week 57 - Zander

Hello!!!! Ok so I have zero focus today, so this email may be short, but be you should be impressed I'm even getting it off...Anyway this week was something...probably the longest week of my mission, but it was great!

Ok so to start things off we had zone training week which was fun, but the zone leaders decided to do Personal Priesthood interviews as part of it, which was a great idea, until they ran an hour and a half over...Sister Manymules and I were responsible for keeping the other missionaries busy so we had to keep coming up with ideas of practices and practices and practices. It ended up working out though and we had a great time, I was a little nervous there for awhile though!!!! Keeping 20 teenagers entertained is SO HARD!!!! But thanks to the Lord we managed it! I hope they learned something though, I know I did!!!! Thanks to this training though we've set some amazing goals as a zone to have 54 baptisms by the end of the year in Blackfoot alone, maybe that number doesn't seem to daunting, but I know it will make us stretch and I am so excited to start working at it!!!!

Speaking of baptisms...

Lisa has been to sick to meet, and I started to fear that we wont be able to help her get baptized before she passes...But I know whatever happens it's the Lord's will, he has a very specific plan for her, and I know whatever happens is because it's what he needs.

This week though we had an amazing experience concerning baptisms!!!!!! The last 6 weeks I've been in Blackfoot we've been trying to get a hold of this boy named Zander, who supposedly really wants to get baptized, well up until this week I had never met him, and now I certainly wont forget him! On Tuesday Sister Manymules, and I went to the church to pop into mutual, and when we pulled in we noticed a man outside in the church parking lot wearing a tank top practicing his roping, and a boy riding his scooter. Well we really have been applying the concept of talking to everyone lately, and we saw this man and his son and decided we really needed to talk to them, so that's just what we did! Well when they introduced themselves guess who the boy on the scooter was...ZANDER!!!!!!!! MY HEART WANTED TO EXPLODE!!!! Finally I met this great little boy!!!!!! Well the stories were true and Zander is so prepared to be baptized it's insane!!!!! We talked with him and he even started to tell us a dream he had the other day about Heavenly Father and Jesus Christ, and when we asked him how he knew it was them he simply replied "Because I know them, and I recognized them". This little boy is seriously so amazing it makes my heart melt every time I see him!! So this was Tuesday and we went back to his house Thursday and he was sitting on his porch waiting for us. That doesn't happen, normally people hide from us, but not Zander!!! We taught him the first lesson and he asked us "so when can I get baptized?" WHAT?! anyway we set a date with him and we set up another appointment for the next day because he wanted to see us that bad!!! Well come the next day our lesson was at the church at 1:30, and by 1:15 he and his cousin were waiting in the parking lot for us, and when we pulled in they looked up and the biggest smile overtook their faces and an emotion I can only explain as pure joy came across their faces and I truly felt there was no better work in the world that I could be doing than that. Which is so true!!!! Everyday we see this remarkable boy it just gets more and more apparent how prepared he is, the Lord has a great work prepared for him, and I cannot wait to see it!!! Everyday we meet with Zander now his first question it "Can I get baptized tomorrow?", sadly he cant as he has to attend church first, but as soon as he can (oct.31st) I know he will get baptized! I am so excited to keep working with this boy, and I am so grateful to be here to learn from him!!!!!!

In other events this week I was struggling!!!! We just couldn't find anyone to teach, like nobody!!! DARN YOU HARVEST SEASON!!!!!!!!! So one night Sister Manymules and I were driving by the pool, and was like "Sister you know what would be amazing right now and make everything better? just being able to smell chlorine, it smells like home and I miss it" So you now what did? Sister Manymules literally turned the car around, downed a bottle of water handed it to me and said "Lets go get a bottle of water!" WHAT THE HECK?! Probably one of the most random things ever, but it was so great!!!!!!! When we walked in they looked at us really weird, but then after we explained they were like "HECK YES YOU CAN HAVE SOME WATER!!! DO YOU WANT A JOB AFTER YOUR MISSION TO?!"  Hehehe probably not, but now I have a bottle of pool water and it is so glorious!!!!! Like really as far as highlights go it easily goes Zander, and then my pool water, so great!!!!!!!

