Running Through the Finish Line!

My dearest family,

What a week this has been! I am going to be stretched for time to fit this week into this email, but I will do my absolute best because I don’t want a second of this week to be lost. It has been a truly incredible week and I am just so overjoyed to be here at this time in this place. It is most definitely where the Lord needs me to be.

Monday: It was PDay, as you know, and we just did normal PDay stuff and watched the snow come down. Just lovely. That evening, we drove to Show Low to begin an exchange with the Sisters serving in Snowflake. Sister Casey came to Luna with Sister Grow and I and Sister Ballew headed over to Snowflake. We had fun chatting on the way up and back. We have good missionaries in this mission. I love being with them!

Tuesday: This was an absolutely fantastic day! In the morning, we drove from Eagar out to Kayden and had a great lesson with him. I love that kid! We had created a jeopardy game to help him review the Restoration, Plan of Salvation, and the a Gospel of Jesus Christ- and to help us better understand where he was and how much he was getting from our lessons. Kayden answered every question correctly! It was pretty incredible. He has such a strong desire to learn and he just loves the gospel. When we walked into the lesson, he was sitting on the couch reading the Book of Mormon. Too cute. Following Kayden, we were crunched for time, but felt like we needed to stop and see Homer. He was home and let us in. We started talking with him about where he is in his search because we were a little confused about where he was trying to go and what exactly he was looking for. He told us that he was done going to different churches and he was content with just praying to God on his own. I think he was possibly trying to tell us that he was done with us, too, but the Spirit whispered to us how to handle the situation. We said, “Homer, you know, that is exactly how Joseph Smith was! He was searching for the truth and going to different churches and it was really confusing to him, and he decided, as he read the scriptures, that he was going to just pray and just take it to God. So you are putting yourself in a position now, like Joseph, to receive the answer that Heavenly Father wants to give you. And that’s why we’re here.” Even as we spoke the words, a massive gust of wind came and swept the snow off of the tree branches outside Homer’s house and it looked pretty crazy outside- huge chunks of snow flying everywhere… And then it stopped and Homer sat and watched that and just said, “Hmm…” Then he accepted the invitation to keep reading the Book of Mormon and to have us come again on Thursday. After studies and lunch, we headed to Pie Town and saw the Tillotson’s. It was one of the better lessons we have had with her, actually! Miracle. Then we had dinner with the Goodmans. You all are going to meet that family because they are my favorite.

Wednesday: In the morning, we headed back to Snowflake to end the exchange, and actually we left Sister Grow in Eagar with Sisters Smith and Peterson. Sister Ballew and I presented a training in the Snowflake ZTM on Reactivating Less-Actives to the Temple. The idea is to broaden their vision and their eternal perspective. The training went fairly well, I do believe. We did the M&M object lesson where you paint one with that anti-thumb-sucking stuff. It was to demonstrate that even if you’ve heard that someone won’t be interested, you don’t actually know if they are interested or not until you try. The reactions of the missionaries were priceless. 🙂 Thanks, Dad, for the idea. That evening once we were back from Snowflake, we saw Sister Hilliard, who said that her boss is working on hiring others so that she, Sister Hilliard, could come back to church. It was a good lesson-we taught the Gospel of Jesus Christ. That night we had one of the greatest dinners of my mission. We went to the Snyders house- both of them are absolutely ancient and both of them are beginning to lose the ability to remember what they said ten seconds ago but my goodness, they are some of the sweetest people I have ever met. We got the giggles though, oh my word. Dinner was still cooking when we got there and so we were chatting with them in the living room and Brother Snyder was telling us how he had served a mission to the Southern States mission and he said, “I didn’t realize that while I was gone, Lillie (his wife now) had joined the church! I was shocked when I walked into church that next Sunday and there she was! I said, ‘Mother, did Lillie get baptized?!’ She said she did and I had to call on her that evening!” He told us how much he loved her and kept saying, “We have had a good life.” He would mention his mission again and Sister Snyder said, “Yes, and while he was on his mission, I got baptized, and he didn’t know it! He was shocked when he walked into church and I was sitting there! He asked his mother, ‘Did Lillie join the church?!’ And she said yes, and he called on me that evening.” And approximately two minutes later, the subject of his mission would come up and he would say, “I didn’t realize that while I was gone, Lillie had joined the church! I was shocked when I walked into church that next Sunday and there she was! I said, ‘Mother, did Lillie get baptized?!’ She said she did and I had to call on her that evening!” This went back and forth the entire dinner hour and we nearly died trying to hold in our laughter by about the twelfth time. They are sweet people and are just so content with the life they have been blessed with.

Thursday: Yet another magnificent day. In the morning, we drove to Show Low for the Show Low ZTM. It was a great meeting for a lot of reasons. The Zone Leaders, Elder Watts and Elder Damoth, gave a flawless training on our personal visions (our “why”) as missionaries. They asked us to share experiences that we had had since the last ZTM that had helped to expand our “why”. I shared how I had felt a little overwhelmed at the beginning of this transfer for a whole host of reasons, and how I had read over and over variations of the theme, “Be Not Afraid, Only Believe.” I have watched this transfer as the Lord has helped, lifted, and guided me. One of the things I was a little nervous about was taking over this massive area that covers 1/3 of our mission and has no addresses. But every time, the Lord just leads us right to where we need to be. It has been an amazing experience and a lesson I have learned over and over again on my mission. ZTM was also great because I learned the above lesson again. I had been asked to give a training on our missions vision and I just could not come up with any way to present this training in a way that would motivate the missionaries to act. I was SO nervous (see why I have to learn this lesson over and over again?) as I awaited my turn to go, and of course mine was last. I felt like I had no direction and had no idea where I was going to go with it. But I kept feeling the Spirit say, “It will be fine!” And when I stood up, words filled my mouth. The Lord will never leave us hanging. He wants us to succeed. Following my training, I gave my farewell testimony. I might cry as I type this. It was a humbling experience, to say the least. I remember when I was in my first transfer in Cave Creek and it was the last ZTM of the transfer and an elder gave his testimony, and I breathed a sigh of relief: “I’m glad that will never be me!” The day did come and emotions were high for me as I was able to share my testimony- now solidified, empowered, and cultivated by the experience of a mission. I am so grateful for my mission and for the Lord, and that’s all I have to say. Following ZTM and the provided lunch, we began another exchange. Sister Tenney, the sister training leader in the Apache Zone, came with Sister Grow and I. It was SO much fun being with Sister Tenney! We served in Scottsdale at the same time and we became absolute best friends and she is a great missionary, so the three of us had a ton of fun. And saw so many miracles.

We saw Homer, and it was one of the best lessons I have been in on my mission. I hope I can remember the details. We came in and he started by saying that he had read the Book of Mormon and had some questions about what he read-Moroni 8, the chapter about infant baptism. We answered some of his questions, which, of course, created more questions, and we did what we know how to do. We pulled it back over to the basic doctrines and taught the Restoration, focusing on the priesthood. I wish you could have been there to see, hear, and feel the Spirit as Sister Grow taught clearly and simply about Joseph Smith and Sister Tenney came in with an incredibly powerful testimony. Following this bit, Homer there looking at us contemplatively (probably the best word for it) and we said, “Homer, what do you feel?” He said, “I feel… good. This feels different than before.” We asked, “… What do you mean?” He said, “It is clear, and I comprehend it all.” Coming from usually-extremely-confused-Homer, that was a huge miracle. Then he said, “And this must be important, because I still remember the last time we talked about Joseph Smith and the sun broke through the clouds, and then last time with all that snow blowing everywhere! That was amazing! I’ve never seen anything like it before!” We took that opportunity to say, “Homer, it is your Heavenly Father telling you that this is true. And what you are feeling now is the Holy Ghost. You will get this feeling when you read the Book of Mormon and come to church.” Then Sister Grow came in and asked him boldly and lovingly to be baptized. Homer is now preparing to be baptized on December 19! What a wonderful lesson it was.

Friday:  We continued to see miracle after miracle. We finally contacted a referral we had been trying for ages. She wasn’t interested but it was a miracle that we even caught her outside! Then, we were in Reserve and had tried to contact a few people and we were on our way to contact someone we had wanted to see for a while and as we drove past the county jail, I had a distinct impression: “Go see Paco.” Paco is a former investigator who is currently in jail who none of us had ever met. Jail visiting hours are 1-3 Monday’s and Friday’s and it was about 2:00. Initially, I kind of pushed the prompting away, and immediately after I justified not going, I felt the same impression just a bit more strongly: “Go see Paco.” I pulled a U-turn and we went to see Paco. As we walked in to see him, the deputy walked by and said, “Oh, you must be who he was calling for earlier!” We didn’t really hear/comprehend what he had said and just proceeded to the visitors door. It was so sad. We stood on one side of the door, Paco on the other. There was a little glass window we could see him through that wasn’t even big enough to see his face and some little teeny holes in the door underneath the window to talk through. We had such a good visit with Paco! He told us how he had initially turned his back on God but he had just started reading the Book of Mormon again and he knew that God could help him become the man he wants to become. It was so powerful, standing in that jail, talking about the Atonement with a man who finally wanted to change. About 15-20 minutes in, he said, “Well, I’m sure glad you got my message earlier and were able to come!” We were quiet a few seconds, and said, “Umm… We didn’t get any message, Paco.” He said, “I called you this morning because I had decided that I was ready to learn again and make some changes!” It was then that I remembered a voicemail we had received- it was a recording and I thought it was a credit card company so I deleted it- and I realized that it must have been Paco. The Lord is so incredibly aware of each and every one of us, regardless of where we are in life. Our Heavenly Father loves us. So much.

