Rachel's Last Week!

Dear family and friends!

Monday evening Sister Rothmund and I taught a member in Castletown and then moved over a couple blocks to then teach Jason and Tony!

On the Tuesday we got a new investigator named Natalie who lives in Douglas. She is around my age but with 4 children! She was very lovely and interested in about what happened to her grandfather who passed away within the past year. We taught her the Plan of Salvation and she had some good questions. We had to come by when her boyfriend wasn’t around because he wouldn’t have allowed us in otherwise. She said she has some difficulty with attending church so hopefully her heart will soften as we continue to see her!

We called by a member referral that was given to us a while ago, Mrs. Sayle, the mother of a member Keith Sayle. We arranged it where we would call by when he would be there as well. She really does like us and she understands our purpose and I have a feeling that she will accept the gospel one day but it will take some time. She is very use to the religious traditions she was taught in her childhood. She is very kind.

We then called by former investigators who have come in contact with the church a lot.  The husband has apparently even met President Hinckley! They struggle since their little girl at around 14 passed away within the last year and so we are continuing to try to help them receive more truth.

In the evening we went back to Sister Radcliffe’s home and watched the Prophet Joseph Smith Movie with Tony and Jason and they loved it! Sister Rothmund and I also cooked them all dinner right before hand to which was a struggle since neither Sister Rothmund and I knew how to really cook. We settled with pasta and thought that was fairly good. They said they liked it so I guess it wasn’t too bad.

Wednesday was a little different because as you know we couldn’t make Sports Day and so I called President Preston and asked if he wanted us to work within the hours of the Sports Day or if we could do something too. Well he said we could do what we wanted within that time so we decided to go and finish looking through the Manx Museum, which was fascinating! So much history contained in small little island, who knew! After wards we taught Sister Radcliffe who is so amazing, I love her!

Then we had Sister Grimshawe for tea but apparently another member family thought that we were supposed to be over at their house for tea as well! That has never happened before in the Douglas Ward yet but it all worked out in the end, we had planned to see them on Friday but they mixed it up. After tea we then took Sister Grimshawe over to teach Jason and Tony. We taught them about Missionary work and enduring to the end. But they especially loved watching a DVD I had on Service!

On Thursday Sister Rothmund and I had our Weekly Planning, which was weird for me considering I was planning for the week that I wouldn’t be here for.  But I was sure excited for Sister Rothmund and all the potential here on the Isle of Man!

We then went to teach Tony and Jason about the Priesthood with Brother Ron Clarke, who is wonderful! We showed a DVD about the Priesthood and they were able to understand it better especially with Brother Clarke there.

We then went and cooked a meal for Brother and Sister Clarke in their home! Never had I cooked as much as I had in these past weeks than throughout my entire mission! I can honestly say that I have cooked about 6 times a proper meal throughout the past 18 months! We they enjoyed it and we cooked pasta again. We then watched the Prophet Joseph Smith Movie and they really enjoyed that entire evening. Hey had been struggling lately with Sister Clarke having cancer and then someone stealing every penny from their bank account, my goodness, it was the least we could do. They were able to recover all their money later, which they are very happy about. It taught me that if I ever feel that life is not going my way, I just have to remember the Clarkes and count my many blessings.

We called by a couple that are Potential Investigators, they are struggling with a wayward daughter. I shared with them the letter that Teresa requested from Mom about how she felt when Sheila left. They felt extremely touched and asked if they could keep the letter, which I gladly gave to them.  It was very difficult to teach them however because of this traumatic time for them in their lives, I feel they need more time and just for someone to listen to them.

On Friday we went over to Colby and taught a recent convert Sister Preston. We asked her a few days back what we could do to help serve her and she said if we could come over and teach her how to knit! I was all for it! What a great service project! I now have practically forgotten how to do it but it was a good time talking with her and listening.

We then went over to Port Erin and picked up a member Liz Clarke to teach an Investigator Allen Knox. He is a lovely old man, in fact her in the church ward at his own church but he just feels like he doesn’t need anymore of anything. We still encouraged him to keep on reading and to ask God which he said he would. I hope he will.

