Week 49 - Blackfeet...Blackfoot!‏

Hello All!!!!!

OK so this week was great, but definitely filled with a little heart break...

Well first things first, after a long day of feeling nauseated and super sick to my stomach on Thursday I got a call from President Hancock around 4, to say my heart is broken right now is an understatement!!!!! I am being transferred from my beloved and precious Star Valley to Blackfoot Idaho. I am so excited to learn, and experience even more great and amazing things in Blackfoot, but I can't say I wont miss being here in the Valley. This truly is a place of miracles, the Lord is aware of this Valley, and I have been so blessed to get to be here! I truly will miss this place, but I am excited to go to Blackfoot, and see the great miracles that are happening there!!!!!

On a different note though Joe got a hair cut!!!! Dang he's so cool!!!! I am really bummed I wont be here to see him get baptized, but hey as long as he enters the waters of baptism it doesn't matter whether I am here or not! I am so excited for him, and to see how he will continue to learn and grow, he is so ready, and I know he is going to make one great member of Christ's true and restored church!!!!!

So another way cool miracle we saw this week was with a girl named Mayzie. But first, back story. The zone set a crazy goal for baptism dates. We all saw the great potential of our areas and decided there was more to do. So we set a goal and started working towards it. After all you can never have enough baptism dates, you can never have to many people progressing and coming unto Christ. So Wednesday we had zone training down in Soda Springs and we looked at our numbers. They weren't enough. We still needed more to reach our goal, we had one more day and 13 dates to set. Ultimately we didn't reach our goal, but we saw some amazing miracles happen in our areas and after the zone was realigned we ended up only falling short by 1 date. Mayzie was one of those great miracles we saw though. Sister Parker and I were sitting at 2 baptism dates, which is good, but in comparison to how many people leave this earth without the Gospel it wasn't enough. We  prayed, and sought inspiration, as we were driving by the house both of us were just like MAYZIE! Well we went in, and awkward...she wasn't there!!!!!! So we talked for a minute and we were trying to leave, then all of a sudden here she comes!!!!! YES!!!!! Anyway, we got to a talking with her (and neither of us had really met her) and she brings up getting baptized. Well Ok. We talk and discuss some of the problems she has, and then the spirit was like "set a date with her" Well if you say so. We extended a date, and she accepted!!!!!!! Her sister is also working towards it as well which is way to cool!!!!!! It is so great to get to see all of these great moments, to get to see others as they progress towards Christ!!!!!

Alright well sadly I have tons of packing to do...YIKES. Anyway let me leave you with one last story, because I feel like this email is ridiculously short...I also slacked a ton on pictures this week so this is the only one I have...I think it's pretty funny though. Enjoy!

So the fair was of course going on all this week, which was cool but so funny to see!!!! Everyone walking around in cowboy boots, with giant belt buckles, and even bigger hats!!!!! The really funny thing was that one of the most popular spots to be was at the tractor booths...imagine it, lets go to the county fair and buy a tractor...Ok that's random. Anyway, we were down by what the world outside of Wyoming would consider entertaining...Haha just kidding they thought it was cool to. Anyway we were down by the tractors, Tigers, and Lady Houdini the escape artist. Well when the shows (which were like 5 minutes long) were happening, nobody really was talking with us. So we were sitting under our booth, and had to find ways to entertain ourselves...well I knitted, Sister Parker watched, and the Elders made the most ridiculous commentary every. Imagine the tone of the voices when they commentate on golf tournaments, so boring. And then imagine ridiculous and sarcastic comments. That's what we had. It was pretty dang funny. The only comment I remember goes with this picture
So imagine the build up to this, this buff guy (not that I was looking, but that detail needs to be included to make it funny) was Lady Houdini's assistant, he talks about stuff, and does a few tricks up to the Grand Finale, which is what's in the above picture. Well the Elders get sick of watching the lame parlor tricks and Elder Schaerr says in that ridiculous golf voice "Stop Flexing your muscles, and put this women in danger!"  Well I wasn't paying to much attention, but I all I heard was that, and I was about to pee my pants! Seriously I don't know why it was so funny, but dang it was good!!!!! Anyway, I cant help but laugh at the little things!!!! Well I got to go pack, and probably cry...just kidding, but really I have alot to do!!!!! Sorry it's not the most exciting email this week!!!! But I hope all is well!!!!! Thanks for always writing!!!!

Love,
Sister Kaycie Sondrup

Week 46 - Another Testament of Christ

​Hello Family!!!!!!

Ok well I don't have to much time today because I am in Idaho Falls and we have to get food...it's like it's important or something...Anyway this week was amazing!!!! So many miracles it's nuts!!!!!!! But first things first, it's the county fair this week, and because we are in a small town, that happens to be highly Mormon populated we get a booth!!!!!!! So we made this!

Pretty legit huh? Well it's so cool because the missionaries are like the coolest thing in Star Valley and everyone always wants to talk to us! SAAAAAHHHHWEEEEEETTTT! Literally I don't know how you could do missionary work in Star Valley without the members they are seriously the best!