But I have no focus left!!! I hope you all have had an amazing week and know that you are loved!!!! Keep the faith, and really start applying everything you learned at conference there truly were some amazing messages!!!! Love you all lots!!!!

Love,
Sister Kaycie Sondrup

P.S. Here's my potato facts
1 acre yeilds about 4,000lbs. of potato
the average farmer has 160 acres (this is excluding big companies like non perill)
4,000x160=640,000 lbs. of potato per farmer
in Blackfoot alone there are almost 1000 potato farmers so that make 640,000,000 lbs. of potatoes produced in Blackfoot alone. Crazy right?!

anyway love you!!!!

Week 56 - Harvest

Hello!!!!

Ok so this week has been great!!! To start the week I said goodbye to some of my favorite missionaries ever!! But I know they will do great at home! They also happened to take my camera and this is what I got, thanks sisters...

Anyway, the rest of the week was great! I got Sister Manymules on Wednesday on she is amazing!!!!! She joined the church at age 17, and just over a year after that she came out on her mission!!!! She has a way great story and she is going to make such a huge difference here especially because we serve right outside the Indian reservation and she is Navajo, her nationality alone has already helped us get in tons of doors, and then her understanding of Native American beliefs and Christianity helps even more!!!!! This is going to be a great transfer and I know we are going to see some amazing miracles!!!!!

So apparently in this last week Sister Manymules and I became the zone moms, we kind of already had that role, but it was amplified. The funny thing is the zone is primarily Elders, we have 2 sister companionships in the zone other than us, and everyone else is Elders, well this week we worked with the sisters as always, but the Elders called for help to, instead of emotional issues though they called about physical issues, mainly, lack of food. It was pretty funny Saturday we got a call from the zone leaders and we answered and they were so awkward like hey....sisters...we have a question.... Finally we were just like spit it out what do you need?! And they were like "We spent all our money for the month and now we have nothing to eat!!!!! Do you have anything we can eat?!" What?! first we asked cant a member feed you? Then we felt really bad because they were like "well we only have 15 active members (the cover the Spanish branch that stretches from Pocatello to Idaho Falls with everything in between) and we are allergic to gluten, and the only thing they feed us are Tortillas and they're full of gluten!!!!!" Poor Elders, so feeling a little bad we asked the member we live with if they had anything and together we were able to put together a grocery bag of food, and some chicken in rice for them. When we gave it to them they almost stated crying! They were like sisters if you weren't sisters we would give you a hug right now, and even though you are sisters were still really tempted to hug you, but we'll refrain. Oh thanks Elders, anyway it was pretty funny, now the zone refers to us as mom, that's a little weird, but hey it's always good to help out!

In another eventful story I got to go on a tour of a potato harvest/cellar this week!!!! I had some really cool facts about it but I forgot them at home...so next week!!!!!! But check out some pictures!!!!!!

did you know Potatoes have to be air conditioned or else they'll cook themselves as they sit in the cellar? Also this Cellar is just under 1/4th of the way full, and those potatoes are already stacked 30ft wide and 20ft tall!!!! Crazy!!!! Imagine how many potatoes Idaho produces!!!! NUTS!


