Oh wow this week has been one of spiritual strength and guidance and let me just say that I am so extremely blessed to be a missionary at this time in the history of the world. I have felt the spirit of missionary work so strongly this past week and it really is amazing what is happening in the world. I can't believe how rapidly the gospel is being spread. This definitely is the work of the Lord. His truth is being proclaimed and I feel so blessed to be able to say that I am one of His missionaries at this time. I feel so privileged and blessed to be a missionary and it is such a wonderful feeling!!! To be a part of this army of missionaries at this time is the best thing that I could be doing right now and I have no doubt about that. I could not ask for anything better because this really is a dream come true for me. The meeting yesterday was so powerful and amazing and the spirit touched my heart from the very start when the choir opened singing Hark All Ye Nations. It was so powerful and incredible and the spirit that I felt there will never be forgotten. It is so hard to be a missionary but each time I think that I have to also think of what a blessing it is to be a missionary right now. I really feel so blessed to be a part of the Lord's army! There is no greater blessing!! Since being on a mission I have gained a stronger testimony of member missionary work. As a missionary, members are SO important. The spirit they bring into lessons and things is wonderful and the service they provide for us as missionaries is so appreciated! I wish now that I was a better member missionary before my mission. I didn't realize what a difference they make in missionary work but now I see that it makes a huge difference. So thank you to those that are being member missionaries and realize the importance of helping find and convert God's children!
Well I love my new area! It is called Ephrata and is so beautiful! I actually like it better than Warden because it doesn't smell like cows and potato factories which is always really nice ha. My companion is Hermana Pendleton and she is AMAZING. Goodness she just radiates the light of Christ and she teaches by example. She knows what being a good missionary is all about and I love her so much. I will send pictures but I am not sure I will have time this week :( There are 3 wards in Ephrata and we cover the 1st and the 3rd wards. Then there is a Spanish Branch that we cover but they meet in Quincy which is about 15 miles away from Ephrata. We don't get to go to the spanish branch very often because we have two other wards to go to. That is kinda a bummer but it is nice to be with the other wards :) There is not as much spanish here as there was in Warden. I am worried that my spanish is going to get worse or just not improve because we have very few spanish investigators but we are still trying our best to learn it.
This week as been very busy with lots of meeting and things so we have not had too many lesson or opportunities to teach but we have had some neat experiences nevertheless :) Neshia is one of our on dates and she should be getting baptized this Sunday! I actually have never met her but I have heard wonderful things about her and am excited to get to know her. She is a teenager who I believe just graduated high school and she is very prepared for this. We had a meeting on Friday and Elder Pieper of the seventy came and spoke to us. It was an incredible meeting and I wish I could have recorded it because so much was said but the neat thing is, I can remember the spirit I felt there and that is the most important thing. He talked about what a wonderful time it is to be a missionary and how we were going to cry on Sunday during the broadcast haha (which he was definitely right about!). One of things that I like so much that he talked about was that when we have a behavior that we want to change, we need to understand the doctrine behind that behavior before we can change that behavior (PMG 19). I really want to implement that with some of the behaviors I want to change. But all in all it was a wonderful meeting and once again I left feeling so blessed to be a missionary.
Like always I have more to say but time is up and I know that exact obedience is more important than writing about my week even though sometimes I wish I could just write forever! There are many more experiences and miracles happening here that I don't have time to write about but just know that the work is going forth here in Ephrata. I am thankful to know that I have a Heavenly Father that loves us all perfectly. I always want to remember to praise him and give him the glory because that is what it is all about. I love you all you much and thank you for everything!!!!!!
Love,
Hermana Katelyn Syphus
Hi Mom! You must be on right now! Thanks for organizing my emails I sure appreciate it :) I don't have much time to read emails because it takes a while to write to the people that I write to but I will read about your trip to New Mexico when i print off dads letter. I hope you had a great time :) I am sorry I never got a mother's day card sent to you like I did for dad :( I hope that didn't make you sad. I promise I wanted to and even tried to but there were no cards at the MTC and then I never had time to sit down and write a letter so I tried to email you some things if you remember. Anyway, thanks so much for the pics :) Kari sure looks good! Is she doing p90x?! Wow I am going to be the fat sister when I get home :( I had no idea Braquel was going on a mission until a few weeks ago when you mentioned it!!!! And the Philippines!! That is so crazy on my goodness I can't believe that! Last time I saw her she told me she wasn't going to serve a mission so that is awesome that she is!!! Wow so cool. I am feeling okay and I will let you know about the pills but still not sure yet. Thanks so much for all you do mom. You are amazing! I will get back to you on some other things when I think of them within the next few minutes. Love you and miss you so much!
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