Which actually brings me to one great miracle of the week! So the fair officially kicked off Saturday with the Derby, so we were there and had our booth and this random guy just came up and started talking to us, we asked him about himself, and we came to find out that he is a former investigator and he knows that the church is true, and that he wants to be baptized! WHA? So we keep talking to him, and while this is going on, some members come up and want to have a casual conversation well they say hello, and start talking so I was thinking "oh no we need to keep teaching this lesson, it cant be distracted by regular conversation...". But then, and this is how amazing all the people are out here, they heard the conversation about the gospel, and jumped, bearing amazing testimonies, and giving just amazing witnesses at all the right moments, they weren't overbearing and they really added an amazing spirit to the lesson! It was so cool!!!! As the lesson progressed we ended up setting a baptism date right there! In the middle of the fair! Next to the tigers and some fruffy healthy soap stuff!!!!!   SO COOL!!!!!! Just goes to show though that the spirit has to do with the environment (thank you giant Book of Mormon) but even more with the people and the testimonies and attitudes they carry! it was so cool, and it was a great testimony to me that you never know what will happen, when the Lord's timing will be right for someone, it's really cool!!! and I am so excited to keep working with him, and helping him progress towards Christ!!!! WAY COOL!!!!!!!!!!

OK, so another cool story for the week, do you remember this guy

jis name is Joe, and he is a STUD!!!!! So cool, we actually met him while trying to talk to another investigator, well turns out that guy didnt want to have to much else to do with us (that day at least) but Joe was hanging out so we took the opportunity and started talking to him, we invited him to take the lessons, and he accepted! Well on the second lesson he accepted a baptismal date and he has been so excited about it ever since! Last week he called us and he was like "GUESS WHAT?!" we of course asked him what, and he said his dad had gone to Idaho Falls and bought him church clothes!!! (he normally came in pretty much the same outfit as above just a button down shirt instead) He was so excited, in fact all week he walked in his church shoes around the house to break them in, he was just so excited!!!!! He even showed us them at one our lessons this week, and I am not sure I have seen a bigger grin on someones face then I did at that moment, it was so cool!!!!!! He came to church yesterday and it was the greatest thing ever!!!!! He was so excited, the ward was so excited, and looking at them talking and joking I couldn't help but see how this is going to effect his eternity. It was so cool, I have no doubt that this Gospel it true, I can see all the blessings that come from it, and now he can as well, he might still be new, and learning, but seeing him yesterday I saw the great potential he has to truly make a difference in this world, to be a true disciple of Jesus Christ, and to be the light in the world that he truly is needed to be. I am so excited to see him continue to progress!!!!! I cannot wait to see what plans the Lord has for this terrific young man!!!!!! (I forgot to mention as well, he is cutting his hair and shaving his beard this week!!!!! The Gospel has not only changes us spiritual, but it changes our whole countenance, and how we act!!! It is so cool!!!!!)
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So I don't have to much more time, but I have one more miracle to share, and coincidentally it has to do with Joe. Well Joe lives in Thayne, which is the Elders area, but because he is YSA aged, he is ours to teach, which is great! But here's the thing, Joe's whole family aren't members. So I told you last week about the lesson we had where Joe got a blessing, and so did his Father. Well apparently I wasn't the only one who felt the spirit that strong in that lesson, because it's all Joe talks about...but even cooler, on Saturday when we were at the fair Joe's and his fathers best friend (the one who was at the lesson) came up and started talking to us. She said that Jim couldn't get to sleep that night after he received that blessing, that something was keeping him up, well he thought and thought and thought about it, and he realized the thing that was keeping him up, was that he had declined when the Elders asked if they could start teaching him the lessons. He knew that he needed to take them, he knew it's what God would have him do, so after his experience that evening, he decided to listen to the missionaries!!!! WAY COOL!!!!! Now not only is the son coming unto Christ, but the family!!!!!! Miracles truly are happening!!!!!!! Well I don't have more time, but thanks for being so great and for all the prayers!!! I am so grateful to be here and inviting everyone to come unto Christ!!!! This truly is the Lord's work and I am so blessed to get to be apart of it!!!!!!!!! Have a great week!!!!!!!

Love always,
Sister Kaycie Sondrup
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Week 45 - The Adversary

Hello All!!!!!

Well this week was great! We were able to do tons of great work and invite so many to come unto Christ!!!!! Miracles happen everywhere, but especially here in this Valley! I have no doubt that Heavenly Father is looking out especially for this Valley! But with that being said I also have no doubt that the adversary is working hard here on the spirits of the most amazing people you can meet!!!!!

