Sooo Great!

TERESA - Hello hello!!

Steph is engaged - this is sooo wonderful!! I am really happy for her; send her my love and congratulations!

Ok, ok, so here goes.....East Kilbride is sooo great!! I love it here already. It is a lot smaller than any of the other wards I have served in (the chapel has like 12 pews!) but the members are lovely and the area reminds me loads of serving in Dundee, so it a nice little reminder of home :). They just had somebody baptized here and we are teaching a few other investigators. But I have the same idea about East Kilbride that I did about Liberton in Edinburgh; this area is going places!! I know that Sister Baxter and I are going to have MAJOR success with the help of Heavenly Father! I know that there are loads of people here just waiting to hear about the gospel. Boy am I excited!!

But I haven't even gotten to the best part yet....Sister Baxter is AMAZING!! I cannot even tell you how much I love and adore this girl!! She is a fantastic missionary and is so fun and upbeat to be around! She has only been out 3 months but you totally can't even tell cause she's a natural. I seriously don't even feel like the senior companion because we are totally equal in every way and I LOVE it! Just to give you an idea on how she is, she reminds me a lot of Amelia Karren and kind of looks a bit like her too (only a little). But she is hilarious and I have loved serving with her so far :) I do miss Sister Woolley and Edinburgh but I am ready to move on to here where I am really needed! I know I'll visit these places again.

So I don't have too much detail for what's happening in my area as of right now because I just got here but we are going to go focus on finding! We are teaching one solid progressing investigator at the moment and have a few more appts set up with other investigators. In addition to that, we are going to really build up and keep building our teaching pool by going & finding A LOT! I have a huge testimony of finding and that if we put in the work the Lord will direct us to those who are ready, look what happened in my last area, we left it with about 6 investigators!! So I know it can and will happen here. But I just want to have a little shout out to all who are reading this- INVITE your pals to church and church activities! Us, full-time missionaries need you part-time missionaries to bring your friends. We could do all the finding but that prevents us from fulfilling our FULL potential as missionaries, which is the opportunity to teach. We need you members to have our backs because we've got yours!! Please hear me out! I know everyone who reads this has somebody who is prepared in their life to hear the gospel. Pray to know who that is, it is that easy!! Next week I'm going to follow up so make sure you include that in your personal prayers!

We just had a Zone conference with 2 members of the seventy there, Elders Donaldson and Kerr. It was sooo brilliant! I learned so much in that conference and I loved listening to our presiding general authorities. We learned how to better work with members how to treat other missionaries and how to better follow the Spirit. I wish I could be more specific but I don't have my notes with me so I can't remember all of it. But I do know that I did receive personal revelation on a lot of this that I need to improve on and I am so very grateful for that!

Can I just tell you how much I LOVE my mission?! I truly have changed in even little ways and man did I need those changes to take place! I am still the same person I was but I hope I've become a better version of myself! I was sitting in church on Sunday and during Sacrament Meeting it hit me: I only have 4 moves left. Can you believe it, 4 moves! Nooooo! There must be a mistake ha-ha. I love you all but I seriously love it too much out here and I am nowhere near being ready to go back! But I thought I would just fill you in on my huge realization!

Thank you sooo much for the Easter baskets!! And dad, I LOVED the tape! I miss talking to you all so much so it was really nice to listen to you!! I guess mum's day is coming up so we will be phoning in and talking with you soon! Mental huh? It feels like I just spoke with you all! Mom I hope you had a happy birthday and I will be sending something your way soon! Sorry for my lack of punctuality! Just know that I love you! By the way, can I have a family picture again? The ones you sent the first time were all blurry and you couldn't see our faces! Can I have a clear one of our "Laguna Beach" and "Wall" pictures please? Thank you!
Family and friends I love you all so much. I hope you know that!! Thank you for helping Rach and I out with everything you do for us!! We are so happy to have you all in our lives! Love Always, Sister Teresa Kullick

Unexpected Change!