Saturday: We ended exchanges and started weekly planning. That afternoon we saw the Myers and had a really great lesson on the Gospel of Jesus Christ. We invited them to prepare for the temple and they said that they would really love to do that. They told us, though, that they would be leaving Monday for the holidays and wouldn’t be back until after the new year. After the lesson, I asked if we could take a picture since I wouldn’t be here when they returned. I’ll attach the picture. It was so hard to say goodbye to them. That is easily the worst thing (and really only bad thing) about missions. Brother Myers started crying as he said good bye. They are such wonderful, wonderful people and I have come to love them so much. Then we went to try to see an investigator, Jesse , that we have been trying to contact since I got here and he has never been home! But there he was! The Lords timing is perfect. We will be meeting with him on Tuesday. Then we headed to Luna to have a lesson with Harley. We hadn’t been able to get in contact with her the whole week, which is always a little nerve-wrecking the week of someone’s baptismal interview. But we had a WONDERFUL lesson with her and taught her so many things: the Law of Chastity, the Law of Tithing, Fasting, the Word of Wisdom, obedience, and the 10 commandments. Whew. But she readily accepted all of them. Then we went to the Luna Ward Thanksgiving Dinner- absolutely delicious. And so many miracles: a family of potential investigators was there and they asked us to come visit them; we happened to sit across from a less active we have been trying to get in contact with for weeks on end; Ezekiel was there and feeling much better so we will see him this week, finally; even better, he was there with his dad! We thought his dad wasn’t part of his life, but it looks like now he is. I wish you could have seen the smile on his face when I said, “Zeke! Is that your dad?!” And he just grinned and said, “Yeah… And he looks just like me!” And so many other good things… A major one being when Bishop said, “I’m proud of you, sisters.”

That night, we had some excitement and I hope I can make this quick because I am about out of time. We went home and our house smelled like gas. We realized that our gas oven, though the knob said, “Off” was definitely NOT off and had been on since lunch. We thought we had turned it off, so we planned and started getting ready for bed, and we were doing Sister Training Leader call ins, and Sister Grow realized that it was still not off and after calling the Zone Leaders and our landlord and President Sweeney, we had to evacuate our little house and after packing finally made it to Eagar at midnight. Yay for carbon monoxide and other noxious gases.

Sunday: I really need to go. We were in Pie Town and had the best Sabbath Day in the world. I felt so enlightened and refreshed after church! That evening, Harley had her baptismal interview and passed!!! She’s set for this upcoming Saturday! Last night, we were back in Eagar again because of the gas issue in Cruzville. At approximately 11:10 pm we were all awakened by the screeching of every smoke detector in the house. My ears are still ringing. We looked everywhere for any hint of a fire and couldn’t find anything. We took out the batteries, flipped every breaker in the box and still, they were screeching endlessly! We called President and he said that we should just leave so we called the Pie a Town Ward Mission Leader who lives in Eagar and he and his wife were kind enough to let us crash at their house. We eventually got in bed a little after 1 in the morning and were up by 5:45am. The Adairs cooked us breakfast and then we headed back to the house and they were still screeching. We called the landlord though, and they came and reset all of them and all is well now and we are all looking forward to some nice, long naps. It was a good experience though, one that we can laugh at.

Well, I love you family, dear!

Love,

Sister Knapp

Changes

Savannah has had a wonderful experience serving in the Biltmore Ward in Phoenix. She has been there over 6 months and loves the people with all of her heart. She has been serving with a French-speaking companion from Haiti and has been learning French. Together and with the other French-speaking sister they have been teaching a special group of people from West Africa, along with others. Savannah loves these beautiful people and many are close to baptism so it was with tears that she received the call from her mission president that it’s time for a change. But her attitude is great and she is excited for the opportunities and adventures that await her in  New Mexico! Here is just a bit from her last email that expresses some of her feelings and experiences during her final days in the area:

Thursday, September 24: We got a call from President Sweeney. He said, “Sister Knapp, I have some transfer news for you. The time has come and we need you somewhere else.” He told that I would be being transferred to  New Mexico!!! I was shocked. And sad. And excited. And humbled. All of those emotions to tears. Literally. District Meeting was wonderful. That evening we met with the Gastelums, Bill Grant, and Tanya. All were such great lessons and I nearly started crying in every single one as I told them I would be leaving. Oh, that is the hardest thing on a mission! We talked about the temple with the Gastelums, tithing with Tanya and her mom, and Joseph Smith with Brother Grant. The Spirit was so strong in all of those lessons. It was wonderful.

Saturday, September 26: That morning we saw Sacoche and his wife and Breme and had a truly wonderful lesson on the Restoration. The Spirit was definitely the teacher! They asked wonderful questions as well and will be at General Conference this weekend. Then we picked up the Elders and headed to the Mesa Temple once again for Meiwan’s endowment!! What a beautiful experience. Meiwan was SO happy and just was radiating with the Spirit. Then we went to the Women’s General Broadcast (which Yvonne came to!) and it was splendid! Each talk was just so good. That evening we had to go to the mission office for some stuff. But what a good day.

Tuesday, September 29: We saw Tanya, Yvonne, and Meiwan in the morning. And Marie, one of the Elders recent converts. It was sad to say goodbye but I’m excited for my new assignment. Meiwan gave us grilled cheese sandwiches for breakfast just because they’re my favorite and gave me a beautiful journal. Nearly every time we go over there, she has me type out emails and texts for her. She had me type out an email to her friend as she dictated it and one paragraph said, “I’m going to miss my missionary, Sister Knapp. She’s a sweet girl. I hope I can see her again soon.” I started crying. The Lord is so good to me. My goodness, I’m crying right now as I type this out. I have just been so blessed and I have no words to express how grateful I am to my Heavenly Father for this glorious mission He has asked me to fulfill. Transfer meeting was good. I am now companions with Sister Jackson, who leaves in three weeks, and with Sister Thomas, who I was companions with in Cave Creek! It is SO different up here in the mountains! First off, it’s absolutely freezing. I have been in the valley for fifteen straight months and it is chilly up here! But it is just beautiful. It looks like Idaho! I’ll have to take some pictures to send to you next week. It is the opposite of Phoenix. No cactus, lots of pine trees and mountains… In the areas I’ll be serving I think President said there are 5000 people in the county. In Phoenix, there are 5000 people in a complex! It is so exciting though. I can’t wait.

How do I express the things in my heart? I have no idea. But I am so so so grateful for this opportunity and for the great things that are ahead in this next little while. I love this gospel and I love the Lord. It was hard to leave the Biltmore Ward especially with some of those people so close to baptism but I know that this is the Lords will. And because it is His will, it is the absolute best possible option.”

Update!

Monday, June 29: We
had a good, no, great PDay! We went to a baseball
game with the Elders and with
the K family and it was SO much fun.
It was the Diamondbacks against the
Dodgers and we have no clue who
ended up winning but it was fun. And I didn't
even let myself get
competitive!

Tuesday, June 30: During lunch we received
a phone call from some
elders in the Phoenix mission. They said they had two
referrals for
us. One was actually J, who we are already teaching,
and
they said the other one was a family that didn't speak any English at
all
but from what they could get across said that they would like
missionaries to
come back. We decided to just go try to contact them
right after lunch. We
headed out and put the address in our GPS. We
drove and drove and drove and
ended up at a dead end in some random
part of Arizona! It was quite funny,
actually. The road we were on
ended at a chain-link fence hat was enclosing a
field of dirt and
rocks. There was this random sign in the middle of it that
said,
"Attention: No Swimming." We got a kick out of that and then
realized
that we needed to figure out where this family was. We turned off
the
GPS because that was no help and called the Elders who are much
more
directionally-incline than I am and they told us the crossroads. We
found
the place we were supposed to be! We knocked on the door and met
the K
Family! They are from the Congo and they all speak French!
There are the
parents and then 10 children, though only 6 live at
home. They have lived here
for about 5 months.  They are the most
beautiful family. We only
met with them briefly the first day but they asked us
to please come
back the next day. What a miracle! 


Wednesday,
July 1: We saw M in the morning,  Then we went
and saw A.
 She is only 24 and
has had just a sad life. Things are looking
up for her though because
she is honestly wanting to come back to church and
wanting to make the
necessary changes in her life. She knows that the gospel is
the only
way to lasting happiness. Then we went to see A who was
another
referral from the Phoenix mission. His dad is from Morocco and his
mom
from France. He is Muslim but listens to the Christian radio station
and
just loves the songs about Jesus Christ. He seems very open and
willing to
learn.  We also
saw the K family
again. They were all there and it was so funny-
they want everything we have!
Sister K's sister is a member of
the church in Africa and several of her
nieces and nephews have served
missions so she knows quite a bit about the
church. But Sister Pendant
and I almost got the giggles. They all want Book of
Mormons, Bibles,
Book of Mormon storybooks, hymnals, pamphlets... Everything.
We had to
put a mass order for French things into the mission office.