We went over to Douglas because we were supposed to do service for a member but she didn’t have anything for us to do so we taught her instead but then went over near a less active and tracted for a bit before we went to teach her. It was very good. This member Janice suffers from MS. We hope that as she continues to allow us to see her she will feel more of a desire to come to church again.

Then we proceeded on to eating dinner at the Holdens who are great and very down to earth. We taught them the Ten Commandments to them in a fun way that Sister Rothmund learned by another missionary. They enjoyed it! We picked up a YSA, Katie Christian to go over to Castletown and watch the Testaments with Tony and Jason. Well unfortunately, Jason was a little intoxicated so it was really just Tony watching it but he liked it! We were super excited for his baptism the next day!

Saturday came and most of our appointments fell through but that is partly expected on a day of something wonderful that is going to take place. We called by Mrs. Sayle again and invited her to the Baptism and to church and she said she would think about it. Then we went to a restaurant with The Dangerfields and then taught them on the car ride back to the church where they picked us up from. We spent the rest of the night preparing and attending the baptism. Everything went so smoothly and great! Tony came with Jason and a friend. He also brought his little girl Kira! Sister Rothmund went up to speak first about Baptism and then I went up and spoke about the Holy Ghost and how we can identify it. Then Tony was baptised! I was so happy, it was spectacular! Tons of members came to the baptism thanks to Sister Radcliffe sending out a mass email and text to everyone. There were tons of food but hardly any left overs, so that was a plus! The Dangerfields had bought me this massive chocolate cake and thank goodness they brought it to the Baptism because there was no way I was going to eat that entire thing. There was such a great feeling that night.

Sunday rolled around the corner and Tony was Confirmed a member and received the Holy Ghost. I asked Tony how he felt and he said “Amazing!” I think that said it all when he said that. Our appointments had to be post poned and rearranged after church because I had another “Realization Moment” which was hard. I called President Preston about it though and he told me I could take the time I needed to pull myself together. That evening we went to the Sayles for tea with Mrs. Sayle as well and had a delicious Roast dinner and then showed them a DVD clip on Temples and we know Mrs. Sayle felt the Spirit.

We then met Jodi, a YSA at the church to teach our Investigator from Poland. His name is Bart and we watched the Restoration DVD. He is making was pretty good progress.

Monday morning we taught Natalie again and went over the Restoration. We then went over to a recent convert’s home for lunch. Miheala Chereji is from Romania and was looking after her newborn son Roberto. I found a screw in my food, which was a first, but it was still tasty (the meal not the screw).

We then went over to the Clarkes who is our Ward Mission Leader and had a Coordination meeting, which was nice too. We then went over to Sister Radcliffe’s and helped clean a bit before Jason and Tony came over for tea and a movie. Sister Radcliffe cooked this time and she was teaching us how to prepare a meal properly, she was hilarious. We got permission from our Mission President and his wife to watch “The Other Side of Heaven” which took a lot of work to get the DVD from a member then to get a DVD player that it would work on which took up some of our miles. It was well worth it though and they all fell in love with the film and developed a stronger appreciation for missionary work! Tony gave Sister Rothmund and I some cards and Chocolate Buttons because he knew I was leaving.

Tuesday Morning was when I left the shores of the Isle of Man and boarded the ferry to Swinton Manchester. It was an early boat ride had to be on the boat at 8:45am. I slept most of the time. The Assistants then drove us to the President to Swinton and there we met Sister Suaybaguio and Hoffman! We then traveled around a bit and they scheduled an appointment with Patrick Dempsey my recent convert and so we taught him the Ten Commandments. Then that night I called by two former investigators with Sister Rothmund. We called by the YSA Polish man named Andrew and he was sure shocked to see me again and I said to him as my final breath as a missionary he had to keep learning because he knows it’s true! Hen we called by Daz Bennet who knows it’s true as well but distracted at the moment.

The best part was when we had tea with Sister Helen Cunningham Patterson, my recent convert! The other sisters came as well and it was a really good time! Then we went over to the Ashton’s home and taught her and her children the Ten Commandments as well! It was a very good day.