On a more spiritual note though, I want to talk about harvest, and not the harvest of potatoes, I want to talk about the Lord's harvest. You see the season and time for His harvest is now. There has never been a greater work than the work now, and I am so blessed to be apart of it!!! We had mission leadership council this week, and it was great, but as a council we set some goals that seem so impossible to meet!!!! But the thing is the Lord has prepared no greater a time than now to reach these goals. Case and point with our new investigator Lisa. She is so amazing! We met her while walking the street trying to find a house, she was outside smoking, and we got to talking. Never before have I met a more amazing and Christ like individual than Lisa. She is so terrific!!! I cannot believe all she's done in her life, and the work she still does despite how sick she is!!!! And when I say sick I mean sick!!!!! She has a pick line, and struggles to even leave her house, she's in the hospital every other week and she is past ready to return home to her Father. In fact the first time I met her I wanted to cry, here was this beautiful amazing spirit who has done amazing things in this life, struggling and telling us she's tired, and ready to be done. That first day we met her you could tell she'd lost her hope for a brighter tomorrow, she's lost her faith in the promise that we can do all things as we put our trust in the Lord. That's whats been so amazing though to see her regain that testimony! To see her very countenance change as she's allowed the light of Christ back into her life. Never before have I felt more compelled to see someone be baptized and confirmed a member of the church than I do for Lisa. I know her time to leave this mortal life is fast approaching, but I know that Heavenly Father still has a great work for her. She will and is an amazing example of Christ like love and service, and everyone can learn something from this dear sister. I just pray we can help her recognize her worth even more so that she will continue to grow and change, and that she will truly be the daughter her Heavenly Father needs her to be when she departs this world. I am grateful to be apart of the Lord's harvest!!!! And I cannot wait to keep finding those prepared souls who are just waiting fro this message!!!

I love this work and I am so grateful to be apart of it!! It scares me to think I only have 6 months of this service here in Idaho left, but I do look forward to going home and putting to use my new skills, and continuing to help others for the rest of my life! For this is the plan my Father has for me, and I do not plan on departing from it!!!! Thank you so much for your constant love and prayers and I hope all is going well for you!!!!

Love,
Sister Kaycie Sondrup

Week 55 - Friends

Ok so like always I dont have time, today we have to go to Pocatello, because all the missionaries who have finished their missions are going home, and we have to say goodbye to some of them!!!! Mainly because they live in Australia and chances are we wont see them again...wow that's depressing to say!!!!!!!!! One of my favorite missionaries, Elder Ah Puck is going home today as well! He's my district leader right now, and he'll be going home Laie Hawaii...I know someone else who lives there...and I may have given him that persons number...I hope she doesn't mind...Anyway he's great!!!! Every night if we didn't answer the phone we'd get a voicemail, and it'd say "SISTER SUNDROP!!! THIS IS YOUR MOM!!!! I REALLY MISS YOU! WHERE DID YOU GO?!?! CALL ME BACK!!!! OK BYE!!!!!" The craziest part though is that he legit sounds like mom, totally freaked me out the first time it happened!!!!! Anyway he was a great district leader, but he'll kill it!!!! SO I got distracted because all my Polynesians just showed up in Blackfoot, plus Sister Kolbo...now I have to go...I will try and write again later...hopefully I have time!!!! Sorry this letter is so lame! Love you lots!!!!!!

Oh P.S. We got transfer calls, Sister Hill will be leaving and going to Rexburg, and I will be getting Sister Manymules, she's from Kirkland New Mexico, and she was in my district in Star Valley, she'll be going home in 6 weeks though so I'll have to do that all over again....Oh well it'll be great!!!!!

Love,
Sister Kaycie Sondrup

Week 54 - 90% Elder 10% Skirt

Hello!!!!

Well this week was great, we went finding galore!!!!! Unfortunately it didn't yield many results, although we did find one new investigator. His name is Johnny, he recently just lost his fiance and we are hoping that the knowledge of the Plan of Salvation will help him with this loss. Well we know it will, but we're hoping he will see and understand that.

This week we had a couple of emergencies we had to deal with, which were stressful to say the least, but thankfully we got through it! And counting the blessings, now this will sound ridiculous, but I am really glad we dont have any investigators to teach, because this week we spent hardly anytime in the area, and if we had investigators they would have all had to have been pushed to the way side. Now I dont want our area to stay like this forever, but I am glad that that's how it worked out this week, really it was the best thing. Because of all the situations that came up this week though the Zone Leaders decided we got to be honorary Zone Leaders, hence the title. Apparently to them we're 90% elder, 10%skirt, Thanks Elders, we really appreciate that one...haha it was pretty funny when they said it though! If only it meant I got to wear pants!!!!!

one of our recent converts this week unfortunately got really sick, and she ended up in the hospital, which is so sad!!!! But I have never met anyone with a better attitude that her! She is so amazing!!! Even as we were putting on all the safety clothing to see her she was smiling and telling us about how her scripture reading was going. While we were there she bore the most amazing testimony of God's plan, though this time is hard she knows, probably better than me, that things will get better, that no matter what happens it is her Fathers plan for her, she has faith that she is living her life how she needs to, and that what happens is what truly needs to, seirously she's the best!!!!!  