Thursday, July 2:
We had district meeting where we all learned how to
contact people in French
and ASL. It was quite interesting. Following
our meeting, we went and
heart-attacked Y's door. It was her
wedding anniversary so we knew it
would be a hard day. It was cute
when she called us a couple of hours later-
she was so so happy.
Sister Pendant and I also started a new thing. We had kept
saying that
we needed to speak French to each other and we would, until one of
us
didn't understand the other and we'd resort back to English. So we
decided
that from 8:00 am to after planning we have to speak French to
each other. If
one of us speaks English, we have to add two push-ups
to the nightly total. It
is working! Umm... I think that is about it
for that day.

Friday, July 3: We
saw A again and had a wonderful
lesson on the Restoration. She
really wants to make it to the temple
and she really wants to get her kids
back. She is really starting to
act on the gospel principles. It is so exciting
to see people change!
 We saw the K family again
and talked about
the Book of Mormon and Joseph Smith. We shared "The
Family: A Proclamation to
the World" with them and they LOVED it. It
was wonderful.

Saturday, July 4:
HAPPY INDEPENDENCE DAY!!! We did some service in the
morning, met with Y
and read the Book of Mormon with her, did our
weekly planning, ate at Culvers
for dinner (it's as American as you can
get), contacted in the park for just a
bit, and were asked to be home
by 8:30. When we got home we planned for the
next day and sang "The
Star-Spangled Banner" with much enthusiasm. It was
great!

Sunday, July 5: We had church,
of course. Before Relief Society, we
decided to call F again and ask him
if he and his wife could come
to the Visitors' Center that day. He answered!
And said yes!!
 After church, about 30
minutes before we
were to leave to meet at F's house, the phone
rang. We saw it was F.
Our hearts sank. BUT! F just said,
"Can we bring our children as well?"
Umm... Of course! And so.... WE
WENT TO THE VISITORS' CENTER WITH PASTOR F
AND HIS FAMILY! It was
an answer to many, many prayers. We have seen Satan try
to ruin every
plan we had to go. But, as we saw that day, Satan is the epitome
of
the song, "Heap Big Smoke But No Fire." Sister Pendant looked at me
a
little strangely as I sang it on the way down, but it's true! The
visitors
center was amazing. We went to the statue of Christ and then
took them through
"Gods Plan for the Family". F asked if he could
get the DVD for his home.
Then we just walked around the temple with
them and talked about eternal
families. F's wife, M, kept
saying that she just wanted to go inside.
As we left, F was
walking a little separate but as we drew closer to him,
we could hear
him praying and could see the tears streaming down his face. It
is
moments like that that make you want to be a missionary forever. It
was a
miracle.

Monday, July 6:  We
also saw
M, a less active, French speaking member. She is so
sweet. She is a good
woman and so giving! We taught the Restoration
and it was probably the most I
have taught in French so far! I was
sweating bullets. Whew. The Gift of Tongues
is real. Still
frightening, but real.

Tuesday, July 7: It was transfers!
Sister Pendant and I are staying
together! She is my first companion that I
will have been for for more
than 2 transfers! We're glad we're still serving
together. We had a
good day. We saw M again and Y and talked to a lot
of
people. We also had 40 push-ups that night. You see, I had to explain
to
her in English why she should never cheer for the school in Utah
who wears red.
So we racked up 22 push-ups in the space of 10 minutes.
But she understands
now, so it was worth it. :)

Today will be and has been good. Just the usual
PDay stuff.

Our Heavenly Father is truly a God of Miracles. This is the
restored
gospel of Jesus Christ. I know that Christ lives.

I love you all so
much!!

Soeur Knapp

Bonjour!

My dear family,

What a week this has been!!! I will do my best to remember everything that has happened because at the moment, it’s all a huge whirlwind. A good whirlwind, though. First of all, Kaitlin, your hair is adorable. I wish I could pull that one off but I never will be able to. Second, Taylor, yes, I do associate with Spanish speaking missionaries! I actually live with Spanish Speaking missionaries. And my district is almost entirely Spanish speakers. Third, that BYU game sounded incredible. On Sunday, we were at Break-the-Fast for “elite singles” (single people 55+) and an OLD woman, as we were eating, leaned back, cupped her hands around her mouth, and yelled, “How ’bout that BYU game?!” That about killed me because I was laughing, but I had to rejoice just a little bit when I found out we beat Gonzaga on their home floor. Hunter, I can only imagine you running around the house yelling, “We are in! We are in!” haha, you crack me up.

On to the week!

Monday, February 23: P-Day! Afterwards, we went to contact a referral named Mary. She’s 13, and we biked up to her house just as her mom was coming out the door. We said, “Hi! We’re looking for Mary. We’re missionaries…” And she said, “Oh! Yes, could you come back tomorrow? We’re heading out right now.” We were excited because a. Mary has a mom which means it’s a family, and b. She said we could come back! Then we had a lesson with Kristine and it went great. She is so incredible.

Tuesday, February 24: We had a lesson in the morning with Mireya, an investigator who comes to church every week, but is hard to meet with. We taught the Restoration and she committed to be baptized on April 18, I think. Everyone’s getting baptized in April, and their dates are kind of mushing together. Mireya is going through a hard time right now. Probably the worst situation I’ve seen on my mission. Back in October, she was married with two little girls. She woke up one day to find them all gone. Her husband had taken her girls and left. Since then, she has only talked to them a couple of times and she doesn’t know how to get them back. Now, her husband just cut her off financially and she lost both of her jobs, so she has nothing. But we talked with her a lot about what the gospel does for us and how it supports us and helps us through these times, and she was much happier when we left than when we came. My heart just aches for her! Then we had a lesson with our investigator, Bryan, who is no longer our investigator. He was an interesting man. Then we had a lesson with Josiah. I like Josiah. He’s a little attached to the missionaries, though. We’ve got to figure out how to wean him off of meeting with us all the time. We’re down to about once a week now, which is an improvement! He’s doing so well!! That evening, we went to see Mary again and we were able to go in and talk to her, her friend Abby, and her Dad. Her mom didn’t come and talk to us, though. It turns out that Abby’s dad is a member, her mom is not, but her brother is serving a mission right now! Abby wants to be baptized, and even says that she is Mormon, but her mom has said that she can’t be baptized until she’s 18. Mary is now interested as well, and we’re still not sure if her dad is interested yet, but he is so nice, and while we were talking with them, Abby and Mary decided that they wanted to fix us dinner sometime, and Mary’s dad said that he would make us homemade root beer! That sounds like a soon-to-be baptismal date to me! It was a great evening.

Wednesday, February 25: We had District Meeting, and then had a lesson with Jasmine. We taught her about the Gospel of Jesus Christ and talked about how she needs to come to church. She promised that she would. Thank you SO much for your prayers in her behalf! We had dinner at a members home, and oh my word, I thought I was going to kill their dog. It was the most annoying creature I have ever beheld. It kept jumping up on the couch right by me when I was trying to eat, and going crazy and I thought I was going to lose my mind. The members went into the kitchen to get something and I whispered to Sister Holman, “Get this dog off of me!” So she was very kind and kept that thing away from me. That evening, we had a lesson with Chloe- the Restoration- and it was wonderful. She is growing exponentially! Her testimony is just continuously growing and flourishing. Then we stopped by to see Andrea, a potential investigator, now investigator!!! She is so ready. She said that it was perfect timing when we came by because she was having a hard time. We were able to have a wonderful lesson with her and committed her to be baptized! She’s on date for April 11, I think. It was wonderful. The Lord really is preparing people to receive the gospel!

Thursday, February 26: Sister Holman did a lot of packing. It was hard for her to do that, but she was very focused right through to the end, so I was really grateful. Packing took up most of our day. We had dinner with the Watrous family, and it was SO delicious. Authentic Mexican food! Love, love, love it! Even when I thought the hot sauce bottle had a squeeze top, so I just turned it over, and it didn’t actually have a squeeze top, so I had some spicy food… it was incredible! That evening, we had a lesson with John and Vanessa, some former investigators who are now investigators!  Then we had a lesson with Kristine and it was just so good. I love her so much.

Friday, February 27: We had a Stake Correlation meeting in the morning, and then we had lunch with Josiah at Subway, and then we headed to the Mission Office so that Sister Holman could have her departing interview. After her interview, President Sweeney said, “Sister Knapp, are you ready for your transfer news?” I said, “Of course!” He said, “Do you speak French?” I said, “Umm…” And he said, “You will be training a new missionary who speaks French!” It has taken me a couple of days for that to sink in. I never, ever thought that I would train. Ever. I didn’t think President would want to do that to a new missionary!! But I know that the Lord qualifies those He calls. I’m no longer a Sister Training Leader because of that, and that was hard because I have loved that calling, but training will be good too. I am prepared to learn a LOT. More on that later. Then we had a lesson with Jack, a somewhat recent convert. We expected the lesson to be a quick and easy one because we were talking about Obey and Honor the Law and the Ten Commandments. Normally, for Obey and Honor the Law, it takes 5 minutes! “Don’t break the law, okay?” But, nope! Jack got stuck on Obey and Honor the Law for 50 minutes!!! Hahaha, I just have to laugh now, because that never happens! He’s a funny man. Then we had one last lesson with Kristine, the day before her baptism, about enduring to the end. Really, we just talked a lot about the temple, and how baptism is only the starting point. She said, “That’s what I’m really excited for, the temple. I’m excited for tomorrow, and I can’t wait to be baptized, but really so that I can go to the temple. I’m excited for my life after baptism.” That is music to our ears. She understands. After her lesson, we did some weekly planning, and then went and had dinner with Mary and Abby! It was just those two, but they made us lemon chicken, homemade mashed potatoes, and Mary’s dad made us homemade root beer which was just to die for. We didn’t have time for much of a lesson, so we just talked a little bit about what we as missionaries do, and set up a return appointment! Then we had a lesson with Chloe about the first half of the Plan of Salvation. She is seeking knowledge, so we were able to go into greater detail with the lesson, which I LOVE. I LOVE getting into the deeper stuff. Chloe just eats it right up.