This next day was the surreal part, however it didn’t feel like my last day. All of us four Sisters went to get boots for Sister Rothmund since she was borrowing mine since we had been companions. Then we went and got lunch with each other. I got picked up by Sister Ashton a tad earlier to go to the Manchester South Building to then get picked up by the Senior Missionary couple the Gregsons to then go to the train station to get Teresie. While driving to the Manchester Piccadilly Train Station I was so nervous. I had two little packages of tissues just in case. Just knowing I was going to see my best friend again that I hadn’t seen in a year and a half was unreal and exciting at the same time. As we finally got to the place where Teresa was suppose to arrive at I told Sister Gregson to just take a picture of us when we first saw each other. As the train flew by I saw a glimpse of Teresa through the windows of the train as it carried further down the platform. Then I saw her from a distance to start coming off the train. Well, I didn’t even give Sister Gregson a chance to take a picture of us because I then started to sprint down the platform dodging all the people in my way. I called Teresa’s name and as she turned to look at me we then collided and held each other for a very long time as I gave her the biggest hug as we both cried. Just looking and speaking to Teresa felt familiar and yet very odd. It was so interesting because on the car ride back to the Manchester South Building, when we started talking it was like there hadn’t been any time taken from the two of us. As we got out of the car it was as Teresa was a celebrity. All the Sisters wanted to take pictures with us and the Elders were very surprised! We went in to see the three new missionaries become assigned to their trainers and President had all us Veteran Missionaries stand up as he talked about how one day they would become like us. It was a special moment.

All the missionaries going home went back to the Mission Home and had dinner and talked and weighed our luggage as each of us would take our turn to be interviewed by the President. Sister Babbel, Teresa and I all went to bed pretty late and then woke up the next morning to go to the Airport. It was a very long flight but it didn’t feel like it because we all sat together and talked about our experiences and dreams for the future. We then parted ways with Sister Babbel and Teresa and I boarded our flight to San Jose. We spoke to the man next to us about the gospel and invited him to look at the Church’s website.  As we got off the flight and walked toward the gate where we would meet our family we had so many butterflies. As we saw them and they all cheered it was so weird to see them again that we didn’t know how to react. All in all this past week or so has been quite eventful and as I sit her writing this my heart is full. I am very happy and stunned to now be able to say that I am a return missionary! I am so grateful for the beautiful miracles and experiences that I have witnessed and had during these past 18 months.            Before our Missions we really didn’t comprehend the magnitude of our decision to serve and how it would change our lives. Since the 18-month Missionary service we were able to render to the Lord, we find ourselves deeply humbled and grateful for the mighty change that has been wrought within our hearts. We have seen the power of the Spirit change the lives of those who are truly seeking to come unto Christ. We have been privileged and honored to witness such miracles. It is impossible to try to attempt to sum up the past year and a half with all of our experiences in a couple of sentences or minutes. Nevertheless, we have come to know with greater power and conviction that God has restored His truth for us again in His Church, The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints. The fullness and authority is here. He desires every single one of His children to come back into His presence and to receive eternal life. That is why He sends missionaries throughout the world to proclaim this precious truth. The reality of the Atonement of Jesus Christ literally saves lives. We will always hold on to the memories of our missions with deep reverence and with thankful hearts. 

            The directions that we would like to take our lives are things we both feel very passionate about. Teresa desires to develop a career in Public Relations while Rachel yearns to work and volunteer in the Church’s Humanitarian and Welfare Programs.

            We know that without the help of our family and the Saratoga Ward, we would never be where we are now; we thank you from the bottom of our hearts. We love you!

Love always, Sister Rachel Kullick

I know that Sister Kullick and Sister Rothmund are standing right now

RACHEL - Dear family and friends,

Halloween was on the Monday of last week and it was also our Preparation day. So the Mission had us switch around our work hours and had us work 3 hours in the morning and then have our P-Day for the rest of the day. We were able to teach Tony Duggan and Jason Brown at the last minute at Sister Radcliffe's home during lunchtime and we taught the Ten Commandments. Honestly, I love the Ten Commandments and teaching it to people. It is great to help those we are teaching know that these are still relevant and valid for them in their own day-to-day lives. They very much enjoyed the lesson as always! That evening we went to a Recent Convert family's home for a dinner. They are called the Sayle family and I love them! Brother and Sister Sayle and their three kids, the oldest is 14 years old.