RACHEL - Dear Family and friends!

How is everyone?? I hope very well! Well I am not in Stafford anymore! I am now serving in Swinton, Manchester. So I am actually going back again into my first Zone ever out in the field! This change was a little unexpected but I am very excited for it! This Saturday, our iInvestigator Brother Peter Davis, will be getting baptised! Sister Allison and I were supposed to sing a musical item and thought that I could without a doubt get permission to come back to see the baptism that Saturday evening. Well it turns out that here in Swinton they are having a baptism that same time that very night! haha I thought to myself, what a wonderful predicament to be in. Because of this great surprise, I will not be seeing Brother Peter Davis getting baptised but I will still be able to see a baptism here in Swinton! So either way I am happy :)

I have enjoyed so much serving with Sister Allison, she is very amazing and I learned a lot from her! I am now serving with Sister Gallozo who is originally from Uruguay but six years ago she moved to Vigo, Spain. (Cool side note - Rachel's mother served in Vigo, Spain on her mission 33 years ago!) She did not know how to speak ANY English when she first came here to England nine months ago but she has expressed to me how she was able to experience the gift of tongues almost right away! I am serving with a miracle! She is 22 years old and she is so amazing and humble! I have been very blessed to serve with so many different Sisters from all over the world! I am excited to learn from her!

I have been given wonderful opportunities to have been able to serve and to become better. Swinton will be new and different from EVERY area I have ever served in so far because this is my first bus area! I have only served in a car area to a walking area to another car area until now. I do not know how I was able to manage that for almost all of my mission, but I am very excited to step out of my comfort zone and to rise to a higher level! This will push me to set new and higher standards for myself which I am very excited and of course a little anxious about!

Today 5 Sisters are going home which means 3 Sister areas had to be white washed out so Elders could then come in. A lot of changes are happening and I am prepared for them or at least I am always trying to be completely prepared for them :) I always read Teresa's letters and she always has soo much to say and I feel as though I don't ever say enough in my letters! haha well, sorry about that, but if anyone wants me to talk about something in specific then I would love to do that, but you have to let me know!

But I love you all and I will let you know more when I do! Love you all!!

Love always, Sister Rachel Kullick

Time for a Change?

TERESA - Hi Ya!
(4/11) This week has been so nice. But I have been really wiped out lately. A LOT has been going on! We had interviews with President this week (I know I've said this before but I LOVE interviews!) I always get the help I need from them. And I always come out of those feeling better :) But our training was on how cleanliness is next to Godliness, haha so needless to say we spent a lot of time cleaning our flat this morning! But it's always nice and refreshing to live in a clean environment. But I've already been taught how to clean thoroughly by an excellent mother so I feel I am ahead of the game!

OK, so this entry is different! It is now Monday the 18th, I started writing this letter last Monday but had NO time! Sorry mom! But here's the deal (oh my goodness life is crazy right now!) we got our moves call and I am moving out of Edinburgh! Nooooo! I am so sad to be leaving. But I know I need to go but I've only been here for 3 months and I'm not used to leaving an area so soon, since I've spent the whole 1st half of my mission in my first area. But I know why I was here even for this short time. I know I was meant to be companions with Sister Woolley even if it was just for a moves. I needed to serve with her and visa versa. After all, we ARE cuzzies! But also we needed to be here together to get the area going again. When Sister Woolley came, the area was totally dead. But we worked our little bums off to get the standard of excellence of QGC's for a week and we did! For a few weeks actually! Then as a result of that now we have 6 new investigators that were found through our efforts with the help of the Lord!! Wow, it is truly amazing! So I know we were meant to pick up the area again and serve with each other while we were at it. It is really sad though to leave once things have just gotten started but I am so excited for the new sisters that will be serving here. You read that right, sisters. This area is being whitewashed with new sister missionaries! Sister Woolley is leaving as well! She is going to be follow up trained in Bangor, Northern Ireland! Mental! I did NOT see that coming at all! So unfortunately we both won't be a part of these amazing investigators' progression in the gospel, but I guess it doesn't matter.  As long as they come to the complete knowledge of the truth of this gospel, it doesn't matter who's here teaching them. Although it would be nice to be here and witness it, I know that I am needed somewhere else. Apparently in my new area they just had a baptism and 2 investigators at church! So there is much to look forward to :) Eastkilbride is where I'm going and it is in Scotland in the outskirts of Glasgow. Apparently it is pretty rough over there but I know I'll be able to handle it! I'm tougher than I look! haha.  But it is exciting. I am going to be senior companion to Sister Baxter (her trainer is leaving her). I only met her once but she seems really nice.