Saturday, February 28: It was cold and rainy but a BEAUTIFUL day! In the morning, we saw Betty, a somewhat recent convert. She talks like Louis Armstrong. She’s incredible. Then Sister Holman did some more packing, and then we went and prepared for Kristine’s baptism! It was such a beautiful service. Kristine was just so happy and glowing. I will send pictures of her baptism and of Chloe’s baptism when Sister Holman sends them to me. I can’t take any pictures because I do not have a charger. If you could send me my charger, I will take pictures. Kristine has two little girls- Bella is 6 and Kylie is 3. Kylie kept running to Kristine with a huge smile on her face and saying, “Mommy! I can’t believe you’re getting baptized today! It’s so exciting!” They were both counting to see how many years before they could be baptized, and Bella was thrilled to learn it was only two years! It was adorable. That evening, we had a lesson with Andrea and had planned on teaching the plan of salvation, but she ended up just having so many great questions, we just answered her questions! I like questions. When they’re honestly seeking truth.

Sunday, March 1: I can’t believe it’s already March. This is ridiculous. Church was wonderful, and Kristine was confirmed!. After Sister Holman finished packing, we (the Spanish Sisters and I) dropped her off at the mission home. It was sad to say goodbye, to her and to Sister Cole! My trainer!

Monday, March 2: I spent the day with the Spanish Sisters! I learned a little bit of Spanish, and so that was fun. Then I went to the Mission office and helped the new missionaries go contacting for their first time. It was a lot of fun.

Tuesday, March 3: Transfers! In the morning, I had a meeting for all trainers, and then we met our new companions! I am now companions with Sister Casagrande! I love her!! She’s from France, this is her first time in the USA, and she has been learning English for two weeks. She is so sweet and is so worried about the language, but it is incredible how much English she knows, especially because she’s only been learning it for two weeks!! She has great faith, so I am very, very excited to work with her. It’s kind of funny, everything has to be explained very, very, very, very, very simply and carefully, and slowly, and I think I’m talking to everyone like that now. Emily, you would love her accent. It’s a humbling experience, trying to manage an extremely busy area that I hardly know, along with a brand-new missionary companion who doesn’t speak much English. But, I know that the Lord will be there with us every step of the way. Taylor and Kaitlin and Parker and Dad, if you could please please please email me any ideas on how to help a companion learn a language, please do so. I’m studying Chapter 7 of Preach My Gospel like crazy. Which is funny, because that section is untouched. I read it before my mission, but I haven’t even opened to it before today!

Life is good. I really, really is. Tanner, I’m glad your concerts went well. I prayed for you many times!!

Well, my dear family, the gospel is true. Jesus Christ lives. Joseph Smith is a prophet of God.

I hope you all have a most wonderful rest of your week!

Love,

Sister Knapp who doesn’t know a lick of French. 🙂

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And today!

My dear family,

Thank you for the emails!

This has been a great week! Seriously just a great week. I love my life. Mom, you are right. The gospel is great! Life is great! And, Mom and Dad, both of you talked about something I have been thinking about recently. We have no need to fear if we are living the gospel! We have been PROMISED by Heavenly Father that if we keep our covenants, all will be well and we can count on Heavenly Father 100%. There really is no need to fear. I’ll touch on that more in just a little bit. And I’m glad you got my letter with the picture of Justin. That man most certainly is a character. And I love him to death.

Monday: We had a great Monday evening! We had a quick lesson with Amara, a 10 year old recent convert who is just doing so well, we don’t have to worry about her at all! Then we headed to Chloe’s and taught her about the law of tithing. She agreed with it and loved it and agreed to live it once she’s baptized! She is so great! Then we were able to have a lesson with Kristine, who is also doing so well. We taught her about the Law of Chastity and it went super well. She has been staying clean from coffee and the rest. And she’s very careful that she dresses modestly which is SO good.

Tuesday: This was a good day, albeit a little different than usual. We took Sister Beagley to the mission office in the morning so she could go to a dentist appointment and we went and worked, and then we picked her up and had a lesson with Josiah. Then we took Sister Beagley to another appointment, and then came back and had a lesson with Marcellous. He will be dropped this week if he doesn’t start keeping his commitments. Then we had a really delicious dinner with the Stephensons and right after that headed to the church to carpool to the Relief Society activity- to see Meet the Mormons! We went because Kristine and her sister Kourtney came and loved it! (who wouldn’t?)

Wednesday: This was such a great day! We had Zone Conference in the morning and it was one of the best Zone Conferences I’ve been to! And one of the most stressful. Well, it wasn’t really that stressful but it kind of was, because Tuesday night, the Zone Leaders called us and said that they had just found out that we (us and them) were both supposed to give trainings at Zone Conference! So Sister Holman and I had about 45 minutes that night to prepare for a 30 minute training for Zone Conference which began at 8:00am Wednesday morning. I think it went quite well, actually. President and Sister Sweeney did a little presentation about covenants as landmarks in our lives, and as they talked about the crowning day of when we will one day be sealed in the temple, I started thinking about how we have no need to fear if we are living the gospel. Many, many times, when I think about marriage or being a mom, there’s excitement, for sure, but deep inside, there has always been a little bit of fear- questions that come into my mind such as, “What if I’m not a good mom?” “What if I can’t find a man who is as great as Dad?” “What if I’m not as good at being a ‘mother who knows’ as Mom?” But as I sat there, thinking, and as President Sweeney talked, I realized that I really have NO NEED TO FEAR. I’ve always known that, and I’ve never really been fearful, but there’s no reason to be even nervous! We have the gospel! We have made covenants! Just keep those covenants and rely on the Lord in all you do and everything will be great!

That evening, we had a lesson with Chloe where we talked about prophets and went over the baptismal interview questions so she would be prepared for her baptismal interview. Then we went to see Matt, a recent convert who has been less active. We talked about why we need to come to church and that he needs to get there. He promised he’d be there!

Thursday: We were on exchanges! Well, I went with both of the sisters in the Arcadia ward, because Sister Holman was sick and I knew they wouldn’t be too effective of exchanges if she could hardly move, so I just went with both of the sisters and it was great! We had a great time and were able to see a lot of great people.

Friday: In the morning, we took Sister Beagley to the mission home. She went home on Friday, and we miss her a lot, but this is what is needed, and it will be good. We had weekly planning! And then we went to the church and met Chloe there so that she could have her baptismal interview! She’s all set!!! And is so excited. Then we had possibly the worst dinner I’ve had on my mission. Hoo boy, I could hardly get that stuff down. And then we had another lesson with Kristine about Temples. I LOVE the temple. I’ve been doing an extensive study on the temple- the blessings of the temple, why we need temples, and etc. and it has been wonderful.

Saturday: We were on exchanges again! I was in my area though, so that was nice. We saw Stephen, a recent convert/less active (there are a lot of those right now); Shauna Perry (a less-active); Matt, and Audrey (a recent convert/lessactive). Matt’s lesson went especially well. We talked about faith and read in Matthew 14 about Peter walking on the water. We talked about how faith leads to action and that Peter had to get out of the boat in order to walk on the water. We had to exchange early because the other sisters had to get back to their area for something (they are other sister training leaders who were reviewing us) and so then Sister Holman and I went to visit Kerri, our investigator with stage 4 cancer. She was up and walking around for the first time! She will probably be dropped this upcoming week as well, though, as she has decided that “ignorance is bliss” because then she won’t be held accountable for what she doesn’t know. We’ve tried to explain that one day she’ll know anyway, but, alas. Then, we were going to see someone else, and there were some people on the sidewalk and we pulled up to talk to them. As we pulled up to them, Sister Holman said, “Hey! It’s Keisha!” Keisha is a former investigator. Now an investigator! We were able to talk to her about baptism. As we talked to her, she said, “Y’all are making me feel good talking about that.” We said, “We can testify to you that that is the Spirit. You are ready for baptism.” We committed her to be baptized on April 11 and she accepted! Then we went to visit a less-active woman. She said she wasn’t interested, but then said, “I just moved here from California, and I haven’t been to church in 20 years. How did you know I lived here?” We explained that when we’re baptized, we have a membership record made and it goes everywhere we go so that we can help everyone come back to the fold if they’ve strayed. And then we said that we didn’t know exactly how they had moved to Arizona, but obviously Heavenly Father needed us to visit her. She said, “Hmm… I’ll have to think about that.” And said that we could come back and check on her in a couple of weeks. Miracles abound.