This week was hard for the people of the Valley, in an area that is rarely effected by tragedies, this week they saw many. We saw three beloved children of God lose their lives this week, which isn't to bad in comparison to what happens in the cities every week, but here, where everybody knows everybody there is truly a gloom hanging over the Valley. On Tuesday while doing a candy drop celebrating the 24th of July the plane had a sudden failure, sending it in an unrecoverable nose dive to the ground, both the pilot  and passenger were killed on impact, one dying at just 23 years old. The ward saw this all unfold before their eyes, and a great pain has hit the Valley for the lose of those two men, then just Saturday a car rolled while passing through the narrows, and two people were ejected from the car, one died on impact as well, and the other is in critical condition in Utah, the third passenger walked away seemingly unscathed, but internally you can tell he is shaken up, why would he survive, and his friends not? Why I am telling you this you ask? Surely there are less glum things to talk about, well yes always, how could there not be while in the service of the Lord? But the reason I mention it is because of this

This is the Star Valley temple. As you can see great progress is being made on it they have started work on the second and it is really coming along. This temple will be and is a great asset to the valley, and I have no doubt the miracles we see here are because of it, because the Lord is preparing to fill his home. But I also know that the tragedies we are seeing are partially due to agency of course but this temple. Because the adversary sees the progress, and it makes him mad!!!! Something I have learned is that the adversary is never madder then when you're obedient. He wants us all to fail, he wants us to feel worthless, and like we will never be good enough. Well there is no opinion more wrong than that. We have no need to fear. We have no need to doubt. After all aren't we promised over and over again in the scriptures that the Lord is with us where ever we go? I know that to be true, and being here, and seeing all the trials these people are facing I know that they to know it is true. Never before have I seen people so strong, who stand up for what they believe in in every situation. Despite the difficulties, despite the challenges they face they have true and everlasting faith that the Lord will truly provide, that what needs to happen does. It's hard to face any challenge, especially alone, but I think that's whats truly great about this Valley is that they never never let a single person here feel alone. They are tight and close, and bonded for life. They are truly examples of charity, and go out of their way to help someone in need. I only hope that I can be one tenth of the person that the people here are. Truly an inspiration!!!!!!!!

This week on top of the tragedy, we also saw so many miracles!!!!!! Day after day after day the Lord provides! We have been able to find so many people, and begin teaching them, and inviting them to come unto Christ!

Our investigator this week was having a hard time, and we actually ended up going to his house with the Elders to give him a blessing, it was crazy! let me paint you a picture Sister Parker and I, the Elders, our YSA fellowshipper, Joe, his dad, his dad's girlfriend, their two best friends from up the road, and two giant dogs crammed into a tiny basement with everyone yelling and 4 or 5 conversations going at once. CRAZY. It was seriously insane!!!! It was fun and we talked for awhile but it can to the point where we were just talking, and we needed to really teach, after all that's our purpose right? Well I started to talk to Joe's dad about the priesthood, and what exactly it is, well I kid you not within 10 seconds of bringing it up the room was silent. like SILENT! Even the dogs were hushed and there was nothing else to be heard except the words I was speaking. I have never been able to feel the spirit enter a room so fast as it did that night. As the lesson progressed we were able to teach a great lesson about the priesthood, and how it worked. Both Joe, and his Father received a blessing, and the spirit was so overwhelming!!!! There wasn't to much room down in that basement, but every space that wasn't filled with a body was filled with the spirit, it was so amazing!!!!!! We ended up having to move Joe's baptism date back one week so his family can be there, the bummer is it will be right after transfers, and if I get moved I wont be able to come :( but I have no doubt that he will be baptized, that he will enter the waters and truly follow the example of Jesus Christ. IT'S SO AMAZING!!!!!!!

On top of the many miracles we saw their was a great celebration!!!! Lemme' tell ya, small towns know how to party! Since it was the 24th this week the town was going nuts! Crazy!!!!! it shut down and the whole day was filled with marvelous activities!!!!! including the kids going fishing with their hands!!!!They brought in a huge pool and filled it with water and fish in the bank parking lot and the kids went crazy chasing them down having them slip out of their hands and eventually emerging victorious we a gleaming fish for dinner!!!!! They had a car show, and parade, and candy cannons, a rodeo, and a huge firework show!!!! It was so cool, and the echo through the valley was insane from those fireworks! So loud!!!!! But what was most exciting about the celebration was again the people. The pride they have for their small valley, and the even greater appreciation they have for saints who helped settle it. They were beaming, and even those who aren't members expressed such a great appreciation for the sacrifices of those in the past that I couldn't imagine a more joyous day, or sight for all those who lived before. Who sacrificed their all, so that we now could have everything we've ever dreamed of, and then some! I Love this valley so much, and once they get an actual pool, I'll live here for life! It's truly truly amazing!!!!!