But here is the situation! Pretty sure it is totally Murphy's Law today because we had loads of appts to go to and loose ends to tie before leaving and what happens but Sister Woolley trips and falls wrong on her ankle! And I felt them and lets just say that the one she fell wrong on doesn't at all feel like the other. Needless to say we went to the mission home and Sister Griffiths and the office Sisters have been helping her out. We think it's a sprain or a pulled muscle or something but she is to stay off it and see if it gets better by tomorrow (gosh I hope it does!). So that's the deal. We are here right now in the mission home e-mailing our families and such. With moves coming up, this has definitely been a monkey wrench in our plans! I hope she feels better, I would hate this if it happened to me, but Sister Woolley is quite the trooper, she has totally toughed it out! What a star :)

Well anyway, I want you all to know that I LOVE this work! I have truly learned about charity and have grown to love the most amazing people out here!! I am so happy that I have had this opportunity to meet these wonderful children of God!! How blessed am I? I could not believe it when somebody told me today that I had been out a year next month! What?! No way, I can't be that far yet. And I can NOT be that close to coming home. No offense my lovely family and friends but I'm not ready to leave my home yet! The thought of seeing you all is too close, to be honest, it totally freaks me out! haha But one brilliant experience on how we can see our work changing lives happened last night. We went to say goodbye to Annie & Ahmad, our investigator Iranian couple that immigrated to Scotland. They are amazing and they are so eager to learn about Christianity. They have only been exposed to Islam and are looking to know more. We gave them Persian Books of Mormon and are ordering more Persian materials! We stopped by them and they were grateful that we had come to say bye. As we were about to leave they said, "We had a question actually that we wanted to ask you. How did you find us?" As we explained to them that we prayed to our Heavenly Father to find the people that were ready to receive our message, tears swelled in their eyes. Annie kept saying "oh my gosh" and Ahmad could only muster out a few "wows". They were truly touched and  I couldn't help but be brought to tears as well. What a special experience!! I know they will come to embrace the Gospel of Jesus Christ and will eventually go to the temple and be sealed for all time and eternity!

I know that this gospel is truly what it is defined as-good news. It ONLY brings a happiness, joy and peace that no other source on this earth can give anyone! I know that our Heavenly Father loves all of us so very much and He really wants us to progress and be better, the BEST versions of ourselves. As I listened to a talk this Sunday a wonderful member, Patti Lui, said something that really struck me. She said, "I am so grateful for a Heavenly Father who loves me enough to give me trials so that I can go through the refiners fire and become more perfect. My trials are my blessings." At that thought I couldn't help feel overwhelmed by the love of my Father in Heaven and my Savior Jesus Christ. I am special in their eyes. Everyone of us is. And if we get hard things, in NO way does that mean He has changed how He feels about us. He is unchanging, the same yesterday, today and forever. So He will ALWAYS love us. That is exactly why He allows us to go through the hard stuff, because He loves us so very much. We HAVE to always remember that.

Thank you to everyone who has shown their love for my amazing sister and I through prayers and letters, we are very grateful for you! We love you more than we have words to tell you. I am indeed sorry that I am a very bad letter writer! I love getting your mail but unfortunately I can't seem to find the time to respond! Please know that I really enjoy your letters, they are wonderful!! Also mom and dad, I am going to send another picture CD to you (sorry mom! Thanks for loving me enough to put up with them!!) that way you can see my adventures here in Edinburgh! Love you all.