That evening was an interesting experience as Sister Holman and I were notified of some disobedience among the sisters and we had to go visit with them. I met with one companionship, and she met with the other. We met with them individually, and it was interesting to see a stark contrast between the sisters I talked to. One was so repentant and felt so bad for what had happened, and the other just got mad. She didn’t even care. Obedience is SO key to a successful mission. And it’s the key to happiness! And the key to knowledge!

Someone recently told me, “I think it’s good for people to go out and make mistakes and grow. It helps us to gain knowledge. Some of us just have to learn by rebellion.” I felt like there was something a little bit off in that sentence. Then I read a scripture that confirmed what I was feeling. I read Doctrine and Covenants 130:19-21. “And if a person gains more knowledge and intelligence in this life through his diligence and obedience than another, he will have so much the advantage in the world to come. There is a law, irrevocably decreed in heaven before the foundation of the world, upon which all blessings are predicated- And when we obtain any blessing from God, it is by obedience to that law upon which it is predicated.” You do not gain the knowledge through the rebellion. You gain knowledge through obedience. And you don’t have to rebel first in order to obey. That’s why our family is so strong, I think. Because we have been taught, and we understand that you gain knowledge through exact obedience.

Sunday: It was such a good Sabbath! And Mireya (investigator), Chloe, Kristine, and Kourtney all came to church! Keisha made it in the door but the minute she came, she left because “a last minute job interview came up.” It was the weirdest thing. And 6 of the 12 recent converts came to church, including Matt! That’s more than we’ve had in weeks. Heavenly Father is working miracles!

SO! That was my week! And it was a marvelous one. I can’t believe that it’s already February 16th though. Time flies.

Well, I hope you all are having just the most fantastic February of your lives. I know I certainly am over here. This is the gospel of Jesus Christ. It has been restored. This is the truth!

I love you all bunches.

Love,

Sister Knapp

Last week’s email…

My dear family,

I love my life. That’s pretty much all I can say! A couple of things first… Mom, I will probably have to write you a letter with my impressions of trek, since I only have a short time here on the computer, but I’ll do it. We can’t do the whole video thing, but I will definitely write something! Hunter: Congratulations on the basketball game!! I’ll have you know, I brag to everyone about you and your basketball skills. You, my friend, are going to break every record there is at BYU. It will be like this:

1. Hunter Knapp

2. Tyler Haws

3. Jimmer Fredette

Yep. That’s my prediction. Also, I loved that you went out and worked on the nice day! On Thursday, the weather was just absolutely PERFECT, and as we went to a yard to “pull weeds” (Arizona people do NOT understand what weeds are) I thought to myself, “If there was a day like this in February in Kansas, we’d be out in the garden.” And you were! That made me happy.

This week has been a great one, but this email will probably be a little shorter. But great all the same!

Monday: We had P-Day! Nothing too exciting during P-Day… except that I got your package, Dad, and your letters, Mom! THANK YOU!! It made my day. When P-Day ended, we went to see Kerri, who we will probably be dropping this week. She’s the investigator with cancer. She has decided that it’s a good thing to be ignorant when you die. We keep trying to tell her that Heavenly Father is giving her this opportunity for a reason, but… We can only do so much. The rest is up to the individual. We’re hoping this week that we can help her realize the eternal consequences of the gospel. Then we began exchanges.

Tuesday: I was in another area, the Mountain Shadows ward with another sister. It was an interesting day because she has kind of lost all motivation to do anything almost, but we worked hard and fast, so that was good. We focused on talking with everyone, and (drum roll please) we talked to 55 people!!! It was so great. And it was wonderful to see how that small interaction and discussion of the gospel impacted so many people. I can’t even tell you how many people said, “Thank you so much for stopping. I really do appreciate it.” It was great.

Wednesday: We had District Meeting in the morning and then went to the mission office for a while because Sister Beagley had to talk with Sister Sweeney. Then, we went and contacted people in Old Town Scottsdale, where, rumor has it, President Uchtdorf came just a few weeks ago to purchase some cowboy boots! (I know what I’m spending my Christmas money on!) Everyone we talked to was from out of state, but we were still able to give out quite a few Book of Mormons! We met with Marcellous briefly and talked about baptism, a conversation that will continue tomorrow.  That evening, we had a lesson with Kristine. She is so excited for her baptism! She said, “I just want it to be here tomorrow!” I LOVE when people are excited to make covenants! I feel their same excitement! We taught her about the Word of Wisdom and she said, “I knew this lesson was coming. I’m ready for it!” It was great. Also, we met Whitney Houston’s aunt and invited her to church. Next week, we should be able to get her there. That poor family needs the gospel.

Thursday: Every day is a beautiful day right now, but Thursday was unparalleled. And the best part was, we were able to do some service! We went and weeded a former investigator’s lawn and then were able to go to a place and do some yard work and weeding in their garden. It was a place where people lived until they could get back on their feet and they are taught principles of budgeting and how to make a resume and stuff. It was fun. I love to serve. Then we were able to see Jack. It was great because last week he had mentioned how it was harder for him to understand the Book of Mormon and stuff, but when we sat down, he said, “I have been reading in Helaman and in Chapter 13, I found something really quite profound, I thought, about tithing. Can I read it to you?” And he proceeded to read to us the entire thirteenth chapter of Helaman, commenting on various verses as he read. It was MARVELOUS! It was so great because it meant he has been having spiritual experiences on his own and that is absolutely critical for an enduring conversion! We were thrilled. And then we went and had a lesson with Josiah about Patriarchal blessings, which was great. Josiah cracks me up. When he sees us he said, “Sisters!” And then, “Sister Knapp, my football partner, how are you?” Too funny. One miracle from Thursday… We received a referral for a woman named Christine and we went to contact her. We got to her apartment and got a little lost in the complex, and came upon this man and woman. They said, “You look lost!” We said, “We are!” He said, “What are you looking for?” We said, “Apartment 202.” He said, “Christine!” We said, “Yes!” He said, “She moved last week, but I have her phone number. Would you like that?” Umm… yes… Who are you and where did you come from? Also, he accepted a Book of Mormon and we’re going over there this week! The timing, as it always is with the Lord, was impeccable. We are blessed.

Friday: We had MLC most of the day! It was great. I learned a lot and had a lot of ideas come into my mind for this area and for the sisters in this zone. Afterwards, we had a lesson with Kristine about following the prophet and she said, “That just makes so much sense. Why would God have prophets in the entire Bible and then just stop?” Excellent question, Kristine! And that is one of the MANY evidences that this is the true church! I love that we have prophets. What a blessing that is to us. We had dinner at Oregano’s, a delicious restaurant, and I had only half. It was a struggle. But I had only half. Then we did some weekly planning the rest of the evening!

Saturday: In the morning we had the Ward 5K and BBQ and our investigator, Mireya came! Kristine wanted to but her daughter was sick, and Chloe had to work. That afternoon, we went with Mireya and Sister Bonilla (Mireya’s friend who is coming back to church) to the visitor’s center and watched “Joseph Smith: Prophet of the Restoration.” It was great, and powerful. I just have a hard time sitting through movies now, it seems. Mireya is a little hard to get ahold of, but is now starting to keep commitments and such, so we will be meeting with her this week and committing her to a baptismal date!! That evening, there was a concert in Mesa that we missionaries were invited to attend. Sister Holman and I stayed here and had a lesson with Chloe and Sister Beagley, who really wanted to go to the concert, got a ride with the rest of our zone. It was so nice, and I’m actually very glad that I didn’t go to the concert. I don’t think it would have helped me focus on my mission too much. The lesson with really well! We taught the Word of Wisdom and the Law of Chastity and Chloe said that even though it would be very hard to give up her coffee, she would do it. She is also just SO excited for her baptism and it’s coming up!!

Sunday: We had church. It was good. Also, we finished Weekly Planning. It was a pretty uneventful day! 🙂

And this morning, we met at the base of Camelbak mountain at 5:30 and hiked to the top to watch the sunrise! (Well, Hermana Christensen and I and the Elders hiked to the top.) It was BEAUTIFUL.

Well… that was our week, and boy, was it a good one. I love it out here. Being a missionary- a full-time representative of Jesus Christ- is the best.

I hope you all have a most marvelous week. I love you!

Love,

Sister Knapp

Rejoice in Our Covenants!

My dearest, darlingest family,

This week has been absolutely incredible. And thank you for your emails!! And Mom, I never got that letter you mentioned, but we’re going to the mission office today, so maybe it’s there? And Dad, we’re going to the mission office, so hopefully that package is there! Thank you both in advance! Also, Dad, I thought that your object lesson about covenants was amazing. I wish I could think up things like that. And Kaitlin, we are praying for you!!! God is good- tender mercies abound.