Well I don't have to much more today, well I do, but we have tons of errands to run, and people to see!!!!!! This week was amazing! I'll leave you with some funny stories though. We rarely see the elders but because of all the events happening throughout the valley we saw them a ton this week!!!!!!! On Saturday though (when all the 24th celebrations were happening) we saw them a ton! They had a baptism and we took Joe to it so he could see what it's like (he loved it!) but he also noticed that the elders were wearing a maroon and blue tie, and then a bright red tie, and I was wearing maroon and blue, and sister Parker was wearing bright red...I made the joke that we were matching like prom, and they didn't like that so much...in fact I think they changed...haha priceless!!!!!!  On Tuesday we had district meeting and I am always cold, ALWAYS! so I bring a blanket, but the funny thing is I got it from our old apartment, which of course was previously the Elders. So the blanket I use is embroidered...it says Elder Toone, and then it has the Brigham City Utah temple on it. Well I was using it and we were waiting on the Sisters from Jackson hole to get there and the Elders were staring me down, so I made up a story and freaked them out. I may have said Elder Toone was my fiance, and we were going to get married, they were about to have a melt down because they thought that it wasn't ok to be engaged on my mission! It was great! I of course started laughing and that gave it away, but it was great for the time being! To be funnier when we went to their baptism on Saturday the Elders were having a bad week like bad, they were at the party when the plane crashed, and lets just leave it at that, so to try and lift their spirits we folded it up and put it in their car with chocolate, and they were dying!!!!!! But now they took my blanket and wont give it back!!!!!!! Another story, I asked one of our investigators if we could have his beer, and he said yeah, well awkward then I just had a beer, what am I supposed to do with that? Definitely not drink it, and I am not going to give to someone else, so what was I supposed to do with it? The thought never crossed my mind to just dump it out...so I sat awkwardly with it in my hands the whole lesson until at the end he was finally like "give me that" he went and poured the whole thing out and tossed the can, while every laughed and joked at how panicked my face was. Thanks alot. Just kidding I really was a little nervous, what was I supposed to do with beer?! Anyway last story for you, I am totally being made into a country women!!!! I totally was chopping wood yesterday, and to be a little pathetic my fingers are dying as I try to type today!!!!! Seriously the worst!!!!! But hey it was pretty fun, although I am so awful at it...20 swings later and I barley split the wood, oh well I guess you cant ever take the city out of me!

Oh one last thing, mom you'll love this, but my backyard is like the most amazing garden ever!!!!!! Right now we have Rhubarb galore, and raspberries, holy raspberries!!!!! SO amazing!!!!!!!!! Also this week a met an amazing returned missionary from Allison Farnswaroth mission. Her name would have been Hermana Thompson. She said Allie was a phenomenal missionary and that she wishes her all the best with her marriage!!!!! Tell Allie to keep up the great work!!!!!!

Anyway let me leave you with one last thing, your prayers are needed!!!!!! Our investigator Dennis, has his parole hearing today, and dependent on what happens determines whether or not he can be baptized! He truly is so ready and prepared for this step, and it's a shame to see that he has been forgiven of the Father, but the World has not yet forgiven him, so pray he gets whats truly just in the law and best for him and his family!!!!! Anyway I have to go!!! Love you all, and have a terrific week!!!!!!

Love,
Sister Kaycie Sondrup


   

Week 43/44 - Bad News

Alright So I am just going to get this over with because you're going to find out sooner or later...So this happened...

Long story, but needless to say I am alive and well!!!!! I am also 200% kidding, I hope I got you a little though! I couldn't help but try!!!!! Especially as you didn't hear anything from me last week, it was to precious an opportunity to pass up! Don't worry though, the lady we live with is a paramedic, and she let us take a picture, quality right?

Well this week was great!!!!! There was so many amazing miracles!!!!!! But first, re-cap of last, last week!!!!!

Well Yellowstone was great!!!!!! Check it out!!!!!!

It was way cool actually!!!!! Probably my favorite part of the trip was this guy we met!!!! So I cant remember his name...it was Asian and hard! But we've been calling him Ty, because he's from Taiwan...Anyway, while we were walking the park everyone kept looking at us, apparently they hadn't seen someone with a Skirt and a name tag before! Just kidding it was great, tons of teachings opportunities! So Ty stops us as we are walking by, and he says "Sisters, why are you sisters?" so we were like SWEET!!!! Gospel time! But then he stops us and is like "wait, what I mean is, why are you sisters here?" We tell him and he's like that's cool, but then he tells us his conversion story!!!!! Turns out he joined the church 4 years ago in Taiwan, he still lives there, but he came to Idaho/Wyoming to visit his missionary, the one he says was instrumental in him joining the church!!!!! He talked to us about the church in Taiwan, and he says it's strong, and doing great!!!! He loves the Gospel and was so excited to see us!!!! It was way cool to get to talk to him!!!! Just goes to show the Church is true no mater where you go, and people are flocking to the truth everywhere!!!!! The coolest part of the experience came as we walked away though, Ty sat down, and he was with friends who weren't members, they inquired who we were, and Ty began to share and teach his friends about the Gospel and missionaries!!!!! It was amazing to see this young member express his testimony, and teach others just how Glorious this Gospel is!!!!! The park was beautiful, but that one experience easily made the trip for me, it was better than any sight I saw all day. Just think  the seeds Ty was planting, things of the lives changing all over the world because people aren't afraid to open there mouths and share what they know to be true! Sure it was a small example, but it meant the world for me to see! Because when I see that, I see and truly understand that all my brothers and sisters near and far, are getting the chance to learn, and are truly coming unto Christ!!!!! It's so cool!!!!!!!

Funny Story at Yellowstone...So I needed to pee...like bad! Great start right?! Well we get to the bathroom, and I am finally thinking I'll have relief, well then I walk in and see this OH THE TORTURE!!!!!! OH THE PAIN!!!!!!