Love Always, Sister Teresa Kullick

Pale Yellow Shirt

RACHEL - Dear Family and friends!

 

How is everyone this week? I hope very well! Mine was wonderful!!  I don't know if I have told you about this yet but in the England Manchester Mission we are doing a 40 Day fast where two companionships in our mission fast on one day and this is done throughout the whole mission within those 40 days. We are all fasting for the Mission to rise to a higher level and that our companionships will be able to experience miracles. And let me tell you, we have been witnessing those miracles!  Overall this past week, Sister Allison and I were able to be blessed with teaching 23 lessons and 9 of them were Investigator lessons with a member present! We were also blessed to have 5 new Investigators as well! One of the new investigators we have is a member referral and so we are of course excited about that! I know that we as a companionship are not the only ones to be experiencing great blessing from the Mission fast, I am so grateful for it!

 

I also wanted to share one miracle with you that happened this past week. Throughout my Mission thus far I have heard of such wonderful miracles of Missionaries who have knelt in fervent prayer for the Lord to help them envision one of God's children that needed to be found. There have been experiences where the Prophet Joesph Smith has done this and so it is indeed possible. I remember in my first transfer out in the mission, fellow missionaries kept sharing miracles of times where they have found people that they had envisioned. I wondered if I could ever do that or more so have the faith to do that. In my last area I tried and all I could make out was a pale yellow shirt. I always kept my eyes open for this shirt but never found it in Chorley. In my new area now in Stafford, Sister Allison and I were walking from an appointment that fell through and I saw this big, hairy, tattooed man walking towards us and I was hesitant to stop him, but I then noticed he was wearing a sleeveless pale yellow shirt! So I spoke with him. It turns out that a couple years ago he was homeless and had been through a lot but a pair of missionaries gave him a Book of Mormon. He has had that Book of Mormon ever since and says he feels so good when he reads from it. We were able to set up an appointment with him for tonight. I have found the yellow shirt I had envisioned so long ago but I now have a testimony that you truly can envision some of God's children who are ready for the Gospel if our faith is sufficient.

 

Thank you so much for all of those who have loved and supported Teresa and I throughout our entire Mission experience! We hope everyone is well and happy!

 

Love always Sister Rachel Kullick

Most beautiful & rewarding work

RACHEL - Hello Family and Friends!

 

Missionary work is the most beautiful and rewarding work that anyone can ever do! I have a testimony of that! It is the closest feeling of completeness. So if you feel like something is lacking or missing in your life or maybe you just aren't satisfied with your life at the moment, share the gospel! This feeling is real, I have been able to recall a few specific experiences where this feeling has hit me all at once and let me try to tell you in words that cannot truly express how much joy I had. I feel this overwhelming feeling of gratitude and perfect stillness. I truly believe it to be the closest feeling I can experience here on earth to a celestial joy and of feeling complete. This feeling can honestly come to anyone as long as we try to invite and share. No good thing comes without a little effort. :)This feeling does not depend upon if those we share our testimony with accept or reject, but that we have the "always striving will to invite others to come unto Christ" attitude. This is a most special commandment and one that I hold dear to my heart. A Child and a Disciple by President Henry B. Eyring is a talk that should cause us to think a little more about our responsibility to share the gospel and how wonderful the joy is we gain by doing that.

http://lds.org/general-conference/2003/04/a-child-and-a-disciple?lang=eng&query=child+Disciple

 