Alrighty, get ready for a great week!
Monday: It was P-Day, and we did nothing special, which is kind of how I like it! That evening, we had two fabulous lessons. We had a lesson with Chloe about obedience, and prayer, reading the scriptures, and going to church. She is doing so, so well. She is just such a sweet girl and I love her to death. She is nervous that she’s not going to be ready for baptism, but she said that lately she’s feeling more and more comfortable with it. She is so ready. Then we also had a lesson with Kristine. She is doing incredibly well! We taught her the gospel of Jesus Christ and committed her to come to church this upcoming Sunday, and she said that she already got work off for Sunday so she would be there! We haven’t even taught her the Word of Wisdom yet, and she told us Monday that she was slowly breaking herself of coffee since she said, “That’s the only thing that I have a problem with!” She’s so cute.
Tuesday: After studies, we headed to the Police Department. We got a call Monday evening from a detective who was looking for Sister Holeman. They found her bike that had been stolen! So we went and picked it up. Then, we headed to the mission office to pick up Sister Beagley! She is a sweet girl, and quite honestly, it has taken the entire week for me to love her, but I really, really love her now!! We had a lesson with Josiah about having Family Home Evening with his kids, and that was great. Then we had a lesson with Sheldon Avery. I think I mentioned him last email, but I can’t remember if I have or not. We got him as a referral because he requested a Book of Mormon and a Bible. We went over to take them to him and it turns out he’s a member of the church! He has been less-active since he was 15 but since being released from jail, has decided he would like to start learning again. We took a member from our ward and the lesson ended up going really well as we taught about making and keeping covenants. It was great. Every Tuesday, we have a Personal Progress class with some less actives, so we went to that, and also saw a less-active man named Russell. He doesn’t believe the Book of Mormon is true which breaks my heart, but we’re working with him!
Wednesday: We had District Meeting, which was good. I think we also went to the Mission Office so Sister Beagley could meet with President Sweeney, but now I’m not so sure. I can’t really remember! We went to contact a referral- her name is Idia Becker and she’s from Brazil. She let us in right away and just loved everything that we taught her about the Book of Mormon and eternal families. She became a new investigator! She is so sweet. She and her husband have a one-year-old daughter named Emily and are just very family oriented and seem to be very, very prepared for the gospel! That evening, we had a lesson with a recent-convert named Jack. He is really seeking to grow his testimony, and although we had a lesson planned, it ended up that we just answered a couple of questions he had. It started out by him saying that he can’t say that he knows that the Book of Mormon is true, but that he’s seeking to know it. And I don’t remember what else he asked, but it was a sweet experience for me. I don’t know how it came up, but he pointed to me and he said, “I can just see it in you- you know that this is true. When I said that I didn’t know that the Book of Mormon is true, I could see the disappointment in your face, and when you read that scripture, you could hear that you know that it is true.” I guess, Dad, I’m not very good at having a poker face either, but I honestly had no idea what my facial expressions had been, but it has been a tender mercy for me to know that the Spirit is real and that He really does testify through us to others. The gospel is just so real and is just so true. I absolutely love it. After Jack, we were contacting people in that apartment complex, and came across a potential investigator named Rachel who is now an investigator! She and her family really need a lot of help. I hope she allows us to help her!
Thursday: In the morning, we helped a former investigator move, and then we went and had lunch with Josiah! He’s such a great man!! We ate at this delicious New York Pizza place and it was to die for. Yum. I love pizza. Then, we went to the mission office to harvest citrus fruit as a service project. It was a lot of fun and smelled absolutely delicious. And we were able to take bags and bags home with us! Oranges, grapefruit (my favorite), and tangelos (no idea what they are- they taste like cuties. Pretty much, it’s just like eating a glass of orange juice. They’re messy but extremely delectable.) Then, we went to see a less-active, but recently returning, part-member family- the Bonillas. They have been having a really hard time lately, but know that the gospel is the way to go. Half way through, Sister Bonilla’s friend, Mireya, who is an investigator, came, and we had a lesson with her as well! She is ready to be baptized and so this upcoming week, we will be meeting with her and she will be on date to be baptized!!! Then we went to see Betty- a recent convert. She is so funny! We got there and she said, “I have a lot to say to God, so I’m going to pray.” It was a very sincere prayer. She’s this little black lady from the South, and she prayed, “Thank you, God, for bringing my sistas to me! And not only did you bring me two, you brought me THREE!” It was all I could do to keep from laughing. Then we had another lesson- a remarkable lesson- with Kristine. Her sister, Kourtney, was also there, and will become a new investigator this week! We taught them about obedience, and CPR (church, pray, read) and after the lesson, they both had a few questions and it was just great. I love questions from honest seekers of truth. One of Kristine’s questions was, “What’s the modesty standard? I just want to live like I’m supposed to live right now.” It was great because the Spirit directed us to explain temple covenants and why we dress modestly, and I love the temple. They BOTH committed to come to church!!
Friday: We did some weekly planning, and then went and had a church tour with Kristine. It went really well and she said she felt very ready to come to church on Sunday, and not nervous at all. We went to Smashburger for dinner (courtesy of some members) and it was mucho delicioso. I’m a fan. Then, we headed down to the Visitors’ Center and met Chloe there and watched “Meet the Mormons!” I LOVE that movie. I love it because the gospel really is just a way of life, and when we allow it to become our way of life, it brings us immeasurable joy. Also, I was just so filled with the Spirit watching the missionary get ready to leave and go. I am so grateful to be a missionary. I will never be able to repay my Heavenly Father for this glorious, sacred experience that He has privileged me to have. It is simply the best.
Saturday: One of the single greatest days of my mission. Bar none. In the morning, Sister Tucker, Sister Lythgoe, and Sister Ruggles (Sister Lythgoe’s new companion) picked up Sister Holeman and I and took us to the Gilbert Temple. (Sister Beagley spent the day with the YSA Sisters.) There is NO way I could ever describe the experience of going to that temple with Sister Bayless, and Brother Bayless, and the Steeds, and Bishop Ackerman, and Brother Meyer, and so many others that I love so much. I’m getting emotional as I type this, because I was sitting in the Celestial Room, looking at the mirrors that go on forever, and thought to myself, “If I am feeling this much joy being with these sweet people in the temple, how much greater will that joy be when I am with my family in the temple once again?” I was reminded of the eternal nature of families and was, once again, filled to the brim with gratitude. As we waited for Sister Bayless to come into the Celestial Room, I went up to Brother Bayless to shake his hand and he said, “I don’t know if this is allowed or not, but I’m going to hug you.” And he did before I realized what he said or what was happening. It was awkward, haha. It was a sweet experience to see Sister Bayless come in. I love those people more than I could ever describe. also, I love the temple. I would say more about that, but I am running out of time. Then we had In-N-Out with Sister TUcker, and then they took us back home. We went and picked up Sister Beagley, did some more weekly planning, went to dinner, and then headed to the baptism.

Oh. My. Goodness. The Spirit was overwhelming. First of all, the room was filled with people that I love, including every single companion I’ve ever had on my mission (minus my MTC companion). Sister Cole and Sister Thomas, who are now companions, were able to come to the baptism as well. This was one of the greatest baptismal services I’ve ever been to. There was not a dry eye in that room. Brother Bayless gave a very sweet talk on baptism, and then Sister Longman gave a talk on the Holy Ghost. Then it was time for the actual ordinance. I wish I could describe the look of excitement and joy on Abe’s face. He has been praying every night for this to happen. To watch people make and keep sacred covenants brings the most joy I have ever experienced. After the actual ordinance, and they had changed and everything, a few were asked to bear their testimonies. Sister Bayless, and then Abe. Abe gave the sweetest testimony. Simple, pure doctrine. I bawled through the whole thing. (That’s only slightly exaggerated.) Then Brennan Longman (a young man in the ward) and then I had also been asked to bear my testimony, a privilege that I am so grateful for. When I stood up there, and could see Abe, and Brother and Sister newly-endowed Bayless, and my companions, and Sister Tucker, and the Meyers, and the Bethers, and the Hewitts, and the Steeds, and the Coltons, and the Morgans, and just all of those sweet people, and as I thought about the covenants I had watched people make that day, I was once again, overwhelmed and filled to the brim with joy and gratitude. I thought I was going to burst. I feel like Ammon when he said, “Have we not great reason to rejoice? Yea, we have reason to praise him forever, for he is the Most High God, and has loosed our brethren from the chains of hell. Yea, they were encircled about with everlasting darkness and destruction; but behold, he has brought them into his everlasting light, yea, into everlasting salvation; and they are encircled about with the matchless bounty of his love; yea, and we have been instruments in his hands of doing this great and marvelous work. Therefore, let us glory, yea, we will glory in the Lord; yea, we will rejoice, for our joy is full; yea, we will praise our God forever. Behold, who can glory too much in the Lord? Yea, who can say too much of his great power, and of his mercy, and of his long-suffering towards the children of men? Behold, I cannot say the smallest part which I feel.” It was remarkable.
Sunday: It was a great Sabbath Day. Kristine, Kourtney, and Chloe all came to church! It truly was wonderful.
I am out of time, but I just want to tell you all how much I love you. I love this gospel. I love my Father in Heaven. I love my Savior and Redeemer, Jesus Christ. Follow the prophet, no empty chairs, go to the temple, and serve!
I love you!
All my love,
Sister Knapp

The Zoo, Another 6 Weeks in Cave Creek, and Javelinas!

Monday, December 1: SUCH a fun day! We went to the Phoenix Zoo as a Zone and just had a blast. I found that I enjoy going through zoos very differently than most missionaries, haha! I would always be way ahead of everyone else (except for my companion and the Zone Leaders) because, I mean, how long can you watch a sleeping bird? It was so much fun, though. And we had Chipotle afterwards, which was scrumptious.

Tuesday, December 2: Happy Birthday, Mom! (I hope you got my card!) We had to take Petunia in to get her oil changed and while we were there we talked with a man named Randy who was also waiting for his car. He said that over the weekend, two elders stopped him when he was at the soccer field and gave him a Book of Mormon. We talked with him about it and about what makes our church different and gave him some pamphlets and cards. He was great. It was a testimony to me that it truly is worth it to talk with everyone, because you never know when their next contact with the church will be! We’re praying that the Elders can meet with him and teach him! We also had a very, very brief meeting with Justin. He is going through some super difficult times.

