Training Again!

TERESA - Hey Family!!

So our mission got permission today to e-mail you all so you would know what the moves calls are!! And thank goodness too because a lot of things have happened. First with the VERY bad news. Sister Baxter is leaving me. I cannot even tell you how extremely bummed I am! Honestly guys, she has become one of my best friends, not just in the mission but in life! I will miss her sooo much and things just won't be the same here in East Kilbride without her. But the good news is that she is moving to Paisley, a neighboring Zone, and that means I'll be able to see her if we have a duo zone meetings! And she will hopefully be able to come to Ian's baptism! So that will be good! Now for the VERY unexpected news....I am staying here and I will be training again!! I cannot even tell you how shocked I was when President told me. Honestly, I really didn't think I'd be called to do it again. But I am actually very excited about it. It was hard before but very rewarding and I will be looking forward to doing it again :). But I won't know who I am getting till Wednesday so I'll let you know on the following Monday. But I do know that two of the sisters are from Utah and one is from Canada, there are only 3! Wow I am just shocked that the Lord wanted me to be one of those trainers. It is a small group overall and there are only 5 Elders coming in as well I think. But I am very happy! Please pray for me as I try my best at this again! Thank you!

On to the week! I.S., our investigator, is progressing soooo well now! He has a date set for this month on the 28 and I'll be here to see it! Wahoo! Also, this will be sooo great for a new missionary! I had this experience when I first arrived and it really gets you excited! But anyway, he's doing wonderfully. He came to church this Sunday and really liked it again. He's also keeping all his commitments too! He's determined to keep the Word of Wisdom and has been doing so for about a week! We taught him the Law of Tithing and before we even started I asked him what he thought about the idea of tithing. And he said this: "Well, it's the sure way to prove that God and your fellowman are more important to you than money or material things." Wow! I LOVED that answer! It is sooo true! But he comes out with stuff like that ALL the time! Like when we ask him to keep a commitment he always says stuff like, "I really see no reason why I shouldn't, yes, of course I'll do it!" And Sister Baxter and I will just look at each other thinking is this even real? Haha It has been a wonderful experience. So he is on track to be baptized this month! Honestly guys, this is what I have been waiting for and it's happening! I am so glad I get to be apart of this here in East Kilbride!

Also we celebrated the 4th of July by Going to Loch Lomond! It was so great! Sister Green took us and Sister Buchanan on our P-day and the weather was roasting hot. It was excellent! 6 other Elders met us there and we all had a really fun time. So now I can say I've been to the bonnie banks of Loch Lomond! Haha Sister Green wanted that day to be special, especially since Independence Day is my favorite holiday! She took us out to dinner at Frankie & Benny's, a New York restaurant! How nice of her! It was very delicious. Sister Green was so cute too; she kept asking the hostess and server if they had any American flags for this special holiday! Haha We thought it was great!

I also got a letter from Rachie!! I was soooooooooooo happy to get one from her and I sent a tape off before that so hopefully she'll have it by now. Gosh, I love her so much and I really hope all is going well for her in England :).

We visited P. again this past week and we met her son, A.! It was so great to see them all there, feeling better. A. looked like he was recovering really well and he was sooo positive about everything! Man, that never ceases to amaze me. P. was a little bit busier than usual, helping the girls out and such but we talked to Antony and got to know him a bit better. And it was great cause we were able to talk about the restoration with him a bit. And he was interested in learning as well and coming to church! We are so happy and hopefully it will all work out as time goes on.

Ok, I want to tell you a little bit more about our experiences with I.S. and how things were able to progress. As you know from my previous letter, things weren't looking to great and we were really worried that he was going to drop us or something. The next time we saw him he'd improved drastically. Apparently a friend of his passed away this week of a drug overdose and it really hit him. He said that he wanted to be a Christian and to finally get rid of all the bad habits/things he does. We had expected to give a lesson on prayer and scripture study but that quickly changed to talking about the Gospel of Jesus Christ, particularly baptism. He realized that he needed to be baptized but he wasn't willing to accept a date just then. But then I had an amazing experience! The Holy Ghost truly brought to my remembrance the perfect scripture to read. Now, I'm not good at ALL with references so this was ALL the spirit! I always wanted this experience: D&C 100:6 "For it shall be given you in the very hour, yea, in the very moment, what ye shall say." And it happened! I kept thinking as he was speaking that he wants to be baptized but how can we let him really feel that he should. Immediately the scripture, "what have ye against being baptized?" came into my head. And then the reference followed so clearly: Mosiah 18:8-10. We read that and Ian then said that he had absolutely NO arguments against this scripture. He said, how that scripture put it, it made him really see it in a different light. We invited him to be baptized and he said yes! We invited him to do it this month on the 28th and he said yes! He said he wants to do this and not look back. It was a little amazing miracle.

But it is Sister Baxter's birthday on Tuesday! She will be turning 22! I am so glad I get to spend it with her before she goes! I've always wanted to be companions with someone on their birthday and with Sister Baxter, that is even better! I have planned a fun day for her! I'm going to decorate the flat and make her French toast! I've also scheduled in special member apps where they are going to celebrate her birthday! I made sure it was the members whom she loves, that way it's even better! Gosh, I'm so excited for it! Hopefully it will all work out! But shhhhh. It's a secret, she has no idea! Haha

But really, I am so glad I got to serve with her, we have had so many great heart to hearts. I learn so much from our talks. We know that all the people we’ve served will forget us. Maybe not by the special few, but the vast majority will no remember our names or us. But that's ok. I rest assured knowing that I'm not wasting ANY of my efforts on people who will forget all about me. Because I'm serving one who will ALWAYS remember me and the work I've done. Mosiah 2:17: "And behold, I tell you these things that ye may learn wisdom; that ye may learn that when ye are in the service of your fellow beings ye are ONLY in the service of your God." I found the wording very interesting in this scripture. The word only. I feel very comforted by this scripture. That none of my efforts will ever go wasted or are unnoticed. And in a way, I should be forgotten. Purely for the sake of the future missionaries who will serve here after me. If people are so caught up with previous missionaries they have no time to truly treasure and love the missionaries who are serving them in the present. It's their time now and it won't be mine anymore. So in a way I really shouldn't be remembered. And the people who really loved me will never forget me anyway. But in the end, it doesn't matter. Heavenly Father sees and He is happy with my efforts.

I love you all so very very much! Thank you for all the endless support you render to Rach and I! I LOVE you!

Love Always, Sister Teresa Kullick