Well we have to go drive to Idaho Falls...So I don't have to much more time, but I'll leave you with some pictures!!! This week on exchanges we rescued a little kitten!!!!!! It was so stinkin' cute!!!!! Guess what this is a picture of?! Well the Himilayas but what else...

The Shower, bet you didn't see that one coming!!!!!!! (this is also from exchanges)

number two, what's this a picture of?

A hallway they made into their very own sacred grove!!!! So random, yet so cool!

Alright well I do have to go!!! This week brings transfer calls so I'll let you know if anything is happening!!!! Have a terrific week!!!!

Love,
Sister Kaycie Sondrup
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Week 53 - Spiders, Puppies, and no investigators Oh My

 OK so this week, well....I don't have to much...This week we were out of our area more than we were in...and sadly we dropped every single one of our investigators, like all of them. We kind of got to the point where they just weren't progressing and we know that there are more people here who are ready to progress now, so we decided to clean sweep our area. As scary and as sad as this is, I am so excited for this!!!! Like so excited! I just cannot wait to see the great miracles that are just preparing to happen!!!!! IT"S GOING TO BE SO LEGIT!!!!!!

Ok so I really don't have to much more...and we are going to go watching the indian relay races at the fair!!! WAY COOL!!!!! But fun story for you I saved some puppies they escaped and I rescued them!!!! Also it's starting to get super cold and that means spiders are going  crazy and coming in our house!!! So I've been catching them!!!! It's gross and terrifying and I have a mini heart attack everytime I see them, but hey, here's for overcoming fears! Also I got a birthday card for Alex, it kind of reminds me of Idaho, dont hate me to much for it though....





It sings....

Ok so so cool I just got an email two seconds ago from Sister Parker and Joe, the investigator I was telling you about finally got baptized!!!!!!! My day was seriously just made!!!! My heart is so overwhelmed with excitement right now I just feel like bursting!!!!! AHHHHHHH BEST. NEWS. EVER. Here's pictures!!!!!!!

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​Isn't it glorious?! Ok I really have to go now, love you lots!!!!!!!

Love,
Sister Kaycie Sondrup

Week52 - Deal with it

 Happy Tuesday Family!!!!!!

So a day in a the life of a rancher goes like this...You wake up early in the morning and you think of all you have to do the list never seems to end, but as the day goes on you find a fence is broken, so what do you do? You deal with it. Later you find your cows are out, so what do you do? You deal with it. Still more you find one of your precious steers is sick, so what do you do? You deal with it. This week I learned alot about dealing with it. But first things first, we had a Mission tour with Elder Martino of the 70 yesterday so my P-day is today, so I hope you can deal with it. Haha, Sorry I forgot to mention it last week, hope you didn't think I was dead, or hated you or anything...what can I say I just like keeping things fresh!

