogy I made up and ended up saying 'You're a water bottle! Be proud of that!' Ha, ha, ha, ha, I honestly have no clue... and can't even remember what I was trying to get at but it did give us a good laugh and got us pumped to share the good news this week!

   2. We were out workin’ in the cold and felt like we should stop by this one family's house.  It was really cool because we ended up doing some family history with them and sharing the Light that way.  The dad also showed us their dog Scooby's cool trick- that's right, he sneezes for cheese. What a talent. I feel like that is something I should master.  ;)

   3. We decided for the 'sharing scriptures' day we would wrap up 6 Books of Mormon (‘cuz it was day 6) and follow the Spirit to drop them off.  It may sound crazy but it was a super cool experience even though it was freezing and rainy and foggy, the Lord helped us.  I don't know if the people we dropped them off to will read them or look at them - but you never know. Our testimonies may be just what they need right now or in the future! 

   4. We felt like we should go try a couple less active-members while we were out working this week, so we did. Both were powerful experiences: First, we visited with this sweet older lady. After the prayer she started going on about how the church took up so much of her life and how she doesn't see any blessings of us and told us that we were too young to understand anything. I really don't like when people say that, ugh!... I may not know everything, but I do know enough truth!!  So I prayed for charity and told her that we do know the gospel brings peace and more blessings that anything else could.  Sister Roper and I shared how we both have come to know of the truth of the restored gospel and the scriptures. The Spirit was strong.  Second, we were on our way home at night and Sis. Roper felt like we should stop and see this lady that lives close to us.  So we did and at first she and her family were all over the place - but as we showed them the video, peace filled the room and they couldn't stop expressing how much they loved it!  We left reminding them that they are loved and the Spirit was strong once again. 

   5. This last one is a combination of Saturday night and Sunday.  So Saturday, we had our ward Christmas party. We sat by this older lady, Sister Whisler, who I haven't really gotten to know that well, so I was excited.  She is always so cute and excited to be at church and even though she has a lot of physical problems and has some tremors, she always sings loud and proud.  I love it!!  She shared all about her family with us and how she loves the gospel because even though she's the only member in her family, the gospel is family too. I felt so much love for this dear sister it was awesome!  Well Sunday it snowed. She and the couple that brings her to church were on their way and got into an accident.  We rushed with the senior couple, the Thompsons, to the hospital to see her. She was just chilling in the ER with her church clothes on and her scriptures in hand.  When she saw us she got SO excited.  Her doctors had to calm her down.  But she motioned for us to come over and immediately grabbed my hand.  She kept saying how sad she was that she missed church and the choir - 'stinking snow plows!'  Ha, ha, ha and told us to tell her all that she missed.  She kept rubbing my arm and telling me that she loved me.  My heart melted.  She was one of the most selfless women I have met!  Who, instead of complaining about the pain she was in was enthralled with making sure we knew we were loved.  I heard the dreaded words fall out of my mouth "Sister Whisler, before we go we want to sing a song for you,"  WHAT?!   Ahhhh, here we go, ha, ha tis the season. ;)  I said a little prayer for the Lord to help us make it sound good.  We started singing away in a manger and it seemed like the bustle and stress of the ER died for a moment.  It was quiet.  Peace filled the little curtained room.  Sister Whisler managed to get all the strength she could to sing along. As we sang the last verse she sat there with the biggest smile on her face and tears came to my eyes "Be near me, Lord Jesus; I ask thee to stay. Close by me forever, and love me, I pray. Bless all the dear children in thy tender care. And fit us for heaven, to live with thee there."  At that moment I realized a different meaning to the Light the World for the day.  We are ALL God's children. Young or old. He is closer than we realize and when we turn outward in love like Sister Whisler taught me yesterday, miracles happen!

   I want to end by sharing my Light the World for today with you! Today is Day 12- Jesus Taught Others and So Can You!  So I'll try to keep this brief but today I want to pass down to you what my amazing grandparent and parents have taught me. 

   Grandma and Grandpa McDonald- They have such a great gift of turning outward and listening. Every time you see them or talk to them they just make you feel like the star and are always ready to listen to whatever you want to share. I love that they are so optimistic no matter the good or bad that comes their way. This is something that has really helped me throughout my mission and changed my life. Love you Grandma and Grandpa McD!!  :)

  Grandma and Grandpa Stoddart- They have pure charity and a gift to be able to make memories last. I love that they both are walking lights of what they believe and aren't afraid to remind anyone they see that they are loved. I've tried to emulate that example as I've been gone and I've seen wonderful things happen. Thanks Grandma and Grandpa Stoddart! Love you both. :) 