But I did find some humor, in the fact that the toilet was made in china, and consequently so was the pee!!!!! Now why would I take a picture, well I thought it was funny enough to suffer a little longer, but then I started laughing and that didn't help the situation...but thankfully I got it cleaned up in time before I burst!!!!!! It was gross, but you got to admit, it was a little funny!!!!!

Another highlight of this last week was actually a concert that came to town (I promise we do missionary work, I feel like most the stories today look like we're lazy, but really we do work! No need to fear!!!!!). So this concert is called Nashville Tribute Band, maybe you've heard of them, maybe you haven't...If you haven't I would invite you to repent and listen! Truly Amazing, might I suggest their Redeemer CD, it's so phenomenal!!!!! Well Nashville Tribute came into town, and we were given permission to go, assuming we had an investigator! Well DUH!!!! As great as it was it would have been a waste of time if we weren't inviting someone to come unto Christ!!!!!!! But something really needs to be said about the spirit that was felt there. It was truly amazing!!!!! It really just goes to show and shows the truth of that scripture in D&C 25:12 how it talks about how the song of the righteous is a prayer, well this concert was a definite testimony of that!!!! I was all devoted to the Savior, his life and ministry. The beginning of the concert even started with a prayer after they were having tons of technical difficulties, they stopped and bore testimony of how they pray and ask their Heavenly Father for help when they struggle, so that's exactly what they did! Truly amazing!!!! As the concert continued on the man man Jason, bore a direct testimony of who his Savior is to him, and as he did this our investigator Joe (the one in the Orange) turned to us and said, that's who my Savior is to, we believe in the same Christ!!!!! Well Yes Joe you do, and now Joe is preparing to be baptized. Did the concert have everything to do with that? No, definitely not, but the spirit that was there definitely helped, I am so grateful for great examples, and disciples of Jesus Christ who truly bear witness of him everywhere they go! Those guys truly are a light in the world, and are making a great difference, I cant wait to see what they do next!!!!!

Another great event!!!!! One of our investigators who dropped, let us come back and teach him!!!!! It was so amazing!!!!!! My heart was breaking at first because he asked us to come over and we set an appointment, but then we almost had to cancel it!!!! See we have trail parks in our area that don't have the best people (according to the worlds standards) so for us to go in there as a safety precaution we have to have a priesthood holder go with us. Well it's not usually a problem, but it was in the middle of the day, and we couldn't find anyone to come with us!!!!! My heart was breaking!!!! I love this investigator so much, and I was overjoyed at the fact that we could meet with him again!!!!!! Well I started to get a little upset, are we going to keep this man from learning about Christ because of a rule? Chances are nothing bad would happen, but I knew we needed to be obedient and listen to what our priesthood holders had asked, after all they were just trying to keep us safe. So I stopped and said a prayer, and just asked Heavenly Father I love this person so much, I know they need help, and I really want to see them, if it be thy will, please make it possible. Well I stand up and we wait just a little longer, then one awesome RM texts us and says "I am work, but I know this is more important, I'll come right now!" HALLELUJAH!!!! What a miracle!!!!! I am so grateful for even small things like that, small examples that show us the Lord is truly aware, and he answers each of our prayers. Would it really have made a difference if we hadn't gone that day? Or even the minute? Probably not, he said we could come, but it meant alot to me, and the Lord knew that, and he helped! Truly amazing!!!!!!!

Well this week was highlighted with tons of great stuff, but you see I have a problem with this thing called distraction...I am working on it though...Anyway, now I am kind of out of time...but I am going to go fast, are you ready for speed experiences?

Alright so we taught the WOW to one of our investigators and he this week he starts drinking a beer in one of our lessons...awkward...well as he is drinking he is like this is gross, like super disgusting! So we of course responded "it's because Heavenly Father doesn't want you drinking it" a little sassy maybe but he stops and is like "you know, you're right" so he walks to the sink and dumps it down the drain!!!! Crazy!!!!! Even cooler later that night another investigator is smoking a cigarette and it gets blown out, and he is like dang why does that keep happening, so we tried our new found power out and said it was because Heavenly Father didn't want him to smoke, and he said I know!!!! WHAT?! so now two of our investigators are truly truly striving to give everything up because they know God wants them to!!!! So cool!!!!!!

We also taught a first discussion to these two drunk guys (we didn't know they were at first) I don't know why but this week dealt with a ton of drinking...never any on our part of course!!!!! and they were so amazing!!! So cool!!! So ready for the Gospel even in their drunk state you could tell the only reason they relied on it was because they had nothing else, but they were so excited at the prospect of relying on God instead!!!! Truly amazing!!!!!!

We also had interviews with our mission president this week, which were so different!!! But so cool!!!!!! He is amazing!! and I am so excited to work with him and his wife!!!! He came up to Afton yesterday for church and then he had lunch with us which was great!!!! He really cracks me up!!!!! I can tell alot is going to change, but truly he is inspired for this mission at this time!!!!