We had Interviews and Training this past week! I loved it!! This one was different from all the rest. This one seemed to have made a lasting affect on my attitude and perspective on the work and my calling! We learned from our Zone Leaders how to properly begin teaching and from President Bullock he explained to us how transfers happen. This was amazing! President always says that "the Lord does the transfers" which I know is true and that President Bullock has the keys to receive revelation for the Missionaries in the England Manchester Mission! How grateful I am to his counsel and how he heavily relies on the Lord. Then the Assistants to the President gave the best training on how to work with the members and how to gain their trust! We practiced doing role plays where we would call members and to just get to know them better at church. This was great and very helpful. The Assistants even showed us how to make little missionary thank you cards very quickly at the end!  Sister Allison and I made a lot of Sister Missionary Thank you cards the next day and the members have loved them so far! When it came to that evening when we had to go inside for the day, I didn't want to because I still wanted to talk to people! Missionary work is simply fun :) "Happiness is our greatest finding tool" (David A. Bednar) That is very true and I have never been happier when expressing to others why I live and what brings me joy!

 

General Conference was amazing as always! I have come to recognize that I just did not appreciate it before I was a full-time missionary. But in this Conference there were sooo many principles that had been taught that I now need to apply to my own personal testimony and the work! One amazing miracle that occurred was that some of the questions that I had for last General Conference that weren't answered then, but were answered in this Conference! It almost brought tears to my eyes I was so happy. I marvel at how much our Heavenly Father knows us individually and if we are patient, we will soon receive the answers to our questions in His timing. I loved it and our investigator, P. D. was able to attend as well and he said that practically all of his questions that he brought to the Conference were answered as well! I know this church and gospel is true.

 

Thank you to all of those who have supported and loved Teresa and I to have helped us get to where we find ourselves now!

 Love always, Sister Rachel Kullick

By the way, Tell Amelia I just thought she was so stunning and radiant on her wedding day!! Congratulations! And lately I had been thinking about Emily Jacobson and the kind words she spoke to Teresa and I. Tell her that I think she is so beautiful inside and out and that she will make a brilliant Sister Missionary!

Sister missionary thank you cards

 A service project we did for one of the members we laid down carpet for her out of scraps! 

 The Sister missionary thank you cards

Conference is like Christmas

TERESA - Hello Family!

So pretty sure conference was sooo great! I really needed that :) Because of the different broadcast times (Saturday morning plays here at Saturday afternoon 5-7, Saturday afternoon plays on Sunday morning 1-3, Sunday morning plays here at Sunday afternoon 5-7, and Sunday afternoon plays here Sunday night at 9-11). We saw all the sessions except the Sunday afternoon, which is usually the BEST one because it played so late!! Us missionaries could not stand for that, so we asked President and Sister Griffiths if we could watch it today on our P-Day and they said yes!! I am sooo excited! I really missed watching it last year and now I'll be able to see this one! Aww, how sweet the joy :) I hope all of you brought questions to conference. I did and it was totally answered in one of the talks! I promise that we can and should do that with ALL our meetings in the church. We get more out of them when we do it and we allow and open ourselves up to receiving personal revelation!! And boy, how we need it!

I loved all of the talks but a few really stuck out to me. Would you mind if I shared a bit of what I learned and liked most? I hope so because you're hearing it anyways!

- Elder L. Tom Perry's talk really showed me of how I need to really strive to make the Sabbath a different day. We have been commanded to partake of the sacred ordinance of the Sacrament. How lucky are we!

-Sister Jean A. Stevens focused on how we need to be like little children. I love how she said that children are the first to love and first to forgive and how we need to have contagious optimism!

-Elder Walter F. Gonzalez said that as we pattern our lives after Christ then we will walk in delight. If I could only remember that always, then I would always be happy!!

-Elder Cook's was great because it focused on us gals! Haha When I heard this talk I thought of my mom, grandmas, and aunts. You are truly incredible examples. Thank you!

-Elder Eyring's talk really hit me with the wake up call to consecrate ourselves in God's work by acting.

-Elder Packer, how I love to hear him speak! He's becoming one of my favorites. I love how to-the-point he is! I LOVED what he said:

Husbands are the head of the home and the wives are the heart of the home". So true!!!