   My Angel Mother- Her testimony of the gospel is undeniable. She sticks to her beliefs and does not waiver. I love that she is always there to make me laugh and to be patient with me. She is a great teacher it's quite the gift. As I've been on my mission I've tried to testify with the same emotion my mom has and it has changed me. I've also tried to be patient as I've been called on to lead and teach. Love you mommy :)

   The Best Dad EVER- Oh man I love my dad.  Anyone that knows him knows that he loves his Savior and that he walks the walk. Something that I've learned from my dad that has changed my world is the power of prayer. My dad is the greatest example of going straight to the source and talking it out through the good and bad with our Father in Heaven. This has changed the way I've been able to be a disciple for Him. Love you Daddio :) 

   I wish I had time to write out more but you get the gist. I am grateful for the opportunity I have to serve through this Christmas season. Time is flying and I am just realizing more and more each day how grateful I am to be a full-time servant of the Master.  I love my Savior.  I love you all! Have a wonderful week filled with light and cheer J 

Love, Sister McD.

Ponderize: "I prayed unto the Lord, saying: O Lord, according to my faith which is in thee, wilt thou deliver me....give me strength that I may burst the bands with which I am bound" ~ 1Ne 7:17 

Commitment: Pray as the savior taught ~ Elder Uceda 

Charity Attribute: bear, believe, hope and endure all things

Month 16 Finished! #missionnotes

Month #16 is done... Bring on month 17! #missionnotes

Kimber mail 12-5-2016: "ITS DECEMBER! SAY WHATTTT?!"

   Okay seriously. Where has this year gone?! I legit feel like it was just last Christmas.  My oh my is time flying or what?!  I hope you all were able to check out the #LightTheWorld  video - if not, lucky for you There's still time! Mormon.org has got some great ideas for service every day. So keep looking at it and share it up! :)  I've loved hearing what yinz are doing so far- keep up the great work!! I'll fill you in on what Sister Roper and I have done too but hang tight while I fill you in on our awesome Zone Conference!! 

   Okay, so Christmas Zone Conferences are my favorite! Here's a few of my favorite things from the meeting:

- I loved listening to all the Christmas music. Music just has a great way of bringing in the Spirit. The whole time I just felt so happy and so much peace. What a great way to kick off December with such a strong spirit! 

- President Johnson gave a great training about setting goals and always pushing ourselves to improve and keep working toward success. It was great! Sister Roper and I made our life lists and we are super pumped to accomplish life goals  :P 

- Most of all I was super happy to be able to hear my "mom", Sister Hansen's departing testimony. Before missionaries go home they get to share their testimonies with the zone. It is always so powerful and it was especially cool being able to hear my amazing trainer's testimony. I love her powerful testimony and love for the Savior and the Restored Gospel. She related the story of her leaving me on the bus when she was training me and how if she hadn't come out here she would feel that same feeling of 'lost' that we felt then.  I'm so grateful she came out because I know for a fact my mission experience and life wouldn't be the same. The other testimonies were so good too it was awesome to hear from some of my greatest mission homies - they were all so powerful and it's something I will never forget. 

   Okay now to our Light the World daily events

   Day 1: Service- we had some epic plans but Sis Roper had some food poisoning from the night before so we had to rearrange plans BUT we did get to serve some members by washing their dishes and serving them with cupcakes :) 

   Day 2: Honor your parents- we wrote little letters to our parents *surprise!* ha, ha, ha, I am so grateful for wonderful parents! I also got to call Sister Hansen and tell her how much I appreciate her 'cuz she's my mission "momma". Sis Roper also wrote me a little letter that cutie! 

   Day 3: Help the blind to see- we visited this older member who has cataracts pretty bad and we showed her the Christmas video and read her scriptures to her. It was an amazing experience!  We also visited some members and told them how grateful we were for them and all they do and they were in tears when we pointed out Attributes they don't normally see in themselves. We visited with a family we've been working with and the husband has been pretty hard hearted and I guess "blind" to the gospel you might say so we did some service and helped put up their Christmas tree and by the end the whole family was laughing and smiling. It was awesome! 

   Day 4: Worship the Father- we were able to get 10 of our less-active members, recent converts and investigators (all together) to come out to church with us. It was awesome! The Spirit was strong and I was reminded once again how grateful I am to be on a mission and help my fellow brothers and sisters to come home. To top it off-Sis Roper even happened to match clothes with one of our awesome members!

   Day 5: Help the sick- I spent a good portion of studies this morning looking at the churches mental health website and praying to know how I could help some of the friends and people I've met with these struggles and wrote some letter and emails to them. It was one of the most powerful studies I've had. I love the Spirit!! 

   So I think that's about it for this week- stay tuned for more :) 

💕Sister McDonald 

Ponderize: "Jesus Wept." John 11:35 

Comittment: "fearless declare my witness of Christ"~ Christensen 

Charity Attribute: rejoice in truth!