So this week we also got to teach a first discussion in Spanish!!!!! Dang the gift of Tongues is real!!!!! We shared the first vision and prayed in all Spanish and didn't have to many fumbles!!!!! It is truly amazing how the spirit works!!!!! And this week that same investigator is making us Mexican food!!! HALLA!!!! So excited!!!!!

So this week I was watching the funeral service for President Packer, guess who I saw?!

Also I thought this was funny!!!!!

Anyway I have no more time! Thanks for being so great!!!!! Have an amazing week!!!!!!

Love,
Sister Kaycie Sondrup
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Week 42 - Sorry, I am in a committed relationship with God‏

Ok so you know what I realized this weekend? This is the first time in I don't know how many years that I actually spent the fourth of July in America. CRAZY!!!!!! It's really weird to think about but it was good!!!! 

So to start this week I have a short story...I may have played a prank on the Elders, it was accidental, and I don't know how funny it would be coming over email, but in short while doing nightly follow up (just texting to make sure we are alive, and to see how the day went) I told the district leader one of our investigators who was supposed to be baptized in 2 days was being deported to Poland (I know that doesn't sound funny at all, and it sounds a little mean, but trust me, they were dying when they realized I was joking!), and so the District Leader ended up calling the Zone Leaders, who called the Ap's, who thankfully didn't answer. But it worked it's way all the way up the chain, and while it was super funny after the fact the Elders felt they needed to get back at me, so the next day after a baptism interview the Elders wrote "Just Married" All over the car, rude!!!! But it was deserved. Anyway, we were waiting to get back to them, and they came into Afton to email last week, so we took advantage of the opportunity, and we wrecked their truck!!!!!! It was great!!!!! We put "Let Virtue Garnish thy Thoughts" Pamphlets, or in other words pamphlets about overcoming pornography all over the car, and tons of pass along cards, and everything girly we had

and then we put hearts everywhere!!!! It was so great!!!! To say the elders were shocked would be a little bit of understatement! 

We also went to the library and they have a sign that looks like a super hero, and the kids all write who their hero is, leave it to Wyoming kids not only once, but three times is Moroni put as their hero!!!!! HALLA!!!!!!! It's so cool!!!!!! 

Well this week was great! We saw tons of miracles, and even got asked on a date...awkward! But it was funny!!!! We got tons of new investigators, and we met our new mission president. HE IS SO DIFFERENT! It's really strange to see the difference between the two but it's also really cool! He is super funny, and is just so excited to be here! I am really excited to get to work with him, and to just see how much this mission will grow!!!!!!! 

One cool story of the week, so I said earlier we got asked out, that was interesting to say the least...but as I am thinking about it, it was literally the Lord's doing!!!!! Alright now let me explain. So we were out tracking, and it was almost curfew so we were getting in the car to head home when all of a sudden this guy just calls out "what are you fine women doing dressed up so fancy" ok that's an awkward start to any conversation, but we are called to teach and talk to everyone, not just the normal and not creepy ones. So we seize the opportunity, and we go over and start talking, we told him what we were doing, and why we were dressed up, and he thought it was interesting. Well then his cousin joined us, and we started talking to him, and he was way more interested in the Gospel, and only a little less interested in us, but he was really loving the message we were sharing. Well now we really needed to get back, so we asked, can we come back and see you? And from across the yard the first man yells "Yay we would love to date you, come back!" Alright awkward. Anyway, his cousin, says yes and he points to his house, well apparently we get the wrong house, because we went back a couple of days later, and he wasn't there, but this is where the Lord hand comes in. We knocked on what we thought was their apartment, but it wasnt but all we did was introduce ourselves, and he's just like, well come inside. WHAT?! OK I may not knock doors to often, but I am pretty sure that is super uncommon! Anyway it was great! and we got to talk to him a bunch!!!!! And he became a new investigator!!!! With so much potential it is crazy!!!!! He's never been in a Mormon church so we are taking him on a tour this week, which will be great!!! I am so excited to keep working with him!  But just think, what if the Lord hadn't lead us to talk to those guys a few days earlier? What if we had just got in the car, would we ever have met Christian? Would we ever have found this man who has just been waiting for the Gospel? Maybe, maybe not, but I do know the Lord works in mysterious ways, this may be the most mysterious I have seen yet, but he knew what needed to happen in order for us to find one of his Sheep who is lost, and ready to be found, and he provided us the way to find him! Amazing! I think yes!!!!! I love the Lord, and I really love getting to see how he works and functions in our everyday lives, it's so insane!!!!!!! He is so great! And most of all he is so loving!!!! 

We also celebrated the fourth of July down in Soda Springs this weekend!!! It was fun! And we even got to watch a movie!!!! Remember the Titans of all things!!!!! It was awesome though!!!!! It felt a little ironic to watch a movie about integration and how mistreated people were and are on our countries Independence day, but hey I loved it so whatever!!!!! Later that evening we hung out with the people we live with and played badminton of all things...it was super great!!!!! 

Check out my cows!!!! They live in my yard, by the time I leave we will be best friends!!!!!! 