On the Tuesday we really focused on calling by Former Investigators in Port Erin and trying to only stay down south so that for this month we don't use as many miles as last time. We were able to make 3 appointments from those who have been taught years before. Then in the evening time we taught Tony and Jason and just read from the scriptures with them in Alma 22 about Aaron and King Lamoni's Father. I have really fallen in love with that experience in the scriptures! It paints such a vivid picture :)

On Wednesday we only were able to teach Members or Recent Converts and Less Actives which is always lovely. However, we did call by a referral that Brother Sayle gave to us which is his mom. She made us some Fruit teas, which I have to say I was quite fond of. She was mentioning to us that she usually does not let religious people in but she then kept looking at us and saying, "But there is something different about you two...” Sister Rothmund and I seem to be getting that response quite often, more than what I am use to. We have heard recently that we are always so happy and shining. One of our Investigators looked at me and said, "Have you ever seen ‘Stardust’?" to which I responded yes. "You are her!” she said to me while motioning light coming from my face and smile. I thought that was funny but very kind as well. 

Thursday was an easygoing day where we did lots of calling by people. That evening, a member took us out to a restaurant, which is a weird feeling being a missionary, I'm not use to it but it was tasty!

Friday we got 1 New Investigator who is actually a Church Warden at his Methodist Church in Port St. Mary's. He is an older man with a good heart but we are not quite sure if he understood correctly what we shared with him. I will keep you posted. That evening we taught Tony the Law of Tithing. It went very well and he readily accepted it as we taught him. We had a single sister there with us as well as the Bishop and their miracles alone were spectacular. Tony is solid and has a great testimony!

Saturday was Guy Fawkes Night (Bonfire Night). Last year I was unable to go out and it was the same this year too. The mission had all the Missionaries doing their Weekly Planning Session during the night in our flats. Our Investigators attended an activity with all the members so that was very good. But before we went home we had tea with our Ward Mission leader and his wife. They are so wonderful! Sister Clarke has cancer and has been fighting it for a couple of years now but she's amazing. She made something called a "Hot Pot" and I absolutely love it! She was able to give me her recipe!

Sunday was our Stake Conference. It was very different from what I have ever experienced before. Since we are across the sea, they did a live broadcast for the Douglas Ward (us, on the Isle of Man) and that went well - sort of. The person who was in charge of the video camera in Liverpool was, well lets just say was trying to do as little as possible. This made it inconvenient for us watching on a normal size TV screen. At one point we couldn't really see the people speaking very well because they didn't zoom in and then the people's head were cut off for a couple of talks until they realized that we couldn't really see who was at the stand. Ha ha my goodness. But President Preston spoke and that was great because he asked all the Missionaries to stand. So, Sister Rothmund and I stood and then he said to the members to look at us and to become familiar to us. Then he gave us a little shout out by saying, “and I know that Sister Kullick and Sister Rothmund are standing right now on the Isle of Man right now too!” Our whole ward laughed because that was so unexpected. After Church we taught Jason and Tony and showed them a DVD on temples and Tony is really excited for the opportunity to enter into very soon. Afterwards we had a Ward Coordination meeting with Brother and Sister Clarke. It then got very cold that night as we were tracting and because it was very unproductive we decided to call by less actives and now we have some great follow up visits to make with them.

It seems unreal to say that this is my final email to you as a full time Missionary. Some days it has sunk in that I literally only have a week left and other days I am in denial and it doesn't even hit me. This service has been the most fulfilling experience of my life. Nothing has brought me greater satisfaction. The badge I wear means everything to me. I have worn that badge everyday for the past 18 months even on P-days and to think of the day when I will have to take it off is difficult for me. I love my mission and serving my God whom I love. I know God lives and that he wants each one of us to return back into His presence one day. I have been privileged to have played a small roll in other's lives to come unto Christ and I am so grateful for the very special people I know I was meant to meet. My life has been changed as I have had the opportunity to bear testimony of the Restoration of the Gospel and of my Savior, Jesus Christ. I am deeply humbled and thankful for the members in my home ward and for the members in my family who gave of their means to support Teresa and I in this service. I feel as though I could never truly express how happy and grateful I am for you. I love you all and I suppose I will see you soon. Take care.