Wednesday, December 3: We saw Angela and talked about the Gospel of Jesus Christ. We were going to see Servie as well, but she was on a plane that was heading to Zimbabwe!! She’s going to pick up her daughter! It has taken YEARS for everything to go through the government to get her here, so we’re pretty excited about that.

Thursday, December 4: We went to District Meeting, in which I gave a training on Being Dignified (I know, I’m probably the least dignified person!) and who knows how that went, but I’m hoping it was good. See, I don’t remember if I told you, but when Elder Lawrence of the Seventy was here, we created a new mission culture. It has four points, and they are:

1. We are exactly obedient missionaries.

2. Our missions are spiritual experiences.

3. We are accountable.

4. We are dignified and joyful representatives of Jesus Christ.

Friday, December 5: We had Mission Leadership Council all day, and then weekly planning. It was great! For MLC, one of the activities was Preach My Gospel jeopardy, and by golly, my team was winning by 800 points, and on the last question, it was a 200 point question, and they made it 900 points, so of course, the other team got that question and “won” even though they didn’t. I’m not competitive or anything… Honestly it reminded me of every seminary game I ever played. The winner never won! It was so much fun, though.

Saturday, December 6: Was an INCREDIBLE day! And slightly stressful at the end, but incredible nonetheless! We had District Leadership Council in the morning, and then we went to the temple to do baptisms for the dead with Angela!!! It was her first time, and absolutely LOVED it! Afterwards, we went to the Visitor’s Center and when we came out, the Christmas lights were on! They are outstanding! Angela took a bunch of pictures, which I will send to you when she sends them to me! We went home and went to a Christmas party put on by one of the members. IT was a lot of fun. We stayed until they put the BYU basketball game on because I could not handle that distraction. I never thought that would be so tough! The night was stressful because we were waiting for transfer news. So many people came up to me last week and said, “You can’t leave yet! Just one more transfer!!” But I’d been in Cave Creek for about 6 months and we were pretty certain I was leaving. We got the call from our district leader Saturday evening. He said, “Sister Lythgoe is staying and Sister Knapp………………………………… is staying.” Hallelujah!!!!! He knew I didn’t want to leave yet and it about melted my insides when we put that huge pause in between but I’m staying in Cave Creek at least one more transfer!!! I’m thrilled.

Sunday, December 7: Fast Sunday and the Christmas Devotional. Ramina Malek, the 16 year old daugher, came to Sacrament! We had a very interesting Fast and Testimony Meeting. We have a man in our ward who gives…. interesting….. testimonies. Hoo boy. We had to reassure Ramina that not every meeting was like that. But Sunday evening was the beginning of the miracle week, which is only a few days in! We broke our fast at 8:00pm and only moments later, checked the phone. Shelley, who we have been trying to meet with again, had texted us and said that she was going to the temple lights Monday evening and wanted us to go with her! Also, Riata, who hasn’t answered much lately, said she could meet with us Monday as well!! And that was the beginning of a great week that hasn’t even hit the halfway point.

Monday, December 8: (Get ready for this day.) We studied, and then went out to see Steve (our single-toothed investigator.) We know that he has struggled with the idea of having a church because he loves the outdoors and is truly a wilderness man and says that the outdoors are his church. We had a great meeting with him outside his little home and it ended really well as I told him of experiences I had praying in the outdoors and how important that is to me, but how important sacrament meeting is. He was very willing to set up another return appointment, which is a really good sign! Then we went to see the Bayless’s because they live right by him. We helped Sister Bayless clean a little bit and had a little lesson about missionary work. Then we tried to have a lesson with a potential but it fell through, but then we went and met with Janice! She has been praying about the temple but feels like she hasn’t really received an answer, so we shared a quote that we found in Preach My Gospel by Elder Oaks that talks about how sometimes, Heavenly Father just lets us make decisions based on the knowledge that we have and we shouldn’t expect a huge answer every time we ask a question. It really helped her and I think she is finally ready to progress!! Then we had a lesson with Takako and, really, I am just so excited for her. She was a convert at about 16 but was less-active for 20 years, and is now just so dedicated to making it to the temple and she is so ready to go! Then we went to try to see the Maleks, with no guarantee that they’d be there, and we got there and they weren’t home. We decided to call Ramina and she said, “Oh! We’re on our way home now!” So we waited a few minutes and were able to have a quick lesson with Sister Malek and Ramina! That was a blessing. Then we hurried over to the Coltons where we had a lesson with Riata! She hasn’t been to church in a few weeks, but she committed to be there this SUdnay, AND said that she has been reading the Book of Mormon EVERY DAY! So excited. Then we really hurried over to Shelley’s and we headed down to Mesa to see the temple lights. Shelley’s best friends, the McCormicks, are members in another ward and they came as well, as well as Shelley’s dad and step-mom up from Tuscon. We enjoyed the lights, and the music, and the visitor’s center. We took them all through the little presentation they have there on the family, and Shelley’s dad just cried the whole way through. She said she’d ask him if he wanted to meet with the missionaries in Tuscon! The other miracle during the day was Angela called us and said that during Fast and Testimony meeting, the brother who had born his testimony who had been a war veteran (the testimony that was… interesting) had first taken her back, but she realized while he was speaking that he could help her uncle Charles, who has been a member all his life but hasn’t been to church in 40 years or more. She asked us if we could have that brother call Charles because Charles, who is also a Vietnam War veteran, said that he would like to talk to him. So we called this member and he called Charles, and let me tell you, Heavenly Father works in mysterious ways! They talked for 20 minutes, and as a result of the phone call, Charles went to the “Empty Nesters Family Home Evening” that evening and is going to be coming to the Ward Christmas Party this Friday!!! It was a glorious day. A truly miraculous day!

Tuesday, December 9: Such a good day! We went and saw Janice again and taught her the plan of salvation and that was great. Then we went to Transfer Meeting because we had to give some stuff to one of the elders who was transferring. We had a lesson with Angela and talked about tithing, fasting, and fast offerings. It was so good! Oh- for David’s birthday, he wanted a teacup pig and Angela got it for him! Emily, you would LOVE her house! She has an African Gray parrot, two cats, two french bulldogs, and a teeny little pig that runs around and snorts constantly. Pigs are weird. Then we went to the Relief Society Christmas Party and then went to visit the Smallcanyons, a less active family! It was the first time we met them and it was great.

Last night, we had some excitement. A little background… a few times in the past couple of weeks, we have woken up and gone outside to find the Tucker’s trashcan tipped over and trash EVERYWHERE. None of us knew what it was, though we had our suspicions that it was javelina. Brother Tucker couldn’t believe that we never heard whatever it was because the trash can is right outside our window. Well, last night, we had just turned the light off at 10:20 and heard something outside. We looked out the window, and it was just Brother Tucker, so we went to sleep. I was out when I woke up to rustling noises and Sister Lythgoe looking out the window and saying “Sister! The pigs!!” It was only 10:40, but we looked out the window and sure enough! We saw a couple of javelina out there, the trash can tipped over, and them going through trash bags! I was still half asleep and wasn’t quite sure what was going on, but I said, “We have to go get them out of here!” We ran outside in our pajamas, and was ran through the garage, I grabbed a shovel, though I wasn’t sure what I was going to do with it. We opened the garage door and there weren’t just a couple of javelina, there were as Sister Lythgoe says, “A whole army of them!” Well, I went after them with the shovel, though I was nervous they were going to charge me, and we dragged the trash can into the garage, cleaned up the trash because they kept trying to come back, and pretty much saved the day! It was hilarious though, and when we went back to bed, we laughed ourselves to puddles of tears thinking about it.

Well, I love you all and I must go now. Have a lovely week!

Love,

Sister Knapp

Cute sister missionaries….and a disgusting rattlesnake…

                           

So gross! This snake was on the front porch where Savannah and her companion live with a member family. The dad of the family killed the snake….and found a mouse inside! Lovely.

Another Great Week

Monday (not yesterday): It was such a great day. It was P-Day, and we had to get on Facebook to make it missionary-ish, and I didn’t like it at all. No, thank you! I really like this whole being separated from the world thing, ya know? That evening, we were supposed to have a lesson with Hunter, and she didn’t show up. We are worried about her. Would you please pray for her? We’re not sure what is going on. We decided to try to see a former investigator we knew very little about, Shelley. It was a little later in the evening, and I remembered someone once telling me that they didn’t like people just dropping by, so I was nervous and hesitant. Don’t EVER be nervous or hesitant to do the Lord’s work! Shelley’s husband answered the door and was SO friendly! He welcomed us right in, and we were able to have a short lesson with Shelley and she has become a new investigator! Sister Lythgoe and I can’t figure out why she’s not baptized already! She is the sweetest lady in all the world and told us how much she loved the church and that she had been to church a few times and had loved it. She told us that she reads the Book of Mormon all of the time and keeps a copy of the Book of Mormon in her glove box in her car so she can read from it while she waits for her kids after school. Hello! Talk about prepared! We are so excited to teach her and help her develop her faith, repent, and be baptized and make those sacred covenants that are necessary for exaltation! It never ceases to amaze me- the Lord is truly preparing people to receive of the Restored Gospel!