Well we are in Idaho Falls for shopping today, and it's weird as always to be in such a "big" city!!! But it is great to be back in my old stomping grounds! It's also great to see all my old buddies!!! Well I hope you all have had a great week, and are enjoying the summer!!!! Thanks for always writing!!!! Love and miss you lots!!! 

Love, 

Sister Kaycie Sondrup 

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Week 41 - Death, Hermana Sondrup, Heart Break, New, Truck, Melting, I cant think of a title..

Well this week my heart broke a little, OK more than a little, a whole heck of alot!!!!!! But don't worry I'm a survivor!!!!!! 

So last week I told you I was excited to have a baptism, well sadly neither one we had planned went through!!!! The one for Monday cancelled and Saturday's miracle baptism found himself in continued legal trouble and he is now in Jail in Kemmer, which is not only out of our area, but out of our mission, and we cant see him! :( AHHHHH MY HEART!!!!!!!!! We got the text Monday night and all i wanted to do was cry!!!!!!  He is so amazing!!!!! And so ready for the Gospel!!!! Thankfully it just sounds like it was a glitch in the system and he should be getting out sometime this week, which would be amazing! I am really grateful though for the missionaries in the Salt Lake City East mission serving in Kemmer, because though he isn't their investigator they have been over every single day to see him, talk to him, and offer him the support that the Gospel brings into our lives!!!!! I've never met those Elders, but I am so grateful for their hard work and dedication to the work!!!!!! That is a true disciple of Jesus Christ to me!!!!!!!! 

So that was the major heartbreak of the week, and then I had to say goodbye to Sister Kolbo Wednesday which was rough!!!! It's funny how close you get to a companion when you literally have nobody else to talk to!!!!!! It was hard to see her go, but Sister Parker is great! She is from a city in Colorado called Bay field, which is right outside of Durango. She's almost done with her mission, and this will more than likely be her last area. But we'll see. The work is continuing to progress and move forward and we have some great things lined up for the month of July!!!! The Lord is so aware of this Valley and he is definitely preparing it!!!!  

Speaking of which...you may wonder why I called myself Hermana well, apparently there is a huge Hispanic population here in Star Valley, and we happened to discover all of it this week. We got tons of new investigators, all of them except one being a Spanish investigator. But because Star Valley has no branch it's up to us to teach them. So my lunches are now spent eating and Studying Spanish. My goal is by the end of this week to say a basic prayer in Spanish. But I don't know how realistic that is. But thank heavens for translators!!!!! The members here are great and they are so willing to help us out!!!! I am so appreciative of that!!!!!! What's even cooler is in return for teaching the Gospel they're going to feed us Mexican food!!!!! LIKE REAL MEXICAN FOOD!!!!!!!! I cannot tell you how excited I am to have a real taco!!!!!!!! I might cry out of shear excitement!!!!! 

So this week starts the beginning of something new, a new mission president!!!! It's funny because everyone in the cities are like "Oh my goodness whats he going to change this is going to be so different!" and I am just like "I am pretty sure he wont even know we exist out here" Haha it'll definitely be a change to have president Hancock, but it will be great!!!! A quote I love from Elder Martino of the 70 is "If you always do what you've always done, you're always going to get what you've always got". Don't get me wrong our mission is doing amazing, but there is still more, and we don't want to stay stagnant, we want to improve and better ourselves, the members, the work, the mission in general, and while things will change I know they will only be for the better. After all President Hancock is called and set apart as our mission president, he is called to receive revelation for us, and I know anything he changes will ultimately be because it's what the Lord needs him to do, so it will be the best change ever!!!!!!! Thursday we are driving down to Pocatello to met him, and I am so excited!!!!!

Speaking of Stagnant...I hate having water near by!!!!!!! The mosquitoes are killer!!!!! Literally I might die!!!!! I kid you not this is no exaggeration I have OVER 30 mosquito bites on me right now, a little excessive? I think yes!!!! I even have them under my clothing! I don't know how they managed it but they even got through my G's apparently mosquitoes aren't aware of the promise of protection given! How rude!!!!!!!! My skin is itchy and gross!!! I have never been more grateful to have grown up in a desert than now, but it's alright, if this is the worst of my problems then I am doing pretty good right?! 

Also it's like high 80's here and I am dying I might not survive next summer at home, just as a warning you may need to get the coffin ready... 

On Wednesday I got to drive the Elders truck all the way back to the valley!!!! It was so cool!!!!! Except it was sketchy!!!!! We took a dirt road the entire way back because it saves 40 miles, which was fun, but I thought I was going to die!!!!! I don't know how the Elders did it they were flying!!!!! I was so worried the were going to crash my precious jeep! But alas we survived! It was fun, but by the time we got back to the Valley I smelled like Stinky Elder. GROSS!!! But it was worth is for sure!!!!!!! 