Love always, Sister Rachel Kullick

Please, will you pray for her too?

TERESA - Hi Family!

This week has been really busy and next week should be as well, which is excellent as a missionary!

First off it was Halloween this last Monday and it was so great! We obviously couldn't go chapping or anything and we were told that if we didn't have an appointment then we needed to be in our flats by 8:00p.m. Well, I made sure that it was be a really fun Halloween so we went to Maria's house. She is a member of the YSA and she's from Idaho. She's here for an internship. But anyway, we all get on SO great! So we (the Elders, Kelvin Troy, and us) went over and had dinner and decorated cookies and carved pumpkins! It was sooo fun! It was a really nice way to spend my last Halloween on my mission!

Tuesday was my last District Meeting and it was really good! We have such a great District Leader, Elder Wilkins. He always comes up with the most creative ideas, which is nice because it really adds variety. This time we did the old school telephone with two cans and a string!  We related it back to prayer with our Heavenly Father and feeling the Spirit. It was sooo good. Then they unexpectedly asked me to bear my testimony! I did but it was pretty teary eyed I might add. I'm really going to miss this. But I've loved my district here in Dublin and the work here has been nothing but fulfilling. :)

Tuesday was really busy too with all these appointments! We saw Aoife and talked to her about Eternal Marriage/Temples/Family History. She really liked the idea of temples. And she is really getting it too because she realizes the severe importance of priesthood authority. She was going on holiday for the week (touring around with a friend's band) and she said she was taking her Book of Mormon without us even asking about it! We also warned her that Satan is going to throw a whole lot of opposition at her especially before her baptism, so we told her to be aware of that. We taught Vito as well and this lesson was completely directed by the spirit! Because we went in there with Gospel of Jesus Christ planned but we didn't really feel good about it. We ended up just reading with him from the Book of Mormon when Christ comes and visits the people of the Americas. It was perfect. Then we read about how we need more than just a Bible in 2 Nephi. It was just what we needed to focus on with him at this time. But to be honest, I don't think he is really interested in joining the church ever and he doesn't meet with us too often so I think we're not going to focus on him too much. Our new investigator, Mario, from Lithuania came to the YSA activity on Tuesday! It was so great! And as the Missionary YSA reps for the stake, we can go if we have an investigator there for the first time, so we got to join in! It was a lot of fun and Mario had a good time as well :)

Bad news on Wednesday though. We were planned to meet with Mario that day and we got a phone call from him in Prison! Apparently he has a bad history of shoplifting and he was caught doing it again and was put in jail. Oh my goodness. He wanted us to come and post bail for him and make an appearance in court for him. What?! We told him that the church could be no way involved in this and that we couldn't do anything about it. So yeah, pretty crazy but actually not too shocking for a mission… stuff like this, believe it or not, happens ALL the time!

Thursday was good as always with Weekly Planning. I couldn't believe that this was my second to last Weekly Planning Session! But I'm trying not to think about it!! Haha But that night we met with a member from Brazil, Patricia, who's struggling at the moment. Elder Geilmann (senior missionary couple) and Podge Brophy (our Ward Mission Leader) gave her a blessing and I wrote it down for her. She said that made her feel better. Then we had dinner at Babs’! We haven't been able to see her for about a month! And she usually feeds the missionaries every Friday. But she told us her serious family problems at the moment and we just hope and pray that everything will sort itself out.

Friday morning we saw Claire White who is a less active only because of health problems. But I love this woman so much! She is really easy to get on with and a good laugh. She just had knee surgery that has still been causing her trouble so we took her little dog Bo out for a walk. As we went along we talked to this one guy and his dogs. He wasn't interested but we thought this was a creative way of finding!! Haha.

That afternoon we had lunch with Sharon and Stacie Mahony and it was delicious as always! Sharon and Stacie told us such a touching experience while they were at the temple this past week. They said that Stacie admired and loved us so much. She wanted to serve a mission and had been thinking about it for a while!! Can you believe that?! We were sooo touched to know that we had influenced her even in the smallest way to serve a mission. It was such a lovely experience! Then we went to the Troy's house for dinner. Now I absolutely adore the Troy's!! They are so wonderful! Kelvin Troy, the RM, gave me some good advice to adjusting when I go home. He said that it's going to be really hard at first but you just have to jump in it with both feet and change your attitude. That was sooo important for me to hear!! I will definitely be trying to do that!