-Elder Russell M. Nelson's talk how “we need to obey ALL of the rules, even the hard ones” was excellent. To fear not and be of good cheer- the future is as bright as your faith. Made me think, I need to make sure my faith is getting brighter!

-Richard J. Maynes was great! I learned that we need to do everything in our power to establish a Christ centered home and it will be a piece of Heaven on earth! Wow!

-Cecil O. Samuelson said that we must grow in our challenges because we grow in ways we wouldn't have in easier ways. How true! It'd through the tough stuff that we learn, not the easy breezy days.

-Elder Oaks' talk answered my question. Pray with all the energy of heart to stay focused.

-Elder Ballard focused on charity and that is my favorite Christ like attribute!! Where charity exists there is no room for gossiping and unkind words. I have started to more fully understand what real charity is :)

-Elder Uchtdorf said that we need to be someone the Lord can rely on to listen to the revelations of the Spirit. I want to be relied on so I need to place myself in situations where I can always feel the Spirit.

-Paul V. Johnson's brought to mind a quote from Joseph Smith that I adore: "We had suffered, but not in vain. Our hearts were made more tender." After the most darkest times come the brightest light.

-President Thomas S. Monson really struck me when he said: "Do nothing that will keep you from entering the temple doors." NOTHING is more important. WE have to remember that!!

Like Rachel said last conference, this is like Christmas time for missionaries!! We wait eagerly for this moment with joyful anticipation! I am beyond excited for the last session I get to see this time!! Yay!

This week has been amazing. I can't even tell you how things just seriously keep getting better and better here in Edinburgh! There is an RM in the ward who just got back and he's come out with us on teaches and its been so great! He was an AP so I learned so much from him as he taught with us. We have been having more success in finding and having actual lessons with investigators. Most of them are out of town for the holidays but this is good because next week we can focus fully on finding more people! Then can you imagine how many people will be able to teach in a few weeks time? Loads! I am really happy.

The joy I feel here increases daily. When I can go out and share what I KNOW to be true with the rest of God's children, I feel a satisfaction that can come from nowhere else. Now that is not to say that everybody stops and listens. No way! Haha loads of people are totally rude to us but do I worry about it? I shouldn't because it doesn't matter. What if it's the very next person I stop on the street that is ready? What if? I can't let the fear of man get in the way for my love of God. I am trying more and more to remember that always!! And it doesn't mean to say that I don't have days where I feel unmotivated and down. I do! But when I feel that way I know a sure-fire way to get over it. Prayer. I ask His help to make me feel excited and then I go out and work it off. I am learning more about what really works for me and these lessons I am grateful to be learning now.

I really hope that everyone back home is doing well and is happy! I pray for all of my family and friends every night and I want you all to know that I love you! My testimony of the gospel is taking deeper root every day that goes by. I feel so lucky and honored to be here as a missionary! I love my companion Sister Woolley and I know without a doubt that we were meant to be companions. We are learning sooo much from each other! She is a wonderful missionary and wants to do only good. I admire that. I want to leave you a quote that I really liked from a President Littlefield of the New York, New York Mission:

"So I am not suggesting that you be excessive in anything that you do, but I am teaching the doctrine of sacrifice, and the doctrine of consecrating yourselves 100%. When you signed your little letter back to the prophet, agreeing to serve a mission, accepting the call, did you agree to serve 24/7, except when you had to be thinking about home? Or except when you have to be talking about your girlfriend? Or except when anything? No. We agreed to dedicate what? 'Heart, might, mind, and strength.' Get out of the comfort zone and into the miracle zone."

I am striving to be the best version of myself and it is very hard. I know that I don't have to do this alone but I have the ultimate source of help that is always with me. Thank you to everyone who has helped Rach and I in our dreams of serving a mission. We could not have done it without you. Thank you so much for the letters you send! I am a horrible letter writer so I am sorry if you don't get a reply. I get them and I appreciate them very much!! I love you all!

Love always, Sister Teresa Kullick