So funny we lost our phone in Freedom Wyoming this week...Have I ever told you the story of Freedom? No? Well here you go! Freedom is the border of Wyoming and Idaho, in fact the state line runs right through the middle of the town, and way back when the polygamist used to live there, so when the Idaho police would come to arrest them, they would cross to Wyoming, and when Wyoming would come they would cross to Idaho. It's pretty funny, so Sister Kolbo wanted to take a picture, so we did, the funny thing is she ended up not even being in the selfie, and then she forgot the phone on the hood, and then no more phone for us...thankfully we were in Pocatello the next day and we just grabbed one from the office. PHEW!!!! that could have been bad!!!! But now we have no contacts which is a struggle, but it's better than nothing right?! 

 (I promise my companion was sanding right next to me, she just got cut out of the selfie, which is funny because she is the one who wanted it) 

Well this has been long and really scattered!!!! But welcome to my brain!!!!!! I will end with one last thing though!!!! We had the most amazing miracle this week!!!!! We have been working with a less active who is super Anti, like super, he wouldn't even talk to us when I first got here, but slowly but surely he has been talking more and more, and he even started reading the Book of Mormon!!! Which is MAJOR!!!!!! But anyway, yesterday we walked into church and low and behold there he was sitting in the pew, with a bright smiling face!!!! We didn't even invite him to church, he just came!!!! And he loved it!!!! It was so amazing to get to see him take the sacrament, and just see how the spirit worked on him!!!! SO AMAZING!!!!! Seriously he was the last person I ever expected to see in church and yet there he was!!!! What a miracle of the Lord!!!! It just goes to show that everyone has there own conversion and it's never to late to find out for yourself!!!!! How truly great this work is!!!! Well sorry this letter is everywhere but I only had a small amount of time today because Saturday is going to be an all day p-day due to the 4th of July. I hope you have an awesome week, and don't have to much fun in Mexico without me!!!!!! 

The main attraction of Star Valley!!!!!! 

we formed a search party for our phone on the way back into the Valley, nothing :( 

Sister Kolbo decided she wanted to be just like me!!!! So she dyed her hair!!!! OK not really, but a girl can dream right?! 
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Love, 

Sister Kaycie Sondrup 

Week 40 - Safe!!!!

OK so this week was long!!!! It was hard!!! But so good!!!! We were doing so well, and only panicking slightly as we prepared for transfer calls on Thursday....And then they came...

So I will be staying here in the Valley!!!! But Sister Kolbo will be leaving, she'll be going to Ammon, and be companions with Sister Smith who goes home in 7 weeks. It was sad to hear to say the least! Never have I met anyone who loves the area more, or missionary work more than Sister Kolbo, my heart broke a little as the Assistants told her she was leaving. She truly has done a great and marvelous work here and  I know she will grow to love Ammon as much as she does Afton. But as for me I will be receiving Sister Parker as my new companion. Sister Parker was in my last district, and Sister Kolbo's last companion is currently companions with her. It's funny how small the world is sometimes!!!! Sister Parker has about 3 months left on her mission so it sounds like I might be sending home another missionary, but only time will tell! This transfer will be 7 weeks long seeing as this one was only 5 weeks, that way we transferred before the new president comes. 7 weeks transfers are the worst!!!!!! It sounds bad but that one week really does make a difference, 6 weeks is good, 7 weeks drags!!!! But hey, how can I really complain when I am in the service of the Lord? So tomorrow night we'll be driving down to Pocatello, spend all Wednesday there, and come home with just enough time for a lesson, and to go to bed! It'll make a long day to say the least, but it'll be good!!!! 

So this week because of transfers we had to say goodbye to the district one of the Elders (elder Thomas) will be returning home to Mesa, and the rest of them are all being transferred. Out of the 6 of us I am the only one remaining in the Valley! It's a little sad, but good! I am glad i get to stay! I love this area so much!!!!! We went and had a barbecue for our dinner appointment this week as a going away party, it was sad but I was loving it!!! The Hamiltons (who cooked for us) are ward mission leaders and they asked Elder Thomas what he wanted to which he replied "steak and lobster" so we had steak and instead of lobster he went out and caught some crawdads, doing things the Wyoming way! I love it!! 

Not to much else happened this week, seeing as we have been packing, and had a couple of sick days, but it's been good!!! The work is still going, and great things are happening!!!! We were supposed to have a baptism tonight, but sadly it canceled :( it's been my first and hopefully ONLY canceled date. But thankfully it didn't drop because of lack of desire, but just simply lack of family availability, we're working on rescheduling a time to have, so pray it happens!!!! And pray specifically it can happen next week!!!!!

This weekend though we have the most amazing thing happening!!!! A wedding, AND a baptism!!!!!! It is so amazing to me to get to be apart of!!!!!!! He is so prepared and so ready! Just thinking of where he had to come, he spent 14 years in prison, and has faced a ton of trials and addictions in his life, and now, after knowing him for only two weeks, he's changed, and truly ready to make this step in his life!!!!!! It's going to be so amazing! 

Well sorry I dont have to much time today so I have to get going!!! Thanks for being so awesome though!!!! Love and miss you all lots!!!!!! 

Love, 

Sister Kaycie Sondrup 

So at my house right now we have chickens, and we get to go get the eggs at night!!!! and we have adorable 

I woke up this morning to this...and dont worry we are eating that for dinner tonight..,yay? chicks!!!! 

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