Right now it's really unfortunate because Mary & Patti Green are fighting with Brenda Blackmoore. It's really sad, especially since Brenda is just new in the church and her friends are not being there for her in this important time. But to be honest, the situation is quite ridiculous and Sister Weight and I are staying out of it but WE feel like the adults here! Goodness me, it's really sad to watch but we hope and pray that their hearts will soften toward each other so this will all sort itself out. But Brenda has been great about it and it hasn't stopped her one bit in coming to church and remaining strong, good for her!

Sunday was a mental day! Ok so it all started happening at church. It was fast and testimony meeting and actually Patti Green bore her testimony and said how much of a role we played in her coming back to church, it was very sweet of her and nice to know we've been helping! The whole meeting was quite good actually. And then after church we met with this one member of the YSA that has been struggling with some things. Sister Weight and I could really relate to her problem and no joke, the spirit put into my mind something that helped me with that. She was sooo happy and loved my idea! She said that she felt inspired to meet with us. And then she said something else that really got me. She said, “even if you haven't been able to help anybody else on your missions, know that your helping me save my life and that you came here for me.” It was so special to hear that! And I know that she will be ok :)

But let me tell you about how the spirit directed us to do something we needed to do! Vito came to church but bailed out early without us knowing. Aoife was there and her baptism was announced for this coming Saturday! We went to class and then left because we then realized that Vito wasn't there and we went to find him (this was before we knew he had left). We went out into the foyer and who comes out of Primary but Aoife. She didn't look like herself and we knew something was wrong when she started crying. We went outside and talked. She said that that morning she woke up feeling completely unmotivated with everything; school, church, family, everything. At Sacrament she was just trying to pray so hard to get rid of that feeling but it kept bogging her down that she couldn't. She said it was horrible. I can't even tell you how sad we were to see her this way, it just wasn't Aoife and it was scary. We bore testimony to her telling her to make no doubt about it that it was Satan trying to attack her before something amazing will happen. He knows how much potential she has and he doesn't want her to achieve it. Honestly though, you all don't really understand how severe this change of heart for Aoife really is. When people found out she was getting baptized their mouths dropped to the floor. People kept saying that it was a full-blown miracle. They said if you had known her before then you'd know that she was completely anti - the devil's advocate. So you can see how Satan doesn't want to let her go. He had her and now that she's coming back to Heavenly Father he is NOT happy. We talked to her for a bit and she reassured us that she still wanted to be baptized but that she felt so completely torn in half. At the Chew & Chat members of the YSA went up and talked to her and I know that helped a little. A lot of ward members could see and were worried about her. When they found out we were seeing her that night they were a bit more reassured that we'd help her through it. Nice of them to think so much of us but gosh, we had a LOT of pressure with this! But that night was amazing. We talked with her a bit and she was feeling a little better. She was just so spiritually, emotionally, and physically drained though. So we felt inspired to watch “Joseph Smith: Prophet of the Restoration” with her. She liked it and we bore heart-felt testimony of prayer and how much we mean to our Heavenly Father. Aoife was slowly returning back to herself again. And as I gave the closing prayer we were all really swept away by the spirit as we prayed for this feeling to leave her and be replaced with peace. Aoife is an AMAZING young lady and I think the world of her. I love her so much and as we walked out of there I felt a reassurance from the Holy Ghost telling me it was going to be all right. Please, will you pray for her too?

But needless to say this experience has been really good. I've learned a lot and I've seen how real the adversary is and his power to attack Heavenly Father's children. I personally believe as well that he focuses more on the most elect ones because he knows what they can accomplish and how great they can become. That makes a lot of sense with Aoife. I know that this gospel is the ONLY way to everlasting happiness. Think about that - a happiness that doesn't fade with the lights, and the music, and the crowds. I know that Heavenly Father loves us with every part of Himself and I'm so grateful to be His daughter. What an honor. I'm grateful I was found worthy to serve a mission for Him and see all these lives change! Thank you for everything. I love you.

Love Always, Sister Teresa Kullick