Tuesday: We had a meeting in the morning with our District Leaders and Zone Leaders. That was good. And we had SO many lessons planned, and one by one, every single one of them fell through. Sometimes that happens, but I have realized that the work just continues to move forward. Some days, you teach 5 lessons, and you find all of these people who are ready to receive the gospel, and some days, you just don’t. But still the day is wonderful because when a lesson falls through, you just keep on going and keep on finding and keep on teaching! I love it!

Wednesday: We were on exchanges, and Sister Olesen came with me into my area for the day. It was a great day! In the morning, we planned to have a “miracle hour” where you set out a block of time and expect miracles as you talk to everyone. Boy, oh boy, did we see miracles! The first man we saw, we pulled over and talked with and it was a man named Brad who is a former investigator! We’ve tried to see him a few times but he’s only been home once, but once again, the Lord provides a way! We taught him a brief little bit on the side of the road, and decided a time to come back. Miraculous. We also stopped and talk with this lady named Katie who was walking down the sidewalk. Remember that name. Come Saturday, I’ll tell you a little more about her. Then we were able to meet with Janice . It was a GREAT lesson. We talked with her about how now is the time to take some steps forward to progress toward the temple. Then we did something I’ve never done with anyone before- we set a temple date with her! Kind of like a baptismal date, but a temple date. We committed her to prepare to go through the temple on January 29, 2015. It was wonderful. We also were able to stop by a potential investigator’s house, Marsha, and she said, “I have some remodelers over right now, but I’m really glad you stopped by today! I’m feeling a lot better today (she had been recovering from a surgery) and I really want to meet with you!” We called her later that evening and have set up a time to meet with her tomorrow! Hooray!!

Thursday: My fingers are getting tired and it’s only Thursday! Oh, Thursday was a wonderful day! We had district meeting and stake correlation, both of which were great. Then we went and met with Bob – he committed to keep the Sabbath Day holy and said that he would be able to not work just for that one day, which is a huge sacrifice for him. He’s doing SO well! Then we went and met with Abe! Miracles, I’m telling you. Sister Lythgoe and I had been talking about how we needed to bring up baptism again. Abe’s mom, Artemis, and his step-dad, Mark, aren’t sure how Abe’s dad is going to take the idea of Abe wanting to get baptized, and had told us that they had talked with Abe about it and that they were going to just wait it out for a while. Sister Lythgoe and I knew that we needed to talk with them about it again though, and try to help them take that next step. Well, the first thing Artemis said when we got there was, “Abe told us this week that he really wants to be baptized. We know that we really need to talk with his dad. Abe is just wondering what he needs to do to prepare to be baptized and how much faith he needs to have to be baptized?” It was a great lesson, talking about the baptismal interview questions and stuff. Abe realized that he’s completely prepared and ready to be baptized. Please pray for them as they talk to his dad!! After Abe’s lesson, we went outside and saw their neighbor out and about and decided to talk with him- it was a good idea, as always! We talked with him for probably 45 minutes, and gave him a Book of Mormon, and set up a time to come back! His name is Steve, and he has one tooth. True story. And he said that he can eat an entire box of donuts- I was distracted for only a moment while we were talking with him, trying to figure out how that would be, to eat an entire box of donuts with only one tooth. Hmm. We also met with a less-active lady in our ward who recently moved in- Petra. She is SO nice and we’re actually going to try to see her again this evening, I believe.

Friday: We had a long day of planning! Woot! But it was great- a member brought us some pizza for dinner, which was good, except Papa John hid olives under the pepperoni! Isn’t that the most dishonest thing ever? That’s alright, though, because I found the olives before I ate it. Then we went to see Shelley again and answered some questions she had about what happens after baptism, and about the temple, and stuff, in preparation for her lesson this week, in which we will teach the Restoration and commit her to be baptized. SO excited. We also saw a familiy in our ward and talked to them about preparing for the temple. I love the temple.

Saturday: We were able to see Servie (Angela was out of town). She is so sweet! Funny story: To get to Angela and Servie’s house, you have to pass the guard at the gate. Normally, the guards at Desert Mountain just ask who you are and who you’re there to see, and if you have an appointment, they’ll let you in. Well, lately, they keep asking for our first names, which is annoying as missionaries, but sometimes I don’t even think about “Savannah” as my first name! Right now, my first name is “Sister” so when the guard said, “And, what is your first name?” I said, “Sister.” He said, “No, really, what is your first name?” I said, “Really, it’s Sister.” And he was like, “Really? Woah! That’s really neat! I thought when you said Sister you just meant like something from your church or something!” And then he let us in. Only then did it register that he thought my first name was really Sister. Sister Lythgoe and I laughed a lot about that. It’s weird how you really start to refer to yourself as “Sister” everywhere you are! Then, we had a miracle. Do you remember that lady named Katie that we talked to on Wednesday? Here’s the experience we had (plus a little extra- this was from my email to President): We saw a lady walking down the sidewalk with her dog, and knew we needed to talk with everyone we saw, so we found a place to park and walked down to meet her. She said her name was Katie, and said that she would love for us to come visit her, but that she was due to have a baby any day and didn’t know exactly when they would be home. She accepted a Book of Mormon, gave us her phone number, and told us that we should tract her neighborhood because many of the people there were friendly people with families who would probably love our message. (Which never happens, by the way.) We tried to call her a few times over the next couple of days, with no answer. Sister Lythgoe and I decided, however, that we would go try some houses in their neighborhood on Saturday. As we walked down the street, we were near a house with its windows open. We heard a baby crying and thought, “A family! We’ll go try them!” As we walked to the house, Sister Lythgoe said, “Wouldn’t that be amazing if this was Katie’s house?” We knocked and a man answered, Rob, and said, “We would love to have you come sometime, but right now just isn’t a good time for us. We just came home from the hospital ten minutes ago.” We said, “Does Katie live here, by chance?” She did! Rob said we could come back a few weeks later (which is understandable, seeing as their firstborn child was only two days old) and said that he appreciated us dropping by. The Lord is preparing people! We simply need to have the faith to trust in Him and talk with everyone!

Amazing, isn’t it? We’re excited to see where that goes! We had dinner with the Ware’s and talked about keeping the Sabbath Day holy. And then we met with a less active family who wants to come back for their kids. We asked them if they would come to church, and Natalie said she would! Nick said he had to work. I love them.

Sunday: I love Sundays!! Church was great- Natalie came to church!! It was her first time in about 20 years, and everyone was SO kind to her and came up and introduced themselves to her. I love that. That evening we were able to meet briefly with Angela and Servie. They are marvelous. We did see a bobcat cross the road in front of us as we walked up, which was really neat!

Monday (yesterday): We had a seven hour meeting- Mission Leadership Council- and it was with Elder Lawrence from the seventy, which was a really neat experience. It was a tad bit long. There was one hour or so in which I thought I was about to explode, though. We were discussing what we want the culture of the mission to be, and we had established that we wanted exact obedience to be that culture. We were talking about ways we could become exactly obedient, and Elder Lawrence brought up music, and asked if every missionary in the mission was really listening to music that was appropriate for missionary work. We all agreed that no, some missionaries weren’t, and we were discussing ways to help that. (Well, I wasn’t. I have a hard time speaking up in large groups, I have realized, but many people were being really really vocal, so no problem.) President Sweeney suggested that we have kind of a purge and limit the music we can listen to to Mormon Tabernacle Choir at least for a few months to try to help this problem. Oh boy, some missionaries in that room didn’t like that at all. That’s when it started to get a little… old. Tanner, Emily, and Hunter- can give you a suggestion? When you’re missionaries, and your mission president asks you to sacrifice something, maybe some music that’s really good, appropriate music, in order to help the other missionaries in your mission, just do it. Immediately. Say, “Okay, President. I will do whatever you ask me.” Some went on and on about what kinds of music were okay, and I couldn’t help but raise my hand to make a comment. Which, I might add, that raising your hand to comment and correct in the presence of a general authority is a bit frightening. Actually, I almost started crying because I was so nervous! But I said something to the general effect of, “I just need to say something because I don’t know, I guess I’m getting a little flustered back here. I just feel that this shouldn’t be quite as big of an issue as it is. We are here on our missions to sacrifice, and if President Sweeney asks us to only listen to Mormon Tabernacle Choir for a few months, and even for the rest of our missions, then that’s what we need to do. Who cares if we have to give up some good music for 18 months or 2 years? It’s okay to sacrifice! I’m sure that all of us here are obedient missionaries, and are listening to appropriate music. But if President Sweeney asks us to do something, we do it. It’s really not about what kind of music we listen to. It’s about sustaining President Sweeney, and sustaining the Lord.” Ooh, I was nervous. But I tell you that experience, because President Sweeney and Elder Lawrence both thanked me afterward, and I just have to tell you how important it is to sustain your leaders. I want you all to know that I am working hard and I am doing all I can to be exactly obedient to the Lord and to President Sweeney. But it was a good meeting otherwise, and afterward, we were all able to be interviewed by Elder Lawrence as a companionship! It was neat. We have a mission conference with him tomorrow, which will be wonderful.

Well, I must go. I love you all SO much!! The church is true, and Jesus Christ lives!!

Love,

Sister Knapp