Anyway, this week was amazing!!! It was so busy and this week is shaping up to be even busier!!!! Last Tuesday we had Zone Conference, and then I was on exchanges with the Sisters serving in Firth, My companion and I got back together on Wednesday night, Thursday we planned, Friday we had Mission Leadership Council ALL day, but it was so amazing!!!!! Saturday we had to put together an on the spot zone choir for the conference yesterday so we were working with that, and then we got to take a trip up to Idaho Falls to go to the visitors center with an investigator! Sunday was great, church is always amazing, Monday we had Elder Martino all day, and I mean all day, after the mission tour Elder Martino had a special mission leadership council with the Zone Leaders and Sister Training Leaders from the southern zones, so Blackfoot, Chubbuck, and Pocatello, Today he'll meet with North. Now let me tell you, it was probably one of the most legit things ever to get to spend two hours in this MLC with a member of the 70, let me tell you, THE CHURCH IS TRUE! Today we have P-day, and tonight we are going on exchanges again! (don't worry dad I want wont be staying in Blackfoot, so no need to look!) We'll come back tomorrow night, and then plan a training. Thursday we have Zone Training, which I'll train at (YIKES THAT'S SOON!), Friday we can breathe, Saturday we'll have another zone training (not our zone but we are the STL's for that zone so we get to go), Than thankfully Sunday will roll back around and  hopefully things will slow down!!!!!!! The reason I tell you all the small details of my week though has to go along with the story above, of dealing with it. I have found this week especially with every situation that has happened conflicts that needed to be resolved goals to be set and councils to have, training given, and to give that what really need to do most as missionaries and members is to just deal with it. No sense in crying when the cows get out, you fix it, deal with it and move on. I've been thinking back alot to the premortal life (random I know) but really think about it, each of us chose to come to earth, even though we knew it wouldn't be easy. Heavenly Father knew more than we that things would be hard, but he provided us ways to deal with it. He gave us a perfect example to follow, scriptures to read and get strength from, a means of communication with him, baptism, and the Holy Ghost. He truly gave us so many ways to deal with the hard things that come to our life. At the end of the day just like the rancher everything we need to do still isn't done, we will still have to wake up in the morning and deal with it. But we know that if we truly strive to follow the example of Jesus Christ, if we truly look to our Savior in all ways than he will be the greatest ranch hand ever (poor comparison for the Savior, but it's all I have) he'll be there helping us deal with every difficulty, every hardship thrown our way until the very end, when we can stand before our Father and he will say "Well done, thou good and faithful servant". Sometimes the work load thrown at us seems to much to bear, but I am grateful to know that I am never bearing it alone. That's not my Fathers plan for me, or any of us. Out of all the trainings I had last week, the lessons that were given, this is by far the greatest lesson I learned, what the spirit taught me, that I must not only deal with it, but deal with it with my Savior, because than, and only then are we truly successful.

I have so much more to say, but not enough time, I hope this makes sense though. I'll give you one thing that may make you chuckle before I go though. So you know how way back when I took piano lessons for like a year? Well I had to use those skills in front of a general authority because nobody in MLC could play...I don't even play!!!!!! But the Zone Leaders volunteered me.Thankfully we read in D&C that the song of the righteous is a prayer, and not the song of the righteous with an awesome piano player is a prayer because we definitely didn't have that...But I got through it and really didn't mess up, so consider that a miracle!!!! I am counting my blessings for sure!!!!!!

Oh and also I got my packages last week!!! Thank you so much!!! I think you managed to make every missionary jealous though! It's all I heard about all day!!!! Sister Sondrup you know you have like 10 giant packages back there right...yeah I know, but I shared don't worry, the Mexico missionaries were ecstatic to say the least!!!!!!! Thank you so much for sending them I really appreciate them!!!!!!!! Well I got to go!!! Hope you have a super fantastic week!!!!

Love,
Sister Kaycie Sondrup


   

Week 51 - If there's a will the Lord has a way

Ok so this is will be brief mainly because I am so distracted today any ounce of focus is a miracle.

But this week has been amazing!!!!!!! We saw a bunch of great miracles!!!!! 

So Eastern Idaho is on FIRE!!!! Literally and figuratively! Seriously though last time we were updated there was 4 or 5 fires burning here, and you could tell. It literally smelled like a campfire full time here all last week. It was the first thing you smelled when you woke up, and the last thing you smelt when you went to bed. The air was so gross, and visibility was crazy. like was so smoky!!!! Thankfully it's been clearing though and I can finally breathe again, I think most of the fires have been put out now, but maybe not...But this area is on fire!!!!!!! We found 7 new investigators this last week, and all of them have amazing potential!!! They are so cool!!!!! This one lady just yelled at us to come in when we knocked the door, so we did, I think she was expecting us, but she just looked and shrugged her shoulders and said alright well sit down lets talk. BOOM. Miracle, now her and he children are taking the lessons LEGIT! We knocked on another womans door and she opened and was like I've already taken the missionary lessons but I feel lost without God in my life, can you come back and teach me? Well yes, yes we can. Seriously so cool!!!!! It's seriously so insane to get to see the great miracles going on!!! Another amazing one we saw was with this sweet lady named Luna. We were walking by on our way to an appointment and saw her smoking outside, well even though we needed to go something told us to talk to her, so we did. Luna told us about her life, and the struggles shes had, and is still having. She faces alot of medical problems, and she ended up telling us she would give anything to be dead. Not in a suicidal way, but she said she would pray all the time that Heavenly Father would take her. My heart broke hearing this, no child of God should have to live that way. Our Heavenly Father has a greater plan for us than that. Thankfully Sister Hill and I understand that plan, and we shared it with her. You could not only feel the spirit there on the street but the whole situation, including Luna seemed to get brighter as we went on. It was so amazing, she welcomed us back again, and while she still has those feelings she said life seems a little brighter for her, and we know it will only continue to brighten up!!!! She still has troubles to face, but with the Lord all things are possible, and she can endure all things.  I cannot wait to keep working with her!!!! 

So this week I have really been studying Nephi and his family. I wanted to find something new, something I had never really noticed before, because really lets face it how many of us just fly through it when we start the Book of Mormon because we have read it a million times?! I know I do for sure which is ridiculous!!!!! So this week I was trying not to do that, and I grew tons in my appreciation for him, seriously he's a stud!!!!!!! What I noticed though was that Nephi was obedient. Well duh. But what really stood out to me was that Laman and Lemuel were to. Everything they were commanded they did. Nephi is always praised for his obedience, but I got to thinking of why, why did he get so recognized when his brothers did the same things? It was because Nephi did everything through faith. He wasn't obedient to be obedient like his brothers, because you could tell their true desires, they wanted nothing to do with getting the plates, or moving into the wilderness, so they whined and complained all the time! Nephi he knew and understood that the things he was commanded were important, that they were of God. He had true desires to serve him, and so he worked his hardest and had the faith that he could do anything he was commanded. My whole life I have always related to Nephi on this. The prideful part of me always said "look at how great and obedient you are", for the most part I was pretty obedient. Just think, I was never tempted to break the word of wisdom, chastity not even close to an issue, modesty? I did alright with that to, not dating until 16? Not steady dating? Check, Check. I tried to follow all the commandments given all the time and I was pretty good at it. I could have improved on honoring thy father and mother, but I have plans to improve that (sorry mom). But as I was thinking about Nephi and my own obedience I realized all this time I was not acting like Nephi. I was acting like Laman and Lemuel. I followed the rules, but did I complain on occasion? Heck yeah. There were always moments in my heart where I was just like "Cant I be done already?! This is to much work!!!!" But I always followed. It was a weird reality to recognize my pride and see how I really had been living most my life, which was without faith, without true desires to serve my Heavenly Father I just obeyed because I was told to. But now as I have been looking back on my mission especially, where I have way more rules than ever, I've realized that I have started to become Nephi. I never struggled to follow rules here, but now I not only follow because I have to, but because I want to. Because I have a testimony, just like Nephi that these things will bless me. That I can do all things. That if the Lord commands I can do anything. If I have a will to follow, he will give me the way. It's a small change, because ultimately I do the exact same things, but in my heart, in my spirit it has made a world of difference as I have been on my mission. I am still no where close to perfect, and nor will I ever be, but I am so grateful for the small things, that truly teach me and show me the way to becoming more like my Savior. I will always obey, because that's just who I am, but now I can truly say I wont obey to be obedient, but I will obey to follow my Savior. Because I have a testimony of these things and how they bless my life, I now know and understand the difference and I can guarantee you that this way is much much better!!!!!! 

Well I don't have an attention span anymore and really need to go shopping, sorry no pictures this week, but I will try and take a million this week to make up for it!!! I hope all is well and that you are continuing to see the amazing miracles that happen in your daily life!!!!! 

Love you lots!

Sister Kaycie Sondrup